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Screaming . The man with the carrot colored locks woke screaming, flailing his right arm tirelessly. Desperately, he swung towards the bed, catching your attention in an instant. Tears welled and streamed from amethyst eyes not fully grasping his surroundings.
Gently, you moved a hand to grab his prosthetic, one for which you went through great lengths to aquire. Your tone was calm, yet it barely rang over the man's screams. "Calm now, Joker," you instructed. "I'm sure cotton won't break what I've given you, but you have no need to force it off."
Amethyst eyes lay wide as his neck snapped towards the voice. His voice quieted, though there had still been a mixture in those amethyst orbs. Fear doused them, mixed in part with the severity of loss. Why you, a retired reaper, had scooped up the male was something beyond even your own comprehension.
"I cannot give you back all that you have lost, but your life remains entact," you spoke, your tone calm, yet quieter now that you hadn't needed to call over the incessant scream. "And these prosthetics were hard for someone of meager means in this blasted human world, but I do hope they do well for you."
"Spade?" He questioned, recognition clear as he choked your stage name from his lips, cracked from the sobs.
Your lips curled upwards the slightest bit, noticing the man's clear recognition. Gently, you set his arm back down, allowing him to push himself upwards to a seated position. Nodding graciously, you sat beside him, biting your lip as you looked the man over.
"Why did ya…" he questioned, his voice still strained from the screaming and the crying. Tears still held present in his amethyst orbs, welled and cascaded over his cheeks. His teardrop makeup was far past recognizable from all the tears.
You moved a hand to the man's cheek, gently wiping away the tears that you could as your lips fell. "I don't know," you replied softly. "And call me Y/N."
"But, how did ya even…" he continued, his tears beginning once more as he remembered his state upon the concrete in Kelvin's estate. His body shook, prosthetic arms wrapping around himself as the images flashed in his head. "I was dead!"
"Nearly," you corrected him, though your voice was practically tuned out from his tears. "I swooped in before that vile being could set the place ablaze. I...I don't know. I shouldn't be playing around with the affairs of humans." You moved, burying your face in your hands as you groaned. "You were probably on the to die list, too, but I couldn't help it."
"Y/N…" he murmured finally, his tears quelling as he wiped his tears with one of his prosthetic hands.
Your attention quickly turned to the man, though you bit your lip as you removed your hands from your face. Y/e/c eyes landed upon amethyst orbs, something mixed in with those melancholic feelings. It nearly warmed your heart to see the man glance at you that way, though you said nothing in response.
"Come 'ere," he murmured, holding his prosthetic arms out for you. Despite the pain against his face, he forced his lips upwards the slightest bit, a smile meant for only you. It had been a smile to lift your spirits, though you knew as well as he that he had to force himself to smile right now. The man had just lost everyone he cared about, and he sat beside you, offering you a smile.
You were hesitant at first, though your heart had tightened in your chest. Delicately, as if he were mere glass, you wrapped your arms around the man's midsection, allowing him to wrap his prosthetic arms around your body. Resting against his warm chest, you could hear his heartbeat, a quick, rhythmic sensation.
"I dunno how I'll e'er thank ya," he murmured as he held you close to him. "Ya know I didn't deserve that kinda kindness after ev'rything."
"I saw the pain on your face, Joker," you murmured softly. "And I wanted to take that pain away from you. I honestly don't understand why, but you stir something inside of me. Being forced to do something bad is different than doing something bad because you enjoy it."
"What do we do now?" He questioned curiously, his voice finally clear despite his normal accent. His voice held sheepishness, though he had yet to let go of you. If he were to be honest with himself, feeling you wrapped up on him had been something that warmed his heart, something that made him feel less of the sorrow. You had been his blanket, someone he nearly made first string back in the circus, and someone he knew far before you saved his life that he could trust you with his. "We can't go back, an' Smile 'n Black'll surely kill me if they see me ag'n."
"I took care of that," you spoke softly, sighing deeply as you opened your y/e/c eyes the slightest bit. "If you haven't noticed, we're on a boat. I coined in a favor...well, a few."
"Ya really wanna stick 'round me, though?" He questioned curiously, giving you enough space for you to glance up into those amethyst eyes. "I lost me family, but I couldn't trouble ya when ya done so much."
"Joker, I'll be here as long as you'll have me," you replied softly. "At least let me around you long enough to see a real smile on that handsome face of yours." As you spoke, your lips curled upwards the slightest bit, one hand moved from his back to rest upon his cheek.
He chuckled softly as he pulled you closer to him once more, practically throwing you off balance. The two of you tumbled against the bed you sat upon, tangled messily beside one another. His lips curled upwards the slightest bit as he held you close against his chest. "Ya know, I should be da one askin' for more time with an angel like ya," he spoke softly, pressing his lips in a chaste fashion to the top of your head as the two of you lied together.
"Reaper," you corrected him with a soft chuckle. "Well, retired reaper, but nonetheless. Fallen angels cause quite the muck."
"Y'know what I mean, sweetheart," he chided with a chuckle to his tone. "So, ya really ain't human?"
"I am not," you confirmed, a hint of concern to your tone.
"That's amazin'," he commented, lifting your spirits as he closed his amethyst eyes, simply holding you close. "I'm gonna find a way ta thank ya for all this one 'a these days."
You smiled softly to yourself, simply resting in the man's arms. You were unsure if it was love that pushed you to save the human that day, or if it had been seeing the man's conflicted soul. Even so, the two of you would make a new life, far away from the pain the Circus had caused, and you knew the man you lied beside could live a better human life. Though you were unsure how long he would stick by your side, you hoped you had made the proper decision.