eddie muerte baltimore log Who: Eddie, Muerte (part 2) Where: Hannibal door Baltimore When: fuzzily recently What: meeting up Warnings: baseball
“Nice thing to say. Wrong, but nice.” Eddie squeezed his arm around her and then felt his knees almost knock together from exhaustion and the jitters of coffee. She could feel him lean on her for a moment as he regained his balance, the weakness more apparent than he wanted it to be. He kissed her head again and then pulled her towards the bench behind them so he could sit. Once he was off his feet, he made a noise of relief and his expression zoned out for a half second as he enjoyed the simple pleasure of sitting. He waited for her to join him, patting the bench very close to him so she wouldn’t try to make more distance between them. “I’m at least ten different people, Muerte. I’m the only guy in Gotham that has stitched together storylines. I’m from a video game, a comic, a cartoon, a tv show. I’m a bunch of different question marks stuck in one man. On top of that, I’m a lot of different things to a lot of different people. My default setting is chameleon. But, I try really hard not to turn stuff off around you. I can’t be with someone and do that anymore.”
He smiled distantly at the thought of a comic book shop and a salamander swimming around in the back. Eddie would never be able to pry himself completely from Gotham, no one born in that city could. But, he didn’t want to be a bat anymore and he needed something stable, too. He spent so much of his life yearning for a slice of peace that he could always turn to when he needed to just be Eddie, not Riddler. He turned to smirk at her, at that awkward trailing question and he lit up despite the exhaustion. Happiness in his dark eyes that almost masked the lines of worry that had dug into his face. “We could have rotating pets. I heard about a program where kids can read to dogs and cats. It takes the pressure off of learning how to read and it makes the animals happy. I think Matilda would be perfect for that.” He glanced up. “Maybe find some old cat to live there permanently. Something old, friendly and a bit grumpy. Fluffy.”
She wasn't surprised that it had been the wrong thing to say. She still didn't quite wrap her mind around why, but she was working on it, based on his reactions to things. She was about to ask another question about it, but then he was leaning against her, feeling shaky and unsteady in her arms, and she was moving them back toward the bench almost at the same time as he started tugging her that way. It was a little awkward as they both tried to get there first, and she helped ease him down to sit before settling next to him, twisted a bit so that she could look at him while her thigh was pressed flush to his. The worry was obvious on her face, and she reached out to smooth his hair back, press her palm to his cheek. She did her best to listen as she checked him over, reaching behind her for the energy bar that was still there and pressing it into his hand. "You don't have to, around me. I know you have jigsaw parts." She didn't know what it felt like for him, being herself and the only one of herself. But, and maybe she was just finally able to put the thought into words, she wanted to be someone he didn't have to pretend around. Even if his pieces didn't quite fit together all the time, she at least told herself that she'd rather see those edges than have them glossed over by something fake.
It was easier by far to think about that possible life in Marvel. It kept growing in her mind, little details that slotted themselves into the greater whole. Like what colors the shop should be, what sort of pillow she wanted for her bed, the most important things to keep in the refrigerator so that they were always on hand. Thinking about it made something ease in her chest, and for as much as she didn't want to make the decision that Destiny was insisting on, she thought that maybe she knew what it should be. Not for anyone else, not because she'd fallen for someone, but because the thought of it felt right. She looked up at him and smiled at the spark she could see in his eyes even past the exhaustion (the exhaustion that the search for her had put there, and that guilt twinged again). It earned a smile of her own, gentle but true, and she nodded. "Matilda would love it. I know she would. Sitting with kids and not having to do anything other than be herself and soak up the love…" It made her smile to imagine it. Matilda would be so good with kids. She watched him and his own imagining, thinking about a shop cat, and she smiled. She couldn't help it. The talking helped to ease at least some of the lines from his face, and it made something her her settle in response. There was something good about it, and she was almost a little surprised at how warm it made her feel. She was moving before she thought too much about it, leaning in and up and catching him with a kiss while he was still talking.
