Home Sweet Something[Open]

Edward sat in on the couch with a Gotham Times opened to the news. He had to admit with the city surrounded by a blockade, he was slightly impressed the reporters could still write decent national news stories. They probably bought them off the Washington Post and WallStreet Journal. It had been weeks since he had actually held one of those newspapers. He still couldn't believe the FBI was preventing that as well.

He quickly read through the same stories as his eyes glanced up at the elevator every so often. When he saw the elevator open and a beautiful woman walk out, he smirked. He put down the paper and grabbed his cane. Edward wasn't wearing his usual bright green suit. He wasn't attempting to attract attention. Today, he wore his causal outfit. A dark green suit jacket over a bland tee shirt that had a question mark on it. He wore jeans instead of slacks and his purple gloves used to hide prints were hidden within a pocket. The woman he had his eyes on was walking towards the entrance door. He intercepted her easily.

"Selina dear," he said just as she past him, "Robinson Park is nothing like Central Park. If you decided to move you should have at least chosen a place with more taste." A smirk played on his face. Selina and Edward had a strange friendship. They were friends, but like all rogues there was little trust. The incident in Rome only furthered that fact. So while Edward did not trust the woman, he did realize her abilities.

He couldn't help himself from smirking at her comment. Selina always knew how to match him with wit. It was probably the very reason he enjoyed her company on many occasions. When her fingers touched his lapel, he glanced down at her hand then back at her large eyes. They were quite memorizing, and even more memorizing when she was in her Catwoman costume, almost cat like.

"I was actually planning on spending it with a lovely woman," he stated as he nodded to her with a smirk, "But you will do." He then touched the small of her back with his free hand and carefully pushed them towards the exit. The problem with going out with Selina in a public setting was the amount of attention she caught. He doubt she even noticed the eyes that would automatically wander to her form. He didn't particularly care if people's eyes became attached to her, but what their ears were hearing. With the FBI hunting him, he had become just an ounce more paranoid then normal.

"Coffee is fine," he announced to her as they exited onto the street, "Though I would prefer a dark corner, but what man wouldn't in the presence of you?" He smirked again, but he knew she got the hint. He wanted to talk business, and he had plan. He needed the Joker and he needed her, then he would be out of this city in a blink. His thoughts traveled to Nina. Yes, he definitely needed to get her out of here.

...somewhat spoken for.

He stopped in his movement for the barest of moments as the statement took him by surprise like a mother finding out her teenage daughter is pregnant. How had Selina found out about Nina? Selina knowing he had a relationship wasn't the worst person to know. On the contrary, Selina knowing might actually make her stop hitting him for supposedly 'trying to get into her pants'. Again, his mind flashed to Rome and how many times Selina had kicked him out of her room, punched his face, insulted him, and even threw him off the boat. He didn't even deserve some of the abuse she had given him. She had kissed him that one occasion. Okay, the reason she had kissed him was because she was drugged up on fear toxin he had dosed her with, but none the less, it wasn't his fault. No, Selina knowing wasn't a terrible fact. She probably had as much use for the information as a car sells man had for facts. What did trouble him was how she found out, and how many of the other rogues knew. Selina might not do anything with the information, but Edward knew some rogues still held grudges against him. They would have no problem making his life a living hell.

So his response was simple, "Spoken for? You know women are the simplest of riddles. They can only attract my interest for a period of time." It wasn't a lie because he, himself, didn't know how long that period of time was. It was better to come off as single then some love sick puppy. Edward was not a love sick puppy.

When her arm wrapped around his, he smirked. What man didn't enjoy having a gorgeous thing off their arm? "There is a coffee shop around the corner," he responded as he walked with her down the sidewalk. "Agreed. Though I'm surprise they have not focus more attention on you. I know if I were forced to stare through pictures and wait through stake out I would rather follow a beautiful woman then myself," he then smirked again, "Maybe they just find me more attractive then you."

When they reached the small coffee shop, he let go of her for a moment to open the door.

