The finger near his throat, not really reassuring. Given Edward and his history of strangely lovers and all. He winced a little but felt himself shudder at the touch, feeling the warmth of the digit against his neck, the way it brushed so gently. He'd let Ed do anything to him, absolutely anything, if it meant he loved him back.
He stumbled at the shove, barely managing to brace himself, the cane thudding hard against the floor as he regrouped, unsure how to feel. He felt the bed against the back of his knees and he had no idea how to feel, he had so many questions.
"I don't know how to feel, I'm afraid. I'm not sure-- it's all so fast and I just -- how do you feel?" That was the important question. "Please, Ed, tell me."
Edward didn't give an answer. Instead he pushed him again, watching as he landed on the bed. He reached up, removing his tie, slowly pulling it free, his eyes never leaving Oswald's.
He was on top of him an instant later, easily pinning the man down with his weight and gathering his wrists in one hand. Compared to him, Oswald's not very physically imposing. He'd learned how easily he could overpower the man very soon after meeting him for real and right now Oswald was even cooperating to an extent, so it wasn't surprising that he managed to tie his wrists tightly together and connect then to the bed-frame without much of a hassle. He tugged at them sharply, to make sure he couldn't get loose. Not unless Edward wanted him to.
There was no confirmation, no words used but this was all a pretty big, positive signal, right? It had to be. Edward was a strange man sometimes, his heart didn't work in a conventional manner and perhaps words weren't what he wanted. A man could say a lot with gestures. And this was a hell of a gesture. A little kinky, sure, but since when was that out of the ordinary in Gotham? Oswald huffed out a small nervous laugh and adjusted himself, tugging at his hands.
Stuck tight above him... hmm, was that the nagging feeling of regret and doubt? Yes, yes it was. Finally, his brain kicked him in the pants and he realised he needed to act. Or speak, rather. "Edward? Edward, I really think we should talk before we go any further." Just to be clear that this was going somewhere good and not somewhere he should be panicking over.
Instead of replying, Edward moved his hand to cover Oswald's mouth. Not just symbolically, he really clamped down on it, making sure he'd not be able to say anything else. But he was just inches from him now, right above him, holding those treacherous eyes. "Do you think you love me, Oswald?"
Such a simple question and there was even a bit of a smile as he asked, his voice gentle enough. He reached over with his free hand, opening the bedside drawer. He couldn't make a mistake now.
This did not feel good, this had to be going somewhere bad and he was not ready for it, not prepared. Oswald breathed in and out in short breaths through his nose as he looked up at Edward, his face seemed calm, pleasant, even friendly but there was something off and it wasn't just the hand clamped very painfully over his mouth, finger nails plunging into his cheek. He swallowed hard and slowly nodded his head.
He wanted to tell Edward that he didn't think it, he knew it. He loved Edward Nygma, that was a fact.
Leaning down, Edward turned his head and closed his eyes. So the voices had been right once again, of course. His lips were right by Oswald's ear and he only whispered the words. "So you killed my love."
A statement, not a question, even though it was coming from him. His free hand closed around something inside his drawer and he pulled back, just enough to watch Oswald's face, because he wanted to see the moment it would all sink in, the moment he'd panic and get ready to grovel, as Oswald always did. It wasn't as if he didn't know him.
How did he know? It made no sense. Where had he gone wrong? He'd been so careful, he'd thrown out so many red-herrings, he'd tried to make sure Edward would chase false leads until he had a patsy ready and like that, he knew? That wasn't fair. How could he be so ahead of the game when they'd only just started playing? He looked at Edward with wide, horrified eyes, hands tugging against the binding because surely it couldn't be that tight. It was just a tie.
He wriggled his hands as subtly as he could, shaking his head desperately. He just needed to talk, to persuade Edward that he was wrong. Even if he was right.
For obvious reasons, Edward wasn't about to let him talk. At least not yet. He did move his hand from Oswald's mouth, but he barely let him get a word out before he already pushed the gag he'd taken out of his drawer past his teeth. He pulled Oswald's head up by the hair and tightened the gag straps behind him, really not caring if it was too tight. He needed him quiet for now.
