Oswald finds out that Jerome expects him to host the group for a few nights at his house, to which Oswald insistently (yet politely as he could manage) told them it would not be a possibility. It had taken some convincing, but Oswald told them that the Falcone mansion would be empty after Sofia's parting, they could squat there. He immediately seeks out Martin after the brunch has concluded, the legion has dispersed, and he feels like he can breathe again. He finds both Martin and Victor in Martin's bedroom, Martin looking at a book while Victor cleans his guns. He gives Martin a quick glance over, just to be sure he's alright, then rounds on Zsasz with anger pouring out of every vein.
"Where were you? Zsasz, I asked you to keep him here with you!"
Zsasz frowns, seemingly ready to take on the brute of Penguin's fit. "One of those... crazy guys was bangin' around in the hallway. I went to take care of him and I told Martin to stay here. When I came back he was gone."
"One of the inmates?"
Zsasz nods, looking completely chastized, and Oswald sighs before turning to Martin. "Martin... I need you to listen when we tell you to do something, especially right now. There are some bad people that will be loitering around. You could have been hurt-"
Martin's tablet speaks for him, "Uncle Ed tried to call, it was important."
"Your safety is, by far, more important than a phone call, Martin." He pinches the bridge of his nose, then looks up at Zsasz. "Jerome-"
"Boss, I could kill that crazy little bastard, bullet right to the head if you let me."
Oswald shakes his head. "Valeska has a knack for coming back from the dead. Besides that, he..." Oswald trails off. "There's a history there. I owe him."
Zsasz looks at him curiously for a moment, then sighs with frustration, "Fine."
"Please, just keep a close eye on Martin for me these next few days. Make it your number one priority. I don't need you to follow me as long as I know you're taking care of him."
Zsasz snorts, says, "I'm not actually a babysitter, boss," but nods his head anyway with a playful scoff.
Oswald knew he would agree. Even if he might not explicitly admit it, Zsasz cares about Martin almost as much as he and Edward do.
Edward.
Oh, he's going to be so disappointed with Oswald. He gives Martin a kiss on the forehead, reminds Zsasz not to let Martin out of his sight again, and heads to his study to return Edward's call, not eager to talk about Jerome in front of Martin. Zsasz either, really.
Martin gives him a wary look as he starts to go, but Oswald doesn't stick around to ask about it.
As he hobbles from one room to the other, Oswald wonders how he's going to break the news... to Edward and to Zsasz. He hadn't even told Zsasz the full extent of it all, like his somewhat unwilling alliance with Jerome is some dirty little secret. Jerome has recruited him into a little legion of crazies and he plans to 'paint the town crazy'. Just how he plans to do that remains a mystery to the entire rest of the group. "Further instructions to come," he'd said-though, with a little more flare for the dramatic than Oswald's mind supplied.
Oswald hadn't been able to say no. Whether it was fear of the group, Jerome's reaction, or the fact that Martin was waiting in the other room and would be in danger, he was unsure, but Oswald hadn't felt like he'd had much of a choice. He's been roped into it and it's too late to back out now.
He's angry with Jerome. Not only for dragging him into a venture he'd rather not be a part of, but that he'd used Martin like that. He'd put Oswald in a position to be terrified for Martin's sake, and that was unacceptable on more levels than he could count. He's angry, but not stupid enough to voice that. Who knew how Jerome would react?
He enters his office with a huff, spins on his heel to shut the doors, intending to lock them, when he hears a cough from near his desk.
Oswald yips, turns so fast he might have given himself whiplash, and stares at Jerome, sitting in Oswald's oversized chair, feet up and grinning. "I was beginning to think you weren't gonna show."
"Jerome." he says tersely.
Jerome frowns, "You've been real tense all day, did you know that?" his smirk returns a moment later, and Oswald can see it's devious intent, "Stress of parenthood gotcha down?"
Oswald glares at him. "I want you to leave Martin out of this. Please, I can't have him put in harm's way."
"I'm not gonna hurt your kid," he interrupts, still frowning at Oswald. "Will ya stop looking at me like I kicked your dog? Jeez."
Oswald lets out a breath of air, a little of the tension in his shoulders releasing with Jerome's assurance that no harm would come to his boy.
"I think you should be careful... with whatever it is you've got planned, Jerome," he says stiffly, eager to press on, "I can't see it ending well for anyone. Especially for you."
Jerome eyes him for a moment, then breaks out into a giggle. "That almost sounds like you care, Ozzie."
Oswald frowns, "I'd rather not see you fail. I'll admit that."
