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“Whose turn is it to harass Mayor Hill this month?” Devin asked, shaking the wet hair out of his face and splashing blue paint in his wake. “And what month do we have again? Can we do something that doesn’t involve dousing the statue and everything within a one mile radius of the metro station entrance in paint, please and thank you?”
“September,” Riddler answered idly, working the daily crossword. “I’m putting together a file. Batman thought he stopped it before, but we had a backup. As for this month…” He tapped the pen across his lips as he pondered. “Was it Selina? She was pissed the animal shelter did not get the bond for expansion.”
“Nah, she did a number on the budget team. Plus,” and Devin took a strong whiff of the paint and grimaced. “Don’t think this is pet friendly. Or plant friendly.”
“Harvey has November, the day before election day because you know he would never corrupt that process.”
“Ozzie? Nah, not bird friendly if it isn’t pet friendly.”
“Joker?” Riddler pitched.
“Wasn’t remotely funny. Something was mentioned about anger at the delays or time schedule or whatever. Boring shit. Who likes boring shit?”
“I wonder if Temple Fugate is back in town,” Riddler mused. “He certainly had an affinity for time.”
“Temple who?”
“Temple Fugate, the Clock King.”
“Please tell me he doesn’t dress like that, you know, like Condiment King does!”
“Quite dapper, if I do recall,” Riddler mentioned, more interested in the conversation as he filled in the last blank and tossed it aside as if it had been the most boring one he had done since the day before. “Hard to spot in the crowd.”
“You wanna add him to the list?” This question gained him another pondering silence.
“Your call. I don’t know him all that well. He might not be interested.” Devin grinned anyway. They were keeping a low profile and he was not needed for the heavy lifting yet, not while Riddler had a research project going on. Maybe it was time to start his own research.
At once, Devin came to the final conclusion. Rather, the one he always forgot until he started: he hated research.
It was not that learning new things was bad. He simply had no knack for studying. What little education he got was being “home schooled” by his father’s gang or the man himself, but it was a cruel lifestyle he never really wanted for himself. He was taught to kill and cripple, maim and murder, execute and expunge.
The problem was it was not his jam. Sure, he had been pretty shitty as a kid, and he did not want to think about it much, because enough cruelness had worn off on him and he took it out on the wrong person: his younger brother. At the time, he tried to rationalize it as making him stronger, but who was he kidding? He was no better than anyone else, and could not bear to face him after his escape (as long as you can call somehow managing to survive a great fall that would have killed most people an escape).
Devin shook his head. He did not want to reminisce on that past. Nothing he could do about it now, because the one time he had found the courage to go back, the place was completely abandoned. At least he had not heard of anyone taking his father's place as a menace to society over there.
Riddler had given him a vague starting point, mentioning Clock King had made his debut quite a few years before Devin had made it to Gotham. He likely made the headlines twice in name only with his metro derailing and mayor kidnapping, and then subsequent arrest that seemed to be lacking a story, but nothing more than that. Devin was looking for a possible secondary article that reported his 'death,' which no one really bought because there was no body. Everyone in Gotham knows that if there's no body, you don't count as dead. Even if there was a body, it's a fifty-fifty chance with Clayface and a whole host of other things around.
Of course, Devin had tried the lazy approach. He googled the name, not getting much of anything other than the two headlines in the back pages (Mayor Hill had a hell of a week and Poison Ivy made the front page for dousing him with a toxin Batman managed to craft the antidote to). No police mugshot (because Devin was looking for a face), no high school year book photos, no nothing! The latest headlines were not attributing the paint fiasco to him yet. Devin could wait and hoped he tried something else, but Riddler had pointed out no one really remembered what he looked like. No one saw that much of him after he served his prison sentence or even while he was there.
So that's why Devin was trying to go through years worth of articles to find that one hope of an obituary or article with a picture. Four hours and three cups of coffee he managed to smuggle in later, he found the blurb declaring the Clock King's reign of terror over and the man dead. Maybe there was another sentence to make it a neat little square buried in the back, but that was it until he dug up a correction piece the next day, which stated Clock King’s status was unknown. He was overshadowed by a more impressive rogue on the front page, and general crime throughout. Devin was still left with no picture to go on. How was he ever going to find the man if he did not even know what he looked like?! He could not search rental records to find an address. No one used real names for that, and the rental agencies just went along with it. That was how he and Riddler had secured a place while Riddler was currently on parole.
Groaning, he leaned back in the chair and rubbed his eyes.
"Trouble with the tech?" a librarian teased. "Although I thought you were smarter than that, Nygma." Devin was popular enough at the library, coming in to get books for Riddler and they just shared a card. The staff knew his real name, but still liked to give him a hard time.
"I'm the stupid one," Devin answered, managing a grin as he shifted his leg to make sure his coffee was hidden. "Just unfortunate my middle name starts with an E. Gives everyone the wrong impression. Here, I've got a stupid question for you: you know anything about the Clock King? Temple Fugate?"
"You doing police research now?" Apparently, it seemed probes into the "dead" were already being investigated.
"You know how Eddie likes to figure things out before the police," he stated, which was half true. Riddler had been a consultant for a little bit, but the gig did not work out too well. He did like knowing things first, so that was fair game! "I can't find anything other than two articles and a lie, and it tells me shi-nothin'. Absolutely nothing," Devin amended a little sheepishly. The research area was on the floor above the children's section, and sometimes voices carried.
"Did you check court records, phone books, police records?"
"I checked the Google." The librarian gave him a teasing eyeroll. Together, they went through some more avenues, and it was politely overlooked when Devin chugged the rest of his coffee. The court records did help, pointing to a court case that had essentially bankrupted his company. From there, they found an old picture of the business, thankfully with the names listed. Temple Fugate was unassumingly in the back, but it was enough to go on for now. He would be on the older side, but so was Two Face and Devin didn't mind that, either side of the ex-DA!
With a wave of thanks, Devin headed out. 'He's cute. I'm pursuing,' Devin texted Riddler on his quest to get some supplies and lunch.
From what little he could gather from the articles and comments from Riddler, Clock King was pissed off about things not running on time and hated the mayor for some reason. It was not clearly explained, but somehow the mayor was tied to the court case. That was too much digging for Devin. Still, it gave him a good guess as to what to keep an eye on: the trains by the clock tower. Despite the Gotham Clock actually being on time, the trains never left the station on time. Devin was not sure if it ran the same number of minutes late, but everyone knew to add an extra ten minutes if you hit that station. He staked out a nice little hidey-hole on a roof perch to keep an eye out. The paint fiasco had taken a lot of setup for sure, so hopefully Clock King was around scouting out the place. He seemed to be able to blend.
It also turned out Devin was not the only one out here watching.
"Hey, watch it!" Harvey Bullock snapped up from his place on the fire escape, brushing bread crumbs from his hair from where Devin had been munching above him.
"Oh, sorry..."
"Whatcha doin' up here anyway? You lookin' for someone?" Harvey eyed him and his binoculars suspiciously.
"Just people-watching!" Devin offered his best grin. "Hey, you want half my sandwich? It's steak and cheese!" That offer was accepted readily enough, and Devin handed down the half still in the bag, with the chips for good measure.
"Hope you're not looking for Temple Fugate, too."
"Who?" Devin got out innocently enough.
"Clock King."
"Never heard of him. He the new villain of the week?"
“Definitely a public nuisance this week!” Harvey spat. “Came around seven or eight years ago causin’ a ruckus cuz the trains were late or something. It’s Gotham! Trains are always late!”
“Oh, that was before me,” Devin murmured. He already knew that though. “What’s he look like?”
“Dunno. Commish just told me to look for anyone suspicious.”
“Define suspicious,” Devin requested, refocusing the binoculars to something that caught his attention.
“I’m starting to think it’s you, bud. Out here, same place as me, looking with binoculars,” Harvey began to accuse even as he wiped the crumps from his own face.
“What about the guy standing on train?”
“WHAT?!”
“Second car from the rear. Brown suit. Nice hat~”
Harvey swore under his breath as he radioed it in. Seemed it was too late to stop anything as the train finally departed from the station, late as always. Devin watched in awe. The man glanced down at his watch occasionally, ducking and dodging the poles and other overhanging obstacles at what looked like the last second. He made it look so effortless, and when a passing train came by, he stepped off like he was walking on a sidewalk. The new train he was on disappeared into a tunnel and Devin lost sight of him.
“Holy shit,” Devin murmured. “Who was that?”
“That’s him,” Harvey grumbled.
“Can he teleport?! That was like magic!”
“Magic don’t exist, bud. He’s just a man.”
“Oh right,” Devin murmured, remembering he too was not supposed to exist, but that was a different story. “Still, I’d sleep with him.”
“Is that all you ever think about?” Harvey groaned.
“Don’t be jealous! Invitation’s still out there for you~”
“I’ll pass, thanks.”
“Just putting it out there~” Devin grinned down. Despite having completed his mission, he figured he should wait a while longer, focusing on other things.
“You keep your husband out of trouble,” Harvey waved up in farewell.
“Doing my best!”
Despite how dapper the man looked, Devin absolutely could not spot him in a crowd. The man was a chameleon! Even the one tiniest detail that set him off was impossible to see in a crowd. Devin had gotten a good look at his face, and there were clock hands on his glasses, but somehow the light was not catching it in a crowd or Devin would get distracted by the outline of the lens of regular glasses.
He spent hours, then days looking. He only saw the man when he was riding on top of the trains or trollies or buses, but he disappeared before Devin could run to catch up. If only he could teleport … but Devin had to be careful no one saw him do it. He only used it to get out of tight spaces and had to go to places where no one would be. It was possible for him to teleport into someone, but that would likely kill the both of them, and he certainly did not want that. Plus, even on a moving train, he would have to account for the spot the train would get to when he teleported. It was not instantaneous and it would be his luck he missed it and fell on the tracks.
