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Edward’s mind went blank, staring at Jonathan as the weight of his words settled over him like a fog. Maybe he had finally gone insane. Maybe he was hallucinating. It couldn’t really be-
”C-could you repeat that?” he asked.
”Will you marry me?”
So it was real, then. Jonathan Crane, his therapist , who Edward reminded himself, was running some sort of an illegal medical malpractice research lab in the asylum basement, had asked him to marry him. And then, with an utterly serene expression, Jonathan added:
“Of course, if you say no... well, I’ll simply have to fear gas you until you come to your senses and say yes.”
Edward blinked, mouth open, trying to process what Jonathan had just said. “You... you’re joking, right?”
Jonathan didn’t blink. “I’m completely serious, Edward. You can’t say no.” His voice was calm, disturbingly calm, as if he were discussing the weather. “I mean, it’s for your own good. Clearly, you're being difficult about all of this, and I want us to be together. Forever.” His eyes twinkled behind his round glasses, as if the very thought of dosing Edward with fear toxin was a romantic gesture.
Edward felt his heart rate pick up as panic started to rise in his chest. H e had approached these interactions like they were puzzles to be solved. But this had gone off the rail s completely. This was insanity. Jonathan was talking about fear toxin and marriage as if they were steps in the same process. And the worst part was that Edward knew Jonathan wasn’t bluffing. He could absolutely see the whackjob strapping him down and gassing him until he said whatever Jonathan wanted to hear.
“Jonathan...” Edward started, trying to stay calm, trying to sound like he was not currently having a mental breakdown. “You can’t just... force me into this.”
Jonathan tilted his head, as if Edward had said something incomprehensible. “Why not? You’d like it, I know you would. And if you don’t at first, you’ll come around.” He leaned in, eyes locking onto Edward’s. “My fear toxin brings clarity, Edward. It’ll strip away all your hesitations, your doubts, and you’ll realize that you’ve wanted this all along. I’m simply helping you get to the right conclusion.”
Edward swallowed hard, his mind racing. He needed to find a way out of this. And fast.
“Well, let’s think this through,” Edward said, stalling for time. “Marriage, you know… A big step.”
”The first step.”
”The what now?”
”The first milestone. Afterwards there are of course, and I am undecided on the order, but there are, marriage, moving in together, children-”
”Children!?”
Jonathan nodded. ”Yes. I want at least two. Two girls sounds nice, with maybe two years of age difference. It will be good for their development.”
Edward couldn’t let this conversation go on. If he let Jonathan think about it he’d be dragged into raising a pack of his fear spawn.
Edward smiled, trying to look like his mind wasn’t making up dozens of horrifying future scenarios of them playing house. ”It's a lot to take in. Maybe, uh, we should... ease into things? Like, let’s start with dinner first?”
Jonathan picked up a clipboard and made a note. ”Ah. Yes. We should go on a date. That being said, I am not convinced we would get that much out of it. We don’t need to go through that all to figure out if there is genuine attraction, considering our relationship has already become physical.”
”We kissed. Once.”
Jonathan ignored him and continued to write on his notepad.