Author's Note: I'd just shortly like to remind you that this fiction is rated M. :)

Sophie was peeling potatoes and it was going to be a hapless dinner.

Lately, she had simply felt too drained to do any decent cooking. Or to go grocery shopping on a regular basis. She did not eat out of appetite or because she felt hungry, she ate because she knew that every sensible human being somewhat had to consume as many calories as they burn, or they'd get weak and tired.

It was normal.

Like going to work, like calling her parents and telling them that she was doing fine, like watching TV shows that were neither educating nor contained anything that she would be able to remember once she shut the device off.

But normal just happened to be so very energy depriving.

And eating fruit and vegetables did not stop her from feeling weak and tired.

And the idea of only preparing a meal for herself did not improve that sentiment. Once again, Victor Zsasz had broken his words and not made an appearance when he said he would. And this time, she really wasn't sure if he ever would or if he had decided to vanish from her life for good.

The rational side of her knew that this should be the point where the most sensible decision would be to pack her bags and head home. The rational voice inside of her head told her that if she had any ounce of self-esteem left, she should stop waiting for someone who would only break her heart. And that before her departure, she should write a letter to Gina which included a sincere apology.

All it would take to get home was one phone call.

Sophie sighed as she disposed of the potato skin.

And suddenly, the hair on the back of her neck stood up. It was as if the temperature of the room had fallen.

And yet, the most prominent feelings inside of her were relief and excitement.

Once again, she sent her rational side straight to hell and turned around.

"What's for dinner?"

It was not his usual carefree tone. Much to Sophie's surprise, he sounded taunting and colder than she perceived the room's temperature to be.

In the past, he would have made sure to sneak behind her unnoticed and to whisper those words right into her ear to startle her- just for the sake of his amusement.

Maybe he knew that by now, he could not get that close to her without being detected. Yet, he had somehow managed to get into her apartment unnoticed and Sophie really could not remember the last time Victor had succeeded into doing that.

And somehow, it did not seem like he had come to her place for any kind of amusement.

Something seemed… off.

"Potatoes."

It was hard for her to make out his face. She had herself to blame, really. Lately, she forgot to turn on the lights once it got dark outside.

His tall frame was leaning against the wall of her 'hallway', not too far away from where he had kis- Sophie shoved that thought away.

A car's headlights from the outside illuminated his face for the brief second it took to pass by. But that had been enough to show Sophie that he really wasn't up for any of his usual shenanigans.

His mouth was a thin line and his eyes seemed cold and calculating. His crossed arms really did not help with adding any form of ease to the picture.

Sophie would have loved to come up with a witty remark to somehow erase the tension. But of course, she didn't. She could not think of a single thing that would not make her sound like an idiot.

So she kept silent instead and waited for him to speak. Moreover, she resisted the urge to walk towards him and made sure to not mirror his defensive body language.

Right now, he was unpredictable.

Suddenly, Gina's words echoed in her head.

He will hurt you, either physically or emotionally. Most likely both.

She shoved the intrusive thought away. She was not scared of Victor.

And since she was determined to show him that, she made sure that her eyes never left his face.

After what felt like an eternity, he approached her both slowly and soundlessly until he was an arm's length away from her.

Without thinking, she automatically moved to take a step ahead.

"Don't."

His voice sounded low and hollow, but what really got to her was the impression in his eyes that seemed to tell her to know her place.

And as much as she knew how pathetic it was, Sophie craved nothing more but her place to be the one at his side. Moreover, she felt stupid for not staying put where she was like she had planned to.

Sophie's eyes fixated on the face that she had missed so much even though it had haunted her in her dreams uncountable times. The shadows under his eyes looked as awful as ever and the dim light from the streetlights on the outside made his skin look yellow.

He still seemed like a wounded animal to her.

As she drowned in his eyes, they seemed to lose some of their coldness - although that might have been just wishful thinking. Sophie didn't mind his scrutinising gaze. Instead, she watched him patiently, wondering what kind of thoughts were running through his mind.