"You're going to pay, Oswald. You're going to learn what love means." But he was literally in the man's house and thus there was a limit to what he could get away with. So far. Edward stood up and wiped his hand on his jacket. "I'll just go to tell your servants to take the rest of the day off."
"Please, Ed, I didn--" He didn't get much more out than that. He had a whole speech in his head, turning around and reworking every second until it was perfect and he couldn't even say it. He could lie his way out of this, say someone setting him up to tear them apart or that this was all a mistake and Edward was just upset and tired. All he needed was his words as he could diffuse this.
He struggled and kicked out his legs in frustration, trying to command Edward back so he didn't leave. If his servants could only be useful for once in their worthless lives and come notice this whole mess, he'd be very appreciative. His fingers tried desperately to loosen the bonds but he couldn't quite ease the knots from this angle.
Edward watched Oswald for a few moments, face bereft of any emotion other than cool calculation now. The beginning of a cruel game, he could focus for that. He knew Oswald was a tricky man, slippery. He wasn't going to take any risks. So he reached out and pulled his shirt out of his pants, doing a quick job of unbuttoning the lower few buttons. He could and would set up something more elaborate later, but for now he simply exposed some skin and walked over to the far end of his room, looking through the chemicals he kept there.
It only took him moments to return with a bottle filled with an acidic liquid and he held it up above Oswald, tilting it until a drop hit the skin of his stomach. It wasn't all that bad, he could do much worse. "Hold still."
Oswald wriggled against the bonds regardless and he tried to pluck at the knot, it was fancier than he was used to and honest to God, chains would have been easier to slip out from. Where did he learn to tie a knot like this? ... Well, what did he expect from someone who apparently kept gags in his bedside table drawer? He made an indignant yelp as his shirt was unbuttoned and he tried to pull himself away but it didn't work, given the limitations he had. If anything, his plan now had slowly transformed to 'can I at least get my feet off the bed' then he could work it out from there.
Before he could even start his movement towards that, something sharp and painful hit his stomach and he grunted in pain, looking at the bottle in horror. What the hell was Edward doing? He stopped struggling and lay still, eyes on Edward.
There really wasn't the time for anything elaborate, because he knew all too well that Oswald employed a few people all too interested in getting on his nerves. However, he had more than his share of ingenuity on his side and so he simply placed the bottle on Oswald's stomach, some drops still making their way down the smooth glass, sure to hit his skin eventually. "Hold still or risk knocking over that bottle."
Simple enough threat, he thought. That said he finally turned and walked out the door, closing it behind himself and, just to be safe, even locking. Faint and further away, Oswald might be able to hear him dismissing the servants, if he took the time to listen.
It was so hard not to move when you were aware if you did, you were going to get chemical burns. He tried to breath as slowly as he could, afraid of something causing an over-spilling and burning him. He whimpered a little as the drops than ran down slowly burnt into his skin and he couldn't flinch, if he did then the bottle moved and that was far too worrying. He closed his eyes and bit down hard on the gag to keep himself from moving, fingers slowly, very, very slowly, trying to untie himself.
His eyes opened and he watched the door now, straining to hear what was being said. All he could hear was his own heart beating loudly in his ears. What gave him away?
"Alone at last, my little bird." Closer to mockery than a loving nickname, but given the current situation, Edward doubted he could be blamed for that. Still, he let out a quick laugh when he found Oswald still in the predicament he'd left him in, stepping up to the bed and deliberately poking at his bad leg in an attempt to make him move and spill the liquid.
Before too much could be spilled, Edward picked up the bottle and set it down on the bedside table. Close enough to keep being a threat. He moved his hand behind Oswald's head and unbuckled the gag straps, leaving it to the man to try and work the gag out of his mouth by himself.
