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Chapter Text

Bruce didn't know why he had chosen to come to this place. One, it smelled like rotten cheese, Two, there were a lot of criminals here and three, he didn't think of bringing his batsuit but most importantly, was totally out of energy to deal with any of them.

He just sat in the front the bar waiting for his 3rd shot, he really couldn't believe what had happened today. Everything was going perfectly, absolutely fine today, no attacks by the rouges Gallary, no major crimes that took place except a small robbery.

He even met up with Selina on their supposed date today earlier than expected, but God forbid, if he had a good day. Selina broke up with him because what, he was against her going out and stealing. He was even ready to buy her whatever her eyes landed on, be it jewellery or something shiny and expensive like a bar of gold or a diamond. But she left him because she felt like she was being controlled.

But he couldn't really blame her, if he had to give up being batman for her sake, he would have done the same thing. He could pay to get more security around all major places constantly attacked at Gotham, donate to charity to prevent homeless and poor people from going into the path of crime. But being batman was far more than stopping crime, even if he won't admit it.

As batman, he felt free. He felt More like Bruce when he was batman than when he was actually Being Bruce. He loved the sight of Gotham at night, standing above roofs, watching over the people, He felt like he belonged.

But that didn't stop the heart-ache Bruce felt. No Matter how hard he tried to justify it, the pain didn't go away.

That's why he was at a bar, in a very crime filled area, drinking his sorrow away.

He turned around when he felt someone sit beside him, and oh boy was that a mistake. It was joker, in- Not all his glory? The usually upbeat and chatty clown looked really down, and Bruce means puffy eyes, red nose and a permanent frown fixed on the face kind.

"Oh hi. Haven't seen you around here, are you new?" The clown asked him, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Oh! Uh- yeah, yeah this is my first time here. I don't usually go to places like these.. " he said and let out a nervous chuckle.

"Hmmm, you look kinda familiar." joker said as Bruce felt a wave of panic wash over him. 'Oh crap. I've been recognized. I didn't bring my batsuit. This is it. The end of batman.' his thoughts were cut off by a clink, his drink had just arrived. "Oh wait! You are Bruce Wayne, right? Almost Couldn't recognize ya in the dim lighting." joker said.

Bruce didn't know if he should be relieved that batman's identity was safe, or weather to be worried about the joker talking to him, so casually like they were old Friends.

"uh- yeah. That would be me." he smiled awkwardly at the shorter man beside him. "Hm. Aren't you scared of me?" joker asked him. "uh- should i be?" Bruce tried, if he acted like isn't internally panicking, maybe joker would leave him alone.

"huh. Well, I'm not really in the mood for all the 'give me all the money you have or I'll shoot you' stuff. Haven't been feeling it for a while. So uh- i think you're good." joker replied. 'that is true though, joker hasn't been in the radar at all ever since his last escape.

"yeah, i could tell." Bruce said, joker just chuckled softly. "You could, can't you? Harles told me i should At least wash my face before i go outside. Should've listened to her, ey?" he said and looked at Bruce, eyes struggling to stay open.

'He shouldn't be drinking in this condition.' Bruce thought. "You should take care of yourself more, you look really sick, if anyone attacked You right now, you probably couldn't even defend yourself." Bruce said, concerned for his arch nemesis's. Joker barked out a laugh.

"Oh, are- are you concerned for me? Y'know Wayne, i really don't need a rich brat who probably doesn't even know what I'm capable of, to pity me." he said, wheezing. Bruce just sent him a glare.

"alright. Alright. No glaring now, it Reminds me too much of a certain bat." he said the last part with such strain that Bruce couldn't help but think that the clown was really sick, but not in the brain kind of way, but the i got a fever kind of way.

"Are you sure you're alright? You seem sick." Bruce couldn't keep it in anymore, he had to ask if he's planning on helping the clown. "yeah, yeah, I'm completely fine. And FYI, I'm not sick." Bruce raised an eyebrow at that. "then why is your nose so read and your eyes puffy?" joker just looked at Bruce like it was obvious. Bruce could only think of one thing that could possibly have happened if the clown isn't sick.

'But what could possibly make The Joker, Prince of crime, actually cry?' he couldn't help but wonder. "did- did you...... cry?" he asked, slowly And his voice low enough that only joker could hear him.

He saw Joker smile for the first time in 2 months, but it wasn't his usual, crazed grin. This smile was bitter.

Chapter Text

Sky Dark and gloomy, nothing else in sight but clouds, not even stars could be seen. The day was normal, Until it wasn't.

He had just seen that alley cat kissing his bat. Kissing. His. Bat. How dare she!? The Batman was his, everyone knew that! Well- except the big bad bat himself, because of course, he was in denial. He, the clown prince of crime would go out of his way to kill those filthy, low-life excuse for criminals, rookies, for hurting his bat. But what did he get in return? A sprained arm and a black eye. Oops! Can't forget his free ticket to arkham! He would even go after the other rouges if they put his bat in bad conditions to fight because he got hurt Really bad.

He always looks out for his bats, but there he was. Kissing the cat! How could he do this!? ITS. NOT. FAIR. He couldn't keep it in any longer, he wanted to scream, make his voice heard, kill that dirty Bat-Stealer and prove to his bats that only he should be the one to kiss him. Batsy was his, and he was basty's. No one can change that. No one. Not even that over grown cat. He'll get his bats back. He will.

But Batman will still leave him. That's when the reality struck him. Batman doesn't love joker. Batman doesn't love joker.

He started laughing, He laughed and laughed until he couldn't anymore, his laughter turned into chuckles, then giggles, after his giggling fit he could only snicker, as no sound came out of his mouth now, only strained noises. His snickering turned into sniffling, then sobbing. he he strained his throat by laughing too hard, And now, All he could do was let out low grunts and sob like a pathetic child. That's how he was, wasn't he? The joker, sobbing on a rooftop, while his bats- while Batman was having a date with that ugly, filthy cat-woman. The joker. Sobbing on a roof. The joker was now;

Pathetic

Weak

Vulnerable

What a wonderful day today was, truly. So wonderful that Batman thought he could enjoy it, with cat-woman. But joker didn't enjoy it. Not. A. Bit. Normally, he would have caused an explosion, burnt down a building or 2, killed at minimum 420 people, up to the count too, he liked the funny numbers, or rob a bank at least. Because as he has said and done, "if I'm having a bad day, everyone should be having a bad day and I'll make sure of it!" with his ™Laughter following not a second later.

But he didn't know how he could make other people feel this. This is something even he himself hasn't experienced before, this was a new kind of pain, So new it hurt. It Hurt so much and he didn't know what to do. He's never felt so lost, so angry, so- So SAD. Sad is an emotion he thought he will never feel after the day his father died. He hadn't even felt sad when he murdered his mother.

He Screamed in Agony, as all of the things that drove him to insanity bit by bit, Crashed down on him at the same time. He felt So crushed, He thought he saw reality for what it was before, It was cruel to those who hesitate to enjoy while they still can and not-as-cruel to those who see it, realize it and cope with it, but cruel none the less.

But he realized that wasn't it. Reality was Far more worse than what he had originally thought. It was equaly cruel to everyone. Cruelty, the only thing common to every living thing other than death itself. And he realized it as it all came to him with pain and agony. He would have gone mad if he already wasn't.

But why was he feeling all of this Now?

There has been much more devastating things that have happened to him, there were many. Did he really love the Bat that much?

How could he even fall in love with Batman anyway?

They were each others Mortal enemies.

When did he start feeling this way towards him?

How did he fall in love with a man he didn't even know the face of?

What did batman even look like?

How could he not know!?

He's this devastated over him, yet, he doesn't even know how he looks like. Truly Pitiful.

When did the lines lines between enemity and fondness Blurr?

When did the line between Hate and Love Blurr?

Hell! How did he even feel like this?

Since When did he start feeling like this?
And towards Batman of all people.

He Screamed, Screamed, even when his throat started to hurt again. He kept screaming. "HOW!? WHY!? I CANT DEAL WITH THIS! THIS IS- THIS- is bullshit!!" He Started Coughing up blood somewhere at the ending of his screaming, but he didn't care, he needed closure. And no one is going to give it to him. Not even Batman.

He hadn't realized that he had been squeezing his eyes shut the whole time until he opened them when He let out a pitiful Wheeze-Sob. What would happen if someone saw him right now?
Like this?

What if Batman saw him like this?

What would he think?

' Would he try to help me?

Would he comfort me?

Would he leave the cat and come to me out of pity?

No. No, he wouldn't. Why would he? I am his enemy after all, he would let me die too, if all the blood i caughed up was me bleeding to death. He wouldn't be responsible for my death, he wouldn't be the one who killed me, at least in everyone else's eyes including his own. He would let me die. One less nuisance to fight and bring back to arkham, one less nuisance to put his beloved city in danger, one less villain who kills the people of his beloved city, one less Monster to lie to with empty promises of "fixing" them, one less obstacle to keep him from being with his love, Cat-woman.'

He realized that he had made a puddle all around himself, with both his blood and tears, but this time it wasn't of an innocent citizen, it wasn't of another victim of his, it was instead, of a Monster's, His own blood and tears.

His legs and arms gave out as he fell down from his kneeling position, his vision went down next, but slower. "It's... Not..Fair..." he remembers that as the last thing he said before he started coughing up blood again and passing out.

[Time Skip]

He woke up at what was probably Harley's base with the latter and her girlfriend sitting on chairs near what he thought to be a couch, which he currently was laid down on.

Chapter Text

"J? You awake?" Harley asked him. "Har-ley? Ivy? Wha-t a-m i doing he-re?" he asked as he rubbed his eyes, his throat hurt. "You've been stirring up from time to time now, so just to be sure, are you with us?" ivy asked him. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure i am. Unless I'm not an-d this is all ju-st a drea-" he was cut off by ivy groaning. "oopsie." he said and smiled sheepishly.

"So, now that you're awake, can you tell us what happened? You weren't in a good condition when we found you."Harley said. "yeah, do tell us, what happened that left The Clown Prince Of Crime dying on a rooftop?" ivy asked.

She never really liked the idea of befriending him when Harley proposed that a few months ago, so he wasn't surprised when she didn't sound fond of him.

"ah- well, I- uhm, it's just that-" he stammered, he didn't know how to start explaining something that he just barely understood himself, to someone else. He sat up on the couch, his legs folded.

He found his right hand reaching up to his mouth, inbetween his lips and his index finger start to scratch his bottom lip. Something he did when he felt nervous, shy or awkward.

He cleared his throat, but he felt a spike of pain through it when he did. "don't strain it, your vocal chords and lungs are damaged." ivy told him. "wh-at?" he asked as he noticed that his voice has been cracking. "the doctor we kidnapped told us that." Harley said.

"oh." was all he could manage to say as his throat started hurting again.

"Here, have some water." Harley said as she handed a glass of water to him. "than-ks, Har-ley." he said and drank it.

He felt his throat cool down a bit. "I saw Batman," he paused, he couldn't bring himself to say it. He loved Batman and they understood that, they'd start piecing things together if he told them. Yet, he couldn't help but hesitate.

"Batman? Did he do this to you? He wouldn't just leave you up there though, what do you mean?" Harley asked, puzzled. "With Cat-Woman." he finished. He knew they were trying to figure out how seeing the both of them together damaged his lungs. He then saw as realization got to them. "That's why your eyes were puffy....... you were crying." Harley mused with wide eyes.

He looked away from the both of them. He felt so exposed, vulnerable. "Geez, we knew you were into him, but crying over him-" ivy started, but Harley put a hand on her shoulder and shook her head. "We're sorry, J. You must feel hurt." Harley said."

He shook his head, he frowned and looked at them. "I didn't know it was this bad, either. Unt-il today, that is." he said softly. "i don't e-ven know why i fe-el like this towar-ds him! Or sin-ce when i- I don't even get why this hur-ts me so much bu-t- but it hurts!" he said, he didn't realize he started crying until a tear fell on his hand.

Harley and Ivy looked at each other, then at him. Harley tackled him with a hug, while ivy put a hand on his shoulder. "it's going to be fine, you have us." Harley whispered in his ear. He hugged her back and pulled ivy in too. "I'm sorry." he said, even after all he's done, she still sees him as her friend. He didn't deserve this, he didn't deserve Harley, he didn't deserve ivy, he didn't deserve to be comforted.

He was a Monster. That's why even Batman, who said he wanted to help him, left him. Not that he was with him to leave him anyways, but Batman was what kept him going, knowing that he could never be loved but yet, knowing that he can be something important to him. His greatest enemy. He could only be hated, he even hated himself! But yet, but yet here he was. Getting comforted by his old friend whom he left behind to save himself.

"I ca-n't thank you two enough. I'm so sor-ry for what i did. I-" Harley shushed him. "it doesn't matter now, we already resolved this, we're friends now!" she said as she squeezed both him and Ivy. He started coughing because his lungs were being squeezed and Harley let go immediately. "sorry 'bout that, you know how i am with hugs" she said as she linked her arm with Ivy's. "ye-p." he said as he giggled for a few seconds.

Chapter Text

Joker was sulking, just like he he's been doing for the past 2 months. He, Harley and Ivy were in good terms by now, the couple were in his Top 5 Favorite people list.

He sighed, everything was so gloomy now, nothing was funny to him anymore. He missed his bats, he just wanted to have him, he'd give anything up for him. He'd planned on killing that cat at first, she took away the only other person who wanted to help him. The first one was his Dad, he missed him dearly.

"You'll always have me, no matter what."

he remembered him saying, but that was a lie. But he didn't blame him though, it was all that crazy woman's fault.

"You Idiot! Don't you see!? He's not normal, there's something wrong with him. We can't possibly have him around!"

She said to him, but he didn't listen, he still wanted to have him Around, despite him being different. He was there for him when no one else dared to even look his way. Even his own mother, the one who brought him into this bloody world, hated him.

He was always a troubled child, he just found everything funny, there wasn't anything wrong with that. Finding something funny wasn't wrong, laughing at something funny wasn't wrong.

But he didn't know why he found death, torture, pain and suffering funny. But It wasn't in his Control what he found funny though, he can't control his laughter too.

So he never understood why everyone found it abnormal that he couldn't control what wasn't even in his control. He wanted to laugh, he liked laughing. So he would hurt other people and it would make him laugh. There wasn't anything wrong with that, no, people prank each other all the time, that's what he did, he pranked people.

He would push people who didn't know how to swim into the pool to scare them, it wasn't his fault that most of them drowned to death. He would participate in school fights, much like the other kids in his school, it wasn't his fault that he was just so strong that he broke other peoples bones, maybe they were just too weak too, but it doesn't matter.

Remembering old memories aren't helping him even at the tiniest bit. He was simply so sad, he lost his humor that had been with him through everything. He didn't laugh at everything like he did before, everything like he did before, everything reminded him of what he used to be, what he could've been and what he should've been.

He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he didn't notice Harley walking inside the room. She tapped his shoulder "Oi J, are you done being all gloomy?" she asked him, he just looked at her with a frown. She sighed "You need to get outside more, you've been in here for 2 whole months!" she exclaimed, he scoffed and pouted.

"What's the point?" he asked. "you could blow up a building? It could help you blow some steam off." she said, attempting to make a pun, but he just shook his head in response. "I don't want to anymore. If i do that, Batman will show up and I don't wanna see him." he said then sighed.

"you could go to a bar or something, you know, it'll help you get your mind off of this! It's just not healthy for you to be like this." she said. he thought about it, it's not like he has anything to do anyways, he's spray painted every wall of this place in the time he's been here. It's not like he'll run into batman there too. "I guess it won't hurt me to do so." he replied and Harley clapped her hands together "Great! I'll go tell Ivy that we can go on our date tonight!" she said and skipped off.

Chapter Text

Joker Chuckled weakly as he put a hand around Bruce's shoulder, getting closer to him. "Was it that obvious?" He whispered, his mouth almost touching Bruce's ear. He Felt a shiver shoot up from his spine, he quickly pulled himself away from joker.

"Yeah, yeah it was." Bruce deadpanned, joker attempted his signature laugh, but just ended up coughing. "Huh. Looks like i still Can't do that." joker seemed to say to himself, he then then cleared his throat. "Anyways, let's forget that. Now, tell me." he said getting close to Bruce again. "Tell you What?" Bruce asked, confused.

"Why are you here?" Joker asked, Tilting his head a little. 'He looks like a a confused puppy.' Bruce thought. clearing his throat, he shoved the unusual thought away.

"I'm just, getting away, you know, from uh- things." Bruce said, feeling the awkwardness start to form. "ehhhhhh? What do you mean? I don't think i get what you're trying to tell me." Joker said, sounding intrigued as he came closer.

Their faces were inches apart, their noses almost touching. Bruce cleared his throat, looking away. "Why should i tell you?" he asked.

"Hmmmmm." Joker hummed as he closed his eyes, he also pouted as he pretended to think. "Why not?" He asked, opening his eyes and immediately getting close to Bruce's face, a playful smile at his lips. Their noses were touching now, Bruce felt the need to pull away but didn't because joker will just do it again.

"You're a criminal, I think that's enough for me to just stand up right now and get the hell away from you." Bruce said, looking joker dead in the eyes.

Joker's eyes widened, he had an amused look on his face, a small smile still playing at his lips. "Tryna be a smarty pants, are we?" he asked mockingly. "If i wanted to hurt you, or anyone at that, I'd have done it by now." he said as he let his head fall, sighing as he closed his eyes. "So, why don't you tell me now?" he asked pulling bruce closer, joker's head was resting on Bruce's chest now.

Bruce looked towards the drink he had abandoned, picking it up in his hand, making joker tilt his head up, but only slightly.

Joker's barely open eye followed the movements of his hand, One eye still closed. Bruce finished it wearily and sighed. They were sitting in the dark, the lights of the place shone over them and the sight of of joker right now, leaning against his chest, with such an innocent expression on his face made his heart beat faster. "My girlfriend broke up with me." He grumbled out as he looked away, blood rushing to his face. "Oh." Joker said, his voice barely above a whisper. "It must be tough then." he said, his voice being the softest he's ever heard from anyone.

He turned to look at joker, his face burning as he did so. Joker's hand fell from his shoulder, he looped it around Bruce's chest, looking down. joker pressed his cheek against Bruce's chest, nuzzling into it.

That's when Bruce realized that joker was hugging him. The joker was hugging him. Bruce was bewildered by the action, but after a few moments he hesitantly put a hand oh joker's back, leaning in.

"You must be hurting more than me," Joker mumbled. "What?" Bruce asked. "Someone leaving you, after you start Believing that they will always be by your side, to offer you love and affection." Joker said, frowning as he did so.

"You've got it way worse than me, I've basically got nothing to complain about compared to you." He Finished. Bruce was puzzled why he was saying all this.

Because no one understood, except for his godfather Alfred of course. To everyone, he was just Bruce Wayne, The Rich Playboy. Because to everyone else, this was another person he had played.

They didn't understand.

But joker did.

And it seems like joker knows exactly what he feels like. Seeing right through him like he always did, but one less layer of some kind of facade of his that he wore around everyone, to look through.

"I Was just overreacting, you know, The usual Stuff. I don't even know why i did, this time, or how." he spoke softly, almost like he was saying that to himself and not to Bruce.

"What exactly happened? You don't look like you always do when you overreact. And I'm saying from when you are on the news, of course, I've never actually met you until now. " Bruce Said, looking down at joker's eyes.

They reflected the lights around them, looking to be glowing. They were so clear, yet so foggy. So full of emotion, yet so empty. There was something to them that he hadn't seen before and he wanted to know what it was, why it was there right now, staring into his own.

