Aaand we're back!

Sorry for the delay, I'm so happy to finally post chapter 19!

**We're starting off NSFW, y'all!**

Chapter Nineteen: Beautiful

Afternoon sun streamed through the windows of the warehouse, matching the ethereal smile on Nora's face as she watched Joker demonstrate his knife throwing technique for her. It seemed like he really enjoyed teaching her new things. It made his eyes light up like a kid on Christmas.

"Now, the further away the target is, the more rotations you're gonna give it," he said, balancing the knife blade on his finger, before dropping it into his hand and flinging it straight at the board for it to stick in the center of the bullseye. "Or you can get fan-cy and try the no spin technique."

Her giggles filled the room while Joker stood with his arms wrapped around her from behind, adjusting her hold on the knife in her hand, his chin resting on her shoulder. He made sure to pay attention to each finger, tickling her so that she almost dropped it.

"Ok, ok," he said with a grin, stepping back to give her room. "Let 'er rip."

Nora took a step forward with her right foot before swinging her arm out and releasing the knife. It sailed through the air and landed with a clatter just in front of the board, leaving it without a scratch.

She snorted a laugh at her own misstep before turning to Joker with a smile, "I guess I'll need to practice."

He gazed back with eyes half lidded, taking in the glow she emitted. It reached across the room and struck him in the chest, taking his breath away and leaving a blooming warmth in its place. A sudden urge to reach out and take hold of her, never to let go, flooded his mind.

He slowly stepped toward her, Nora's stomach fluttering upon seeing the look in his eyes. He stopped in front of her, the tips of his shoes halting within an inch of her toes. His deep huffs washed over her as he lifted his hand to brush it against her cheek before lacing his fingers into her hair. Her eyes lifted to meet his fiery gaze when his fingers reached the back of her head and he pulled her in to feverishly lock his lips with hers, his scars pressing against her cheeks. Endorphins rushed through Nora's veins and her body tingled with excitement. Her hands found their way to his hair where she gripped the strands tightly in her fists, her heart racing as she deepened the kiss. He hummed against her lips and brought his other hand to cup her face.

The side door opened and two of Joker's men entered the warehouse, stopping in their tracks at the sight of Joker and Nora wrapped around each other in the center of the room. They hurriedly backed up through the door and locked it. The disturbance hadn't even registered in Joker or Nora's ears, their eyes remained closed tightly as they tasted each other with intensity, the world around them unknown without a care for anything other than the feeling of each other's kiss and sound of their breath.

Joker hoisted Nora up to wrap her legs around his waist and she held on to the back of his neck. He backed her up against a wall, sliding his arms down to support underneath her thighs as he pulled his lips away from hers to latch them onto her neck. A gasp escaped her throat as his hot tongue caressed her skin before taking the soft flesh between his teeth. Her core began to ache with anticipation before she panted and bucked her hips against his waist, making him growl into her neck.

He released his mouth and lifted his head to gaze into her eyes, both of their chests heaving with heavy breath. She recognized his wordless question and the corner of her mouth twitched upward as she nodded slowly. A smoldering grin flashed on his face before he swiftly captured her neck once again, moving his way down to her chest, tugging at the collar of her t-shirt with his teeth to reach more of her skin with his vigorous kisses as Nora whined softly.

His hips pushed her higher up against the wall to free his hands, allowing him to slide them beneath her shirt and up her sides before brushing his fingertips along her chest. A trail of goosebumps followed them as he savored how her smooth skin felt beneath his fingers. Her body trembled for more.

Nora raised her arms to pull her shirt over her head, the cool air raising even more goosebumps over her exposed chest. Joker groaned and nuzzled his face between her breasts before spreading open mouthed kisses over them while desperate moans slipped out of her mouth. Her noises grew louder when he rested his tongue on her nipple and slowly ran it along the sensitive bud, making Nora arch her back as she grabbed at the collar of his shirt. She could feel the bulge in his pants pressing up from underneath her thighs as she squeezed them around him.

"J… I need you… now," she huffed.

They panted against each other's open mouths as Joker's nose pressed next to hers while he shifted to hastily unzip his pants and Nora pulled her shorts down before lowering into his arms beneath her. He brought his lips back to hers just before entering her and grunted into her mouth as she moaned. That sinful friction in all of the right places sent her head spinning as Joker began to thrust into her, her nails digging into his back. He freed her mouth so he could hear the sweet sounds that tumbled out of it. His own groans increased with each push of his hips against hers and he leaned in, pressing his nose to her temple.

