Deadly Games

[Edward Nigma]

"Uhhh," he said as he mentally checked his schedule. "I'm pretty sure I can make it Tuesday night," he agreed, smiling again genuinely. He thought ahead to the date and the smile became even broader. He bet she would look great Tuesday! He would have to have his suit dry cleaned and his car detailed. He lifted his eyebrows as that idea occurred to him. Maybe she would want to meet him there? Maybe she would want to drive them? He wasn't even sure what 'the rules' were though he knew they existed, mostly from overhearing the conversations of glossy-lipped twenty-somethings who read Cosmopolitan while standing in front of him in the Starbucks line. He wished now that he had eaves dropped better.

"Should I pick you up?" he asked.

((Sorry so short! I didn't have anything else to say lol!))

[Mary-Lou White]

Being the type of good old-fashioned country girl that she was, Mary-Lou wasn’t aware of any of the more updated and feministic views on dating. She wasn’t particularly fussed if a guy wanted to buy her dinner or if they split the check for example, and when it came to who drove where she couldn’t really say she gave it a second thought. When Edward offered to pick her up for their date (EEE!) she merely smiled, nodding her acceptance.

“That’d be great,” she told him, and it would be! She’d be able to fuss about the house and hopefully gush to her new flatmate and get her opinion on what to wear etc. before stepping out for the night. Well, Not for the entire night, that was. She definitely wasn’t that kind of girl! But, as innocent as her intentions were she was excited for them, and she flagged down a passing waitress to borrow a piece of note paper and her pen. Quickly scribbling her address down in her girlish handwriting, Mary-Lou wondered not for the first time since meeting Edward a short while ago at her good luck. The real reason for her being out and about was all but forgotten in the rush of excitement, and she handed over the note with her bubbly personality all but fizzing over.

“That’s me,” she told him unnecessarily. “If you let my doorman know you’re there, he’ll buzz me. His name’s Gary.”

[Edward Nigma]

"Gary," he replied, lifting the offered piece of paper in a gesture of boyish gratitude. "Great," he added, smiling broadly. He paused then, perhaps because he still wasn't sure how quite to behave, or maybe because he wanted to enjoy the moment a little longer. It was nice, simply having coffee, and a laugh, and a conversation. Most of the time, his coffee was very different; an effort to jam more weak into an already overworked body, to meet a deadline, to pay the bills. And laughs, well. They were usually in disbelief, bitter, or, let's face it, maniacal. Conversations were never, ever this pleasant. He wasn't quite ready to give it up, and for a moment he twirled the piece of paper between his hands as he, quite simply, basked in the moment.

But the promise of a repeat early next week made it possible, though not quite preferable, to tear himself away from his engaging new companion and her contagious cheer. So at last he nodded, as if finally coming to terms with the parting of ways, and he said aloud. "Tuesday night, then," looking back at her across the table. "I'm looking forward to it," he told her genuinely.

And then, he made a bold move, for him. He half-stood to reach across the table and placed a chaste kiss on Mary-Lou's cheek, the fingers of one hand lightly brushing her opposite cheek as if only to guide him. He was surprised by how pleasing the sensation of her cheek beneath his lips turned out to be, but had better control of himself than to try to turn the opportunity into something more. He was not some kind of barbarian neanderthal, after all. After the very brief touch he stood and gestured in a very brief goodbye wave. "Until then, Mary-Lou," he told her, by way of goodbye, although it seemed just a good excuse to put a name to the glowing feeling that now surrounded himself.

A bit of murder, a charming girl, this had certainly been the most pleasant afternoon he'd had in a while.

[Mary-Lou White]

She wasn’t used to guys acting this way – at least the guys in Gotham at any rate! She was met at work with snide remarks and sexual innuendo, and the men she met off the job were usually the kind of guy she saw on the job... eventually. Edward’s smiles and manners were, therefore, very much appreciated and she was unable to stop the undeniable blush that coloured her cheeks. When he leaned over the table she felt a little alarmed (was he going to steal her purse and make a run for it like her last date had?!) but at the soft and tentative kiss on her cheek Mary-Lou felt her eyes widen with pleasant surprise.

Feeling that little thrill in the pit of her stomach that usually accompanied her having bought a new pair of perfect shoes, Mary-Lou grinned but attempted to check it quickly, biting on her bottom lip in an expression that had exactly the opposite effect to the one she’d intended. “Bye, Edward,” she said as he retreated, giving him a friendly see-you-soon wave and waiting almost until he was out of sight to snatch up her cell so she could call her mother and gush.