"It looks like we have the same problem." joker said as he averted his gaze from Bruce's. "Someone in particular to give us Love, Affection and care. But we can't have that happen to us, unluckily.

'Joker loves someone? This Person could possibly help him!' Bruce thought, the idea of joker not being a homicidal Sociopathic maniac anymore made him perk up.

"Who is it? I mean- you could tell me if you want to, i won't force you." Bruce asked. Joker looked up at him and held Bruce's gaze as he let go of him.

Bruce was missing the presence of the Thin arms and the skinny body on him already, joker just looked down at his feet. "It's, y'know, uhm, Its-" Joker was cut off by a female voice calling out joker's name. Both of them looked towards the direction the voice came from.

Ivy Stood there, a Hand on her hip and the other hanging at her side. "There you are, I've been wondering where you were you would be in the crowd." She said as she walked towards them, she seemed to not notice Bruce as she did so.

"Harley's waiting in the car, let's get going." She said and turned to leave, gesturing for joker to follow. "Joker looked towards Bruce and smiled apolegeticaly. "Sorry pal, But I've gotta go. It was Great talking to ya though, See ya around." Joker said as he stood up.

"Wait!" he said, Bruce didn't know why, but he called out to him. quickly taking out his phone automatically. "We'll keep in touch?" He asked with a nervous smile on his face.

Joker's face went back to the cute, confused expression from before and then lit up with a Bright smile after he understood what Bruce meant.

They then exchanged numbers and joker went to Ivy and Harley. Bruce didn't know why, but he felt like he had to. And he didn't understand why he thought joker was 'Cute' Either, but he did.

Maybe he had too much to drink. Definitely that.

Chapter Text

Bruce sat in the batcave, contemplating life decisions. He gave his phone number to his greatest enemy, but not that said enemy was aware of that of course.

He groaned in annoyance, running his hand through his short-trimed hair. "are you alright, master bruce?" alfred asked, materializing out of thin air. "I'm fine, alfred. I just think i made a grave mistake, that's all." bruce said, sighing.

"master bruce." alfred said as bruce gave in. "I- i gave jo-" he was cut off by his phone which was placed on the batcomputer's panel.

From the surprise and confusion in alfred's face, he already had a guess on who it was.

"That. That, is what i did." bruce said, motioning to his phone which read:

'♡︎Jokesy♡︎'

He cringed as he looked away from the phone.

"Master bruce?" alfred asked, bruce still refused to look his father-figure in the eyes. "Yes, alfred?" he responded with an embarresed tone. "Care to explain in detail to me, what exactly happened?" alfred asked with a raised brow. bruce sighed, looking down at his feet.

Chapter Text

Joker sighed, wondering why he even bothered to call that number. It was obvious since he was The Clown Prince Of Crime, no sane person would give The Joker their phone number.

Joker really wanted a buddy, so he was desperate enough to fall for this prank. Brucie was smart, even if he wasn't his usual self, managing to trick him was way out of a billionare play boy's league.

Joker curled up on the couch, putting his phone on the floor as he sulked. Hareley walked in with the fertilizers her girlfriend wanted. "Hi Harley." he said without looking up. "Heya J! How did the call with your new pal go?" she asked cheerfully.

"He didn't pick up." Joker said as he frowned. "Aw j, i'm so sorry!" harley exclaimed empathetically. "We're getting Pizza today, you like pizza so that'll cheer you up!" she said, always the pessimist. Sometimes joker wondered why someone like her wanted to keep him around.

"Yeah, i guess." Joker said with a small smile.

Chapter Text

Alfred sighed, he put a hand on bruce's shoulder and squeesed. "I know that you are heartbroken after what happened with Miss Kyle, but do think things through before you make decissions like these."

Bruce sighed. "I know, alfred, i know. I just- i was drunk." he answered, remembering the events of that night.

"Just be safe, master bruce. That's all i ask of you." Alfred said softly, his face softening. And he knew, alfred was the closest thing he has to family and he would feel awful if he made the older man worry about him.

"Of course, alfred." Bruce said with a small, tired smile.

Chapter Text

Bruce sat in his office with his head in his hands, it had been a good, long month since Selina broke things off with him. Granted, it had always been on and off with them, but he still wished he could finally get something normal out of his life.

Unlike what he had guessed, he got over it fairly quickly. He felt guilty for it, for being able let go of all that and return to his dull routine so quickly. But, there was one thing that had been on the back of his mind the whole time. Joker.

He had not been able to get him out of his mind. Whenever he sat alone, joker would pop up, always giving him something to ponder, keeping him from being lonely; and although he wasn't quite at ease with it, it was a sort of comfort to him. The joker being his only comfort; now that was something he wasn't sure how to feel about.

Maybe it was because of how he'd looked on that day, maybe it wasn't. Bruce wasn't able to spend a few minutes alone with his own thoughts withought eventually thinking about him.

But he had only now come to a realization that this wasn't anything new. This was how it had always been. The only thing that changed was the reason for why he had the clown on his mind 24/7- 365.

Before, it had been because of his crimes; always keeping Bruce alert and on edge.

But now? He wasn't worried about what Joker would do, but worried for how he's faring.

The one thing eating away at him was the fact that at any point in time, he could've just called him, or texted. Anything. His own actions were a lot to bear, so he'd tried his very best Not to give in.

Well, He tried, yes. But that doesn't have to mean he succeeded, now, does it? Not necessarily.

And in his case?

Absolutely Not.

He had tried, yes. But had also failed. And quite miserably so.

Honestly speaking, if anyone had told him a month ago that he'd casually text The Joker 'Hello' when sitting in his office chair, he just might have laughed at how amusingly impossible that would be. And he doesn't laugh at just anything. Hell, The Joker had taken to proclaiming that it was his sole mission to make him laugh!

But, it happened. And now, he's here; contemplating about just deleting it.

And right as he was overjoyed at the idea that he had so marvelously produced,-

He recieved a reply.

He groaned at himself, regretting his life decisions.

The Joker had only sent a simple 'Hi'.

Nothing much, something quite normal, actually. And at that thought, he had a strange feeling- one he couldn't quite describe.

But, he shook it off, choosing to not continue that conversation. (Even though he had been the one to start it.)

[Meanwhile]...

Joker had never been one to let others see him when he was down. But now, he felt helpless, like it didnt matter.

Nothing really mattered to him. Not right now. Not anymore. Not after he had been hit by the freight train of truth; The Bat would never be his.

All he did now was sit in his new 'home' that harley had found for him, and wallow in his own misery like some poor widow in those old movies.

'Maybe in another life...' He thought, laying on his back, on the mattress that Harley had dragged here for him.

Harley. Now She was a true friend. Maybe if she hadn't gotten caught up with him, she'd be living a better life, as a better person. He regretted ever thinking to use her for his own gains.

He owed so much to her. And Ivy, who was he was now in okay-ish terms with. He'd probably be dead right now, without them. Without him.

Without Batman, Joker was nothing. Life wasn't fun, no, nothing was fun.

He wished for a purpose. And a part of him yearned for that purpose to be his dark knight.-

No, not his. He had to let go of that. He can't just live out the rest of his life in a miserable what-was-once-an-apartment like a cave goblin!

At least that's what Harley had said to him.

She brought him a dozen of instant noodles each week, so he wouldn't starve to death, even though he didn't really feel like eating.

It made him feel guilty, living off of their pity.

He didn't like it.

He desparately wished for something to latch onto, a branch he could grab on, before he fell in too deep into the hole that threatened to swallow him whole.

Just then, he got a text. From- 'BW? Who's tha-' his mind staggered, before remembering.

It had been a while since it happened, he'd even assumed it to be a dream. But seeing the number in his contacts reminded him that it had actually happened.

He'd considered the possibility that it could be fake, but it was Bruce Wayne's Idea in the first place! He'd been the one to say that they should keep in touch!

For reasons unkown, the brief meeting had quite the impact on him. Maybe it was fate toying with him, or because some cosmic entity found it funny- but it didn't matter.

He had found his mind wandering off to the other man- for 2 whole weeks after they met, and he couldn't help but feel like that was meant to happen, that they were destined to meet. He felt a strange connection to him.

All of this, he had experienced with only one other person before, in his entire life.

Batman.

And the thought almost irked him.

Harley was right. He can't be hung up on a single (bat)man forever.

There's plenty of fish (bats????) in the sea!

Maybe- if the Bat had found a Cat, then the Clown could find a Wayne.

He then sat up with a revelation, 'Yes. That's it! Bruce Wayne!' The distraction that he oh so desparately needs!

He felt like he had just attained enlightenment!

And thus, he replied with the most profound word he could muster, and with the hope provided by his revelation, he typed out :

'Hi'

Then; he waited for a few minutes, but didn't get a reply. So, there goes that-.
He immediayely deflated, flopping back down on his mattress.

He brought his hands up to clutch his face, groaning into them, "WAHAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY", and then he came to the conclusion that the universe must hate him.

Chapter Text

Joker laid in his mattress supporting himself with his elbows, mindlessly scrolling on his phone; looking at various articles featuring the one and only- Batman.

He had spent a good while thinking of Wayne, almost sparing no thought to Gotham's protector at all; and the Joker felt guilty about it.

He wanted to find it in himself to be, well- Himself again. And to him, 'finding himself' was interchangable with finding his undying obsession with the caped crusader.

And that was the problem. His undying obsession seemed to be dying out, and he felt like he was loosing himself.

It had happened gradually, yet entirely too quickly. Things had been getting stagnant between them for a while, after all- Joker did all the same things, knowing they guarenteed some quality time with the Bat. And in his mind, Joker believed that Batman loved him, too; because, unlike everyone else, Joker was never boring. Just like Batman would never bore him!

But as much as he disliked to admit it, Joker had become boring. And he didn't really hate it, all that much. And he hated himself for it.

As long as he knew for sure that nothing would stop him from getting to be with Batman, he didn't mind being a little boring.

That was his first mistake, he supposed. Maybe he shouldn't have let himself become so...repetitive, so simple, and so very- Boring.

He should've kept the vigilante alert and on edge at all times, keeping him guessing, always anticipating all the different ways in which he'd wreak havoc in their beloved city. Yes, that way, He would've been the only thing on the Bat's mind. No room for anything or anyone else.

But it was too late now. He'd wanted to have his cake and eat it, Of Course it was too much to ask for; the universe hated him, after all.

"I guess, We Do Fall Apart When Nothing's New...heh", He sighed; sitting up, only to fall back onto the mattress to lay on his back.

That was when he saw an article featuring Bruce Wayne. The man had been popping up in his life a lot lately. And Joker doesn't remember a time he actually messed with him, which was strange considering the fact that he'd messed with damn near everyone in gotham.

He stared at the Billionare's face and huffed out," He's Rich AND has Pretty privelage? Talk about lucky." But Joker knew that the man was far from it. After all, everyone in Gotham knew of the Great Tragedy of the Waynes.

He was glaring at the picture now, fousing on every small line and crinkle on the man's face; feeling a strong sense of dislike towards the other.

But still, there was something about him that made Joker feel a sense of... familiarity. "It's F###in' unfair," he mumbled to himself, "No one should be allowed to be this pretty." He then started to chew on his bottom lip, irritated.

He threw his head back and groaned, having been sidetraked from his original motive- Rekindle his love for the Batman.

He wanted to feel it again, the rush of blood and the spike in his heart rate pounding in his ears, the burning desire to constantly be close to the other, to hold him; to be held by him.

The Overwhelming feeling of Want.

Want- to be punched, to be kicked, choked; to be hurt, and To hurt.

To be Eternally Eachother's.

He could feel the flame starting to burn inside him again.

The need of the thrill, the need to have adrenaline rushing through him,-
The need of body against body, wrestling for control- to come out on top of the other.

The crack of bones, the tear of flesh, the slice of skin. Oh, he could practically feel every hit, every blow. And he desparately needed to feel it.

He needed to do something. He was The Joker! Gotham's one and only- Clown Prince of Crime.

Yes. He needed to do something. And he'd start with Wayne.

At that thought, he felt it bubbling in his throat- his laughter. A grin spread across his lips, gradually parting to let his chortling escape as he shook with vigor.

Chapter Text

Bruce wayne was stressed to say the least. He'd only ever been like this when he was Batman- trying to save hundreds of lives put at stake by his numerous enemies.

He was mad at himself, For the way he went about dealing with Joker.
He wanted to talk to him, to hear his laugh and to feel the pulse in his neck with his hands tightly wrapped around it.

While at the same time, he wanted to never see him again, wishing he'd vanish from the face of the earth like he'd never existed at all. That way, his people would be safe and his city would have one less deranged maniac roaming around it.

But it'd been so long since they'd fought, too long- since they'd marked eachother with scars and bruises, since they'd been covered in eachother's blood. (Since he'd been covered in Joker's blood).

(He missed it. He missed Joker.)

All the intrusive thoughts he'd locked away for years- they were all crawling out now, and clawing at him; trying to swallow him whole.

He was confused; his thoughts were paralized, and he felt like a deer in the headlights. He simply didn't know what to do.

He should feel Sickened by himself. Disgusted. Repulsed. Anything. But he felt none of that. Only longing- for a man he should hate, a man he's hated for years.

He felt as if he was standing on a ledge, looking down at a bottomless pit that; should he fall, will surely consume him entirely.

And he could hear a siren-like voice, laughing and giggling; calling to him, to come just a little closer.

And it only got worse when he started to chase the Joker around in his dreams-

He'd made up with Selina, locked up a few more rouges in arkham as Batman and kept up appearances as his 'Billionare Playboy' persona.

He and Selina were now in good terms, and he didn't really feel all that attatched to what they'd had, at this point in time.

Besides, his mind had long been taken over by a different, more brighter set of Green eyes, and that worried him.

"Master Bruce?" Alfred called, entering the room and closing the door behind him. "Yes, Alfred?", Bruce asked; stopping mid pace, realizing that he'd been walking back and forth restlessly.

"Are you allright? You've been holed up in here for hours, and you seem quite restless.", He asked, the concern evident in his tone.

"Yes, Alfred; everything's fine. It's just- Uh- I've been thinking about the Gala, yes! That's what I've been doing.", Bruce quickly answered the older man, who raised a single eyebrow at him.

"Is that so? Well, then I'm sure you must've decided on what to do about the food, and decor; all by yourself.", He stated, Bruce gulped and nodded,"Of course I have.", He told his father-figure. [He did not.]

Alfred just raised his other brow and studied him for a moment, before sighing and taking his leave. "Very well then. If you say so, Master Bruce."

Bruce had actually, completely forgotten about the charity Gala- which; all of Gotham knew about, at that point.

Bruce simply sighed and actually got to work on doing that.

Little did he know, the reason for his distraction and dilemma had gotten to work, too.

Chapter Text

Joker put on some lipstick, dissappointed because it wasn't his usual color; smacking his lips together to make a pop sound as he (failed) to admire himself with the brown wig in the broken mirror.

Harley had been happy to hear that he was back in business again, although that wasn't exactly the case.

He'd thought of a way to get himself back into crime, and that way was to go do a crime. Because of course, There's nothing like reminding yourself of the thrill, than by actually experiencing it again!

At least, that's what he'd hoped. Although he knew that everytime he'd gone out to do something, it was for the Bat; for any crumbs of attention that he might spare the Joker.

It was Irritating, but Liberating, in a way that he couldn't possibly explain to anyone else. Not like anyone would actually understand, of course; even if he were to explain.

He hoped that what he was going to do would be the ultimate cure he was looking for, just the thing he needed to get him out of this awful art-block.

And he hoped that his audience would enjoy the show that the Joker would put up, just for him and him alone. Certainly not for the pesky Wayne as well, no no no, now that wouln't be right, would it?

Now He, was to play only a tiny part in his performance; As an extra; a faceless, nameless, nobody- An insignificant tree standing at the back of the play while Juliet and Romeo re-united and Danced passionately. Because (according to him); his performances always start solo with the other lead- his partner, joining in a while later.

Yes. That was it. A simple dance with his Bat and a possible trip to Arkham would Cure him of his stupor and Rid him of the thorn at his side (Wayne).

He gave his disguise a once over; before putting his make up back into the creaky draws and getting out of his humble abode for the first time in months.

Chapter Text

Bruce adjusted his deep blue tie once again, more out of habit than anything. He didn't like socializing, especially at extravaganza's like these.

While it may be a charity event, for building shelters for the poor in certain parts of Gotham that were significantly worse off then other areas; he knew that most of the rich people in the city took it up as an excuse to flaunt their money at eachother and the other people of the city.

And to make matters worse, he was constantly being engulfed by crowds of them; making him want to dig a hole right there and burry himself in it.

After a while, everyone had gone off to drink the suspiciously enormous amount of drinks available at the Charity Gala. He had thankfully dodged anyone who wanted him to tag along by coming up with the randomest excuses he could make up on the spot, but it was only a matter of time before he ran out of these excuses.

He wanted to run home right that instant, rip off his tie and the rest of his clothes, then don his Batsuit to swing off into the night.

But he'd promised Alfred that he'd do his best to let himself have one normal night.

'Right-, Normal.' He thought to himself, as he stood rigid in a corner of the large room, trying to blend into the shadows and become one with the wall; hoping to go unnoticed by everyone else present there.

"Excuse me, Mr. Wayne? ", a voice called out from behind him, breaking his his little bubble.

Bruce inhaled sharply through his nose before turning around, mentally preparing himself to come up with an excuse to give this person.

But what he wasn't prepared for, was to find out who exactly was standing behind him.

"Oh my! You really are more Handsome when seen up-close!", the woman giggled.

That sound was entirely too familiar to Bruce, to have come from a stranger.

Loose brown hair, tan skin and brown eyes, along with a pearl necklace and a sleek red sleeveless bodycon dress that reached just above the knees with black fishnets underneath.

She seemed quite normal, like any other rich lady at such an event.

But- something felt off. If Bruce could only figure out what-

"As honored as I am, to be checked out by Gotham's Most Eligible Batchelor; I'd like to at least grab a drink first, if you wouldn't mind.", She grinned, voice sickly sweet; and Bruce almost jumped out of his own skin-

"Oh! Uh- no, that's-", Bruce stammered, having been caught off gaurd, he cleared his throat, "My apologies, I didn't mean to be rude."

"Oh, that's completely alright. Now, I just heard some folks praising this really good whiskey; how about we go have a taste and check it out for ourvelves, hm?", She grabbed Bruce's arm, locking it with her own; her grin growing impossibly wide.

That grin. There was something missing about it. Her lips were painted a pale pink, but Bruce found himself thinking of how it could use a little more Red.

And as he was dragged away and sat down in a chair with a drink in his hand, it clicked.

This wasn't just any woman; not a woman at all, in fact! This was The Joker.

No one had seen joker in months, and the last time Bruce had seen him, he seemed- to not quite be himself.

'Why show up now? And what was he planning?', Bruce found himself thinking; 'And what does he want with Bruce Wayne?'

Bruce found himself caught in whatever trap the Joker had set up, and had to come up with a way to save himself  and the other people there.

But that wouldn't be too much of a problem; after all, Joker wasn't the only Wolf in Sheep's clothing.

Chapter Text

All around them, people talked and laughed; completely unaware of the danger admist the crowd. Bruce brought the glass of whisky to his mouth, but didn't drink it; which he was used to doing by now, so unless the clown in disguise was paying close attention, he wouldn't be able to tell.

"This whisky really does hit the spot does it not, Mr. Wayne?" Joker said suavely, and Bruce felt a little uneasy in the presence of the man, especially because part of him was disappointed that the lipstick stain on the glass wasn't Red and Bold when Joker withdrew his glass from his own mouth.

