My friend Ukulele_Screamo21 just posted a Maximum Ride fanfiction. So if you know the book series, I highly recommend you check that out!

It was fairly late when Oswald got home. He hoped more than anything that Edward wouldn't be awoken by the sound of the door, or his uneven steps echoing through the halls. But when he passed Ed's room he found it empty, the door left open. So perhaps he wasn't home either?

Oswald was a bit worried about by the thought of where Ed could be, or what was possibly keeping him. But of course it could be anything: Ed was perfectly free to come and go as he pleased. So Oswald forced himself to push his concern to the back of his mind and carried on to his own room. Edward didn't even know of his affections, so Oswald did everything he could to keep it a secret. He valued Edward's friendship too much to risk it by admitting how he really felt...so being worried out of his mind just from not knowing where he was, was simply not something he could let show.

In any case, he was sure he could carry on without worrying about the noise his feet made on the smooth marble floor. When he arrived at his room he sighed tiredly and threw open the door without a second thought. To his great surprise he found that there was a small fire burning in the fireplace, while at the same time the sheets on his bed shifted to reveal a familiar figure.

"Ed?" he whispered in shock.

"Oh, Oswald," Ed said quickly as he sat up in the bed and fumbled around on the nightstand for his glasses. "Um, sorry, Oswald. I wasn't really expecting to..."

"What are you doing here?" Oswald asked, much more surprised than he was upset.

Ed must have noticed that he was calm because the fiery red of his cheeks started to fade slightly. He answered slowly, "I...sorry, I was having some trouble sleeping and thought it might be nice to sleep in here...what with the fire and all...and I didn't want to be alone....I wasn't really thinking straight; I'll leave now, I-I'm sorry."

"No it's fine Ed," Oswald said hurriedly, before Ed could trouble himself to get out of bed. Just then he realized, this was his best chance to be close to him. "If it makes you more comfortable, I wouldn't mind sharing the bed with you.

The words came out more easily than he thought they would, truth be told. Of course, it was a very large bed. They still wouldn't be very close, like they were when they lived together in Edward's apartment, so Oswald's invitation for them to share the massive bed could still easily be seen as a simple sign of friendship.

"Are you sure?" Ed inquired carefully. He was trying to find some sort of meaning behind the suggestion, but Oswald seemed to hide his motives surprisingly well.

Oswald nodded in response, relieving Ed of some of his worries. He felt a slight heat rise in his cheeks when the smaller man shrugged off his blazer and placed it over a chair, but with any luck the flickering firelight would successfully hide the color in his face.

There was a moment where Oswald paused and wondered if he should go to the bathroom to change into pajamas. But there was no master bathroom, and his leg was starting to hurt him too much to go to such lengths just to change. So he simply kicked off his shoes, loosened his tie, and crawled cautiously into bed. Edward was turned around, presumably already trying to sleep.

The fire cast long, flickering shadows over the both of them, and Oswald openly stared at the flecks of orange and gold that danced all over Ed's unkempt hair. After a minute he sighed quietly and turned over on his side to face the wall. At least he could dream that they were something more.

Oswald had a lot of trouble sleeping, which was understandable, of course. But it wasn't because he was still almost fully dressed, or that he was unused to sleeping by a fire; it was thoughts of Ed that led to his insomnia. He could hear his soft breathing, mere feet away. The urge to make some sort of move was almost irresistible...but if Ed really did consider him merely a close friend, he couldn't risk it. In such an intimate situation, it could prove even more disastrous.

And that's exactly why he was so acutely aware of the sound of rustling sheets behind him. He kept his breathing slow and steady as he listened to every movement with avid curiosity. It wasn't long before he was aware of how close Ed had become in less than a minute; much closer than they've ever slept before, certainly. Oswald could almost feel the taller man's breath rustling his hair.

The question was: why had he come so close? Had he fallen asleep so quickly and was completely unaware of his actions? Or was it possible...no, Oswald didn't dare to let himself hope. That would just set him up for disappointment. But he was still curious, so he pretended to be asleep by slowing his breathing further and focusing on steadying his heartbeat. It was difficult, actually. But it must have worked, as Ed drew a bit closer.

Oswald could feel his heat when they were this close. There was almost nothing separating them now, hardly an inch of space between that marked a boundary that even Ed didn't seem to want to cross now. And Oswald could definitely feel his breath, stirring the hair by his ear and making the hair on his neck bristle up slightly. Luckily he doubted Ed could notice. But Edward was definitely awake; his breathing was a bit too fast and he seemed too conscious of where he was. Oswald imagined that his own heart was pounding with anticipation and excitement. He was almost sure Ed would be able to hear it.