Despite his earlier insistence that she take the energy bar and coffee and water and shoes, he was outright childish about refusing any of it when she tried to give it back. He gave a little hrmph noise at the energy bar, reluctant fingers wrapping around it as he frowned at her. It was as if Eddie was trying to prove he was some kind of door hopping expert or that he was tougher than the short, riddled man he appeared to be. In his mind, Eddie had endured a lot worse conditions before. Plus, even if she accepted his jigsaw parts, Eddie didn’t want Muerte to see him at this whole new low. Not when they hadn’t even slept together. What if she thought he was pathetic? What if she- okay actually he was starving. His fingers shook as he tried to unwrap it, though, so he gave up altogether.
He was about to suggest a dozen other things they could do with the shop when she leaned closer to kiss him. Eddie gave a muffled noise of surprise, eyes going a little wide as though he couldn’t imagine her kissing him. But, then everything clicked into place. His tired mind that was insistent that he’d never find happiness, even if he traveled across a thousand different worlds to find it suddenly shut up and he kissed her back without questioning it. The excitement he had for the comic book store and something nice in Marvel was wrapped up in the idea of being with Muerte. There was no doing it without her.
Eddie reached to touch her face and kissed her deeper. She could feel how much he missed her, how happy he was to finally find her. “We could go looking for a place now. I need a break from Gotham. I made sure the bat kids had what they needed. Arkham is still a mess, but I sent some experts in so I have time.” It was unspoken that Eddie didn’t want to be the one cleaning up a mess with Stephanie. He’d help when she needed it, but he didn’t want to be the guy she ran to anymore. He couldn’t be.
She didn't comment on the shaking of his hands or the discontent little sound at the energy bar itself, but it was easy enough to see the difficulty he was having. Her hands were gentle when she reached over, taking the bar from him just long enough to split the wrapper open and press it back into his fingers again. She didn't say anything about it, didn't treat it like it was a big deal, though there was a shadow of that same worry in her eyes.
And she should have let him eat the energy bar, but she wasn't able to stop herself from that kiss, smiling against his mouth at the surprised sound, and giving her own pleased murmur when he kissed back. When he deepened the kiss, she pressed closer, wanting more. She wasn't thinking of making changes to her very existence just because of Eddie. But she couldn't ignore the pull there, that he was at least part of it. When he broke away just enough to say something, to talk about Marvel, she kept herself close, lips pressed to his cheek and the angle of his jaw. But then she began to think about slipping over into Marvel, going on a hunt for real estate. And just the thought of it made her tired - and she wasn't nearly as bad off as she could tell Eddie was. "Rest first. We should find somewhere we can…"
She trailed off, new tension to her shoulders as she sat back just a bit, a look of realization falling over her expression as she looked at him with wide eyes.
Even though he was officially Justice League and that conjured up visions of strong men in spandex, Eddie knew he needed help sometimes. Also, his spandex days were long gone. He could manage his obsessiveness after years and years of training, but the panic and anxiety never went away. It was a quiet, timid little illness inside of his head that could render him mad or pathetic. Today it chose pathetic and Eddie was glad to have her there. She didn’t pity him, she just helped and worried and that was all he wanted. Eddie let her open the energy bar for him and put it back in his hand. “Thank you.” Two of the most sincere words in Eddie’s vocabulary. When he meant them, his voice dipped low, soft and serious. He could feel it from his heart, from the deepest part of his chest. It was so earnest he was almost embarrassed by it.
But, the food could wait. He stole another kiss between rest and somewhere and smiled at the weariness on her face. “We should just go back to Gotham, eh?” A smile for the irony of it and he kissed her again before leaning his side against the bench. “Or go stay in a hotel in Marvel, but that might be a little too forward of me. What is this? Third date? I guess that’s in keeping with traditions.” Eddie waggled his eyebrows (though not as dramatically as usual thanks his exhaustion) and he took a bite of the energy bar. “Are we good? This- I mean the kissing is a great indicator of your intentions...” He trailed off, letting her fill in the rest. Sure, she had told him that she was selfish and she wanted to be with him, but they still hadn’t actually talked about them.
She didn't claim to know what was going on in his head. Even if she once had claimed those sorts of things, she didn't any more. Or at least she tried not to. She sometimes knew, when they were in their own door, but to know and to experience were different. And she didn't have either of those when they were 'traveling'. There were bound to be missteps, but for the moment she saw it as her own hands being steadier than his, allowing her to reach out and help. The thanks were delivered in a tone she didn't often hear from him, and it made her lungs feel both too small and too large at the same time. All she could do was nod in response. And eventually find enough to whisper you're welcome.
