Smiling, Lee reached out and linked her arm with Ed's and pulled him in close. "Really? God, Ed. You're too good to me." Seriously, how was he such a good boy? She had a lot of trouble these days with boys - they all grew up, caught feelings and made her life quite difficult but Edward always kind of seemed the same. Sure, he hated Jim but Edward hated everyone. She didn't really think about it much.
"I missed you today." She always missed Edward in the arcade, he always won every game and then lectured her on which was rigged, how and where and what to do to overcome it. "I wish you'd come."
"Would that I could, but I was busy. Had to gossip about Lucius's dating life." In a manner of speaking, anyway. "He is probably still at the library with Victor Zsasz, by the way. I wonder what kind of books Victor reads. Strikes me as a comics type, honestly. He has that sense of whimsy."
It wasn't even an insult, just seemed accurate. "Apparently tomorrow Lucius will go to Victor's place after school. I guess you have to move fast in a seven day relationship."
"I'm so curious about all of this. I kind of hope Lucius knows what he's doing, he tends to but... I still worry." Lucius was sensitive and in his own world, he didn't always get that not everyone had good intentions. She just always hated being the one to break that kind of thing to him. "You know, I get it. I always debated dating Victor Zsasz for a week. Just curious, is all."
What would it even be like? How fast were his cars? Would he pay for anything? "If you go shopping with you, you get a lot of free stuff."
"So I hear. That's why they all want to date him, isn't it?" Edward frowned as he thought about it, actually understanding Lucius's curiosity in many ways. "I'm sure that isn't Lucius's intention, obviously, he has other motives. But either way, I kind of wander what's in it for Victor Zsasz. I mean, if he just wanted to--"
His face flushed and he cleared his throat. "I mean, it's not as if he'd have to date someone to-- Like, he always had girls around him. From what I recall."
"I think he just does it cause he's bored. I don't think he gets laid from it - I assume that's what you mean?" Cause none of the girls she knew had told her anything about having sex with Victor. No one even seemed to have tried that.
Coming to a halt, she pulled Ed to stop with her and made him turn around, frowning as she reached out to stroke his cheek. "You got hurt." He always got hurt but she didn't like seeing it, even if she knew it was inevitable. "Home or school?"
"Just outside school. Technically." Edward held still under her touch and then his heart hurt, because he wished she touched him for another reason than a stupid bruise, than that stupid sign of what a punching bag he was. "It's no big deal, Lee. Come on, we should get that ice cream."
Because it wasn't as if he wanted to drag Lee into any issue he might have with Roman Sionis.
"People are jerks." She sighed and nodded, knowing there was nothing she could do and picking fights on Edward's behalf didn't help either - been there, done that and got lectured by the boys on how bad it was. Never again. Even if she was itching to. She held Edward's hand in her own and blushed a little, not sure why she blushed when she held Edward's hand these days. She always did it - what changed?
"Eddie?" Lee hesitated to ask but she could never help herself. "Am I one of the guys or do you think I'm pretty? Just... I need a guy's opinion."
"You are a girl, Lee. Biologically and culturally speaking, obviously, you are not a guy. A girl." There, he could just rely on logic and maybe get out of answering her question. What was she asking, really? Because it felt like a trap. He held her hand, he didn't have it in him to pull away from her anyway, but he looked to the side, absently calculating how many steps it would be before they reached the ice cream shop.
"...you are beautiful. Of course. Everyone can see that."
"Figures." It wasn't that she was disappointed or anything that Edward thought that, it was nice to hear him say she was beautiful but she just had too many thoughts in her head to process them any more. "One day all the boys were my friend and they found the idea of me even touching them icky. These days, all the boys seem to want stuff, you know?"
Lee bit her lip and looked at Edward, feeling her heart race weirdly. "I wish I knew what I wanted. I think it's hard to know, isn't it?" She looked away, not sure how to talk to Edward without scaring him off. "Right now, I just want ice cream with Ed."
"Then you just get ice cream with Ed." Was it hard to know what to want? Ed found it easy, because all he wanted was to be with Lee. To be with Lee and not feel as if he would inevitably lose her to some intellectually challenged moron, just because he had no interest in kicking a ball or whatever the hell.
"Maybe one day girls will want stuff from me too, then I can be confused with you." He was not holding his breath. "Anyway. Ice cream. What sauce do you want as a topping today?"
"Strawberry. Definitely a strawberry dat." As they entered into the store, Lee hung back as Edward ordered, looking at her reflection in the glass and playing with her hair a little. When Edward came back, she hmmed lightly. "I'm considering shaving my head. I'm curious if boys will still like me if I do." She wanted to be sure that Jim would but sometimes, it was hard to tell. Especially when he was being a dumb boy with Harvey.
Turning to Ed, she smiled brightly at him. "Did you know that one day, you and I will have to get married?"
"What? Why? We will? Why?" Edward blinked entirely too much and too quickly, stumbling over his own words as he tried to see the trap, the joke. What was she talking about? He was still partially caught up on how she'd look just as beautiful with her head shaved, maybe even more striking, he didn't have the focus to know what to think of this sudden marriage plan. "What?"
