"Whatttttt!? You mean that you're banned from Trivia Night!?" You stare at your work partner, Edward Nygma, in disbelief.

You'd been working at the GCPD for six months in the forensics department with him and you'd both bonded over your love for puzzles and riddles. Recently, you'd learned of the annual Trivia Night that the GCPD held to raise money for the department. Getting the great idea of going with Edward, you'd asked him as soon as you had gotten the news, only to learn that he was banned!

"Unfortunately yes." Edward says, adjusting his glasses. "Last year I answered all the questions, not giving the other contestants a chance to answer. They banned me from ever coming back because of it."

"They're just jealous because you're smarter than them!" You declare. "You can't be punished for being smart, that's ridiculous!"

"Unfortunately it's the rules." Edward sighs and shakes his head. "We can't change them."

"Says who?" You demand. "I plan on going, and I need a partner. I choose you."

"You can't," Edward says with a frown. "I'm banned from going."

"Did they specifically say that you were banned as a single player or that you were banned from the game entirely?" You ask, not willing to let this go.

"Only from the individual rounds," Edward admits, "but that still means-"

"Does it?" You interrupt him. "They said you were banned from the individual part of the competition, not the pairs part. It's a loophole that they didn't look over. I can't believe that you didn't figure that out earlier."

"Well," Edward says, "even if I did, I wouldn't have anyone to go with."

"Now you do." You say firmly. "We're going to this thing together."

You walk away from him and plop down at your desk, the conversation over. You begin to go over notes from the most recent case that had come in, but find yourself unable to concentrate. It'd taken a lot of effort to even talk to Edward about the possibility of going to Trivia Night together; as a pair. Not that it meant anything really. Just two people getting together to have some fun and smash the competition. That's what it was about, right?

You peek over at Edward who has a bewildered look on his face. You can tell that he doesn't know what to think at the moment, but you know that he won't turn you down in the long run. Edward loved puzzles, and had never turned one down in the time you'd known him.

"Fine," Edward says, "I'll go with you to Trivia Night. If I get into trouble though, I'm blaming you."

"Perfectly acceptable." You agree. "It was my idea after all. It's-"

"Seven O'Clock tonight at City Hall." Edward interrupts you. "Just because I couldn't go doesn't mean that I don't know where it's being held. It's held at City Hall every year."

"Seven O'Clock it is." You smirk.

XXXX

"What do you think I should wear?" You ask your best friend Sally as you hold a dress up to you and stare at your reflection in the mirror.

You'd uncharacteristically gotten off early from work at five and come straight to the apartment you shared with your friend from college. Getting ready for Trivia Night was more of a pain than you thought it'd be.

"I don't care," Sally yells from the living room. "It's a casual event though, right?"

"I don't know!" You say. "It's my first time going!"

"Well don't they usually have a theme?" Sally hollers back.

"I don't know!"

"Wear whatever then! I really don't care. You could go buck naked if you wanted to!"

"What a scene that'd make! I can't do that, my reputation would be ruined!"

"You mean what little of a reputation you have!"

"It's not that small!"

"Pu-lease!" Sally argues. "Your reputation is about the size of my last boyfriends dick!"

"Don't go comparing me to Daryl!" You yell. "Especially not his dick!"

"You asked for that one!"

"I did not!"

Silence came from the other room and you let out a frustrated sigh.

"I'm going to wear a shirt and jeans then!" You yell at Sally.

"You do know that I really don't care, right?"

You pull on a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt before walking into the living room. Sally was sprawled out on the couch watching some sort out Japanese anime. She glances up at you from her position and rolls her eyes.

"Better hope you're not underdressed." She says. "That'd be a horrible thing."

"Thanks for the observation, Sherlock." You say sarcastically.

"All in the days work,Watson." Sally replies.

"Well I'm out." You say, grabbing your purse. "I'll see you later ok? Shouldn't take more than an hour."

"Adios Amigo." Sally says before turning back to her show.

You walk out of your shared apartment and hurry down the stairs, and out the door. You unlock your car which is park precariously on the curb (you expected it to get stolen at some point, it was Gotham after all), and got in before starting the engine and driving off.

XXXX

Arriving just a few minutes before seven, you are relieved to find that it hasn't started yet. Turns out however, that you might miss it. Edward, who looked like he hadn't changed since earlier, is being held up by some guy at the door.

"What doing on here?" You ask, approaching them.