Then Oswald leaned back the slightest bit until his back brushed against Ed's chest. He let out a sleepy sigh to hopefully conceal that he was conscious, in the chance that Ed really didn't mean anything by this. It was actually a fairly subtle movement, but he could hear the slight hitch in Ed's breath. But there was no other change...maybe he had imagined it, in some desperate fantasy? Edward could very well be asleep after all...so Oswald closed his eyes in disappointment. He focused on the slight pressure of Ed's chest against his back as he inhaled. If nothing else, he could sleep happily knowing that Ed was so close.

But a hand snaked around to lightly touch his stomach, and his eyes shot open again. He couldn't keep himself from gasping in surprise; that had been the absolute last thing he expected. At his reaction Ed immediately began to pull his hand away. He must have been awake then...? The idea was impossible for Oswald to ignore now.

"Ed?" Oswald asked. His hoarse voice was no more than a whisper.

The hand had only receded to the level of his hip, and at the sound of his voice it froze there. Edward's chest stopped moving mid-breath and Oswald no longer felt the gentle wind ruffling his hair.

But there was an uncomfortably long silence before Edward answered, "I-I-I'm sorry I must have been asleep and I didn't realize I was-"

His voice broke of instantly when Oswald interlaced their fingers.

Unfortunately Oswald couldn't see his face, so it was impossible to tell how he was reacting exactly. But with such an openly intimate move on his part, he knew that it was the moment he had been dreading and looking forward too all at once. If Ed really had been asleep...what they had was as good as gone for sure. When there was no reaction, he shut his eyes a bit too tight and slowly brought Ed's hand up to his chest.

"I understand," Oswald whispered, biting his lip.

For the longest time his only answer was the quiet pops coming from the dying fire and the faintest sound of Edward's hand rubbing his waistcoat, guided by his own hand. Then, there was a soft puff of breath on his ear, followed by the faintest brush of lips on his neck. Oswald's grip on Ed's hand tightened.

Ed must have noticed. He pressed his lips to his neck, and all at once Oswald realized that he definitely wasn't dreaming, or merely hoping. Edward Nygma was here. Now. And he was kissing him as if he had been waiting to do it for months. And maybe he had? Perhaps even longer than Oswald had himself? The thought sent thrilling shivers down his spine and across his whole body. He decided, then, that he had better make up for lost time.

He wiggled his way out of Ed's grip just enough to turn around and finally looked up into Ed's face. He was clearly blushing, and seemed unsure of how to react to Oswald's sudden movement. His hand was lying against his own side now, while the other was tucked under his pillow to support his head. The poor guy looked almost scared, as if he was still unsure of how Oswald felt.

So the Penguin raised a cautious hand to touch his jaw, lightly brushing over the faint stubble on his skin. Then he closed his eyes, and leaned in to kiss him. Once again Ed was slow to react, but within seconds he closed his eyes as well and kissed him back, deeply, bringing both hands around to hold his back.

Oswald hooked a leg over Edward's hip to hold them together and pressed against his chest, using his hands to stroke his face, his shoulder, the back of his head. The way he was holding on so tight, the way both of them were, was like they were terrified to let go for fear the other might leave. And maybe they were both afraid of just that; it was hard to forget how sudden and unexpected the whole situation was, for both of them really. But it was all they had ever dreamed of from each other, and more.

"I love you," Oswald murmured against his lips, his hand knotting in Ed's shirt and his breathing heavy.

Edward paused for a moment in complete shock. Then he hugged Oswald tight and answered softly in his ear, "I love you too."

Sorry if this seems a bit different or cheesy or whatnot. This was actually supposed to be a chapter of smut. I know, scary right? This chapter was starting to get too long, so I split it into two parts and the second part should start to slowly move over into the more mature content ;) I also thought it would be nice for those of you who may not want smut or pwp, so you can just read the first part and pretend the second doesn't exist if you like. But for those of you that have been waiting and/or begging for porn chapters, I should have the next part up in 3-4 days! Just be warned, it's a bit slow-paced and straightforward, and I'm nervous as all heck to post it.

As always thanks for reading, and don't forget to let me know what your thoughts are below. Buh-bye! :)