💀🦇 Blank Page, We'll Write the Story... 🦇💀

As mentioned in previous posts, for the longest time, Aaron assumed that Lovella was only interested in him for the money, and also that money would be the only thing anyone would be interested in him for. So he admittedly tried to buy her affections make the relationship worthwhile: lots of expensive gifts, expensive dates, promises for expensive trips if she so desired. Anything to convince her to stay.

As a result, once he calmed down (a bit) from the trauma of his own mother trying to kill him, he started panicking all over again when he realized he was now cut off from the Cobblepot fortune, not a cent to his name--surely Lovella wouldn't want to be with him now... only for her to gently take his hand, and ask what he wanted them to do. Whatever they decided, they'd do, together. Because it was never about the money or the gifts for her--she likes spending time with him, likes talking with him. She's not going anywhere.

This may have been the moment he well and truly fell for her, finding this out.

For obvious reasons, he moves in with her. He gets a job at a local bar as a bartender; she makes a living selling her unique produce, and food made from said produce.

Aaron's the nicknamer in their relationship: his pet names for Lovella include Love, Lovey, (My) Angel, and... Lovebird. <3

Lovella loves to kiss his face, especially his freckles. ^_^ Oftentimes while Aaron sleeps, Lovella will take the time to trace his features. She loves his freckles, his smiles (both genuine and impish), his ears that stick out, everything about him. She finds him attractive because of these features, not in spite of them. She considers them his charms.

Aaron has woken up to her doing this, and while she's somewhat flustered, he's just falling for her all the more.

It gives Aaron no small amount of pride that Lovella trusts him enough to stim in front of him, when she's been ridiculed for it and her "childish" interests in the past. Trust is a really big deal for Aaron, having had so few people in his life he could truly trust before. So trusting someone as much as he trusts Lovella, and having that trust reciprocated... that means a lot to him.

Aaron does drink coffee, mainly for the illusion of maturity, but he takes it with copious amounts of cream and sugar. Lovella's a straight-up cocoa fan, and when he's alone with her, he'll skip the pretenses and drink it too. (Plus Lovella makes the best hot chocolate)

Lovella cooks for both of them; Aaron never learned how to cook, the Cobblepots had staff to cook for them. He's made stuff explode in the kitchen trying to cook. He can mix drinks, that is the extent of his culinary skills.

In settings where the technology has advanced enough, watching movies and television is a common way to spend time together. I particularly like the idea of showing The Twilight Zone to someone who has had no exposure to the series, let alone its spoilers, due to predating it by two decades. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is another top movie contender, for the noir themes.

Lovella loves shopping at the yearly craft fairs; Aaron takes on the role of the "boyfriend laden with shopping bags" struggling to keep up. ^^;

Lovella has taken it upon herself to teach him ice skating, as another date night idea. It took Aaron a lot of courage to even set foot on the ice; his phobia of drowning includes the possibility of falling through thin ice. Lovella had to reassure him the local ice rink could support a car without so much as cracking.

Nightmares about his mother's abuse and that fateful night on the Iceberg Lounge are a nightly occurrence for Aaron, and Lovella is right there to comfort him. He feels safe enough with her that he can break down in her arms without fear of judgement, and will either tire himself out, or if the nightmare was especially bad, ask her to stay awake with him. Oftentimes he expresses a fear that his entire life post-murder attempt is just a dying dream, and that any moment now, he'll wake up back in that crate. She has to pinch him to snap him out of it; since you can't feel pain in dreams, pain is the only thing that'll convince him what he's experiencing is real. She really doesn't like doing this. :'(

They don't agree on everything--for one thing, Lovella's had to teach Aaron manners towards retail staff, which the Cobblepots aren't exactly known for. ^^; However, if food orders are screwed up, Lovella won't want to make a scene; Aaron, meanwhile, is very much the "excuse me, she asked for no pickles" boyfriend.

Lovella's a very trusting and forgiving person, even towards her own Rogue's Gallery, which Aaron with his mob background can't even begin to comprehend. He sees this as equivalent to handing an enemy a knife and sticking your neck out. Sometimes they argue over this--Lovella gets frustrated Aaron is so opposed to a viewpoint that is the main reason their relationship had a chance to begin with (has he forgotten he used to be one of those criminals?!), while Aaron is scared senseless of something happening to her (he hasn't, and that's why he's so scared).