"I was just telling Mr. Nygma that he's not allowed inside." The guy says. "He's been banned."

"Well he's with me," you say, "so let us in."

"No can do." The guy replied. "I got direct orders not to let Mr. Nygma in. You can go straight on through though."

"You let both of us in or we both leave." You threaten. "I'll also make sure that the higher ups know about this."

The guy pales before giving a nod. "Fine, but if anyone finds out, it's your fault, not mine."

"A lot of things are my fault." You say, walking past him with Edward in tow. "It's nothing new."

"You didn't have to do that," Edward says in a low voice once you're past the doors and out of earshot, "it was no big deal."

"You want to go and do this Trivia Night?" You ask him, raising an eyebrow.

Edward nodded.

"Then let's do this. We'll make them regret banning you."

You march into the main room where the game is to be held and manage to nab a table in the back. Detectives Gordon and Bullock sit at the same table, the latter not looking at all happy to be there.

"Ms. (L/n), Ed." Detective Gordon says in surprise. "What are you two doing here? If I remember correctly, Ed got banned last year."

"Yeah, well that was stupid." You snort. "You can't ban someone from trivia, that's like banning someone from thinking!"

"Not exactly." Edward says.

"You use your brain to think, don't you?" You demand.

"Well, yes, but what I mean-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know!" You say, interrupting him. "What I'm getting at is that you have to think to be able to answer questions!"

"I see your point," Gordon says with a nod, "I guess I don't see it as a problem. Ed was banned from the singles competition anyways… If you're both playing as a pair it shouldn't be an issue."

"What are you two doing here then?" You ask curiously.

"Harvey's here for the free booze." Gordon stated. "I'm here to see if I can learn a few things."

"About trivia?" You ask.

"About the inner workings of the department." Gordon deadpans. "Knowing that and the alliances that have been made in the past year is important."

"I suppose so." You say, not really caring.

You glance around the room and are surprised to see how crowded it is. Most of the people here are officers who, in your opinion, barely have two brain cells to rub together. They must be here for the free booze like Detective Bullock. While free booze most certainly sounded interesting and worth looking into, you had to get some things done before you could indulge.

You turn to Edward, "I'm gonna go and sign us up for before it starts."

You walk over to the table in the front of the room where the questions would be read off from. The announcer was someone that you'd never seen before, probably some city bloke who'd been forced to do it.

"The game's about to start," he says, "make it quick."

"I'd like to sign up for the pairs real quick if it isn't much trouble." You say, not liking his attitude.

"As far as I can see, there's only one of you." The man replies, scratching at his receding hairline.

"I brought a friend with me." You say, hooking a finger over your shoulder at Edward.

"Mr. Nygma?" The man says, squinting in the direction you pointed. "Isn't he banned?"

"Listen here buddy," you say, leaning towards him. "I'm not in the best of moods right now so I suggest you just go along with it. And don't you dare say that if anyone finds out it's my fault." You add.

The man abruptly shuts his mouth, that was exactly what he was going to say.

"Alright," he says, passing you a clipboard, "just sign both of your names here."

You sign off both Edwards and your name before handing it back.

"Pleasure doing business with you sir." You give him a smile that shows just a bit to much teeth before sauntering away.

"No trouble?" Edward asks once you get back to the table.

"None whatsoever." You reply, sitting down and getting comfortable.

"You didn't threaten anyone, did you?" Gordon asks. "The man doing the announcements this time is a well respected officer that retired a few years ago."

"Oops?" You say, sheepishly.

"You're quite the handful." Harvey remarks before taking a swig of his beer. "It must be hard for you Ed, having to work with someone like that."

"It's not that bad," Edward says mildly, "especially If she gets me in to Trivia Night."

"You're too kind, Edward." You say while eyeing Harvey's beer. "Say, where'd you get that beer, detective?"

"Over there." Harvey burped and pointed to the side of the room where several buckets of ice stood on a table.

"Holy shit," you say with a grin, "they have Vodka?"

"(Y/n)," Edward pleads, "if you're going to drink, at least wait till after we're done, ok?"

"Fine." You say, crossing your arms.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer says into his microphone, "we have a fun night planned for you tonight! Who's ready for some trivia?"

There are a few half hearted cheers, which confirmed your earlier assumption that a lot of people were only here for the booze.

You grinned at Edward, "You ready?"

