A/N: Hello! Ok, this was not supposed to be continued, but this came about as a response to another prompt on Live Journal, so I'm making it a second chapter to "The Birthday Present." The prompt was the quote from TDK: "And, I won't kill you because you're just too much fun..."

Seds

*****

Bruce Wayne woke when the morning sun forced itself through his closed eyelids. He looked around, orienting himself to the unfamiliar setting; the grim little room with its few battered pieces of furniture looked almost cheery in the brightness. He groaned--he wasn't used to such a hard, lumpy mattress--then yawned, and sat up in the rickety old iron bed. It's a wonder it's still standing, he thought in amusement, considering the workout we gave it last night.

He looked over at the man sleeping next to him and grinned at the tangle of long, slightly greasy blond curls that spilled down his neck and onto the not-very-clean pillow. He'd missed that sight. J, as he was called these days, was curled up under the covers with his back to Bruce. He was naked, and breathing the calm rhythm of deep sleep. Bruce took pleasure in snaking a hand down along his back, fingering each individual bone in his spine, then sliding it lower, onto his buttocks, enjoying the smooth curve and warmth he found there. He also took pleasure in giving one firm cheek a sharp, sudden squeeze.

The man's even breaths were interrupted and he gave a choked cry which descended into a strangled cough. He flipped over and shot a glare at Bruce before digging a knuckle into one eye and rubbing furiously. "What the fuck..."

"Good morning. I was just thinking of getting up and going for a run, care to join me?" Bruce asked brightly.

"I... hate you."

"Mm. That wasn't the impression I got last night."

"Since when are you stupid enough to mistake 'fuck me harder' with an expression of affection?" the former clown rasped bitterly.

"Oh, I'm not. Perhaps it was the unprompted blow job that threw me."

"Just because I'm willing to suck your dick again doesn't mean I like you."

Bruce nodded thoughtfully, then changed the subject. "Did you sleep well?"

"Sure, once my ass quit throbbing. You ever hear of 'foreplay'?"

"Yes, and every time I'd try it, you'd complain that I was treating you like a sissy little first-timer, and why the hell didn't I get on with it already."

"Oh, yeah... " A grin rucked up J's scars into his cheeks. "Guess you can't win."

"With you, I never could."

The man once known as the Joker shrugged and settled back into his pillow, now lying on his back with his hands behind his head. He sniffed.

"Look, pal, this is my day off. Do me a favor and either shut up and go back to sleep, or get the hell out."

"You sure? Men of our age need to exercise if we want to stay in shape."

J cast a disgusted sneer at his bedmate.

"I'm in excellent shape. Just let me pop a few pain pills and I'll show you--"

Bruce rolled over on top of him and bit his neck. "...the kind of shape you're in? Excellent idea."

Twenty minutes later, the pair lay exhausted, panting in a post-orgasmic haze. Finally, J managed a coherent statement.

"That wasn't exactly what I had in mind."

"Really? Sorry, I misunderstood."

J couldn't hold back a broad grin.

"That's ok. It was a nice reminder."

"Of what?"

"Of why I never got around to killing you the first few hundred times I had the chance."

"Oh, I see. I forget--why was that, again?"

J raised himself on one elbow and leveled a sardonic smirk down at Bruce.

"Because you're just too much fun. Now, since you're obviously not going to shut up, how about we take a little stroll down to the coffee shop for some breakfast? Like the, ah, civilized old men that we are."

Bruce's grin was back as he watched the Joker--he'd always be the Joker to him--roll out from under the covers and amble off to the bathroom. He moved a little slower than Bruce remembered, and old injuries had left him with a bit of a limp, but he still carried himself like a coiled spring.

As for Bruce, he felt great. Better than he had in a while. He got up and pulled on his clothes, his brow furrowed as he considered the Joker's words.

They weren't old. Not even close, not yet. And, they certainly weren't very civilized.

But, fun...

That was a different matter.

*****

Pleeeze review, all you kind souls out there...