With shaky hands, Ed packed up his backpack. He wasn’t going to get a second chance at this, so he had to get it right. Money? Check. Pocket knife? Check. Spare underwear? Check. Map? Check. He listened through his door, waiting for his father to turn off his television and head to bed. Though all he had only four short months till his eighteenth birthday, he knew his fathers tyranny wouldn’t end with his impending adulthood. The final destination wasn’t known, Ed figured that he would make that decision later. All he knew was that his first destination was about fifty miles away, so he better get to walking.
It was a cool evening, Ed was thankful it wasn’t too cold. The gravel crunched under his feet as he made his way down to the road. He turned to look at his house one last time, whispering a soft goodbye to his mother before continuing his walk.
Ed was surprised just how long twelve hours of walking actually was. By the time he reached his first destination, a sleazy motel called Sunshine Motel, he was more than grateful for any shoddy motel room they offered. He flopped onto the bed, kicking off his shoes before promptly falling asleep. Ed slept for a few hours, dreaming a pleasant dream. When he woke, he rifled through his backpack for a few dollars so he could buy a snack from the vending machine at the end of the hall. He padded to the machine, purchasing a honey bun and an apple juice.
Ed had a strong will, but the want for a hot meal was something he couldn’t deny forever. His stomach turned in hunger as he approached a pub in the middle of nowhere. He had been walking for three days without sleeping, he needed food and a place to sit down. The scent of the fried food hit his nostrils as he opened the door to the pub. An older woman led Ed to a booth, where he happily lifted his feet up on the other side.
“I want a breakfast platter. I don’t care if it’s bacon or sausage, oh and some water please.” He croaked, his throat dry. She nodded and headed to the kitchen. Ed watched the people who entered and exited the front door, when a small group entered. A blonde girl not much older than Ed, with her arm around a slightly older black haired man, and a bald man who was holding a duffle. The three were seated near Ed, and he couldn’t help but eavesdrop.
“...I will earn the money back tonight!” The bald man assured the other two. The black haired man sighed.
“You better, because we can’t afford to lose that much in one day. Make it back at the pool tables or I swear I will leave your ass here. Tell the waitress I’ll have a lemonade and a shot of vodka.” The man commanded before heading to the bathroom. The bald man rolled his eyes.
“He acts like I wouldn’t find you two, I found you two last time he tried to kick me out. If you ask me, he’s in severe need of some TLC.” He commented, doing a not so subtle jacking off motion.
“Don’t we all, but I don’t think Pengy is a fan of the do it yourself method.” The blonde chuckled. As the black haired man made it back to the table, Ed realized why she called him by that nickname.
Backpack in hand, Ed made his way to the pool table. Something about that group intrigued him, and he knew he couldn’t just go up and say hello. He had to trick them into thinking that they made the first move. Which he successfully did, as the blonde approached him.
“Little young to be in a pub this late cutie,” she commented. Ed chuckled.
“I could say the same for you,” he responded.
“Fair enough, I’m Barbara Kean by the way. What’s your name?”
“Edward Na...Nygma. My name is Edward Nygma, Ed for short.”
“Ed Nygma, like enigma? That’s cool. Well Mister Nygma, would you like to play a game of pool?”
Barbara fully intended on conning Ed out of his money, but she quickly changed her tune after playing pool with him. She made her way back to the table, where the other two men were enjoying their drinks.
“Oswald, we need to invite this kid to come with us. He’s all alone and he’s smart. We need someone smart, because God knows you two aren’t.” She said. Oswald looked over at Ed briefly before turning his attention back to Barbara.
“No one gets to join us until I meet them,” he stated before hobbling over to Ed. He watched the younger male, eyeing him up and down. Oswald didn’t generally find younger men attractive, but there was just something about Ed that struck his fancy. But he wasn’t going to let Ed know that.
“Barbara said you’re all alone. Why is that?” He asked, not bothering to introduce himself. Ed looked at the smaller man.
