The Joker couldn't sleep. He knew it was the quiet playing tricks on his mind, but there was no way he was going to get any sleep tonight. And to top it all off, the bed wasn't comfortable. The beds at that crazy house years ago were more comfortable than this. Bruce was obviously not trying to make him feel at home, but was he really trying to make it seem like a prison? If he regretted leaving Jack in that hospital so much, why the hell was he locking the Joker up like those doctors had locked Jack up? This wouldn't help him. If anything, it was just going to make things worse.

He rolled over onto his side facing the wall and curled up, closing his eyes and trying to sleep. He wasn't tired, but sleeping would bring tomorrow here faster and then the real fun with Bruce would begin. He was looking forward to that. Especially since Bruce had gone all day today acting like he was worried about getting too close to the Joker. He knew the reason behind them. Bruce wanted him, but didn't want to. He could miss Jack all he wanted, but Bruce's desires were aimed at the Joker now. And these thoughts were now keeping the sleep from him even more so. He opened his eyes, idly tracing the patterns on the wall.

His thoughts drifted to his time at that hospital. All those medications and treatments. Before Bruce had shown up there, he remembered how cooperative he had been. Letting the doctors do their job. Wanting to get better. For Bruce? Even now he couldn't remember the real reason he had checked himself into that hospital. Maybe it was for Bruce. Maybe it was because he wasn't going to turn into anything remotely like his father, who had just been an abusive drunk but his mentality hadn't been too far from crazy. But, if they had lived in another part of Gotham, Jack's father would have ended up in Arkham Asylum, no doubt about that. So maybe being crazy was genetic.

If the Joker considered himself as crazy, which he didn't. He was just more fun than anyone else.

He grumbled under his breath as he tried to get to sleep once again. This time sleep did come, but the dreams only took him back to Gotham all those years ago, running around with Bruce. He woke up, hating the pains in his chest that he was feeling from missing that part of his life. He got out of bed, needing something to do. If anything, he felt like bashing Bruce's head in right now. He hurried up the steps and banged on the door, knowing Bruce was nearby to get woken up from that.

"You're not getting out," Bruce said. He didn't sound half asleep. Was he having just as much trouble getting to sleep as the Joker? Of course, there were other reasons for him being unable to get to sleep. "Go to bed."

"I'm horny," the Joker said even though he wasn't. He pressed himself against the door, a smile on his face. "Why go to sleep and dream of you when I've got you nearby?"

"You want sex," Bruce said. "Fuck the furniture."

"You're more fun."

The Joker strained to listen to see if Bruce was coming over, but there wasn't another sound. He frowned. "Afraid of what you'll turn into the more you give in to me?" he asked, gently thrusting against the door. "Oh, let the monster out, Bruce. We've all got one inside us and I bet yours is real fun." He smiled when he heard footsteps coming closer, but it wasn't a victory until the door opened.

"You're the only monster here," Bruce said. "The way you killed those men..."

"You know they deserved that," the Joker said, stepping back from the door. "I can still remember being forced to my knees...giving them what they wanted. Watching as my father stood by and just watched them fuck the living hell out of me." He wanted to see Bruce's reaction to these words, but all he got was a door. He didn't take his eyes off of it at any moment. "And, deep down, I think I started to enjoy it."

"I highly doubt that."

"Why else would I have gotten down on my knees so fast in front of you?" the Joker asked. "Where did that come from anyway, huh? I was the guy that got humiliated in the worst way possible, yet I walk right up to you and willingly give you what those men forced out of me."

Bruce didn't say anything for a long time, obviously thinking about it. The Joker backed up against the wall when the door opened and Bruce stood there in jeans and a loose T-shirt. He gestured downstairs without a word. The Joker turned and went downstairs, hearing the door close then Bruce's bare feet following after him. The Joker sat down at the table and looked at Bruce, who turned on more lights then turned to the Joker.

"Looks like we're getting somewhere," Bruce said. "Let's go through a step by step of that night. At the start of that party."

