Immediate continuation from C6.
Moving your head, your hand automatically shot up and rubbed the side of it. Your finger tips gently massaged a huge knot near the top, left side of your head. You squinted your eyes shut, wincing out of pain. Moving your arm down, you felt some soreness in your left shoulder too. You gather your thoughts, the last thing you remembered was the Joker walking you around. You forced your eyes open. The dim darkness of the room was welcomed. As you laid on your side, you realized you were back in the bed. Your heart sank. You shifted your body over onto your back. You immediately felt a very familiar sinsation and weight around your ankle.
You quickly sat up. Not again was the only thing that crossed your mind.
"No-no-no-no-no..." They shot out of month like rapid fire, while your hands quickly followed your leg all the way down to your ankle.
You felt the cuff securely around your ankle, then your hands started to pull the chain. It gathering up into a small pile, until it was pulled tauted. You then quickly got up and followed the chain to its origin. It was locked around the radiator. You fell to your knees and started feeling of the chain and lock, looking for a weak spot, somewhere. You sat on the floor, your knees up and your arms resting over them. You were surprising composed. The initial disappointment and panic you felt was gone. You've been here before, you told yourself. It could be worse. If anything, you had more freedom than you did a few hours ago.
Once your head was cleared, you held both of your hands up. It had just dawned on you that they were no longer cuffed together. You looked at them, like you needed to confirm that the cuffs, that you had become so accustomed to, were actually gone. Bandages were wrapped around both of your wrists. You rubbed each wrist feeling of the bandages, cringing as you did it. Even covered and cared for, they were tender and hurt.
Your attention was suddenly drawn elsewhere, you heard whistling. You stood up and walked toward the tune, knowing immediately that it was the Joker whistling. He was in the bathroom, door shut and shower running. After listening and deciding he was going to be in there for a while, you walked to the closest side table and opened the small drawer on the table. The plan was to use this "alone" time to find something, anything, that could be of use to you.
The drawer appeared empty. You ran your hand all the way to the back of it, making sure it was empty. Your hand found a piece a paper. Pulling it out, you unfolded it and immediately balled it up and threw it, as hard as you could, cross the room. You quickly moved to the next drawer and forcefully yanked it open. It was empty, with only a folded piece of paper in it. You slowly reach for it then unfolded it. It read the same as the other note: HA! HA! HA! Love J
You dropped it and moved on to the next drawer. You opened it and found only a note. After opening them all, every single one of them was the same. He had went through and cleaned the whole place out, leaving his little "love" notes in every drawer. You exhaled deeply, out of defeat, as you stood there. You looked toward the bathroom door, the whistling had stopped but he was still showering. So you looked around the room again. You smirked and walked over to the TV. A huge grin crossed your face as you changed the channels rapidly. Once you'd gotten that out of your system, your eyes landed on the small refrigerator sitting on the kitchen cabinet. You headed towards it. Ever step you took, you expected to feel the chain tighten and not give you anymore distance, but it didn't. You could reach just about everything in the room. Your hand wrapped around the handle of the small frig but suddenly you heard the shower cut off.
It made you panic. You quickly walked back to the bed, where he had left you, and sat down. Not knowing what to do, you crossed your legs and acted like you were watching tv. You rested your elbow on your knee and cradled your chin in your hand. An infomercial for A.C.E. Chemical Household Cleaning Supplies was playing on the TV. It must be the middle of the night for an informercial to be on, you thought.
Your attention, however, wasn't really on the informercial. You listened carefully to what was happening in the bathroom, hearing him moving around. The Joker started whistling again, then the door opened. You straighten your body but remained crossed legged, as you stared at the doorway. The smell of soap and steam hit you nose. He abruptly stopped whistling as soon as he saw you sitting on the bed. He took a step out of the doorway, wearing only a towel around his waist. He looked over the room and grinned. He saw the notes thrown around the room and some of the drawers were left halfway open. His grin turned to laugher as he looked back at you.
You were still eyeballing him. He lifted both eyebrows, rapidly moving them up and down in a very comedic 'got ya' fashion. You kept a watch on him as he groomed. He went back into the bathroom. Many times prior to now, he had showered with you right there on the bed, but you had never watched his routine this closely before. You could see the mirror and sink from your spot. The Joker's back was partially turned to you, he gazed into the mirror as he combed his hair. He was whistling again, only stopping long enough to give himself a smile in mirror, then he'd start whistling again. Even under the circumstances, there was something humours about it. Even if you didn't laugh.
