Birds of a Feather (Oswald Cobblepot)

Pin-Up Model

    Lying in bed in one of the rooms at Fish Mooney's, Oswald holds Trixie in his arms. She looked so tired last night. So tired and...sad. Why? She now sees him as some sort of villain, what made her think this way?

Someone must have convinced her otherwise. Someone out to get him. To take Trixie away from him. But who?

Oswald looks down at her. When she's asleep, in those brief, rare moments when her defenses are truly down...it becomes clear as day how much she loves him. Even now, a slight movement from Oswald causes her to roll toward him in her sleep. Her true desires only evident when she has no control. When there is no reason for doubt.

It could have been that Edward man that put these thoughts in her head, this mysterious rival suitor of which he's heard so much about. Or perhaps, it could be Detective Allen. According to Gabriel's reports, the two of them have become quite friendly as of late. Trixie could never deserve a man so low, no, neither man would suit her at all.

Oswald's eyebrows immediately turn down in worry as Trixie begins to wake. For a second, as her eyes peek open, she looks up at him and the hint of a smile appears on her face. This moment of joy ends all too soon as the smile fades, and she turns away from him.

"I need to get to work," she tells him, as she starts to climb out of bed.

On instinct, Oswald grabs her by the waist, "Of course...in a moment."

Her back presses against his bare chest. Unclothed as well, Trixie hides her body with the bedsheets. She becomes motionless, her head tilted down and her arms limp. Oswald tightens his grip on her, but this only seems to cause her body to become more lifeless.

He must save her from this delusional slump. He knows this in his heart. He must find the man responsible and humiliate him. Killing him would be the simplistic answer, and perhaps the day would come to where he would kill him. But before that, something far more important must happen. He must prove his superiority to Trixie by bringing this other man to his knees, physically or otherwise.

Trixie starts grabbing her clothes from off of the bed and putting them on. Oswald frowns, her defenses are back up, no more of the sweet Trixie he'd spent the night with.

She's fully dressed and almost out the door when she turns around to look back at him. While her frown doesn't let up, it softens, just a bit. She walks back over to Oswald and kisses him on the forehead.

"I'll see you after work, okay?" she tells him, scruffling up his hair with an affectionate hand.

Oswald can't help but blush as she walks out the door. There's hope for their love, more hope than he'd thought.

It's still early morning as I climb the fire escape leading to Barbara and Renee's hotel room with a camera. Peeking into the window, I spot that they're both still in bed, but I shy away as their conversation becomes loud and clear to me.

"We shouldn't have kicked Natalie out. Now she's vulnerable, who knows what Falcone and Penguin could do to her," Barbara mumbles, shaking her head.

"It was a right thing to do," Renee assures her, "she means well but her criminal connections make her dangerous-"

"Oh, and mine aren't? Like my parents weren't willing to...kill me...back when we confronted the Court," she counters.

Renee sits up and rolls over, revealing her black lace bra as she looks Barbara in the eye, "...you're different."

They kiss, and I take this as a perfect moment to snap a picture. As soon as the flash initiates, I make a run for it, as Renee runs to the window to look for someone. But she finds only an empty fire escape, as I hang on the floor below, my hands gripping the grates and my feet supported by notches on the brick wall.