Everyone Knows
Oswald Cobblepot/Edward Nygma, Edward Nygma, Oswald Cobblepot, Harvey Bullock, Lucius Fox, Leslie Thompkins, Bruce Wayne, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Alpha mating, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha Ed Nygma, Alpha Oswald Cobblepot, Alpha Jim Gordon, Mentioned Harvey Bullock Beta , Lucius Fox Beta, Lee Thompkins Alpha, Bruce Wayne Alpha, Episode Fix-it, Gotham season 5 episode 11, Mating at the worst time, Hot mess of a couple, Could they pick a worse time to get together, Non-Graphic Violence
Summary
It’s such old news, no one even comments on it anymore.
Two alphas, three personalities, all with questionable morals at the best of times. Add a dash of supposedly unrequited love and the fallout from that mess has always been inconsistently bloody for all parties in a five mile radius, whether they were involved or not.
Ed and Oswald arrive to help defend their city, things don't go as smoothly as everyone hoped.
Everyone knows....
EVERYONE.
It’s such old news, no one even comments on it anymore.
Two alphas, three personalities, all with questionable morals at the best of times. Add a dash of supposedly unrequited love and the fallout from that mess has always been inconsistently bloody for all parties in a five mile radius, whether they were involved or not.
Oswald Cobblepot and Edward Nygma had danced around and stomped on top of each other for five years. What had started as something sweet quickly turning sad, then vengeful, only to slowly turn back into tolerance, then respect, before finally setting on...friendship?
Honestly, it’s hard to tell.
In any case, they arrived at the actual end of everything ready to fight, to die for their city, and they did it side by side.
And then the grenade happened.
Ed will replay in his mind the moment he froze in the face of certain death for the rest of his life. They say your life flashes before your eyes, but for him it was only a litany of missed opportunities for happiness with Oswald.
Oswald, his…..mate?
Mate….
Mate!
Oswald, the obnoxious, sarcastic, loudly anxious, alpha that just threw himself on top of Ed to shield him from the blast.
Oswald, injured, screaming, bleeding in his arms.
Ed can hear Jim and Harvey yelling, it registers like white noise in the back of his brain. For the first time in a very long time Ed and the Riddler slam into each other and blend to become one mind. They have one purpose.
Ed’s going to kill them all.
He’s up and over the ramparts before anyone can move. The drop is fierce. The last thing Ed hears before the primal need to protect his injured mate fully pulls him under into a sea of rage is Oswald wailing his name.
“Oswald!” Jim Gordan snarls as he drags the injured alpha away from the ledge, “You can’t help him now.”
Ed doesn’t need help. His mate is in danger, the mate he has rejected and failed so many times. Ed won’t fail him again. Not even if it’s the last thing he does.
Bane never had a chance. Ed’s body slams directly into the mutated soldier. He slams his hand through the body armour and wraps his hand around Bane’s spine before ripping it out of his body and tossing it to the side.
He turns toward the nearest soldier, desperate for more blood. A bullet plunges into his shoulder. The pain barely registers to him but the action is enough to bring his enraged mate into the fray.
Oswald jerks out of Jim’s hold and throws himself over the barricade and into the fight. The landing is harder for him. Ed hears the snap of his ankle as the other alpha hits the ground. But Oswald doesn’t flinch, never stumbles, as he twists the head of the shooter almost completely off his shoulders.
They stand across the battlefield, frozen, staring at each other. Drawing in each others scent from a distance in large, gasping breaths. Oswald is….glorious. He could not have picked a better mate. Ferocious, violent, intelligent Oswald.
Oswald who stares at him with his remaining eye and smiles before pouncing on the nearest man and ripping him to bits while he makes sure Ed is watching.
Ed returns his smile before turning his attention to the remaining troops.
His mate is watching, and Oswald is long owed a mating display. Bloodshed, their own brand of romance, will have to do given the situation.
Jim is screaming from the barricade, begging them to spare the innocent. It’s annoying, but Ed accepts the limitation as creating a more complicated and impressive display of his worth as a mate.
Plus, it will keep Jim and his team from shooting them where they stand.
