Hey, sorry it's been forever! School is murder. Anyway, I want to dedicate this chapter to Nancy Nix for being the best friend ever and for inspiring me tons during this. Love you oodles! I also want to thank Cathy for making me put this up. If she hadn't pushed me to finally put this up, this wouldn't be here for awhile. Thanks guys!
p.s. Thanks for the reviews, I'm flattered! Enjoy!
"Sir! Sir, you really do need to take a look at these," Alfred whispered, "I believe that your well being could be in danger and-..."
"Alfred! Please...I have to go talk to the Joker."
"No, sir. Before you do that, you need to see this."
Bruce held up his hand and looked at the door to the Batcave.
"I have to find out something right now, Alfred. I have no time."
Alfred just looked at Bruce and nodded. He knew that he could argue all day, but Bruce would never yield. He watched Bruce cross the room to open the door, but he turned. For some reason, he just couldn't watch his master and friend turn the handle to that door. Watching Bruce willingly put his life on the line time and time again was getting to him. Shaking his head, he set the stack of x-rays on the table and walked away.
.C.N.
"I just looove when you visit me, but you don't have to stand so far away! Do I offend?" The Joker asked.
Batman was standing back, away from the Joker's bed. After what had happened the last time, he couldn't risk it. But, for some reason he didn't think the Joker was going to pull anything this time. He looked somewhat withdrawn, which was very unlike him.
"Actually it's quite possible. I went to the...less than desirable part of Gotham the other day. Hobos everywhere! Quite interesting how strangely they acted. I also met this gypsy woman. Boy was she a piece of work! Wasn't very polite, might I add..."
"No distractions. Answer my questions." Batman said sternly.
"Alright, alright. No need to get your Bat-panties in a bunch."
"Why did you ask me to meet you at the aquarium that night? I need to know Joker."
The Joker looked at Batman for a second then turned away.
"Can't tell you, Batsy. The moment is gone."
"I'm sick of your perverse games!" Batman yelled, stepping closer.
There were a few strange minutes of silence before Batman heard the Joker laugh softly.
"We're like an old noir film, you know. May as well have 'My Funny Valentine' playing in the background. We should be in black and white and you should be telling me how you don't give a damn. You and I, my dear, are surrounded in twisting, unending drama. You, the debonaire detective with the calm unshakeable demeanor and me, the seductive songstress who falls desperately in love. Each dancing around the other...taunting. Ah, the sexual tension!" He looked at Batman and smiled, "Get your trench coat and toss me the red lipstick baby, let's do our scene."
Batman scowled slightly. But he knew that, in his own way, the Joker was right. At different times, both of them could have ended this, but neither of them ever did. The Joker laughed for a moment, but then he trailed off, his smile disappearing.
"Batman, I have a question."
Batman looked at him. His voice had actually sounded sincere.
"What makes you let me go every time? You've had the chance to stop me more times than I can count. I'll be flat on the floor, sure that my days as a criminal are over, but you let me get away. Every. Single. Time. Why?"
Silent looks were exchanged between the two as Batman searched for an answer. He honestly didn't know. Something inside him was certain that he couldn't go on without the Joker. Killing him was completely and utterly out of the question. Even the Joker serving a life sentence in prison seemed unbearable. The Joker was the one that drove Batman's entire lifestyle, without him, who knows what would happen. Nobody else gave him the challenge that the clown did. Every other villain he faced was just a tired copy of him. The Joker was the original; the only one that truly mattered. And as much as he didn't want to admit it, Batman needed him.
"I..."
Batman just couldn't answer. He was so afraid that saying what he wanted to say would change things forever.
The Joker looked away sadly. Not hearing an answer hurt. He knew perfectly well what he wanted, but he also knew that he would never get the satisfaction of hearing those three sweet words. It was just too unlike Batman.
"There's just one thing I need to do." the Joker said, standing.
Batman jumped and stepped back, shocked by the movement. The Joker held up his hands and shook his head.
"No tricks. I don't have any spirit left in me for tricks right now."
He walked up to Batman and leaned forward. For the first time in his life, he hesitated. The Joker had never had a reason to hesitate before, but now he had one. And unfortunately for him, he was in love with it.
Batman stood stone still.
"Joker, I-..."
The Joker cut him off with a kiss. For a moment he had the world. But everything he had ever wanted came with a price. Right on cue, Batman jumped and grabbed the Joker by the shoulders, pulling him away. He didn't say anything. There wasn't any need to. The only thing that broke the silence was the Joker's ragged breathing.