"Come for me, doll," he breathed into her ear.

A shiver shot down her spine and as if on command, Nora cried out, her core contracting and pulsing with euphoria. That was all it took for him to reach his own release, his jaw dropping to let out a deep groan with his eyes screwed shut as he spilled into her.

Joker was catching his breath, keeping Nora braced against the wall where she panted with her eyes closed as he gently held her face and placed a tender kiss on her smiling lips. He held on to her tight to let her untangle her legs from around his waist. They quivered when her feet reached the ground, all of the strength nearly drained from her muscles. They both chuckled when she stumbled and Joker caught her. He pulled up her shorts before zipping up his own pants and turning to offer her a ride on his back.

Her laugh carried with them as he jogged and bounced her on his back, the two of them giggling their way up the stairs to get cleaned up.

"So his name was Vinny, hm?" Joker asked, before lighting a cigarette and handing another one to Nora.

They were sitting at the table with Enigma, finding him there waiting once they finally emerged from upstairs, fully dressed. Nora pretended that she wasn't aware of how loud they'd been but she knew full well that they had to have been overheard. She didn't care. She was happy to be back with J and sex was very much a way to express that. But there was more to it than just sex. A heated passion. A feeling of love. One that she felt reciprocated in his touch. Besides, none of them would dare say anything about it.

"Yeah. He punched me at some point, it's kind of fuzzy, but I remember falling and splitting my lip when I tried to get away. I kicked him in the balls," Nora replied.

Joker felt a sting at the mention of her injuries but he couldn't help his chest shaking with a loud cackle at her boldness, a deep laugh from Enigma seated across from them nearly matching its volume. Nora's grin widened as she giggled along with them.

"Good on ya, doc. Nothin' wrong with a blow to the jewels when you's the one tied up," Enigma chuckled.

Nora's smile faded as she looked down at the table. Her rescue, only hours old by then, left a dark cloud, a reminder of what she endured, hanging over them still.

"How did you find me?" she asked, raising her gaze to meet Joker's.

He stared back, flicking his tongue over his lips held firm in a straight line while she waited. He didn't like thinking about it, what her absence did to him. It twisted his guts into knots. It made him feel weak. But weakness is subjective, isn't it? His feelings for her didn't have to be a weakness. Why deprive himself of that intimacy? She'd already coaxed it out of hiding to run free, to hold her, kiss her. For her, only for her. He thrived on doing the opposite of what was expected of him. The Joker can't love someone? Oh, but he can. With a ferocity that rushed through his veins. But that wasn't the only reason. He wanted to. She was his only constant, an anchor tethering him to this earth. When he touched her, nothing else mattered.

"He sent a tape. Then we found out where he was keeping you," Joker said simply.

She nodded slowly, swallowing the lump in her throat and keeping her eyes fixed on his dark ones as she answered quietly, "Thank you."

Joker nodded back and a silver lining around that dark cloud shined in his eyes. She smiled at it.

Then the side door opened before Q appeared, walking slowly toward them.

"Q!" Nora exclaimed, standing from her chair to meet him halfway from the door.

She put a hand on his shoulder and looked down toward his belly as she asked, "How are you feeling? Are you in pain?"

Q smiled softly and answered, "I'm ok, nah it doesn't hurt too bad anymore, just a bit sore."

Nora smiled back, knowing he was lying, and asked, "Can I see it?"

He lifted his shirt to show her a large incision in the shape of an L, stretching across one side of his abdomen then curving up toward his ribcage in the middle. The sutures dotted along its length looked good and the tissue healthy, though the skin was very bruised.

"It looks good!" she said. "I can take the stitches out for you when it's healed."

He nodded and they headed to the table where Q carefully sat down.

"So what's missing? How much of ya did they take?" Joker asked him.

Q winced when he chuckled and answered, "Just part of my liver I think."

"The part with a hole in it, I hope?" Joker quipped.

The group laughed together as Override approached quietly from the side. Enigma caught him in his peripheral vision and jumped in his chair.

"Jesus Christ! You know how fuckin' stealthy this kid is? Just shows up outta nowhere, givin' me the creeps, like some ginger ghost, man!" complained Enigma as Override froze with a pink hue coloring his cheeks.