"Yeah?" Jerome pushes up from the chair, side stepping around the desk to walk the few steps over to Oswald, leaning his hip against the wood as he smiles at him. "Anything else ya feel like admitting?"
Oswald blinks, admittedly a little startled by Jerome's prowling approach.
"...no?" he says, flusteredly confused.
Jerome grins faintly, but it's another humorless gesture, as he slides forward into Oswald's personal space. "I'll let you in on a little secret, Ozzie, just because it's you."
Oswald doesn't comment on the invasion of his bubble, but he does try to turn his body away to face the door instead of Jerome. But Jerome is quick. He rounds himself back into Oswald's line of vision, consequentially trapping him between the desk and Jerome's broad chest as he does so.
Jerome's grin widens. "There's a much bigger picture I'm workin' with. I'm not really banking on my plan either. This whole… paintin' the town crazy, it's… a distraction, we'll say. Leading up to the main event. Good ol' Jimbo's gotta have something to keep him busy. Bastard's always putting raisins in my cookies just before they can get into the oven."
Oswald frowns, "You already know you're going to fail? But you're still going to-"
"Taking the city isn't the point," he chuckles, and has just a moment where he looks almost remorseful, peering into Oswald's eyes, but he waves it off with a crack of his neck. "But let's talk about something else."
"Like what?"
"Like this stupidly feathery coat, for instance." Jerome grins, and tugs on the fluffy lapels. "Really makes you look like a bird."
Oswald tilts his chin down, a little to the side. "It was a gift," he says, and stupidly adds, "from Edward." before he can think better of it.
Jerome's eye twitches again. "In that case I think I'd like to take it off."
Oswald opens his mouth to complain but Jerome is already slipping the coat off of his shoulders, shoving it down his arms and onto the desk, pressing Oswald's thighs against the edge in the process.
"Kinda curious, why'd you wear that today ? You knew I was coming..." and Oswald can't help the little whimper that comes up from his throat when Jerome's mouth finds his neck, hands gripping his hips to tug him closer. "Unless you were trying to make me jealous, in which case, I can only assume you were looking for some hot, dirty, just a liiiiitle bit angry sex."
A strangled noise creeps out of Oswald's mouth before he can force it back down. "Jerome, we can't-"
"Because of riddle man," Jerone scoffs, intentionally playful but coming across dark and loathing.
"His name is The Riddler," Oswald says, frowning. "He's very sensitive about that."
Jerome snorts, "Ozzie, baby, I don't give a flying hoot. Actually... I think I like it better if it pisses him off."
Jerome's fingers have Oswald's vest unbuttoned before Oswald realizes, and slip under the hem of his pants to untuck his shirt before Oswald can protest. "Jerome, I said-"
"You didn't mind in Arkham." Jerome huffs, brows furrowed into an almost glare as he looks up at Oswald. "Why is this different?"
"Because my eleven-year-old is four doors down the hall and- and Edward -"
"So it is riddle man."
"No, it's-" Jerome rips his shirt open, and Oswald gasps, "Do you know how expensive- Jerome!"
Jerome's mouth latches onto Oswald's neck and he bites.
It's painful. Oswald remembers the few times Jerome had marked up his neck in Arkham, how the pain had accentuated strong bouts of pleasure at the time. Now it made him feel hollow. The pain stung in a way it hadn't before, like the skin was catching wrong… Jerome was biting wrong. It was all just… somehow wrong.
It was still Jerome and it was still Oswald. What they were doing wasn't any different… but Oswald…. He felt different about it.
Jerome slips his fingers into Oswald's belt loops before tugging them down in a harsh jerk.
The air in the room is cold against his skin and makes him shiver. Oswald tries to move closer to Jerome for the warmth his body could provide, but Jerome whips him around, bends him over the desk, and starts dragging his teeth down the skin of Oswald's back before he gets the chance.
Oswald squirms. It feels good, on some level; he's not exactly uninterested in the proceedings, but Oswald can't push past the longing he suddenly feels to be kissed.
Softly.
He thinks of Edward's lips on his own, careful and slow, how much of a contrast that was to Jerome and his harsh slams of teeth.
Jerome hasn't even given Oswald the courtesy of his fingers before the solid heat of Jerome's cock presses against him.
Oswald jolts, and Jerome leans over to whisper into his ear with a snake-like coo, angry and coarse.
"Has he fucked you yet?"
The words are like a bucket of ice-cold water raining down on Oswald, and the sudden reality of where they are and what they're doing slaps him hard across the face.
He's not in Arkham anymore.
Oswald doesn't owe Jerome.
He doesn't need him to feel safe.
Oswald is alright on his own.
