''Filth!'

A young Jonathan Crane cried out weakly, as the wooden cane of his grandmother struck his back. He was so utterly confused to as why she would beat him like this. What had he done wrong? And where was his mommy? Didn't she care that her mother was beating her child up like this?

He fell to the ground with a soft cry escaping his lips, tears spilling from his blue eyes.

'Your father was nothing but a coward, Jonathan. He never wanted you. And your mother?' the old woman scoffed and young Jonathan turned, tears in his eyes; 'your mother only went through with carrying you inside of her because we don't get to decide who lives and dies. But…you were born out of sin…' she raised her cane and Jonathan put up his arms in front of his face; 'you will be punished for that!'

He could only scream, and cry out desperately, wanting nothing more for his mother to come back and hold him. He still believed she would come back; she had to.

…

His mother wasn't coming back, Jonathan soon realized. Days turned to weeks. Weeks turned to months, and by the time Jonathan's fifth birthday came around, he had realized that neither his mommy nor his daddy were coming back to take him away from granny Keeny.

He disliked the idea greatly. His granny was mean, overbearing and often took her frustration out on him. When he was disobedient, she would either beat him up or lock him up in the chapel close to her house. There, he was left defenseless as flocks of hungry crows came flying at him, due to the formula granny had sprayed on him. He was scared they would peck his eyes out at first, but he soon learned to control his fear. It was if there was a voice inside his head that made him stronger and helped him.

It was after he had turned ten years' old he had first clearly heard the mysterious voice. Most kids his age had an imaginary friend; in Jonathan's case, the voice wasn't just a friend. It made him feel more powerful.

He was working in the corn-fields, in the blazing sun, when the voice, now dubbed Scarecrow, came to him.

'Why do you let granny torture you, Johnny?'

'I don't have a choice', Jonathan answered quietly.

'Yes you do. You've been doing your research at her library for a reason, right?'

A grin tugged at his full lips. It was true. He wanted to give her a taste of her own medicine, to render her useless. That would teach her…

…

He had gotten rid of Keeny at twelve years old, killing her with an overdose of her own formula, enhanced by him, of course. But that wasn't enough. It turned out his mother had another kid; a girl. Jonathan had a baby sister.

'She has to pay, Jonathan! She discarded you like trash, but takes in the second best that comes out of her womb!'

Jonathan felt jealous and angry; why did this baby deserve his mother's attention, and not him? Why was he discarded? Why had he been thrown aside to live his life in hell?

'Take revenge Jonathan…make her cry. You have to make her pay. She deserves it…'

Blinded by jealousy and hurt, he had snuck into the baby's room, and had sprayed it with a special formula he had come up with. It had left the newborn wailing and crying, until his mother had walked in and had seen him standing over the crib, smirking.

'What have you done, Jonathan?' she had cried.

He had replied that he had merely given the baby a gift. Turned out that the formula had permanently blinded the kid and had possibly given her brain damage. But that didn't matter. Jonathan was victorious, all thanks to Scarecrow. Hadn't it been for him…Jonathan would've hurled up in a corner, wallowing in self-pity. Scarecrow made him strong; he needed him.

…

The first time he had been in love, was when he was in high school. He was a senior, tall and a bit lanky and the kids had called him 'Scarecrow'. He had gotten so used to the bullying, he didn't even fight back. Scarecrow had said they would get what was coming to them soon enough.

Sherry Squires was, in his eyes, the perfect girl; she had full, auburn colored hair, bright eyes and a killer smile. He had been nervous to ask her out, but with Scarecrow right beside him, he had felt confident.

He had looked forward to their night together. That was, until she had betrayed him and her former boyfriend (or so he thought) had jumped out to scare him to death.

Jonathan had vowed his revenge, and he had. On the night of the senior prom, he had donned a costume, resembling both the nickname his classmates gave him, and the name of his alter, and had scared Sherry to death, literally. Her boyfriend had been paralyzed, and revenge never felt sweeter.

…

At the age of twenty-eight, Jonathan was the youngest professor at Gotham University and a phenomenal genius in psycho-pharmacology. It was at this time, he was approached by Ra's Al Ghul, offering him the opportunity to create a lethal fear toxin, made from blue poppy's, found in the Himalayas. It would be unleashed upon Gotham City.

Jonathan had been overjoyed at the idea; the city would be helpless and they would have to pay a royal sum for the antidote.

It had gone on like that for four years. Nothing had disturbed him, or his work. Until she walked into his lecture hall. A young, dark-haired beauty, timid and insecure, covered in bruises.

At first…all he thought of her was a nuisance; a means to an end. All she could ever be was a test-subject. But as time passed, he felt it in his gut; the growing need for a woman, not just for sexual gratification, but for comfort. To hold him, like no-one had ever done before.

He knew it then; he had fallen deeply, and unhealthily in love with her. All that had happened in the past…it slowly began to pale in comparison to her…

…

Crane clenched his fingers tighter into the silk blanket, his eyes burning with unshed tears. His head still lay in Diana's lap, and he had just spilled out his entire life to her. The silence was deafening and he knew he could lose her for good. He dreaded the thought.

She exhaled very deeply. 'So it's because of…Scarecrow…you did all those things?' she asked.

He shook his head. It wasn't all Scarecrow, he knew that. His mind was warped and twisted from years upon years of abuse and bullying. He had grown cold, detached and that made killing people and spreading fear much easier. He had never been shown love; how was he supposed to know what it felt like?