Edward managed to hit a nerve in his leg and it twitched involuntarily, jerking his whole body and as he did, the bottle tipped and more than a comfortable amount over-spilled. A patch of skin on his stomach was an angry red, slowly blistering and Oswald cried out in pain, twisting in his bonds as finally, Edward moved the bottle away. He was gasping for breath as the gag was yanked out and he took a few moments to calm himself, choking down a moan on pain.
"Edward, please, my dear friend. Why would you think I'd do such a thing? What person told you this?"
Had someone turned Edward against him? Who would have known it was him? The only one who knew was Gabe and he'd have never told him. What had changed in that instance to cause this? "I insist you tie me! We need to talk about this, you're upset, you're confused, you don't want to do something you'll regret."
"I told myself." True enough. If only he had listened sooner. If only he could somehow have known before she died. Sweet Isabella. If he had been less blind!
"Do you want to keep insulting my intelligence?" He had found him. The person with a motive. "Selfish, dirty piece of shit."
Did it hurt him to get called out like that? He hoped so. Oswald had taken the two people that meant the most from him. "You'll suffer."
"Edward, you need to calm down." Oswald tried to meet his eyes and not get hurt by how much loathing and hate he could see in them. He thought he was so close to getting what he wanted and his own foolish emotions trapped him. He took a shaky inhale and tried his best to stay calm, to keep things from escalating. "I get it, you're angry. You're upset. You're bound to be, you're grieving. It's going to be okay."
He looked down at his stomach, angry red and blistered over, wincing a little but trying not to be deterred. "I forgive you for this. What you did. It's understand, you're-- you're hurt. This isn't the answer."
Ah. The knot was loosening, Oswald was getting some wriggle room. He purposefully drew no attention to it, he kept his hands still but gently moving, not to arousing any suspicion. He had a chance here.
For just a moment Edward doubted. What if Oswald hadn't done it? What if his damaged psyche was causing him to lose the only friend he had? But no. He wasn't wrong about this. It all added up. It added up to this ultimate betrayal.
"I am hurt. But you wouldn't understand, Oswald. You don't understand love. Love is about sacrifice."
Even back before he had truly become himself, he had understood that much. "You would betray anyone who stands in the way of you getting what you want." Because that was what this amounted to, wasn't it? "Even me."
"But I do love you! I love you more than anyone ever could. You have to understand, Edward, I really do." He shook his head in protest at the very idea that he couldn't love, his eyes wet and his expression desperate. "Anything I did or would do, it's only because I care about you."
Oswald met Edward's eyes, flinching at the hurt and betrayal in his eyes. He hated that he made Edward feel this way, he knew he'd done wrong but he couldn't help himself that he'd done it. He had to do it. For them.
He yanked his hands free from the rope while he had the chance and threw a solid punch before Edward could stop him. Like that, he scrambled off the bed and made a desperate run for the door, yanking the door open. Could he out run Edward? No. Probably not. He could, however, lock himself in another room and call for back up.
What an excellent way to show he cared! Edward could only laugh darkly as he rubbed his face, following after Oswald in time to see how he locked himself into the nearest room. Of course, he'd hide. But there was no phone in this room and that meant that he had a quick chance to act, other than just how skilled he was with locks.
Edward returned to his room and when he emerged again, he carried yet another set of chemicals and - more importantly - he was wearing a gas mask. So far he hadn't pulled it down yet, so his voice sounded normal as he knelt down next to the door Oswald was hiding behind. "I suggest you hold your breath, Oswald. I'm about to flood you with a gas that is sure to knock you out. Sleepy time, birdy."
"What? No, Edward, stop this! Stop it this instant!" Oswald yelled in his best commanding voice but as always, it just came out a little like a toddler having a temper tantrum. He definitely picked the wrong place to hide himself in. No phone, no window beside a small one above for ventilation and the trouble with reaching that? It was a lot higher than Oswald was. He tried to climb up the boxes stacked around this little storage room but with his bad leg, climbing didn't so much as happen as falling.
He looked around for something to poke the window open with instead. "You don't want to do this. You're making a big mistake!"