He also noticed Clock King operated on his own timetable. He was not in the same place often enough to track, so he evidently built some kind of randomness into his schedule. Since that was the case, Devin decided he would just stake out a tunnel the train passed by, and if he saw Clock King on it, he would jump on the train.
He passed the time texting friends or playing virtual games. Riddler entertained him by playing chess without bothering with a chessboard. They each stated their movements and had a mental map of the board. It was Devin’s one and only thing he was smart about just as long as there was no timer. Riddler insisted the both of them could be masters if allowed some handicaps (no timer for Devin and not arresting Riddler immediately upon arrival), so since they were well matched - Devin just a little bit better - they enjoyed game after game.
Finally, after two days of spending business hours in the spot he near the station, he saw the man. Steeling his nerves, he jumped on the train.
He mistimed it by a few cars, although at least landed on the train. With his long green coat whipping around him, something he probably should have secured, he crawled and pulled his way up to the car Clock King was on.
“Hey! I’m Devin. Been looking for you. Got a few minutes to talk?” Devin yelled a greeting as he approached, pulling himself up to full height. Clock King regarded him suspiciously.
“I have thirty-eight seconds.”
“Great! Anyway, huge fan of the smooth way you move and all. I was wondering if you wanted to hook up with me and my husband sometime?” Since he did not have long, it was best to put it all out there!
“Who are you?” Clock King asked.
“Devin! I’m the Riddler’s husband. Edward Nygma. Not sure which name you know him as. And hey, if you don’t swing that way, no worries! I just wanted to offer. Maybe you can come join us sometime -” The rest of the offer was cut off as Clock King took two steps backwards and was suddenly not on the train. Devin heard the whirl of the passing train and he sprinted and dove on, barely catching the last train car. Clock King was far ahead of him, his back towards the rest of the train. Swearing under his breath, Devin pulled his coat closed a little better and stood up, running forward half bent at the waist to cut some of the air resistance.
Skipping the initial greeting, he just picked up where he left off since Clock King just looked at him expectantly.
“Maybe you can join us sometime for a relaxing evening. We’re pretty flexible on the activity and definitely want you to be comfortable and all. If bedroom activities aren’t your thing or you want to be wined and dined before that -”
And he was gone again. Devin barely saw him use his cane - which was shaped like a clock hand! How cute, but not overwhelming! - to catch onto a platform and swing himself up effortlessly. Devin was far past that exit, so he cheated. There was a little maintenance perch underneath that was well hidden and he teleported into it.
Clambering up on top, he looked around, just seeing the tail of the brown suit jacket. Following it best he could and knowing Clock King had probably made no more than three steps to get there when Devin was sprinting, jumping, and climbing to try and keep him in this chase.
“He’s just man,” Devin reminded himself. “Well, so’s the Bat, probably, but how the fuck does he move so far?!”
Eventually, he caught up to him on a bus. Not in a bus, on a bus. Clock King was sitting down, checking his journal.
“So are you interested?” Devin pitched as he crawled his way over and collapsed, out of breath.
“When are you proposing this ‘hookup?’ I am a very busy man,” Clock King stated, a hint of annoyance as if the check of his schedule had been timed and Devin was interrupting.
“We’d just like two hours of your time. That should be enough,” Devin commented. “Super flexible on the date and time. Evening would be fun, but I’m not opposed to a morning meeting.”
Clock King flipped through his schedule, and Devin could not help but peek, seeing it was a very detailed calendar, although all the notes were in shorthand. Of course they were. It was more efficient to write that way.
“I can pencil you in next Thursday from 7:48 pm to 9:48 pm.”
“Perfect! Whatcha like to drink? You strike me as a hot tea kind of person.”
“Yes. Earl Grey, perfectly steeped.”
Devin realized after the fact he should have given the more important details first, because Clock King stood suddenly and was gone before Devin gave the address.
Devin rose, too, tracking as the Clock King had used his cane and caught a light pole with the perfect amount of momentum that it propelled him up to dangle from the monorail car before he deposited himself onto the roof of a nearby building. Devin was so busy focused that he was not paying attention to his platform as the bus stopped sharply at a light.
He was hit by a truck. Rather, he hit the back of a truck, bouncing off of it to fall back into the bus. Thankfully everyone had been stopping so he was not crushed as well. The truck driver was leaning out the door to see what hit him and the bus driver was getting out to see who he had hit.
Devin pulled himself up and waved off the bus driver’s concern and a handful of pedestrians that stopped to see what was going on. They gave him a wide berth as he got up and walked away, ignoring how hard it was to breathe and how his leg buckled with each step and how sticky the ‘sweat’ was. At least he had until next Thursday to deliver the address.
Before he attempted to illegally ride every transportation in Gotham again, Devin donned some fake brown fur and paid a visit to the tea master. He rolled his body around and grinned, inquiring about the exact number of seconds to steep the perfect batch of Earl Grey. Eventually, when the Mad Hatter tired of droning on and on about his misfortunes of finding Alice, Devin excused himself to the bathroom and teleported to the attic nook at home. He figured it was in character and was glad Joker was too out there for even Jervis to count as a Wonderland character, meaning Devin got to cheat and use the Cheshire Cat to avoid Mad Hatter’s wrath.
Riddler glanced up as Devin came down from the attic despite having headed out the front door earlier. He did not question Devin's comings and goings too much. Granted, part of it was because Riddler could get caught up in a project and never even notice if Devin came and went a half dozen times when he was in the zone. Devin always told him to keep a spot in the upper levels clear for him so he could sneak in when trying to escape, and it was only half a lie, so Devin did not feel too guilty about it.
"I'm going to see who I can convince to give me a tour of the Gotham Clock Tower," Devin announced, once more limping his way to the front door. This time he rode in a bus, only because he found himself winded when going too far. While he was also pretty sure his leg was not broken, there was damage and Hush was busy, so he could not exactly see anyone about it at the moment. He splinted the ankle and leg up to his knee with some rods and an ankle brace. It was good enough. It also meant he could not chase after Clock King this round, but he had a hunch the man was going to stop by the clock tower since it was an anniversary. Not an important one, but still: Clock King would know it!
Hiking the last few blocks from the stop to the tower, he grinned at his luck: Harvey was still on Clock King's case!
"Need a hand?" Devin greeted, taking one of the heavy bags of surveillance equipment and swinging it over his shoulder.
"Hey, don't touch that, bud! I can't have you running off with it!" Harvey shouted from the inside of the truck where he was looking for more equipment.
"Ah, no worries. I'm not running anywhere right now." The detective finally emerged and Devin showed off his makeshift bindings to prove his point.
"Jeeze! What happened?! You look like you got hit by a truck!"
"Well ... technically I hit the truck..."
"You weren't drinkin' were you?" Harvey eyed him suspiciously, looking over his bruised face and the ones that peeked out under the collar of his shirt.
"Nah. I wasn't driving! Just ... got off the bus too fast and ran into a truck," Devin shrugged. "Head in the clouds as usual~" Harvey did not question him further and did not complain as he carried the bag up. It was saving him at least a trip up the stairs since the elevator was out of service. They were both huffing and puffing as they reached the top.
"You gonna ... be able ... to make it back down?" Harvey asked.
"May need to rest," Devin wheezed out, happy for the 'excuse' instead of needing to make up something better. He leaned against the wall and glanced around. There was only one entrance other than the stairs and elevator door, and that was a large, open 'window' to let the heat of the moving gears out. Felt like the only place Clock King could come in ... stairs just seemed too slow! He took up a post by it, leaning against the wall and looking around. "It's pretty cool in here! So many gears!"
"Makes sense you'd be into this kind of thing," Harvey got out once he caught his breath.
"Me? Nah. Not smart enough to appreciate how it all comes together. It's cool in concept, but well beyond me. Eddie would like this." Harvey started setting up, and Devin knew it was bordering on too long for him to be still resting when he finally heard the cue. The train sounded in the distance. He was not sure how the next few steps would happen or how fast, but he knew his role. Pulling a business card from his pocket that had his name, number, and current address, he stood close to the window, arm stretched straight up.
"Whatcha doin'?"
"Stretching. Think my back's a little out of whack. Not from the truck-bus accident~" Harvey scoffed at him, but before he could make a wisecrack, there was a brown blur through the window. Devin felt the slightest brush of fingers against his as the card exchanged hands before the blur was moving up through the gears, and then the two were alone again.
"What the hell was that?!" Harvey shouted, drawing his gun.
"A bat?" Devin suggested unhelpfully. "A big, brown bat?" Harvey glared over at him, and it was all Devin could do to keep from grinning. His message had been delivered and didn't cost him an arm and another leg this time.
"That wasn't Batman," Harvey grumbled, clearly implying Devin was as stupid as he was playing.
"Ah well, guess it was just a man," Devin chuckled. "Although be careful: you might have a time lord on your hands! I'll be showing myself out." Harvey glowered at him, but Devin waved and headed for the door, jumping on the railings to ride them down and give himself a bit of a head start in case Harvey wanted to try and question him some more. Not that he had any answers, but he also did not have any snacks to share to get him off the hook. Besides, now that everything was in place, he had to actually plan to host someone!
“It’s only 7:15,” Riddler called down the stairs.
“I cannot afford to be late! Also, it’s 7:16 and … change. Besides, what if he comes early? Being on time is late, right?”
“He will be here exactly on time and not a second sooner.” Devin groaned, but he knew his husband was probably right. Still, he had done his part to set up. Everything was ready to make tea fresh when Clock King arrived. Cleaning was done early. The bed was made perfectly (Riddler helped with that). It was perfect for the perfectionist!