They both pushed past the moment, and she shook her head. "You don't rest in Gotham." Not a general you, but a specific for Eddie. He didn't really rest when he was there, and she could see it on him. If they went back, he would get pulled into taking care of something and she would spread through the universe like she always did. The thought of going somewhere for sleep (though the thought of sleep in general was something new and a little worrying for her) seemed the better bet. "There's places we can go. The staff bungalow in New York or a hotel." She paused and fought a smile as she shook her head. "There are rooms with more than one bed, you know." Not that she truly thought that she wouldn't curl up next to him at the first opportunity.
She was almost reluctant to answer his question, the open-ended statement. Destiny's words still echoed in her mind and made her throat feel tight when she tried to breathe. But she nodded. "We're good. I want…" There was the sudden hint of flush to her cheeks, hard to see past the way the air off the water had already made her pink. It was at least partly an answer, even without words. "I want to rest and for you to be there, and I don't want you to get hurt. I can't have you get…" She shook her head, words stolen for a moment as thousands of awful outcomes, things she'd seen happen to people through the many many eons of her memory, rushed through her mind. It was harder to remember certain things when she was human, but each of those were crystal clear.
“I get a few winks!” Eddie protested and smirked happily at her like a kid caught stealing cookies. Oh, he’d dive right back into all the woes of Gotham and they both knew it. He’d keep tying himself up more and more until he was a ball of tangled stress that even she couldn’t help pull apart. “No, I don’t want to go back there. Selina is sad, I’m sad, the bats need to learn how to fly on their own and I’m not getting wrapped up in my ex-wife’s problems.” He made a striking motion in the air with his hand flat like a blade. It was decided. Still, he thought if she needed to go back to Gotham because the Endless thing was what she wanted all along, he left the door open for her. He didn’t push, even in his exhausted state, he refused to push.
Of course, that didn’t keep him from asking. No one could stop Eddie Nigma from asking questions. “Oh, no. If we’re getting a room together, we’re going to be in the same bed. I can pinkie swear on no funny stuff, if that makes you more comfortable. Well, most funny stuff.” He said innocently and took another bite of his energy bar.
Eddie tried his best not to stare intently at her as she tried to formulate words on where exactly they stood. He took her hand when her cheeks flushed (he missed that) and nodded along with what she was saying. “Listen, Muerte. There’s a really good chance I’m going to get hurt. We don’t know if your brother is right. We don’t know if sleeping in the same bed together will make Gotham suddenly light on fire. We don’t know.” Eddie shrugged. “But, I made my choice and whatever happens, I can take responsibility for it. I refuse to be afraid of the unknown.”
Eddie's protest earned an unimpressed look from her. She didn't need to be all-knowing to be aware of how much that wasn't true. She was about to shake her head, to push back at him over it, but then he was… agreeing. With her. And she nodded, glad to hear it - glad to hear that he would choose to take care of himself, in this particular way. She thought that maybe optimism would be okay, to think that with a little bit of time and space, people in Gotham could at least start to settle over certain things. And, it slipped out: "Someone else might be." There was no explanation other than that, no clarification about who or what she was talking about.
It was easier, better, to focus on the presence or absence of 'funny stuff', and she could feel a temporary smirk trying to twist at her lips. "Maybe a little funny stuff?" Her cheeks found more of that flush as she smiled and thought of what level of 'funny stuff' might be allowable at the moment. It sparked something in her expression, and she nodded.
But then they were back to serious things, and the smile faded as she held tight to Eddie's hand. And then, in the interest of full disclosure: "You know I'm going to turn into a guilty mess if Gotham actually does light on fire, right? I don't think I have the detachment any more not to let it affect me. And knowing that I could make it so it wouldn't happen, that's… tricky." She paused, looked at him, and laughed a little, shaking her head as she looked down at their hands. "I might be a little afraid of the unknown. ...Big, bad me. It should keep me away from this, you." She looked up again, and the 'but' at the end of that thought hung in the air unvoiced. "If you get hurt, I'm going to kick both our asses, okay?"