The battlefield is cleared with few issues. Those remaining loyal to Bane have been decimated, the others left to flee for safety.
Ed is exhilarated. He feels powerful, free. But Oswald is flagging. The other alpha gasping and he leans against the barricade wall clutching his head and with his weight off his ankle.
Oswald flinches at Ed’s first stroke through his hair. Tenses under the touch of his mate as though Ed would hurt him. But then, it’s not that far fetched of a concept. They have both been so brutal to each other. Ed whines, high pitched and pleading in the back of his throat before reaching once again to offer comfort. This time Oswald whimpers in return and leans his weight away from the wall and toward Ed seeking support and safety.
“Mate?” Oswald questions in voice wavering with exhaustion. “Please…”
Ed finds that speech, in his current pheromone fuelled state, is still out of his grasp. He rumbles, low and deep in response and nuzzles the damaged side of Oswalds face before licking the blood from his cheek. The taste of his mates blood blossoming on his tongue like water to a man lost in the desert. He hopes this is enough. Hopes that Oswald will understand and accept him.
Oswald tips his head back only slightly. Ed, ever eager to get his way, dives for his mate’s throat to bite, to claim. He’s unprepared for Oswald to roar into his ear and shove him away with all the strength left in his body. Rejection burns through Ed’s mind before a moment of rationality overcomes his base urges.
Oswald is not attacking. Nor is he fleeing.
Ed suddenly understands.
Mates? Yes.
The urge to claim? Felt on both sides.
A decision about who would be doing the claiming? Yet undetermined.
It seems the fight is not yet over. Ed can’t help but smile. He’s equally pleased when Oswald returns his toothy grin before launching himself at Ed with all of his remaining strength.
*****
“What are those two nutjobs doing now?” Harvey complains as they stand on top of the barricade and watch the two alphas snarl and snap at each other as they tussle across the battlefield.
“Mating,” Jim replies with a smile. “Finally.”
“Jim,” Harvey sighs as he wipes his hand across his face. “I may not know much about mating in general, much less one between two alphas, but I think they’re doing it wrong.”
The comment startles a laugh from Jim, loud and joyous in the face of what had been certain death. It’s loud enough to capture Oswald’s attention briefly. The result being Ed’s roar of disapproval as he glares at Jim from below. “They’re doing it like they have done everything. Their way,” Jim comments as he ducks his head in submission in response to Ed looking like he’s thinking of climbing back up the wall to kill Jim himself. “We need to find them somewhere to finish this.”
Harvey’s face looks horrified. “Yeah, now. I sure as hell don’t want to have to watch THAT.”
“I have an idea,” Bruce offers, his face impassive but his eyes tracking the pair below with interest. Jim watches him for a moment. Alpha/alpha pairs are rare. Almost unheard of in Gotham. But Jim’s always wondered if Bruce and Selena might become one themselves given the chance and time. But Gotham doesn’t seem to be in supply of much of either of those commodities anymore.
“Where and how?” Jim questions. “We need to move fast before this gets any uglier. They already need medical attention.”
Bruce nods before leading them below.
*******
Ed can feel the rut building inside him. Different than the alpha rage he has been experiencing since Oswald was injured. When Oswald turns his attention toward Jim for just that moment Ed almost loses what little of his rational mind he retained. Oswald should only ever have eyes for him.
Not Jim Gordon. Not ever again.
He roars moving toward the wall in an aborted attempt to kill a rival. Oswald yanks him back by his throat and snarls into his face. Ed freezes for a moment under the weight of Oswald’s stare. The other alpha is whimpering on every exhale now. Ed can feel the tremor in his mate’s hands and they grip him tight enough to cut off his oxygen. The fight has to end, the desire to complete his mating burning a hole into his soul. Ed does the only thing he can think of to stop this.
He reaches up and grabs Oswald, pulling the other alpha down close to his body before lifting his leg and slamming his heel down into Oswalds already shattered ankle. Oswald screams, throwing his head back as he tries to escape. Ed takes the opportunity presented and bites down hard on the gland that is now exposed on Oswald’s throat.
