Disclaimer: Property of: Warner Bros, DC Comics, Legendary Films, Chris Nolan, Bale and Ledger. WHY?? I WANT IT!! WHY NOT ME?!

Warnings: Slash! Huzzah!

-Thanks to Compy for Beta-ing this, as usual.

Kiss

By: EIW

" I don't want to kill you! What would I do without you?" - The Joker,The Dark Knight

The silver knife dazzled in the moonlight.

The reflected light danced across Batman's mask. His skin was slick with sweat from the fight and every few moments Batman was squirm and push, trying desperately to get out of the ever worsening situation. A hysterical giggle was all that he gained from his troubles as the Joker smiled insanely, standing in front of him, locking his body in place.

The clown tightened his grip on Batman's wrist, feeling the groves of the Batsuit underneath his gloved hands. There always seemed to be something between the Joker and Batman: the police, the mob, Dent, that girl...they'd all gotten theirs in the end, though. The Joker had made sure of that.

No one got in the way of him and Batman.

No one.

It really was a picturesque setting, the Joker thought gleefully. The moon was full, his hench-clowns had actually assisted in a plan that had worked, and now Batman was helpless at last, almost at his mercy. It had been so easy. The Joker's body swayed slightly from explicit happiness, causing his hips to brush lightly against Batman. His skin was itching from the contact. Straightening himself out, the Joker locked his position again. It wouldn't do to have Batman escape just because he was too intoxicated by the other's presence. Batman had a funny way of making the Joker incoherent at the worst of times.

The Joker's brain was whirling with convulsive thoughts. They slammed together, ricocheting into various directions and confusing him. He couldn't grasp one tightly enough to make sense of it - his brain had always worked strangely when he was so close to Batman. All that the Joker knew was that Batman was numbingly near and this time, this time, he wouldn't get away so easily.

The Joker moved the knife closer to Batman's eyes. He laughed as Batman's gaze was jerked towards the shimmering object as it danced in and out of his peripheral vision. The Dark Knight's eyes were clouded with various emotions, all of which were focused solely on the clown in front of him.

The Joker paused for a moment as he saw his reflection clearly in Batman's eyes. The Joker liked being the one thing that Batman was fixated on. His skin began to tingle and the Joker stalled momentarily, reveling in the attention. There weren't many times that it was only he and Batman, especially one that lasted this long.

He more than liked having Batman all to himself.

"It's amazing how quickly you run to me when I call," the Joker said, tilting his head to the side as several green strands of hair swept into his eyes, sticking to his damp, painted forehead. He quickly ran a gloved hand through his hair and stepped even closer to Batman, lifting his eyes to meet the other man's. Their bodies completely lined up, sparing no space between them. The Joker's leg was lodged between Batman's, hindering the Dark Knight's movement.

"I always come. You're dangerous. I have to save Gotham," Batman said in his gruff voice, repeating those words in a peculiar way. It was like his mantra or something. The Joker knew that there were several more applicable reasons that Batman always found him. The least of which was Gotham. However, the Joker didn't have time to rearrange Batman's priority list at the moment. There were far more enjoyable things he could be doing.

"Ah, well. I always thought it was because you had a little crush on me, with me being so handsome and whatnot." The Joker's hand flew about the air, gesturing towards himself as he said the last few words, staring directly into Batman's dark eyes. The clown darted his hand into his jacket pocket, which was completely out of Batman's view and pulled something small out. The Joker smiled tauntingly at the powerless hero, whose face was torn between confusion, anger and shock.

"We'd be great together, you know," the Joker said with no hint of jest in his voice as his eyes glowed with venom. He licked his lips and smirked at Batman's thoroughly shocked face. The Joker's leg began to slightly tap. His mind was screaming from their close proximity, threatening to cloud over at the blissful contact. The Joker couldn't let himself get carried away. He had to stick to the plan. It had worked so far and there would be far more time to please his pulsating mind later.

Suddenly, the Joker thrust a syringe deep into Batman's leg.

Batman yelled and forcefully moved his arm against the Joker's body, pushing the other out of the way. The Joker released him and stepped backwards, watching the caped crusader try to gain control of his weakening body. As the clown saw everything fall into place, he began laughing hysterically, gripping the edge of the ally wall for support. His white face paint was glowing in the darkness. Batman's vision wavered and he staggered around in confusion. His legs suddenly gave way and his arms tried unsuccessfully to hold his body up. Batman fell to the ground with a frustrated yell, cape fluttering dejectedly about him.