“Someone else might be what?” He asked and tilted his head to the side in that puppy dog confusion. Even out of their door, Muerte couldn’t help being mysterious sometimes. She likely wouldn’t even call it mysterious, she’d likely give him a look if he told her that. Eddie smiled at the thought of it and finished off his energy bar. His coffee was forgotten on the ground and cold by now, so he simply went for one of the water bottles he brought and unscrewed the cap. “I swear this stuff was meant for you. It was supposed to be a really wonderful romantic gesture.” He waggled his eyebrows at her and he took a sip.
“Oh, you like the funny stuff? Why didn’t you say so.” Eddie teased and the ease of his charm was slowly inching back with thanks to the food and water. “Maybe a little fooling around. Second base? A hint of third? I don’t know, I’m usually the guy who tries to hit a homerun the second I’m up to bat, so this is all new to me.” He leaned closer to kiss the blush on her cheek. Even if this wasn’t how he normally courted women, the riddled man didn’t seem to mind. Eddie needed someone that wasn’t like his last big relationship.
He watched her laugh through the possibility of guilt and through it all he didn’t think she was going to change her mind. He was selfish and she was, too. And, he didn’t think Gotham would really fault him for trying to find something good. Even so. “I think it’s going to be okay. Not easy, not all the time, but it’s going to make us both happy.” He smirked at her final promise and he shook his head. “Sure, you can kick my ass. If you can catch me. I’m a very fast runner.”
Both of her eyebrows inched up at the question and she smiled at the head tilt, and then she wondered if she'd maybe said too much, even as vague (mysterious, Eddie would say) as it was. She just shook her head in response. "I think it's a really wonderful romantic gesture to not pass out on me and make me haul your heavy butt somewhere else." She smiled and leaned just enough to nudge his shoulder. "I'm always going to want you to take care of yourself. This is good."
It was harder to tease him when his return words only made her blush go darker. She could actually feel her cheeks sting, fighting between the flush and what was likely a bit of windburn, and the laugh that slipped out was a little awkward. She'd been trying not to think too much about anything much past kissing, for all that it was part of the problem that kept them going in and out of Gotham. The laugh lingered in her words as she shook her head. "What even qualifies as a hint of third? I don't think that even makes sense." Her last words came out almost a little breathless, and thinking about it (even thinking about second) had her staring at him and quirking her lips to the side so that she could chew at the lower one. And a softer confession: "I haven't been thinking about it."
If anything did happen to Gotham because of them - because of her - the guilt wouldn't be as easy to laugh off. It wouldn't be like Dream, with her condemning the mortal half of the relationship. No, she was pretty certain it would end up with her blaming herself, and that would have a very different outcome. One she didn't want to think or talk about. "I wouldn't chase you." It came out with a smile. "I'd just wait for you to come back around." It was said with a smirk, like she knew that if she actually needed to catch him, that particular plan would work.
“You don’t think about it?” Eddie asked and he craned his head back to look at her. The softness of her voice only register a second later and he tried to shake off the incredulous stare. “Again, I thought the kisses were a good indication of-” He shook his head and looked away from her eyebrows up because he didn’t get why at first. Yearning for someone hurt sometimes, but it mostly felt good. Like a warm hand on his chest, like fingers at his shirt’s buttons. And, if he didn’t think about her like that, what was even the point? It took him a second, that fear of being rejected hanging high over his head, but then he got it. Like a lightbulb went off over his head. He turned to her and asked softly, “Because you’re holding back? Is that what you want?”
He shook his head because that seemed a step back from everything they had just told each other. It was possible that if he had sleep and real food and maybe a shower he’d understand what she was telling him a lot better. But now it sounded like he was forcing himself on her which was, of course, yet another one of his anxieties about dating. “Maybe that’s the problem. You can count on me to come back. To keep asking you out. I’m a romantic, I know. I’ve been told a thousand times before. And, frankly after the divorce I don’t know how I’m still like this. Aren’t people supposed to get jaded? I was trying to teach myself how to be, but you’re too damned delightful. And the kissing is excellent.”
