Birds of a Feather (Oswald Cobblepot)

The Bro-lationship (April Fools)

    It was a long day when Oswald came home, collapsing into his bed. When suddenly, a knock was heard in the distance. He got up to check it and who else would be there than Ed? Of course he was there, he always knew when something was wrong. Without a word exchanged, they hugged tightly. "H-hi?" said Oswald. "Hey dude. Sorry for being so sudden. I just.. felt like something was wrong" Ed responded. Perhaps he lingered a moment too long because Oswald's cheeks felt like they were on fire when it ended. He quickly turned around hoping Ed didn't notice.

Ed let himself in, closing the door and locking it behind him, following Oswald into his room. "So what's wrong?" the more masculine one said, showing compassion for his dear best friend. "I just think today's one of those days" Oswald responded, sitting onto his bed. He pat the spot next to him, inviting Ed to sit down. With little hesitation, Ed took the offered seat. They talked about their days for what only seemed like a few minutes, but before either of them had noticed, it was dark out. They could tell because Oswald's mom was leaving to pick up his sister from a party.

"Wow, we're home alone" thought Oswald. The two hardly got to be together alone in private, much less on a bed. Although, by that point they weren't sitting up anymore. They had relaxed and gotten more comfortable. "Hey dude what are you looking at?" asked Ed. Oswald hadn't realized he had been staring off into the distance. "What? Oh, nothing. Just thinking" said Oswald. "What about?" Ed inquired. Not wanting to tell Ed that he was thinking about him, he asked if Ed would want to watch a film on his laptop.

They watched a few TF2 videos, as those were Oswald's favorite. Oswald slowly began to rest his head's weight on Ed's shoulder, so as to not make it quickly apparent that he was leaning on him. He wasn't even paying attention to the video anymore, he was just glad that his best friend didn't brush him off his shoulder. "What do you want to do now dude?" asked Ed, bored with watching youtube videos. Oswald turned his head to respond, their faces only inches apart.

"Don't look at his lips, don't look at his lips. Shit. I looked. Did he notice?" thought Oswald. "You're the guest here Ed, you choose." he promptly said, so as not to have an awkward silence. Keeping eye contact, Oswald noticed that Ed was in fact also glancing at his lips every so often, although less obvious. "Uhh, what can we do?" asked Ed. "Well, no one's home, so.." Oswald moved his face forward ever so slightly in hopes that Ed would reciprocate. "Stay still" said Ed, "there's something I want to try."

That was how their first kiss happened. And their second. Actually, it was how they ended up making out for the first time. They only stopped when they noticed the sound of the front door opening, both quickly jumping up and trying to compose themselves. Oswald walked to the other end of the room, pretending to look at his bookshelf. Ed laid on his bed, stomach side down. Oswald's mom walked down to check on them. "You boys having fun? There are some snacks in the kitchen if you want some." she offered. "Okay mom, we're fine" replied the son.

"Thaaaat would've been awkward" said Ed after Oswald's mom had gone upstairs. "Tell me about it" the shorter one replied. "So, did you enjoy it?" "What do you think?!" said Oswald, referring to his bulging pants. Ed grinned, but realized that it was about time he got home, so they parted ways to figure out what had just happened at a later date.

    "You seem nervous, Oswald," his mother notes, as she drives him to school.

Oswald has his hands pressing against his cheeks, slender elbows on his knees as he continues to stare downward. He hasn't spoken to Ed since their first kiss yesterday. Oswald could have messaged him at any time, but to be honest, he just didn't have the courage. While it's clear that the two of them both enjoyed the experience...what would it mean for their friendship? Would anything even come of it? Ed is usually the person Oswald would confide in whenever he liked someone, now he is the person he likes.

"I'm fine," he mumbles without glancing up.

As the car rolls up in front of the DePaul campus, Oswald heaves his oversized backpack over one shoulder before waving goodbye to his mom. Jumping the steps two at a time, he ascends to the campus entrance. Opening one of the glass doors, Oswald notices all of his friends hanging out in the open lobby, sitting on the green and blue stools.

Among the groups of friends, Oswald spots Ed laughing with some other freshmen. Should he approach him? He's with all those people, a confrontation right in public would be wrong, especially since this is a Catholic school.

"What are you doing here so early? There's no choir today," Natalie asks, approaching him with a skeptical tone.

Somewhat distracted, Oswald stares off at Ed as he responds, "Oh, hi Natalie."

He turns to her a gives her a crooked grin, flashing his metal braces, "...I forgot."

His friend raises an eyebrow, before turning to see Ed laughing with friends in the distance, "Oh...I see what this is about."

Oswald shrivels up his lips in embarrassment, as a knowing smile appears on Natalie's face, "Mhm, don't deny it."

"Well...I mean...it's not like I know anything for certain-"

"What happened?!" she shouts, grabbing and shaking him by the shoulders.

With Natalie being much shorter than Oswald, he hunches down at a sideways angle to whisper, "Yesterday, at my house...Ed and I...we kissed."

Natalie jumps for absolute joy, her legs kicking up as she bounces around Oswald, "Oh my god! I knew it! I freakin' called it!"

She finally comes to a stop, as Oswald puts a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, could you maybe...keep it down? Ed's right over there."

Just as Oswald points to him, Ed turns around and waves at Oswald. Oswald's heart sinks as Ed separates himself from his other friends to approach him. His breathing becomes rapid, what should he do? What should he say? What's going to happen?

From behind, Oswald's back contorts forward as Natalie starts pushing him toward Ed, "Go! Talk to him! Now!"

Oswald's able to get Natalie off of him just in time for Ed to park himself adjacent to his friend. The two of them stare at each other in silence, both of them trying to maintain straight faces.

"Now kiss..." Natalie murmurs, standing in between them.

Ignoring her, Ed breaks the silence, wrapping his arm around Oswald's shoulder, "Yo! How's it going, Ozzie?"

"Uhm...okay," he replies with confusion.

He's acting like nothing happened. Maybe for him, nothing happened. Ed has always been more open about romance than Oswald, maybe that was just a random, casual encounter between close friends. It didn't mean anything...but it meant something to Oswald. ...did it?

"Dude, I'm totally itching to get another Magic pack. Have you gotten a pack from the latest expansion?" he asks, making casual conversation.

After a little bit of hesitation, Oswald nods, "Yep. You know I spend all of my money on Magic packs."

The two friends walk to class together, arm-in-arm. But under the immediate surface of friendship, there existed something more, Oswald could feel it. But this wasn't the right time to make a move, but then again...would there ever be a right time? Is Ed really interested in him, or is he just quietly excusing what was otherwise an embarrassing moment? Oswald just couldn't tell.