“Just trying to get away,” Ed replied simply. Oswald understood that all too well. He had been on the run for about a year, trying to get away from his former life.
“So, I assume she already offered you a place in our merry band of misfits? I know that her telling us about you means she already invited you along. Figures, we do have similar tastes.” The comment sent a hot thrum through his body, and he shifted to hide the evidence.
“She told me I’d have to speak to you first, but I think I’d be a good asset to your team. I can drive a car and I require hardly any sleep. I’m also really g-“
“Easy kid, this isn’t a job interview. You can ride with us until our next gas stop, I’ll make my opinion of you by then.”
So that was that. They paid for their respective meals, then Ed followed the group out of to their vehicle.
“Zsasz, you’re driving and I swear if you hit a huge pothole like last time I will stab you.” Oswald warned before climbing into the third row and sprawling out. The vehicle had typical driver and passenger seats, and three bench rows behind it. The third row was turned into a makeshift bed, leaving the other two rows for sitting. Barbara took the passenger seat. Ed sat quietly as Zsasz turned the van on and began driving.
Once Barbara heard soft snores, she turned to face Ed.
“He’s not usually a dick...okay that’s a lie. He just likes to act like he has no flaws because he’s so ashamed. But I can’t say much, without him I’d probably be stuck in some boring marriage.”
“This is your only shot at question and answer hour, so better rattle them off.” Zsasz chimed in. Ed had so many question, most of which were about the sleeping man in the backseat. But he decided on a different topic.
“Why do you guys do this? How long have you two been with him?”
Barbara nodded at Zsasz to take the question.
“We’re all trying to escape something essentially, but rather than moving somewhere permanently, we roam. I’ve been with his for about five months, Barbara for three. There have been people before us, and now you’re after us. Don’t worry, I know he seems threatening, but he’s a softie at heart.” He explained.
A smooth ride and soft disco tunes put Ed right to sleep. But his dreams weren’t so pleasant.
A young Ed entered his house, bright eyed and a grin on his face.
“Mom! I won the science fair!” He cheered as he walked into the kitchen, only to find his mother in tears. His dad snatched the certificate out of Ed’s hand, reading over it. Instead of congratulations, Ed was met with a smack upside the head.
“Our damn son is a cheater, no way an idiot like him could win any type of contest.”
He was woken up by sandwich hitting him in the face.
“Eat,” Oswald stated. They were parked at a rest stop, the fresh air filling the open van. Ed took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Either no time passed at all, or Ed had slept through an entire new day. He peered at Oswald’s face with blurry eyes, noticing his tear stained face. Upon putting the glasses back on his face, he also noticed the fresh bruising on his neck.
“What happened?” He inquired, and Oswald shook his head. The idea of Oswald hurting made his blood boil.
“How much money did you get from that trucker?” Zsasz asked, approaching the van with a bag of chips. Oswald glared at him and Ed immediately scanned the parking lot for any truckers. Luckily for him, and unluckily for the trucker, there was only one. Ed said he was going to stretch his legs before making a b-line to the eighteen wheeler. The trucker, with greasy hair and an even greasier smile, sat with his door opened while he talked over the radio.
“...and he took it like a little bitch. Said he’d jerk me off for twenty, but he took me in his mouth for ten. Probably woulda done it for free if I called him pretty-“ Ed had heard enough. He cleared his throat to get the mans attention.
“Can I help you?” He asked.
“You actually can, give me your wallet.”
“Or?”
Ed laughed, he only felt this kind of anger burning through his veins when his father hit him.
“I'm as light as a feather but the strongest of people cannot hold me for over a minute. What am I?”
“Did you just f*cking ask me a riddle kid?”
“Give up?”
The man paused and Ed took his silence as an answer.
“The answer was breath, something you’re going to wish you had taken more of.” He laughed as he threw the grimy man out of his truck and onto the ground, grabbing him by the throat. Ed felt a sick feeling of pleasure as he choked the last breath out of the driver.