The mood changed again, and she almost wished for the rush of her own awkward feelings, thinking even that might be better than the shift of Eddie's expression. There was no way to stop the blushing, especially at her next words, which came out confessional-soft. "How often do you think I've done this? I'm not used to thinking… I've had a few moments at hotel parties, but I don't know how to do this yet." She swallowed and shifted her weight just slightly. "The more human stuff is still trying to catch up with me sometimes. It's hard to explain." The next bit required her to look away because she wasn't quite certain she could say it while still looking at him. "It's hitting more often, though." Which was a round-about way to describe the itch to feel skin under her fingers.
She shook her head almost simultaneously with him, because what he was saying wasn't matching up with what she meant, and it earned a frown of frustration. "No, I don't mean… I didn't mean to make it sound like something bad. Just… you came after me. Even when I said to talk to Destiny instead. And you just kept... " She trailed off, hand coming up to push back at his hair, trail fingers down his cheek and press her thumb carefully at the corner of his eye. "You looked longer than you should have. I can't ignore that. And I don't want you jaded, okay? There's parts of you that are, but not this. You think I'd be like this over someone that just gave up on things?" It wasn't quite the right thing to say, but she couldn't take it back once it was out. And she couldn't stop the minor shift of her gaze toward his mouth. "The kissing is…" One side of her smile shifted up, the other was captured in her teeth.
“You make it sound like an illness, though I guess that’s pretty close to what it is.” Eddie said after a long moment of trying very hard to listen to her. Sometimes he could wrap himself up in his own thoughts so tightly that no one could get through, not even the most basic reasoning and logic. When he really listened, it wasn’t anything like the smart ass, easygoing thing he had when he was on cruise control. No, he angled his body towards her and his dark eyes went serious. It didn’t take long for the seriousness to fade, however, because what he mistook for disinterest was actually that innocence Selina was talking about. This was a first for Muerte, who was so used to having all the answers. Of course she was trying to keep the feelings down.
“I’m sorry.” Eddie said and he reached for her hands to squeeze as a way to show he was trying. He was trying so hard. “Every time I found you at one of those parties I was all over you.” He smirked, finally and leaned a little closer to her. “Did you ever have relations with someone at a party? It’s okay, you can tell me. I’m very good at keeping secrets. Though, I can’t promise to contain my jealousy, so you better not give me any names.” He teased and his mood lightened a little. Just a bit.
He closed his eyes when she touched him, leaning into her fingers as the explored his face. Eddie gave a small, funny little sigh and then opened his eyes when she started talking again. “I wouldn’t want to be with someone if they didn’t appreciate all the nonsense I do.” Eddie murmured and grinned as she tried to articulate anything about kissing. He really liked when she bit her lip and he had a hard time resisting that look she gave him. He tilted his chin closer to snag her lips in a quick kiss and then another that lingered. A whispered: “See? It’s not so bad.”
"You know I'm not trying to say it's an illness. I know there's people out there that think that way - that humanity is something sick - but I don't think so. She was grateful for the expression, even as intense as it was. It made her hope that he was hearing her, that he was maybe starting to understand a little more. Sometimes it felt like she was taking steps backwards, but as long as there were enough forward to balance it, to keep that sort of understanding on his face, she figured things were going okay.
Even if it was mostly okay, she still held tight to his hands, smiling a little as she shook her head. "You really weren't. Even when we weren't quite ourselves, you still had that tie to Stephanie. Even when the hotel tried to push it down for the night, it was still so much a part of you that you didn't…" She trailed off and shook her head with another smile, but then a snorty little laugh escaped before she could stop it. "Have relations? No, I'm usually getting hurt more than I'm getting lucky at those things." She laughed some more and shook her head, eyes lighting up just a bit as she smirked. "But once… Maybe just a hint of third." And then she was blushing again, laughing at herself as she looked away. "I don't know who."
She looked back up at his soft little sigh, watching him as his own eyes were closed. Her hand moved along the side of his neck, tucking fingers just under the back of his collar, and using that touch to draw him in closer. "Who doesn't appreciate nonsense? That's one of the best things about everyth-" He was right there, and she was done talking, responding to the kiss with a soft sigh and a press closer. The first kiss was too short, but the second earned a pleased little sound, a slight increase of her heartbeat, and a warm palm at the nape of Eddie's neck. And a murmur: "Never said it was."