At some point, he let out a slow breath and broke their eye contact. When he set his brown eyes back on hers, he seemed less on edge and far more composed.

"Penguin's in Arkham."

Sophie nodded. For killing a child, among other crimes, she thought and remembered how nauseous she had felt when she heard about it on the news. But that feeling had quickly passed when she had started to wonder what this meant for Victor Zsasz and spiralled into an endless pit of different scenarios about the assassin's fate.

"I'm working for Sofia Falcone, now."

Sophie nodded more slowly this time, trying to process the news. That was not among the scenarios she had anticipated.

When she thought about Sofia Falcone, she thought about wealth, paired with a generosity and kindness that could make a difference – even in a vile city like Gotham.

Hearing that the person who had opened an orphanage and supported the poor on more than one occasion was also someone who employed people like Victor Zsasz was quite the surprise, to put it mildly.

Maybe Cobblepot had drawn her into this shady business and since he had left behind an empire, Sofia Falcone had taken the opportunity that had arisen, Sophie wondered, not wanting any dirt on the mental image she had of the woman. Perhaps, she would use the newly discovered power to do good with it, Sophie told herself. It would have seemed low to her to assume that indulging in criminal business was simply in someone's blood.

A naïve part of her wondered if he chose Sofia Falcone and not anyone else as a boss because of what she had said to him countless weeks ago.

Either way, she could not really think of a good way to ask for more details.

"Are you… happy with your new boss?"

To her relief, her voice sounded less hoarse than she had feared it would, but she had not been fully able to disguise the curiosity in it.

"She's a Falcone, so she knows how things work."

The way he said her surname almost sounded fondly. Suddenly, she felt a pang of jealousy. Sofia Falcone was beautiful, powerful, and resourceful. From what Sophie had gathered on the media, she also seemed to be well-read and eloquent.

But she was determined to not let that emotion show on her face. And, since she was so deprived of information regarding his life, she would not allow herself to lose focus.

"What does her family name have to do with her competence?"

He stared at her with raised eyebrows and looked like was about to shake his head in disbelief for a second.

"Oh, it's just that Falcone used to run Gotham's underground long before Penguin and all of these clowns came along. Kept Maroni and Fish and everyone else in check."

Macaroni and fish? She had no idea what he was talking about. But she did remember him saying that Oswald Cobblepot had wanted to meet Sofia Falcone because her father had been a rather successful criminal.

Sophie knew that she should have been upset about his tone and attitude. For someone who was still rather new to Gotham, there was really no way to know about whatever covert business had been going on in its underground. It was not like things like this were broadcasted on national television.

But Sophie didn't mind and dismissed the impulse to scold him as soon as it popped up in her brain. She was far too happy that somehow, the atmosphere in the room seemed to be getting back to their version of normal.

"I've always enjoyed working for the Falcones. When the old man was in charge, everyone followed the rules. You'd have liked how Gotham was a few years back."

Sophie looked at him questioningly.

"Falcone brought the important people together, made them cooperate. Everyone knew which lines not to cross. Everyone respected him."

She nodded, still rather unsure how this would contribute to her liking the former mobster situation of the city better. She also took notice of the admiration that was evident in his tone. Apparently, Carmine Falcone had meant something to Victor Zsasz.

"That means", he stressed the verb slightly, "less violence."

"Oh."

Then, he took a step towards her to whisper in her ear.

"Unless it was required to make an example of someone who did not respect the rules."

"Hm." Sophie tried to sound thoughtful, but the sudden closeness made her feel lightheaded and the way his breath had touched the sensitive skin of her neck and earlobe gave her goose bumps.

The latter were a treacherous sign which did not go unnoticed by him if she read his arrogant smirk right. He seemed to have gotten back to his unbearable self.

And Sophie could not have been happier.

"But you don't really seem to mind as much as you pretend to, do you?"

It was hard for Sophie to focus on his words, to process their meaning, with being in such close proximity to him. But the taunting tone and the amusement that glistered in his dark eyes, did not go unnoticed by her.

