Julia didn't pay much attention to the current drug trend. The family dealt in the usuals. Cocaine, weed, crack, oxycodone. But this Viper stuff was getting out of control. Super strong people running around stealing ATMs and drinking Gotham out of milk? That was beyond weird. So after making her stops she'd gone back to the apartment and hidden herself. Nobody was getting her ice cream, she'd guard that with her life. After a day of walking the city, making sure that the underbelly paid its dues on time and when needed, she needed her salted caramel sweets. The security at the building had been upped, but she'd made sure that the guards knew that Oswald was allowed through.
When Oswald showed back up, he'd had the shit beat out of him. He was bleeding from his nose, his lip looked busted and his eyes were even darker. Some maternal instinct must have taken over, for Julia had her arm around him and was hustling him to the sink so that he wouldn't bleed all over the carpet. She quickly passed him a scrunched up paper towel to stem his nose bleed, then took a wet rag and dabbed at his cheek, which was covered in crusted blood. "Oswald, good God. What happened?"
He mumbled something, trying to move his head away when she wiped up blood. His black hair, usually so slick, was mussed and bloody.
She grabbed his chin and forced his head back down. "Goddamnit, hold still."
"Hurts." He hissed, groaning when he moved his busted lip. With his cheek clean she moved up to his forehead. It was bloodier, but a bit fresher. It came off easily, the rag turning pink.
"Don't talk, it'll only make it worse." She wiped the last of the blood from his forehead, the cut was very small but head wounds bled like a bitch. The rag went into the sink, and she quickly put some ice in a towel and held it up to his lip. He tried to move away from the cold, but she put a hand behind his head and forced him back up against it. Suddenly she was aware of how close they were, the fact that one of his hands had drifted to cover hers. Julia felt awkward in her skin, and all she wanted to do was to step back and give him the ice and leave. But his hand was strong, and their faces were close, and what happened was natural.
His lips were cold, and he tasted of blood and tea and the faintest hint of tobacco. The cold compress was almost forgotten when he brought his hands up to cup her face. His fingers were long enough to brush against her ears, and suddenly she was very glad she was gripping the back of his head. The kiss lasted all of a moment, and then they had separated, foreheads leaning against each other. Oswald's lips twitched, "That made it hurt more."
Julia huffed a little laugh. "It'll feel better by tomorrow."
"Forgive me, I didn't mean for that to happen."
"There's nothing to forgive, you didn't do anything wrong." She told him as she pressed the compress back against his lip. He brought a hand up to take it from her, his fingers brushing her forehead. She followed their path, coming away with blood on her fingertips. She wiped it off with the rag, then went to the bathroom to get him some aspirin. Oswald had put the compress in the sink, working his lip a little.
The aspirin went down on the counter. "Better?"
"Much, although the Spanish Inquisition should have employed you." He replied, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and popping a few aspirin into his mouth.
"Haha. Very funny." Julia couldn't help but roll her eyes at that. "You didn't seem to mind part of it." And then she could feel his hand on her waist, another rising up to play with her hair. He didn't say anything, just stroked her waist. His movement is a little hesitant, as if he was expecting her to yell at him any moment. But she leaned her head back into his hands, eyes closed as he played with her hair.
His hands were gone and he's shuffled away. "Good night, Julia."
God he was awkward, but interesting. "Good night, Oswald."
The next day was her late one, she had to go across town and then get back here to get ready for the casino pickup. That was her biggest pickup of the week, and she liked to dress up for it. Some sexy dress, heels, blow her hair out and tame it with an entire bottle of hairspray. Which meant getting a phone call from an unknown number as she made her way through midtown was not what she needed. She flicked her phone open, her voice terse. "Who is this?"
"Julia," It was Oswald's voice, tinny from the speaker. "Don't go to the casino tonight."
"I've got my pickup there tonight."
"Don't go."
"Oswald-"
A massive burst of air sounded, like he was snorting in frustration. "You said all I had to do was command you. Well, now I am. Do not go to the casino tonight. Call in sick, stay in the house. Understand?"
Julia could feel her heart plummet down to her stomach. Her mouth was dry. He sounded so serious, something must be up. "Y-yes Oswald. I understand." He hung up, and she quickly called Anthony.