It was worth the grueling wait of sitting and doing nothing. He would not let Clock King stand out there for a second longer than necessary!
Riddler came down after finishing his setup, sitting on the stair next to him, and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “How’s the bruising? It’s not going to interrupt your evening, is it?”
“I’d never let it~” Devin grinned. It was a good enough answer even if he did not get to the main issue. There was nothing he could really do about broken ribs anyway. He hoped it was not bad enough to need a brace…
“It’s been quite amusing to see your pursuit~”
“I don’t know how you research all the time!” Devin complained before flashing a grin.
“But you’re smarter than you let on. You don’t get stuck in the death traps when I’m testing them,” Riddler commented.
“Part of my personality is to be a mini-Houdini~” Riddler spared him another kiss before heading back upstairs to set out the more perishable snacks Devin had acquired.
As predicted, Clock King knocked at exactly 7:48 pm. Devin whipped open the door before the second knock, startling the man a bit, but he got a nod of approval. “Welcome! So glad you can make it! Eddie’s upstairs, ready for us~” Devin gestured up the stairs, letting Clock King go first as he limped his way up behind him. Riddler was used to these kind of meetings and easily took the baton from Devin, gesturing towards a recliner so Clock King could have some space to start. Tea had to be made and he had perfected it! Not to mention he had stolen some high quality tea from the tea master on a second pass through Wonderland.
By the time he had it perfectly steeped, Riddler and Clock King were deep in conversation. Devin was glad they were hitting it off already! That was always the fear that whoever they brought home might not care for one of them. Granted, Riddler and Devin had already talked that out and had decided that they could meet up one on one with someone else. Devin was not interested in any of the women that might want to see Riddler, even if his husband was there. There was the occasional hookup Devin found that was a little too intimidated by Riddler (or too stupid, so Riddler was giving them an extra hard time), so it all worked out.
Devin sat the tea pot down and poured Clock King a cup. The man paused in his conversation, providing another nod of approval to Devin. Two in one night?! This was going perfectly to plan. Devin snuggled in next to Riddler on the couch, helping himself to a snack as Riddler and Clock King got back into it. He added his barely there one cent (Devin did not even have two cents to add to the conversation) on occasion, but there was so little opportunity for him to jump in. He was not sure if he missed the earlier pleasantries, but both of the two smarter men had latched on to topics far above him. They talked gears, and processes, and mechanisms, and gadgets. There was no hope of even slipping the hint in of getting a tour of the bedroom or experiencing the couch, which was tight with three, but not impossible.
Suddenly, Clock King stood up. “I must be going,” he said simply. “My time is up. Thank you for the invitation.” Devin glanced over at the wall clock 9:48, on the dot. He opened his mouth as if to protest and invite the man to stay longer or even spend the night, but he closed it sharply. That offer would never be accepted.
Riddler walked him down when Devin made no move to get off the couch. They bid farewell, and Riddler returned.
“That was quite enjoyable,” Riddler remarked, still glowing with having had a riveting conversation as he began to pick up. Devin dragged himself back up to help. It had been his invitation to Clock King after all. It would not be fair to make Riddler do all the work.
“I think I’m bad at scheduling things,” Devin finally commented, a hint of defeat in his voice. Riddler studied him for a long moment.
“Do you need to book an appointment in the bedroom?” Riddler teased, hooking his fingers into the lapels of Devin’s jacket to pull him down.
“I was just hoping for a double,” but he gave in easily enough, happy to bask in Riddler’s post joy from a good intellectual discussion.
Riddler had taken care of him, and petted his head until he himself had fallen asleep, but the insomnia fought dirty. He stayed curled in Riddler’s embrace as long as he could before easing out of the covers.
“Going for a walk,” he murmured at the groggy question. Riddler cuddled back into the warm spot left in his absence and was asleep again in seconds.
Gotham never slept, but there was a quieter edge at four in the morning. The morning rush would start as early as 5:30 am. In the meantime, there were still the late night operations and those that worked the graveyard shift milling about.
He meandered slowly, stopping often when it became a little too hard to breathe. Hopefully the ribs mended before he needed to do the heavy lifting again! Riddler was finishing up his research and he got antsy too easily. There was a chance he planned for the future, but there was an equal chance he was ready to set something in motion now. Not that he would force Devin to do more than he was able and typically let Devin set the build pace. He eventually would come and check in on things when he was knocked out of the flow because equipment was not coming faster than the way he worked. Maybe Devin had used that as an excuse to really hinder a death trap now and again, but it was fine. They worked out okay, and Devin was pretty sure that was why he had not been arrested yet, despite his close ties with Riddler. He lied his way through any questioning, and the worst they could ever hope to hold him on was harboring a criminal. Still, he was pretty sure at least Batman was aware that he was limiting how much Riddler was harassing the city now. Kidnappings and death trap attempts had gone down significantly from the Green Duo since they started dating. And some kidnappings were simply reversed before anything took place, compliments of Devin, but he would never admit that outloud. It was a little undermining, and who was he to try and force someone to be a better person when he had no real intentions of doing that himself? His work ethic was relatively shit and it did not help that he had no legal paperwork to let him get a long term job. He just relegated himself to under the table jobs that paid in cash. It was usually enough to get by …
“You look like you need a drink!” Devin’s head shot up as Harley skated past him. Seemed she was out for an early morning session before the streets got too crowded. With a flashy spin, she skated back and spun to a stop in front of him. “Rough night?”
“Yeah … I could go for a drink,” Devin decided. “What’s good at this hour?”
“I know a place!” She took off and Devin started a jog before thinking better of it. His leg was not going to handle that. Harley circled back eventually.
“Can’t you put your long legs to use?” she teased, leading the way at a slower pace that had her circling around and around him.
“Can’t,” Devin answered. “Fucked up one of them. I ran into a truck … and a bus. Definitely was not my day for road travel!”
“I’ll say! Doncha have that car still? The Broiler?”
“Yeah, but let’s just say I was trying to get a hold of someone that has an interesting way of using public transportation.”
“Oh? Someone that’s pissed as fuck about the delays in them?” There was a knowing tone.
“Perhaps~”
“Isn’t he a little old for you?”
“I wouldn’t know! We didn’t get that far,” Devin sighed with exaggerated despair.
“How far’d ja get? Second base?”
“I didn’t even get to fantasize about first! I think Riddler and him were having intellectual intercourse, but I’m not smart enough for that,” Devin pouted, weathering the shrill laugh from Harley.
“That’s not like you!”
“Why do you think I agreed to go get a drink?!”
“Wait, this was last night?! Well then you’re doing better than I thought,” Harley insisted as she grabbed the door and held it open. The staff on duty shot her a dirty look as she skated up to a table, but they evidently knew her well enough not to complain. Devin followed without question and sat in the seat on the opposite side of the booth. He paid no attention to the others around him, instead looking at the menu. “Guess you should let me get you a drink then.” Devin’s eyes popped over the top of the menu as she flashed him a softer smile. They did not have the same circumstances, not by a long shot, but he had spent many long nights being a safe shoulder to cry on when Ivy was not around.
Setting the menu down, he gestured for her to get him whatever she wanted, and he was not disappointed. Definitely something way too sweet he would be teased for by more of the ‘tougher’ rogues, but it tasted good and was smothered in whipped cream. They got an order of cheesy fries to share that was more grease than actual food stuff.
“So what happened? Your truck/bus accident a result of that?”
“Yeah … It’s hard to get an invitation out to someone who’s constantly on the move, and moving fast! To be honest, I don’t even know if he’s into men or anything. I think he used two sets of quotation marks when he was asking when I wanted to ‘hookup’ even if he didn’t do air quotes,” Devin commented. “Anyway, I had to all but hunt him down to chat with him! I thought two hours was going to be long enough to you know, do something. Something other than talking.” Devin sighed heavily.
He was about to go on with his story, but there was a presence behind him in the adjacent booth. Without turning, he could guess who joined by the look Harley shot him. Wiggling her fingers straight up by her ears only sealed the deal.
“I’d like to see him again, for longer, but I would never kidnap someone, because that’s illegal,” Devin emphasized, and Harley had to bite down a giggle. “Besides, I can’t catch him anyway. He’s faster than me on a good day…”
“But he’s a gentlemen, right?” Harley pressed.
“Yeah? I mean, I guess. Dresses like one.” Harley hummed thoughtfully at that and nodded towards the door. It was best to not be scheduling something with someone who was currently highly wanted. Or wanted enough to make a headline deep in the newspaper. Clock King was apparently not front page worthy. Harley dropped off cash for the bill and they filed out making exactly zero eye contact with the occupants in the booth behind them.
“So he’s a gentlemen and he’s got your contact info, right? You did share your cell phone number?!”
“Yeah, just in case he needed to reach me. Phone and address. I’ve got nothing of his though, so …”
“He’s going to reach out to thank you for the evening. He has to! Pretty sure he’ll implode if he doesn’t,” Harley insisted. Devin pondered for a long while as he limped down the sidewalk.
“And he likes efficiency …”
“So hopefully he texts! You can invite him over again with a schedule. I just have one concern,” Harley added, rolling to a stop. “What about your leg?”
“Eh,” Devin shrugged. “Won’t slow me down when hosting a get together.”
“What about for running?”
“I mean … I can. Probably not good for it.”
“Cuz you know Zsasz got out again, right?” Right, the actual front-liner.
“Yeah, but in this whole city, you think he’d run into me before any-” And Harley nodded over his shoulder again, mouthing the word ‘run.’ Zsasz really did have a vendetta against him, which seemed a little unfair considering his ‘gimmick,’ but he supposed it was better him than some slightly more innocent person. Harley gave him a little more of a headstart, tripping up the killer with an exaggerated “Whoops!” that Devin did not glance back to see. Zsasz was relentless and he needed every second he could get!