"Say, Mr. Wayne, I heard you're quite the dancer," The Joker said, and now that Bruce knew; he could recognise the familiar lilt in this voice that was a little higher than the clown's already high pitched voice, which wasn't feminine, per say, but still; the man made it work somehow. 

"Won't you show a girl a good time?"Joker fluttered his fake lashes and stood up, which was when Bruce realised that slow jazz music had started playing in the background, with a few couples slowdancing in the middle of the room.

Bruce blinked at the hand offered to him by his enemy, but he couldn't just decline now; he already felt eyes burning holes through his head. So, he took the hand, which definitley had some kind of make-up or possibly paint on it to make the porcelean complexion look tan; most people would chalk it up to an uncanny amount of moisturiser, which was apparently common these days- but not Bruce.

But as their hands touched, Bruce could feel the faint warmth of the other man; even after all of the years they'd fought eachother, known what made the other tick, skin to skin contact was foreign to their dynamic. Bruce had his Kevlar, and Joker his impeccable and surprisingly covering suit.

Even through the layers of the tan substance covering the other's hand, Bruce felt Joker; the touch was far too gentle for what they were used to. Time seemed to slow as Bruce registered and processed what was going on; no gloves between their hands, which carressed the other's tenderly.

Bruce swallowed, but his throat still felt far too dry. He stood up, noticably slow due to his stupor; and his attention was now completely zeroed in on the disguised man in front of him.

Neither of them moved as they stood under the light of chandeliers with their joined hands suspended between them; looking at eachother with bewildered eyes, caught in their own little bubble.

Chapter Text

Joker froze up where he stood; suddenly he'd forgotten how to breathe, as he looked into the other's blue eyes. He didn't understand- what was going on? Why did he feel paralized? Bruce Wayne was just another unimportant nobody- He had no right in having this kind of effect on Joker.

He tried to slip his hand out of the billionare's grasp, but the handsome A-hole refused to let go- 'Damnit. This wasn't part of the plan-'

But Joker was rudely pulled out of his growing internal turmoil when the bastard pulled Joker's hand towards himself, his grip now tight around Joker's bony wrist.

"Shall we?" And then he smiled at Joker- it was the most pretty smile he'd ever seen; even prettier than his own- which was a lot coming from the Joker. 

Helplessly Joker gulped and blinked owlishly at Bruce- who then began to tug him away from where they were sitting.

When they were near the centre of the room, Bruce stopped and looked at Joker with an undecipherable expression on his face; Joker realised that he was expected to do something- but do what? He didn't know what the hell he was supposed to do! Bruce was supposed to be under the effects of the drug he'd mixed in the whiskey by now!

Bruce then cleared his throat, moving closer; he seemed to stare into Joker's soul- like he could see through Joker's disguise, like he could see every part of Joker there was to see. Joker didn't like it. 

No, Joker didn't like this at all. He was supposed to be the one in control- He was supposed to be the mastermind.

And yet; with Bruce Wayne's eyes locked with his own, Joker felt defenceless- like he was laid completely bare for the other man to see. And that both did something to him and nothing at all at the Same. Damn. Time.

Bruce slowly brought his free hand up to rest on Joker's side, and Joker's entire world felt like it shook- that gentle, almost tentative touch- it made had him shudder.

Despite himself, Joker's hand rose up to hover over a broad shoulder as if on autopilot- goddamnit. It was like Wayne was now controling his damn body. Joker realised that, right now- if he wanted to; Wayne could make Joker move to his every whim. 

In this moment, Joker's body was now no longer his own, but Bruce Wayne's. Joker's stomach did a flip when he realised it. He had no idea why this was happening. But it was- and there's nothing he could do to stop it because it was already too late. Why? Because Prince Charming over here had pulled Joker into a waltz, slowly swaying the both of them to the music.

Joker hadn't even realized that they were half way across the room from where they'd been before when Wayne stopped them.

Bruce Wayne cleared his throat, his expression was once again undecipherable as he spoke to Joker, much to the clown's annoyance. "Are you alright?" he asked with a tight smile, gripping Joker's slim hip with those thick sturdy fingers-

This wasn't good. No, this was not good at all. Not even one. bit! Joker needed to be able to know what the other man was thinking, to be able to get into his head; if not for any other reason then to know he was still capable of it. Had he lost his touch? No, that can't be right- it must be Wayne. He was definitely trying to do something to him.

Could Wayne know who he was? There was no way- unless? No. No. No getting sidetracked. No overthinking. This. wasn't. about. Wayne. 

Joker simply smiled up at the taller man, and then, feigning sheepishness; he said : "Oh, Mr. Wayne. I'm So much more than, ah- alright." Then, Joker fluttered his fake lashes at him, "Who wouldn't be, when lucky enough to share a dance with you?" Joker felt queasy saying such things to this man that absolutely enraged him, but he had to do it- if only to see his Bat.

Yes. That's why he's doing this. That's why he does anything at all, really. He didn't mean a word of what he was saying to Wayne. Nope. Nothing.

"I see, I am told that I could be a bit- much, for some people." A cocky grin spread across Bruce Wayne's handsome features, and Joker wished to pluck those pearly teeth out from his perfect mouth and then stab him with them. Multiple times. Preferably his manhood- till there's nothing left but a mess of blood and flesh. That way the bastard wouldn't ever be able to be cocky ever again. Whether with his smile or with...anything else.

On the outside however, Joker simply fluttered his lashes again; "Oh, I'm sure you could, Mr. Wayne...I'm sure you could..." And that's when Joker lit up with an idea. If the damn drug didn't work, he'll try something else. He does better with improv than plans anyways.

Joker starts to move them this time, swaying slowly, seductively, in the way femme fatales do in movies; running his palm slowly down from Wayne's shoulder to rest on top of his firm chest.

But when Wayne slides his own palm up Joker's side, he was not prepared for it. He should've known, really, this was the expected response. Hell, It was exactly what he needed for his ' plan B ' to succeed! And yet, Joker became uncomfortable as an uncontrolable shiver ran down his spine.

Joker swallowed, looking over those broad shoulders to look for a way out of there, away from prying eyes.

When he found what he was looking for, he leaned towards it's direction. Getting up close and personal, Joker whispered huskily in Wayne's ear, "Let's head somewhere more... ah- private, yeah?" 

And then the Billionare halted abruptly, Joker wasn't facing him directly; his face still hovering near the taller man's ear, but he couldn't back away to inspect his face because the stronger man was holding him in place with an iron grip.

After a beat of standing still, unmoving, Wayne pulled him closer, his hand only tightening on Joker's hip, "Sure, Why not?" He practically breathed down Joker's neck, and the clown was sure that if it had been his bare skin that had come in direct contact with that heated breath, Joker would have done more than bristle. 

It took everything in Joker to keep his knees from giving out beneath him. He felt his body heat up and his heartbeat quicken; but gave nothing away. Probably. Hopefully. They were too close for comfort anyways.

Wayne then pulled back, but not enough for their personal spaces to be distinguishable. Then, Wayne gave a smile that- Joker noted- didn't quite reach the eyes. But it wasn't that important to him at the moment.

Because beneath the facade, Joker was starting to seethe. This man- this- this insignificant, worthless, piece of nothing- 

he had no business doing this to Joker. Making him feel things-

because only Batman ever made him feel things.

But yet- yet this absolute rando was- he was doing things to Joker- and he seemed to do it so effortlessly- like he didn't even realise what he was doing to Joker- by just looking at him, by simply touching him, by only breathing on his make-up covered skin-

Joker needed to leave. Plan be damned, he just couldn't do this anymore. This was a bad idea. Of all people, he shouldn't have picked Wayne- hell, maybe he should've at least killed the guy as soon as he'd seen him! That would've drawn out the Bat quicker. What hell was he thinking!?

Joker bit his lips to stop himself from laughing; he had to find a way out of this. He needed to escape- get as far away from Bruce Wayne as he possibly could.

Chapter Text

Most people there had started dancing now too, the space now crowded with several dancing couples. The masquerading pair was no longer under the invasive gaze of gossipping guests; much to Bruce's relief.

He noticed Joker eyeing a door and slowly moving them closer to it, so Bruce swayed them away from it and into the crowd of people dancing there.

For whatever reason, Joker seemed to want to try and get out of there now, but Bruce wouldn't let him. He will stop Joker's plan, with or without the cowl.

"You were so eager to dance with me, I couldn't possibly cut it short for you." Bruce smirked down at Joker, "So let's wait till the song's over." He left no room for arguement.

The twitch in Joker's expression told him that he was going in the right direction to foil whatever he had in store.

Satisfied, Bruce moved closer to the man in disguise; putting on one of his best smiles, he stared down condescendingly at Joker. Because that's who ' Bruce Wayne ' was. And he was Nothing like Batman.

He was used to pretending, after all; to be someone he was not. Bruce Wayne. Billionare. Playboy. He had to maintain that reputation to protect his secret identity- his true identity.

He managed not to let the mask slip. He played along, let Joker think he had the upper hand while he tried to think of a plan.

But at what point does one draw the line?

Their proximity, the reality of what they were doing- Bruce hadn't quite realised the weight of it all. He was dancing with his greatest enemy. And he didn't feel repulsed or disgusted. At all. But he felt like he should, even if he knew he was just playing along- playing pretend. 

There should be that internal revulsion. But it wasn't here. After so long, Bruce almost felt content like this- but he knew he shouldn't.

Then Joker's face from the bar flashed in front of his eyes; and Bruce stilled. He'd been detatched from life for months now, just going through the motions.

But it was as if as soon as he realised that Joker was now here, He'd let it slip his mind, what happened with him at the bar. He'd immediately jumped to the conclusion that Joker was here to do what he usually did- despite things being different now, at least to some extent- if Joker's recent radio silence was anything to go by.

But there wasn't radio silence. He'd texted him. Joker had texted him.

Maybe Joker wasn't here for some grand scheme- some performance. Maybe this was more... Personal?

He wasn't Batman right now. But he didn't have to be Bruce Wayne either. Joker had seen him- the real him, and had understood him. He could be...himself. He didn't have to pretend.

Bruce was too drunk and heartbroken at the time to fully have a grip on himself, and Joker had caught him off gaurd. But something about their brief encounter still felt so...Raw. So Real.

They'd gone back to dancing, Bruce's body had moved subconciously; but he could hear the song coming to an end.

The Joker from the bar; the one that had completely let down his gaurd with him, the one that had been crying- the one that had hugged him; was now in his arms.

Bruce had always wanted to help this man. All of the instances in the past few months where he could have gotten closer to achieving that- all of the opportunities he'd missed- Bruce felt like this was now his last chance. 

So when the song finally did come to an end, he slipped away from the crowd, unnoticed by the other guests, with the clown in disguise in his arms.

He should've done something earlier, yet he couldn't bring himself to. But having Joker here with him, it somehow brought him back to reality. It was like he was no longer in the backseat to his own life.

Chapter Text

The two enemies were caught in their own dilemmas and complicated feelings.

They felt inconsistent, even to themselves- they were doing something to eachother, making the other feel better And worse.

The Clown and the Bat, both now in disguise; were changing each other. They kept thinking of eachother in the other's abscence, but were too unsure of everything happening to truly grasp what was going on with themselves to act on anything.

What's going to happen to their already complex and difficult relationship? Their unexpected meeting had already changed the course of both their lives to the extent that neither had control of themselves anymore.

They were unraveling.

Everything since that one encounter from months ago had been the most confusing experiences the both of them had ever gone through.

They were constantly at odds with themselves, their feelings conflictong and complex and confusing and constantly fluctuating- so much so they couldn't even keep track of themselves- who they were- anymore.

They were constantly changing- their worldviews, who they were as individual people- Everything.

But one thing was for sure. They had a tight hold on eachother, but they were too overwhelmed to notice it-

At least for now.

Chapter Text

Joker wanted nothing more than to leave this place. He never should've come here. He had never felt so uneasy in his own skin as he does now, granted- he wasn't actually in his own skin. But still.

When Wayne finally lead him out of the room, Joker was going to just make up some dumb excuse and leave. But this man seemed to be hell-bent on making everything harder than it already is for him.

Wayne was holding him so gently, so delicately, like one wrong move and he might break. Joker had never been handled like this before. It was strange, but kind of... nice, too?

Joker was getting more and more confused as time went on, as the gentle fondness slowly seemed to overwhelm him.

'He doesn't know who I am. He thinks I'm just another pretty face. This means nothing.' Joker tried to reason with himself, but the memory of the man's kind face from the bar told him otherwise.

'He was drunk, he didn't know what he was doing.' He clenched his fists so hard, his manicured nails scraped the tan on his skin, leaving marks. 'But then, why would he-' 

Joker halted when he noticed that Wayne had lead him to the garden outside the Manor. He turned to find the man stepping in front of him, unlinking their hands.

"I'm uh-" Bruce coughed into his fist, looking away before locking eyes with Joker. "I"m..Sorry." the sincerity was enough to give Joker a whiplash.

"...what?" The words came out barely louder than a whisper, Joker was utterly dumbfounded.

"For, er- Ghosting you." Bruce clarified, adding to Joker's confusion. "huh?" Joker tried to focus again, but his mind kept going back to Wayne's face from the bar; their first meeting, which felt like it happened a lifetime ago.

"I was- going through a rough patch. And, yeah, I know you were too, but, I guess I just-" Wayne just looked at him kind of awkwardly. Joker was still processing.

"I'm over it now, completely over her." Wayne stepped closer to him, "You...seem to be better, too?" Wayne looked away, "From the last time I saw you, that is." he caughed into his fist again before looking back to Joker.

That's when Joker realised it; "You..Knew?" Joker's eyes widened, his voice dropping to normal. Wayne just nodded -still so sincere- and Joker was flabbergasted.

He gaped at the Billionare, and they just stood there, under the pale moonlight. 

"You-! But-! then why-?" Joker stammered,  "How?"  He finally ended up getting out of his mouth.

Chapter Text

Bruce didn't know how to answer the clown, or if his answer would be believed even if he was completely honest.

Still, he stuck with his resolve. He was the only one who could help Joker, he was the one who understood him most- yet ' most ' was not all that much at all, to Bruce.

"I just kind of..." Bruce drawled carefully, pinning Joker with the most earnest gaze he could muster. "Knew." He hoped the poor choice of words didn't mess this up for him, but it was the truth.

"You ' just knew' ?" The other man's brows furrowed, inspecting Bruce; picking him apart, looking for the truth.

And Bruce let him. He simply stood, laying himself bare in front of Joker's searching eyes. And the clown in disguise must have found what he was looking for, because suddenly he recoiled, eyes blown wide.

"So this whole time you-...?" Joker opened his mouth, then closed it again, looking very much like a goldfish as he did so. 

"Yeah." Bruce didn't really know what he was doing, but he followed his instincts. "Yeah, that's right." He nervously smiled, and internally hoped he wasn't saying anything wrong; he didn't usually do things without at least the vaguest of plans.

And what do you know, the only other time he'd gone without a plan, or without even some sort of semblance of it; he ended up with a sad Joker in his arms.

After all, beneath everything, that's who Joker was. A sad man. Just like Bruce himself. But neither will actually admit it to anyone else.

Joker simply watched him, unmoving;  Bruce could see the man's thoughts swirling like a storm inside his eyes.

Bruce waited patiently; as long as Joker didn't leave, Bruce was content to just be there. He offered the clown in disguise an earnest look, trying to make him feel more at ease.

Joker was a Criminal. A Murderer. But that didn't stop Bruce from having a soft spot for the villain.

He had been disgusted with himself, repraminded himself for such thoughts; but now that he'd seen the other side of the smile, he couldn't help it- he knew that it would be dangerous, so part of him held him back from reaching out sooner.

That voice at the back of his mind, keeping him from having done this sooner. The same voice that kept him from giving in and texting or calling the Clown at every point Bruce had felt his thoughts of him to be overwhelming.

Yes, Joker was a killer and a criminal. But so was Selina- Bruce's stomach churned; he thought he was done with this already, but apparently not.

It was true though, Selina was a criminal, too; and she had killed before; even if it was out of necessity.

And Bruce had still loved her. He loved her for her, and nothing else. Maybe part of him still does, but that was the least of his concerns when he had an Arch Nemesis to worry about.

"Why?" The word was uttered so quitely, Bruce almost hadn't heard it. " ' Why ' ?" Bruce asked cautiously.

"If you knew who I was the whole time, then why did you..." Joker didn't finish the sentance, but Bruce understood all the same.

"Because I felt I owed it to you." Bruce's anxiety screamed at him to just stop and run, but he did no such thing.

He was going to be honest. He was going to be the one that Joker trusts enough to let inside his walls. The one who's help Joker would accept. 

Joker still looked on, expectant. So Bruce continued. "I...felt bad-"  He scratched the back of his neck.

"For what?" Bruce had never seen or heard Joker so exasperated. He looked so confused, and tired. 

"I'm sorry, I'm not- I'm not very good at this." Bruce admitted, "I suppose it was seeing you cry, what you told me; getting a glimpse of a side of you that I could relate to, but I was hesitant to actually ' keep in touch ', even though it was my idea."

That voice in his head wasn't stopping; in fact, it only grew worse. It screamed and growled and thrashed and fought. But it still wasn't enough.

Joker's face won out in the end, though; contorting with conflicting emotions

Joker didn't say or do anything in response or retaliation. But he still hadn't tried to leave. And that was enough for Bruce.

He wanted to make sure he could remain in contact with Joker after this night, so he decided that he had to make him stay, just a little longer- or at least long enough for Bruce to get the clown to confide in him again like he had months ago- even though it felt so distant, like it had happened years ago.

And so, despite his better judgement, Bruce reached a hand out, "Would you like to dance again?"

Chapter Text

Faint music could be heard from where they stood, Bruce held his hand out, and Joker felt like he was about to evaporate- "Uh-" He sucked in a sharp breath, his mouth still agape.

'Batsy would never...' Joker's brain so ' usefully ' provided, and he raised his hand; but he still hesitated.

He looked at the hand offered to him and the face of the man in front of him; eyes wide and unsure.

'There's no way I'll get another chance like this...' Joker gulped, 'I have no one else, and I can't be relying so much on Harley and Ivy for the rest of my life- and they won't even let me end it.' 

He brought his hand to softly ghost over Bruce Wayne's,'I've got nothing- no purpose, nothing to lose.' He looked up to find a hopefull expression on the taller man's face, and any hesitance he had fell apart.

"I'd love to." His voice came out small and weak; way too soft for his liking. But he saw relief in those blue eyes, and decided to clasp his hand over the other's.

Bruce Wayne softly placed his other hand on Joker's hip; both men tensed a little, but Joker gently placed his own free hand on Bruce's shoulder, trying to smile, but not quite succeeding.

This man. He brought out a side of Joker that was burried deep within himself- that vulnerable, broken part of him.

Joker was scared. Bruce Wayne- there was something about him, Something Joker couldn't quite place- but at this moment, it wasn't so bad.

When they started to dance, Joker just let himself be pulled along- for once, He wasn't the one pulling.

Slowly, as they stepped along to the music; his chest felt a little tight, yet so much lighter than before.

He exhaled steadily through his mouth and looked on with half-lidded eyes, finding comfort in the soft moment; the faint music, the light steps, and the warmth radiating from the other man- he felt like he should be panicking, but felt more and more at ease instead.

After each step, he began getting in tune more, with both the music and the taller man. He swallowed, letting himself be fully immersed in the private bubble he was in with Bruce Wayne.

Slowly, he regained his confidence, letting himself enjoy the dance; he loved dancing, after all.

He looked to the other man's eyes, and felt a tenderness spread through his body that he'd only ever felt when Batman left him unable to fight anymore, the comfortable bliss of relaxing after a long night, spent waltzing with his beloved Bat.