The response is immediate and endlessly satisfying. Oswald collapses against him, all the fight drained out of his body as the mating chemicals released by the bite swarm his system. He purrs lethargically and nuzzles the uninjured side of his face against Ed’s trembling body. Everything in Ed telling him to roll them over and take the other man right here.
But the whole situation is simply unacceptable.
“ED!” Jim’s shout from the edge of the battlefield is unwelcome. “ED! Grab Oswald and come this way. Do you understand me? We have a place for you both, don’t do this here.”
Ed bites down harder on Oswald’s neck while he struggles to form a response. His mate shudders in response. It’s distracting, but Oswald is clammy, shivering, and wounded. He needs care or this mating might kill him.
Ed has no other purpose in life right now than to be a good mate. So many mistakes between them, he won’t risk another.
“A cell?” He manages to growl out in response.
“No!” Jim’s reply is immediate and sincere. “You both saved us all today. No cells, no tricks. Just privacy, safety, and medical care if you will allow it. You’re both hurt. Let us help.”
“We’re in rut,” Ed warns. “If you get too close to us I will kill you.”
“Deal,” Jim replies, “Just follow me and once your safe I’ll leave.”
The trip inside is painful. Ed is uncoordinated, distracted, and suspicious. Oswald shrieks in pain at a few of his stumbles. Still he can’t help but smile as his ferocious little mate snaps and snarls at anyone coming close to them from within the circle of Ed’s arms as he carries the other alpha to what he hopes is a safe place to nest.
It turns out to be the morgue. There’s something fitting about it. The metal tables pushed to one side and a mattress that has seen better days set on the floor in the middle of the room. “We left you access to the showers,” Jim announces from where he watches them from the far side of the room. “The outer door is locked so you won’t be bothered. But Lee needs to stabilize you both.”
Of course, Ed sighs. Lee may be the only doctor left who would treat them. The mention of her name alone is enough to make Oswald snarl and struggle for freedom in Ed’s arms. The concept of Jim Gordon was enough to drive Ed toward thoughts of murder. But Ed has actually slept with Lee. Nothing is ever easy.
“You get out,” Ed snarls in Jim’s direction. “I’m going to handle Oswald, tell Lee to bring Harvey or Lucius with her when she comes in. NOT YOU.”
He doesn’t wait for Jim to respond before hauling a struggling Oswald into the adjoining bathroom and hurling both of them under the frigid water from the shower. Ed manages to rip off what’s left of both their clothing before sliding down to the floor with his mate who has gone from snarling to staring blankly at the wall. “Oswald,” he orders, “Look at me.”
There’s no reply. God, this rut is awful. Ed feels like every bit of his skin is crawling off and leaving raw exposed nerves behind. All he wants is to do is finish this mating, whatever that takes, and protect Oswald. Not that he is in any real shape to be able to do that. He sighs, giving up on talking this out. Ed grabs Oswalds face and forcibly turns the other man toward him before tipping back his throat and begging, “Bite. Please.”
Oswald sputters, clearly confused. “But you bit me,” the little alpha manages to get out, “you won.” There’s no anger in the words. Just acceptance.
Ed closes his eyes and leans his head fully back against the frigid tiles. “Partners,” Ed replies. “No winning, no losing. Equals or nothing.”
Oswald’s face contorts like he’s crying, but it’s hard to tell from the spray. It doesn’t really matter because he’s lunged over and plunged his teeth into Ed’s mating gland before Ed can fully process that he’s moved. His aim is a little off. For a moment Ed feels nothing but a hot blast of pain and wonders why people do this. But then Oswald grabs his hair and yanks his head into a better angle before biting again and that’s all it takes. Ed’s in heaven, nothing hurts, everything is perfect, and Oswald Cobblepot is the best mate ever.
“I could stay like this forever,” he murmurs.
“And bleed to death,” Lucius comments from the doorway of the shower. “Will you allow us to help you?”
Ed honestly has to think about it. Oswald clamps down on his neck harder and growls low and deep against his skin. But then his mate is letting go and leaning back, turning to regard Lucius with grim determination. “Yes,” Oswald answers. When he feels Ed tense beside him the little alpha reaches up to run soothing fingers through Ed’s hair. “No point to any of this if we die,” Oswald whispers to him. “I want the life with you I have spent years waiting for.”