That was it. He was ruined. At that moment he realized that he was standing frozen, watching the moments before his world came crashing down. The Joker braced himself for a punch, but when he found that he could still feel Batman's hands on his shoulders he opened his eyes.
Batman was looking at him, an indecisive look plastered all over his face.
Why not help him decide?
The Joker wrapped his hands around Batman's wrists and rested his pale cheek against the gloved hand on his shoulder. As he closed his eyes, he suddenly felt himself being pushed backwards into a wall. The wind was knocked clean out of him when his back connected with the jagged rock, but Batman didn't care. Instead of seeing if he had caused any damage, he started kissing the Joker, removing his jacket in the process.
"Trying to...get me in bed already?" The Joker asked in between breaths.
"Shut up."
"Don't do this if you don't love me..."
Bad move. Batman stopped kissing him and leaned back slightly.
"Can't you take a joke, Batsy?" The Joker asked, trying to cover his slip-up.
Batman decided to let it go and continued what he had been doing. The Joker felt a little hurt by Batman's response to his "joke", but the pain in his back was much more overpowering. The Joker was writhing uncomfortably against the wall, trying to think straight. He wanted so much more than what Batman was giving him, but he dare not ask. For once he felt completely powerless. It had never been that way, especially not with Batman. They were equals, but not tonight. Finally Batman moved down and started kissing his neck, breaking the Joker's train of thought.
"Oh God."
Quickly, Batman pulled the Joker forward by his shirt and maneuvered him over to the bed. Despite this being what he wanted, the Joker felt apprehensive. What would the outcome of this be? Surely things wouldn't be the same after this. It really didn't matter once Batman tore the Joker's shirt off. Buttons could be heard clattering to the floor as Batman tossed the shirt over his shoulder. Batman shushed the Joker when he opened his mouth in protest.
"My shirt..."
"It'll be worth it."
The Joker believed him. Moonlight from a high up window spilled onto the two as they continued. Forceful kisses and electrifying touches filled the evening, both of them reaching a stronger high after each one. The Joker feared every kiss would be the last or every time Batman slid his hand down the Joker's body would seal his fate. Most of all, he was afraid that he would wake up.
Without trying, he had crossed far past the realm of safe.
.C.N.
The Joker sighed. He then looked at Batman and sighed a little louder. Batman turned his head to say something, but a bright light suddenly flashed, drawing his attention to the window.
The Bat signal shone brightly against the dark midnight sky, beckoning him. Batman threw the covers off and rose from the bed. Cold air hit his body, making him shiver. As ridiculous as he felt, he had left his mask on the entire evening, even though his Batsuit had come off early on. Even in the heat of the moment, he knew that he had to protect what little safety he had left. He grabbed the Batsuit off the ground and quickly opened the door.
Before he stepped out he stole a quick glance at the Joker. The Joker was looking back at him intently, sadness in his eyes.
A warm feeling washed over Batman, stunning him for a moment. But he promptly shook it off and continued out the door.
The Joker lay alone in the bed, staring at the ceiling. The Bat signal was both his enemy and his dearest friend, but no matter which way he thought of the wretched thing it always took his Batman away.
He hated being in there alone. It left him a million hours to think of himself and Batman, together or apart. In this case apart.
His eyes began to sting with tears, but he rubbed them frantically away. As hard as he tried, he couldn't think of anything to make him laugh. All he wanted was to be himself. It was so frustrating to him that he was only acting like a shell; a copy of himself. Already things felt different. Like someone had flipped a switch, changing him into something he didn't want to be. He turned away from the window in defeat and let tears run down his cheeks.
There were only a few tears, but it was enough to disgust him. He grimaced, but he did absolutely nothing to stop them. There was nothing he could do. Finally, he let himself break down completely. Sobs wracked his broken body relentlessly, refusing to let up.
The more he cried, the more exhausted he felt. His body was rebelling against him and he couldn't do a damn thing about it. Though he was pretty sure that it was the sex that caused the exhaustion, not the crying. But for the longest time, he couldn't even work up the strength to roll away from the window. He was forced to lay there and watch the Bat signal taunt him, all the while fighting to breathe.
Batman was gone for hours. The Joker wondered subconsciously if he'd ever come back. What if he was with one of his many damsels in distress? He felt so stupid. Of course Batman had a girlfriend. Why wouldn't he? His heart lay shattered on the ground, far beyond repair.
"Leave it to me to fall for the cute heartbreaker."
The Joker was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't even heard Batman come back in.
