A/N: Crane belongs to DC not to me, but all ideas and such are mine alone. Er, I don't usually do romance fics, but I though I would once. So I hope you guys like it. Reviews are loved as always. I hope this provides at least mild entertainment to you Crane lovers.
PROLOGUE
It has been said that the only thing to fear is fear itself. But what if fear had a face, should you fear the man, or his capabilities? I often wondered this since first meeting Jonathan Crane. Growing up here was but merely someone who teased me, but we had a mutual understanding of one another. We were both poor, misunderstood, and bullied children growing up in the Narrows, a slum-like neighborhood of sorts in Gotham City. Unlike him, I escaped Gotham once, only to return years later after my parents deaths.
During my time away, I had received a degree in psychopharmacology from a renowned university much like the University of Gotham. Try as I might, I could not escape memories of my childhood in Gotham, nor my memories of Jonathan Crane and the last night I shared with him before my departure.
"Why are you leaving was my question?" Jonathan asked, despair creasing his forehead.
"My father is sick, so my mom wants to move closer to my grandparents." I said, tears welling up in my eyes as he held me close. I took in his scent, knowing it would probably be the last time I would see him.
"I have never known love before you, Kristen. And I shall never know it again if you leave." He said, his head resting on hers as rain began pouring down from the night sky. "You're seventeen, can't you stay?" He asked knowing the answer before it escaped her soft pink lips. He would miss her. She was the only one to ever show him love, compassion, and trust. He had only known pain and fear until meeting her. He held her tighter, as if his grasp was what was keeping her with him. "I won't be me without you." He said softly as he kissed her hair.
"And I won't be me without you, Jonathan. I will miss you so." She said, the rain masking her tears. "I fear I may never see you again." She said as she pressed her face into his rain-soaked shirt. Her cell phone began the familiar ring, assigned only to her mother. She looked up at him sadly as she answered it with a tearful hello.
As she spoke inaudible words into the receiver, Jonathan felt his world slipping from his grasp, all reality was ceasing to exist for him. As he watched his beloved slowly close her phone, he knew this would begin his last few moments with her. Precious moments he would not waste in sadness. He swiftly grabbed Kristen and pressed their bodies closely together, kissing her furiously.
"I have to go. We are leaving." She said, as she forced herself to part from him. She fled with three little words that would stay with him forever. "I love you."
A single tear fell down her cheek as she stood in front of her new apartment building, far from her childhood home. She knew he was long gone, probably happily married to a beautiful woman by now. After all, it had been nearly seven years. True, she had been with others since Jonathan, but none were awarded her love. Tonight she would attempt a sleep that would not come, tomorrow she would go to Arkham to apply for a job.
CHAPTER 1 COMING SOMETIME THIS WEEK! Sorry so short, I didn't want to make the prologue too long. But I promise Chapters to be much longer. Reviews are loved.