“I’m back,” Devin announced as he trudged up the stairs and tried not to leave too much blood in his wake. “Zsasz got out again. Got a new knife for the collection…”
“You need to get a certificate that says you’re not depressed or something,” Riddler recommended. “Mail it to him at Arkham.”
“I don’t think it works that way? It’s fine. Gifted him to the police station, so maybe Harvey will get off my back about Clock Face. King. Clock King.”
“Dent?”
“Bullock.” Riddler snorted at that. Devin was not consistent with who he called what, and Riddler was more on a first name basis with those he was close with.
Making it into the kitchen, Devin yanked out the knife embedded in his shoulder and rinsed the blood off. He shook it dry and opened the cabinet under the sink, tossing it towards the back where it clattered into a box of knives. Grabbing the black kitchen towel, he put pressure on his shoulder and meandered towards the bathroom. His phone buzzed in his pocket at 8 on the dot. With his free hand, he pulled it out. Unknown number. That was promising!
As Harley had very accurately predicted, Clock King had reached out to thank them both for the evening. Devin stopped, pulling the other hand down to start tapping out a response.
“Can your new boyfriend wait until you’re not bleeding out~?” Riddler teased.
“Oh … right. I don’t know. Can he? Like actually?”
“Sure. You’ve got an 8 o’clock appointment.” Devin wagged a bloody finger at Riddler as if to say ‘true!’ although he still frowned as he pocketed his phone again.
Devin left the bathroom door cracked as he shed his outfit and examined the stabbed shoulder. Zsasz had gotten him good. Granted, he was aiming for his throat, so maybe it was a bad stab, but it needed a lot of stitches. “Can you help me draft an invitation for dinner and a sleepover? I don’t know how to say it with a strict enough schedule for him that doesn’t scare him away and enough fun activities for me.” He cleaned it up best he could with the blood running down his right arm and got to work, never flinching at any of the stitches. He could feel them going through the skin, but could not feel the actual pain. It was probably why Harvey let him walk away. The coat absorbed enough blood and Devin was grinning through all of it. Maybe he thought it had just hit coat.
Or maybe he thought Devin was high as a kite and did not want to deal with that. Either way, Devin had just walked off and all the way home with the knife embedded in him to keep from bleeding too heavily.
“Mm, an easy enough puzzle,” Riddler declared. Devin leaned forward to smile at him in the living room. Wiping the blood off his phone from where he had checked it, he tossed it over. It landed on the couch with a soft thump. Riddler unlocked it and glanced at the latest message, humming in understanding as he started typing something out.
“And sent.”
“Sent?”
“An invitation for Saturday night. It should be far enough out and the transportation system is less active.”
“Smart~” Devin smirked, flashing some finger guns before he started bandaging up the wound. “But shit! We need food money! Maybe I can grab some quick cash tonight.”
“He has not confirmed ye-” but Riddler shut his mouth as a new text came through. “Perhaps an easy job considering your injuries.”
“Phsh, it’s fine!” Devin waved him off with a bloody hand. “Guess I’ll go see if Ozzie has an easy favor. Ugh, or if Scarecrow needs a test subject again.”
“Please don’t go out drinking with him afterwards. Unlike you, I can’t get into all those tight corners and I can’t bail you out of jail again.”
“It was just the back seat of a police car for my safety!” Devin protested. “Harvey let me out in the morning. He even gave me a snack! And I waited until I was out of the car to puke my guts up, so I think I should get a bonus point for that.”
“No drinking and fear toxin.
“Fine. No drinking and fear toxining~”
“Money,” Devin wheezed out as he flopped facedown on the couch in a cloud of dust and extended his hand with a thick wad of it. “It’s not stolen.”
“Holy, shit! What happened?”
“Potential bats in the ventilation system. Wonder if Bat’s costume is gray cuz of the dust? Oh, and Harvey appreciated me bringing in Zsasz the other day. Apparently there was an award. Missed the details. Something, something, something, scared doctor, something. Think the doctor chipped in something because Harvey said I’d gotten stabbed a little. Apparently they’re still talking about the show I put on even with my fucked up leg.”
Riddler swore under his breath again as he counted it.
“You sure you don’t want to use any of this to bribe a doctor?” Devin flashed a thumbs up without bothering to look up. “I suppose we have a few more days. What do you want to serve?”
At this Devin, turned his head a little, offering nothing more than an “I don’t know” noise. Riddler sat down near his head, running his fingers through Devin’s dusty hair.
“I’ll think of something substantial, but not too heavy. Do you recall: was he British?” Riddler posed. Devin glanced up, his eyes having slipped closed, and he blinked in confusion.
“You talked to him for two hours!” he protested weakly, although sighed as Riddler gave him a bit of a playful tug.
“And you listened!”
“I think so? Maybe? He seems like he could be?”
Riddler tapped his chin in consideration. The Clock King just blended too well and did not leave enough of an impression in terms of physical appearance.
“We’ll work with that.”
Riddler secured most of the food. He went with a full afternoon tea approach: substantial, but not too heavy that it left the three of them sluggish. Devin had his agenda and had gone through great lengths to score this meeting, and Riddler respected Clock King’s intelligence. He gathered what was needed for an assortment of tea sandwiches: coronation chicken, smoked salmon and dill, cucumber, and egg and cress varieties. For the next course, he acquired a nice set of scones, crumpets, and jam. The third course was also on the sweet side, so he went light with that, opting for just a lemon drizzle cake and some fruit. There were only so many sweets he liked and Clock King did not strike him as one to indulge in them either. Devin added the last heavy item to the menu: Beef Wellington. Neither one of them were geniuses in the kitchen, although Riddler was confident he probably could have figured it out. When Devin had gone to check the vents for bats, he actually found rats. Ratcatcher, to be exact, who had taken up residence in the Iceberg Lounge. It explained where the missing items were going, and Penguin was a little more willing than usual for Devin to cut a deal with one of his chefs. As of now, Devin had been enjoying the payment portion more than the food, but that was because everything was to be ready exactly two minutes before Clock King arrived, so the loaner chef could head out.
Devin passed a cheeky grin to the chef as he left, waiting impatiently for his second chance. Riddler had requested that they discuss an agenda for the evening once Clock King arrived. Devin would never strip them completely of the chance to chat, but he at least wanted a solid ‘no’ to his advances if that was the case. Then he could relax with the knowledge that they were not compatible and he did not have to risk any more bones for a third meetup. Clock King and Riddler could plan their own hangouts and Devin could sit and listen, or do whatever else he pleased.
At 5:30 on the dot, because Riddler had selected a normal time, there were six knocks. Devin waited a half second longer this time before bidding entry to Clock King so as not to startle him although his hand was still raised to knock. "Welcome back! We're so happy to have you!" Devin was pleased that Clock King was likely planning to spend the night as he had a simple bag with him. Riddler had made it clear it was an overnight proposition. Of course, neither of them were keeping him hostage, and if it really was not his cup of tea, he could simply leave. They would even call him a taxi if he could be bothered to ride in a car. "Here, let me take your bag for you~"
"Thank you," and Devin knew right then and there they had not quite pegged him correctly. Devin followed him up the stairs and passed Riddler a look over Clock King's shoulder, wondering how much they fucked up. The food would be good regardless, and maybe he would not notice the theme ...
But he did. Clock King tilted his head a bit at the spread. He was thankfully polite enough to not say anything negative about the assumptions made. There was an impressed raised brow at the Beef Wellington, so at least one thing was in their favor. Riddler proposed they enjoy dinner and chat until 7 and then they would decide on a schedule for the remainder of the night. Devin joined in a bit more this time, making sure to pitch his worth on the small things he could. Clock King did have a love for some music, and Devin ran with that as much as he could. They moved the remainder of the scones and jam to the living room area as Devin put his tea skills to work once more.
“You wanted to discuss an agenda for the evening,” Clock King prompted at exactly 7. Devin leaned back to check the clock. Clock King had not even looked at his watch. That was an impressive innate sense of time. “What is the purpose of this … ‘hookup’ I believe you called it?” The question was geared towards Devin as he had originally posed it.
“Basically sex,” Devin stated point blank. Clock King seemed to like efficiency, except when the man drew back into his recliner, Riddler elbowed Devin.
“That was a little too forward,” he scolded.
“Right, sorry! That’s best case scenario, but you know, if you’re not interested or don’t want to or whatever, we can do other stuff!” Devin tried instead. This still did not quell Clock King who had paled somewhat at the whole exchange.
“But … I’m twice your age,” Clock King spluttered out, although it looked like he had far more reservations than just that.
“And you look great for forty~” Devin purred. Riddler rolled his eyes again as Clock King looked on in horror. “Just kidding. I’m not that young,” but he failed to elaborate on just how old he was.
“You’ll have to excuse him. He’s a little … feral still.”
“Feral?!” Devin protested, turning to face Riddler to take some of the pressure off Clock King.
“You kissed with your eyes open when we were dating.”
“Okay, fine. I’ve learned better,” Devin added, flashing a smile over at Clock King. “And well, you know, I was pretty awkward at first, so if you just haven’t been with another man before, don’t worry! It’ll be fine!”
“I had to blind fold him at first because of the thousand yard stare,” Riddler teased.
“Wait, what? I just thought you were kinky,” Devin turned back. “Wait-wait! Was the muzzle … Did you think I would bite?!”
“I was not taking any chances.”
“I don’t bite, unless you want me to,” Devin chimed back in. “This is … not your cup of tea is it?”