She had to win some time if she did not want to make a complete fool of herself by showing him that he had her in the palm of his hand.

"What do you mean?"

While her goose bumps on her skin still remained beyond her control, she at least managed to make her voice sound composed and to raise her eyebrows while keeping what she hoped looked like an unimpressed expression on her face.

"All of this."

He looked around her apartment, moving his head in an almost dramatical motion before returning his sharp gaze to her.

"You're living this virtuous ordinary life, write your little children's stories, and wrinkle your pretty nose whenever you hear about who's really pulling all the strings in Gotham."

His tone sounded so matter-of-factly that Sophie was not sure whether he was trying to insult her or make fun of her. Drawing from what she knew about him at this point, it wasn't too unlikely that neither was the case.

A part of her was shocked that he knew that she was writing children's stories. She had never told him – and he, of course, had never asked.

Hearing his analysis of her caught her more than off-guard and since she was, once again, lost for words, she remained silent and waited for him to continue.

"And you pretend to get so upset when you hear about what all the bad guys do. And yet, you like having me around."

He actually possessed the audacity to grin as he purred the last words into her ear.

For once, Sophie felt utterly cornered by the hitman. His observation which she could not really deny had provided her with a severely needed rush of adrenaline.

She had a feeling that this was not some sort of romantic talk to capture the nature of their relationship, but rather some sort of power play. And right now, she could only consider herself on the losing end. She had to turn things around.

She exhaled and hoped to look like she was annoyed.

"What a thrilling psychoanalysis, Victor." She commented dryly.

His grin intensified.

"But now that you've got me all figured out, you are forgetting one tiny little thing."

She took a step aside and petted his left shoulder with her right hand in the most patronizing fashion she was capable off (ignoring the way touching him made her feel) before turning around to move further away from him and whatever spell he put on her.

"You're the one that keeps turning up." She stated with a confidence she hadn't known she possessed.

"And I wonder what that is about."

It might have been a risky idea to mirror the nonchalance he so often displayed to unnerve her, but Sophie couldn't deny that she felt utterly pleased with herself as she waited for his reaction.

She resisted the urge to look over her shoulder to catch a glance of his face as she took another step away from him – only to feel him grab her wrist with an almost gentle force.

As she turned around, she only captured a short image of his face and was relieved to see that his amusement and annoyance seemed to be balancing each other out.

But there was also something else in his eyes, something that was hard for her to describe and yet made her heart beat faster in anticipation.

This time, his lips did not crush against hers, and yet, it took her breath away.

His kiss was gentle, although far from sweet, and as her lips moved against his, Sophie lost track of both her surroundings and time.

This time, he let go of her wrist and she felt his hand brush against her burning cheeks and slowly moving towards the back of her head, slightly, but not unpleasantly, pulling on her hair.

And this time, she could close the gap between the two of them and feel the warmth of his torso pressed against hers.

With her hands free to roam, she rested one on his back, to pull him even closer to her, and moved the other towards his face to gently trace his jawline.

While being able to actively touch him could be considered a milestone, Sophie could not help to greedily wish for more. She moved her hand away from his face and began fiddling with the button at his collar which he did not seem to mind. At this point, she felt like it might be an appropriate suggestion, especially since she could feel his erection.

With a lot of self-control, she broke the kiss to breathlessly utter: "Bedroom?" and felt her cheeks flame up even more.

He responded with an unnervingly arrogant grin (which she did not mind) and an affirmative hum (which she loved).

Although Victor Zsasz had never set foot in her bedroom (at least not when she was at home), he took her hand and guided her towards it as if it was his apartment and not hers. Sophie almost laughed, feeling both overflooded with hormones and overwhelmed by the prospect of what was about to happen.

As they stopped in front of her bed, Sophie couldn't help but wonder if it had been a bad idea to buy it at Goodwill. But her attention quickly moved back to Victor Zsasz who seemed to devour her with his eyes.

