Beta: RisqueSno

Disclaimer: DC owns all these characters and WB owns DC and Time Warner owns WB and I'm pretty sure the rest of the world.

Author notes: There had been a number of conversations on the jokerxharley site at livejournal where I've made comments on Joker's motivation toward Harley, or, more appropriately, the lack there of. It started bothering me and then something magical happened to make it all snap into place, inspiring this fic.

Making Connections

Admitting that people didn't get him was beyond an understatement. Not that he minded; in fact, the Joker rather preferred it that way. After all, if everyone got the joke he wouldn't be particularly special anymore, and who wanted that? No, what bothered him was when he didn't get himself.

People watching various news blurbs often thought him half-cocked. Running around with little motivation, not quite sure what he was doing. They couldn't be more wrong. The Joker always knew exactly what he was doing and he was more strongly motivated than anyone he'd ever heard of. In other words, the Joker made perfect sense to himself even if he didn't to anyone else.

…At least, that was normally the case. On the rare occasion he didn't, it bothered him immensely and it was safe to say that he was bothered at the moment. Harley, as usual, was the focal point of his frustration.

He understood why he had approached her initially. It seemed the funny thing to do at the time, driving yet another person over the brink. One had to find a way to pass the time in Arkham, after all. (It was boring enough in those damned cells to drive one insane.) But why did he continue to tolerate her? Lord knows he didn't have to. Oh sure, he'd tried to kill her on a number of occasions. He took some comfort in that, but he'd been unsuccessful thus far and, instead of persisting, he'd end up back in some domestic situation with her. He was stuck in this on again / off again relationship and it felt achingly typical.

These thoughts ran through his head as he tried to sleep, Harley beside him, her arm draped across his middle. It was bad enough that she was a constant screw-up, but now the mere thought of her was keeping him awake. You couldn't open fire on a thought, couldn't push a thought away. He shoved Harley out of bed anyway, for good measure, and listened to the thud of her body meeting the floor, followed by, "Ow! My nose!" Joker smiled at the thought of the woman landing on her face as Harley sheepishly crawled back into bed.

"Harl, you're a shrink. Why do you think I keep you around?" he asked seriously as Harley made herself comfortable again underneath the blankets.

"Because you love me?" she squeaked hopefully.

He promptly shoved her onto the floor once again. "Since I can't sleep and you aren't taking me seriously, I might as well get up," he announced irritably, ripping the covers away from his body and stomping out of the room. He sat himself at his desk and tried to work the kinks out of a plan he'd been developing. He stared at the papers in front of him blankly, but couldn't focus. The thought wouldn't leave.

After a few minutes Harley emerged wrapped in a night robe, but he didn't notice her approaching. Truthfully, she was worried about him. Typically, if he was upset with her, she could expect more than a mere three foot tumble. He seemed almost…depressed. It was a rare state of mind to find him in and she'd never really figured out the best way to approach him when he was in it. He'd asked for a shrink. Maybe that's what she should give him.

"Because I feed your ego," she answered solemnly in her best doctor-to-patient tone.

He started for a moment, surprised to find her suddenly at his side. Then he reflected on what she had said. "No, that's not it. I was willing to ride on that excuse for awhile, but I don't need you for that. I feed my own ego. What else?"

He seemed desperate for an answer but Harley didn't have one to give. At least not one he wanted to hear. "Is it even a little possible that you just like having me around sometimes?"

He suddenly rose to his feet violently, but didn't approach her. His conflict seemed to be within, she just happened to be in the room to bounce thoughts off of. He paced back and forth quickly and waved his arms around expressively while he continued. "Let's pretend for a moment that that's true. Why? I never liked having anyone around me before and you constantly get on my last nerve. Is that what I like? Being driven insane by your grating voice, your undying need for attention, your constant failings… That doesn't make sense!"

His belittling had caused Harley to tear up, though she tried to halt it. Honestly, she didn't know the reason he was looking for either and was beginning to wonder if there was one. He sneered at the emotional display before giving up on figuring anything out, on getting any work done, and the distant hope of sleep. And he did what just about anyone does in those conditions: plopped himself in front of the TV and waited for sleep to decide to take him. Harley sadly went back to bed alone.

He flipped through the channels angrily until stopping on an old episode of "I Love Lucy". That was bound to take his mind off things. I hope it's the chocolate episode, he thought. Why couldn't they make TV like this anymore? Most sitcoms nowadays were crap.

The episode featured the typical 'Lucy tries to get on Ricky's show' theme. Lucy tried desperately to display her singing talents with her terribly…grating voice… Joker leaned in toward the screen intently. He didn't know why he hadn't seen it before! Lucy was a horrible attention whore, a constant screw up, and she whined incessantly. That was the connection!

He threw down the remote, leaving the TV glowing behind him, and dashed back into the bedroom. There he found Harley balled into a fetal position on the bed, sobbing uncontrollably. She jumped when Joker entered the room, unsure of his intent.

"Harley! Quick! Say "Vitameatavegamin"!" he exclaimed quickly.

"Vita-mitty-whoody-what?" she sniffed. Joker fell to the ground, roaring in laugher, leaving Harley quite confused. "I know I'm always messing up," Harley choked, trying to make sense of things, "But I can get better."

Joker instantly jumped onto the bed, shaking the frame. "No, you can't!" Joker excitedly explained. "You never will and I'll always have to put you in your place! That's the joke!"

"It is?" she asked, unsure.

"Yes!" he declared certainly as he slid back under the covers.

Harley sat dumbfounded for awhile, staring vacantly into space, trying to figure out what had just happened, before turning back to him. "What did you figure…" she cut herself off after finding him fast asleep. She smiled sweetly and laid down next to him, placing her arm back on his waist, joining him in his brief contentment.

END

End notes: This idea came to me after watching, you guessed it, "I Love Lucy", when I suddenly made the same connection Joker did in this story. It was almost a revelation. Hoped you enjoyed this little one shot. Reviews are always appreciated.