“I … I haven’t …” There was shame and fear and a whole host of other things that made Devin think it was not just men he had never been with. Devin was ready to pivot though.
“So we’ve stressed you out. Or well … I did. My bad! But tell you what: how ‘bout you let us do something to help you relax? We’ll go at your speed, yeah?” Devin stood up to move over and Clock King flinched. Definitely not a good sign and Devin wondered when the last time he had received any physical contact outside of a handshake. Knowing he had to have Clock King approached them, he patted the far side of the couch and forced Riddler to scoot down before he joined him. “Come on. Sit over there and put your feet up,” Devin encouraged.
“And if you want to go at any time, please feel free,” Riddler added. “We fully intended for this to be a good time for all three of us, and someone,” Devin received another elbow in elaboration, “- was less excited about talking all night.”
“Now that music is on the table, I’m less upset,” Devin pointed out. “But come on! I’ll rub your feet.” He had no issue going straight to third base like that~ “How ‘bout this instead: give us thirty minutes. We won’t do anything you don’t like and you can tell us to stop at any point, but we try to help you settle in. We readdress what we want to do in thirty minutes. Sound good?”
“This seems …” Clock King was still lost for words.
“You are our guest,” Riddler added, smiling softly. “And you have very much intrigued Devin~”
Clock King mulled it over for almost a minute before finally rising from his lone chair. Devin thought he might just leave, but he did take the few steps over and sit down, still facing forward, feet on the ground, as if he did not know how to do this. Devin patted his lap in encouragement, Riddler handing over a pillow so he could lean against that and the arm of the couch.
“Should I … take my shoes off?”
“You can, or I can do it for you~” Clock King pondered a little more before leaning down and untying his shoes. He gingerly removed his feet, setting the shoes off to the side. Riddler had leaned back against the arm nearest him, tucking his feet behind Devin to enjoy Devin’s warmth, so Clock King started to mimic. He turned partially, feet still on the floor. Finally, he leaned all the way back, timidly moving his feet over. They hovered over Devin’s lap for a moment until Devin gently pressed them down.
“Rest the full weight on my legs,” he encouraged. “You can’t relax if you’re trying to hold them up~” The weight was still light, but Devin rolled with it. He went to pull off the brown dress socks, but Clock King pressed his ankles together. “They can stay on,” Devin insisted, and that granted him a little space to work. What little bit of Clock King’s legs rested on his tensed at the first touch. Devin had gone this route thinking it would feel safest, so he kept going, because Clock King was not pulling away. He started with gentle touches, petting over the tops of both feet with only an occasional squeeze. Opening touches out of the way, Devin started working on the foot furthest from him. He gradually added pressure with his thumbs as he worked his way from heel to toes. A considerable amount of time was spent on the first foot before Devin moved to the other. His attention was focused on his work, but he stole a glance over at Clock King. The older man still seemed vaguely tense and mesmerized by the motions. Devin flashed him a smile, but turned to Riddler.
“You wanna put some music on?” Communication had not started back up, and neither Devin or Riddler had attempted for fear of shattering the illusion of relaxing. Riddler moved slowly after agreeing, opting to take the long way around to the record player. The soft classical music - a favorite when either of them needed some sort of background noise, but nothing too distracting - filled the space. It helped set the mood and Devin noticed that the Clock King’s feet had ever so slightly turned out as if he were not holding them perfectly upright. Finally, the first hints of relaxation!
There was a lot of tension to work with, since Clock King did seem to be on his feet frequently. Devin worked the ankles a little, but was careful not to go higher. He was unlikely to be ready for that.
“Would you be willing to let us rub your shoulders?” Riddler spoke as he returned to his space on the couch. That pulled Devin from his apparent trance, too. He saw Clock King’s posture had relaxed so he was not as stiff as a board, curled back against the pillow.
Acceptance did come, so Riddler rose again, letting them both know he was going to get a chair. Devin flashed an appreciative smile. He would have just offered Clock King to lay against his lap, but that was obviously not going to go over well. He sat the chair facing the couch, indicating for Clock King to sit on in backwards.
“Actually, flip it around. It’ll be better if I can stand,” Devin murmured. Might as well set himself up for success! He would have better access and control, and if this was all they would get to, he might as well let Clock King thoroughly enjoy it.
After a bit of resituating, Clock King settled on the chair, resting against the pillow from the couch and the back of the chair. “Want to take your jacket off?” Devin encouraged in the form of a question. He grinned a little too widely when it was relinquished. This was progress!
The shoulders under his touch rose up sharply when Devin rested his hands on them. He waited, standing perfectly still until they lowered to a resting state. Seemed like the older man was less of a fan of having his back touched. Maybe some bad experiences… Devin started with basic kneading at his shoulders, alternating sides to let Clock King get used to him. He moved out a little bit, working a few hand widths down the man’s arms before going back up and pressing a little harder in unison with his thumbs. Even through the shirt, it was easy to feel the knots.
He did not have time to move further down his back when Clock King announced the thirty minutes were up. Devin did not verify.
“Can I propose we keep going for another hour?” Riddler offered.
“Definitely got my work cut out here,” Devin teased gently, petting softly over the shoulder blades he had not even reached. Riddler shot him a bit of a look, one that was easy to read. He had said something wrong again, and although Clock King’s shoulders did not say it, there must have been something in his face Riddler had seen.
“Alright. That is … yes.” Devin frowned at the hesitance he still heard. Maybe they had not made as much progress as he thought … No, he would not let it deter him. Clock King had taken off two articles of clothes: his shoes and jacket. He let Devin touch his back when he had flinched so bad earlier.
Riddler moved to swap records and Devin covered more of Clock King’s back. He traced his thumbs down either side of the man’s spine, using his fingers to soothe the other areas and stretch out the muscles. As he worked his way back up, he swapped to knuckles to really work into the area. Clock King let out a quiet gasp of delight as Devin worked a tight spot with his knuckles.
Settling back on the couch in front of Clock King, Riddler offered a hand. “Let me work your hands and arms a bit. I’ll start with your dominant hand.” Riddler blinked as Clock King extended his right hand. He had thought the man was left handed like Devin for some reason. Undeterred, he took the hand in his, working to stretch the palm like Devin would do for him after long days on the computer. The fingers curled, unsure of how to settle when being handled like this. Riddler worked them out straight with his thumbs and ended with a gentle pull of each. The palm was worked again before Riddler pulled the arm a little more towards him, resting the upturned hand in his lap so he could work his thumbs up the inner arm.
“You still do a good bit of computer work?” Riddler commented. “Certainly a fast typer.”
“Consulting work,” Clock King confirmed. “I prefer to provide the written report than hire an assistant.” They talked a bit about work as Riddler switched to the left hand. Devin worked the back more and eased back up to the shoulders and base of his neck.
“Want to take your hat off?” Devin asked, thumbs work a little more up the back of his neck.
“No!” It came out much more intense than any other denial, seemingly to startle at his own words. “No. Thank you.” Devin bit down any chuckle that threatened. He had a hunch the hat was for hiding, especially since it was less acceptable to keep wearing a hat in the house. Not that Devin or Riddler cared about that. Riddler often left his own when he dove straight into his work after being out in the green suit.
“No problem,” Devin insisted, working the exposed sides of his neck, keeping well below the hat and hair line. Not able to do as much as he wanted, he let his hands trail back to Clock King’s back. He worked down the spine again, going a little lower than before, but still careful. If they were more acquainted, Devin would have worked the hips and glutes, but with Clock King, it was more likely to add tension and destroy all his hard work. Perhaps, Devin might be able to touch more skin than the couple of inches around his neck…
“I think I could do more for you if you’re open to ditching the shirt,” Devin tried, a little more cautious than his other earlier offers. “Happy to follow suit if it makes you more comfortable!” The first half might have been more acceptable, but his enthusiasm in the last half was met with more caution.
“What are you getting out of this? It seems … very one sided,” Clock King mumbled.
“This is more of an apology for stressing you out,” Devin insisted.
“He’s also attracted to older men~” Riddler teased.
“I mean, also that, but I’m not going to do anything weird just doing this! Or later,” Devin protested. “I get the vibe you’re a bit self-conscious, and there’s no need for that, considering my husband has aired all my dirty laundry.”
“Dirty laundry you didn’t even know you had,” Riddler pointed out. Devin stuck his tongue out teasingly.
“Original question still stands!” Devin forced the conversation back to his point. “I’ve managed to get a few knots out. Feel like I’ve done some good with your shoulders. Not to toot my own horn too much…”
“No, I … yes, you have,” Clock King murmured. “It’s been … nice,” he decided, shifting to sit up and glance over at Devin. “It’s just … you’re a third of my age, if that. This … doesn’t feel right.”
“I’m not,” Devin stated. “I uh … know how old you are. Was just being flirty earlier. Half, yeah, give or take, but I’m not a child. Didn’t have the luxury of that growing up.”
“... I don’t have any experience,” the soft admittance was murmured to the floor between them.
“We … kind of guessed that,” Devin added, sheepishly scratching at the back of his neck. “Which is fine. Can offer the experience if you want?” The tail end curled up enough to indicate it was a question in hopes it softened the offer. “No need to be ashamed. Eddie was my first a few years ago, and you’ve heard how feral I was!”
“We would ease into anything,” Riddler offered more encouragingly. “Nothing wild or rough.”
“To be honest, I just wanted to see where this would go,” Devin mentioned. “If you had just given us a no, I would totally understand. Would just let you and Eddie hang out~”
“It won’t be painful?” Clock King posed.
“Nope! We’ll make sure of it!” Devin could still tell he was on the fence, and hoped to make things a little more relaxed (and sexy). He backed a step away and shrugged out of his shirt, tossing it in the vague direction of the bedroom where they kept the laundry hamper.