Edward put on the gas mask, hiding a rather impressive roll of his eyes that Oswald would have missed anyway. He started pouring the chemicals together, the reaction almost instant and it only took a bit of encouragement by fanning his hands to make the smoke seep in from under the door. It wouldn't knock Oswald out completely, but definitely dissuade further thoughts of running or fighting much, making him weak and tired. Just the way he liked his little bird.
It didn't take him long to pick the lock and once he'd done that, he opened the door, pushing the gas mask back up now that the gas was already beginning to fade.
"Where did you think you were going to fly off to? Penguins are flightless birds." Edward picked Oswald up by both arms and began to pull him out of the room. "You should know that."
His head felt heavy and everything around him got blurry and strange. He could barely keep his eyes open and his body gave out as he slumped down, too dizzy to stand. By the time Edward pried the door open, he had no fight left in him, any attempt to stand made him feel like the room was spinning and he had to fight not to vomit when he was yanked up from the floor.
As he was lifted, he struggled the best he could but ultimately, it came to nothing. "Edward, don't do this." Oswald tried to push off from him, to get himself free from the hold and back onto the ground but he didn't seem able to tip himself off and out of his hands. "I'm warning you, it's a mistake."
"Like me being with Isabella was a mistake?" Edward was back to his strange calm now, having dragged Oswald all the way back to his room. In a fit of inspiration he picked up Oswald's cane - forgotten and lonely on the ground - and straightened up, twirling the cane and looking down at him. No further warning, he just whipped the cane down, hitting Oswald on his still exposed stomach, right where the acid had burned him.
The hit was painful and Oswald yelped, curling into himself, his head spinning as he tried to cover it, his movement slow and sluggish. "It was a mistake!" He guessed the pain was making him honest now, he felt himself getting angry and it was lucky he could barely move his body or he'd be lashing out himself by now. "You would have killed her, we both know it. Sooner or later, she'd be dead and you'd be destroyed by it. Why prolong the inevitable?"
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He stumbled at the shove, barely managing to brace himself, the cane thudding hard against the floor as he regrouped, unsure how to feel. He felt the bed against the back of his knees and he had no idea how to feel, he had so many questions.
"I don't know how to feel, I'm afraid. I'm not sure-- it's all so fast and I just -- how do you feel?" That was the important question. "Please, Ed, tell me."
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He was on top of him an instant later, easily pinning the man down with his weight and gathering his wrists in one hand. Compared to him, Oswald's not very physically imposing. He'd learned how easily he could overpower the man very soon after meeting him for real and right now Oswald was even cooperating to an extent, so it wasn't surprising that he managed to tie his wrists tightly together and connect then to the bed-frame without much of a hassle. He tugged at them sharply, to make sure he couldn't get loose. Not unless Edward wanted him to.
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Stuck tight above him... hmm, was that the nagging feeling of regret and doubt? Yes, yes it was. Finally, his brain kicked him in the pants and he realised he needed to act. Or speak, rather. "Edward? Edward, I really think we should talk before we go any further." Just to be clear that this was going somewhere good and not somewhere he should be panicking over.
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Such a simple question and there was even a bit of a smile as he asked, his voice gentle enough. He reached over with his free hand, opening the bedside drawer. He couldn't make a mistake now.
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He wanted to tell Edward that he didn't think it, he knew it. He loved Edward Nygma, that was a fact.
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A statement, not a question, even though it was coming from him. His free hand closed around something inside his drawer and he pulled back, just enough to watch Oswald's face, because he wanted to see the moment it would all sink in, the moment he'd panic and get ready to grovel, as Oswald always did. It wasn't as if he didn't know him.
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He wriggled his hands as subtly as he could, shaking his head desperately. He just needed to talk, to persuade Edward that he was wrong. Even if he was right.
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"You're going to pay, Oswald. You're going to learn what love means." But he was literally in the man's house and thus there was a limit to what he could get away with. So far. Edward stood up and wiped his hand on his jacket. "I'll just go to tell your servants to take the rest of the day off."