But he felt it now, waltzing with Wayne. His mood soured a little, 'I'm not going to let myself ruin this for me.' He decided that he'd enjoy this while it lasted- he didn't have to go back to how he was before, after all.

And he doubted he ever could, even if he wanted to. Right now, all he could focus on, all he wanted to focus on was Wayne.

Joker was right. Wayne was a great distraction. Maybe even too good, but Joker couldn't really bring himself to care. Why should he? If it works, it works.

His attention zeroed in on Wayne's face; his soft blue eyes, the ghost of a smile on his lips, the way the moonlight fell on his face- Joker became entranced then.

Right here, right now; it was just the two of them, and the music. And Joker felt it all slip away; the doubt, the hesitance, that looming dread.

He moved closer to Wayne; subconciously, a small smile tugged at his lips and he felt his whole being light up.

The way he knew he felt only with Batman. But...Batman wouldn't dance with him- not like this; with Batman, it was never gentle, or comforting, never so...peaceful.

Joker didn't do peaceful- and yet here he was. Bruce Wayne made it possible. In awe, he wondered, 'What else is this man capable of making me feel? What else can he do to me?' Joker felt that familiarity again, but there was still a distinct difference.

Joker had never needed this- the tenderness, the comfort, the- this- whatever this is. Not until now.

Was it not until he met Bruce, or Until he realized Batman would never feel the same?

Honestly, Joker couldn't really tell. All of these feelings, the complicated thoughts- everything was starting to feel like it was all too much.

So he burried his face in Wayne's shoulder, inhaling deeply. To feel the man around him in as many ways as he could right now, to make himself believe that this was real- that yes, he could just- be , instead of feeling overwhelmed; and relax. At least for as long as Bruce Wayne was here.

Bruce stilled for a moment, but then moved his hand to hold Joker's back instead, and went back to dancing.

Joker felt like he was with Batman, but- obviously, Bruce was very different; Joker still didn't know what exactly it was that just- drew him to seek comfort from this man.

He never thought he'd be one to- never imagined that- God- he couldn't even understand it, much less describe it!

There was that pull he'd feel with Batman- but this- this was different-

...'Right?'

Then, the music stopped; but neither moved to pull away. Bruce just stood there, letting Joker wrap his hands around him in an embrace. 

Joker felt tears welling up in his eyes; 'Oh no, not again-' he bit his bottom lip to stop to stop himself from sobbing; clutching his hands tightly in Wayne's clothes. 'Why does this guy keep getting to see me cry!?'

Then, Joker felt Bruce tentatively touch his forearms with his own hands; and actually lean into the embrace. '...and why do I actually kind of- like this?'

And so, there they stood. In the garden, under the pale moonlight; the faint sound of music slipping out again to wrap them up into their own little world once more.

Chapter Text

To an outsider, it would seem that Bruce Wayne was embracing a possible new fling. 

To an outsider, Joker would seem like a monster; someone who wasn't capable of 'human' actions like crying.

But Bruce wasn't an outsider. And neither was Batman. He knew that Joker was Just A Man- A Man who had come so far, he was regarded as other than human; but still, Joker was a Man, much like himself.

They were one and the same, Joker and he. He saw that now; just as Joker always had. Or maybe he'd known all along too, but just refused to acknowledge it- 

"Why?" Joker's voice was muffled, but Bruce picked up on the slight tremor. "Why do you act like you care?"

"That's because I do." Joker tensed up, "Why?" He sounded agitated, "I told you, I-" He didn't let Bruce finish. "Bullshit!" He gripped Bruce tighter, "Tell me the real reason...Why?"

"I, Well, I don't know what you-" Joker made a frustrated noise, "You Danced with me, You're letting me stand this close to you, letting me hug you- and you- you're-" He sobbed, "You're telling me you care!- Why?"

Bruce breathed in slowly, calming himself. "At some point, I thought of you as a monster," He felt Joker stiffen, so he wrapped his arms around the thinner form; keeping him close, comforting him.

"But you-" Bruce didn't really know how to say it, But he knew he had to. He needed this to work, and he needed Joker to trust him. Honesty. That's the key here. "You aren't." He felt Joker flinch.

"I saw that when we met at the bar." He went on, appearing calm. "I..." He wasn't sure what to say, " I just think, that- well." He tried to put it into words, but he just couldn't. He didn't know ' why '.

"In all honesty,..." He pulled back enough to get a look at Joker's face, hidden by the strands of the wig, "I just...felt like it." Joker's eyes widened, his mouth curling up slightly.

"You just...felt..like it?" he asked softly, so quiet Bruce almost didn't catch it despite their proximity. "Heh. Heheh. What?" His voice was more air than sound. "You- Ha!" Joker looked up at him; panicked, confused, And hysterical. But he believed Bruce now.

He burried his face in Bruce's clothes again as muffled laughter vibrated through both their bodies, now that they were pressed together.

He laughed, and chuckled, then giggled, before finally ending with a few snickers and sniffles.

And In the minutes- or however long- this went on for; Bruce never let go of him; Only held him close.

"You're- heh," Joker sniffled, lifting his head to look up at Bruce, "You're..Funny." Joker chuckled. "And I..." the hysterical smile, turning genuine for a brief moment, fell abruptly.

"I like Funny.." He said it like he just realised something horrible. "Thanks!" Bruce exclaimed, panic taking over, "I like you too!" Joker's head snapped to him, eyes wide, smile gone without a trace.

Joker stared, blinking owlishly, looking a little baffled. And Bruce stared right back at him, lips thin and face blank. 

Then suddenly, Joker's face turned red as his shoulders spiked up; frowning deeply, with his eyes blown into saucers, he looked flustered.

"OkayNoI'mGonnaGoNowBye-" Joker yelped out without breathing, his voice high; after which he quickly whirled around and took off running.

It took Bruce a solid second to process what just happened- Joker was gone.

But in his opinion, this was for the best. ' One step at a time ' and all that. Also, he didn't want to overwhelm Joker. That could even prove to be dangerous, after all. 

In his eyes, tonight went well; even if he hadn't planned for any of this. 

After Joker was ready- after Bruce was ready, they would do this again. Whatever ' this ' even was.

Bruce had a feeling.

And so, he looked on from where he stood in the garden, hope slowly growing in him.

But then it hit him; what he'd said- and how it could've been understood. When he realised why exactly Joker had bolted, He went rigid; his face flushing, he wished to shoot himself into space and never come back down.

_' "I like you too!" '_

His brain- that wretched thing- kept replaying it in his mind, "Shit. What have I done?" He groaned.

Chapter Text

Joker rolled on the less than clean floor of his humble abode, thrashing his limbs every-which-way like a child throwing a tantrum.

The wig was discarded near the door, his dress thrown in a corner and his make-up smudged; he looked like he walked right out of a hurricane.

Eventually he rolled right into a wall and hit his head, yelping and cursing at said wall before attempting and failing to get his revenge by punching it.

"This is All HIS Fault! Not Mine- His. Fault. Hisfaulthisfaulthisfaullltt!" He almost tore his own hair out, screaming till he began to cough.

After the coughing had receded, he just laid sprawled on his back, looking up at the ceiling with dread.

"I shouldn't like him- I shouldn't like him- He shouldn't matter. Only Batman does. Should. Has to." He curled up to lay on  his side now, knees hugged close to his chest.

He bit his own botton lip, drawing blood and relishing the pain. He needed Pain right now, more so than ever. That's the only thing that could ground him.

But what would be the point of Pain if Batman wasn't the one dealing it?

Joker squeezed his eyes shut, hugging himself tightly and clenching his teeth in a way that could rival the Bat. Maybe. Nothing could rival the Bat. No one could rival Batman. 'Except Bruce Wayne Apparently-'

His eyes shot open at the thought. "AAAAGH NO! NononononoNO. No." His eyes flitted around in panic as he covered his ears; as if that would stop his own thoughts from betraying him- from betraying Batman.

But that's the thing, wasn't it? Not only was Batman not Joker's to love, but he wasn't even his to Betray.

His gut wrenched, his stomach churned and his vision became blurry. "This...this isn't funny.. Not Funny. At all."

He felt his breath hitch and his eyes burn, then he stared unblinkingly at the wall in front of him, mortified.

A shaky breath left his mouth; His world was crumbling. Again. What was he supposed to do now? What could he do? To make this feeling go away...

And then- A Snort.

He bit his lip once more, the corners of his mouth quirking up bitterly. Choked up sounds left his mouth, and he couldn't tell if they were sobs or giggles. He closed his eyes, feeling pathetic once more as tears trickled down his face. 

_' "I just...felt like it." '_

Joker's eyes fluttered open, and he sucked in a sharp breath. That's when a small smile graced his lips, "heh." The memory from an hour ago(?) pulled a chuckled out of him.

'Bruce Wayne...' Joker's thoughts changed course, "There's No way that man is Normal." His eyes fondly fell closed, "He just ' Felt like it? ' That's Hilarious!" He giggled. 

And once Joker began to think about his new distraction, there was no going back. He could not stop replaying the man's words in his head even if he wanted to. And he....wasn't really sure if he did.

There's a reason Joker picked him as a distraction. The guy had the ability to completely consume Joker's thoughts!

Joker felt like his entire existance was meaningless- But when he remembered those Blue eyes gazing at him...

_' "I Like you too! '_

Joker's heart almost leaped out of his chest. And He wished it actually had- because now he felt something Shift.

What did Bruce mean by that? Why would he ever say that to him- The Joker!?

"He probably didn't mean what he said. Or maybe he meant it platonically. Yeah! That's it! He said he likes me too, but platonically." He tried to reason with his own brain, but that only made it worse.

"Wait- why did I not think of it that way in the first place? Did I want it to not be platonic?-" He mumbled to himself.

"Wait. Did I-" He gasped quietly, eyes bulging out of his sockets. "Did I FLIRT with him!?" It seemed so obvious now, thinking back- "Holy shit. I Did, didn't I!?" He clutched his head with both his hands

"Shit. Shitshitshitshitshit-" Joker began to spiral.

But a call interrupted him.

He felt himself get flustured, and he debated just not picking up, but he just couldn't help himself. Not after all of...whatever it was that happened.

He didn't know why, but he felt himself deflate when he saw that the call wasn't from Bruce Wayne.

"F###. She's definitely calling to ask me how it went-" Joker groaned, knowing Harley will want the deets. But he attends the call anyways, it's the least he could do, after all.

Chapter Text

Bruce Wayne- Billionare Playboy, Orphan. Otherwise known as Batman- Vigilante, The Dark Knight.

That's who he was.

And Joker- A Criminal, Madman, Murderous Clown.

That's what he was.

Enemies, Adversaries, Opposites- That's what They were, to eachother.

Or at least, they were supposed to be. 

If so, then why did Bruce feel this way? Was there something wrong with him- more than he used to think so?

This wasn't right. But then, why did it feel like it was?

Bruce shook his head, trying to halt his thoughts. It seemed like he wasn't going to end up sleeping tonight- and usually, on nights like this one; he'd just go out in his Batsuit, beat the crap out of criminals Joker especially, if he was out; and exhaust himself till his body would be ready to pass out.

Not tonight, however. Because tonight, he wasn't having nightmares, he wasn't angry- No. This time, he was...Content. He didn't know what to make of that- 

Vibrant Green and a Sharp grin flashed in his eyes as he squeezed them shut, laughter echoing in his head.

He wishes it would stop- The thoughts, the constant reminders. But a part of him doesn't- and instead wishes for more.

More of that smile, more of that voice, more of everything that was distinctly Joker.

Something inside him had...changed.

And he knew he should Hate it, but he didn't. If anything, it was a surprisingly welcome change.

Now, almost all the lines that had defined their lives had faded, been altered, or even dissappeared altogether.

Joker blurred the lines so effortlessly, and Bruce didn't know how to stop him. And Maybe...he didn't want to.

And that thought terrified him.

Ever since Selina and he broke things off, he felt the change begin. Joker only became a catalyst.

Right?

Why couldn't he be sure of anything anymore? Why did his head feel so- scrambled? 

_' "You're..Funny." '_

Joker had seemed so genuine then. So amused, open, and for a second- truly happy.

That's something that stuck with bruce. He found himself being drawn to the man, but unlike all the years prior, Bruce couldn't pull himself back.

That was apparent in the way simple words had been interpreted.

Bruce telling Joker that he liked him- that didn't have to make him panic for a whole minute, but it did.

Joker telling Bruce that he was funny, chuckling the way he did- it was all too much. 

He needed more.

Chapter Text

"J! This is GREAT!" The Blonde woman squealed loudly, happy for her friend. A muffled voice could be heard in the background then. "Ah- Yeah, I'm alright sugar-Pam. Just excited is all!" She spoke to her lover fondly before returning to the conversation on the phone.

"Harley..." Joker drawled softly, hesitant. He was unsure of what to do or say at the moment.

"Come on, J! You gotta take this as a good sign!-" Harley tried to reason, after having heard about Joker's night at the charity event. "Riiiiiiiiiight. Yeaaahhhh. " Good sign "." He grimaced.

"Yes! This is way better than sitting around moping and pining!" Joker puffed his cheeks, eyebrows furrowing. " I wasn't Moping." He huffed, "OR Pining."

"..." The line was silent on Harley's end for a while. Joker's expression twitched. "Okay, okay. Maybe a Little, but-" He heard Harley sigh. "Jo." She said in that sympathetic tone of hers and Joker felt dread crawling up his diaphragm.

"Nngh." He bit the inside of his cheek, right hand coming up to scratch his bottom lip. This was his reminder to never forget that Harley used to be his psychiatrist.

But she was his Friend now- FRIEND. He had a Friend- maybe even Two, and if he were to be bold- THREE.

How strange.

But... it was- Nice.

He sighed, looking down to see that his index finger suddenly had a red substance in between the nail and skin."Ffffff.. Fine." He whispered, licking his lips; wait, was that Copper-?

"Fine?" Harley tried again, Joker bit down on his lip, licking it again. And then, taking in a sharp breath; "Fine. I admit it. I Am Moping. And-" He giggled, unable to hold it back any longer.

Harley waited until he was ready to speak again, probably with that pitying expression on her face.

Joker Hated being Pitied. "Ha! Pining. Haha!" He broke into His Infamous Laughter- His Loathsome Curse. "For- Ha! Th- The Ba-Haha!"

There were tears in his eyes, but he wasn't even laughing that hard.

It was a hysteric kind of laughter- one that was bitter and pained.

"J, it's- I- ugh. No- Sorry. I didn't-" Joker wheezed, "Not- Haaaaa- your fault- HeeeeHehe!" Harley sighed as he got louder.

"I'll.. stop prying now. It's clearly not helping." She said softly; Joker was relieved. "But hey! Maybe Someone else might be able to help!"

"Huh? Who?" Joker asked, confused. "Your new friend; Bruce Wayne!" She exclaimed. "You can talk about your feelings with him, if you don't want to talk about them with Me!" She encouraged. Joker's face flushed. "I mean, you did it when you first met, right?"

Harley said something about Bruce being his first actual ' friend ' who wasn't Herself or Ivy. But Joker hadn't heard her.

"Wh- Whaaaat? What Feelings? Who's this ' Wruce Bayne '?" Joker suddenly felt like he should've just kept his mouth shut.

"..." 

"I have no idea who this ' Wruce Bayne ' is, either. But whoever that is, this ain't about 'em." Harley deadpanned. Joker felt more embarassed than ever- he'd overdone it.

"I- uhm-" he stumbled over his words, "Agghh, Damnit." His voice- His own godforsaken Voice- it cracked.

He then tried to calm himself to the best of his abilities- (which were none).

A few more beats of silence, and then; "HEEEYY PAM-PAM!! YOU ARE NOT GONNA BELIEVE THIS!" Joker had a Bad feeling about this-

"J has a new CRUSH!!" If Joker had a drink in his mouth, he wouldn't have just spit it out, he would have sprayed it all over himself and his mattress- which he should really get around to washing at some point.

"He..hehehe..hehe..he.. uh, What?" Joker laughed nervously, his voice failing to sound convincing even to himself. He felt his face heat up, and wanted to disappear from the face of the earth- preferably even the galaxy.

Crush? ' New ' Crush? That can't be right- what was he, a teenager!? And-  'Wait a minute- Haven't I thought about this before? Wasn't Bruce supposed to be just a Distraction?

If/Until he get's Batman back, that is.'

So, then, what was this whole new awkward Friendship thing (and possible crush)??

Joker, for the life of him. Does Not Know. But all he does know is that he doesn't really mind it.

And that should terrify him. It should. But...does it?

Chapter Text

Bruce sat in the Batcave, going through crime reports from the past few months.

He'd become extra violent right after Selina left; It was his "very unhealthy coping mechanism.", as Dr. Thompkins had put it.

However, that had unexpectedly lead to Gotham's crime rate being at an all time low.

But it just didn't sit right with Bruce. Two broken ribs for shoplifting was simply too much.

And in that time, Gotham's infamous Rouges had laid low, waiting for the storm to blow over; although scheming silently.

As he finished the (unusually short-) report files (-for Gotham), he noted how the only major ' villains ' of his who'd stirred up trouble were Two-Face , Riddler and Penguin.

Riddler had a broken leg, 4 ribs and a dislocated jaw and elbow, Penguin had a dislocated shoulder, wrist and 7 broken fingers along with a concussion, while Harvey ended up in the ER, needing 3 surgeries (Which Bruce had anonymously paid for).

Nothing from Catwoman, she'd left the city for a while; Bane and Clayface were locked up, Fries and Crane were in Arkham too.

He knew Joker was.....not upto his usual antics, and thus he hadn't come across him (as Batman, anyway) and Harley and Ivy had been off the radar for a long while now.

He had gotten to Black Mask, but he'd managed to slip away; and he hadn't been heard from since.

Bruce sighed; now that he was done with his...horrible version of venting, the crime rates were rising again. It won't be long until someone breaks out, and his short time of ' peace ' would be over soon.

He wondered if he'd run into Joker- it had been a long time since the Clown had seen Batman, after all.

The green-haired man wasn't aware that his new-...new..Hm. What were they now? Joker and Bruce Wayne? Clown Prince of Crime and Billionare Playboy?

Were they......Friends? The thought made Bruce feel..strange. 

Friends. He and his Arch-Enemy. And Bruce wasn't even repulsed. Hell, he felt good! What had his life come to? What would Alfred say-?

Bruce flinched, surprised at hearing the footseps in the mostly quiet cave.

"Dinner, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked calmly. Bruce sighed again, shaking his head. His father figure frowned. "Bruce." He looked to the old man, only to be met with a stern face.

Bruce sighed once more, "Alright, Fine..." Alfred's expression eased. "Very well then." A small, satisfied smile graced his wrinkled and creased face, in response to which Bruce's lips curled slightly upwards.

Chapter Text

Joker stood in front of the mirror in the small bathroom of his " house ",  staring at the blood slowly dripping from the cut under his chin.

He clutched tightly at the blade he held in his hand, with blood on it's rusted edges.

"Gosh Darn It-" He gritt his teeth. " I couldn't do it." He sighed, knowing that he now owes Harley even More money. What was he even thinking? He didn't have any money to bet with in the first place, but he'd still done it anyway.

_'  "At least just go out and get yourself some shaving cream- since you're so stubborn about the blade."   '_

Why didn't he just listen to Harley?

Joker sighed again- 

Because he's a damn Fool, that's why.

He'd voluntarily started the bet on his own, although he was kind of provoked to do it.

Telling him he can't do something will absolutely make him want to do it, obviously.

And when Joker Really wants to do something, he Will try his damn best. So, that definitely counts as provoking.

He nodded, agreeing with himself, wiping the blood from the cut and bringing it to his mouth.