Letting this go any further would jeopardize everything that Oswald has been working so hard to rebuild. Even apart from the fact that this would be yet another betrayal towards Edward, if he falls back into these same steps, Oswald will lose all of his progress. He'll be right back to the paranoid mess he'd become as soon as Jerome is gone again.
Transference, his brain supplies.
Oswald steels himself and his grip on Jerome's shoulders, and resolutely pushes him away.
"It's not Edward." Oswald says firmly, "It's me telling you very plainly to stop, Jerome."
Jerome scoffs, squeezes Oswald's cock in his hand with more force than is necessary to prove his point. "This isn't what I'd call 'plainly', Oz. You want it. Why are you saying no?"
Oswald stares up at him. "Are you going to force me, Jerome?"
Jerome's lips press into a thin, annoyed line. "Of course not," he snaps, glaring at Oswald, "I told you I'm not into that shit."
"Then please , Jerome, just-"
The door to the office swings open, and in rushes an anxious looking Ed. "Oswald-!" he starts, but falls dead in his tracks once he sees their rather promiscuous situation.
Oswald eagerly pushes Jerome back, spinning around to take up his coat and wrap it around himself like a shield. "Edward. Jerome was just leaving." He lifts his head with startled realization. "I came in here to return your call. I was just about to-"
"Martin texted me. He said you were in trouble... said there was a 'bad man' threatening you," Edward offers, his startled gape morphing into an insulted frown. "I see that he meant Jerome got in contact with you."
"I was going to tell you, Ed-"
"Bad man?" Jerome huffs, interrupting Oswald and raising a hand over his chest in mock offence, "And here I thought the kid and I were getting along like a house on fire." He smirks, "Which is pretty fun if you've never seen it before."
Edward bristles at the mention of Martin and glares at Jerome outright. "What are you doing here, Jerome?"
He chuckles, "You'd think that was obvious." and mozies up closer to Oswald, who becomes trapped against the desk, face going stark red in embarrassment. "I'm gettin' back my Ozzie bird. Can't find a lot of penguins in Gotham City ya know, kind of a rare species around here. I can't afford to let this one slip away."
"Get a cat." Edward bites out, and Jerome laughs.
He pulls away from Oswald slowly, hands still on his hips for the majority of the move, before finally releasing him all together to zip up his pants, staring Edward down with the cockiest of grins as he does it.
"They don't fit so well in birdcages," Jerome giggles, "Besides, I'm probably more of a dog person anyway."
Oswald tries to keep his head high as the wall of heat leaves him feeling cold and naked, hiding under his coat with Edward's assessing glare raking over every bit of him.
"Thanks for the brunch." Jerome says offhandedly as he's leaving, winking over his shoulder at Oswald in a way that couldn't possibly have not tipped off Ed, "Be seein' ya real soon."
He stops just before reaching the door, almost shoulder to shoulder with Edward, and keeps his eyes dead ahead as he mutters, "Hands off my things, Riddle man."
"He doesn't belong to you, Jerome." he sneers back, eyes icy and stare hard as stone.
"Aaaaaaaand that's your way of sayin' you still haven't hit that yet." He chuckles, "You had half a fuckin' year and you still couldn't get into his pants? I've been here for like, three hours." He smirks, pivots around and shoots finger guns at Oswald with a cheery, "Later, babes!" before walking backward out the door.
Edward's fists are clenched at his sides and he lets out a sharp, angry breath before coming over to Oswald, who's wrapped himself up even tighter in the oversized coat, overwhelmed with humiliation and embarrassment.
"Are you alright?" he asks, tight and curt, looking over what skin he can see to check for any damage.
He doesn't ask Oswald to move his coat out of the way to look further.
"Yes... Yes, of course. I'm... I'm fine, Ed, he didn't-"
"Okay." Edward says before he can give any detail.
Ed looks mad. His fists are still in tight balls whenever they're not touching Oswald to look him over, and he's glaring at Oswald's sock-clad feet with disdain. Jerome had stepped on the backs of his shoes to pull him out of them earlier. Oswald feels so naked like this, in nothing more than his socks, hates himself for it, hates that he's been left this vulnerable. He's worried about how Ed will react. About Jerome being here, about the brunch, about what he'd almost walked in on. Most importantly, Oswald not having called him immediately like he promised.
Edward is silent for a while, and Oswald knows he's just taking a moment to think through his response. He remembers seeing this before, when Ed had been accosted with vicious media inquiries during the election and he'd needed a moment to compose himself. He'd almost punched a reporter that day.
Oswald hates that he's the cause of it this time.
"Oswald." Edward says seriously, brows knit together as he looks at him.
He gulps nervously.