…

Diana looked down on Jonathan, her heart torn. After all he had told her…she began to understand now. He had never been shown love or affection; he simply didn't know how to respond to feeling this way. All he had ever known in his life was rejection and pain.

Though that didn't excuse his behavior. He couldn't just go around killing people that came close to her because he felt jealous or because the voice inside his head told him so. The Scarecrow part that scared her though. What if his other half came out? She was pretty sure she wouldn't like that, if that happened. Was she really as safe with him as she thought?

'Among other things.'

Was his answer to her question. She shivered.

'Is-is he inside your head now?' she asked.

He shook his head again.

'What you saw my henchman hand me…it suppresses and silences him', he spoke.

She felt relief wash over her. Well that was a reassuring thought. Still…it frightened her he had a split personality. He was mentally ill…

'I can't have him near you, Diana. I don't want him to ruin what we have', he whispered.

'We can't have anything, Jonathan. You know that', she told him.

His gaze saddened.

'I-I know; I'm sorry', he sighed.

Smiling tenderly, she pushed back his hair.

'I'm grateful you told me the truth though', she admitted.

A smile soon appeared on his own lips. He stood up.

'I should get to bed; it's late', he breathed.

She nodded in agreement, and let him turn off the lights, leaving her in the dark in the small living-room. She turned, causing the couch to creak. She sighed, hoping she could sleep. After all Jonathan had told her, it would take her a while to digest it.

…

'Unbelievable. I let her out of my sight once and before I can blink -' 'Liam, just don't. Don't beat yourself up about it', Gordon cut him off.

Liam chose not to respond. He was angry. After what had happened between Emily, him and Diana…he feared that his former girlfriend's comments had tipped her over the edge. And yes, she was his ex-girlfriend now; her jealousy and bad temper had become unbearable and he wanted nothing more to do with her.

She had been less than pleased; accusing him of cheating on her with Diana behind her back. He let a sigh escape him; how could he? That girl had so many trust issues. The last thing he wanted was to feel her up. The thought had crossed his mind but only so very briefly. He wanted her to have a friend she could trust.

Not that she had need for them now that Crane had her in his claws again. Why couldn't he leave the poor girl be?

'That man is utterly sick, Jim', he grumbled.

Gordon sat down beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

'Yes, he is. He has a mental condition. He clearly has this thought in his head he can't exist without her, which makes him all the more dangerous', he said.

Liam scoffed.

'Well he'll have to get used to that once we put his ass in prison', he told his older colleague.

Gordon grinned slightly.

'We'll have to catch him first. But I guess we'll have to be relieved he won't hurt her', he shrugged.

Liam sat back, crossing his arms. That was the most sickening and infuriating part. That someone like Crane actually thought someone like Diana could love him back so easily. It was simply revolting to think…

…

When Diana woke up that following morning, the smell of breakfast lingered in the air. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up. She had slept awful; her back hurt from lying on the couch. It was an old, creaking couch that was way too hard to lie on.

She got off the couch, tiptoeing into the small kitchen connected to the living-room. She found Jonathan in the kitchen, sipping his coffee. The table was covered in all sorts of bread, baked eggs, crispy bacon…it made her wonder how he got all of it in the first place. She then reminded herself he probably had his thugs steal it.

She took a seat, to reach for the tea-kettle. She poured herself a cup of tea, sighing. She carefully glanced up. She noticed Jonathan had dark circles under his eyes; he looked really tired.

She bit on her bottom lip. Why was she feeling so concerned for the man that had kidnapped her twice? Why wasn't she trying to escape? Why did she comfort him when he needed it? She couldn't possibly be okay with all the killing he had done 'just because' he had an awful past. She had been bullied, humiliated and abused too but she never felt the desire to make someone pay for it.

'You look tired', she commented.

He rubbed his eyes. 'I'm fine', he answered.

She rolled her eyes. 'And I'm supposed to believe that?' she asked.

He only grinned in response. 'I didn't know you cared', he joked.

She glared at him. She did care, but was that a crime?

He continued to rub his eyes. She stood up, getting up behind him to touch his forehead. She felt glad he wasn't having a fever, but it still worried her how tired he looked. Did telling her about his past really have such an impact on him?

'You've kept all of it to yourself, haven't you?' she asked him.

He took hold of her hand, placing it over his cheek. She could feel her walls grumble down at the soft look in his eyes.

'I never had someone to share it with', he admitted.

It was then she truly realized how much she had made an impact on his life. She had changed him. She had always thought it was the other way around; that he was the one that had changed her, but it was truly the opposite.

He kissed her palm, nuzzling it. She smiled softly.

'You're a strange man', she sighed.

He stood up, pulling her close to his body. She could feel her face flush with warmth, as he lowered his head to hers. She grew anxious he was going to kiss her; she couldn't do that. Too much had happened –

She gasped, when he pressed his lips to her cheek.

'Thank you', were the only words that left his mouth. She stared up to his deep blue eyes, completely shocked by his behavior.

He let go, retaking his seat at the table. She put a hand over her cheek, sitting back down across from him. All the while, she could never fully shake off what had just happened. Despite how intimate she had been with him before, this was the first time she truly saw Jonathan for what he really was; a lost, tortured man, in need of affection. The question was…could she give that to him after all that had happened?

…

So yeah…I'm still shipping these two :3 because I can, ha ha. I know some of you are still team Liam but…come on…it's Cillian Murphy xD

Lots of love,

~TheOneWithTooManyInterests