The Joker grimaced at the memory of Alfred. "I remember hating every second of that party from the moment it started," he said. "So I thought you and I could liven up the party. Which is why I headed upstairs."

"After that?"

The Joker just figured he was too tired to play around with this a bit. "I remember vaguely feeling jealous of Rachel," he said. "I was there just trying to let you have fun, but you wouldn't have anything to do with the party or anything unless Rachel was there."

"And then you made your move."

"Telling myself I wasn't attracted to you, just grateful," the Joker said. "Guess I was lying to myself. Ever since I first saw you, I felt a certain pull. And then the dreams started." He remembered telling Bruce about those dreams, but couldn't remember just how exactly Bruce had reacted to that news.

"What kind of dreams?"

"You know-"

"Let's revisit it again."

"That ordeal at the laundromat," the Joker said. "Then it started turning into fantasies of you. After that party, I didn't have either of those dreams anymore."

"Do you think you subconsciously thought you'd get rid of the nightmares if you turned your dreams into a reality?" Bruce asked. "And that was the reason you walked up those stairs-"

"Those nightmares turned into fantasies long before that party."

"But if you never turned fantasy into reality," Bruce said, stepping closer. "Would you have been afraid of that nightmare coming back again when I went off to Princeton?"

The Joker shrugged. "How should I know?" he said. "I'm not the doctor. I don't know what's going on in my head half the time."

"You were drawn to me because, as you said, you were grateful," Bruce said. He was on a roll now, wasn't he? "I gave you a home. A refuge from the hell you ran away from. What happened at the laundromat did change you, but I don't think it was because of that that you walked up those stairs that night."

"I wasn't a faggot before then."

Bruce looked offended by that and the Joker didn't really care. All this talk was making him miss those days again so he was pissed at Bruce right now.

"More progress than before," Bruce said mostly to himself. "Sleep on it. We'll talk more in the morning." He turned and headed back upstairs. The Joker heard the door lock as he stood up.

Jack got down on his knees in front of Bruce, opening his pants the rest of the way. Bruce's hands were on the railing but his eyes were on Jack. Jack reached in and pulled out Bruce's soft member, stroking him. Despite the fact that they barely knew each other, Bruce wasn't fussing. Jack looked up at him then took Bruce into his mouth.

Bruce shifted slightly, but not out of discomfort. He became hard in Jack's mouth. Gripping the base of Bruce's shaft, Jack started moving up and down Bruce's length. Bruce was really hard at this point and grabbed the back of Jack's head, burying his fingers in Jacks dirty blonde hair. Jack grazed his teeth along Bruce's cock, flicking his tongue across the head.

Bruce slowly started to thrust into Jacks mouth. The movement was gently, unlike the men at the laundromat. This was actually enjoyable. And he was doing his damnedest to make it enjoyable for Bruce also. So, when Bruce grabbed his head with both hands and pulled him closer, making Jack take his entire length, Jack let him. He didn't move as Bruce came down the back of his throat, breathing heavily. The older boy hadn't made a sound during the entire thing.

Bruce woke up, breathing heavily. He had dozed off on the small chair he had brought over from the penthouse. How clearly he had remembered that moment...Maybe he shouldn't have talked to the Joker about it. It was just making him miss Jack more and more. And even more so at the moment because that dream had made him hard.

He shifted in the chair slightly, unfastening his pants and spreading his legs slightly. He closed his eyes as he slipped his hand down inside his boxers and took a hold of his cock. He licked his lips slowly when Jack appeared in his mind's eye and he was the one stroking Bruce instead. Bruce was muttering Jack's name as he started stroking faster and faster.

He lifted his hips and shoved his pants and boxers down. He went back to jerking off then spread his legs more as he moved his other hand down and started to tease his entrance. He bucked against his hand, feeling Jack's body against his own. And that was when he came, shooting onto the front of his shirt. He sat there for a moment then pulled off the shirt and tossed it. He pulled his pants back up and tried going back to sleep.

It was much harder this time.