Eddie’s eyebrows playfully rose as she trailed off and he smirked. He really did want to think he wasn’t such a good guy since Stephanie was absolutely miserable after the divorce and he was happy. So, didn’t that make him a bad guy? But, the truth was, the truth he tried to keep from himself, he would have never done anything to hurt Stephanie. He wasn’t the bad guy he kept telling himself that he needed to be and it was possible that one day he’d finally believe it.
Still the talk of parties and what she got up to at them completely ran his train of thought off track. “Third!” Eddie exclaimed after a second and laughed along with her. “Oh jeez,” he held his heart dramatically. “I told you I’d be jealous. I’m working very hard to get to third and some bozo gets it in one night? Agh.” Another faked chest pain for the sake of dramatics.
He smiled at that pleased noise that vibrated against his lips. Going weeks without even a hint of this had been killer for him and it took so much to not cover her with kisses when she appeared in his apartment those few days before. His fingers tugged her closer and he tried for a third kiss as if he were really pushing his luck. “Can we get out of here? Go find a really nice hotel in Marvel, get some sleep, get some food?” He said it like those basic things were extremely enticing.
So pink. She was so pink. Enough that she wanted to pull away and cover her face to hide it, but she was caught not wanting to actually move farther from him. "It wasn't…" She shook her head laughing a little at his dramatics. "Stop that. It was a hotel party! I think…" Oh, now she had to say it. "I had ears and a tail. I think they might have been partly to blame." She tried to meet his gaze, but it shifted awkwardly off to the side. "It wasn't like this."
She moved closer at his tug, glad to give up another kiss, but nearly in his lap by the time he pulled away to speak. The first few words earned a nod, and it didn't stop until he was done. "That sounds…" It sounded perfect, actually. At least for the moment, it sounded right. "I'd like that. A lot." Her expression shifted just a little at a new thought. "I don't know how well I'm going to do with sleep, but we'll see." Another nod, this one more determined than the last.
“You hooked up with someone while you were some catgirl? How is that fair? In what universe is that fair?” Eddie cursed the heavens and shook his head so sadly. “I never got to do anything at those parties. Not even once. The best thing that happened was a few women tearing my robot body apart and that- that is not something we want to get into. Not even Arkham can deconstruct that.” Eddie smiled brightly and then caught her small, awkward gaze and those soft words. His voice lowered down to normal Eddie instead of the question marked neon one he sometimes accidentally slipped into. “What this is happens to be a lot better than a hotel hookup. Not that I’d know from experience, but I’m making a very good educated guess.”
He moved to wrap his arms around her and pressed his forehead into her shoulder. Finally, that tension in his back and arms and neck was starting to unravel and it was about time too because it was almost about to kill him. “Yeah?” He perked up when she accepted his offer, a sweet and dorky grin on his face. “How are you not exhausted? Well, to be fair I think I’m riding this mix of my body wanting to shut down and some kind of high from being around you. Sugar rush.” Eddie touched her cheek, still rosy from all that blushing and kissing and confessing, and kissed her again sweetly. He was relieved even if all their woes weren’t close from being over. Gothamites like him had to learn to take little blessings where they could.
She couldn't help laughing at his indignant outburst, even as she was still so pink from admitting what she'd done (and almost done) at the hotel's party. "It's not my fault. I'm sticking with it not being my fault. I was using a Halloween headband to keep my hair back during a funeral prep, and then I was on a boat and the ears were real and I had a tail, and…" She shook her head, still smiling though the talk of him being a robot and being ripped apart dampened the brightness of it a bit. "Maybe the next party will be better for you…" It was softer, and after she said it, her expression flickered just a little, realizing how the words could be taken - that the next party would allow him to do some of the crazier things that sometimes happened thanks to the hotel. And while she wanted him to have something good, the thought of too much birthed a hard little knot of discomfort in her throat.