“Pengy said he won’t hesitate to leave your ass he- what the hell happened here?” Barbara exclaimed. Ed was shaking, half-laughing and half-sobbing. He had never killed someone before, why did he enjoy that so much? Barbara climbed into the cab of the truck and grabbed the dead mans wallet before leading Ed back to the van.
“What happened to him?” Oswald inquired.
“I’ll tell you later, but we need to leave and the sooner the better.” Barbara responded as she hopped into the back seat, leaving Ed to sit in the passenger seat while Oswald drove. They took off like a bat out of hell.
Once Barbara and Zsasz were asleep, Oswald turned down the music. Ed quietly ate some granola.
“Why did you do that? He wasn’t worth it,” Oswald asked. Ed shut his baggie of granola.
“He hurt you, then I heard the way he talked about you. It made me sick, talking about you like you were some piece of meat.” Ed whispered. Oswald kept his eyes on the road. No one had cared that much about him. He had been used and abused by countless men, but no one had cared enough to confront any of those men; Oswald surely hadn’t.
“Well that was a stupid idea, he could’ve killed you.”
“Highly unlikely, he didn’t seem to be capable of long division let alone murder.”
The two sat in silence for a moment before Oswald spoke up.
“Thank you kid, even if that was a dumb decision.” Ed grinned at that sentiment. As the road dragged on, Oswald and Ed talked. They discussed films and books and everything but why they were running from their problems. When Zsasz stirred awake, he heard the two singing in unison.
“Shying away, I’ll be coming for your love okay? Take on meee-“
He smiled, glad to see Oswald in a good mood for the first time in weeks. They drove until the late afternoon, the group watched in confusion as Oswald pulled into the parking lot of a motel.
“While you three were sleeping, I arranged a little surprise. Tonight instead of the van, we are all staying here! Hot showers and beds for all!” He exclaimed. Barbara clapped. Oswald parked and headed to the front office while the three unpacked their items for the night. Oswald returned with two sets of keys.
“Okay, so one of the rooms has two beds and one has a bed and a couch-“
“Zsaszy and I will take the two beds,” Barbara chimed in. The two shared a knowing glance that only Ed seemed to notice. Oswald handed them their key, leaving Ed and Oswald by themselves.
The motel room wasn’t the worst Oswald had ever been in, but he had certainly seen better. While the bed, with its loud floral pattern, seemed fairly clean; the couch had definitely seen its fair share of bodily fluid. Oswald turned his nose up at the couch.
“That couch is disgusting, you can share the bed with me. I don’t take up much room.”
Ed wasn’t going to argue with that, the thought of sleeping on that couch made his skin crawl. Oswald offered him first shower, he gladly obliged. The shower was borderline scalding as Ed stepped in, but it felt so nice on his tired body. A small moan escaped his lips as the stream hit his back. He scrubbed his skin and hair, exiting the shower feeling like a new man. He wrapped his towel around his waist and stepped out into the room, only to find Oswald stark naked. Ed had thought men were attractive before, but never like this. His towel was doing a poor job of hiding his forming erection.
“I’m o-out now,” Ed croaked. Oswald didn’t seem to notice Ed’s discomfort, walking into the bathroom without a word.
But he did notice. Oswald pressed his back against the wall, trying not to hyperventilate. Ed looked too damn delicious, wrapped in that towel like a present. Not only that but Ed was genuinely kind to him, caring about him despite not knowing anything about the raven haired male. It was obvious that Oswald was becoming attracted to the younger male. He looked at himself in the mirror.
“Don’t fool yourself, you know he’d never love someone as ugly as you.” He whispered to the reflection. Oswald took his sweet time in the shower, god only knew when he would get to feel hot water on his aching joints. Finishing his shower and putting on his coziest sweater and briefs, Oswald walked into the room. Ed sat on the bed reading the back of a vodka bottle.
“Well, well, well what do we have here?” Oswald inquired.
“Barbara brought this in here, I was just reading the label.” Ed stated defensively, like a kid who was caught doing something bad.