On that note, at some point he learned about Ronald's betrayal. As far as Aaron is concerned, he's an only child. Lovella can't really blame him for reacting this way; given that she was scared he'd storm down to Gotham (or wherever Ronald is hiding) to kill him, she's relieved he's choosing the far healthier reaction of simply cutting ties.

When Aaron finally worked up the nerve to propose to Lovella, he lamented that he couldn't afford to give her honeymoon in Europe or Asia like he fantasized about. Still, a cross-country trip across Canada was fun, and he still got to see the Northern Lights for the first time.

As of the time I'm writing this out, they have one child: a cute-as-a-button daughter named Mavis, who has purple eyes (a rough mix of her parents' eye colours) and curly rose gold hair, as well as her father's freckles. ^_^ They are open to having more children.

AUs

Earth-Born Angel AU: In this AU, events play out so that Lovella is on the Iceberg Lounge during the events of the first episode of Caped Crusader. She witnesses Oswalda execute Aaron (via stabbing him with her umbrella blade instead of drowning him) and dump the body overboard, so she jumps in after him once Penguin and her men have left. She expends all of her healing energy to revive him in an AU-exclusive ultimate move, which normally wouldn't be fatal, except in this case she's underwater and will drown after reviving him. This fulfills the criteria needed for an Earth-born angel, where one individual sacrifices themselves to save another who is beyond saving, and they fuse together into the Earth-born Angel of Love.

Gem AU: A Steven Universe-based AU where Lovella is a Unicorn Stone, and Aaron is a Phoenix Stone (so he's the phoenix this time!). Their fusion is either a Pietersite (for the colour scheme--she'd have deep blue skin and flaming hair) or an Okenite (for the vibes--it apparently symbolizes warm fuzzies and angelic vibes).

Mermaid AU: Lovella is the mermaid, Aaron is a member of his mother's pirate crew.

Monster Girl AU: An AU inspired by anime series like Monster Musume. Here, Lovella is a minotaur/Holstaur/cowfolk (I just really vibe with cows), Aaron is her human partner.

Neapolycule AU: An AU where my self-insert is in a polyamorous relationship with every character I self-ship with (including Aaron), and we raise triplets themed after Neapolitan ice cream (Cocoa, Strawberry, and Vanilla) together, hence the ship name.

Pokémon AU: Lovella is a Trainer from an original region based on Canada (unless of course future Pokémon games come up with their own Canada-based region, in which case she'll come from there), travelling the Pokémon world, while Aaron is a member of an original villainous organization from the Unova region.

Pony AU: Lovella is an alicorn who specializes in healing magic (I even have a name for her, Cozy Cream), Aaron is a pegasus (name pending).

Months before the events of the first episode of Batman: Caped Crusader, after Penguin has established her territory and has just decided to take on Rupert Thorne, her gang has an altercation with one of Thorne’s allies that leaves Aaron mortally wounded, with Penguin ordering her gang to leave him. However, said ally gang has brought along their lucky charm—a young woman with peerless healing powers that they bought hired to keep from losing people. Though she’s supposed to limit herself to healing/resurrecting their men, she can’t stand to see someone hurt and not help if it’s within her power. So, when she sees an injured Aaron, close to death, she sneakily heals his injuries, allowing him to rejoin his gang later.

Penguin comes up with the plan to send Aaron in as a reverse mole to ferret out information on Thorne and his allies and feed them false information on her operations. Why Aaron? Because the recent conflict has provided the perfect cover story, that of a betrayed son abandoned by his family and allies, throwing his lot in with their arch rivals after his miraculous recovery. And more importantly, he’s someone she has firmly under her thumb can trust, who would do anything for his Mama, and is a more talented actor than her other son—he can sell the role of a disgruntled, treacherous underling better than Ronald.

Oh, the irony…

Aaron successfully ingratiates himself with the gang, and, of course, reencounters the girl who saved his life, named Lovella. Among the information he secretly gathers on their operations and properties (which become targets for his mother's long-range umbrella cannon), Aaron also learns more about Lovella, including the (supposed) source of her powers being her virginity. Meaning that, while the gang are allowed to look at her—and they do, extensively—they aren’t allowed to touch her, especially since the extent of what is allowed isn’t known. No one is about to risk losing such a valuable asset because they found out the hard way that HJs or BJs are considered “no longer a virgin” by her powers. This too is relayed back to the Penguin.

