"May I ask you a question, my dear?" The Riddler raised an eyebrow and wrinkled his nose, only glanced at the woman next to him for a short moment. She gently stirred her own drink with a metal straw. A small smile graced her full lips. The inventor took his own glass again and took a sip of the bitter Campari. He usually preferred other drinks on such boisterous evenings, but Oswald seemed to have some delivery bottlenecks due to the bad economy. Edward stretched a little and finally replied in amusement: "Technically this was a question already, but I don't want to be like that today and allow you one more. Go ahead, Selina, what do you want to know?" The thief chuckled, then sipped the blood-red cocktail in her hand. The Iceberg Lounge was unexpectedly full that night and literally overflowed with thirsty visitors. This was mainly due to Two-Face, who was looking for new henchmen and who was, provocative as Harvey was, conducted these 'interviews' in Oswald's club. The penguin let the former prosecutor have his way this evening – but only with an eager gnash of his rotten teeth. The black-haired man suppresses a burp. At some point all this gang activity would escalate completely and cause a gigantic bloodbath in Gotham City. The Riddler smiled at the thought. The clock was ticking on this delicate matter and everyone could feel the increasing tension between the gangs, but nobody dared to say a single word about it. It has been ignored or even denied, especially by the large criminals of the underworld. Harvey and Oswald also played this perfidious game a lot in public. Outwardly, the fallacy could arise that they were something like friends. That was, of course, total bullshit. Before Edward could think further about the intricacies of organized crime, Catwoman asked curiously: "Do you really think you are making the right decision, Eddy?"
The addressed person frowned and turned completely to his companion. The thief had crossed her legs and was staring at him, her green eyes boring deep into his blue ones. The Riddler brushed a sweaty strand of hair from his forehead and replied coolly: "Haven't we had the subject two dozen of times, Selina? Yes, damn it, I'm pretty sure." The black-haired woman clicked her tongue and tilted her head slightly. She slowly cupped her knees in both hands. The inventor turned his attention back to the Campari, but could still feel the intense gaze of the Cat on him. After a few seconds she replied almost teasingly: "I really don't want to attack you right now, but you shouldn't take such an important step lightly and rush it, sweetheart." Suddenly a loud roar came through the Iceberg Lounge, followed by unpleasant noises of breaking glass . Apparently a heated battle broke out between some of the foolish candidates. Typical. The tinkerer sighed in annoyance and hissed angrily: "Selina, I really respect your opinion, but you are slowly crossing the line of being ridiculous. I've been with John for over three years and we really thought about the marriage. I still think it's a shame that you don't like him at all, but that doesn't stop me from finally marrying him." The thief visibly rolled her eyes, then winced in surprise. A beer glass had thrown onto the marble counter out of nowhere and cracked apart next to the anti-heroine. Some shards slid across the bright stone. Selina snorted contemptuously and carefully wiped the debris from her side with a handkerchief. She ran her hair through her short, black hair and spoke sceptically: "I just don't want you to make a serious mistake. After all, we are friends, Eddy, and I can take the liberty of expressing my concerns. That has only marginally to do with Johnny himself. You're just not a type for marriage."
The Riddler chuckled, barely audible, and flicked a shard into the bar area. For this action he earned an almost withering look from the overwhelmed bartender. Edward chuckled softly and carefully placed his elbow on the counter. It crunched slightly under his dark green jacket. The black-haired man propped his head on his hand and replied a little more calmly than before: "How do you want to know that, Selina? I am a loyal soul and I do not dream of leaving John. He practically cannot find a better husband. Plus, I'm hopelessly romantic and I love this whole wedding-related show. It's a performance to my liking." The thief shook her head slightly. Her next question was hard to beat in terms of sarcasm: "Should Jervis also tailor you a pretty frilly dress for your big day?" The inventor put out his middle finger elegantly to his companion and growled loudly: "Absolutely. In pink with neon green, glittering highlights. I want to be the most beautiful bride in Gotham – wait, what am I talking about here? All over the world, of course! Sometimes I really wonder why we're still friends, Selina." The anti-heroine began to laugh out loud at this reply. She emptied her glass with two more sips and lasciviously waved the bartender over to her. He blushed at this gesture, his attention being solely on the black-haired beauty in front of him. Selina ordered a long drink and pushed the empty glass to the young guy. When the bartender prepared the drink with a happy smile, the Cat replied mischievously: "Who else in your small circle of friends has the guts to tell you the unvarnished truth in your face? In addition, we harmonize better than probably 90 percent of the imbeciles in the infamous underground. "
Edward couldn't help but chuckles with her. He added to this statement with amusement: "At least we haven't killed each other yet, although that has more to do with my clear superiority over you than a questionable sense of friendship. Even so, there seems to be a little bit of truth in your words." The thief, pretending to be indignant, sucked in breath and gently slapped the inventor's arm. He grinned a little wider and finally burst out laughing together with Selina. It felt incredibly good to laugh with the black-haired woman. It took almost a minute for both of them to calm down somewhat. Selina smiled amused and spoke calmly: "It's hard to imagine that we've been friends for over eight years. Time goes by way too fast." The addressed person shrugged and sipped at the Campari. The dispute in the club had meanwhile been resolved with sheer force of arms. Silence returned slowly between them. Both villains were again ignoring the overall loud music and background noises. Edward pulled his tousled hair. He stroked his three-day beard and mumbled softly: "There will certainly be a few more. At least I hope." The tinkerer was getting restless. There was something he had to ask the thief that evening. There was no getting around it. The Riddler was about to start speaking again when a strong arm went around his neck. Catwoman was also taken into a loving headlock and gently choked. An inappropriately loud voice nestled painfully in the ears of those present: "Mis amigos! Why are you drinking so slowly? Today we want to celebrate the imminent downfall of Joker together!" The two villains gasped helplessly in the firm grip, lightly hitting the attacker's muscular forearms. Bane finally released them and started laughing, giving Edward a hard pat on the back, causing the inventor to accidentally drop his glass. The muscle mountain apologized in a good mood: "Lo siento mi amigo. The next drink is on my name!"
