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juice-box-boy1 · 3 years ago

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night shift - edward nashton / the riddler x reader

a/n: so guess who watched the batman lmaoooo, so here u go bc this had to leave my brain and it's the most i've written and dont know if i hate it but paul dano <3

summary: after meeting a mysterious man at work, you slowly fall for him and it leads to more but something makes your daydream end….

tw: angst, ooc edward/riddler, spoilers for the batman 2022

wordcount: 2,009

The dinner was always quiet. There were a small handful of people, nothing out of the ordinary. Regulars were in their places, other customers a bit chatty, the cooks in the kitchen, and the other waiters. Taking the night shift was dangerous, it always was in Gotham. But, the fear of “the riddler”, the new villain, was circulating, you knew you wouldn’t be affected by it. You were just a simple waitress, yet you worked a block down from the infamous club the iceberg lounge, it was mostly non-political club go-ers, drunk girls, and some occasional workers like bartenders who entered. You mostly kept to yourself when it happened, they weren’t stupid to start anything.

The sound of the door’s bell ringing caught your attention. Tonight it was calmer and fewer people. It was just you and one cook, there stood awkwardly a man who looked like he kept to himself a lot and didn’t get a good look of him. He took a seat at the counter, head down as you walked up to him.

“Hello, what can I get yo–”

“Coffee, please…” he replied a bit too quickly

You placed the mug in front of him and poured him a cup “sorry we only have regular, just wanted to tell you” laughing a bit, causing him to look up at you and finally seeing a clear look at him, he had clear round glasses and cute hair. He gave you a confused look, like someone was finally giving him attention, recognition.

“Uh, yeah” he uttered almost a whisper, you smiled at him as you walked away and handled other customers. Busy with working you didn’t see the mysterious man walk out a few mins later, change was set next to his half-drunken cup leaving you confused and yet filled with longing.

A few days had passed, the mysterious man hasn’t been there, news about the riddler's next moves had been on high which scared you yet you didn’t think about it too much for the time being. There was barely anyone today which made work boring but came with taking late shifts. You groaned as you leaned against the counter and placed your head down, what seemed forever you heard the dinner’s door swing open, causing your head to spring up quickly and see it was the mystery man. As casually as possible you fixed your hair as it was everywhere, feeling slightly flustered as he walked and sat over to the same as he was last time. Feeling somewhat presentable you smiled at him before asking if he wanted anything, it was a coffee once again.

You saw him drink it slowly, as you leaned against where the condiments were, which was from the opposite side of him. It was now just him and you (as well as the cook but he was passed out drunk in the pantry), the few who remained left and so it was just the two of you. A wave of confidence came over you as you walked over to him and held your hand out for him to shake, which was probably a risk, what if he was a weirdo, kidnaper, or even a killer.

“Y/N”

He looked around confused as if it was a shock that you were talking to him willingly but gave into it.

“E-Edward..” he shook your hand and looked down at his coffee nervously.

“Nice to me you Ed, what brings you up here at this hour”

“Couldn’t sleep..”

“I feel you, having insomnia isn't fun, which is why I took a job here if I’m gonna be awake not at least get paid” you laughed nervously trying to make a joke and having a common ground. He smiled and gave a small chuckle. Which spewed into more talk and knowing more about each other. Finding he’s a forensic accountant, how he had a hard childhood which he did dive a lot into. You both talked for a while until he had to leave, you were still on the clock. He paid and gave you a small smile as he walked you. It was the best time you had in a while.

After that he’d come by more often, knowing his order quickly which was always a regular black coffee, kinda allowing yourself to slack off at work. There were moments where you were a bit more friendly. Fixing his glasses, playfully hitting his arm, or picking something out of his hair which there never was but it looked so soft and so you made an excuse. You didn’t know how he felt, if he saw you possibly in that easy already, he wasn’t against you and the flirting from your knowledge. The news about the riddler was freaking you out more than normal, it was getting more severe. Edward was there as clockwork, luckily it was a short shift and there was only him there. You both proceeded as normal, talking, flirting on your end. It was the rare time your shift ended with Edward around he already left before it ended, you saw your co-worker Kathy arrived to take your place. Edward saw you as you clocked out and placed on your coat and purse. You walked over to him and was beside where he sat and smiled

“Walk me home?” you asked sweetly hoping he’d say yes.

“A-Are you sure?” he was taken aback as usual.

“Yes Edward, the whole stuff with the riddler is freaking me out a bit and it's a nice night,” you said while tucking a piece of hair behind your ear. His face changed quickly, from unsure to an eerie cold expression causing you to look weirdly at him “are you okay?” he quickly changed his expression and looked at you.