And suddenly, Sophie felt insecure under his gaze. It had been a long time since she had last been intimate with someone and if she was really honest with herself, her experience was rather limited.

Plus, she never really worked out.

Before she could further think of her deficiencies, he kissed her again and whatever thoughts had formed inside of her head, vanished for good as his form pressed against hers again.

She felt his warm hands below her shirt and did not mind the cold she felt as the hem of the textile was moved upwards and left the skin of her lower back and stomach exposed to the air.

Soon enough, her shirt was discarded on the floor and he opened the button of her jeans. Once her pants had landed on the carpet as well, and only her underwear remained on her body, Victor took a step back to look at her.

Sophie could not deny that the fact that he was still fully dressed gave her thrill, especially when he let out a hum that indicated he liked what he saw.

He started to slowly take off his jacket and orderly put it down on the corner of her mattress and Sophie couldn't help but feel that he was intentionally playing with her patience.

She rolled her eyes and began to open the buttons of his vest and then continued with the upper ones of his shirt, silently admiring his exposed collar bones and the toned skin.

Once she had undone the third button, she saw the first scar. Although she had taken notice of his scars on the night that she had invited him to her apartment, seeing the pink line across his chest still made her insides clench.

"What?"

He must have sensed her hesitation and, being an annoyingly perceptive person, he also must have been well aware of what caused it. But unlike her, he did not seem to feel self-conscious in any way since his tone suggested that he was rather amused by her weird demeanour than anything else.

Instead of an answer, she placed a kiss on the scar and continued with the task at hand until his toned and hairless upper body was fully exposed.

She would have loved to trace all of his scars with her fingers and to ask him about their meaning. But now hardly seemed to be the right time to engage into some kind of deep talk about mental health.

She told herself that there would be plenty of time to further uncover the mystery of Victor Zsasz as she sank on her knees in front of him and registered the way his smirk widened in appreciation.

For now, she focused on opening his belt and tried not to get too distracted by the evident bulge right below her fingers. She did not want to let her anticipation mess with her ability to open something as simple as a belt.

And then, suddenly, she felt a vibration, coming from his left pocket, and, in the most anticlimactic way, a melody that she quickly noticed as Funky Town started playing.

Sophie blinked and watched dumbfoundedly as Victor took a step back, reached into his pocket and answered the phone.

His eyes were fixated on hers and glistered with cruel amusement.

"Yes?"

She could not hear who he was talking to and she had the impression that he was trying to ensure that she would not catch anything of his conversation as he continued to give one-word answers.

"Yes."

The amusement on his face quickly dispersed and got substituted by a serious expression.

"On my way."

Sophie remained kneeling on the floor with her hands resting on her upper legs and watched as he closed his belt and retrieved the rest of his clothes from her bed without looking at her.

By the time he was fully dressed again, Sophie's stomach had sunk to the floor and she was sure that her disappointment must have been evident on her face.

She would have thought him capable of leaving without sparing her another glance, but to her surprise, he offered her his hand, and, when she took it, pulled her up effortlessly.

"Something came up."

Sophie nodded at the rather obvious information.

"I'll come back once the job is done."

She would have loved to believe him, but experience had taught her that getting her hopes up might not be the wisest thing to do.

Maybe she had not been good at disguising her disbelief or maybe what had just almost happened gave him the impression that she deserved more assurance.

Whatever may have caused it, Sophie still could not help but smiling happily when he kissed her again and said "I promise".

There must have been a hundred things she could have replied, but by the time she had come up with something to say, he had already left her bedroom and she could not be sure that he heard her.

"Be careful."

Instead of an answer, she heard her apartment door close.

Author's Note: I feel so mean. :D

So, this chapter has been quite a rollercoaster to write and while I definitely did not want things to get fluffy, I feel like we have reached the point where some things are going to be slightly out of character, but, oh well.

Thank you guys so much for your extremely kind and supportive reviews and the advice you offered ( The Baroness: I am actually working on another story for another fandom and I feel like it really is helping with getting back to writing!:))

I hope you are all healthy well!