This was apparently the wrong move as Clock King drew back in slight alarm. “What happened?!” he asked, looking over the stitches and nearly healed stab on Devin’s shoulder.
“This? Oh, Zsasz. For some reason, I’m in his top three he plans to kill,” Devin shrugged. “I can wrap it though if it bothers you.”
“No, it’s …” Clock King shook his head. “It looks painful.”
“Nah, it’s fine!” Devin let himself show off a bit, because he was not all that impressive. Thankfully, he was not as malnourished as the first few years on his own, a comfortable weight now, and not too much muscle showing because he did not bother to do anything focused. The pale flesh did sport a variety of old, pink scars.
Clock King sat back, looking Devin over before going a little more red in the face as he realized he was staring.
“Even if you decide later you don’t want to go further, I can still do good things to your back for the next, what, twenty-five minutes?”
“Seventeen and a half,” Clock King responded.
“Sure, that!” Clock King nodded and sat back enough to take off his tie and shirt. He carefully folded the garments, and Riddler took them, setting them on the nearby coffee table. Clock King was quick to lean forward again, holding the chair and pillow close. He was jumpy when Devin moved back into position and placed his hands on his shoulders. Devin tried not to be too distracted by the slightly heavier breathing. It sounded more anxious than anything, although he hoped it would ease soon enough.
When his breathing did even out, Riddler suggested a next step. “If you want to lay back on the couch, I’ll rub your legs. You might be able to rest against Devin to let him continue working, maybe get some tension relief for the front.” Devin fought down the wider smile once Clock King was shifting back as if already to switch to this option. Devin moved back to bookend the couch with Riddler, already fantasizing about a bit of skin on skin contact as he extended one leg on the couch to have Clock King lean against his chest instead of in his lap. The older man moved slowly as he sat between them, only leaning back against Devin with some more gentle encouragement. Again, Devin had to ignore the quickened breathing. This was all new to Clock King, so he could understand. He had never been scared with Riddler, but he supposed he had also been a bit of a pillow princess to start, or at least a ‘do whatever you want to me’ until Riddler pointed out he would prefer a little bit more action on Devin’s part on occasions.
Devin made the mistake of starting a little too low on the delcotte massage and Clock King jerked up. “More shoulder work? I can do that!” Devin insisted, sliding his fingers back. He noted that, unlike with the back massage when he was a little off to the side and could see the man’s face, Clock King’s eyes were still open under the brim of his hat. Riddler started at his ankles and only worked up to his knees to start, again letting him get used to the double treatment.
“Ten more minutes?” Clock King requested softly as the last arbitrary timer apparently ended.
“Of course,” Riddler was quick to assure him. “Why don’t you roll over? I’ll do the back of your legs. Perhaps a little higher?”
Both options were accepted, and Devin helped to make sure the hat stayed in place enough as Clock King settled in.
“This is …”
“I’m comfortable~” Devin assured him, stroking down his back soothingly before getting back to work. The ten minute timer passed, and Devin could tell as he felt Clock King swallow roughly, once again uncomfortable with not knowing what came next as he announced the time.
“We can keep going as long as you’d like,” Riddler offered, although shook his hands out since Clock King was still snug against Devin’s chest. “We can do something else or we could move to the bedroom.”
“I suppose we could move. I feel like after all this I -”
“You definitely don’t owe us anything,” Devin was quick to add, already seeing Riddler about to express the same sentiment. It was for sure a turn off for him if it felt forced.
“Right, sorry. I … I will see what it’s like.” The words were still strained, but Devin let him up, keeping a close watch on the body language. He would not be opposed if they simply continued the same activities on the more spacious bed.
Riddler led the way back, mostly to give Devin a chance to recover from the faux pas. He always took that harder than Riddler.
“What should I do?” Clock King asked as he sat on the nearest side of the bed.
“Undress to whatever suits your fancy,” Devin commented, kicking up his previously discarded shirt and tossing it towards the hamper. He missed. “Right, this is why I don’t play basketball…”
At least that brought a sudden snorted half-laugh from Clock King. “How many times do you get asked that?”
“At least twice a week! Usually it’s to get things off the top shelf though.”
The moment passed as Clock King looked down at what he was wearing. “I … should strip though?”
“If we are going further, you will - for comfort and for less mess - have to at least open up your pants,” Riddler suggested. He did not say who would be doing what, knowing Devin would certainly want the honors if Clock King were to let anyone else touch him below the belt. At the thought, Clock King grimaced a bit.
“I would prefer not to stain anything.” Reluctantly, he began taking off his pants, shooting a nervous look towards Devin and Riddler. Not wanting him to be as self-conscious, Devin turned and stripped off his own pants, at least banking them on the hamper this time. Riddler tossed his shirt in, sinking it down the middle.
“Show off~”
Clock King once again took the time to fold his pants, setting them near his bag since Devin had brought it in earlier. Devin had stripped down to his underwear and moved over to the far side of the bed. “How much or how little do you want me in~?” Devin purred.
“He’s ready to be wearing nothing,” Riddler called over his shoulder as he worked on getting off his socks and pants.
“That’s fine… How long will this take?”
“Yes.” Devin gave a shout of surprise as one of Riddler’s balled up socks hit him in the head. “Fine. It depends. Do you like it - wait, no scratch that. Do you want to go fast or slow?”
“... Slow.”
“Sure! So, maybe 30 minutes to an hour? Give or take?”
“Give or take …?” Clock King prompted.
“We can probably keep it pretty close to an hour max,” Riddler declared when Devin made no attempt at answering. “Perhaps inform us when we’re at the 45-minute mark and we will adjust.” Clock King nodded to that, forcing out a slow breath before he gave permission to Devin to completely strip.
The youngest sprang to action, rolling up to strip off his underwear and hurl them back at Riddler in retaliation for the sock.
“Couple of ground rules before we get started. You tell us to stop and we will, no questions asked. Please tell us if anything is uncomfortable or painful. It shouldn’t be,” Riddler stated. “Otherwise, have fun. It’s meant to feel good and we’re both open to trying something different if something’s not working for you.” Devin patted the bed, making sure he was fully on display. He rested his chin on his hand with a grin as he let Clock King take him in. The man shook his head and Devin had to do everything in his power to not laugh at the fact Clock King was still wearing his hat. Hat, underwear, and socks. What a combo!
“You can leave what you’ve got on for now,” Devin murmured, keeping most of the humor out of his voice. “‘Specially if it makes you feel more comfortable.”
“It would,” Clock King confirmed and sat on the bed. “I should … lay down?”
“Yeah! Get comfortable~” Devin purred. Although not stiff as a board, Clock King was still tense as he laid flat on his back, clearly unsure of what to do with his hands. “Can I kiss you?”
“Why?”
“Part of sexy time~?” Devin offered before he forced out a real answer at Riddler’s eye roll. “Want you to get used to my mouth.”
“... Why?” At that point, Devin realized the only concept of sex this man had was probably the most vanilla version of missionary style possible and probably terrified that he had his back on the bed.
“Because I would very much like your dick in my mouth. It feels good, I promise!”
“O-oh.” Devin gingerly reached out and touched Clock King’s shoulder to give it a reassuring squeeze as the blood rushed to his face.
“Would you prefer I cut the lights?” Riddler called, also joining Devin in the nude. “And to make it a little less chaotic, it might be reassuring if only Devin touches you so you don’t feel overwhelmed.” Clock King nodded at that, and Riddler plunged them into darkness, the only light coming in above the cheap darkout curtains and from the light in the living room. The door was pushed so it was only open a crack.
“What about you?” Clock King asked weakly.
“I’ll keep myself entertained~” Riddler insisted as he sidled in behind Devin. Devin pressed back into him teasingly as Riddler’s hands came around to trace at his chest and stomach.
“Earlier question still stands,” Devin added. “I can not kiss you on the lips if you prefer.”
“Yes, that. The … latter.” Devin truly hoped that eventually, the crisp and precise usual way Clock King had with his words would come back. He ran his hand down Clock King’s arm and found his hand, gently lifting it and bringing it to his lips. As much as he wanted to, he did not suck on Clock King’s fingers. If he were a betting man - which he was, but he lost a lot when money was involved - he would bet Clock King would hate it.
“Can I touch you again, above the belt for now? Nice and soft like the massage, just … lower on your chest.” Timid affirmation came again. Devin moved his hand back to the shoulder, fingers curling in gently. He moved his hand in small circles, working a little lower each time, fingers now pressing along the collar bone on the downward swoops. Sliding closer, Devin pressed his lips gently to his shoulder where his hand had started the journey. A chaste kiss was pressed to the skin. A second, a third, and then he was moving in more towards the center, kissing more at the collarbone as his hand traced down to his pectoral.
Clock King took a sharp inhale. Devin froze, raising his hand so it was more of a ghost over the skin. “All good?”
“Y-yes. Sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize,” Devin insisted, nuzzling his head against Clock King’s shoulder. “Just need to say if you don’t like anything.” There was a nod Devin felt in the dark as he let his hand return. He traced it over so it rested in the center of Clock King’s chest, feeling the beat under his hand.
“Is your resting rate sixty?” Devin asked, sliding a little closer to the older man so he could press his lips to the underside of Clock King’s jaw.
“Y-yes. It’s … elevated now,” he admitted. Devin let out a soft chuckle and ghosted his lips against the man’s neck.
“You’re very in sync~ Such perfect timing~” Devin praised lowly, lips back to Clock King’s collar bone. He hazarded a lick, feeling Clock King shiver at the sensation before settling. Riddler shifted with Devin, still keeping his hands close but shifting them lower. He curled his fingers around Devin’s member, the tallest man humming contently.