“You first,” Ed replies as he leans over and brushes their noses together. Lee enters the shower room and Oswalds lip curls up in a silent snarl. “Stop it,” she snaps as she reaches out without hesitation to shove Oswalds face back and toward the light that Lucius is holding steady for her. “I don’t want him.”
“She never really did,” Ed offers, his brain mistaking that the comment would somehow be helpful.
Oswald jerks toward Lee as though to harm her only to have the beta female smack him square on the nose like poorly behaved animal. “I said stop it!” Lee snarls. “Hold still you two idiots!!”
Ed watches carefully as Lee examines, cleans, and treats Oswald’s eye. When it’s done, she turns a grim face to Ed and announces what Ed had already expected. “It’s gone. There’s nothing I can do but help prevent infection.”
For a moment Ed thinks he’s going to vomit all over himself. Grief, hot and heavy, presses against his chest. “I’m so sorry,” he murmurs to Oswald as he nuzzles the side of his new mate’s face.
“It was the least I could do,” Oswald answers. They all pointedly ignore the track of the tears running down Oswald’s cheek into his hair. Ed tightens his arms around the other man as Lee turns her attention to his ankle.
He knows she’s being as gentle as possible but every time Oswald whimpers Ed can’t stop the growl from coming out of his mouth.
Lucius, ever prepared, points a gun at Ed’s head and raises his eyebrows.
“He’s fine,” Oswald reassures everyone, maybe even himself. “We’re both fine.”
“It’s…..actually….better,” Lee hesitantly announces. “It’s shattered, but with a brace this time it should heal into something more functional than you had before.” Oswald’s face is the epitome of shock. “Don’t get too excited,” Lee adds. “Lucius and I are going to have to pop one of your bones back into place. This is going to hurt.”
“Everything always does,” Oswald says with an air of dismissal. Lee rolls her eyes before motioning Lucius over. They think he’s joking. But Ed knows better. Pain has been Oswald’s constant companion for years. He grips Oswald tighter as they move into position there’s no warning, no countdown. Lee yanks on Oswald’s foot while Lucius holds his leg in place.
Oswald barely makes a noise. Ed is the one who feels like he might scream. After that, it’s just a quick matter of splinting the ankle and Lee moves onto Ed’s shoulder. Thankfully, the bullet went clean through.
“You're both dehydrated, there’s water and what rations we could spare in the other room. You probably need blood, you’ve lost enough for it to matter, but I know there is no way I can convince you to take the time for that now. Just….be easy with each other.”
She backs away and is almost to the doorway before she turns and tosses a tube into Oswald’s lap. “Use lots,” She orders. “Go slow. I am NOT stitching any injuries related to that up later.”
Then they’re alone.
Ed relaxes as he hears the click of the lock on the outer door. He’s surprised by Oswald’s sudden chuckle. “What?”
“It’s lube,” Oswald snorts as he holds the tube Lee had left them up in the air and wiggles it. “How thoughtful!”
Ed chuckles, Oswald smiles in return. “Can we finish this now?” Oswald questions “This is the longest, most violent, most interrupted mating I have ever been a part of.”
“This is the only mating you have ever been a part of,” Ed grumbles as he helps to haul them both off the shower room floor and shuffle them back to the morgue and bed he knows is waiting for them.
The bed, that now has clean sheets and towels nearby...the room now softly aglow with candlelight. “You have to be kidding me,” Ed murmurs.
“It’s perfect,” Oswald announces before sliding down onto the mattress. “Now come here before I scratch my skin literally off. I want to scent you all over, kiss you if you’re willing, and do untold terrible things with your body. If we don’t start now this rut is going to make me cry and scream.”
“I’m glad it’s not just me,” Ed replies as he slides up the mattress beside his mate, his left hand rubbing a trail from Oswald’s ankle, up his thigh, across what Ed can only describe as a beautiful penis, over the slight swell of his stomach, past his pink nipples and across his neck to cup his face. “I do want to kiss you,” Ed murmurs before doing just that, slowly, carefully brushing his lips across Oswalds. Nuzzling his face as delicately as he can before returning to the other man’s mouth and working to coax Oswald into parting his lips and letting him inside.
