Title: I Love You…I'll Kill You

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: Joker/OC

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Thanks for the comments! They are really appreciated. :)

Chapter Four

Lacy was at the stove stirring the eggs in the pan and keeping an eye on the pancakes. "Jack, stop!" Lacy playfully exclaimed as Jack tickled her. "I'm trying to cook breakfast."

"Why don't we just have cereal?" He asked, spinning her around to face him. "That way we can save some time and go back to bed for awhile."

"Alexis is going to wake up any minute now." Lacy reminded him. "We don't have time for that right now. Besides," she gave him a quick kiss and winked, " didn't you get enough last night?"

"Babe, you know I never get enough of you." He started kissing her neck.

"You're insatiable." She laughed.

"No," he corrected her as he kissed his way down her arm. "I'm just in love—hopelessly, endlessly, passionately in love."

"We have a good life, don't we?" She smiled, running her hand across his face.

"We have a great life." He corrected her with a grin. "And it's only going to get better. I promise."

The next morning Lacy was woken up by the sound of the alarm clock that she didn't remember setting. It was Saturday and that was usually her designated day to sleep in until noon but, looking at the clock, she saw that it was seven in the morning. She moved to stop the incessant noise and found a note taped to the table.

"Last night was fun. We really should do it more often. J"

Her thoughts couldn't help but drift back to the events of last night. After he was done with her she went into the bathroom to take a shower, desperate to get his smell off of her and try to forget what had happened. She only accomplished one of those goals. When she got out of the shower he was gone, but that was normal. It's not like he was the type of man to stay and cuddle after sex anymore, and she wouldn't want him to.

Few words were exchanged during the actual act of sex and none were spoken after. That was just the way it was now. It was a stark contrast to how sex used to be between them. He used to be a gentle and caring lover, but the words 'gentle' and 'caring' no longer applied to him in any context.

She really hated the fact that her mind would protest but her heart and body would give in to him so easily. Her mind knew it was wrong to continue to let him take her. She probably could have even made him stop if she really wanted to, but he was right. She did sometimes crave the physical connection they shared.

As much as she hated to admit it, the sex between them was still good. He enjoyed it more than she did, and she tried to not be an active participant in the act. But there was something about the intensity of it that drew her in.

She hated the fact that she enjoyed it. What she really didn't enjoy was the guilt and shame she always felt afterwards. She groaned as she took the note he left and crumpled it into a ball. Then she angrily threw it across the room.

She realized that she only hates him ninety-nine percent of the time. She hates the games, the killings, the way he makes her feel and the way he's destroyed her life. She often wonders why they can't let go of each other. "Probably because I'm a fool and he gets too much of a sick pleasure watching me suffer."

Since she was already awake she decided she might as well get up. So after stretching for a moment she got up and put on her robe. On her way into the kitchen to make breakfast she turned on the television, only to see GCN covering an explosion at a downtown nightclub. She turned the volume up slightly so she could hear the report while in the kitchen making coffee.

"Police are investigating what caused the explosion at the trendy nightclub spot Scorch. It happened right around closing time last night. Fire crews managed to contain the fire within a couple of hours but as you can see there is nothing left of the building. Twelve people are dead and twenty-seven more have been admitted to the hospital, with seven of those people being listed in critical condition. Most were admitted for smoke inhalation but we are being told that those who are more seriously injured suffered second and third degree burns on at least ten percent of their body. Witnesses say they thought they noticed men walking around before the blast wearing clown masks, but weren't sure because of the lighting in the club. Police are hesitant to announce whether or not they believe this to be the work of the Joker…"

"Of course it's the work of the Joker." Lacy turned down the volume and opened her refrigerator. "If it happened at closing time that would be around three in the morning. He left here sometime after one. That would give him plenty of time." She couldn't help but talk to herself as she made breakfast.

She laughed in spite of herself as she realized the connection between the name of the nightclub and the fact that he started a fire there. "Oh. Scorch. Ha ha. Very funny."

Bruce walked into the kitchen and sighed as he sat down on one of the bar stools at the island.

"Something wrong?" Alfred asked as he sat a plate of bacon and eggs in front of Bruce.

"Nothing new." Bruce replied. "I should have been able to stop the Joker from blowing up that nightclub."

"You did the best you could." Alfred assured him.

"I barely did anything." Bruce corrected his friend. "I could only get three people out before the police showed up. I could've helped more if I wasn't having to constantly hide from the police."

"That will pass in time." Alfred told him. "Besides, you had to take the blame for Harvey. Gotham needed you to…"

"How has that really helped?" Bruce asked. "Honestly, I'm starting to wonder if I made the right choice. The way I see it, the streets aren't any better than they were before. They're actually worse. At least back then I was working with the police instead of against them. Criminals feared me. Now they don't respect Batman's ability to stop them."

"Commissioner Gordon's doing the best he can for you." Alfred pointed out.