"Julia, what now?" Anthony sounded pissed, but when didn't he sound that way?
She made her voice high pitched, like her nose had been blocked up. Which she actually accomplished by pinching her nose closed. "I've got a cold, some homeless guy sneezed on me. I can't make the casino run tonight, sorry."
"Eat some chicken soup. I'll send Christopher over to pick it up. Kid's been itching for a job."
"Thanks Anthony." She replied, tucking her phone back away. She didn't need to make anymore stops, so she grabbed a cup of coffee and hoofed it home. It was rather strange to be in this late, and part of her told her that she should go down to the casino and check on everything. She set about distracting herself. The television was on, she had a book in her hands, and a bowl of ice cream in front of her that those Viper-heads were not going to get. Her eyelids were just starting to droop over her book when the phone rang. It was Anthony. "Hello?"
"Those sons of bitches hit us!" Anthony fairly roared, even through the phone.
He let off a string of Italian curses so loud that Julia held the phone away from her head until he switched back to English. She brought it back up. "Care to explain?"
"Bunch of Maroni goons, came by and hit the casino tonight."
"What about the guards, all the precautions?"
"Somebody let them in the back. They shot poor Chris while he was at the craps table. Few of the other guys too, the whole place is going to need new felt." Anthony sounded upset, over Chris or the felt she was't sure. "You're lucky that guy sneezed on you. Drop him a hundred tomorrow."
Julia was having trouble working her tongue to spit out the words. "Yeah, I will." With that she hung up her phone, and drew her knees up to her chin. She'd been close to dying before, some shootout or something down the line. Despite what movies and books would have you believe, you didn't remember every single detail. Usually everything just passed in a massive blur, and she would shake for an hour afterward. So she shook, and she may have cried a little, and she stayed that way until she heard the rasp of a key in a lock. The door swung open, revealing the always impeccably dressed Oswald.
It may have not been wise, but she didn't care at the moment. She practically flew to Oswald, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and burying her head in his neck. All that came out was a repeated. "Oh my God, you saved my life. Thank you, thank you..." She could feel his hands rise a little, fingers around her waist.
She didn't expect him to try and soothe her. What she expected was for him to make some comment about how he couldn't lose a piece like her, that she was needed for more information. But one of his hands drifted higher, curling around the side of her head. His fingers brushed at her tears, his voice rather low. "It's alright. Don't cry, it's all fine."
She hiccuped for a couple of minutes, but Oswald wouldn't let her back out of his arms. Once her breathing had returned to something that didn't resemble a deer running for its life, she managed to talk. "That would have been me, they would have shot me."
"I assure you, I would have never put you in that situation."
She brought a shaky hand up to his face, caressing his cheekbone. "Thank you, Oswald." She pressed her lips to his, and he responded by curling his arm around her waist to press her closer to him. There may have been a gasp of surprise in there, but it was quickly drowned out by a groan when she tugged on his bottom lip. He was rather nervous, their teeth clacked a couple of times but he proved to be more than able to make up for it with his hands. They moved from her waist up her back, then back down again and a little farther than her waist. When she pulled away briefly, he followed. She brough a hand up, pushing lightly against his chest. He pulled back, confusion in his eyes. Her lips didn't seem to want to work. "I need to breathe."
He blinked a few times, his blue eyes surprisingly bright in the darkness. "Of course." His hands fell away from her, and he moved toward the couch.
She caught up to him, put his hands back around her, and then joined him on the couch. Julia positioned herself so that she rested her head on his chest, even though that meant she had to drape herself across the arm of the sofa. She could feel him try and twitch away, but she grabbed his lapels to stop him. "Just hold me, no sex or anything tonight." She pressed herself against his chest, inhaling the scent of tobacco and alcohol that clung to him. "I just want you to hold me."
His hands were hesitant, whatever passion that had been ignited earlier having fled. But the feeling of his hands on her, his arms around her, it made her feel safe. Despite the things that Oswald had done, he'd saved her. So what if he was some strange form of security blanket, she wasn't shaking anymore, and she could feel herself nodding off. His fingers brushed her hair across her forehead, and that was the last thing she remembered.
