Note: I don't own Joker. The end.

The Taking

A Joker Oneshot

He waited.

He knew she would be turning the corner soon, and then he'd have his chance. She was the first to notice him, the first to smile at him without fear, hate, or madness in their eyes. She'd always been different. This he was well aware of. And he had to have her. He wanted – no, needed -- to rid himself of this desire, this longing. So he stood there, waiting. Waiting for his plan to be set into action.

She turned the corner, only to trip. She fell into his arms, trying to steady herself. Unnoticed by her, his eyelids fluttered, the feel of her breasts pressed up against him driving him mad with need. She looked up, an apology on her lips, only to falter, smothered by the intensity of his gaze. She blinked, then smiled awkwardly, apologizing for falling into him before trying to break away from him.

He tightened his grip for a split second, his need skyrocketing.

"Um, sir, can I have my arms back? I kind of need them…"

He smirked, tightening his hold further before letting go.

"Jay. My name's Jay. Use it, and remember it." With one last smile towards her retreating back, he turned and disappeared into the darkness.

It has begun.

She shivered, pulling her jacket closer to herself before setting off. It's been weeks since the 'incident', as she deemed it, and ever since she could not get the boy – no, man – out of her mind. His messy curly locks and enthralling brown eyes ensnared her. And as much as it frightened her, he almost…thrilled her to her very core.

With a start, she realized just what she was thinking. Shaking her head defiantly to clear her thoughts, she almost walked straight into someone. Too preoccupied with her thoughts, she barely realized her near-accident. Not bothering to look up from the ground, all the managed to utter was a cursory apology as she passed.

If she had looked up, she would have seen the very object of her thoughts, staring at her with an indeterminable look in his eyes. She would have seen him deliberately step into her path, subconsciously wishing to feel her pressed up against him once more. To his disappointment, she avoided the impending crash, even when preoccupied by trying to clear her head. Smirking at her instinctive apology, he knew it was all going according to plan.

The time was quickly approaching.

Another week, another late-night stroll home with an undetected follower taking the opportunity to study her once more. She glanced around, seeing something out of the corner of her eye. A flash of a knife..? No, she decided, writing it off as a trick of the mind.

Slowly she started home.

Letting her thoughts wander as she walked towards home, her thoughts began turning towards recent events. The man – Jay, if she remembered correctly – has been 'lurking' lately. Not a day would pass without her catching some glimpse of him in the vicinity. His favorite place being in the street somewhere, where making a scene would cause problems. Thinking back, though, she found that she's seen nothing of him today. Feeling an ominous shudder pass through her, she tightened her coat around her and hurried on. If she had seen him today all would have been well, but as of now one glance of his hair would put her –

She fell.

He grabbed hold of her arms as she fell, smothering a smirk of triumph as he effectively caught her. With a mental thanks to the concrete block he had put there, he looked down at his prey.

His prize.

She looked up with a slight smile on her face, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. As her prepared apology died on her lips, dark eyes bored into her own. Entranced, she lost herself in their inky depths, feeling utterly naked as they seemed to search her very soul. Slowly, as if afraid to lose the advantage he currently had, he pulled her upright. Thoughtlessly she regained her balance, still too focused upon his expressive eyes to realize that she could easily pull away right now. Instead, she leaned forwards slightly, still too wrapped up in her own world to take note of everything around her.

As he stealthily wrapped an arm around her waist, she parted her lips, subconsciously wetting them with her tongue. As his other hand entwined in her hair, she opened her mouth further, as if preparing to speak. Without letting her speak her mind, he tightened his hold on her, sweeping down to silence her.

He smashed his lips onto hers with a near-bruising force, dipping her backwards slightly as he ravaged her mouth. Taking advantage of her still slightly opened mouth, he slipped his tongue into her mouth, savoring the feel and taste of exploring another's mouth. Her lips were just as he imagined, soft and full. She tasted sweet, addicting. He wanted more.

As he tried to continue the heated kiss, she pushed him away, cutting his contentment short. Pushing her way out of his embrace, she stared apprehensively at him before trying to sidle past. But before she could make her way around him, he latched onto her wrist. Without a word spoken between them, she stared at his hand encircling her fragile wrist, her breathing steadily increasing. Within moments, she had dissolved into panic. In her desperation, she began trying to break free, yanking against his hold.

He watched her impassively for a moment before a twisted smirk found its way onto his lips. Without a word, he pulled her into another tight embrace. Placing a wet open mouthed kiss upon her temple, he slowly let his tongue trace down the side of her face, ignoring her panic and frantic shaking of her head. Reaching her ear, he traced the edge with his tongue, causing her to shiver. Pulling away slightly with a satisfied smirk, he blew into her ear before speaking.

"Hello, dear. You sure look…nice tonight." With a dark chuckle, he continued, ignoring the whimpers and struggles that were growing increasingly frantic. "You know, doll, that I can't let you go. You're mine, and you always will be. I'll make sure of it."