"Because. When we were ten, I asked you to marry me one day and you said no. I asked you again and you said you would if I gave you my puzzle book in exchange. I gave it to you and you promised. If you don't marry me, I'm gonna be super annoyed. I lost out." Lee teased as she reached out and playfully gave Edward a small shove. She took a seat at the parlor and assumed Edward would eventually do the same.
"You'll wear a green tux, huh? Okay. Hmm. Maybe I'll wear a purple dress. Green and purple work."
"Green and purple do work." That much was true. Edward sat down next to her and tried to keep himself calm, which wasn't working so well. He took a deep breath, trying to get past this. Damn. "As long as you don't have a boyfriend who'll beat me up for proposing, I'll be ready."
It would be nice if this was anything other than a joke. Not that he wanted to get married right away or anything, but he didn't want to be a joke either.
"No, I'm into monogamy. You know, my dad really likes you. He thinks I should let you take care of me. How dumb is that? Like I need to be taken care of. Why do men always assume I can't take care of myself. I'm stronger than most guys." Lee complained as she got her ice cream, eagerly looking it over before she started eating it. Her dad liked smart people, he seemed to think Edward was smart so that was something. Her mom? Less so. She wanted her to marry nice and rich, ideally. Maybe a doctor.
"You could dye yourself blue and you'd still be beautiful. Of course. You have a pleasing skull shape, you have big eyes that would stand out even more, of course you'd still be beautiful with a shaved head." Edward licked his ice cream, not sure what to make of this whole entirely like of questioning. "I doubt you'll take your parents' opinions into account that much when it comes to choosing who to date."
He certainly wasn't about to consult with his father.
"Unlikely. I know what I want a for a boyfriend, I made a list. Well, I guess more a husband. Husband material is intelligent, funny and handsome. They have to make me laugh, do weird stuff with me, be smart enough for me and have a pretty face." That was all Lee wanted. Someone as odd as her but wasn't dumb or annoying. She wanted an equal.
She finished off another spoonful and then thought about it with a playful smile. "So clearly, I'm going to marry Victor Zsasz."
"Not if Lucius beats you to it." That joke at least kept him from obsessing over the question whether he was handsome or not in Lee's eyes, whether he could ever count as handsome next to the Jim Gordons of the world, because he was pretty sure he knew the answer to that. "Lucius thinks this is the best way to test his sexuality without breaking any hearts, but you should have seen his expression when Victor told him he had a library at home. Putty in his hands already."
"I hope Lucius will be okay. I worry about him, alone with Victor. He's ... I don't know, he's so sensitive. I want to protect him." Lucius was the sort of boy who never showed emotions, not really, but Lee knew when he was hurting. Never for himself, always for others. He empathised too much with people and that was always his downfall.
"After Sunday, we just have to be there for him, right? And hopefully we can make it all better."
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"I missed you today." She always missed Edward in the arcade, he always won every game and then lectured her on which was rigged, how and where and what to do to overcome it. "I wish you'd come."
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It wasn't even an insult, just seemed accurate. "Apparently tomorrow Lucius will go to Victor's place after school. I guess you have to move fast in a seven day relationship."
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What would it even be like? How fast were his cars? Would he pay for anything? "If you go shopping with you, you get a lot of free stuff."
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His face flushed and he cleared his throat. "I mean, it's not as if he'd have to date someone to-- Like, he always had girls around him. From what I recall."
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Coming to a halt, she pulled Ed to stop with her and made him turn around, frowning as she reached out to stroke his cheek. "You got hurt." He always got hurt but she didn't like seeing it, even if she knew it was inevitable. "Home or school?"
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Because it wasn't as if he wanted to drag Lee into any issue he might have with Roman Sionis.
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"Eddie?" Lee hesitated to ask but she could never help herself. "Am I one of the guys or do you think I'm pretty? Just... I need a guy's opinion."
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"...you are beautiful. Of course. Everyone can see that."
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Lee bit her lip and looked at Edward, feeling her heart race weirdly. "I wish I knew what I wanted. I think it's hard to know, isn't it?" She looked away, not sure how to talk to Edward without scaring him off. "Right now, I just want ice cream with Ed."
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"Maybe one day girls will want stuff from me too, then I can be confused with you." He was not holding his breath. "Anyway. Ice cream. What sauce do you want as a topping today?"
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Turning to Ed, she smiled brightly at him. "Did you know that one day, you and I will have to get married?"
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"You'll wear a green tux, huh? Okay. Hmm. Maybe I'll wear a purple dress. Green and purple work."
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It would be nice if this was anything other than a joke. Not that he wanted to get married right away or anything, but he didn't want to be a joke either.
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"So if I shave my head, am I still beautiful?"
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He certainly wasn't about to consult with his father.
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She finished off another spoonful and then thought about it with a playful smile. "So clearly, I'm going to marry Victor Zsasz."
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"After Sunday, we just have to be there for him, right? And hopefully we can make it all better."