So begins a slow burn where Aaron and Lovella gradually grow closer, started by covert looks, then escalating into secret notes, covert touches, stolen whispers of conversation, impressing her with sleight of hand tricks. Occasionally Aaron is tasked with bringing food to her gilded cage of a room, granting them more chances to exchange words. If she got punished for whatever reason by being denied food, Aaron would sneak her some. As their secret relationship becomes more official and established, they even partake in indirect kisses, such as sharing drinks—the ritual is always the same, one would take a sip, pass the glass to the other, interlacing their fingertips as they do so, and then the other would sip by pressing their lips to the same part of the rim of the glass that the other’s lips touched.

There’s plenty of overthinking on Aaron’s end, because this is the first time a girl has ever expressed interest in him like this, not only allowing him to make these advances, but welcoming them--reciprocating them even! He’s well aware, as many have doubtless told him, that he had “a face only a mother could love”. She can’t be attracted to his looks… it must be his money, he is a Cobblepot after all. Or being the first of the gang to show her an iota of kindness. Well, he’s not about to complain… Meanwhile, Lovella learns that Aaron is actually a reverse mole still working for his mother, and not only agrees to keep his secret (good thing, too, as it’s not like Penguin’s men can kill her to silence her), but help him as well! After all, as the rival gang’s personal healer more or less, there are things she learns that only the inner circle knows…

Aaron eventually raises the idea of buying Lovella’s freedom from the man that “owns” her, thus depriving him (and potentially Thorne as well) of his “lucky charm”, even bringing her over to their employ instead! All tempting ideas for the Penguin. Of course, the man won’t part with her easily, so Penguin escalates her sales of drugs and guns (and, unbeknownst to her bumbling sons, people) to build up a tempting offer. Meanwhile, Lovella’s latest note exchange with Aaron requests two things: a heavy-duty tranquilizer, and to meet in a secret, neutral location.

On the provided date and time, Aaron sneaks away from Cobblepot Manor; he’s caught by Ronald, who he makes promise to cover for him. He arrives at the designated spot, an unoccupied apartment/hotel room. Lovella arrives soon after, having similarly snuck away from the ally gang during an operation after slipping them the tranquilizer. She emerges clad in a slinky silk dress, and exchanges her first real kiss with Aaron, followed by undoing his tie and shirt. Realising where this is going, Aaron protests, reminding her about her powers… to which she shushes him, presses a finger to his lips, and leans forward to whisper into his ear: “I lied.” Sexytimes ensue. 😉

In the afterglow, Lovella reveals the truth: her powers were never tied to her virginity at all (and she demonstrates by fixing something), but to her food intake. Upon first being captured by the human trafficking ring that sold her to Thorne’s ally, Lovella lied about the virginity part to ensure she wouldn’t be taken advantage of, either by the traffickers or her eventual “owner”; when one of the traffickers called her bluff and felt her up, she was able to fake a (temporary) power loss by expending her healing power and then not eating, warning that if she ever had actual sex, it would be permanent. Now, as a mob kid, if Aaron has learned one thing growing up, it’s that information is power. Lovella has willingly shared with him information that could be used to harm her if in the wrong hands. The weight of this act is not lost on him. So when she asks him to keep this a secret, even from his own family, he agrees.

However, he fails to take into account people knowing him well enough to notice a change in behavior. So when Aaron shows up the next morning practically glowing with satisfaction, his brother instantly realizes he’s had sex. And from who Aaron has been talking non-stop about the past few months, Ronald can hazard a guess as to who the partner was. And just in case Ronald was thinking this meant Thorne and his allies have lost their asset without any need to free her, Aaron’s mysteriously healing injuries continue (their mother’s physical abuse is a constant presence in the background). Mama may call him “the slow one”, but he can put 2 and 2 together.

And it pisses him off. Enough to pay Rupert Thorne himself a visit, and offer a deal… and information.

The plot thickens. Aaron overhears Thorne’s ally’s men vulgarly discussing what they planned to do with Lovella now that she’s “no longer off-limits” and realizes to his horror that the secret is out, and that if they want to buy her freedom, now’s the time. Penguin, Thorne, and their respective allies meet for a “friendly” game, with Penguin’s side continually raising the stakes with the profits made from her illicit sales, as well as strategically eliminating men on each side until it comes down to Aaron (having previously established himself as a terrible player on the latest of several attempts at the game) and Lovella’s owner (having not lost a game so far that night), with the latter finally compelled to bet Lovella. While Lovella’s owner subtly taunts Aaron with his plans for her now that her virginity is no longer a necessity (revealing the truth to Team Penguin), Aaron uses sleight of hand to cheat, winning their little hustle and Lovella’s freedom. Walking away, with her boys out of earshot, Penguin whispers to her right-hand man Iggy how much does he think a beautiful woman that can heal any injury and cure any illness would be worth…