“Yes… zoned out for a moment” you shook it off as he stood up. Finally realizing how tall he was standing next to you causing to get flustered for a moment.

You didn’t live far but you both took your time. Linking arms and being playful, laughing a bit too hard and just admiring his features as he did the same. The way how perfect your lips were and how pretty you looked in the moonlight. Soon your apartment complex was right infront of you and the fun was ending and you turned to him.

“Thanks for walking me home..” giggling as tensions were high

“No problem, anything for you” he rubbed the back of his neck out of nervousness as both of you were flustered.

You walked over and pressed the buzzer to let you in, in a spur of the moment you walked back and cupped his cheek helping him motion to where you were and placed a kiss on his cheek and smiled. You walked away with a smile as you heard the door buzz signaling in for you to enter. From that you and edward were something more, finally exchanging number which he was a bit iffy on buy yet again gave in.

From there it was texting as much as you can. You had school during the day and he was at work. On days you didn’t have a long shift he’d walk you home more regularly like a routine. The riddler had been more chaotic and you felt safer for him to walk you home. Along with that you and him became more intimate, peppering kisses all over his face, movie nights staying in, and when his work held him from you it was long phone calls. Everything felt at place especially in gotham. But it wasn’t until the day it all went to hell and tore what you both had.

He wasn’t answering his texts which was odd, he always did. You realized you were about to be late for work anyways, continued as normal putting on the uniform and coat and heading out. There was an odd sense of quiet and a lack of cops in your era. Yet continued to walk to work. Arriving you saw the crowd of cops and were confused, you saw Kathy at the corner and walked up next to her

“What's going on?” asked confused.

“The riddler has been caught…”

It caused a random feeling to rush over, running over trying to get past the crowd of cops. Seeing them walk out a man from the doors. Finally getting a clear look and seeing Edward… at that moment your world shattered and tears spewed out.

“Ed? Edward??” you cried as you couldn’t feel anything and your heart pounding.

He heard your voice as turned and saw you. At that moment his power rule was in control and you didn’t recognize him. You stood there hurt, confused, empty and the tears flowed down. Cops looked at you weirdly as others were ready to bring you in. commissioner James Gordon spoke to a mysterious figure as he walked over to you and was calm towards you as he brought you into questioning.

The questioning room was dark and gloomy. A cheap cup of coffee was placed in front of you as you sat there, tears still spilling. James walked in and sat down across from you, while you sat the batman stand in the corner as James questioned you. Through sniffles and blurry eyes, you told him of your relationship with him and how he didn’t seem out of the ordinary, yes he was a bit shy but it was nothing to you. The masked vigilante walked forward and it scared you.

“Are you willing to see him again…” his voice dark and deep.

You felt unsure of what you wanted to do, but ultimately you agreed. The next day arrived and you called out sick for work, you couldn’t handle going back there again. The subway ride was nerve-racking and made the anxiety worse. Arriving you saw the commissioner along with Batman, James leading you through security and handing you a visitor badge. It felt like an out of world moment. You couldn’t comprehend that the guy who was basically your boyfriend was the riddler, and he knew how scared you were, the reason this started in the first place was by walking you home.

You walked into the small area that was for visitors, it was badly lit and you saw the glass window that separated you both. Unsure if you wanted to stand or sit both options made you feel uneasy. The tension was already building in your stomach, you pulled out the chair and sat down and turned over to where the commissioner was standing on the other side, and nodded, signaling that you were ready. The metal divider rose slowly, seeing the white and orange striped jumper he was wearing. Seeing a collar around his neck and his hands cuffed. He was confused seeing you instead of the batman who they promised would talk to him. He noticed your tired eyes, flushed cheeks, and how he missed kissing your lips. He looked at you with sorrow and guilt. Both of you couldn’t speak, it was a solid minute until you took the first step.

“Just… why?” you spoke softly, quickly wiping away tears.

“You don’t understand, this is a part of some thing bigger”

“So I didn’t matter? During everything it was nothing?”

His breath started to get heavier as it look like he was starting to panic, looking around paranoid, hearing mumbling but couldn’t hear it well. ‘It wasn’t supposed to be like this’ was the most you heard. He started to get up and pace.

“Ed, just talk to me, please” pleading, as his screaming became more erratic and louder.

“THIS WASN’T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN” he screamed causing you to jump and have tears spill out. A pained headache was starting, holding your head in your hands as you cried quietly as he continued to scream. You got up as he yelled for you, wanting for you to come back to him. Walking out as his screams started to slowly fade away along with the memory of him.

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