"Oswald, I already told you that I plan to rekindle things between us... but I need to be able to trust you, and I need you to trust me if that's going to be a possibility."
The kingpin opens his mouth to reply, but Edward holds up a hand between them, "You had brunch with him?"
"He- it's... it's complicated."
Ed frowns, "And Martin?"
"In his room... I've instructed Zsasz to make Martin his sole priority until this..." he waves a hand in front of them, "whole thing is cleared up."
"And by that you mean, once Jerome's been arrested again?"
Oswald inhales sharply, but nods, hanging his head in shame.
"So you're not scheming with him?" Edward asks, almost hesitant, "I know he's got something planned, it's Jerome, but Oswald... whatever it is, it can't be good."
"He called a meeting of a bunch of people... that was what the brunch was. Edward, I swear it wasn't my idea to have it here. I got an invitation-"
"How long have you known he was coming?" Edward asks carefully, stiff as a board, like he's trying to wrangle in his rage.
Oswald tries to curl in on himself, tugging the coat tighter around his shoulders in the process, "I got the invitation on Monday."
Edward does the math, and his knuckles go white, "So the night that I was talking to you about telling me when things happen... when you promised you'd tell me, did you know then that you were going to lie to me?"
"Ed, I-"
"Oswald, did you know? "
Oswald's eyes are wet and his chest positively aches. Edward is looking at him the same way he'd looked at him after Isabella. He's angry, hurt... and betrayed all over again.
"There wasn't anything we could have done to keep him out of the house. I didn't want to risk anyone getting hurt-"
"But you still could have told me. I could have been here to make sure you weren't alone." he glares harshly, "Did you want to be alone with him? Was that the point?"
"Ed, no, I-"
"Did you miss getting fucked in Arkham so badly that you just couldn't wait? You had a fucking boner, Oswald, I saw it."
The words are like venom as they reach Oswald, piercing his flesh just over the heart, in for the kill. He knew he'd upset Edward, knew it wouldn't be pretty, but Ed had been so sweet and gentle as they'd been rebuilding their relationship that he almost forgot how he tended to lash out when angry.
Maybe part of him is impatient, he and Ed have been dancing around each other for ages now and have never taken it any further than a few kisses here and there. Maybe he feels a little unwanted or unattractive. It had felt good to be touched like he was irresistible again. He'd always enjoyed the feeling of want that came from Jerome, after all. Maybe he had wanted it all along and just didn't know he was missing it so much.
But none of those things really matter, he doesn't feel ignored as much as he feels cherished by Edward, and he's acting purely on the instinct to fight pain with more pain as he violently spits back, "Well I don't see you rushing to sleep with me. For all your talk about 'rekindling' you hardly touch me! How would I know if you ever planned to do anything else?"
Edward blinks, eyes widening with surprise, and Oswald quickly backtracks.
He doesn't really feel that way. He loves Edward's light touches, enjoys that he takes things slow and treats Oswald like a precious treasure to be doted upon. He shakes his head furiously and tries to fix what he just broke, "I mean-"
"I was trying to be respectful of you." Edward bites, "You were working through things and I..." he glares, then stalks forward in three mighty steps and corrals Oswald back against the desk again, "Do you want me to be forward then?"
Oswald's breath eludes him, "Edward, I..."
Ed leans over to kiss him, and Oswald is already breathless enough without having the air punched out of him like this. This kiss is rougher than any of the others that Edward has given him. It packs more of a punch; needy and desperate. It's commanding in a way, and Oswald can't help but feel like it's almost out of place on him. He knows Edward's doing this differently because he's angry, but it doesn't stop him from moaning when Edward lifts him up onto the desk, slipping in between his parted thighs as his hands slide beneath the coat and around Oswald's naked torso.
"I was jealous every time I saw you with him in Arkham." Edward growls out, abandoning Oswald's lips to trail a line down his jaw. "It was fine when it was just you and me, but then he came back. You let him come back," Edward spat out, "and he was all over you."
Oswald whimpers and tries to regain his composure somewhat, but as he attempts to move back to talk some sense into him, Edward pushes Oswald down until his back collides with the desk. A shielding hand on the back of his head kept it from crashing into the surface however, and Oswald focuses on that small gesture of kindness. Edward might be angry, but he wouldn't intentionally harm Oswald in any way.
That counted for something.
"Ed, I need you to let me talk-"
"No." Edward glares, "You'll lie to me again. You always lie, Oswald."
