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Bruce Wayne stood on the old stone balcony of a large penthouse flat, in an attempt to escape the high society party behind him. He also hoped to escape the mindless chatter of the superficial gold-digging girl he had been forced to take with him as he could not be seen on an event like this without a date hanging of his arm.
It was all a very important part of his mask as a superficial playboy, but that didn't mean he had to like it.
So being able to excuse himself for a few moments of silence and fresh air was a small moment of respite for him. Even if only for a few moments.
The slight chill of the autumn air had all the other high-class guests huddled up inside, leaving him out here in perfect solitude. A solitude for which he was very grateful at the moment. Even if he knew it would not last.
.
Suddenly he felt two strong hands slap down on his shoulders, and a voice whispering in his ear.
"Boo!"
Years of training and fighting as Batman took over, and before he even knew what he was doing he threw the man over his shoulder, and quickly straddled him to restrain his arms above his head. His heart was beating as if it anticipated a fight, even if his mind knew it was ludicrous.
He looked down into a pair of laughing green eyes, slightly ruffled brown hair that might have fallen neatly down to his shoulders before his rough handling, and well-shaped -if thin and slightly wide- reddish lips that were quirked ever so slightly into a beatific smile. His skin looked to be slightly tanned, and from the feel of the wrists he held onto to, surprisingly smooth for a male.
The whole image was topped off by a slightly old-fashioned, but still very stylish three-piece suit. All black, but with a dark purple shirt underneath that added just a small splash of color.
.
"I..." his face flushed with embarrassment and quickly let go of the man's arms.
This did not look good, and he was suddenly worried what the man would think of him. This was no time to be Batman. He had a role to play, and he'd just fucked up massively.
The man that was still pinned underneath him chuckled, making Bruce relax, just a little. He didn't seem to be angry at least. Or scared. Which was good.
"My, my, my~ Bruce Wayne... You are far more interesting than all those... sheep in there seem to think, aren't you?" His voice was a soft, dark tenor. It flowed from those red lips like honeyed wine.
It was not quite as dark as his own voice when Bruce was out as his nigh-time persona, but undeniably masculine. Something that almost contradicted the slender and slim build of the man underneath him. Such a strange contradiction it was.
The man raised his hand up to brush lightly down Bruce's chin, and Bruce felt like those laughing green eyes would swallow him whole. It did not help that the man underneath him was undeniably handsome...and eerily familiar. In a strange way that he could not quite place. It put him on edge.
He quickly scrambled to get off and tried to stutter out an apology, running his hand through the locks of his styled hair in a casual, rehearsed manner that charmed any woman he had met. Not that he was thinking about that at this time.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to... I was... Stress..." he stuttered out, before he held out a hand to helped the handsome man up.
Throughout his stuttering excuse the man had made no move to get up on his own, but he happily accepted Bruce's hand as soon as it was offered.
"I'm sorry, I..."
"Shh-shh-shhhh," the man that was now standing before him placed a finger against Bruce's lips, and he shut up.
"Don't worry about it, Brucie. You made this boring party so much more fun!" the man's good mood and brilliant smile was contagious, and Bruce felt himself smile back.
"Even so, I really am sorry. I didn't mean to manhandle you. It's just..." he scrambled for an excuse,
"People's tried to kidnap me when I was a kid, wanting money- you know how it is. I guess some of that fear still lingers," he lied with a slightly awkward laugh.
The man's eyes filled with amusement, as if he could see straight through him and tell it was a lie.
But that was impossible, wasn't it? He had perfected the art of lying years ago. It had been a necessity to keep his secret identity...secret.
"Of course. Of course. It's the curse of being rich, isn't it? Don't worry, I completely understand!" the man said, turning around to look at the view instead of Bruce.
Somehow Bruce felt a strange loss as those intense eyes left him, just as much as he felt relieved.
Whether the man thought Bruce was lying or not, he clearly was playing along with it.
.
And Bruce couldn't help but admire the carefree attitude of the man whom was now leaning over the ancient stone railing of the building, a bit too far to be safe. Leaning out over the streets below, arms resting on the old stone-fence top while his feet almost left the ground he stood on behind.
He looked like he was enjoying himself immensely. He also looked like he had already dismissed Bruce from his mind.
And yet there was something so absolutely intriguing about him, that despite the fact that Bruce could have taken this opportunity to slink back inside and pretend this never happened, he just... couldn't. Not without capturing his alluring attention just one more time...