XXXX

You are quite happy when you find out what the theme of the game would be, all the questions would revolve around Dante's The Divine Comedy, one of your favorite books. What were the odds?

"The rules are simple!" The announcer says. "I will ask a question and you will have 90 seconds to figure out the answer. First pair to get the answer correct gets a point! The pair that has the most points after 20 questions wins! First question! Lets start this off easy. Where was the author of The Divine Comedy born, and what is his name?"

You slam a hand down on the button that you have to use to warrant an answer. "Dante Alighieri was born in Florence, Italy, the present day capital of Tuscany in 1265, though the exact date of his birth is unknown."

"Correct!" The announcer says. "One point for (y/n) (l/n) and Edward Nygma."

There are a lot of grumbles and a few glares at you. Obviously a lot more people knew about Edward being banned than you originally thought. Oh well, screw them.

"Next question! The Divine Comedy is split into three parts, the most well known being Inferno. What are the names of the other two?"

You slam your hand on the button again, "The Purgatorio and the Paradiso." You say. "Purgatory and Paradise respectively. The Purgatorio tells of Dante's journey through Mount Purgatory and Paradiso tells of-"

"I only asked for the names of the last two parts." The announcer says, irritated. "I did not ask for, nor need, any more information than that."

You scowl and cross your arms. You are just giving information! That's what it was about after all, it isn't your fault that they didn't want to learn interesting information.

There are a few snickers that automatically stop as you glare at the source, Tom Dougherty. Oh God, what were the odds? If he was here that meant… You glance at the person sitting next to him. Yep, Kristen Kringle was here as well. That isn't doing anything to improve your mood. The only thing that could make things worse is if Edward noticed that Kristen was here. While they had noticed you, Edward hasn't noticed them yet.

The game goes on for about ten questions before the announcer calls for a break. A break of all things! Like it is a sport like football or basketball. Ridiculous! Halfway through the break, Tom and Kristen wander over, or more accurately, Tom saunters over with Kristen trailing behind.

"Didn't think that you'd be here, Nygma." Tom remarks. "Aren't you banned?"

"What does it matter to you?" You say testily, not liking at all were it's going.

"I just wanna make sure that he's not breaking any rules." Tom drawls. "I am a police officer after all."

"Not to mention a huge pain in the ass," you reply. "Picking on people like you do. What did Edward ever do to you?"

Tom opened his mouth only to be interrupted by detective Gordon.

"Both of you stop," he says, "the game's starting again anyways."

"This isn't over." Tom says before stalking away, practically dragging Kristen after him.

"What a creep." You snort, turning back to the table and swiping Harvey's beer.

"Hey!" He yells as you take a swig before handing it back. "I don't want it now," he says in disgust, pushing it back over to you, "keep it."

You shrug before taking another sip and turn to Edward who was staring after Kristen.

"What's Ms. Kringle doing here?" He asks, confused and a bit surprised.

"Probably something that asshat dragged her to." You grunt, draining the beer.

"Officer Dougherty may be that, but he's still an officer." Gordon warned.

"Eh, whatever." You say. "Listen Edward," you poke his arm, "don't worry about Kristen, she doesn't know what she's doing. It's not you, it's her. Obviously she don't want no goody two shoes, which is a realllll bummer. But like they say, nice guys finish last. Don't take it personally." You pat him unnecessarily hard on the shoulder.

"You ok (y/n)?" Gordon asks. "You haven't even had a full beer yet and your acting-"

"I don't really hold liquor that well," you agree, "but I'm fine. Trust me."

Gordon mumbles something about not trusting you but otherwise stays quiet.

The game continues and despite being slightly incapacitated from the alcohol, you still manage to answer the questions correctly. Your reaction time was slower however, so that causes you to miss a few simply because you can't hit the button fast enough. The only bad thing about it is that Tom and Kristen are the ones that answer the ones you miss. Edward is getting more depressed and you are getting madder by each passing second, of course it didn't help that you managed to convince Harvey to get you a few drinks.

It was down to the last question and you already had probably one too many beers and a few shots mixed in. Edward and detective Gordon had tried to convince you not to continue drinking, but they both gave up after a while and were now just eyeing you wearily. They didn't need to worry so much, you thought. As far as you're concerned, as long as you can answer all the questions correctly, there weren't any problems. You are already well ahead of everyone else, but that didn't really matter anymore, you just had to beat Tom and Kristen.