Batman's body was completely useless by now, the Joker thought in excitement. As much as he loved, craved, physically fighting with Batman, the Joker had other plans for tonight. It wouldn't do any good if the clown was lying pleasantly unconscious on the floor of the police holding tank, simmering in the afterglow of another fight.

The drug his hench-clowns had concocted was working brilliantly. It was an extreme muscle relaxant or something. The Joker had stopped listening to their babbling after they'd assured him that it would cause Batman to remain harmless for a short period of time.

The Joker had then tested it on a "volunteer" hench-clown. Just to make sure that it worked and that it didn't have any side effects. It wouldn't do to have Batman dead. Not after he'd just gotten the man's full attention, not after they'd come so far.

Batman growled in frustration and the Joker was ripped out of his thoughts.

"Well, well, well…what do we have here?" the Joker asked, spinning slightly and causing his purple coat to whirl about, painting the air violet.

Batman simply glared at the twirling clown.

"It looks like I'll be the one in charge tonight," the Joker said, his grin almost sliding off his face. The sight of the Dark Knight completely at his mercy made the Joker's hands tremble. Exhilaration dripped off of him in continuous waves. He began to walk towards the collapsed form of Batman, bouncing with every step.

When his shoes were touching the dark fabric of Batman's cape, the painted clown sat down crossed legged, propped his elbows on his knees and let his head fall to his hands. The Joker's eyes ravaged across Batman's figure, completely absorbed as his brain took in every detail of the man, memorizing each movement, each feature. The Joker simply stared for several minutes at the Dark Knight.

There wasn't any hurry tonight.

Tonight it was just them.

Eventually, the Joker seemed to clear through the distracting fog in his mind and he took the glove off of his right hand, throwing it carelessly on the dirty paved floor of the ally.

"You know," the Joker hummed quietly, "I've always wondered…"

The Joker slowly moved his hand towards Batman's face, inching towards the mask that hid the identity of the only person that the Joker had ever truly noticed.

Batman's breath sucked in and he groaned, trying frantically to pull away, trying to keep his secret.

The Joker paused momentarily as his fingers reached the semi-soft edge of the mask. He barely brushed the side of Batman's masked cheek, feeling the slight groves and creases of the malleable material.

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone," the Joker murmured, completely serious. Batman tried once again to do something, anything. The Joker's ever present grin was gone as he pulled the mask up slowly. The last thing that separated the Joker and Batman was finally being removed.

Batman's eyes were screaming and the Joker's hand shook as he lifted it past Batman's nose. Batman's nose twitched slightly. The drug was wearing off. Oh well, this wouldn't take too long, the Joker thought, almost serenely calm. Batman had interesting cheek bones, the Joker noted vaguely. They jutted out far more than most people's did. They were very pretty. For once, the Joker's head was completely silent, aside from varying fleeting thoughts about Batman. Those thoughts were always present. They were as much a part of him as his arm or his scars. The Joker's mind was simply watching as more and more features were revealed, storing everything to memory, making sure that nothing was missed. The Joker almost had the mask to Batman's eyes as sirens suddenly blared in the oddly soundless city.

The Joker snapped out of the spell and whipped around. His breathing was erratic and his mind was stammering. He was completely caught off guard. He had no plan, no way to escape. The Joker grabbed his hair and spun in a half circle, trying quickly to make a plan. He couldn't go back to Arkham like this. Not after he'd been so close. The Joker's stomach was knotted in anxiety and his brain was blazing with blurring thoughts, trying to figure out how to get out before the cops caught him...again.

His eyes caught sight of the almost unmasked Batman.

This was supposed to be their night.

The Joker burned with possessive jealousy. The police would pay, but right now they weren't here. The Joker could still make it count.

He quickly picked up his discarded knife. The clown flipped it around, never taking his eyes off of Batman's lightly sedated ones. The Joker knelt down to Batman's level, watching him for a few brief seconds. The barks of police dogs could be heard now as the police squads were running towards their spot.

The Joker was undecided. He didn't know what to do. His eyes darted to the opening of the alleyway and back to Batman. He could rip Batman's mask off right now, but it wasn't the right time. He wouldn't be able to fully appreciate the triumph of finally unmasking his arch-nemesis. The cops would see who Batman was, and that was unacceptable.

Batman was his. Other people did not get to see him without the mask.

The Joker's eyes quickly became locked in decision and he plunged the knife deep into Batman's chest in a particularly painful, but not lethal spot. The clown quickly leaned towards the Dark Knight, breathing hurriedly against Batman's face, leaning his forehead against Batman's barely covered face.