“Ed, you know that I’m not your parents. If you drink that’s your choice, I started drinking as soon as I could reach the liquor cabinet doors.” Oswald replied, opening the bottle and taking a few gulps.
“Oh, so recently?” Ed quipped. So he was funny too. Oswald shoved him lightly. While Oswald got buzzed, Ed stole a sip or two from the bottle. He didn’t like the taste, but he did like how warm it made him feel. Alcohol was called liquid courage for a reason. The two sat on the bed watching a horror movie, sharing the bottle of vodka and the remaining half of a pizza that Zsasz and Barbara didn’t eat.
“This passes for horror? It’s laughable.” Oswald commented to Ed, who was polishing off the last of the pizza. Their hands brushed, and Oswald’s soft alcohol induced blush became more pronounced. Ed smiled at him, he decided to take a chance and leaned closer. Oswald’s eyes widened as Ed pressed his lips against his own, shutting his eyes as he leaned into the kiss. The soft kisses quickly turned to a battle of tongues and teeth, and Oswald pulled away with a gasp. Ed’s chest rose and fell, feeling a sinking feeling that he had done something wrong.
“Did I hurt you?” He asked.
“No, not at all. You’re just young, and tipsy. I don’t want to make you do something you’ll regret, especially because I can’t guarantee that I could stop if we proceeded.” Oswald murmured. Ed took a moment to think about his words carefully.
“But I don’t want you to stop,” Ed responded, though it came out more of a plea. He wanted Oswald on him, nothing else in the world mattered. Ed pinned Oswald’s to the bed, adoring his look of utter submission on his face.
“Tell me what you want baby, I’ll do anything for you.” Ed stated, his voice a husky drawl. Oswald was a little too stunned to answer, luckily his body answered for him. Ed palmed Oswald’s hardening member through his briefs, slipping his hand into the purple rayon to wrap his fingers around his co*ck. He had never touched another co*ck that wasn’t his own, so he just went off memory of what he personally enjoyed. Luckily for Ed, Oswald was new to the receiving side of pleasure and therefore was severely touch starved. Ed loved just how vocal Oswald was, relishing in every sigh and moan that fell from his lips. The smaller mans hips jerked upwards, bucking into Ed’s fist until his hot cum spilled onto Ed’s hand and his own thighs. As Oswald’s member softened, Ed removed his hand. He licked his fingers clean, smiling at the lust struck man.
“T-Thank you,” Oswald murmured. The men he usually made an attempt to seduce wanted nothing to do with pleasing him, but now he felt that he owed the young man. However, that was going to have to wait as the tipsy bird was becoming tired.
“I owe you one,” He added, kissing Ed on the cheek before turning to go to sleep. As Oswald lightly snored, Ed was wide awake. He didn’t want to wake Oswald up by turning the tv on, so he decided to go walk around outside. The outside air was cool and crisp, lightly jostling his hair. A piercing scream filled the air and Ed followed the sound. There was a young girl fighting a man for her purse. Ed ran at the man, pushing him to the ground. As the man tried to fight back, Ed’s fist met his face. All it took was one punch before the man dropped the purse and ran. Ed pushed his glasses up before handing the purse to the girl.
She was blonde and just Ed’s type: a little nerdy and naive. She smiled as him before putting the purse around her arm.
“Thank you, I don’t think I can say that enough. I’m Isabella,” she introduced. Ed smiled at her.
“I’m Ed,”
“Well Ed, let me at least buy you a snack. There’s a restaurant up ahead that has a pretty good cheese fry.” Ed wasn’t a huge fan of cheese fries, but something about Isabella’s smile made him say yes. So the two got in her car and headed to the restaurant, where they discussed books for hours. By the time the sun had risen, Ed had became enamored with her. She had even offered him a place to stay, a constant place to call home. Isabella reminded him of that warm and cozy family life that he had grown up wanting.
When Ed returned back to the motel, Oswald was just waking up. He could tell by sorrowful look on Ed’s face that something wasn’t right.
“What’s wrong?” Oswald yawned, wiping the sleep from his eyes.