He thought about how his call with Harley had gone and how she'd suggested that he might have a ' Crush ' on Gotham's Dear Billionare Philanthropist.

He licked the blood on the blade. How he wished he could taste Batman's instead of his own. But the Man himself was probably too busy with the Cat-lady instead. Joker bit down on the blade. 

A single drop of Blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth, down his chin to his neck and then his thorax, stopping at where his half buttoned shirt lays low on his waist.

As he tracked the drop's movement down his body, he saw all of the scars he had gotten from Batman throughout the years- which, to Joker- Symbolised Love.

To think the same wasn't true for the Bat- to think that all of Joker's effort and dedication decorating his Darling's Body with burns, stab-wounds and bullets alike was all for nothing- Joker felt...angry? Betrayed? Sad? He wasn't sure now, everything felt the same to him.

Everything...except Bruce.

Bruce felt warm, comforting, and gentle.

If Joker really did Like Bruce romantically, shouldn't he want to give him scars as well? Shouldn't he want Bruce to cover any and all unharmed skin on his body with scars of love?

Maybe Joker could get Bruce to kiss him better after they're done. He wonders if he could do the same for Bruce.

Huh.

Maybe...

He scratched his bloodied lips with a finger, letting out shaky huffs of laughter.

..Maybe Harley was right.

Maybe Joker Does have a crush on Bruce Wayne.

Joker tossed the blade; it landed in some corner of his " bedroom ", and he plopped down in his mattress on the floor.

Quiet, he takes his phone out and looks at the name of the contact before pressing " call ".

Joker didn't even know what he was doing or what exactly he'd say to Bruce, he just wanted to talk to him- to hear his voice. That would make him feel better than he did now.

Chapter Text

Joker was curled up into what Harley had dubbed his "Centipede pose", his index finger peeling layers of skin from his lips as he waited for Bruce to pick up his call.

He wasn't doubtful now, for some strange reason. He should be anxious- that Bruce might actually not want to speak to him, or worse- Bruce actually Does want to speak to him. But here he was, anxious about not being anxious. Its ridiculous.

"...Joker.." He almost let out a rubber-ducky esque squeak at hearing the voice, but bit down on his finger to stop himself. 

"Bruceeeee! My man- dude- Buddy!" Joker choked on his own spit and attempted to cover it up with a chuckle, which would work fine for anyone but the Bat. Because Batman knew him all too well. At least, Joker assumed so. Hoped so, against all odds. Just like how he was thinking about him again.

He wonders if it's okay for him to still think of his- The Bat, if he has a crush on Bruce now. But it doesn't really matter since Bruce might not feel the same. Just like Batman.

"Hello?"

Joker was saved from falling into that pit by Bruce's voice. He wonders if he should thank him now. "Soooo, uhm, I heard you live alone and stuff?" 

What?? What is he even saying??? "I- suppose so. Mostly." Came the reply.

"Oh cool, cool. That's cool." Joker wanted to be thrown off a cliff. This was Stupid.

"I have my Butler with me." Bruce hesitantly answered- something tinging his voice that Joker couldn't place; he was probably wierded out.

"Haha nicee-" What was the purpose of this call again? Kill himself with the power of Awkward? It sure felt like it.

It was much better to do this in person, he wouldn't be at such a loss for words. Maybe. At least that's what he told himself- 

He wanted to stab something right about now. But he suppressed the urge. Maybe later.

"..." Bruce said nothing.

"..." And so did Joker.

Silence. And not just any silence. Awkward Silence. Joker hated it.

"I was- hm. I wassssssss... Wondering if we could meet up!" Meet up?? He looked like shit! He couldn't even shave! What was he doing!?

But wait. Bruce could tell him ' no '! He has to. It was the wisest choice-

"...sure, I- guess..?" 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAA-' Joker's brain screamed, and his heart added loud drums to the hideous vocals.

He reeled himself in, just for a moment. "Really!? I could drop by your place!?" Joker wasn't screaming, at least.

"..." Bruce seemed to mull it over for a moment. Joker hoped he'd change his mind. But he also wished he wouldn't. How confusing.

A shooting star must have zoomed on by when Joker had wished, because it worked.

"Yeah." He couldn't tell what Bruce was feeling, it was very hard to. His voice gave nothing away. And the monosyllabic response- It reminded him of- someone. 

Joker pushed that last thought aside. "Alright then," Joker felt something stirr in him, he couldn't decipher what, but it felt- good, but also not?

"I'll be there in a bit." His voice was too soft to be his own. A complete 180 from the high-pitched awkwardness that oozed from his earlier words.

"Alright." Bruce was quiet, but he didn't seem to have second thoughts.

And that was enough.

Chapter Text

Bruce felt strange. He knew he was risking a lot by doing this, but he still..Wanted to. He felt like he was doing this out of his own selfishness, but he just wanted to help. He'd do anything to help Joker. Even if that meant...doing whatever this is.

This could all end up being a trick, Joker is good at those after all. But, something like intuition told Bruce that it wasn't the case. And that intuition has saved him more times than not, so he decided to trust it.

Opening the door to the library, he found Alfred dusting the bookshelves. "Master Bruce? Is it time for Dinner already?" The old man said, feigning surprise. "Oh, no- pardon me, sir. You don't come up for dinner either." He quiped sarcastically. 

Bruce grimaced, feeling guilty. "Sorry, Alfred-" He scratched the back of his neck. "Oh don't worry, my boy. I was simply teasing you. But, this is quite early for you, Especially when you are not needed at Wayne Tower at the moment." He gave his foster son a reassuring smile.

Bruce didn't feel less guilty, in fact he was getting more nervous by the second. "What do you require my assistance with?" Alfred asked him, kindly, and as warm as ever.

Bruce couldn't imagine ever disappointing this man who raised him. "Listen, Alfred," Bruce swallowed. "I have something I have to tell you." Bruce looked away, feeling like this was something to be ashamed of, and not just another thing he did as part of his duties to the city. 

Alfred raised an eyebrow at him, "I persume this is about The Joker?" He asked Bruce, as knowing as always. And wait- was that playfulness in his voice?

Bruce nodded, not yet looking at his butler's face; feeling his own face heat up a little. Which lead to him not noticing the faint smile that his father figure gave him.

Chapter Text

Joker stood in front of the tall and looming gates of Wayne Manor. He'd ran there, and in record time too, considering the small detour he had taken.

Taking out his phone, he called Bruce; panting lightly from the running.

There was really no reason for him to have run. But he had. Which made sense, because most things he did didn't make sense. So, he must be getting back to his old self, right?

"Joker?" In an incredulous voice, Bruce had answered. "Hellooooo Brucieeee!" He yelled, fully intending to reach the man without the help of the phone in his hand. "Would you be so kind as to let me in? Or should I just let mysel-" Bruce cut him off. "No!"

He cleared his throat from the other side of the call, "I mean; No, I'll do it for you. Just, don't-" the gates opened on their own, and Joker; amused, went to touch them. "Don't Touch anything." Joker stopped short. "Oookay! Whatever ya say, Bruce-man!"

He didn't know why, but at this moment, Joker felt like he was pulling off a heist or something for his dear Bat- giddy and ecstatic, overly cheerful, Happy- things like that. It had been quite a while since he'd felt this sort of way. He'd...missed it- actually feeling Happy.

Bruce sighed. "Come in quietly. I'm on my way down." And Joker tried, for Bruce.

He tip-toed in, then stood outside the large wooden doors that actually lead inside the place. Probably. 

And then, the doors swung open, and there he was. The man himself- Bruce Wayne.

Joker's heart fluttered, and that feeling brought with it a kind of ' muscle memory '.

"Hello, my Darling Brucie! It's So good to see you again." He purred, the words flying out his mouth before his brain could register what he was saying.

"Joker..." Bruce started, "Did..you..come all the way here.. on foot?" Bruce sounded unsure of himself. Joker smiled, "Eeeeeyup!" He made a ' :p ' face. Bruce stared, completely unphased.

"That could've become a big problem, Joker. You should be more careful." Bruce told him sternly. Joker had never heard that tone from him before- so why did it sound familiar?

'Wait.' Joker blinked. He'd just called Bruce his "Darling Brucie", AND acted the same way he would with Batman. 

But...the man doesnt look even a little bit surprised. 'How!?' Joker managed to surprise Himself with that! How come Bruce looks so calm about it? Like it was okay Normal?

"...Darling?" Joker whispered quietly, suddenly tentative and surprisingly shy. "What?" Bruce asked, looking like he was a kindergarten teacher scolding a child, with his arms folded like that and his facial expression.

He Responded- but he didn't even look like he realized how new this was and how- strange it felt. At least to Joker, that is.

"Uh-" Joker looked away, 'Its probably normal for him to be called that, he's a Playboy for Cheesecake! Wait- is that the phrase-? Eh, who cares.' 

"Nothing." Joker mumbled, struggling to hold his heart back from jumping into the other man's wide chest in glee.

'But is it normal for Me to call him that? Does He consider this a " natural development " ? Is this the path where he wants us to go in? Hey, wait a minute. What are We Now?' Joker's brain screamed in his head. 'Holy crap. That's a whole lotta questions with zero answers!' He simply blinked again, not unlike a goldfish.

And the fact that Bruce was acting so much like Batman- is that why Joker felt this way towards him? Because he reminded him of Batman? 

Or was it the other way around- as in; He felt the way he did for both because this was simply just his type?

'Great', Joker internally rolled his eyes at himself, 'More questions. Just what I was looking for- which was definitely not the answers to those questions- nope.' He sassed himself.

Bruce kept looking at him intensely, and then without any warning, suddenly came closer to Joker's face. Too close.

Joker's heart raced. He wanted to bolt- out of here, and also bolt himself to Bruce's side. 'Ugh.' Joker internally grimaced.

He decided to stop caring about the conflicting crap that his brain came up with from this point on, and decided to focus on the blue, blue eyes in front of his face instead. And they were, as he'd predicted at the very beginning; extremely Distracting.

So distracting in fact, that he almost missed the hand that came up to his face.

Joker almost flinched- but he didn't think Bruce caught it, since he seemed too busy staring at his face. And it was only now that Joker noticed the reason he almost flinched. The hand Bruce had raised to his face was holding his chin, and the man was inspecting it with narrowed eyes like it was his birth-right.

'Oh my god..that is Sooo hoootttt AAaaa' Joker's brain had officially either fizzled out, or short circuited. But whatever it was, he knew that it sure as hell wasn't working anymore. 'Gosh darn it. Out of all the times it could have, it bails out on me now? Is this Karma??'

Joker held his breath, not daring to ' break the spell '- or ' ruin the moment '- or whatever it was that was happening between them right now. 

He gulped, Bruce ran his finger over the cut Joker had made while attempting to shave.

Joker had cleaned it, and on his way here; he'd gone to a barber's shop and threatened a guy there to shave his face. And on top of that, he'd also applied concealer. How did Bruce notice it?!? It was really small too!

"What happened?" Bruce asked, voice a low rumble that sent a shiver up Joker's spine. "Euh- uh- wha- Pard-on??" At this point, Joker wasn't even surprised. Not even he was immune to the charms of Bruce Wayne, it seemed. But like- he wasn't complaining. How could he? Just look at their proximity! Stuttering like an idiot is Totally worth it if this was the reason for it.

"What happened?" Bruce repeated, motioning to the little cut. "It wasn't there the last time we met. What trouble did you get into? I thought you were laying low."

His voice was still low, almost like- No. This isn't about him. "Or...are you done with your little ' break '?" He sounded almost disappointed, so Joker quickly shook his head, denying it.

And, the cut. Bruce could only know that it wasn't there before if he'd paid a lot of attention to his face. 

Which made sense, with the way he scrutinised him now. Had Bruce always looked at him like that? Like he was trying to pick apart every little secret within him with that piercing blue gaze of his? That would explain how he'd recognised him last time. 

But then, that would mean he'd been inspecting his face the same way at the bar they first met in- but why? Bruce seemed like a smart man, wouldn't it have been better to look for a way to get out of there instead?- after all, he'd only been inactive for a few months, and no one there knew he wasn't in the mood to hurt people at the moment.

And the way Bruce treated him back then too...

Wait.

Was- was Bruce interested in him? Is that why he acted the way he did? Because if that really was the case, then that would explain everything perfectly!

"Uah- hah- ahah!" Joker laughed, his heart was beating waaaayy too fast. This was starting to feel like a bit too much-

Bruce then pulled away suddenly, clearing his throat. "Let's- get inside first."

Chapter Text

Bruce led Joker inside the manor, the paler man following after him un-characteristically quiet.

Usually, it's Joker who initiates (or tries to initiate) conversation between them, but that was when he was Batman, so things were bound to not go like they ' usually ' did.

Feeling a little nervous, Bruce looked to Joker; who simply blinked at him, looking dumbfounded for some reason.

Bruce looked away, moving towards the couch in the middle of the room, gesturing for Joker to follow.

And follow he did, like a lost puppy. Bruce would find him to be cute right now, if he wasn't literally the Joker. But he was. So, Bruce didn't find him cute. Definitely not.

Saying nothing, Bruce sat down on the black leather, and Joker just stood there beside it; looking down at his own feet and chewing on his bottom lip, pulling on his index finger as if to keep it from doing something.

"You can..sit." Bruce found it difficult to get his words out, and felt a bit embarassed about how awkward he must sound.

He was Billionare Bruce Thomas Wayne; CEO, Philanthropist, a Socialite and ' Playboy '. He was supposed to be suave and charismatic. Although most of that personality was just him pretending, It still really shouldn't be this hard to just speak.

"Kay." Joker mumbled, sitting down beside him, a good few inches away. Oh, no- wait. He scooted a little further away. 

'Odd.' Bruce thought. 'He usually has no sense of personal space. Shouldn't he have moved closer instead?' something like disappointment stirred in him that he refused to acknowledge. 'I'd be trying to get him off of my lap right now if I was in the Batsuit.' Bruce swallowed, a strange and unknown feeling bubbling up this time.

Joker's face was turned away from Bruce, and he noticed that the green haired man still fidgeted with that same finger, and his lip was starting to tear from the chewing.

Bruce's hand involuntarily went to Joker's face again; and he pressed his thumb down on the other man's bottom lip till he pulled it out from under the teeth biting down on them.

"Don't." Bruce grumbled, his voice low but surprisingly gentle as he glared at the dammage Joker had done to his own lips; which were too dry to be healthy, he noted. 

His gaze wandered down to the small cut concealed by make-up, his finger following suit. 

Brushing his thumb over it, he noticed that it lacked Joker's usual finesse in hiding away injuries on his face. 

Batman knew the man's face like the back of his hand, so of course he noticed it; he'd have noticed even if Joker had done it perfectly. After all, Batman always did.

Because, over the years, he himself has given many bruises, cuts, scars and all sorts of other injuries to the man sitting with him, on his couch, in his home.

Bruce's breathing deepened, and something dark crept up his lungs. 

Joker always spoke his mind, and he was frankly an open book. To Batman, at that is. He was the easiest to read, out of all the criminals he fought.

But while it was very easy for Bruce to be able to tell what he was feeling or was about to do, he didn't actually know all that much about him.

He wanted to pick apart every fibre of this man's being and inspect it with a microscope. He wanted to know all there was to know about him- the way his brain worked, the man he used to be, what made him tick. Bruce wanted to know everything.

He looked up to meet sharp emerald eyes staring into his own, and noticed a bright red dusting that pale face. 'Pretty...' Bruce held Joker's gaze. 'Wait no- not pretty! The Joker isn't pretty. What the hell is wrong with me!?' 

Bruce felt his own face heat up and pulled his hand back, hovering it in between them. It was as if his body wouldn't comply; like his hand suddenly obtained a mind of its own and wanted to latch onto Joker- his face, his chin- his lips.

Bruce swallowed. This did not go how he thought it would. He was supposed to get Joker to trust him so he could help him. But this? This- this was not supposed to be happening. What was he even doing? It was like he'd lost all control of his own body!

There was no way he could explain this- Even to himself. There simply was no way to justify it. There was no reason for him to have done that- what he just did. But he's done it twice now, and Joker Just got here-

'God.' he felt baffled now. 'I wasn't even like this with Selina-' He almost had a heart attack at that thought. 'Wait- Did I just compare Joker to Selina-!?'

He turned away abruptly from Joker, not being able to look at him right now. 'I did. I just did. Oh god. I just compared Joker to my ex.' 

What does that say about him? He didn't want to think about it. 

He didn't know what to do. He was panicking. 'Breathe, Bruce. Breathe.' But he couldn't.

And Joker- he just sat there. Like a goddamned statue. And that look in his eyes- Oh no- nonononono- No.

Bruce shouldn't have looked back at him. He really shouldn't have- at All. Because now, he couldn't look away- not from that look he was recieving. No. How could he? It was like falling into the abyss, all-consuming.

And he'd missed it.

Because he only recieved that look when he was the Bat. And it took everything in him to resist it all these years.

But the fact that he was being looked at like that again after all these months of going without it- it did something to him.

But he wasn't Batman right now, but Bruce- does that mean-?

Oh no. 

Oh No. 

OH NO. 

This wasn't how this day was supposed to go At All.

And it was only Dawn.

Chapter Text

Joker sat dumbfounded, staring at Bruce. And though he said nothing, his mind was in shambles.

'That confirms it, doesn't it? This guy- he's definitely interested.' Joker's breathing became ragged as he turned now to stare at the ground instead. 

He bit the inside of his cheeks, digging his nails into his palms. 'This must mean Bruce has a crush on me too, Right? I'm not- I'm not reading too much into this. Am I? I can't be. Bruce feels the same. He has to. There's no way he doesn't. Not after- ' He thought back to all the interactions he's had with the man in question, 'not after all of That.'

He shuddered, 'He's insane. If Bruce Wayne really does like me, like- in that way, he has to be at least a little insane.'

He bit down on his tongue, nails now pressing in hard enough to draw blood. 'Just like...Me.' 

Joker felt tears threaten to spill from his eyes, his heart beating so loud he felt like he was going to go deaf and it physically pained him to simply breathe. His lungs ached, so did his head and then everything else.

He felt so overwhelmed, he started to laugh; until his tears streamed down in a flood, and his innards felt like they were gonna inflate till he burst like a balloon.

At some point though, he felt strong hands wrap around him, and then he let himself bury his face into a firm shoulder, laughing and crying, all in one go.

The scent that emanated from Bruce- it felt comforting, but all too familiar. Joker let it pull him in and felt himself relax, even if it was just a little bit.

He needed a fight. A kick to his ribs, a punch to his nose- Hands around his throat. 

But he settled for the hug, it wasn't so bad- kind of good even, actually. But maybe that's just because it's Bruce.

The same Bruce that wanted him. At least, that's what Joker thought. Hoped.

Chapter Text

Bruce hugged the hysteric man closer as he cried, his laughter sounding not unlike nails on a chalk board.

He'd never seen Joker cry before, in all the years he's known him as Batman. Not until that one fateful day, months ago.

Before the bar, Bruce had concluded that he simply was not capable of it, before chastising himself for it.

Of course Joker was capable of crying. He was a man too, after all. Just like Bruce himself.

Not a Bat, but a Man. Not a clown, but a Man.

And it had taken Bruce to finally, really, see it. Not Batman. Bruce. 'But it should've been Batman. Because Batman was the one Joker was obsessed with- not Bruce. And-'

Bruce shook his head, not wanting to follow that train of thought, and focussed on attending to the man trembling in his arms.

Hesitantly, he ran his hands down Joker's back in a soothing way, feeling him immediately go on high alert before giving up and completely collapsing onto Bruce.

Bruce's chest felt too tight and too light simultaniously. So he simply kept stroking Joker's back until he calmed down, at some point even leaning into the hug enough to have the green strands tickle his nose.

