Been too long, apologies! Enjoy this bit, it's been a long time coming and it's taken a while for me to be satisfied. Thank you.

Claire Napier

Water clouded Bruce's eyes as he looked up at the sky. The rain hadn't let up for days and Gotham was lost in a dark and waterlogged gloom. The ground at the cemetery was soggy and with every step Bruce took, his shoe squished into the mud. At that point though, he didn't care.

Visiting his parents' grave on the other side of town sometimes helped him clear his head, sometimes it didn't. Today it gave him a small amount of peace. Even though they couldn't answer him, it was comforting to know that they never changed or went away. They would forever be under their personal block of concrete; safe from the elements.

It had been a week since Batman had left the Joker out on the streets. Bruce had thought that getting the Joker away from his home would help his current fragile state of mind, but it didn't. He died a little bit more every time he looked outside at the slick streets. Everything reminded him of the sad clown he had left in the cold.

Bruce was constantly in a tragic situation, fighting with himself. The internal conflict, day in and day out, was slowly wearing him down to the point of unrest. He blamed it on other sources outside of himself, but he knew it was his own fault. His and Batman's. It had never been so hard to have two identities, but lately each identity had taken on entirely different outlooks on life.

Batman said no, Bruce said yes. Hot, cold, black, white; different ends of the spectrum. The biggest threat to his sanity wasn't the Joker, it was the big black nightmare he became when the sun when down.

He sighed and rested his hand on the tombstone one last time before walking away. The point of his outing had been to forget his troubles but he hadn't even accomplished that. The Joker saturated every thought no matter how hard he tried to block him out. Guilt left a thin coating over everything he did, making it impossible to function normally.

Bruce trudged back through the mixture of mud and grass and to his car. His hand met the cold metal of the handle and pulled it open with a click. Shivering, he sat on the fine leather seat and put the key into the ignition, but nothing happened. His hands stayed stationary on the steering wheel with no intention of going anywhere. Where did he honestly have to go?

He could go home, but Alfred would try to ask him about what had happened again. He also considered driving around to look for the Joker, but that was strictly out of the question for more reasons than one.

The Joker...

What had actually happened to him? Was he sick or hurt?

What if he was dead?

Suddenly Bruce felt a strange feeling mulling around in his abdomen. The incredible urge to empty the contents of his stomach hit him like a wrecking ball and he instinctively covered his mouth. He flung the car door open quickly and sprinted through the downpour to the single concrete bathroom on the outskirts of the cemetery.

Once there, he slammed the door shut and collapsed onto the tiled floor that was covered in God-knows-what. White-knuckled hands gripped the edge of the sink and a bar attached to the wall as he coughed and sputtered into the porcelain bowl. Minutes went by until finally he was reduced to dry heaves and watering eyes. Cold air stung his already sore throat as he took deep, panicky breaths.

Bruce clung, gasping, to the dirty toilet seat, not wanting to know how he got to this point of complete desperation. His eyes shut as the queasy feeling crept back up into his throat.

"Hey."

Bruce coughed and looked over his shoulder. No one. He resumed his previous position with his head next to the questionable looking bowl.

"Hey, you! Pretty boy!"

His head turned wearily to his left and drooped down onto the toilet seat, eye level with a pipe leaking brown liquid onto the ground. Well, there was no one under the sink.

"Up here."

Bruce lifted his head up and looked at the scratched mirror. His reflection was looking down at him shaking it's head.

"What have you let us come to?"

Frantically, Bruce shut his eyes and opened them again. His reflection was still glaring at him.

"Worrying yourself to the point of physical sickness?! Bruce, please."

The reflection leaned over and made a disgusted face. Bruce just blinked, hoping that this delusion, like the others before it, would eventually go away.

"I see we had the eggs for breakfast.... You know what your problem is Bruce?" Mirror Bruce paused and waited for his other to shake his head no, then continued, "Your problem, is that you are carrying two drastically different worlds on your shoulders. It's driving you mad and you can't remember how you ever made it balance in the past. Well I can tell you why you can't balance it now: you're afraid of where your alter ego is making you go. You're terrified of the feelings that it evokes in you."

Bruce continued gasping for air as he listened to his Mirror Self monologue.

"You agree with your point of view as Bruce Wayne. Of course you do, because it's safe. But with the other side, the one willing to take a chance, you are so scared of it that your fear manifests itself as sickness and insanity. How do you even know what is wrong or right? Stop fighting it, Bruce! You need to stop fighting and just let go!"

A sharp knock on the door made Bruce jump and turn away.

"Occupied!" Bruce croaked.

When he looked back up at the mirror, it simply showed him hanging over a toilet with bloodshot eyes. A piercing headache shot through his temples, blinding him for a moment. He groaned and lifted himself off of the ground, using the back of the toilet for balance. The grit and mess from the floor combined with the wetness of the rain created an all around feeling of discomfort, making it hard to walk. His previously clean black shoes squeaked across the tile until he reached the concrete welcome mat opening up back onto the grass.

The sun was just then dipping down, signaling the transition into night.

