"I only want to help you!"

The Joker laughed madly at Batman's naivety. Oh, sometimes, he was just too cute.

"You can't help me, Bats! I've already told you! It's far too late for me…"

Batman managed to avoid the sharp card that his nemesis had just thrown at him.

"It's never too late, Joker! Please, let me help you!"

"Hehe! You still don't understand, do you Darling? I am the one who wants to help you…"

He walked towards Batman, raising his hands, showing that he didn't want to hurt him. Batman let him get closer to him, but he nonetheless had a batarang ready to be thrown at the clown in case he would try something…funny.

"What do you mean?" Batman asked.

"I want to help you loosen up a bit... You have to let it go, Bats. It's the only way for you to stop suffering. And oh, how I want you to be happy, darling!"

He put his arms around Batman's broad shoulders, and pressed his chest against the Knight's black armor. Batman did not put him away. For once, the Clown didn't seem to be up to no good, and he feared that he might return to his normal psychopathic self if he'd reject him. Well, at least it was the reason that he wanted to believe. The truth was that the warm feeling that filled his heart was just too good to be cut off.

"Why won't you join me into madness, my Dark Knight?" the Joker purred in Batman's ear. "We would be happy together. I promise."

"That's impossible and you know it perfectly well," Batman snapped. "Just like it's impossible for you to join me into sanity."

"Then I'm afraid we're in a dead end. Because I'll always try to save you. I'll never give up on you."

Batman took the Joker's chin, and locked eyes with him.

"Me neither."

The Clown stayed silent for a few seconds, admiring the determination in his bat's icy blue eyes. And then he laughed.

"HEHEHE!"

"What's so funny?"

"We…HEHE! We have a mutual goal, Bats!"

Batman blinked. The Joker couldn't stop laughing; the irony was too much to bear. Ordinary nemesis's mutual goal was to kill each other. But them, they were not your average nemesis. Nononono. They were best friends as well. Even lovers, if you asked the Joker. And what was lovers' mutual goal? Why, to be together forever, of course.

And that was their true mutual goal.