Joker blinked and nodded his head toward the empty chair across from him, making eye contact with Override, who tensed up beneath his gaze before cautiously approaching them. He prodded the chair out with his shoe for the nervous young man to sit, taking a shaky breath in an attempt to calm himself.

Joker's tongue shot out of his scars before he said, "Jus-t the man I wanna seee."

Override's eyes widened as he asked, "Me?"

A slow nod was his answer at first. Surely he must know what this was about.

"Adam Zucco, son of Toni Zucco, right hand man to mister Mar-oni. That's you," Joker said, pointing at him. "This fact as proven useful once and will indeed prove useful a-gain."

Nora's brow furrowed. This was the first she'd heard of this. But it made sense, he used Override to find her. Her mouth twitched into a little smile and her chest warmed when she thought about J's efforts to rescue her.

Joker continued, tilting his head, "You, my friend. Are gonna be my man on the insiii-de. No backstory required, you already have an in, just do a litt-le stirring of the po-t."

Override joined with Joker to get away from his family. But how could he refuse? Maybe he can accomplish both. "O-Ok. I think I can do that. Um, I have a favor to ask in return, though. Uh, boss," he said.

Joker's eyebrows shot up. "And what might that be?" he asked, keeping Override shifting uncomfortably in his gaze.

He cleared his throat before he said, "I need you to help me shut down my father's business."

"Ohhh that is de-light-ful," Joker growled, a grin stretching his scars.

"You'll do it?" Override asked excitedly, his voice a little louder than he intended.

Joker giggled before answering, "Don't threaten me with a good time, kid. Gimme some details."

Override's eyes lit up and a genuine smile formed on his face. This was going better than he expected.

"Well, my father and Sal started a side business together last year. Uh, specializing in, um, sex workers," he said, his tone dropping with his gaze as he looked at the table top. "Not, um, voluntary sex workers. But a human trafficking situation. Mostly from other countries but some girls from around Gotham too. I knew getting the cops involved wouldn't help, he covers their tracks too well and still has some of them on his pay roll. I found out about Sal's rivalry with you and… I had to choose a side, I guess. I thought maybe I could get your help to put a stop to it."

Joker's jaw tensed as he chewed at his tongue, a grave look on his face. He always thought of himself as a better class of criminal. He didn't want money. Money didn't carry the meaning these men thought it did. It was so easily taken away. Sal selling girls for sex in exchange for money. He wanted to laugh. Something about that was funny. It was funny what the man will stoop to in order to prove himself to no one at all. Dirty, rotten. This would be no heroic action. No, this was about Sal getting what he deserved. Going out in a blaze of hellfire with his dick chopped off.

He finally spoke, his voice deep and gravelly, "Mmmm well I'd be just happy as a clam to teach our Sal a little, uh, lesson."

A smile inched its way back on Override's face before he offered his hand for Joker to shake.

Joker smirked back and growled, "We have a deeaal."

Nora wandered the warehouse, looking for Joker. It was later that evening, the building quiet once again. Her energy had worn thin after meeting with Q and Enigma, not to mention the new development with Override, so she'd laid down for a nap to catch another hour of sleep. Then that hour turned into three or four.

She peeked around the corner to the back room where it was dark. A shiver ran down her back as she stared into the blackness.

"J?" she called.

Nothing. The shooting range was empty too.

With a huff, she walked back through the large room, her gaze searching for any trace of green or purple waiting to jump out in an attempt to startle her. Then her eye caught something. The door to the roof above the second level landing was open.

Nora came up the stairs to see a trail of lit candles leading up the ladder to the roof. Her cheeks felt warm and her stomach fluttered as her lips curved into a smile. Grabbing the cool hand rail, she ascended the ladder, her heartbeat trilling with anticipation. When she reached the top, she was met with the sight of a brilliant sunset, the sky lit with vivid shades of pink and purple that left the atmosphere tranquil and rosy. A cozy couch was turned west, to face the sunset and a small log fire contained within a circle of bricks was positioned at a comfortable distance in front of it. Strings of little gleaming lights lit the edge of the roof. Her smile grew larger as she took everything in before turning around to see Joker waiting for her, a cold bottle of champagne in his hand.

"I'd say you deserve to be romanced a little. Wouldn't you, doll?" he said.