Your eyes moved down from his hair, pass the nape of his neck, then to his back. You could see scars. Some small, most of them large, all stood out against his pale skin. You assumed they were from his battles with the bat. He was lean and toned. By all standards, a good looking man. Regardless of everything; The Joker was attractive. Suddenly, you felt yourself blushing. Turning your head away, you tightly closed your eyes. You must have hit your head pretty hard, you thought. You kept them closed until hearing him come out of the bathroom. They shot open quickly and you looked at him. He paused to give you a suspicious look before continuing to walk over to where he kept his clothes. You tried to maintain the guise that your were watching the TV, but your eyes were on him. He turned his head and glanced at you, your eyes quickly shot back toward the TV.
"Unbelievable! Appalling! Caught in the act...No peeking at the goods, kid." He was teasing you in a very charming tone.
You, of course, ignored him. But you could see, out of the corner of your eye, that he was grinning as he looked over his shoulder. Finally, he got on with it, putting on a pair of colorful boxers and a white undershirt. Once he was half dressed, he turned his undivided attention to you, walking over to the bed.
Once at the bed, he spun around and flamboyantly threw himself down on the empty side. His tall body elegantly stretched out. He crossed his feet and rested one arm under his head. The other arm relaxed across his belly. You tried to scrambled off the bed, wanting to put as much distance between him and yourself as possible. Your reaction only fed his ego and made him laugh.
"Still not ready to play house with old Uncle Joker?" He grinned devilish.
You were facing away from him but turned toward him, after hearing his comment. You had a horrible look of repulsiveness on your face.
He frowned, "What?...Was it something I said. Hee-hee."
You snarled your face at him.
"Well, aren't you just a meanie." He stuck his tongue out, like a kid taunting another one. It was clear he was in an absolutely wonderful mood.
"And after everything I've done for you toooo." Using his imitation sad voice.
You unintentionally rubbed one of the bandages around your wrist. He grinned seeing you do it. You noticed that he was casually wiggling his foot in rythm to a commercial jingle that was on the TV. You glanced at his foot, then moved your eyes back to his face. He grinned when your eyes met his. Taking his hand, he patted the empty side of the bed. It was more of an invitation, instead of a command. He wanted you to come and sit down. You continued to stand there. He shrugged and place his hand back across his belly.
You were so specious of him and with good reason. If you had learned anything, it was this simple. The Joker's moods came and went, as fast as the wind. They were unpredictable. He could be malicious and murderous. He could be bewitching and bubbly. Between shooting at Rocko and the guys, and the assumed beat-down he'd given you earlier, he was left in a pleasant, chipper mood. The problem, the thing that made him so dangerous, was how his moods changed so abruptly, it was impossible not to get caught in the roller coaster's path on its way down.
"Bring me the remote...Pleeeaassssee." He delivered a cheesy grin.
It was a poor deploy, done intentionally. You exhaled deeply, you knew he was baiting you. But what choice did you really have? The other option would eventually end up with you getting hurt. You walked over to the TV, grabbed the remote and slowly made your way to him. Once you'd gotten close enough, he lifted his hand from his abdomen and stretched it out. As soon as you went to placed it in his hand, his other arm flew out from under his head, grabbing the bottom hem of your shirt. Because you had been anticipating that he was going to do something, you didn't react. You only stood there, staring at him.
He slowly twisted some of the shirt around his fingers and smiled. He continued to twist it, causing the shirt to tighten around your hips. He gave the shirt a playful pull, causing your body to sway. You looked ahead, unamused. He tugged it again. Hard enough this time, that you had to take a step to brace yourself. You still had the remote, he never actually took it. With attitude, you dropped it on him. That was the catalyst.
He quickly slung his leg down, over the edge of the bed, as he sat up. His arm went behind you and hooked around your legs, pulling you down into the bed. You barely resisted, letting him manhandle you to the middle of the bed. Ending up on your side, you tucked your arms against your chest, bending your elbows. He wasn't being overly violent, just forceful and demanding. When he finally stopped wiggling and squirming, he was nestled up against your body. His left arm was under you and wrapped up over your chest and arms. His right arm was free to do whatever he pleased, while his leg was bent and hooked over the top of both your legs. He had you in a full body bear hug.
You could feel every tiny movement that came from him. Unsure of what to expect, you were ready for the worse but hoped for the best. He started to brush your hair out of your face. You pushed your face toward the head of the bed, trying to pull away from the touch of his hand. But moving your head, caused your chin to lift and exposed your neck. He went right for it, putting his hand around your throat. His breathing was heavy and you could hear him make tiny little moans of approval, as he held your throat. When he finally moved his hand, he rested it on the peak of your hip. You felt his hand touch your bare skin. You realized your shirt, that normally fell mid thigh, had gotten pushed up too far for your comfort. Immediately, you untucked your arm and tried pulling the shirt down. He stopped you, grabbing your hand and roughly slinging it away. You repeated the action, causing him to, again, grab your hand and sling it away. You suddenly felt his head nuzzle against your own as he placed his mouth near your ear.