Bruce rubbed his head and walked slowly back to his car. It was beginning to look like he would be out late that night.

The strong smell of coffee beans woke him from his anemia-induced slumber. His eyes opened slowly; cautiously. He was lying on a couch...somewhere.

The quick flash of red seen from out of the corner of his eye told him exactly why he should have never woken up.

"Mistah J? Mistah J!"

Harley Quinn jumped and landed on him, cracking his back. The Joker yelped in pain and shoved her to the ground.

"Harley! What do you think you're doing?" He asked, sitting up.

She looked at him sheepishly and pushed a cup of coffee across the table towards him.

"Well, it's been a few days ya see and I was hoping you'd be back to your normal self, puddin'." Harley looked at him with a hopeful look in her eyes.

Truth was, he wasn't okay. He was cold, sick, and he was stuck with Harley who was under the impression that she could play nurse. In his book, that didn't equal 'okay'.

"Harley, Harley, Harley..."

Her heart beat against her ribs every time he said her name.

"I want to-no, wait. I need to leave here. There has been an unfortunate lack of mayhem around here for the past week or so and that needs to be remedied."

Harley smiled and stood.

"Of course! Things to be done, yes. But, can you go out in the rain, sugar?"

The Joker scowled and looked her straight in the eye. Before he could comment on her stupidity, he heard a hard knock at the door. Not really wanting to move, he nodded at Harley.

Swiftly, she hopped around the corner and out of sight. The Joker savored this precious moment alone, by contemplating what he would do. He could just leave, sneak away while Harley was at the door. There was a back door in the other room that he could easily slip through.

Harley's gasp interrupted his thoughts.

"Gotham City Police, you are under arrest for..."

The Joker decided he didn't want to stick around to hear the tail end of that sentence. Springing up, he leapt over the back of the couch and sped out the back door. After reaching back in briefly to grab his coat, he was off. As he ran down the building's fire escape he thought of Harley, but he let the rain wash that thought away. Why couldn't he be selfish?

The shrill sound of the police sirens echoed through the streets and bounced between alleyway walls, reminding him that he was never safe. It was getting dark, but he couldn't go back home. He definitely couldn't go back to the Batcave, seeing as he didn't know where it was. Not that he would anyway. The Joker laughed at his current situation. It just showed that he couldn't get comfortable anywhere.

He strolled through the wet streets, whistling. It was rather funny how he was trying to fool his mind into thinking that he was back to normal. He could talk the talk, but...

A police car rounded the corner quickly causing him to dive into the nearest alleyway. Honestly, he was tired of the alleyways. He stayed there among the trash for a while, collecting strange looks from a vast assortment of hobos. One even had the nerve to attempt touching him. The hobo in question was quickly taught that this was a 'no-no'.

After that incident, no one seemed to come across his particular alley again.

Hours later, long after sunset, the Joker was still there. He had found a deck of cards in his jacket pocket a few moments before and was now flinging the ones that weren't jokers into a nearby puddle. Leaning against the wall with one ankle crossed nonchalantly over the other, he sighed. Card after card landed in the puddle and floated across aimlessly.

"Ace of spades? No," he spun the card through the air and continued on, "Queen of hearts? Ha."

The queen of hearts fluttered through the air as rain drops quickened its descent. The soggy card missed the puddle, however, and landed at someone's feet. Someone wearing a fair amount of black.

The Joker could've sworn he heard a sigh of relief as he looked up. Batman hovered near the entrance of the alleyway, not moving. All that could be heard was the hum of the rain hitting the uneven ground.

"Oh look who it is. The Bat. Man." The Joker hissed.

The way the Joker separated the name made Batman cringe. The Joker pushed himself off the wall and walked slowly up to Batman. All Batman could see was the emptiness in the Joker's eyes.

"Why are you here. Didn't feel like you'd done enough?"

The Joker then turned his head and pointed to his papery white cheek.

"Just do it. Knock me out and leave me for dead. I know you're just aching to do it."

Batman just scowled and said nothing. The Joker turned his head back and looked down at the puddle with his cards in it. A smile played itself across his lips.

"Just do something. Please."

Batman didn't anticipate the Joker's next move, though he should have. The Joker swung at Batman's face, hitting him with a crack in the jaw. The clown jumped back laughing and holding his hand against his chest. Batman was painfully aware of his aching jaw as he watched the Joker with wide eyes. Giggling with an odd desperation in his voice, the Joker slammed his hand against the brick wall and leaned against it. His shoulders shook so hard, it was visible even in the heavy rain.

Something was off.

Batman walked up to the Joker, anger in his steps. But as he approached him, The Joker grabbed Batman's shoulders and shoved him against the wall with all of the strength he could muster. It was then that Batman decided he was done with being treated like a pinata.

He jumped back off of the wall and punched the Joker in the stomach making him cough and sputter in between laughs. Not pausing, Batman picked the Joker up by his collar and slammed him against the grimy wall. Pain shot through the Joker's eyes as he winced.

"There we go!" The Joker said, smiling.