Her face lit up brighter than the sky. To say this was unexpected was an understatement. She never expected a normal relationship from J. That wasn't even what she wanted. She wanted the chaos, the fire, the guns, the warehouse, all of it. Her new normal, her new home. She hadn't realized just how much she needed to escape the life of everyday normalcy, that monotonous march down the same path day after day, until she took a sharp turn down a dark alley and ended up here. J wasn't normal, just how she liked it. He took her hand and danced with her down the road into the blackness. But she wasn't afraid.

She ran toward Joker to wrap her arms forcefully around him, making him almost drop the champagne, before brazenly enveloping his mouth with hers.

They broke away from the kiss and Joker raised his eyebrows as he blinked, staring straight ahead. He licked and popped his lips before looking to her to ask, "So you agree?"

Nora giggled and nodded, "Yes, I love it! Thank you J. This was very unexpected."

"Ahh well the element of, uh, sur-prise has its uses. C'mon, not much daylight left." he grinned.

She smiled back as he lead her to the couch in front of the fire where they got comfortable, taking swigs from the champagne bottle as they watched the sunset. Nora laid with her back against Joker's chest, warmth from the champagne in her belly and enclosing her from all angles. She sighed into the radiant air around them. Contented and loved are words that only scratch the surface to describe how she was feeling.

Joker's head swam with thoughts and feelings that he'd long forgotten he was capable of. He deprived himself of human connection for so long. Not on purpose, at first. Treat a man as a monster and he'll become one. But you can't take everything away from him, even he knew that. A man can be pushed past his breaking point but he remains human. He'd always been human. Just a human with walls around him tall enough that no one could scale them. Except Nora. She slipped through the cracks, stared his defiant emotions in the face and said 'I'll show you'. A hopeless romantic, masked by layers of grease paint, brought back to life on that cold metal table by her trembling fingers.

The last rays of orange light disappeared behind the Gotham skyline and Joker shifted beneath Nora to stand. He bowed forward and offered her his hand. Her gaze sparkled in the light of the fire as she took it. He swayed with her beneath the first stars of the night, spinning her to a silent tune, the familiar taste of mint and greasepaint on her tongue.

The next morning, birds chirped to welcome the sun over the horizon, rousing Nora from her sleep. Her bleary eyes were met with wisps of clouds stretching across the pale sky. She closed them again and sighed to settle back into the warmth around her before they flew back open, realizing she was waking out in the open air. She quickly sat up and recognized her rooftop surroundings. They must have fallen asleep in front of the fire.

She turned to see Joker asleep next to her, where she'd been resting her head on his chest all night. His painted features were smudged, contrasting with the peaceful stillness of sleep. Her lips curved into a soft smile before she leaned down to place a kiss on his.

His eyes remained closed but a grin crept its way onto his face. He lifted his arms to wrap them around her, keeping her in place as he returned a stronger kiss. Once their lips parted, his eyelids opened to focus his deep brown gaze on Nora. She blinked back at him, her cheeks flushing beneath his stare.

He took a deep breath to sigh before asking, "Ya know, doll, has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?"

Her face turned a shade darker and her eyes widened at his question. She'd never really heard him say anything like that before, it caught her off guard.

"Um no, they haven't," she answered, her surprise reflected in her tone.

"Ahh well isn't that a crime," he said smoothing her hair back from her face.

Nora couldn't help the huge smile that developed and the glitter in her eyes as she stared speechless at him.

"Ah haaaa, here we have exhibit A," he grinned, making her giggle. "Are ya hungry, beautiful?"

She nodded, her smile unwavering, before he squeezed her and lifted her off of the couch as he stood. Her giggles grew louder as he tossed her over his shoulder before heading for the door. He made his way down the ladder and the stairs before Joker was finally huffing and let her down. He took her face in his hands to kiss her once more as her laughing quieted.

Joker took a phone from his pocket and dialed it. After a moment he said, "Breakfast, your choice, bring it here," before promptly hanging up.

"Was that Enigma?" Nora asked.

He smirked and nodded as she chuckled, "Never a dull moment, J."

After Nora changed into fresh clothes, she joined Joker at the table to puff on cigarettes while they awaited their involuntary delivery from Enigma.

"Thank you," Nora said suddenly.

"Mmm?" Joker hummed rolling his head to the side to face her as he took another drag.

She suddenly felt embarrassed and couldn't make eye contact with him, so she stared at the table as she continued, "Thank you for everything. For hiring me, for rescuing me, for keeping me around. I know you didn't have to."

