Allright, I have been watching the new Gotham series and so far, I really love it, the show has a great atmosphere, a good quality stories and awesome characters. I saw the last episode, Under the Knife, and I felt really bad for Oswald, so I desided to write this little oneshot, featuring my OC from my other Batman story that I might use further in a potential future Gotham fanfics. Ok, here we go... :)
She has known Oswald Cobblepot for a very long time. They were friends, or at least that's what she was telling herself all these years. He was special, she knew that from the first time she saw him, and since she always considered herself to be a rather good person, how could she not love these big blue eyes that always seemed so full of terror of the outside world when he was alone and not feeling sure of himself under the protection of his superiors, and the shy and polite demeanour he always regarded the world with.
When Falcone first took her under his wings and she started to work for him, she too was very shy, very uncertain of her abilities. A gentle person like her, that never did any real crime before, it wasn't easy for her to adapt to the ruthless life inside the mob, and she was, frankly, quite scared, and at the same time, feeling very lonely. Untill she met Oswald. He worked for Fish, who worked for Falcone, and so the two were meeting quite frequently, as, at the beginning, she was one of those who ran the smaller errands for both Fish and the mob boss.
She knew she would like him from the first time they met in Mooney's bar, the first time when she tripped and nearly spilled a drink on him, and he just smilled and told her it was ok, no harm done he said. That's what she liked about him the most - the way his eyes sparkled when he smiled. She found that he was just like her, a lost little bird picked up by the mob, and in these first years they found friendship in each other. He knew her, and she knew him.
At least she knew him enough to know there was something terribly wrong when he showed up on her doorstep that night. She wasn't in Gotham for a few months now, been on what you could call a bussiness trip for her boss, and she only recently returned and learned about everything that transpired here in her absence. She was slightly surprised, yes, she would never tell that her quiet friend would dare to undertake such a big action, but at the same time she was rather pleased that he was doing so good for himself after so many years of being a mere underdog. And so she was really worried when she opened the door and saw him standing there, his head hung low, and she could see he was crying...
"Oswald?" she asked gently. "What are you doing here?"
"Adrianne." he said, and there was a slight quiver in his voice. It made her frown, she didn't like to see him upset. "I am sorry that I am intruding upon you in such an ungodly hour, but I heard you were back in town and I... I needed someone I could talk too... May I come in?"
"Of course, of course," she said, and quickly pulled him into her warm apartment, and into her living room, where she sat him on a confortable sofa. "I won't be bothering you for long really, it's just..."
"No." she interrupted and he looked at her, confused. She smiled. "I'm not letting you speak, until I make you a cup of tea at least. It's freezing out there." she said and left for the kitchen.
A few minutes later, she had her old friend sitting comfortably in her living room, clutching a hot mug of herbal tea. She was watching him curiously. He has grown somehow, from the lackey he once was he was now rising to fame. She wasn't jealous of him, no, she herself wasn't doing so bad either, after all, Falcone was a boss that was easy to please as long as you were loyal and did your best effort to get your job done right. If nothing else, she was rather happy for him, that he was able to rise up on his own like that. And so she wanted nothing more now that to find out what made him look so angry and miserable at the same time.
"So, what brings you to me like this, Oswald? Tell me what happened." she instructed, as she sat next to him, and smiled encouragingly.
"I am sorry we weren't able to have a proper talk for the past week you were back, but there was simply not enough time." he started nervously.
"It's alright Oswald, I understand. You are a man with many responsibilities now, I wouldn't want to take you away from that..." she said, and looked in his eyes. "Now tell me what's wrong."
"Well, I am sure you have already heard about my little... scuffle with don Maroni."
"Of course I did... and in my opinion, there was nothing wrong with what you did. He's a rather charming man, I must say, but he's not Falcone. He's a crook and I don't trust him..."
"You always had a rather strong sense of justice." he smiled weakly and took a sip from his tea.