When realizing that he was full on embracing his enemy, he wanted to pull away as if he was burned.

But he didn't. Because he saw bright green eyes slowly look up at him, red-rimmed and accompanied by a tear-streaked face.

He looked ruined.

'Beautiful..'

Bruce couldn't even find it in himself to be bothered by that thought. His hands twitched to cup that face again, to wipe those tears away, and to replace it with Blood- but he caught himself this time. 

Swallowing hard, he tried but couldn't get himself to stop looking into Joker's eyes. 

But then Joker broke the eye-contact himself, unprompted. "....thanks." Looking away tentatively, he muttered with a small voice.

Bruce withdrew himself from Joker. This was- this was wrong. So, so wrong. And in so many different ways.

He needs to stop this now, before it's too late and he regrets it. But that's when he hears it.

"...He'd never do something like this for me..." Joker seemed to be muttering to himself.

And then Bruce found himself remembering something. Back at the bar, when Joker and " Bruce Wayne " first met- Joker mentioned something about a-

A Lover.

Or at least- someone like that?

Bruce couldn't remember that well.

And even if his mind wasn't completely making this up, who could it even be? Harley?? Joker never seemed to look at her in that way though, so for him to become so miserable over her was unlikely. 

Besides, He was completely fine when Harley and He parted ways more than  2 years ago. There wasn't a single sign that he was upset even when Harley got together with Ivy either.

And if Joker was upset; or even mildly inconvenienced, really, everyone in a 4 Km radius will know.

And that's when his brain decided to finally go back to actually helping him again.

Joker just said " He ". It was a man. 'But when did Joker-?' Bruce's heart clenched. If Joker had had a boyfriend of all things, Batman would have at least known. There was no way- "Uh-" Joker only now seemed to realise that Bruce was holding him close now, tightly too.

Bruce let go of him. 

Turning away from eachother, they were both very flustured. Giving an awkward chuckle and still facing away from Bruce, Joker spoke. "Thanks.." His voice was hoarse, a kind of rough edge to it- which Bruce found he quite liked.

Clearing his throat, the billionare shifted where he was. "You're...welcome." 

"Sorry 'bout that, I don't-" Joker hugged his own sides, shrinking in on himself. "I don't know why I did that."  He still refused to meet Bruce's eyes.

"It's alright." Bruce almost put his hand over Joker's to comfort him. Almost. "Really. It's fine." 

A quiet moment passed. "Do you..." Joker began, his head down and fiddling with his fingers on his lap. "Want me to leave?" 

Bruce should say yes. He should be greatfull that Joker had asked that on his own. He should gladly send the criminal on his way, away from his home. Away from himself. He should. He really should.

"No- it's- alright. Really. You don't need to leave." Joker finally lifted his head and met Bruce's gaze. He looked genuinely surprised.

Opening his mouth, then closing it; Joker looked away again. "Alright." He breathed out shakily. "Right- yeah. Thanks- uh." He bit his bottom lip hard before speaking again."Thank you," He looked up, green eyes meeting blue. "Bruce." 

The secret vigilante felt like he was just shot through his chest.

The smile Joker gave next was so- tender, Bruce felt like he would start melting if he looked for any longer- yet he couldn't bring himself to look away.

'Well, Shit.'

Bruce knew this wasn't supposed to feel so right. There was something about all this that just felt- should feel- very wrong. 

He can't let this go on for longer. He needed to get away, he needed to-

"So, What do you want to do?" Bruce asked the green-haired man beside him. "I mean, now that you're, well, here." Bruce scratched the back of his neck, and it seemed like it was his turn to look away as Joker turned to look at him. "I can't imagine you came all the way here just to sit around." 

'The Joker? Simply sit around? Not a  chance. He was too hyper for that.' Bruce thought, looking again to Joker; who looked back at him like he'd hung the moon.

Chapter Text

"I- we could- I mean- you're actually asking me that?" Joker leaned in close to Bruce, "Well," Bruce swallowed. He didn't know why he wanted to, but he felt like leaning forward too- which he did not. He was The Batman, of course he could control his own actions. Self control was one of the first things he'd trained in. "Yeah. I am." He finally finished his sentance.

Why was it so hard to talk to Joker? They were just having a Normal conversation- 'Oh wait- maybe that's the problem. '

Bruce felt it definitely would feel easier to just ignore him or be angry at him, like it usually went with the two of them. But Joker didn't know that- so Bruce couldn't hide behind Justice and Righteousness right now.

"How 'bout we...play- something?" Joker spoke up, apparently after thinking hard about it. "Sure." Bruce turned his attention back to the green-haired man. "What do you have in mind?" His voice sounded so casual, Bruce impressed even himself.

"Cards? Maybe? Do you have playing cards?" Joker asked him, he sounded a little more composed than he did earlier. "I'm not sure-" Bruce looked away scratching his neck, feeling a little embarassed.

"I'm positive there's a chess set lying around somewhere, though." That sounded a lot like he was suggesting they play that instead.

Why did he ask Joker to pick if he was just going to pick it himself instead?? This was ridiculous. Bruce wished he'd just gone looking for playing cards instead- but that was a task he could not do without Alfred in the house.

"I'm down for chess too, I guess. Any game's fine with me." Joker looked to be in a better mood now, for some reason. Which was a good thing, Bruce supposed- 'who knew it was this easy to get Joker to cheer up?' He went to get the chess set.

Now, was leaving the Joker alone in his home un-supervised a stupid thing to do? Absolutely. So when Bruce rushed back with what he went to look for, only to find Joker exactly as he'd left him; seemingly zoned out, it was an understatement to say he was taken back.

Maybe he should cut the clown some slack. He hasn't done anything for nearly half a year now- Bruce would know.

But- then again, did he really? The thing about Joker's mystery (ex?) ' boyfriend ' re-surfaced in his mind.

Bruce breathed in slowly, willing his thoughts to stop wandering in that direction. He breathed out.

"I'm back." Bruce's voice seemed to snap Joker out of it, the paler man flinching and turning his gaze towards him; a faint and fragile-looking smile creeping onto his lips at seeing Bruce.

"Bruce." Joker whispered, soft- almost reverently, his eyes crinkling.

Bruce had to hold back a shudder. 

Sitting down, Bruce placed the chess kit on the couch between them; the coffee table being inconvenient for them to play chess on.

The two locked eyes for a short moment, their gazes softening, before they got to arranging the pieces on the board.

Chapter Text

They'd played chess for about an hour and a half, before ending up discussing about fabrics for some reason.

Joker was the one who spoke most though- as Bruce had expected- since the billionare didn't quite know all that much about the topic himself. But despite that, he'd kept the conversation going.

He found it was kind of nice hearing Joker talk, when it wasn't about murder or torture, that is. He even had a pretty pleasant voice, Bruce had to admit.

It was kind of high-pitched, but with a gravelly undertone; which allowed him to easily change his voice to suit his needs; just like he had at the charity gala.

After a point, Joker ended up going on a tangent about roaches and how they were actually the cause of all pain and suffering in the world- which was very arguable.

From there, the topic switched to Gotham's ' gloomy and gothic ' weather, as the green-haired man had put it.

Then the News, and after that; reality TV.

Which is how he; Billionare CEO Philanthropist, Secret Vigilante Bruce Wayne ended up binging half a season of some kind of shitty dating show with the Joker.

And if he was being honest, it wasn't that bad. Actually, not bad at all. Joker's comments, jokes and random quips had made shitty television so much more tolerable.

It was...fun. Bruce was actually glad that this happened. And, part of him wanted to do this again, too.

When he left, Joker left with a bright smile on his face, and Bruce actually felt happy himself, too. It was very rare for him to feel this way, yet here he was.

And Joker was the reason-

He stopped thinking then- which he's been doing a lot now, he realised-  so he wouldn't end up ruining the day for himself.

He wanted to feel happy, for just a little while longer.

Chapter Text

Alfred returned home to find Bruce in better spirits than he had since Selina and he first got together. 

The Butler had been suspecting something brewing between his foster son and Gotham's Clown Prince. Whatever it was that had happened between them today only served to add fuel to that flame.

"You seem quite happy, Master Bruce." The man in question looked to the old man like a deer in headlights. "Huh-?! What do you mean, Alfred?" The Butler shook his head with a re-assuring smile. 

"You don't get to choose what kind of emotions you feel towards who, Son." He put a hand on the billionare's shoulder. "I've noticed how you've been acting these past few months." Bruce seemed to panic now.

"I don't- I don't know what you're talking about." He looked away from the Butler. "I raised you, Bruce."  

The out-of-costume vigilante hesitantly looked back at his father-figure. "It's Alright, All I ask is for you to take care of yourself. I will always stand by you, as long as you don't get hurt." Bruce looked away once more.

"I...I don't-" Alfred shook his head at Bruce. "Only you can figure out your emotions. All I can offer is my support, as I always have." 

He moved away from Bruce. "All I ask of you is to be careful, Bruce. Good Night."

And Bruce simply stood there, the happiness he felt clashing with something complicated.

But he could deal with his ' emotions ' later. He had Batman things to do now.

Chapter Text

Bruce went to bed conflicted, thinking about what Alfred had said and how he felt. It was so complicated; even though it was not the same kind of complicated as the things he'd had to do earlier that night- fighting Mad Hatter and his brain-washed army; it still messed with him- his head, his heart, his everywhere.

Bruce felt vulnerable- exposed. He hasn't felt that way since Selina left him.

But even so, how long could they have lasted? If She hadn't left when she had, Bruce would have been the one to end it.

He never was good with ' relationships '; none of them ever lasted long. Because He couldn't- wouldn't- stay for long- and that was simply the truth.

No one quite understood him; maybe because he never bothered trying to get them to- but it never really mattered to him all that much. He was Batman. That was enough.

Maybe being with Selina had made him hope, since she too was kind of like him, especially in that aspect. But that was the thing, wasn't it? They were too alike.

Maybe Bruce needed someone who wasn't as much like him to the point where they shared the same kind of mindset, but not too different either.

Someone who could understand him, but complement him instead of supplement.

Bruce needed someone who could complete him. Someone who could be his equal and opposite reaction.

Someone who could stand on the same level ground as him and deal with his shit, just as he'd deal with theirs. Someone who....

....wouldn't leave.

"Daaaarling?" Bruce's eyes snapped open. "There we go! Good Morning, Sleeping Beauty!" The scratchy, but slightly gruff voice- possibly due to having just woken up from sleep- called from next to him.

Bruce then noticed long, bony limbs tangled with his own, tiny light green body hair sprouting on some areas.

And suddenly, he felt a kiss being pressed onto his cheek, a soft whisper following it. "Oh look at you, you're so adorable like this." Another peck, this time behind his ear. "My Darling, My other half, the Yang to my Yin," Small kisses were pressed onto Bruce's face in between the soft words.

"I Love you." Neon Green eyes stared into Bruce's Blue with blown out pupils, a bright spark in them that Bruce hasn't seen in a while.

Bright red lipstick stained his face now, AND his Batsuit, which Bruce noticed he was wearing in bed despite clearly remembering taking them off; but couldn't really seem to care.

Pulling Joker close, he sighed contently; the green of Joker's hair brushing his neck.

"-ster Bruce?" Bruce blinked once, twice, then some more, before fully opening his eyes. His caretaker and father figure stood there with creased brows. "Are you alright? You usually are ready for breakfast by now."

Bruce stared, mouth slightly open and eyes wider than usual; reality finally settling in on him. "I uh-" He looked away, not meeting the butler's eyes.

His face reddened, he could practically feel his body heating up from the embarassment, even though he was the only person who knew the reason for it.

"I overslept. Sorry for making you wake me up, Alfred. I'll be ready for breakfast in a few minutes." The Butler nodded, walking away with a skeptical look on his face that Bruce failed to notice.

And as soon as Bruce heard Alfred close the door, he ran a hand through his hair, his other coming up to run down his face.

He knew then, that it was too late. He'd found that someone that he needed.

But, at what cost? Joker of all people- 'God, I must be going insane at this point.' He plunged himself into the shower.

'That was one hell of a Dream.'

Chapter Text

Bruce had hoped that this day would go by peacefully, or something like that- because anything would be more peaceful compared to his life as Batman. But no. He couldn't have that.

Because after laying (mostly) low for Half a Year, Joker just decided to get back to crime.

But- why?
Why now, after Bruce has just realised that he's-

"Now, now. Settle down, everyone. I'm not gonna do anything to you lot." Joker sung with his bright red lips, adjusting his sleek maroon coat. It really suited him- tailored to fit him perfectly.

He looked so much more like himself now, and Bruce had to strangle the small burst of relief he felt at seeing that.

"Hmmmmm, where oh where, now could he be...?" Joker scanned the place, mumbling to himself, one hand on his hip and the other stroking his own chin. And Bruce, overcome by something he still couldn't name; stepped forward just enough so that the movement was caught by the green-haired man.

It was night, Bruce should be on his way  home by now, so he could suit up and start patrol. But he wasn't thinking about that right now, he was more curious about what could've gotten the clown to go back to this.

"Aha!" Joker lit up like fireworks when he spotted Bruce. "Alright peeps! This is your chance to get runnin!" He spun around, closing his eyes.

Everyone else rushed outside, worried about getting out alive and unharmed. But not Bruce though, he stayed right where he was.

"Is everyone gone?" Joker's voice was much too small now, a sharp contrast to how confident he had come off just mere seconds ago.

"Not quite." Bruce replied, not giving away how he felt about all this. Then he caught how Joker's shoulder's jerked slightly- like he'd been startled.

"You're still here." Joker's voice was soft, kind of like it was yesterday. "Was I not supposed to be?" It was a kind of re-assurance. Joker got it.

"Well," He gave a breathy chuckle. "I did say everyone." Bruce could see the playfull smile, even though Joker was still facing away from him.

"I assumed that excluded me." Bruce was being casual, naturally casual. "You did?" Joker still didn't turn around.

"Yes." Bruce felt himself start to smile. "Welllllll-" Joker drawled, stifling a giggle.

"Joker..." It was taking Bruce everything to not give in to the banter, but he had to make sure Joker wasn't doing anything that could harm people first.

"Yeaaahhhhh, you're right." Joker finally turned around. Folding his hands behind his back and looking Bruce in the eyes. "I have a Gift I want to give you." Joker smiled that smile at him.

"Gift?" Joker's ' Gifts '  were usually the furthest away from being gifts- Bruce's alarm bells started going off. "Its not a big deal, actually. I just wanted to show you something." Joker now said, a little more casually.

"Show me something?" Bruce asked cautiously. Joker nodded, his smile growing warmer. "Yeah. Come with me." Joker took Bruce by the hand and led him to a large glass window.

Bruce saw the window pretty much everyday, So he was sure that whatever it was that Joker wanted to show him was outside it.

'This is gonna be one of those very long nights, isn't it?' Bruce thought tiredly; he was not expecting a Visitor like this.

Chapter Text

Joker was kind of nervous, it's been a while since he's done something like this- and what if Batman shows up? He doesn't want that!

He...doesn't want Batman to show up. He wants to spend tonight with Bruce, not the Bat. Besides, said Bat probably has a Cat waiting for him back at home.

Joker bit his lips. 'No thinking of the Bat. Especially when with Bruce.'
"Sooo," Joker smiled brightly at Bruce. "Ready for your surprise, Brucie boy?" Bruce grimaced at being called that, but mostly because he was anxious about what Joker had in store, rather than the sobriquet itself.

"Yeah. Sure." Bruce managed to keep his voice neutral. Joker paused, his smile faltering for a millisecond.

Most people wouldn't be able to notice that, but Bruce- or rather Batman- was not most people.

Bruce took a deep breath. "I'm a little tired from working all day. And work can get very...boring." Joker and he locked eyes. "So I'm- uh, Glad you came here- today." Bruce smiled at the maroon-clad man, first a little fake, but then it grew more genuine as he kept his eyes on Joker.

The clown now smiled from ear to ear, his eyes sparkling. "Oh! Okay! Guess I'm here to- heh- light up your boring day!" Joker giggled. Bruce grew slightly more concerned.

"So, about this gift you told me about-" Joker cut Bruce off by grabbing his bicep. "Oh right! Look over there!" Joker turned to the night sky visible outside the window.

Then, he brought out a- Detonator- and clicked the button. Bruce's heart almost shattered as he snapped his head towards the window.

And there; he saw small, colorful streaks of light flying up- before the sky lit up and in bright colors, the fireworks spelled out ' MARRY ME '.

Bruce's jaw fell open, his eyes widened and he was pretty sure he was on the verge of a cardiac arrest.

The sound of his heart was frankly all he could hear clearly as his mind became too loud and too quiet at the same time.

'This- this must be a joke, right?' He tried to make sense of it, then finally turned to look at Joker- who had the same shocked expression on his face- except it looked more exaggerated and horrified than Bruce, and also like his soul had just left his body.

He noticed Bruce looking at him and his face went red. "Aa! I can explain!" He squeaked, flaying his hands as if that would disperse the words on the sky. "It was supposed to say ' Thank You For The Fun ' with a big smiley face! I swear!"

Bruce was no longer on the verge of a cardiac arrest, but everything else was the same- he heard Joker's voice as if he was speaking from underwater. His breath didn't slow much either- not that it could be seen from the outside- Bruce knew how to appear calm even in a panic.

Taking out his phone-'was that a Bat on the back cover?'- Joker quickly called someone. He avoided Bruce's eyes like the plague, his finger nail pressing hard on his lip. Bruce noticed that he did that a lot. 'Did he always?' Bruce didn't think so, because Batman has never seen him do that- and he's known Joker for years.

"What do you mean you're " sorry" !?" Joker yelled suddenly- 'Whoever he'd called must have picked up.' Bruce thought to himself, watching Joker's nose scrunch up, brows crease and lips stick-out in a pout.

"I know I asked you this morning, but you said you could do it!" Joker ran a hand through his hair, messing it up. His face was still flushed too, and Bruce caught himself staring.

Averting his gaze to the now empty sky, Bruce kept listening. "Well, it sounded like you said you could! And you gave me that!" Joker stomped his leg on the floor, back-hand-ing the air.

"Yeah, I didn't ask you if that was my order- but that's because I assumed it was!" He then huffed, puffing out his cheeks. "It was wrapped in green and purple. How could I not assume it was mine?" He threw his head back, covering his eyes with his hand.

"Agh, Forget it." Joker groaned, and Bruce watched him intently; amused. Joker had made so many different faces in the span of these few minutes, and Bruce wanted to commit each one to his memory. "I'll let you off this time, but only this time. Capiche?" Joker dragged a hand down his face.

"Yeah, whatever. Ciao." He ended the call and heaved a long sigh that screamed ' miserable '. Bruce held back a smile.

'How could someone like Joker be so endearing?' This side of him- it was one not many got to see, but even if they did, being on the recieving end of that must feel threatening.

Joker turned to Bruce now, an apologetic look on his face. "I uh-..." Joker made a ' •_• ' face. "Uhm." he looked away, picking at his lips again.

The lipstick was smudged- and Bruce had to physically force himself to look away so he wouldn't-
He didn't want to think about it.

"It's alright. It sounded like a misunderstanding, if you'll excuse my eavesdroping-" Bruce wanted to maintain his ' polite socialite ' persona, but he also genuinely didn't mind. "Nahhh, I was practically yelling in your ear." And how right he was.

Bruce chuckled. "Well, yes. But- well." Bruce swallowed. He didn't want to look at Joker's face right now- with the slightly ruffled hair and the smudged lipstick and the way he was looking at Bruce- Joker looked like the forbidden fruit in human form.

