Ed hesistated to go home later that night. After planting the evidence and watching Jim get arrested, he drove around the area listening to the radio. He felt guilty. He knew something wasn't right at Arkham, but he didn't try hard enough to stop it from happening. Torturing someone into submission is barbaric, but because it was done to an 'insane' criminal, that makes it ok? Would anyone care if they knew what Oswald had been put through, or would they just look the other way because he somehow deserved it in their eyes? The nausea never went away, and as the time ticked on he became more aware that he had to go back home at some point.

He took a deep breath before opening the door to his -no, their- apartment. The first thing he saw was his boyfriend sat at the dining table, happily munching on a sandwich. Wearing Ed's clothes.

"Oswald, I'm back"

"Eddie! You're home, I'm so glad! You were gone for quite a while and I was getting-" he paused seeing flecks of blood on Ed's coat sleeve, his smile becoming a frown, "Ed, as your soulmate I have to tell you, violence and anger are not the answer. I am a changed man. Better. And you can change, too"

"Tempting offer.The thing is, the me I am right now is kind of hitting my stride. Oh. And I'm really grateful for all that you've taught me, and that bad stuff you told me about Jim Gordon has really payed off"

"It has?"

"It has. It helped me to create the perfect puzzle to get rid of my Jim Gordon dilemma. And it worked!" Ed grinned and pulled him into a hug, "No more Jim Gordon to ruin our lives"

He could tell that Oswald had no idea what that actually meant when he smiled happily, and pulled Ed into a hug, "I am glad I helped you". Ed slowly hugged him back uncertainly, still trying to get used to the new him. They stood in silence for a while just holding each other, then Oswald broke the silence. "Has that pineapple always been there?"

Ed frowned in confusion and looked over his shoulder, noticing the pineapple on a pair of old scales. Truthfully, he did not remember buying it, amd had no idea where it came from, how long it was there, or why. Noticing the look on his face, Oswald burst into laughter.

"Oh, Eddie. You're adorable"

______

Her soft hand traced Oswald's face as he sat beside her in his nightclub, a harmonic song playing through the building as the last few guests lingered inside. Her blue eyes sparkled with pride as she smiled at him, and his heart filled with the familar warmth of love.

"My baby boy, you make your mother so proud. Fate is on your side" She moved her hands to take his, and pressed a kiss against his knuckles. Her lipstick smudged on his pale skin, but Oswald only stared at her and smiled wide.

"Yes, mother. Soon we will find somewhere nice, and I can take care of you. We'll have a better life"

He noticed for a breif moment the look on her face that said 'I can take care of myself', but it vanished behind another smile "I do not doubt this"

Suddenly, the purple lights seemed to fade, and the music twisted into a sharp screeching sound like a wounded animal. Gertrude froze, unmovimg and unblinking as Oswald began to panic. Then, the lights cut out and everything was plunged into darkness for a beat, before they cut back on.

This time, Oswald was sat at the long dining table, tied to the chair at the head, in front of the fireplace. His mother sat a few chairs down frowning at him, bowls and plates of food spread out between them. His heart rate increased as he distantly recognised the scene, but found he was helpless against his bindings. "Mother"

"Why aren't you eating? Are you sick?" She tilted her head to the side, furrowing her eye brows in comfusion. "My poor baby"

"Ma-" Oswalds voice cut off, and no matter how much he screamed nothing came out. Not a breath, not a ghost of a scream. Nothing.

A figure loomed in the doorway as he struggled and silently screamed, tears streaming down his face as he watched himself move further into the room. He begged silently, hoping that by some miracle he wouldn't have to see her die again like he had during the time in Arkham. Hoping that the nightmares that began after her death would stop. But they never did.

The other Oswald stopped behind her, knife in hand, and looked him right in the eye as he went to stab her through the back.

But everything went black again.

The next time the lights cut back on was longer than the last time, but now Gertrude and Ed were standing in front of him with their backs facing him. Their surroundings were just emptiness, nothing but black. A void. But, despite the inky darkness, he could gaintly hear the sounds of waves and seagulls, and could faintly smell the sea.

He could tell it was his mother from her frilled, old fashioned dress, and her curly blonde hair. But something was off about Ed. He wore a bright green jacket that appeared to be covered in...glitter, and a dark bowler hat. His posture was different too. Upright, more confident than his Ed, and although he would occasionally see his soulmate stood in a similar fasion, it did not feel like him at all.

Suspicions are confirmed when the other Ed turned to face him slowly, glasses missing from his face and his fringe messily stuck out from under the hat. He grinned wide, "hello Oswald"

"Ed...stop that" He replied, an unexplained uneasiness pulsing through him.

"Stop what my dear?" Not Ed asked. He didn't seem to blink. He just stared. Something shiny was held in his gloved hands but Oswald couldn't see what it was. "Some try to hide, some try to cheat, but time will show we always will meet. What am I?"

"What? I-"

Before he could finish, Not Ed moved his arm upwards towards Gertude and shot her through the head. "Wrong!"

Her body collapsed and layed on the ground unmoving as Not Ed laughed down at her, then turned to Oswald still laughing, gun drawn on him. "I can sneak up on you or be right in front of you without you even knowing. But when I reveal myself, you will never be the same. What am I?"

A loud sound fills the void before he can even open his mouth to answer.

-

"Oswald!"

He jolted awake panicked, grabbing the close thing to him which happened to be Ed, who was nearly on top of him gripping his shoulders. His face felt wet with tears as he stared up at the man he loved, scared and conflicted. But those brown eyes were soft, unlike the cold eyes of his evil counterpart. He was safe.