"Well..." Bruce cleared his throat. "You obviously know who I am, but I don't know who you are. Clearly you have me at a disadvantage here,"
"I'm Joseph. Joseph Kerr." the man smiled and put his hand out for Bruce to take. He shook it more out of habit than anything else, marveling again at the man's soft skin.
"But my friends call me Jay." he paused and used Bruce's hand to pull him close, looking at him with those hungry eyes again.
"Please call me Jay~" he purred, and Bruce suddenly felt like he was staring down a panther or a lion.
There was something almost predatorial about the elegant, nimble man in front of him, that at this point had let go of his hand to jump up on the railing he had previously leaned over to sit.
His legs dangled and kicked at the stone railing beneath him like an excited child, and he leaned backward in a dangerous angle, with nothing but his hands on the railing to keep him from falling.
.
The nickname suited him. 'Jay'. Like the bird.
There was something flighty about him. Like at any moment he could grow wings and take off. That kind of freedom that only birds seemed to have.
.
"Aren't you scared of falling down?" Bruce chuckled, peering down at the seven stories below them to emphasize his point.
Much to his surprise the man responded by jumping up to balance on the stone railing instead, nimble and agile as a cat.
"Come on! Join me! It's fun!" he spread his arms wide in a theatrical gesture, and for a second Bruce feared that he would fall... but he kept his balance.
"I'm afraid I would just fall down," Bruce said laughing. But he was tempted. And the antique stone railing was flat and rather wide.
He looked around him, but none of the other guests were out here with them right now.
"Don't worry about them. There's ah... some boring old dude giving a speech about how great it is to be privileged and such in there right now. Looked like he was gonna go on and on for hours. Why do you think I'm out here?"
"I don't know..."
"C'm on! Live a little!" Jay said as he jumped to sit down on the railing again and entwined his legs in the railings support.
He reached his hand down to Bruce. And before Bruce knew what he was doing, he had taken them man's hand and allowed him to pull him up. For such a slim and slender frame, Jay was surprisingly strong.
.
This close, he could smell the expensive cologne the man was wearing, and a faint underlying scent of chemicals... He wondered if Jay had colored his hair -which might explain the chemical scent- or if perhaps he was a scientist or worked with chemicals instead. That fit both better and worse, all at the same time.
Jay didn't look much older than him...
Well, perhaps a little, but not much. But that didn't mean anything these days. If he was coloring his hair, it might not even be to cover up gray hair. His hair could be naturally blond or black or red for all he knew.
He let it go of Jay's hand and stepped up to balance on the fence, feeling a little silly as he did so in his expensive, preppy suit.
.
He had a good balance. Years of jumping from rooftop to rooftop had seen to that. But the man in front of him was no less skilled and he was already back on his feet, walking down towards the far end of the balcony, before spinning on his heels in what seemed a terribly dangerous move that made Bruce's heart skip a beat. But he never fell.
"Are you coming or what?" Jay grinned, as he walked backwards down the fence. He seemed to be perfectly in his element every step of the way.
Bruce couldn't help but laugh and follow after him. Something about the whole situation made him feel like a naughty schoolboy again. Always doing things he shouldn't and getting into trouble.
If it hadn't been so ludicrous he would have thought the man might have worked in the circus. But this was a party for the elite, so he sincerely doubted that. Perhaps he was a rich heir that wanted to work at the stage or a circus, but his parents had chosen a different path for him. That was not unheard of.
He followed Jay with a speed that almost felt reckless. But he had no doubts about his own skills, they were very well-honed.
Still... It felt reckless.
He could already hear Alfred admonishing him for doing something so dangerously stupid. But right now, he didn't care.
.
He couldn't remember the last time when he felt this alive in his daytime persona, and he was fascinated by the seemingly fearless man in front of him.
Jay was unlike every other person he had met as Bruce Wayne. He was far too carefree and relaxed, the air of a spoiled heir rather than that of a crime lord or mafia son. And yet he was too free and uncaring of social appearances to really fit in with the boring crowd that usually surrounded him here.
The handsome man sat down on the rail again, and patted the spot next to him, hinting for Bruce to sit down as well.
This side of the sharply curved balcony was well hidden behind a row of potted, hedge-like trees, and Bruce wondered if that had been the man's intention all along. Privacy.
.
"You're bored, aren't you? I can tell," Jay smiled gently at him.
"I guess..." he admitted.
"You may have been born and bred for the 'high life', but this isn't your scene. No, not one bit! This isn't you," the man's gaze was intense and it made Bruce lower his eyes, in a way he never even did when facing down Gothams worst criminals.
He felt like those acidic green pools were taking him apart, dissecting him and unraveling his every secret.