"Oh! Wait!" Joker exclaimed, brightening again. He was kind of like a firefly(?), but it was best not to say it though, lest Bruce wants Joker to get mad at being compared to another villain- even if that was hardly the case.

"That was only half of the gift! Well, it was supposed to be, anyways. Here's the other half!" Joker took out a small box- which looked too similar to a ring box for some reason- and opened it.

Inside it was a blue smiley-face tie-pin, and similar cuff-links. Bruce looked up from them to Joker, who smiled happily at him. "I didn't know your favorite color, so I got blue to match your eyes." He explained, a slight pink dusting his face.

It was very easy to tell when Joker was blushing, thanks to his pale and nearly transparent skin.

Bruce now realised that he liked seeing Joker blush. And he liked it a lot. Then, he pushed that train of thought to the back of his mind.

"I like them, Joker. I like them very much." Bruce said, feeling a warmth blossoming in his chest. "Thank you." He smiled at Joker.

Joker felt like the wind was knocked out of him when he saw Bruce smile at him like that. "It's uh-" He suppressed his giggles, feeling extremely giddy. "It's for yesterday." Joker breathed in, then out; slowly. Just like Harley had taught him.

"I had...a lot of fun. And I- I haven't had fun in- quite a while." Bruce took the box from his hands. "I'm glad." His hands slightly trembled. "I had fun, too." Bruce then safely tucked the box in the pocket of his coat.

Joker's smile warped his face; but this time, instead of something terrifying, his face turned softer, into a look so tender Bruce couldn't help but stare.

Chapter Text

Bruce's eyes roamed Joker's face, taking in every detail. He looked so inviting- the red of his lipstick smeared like blood, and his eyes- Bruce lost himself in those pools of green.

One second Joker was smiling at Bruce, and in the next, Bruce was kissing him.

Going rigid at the sudden action, Joker slowly sighed through his nose as his eyes drooped. Bruce kept softly pressing their lips together, and in a few seconds; Joker joined him.

For a solid minute, they stood like that; forgetting about everything else. Because right now, it was just them. Joker and- Bruce? Batman? He felt like both. And He has...never quite felt like both at the same time- not like this. He felt complete, now.

Kissing Joker made him feel complete.

Joker completed him.

They kept going until they couldn't anymore, pulling away for air.

It was perfect. Bruce felt like all the years they've fought, and known each other for, have all been leading to this.

It was a chaste kiss, tender and slow. It felt amazing. Like something profound and defining.

Bruce's hands found the sides of Joker's shoulders, gripping tightly as he pulled the flushed man closer, kissing him again.

Joker responds by moving to hold Bruce's face, hands fitting perfectly over his cheeks; soft and breathless chuckles left Joker's mouth, warm against Bruce's lips.

Bruce's hands trail down Joker's arm, going to clutch the windowsill as he presses Joker into it.

He feels Joker gasp softly, and then moves to kiss the edge of that pale jaw.

Joker stills, and; being pressed so close, Bruce could faintly hear his heart-beat.

Moving a hand to Joker's back, Bruce slowly trails up till he reaches his hair and tangles his fingers with the soft green.

Joker's hands on Bruce's face let go, one moving to rest on his shoulder and the other hovering over his cheek bones.

Never in his life did Bruce think he'd be kissing his nemesis, in his office, and as his ' civillian ' self, no less. Their actions were so uncharacteristically gentle too, Bruce honestly felt lightheaded.

But Joker slowly pulled away, staring up at Bruce with wide eyes and blown out pupils; his hair was ruffled a little and his lipstick was almost faded out- Bruce was positive he looked similar.

Joker averted his gaze, looking down at his own hands that now rested on Bruce's chest.

He let out a soft giggle, which turned into chuckling. "I- uh. I should probably go now."

Bruce felt a wave of disappointment wash over him. But before he could say anything, Joker continued. "The cops are probably here by now, and Batman is probably on his way, too."

He looked up, meeting Bruce's gaze with an apologetic expression. A small, almost shy smile played at his lips. "I don't feel like going to Arkham and uh- Yeah. Haha.." Joker seemed a little antsy now.

The Batman part of him was firmly against letting Joker out of his sight. But just letting him walk away now would be a waste.

"How about we go to the manor, then?" Bruce spoke, slowly. Joker looked surprised, then blushed furiously.

"Oh! Haha! That's- You- Hahaha!" He seemed to be panicking now. "If you want to. Of course." Bruce quickly added.

Joker's eyes darted to anywhere but Bruce's face, his smile turning strained. Bruce frowned.

"Joker?" Bruce was getting kind of concerned. The clown shook his head. "I think I should-" He cleared his throat. "Maybe next time, B-" He coughed. "Maybe next time."

They separated, backing away from the windowsill, but still standing kind of close; and Joker took a moment to look into Bruce's eyes.

"See you later." Joker leaned in to quickly kiss Bruce's cheek before he turned away and left.

Chapter Text

Joker steps slowly into his house; the door creaking, and despite himself, he chuckles. He hadn't meant to run away like a coward.

But as he was kissing Bruce- Batman had found a way into his thoughts.

He felt like a traitor.

But the thing is; he wasn't sure who he was betraying, even at this point.

He flopped onto the mattress, stretching his limbs. Batman and he weren't ever a thing- and they were; at best, what everyone and their grandma knew them to be- Enemies.

They were only supposed to hate eachother.

But love and hate are the same, right?

That's what Joker used to think so, and still kind of does.

Just getting Batsy's attention would be enough to make Joker happy on most days. But sometimes though...
He craves more. He wants to be the single thing consuming his thoughts.

He wants to be obsessed, and be obsessed-over right back.

Batsy could, but won't give him that.

But what about Bruce?
Did Joker even want him to?

He didn't want to think about that anymore, so he rolled onto his back to stare at the ceiling.

His love was...different. Most wouldn't call it love at all, even. But his love was still love. A sick type of Love, but Love nonetheless.

And if he really was in love with Bruce, what does that mean for them?

He hasn't really wanted to hurt Bruce physically, yet. He wonders if Bruce would leave if Joker ever...

Nevermind that. He needed to look at the positive things. 'Remember what Harley said.' He reminded himself.

Wait. Harley! He needs to call Harley and Ivy to tell them what happened.

He scrambles to get his phone, then calls Harley; she doesn't pick up.

"Welp, I tried." He shrugs. "She can't be mad at me for not telling her immediately." He gets up and walks over to the window.

The sky was still dark, but the city lights made it pretty hard to tell. Joker sighed, leaning down to rest his elbows on the sill, then put his face in his palms.

There in the distance, one faint beam of light stood out to him. The Bat-Signal.

"Why can't I just get over you? You never wanted me, but I feel like a part of me will always want you." He took a deep breath. "And I-..." He looked up at the Bat-Signal with tears in his eyes. "And I hate you for it." He hissed with gritted teeth.

Part of him was too tethered to the Bat. And if that tether was to be cut, he may well collapse.

He thought of Bruce; His voice and his hands and the way he treated Joker. He was too gentle, too nice, too kind. Joker didn't deserve any of that.

Joker deserved to be punched and kicked and beaten down. He knew that. But he still wanted what Bruce gave him.

Joker thought he knew Batman, but clearly, he didn't. He thought he knew himself, and now? He wasn't even sure about that anymore.

He stared at the Bat-Signal; wishing Batman were here, but also that he'd never have to see the vigilante again.

He sat down, leaning his head on the wall in front of him.

Everything was quiet, too quiet. He didn't like it at all.

He remembered the day he first saw Batman; the way the city lights illuminated the cowl.

That part of him that still wanted the Bat; it had fallen in Love right there, right at the start.

Then he rememberes the time he met Bruce; the way the lights of the bar lit his face. The way he let Joker hug him.

Joker ran a hand through his hair, groaning; frustrated.

Chapter Text

Joker bit his lip, pacing in an alley near Harley and Ivy's place. He'd told them everything that happened yesterday, and they said they were happy for him and that they were glad he was " finally " getting over the Bat.

But Joker wasn't so sure about that, though. Not sure at all. He knew this was supposed to be a good thing for him, their reactions solidified that.

But there was still something that felt oh so very wrong.

Bruce was nice and all, but he wasnt Batman. And at the same time, Batman was Batman, but he wasn't Bruce.

Joker felt like he was going crazy all over again.

There was no way Bruce and he could work if Joker were to return to his full-fledged villain self.

But then again, the whole villain thing was all for Batman's attention. And now that he knew he didn't have a chance with Batman, he wouldn't need to return to his full-fledged villain self.

There was one problem, though. If he quits being a villain, what does he even do?

He already kind of has been living in that exact situation for more than half a year now, but he can't keep wasting away like that!

Could he start something with Bruce? Pull schemes to get his attention instead?

Joker shook his head, frowning. "No. That'd be too much of an inconvenience to Bruce. He might not want me around if I started doing that." He sighed. He can't have that happening, he wouldn't be able to handle it.

He scratched his mouth with his finger, 'Should I just talk to Harley about it?'

Right. That's actually why he was still here in the first place. Contemplating it has lead to the same dang question though, so maybe he should just leave and come back later.

He slumped into a wall. "Should've done this 20 minutes ago..." He dragged his feet on the ground, walking back to his house.

This part of the city was overgrown and barely had people around, so he was in a simple dark purple hoodie and navy blue sweats.

So imagine Joker's surprise as he stood there frozen after seeing the all too familiar silhouette of the Dark Knight swing by.

After a beat, he tugged his hood lower to cover the strands of green hair that were sticking out and turned around, trying to walk away without being noticed.

But of course, as he already knew, the Universe absolutely despised him.

"You. What are you doing out here? It's dangerous." The low voice almost made Joker shiver.

Holding his breath, Joker shifted his weight from one foot to the other. 'Just my luck.' Joker thought, then considered his options.

If he ran, Batman would come after him. And if he just stood there, it would be too suspicious.

Either way, this could not end well for him. So, he decided to just take the risk and go for it.

He began to Run.

Chapter Text

Bruce followed the figure of the person with his grappling hook, but they were really fast, and also seemed to know their way around this place. Not good.

They ducked around the corner, then tried to push a garbage can onto him.

And that's when Batman caught sight of it. The Green under the hood. He'd recognise that green anywhere.

"Joker!?" He yelled, then the person- Joker?- tripped over.

They pushed themselves up and looked back at him, green eyes wide with- fear-? Why would Joker be scared? He's never been afraid of Batman. Notably even when he should've been. So why-?

Joker began to run again. Bruce inhaled sharply before running after him again.

If he hadn't seen that look in the clown's eyes, Bruce would enjoy this. He'd missed this- their game. Dance? Joker seemed to have a lot of different terms to describe what's going on between them. But Bruce supposes that's a given; Joker had always liked the uncertain- the idea of endless possibilities, multiple choices.

That's why Joker had never tried to peak under the cowl. While the other rogues were more interested in finding out who he was and using that to their own advantage to reach their goals, Joker was more interested in... Well. Bruce supposes the " journey "(chases and fights) mattered more to the clown than the end goal.

Hell, Bruce would even go as far as to say that their fights were Joker's end goal.

And the thing is, Bruce gets that. He's the same.

Being Batman won't end all crime, but he'd get to prevent as much crime as he could- he gets to save lives.

The crime rates in Gotham never go down,  because there's always new criminals. But Bruce finds solace in the fact that he's the reason Gotham isn't as Crime-ridden as it could've been, because of him.

Joker is the only other person besides Selina that truly understands that- understands him.

But while Selina and Bruce prioritize those goals above eachother, Joker's goal itself was...to get Batman's attention. To challenge him. To make himself an unforgettable, undeniable and unremovable part of Batman's life.

And he's succeeded.

Joker is a part of his life now both with and without the mask. And Bruce wants that- wants Joker.

Time flew by as Bruce chased the other man around Gotham; through alleys, on rooftops, in the sewers and now the middle of the street.

No matter where Joker went, Batman followed like a shadow. At some point, Joker- who had seemed to genuinely want to get away from him- started to look like he was enjoying this.

Batman could've thrown batarangs at him at so many different points and actually caught him, but that didn't even cross his mind. All he could think about was the man in front of him right now, the one he was chasing- the one who had always seemed to be chasing him.

He needed this. The chase, the adrenaline. His relationship with Selina had stemmed from this, because she was the only woman who could give him this. If only Bruce had realised earlier that he doesnt have to look for only women.

Joker had been here since the start. Before Selina, before his partnership with the GCPD.

Back then, Batman was treated no different from any other criminal. Joker had been the first to see that he was different, that he was more. Joker had never shied away from saying it outright.

Bruce was uncomfortable at first, to have practically a stranger read him so perfectly. He felt vulnerable, too exposed. He was an open book to Joker while the clown was a complete mystery to him.

But now he sees it all too clearly. What Joker had seen in him, Bruce now sees in Joker. Or maybe he'd always seen it, and just- refused to acknowledge it out of fear of what he might find.

Either way; Joker had just run into a dead end, and Bruce felt downright euphoric when he saw the clown leaning on the wall- panting and huffing breaths and struggling to breathe, but with a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"There's nowhere left to run." Batman had never spoken so casually to the clown- or barely anyone, for that matter.

Joker slid down the wall and settled on the ground, still panting. He looked messy, dissheveled- like he'd just gotten out of a hurricane.

Bruce wanted to stop time just so he could keep looking at Joker for longer and memorise every detail.

Then, Joker finally looked up at him- and Bruce lost his breath.

It felt like Joker's green eyes pierced right through Bruce's soul. He looked like the embodiment of the term ' Handsome Devil ' and it took everything in Bruce and more to not stride forward and crash his lips into Joker's.

Bruce wanted to add his own touch to this piece of art. So that's what he'd do.

Striding forward, he picked Joker up by his shirt and slammed him into the wall before caging him there.

"I..." Joker opened his mouth, then coughed a little. He looked like he was in a daze, drunk or high out of his mind. But Joker can't do that- because of the chemicals.

This was all Batman. This was the effect that he had on the clown and it was driving him insane as he realised it.

"I missed this." Joker said with a faint smile and half-lidded eyes. Batman leaned closer to him. "Me too."

Chapter Text

Joker felt winded, staring up at Batman- the reason he's been so miserable for more than half the year now.

And yet, he felt the dread he had in him from before the chase start to fade; leaving him with a strong feeling of longing.

He knew he should stop himself before he digs himself into a deeper hole, but after hearing the vigilante admit to missing (him) this- he knew it was too late for that.

He was more than 6 feet under now. He was drowning in feelings- old and new alike. But the old ones were stronger than they should be at this point in time.

Neither spoke for a while. Joker was getting used to the silence, although he didn't really like it.

Usually he'd fill it with flirting, words of affection, threats or even just nonsense- but he was mentally and emotionally going through the wringer right now, so it was a miracle he's even able to stand at this point.

Batman was usually quiet, but as if their roles were reversed, he began to speak. "What are you doing here?" From the way he said it, this didnt feel like an interrogation at all.

"What?" Joker asked, a little nervous. "You heard me." Batman was still using that wierdly calm tone, and Joker didn't really know how he felt about that.

"Does it matter? I mean," Joker chuckled. "Youre just-" He bites his lips, trying to hold himself back from laughing. "Gonna take me back to- heh. Arkham anyways. Ha!" He broke into a short fit of hysteric giggles.

"Joker." Batman said, his voice low as it usually was, but this time, softer. He sounded kind of like he was actually-

'Well, now thats funny! Batsy sounds like he's actually concerned! About little ol' ME, at that!'

"What's wrong?" Joker abruptly stops giggling, then he looks up at Batman.

"You seem- off, Joker. Are you alright?" The vigilante kept saying things that insinuated that he actually cared- but he doesn't Care, not about Joker.
Right?
Joker's nothing more than an enemy to him- His greatest enemy, at best.

"Joker-" He cut Batman off. "Stop." Joker looked away from the vigilante. "Don't." He swallowed, discreetly looking for a way to escape.

Batman still had a place in his heart- he always would- but Joker needed to get away from here now before he did things he might regret later.

Maybe he could visit Bruce at his work again- or the manor, that'd make him feel better.

Batman stood there frozen. 'What?' The way Joker's acting now is in extreme contrast to how he'd said he'd missed their game.

'What happened? He seemed alright just now-' Then he remembered the look he saw on Joker's face- the fear in his eyes. That was about 4 hours ago.

Joker's unusually quiet now, too. But he's always talking when he's with Batman- flirting or trying to rile him up, cracking bad jokes.

Then suddenly, his legs were sweeped under him, and he fell to the ground.

When he looked up, Joker had already started running. And by the time he recovered from the shock, got back on his feet and got to the entrance of the alley, there was no one there.

There was a sewer entrance to the far right that wasn't properly closed, but they were never properly closed.

There was a fire escape on a building on the other side of the road, but he couldn't see anyone on the rooftops.

The road split into 4, and there were 3 other alleys nearby. Joker could've taken any one of these routes.

Batman didn't have the heart to go after him, either. Joker had seemed like he genuinely wanted to get away from him, and there was clearly something wrong.

Batman couldn't help Joker right now, but maybe he would talk to Bruce?

He had to at least try, anyways. He needed to make sure Joker was alright- And also find out what he was doing out here.

Unfortunately, they couldn't fight like Bruce hoped- but that was alright. They could always do that later.

He then decided to go home; it was way past his patrol time and Alfred was probably worried about Bruce.

He'd spent most of the night chasing Joker around, so he hadn't realised that it was going to be dawn soon.

Chapter Text

Joker ran inside his house and slammed the door, panting. There had been a lot of running tonight- or last night now, he supposed.

Then he dropped to the ground, not even bothering to move to the bed, or even further inside; choosing instead to just lie on the floor with his limbs splayed out, right at the entrance, in front of the door.

He covered his eyes with an arm as he spent a few minutes just inhaling and exhaling air.

After catching his breath, he kicked off his shoes and finally stood up.

"He doesn't care." Joker muttered, walking to his bed and flopping down on it. 'But does Bruce?' His mind unhelpfully went against him, once again.

He reminded himself of the kiss, and then every other interraction he'd had with the man.

No one in their right mind would kiss him.

But Bruce did. Hell, he invited Joker over, right after it! He didn't even seem like he regretted it or like he was ashamed or disgusted.

Bruce cared.

Because if he didn't, then no one did.

Chapter Text

Joker, laying half naked on his bed; took his phone out and sent a ' Hiya B ' to Bruce.

He didn't want to call the man because Joker doesn't want him to know he's feeling down, since Bruce can somehow always tell when he is, just by his voice.

But for whatever reason, Bruce just makes Joker feel better.

Lately, all Joker did was mope around till he knew Bruce was free, or sometimes talk to Harley and Ivy.

Joker was tired of living this way, but he didn't know what else to do. The encounter with Batman was nice and all, at least as far as their chases go, but Joker felt kind of...hollow. Empty. Lacking something- aside from his usual vigor, showmanship and most of all; his make-up and clothes.

He had a feeling that it was his " unshakable " faith that Batman was his, that Batman gave a shit about him.

But Bruce... Sweet, Warm, Gentle, Bruce...

Joker stared at his phone screen and tried to telepathically summon a reply.
It did not work.
Joker groaned.

He has always needed attention to feel like a person, like somebody who mattered- actually existed.

He used to think there was no one's attention more worth the trouble than Batman's. Joker chuckled without humour.

And even now, when so much has changed, Batman's attention still called to him. "Do Something." It would say. "Make him look at you. Only you." But the ' Not the Cat.' Would be left unsaid.

Joker felt like he was slowly fading away, and the only tether binding him to the world was Bruce.

And Joker's heart- which would previously beat to the rhythm of Bats Bats Bats, switched to Bruce Bruce Bruce.

But his mind though- right now, despite the sound of his heart, it screamed the Bat's name.