Oswald makes a strangled noise, clinging onto the back of Edward's shirt as one of his hands wrap around Oswald's erection. " Oh, please, Ed- "
Edward hums with approval and pulls his head back to see a mark over Oswald's neck that's still red, too wide to be from his own mouth. He glares at it like it's personally offended him, "I can't stand the fact that he undressed you, Oswald. The he got to touch you for months in Arkham. That you let him because you didn't feel safe without him . It makes me so angry."
"Ed..." Oswald groans, and tips his head to the side, Edward's mouth slotting over the little red marks that Jerome had left to replace them.
He bites down hard, attempting to make them deeper, to surpass however deep Jerome's teeth had sunk in, and Oswald wails.
"I don't want to share you with him." he barks out against the mark, lips grazing over the tender flesh with every word, "He can't have you, Oswald."
Oswald cums with a startle, embarrassingly fast, and he only gets a short moment to enjoy it before he's sputtering apologies, "Oh my god... Ed, I... I'm sorry-"
Edward drops to a crouch and insistently spreads Oswald's thighs, using his mouth to lick up all of the mess and Oswald can't believe it, jaw dropping open in shock. He's moaning loudly and has to bite down on his fist because Edward is swallowing down his soft cock, worshiping Oswald like he's been given such a privilege just to be able to lap up the remnants of his orgasm.
"Ed..." he gasps, "Edward you have to stop... It's too sensitive-" he groans, Edward's tongue licking lower, twirling around his hole, trying to go in, "Edward stop!"
Ed freezes.
He withdraws quickly but is slow to stand, arms floating around at his sides, unsure if he's still allowed to touch Oswald as he waits for Oswald's explanation or maybe even his rage. Oswald is quiet for far too long though, panting, trying to catch his breath enough to make real words, and Edward starts to pull back, looking utterly ashamed, "Oswald, I'm sorry, I-"
"No!" Oswald blurts out, and sits up on an elbow before he finally forces out the rest, "It's not... I want to, I just haven't... I haven't ever..."
Edward's eyes widen almost comically and his hands finally rest over the top of Oswald's legs, reassured, "...You and Jerome never?"
Oswald shakes his head, wanting nothing more than to let the floor swallow him up, wholly embarrassed to be confessing this now of all times. "We did things, but never that. I've never gone that far with anyone."
Edward looks like he's kicking himself as he leans forward slowly to place a gentle kiss on Oswald's forehead, "Oh, Oswald, I'm so sorry. I was angry and hurt... but I know that's not a good excuse..."
"Don't be, Ed. I... enjoyed that. Very much actually. I mean, if it wasn't apparent enough from my reaction… The circumstances weren't ideal, but I still… I want that. With you. Sometime."
Edward smiles, kisses him again, this time on the lips. The kiss is long enough that Oswald feels he should be reciprocating and nervously reaches for his pants. He wants to make Edward feel just as good as he did, the eagerness to please him born over a year ago, when he'd first fallen for him, still driving his actions. Edward catches his hand, and shakes his head, "Not right now. I couldn't let you do that for me after practically forcing myself on you."
Oswald huffs, "It wasforceful, but not forcing. I might have preferred a different context to the first time you saw me naked... but I still enjoyed it, and... I want you to as well."
Edward smiles lightly, and kisses the hand he's caught, "If you still want to another time, I'll take you up on that. But right now, I really want to get you redressed."
"What a terribly unsexy thing to say." Oswald snorts, a little amused.
Ed leans over him like a blanket, shielding him from the outside world, "I keep thinking about him undressing you. I want to keep putting layers onto you until I lose the urge to kill something."
Oswald lifts his hands to card through Edward's hair. "I'm sorry. I let it go too far..."
"I did mean it, Oswald." he says, lazily nuzzling at his glowing bite mark on Oswald's neck, "For as long as you want me, I'm going to be right here. He can't have you."
Oswald feels awful about getting so caught up with Jerome; about hurting Edward again because he'd let himself be ruled by his emotions. Jerome was never shy about paying Oswald any attention. He'd shown Oswald that he was capable of being attractive to someone. It had boosted his confidence somewhat.
From the start Oswald could plainly tell that Jerome liked him, and while he's definitely eternally grateful for Jerome and everything he's done for him... Edward definitely means more.
Edward was the first to believe in him. They'd built up their lives around one another more than once, and Oswald was looking to make this time permanent. The Penguin had a massive part in building The Riddler, and The Riddler was the guiding hand in reviving The Penguin. Oswald had learned that he was capable of love because of Edward, and Edward had come to accept that he wasn't a freak thanks to Oswald.
They were intertwined in so many ways, unable to ever fully detangle from one another's lives.
Oswald didn't want to.
Jerome wasn't invalid to Oswald, but he wasn't Edward.