Devin ever so slowly started to trail his hands lower down the center of Clock King’s chest. He felt the quickened breaths more and more with each inch he claimed. After a while, Devin kept his hand still, palm resting over Clock King’s naval. His lips took up the slack, zig zagging softly on the side Devin was laying on, his tongue occasionally darting out to tease between ribs.
Riddler slid down with him, even lower, as he rolled his hips forward, pressing his member between Devin’s thighs to enjoy the friction. “Are you enjoying this?” he posed before his voice could become too shaky.
“It’s … fine.” Although not reassuring, it was at least neutral enough. Devin curled forward so he could rest his head where his hand had been feeling the uneven and rather erratic rise and fall of each breath.
“Can I touch your hips and legs? I’ll keep to the outside~” he promised.
“Alright.” Devin smiled, hoping Clock King could feel that, although he definitely felt as Devin turned just enough to circle his navel with his tongue. He felt a little bad as Clock King’s hands threatened to come up, before he assumed they were forced back on the bed. Devin’s fingers graced the waistband, teasing at the elastic before he squeezed at the hip bone. He rubbed small but deep circles, working down and down until he was massaging at the bare skin of his thigh.
“Can I touch you~?” Devin breathed, teasing his hand up just a little so that it was on top of the man’s leg. Finally, the oldest man seemed to be catching on, not mentioning that Devin was in fact already touching him.
“Please be gentle…” Devin hesitated a moment, making sure that was an affirmative.
“I will,” he promised, gingerly moving his hand over to hover over the man’s crotch. None of his earlier actions had elicited much from Clock King, which Devin could understand. He could feel the anxiety in every breath, every tremble, every beat over sixty per minute. With soft motions, he ghosted his palm over the area, adding only minutely more pressure for a long thirty seconds. Careful fingers curled and brushed along the length. Devin stroked them to the tip, waited a second, and worked back towards the base. The soft gasps were audible and not just felt against his resting head.
“You okay?”
“Y-yes.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.” Clock King swallowed roughly, Devin feeling that as well. He took his word for it, because the man had left him in the middle of a sentence multiple times. Clock King could walk away. Devin stroked him a little more solidly, wringing out a muffled noise Clock King tried to bite down.
“Can I really touch you~?” Devin posed, using his thumb to tease about the band again. A quick breath was sucked in. “Will be gentle still.” The soft promise was accepted and Devin kissed the bare flesh again before moving. He shifted away from both men, rolling gently to his feet to stand at the foot of the bed. Clock King took a while to understand the hint and shift with Devin as he slid the underwear up over his hips and down his legs. Giving Clock King a moment, Devin took the time to fold them and lay them out on the nightstand closest to Clock King’s side and fished out the lube from the drawer.
Devin ran his hand down Clock King’s far leg and then up the other as he crawled back into bed, feeling the shiver at the touch. Perhaps they should have thrown a blanket over him…
Riddler shifted to Devin’s new position as Devin instead rested his head against Clock King’s thigh. Devin coated the fingers of his left hand with lube to warm it and passed the container to his husband. Gingerly, Devin reached out and brushed his fingers along Clock King’s length again. They glided more easily now. From his earlier touches, Clock King’s member had started to rise and now twitched with the skin on skin contact. A startled moan fell from his lips. He clawed at the sheets at the foreign touch, trying to keep still as his body did not know whether to move into or away from the touch.
Devin curled his fingers fully around the length now, slowly stroking from tip to base with a smooth rhythm. He did no more than this as he felt the member continuing to stiffen and Clock King finally - finally! - giving in and rocking up to meet the movements. Nothing but soft gasps and bit off moans were coming from him. The first half thrust helped to break the gates as Clock King writhed into the touch, a hand coming up to Devin’s wrist. His hold was weak, just wanting something to hang onto instead of pushing him away. Devin gave him more. He let his thumb tease around the tip, gliding smoothly with the lube.
Riddler had merely been cuddling, watching to make sure everything was going smoothly. With Devin so entranced with his work, he lubed up his own member and pressed two fingers inside of Devin. The tallest man hummed, a note startled from him as his focus was on Clock King. He pressed back to let Riddler know he was comfortable as Riddler curled the fingers inside of him.
“Hold on a moment,” Devin breathed once he felt Riddler line up with his entrance. He shifted again, curling in further against Clock King. His warm breath fell over his member as Clock King seemed to remember the earlier comments Devin made.
“This is something you enjoy?” Clock King got out, voice shaky with what Devin hoped was enjoyment.
“Mm-hm,” Devin confirmed and since the hand was still holding his wrist instead of pushing him away, Devin pressed forward and took the tip past his lips. Clock King let out a soft moan, something that turned sharp and pleasurable as Devin swirled his tongue around the tip. Like the earlier noises, Clock King tried to tamp it down, something that was evidently becoming more difficult with the clearer they became.
With Devin in position, Riddler finally pressed in, arms once again curled around the taller man, teasing and stroking. Devin hummed in appreciation. He dipped his head lower, taking more of Clock King’s member into his mouth. His free hand continued to tease at the base or lightly trace around the area. He smiled up at him best he could as Clock King’s hand finally found his head. The fingers tightened in his hair before the oldest man seemed to remember himself. Devin could feel the fingers twitching at his scalp.
“You can set the pace~” he murmured, pulling away just enough to speak but making sure to keep stroking. Clock King shivered and writhed as Devin fully took him into his mouth again, swallowing around the length. Devin nuzzled up into the hand to try to better make his point. Clock King’s motions were off beat for the first few attempts until he slowed down to let himself sync. It was far slower than where Devin might have been at this point, but part of that was the faster pace Riddler was setting with him, something he had not really focused on until then. Now with both men setting the pace, he closed his eyes and gave in.
Riddler was moaning softly against his back, thrusting harder. Devin tensed against him. Another smile graced Devin’s lips as Riddler rutted in hard before going still behind him. Clock King was not quite there, but that was all stress. Devin kept licking and sucking as his head was pulled carefully along the length.
There was a slight rustle on the left side of the bed, an arm coming up and laying flat once more, before Clock King paused. “It’s been f-forty-five minutes,” he got out, words breathy. Devin was pretty sure they had not been nude that long, although was not sure when that countdown started. Also, was the man wearing a watch?! It had to be purely aesthetics because Devin could not imagine him with a digital and it was too dark in here to see.
“I’d like to try a little more~” Devin purred, still feeling the warmth inside him from Riddler. This might be the only chance he got with Clock King, and he wanted to give him the chance to experience a good bit! Patting Riddler’s leg gently to get him to pull back, Devin sat up and crawled over to straddle Clock King’s nearest leg.
“W-wait. No -” Clock King started, pulling up his other leg defensively.
Devin did freeze, yet spoke up quickly. “I’m not going to penetrate you. That would probably hurt. You’re way too tense for that,” he insisted, finding the hand that had been in his hair and giving it a squeeze. “I would like to ride you though. Let you get the full deal. I think I can keep a beat, but you can also be on top if you want~ What do you say~?”
“Won’t that hurt you?” Clock King posed, genuine concern tainting the enjoyment.
“You won’t hurt me,” Devin promised. The hand in his tightened, but Clock King agreed, flattening out and turning his head away. Devin moved gently, feeling a hair of tension fade when he was above Clock King’s hips instead of below them, knees tucked in gently as the oldest man’s side.
Stroking the man more firmly to get him ready again, Devin lined him up at his entrance and sank back. Clock King cried out in bliss as Devin took him fully and started rolling his hips back against him. He guided Clock King’s hand to his hip in case the man wanted to change the pace.
Clock King clung to him or the sheets. He writhed below Devin now that the pace was faster. Devin figured he only had less than fifteen minutes and ought to speed things up. Although he wanted to push the hat to the side and kiss at the man’s head - only the lips had been off limits! - Devin resisted the urge. He leaned forward, shifting his upper half to be at an angle so he could nuzzle against Clock King’s shoulders. The other hand crept up from the bed to curl around Devin’s back.
“Good?” Devin posed, grinning wider when the only answer was a moaned affirmative. He kept up his movements, perfectly timed, unvaried in nature. It might have almost been boring if Devin was not coasting on the joy of getting Clock King to open up.
At some point, before the one hour mark since Clock King never paused to mention it, Clock King’s motions sped. He met each of Devin’s rocks, thrusting up into him. With his hands curling into fists so the nails only dug into his own palms, Clock King writhed up into him, crying out softly as his orgasm rocked through him. He collapsed back on the bed, panting. Devin laid still until his breathing evened out.
Gingerly, he sat back, rolling off to his side of the bed again. He reached out and stroked down Clock King’s arm to his wrist, hoping the man would not notice the subtle check-in of his pulse. Sure, Clock King was fit, but Devin was worried about all the stress that precluded the night!
“How are you?”
“Good.” The word came out almost surprised.
“You want to go again~?”
Before Clock King could even consider an answer, Riddler swatted Devin. “Ignore him. He likes to talk himself into six foot deep holes!”
“I haven’t yet~” Devin protested with a laugh, letting his hand slip down to Clock King’s. “You want to take a shower?” he offered genuinely.
“Yes. That would be nice.” To prevent a mess, Riddler rose to show him the connecting bathroom.
“He brought his own towel,” Riddler commented as he slid back into bed behind Devin.
“Ours aren’t good enough?” Devin teased in a low whisper. The shower had just turned on and he knew it took a bit for the water to heat up.
“I told him he should take a long shower,” Riddler purred, pushing at Devin’s shoulder until he rolled onto his stomach. Devin let him rearrange him however Riddler liked. He knew his husband was well aware that was not enough for him to get off and looked forward to a second round on his knees.