Batman made him who he is, and kept him that way. And Bruce- Bruce is changing that- changing him. And Joker didn't know what to do about that, or if he even wanted to, for that matter.

He just wants to be someone- a person. He wants to feel like he's somebody, and not nothing. Because sometimes, he doesn't feel like he's even real.

Joker doesn't know what he feels with Batman anymore, so Bruce is the only person now who could give him what he so desparately needs.

Chapter Text

When he saw the reply from Bruce, Joker felt lighter already.

And when Bruce asked him about how he was, if he was doing okay and- actually seeming worried somehow, the green-haired man couldn't help it.

He asked if they could meet up, and of course Bruce said yes. Its Bruce! Joker was now pretty sure that the man really was cuckoo in the head, at least a little bit. There's no way he wasn't, considering the fact that he's Bruce. Joker's...Bruce...?

The green-haired man smiled softly and started to get dressed.

Chapter Text

Bruce stood outside his door, waiting for Joker. He needed to know what was wrong- he was concerned for the clown. Not because of him, but for him.

Because Bruce has come to care for the green-haired man now; more than he did before, when he only knew him as Batman.

He also knew this would happen. He knew Joker would come to Bruce. But somehow he was a little upset about the fact that Joker had rejected Batman- that's right, ' rejected ', because that's how it felt.

Now, was Bruce feeling... jealous, of himself??

Maybe. A little.
But let's not go there.

Bruce's phone pinged then. Joker.

'The Park, huh?' Bruce went to grab a Teal and Red Snapback, already wearing only a white t-shirt and black track-pants.

He wanted to seem like a random normal civillian, not wanting to give himself away- to the public; as Bruce Wayne, and to Joker; as Batman- for now, at least; since that's the only way to get to know what's going on with Joker. And see this other side of him that Batman never got to, and talk to him casually and text him like this and spend time with him and invite him over...

Chapter Text

A taxi passed him by as Bruce got there. No other people were present in the Park. It was a high-end neighbourhood after all, and every rich person he's ever met in Gotham has a private park in their back-yard. Plus, it was quite early in the morning anyways. Bruce wasn't really expecting many people to be there.

So, considering all of that, it wasn't very hard to find Joker.

There he sat, on a bench facing a small pond; in a black hoodie that had pink jellyfish on it and white pants with stars.

Bruce couldn't help but stand and stare for a few seconds before he snapped out of it. Joker looked absolutely adorable.

The green-haired man was humming under his breath as he sat there swinging his legs and fiddling with his hands.

'Cute.' Bruce smiled. "Hey." Joker jumped to his feet. "Bruce!" He seemed like he was taken by surprise. "You scared me, haha!" He sighed and sat back down. Bruce joined him on the bench.

"I imagine that doesnt happen often." Bruce looked to Joker. "No, not really." Joker hummed, looking at the fish in the pond. "Are you alright?" Joker flinched.

"What?" The green-haired man asked, breathless. "I..." Bruce hesitated. He didn't want to repeat his own words from last night and give his secret identity away. "I asked you if you were alright." Joker swallowed and shook his head, then seemed to calm down a bit.

"Y'know, Brucie..." Joker's eyes widened. "Wait. Can I call you Brucie?" He asked like a child asking for candy. "Yeah." Bruce smiled warmly at him. Joker did the same.

"Right. So," Joker's smile turned a little bitter at the corners. "I uh...uhm." He gulped. "I ran into him, last night." He was full on grimacing now. "The guy I told you about. Back when we first met. At the, uh- Bar."

Bruce's brain crashed. "The Batman is your ex!??" He blurted out without thinking.

Joker froze. "Ah..." He grimaced more and sucked in a breath. "No. No, of course not." Joker frowned, squinting at the fish. "We'd have to have been together first to be exes." He sounded defeated.

"I...see.." Bruce's heart was racing. 'Does this mean- no, it can't be- but it makes sense! And yet-' Bruce's thoughts started to swarm his brain. He didn't know what to do.

Joker was- Joker had been in love with Batman. And while thinking that, for some reason, Batman had ' left him ', Joker had made him fall in love with him.

That's right. Bruce was in love with Joker.

Bruce ' Batman ' Thomas Wayne was in Love with the Joker- his (former?) arch-nemesis.

"Hey, wait a minute," Joker turned to him with a confused expression. "How did you know it was Batman?"

Oh shit.

Bruce needed to think of something to say, and quick.

"Well..." Bruce looked at the pond. "It was just that obvious, wasn't it?" Joker said with a sad smile as Bruce looked to him again.

"I mean, its not like I ever tried to hide it or anything, so. Yeah." He said bitter-sweetly, turning his gaze towards the fish again.

That's right. Joker has never tried to hide it. He'd flirt and tease and talk about his ' love for his batsy ' all the time- at Arkham and face-to-face with Batman himself.

Bruce sat silently, deciding to also watch the fish- because what does he even say?

Bruce didn't know, he didnt know at all.

Chapter Text

For a while, there was only silence. For Bruce, this was one of the rare times in his life where he hated the silence.

"I dont think Ive ever been in love, before Bats." Joker said, so quietly that Bruce wasn't sure if he'd imagined it. "When I'm away from him, there's this...loneliness. Its..." Joker felt like his heart was inside his throat. "...Wierd. I dont like it. At all."

"I dont feel like I'm real sometimes," Joker smiled, but it looked so very wrong. "If he's not looking at me." The green-haired man let out a humourless giggle. "He's like- my one weakness. And I've always been obvious about it."

Joker looks up at the sky. "Maybe its just because I'm narcisistic, always making everything about me- But I wonder sometimes," There were tears in his eyes.

"Did he know? That I was there that day- Did he know what it did to me? Make me feel-? Did he do it on purpose?" Bruce didn't quite get what Joker was talking about, but wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake him until his own ' no 's were loud and clear. He didn't move.

Joker tried to laugh, but no sound came out. His lips twitched and quivered, and Bruce wanted to make it stop with a kiss. He said nothing.

"But, that's probably not it, is it?" Bruce wanted to say yes, so bad. "Because why would he care what I felt?" Joker let out a broken sound that Bruce realised was supposed to be a laugh- he wanted to hug him. He did no such thing.

"What..." Bruce started, slow an. "Happened?" He was glad his voice didn't sound as broken as he felt at seeing Joker like this even though this wasnt the first time.

Joker looked away. "I...saw him with someone." Bruce wouldn't have heard it if it hadn't been for the quietness around them. It still felt so wrong to think about the fact that Joker was sitting right there, but it was still- somehow- quiet.

"Oh." It was all Bruce could say. But he wanted to say more. He wanted to tell his clown that he wasn't with her anymore- that his Batsy now wanted to be with him. But he couldn't.

Bruce hadn't ' messed up ', per se. He did love Selina, he had. But right now, it felt like he'd done something wrong. He felt guilty for something that wasn't exactly even his fault- 'Like the alley-' Bruce sucked in a sharp breath as Joker let out a shaky one.

"If it weren't for Harley," Joker's face was unreadable as he stared ahead."I would have-" He looked away, shoulders hunching. "I wouldn't be...here..right now." Bruce felt sick at the implication.

"Harley and Ivy were all I had after that." Joker smiled a little. Bruce was relieved to see that at least this one was genuine. "Well, that is- before I met you." Joker finally met Bruce's eyes again. He Smiled. Bruce didn't smile back, just stared at the single tear that now slipped down Joker's pale face.

"So uh-" He looked away from Bruce, the small, beautiful, almost shy smile still on his face. "Thank you, Bruce. I cant thank you enough. Ever. You-" Those Emerald eyes met Sapphire ones as their gazes met; and then their eyes were locked once more.

"You make me feel..." Joker usually wasn't this open and vulnerable, even with Harley it was rare. But this was Bruce. "Like I do still matter. Like I'm not alone." Joker was being the most earnest he's probably ever been.

"Of course, Harley and Ivy are kind of my uh- friends now," Joker looked down at the ground. "But you're..." Joker didn't know how to finish the sentence, so he just looked back up at Bruce and smiled as more tears escaped his eyes.

Bruce's response was to slowly bring a hand closer to Joker's on the bench, then place it on top of the paler hand.

Joker's cheeks were dusted pink now, as they kept staring into eachother's eyes.

Joker hadn't realised that Bruce was leaning closer, until their foreheads touched and their breaths mingled. Neither spoke.

"Joker." Bruce whispered. "Brucie." Joker mumbled back.

Their lips met.

Joker closed his eyes at the contact.
It felt like a warm blanket after getting out of cold, cold Arkham, like chocolate cake after a chase with the Bat.

Bruce intertwined their fingers. Joker's heart was about to give out.

Bruce brought a hand up to wipe the tears away from Joker's eyes as he kissed the corner of his mouth.

Joker sighed, feeling so much better now. He was right. All he needed was Bruce, and he's alright again.

Bruce's hand travelled down to Joker's cheek, then he began stroking it gently with his thumb.

Joker let out a soft gasp as Bruce's other hand pulled him into his chest. Bruce pulled away from the kiss, and Joker felt sad at the loss for a second, before Bruce brought their joined hands up and pressed a kiss to the back of Joker's hand.

"You really are not alone. Not anymore." Bruce's smile was blinding, and it knocked the air out of Joker's lungs.

The morning light finally spilled into the sky, rays of light catching on Joker's hair; making the green look almost Golden. Bruce then let his hands wrap around Joker. He didn't want to ever let Joker go.

Bruce tilted Joker's face up by his chin. "Let me take care of you." Bruce kissed him again.

Joker just might let him. Because after all, this was Bruce.

Chapter Text

They walked out of the park, holding hands. Bruce had phoned Alfred to tell him that he'd miss breakfast at home that day because he was going to eat with Joker.

Joker didn't know what the butler had said to Bruce, but the billionare looked a bit red and embarrassed.

Bruce brought Joker to one of the smaller diners that was closer to where they were, but considering the fact that this was where most of Gotham's rich lived, it wasn't really all that small; but it was inconspicuous, so it had to do.

They sat at a table in the corner, then ordered pancakes and a strawberry milkshake for Joker and a Sandwhich and black coffee for Bruce.

Neither spoke; but the silence was comfortable.

"So," Joker said, popping a strawberry from the top of his pancake into his mouth. "Is this a-" He shoved a fork-full of pancake into his mouth. "Dhafe?" He looked up at Bruce.

Bruce blinked. "What?" Joker looked back down at his plate. "Uh- Foghef iff." Bruce sipped his coffee, but Joker caught sight of his small, amused smile. "Right."

This was nice.

Joker found he was thinking that a lot, when it came to Bruce. Talking to Bruce was nice, doing things with Bruce was nice- hell, even thinking about him was nice!

Joker smiled as he sipped on the straw in his milkshake.

Bruce was great. How he could want Joker of all people- especially since he could have literally anyone else- was a complete mystery to Joker.

Bruce was too good for him. But Joker was selfish.

He wanted Bruce. He wanted to be with him. Joker wanted to be Bruce's, and for Bruce to be his.

He had wanted to be ' somebody ' to Batman- like his greatest enemy, because some part of him had always thought that he couldn't be anything else to him. But with Bruce- he could actually be That somebody- not just someone- or anyone- but THE One.

The thought made Joker feel light-headed.

When Bruce pointed out with a fond smile that Joker looked giddy, he blamed the sugar, but it was really the euphoria he felt because Bruce- Bruce! was here! Bruce wanted him! And Joker could actually have this- have Bruce!

It was like a Dream. But it wasnt- this was Real. Bruce- what they had now- it was real- He was real.

Joker looked down at his now empty plate as he swallowed down the last of his breakfast. Bruce had finished before him and had paid the bill.

'Holy shit. This is a date.' Joker blushed. 'Right?' At first, he had wanted to ask about it jokingly, but considering- well, everything- that could very well be the case.

They got out of there, and the street was still mostly empty- if we exclude the few cars.

Then to Joker's surprise, Bruce brought a hand up and brushed the corner of his lips. Joker's eyes widened.

"You had food on your face." Bruce said, looking away after dropping his hand. Was he blushing?!?

"Oh." Joker said, trying to snap out of it. "Wait-" Bruce looked at him again. "Where to now?"

Bruce just looked at him for a beat, then smiled. "Wherever you want."

'Whatwhatwhatwhatwhaaaaaatttttt-' Joker froze- he wasn't expecting that. 'That counted as flirting, right???'

Joker blinked, swallowing. "Uh-" Bruce waited patiently. "IsThisADate?" Joker blurted out really quickly.

Bruce's face showed surprise, but it was replaced with a smile in an instant. "Sure." Joker looked away, nodding.

They stood outside the diner for a few more minutes. "Could we," Joker looked back to Bruce. "Get Ice-cream?" He smiled, a bit shy. 'wait- Shy!?' Joker didn't remember ever being shy! But with Bruce, he kind of was- "Alright." Bruce tugged at Joker's hand, then started walking.

In a few minutes, they were at some Dessert place. Bruce got himself a chocolate-vanilla swirl, and for Joker; strawberry-MintChocochip-CottonCandy with rainbow sprinkles.

Joker was amazed by the ice-cream. It was Glorious, truly marvellous. [Because DC-ous isnt a word. Get it?...sorry-]

They went back to the park, which now had a few people. They sat down at a bench near a water-fountain with their ice-cream.

"This is really good!" Joker was about to finish his ice-cream already. "I'm not a big fan of ice-cream in general, but yeah, it is." Joker choked on his ice-cream.

"WHA-" He coughed. "What do you mean youre ' not a big fan of ice-cream in general '!? What is wrong with you!?" He yelled.

Bruce blinked, looking taken back. Joker realised what he'd done. 'Shit.' Joker cursed in his head. 'But- He- Ice-cream-!' Then Bruce started laughing.

Bruce was laughing. Like, actually laughing. Joker then realised that in all the months he's known Bruce, he'd never heard him properly laugh. Chuckles and huffs of laughter, sure, but never like this.

Joker watched in awe as Bruce wiped a tear away. A tear! He was crying from laughing too hard! Joker fell harder for him now; he'd destroy the world for Bruce- but he probably wouldn't like that- So, he'd not destroy the world, for Bruce- Which meant more than what he first came up with.

Bruce finally stopped laughing and caught his breath. "Well," He looked at Joker like he loved him, and it made Joker want to kiss him. So he did. And Bruce kissed back immediately.

Joker pulled away to finish his ice-cream, then noticed that Bruce's ice-cream wasn't over yet. So he decided to eat it too. "You dont like Ice-cream." Joker said as he licked the melting chocolate-vanilla swirl. Bruce watched him, amused and a bit flushed.

"That's pretty messed up, you know?" Joker licked it again. "And that's coming from me." Bruce smiled at him. "Maybe that's why I love you."

Joker froze mid-lick. 'Wait-' He blinked. 'Did I hear that right?' Joker pulled back to look at Bruce, who's face had the same surprised look as Joker's.

"Do you mean that?" Joker asked, voice low. "Do you really mean it?" He was being dead-serious.

"...Yeah." Bruce said it like he was sealing his fate. And in a way, he was. He was sealing both their fates.

Joker kissed him again, deeper this time; the taste of ice-cream mixing together between their tongues.

And when they finally pulled back again, for air, Bruce suggested that they go back to the manor. Joker immediately said yes.

Chapter Text

They walked hand-in-hand; all the way to the manor.

Alfred had asked Bruce if they'd like lunch or perhaps dinner before they head to bed. Bruce had choked on air while Joker just stood there. Then the old man had chuckled and sent them off to Bruce's room.

"Hey, Brucie," Joker said nonchalantly as he sat down on the billionare's bed, legs swinging. "Huh-?" Bruce seemed a bit startled. "I like your bed. Its really fluffy." Joker offered a small smile to kind of clear the air which had gotten a little ...heated.

Bruce had this look in his eyes, his body tense. He gulped, and Joker watched- hypnotised- as his adam's apple bobbed.

Subconsciously, Joker chewed on his lip. Bruce moved closer, now standing really close to him. "You can," Bruce's hands were balled into tight fists at his sides. "Use it, if you want."

"Huh?" Joker leaned back. "You can sleep in my bed. I don't mind." Bruce looked towards a window to the side; it was closed, but the light still spilled in. It was around late noon now.

"Really?" Joker asked, not having expected it. "Yeah." Joker swallowed. "Oh." Bruce sat down beside him. "Okay." Joker looked to the window too. "Okay." He said once again, now looking back to Bruce. The taller man only gave a nod.

Joker slowly laid down on the sheets, running his hands across the smooth material. Hesitantly, he settled on his back, head resting on a pillow that felt like a giant fluffy marshmellow.

Bruce laid down beside him, and Joker found himself holding his breath.

A few minutes passed, and Joker felt himself growing more restless the longer he laid there unmoving.

"Joker?" The green-haired man's heart had almost leapt out of his throat. "Y-yeah?" Curse his voice for cracking.

Bruce slowly grabbed Joker's hand, then began to stroke it softly. Joker almost shivered.

Joker felt a primal need. He needed to be closer to Bruce. 'Closer, closer closer.' It was all that rang in his head as he turned on his side to face Bruce. The other man looked at him from the corner of his eyes, then did the same.

They were both breathing heavily. Joker shut his eyes.

Bruce's other hand was now under Joker's chin. "Look at me." Bruce's voice was low, and rough. Joker actually shivered this time.

He opened his eyes to find Bruce really close to him, their breaths mingling. Joker swallowed, his blood rushing.

Bruce slowly brought Joker's face closer to his own.

And the next thing Joker knew, they were kissing. But, it wasn't gentle like it usually started out. It was like the kiss at the park and the first ever kiss they shared- at Wayne Enterprises, but- Better.

The hand that held Joker's then loosened it's grip to trail up, reaching the side of his neck.

Bruce's tongue tried to push past Joker's lips. Although a bit surprised, Joker opened his mouth.

Bruce's tongue prodded the innersides of his teeth. Joker let out a muffled gasp. Bruce's hand trailed down from Joker's neck to his back.

Bruce pulled Joker impossibly closer. This felt all too similar to how Joker had imagined things going with Batman, if only he'd gotten the chance-) Joker trembled.

He brought his leg to press against Bruce's; the billionare groaned.

Bruce's leg slipped between Joker's. Then, they pulled away for air.

Panting heavily, they both stared into eachother's eyes.

Then they moved in sync, kissing like they were trying to devour eachother.

Joker hooked a leg around one of Bruce's, then wrapped his hands tightly around Bruce's waist, getting a hum of approval in response.

Bruce's hand moved from Joker's chin to his hair. Joker moaned as he felt Bruce tugging on a few green locks.

Bruce stilled. Then he moved to kiss Joker's jaw. Joker bared his neck to him, letting Bruce do whatever he wanted.

Joker was offering himself to Bruce.

But he'd already offered himself to the Bat-

'No. NO. Not right now.' Joker went to nip at Bruce's ear lobe to try and focus only on Bruce right now.

'That's right. Only Bruce. Bruce.'

Chapter Text

When Joker woke up, he was in the most comfortable bed he'd ever been in.

A breath softly ghosted over the shell of his ear.

Joker realised that he was laying on top of someone- Bruce.

He felt blood rush to his face as he found that his arms were wrapped around Bruce's waist, and Bruce's arms were around his own.

Through the blinds, warm light spilled in. The colors of the sunrise. Joker didnt want to wake up yet though, whether this was a dream or not.

Resting his head comfortably on Bruce's chest, Joker sighed. He could hear his heartbeat.

Joker's never felt so calm before. It was... Kind of nice.

And until he has to wake up, he decided that he'd stay right where he was.

Joker closed his eyes again, and the soft rise and fall of Bruce's chest lulled him back to sleep.