“I-I uh made my decision,” Ed stammered, he couldn’t bear to look into Oswald’s eyes.
“Oh?”
“I’m going to stay here, I met a really nice girl and I think we really have something special.”
“Oh,”
Oswald had never been so hurt in his life, the one person he had ever developed romantic feelings and that was being thrown away. He hoped Ed was joking, but it turns out the punchline was Oswald’s heart. The group sent Ed off with kind wishes, per Oswald’s commands. As the new couple drove away, Zsasz and Barbara stood two steps back from Oswald.
“Boss, he didn’t mean anything. Just a stupid kid, you’re worth so much more than him.” Zsasz said, noticing how hard Oswald was digging his fingernails into his palm.
“I’m fine, let’s go.” Oswald spat, stomping to the van.
~~
Ed quickly realized how boring a domestic life was. Six months of day in and day out, the same sh*t everyday. But he dealt with it, because he had grown up wanting this kind of relationship. A happy girl, a happy boy, a happy life. That wasn’t the case, as Ed craved stimulation. While Isabella provided some mental stimulation, she provided little physical stimulation. Her opinions also seemed to often conflict with his, especially in the midst of the argument they were having.
Ed pinched the bridge of his nose, gritting his teeth as Isabella continued to gripe at him.
“All I asked you to do was fold the laundry while I was at work Ed. I do so much for you! I took you in! Away from that weird man that was obviously trying t-“
“SHUT UP!” Ed yelled. Isabella went quiet, but only for a moment. She always ended up caving, attempting to diffuse the situation the only that worked in her other relationships.
“I’m sorry Eddie, please just come to bed. It’s late, and I haven’t even gotten to show you the new nightie I got.” She hinted. Though he was enraged, he was also human. So Ed followed her into their bedroom. Though their love making sated a good part of his rage, part of it still brewed in the back of his mind. He decided that tonight they were going to take things into his own hands, quite literally. As he thrust into Isabella, he wrapped his hands around her delicate throat. Pressing down lightly, thoughts of their argument swirled in his brain. The more he thought about it, the harder he pressed down. Her soft groans turned to frantic croaks for any amount of oxygen. Ed rolled his hips as he finished, breathing heavily. When he removed his hands from her neck, Isabellas head slumped slightly to the right. He soon realized what he had done, quickly hopping off the bed and running to the other side of the room. Don’t lie, you wanted her dead anyways. She’s no him. A voice in Ed’s head said as Ed quickly disposed of the condom he was wearing and slipped on his pajama pants. He raced downstairs to get the phone, calling the only phone number he could think of.
~
Two hours later, a familiar van parked in the driveway of Isabella and Ed’s home.
“Where are we?” Oswald questioned, wiping the sleep from his eyes as he looked around.
“Zsasz and I are helping an old friend, you can go back to bed if you please.” Barbara responded, hopping out of the van along with Zsasz. The two headed into the house, and Oswald followed behind. The pictures on the wall quickly told him whose home this was.
“Why are we here?” He asked, following them upstairs.
“We help our friends, even when they are one night stands of our other friend.” Zsasz commented. The scent of sex hit Oswald’s nose and he grimaced, to say he wasn’t over Ed was an understatement. But seeing Isabella’s dead body on the bed made things slightly better. He couldn’t help but grin at the sight.
“What happened here exactly?” Barbara inquired. Ed sat at the other end of the room, staring at the body.
“I killed her, I choked her.” Ed said, his voice monotone.
“That’s all fine and well, but why?” Zsasz commented. Ed looked at Oswald, their eyes locking.
“She was talking bad about him,” he mumbled. Oswald blushed. Now not only had Ed killed for him, he had now killed because of him.
“You two go take the body and do whatever you need to. I need to talk to Ed.” Oswald stated. Ed had already wrapped her in the blanket, which made the job of carrying the body down the stairs easier. Barbara shut the door behind her, leaving the two alone in the room. Ed opened his mouth to talk, but Oswald spoke up first.