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He struggled and kicked out his legs in frustration, trying to command Edward back so he didn't leave. If his servants could only be useful for once in their worthless lives and come notice this whole mess, he'd be very appreciative. His fingers tried desperately to loosen the bonds but he couldn't quite ease the knots from this angle.
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It only took him moments to return with a bottle filled with an acidic liquid and he held it up above Oswald, tilting it until a drop hit the skin of his stomach. It wasn't all that bad, he could do much worse. "Hold still."
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Before he could even start his movement towards that, something sharp and painful hit his stomach and he grunted in pain, looking at the bottle in horror. What the hell was Edward doing? He stopped struggling and lay still, eyes on Edward.
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Simple enough threat, he thought. That said he finally turned and walked out the door, closing it behind himself and, just to be safe, even locking. Faint and further away, Oswald might be able to hear him dismissing the servants, if he took the time to listen.
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His eyes opened and he watched the door now, straining to hear what was being said. All he could hear was his own heart beating loudly in his ears. What gave him away?
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Before too much could be spilled, Edward picked up the bottle and set it down on the bedside table. Close enough to keep being a threat. He moved his hand behind Oswald's head and unbuckled the gag straps, leaving it to the man to try and work the gag out of his mouth by himself.
"Your lies?"
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"Edward, please, my dear friend. Why would you think I'd do such a thing? What person told you this?"
Had someone turned Edward against him? Who would have known it was him? The only one who knew was Gabe and he'd have never told him. What had changed in that instance to cause this? "I insist you tie me! We need to talk about this, you're upset, you're confused, you don't want to do something you'll regret."
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"Do you want to keep insulting my intelligence?" He had found him. The person with a motive. "Selfish, dirty piece of shit."
Did it hurt him to get called out like that? He hoped so. Oswald had taken the two people that meant the most from him. "You'll suffer."
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He looked down at his stomach, angry red and blistered over, wincing a little but trying not to be deterred. "I forgive you for this. What you did. It's understand, you're-- you're hurt. This isn't the answer."
Ah. The knot was loosening, Oswald was getting some wriggle room. He purposefully drew no attention to it, he kept his hands still but gently moving, not to arousing any suspicion. He had a chance here.
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"I am hurt. But you wouldn't understand, Oswald. You don't understand love. Love is about sacrifice."
Even back before he had truly become himself, he had understood that much. "You would betray anyone who stands in the way of you getting what you want." Because that was what this amounted to, wasn't it? "Even me."
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Oswald met Edward's eyes, flinching at the hurt and betrayal in his eyes. He hated that he made Edward feel this way, he knew he'd done wrong but he couldn't help himself that he'd done it. He had to do it. For them.
He yanked his hands free from the rope while he had the chance and threw a solid punch before Edward could stop him. Like that, he scrambled off the bed and made a desperate run for the door, yanking the door open. Could he out run Edward? No. Probably not. He could, however, lock himself in another room and call for back up.
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Edward returned to his room and when he emerged again, he carried yet another set of chemicals and - more importantly - he was wearing a gas mask. So far he hadn't pulled it down yet, so his voice sounded normal as he knelt down next to the door Oswald was hiding behind. "I suggest you hold your breath, Oswald. I'm about to flood you with a gas that is sure to knock you out. Sleepy time, birdy."
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He looked around for something to poke the window open with instead. "You don't want to do this. You're making a big mistake!"
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It didn't take him long to pick the lock and once he'd done that, he opened the door, pushing the gas mask back up now that the gas was already beginning to fade.
"Where did you think you were going to fly off to? Penguins are flightless birds." Edward picked Oswald up by both arms and began to pull him out of the room. "You should know that."
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As he was lifted, he struggled the best he could but ultimately, it came to nothing. "Edward, don't do this." Oswald tried to push off from him, to get himself free from the hold and back onto the ground but he didn't seem able to tip himself off and out of his hands. "I'm warning you, it's a mistake."
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