Title: a little push

Author: itnevertakestoolong (Phany Escamilla)

Fandom: Batman/The Dark Knight

Pairing(s): Bruce/OC/Joker; Rachel/Harvey; one-sided Bruce/Rachel

Character(s): Bruce Wayne (Batman), The Joker, OC, Rachel Dawes, Harvey Dent, Jim Gordon, Alfred Pennyworth, Lucius Fox

Rating: High T

Warnings: Language, possible sexual content.

Summary: "You see, madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little push."|| What happens when Batman and The Joker cause Bruce Wayne's fiancée to lose her mind? She becomes The Joker's partner-in-crime, that's what.


"One of the hardest things you'll ever have to do is stop loving someone because they've stopped loving you." –Anonymous

Prologue: The End

Gone.

All of the memories, years of laughter, smiles, and tears gone in the span of six, simple, little words.

"You were right. You always were."

She laughs a cold, high laugh, harsh like a winter gust, as she stares at the Downtown Gotham skyline before her. Bringing the vodka bottle to her lips, she glances down from the roof of the Wayne penthouse and contemplates jumping with a smile on her face.


"Do you love her?" she asked, slowly, almost fearfully. Bruce looked up and, cocking his head, stared at her with something akin to curiosity in his eyes.

"Love who?" he questioned.

"Rachel."

Silence followed as he put down his blazer and walked toward her, those amazing dark eyes she absolutely loved with all of her heart trained on her always.

"Yes, but not like I love you," he replied, standing her from her sitting position on the edge of the bed. "She's been with me since we were children. But I fell in love with you."

She smiled and stood on her tiptoes to gently place her lips on his for a brief kiss.

"I love you so much," she breathed against his collarbone.


"Lies," she sobs, a smile on her face as she laughs. "You fucking liar!"

Standing up on the edge of the roof, she laughs while tears stream down her cheeks, mascara running and tainting her pale skin.

"They were all —fucking—lies!" she yells to the skies, since there's no one else to hear her pain. She shouts, screams in anguish, unable to relieve her pain, until her throat burns with red-hot pain and she can no longer yell.

"You fucking liar," she sobs, now on her knees on top of the only ledge that's preventing her from ending it all. "I fucking loved you…"


"Do you love me?"

"You know I do.… Do you love me?"

"So much."

"Will you marry me?"

"… Yes."


She's kneeling on the ledge of the rooftop when he arrives. Her dark brown curls are blowing in the wind and there's an empty bottle of vodka in her hand. She looks so defeated, the way her shoulders slump forward and her hands remain limp.

He comes up behind her slowly, quietly, although he knows she's aware of his presence. Stopping at the ledge, he sits down on it facing the opposite direction. She's still staring off at the Gotham skyline while he's given his back on that so long ago. He places his hands on the edge, leaning forward slightly as he swings his legs, then leans back to look at her face.

Her dark eyes are staring at the distance without really seeing anything.

And he asks, for once his own voice somber, "Why so serious?"


She sat at the foot of their bed and stared at him, watched him swipe his hand across their vanity table and all her expensive perfumes and little crystal bottles hit the wall. She watched as all the little shards and crystal pieces exploded and rained down onto the floor.

Bruce screamed at the ceiling as a teardrop slid down his cheek.

She bowed her head to hide the tears streaming down her face.

Gathering her courage, she finally raised her head and watched him before saying, "Tell me the truth now. Do you love her?"

Bruce ignored her and remained silent, not bothering to even acknowledge her voice as he remained with his back toward her. She held in a sob and swallowed it back with some difficulty before insisting.

"Bruce... Do you love her more than me?"

Bruce turned to look at her, eyes red-rimmed and full of pain and tears, and, running a hand through his hair, sighed, "You were right. You always were."

You could never understand the pain that sliced through her heart at that moment, as she realized she would never mean as much to him, no matter how much she loved him.

"Yes, I fucking loved her more than you!" Bruce yelled suddenly, startling her and making her jump. "I loved her with all of my fucking heart! I've loved her for years! I've loved her since before I fucking met you!"

Her mouth opened a little and her throat closed up with tears as he made his way towards her, his hands clenched into fists. Bruce had never done anything to hurt her, but in that moment, she was absolutely terrified of him.

"Is that what you wanted to hear?!" Bruce roared, making her scramble onto the bed and back away from him. Tears were still running down his cheeks as she found she was already against the headboard of the bed where they'd declared their love to each other so many times before. "That I'll never love you as much as her, no matter what you do? That I have never and will never love you? That you've lived a fucking lie for so long?!"

A gasp escaped her red-painted lips.

He paused.

The angry expression fell from his face and he stared at her in silence, almost in puzzlement, his eyes filled with so much sadness and pain, it tore at her.

She took that opportunity and stood up quickly, turning her head so as not to look at him. Quickly making her way toward their bedroom door, she opened it, hesitating at the doorway.

"I'll be back for my things tomorrow morning," she murmured, leaving him in total silence.


"Isn't it ironic?" she tells him, her voice hoarse from all the crying and screaming she'd done. The Joker turns to look at her and laughs, though it's false and sounds strangely forced and melancholic.

"Life is full of irony, my dear," he grins. She nods and rearranges her sitting position, throwing the empty vodka bottle over the edge of the building. "What did he do?"

"Sent me to hell," she replies shortly in a hoarse whisper. "Said I'd never mean as much to him as she did. Said he never loved me."

She laughs, though with the condition of her vocal chords, it sounds deep and throaty, but it makes the Joker grin.

"Harsh," he replies, cackling in delight. And although his response sounds sarcastic and mocking, she feels as though he's truly sympathetic toward her.

"What are you here for?" she asks suddenly, sitting down beside him and turning her back toward the Gotham skyline.

"Kidnapping would be good," Joker thinks aloud, staring at her face pensively. She grins at him before staring directly in front of her, opposite what she'd just spent hours staring at, turning her back on Gotham.

"But I just told you that he doesn't care, so you'd probably get nothing— no money at all anymore—from Bruce Wayne," she finishes for him, shaking her head in amusement.

"Exactly!" Joker exclaims, jumping up. "So, sweetheart, I've got a proposition for you."

Her eyes rove his face, searching his eyes for a moment, before firmly declaring, "No."

"Aww," Joker pouts. "Why not? You've got… nothing to lose."

She pauses.