“So what? You call us to dispose of your girlfriend, now w-“
“Oswald I’m sorry.”
“Well forgive me if I don’t believe you.”
Ed took a few steps towards Oswald, whose arms were crossed like a pouting toddler.
“I really am sorry, if I would’ve known-“
“What? You would’ve loved me instead? Don’t kid yourself kid,”
“I’m not a kid, I’m eighteen now.” That response drew a laugh from Oswalds lips.
“And? I’m almost thirty. That makes me more of an adult than you.” Oswald responded. Ed pinned Oswald against the wall.
“You’re sure not acting like one,” he quipped. Ed pressed his lips to Oswald’s, half expecting him to push him away. Instead, Oswald melted into the kiss. He had missed those lips on his, he had missed every aspect of Ed. They quickly stumbled towards the bed, Oswald pinning Ed against the bed.
“You just f*cked her, but you’re already getting hard for me. Such a naughty boy,” he purred as he rutted against Ed’s knee. Ed kissed Oswald’s neck as the shorter man unbuttoned his pants and kicked them off.
“I’m not even going to take my shirt off, gonna f*ck you quick and dirty. After all that’s what you deserve, isn’t that right?” He asked. Ed nodded quickly.
“Find me some lube, then lay with your ass up.” Oswald instructed. Ed quickly made his way to the box of sex things he kept hidden in the closet, shedding his pants on his back to the bed with the lube in hand. He laid on the bed, his ass in the air. Oswald marveled at the sight. Opening the lube with one hand, he slapped Ed’s pale skin with the other. As the pink mark appeared, Oswald blew on it. The sensation sent a nerve up Ed’s spine and he gasped.
“You like that don’t you, tell me what you want you dirty slu*t.”
He coated his fingers in the cold lube, inserting his longest finger into Ed.
“I-ah I want you.” Ed moaned as Oswald inserted another finger.
“Patience, you’re awfully tight for a slu*t. Gotta get you ready for me,” Oswald whispered, lathering his co*ck. Ed’s co*ck was now erect again, which made Oswald happy. He smacked Ed’s ass again before lining himself up with Ed’s hole. He gripped the bed as Oswald inserted his co*ck head in.
“More,” Ed mewled, and Oswald happily obliged. Ed had never felt this full before in his life, and while it was slightly painful, the pleasure outweighed the pain tenfold.
“F-f*ck! You’re perfect!” He cried out as Oswald began to thrust. Oswald was certain that Barbara and Zsasz could hear them loud and clear downstairs, but he didn’t care. Ed didn’t even need to stroke himself, his sensitive co*ck was leaking from the feeling of penetration alone.
“You take my co*ck so well, such a good little slu*t” Oswald grunted as he gripped onto Ed’s hips, hard enough to surely leave bruises. The headboard smacked the wall as the two made love, the thudding noise mixing with the moans and sighs that were filling the room.
Four little words sent Oswald over the edge. He was staring at the wonderful sight of his co*ck disappearing into Ed’s perfect ass when Ed cried out the words “I love you Oswald.” Oswald came hard, filling the man below him. That set Ed off too, his co*ck leaking onto the sheets. Oswald waited until he softened before pulling out, his own cum falling onto the sheets. He laid beside Ed, their chests rising and falling in unison.
“Did you mean that?” Oswald inquired, his voice now a breathy whisper. Ed turned to face Oswald.
“Yes, I do love you Oswald. I love you so much.” He responded before pressing a kiss to the tired mans cheek.
With Isabella six feet under, the four others took the necessary precautions to make it look like Isabella simply ran away before loading the van up and driving away.
Sometimes a home is four walls and a family is blood relatives, other times a home is a van and a family is a sarcastic blonde girl, a bald man with a love of snacks and Polish women, and the love of Ed’s life; and Ed was completely content with that.
![The Runaway - daggersandribbons - Gotham (TV) [Archive of Our Own] (2024)](data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mP8/h8AAvMB+NzmkbcAAAAASUVORK5CYII=)