The Dark Knight stood in the doorway, watching. The Joker's pale back was faced towards him and in the moonlight he could see him shaking. Batman walked forward and sat on the bed, placing his hand on the Joker's bare shoulder. Even through his gloves, he could feel that his skin was ice cold. The Joker turned his head to look, revealing red eyes and tear stained cheeks.
Startled, Batman removed his hand and sat up. He had never seen the Joker honestly cry before. In a way, it scared him more than anything else the Joker could have done. Then without warning, the Joker sat up and let himself fall onto Batman's chest. When Batman didn't move away he buried his face in Batman's neck. Batman was shocked to say the least, but he didn't pull away. Having the Joker against him felt right, even though he was too afraid to say it out loud. If he said it aloud, then it would become too real.
After the initial shock wore off, he closed his eyes, the warmth of the Joker's cheek on his neck. As dangerously wrong as this was, neither of them could end it. They both knew this was a deadly game of cat and mouse that never intended to stop.
At that moment, Alfred walked it and saw them. Embarrassed, he immediately cast his head down.
"Oh sir...you have no idea what you're getting yourself into."
He turned and walked back out the door, shutting it on the way out.
.C.N.
The next morning, Alfred was up bright and early. Despite the late night, he felt obliged to get up and do what he was expected to do. Not that Bruce Wayne would've cared at that point. He was in far too deep to wonder what Alfred was doing.
He went about his business as normally as possible, decidedly avoiding the Batcave. That would have to be cleaned later. From the looks of things, it would be much later. Everything was moving along smoothly and it looked as though it was going to be an uneventful day. That is, until the mail arrived.
It was around three in the afternoon that Alfred retrieved the mail and brought it back to the house. As he was sorting through it on the kitchen table, a package caught his eye. There was nothing on the box at all. It was just a white cardboard box sealed with tape. Alfred opened it to find a large brown envelope with the word 'confidential' stamped across the front in red letters.
As he opened the flap on the envelope, he was worried. He was certain that he knew what it was, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to know. Knowing meant that he would have something else to tell Bruce. Alfred was having a hard enough time telling him the first problem. But, he had a feeling that this would be far worse.
Alfred pulled the contents of the envelope out and looked through it. It was a large collection of tests that had been run on the blood he sent in. The first few sheets weren't much to worry about, just run of the mill physician tests. But the next few pages were a little more interesting. According to these pages, there was something distressing about the Joker's health.
He knew he had to tell Bruce right then. Alfred had no right to hide this from him. He walked around the corner to knock on the door, but instead he found Bruce, still in the Batsuit, sitting in a chair by the wall.
Alfred opened his mouth to speak, but Bruce beat him to the punch.
"Bruce Wayne doesn't love the Joker."
Alfred paused, confused.
"What do you mean, sir?"
"I am two different people, Alfred. Without that cape and mask, he means nothing to me."
Alfred didn't know if he could believe that. The man sitting in front of him looked troubled, yet there was a certain contentedness about him. Like some huge atomic weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Alfred had only seen that look on Bruce once before, and that was years ago.
"Alfred, I'm lost."
"I know."
"What do I do?"
Suddenly, Alfred saw his chance to tell Bruce.
"Well, if you don't care about him when you don't have your mask...I suggest you take the mask off."
"What on earth do you mean, Alfred?" Bruce asked, taking off the Batsuit and putting on pants.
"I have to tell you something and if you don't care about the Joker, it may mean little, maybe even nothing, to you."
"I could care less about him. Just tell me."
"I tried to tell you this yesterday, but the reason I was worried about your safety was because the Joker's leg isn't broken anymore,"
Bruce opened his mouth, but Alfred stopped him.
"I don't know why it healed so fast, but I'm sure the answer will present itself soon enough. But sir, that isn't all. He was sick long before he came here."
"...What? But, he was fine. I've fought him. He's been fine."
"No, sir. I...was suspicious when he first came, so I took a blood sample when he was asleep and sent it to some specialists outside of Gotham. I must have taken them two weeks ago, but I just got the results back today. It's a problem with the iron level in his blood. It causes fatigue and faintness, among other things. And well..."
Silence dominated the room. The tension was just too much to bear.
"And?"
Alfred turned his head away and tried to figure out the best way to say it. He knew it wouldn't end well no matter how gentle he was.
Bruce stood up and grabbed Alfred's shoulders.
"What is it?" He asked, sternly.
Bruce searched Alfred's face for answers as his butler took a deep breath.
"Sir...the Joker has anemia."
Anemia is a disease of the blood, by the way. More will be explained soon. Review if you can! - Claire Napier
Also, go read Nancy Nix's Batman stories! I referenced one of them in here, but they're all fantastic.