"True, fortunately don Falcone treats that as more of a positive trait, he sais I'm unique, and that he can be sure of my loyalty like that. However, you know very well that my sense of justice is sometimes very flexible, which he values even more from time to time." she laughed shortly, and she paused. "What does Maroni have to do with this?"
He seemed to hesitate for a bit, before he finally spoke. "This evening, Maroni came into my bar, and he spoke to my mother." she nodded and frowned slighty, as he visibly paled in front of her eyes.
"He called me over, and, as we sat there, he started telling my mother things. Things she wasn't supposed to know. There was nothing I could do..."
And as he told her about everything that Maroni let of his mouth that night, she felt increasingly bad for her friend. She has, of course, heard about all the things he has done, and she was sure there was more to it even, but to call him a psychopath, that she wouldn't do. He couldn't really speak further then, and he didn't have to, as she suddenly pulled him into a tight hug, and he burried his face into her shoulder and cried softly. She understood. She met his mother on a few occasions before and while she was quite an eccentric woman, to her she was always rather nice and Adrianne could see that she cared for her son very much, and that Oswald loved her as well. She also noticed that Oswald had told her nothing of the activities he was actually doing for his boss, wanting to protect his mother from the harsh world he was living in. And protecting himself from loosing her... It was understandable, but she also knew that if he was able to keep her away from all this before, when he wasn't all that important person, he certainly won't be able to do that now...
"I will kill him..." he suddenly whispered, and she pulled away to look at him. "I will kill him." he repeated. "I will kill Maroni for what he did."
"Yes, you will. Of course you will... If there's someone who can do this, it's certainly you. But... what did you tell your mother?"
"I... lied to her, told her it wasn't true. She... she cannot know about any of this." he said, with a slight stutter in his voice, and she gently put a hand on his shoulder. She admired his strenght, he was such a great person, and so surprising, people who underestimated him often got a very nasty surprise. His mother, that was the only thing that could make any real impact on him. She was his weakness, and yet at the same time, she managed to bring out the best in him. She understood how important for him she was...
"Listen, Oswald." she said and she smiled on him. "I have known you for many years now and I consider you a friend. I know that you have, sometimes, a difficult personality, and you have done a lot of things I would not consider necessary, but to call you a psychopath, a monster? No. Or do I look like someone who would want to be friends with someone like that?" she joked.
"Actually... no I don't think you do." he smiled and looked at her.
"Well you see? And here I am, sitting and drinking tea with you. Don't worry, old friend, Maroni will pay for what he did, and if you ever need my help, you know I'm always here for you. But Oswald..." she paused. "I know you want to protect your mother, and if it will be in my power, I will do my best to protect her as well, but in order for her to be safe, she needs to know into what kind of danger she can get. You're going to make a pretty long line of enemies and it's not gonna end with Sal Maroni." she sighed. "I know this is difficult, Oswald, but trust me when I say, that no amout of dead bodies will hurt her more than if she'll think your doubting her love for you."
She slowly took the now cold cup from his shaking hands and went to her kitchen to put them in a sink. When she returned, he was already standing up, putting his coat on. "You can always stay here for the night, Oswald, I have space..."
"No, no, thank you for your kind offer Adrianne, but I need to return to my mother now, she needs me, and besides, you have been very generous with me, hearing me out, and I have wasted enough of your time and..."
"Oswald." she said calmly, and she came closer and gently fixed the collar of his coat. "You are always welcome here, no matter the day, hour, or reason, I'll always be here for you. Now you go home, take care of your mother and think about my words." she gave him another, gentle hug and a small, friendly kiss on his cheek.
"Thank you, Adrianne." he said, smiling, and headed for the door, but before he quite reached them, she called his name once more and with a smile, she told him: "You know, I remember you once told me that you are going to be Gotham's future one day. Sometimes I look at you and I think to myself, it might not be a bad future at all." And with those words, she let him go, and with the same affectionate smile still lingering on her lips, she stood by the door and listened, until the sound of his unmistakable footsteps faded away...