Riddles on Napkins // E.Nygma

Chapter 14

The week went on much like the first one had, the only difference being that Tom had skipped town for a while. I was over the moon at the news, as long as he wasn't in Gotham I couldn't care less where he'd gone. It was obvious that due to Tom's sudden absence the whole precinct seemed a lot better, to me anyway. It was getting late and I had the thought of Friday night in the back of my head. It was almost time for us to finish up in the lab and head to his house as we planned it.

"If you just follow my car I'll lead the way." He explained and I nodded, waiting in my car to see his drive past before I pulled out to follow him. He didn't live too far from the precinct and surprisingly he was only about a 10-minute drive from my place.

We pulled into his complex's parking and he leads the way to his apartment, his building wasn't as nice as mine but I scored mine off a dead dude so I think they evened out. Plus I'm pretty sure Lex had something to do with the 'random renovations' my building always seemed to be undergoing. He opened the door to his apartment and the inside was everything and nothing like I expected it at the same time, it had an odd green glow, probably caused by the neon sign across the street.

"Your apartment is lovely." I complimented as he let me in, politely taking my coat and hanging it neatly on a designated hook.

"Thank you, I like to keep things neat." He replied and I nodded, not being able to relate in the slightest. "Would you like some tea?" He offered, walking over to the modern style kitchen.

"I'd love some thanks." I accepted, following him and taking a seat on one of the dining chairs. "So what are we going to be working on first?" I asked combing my fingers through my hair because it had been tossed about by the wind when we got here.

"I think analyzing the lab results in further detail would be the most efficient way to start." He answered and I nodded my head in agreement. There was an awkward silence that I couldn't think of anything to fill so I resulted to picking at the skin around my nails. It was a horrible habit that always left my skin unbearably sore. "Doing that can cause severe damage to your nail beds." He remarked and I looked up at him with an awkward smile.

"I know, it's a nasty habit but I just can't seem to shake it," I replied, separating my hands in a feeble attempt to stop.

"It is, I did it as well for a short time but I replaced the habit with always having something in my hands, in my case a pen." He explained, reaching into his blazer pocket and revealing the green pen he had used in the cafe many times before.

"Good idea, I'll have to try it." With that the tea was ready and he handed it to me in an adorable mug with a question mark on it, he had one the same. "I'm in love with this mug, where did you find it?" I asked him, bringing the tea to my lips.

"I got them made at a store a couple of years ago actually." He seemed surprised that I had pointed out the mugs but I suppose it wasn't really a common thing to pick up on.

"They are adorable, very you," I commented and he smiled at me.

"Well, we should get started." He got the files from the counter and brought them to the table before sitting in the chair in front of me. "Actually I think it would work better if we worked beside each other rather than in front."

"Yeah, that would work better," We moved our chairs so that we were sitting beside each other, slightly cramped given the length of the table. Our knees were lightly touching each other but it seemed as if we would just have to put up with it.

We began working through the files, discussing each possible outcome, with me throwing in a couple of puns here and there that he didn't appreciate as much as I did. I glanced down at the photo of the axe and took another oppertunity.