With Penguin ordering him to keep it discreet (even from her sons, who she doesn’t trust to be involved with this side of her business), Iggy kidnaps Lovella, blindfolds her (so she can’t identify anyone), brings her to the Iceberg Lounge to forcibly extract her healing blood, hair, and tears (when she starts crying) for the Penguin’s own use, then prepares to sell her off. Luckily, she left a token behind for Aaron to find, cluing him into to her fate. Unable to find his mother to raise the alarm (because, y’know, she’s busy with the auction), Aaron eventually turns to the police, specifically Commissioner Gordon, the one guaranteed honest cop in Gotham. They manage to track down the trafficking victims just in time to rescue them, leading to a tearful reunion between Aaron and Lovella. Meanwhile, Penguin is pissed that her own son unwittingly foiled her sale.

After she provides testimony, Gordon arranges for Lovella to be flown back to her hometown for her protection. Faced with his inability to protect Lovella from (who he thinks was) Thorne’s ally, Aaron agrees and sees Lovella off with one last kiss, before returning to his normal life. Given the choice between staying in Gotham to work for the Penguin, or fleeing Gotham for a new life with his love, he’d pick his Mama every single time. No matter how much he loved Lovella… Besides, with the mysterious disappearance of Lovella’s former owner and his gang along with him, Penguin has already begun to expand her empire into Thorne’s territory. He still had a job to do, but not for much longer…

Cue the events of the first episode. Ronald tips Thorne off about the incoming strikes on each property. Penguin catches on to the leak and begins interrogating (and executing) suspects, such as Clarence. At the gala hosted aboard the Iceberg Lounge, Thorne meets with Penguin again, and hints to her that Aaron is the “itty, bitty birdie” that has been tipping him off and allowing him to survive each strike. Aaron’s blunder had already pissed Penguin off; it doesn’t take much to convince her that he’d turned on her for real. She summons her sons and Iggy to the storage room of the Iceberg Lounge, and confronts them on how she knows one of them sold her out to Thorne. While Aaron protests both of their innocence, Ronald immediately throws Aaron under the bus, prompting the latter to argue back defensively. Penguin interrupts them by saying she “knows” it was Aaron, who gets increasingly panicked as he tries to convince her of his innocence. His pleas fall on deaf ears, and Penguin has Iggy shove a bag over Aaron’s head, restrain him with his suit jacket, throw him into a trunk, and dump him into the room’s moonpool, all while he frantically begs for his life. Penguin laments that he was her favourite son, then promotes Ronald to her new favourite by default—an unspoken threat. Ronald realizes that Penguin is now onto him, that his next tip-off will reveal him as the rat, and runs to call Thorne for protection shortly after the gala ends. When Thorne leaves him hanging (“I don't think you're the kind of man I want in my organization. Hell, you just sold out your own mother, for god's sake.”), Ronald instead seeks out police protection, informs on his mother, and warns them of her missile launcher, minutes before Penguin uses it to destroy police headquarters. Penguin is arrested, and Thorne takes advantage of the power vacuum to move in on her territories.

From here it gets a bit open-ended. Depending on how the next season plays out, Aaron and Lovella's reunion can go one of several ways:

Aaron died at the bottom of the sea, but because his soul didn't pass on to the afterlife, instead sticking around as a ghost, he and Lovella go on a quest to heal his body and resurrect him.

Aaron survives the murder attempt, and is fished out of the Penguin's underwater dumping grounds shortly after her arrest. Upon finding him unconscious, but barely alive, he's sent to the hospital and hooked up on life support, where he remains in a coma for the rest of Season 1 (and potentially Season 2), in the hopes when he comes to, he can testify against his mother. He eventually awakens, but with a number done on his faculties (oxygen deprivation + extended immobility doesn't do wonders for one's health). The Penguin escapes prison and arranges for Aaron (and Ronald)'s assassination, but they're saved by the Batman. Ironically, this kills any remaining loyalty Aaron has to his mother, and he corroborates Ronald's testimony. Afterwards, they flee the city, assuming new identities (Robin Humboldt for Ronald, Mickey Newman for Aaron) and end up in Lovella's hometown, allowing the Lovebirds to rekindle their romance, alongside Lovella's own superhero adventures.