Like this strange, beautiful, mysterious man in front of him was seeing straight through his disguise. Seeing him.
"And if I'm not?" he challenged, daring those laughing eyes to do their worst.
"That just makes you even more interesting!" Jay chuckled, moving his hand to stroke down the length of Bruce's face, his thumb lingering a moment on Bruce's lips before he pulled away with what seemed to be pained restraint.
For some reason the man was very tactile, something Bruce normally disliked. But there was a strange familiarity around him that both set him on edge, and calmed him down. Something about him made his heart beat and a shot of adrenalin rush to his veins. And yet here he was... just an average Joe with something not-quite-average about him.
.
"Hey! Do you know why cannibals don't eat clowns?"
Jay's grin and the amused expectation on his face told him the man was about to tell a joke.
"No. Why?" he smiled back, anticipating the punchline.
"Because they taste funny!" he said, arms spread wide. Then he laughed. His whole body shook with laughter. Free. Unrestrained.
It was charming. And terrifying.
Another laughter echoed in Bruce's head and he felt a cold shiver run down his spine. But this was nothing like that laughter!
They were both wild and unrestrained, but there was nothing sadistic about Jay's laugh. Or his behavior. Only carefree merriment and a reckless abandon to his every emotion and whim.
.
Bruce almost envied him.
.
He always had to restrain himself, and it sometimes made him feel like he was suffocating. Like he was trapped in a prison of his own making. One he could never escape. One he chose for himself every time he put on his suit at night. Though it felt like freedom...
"Whaddja say we split this joint and have some real fun?!" Jay wiggled his eyebrows at Bruce in an exaggerated fashion that made Bruce laugh again.
He blamed the copious amount of champagne he had been drinking earlier for what happened next. Or maybe it was just the effect Jay had on him. Like a drug.
.
He felt light-headed and dizzy, but he felt obligated to protest. Weak though the protest might have been.
"It would be hard to sneak past a whole room full of people that's probably looking for me... Or will be, once they realize I'm gone."
"Nonsens! They'll just assume you're hiding out in a dark corner somewhere with a girl. You do have quite the reputation for being a playboy after all," there was a dark gleam of jealousy in Jay's eyes. A short, furious flair, and then it was gone.
It sent a shiver down his spine. But it also made his heart beat faster, made his blood rush, and his body tingle with excitement.
.
How unexpected.
.
Especially when the target of his attraction was so clearly male, even if it was one with such a slim and androgynous build. At least as far as he could see at least. The tailored suit did leave a lot to the imagination.
"Leave it to uncle Jay~" he teased, and leaned back, letting himself fall off the fence with a burst of gleeful laughter.
"Jay!" Bruce yelped out as he scrambled off the fence so he could turn around without falling himself.
His heart was beating a mile an hour and he suddenly felt terrified of having lost something so precious as that man with those laughing green eyes.
Lost him before he even got the chance to know him...
.
Laughter drifted up from the darkness beneath him, and leaning out he saw Jay sitting there, on one of the many flag-posts that were sticking out of the wall.
"Come on! I know you can do it!" he grinned teasingly up at Bruce, before he stood up to balance precariously on it.
He only paused long enough to send Bruce a mischievous smile and wink, before he leaped across the small gap to a nearby fire-escape ladder.
"Catch me if you caaan~" he teased and started to climb -or rather, slide- down, as recklessly as he did everything else.
"Oh, it is on!" Bruce laughed and shed his suit jacket to follow the man down.
.
Had he been thinking straight -or thinking at all- he would not have done it.
But there was something intoxicating about Jay that made him want to follow him to the end of the earth- if for no other reason than to solve the mystery the man clearly was, and to let himself drown in those green, toxic pools that were always laughing...
Technically I'm busy writing Birthday Bugs, and I have a number of other fics I really should get back to working on atm, but I just couldn't get this fic out of my head. I just have so many ideas that I really can use in Birthday Bugs least it overshadows the main storyline there.
So I decided to post this short first chapter and see if anyone was interested in a story like this.
If you like it and want to read more, please tell me so in a comment.
If this story gets enough interest, then I will continue to write on it, and post more chapters after this one.
This is a small side-project I ended up writing after trying to play the Batman: Telltale series. (His name in this fic comes from Going Sane. An incident that has obviously not happened in this fic.)
I decided to post this fic partly because I wanted to explore the more 'human' side of the Joker, and partly because while I am writing Birthday Bugs I keep coming up with SO MANY BatJoke plot ideas that I just CAN'T put in THERE, least it takes the focus away from the main story. lol
~Happy New Years~