"Are you ok? You were crying and talking in your sleep, and I couldn't wake you up!"

"I'm...I'm fine" He used his elbows to move himelf back on the bed so he was sitting upright, and wiped his face as he took a deep breath to settle his racing heart. Ed stared at him in concern, taking his hands to try and help comfort him and hesistated before askimg what had happened.

"Just a bad nightmare about my mother dying...and...and you were there. You were glittery and evil, and you killed mother before you went to kill me. It was awful" He pulls him into a hug as the smaller of the two trembled. Oswald resting his chin on Ed's shoulder with his arms wrapped around him, but he began to rub his wrist as a false habit. He was too used to being restrained during these types of nightmares.

The riddle kept pressing itself into the front of his mind, so Oswald just had to ask. "I can sneak up on you or be right in front of you without you even knowing. But when I reveal myself, you will never be the same. What am I?"

"Hmm...betrayal..." Ed frowned, "Where did that come from?"

"That's what you said to me before you were about to kill me..."

In all honestly, both of them knew Oswald probably would've become paranoid about what this could mean. Neither one could tell who this was directed towards. Did Oswald betray Ed, or was Ed going to betray him? However, Oswald did not become suspicious anout his dream. Sure, Not Ed had some similarities in the changes of attitude that sometimes showed up in Ed, but it was only a bad dream. Never in  million years would he ever hurt him.

Noticing that Ed had gone silent, Oswald moved back to look at him. He noticed the concern on his face, and how he was glancing off to the side ever so slightly as if looking at something. "Ed?"

"Hm?"

"Are you ok?"

"Yes...yes of course, I" he paused and looked at him, "What was this evil me like?"

"Um...he spoke in a deeper voice, acted more charismatic and was just more confident looking"

That only seemed to concern him more, but he didn't say anything else related to it. "It was just a dream. Go back to sleep"

_____

The next morning, the couple drove to Gotham Cemetery to visit Gertrud's grave. Ed, admittedly, hadn't been there in at least a week, which was something he felt bad about. Oswald stopped at a boutique store to buy some white lillies before they got there, and the two hardly said a word as they headed down the path towards her grave. Clutching the flowers to his chest, Oswald stood in front of the grave smilimg softly.

Ed stood by a few steps back, allowing him to finally have a more peaceful moment with his deceased mother. He watched as he placed the lillies down, sniffling as he stared down at her gravestone. "Hello, Mother...What a lovely spot this is. I'm so sorry I couldn't be here for the funeral. But I think you would be proud of me. I'm a changed man. Or... at least, I'm trying to be. To be honest, I don't know if I'm gonna make it without you..."

His voice cracked on the last line as he used his sleeve to wipe away some tears, not noticing as the man Ed had seen a week ago coming down the path. Ed turned and stared at him as the man looked directly at Oswald, and cautiously moved towards him. "Hello? I'm terribly sorry. I-I don't mean to interrupt"

"Not at all" Oswald smiled at him, and laughed softly as he saw the flowers in his hands "Lillies"

"Her favorite, if memory serves"

Frowning, Ed watched the exchange, becomimg suspicious of the man. How would he know Gertrude, and how would he be close enough to be visiting her grave more than once? He can't stop thinking about how they look very similar, but thats not logical. Oswald told him that his father died.

"Yes, they were...did you know her?"

"A long time ago. I found her again only in death, I'm afraid" The man moved closer and offered a hand,"Elijah Van Dahl"

"Oswald Cobblepot. This is Ed" He responded with a smile as he shook the man's hand, before gesturing over to Ed, but then Elijah looked at the grave and did a double take.

"'Cobblepot'? You're related to Gertrud?"

"My mother"

"Mother? You're Gertrud's son?" Shock filled his tone, and Ed instinctively moved closer to his boyfriend incase something went wrong.

"Yes. Uh, I'm sorry. Uh, how did you know my mother exactly...?"

"How old are you?"

"Excuse me?-" He took Oswald's hand for support as he began to sound a bit thrown off, staring down Elijah, who just repeated himself eyes wide.

"...31"

"31 years ago, yes. That's right. Oh, my God, she... she never told me!"

"Told you what?"

"That I had a son!"

Oswald stared at him in surprose, mouth open as he tried to say something but nothing came out. His father? This was his father? His mind goes back to the soulmate mark on his mothers arm, and he suddenly recognised the name. Elijah Van Dahl! Maybe the universe didn't hate him after all! Maybe good things do happen to those who reform. Too many questions clouded his mind, but before he can get a single word out Ed stepped forward.

"Oswald's father is dead. How can we trust you?"

"Yes, I understand the concern you have for him, but I assure you, I did not know this fact until this moment. I don't blame Gertrude for saying I was dead. That's better than saying his father was a coward" He shook his head and wiped his left eye, before moving his hand to his sleeve and pulling it up, "I do believe a soulmate mark never lies though"

Sure enough, Gertrud Kapelput was marked on his arm in cursive writing. He was telling the truth. Oswald walked forwards and stared at the writing, before up at his father with a smile, "your name was on her arm too. I-I can't believe it!"

The two grinned at each other, and as Elijah opened his arms for a hug Oswald flew into them and hugged back smiling. Ed smiled slightly at the sight, glad he was happy.

"My son, I do believe we have a lot of catching up to do. Would you two perhaps consider coming back to my house for dinner?"

Oswald looked back at Ed with wide, hopeful eyes, and he sighed knowing he couldn't say no, despite how he wanted to go home. That would be cruel. "We'd love to"