"Last question!" The announcer declares. "What was the original name of The Divine Comedy?"

Slamming the button with your fist, you answer, "La Comedia, meaning Comedy in Italian."

"Correct!" the announcer says, "(y/n) (l/n) and Edward Nygma win!"

"I object!" Tom yelled, standing up. "Nygma was banned from this last year, and (l/n) is clearly intoxicated!"

"Half the people in this room are intoxicated!" You yell at Tom, shooting to your feet. "That's nothing to punish someone for!"

You sway slightly on your feet and Edward has to steady you.

"While the second part may be true," the announcer says, "the first part is as well. Edward Nygma was banned from ever coming back last year, I remember that."

"Then why'd you let him back in?" Tom demanded. "It's breaking the rules!"

"Since when have you ever been one to follow the rules!?" You screech. "You're as bad as they come!"

"Shut up woman!" Tom roars back.

"You only follow them if it suits your needs!" You yell, ignoring him.

"Both of you shut up!" The announcer yells over the din. Everyone was muttering over the argument that is forming, but become quiet at the announcers words.

"You should just ban both of them!" Tom yells, glaring at you and ignoring the announcer.

"If you wanna run your mouth you better find something new to say!" You tell Tom, advancing on him. "It's getting old with your 'we should just ban them' shtick."

"Don't go blaming me!" Tom shoots back. "Nygma started it last year by answering all the questions!"

"Since when was being smart a crime!" You snap. "You're just jealous because you'll never be as smart as him!"

"As if!" Tom snorts. "I don't want to be that weird."

"Edward isn't weird," you state matter of factly, "he's completely normal, you're the one that's weird."

"What'd Nygma have to do to get you on his side?" Tom sneers. "I bet you just had to-"

"Shut up!" You rush forward and punch him in the face, probably not your best move ever. You give a solid right hook that catches him in the jaw and he crashes backwards, hitting his head on the edge of a table and gets knocked out.

The whole room freezes in shock and it becomes so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. Tom blinks in surprise, trying to understand what had happened. Stepping back, suddenly uncertain, you glance around nervously. You should not have done that. Gordon was right, even if he was an ass, he was still unfortunately an officer, and you just hit him. Not good, not good at all. On top of that, said officer was now lying unconscious on the floor. Oops….?

"I think that it's time to go now." You tell Edward mildly before grabbing his arm and bolting towards the door.

"Wait just a minute!" You hear a voice yell behind you. "What are you doing? Go after them!"

You shoot Edward an alarmed look as you both burst from the building and out into the street.

"Which way?" You ask frantically, glancing up and down the street.

"You're not going to get away that easily!" A voice bellowed through the glass doors. You turn around to see several officers running towards you.

"Left it is." You drag Edward after you as you start sprinting down the street.

Edward stumbles as he follows you, really having no choice in the matter. You start turning down random streets, attempting to shake off your pursuers.

XXXX

After a few minutes, you stumble to a stop and lean against a wall, breathing heavily. You seemed to have lost your pursuers for the moment, of course it couldn't have been all that hard, they probably are as drunk, if not more so, than you.

The sudden realization of your situation causes a snort to emit from your mouth before you start laughing uncontrollably. You peer up at Edward who was panting slightly next to you. He gives you a bewildered look which causes you to laugh harder.

"Did you… see… their faces?" You gasp, tears forming in your eyes. "Hilarious!" You giggle.

" You punched officer Dougherty." Edward stated. He didn't seem concerned about that, more like… impressed.

"I know right!? That was amazing!"

"You're probably going to get in some sort of trouble because of it." Edward says.

"You're such a party pooper," you frown, attempting to stand up. You end up taking a single step before pitching forward and Edward has to lunge forward to prevent you from falling on your face.

"Mmmm…" You mutter, before giggling again. "What a gentleman you are."

"(Y/n)," Edward says, "we need to get you home."

"Why?" you ask. "Don't you like hanging out with me, Eddie?"

Edward blinks in surprise before shaking his head, "You're extremely drunk, (y/n)." He says gently, setting you back on your feet, but still keeping an arm around you for support. "Can you tell me where you live?"

"Ida know," you say lazily, "you're a smart boy, figure it out."

Edward sighs before leading you down the street. "I parked a few blocks away because I didn't want anymore trouble than I already had to," he says. "Why don't we get you in the car and then you can tell me where you live, ok?"

"Roger that, captain." You snicker as he guides you away.