"Here, let me." He ordered.
He was already pushing your shirt up higher, when his hand slipped underneath it. A gasp left your lips. His hand traveled up and brushed your navel, then his fingers traced the scar on your belly. As his finger tips glided over the J, he snickered into your ear. Once he was done taunting, he pulled your shirt down so it was fully covering you, and gave the side of your rump a pat.
He let out a slow giggle that grew into a full laugh.
Then he started to speak.
"You know, physical contact..." Using his whole body, he cuddled you to emphasize the words.
"...Is a necessity for humans. But depending on how it's bestowed, it can be responsible for so many responses..." He chuckled in a deep voice that tickled your ear, causing you to flinch.
"It can calm or create, anxiety." He caressed the back of his fingers along the curve of your face and down your neck, making your body tense up. "See."
"Touch is also necessary for bonding and intimacy." He gave you another full body cuddle.
"They say, the more two people touch, the easier intimacy becomes..." His voice sadden, "But you don't seem to like me very much..." He snickered darkly.
Then his voice went cheerful. "But what kind of touch and what kind intimacy? There are just so many types..."
He bent his knee and wiggled his bare foot between your lower legs.
He went back to using his charming voice. "For some it's a kiss or hug." You felt his toes curl as he said 'hug'. "All that superficial fluff that's easily fake. Like now, Pigeon. Anyone can counterfeit that kind of affection."
"For others, well...For others, like us...our bond is love of chaos. Savagery lurks in you... bubbling to the surface just long enough for, those who recognize it, to see a glimpse." His voice was seductive. "And it lurks in you. Oh, you know I'm right."
"I'm nothing like you." You whispered it in the calmest manner.
He grinned and continued talking.
"Oh, Pigeon...It can be our little secret." He started whispering, "I won't tell...if you don't."
"It's only fair, I suppose...I've told you my secrets and you..." He chuckled softly.
His tone became threatening, "...Well, you keep them. Don't you?"
"I mean," He suddenly became cheerful while he taunted you. "It's not like you're going to tell anyone...Are you, Pigeon? Hmmm...I mean, where are you going to go? Who are you going to tell? HAha-haha." He laughed loudly.
You kept still, breathing calmly. Your body was relaxed and for lack of a better description, you were comfortable. You knew exactly what he was going on about. He had shared detailed information with you before about crimes he'd committed in the past, details of certian killings that stood out in his mind, war stories of him and Batman, and ideas about what he had in store for Gotham and the bat. It was the kind of stuff that you would "take to your grave", as he put it.
"But you know...besides the few sneaky little endeavors I dug up on you...most, of which, were unoriginal...certianly not the stuff of legend." He laughed.
He lifted his head from its resting spot where it was nestled against yours and looked down at you. He gave you a nudge to get you to open your eyes. You immediately turned your head to look at him, he waited for your eyes to meet his.
Then he addressed you, "It was most disappointing. I really must say. I expected more obscene activities from such a distinguished thief and criminal..."
He frown. "But noo..."
Putting his head back down, he adjusted his whole body. Rolling over, so he was laying on his back. His right arm went under his head. He kept his other arm under you, only unwrapping it from around you and stretching it out. His legs stretching out straight too. You stayed put, remaining on your side.
Once settled, he started to laugh slowly.
"But that doesn't mean..." He suddenly curled up his arm that was still under you, so he had you in a playful head lock, giving you a noogie. "...you don't have any rreeaall secrets, does it kid?"
You cringed as the bump on your head got rubbed.
"HA ha ha Ha-HA." He let out a full-fledge "Joker" laugh.
He stopped suddenly, going back to his prior relaxed position, leaving his arm around your head. His hand rested palm down on your forehead.
"And one day...ooh yes, one day, you'll tell me all those dark and dirty deeds..." You could hear the enthusiasm and lust in his voice.
"...the ones you keep all stowed and stashed away in there." He started stroking your head with his fingers; starting at your forehead and moving back through your hair.
He continued to talk and make small threats. He also continued to stroke your hair. You laid there listening, making comments here and there. When he was in an excellent mood these conversations would go on and on. His voice got lower and softer as he went on. After a while his voice turned into a soothing rhythm of sound to you. Unware, you shifted your body to accommodate your comfort the sleeper you got. Your eyes got heavy and heavier with every slow stroke he made over your head.