“I love you,” Oswald whispers against Ed’s lips. Then parting his lips and tugging Ed’s bottom lip between his teeth as though he expects no verbal response. That just won’t do.
“I love you, Oswald,” Ed pulls back just far enough to make eye contact with his mate. “I know we have done this every way but the right way, but please never doubt that. The Riddler, he always has, it was the rest of me that failed you. But you have always been loved.”
“And now?” Oswald asks. “Who am I with now?”
“Both of us,” Ed struggles to explain. “We’re together...since you were hurt. There’s just me. I hope that’s enough…”
Oh, insecurity, a constant companion.
Oswald smiles, “You, in whatever form you took, have always been enough for me.”
Ed’s overcome, ravishing his mate, with every ounce of affection he’s been afraid to show. Kisses, long and deep, while Ed tugs on Oswald’s hair just to hear him groan, before dragging his nails down the skin of Oswald’s back, pleased to hear a whine and have Oswald clutch at him. Their groins press together, and so help him, any other time it would be enough for him.
But not today.
He’s sliding down Oswald’s chest, nipping, licking, and kissing everywhere he touches. Tonguing Oswald’s nipples makes his mate cry out and arch into his mouth. Nibbling along his ribs makes Oswald laugh and squirm. So many things to catalog. Damn this drive inside him pushing toward a resolution so ardently.
“I have no idea what I'm supposed to do,” Oswald gasps out when Ed reaches his hips, stopping to suck a bruise on one while stroking the other closer and closer to his dick. “I’ve never…” Ed clenches his eyes shut to keep the tears welling there from pouring out. His mate is so amazing. Fearless, it seems, where Ed has lived a life filled with fear. “I never wanted anyone but you,” Oswald whispers. He’s tugging on Ed’s hair and staring at the ceiling. Ed looks up and can see the blush spreading across little alpha’s chest and up his neck.
“Just you,” Ed whispers back. “From now until forever.”
He hears Oswald make tearfilled noise, but Ed decides he can’t wait any longer and ducks his head to suck Oswald into his mouth. Oswald thrusts while he cries out, but Ed is prepared and pulls back, riding the motion out before grabbing his mate's hips and holding him still. He can hear Oswald whining above him, feel his hands tugging on his hair, cupping the back of his skull, Oswald’s good leg wrapping around Ed’s waist. A wave of rut takes him and Ed allows it to pull him under. The weight against his tongue, the scent of ginger, and burning wood all around him, being surrounded by the one he’s bound his life to. It’s everything.
It’s almost everything.
Ed groans when he realizes how much he’s wanted this. Deep in his mind where the Riddler lived an image of himself under Oswald, stretched and filled. The ache is suddenly too much to ignore. Oswald, rocking into his mouth and all but growling out his pleasure, is so distracted that he doesn’t notice Ed reaching for the lube, coating his own fingers and reaching behind himself.
Ed’s always fancied himself a fantastic multitasker. But this stretches even the limits of his control.
He’s almost lost the ability to calculate the success rate of his current plan by the time he’s two fingers deep inside himself.
Thankfully, he’s able to realize that his fantasy of Oswald plunging his way into his body isn’t going to work. With his ankle immobilized that kind of pressure would have to be excruciating. They have to work something else out.
Ed’s so busy thinking his was through the problem with the little bit of intellect still not melted by his rut that he’s oblivious to Oswald tugging him up by his hair until he pops off his mate with ridiculous noise and has to blink several times to reorient himself to what’s going on.
“You’re going to have to climb on,” Oswald chuckles, looking wrung out and desperate. “If you want me inside you, that’s the only way tonight. You do, don’t you?” At Ed’s glazed over look Oswald shakes him a little and adds, “Want me inside?”
Ed nods. On autopilot before blinking the daze away and scrambling to get in a favorable position. The first brush of Oswald against his ass makes him whimper and shake. He jerks down and misses, sobbing out his frustration. It might be possible he’s further under the influence of his rut than he thought. Oswald, grabs his hips, holds him steady as Ed reaches back, gasping, wet and desperate, and slides down onto his mate.