(OOC: Taking some of the background history from Catwoman: When in Rome. love that comic ^^)

"Ha...ha.." he let out a fake laugh to the the Times comment as he followed her into the coffee shop. The lights were kept low to create an ambiance. Edward never had the need for the ambiance, but low lighting had become very helpful in his line of work. Some coffee shops required purchase of their food to sit in their 'setting,' but Edward wasn't in the mood to wait in a long line for coffee he didn't quite want, especially coffee that tasted horrible because all the imported coffee was banned from the city. Loitering was a far lesser crime then anything else he had committed. He walked past Selina, catching her wrist in his hand as he leads her to the back. The coffee shop appears to be separated into two areas. The front, and the back area that was through a large open frame door.

He listened as he walked into the area that seemed darker, mostly because of its distance from the window, and spotted a table in a corner. There were a few other people sitting on the couches, but they appeared to be average workers on break. He let go of Selina's wrist as he took his seat at the small table. He hadn't come to Selina for information. He hadn't expected her to know any information on the FBI, besides Edward had already hacked and researched through the FBI database that he felt securely satisfied that he was a few steps ahead of the government agency. Even though he knew most of the information, he was curious to hear what she had found out. It might have been the way she had found out about his 'relationship.' But whatever she had found out must have made her very cautious to put away her suit.

Her last statement caused him to smirk. Actually, that is the very reason I've come to speak with you. I'm planning on getting out of the city. China is quite nice this year, and I already had the desire to work on my chinese. But...the government has put me in quite a puzzle, so I was hoping to call upon your expertise.""

He blinked with a deadpanned expression. He then opened his mouth about to say something only to close it then open it again. He frowned. "I must have misheard you dear, because it sounded like you just compared me to Oswald," he stated. He had never felt so insulted in his life. Edward enjoyed money, but he was not nearly as greedy or stupid as the overweight bird. Half of him just wanted to get up and leave then put up with such an insult.

He shook his head in disappointment before looking back at her. "First of all, I don't remember mentioning anything about the Bat, and if my plans were focused on him don't you think I would be far more cunning about my presentation," he stated as he leaned slightly over the table. It was hint to remind her of the incident two years ago. Wasn't the very reason Edward went to Rome with her was to find out Batman's identity? He had determined then that she had no idea, though Edward knew that fact would change. When it did change, Edward would press her. But Edward's focus was not on Batman at the moment. He loved playing his strategic games with the intelligent man, but he couldn't play such games with the FBI making such a stir. Batman wasn't freezing his accounts. Batman wasn't raiding his homes. Batman wasn't shooting Nina. No, he had far more important things to think about besides the Bat.

"I was only hoping to bring some entertainment into your bland life," he remarked as he leaned back in his chair, "I merely wanted you to shut down the electric fence by breaking into the FBI headquarters in broad daylight, but if that is far to challenging for you I can find someone else." He crossed his hands over his chest. He wore a pout that proved he was still insulted by the first comment.

(OOC; i had to rewrite this cause i lost the first post -.- sry it's short)

His anger over the insult partially subdued when he noted her guilt. She must not have realized how insulting such a statement could be to a man like Edward, and when she voiced her stress, he nodded in understanding. They were in a difficult time, and Edward had seen himself crack during the period. "It's okay, dear. We all make mistakes...well except for me, but it's quite hard for a genius like myself to make a mistake," he smirked arrogantly. The insult was now forgotten. The statement at the end caught him off guard. It wasn't her compliment on his master of puzzle. No, it was the mention of being threatened that rubbed him the wrong way.

Being threatened in their line of work was like clean towels on the floor for a maid. They happened all the time. He shouldn't be surprised by the fact that she was threatened, but he was admittedly irritated. Edward thought women were beneath him in many ways. You could almost call the man a sexist, but his lack of expectation in the female species probably brought about his most gentleman trait. Because he believed women were less then him, he also believed they could not take of themselves, and therefore, he had to for them. It also didn't take a genius to know who exactly had threatened her.

