He grabbed him firmly by the waist. Trying to see if maybe,just maybe, he was still in there.
"Jack?",came Edwards frantic tone. God what had become of him!His skin was pale white and his hair had streaks of green in them ,but what frighten him more was the large smile.
"Do I know you?" That smile didn't lift. "Its me. Its Eddie."
That conversation was nearly a decade ago and since then what could be said? He knew he would follow him here. Knew that there fates were intertwined since the moment they met. And it was still painful.
Hes former best friend was gone. He came to accept that. Came to accept that Jack was now The Joker and that he was now The Riddler. Came to accept what they both have done and what they can never go back to.
But sometimes...
Sometimes when they talked he could see that glint. That sparkle that he would bet Harley hadn't even notice or knew what it was. He could see that recognition and the smile that followed after was the thing that kept him from losing hope. He was still there. And when they had those poker nights and he saw that flinch he knew what caused it.
Once he slipped. They were in the rec-room playing chess if he remembered correctly and he just called him by his full name in a sort of confusion. He never did that usually it was "Eddie boy" or "Nigma",but he said hes full name with the suffix in it. Almost as if a switch was turned on he began to question.
He always questioned,but never about himself. He came to wonder what exactly he was doing. What he was trying to prove? What was he trying to do?
He left.
It was hard of course leaving the game and if he could be honest the only place he felt comfortable. He tried going back once and that was a failure. He was determined ,however,to make it work this time. He got a career,had build some wealth and even respect. He still thought about him.
Sometimes he felt a shift in his bed,a presence in the room, and he would hear a familiar giggle. Sometimes a hand on his head and other times a kiss. He would wake up and wondered if he had imagined it.
Decades later in a cemetery he would be crying. Wishing things he knew would never happened. Still years later he would turn on the television and hear a familiar laugh ,give a light smirk and die.
XXXXXXX
It wouldn't leave me alone. I swear it wouldn't There are so many stories of these two rattling in my brain Gah! I should do a mpreg...