Birds of a Feather (Oswald Cobblepot)

I Got You A Present

   I return from work exhausted. Hopefully drugs like Viper don't spring up very often, or else I'll collapse.

I open the door of my apartment to find Oswald sitting on the couch, holding a black box wrapped with a white ribbon. Was he sitting there the whole time?

"Welcome home, my dear," he gets up from the couch, and presents the box to me, "a present, for you."

I carefully let the box slip into my hands, his fingers grazing mine as he hands it off. I pull the ribbon off of the box, letting it fall to the ground. Upon opening the box, I gasp as the gleam of a pearl necklace shines against the light.

"Oswald...why did you-"

He chuckles, "What's a woman without at least one set of pearls?"

He takes the pearls and wraps them around my neck. Old-fashioned thinking aside, it is a nice gift.

We cuddle on the couch, his arms wrapped around me and mine around him.

“That dove that use to come by the hallway window doesn’t come around anymore,” he mutters to me, pulling my back so that it presses against his chest.

“Really? Maybe it passed.”

He shakes his head, “No, it must be getting its food from somewhere else now. That spoiled little bird. I give it everything it could ever ask for and yet...it still betrays me.”

“You did break its leg,” I point out.

He shrugs, “Yeah...but...it forced my hand. It was going to fly away.”

I reach around and remove the necklace and place it back in the box. Whether Oswald is intentionally making connections between me and his dove or not, it’s unsettling to say the least.

“W-why are you putting the necklace away?” he stutters nervously, sensing my unease.

He firmly grasps my arm, and I slowly turn to him, “Oh, I just, didn’t want to damage it.”

Oswald loosens his grip, but still keeps his hand attached, “I need to tell you something. I...I’m scared.”

I scrunch my eyebrows, this is new. When has he ever admitted to being scared?

“Scared of what?”

He looks down, “...I’m scared of...of...loss. Losing what I’ve gained. Not just you but...everything. My money, my power, Mother...I mean...before I can start accumulating more, don’t I have to secure what I already have?”

I place my hand on his shoulder, “Oswald...loss is natural, you can’t prevent it. For everything you gain, there is going to be something you lose as well. You can’t take without giving as well.”

He sniffles, the tip of his large nose a bright red, “Well, you’ll never leave me, right? I’ll always have you, my constant, secured, and guaranteed. Right?”

“Honestly...I don’t know,” I admit outright, “I can’t predict the future.”

There’s no way I’m promising Oswald forever at this stage, if ever. Honestly, I’m considering whether keeping him around is a good idea at all.

He lashes out, throwing his entire weight onto me, nailing me to the couch with his arms, his eyes red and watery, “Swear to me! I need to hear it! Please!”

“Oswald, calm down!”

He slowly backs off, sitting up, “I-I’m sorry. I stepped out of bounds. I apologize.”

I reach over, kissing him on the cheek, “Hey, your fear is completely justified. Just don’t let it get to you.”

He responds to my kiss, leaning over and kissing me on the lips, nipping at me until I’m in his arms again. He embraces me, holding me close, “I fear it already has.”