He’s so full.
Oswald is perfect. Ed knew that already. His instincts have told him that for years. But still, the proof is wonderful in it’s intensity...he could almost….
“Stop thinking,” Oswald barks up at him. “It’s insulting. The least you can do is focus on me during this part.”
“But I am,” Ed growls back. “You absolute ass. You’re almost all I think about all the time anyway.”
“OH,” Oswald gasps, His eye wide and shocked by the admission. “Then far be it from me to distract you, old friend.”
Ed’s about to open his mouth and remind the other man that they are mates now, far more than friends, when Oswald jerks his hips, bouncing Ed on top of him and Ed can hardly do anything but wail and grip his mate and move over and over, covered in sweat, his chest aching, his body coiled as tight as a spring. He can feel Oswald’s knot forming. Can feel the ache of being stretched even further.
Ed’s gasping, “Please, please, please…” in response to Oswald’s “Yes, now, Ed…”
And then it happens.
Their locked together. Oswald comes inside of him gripping his hips so hard Ed knows there will be bruises. His little mate whines so high pitched and beautiful it sounds like a bird call.
Perfect.
Long moments pass while they pant and smile at each other.
Oswald finally returning to himself enough to take note that his mate has yet to be satisfied. “Oh Ed,” he moans, reaching for Ed’s cock, still swollen and leaking. “Let me help you.”
Ed swats his hand away with a shake of his head. “No,” he presses on in the face of Oswald’s hurt look. “Inside you,” he pleads. “Will you let me?”
Oswald blinks at him, nonplussed. “Have you lost your mind? Of course you idiot.”
Ed laughs. Enjoying the way his mate gasps and groans in response. He reaches back out for the lubricant and reaches behind himself and down to nudge his mate’s legs apart, stopping briefly to cup his balls before brushing behind them to where he soon hopes to be.
“You and your spectacularly long arms,” Oswald gasps, spreading his legs as much as he can to help.
Ed whimpers at the first press of his fingers, Oswald is so tight and almost unbearably warm. He continues to work his mate open until Oswald growls and all but lifts Ed off of him as his knot goes down. Ed whimpers with disappointment. Feeling empty and off kilter by the sudden change.
“If you want to be inside me you need to do it,” Oswald offers as he cups his mate’s cheek to offer comfort. “If you kept going like that you would have been stuck on my knot all night.”
Ed ponders if that would necessarily be a bad thing. But Oswald has found the lube and is slathering him with it. The drag of his mates hand against where he has been aching for so long making him moan and grip the sheets so hard he fears ripping them to shreds.
“Inside,” Oswald orders, having the capacity to sound authoritative, even in their current position after the day they have had. “Now.”
Ed can do nothing but obey. He slides inside as slowly as he can stand, trying to take care to listen for any sound of discomfort his mate might try and hide. The slow drag back out making his skin prickle with goosebumps. It’s different than their first coupling that had been just this side of frenzied. Oswald never gets fully hard again. Ed whines his concern to his mate only to have Oswald tug him down until they are pressed together and kiss him as slowly and deeply as Ed is moving inside his body right now. “You’re perfect,” Oswald whispers to him in the dim light of their nest. “This is exactly what I need, don’t stop, just like this. Mine. My beautiful, intelligent, strong, wonderful mate.”
Oswald keeps murmuring compliments into his ear the whole time, and though their pace never quickens from the slow pacing of his first movements, Ed suddenly finds himself overcome, gasping into Oswalds neck while he rocks his knot into his mate’s willing body.
Ed loses himself for some moments.
When he returns to himself Oswald is stroking his hair. Ed sighs. “You smell like that night in front of the fire,” He whispers. “Like ginger, and burning wood, and tea.”
Oswald hums happily.
“What do I smell like?” Ed asks when his mate offers up nothing in response.
“Like you’ve always smelled to me,” Oswald replies, kissing the top of his head. “Like freshly fallen snow, clean sheets, and lilies.”
Ed smiles. “Like home?” He offers hesitantly.
“Like always,” Oswald confirms.