"I suppose. I've often turned out to be the ultimate danger for the ones I cared about." Few and far between but Edward certainly didn't consider himself to be a good man. Moreover, he knew that he could not guarantee that he would remain in control of himself continuously, which placed anyone close to him in danger.
He walked away a few steps to grab them one of the metal carts meant for transporting these crates, stopping it in front of Jonathan so he could load it. "If it helps your fascination, I am also not good at positioning myself as the object of anyone's desire. Sounds fake, honestly. Even if it was not for Oswald's obvious flawed approach to it all."
"I assume you're very popular with men and women. You're handsome, you have a charm and you seem to care a lot when you like someone. That's what women on TV usually look for. Sometimes they look for jerks but they have Jerome for that one." Jonathan dismissed as he finished loading more chemicals to the trolley.
He paused, hands on his hips, looking at Edward curiously. "You have good facial symmetry. And nice hair. You would do well with others."
"Let's just say that luckily for the male and female population of this doomed city, there are options beside me and Jerome." Edward chuckled, shaking his head. "I don't know. I concede on the facial symmetry, although I'll also point out that you are my equal there. Your cheekbones and your eyes, they'd put you far beyond average."
Granted, he supposed he had a better physique these days, if they were going by conventions. Edward turned so he could face Jonathan properly. "Let me assure you that the only time men or women have ever been interested in me, it was due to my mind for the purpose of their plans."
Barbara, Tabitha, Jim. Oswald. Only Oswald had claimed it went beyond that. "With Miss Kringle, I courted her. I tried to become the one she wanted and, to her misfortune, eventually succeeded. And then, finally, there was Isabella."
He looked away, shaking his head at the rawness of the pain. "Whatever. Point is, I'm willing to give it a try. Oswald is a man-child, I'm sure his pettiness would be awakened easily enough, jealous or not."
"I remember hearing. The file clerk and the super creepy lady." Jonathan had heard abridged version of the tale while they experimented on drugs. Kristen was the one who he choked, Isabella was the second chance that got ended by Oswald. "You may not appreciate me saying this Edward, I get that. But for all of my ... lacking social knowledge and isolation, I still would say you dodged a bullet with creepy lady."
He was just saying. Jonathan grabbed the handles to the trolley and pushed it along the aisle, pulling a face. "You also dodged one with Oswald, frankly. You seem to attract overly intense weirdos. Fascinating."
"Is that why you are shooting your shot, as it were?" Edward said it teasingly, deciding to move along with the joking tone and not linger on the topic of Isabella more than necessary. They had covered the subject before in what they called therapy sessions and it left Edward feeling unsettled and unhappy. Best to not get into it right now. He walked next to Jonathan along the aisle, looking around to try and decide whether he needed anything else.
"Love is a weakness. I've concluded that before, then I was swept off my feet. I intend to stay on the ground from here on out."
"I'm playing pretend. I couldn't date you. Or anyone." He couldn't date, it confused him. But he could be nice and play with the pretty boy. Help him get revenge on those who wronged him. It was a fun date activity, honestly. "The closest I have had to dating if a strange evening with Jerome and Jervis."
And boy was that eye-opening. "When Jerome has whatever he's after and things settle, you and I will experiment with 'dating'. I guarantee the Penguin will break."
"Fair enough, lover boy. I'll prepare to romance you." Edward laughed, just a hint of giddiness, then he leaned in and kissed Jonathan's cheek. A bit more Riddler than Edward there. "Just be careful you don't fall for me. It's worthless to one."
He turned his head to check the time at a clock on the wall, then considered. "If we nab a car and load this in, we'd have time to hit a drive-through before we meet Jerome. I need to expose you to real food."
Jonathan felt his cheek more than he ever had, it was strangely burning and it felt kind of nice, actually. Not like when Jerome kissed him and it was all wet. No, this was nice. Edward was a fascinating man.
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He walked away a few steps to grab them one of the metal carts meant for transporting these crates, stopping it in front of Jonathan so he could load it. "If it helps your fascination, I am also not good at positioning myself as the object of anyone's desire. Sounds fake, honestly. Even if it was not for Oswald's obvious flawed approach to it all."
no subject
He paused, hands on his hips, looking at Edward curiously. "You have good facial symmetry. And nice hair. You would do well with others."
no subject
Granted, he supposed he had a better physique these days, if they were going by conventions. Edward turned so he could face Jonathan properly. "Let me assure you that the only time men or women have ever been interested in me, it was due to my mind for the purpose of their plans."
Barbara, Tabitha, Jim. Oswald. Only Oswald had claimed it went beyond that. "With Miss Kringle, I courted her. I tried to become the one she wanted and, to her misfortune, eventually succeeded. And then, finally, there was Isabella."
He looked away, shaking his head at the rawness of the pain. "Whatever. Point is, I'm willing to give it a try. Oswald is a man-child, I'm sure his pettiness would be awakened easily enough, jealous or not."
no subject
He was just saying. Jonathan grabbed the handles to the trolley and pushed it along the aisle, pulling a face. "You also dodged one with Oswald, frankly. You seem to attract overly intense weirdos. Fascinating."
Like a moth to a flame.
no subject
"Love is a weakness. I've concluded that before, then I was swept off my feet. I intend to stay on the ground from here on out."
no subject
And boy was that eye-opening. "When Jerome has whatever he's after and things settle, you and I will experiment with 'dating'. I guarantee the Penguin will break."
no subject
He turned his head to check the time at a clock on the wall, then considered. "If we nab a car and load this in, we'd have time to hit a drive-through before we meet Jerome. I need to expose you to real food."
no subject
Jonathan felt his cheek more than he ever had, it was strangely burning and it felt kind of nice, actually. Not like when Jerome kissed him and it was all wet. No, this was nice. Edward was a fascinating man.