He blew smoke from the side of his mouth as he stared at her, waiting for her to look at him but she kept her eyes down. He reached out and took her chin between his fingers to gently turn her toward him.

"No thanks necessary, Nora. I already told ya, how could expect me to stay away from this?" he purred, looking at her through heavy lids.

She met his gaze and grinned, "What would people think? Gotham's most wanted man fucking sweet Nora Hawthorne?"

His grin widened as his voice dropped deep to answer, "I don't care," before pulling her in to lock lips.

The side door opened, but they remained undisturbed, eyes closed, melting into each other.

Enigma approached the table with a paper bag in hand, stopping within ear shot to loudly clear his throat. Joker raised his index finger up to him for a moment before releasing Nora and licking his lips, turning his head slowly toward Enigma.

"Pardon the interruption, sir, but breakfast is served," Enigma said in his worst British accent, eyebrows raised.

Joker blinked at him and sarcastically replied, "Why thank you, Jeeves."

Enigma scoffed through his nose with a smirk, dropping the bag on the table as Nora chuckled.

"Thanks, E," she said, earning a smile from him.

Joker helped himself to the contents of the bag, bagels and cream cheese, shrugging his shoulders before diving in. While Nora prepared one for herself, he rudely stuck his tongue all the way out to lick a large amount of the spread off of a bagel before, turning to her to bounce his eyebrows, making her giggle out loud.

Enigma shoveled his own portion into his mouth like he hadn't eaten in days.

"Jesus, E. Didn't your mother ever tell ya to chew your food?" Joker stated through his full mouth.

Enigma looked up, exaggeratedly chewed and swallowed before answering, "Didn't yours ever teach ya not to talk with your mouth full?"

Nora's eyes went wide at Enigma's bold statement and shifted her gaze between the two men. She hadn't really heard anyone talk to Joker like that before.

Joker leaned forward and said darkly, "No-pe," popping the p.

After a beat of silence the two men burst into a fit of laughter, leaving Nora with a relieved, but slightly confused, smile. It seemed as though Enigma had a different relationship with Joker than the other men.

As if her question was written on her forehead, Joker spoke up, "Enigma has outlasted anyone on my little crew since the beginning. I supp-ose you could say I'm, uh, fond of him."

"Shit, boss. You're makin' me blush," Enigma chuckled.

Joker snorted a laugh as the side door opened and Nick arrived with Override. He stuffed the rest of his food in his mouth and stood to clap his hands together loudly.

"Alright! Let's get to it," he called out through the mouthful of bread.

It was just past nightfall when Nora waited with Joker and Nick in a black car, parked across the across the street and a few doors down from Sal's Italian restaurant. Nick put a cigarette between his lips and flicked his lighter. Joker reached forward and snatched it from his mouth, Nick's expression turning rather offended.

"By all means, make it obvious we're here," Joker stated simply.

The radio buzzed with static before Maroni's voice filled the car, "Let's get this rollin' Toni, I 'aint got all night."

Nora stomach lurched at the sound. Then her heart rate sped up and she clenched her jaw. Joker noticed her tense up and casually slid closer to her in the backseat, soothing the anxiety building up within her as he stretched his arm over her shoulders.

"A'right, so the pick-up is tomorrow. Two cars outta be enough," another voice said. Nora assumed it was Toni Zucco.

Then Override's voice joined them and said, "I can drive, I need some extra cash. Where's it at?"

He sounded different than when he talked to them at the warehouse, like he had to pretend to be someone he wasn't around his father.

"So now you wanna help?" asked Toni.

Nora's heart pounded once again. She didn't know if she could take it if Override got hurt. He'd been nothing but sweet and she found herself feeling protective of him.

"Yeah I'm here 'aint I?" he replied.

Sal spoke up and said, "Let's just give the boy the job, Toni."

"A'right then. Be at the docks at eight tomorrow night," answered Toni before Nora breathed a sigh of relief.

The radio went silent and within minutes the passenger door opened and a visibly sweaty Override sat down in the seat, blowing a deep breath through his lips.

"Ya did good, kid," Joker said with a grin.

Song for this chapter: New Love Cassette by Angel Olsen

Woo I hope you liked it!

Lots of relationship development between J and Nora in this chapter so I went a little fluff-wild. These two just give me some feels, man!

Don't worry, we'll get back to knives, guns, and explosions coming up in chapter 20!

Comments welcome as always! I love hearing from you all