"I know," Bruce acknowledged, "but he can't do that much. He can't suddenly call off the warrant out for my arrest without a very good reason. And everyday I'm not allowed to fully do my job is another day that the Joker and the criminals of this city win. I could've stopped the nightclub from being blown up if I wasn't so wrapped up in trying to escape the police."

"You can't really believe that you made the wrong choice taking the blame for Harvey's crimes, right?" Alfred asked. "You did what had to be done for Gotham. Gotham needed to believe that Harvey Dent was one of the good guys."

"But at what cost?" Bruce wondered. "I can't properly protect Gotham anymore."

"I know you are frustrated Master Wayne, but you just have to…"

"If you say endure Alfred, I swear I will…" The last thing he wanted to hear was Alfred telling him he had to endure this. That had been Alfred's mantra over the past few months and it was starting to wear thin on his nerves.

Alfred had been thinking of saying 'endure', but thought against it. "You just have to be more patient. I understand that this is a difficult time but it will get better."

"It's not going to get better until I can stop the Joker." Bruce pointed out. "That will solve all these problems. It will get the Joker off the streets, stop the killings, and hopefully get Batman back into Gotham's good graces."

The Joker leaned back in his chair, watching the television coverage of his latest destruction. While destroying the nightclub had nothing to do with his plan to uncover the true identity of Batman, it was a nice way to pass the time. It got boring waiting for his men on the inside of Ace Consulting to complete their part of the plan. In the meantime, he continued on with random killings and explosions.

Proud of his destruction and chaos, he took a deep breath to savor the moment.

Last night was a good night. Not only did his visit with Lacy go well but he also caused a lot of chaos. "Oh the joys of multi-tasking."

While he was with Lacy, his men were scooping out the nightclub and placing explosives in key places to maximize destruction. Then when he left Lacy's apartment he headed over to detonate the explosives and watch the building become engulfed in flames.

"I love this job." He stated as the television report showed earlier footage of the fire.

He was disappointed when GCN stopped covering the nightclub story and turned off the television. Still leaning back in his chair, he thought about Lacy.

He realized that still keeping her around and not killing her was something most criminals would consider a mistake. Perhaps they would be right. She was, by definition, a 'loose end'. It could be a mistake to keep her alive, but so far she had kept her promise to never reveal his former identity or the information she has on him.

He wasn't naïve though. He knew the day could come when her conscience would overtake her and she would start to spill all she knew. He realized the day could come when he would have to kill her and he even had ideas on how to do it.

The only problem was that he could only kill her once. That would mean he would eventually have to choose which way to kill her. It saddened him because he had several delicious ways he could make her meet her demise.

It wouldn't bother him to actually kill her though. For as much as he loved playing mind games and having sex with her, he could easily live in a world without her. Unlike Jack, he didn't love Lacy. Instead, he appreciated her finer attributes and exploited her love of a man who no longer existed for his own infinite pleasure.

No. To say that he loves Lacy would be a gross lie. He definitely doesn't love Lacy. He loves the games, the way he messes with her mind and the way he's destroying her life. When she told him last night that he was killing her soul, it had made him ecstatic. He loved the fact that he was slowly and methodically killing her soul.

He loved knowing that he has isolated her so that she's alone in the world, afraid to make friends or reach out and make meaningful connections with others. He loved having his men watch her every move and then have them report back to him.

But he definitely doesn't love Lacy.

Lacy's feelings are much more complicated though. He's caught her looking at him from time to time as if she was wondering if he could still change back to her beloved Jack. The answer was and always will be no. Jack is gone forever and it's now the Joker's turn to live.

Lacy still doesn't completely believe that though, especially in the beginning. He had to laugh at the memory of one of her previous attempts to 'change' him back.

"Jack, you can't do this." Lacy pleaded. "Please. You have to stop this foolishness."

"First of all," he said, "stop calling me Jack. I am now the Joker. You will call me that from now on. Second of all, this is not foolishness. This is my life now. If you can't handle that then perhaps it's time for me to send you to meet Alexis in heaven."

"You son of a…" She couldn't believe what she was hearing and immediately brought her hand up to slap him, only to have him grab her arm.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He warned, bringing a knife out from his pocket. "I would hate to have to hurt you, but won't hesitate to if you make me."

She pulled her arm out of his grasp and let it fall to her side. "Please stop this. It's not too late to stop. We can leave this city and start over somewhere new where they don't know us."

"No. That will never work. If we leave this city then I'll still be the same person I am here." He laughed. "Now what will it be? Are you going to stop trying to change me back or are you going to get re-acquainted with this knife?"

She sighed, knowing that there was no way to have a serious talk with him right now. "I'll stop."

"Good." He smiled, putting the knife back in his pocket. He then snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. She was reluctant to come at first but he got her to come closer. "You better get used to the new and improved me because I'm not going anywhere."

"Yay." She whispered sarcastically.