With these words, Bane trudged happily away. The two friends looked puzzled and were speechless for a moment. After a while, Selina finally mumbled confused: "The downfall of Joker? That would be new to me. Do you know anything about it?" Edward shook his head. He ordered another Campari from the bartender and rubbed his slightly damaged neck. Bane was incredibly strong, even without the damn Venom in his blood. The tinkerer took a deep breath. His question still hadn't been asked. The black-haired man turned slowly to the Cat and began to speak cautiously: "I have no clue, but the clown doesn't interest me at the moment. My thoughts are completely somewhere else and ... " The inventor stopped abruptly. It was unlikely that she would say yes. Selina frowned and probed: "And where exactly are you right now with your thoughts, Eddy?" The Riddler was getting queasy. The Campari on the counter from the poor bartender came in handy. Edward took a sip and played with an ice cube in his mouth, then slid it back into the glass. Why did he actually bother to ask the thief? The answer would be no. He sighed softly and hesitantly replied: "My thoughts are with John and our wedding, you know. And that's why we're here today, Selina. I wanted to ask you something. In person, of course." Catwoman slowly set her glass down and waited patiently for the question. It was slowly starting to shine in her eyes. Apparently her curiosity was aroused and tied to a certain expectation.
The tinkerer took a very deep breath and turned back to his companion: "I wanted to ask you if you – well, you know. I mean – oh fuck it. Selina, would you like to be my maid of honour?" The anti-heroine's mouth opened slowly. At that moment she seemed speechless. As if on command, the music took an uncomfortably long pause. Edward blushed suddenly and struggled to keep eye contact with the Cat. The 'No' would come. Absolutely. No question. How could he have believed for a moment that Selina would accept his request? The thief's calm voice tore him from his thoughts: "Yes." The Riddler was about to snort and apologize for his stupidity, when he froze. His eyes reflected pure confusion. The tinkerer stammered softly: "What do you said?" The addressed woman suddenly smiled happier than ever before. Small tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. The black-haired woman repeated a little louder: "The answer is yes." Edward could no longer hide his surprise. He asked cautiously: "Are you serious, Selina? You will do it?" Catwoman nodded at the question. The black-haired man blinked in surprise and forgot to breathe for a moment. Gradually he broke out of the freeze and began to smile. The inventor spoke as if in a trance: "You actually want to do it. I'm speechless. Selina Kyle will accompany me to the altar. No lost soul in the underground will believe me." In the background the music had started to play again, as well as the loud conversations between the candidates and villains. Before Edward could say anything, his companion suddenly ordered champagne from the young guy at the bar. The thief grinned broadly and replied happily: "I can't let my best friend alone and, above all, without female support on his way into a happy marriage. That would be irresponsible of me." Two champagne glasses were filled with bubbly alcohol. The tinkerer was still stunned.
He rubbed his neck and replied almost tearfully: "Yes, absolutely irresponsible. That wouldn't occur to you in a dream, would it? You old hag." The anti-heroine chuckled in amusement and put her arms around the Riddler's neck. He returned the hug without hesitation, clawing his fingers firmly into the woman's shoulders. He tried convulsively to blink away the emerging tears. They held each other for almost two minutes when Selina slowly released the hug. The Cat took one of the glasses in her delicate hands and handed the second to the inventor. He carefully lifted his glass and shouted to his companion, overflowing with positive emotions: "To our friendship, a hopefully perfect wedding and many more happy years in Gotham City!" The thief smiled mischievously and followed the tinkerer's gesture. She let her glass bump gently against his. Together they enjoyed the chilled alcohol and the unusually beautiful atmosphere in the Iceberg Lounge. Both villains for that brief moment forgot the heavy weight of their lives, bathed in a rare moment of happiness in the sleepless city of crime.