"Ah, well. Another time," the Joker whispered, his tone laced with regret. The Joker snatched a canister from Batman's utility belt. He'd long ago discovered what all of them did. Batman began to lift his arm with much effort, trying to stop the Joker from doing whatever it was he was planning.

The Joker flashed a manic grin at Batman. He never gave up - not once.

The clown's glittering eyes glanced at the alleyway entrance and smiled. The cops weren't here just yet and the Joker never wasted any moments that he had with Batman. He swiftly grabbed the back of Batman's head and pulled it forward, making the Dark Knight's lips collide with his.

The Joker's entire being stung from the kiss. His body pressed as close as it could get into Batman's awkwardly positioned form. The Joker settled himself in between Batman's legs, slamming the partially masked man into the brick wall behind him. The Joker's veins seemed to throb as his blood began to pump harder, and his heart hammered in his chest. It felt like his bones were on fire, burning hotter and hotter, blazing inside his skin. The Joker moved his arm in between his and Batman's chest and twisted the knife, earning a painful moan from the Dark Knight.

The Joker bit Batman's lip, tearing it slightly and causing blood to ooze from the little wound, licking the copper liquid from Batman's lips. The Joker pulled away reluctantly, licking his lips, as voices echoed into hearing range. Just as the Joker was about the stand up, he noticed the light grip that Batman had on his coat. Purple fabric was being tugged by black Kevlar, being twisted up in Batman's gloved hands. Ah, so it wasn't just him then.

Voices were getting louder.

The Joker stood, swaying slightly from his warped equilibrium and walked awkwardly, almost staggered, towards the adjacent alleyway. He got a few feet away before he paused, shifted positions and looked back. The Joker quickly walked back towards Batman, leaned down and kissed him again, smearing red paint and blood across Batman's lips and chin. The Joker stepped back, admiring his handiwork. Batman was sitting stone still and just looked completely dazed. The Joker liked to think it was from the kiss and not the drug and blood loss. Not that it mattered either way, since he was the cause of all of it. The Joker beamed at the Dark Knight, yanked his mask back into place and slipped off into the shadows, calling out, "I'll see you soon, Batman."

The Joker threw the smoke bomb that he'd stolen from Batman's utility belt at the floor and dark gray smoke began to flood the alleyway just as the police came into view.

After the smoke had cleared, Commissioner Gordon ran up towards the fallen figure of Batman. He yelled for some policemen to follow the ever fading figure of the Joker, knowing that it was already too late to catch him. He focused his attention on the man that was weakly moving about, trying to stand up and holding his bleeding chest.

"Are you alright?" Gordon asked, concerned as to why Batman hadn't left already. He usually flitted away as soon as the police arrived.

"Y..y…yeah," Batman stammered out. "I'm fine."

Gordon noticed the red stain against Batman's mouth and paused for a moment, staring at it. Suddenly, Batman winced and grabbed his chest, causing Gordon to drift back from his wondering thoughts. "Do you need to go to a hospital?"

"No," Batman said, slightly dazed and trying to figure out what had just happened. Between the clown kissing him, drugging him and stabbing him, it had been a particularly difficult night and his brain just couldn't seem to grasp what was happening. It seemed content to just replay the kiss over and over.

"I just need my car."

Gordon reluctantly nodded his head and helped Batman stagger to his giant tank-car. Suddenly, Batman turned around and pushed Gordon off. Ignoring the commissioner's protests, he stumbled over to the spot where he'd been held captive and grabbed something purple off the ground and stuffed it into his utility belt. He walked back towards the commissioner, gripped Gordon by the shoulder and grabbed his chest with the other hand. He was bleeding pretty profusely, Gordon noticed.

Explanations could wait.

Gordon helped Batman into his car and he waved as the car drove out of sight. Jim Gordon watched the now empty street, wondering what had occurred to make Batman act like that. He'd seen the red paint on Batman's lips, but the Joker painted almost everyone with that. Something else must have happened...

A random police officer suddenly walked towards him, tapping him on the shoulder. "Batman looked pretty beaten up tonight, eh commissioner?"

Gordon looked over at the cop questioningly. "What do you mean?"

"He had blood all over his mouth, didn't you notice?"

"Oh…yes…well...It's part of the job, I suppose." Gordon said, hoping that it was enough to satisfy the officer, because he honestly had no idea what the hell had gone on tonight.

Judging by the look that Batman had on his face, Jim Gordon was very grateful to be living in ignorance.

Thanks for reading and please review!

This just sort of popped into my head while I was shopping yesterday. I hope that you all liked it. It's been a while since I wrote the Joker.