“You know, that was the most average sex I’ve ever had,” Devin admitted before groaning contently as Riddler started them off fast and rough.
“Was it good?”
“Mm … in the ‘wasn’t bad’ category. So, it was fine. A-ah, not this fine~” Riddler’s hand had found its mark and started pumping him hard. Devin pressed his face into the bed as he cried out in bliss.
“Y-you would have him back?”
“Y-yeah. He’s c-cute~” Devin laughed before his back arched involuntarily and his hand came up to join Riddler’s. Riddler moaned something that was lost, so he focused on holding out for Devin. Devin pitched forward, cumming hard into his hand. Riddler followed and finished once more inside of him.
“Y-you don’t m-mind I’m … into older men?” Devin got as he fumbled for the sock Riddler had thrown at him earlier to wipe off his hand.
“N-no … G-glad you … won’t leave for a … a younger man … when I get old …”
“Good~ Although … Ra’ al Ghul is looking pretty good …”
“Devin.”
“Yes~?” Riddler took hold of one of his legs and arm before using all of his strength to roll to the side, throwing Devin off the bed. Devin was stronger normally, but he put up no fight. He knew he deserved it, laughing as he thumped on the floor.
“Is everything okay?” Clock King asked, poking his head out of the bathroom.
“Everything’s fine. Devin rolled off the bed.”
“Rolled?!” Devin forced out with mock exasperation before it dissolved into a laugh. “Mm, sometimes I’m clumsy.” Clock King gave a nod before disappearing back in the bathroom. He had been shirtless still and Devin did not think he would be lucky enough that the man would sleep nude or even half nude. Too … uptight for that most likely. Although …
“Did he say he would spend the night?” Devin whispered enthusiastically as he rose up on his knees.
“Looks like it. He took his bag in and I think he was in pajama bottoms.”
“Do you think he’ll sleep with us?!”
“You’re sleeping right there~” Riddler teased. Devin pouted, but whisked it away quickly when Riddler hugged his head against his chest and kissed the top of his head. He sighed contently with the fingers running through his hair. “We’ll see. We might be sharing the couch.”
“Oh how terrible~ We’d have to cuddle~”
“The worst~”
Clock King cleared his throat softly as he walked out, fully dressed … Fully dressed for bed. Riddler felt Devin’s head tilt back to confirm the hat was gone and make sure to keep him firmly pressed against him.
“We should discuss sleeping arrangements,” he declared. “We’re very open to whatever will make you comfortable. If you want the bed to yourself, we have no problem sleeping on the couch.”
“Is there no guest room?”
“Just the master bedroom,” Riddler confirmed. “The other room is an office and there was no space for a bed.”
“I don’t want to displace you,” he admitted.
“It won’t be an issue,” Riddler started.
“Bed’s big enough for three~” Devin pulled back enough so he could chime in. “I’m warm. Good for cuddling~” Riddler rolled his eyes in the dark, but both let Clock King mull it over.
“It would be wrong to keep you from your own bed. I … do not wish to cuddle,” Clock King murmured.
“We’ll let you get situated while we clean up,” Riddler confirmed, pulling Devin up with him and dragging him along to the bathroom.
“He looks so comfy now!” Devin whined lowly as Riddler flipped on the shower.
“You’re not getting a second round and if you’re not careful, he’s going to sleep in his hat!”
“God, I want to kiss him though!”
“If only there were someone else you could kiss~”
“If only~” Devin trailed off, sighing dramatically. Riddler scoffed, throwing his hands around his neck and pulling him lower to steal a kiss.
“I see why you don’t work for Joker,” he mused between rough kisses. Devin arched a brow, stealing another kiss before Riddler could answer. “Your jokes aren’t funny.”
“Are his~?”
“No,” Riddler snickered as Devin ran a soapy hand through his hair and pulled him in for a deeper kiss.
Riddler pulled away to catch his breath. “We shouldn’t keep our guest waiting too long,” he mumbled as Devin nibbled at his ear.
“Very true!” They finished quickly, toweling off haphazardly.
“Stay here. I’ll get us stuff to wear,” Riddler demanded, wrapping a towel securely around himself. He brought them more than they might normally wear to sleep in, but Devin got it. Tonight was not a ‘just underwear’ kind of night.
Clock King glanced up when they returned. He had flipped on the bedside lamp and was writing in his calendar. “I can sit in the living room if this bothers you.”
“Nah, it’s pretty early for us, to be honest,” Devin admitted. He slid into bed towards the middle, flashing a smirk at Riddler to say he claimed the better spot, but was careful to keep space between him and Clock King.
“I will be going to sleep in twelve minutes.”
“Will we be a bother to you?” Riddler posed.
“Not if you don’t move too much. I have to wear an eye mask and ear plugs.” Arrangements made, Riddler took to his side, closer to the edge. Devin curled against him, and since Clock King had pulled out a book, they took to texting.
‘Riddle me this: is he left or right handed?’ Devin went to look, but Riddler curled his fingers in his dark hair to force him to keep still.
‘Left, right?’ Riddler rolled his eyes at the response before Devin sent him another ‘L’ as his guess.
‘Nope.’
‘Really?! He really is the most average man. I couldn’t pick him out of a lineup…’
‘I thought you liked him?’
‘Yeah! OMG have you seen the way he moves?! Gonna jerk off to that later.’ Riddler bit his lip to keep from making a sound. Instead, he sent his next chess move and Devin let him change the subject.
“Goodnight, gentlemen,” Clock King stated at was must have been exactly eleven minutes later. He pulled on the mask and ear plugs, turned the light out, and settled. Riddler and Devin stared as the man seemed to drift off quickly considering everything.
‘I wish I could sleep like that!’ Devin complained. ‘Stupid insomnia…’
‘You know he probably wakes up at the crack of dawn.’
‘Yeah, but I’m not speepy.’
‘Sucks to be you,’ Riddler responded before setting his phone on the bed side table and rolling so his back was to Devin.
“Traitor,” Devin whispered. He heard the soft chuckle before Riddler carefully turned back to him and hugged him to his chest.
“RC4,” Riddler whispered and they continued the game until they were too tired to go on.
Clock King knocked softly at the bedroom door. Devin, barely half asleep, thrashed wildly. The sudden spike wore off quickly and he slurred out a ‘good morning’ and collapsed back.
“Sorry to wake you,” Clock King started, a bit of an edge he tried to keep down. “I was checking to see if I should go home for breakfast.”
“Mm? No … no,” Riddler mumbled, scrubbing at his eyes. “We’ll make something. Should have told you to help yourself …” He stood slowly and stretched. Turning back to the bed, he shook Devin’s leg. “Come on. Get up. Told you not to stay up late.”
Devin mumbled incomprehensibly before rolling closer to the edge and fumbling to get his feet on the floor. He dragged to the kitchen, half asleep and eyes half closed. Clock King stood awkwardly in the doorway a moment before finally taking a seat at the small kitchen table to stay out of the way.
“Eggs and sausage good?”
“Yes, thank you.” He waited a beat before adding, “I’m surprised you’re not serving beans on toast.” Devin stuck his tongue out at that, and Riddler had to chuckle.
“Didn’t feel like going that far.”
"What gave you the impression I was British?" Clock King asked.
"Well surely you've gone to see the Big Ben Clock Tower?" When the affirming 'of course' came, Riddler continued, "So we wanted to do something that might be reminiscent of your time there." Clock King studied him closely, and the slight upturn of Riddler's lips gave him away.
“You both thought I was British.” The accusation was soft enough yet confident.
“You are very skilled at blending in,” Riddler complimented.
“Yes. It does come in quite handy during my work.” Riddler served the food and glanced over. Devin was working on brewing the tea even though he looked like he might fall asleep on his feet at any moment. Riddler supposed he had practiced it enough to make it in his sleep!
Devin poured two cups, one for Clock King and one for Riddler. “You’re not having any?” Clock King posed, taking a sip and once again nodding approvingly.
“Mm … no. Not into tea,” Devin murmured, fishing in the small pantry for the store brand instant coffee. He tapped some in without bothering to measure and filled it with tap water before putting it in the microwave. Clock King studied him the whole time with a curious expression. Once it beeped, Devin swirled the water around, unable to be bothered with a spoon.
“What time did you go to sleep?” Riddler posed, snickering a little as Devin tried not to nap in the eggs.
“Dunno … five-ish?”
“What were you doing?” Clock King pressed.
“Insomnia,” Devin explained, and Riddler knew he was exhausted by missing the opportunity for a ‘not you.’ “Stupid stranger danger vibes…”
“Takes him a bit to sleep in the proximity of new people,” Riddler explained. “Happens with everyone. Took a week before I could wake up without him staring through my soul!”
Clock King nodded, although looked a bit concerned. “I will be going in eight minutes,” he confirmed, doing his customary glance at his wrist. Riddler bit down a laugh. “What?”
“You don’t need to check that, do you?”
“No, but no one believes me otherwise.” They finished in silence.
“Thank you for hosting me,” Clock King stated. He offered a handshake to both in thanks and gathered his bag that he had already packed. Riddler walked him down, closing up behind him. He would not complain about going back to bed either.
“Well that was fun,” he commented, mostly to himself as Devin did end up using the table as a pillow. “You’re going to burn yourself…” Riddler pulled away the mug that was still precariously in his hand.
“Come on. Bed time!” Riddler jostled Devin’s shoulder until the taller man shuttered awake.
“You think he’ll … come again?” Devin mumbled as Riddler prodded him to the side Clock King had taken.
“Well … we got a handshake for our efforts. That seems promising.”
“I love that man. You shoulds … shoulds invite …”
“He won’t accept a grammatically incorrect invitation either. We’ll set something up later. Good night!”
“Good morning~” Devin slurred before fading.