It was thankfully chased away by more words and more closeness. "I don't know how they compare, really, but this is good. Really." She turned just enough to whisper it into the curl of his hair. She wanted to move forward, to lean into those arms around her, but she knew that she wouldn't want to get up again if she did. "I'm faking it. I think I'm about ready to fall over." And she might. Not being used to a body's signs of when it needed to stop. But plenty used to the awkwardness and Eddie's ability to keep her blushing. The touch to her cheeks (and the insistence of a sugar rush) had her pressing a hand to his side and then poking her fingers in slightly. "Stop that…" It was just as soft as the same words had been at his apartment those few days earlier, hardly forceful at all. After that poke, she squared her shoulders and moved back with a sigh. A very reluctant sigh. "Okay. Come on. The sooner we move, the sooner we're there." She smiled as she stood, taking a moment to get her balance and shove her feet into the so-bright shoes as she waited for him. Her mind was already in Marvel, already somewhere curled up warm and sleepy.
“Oh, that party.” Eddie said and his mouth quirked mischievously. He hadn’t gotten up to anything at that party except spin around in a pretty dress and maybe implode Banner’s head. When she suggested that next time it might be better for him, he took her hand and kissed her fingers. “Only if it involves you. Otherwise, I’m not interested.” Said with resolute like he didn’t even think of letting himself get too crazy at some party. He knew sometimes there wasn’t a choice and that things could be erased and added by the hotel on a whim. “And, if something happens with you or with me, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” Eddie didn’t want to get into the complications that hotel parties could bring relationships, not while his brain wasn’t working properly, anyway.
He kissed her again, short and sweet, then stood up to collect the things. Water bottled, jackets, everything. He stopped and realized he had something in his backpack that he forgot to give her. “Oh, this was my secret weapon in case you rejected my advances.” Eddie slowly pulled out a knitted octopus in black with hints of color. He handed it to her and smiled proudly. “I’ve been working on that for ages in secret. The trick is to wait until I think you’re exploring a different door or preoccupied with something else.” Eddie stood up, zipped up the backpack and smiled widely at her. “You can name it.”
She wasn't expecting the kiss to her fingers, like something old-fashioned, and she wasn't expecting the words. The blush, that had been starting to fade, returned with a vengeance as she let out an awkward little laugh. "You are so cheesy." It came out as a whisper, but she was grinning as she said it. But then, like she felt it needed to be said: "If it didn't… you know I wouldn't be mad, right? The hotel does… whatever it wants." But she nodded, something worried but determined behind her eyes. "We'll figure it out."
Already starting to step away, she stopped and looked at him when he announced his secret weapon. It took her a moment to figure out what she was seeing (and why), and then she was laughing, reaching out to take it from him. Her fingers curled over the top of its head, thumbs in the tentacles to make them dance a little for a few seconds. Her grin was even wider than it had been as she leaned over to give him another kiss, quick but intense. "I love it." The wind was causing chaos with her hair, but she managed to push it aside just enough so she could get the octopus to sit on her shoulder. "I'll have to think about a name. I might need help."
Eddie shrugged at being called cheesy. He knew she liked it and that was all that mattered to him. As for what happened at the parties? Eddie couldn’t promise to be okay with her sleeping with someone, but he knew if the hotel took away everything except desire, she was probably some kind of walking sex bomb. Who wouldn’t be all over her? “I’ll blame myself if you end up with someone else. All my talk of baseball and kissing probably revved your engine.” Eddie joked because having a sense of humor about it was the better option.
The octopus was a true ace in the hole. It was incredibly cute, handmade and soft. Women liked all of those things. Eddie might have grown a little too awkward over the years, but he still knew how to charm ‘em. He crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side as she balanced the octopus. “See, he fits right in with your hair. I knew it.” Eddie wanted to take a picture of her, of her silliness so he could look at it later, but instead he painted himself a mental photo and silently vowed to keep it locked up close to his heart. “Maybe Craig? Craig is a great name.” Eddie smirked and then held his hand out for her to take so they could get a move on.
"You will not blame yourself if... that happens. You know that the hotel can't be controlled. And that there's usually some of us left over inside even when we're something different. Which would make it my fault if anything did happen." The words came fast and a little more forceful than they maybe should have been. She took a breath to get back on track and shook her head. She stopped herself from saying something for a moment, but then softly: "Well something is, at least." It was a tease, but there was maybe a little bit of truth, and she gave a little shrug.
"He's perfect," she repeated about the octopus. "And Craig is a perfect name." She reached out to slip her hand into his, lacing their fingers, and nodded with a smile. "Lead on."