With his message sent, he dropped her wrist and relaxed his hold on her, allowing her to break away. Immediately she took a few steps back, staring at him with wide, frightened eyes. Seeing the look in her eyes, he tsked, walking closer to her.

"You know, I'm not going to…hurt you. So just stop with the doe eyes, got it?"

She whimpered, stepping backwards once again only to trip again. Looking towards her feet, she noticed the cement block beneath her, and she immediately tried crawling backwards, desperate to escape at any cost. He grinned manically once more, letting out a low dark chuckle at her frightened behavior.

"Well now, let's make this more…exciting. Run. You can't hide. Because no matter what…I'll find you. And trust me, I will have you."

With these words said, she scrambled to her feet and took off running. She ran blindly, her only worries were getting away from him and the sound of the maddened cackles echoing through the silent streets. Seeing a light approaching her, she started shouting and waving her arms frantically, hoping the light would bring solace. Not watching the ground for any obstacles, she tripped and fell into his waiting arms, her own arms flying out to embrace him as she tried to remain standing. Hearing the eerily familiar laughter in her left ear, she visibly shuddered before slowly looking up to meet his gaze.

"Hello again," he said with a smirk, tightening his grip around her waist. As she realized just who she was embracing, she pushed away, whimpering in fear. He let her go as she pushed against his shoulders, laughing once again.

"One more chance…" he echoed as she whipped around and continued her fevered flight.

He ran through the alleyways, catching glimpses of her through the alleys as he kept in time with her running. He suppressed another giggle, not wanting to give his direction away as he watched her continue her useless yet arousing chase. He smirked as she stumbled again, hearing her cry out as she sprained her ankle.

The chase is over.

She hobbled into an alley, wincing whenever she put weight on her injured ankle. She looked up at the dead end before her, trying to catch her breath as well as find some place to hide. Finding no safety in the blank brick wall, she turned, mentally readying herself for more pain as she prepared to run once more. But as she headed towards the entrance of the alley again, she noticed his shadowed figure blocking her only exit. He sauntered closer to her, a sick smile spreading across his face as he reveled in his twisted cat and mouse game. She tried to run around him and he let her. She was injured, slowing her down significantly. Besides, he would stop her. The cat would always win.

As she passed him, trying to keep her gait smooth, she thought she was safe. She quickened her pace, desperate to rid herself of his presence. Before she could take even two steps away from him he whirled around, grabbing her from behind and locking her arms against her sides. With a desperate cry, she beat and kicked against him, hoping her flailing would cause him to loosen his grip but subliminally knowing that it was futile.

She finally stopped, slumping down as she began sobbing. Letting go of her, he took a step back to observe her submission in dark glee. After a moment, he slowly approached once more, stopping right behind her. Seeing his shadow looming over her through her tears, she sighed, her tears abating slightly. Turning her head to see him out of the corner of her eye, she paused, overcome by another wave of tears.

"You win. You want something, right? Fine. Just…take it. Take it and go," she whispered tearfully, her voice muffled from her crying. She knew he heard her.

He bent down and pulled her into his arms before standing upright once more. Making quiet shushing noises to her, he held her closer to his chest, as if afraid she'd try to pull away from him as he cradled her with utmost care.

"Time to go. I've got what I want," he murmured into her ear, brushing hair out her face with his nose. She shuddered, tears still leaking out of her eyes and her body periodically shaking with suppressed sobs.

He looked down at her fragile form tenderly, watching her as she opened her eyes and looked up into his own. He offered her a small lopsided smile in hopes it would calm her. She swallowed thickly, quieting down almost instantly. His smile grew into a larger tender one, his eyes wrinkling in the corners slightly. As she stared up silently at him, tearstains etched down her cheeks, he couldn't resist her enthrallment any longer; he kissed her. It was a short, openmouthed kiss, but one that calmed her down even further. One last tear fell down her cheek as he pulled away to look at her face once more. He finally looked away, looking forwards once again. He began walking.

As they left the alley, she cautiously rested her head against his chest, closing her eyes as she slowly clutched the lapels of his jacket. She sighed once more before being lulled into sleep by the rhythmic beating of his heart pounding in tandem with his slow but steady footfalls on the pavement.

Feeling her relax, he glanced down to see her asleep. His eyes softening for a moment, he stared at her before looking forwards once more. She was finally his.

Overhead, a crackle of thunder erupted from the sky. Slowly, rain began falling, increasing in volume within a few minutes into a steady downpour. A flash of lightning revealed a shadowy outline moved down the abandoned street. As thunder echoed again, the shadowed figure passed a flickering streetlight, illuminating a man, white greasepaint beginning to drip off his face, cradling a woman in his arms, shielding her from the rain slightly using his voluminous overcoat. The light flickered out, giving up its fight for life, but the pair continued on. Another flash of lightning revealed the pair again for a split second. The man, looking at the woman tenderly, kept his movements fluid, trying to keep her from waking in his arms. He looked up again, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as the red smeared down his face.

She was never out of his sight again.