"If you do have a problem with Oswald please do not be afraid to ask," he offered, "Penguins are quite easy to handle. You just tell them they can fly." He smirked at his little joke. He wasn't forcing his help upon Selina, but if she wanted it, he was there.

A grin appeared on his face when she accepted his offer. Maybe, the insult was worth the fact that he wouldn't have to pay her 3 million dollars like he had Joker. "I have already gotten the blue prints. I know they say cats can land on their feet, but I would prefer not having any unnecessary mishaps because your short break away," he commented. He hadn't meant for it to be an insult, but pure honesty. He knew Selina was talented, but he put too much importance on this part of the plan for her to make an unnecessary mistake. Also, why waste her time when he can merely hack the FBI system for the blueprints. "I will send you an encrypted email tonight."

At the mention of her roommate, his eyebrow rose. "Oh?" he asked, so that was where she was getting her information. "Here I thought I knew more then you, but you been hearing it straight from the horses mouth." He paused then smirked at her Wayne comment, "It's to be expected, most women are gold digging whores trying to bring meaning to their life by being taken care of like a doll and popping out a few kids....No offense, Selina."

"Dating Wayne, a challenge?" he repeated with a grin as he started laughing. It felt strangely good to laugh so casually. The one thing he enjoyed with their 'friendship' was the pure simplicity in their conversations. For some reason, Edward's walls fell down around the woman. Of course, Selina did not know everything about his life, but she also had never pried. She had no desire to be a part of his life. It was probably why there was no need for effort between them. Selina came into his life and out of it as she choose, and he did the same to her. There was no committed friendship and no committed hatred. They were neutral to one another, and it allowed for Edward to actually have a friend that didn't make him want to pull out a tootsie pop every two minutes.

"If you are a female I think you will be offered the job," he responded. Honestly, the man went through three different girls in a week. Soon, he would probably run out of women and move to men. He leaned back in his chair with a deep breath getting a hold of himself. He was a proper gentleman, not the Joker. He listened and nodded to her statement. He enjoyed working for Selina because while she wanted details she did not ask for them all. She only acquired about her particular job, and once again, he was reminded of how easy it was to speak with her. When she moved back to Oswald, his smile lessoned to a serious straight lipped one. Ozzy threats must have pushed her quite farther over the edge then he had first thought. He started dabbling with the idea of making the big birds life a little difficult through some computer glitches, but was interrupted by Selina's carefree statement. Ozzy would be going out of business. He couldn't get any imports from the other dealers. Even if he wasn't caught by the FBI, the gangs he owed weapons would probably riot against him. But Edward had seen a strange documents on Penguins in the FBI databass....

It didn't quite matter, Oswald would get his just deserved dessert.

Edward smirked at the compliment to himself and only responded with an "Of course." before continuing, "I cannot supply you with all the information here, but you will be informed through different mediums. It will be taking place next week."

He followed her conversation to the roommate who was now the ADA. Edward's eyes watched Selina's form for any sign of information. He still couldn't believe an ADA who had been compared to a farm boy had actually managed to grab a roommate with elegance class. Even when Selina wasn't jumping on rooftops, between buildings, or attending elite balls, she still held an heir of confidence that could only come from a secure woman. Yes, Edward admired her security. He also admired the slightly humorous look Selina gives when an idea comes to her.

He found himself puzzling over the riddle of what idea she had created almost immediately. It had something to do with her skills and the FBI...or was it revenge on Oswald still? Women's minds had a talent of hopping all over the place.

Kiss. Taken.

He blinked and focused back on her eyes. Where had she determined that information? Edward never considered himself a gossip, but somehow news of Nina was spreading. Nina wasn't even his classified 'girl friend.' As a grown man it felt awkward saying such a title. He found himself leaning over the small table. His elbows resting on the top and his head going right over his hands that were not folded together. There was some mischief in his voice, but that always appeared when he was trying to determine an answer. "And where, may I ask, did you hear that news?" he asked to her, the way he almost whispered it, could be taken as a pick up line, but Edward was honestly merely asking a question. Even if his lips were only a few inches away from her own.