"You are the only person I know that gets pleasure from pain," Batman said through clenched teeth.

"What can I say? I'm a sad masochistic clown!"

Batman opened his mouth to comment but was stopped by the Joker going limp in his grasp. He loosened his hold and the Joker fell into Batman's arms.

The clouds moved apart slowly, exposing the moon from its previous hiding place. Light reflected off of every wet surface, including the Joker's ruby red lips. Batman looked down at the Joker and contemplated his next move. The thought of taking the Joker back to his mansion crossed his mind.

It then dawned on him that they had just gone full circle. They were back at the start again.

Shaking his head, he carried the Joker to the Batmobile.

The door opened and Batman sat the Joker down on the seat. For a moment, the Joker's eyes fluttered open and he looked out at Batman. The rain provided a misty gray background, and the moon served as a back light.

"I knew you were an angel," The Joker mused giddily in a sleep drenched voice.

Batman looked down and walked to the other side of the car. Just as the Joker blacked out again, they were off into the deep abyss of Gotham City.

Alfred sighed as he saw Batman drag the Joker once again into the Batcave. He walked forward and called Bruce's name. No reply, just constant shuffling around.

"Bruce!"

Alfred put his hand on Batman's forearm, causing him to stop. Batman looked at Alfred, shame in his eyes.

"Don't ask me."

"What choice do I have? You've brought him here again with no care as to how this could affect all others around you!"

Batman yanked his arm away.

"I can't let him die!" He yelled.

Stunned by his response, Alfred nodded and solemnly walked away.

"Alfred...it's something I can't figure out. What's happening to me?"

The humble butler stopped, shook his head, and continued on his way until he was out the door. In a sudden burst of frustration, Batman slammed his hands down roughly on his computer keyboard, causing many of them to pop out of their places and clatter to the floor. He didn't bother picking them up.

The noise however, woke a certain hapless clown. The Joker sat up and looked at Batman with a curious expression. Batman just avoided contact altogether and opted to pick up the pieces of his keyboard.

Neither of them said a thing. Despite the fact that the Joker had just been kicked out rather recently, he was back. And once again he was sitting in the Batcave soaking wet. His mind flashed back to that night at the aquarium. It had been so cold...the ice ridden water biting his skin. It had felt very similar to the way he felt now. Batman sat at the large computer monitor repairing the damage and trying to block out the sounds that the Joker was making.

It wasn't the Joker's fault that his teeth were chattering.

Suddenly a loud fizzle sounded, followed by the clicking off of the computer. The power had gone out, rendering everything in the Batcave generally useless. The Joker mild mannered giggle morphed into a full fledged laugh-fest as he fell back onto the ground, clutching his sides.

Batman grimaced and finally stood from his chair. Unable to see as clearly as he would've liked, he groped along clumsily until his eyes adjusted. Once he could see again, he walked with purpose over to a small oak desk that seemed out of place among the machinery. A candle was sitting on the top with a lighter nearby. Grabbing both, Batman walked over to the Joker's spot on the floor and dropped the lighter in his lap.

"Here," he said, setting the candle down forcefully.

The Joker wiped a tear of laughter from his eye and caught his breath. Batman had just turned away to walk to the most hidden corner in the Batcave. The best place to escape from the Joker.

"Come now, it's not that bad is it?" The Joker asked.

Batman turned his head to the side, barely acknowledging the question. He did, however, stop walking away.

"Batsy, dear. Whatever it is that I did to offend you, I'm genuinely sorry!"

The slight edge of humor in his voice was what convinced Batman that sticking around to hear him wasn't worth it. Turning his head back, he looked at the furthest wall in front of him. He heard the lighter clicking on, then off again.

"If you absolutely didn't have to be here, you wouldn't be," Batman said in a barely audible whisper.

The Joker giggled and Batman turned around. He was sitting cross-legged like a child, bathed in the orange, wavering light of the candle. The flame swayed as he rocked back and forth gently, almost like he had something pressing on his mind.

"You said that last time. I always end up back with you though, do I not? If you really didn't want me back, we would both know. And I have no real reason to be here!"

Batman didn't know how to respond. He hated it when he was wrong and clearly he was.

"But, ya know I have a question of my own. Why did you never call?" The Joker grinned.

A simple lapse in judgement; one moment of weakness on Batman's part lead to all of this. Sleeping with the clown that was now rocking back and forth on his floor seemed utterly ridiculous. But it had also seemed like the right thing to do at the time. You know what they say: 'If you give a mouse a cookie, he'll want a glass of milk to go with it'. Unfortunately, he'd given the proverbial mouse the entire jar, and now he wanted more than Batman could give.

Needless to say, Batman didn't dignify the Joker's question with a reply.

"I thought what we had was special!" He cried, in mock sadness.

He hummed to himself while he stared at the mesmerizing candle. Batman shook his head and walked towards the Joker. He paused a few feet from the candle, making the Joker look up.

"Yes?"

"What is your intention here?"

"You're the only one I ever believed in."

Shock only paused him for a moment.

"What?"

"You're consistent. I'm all over the place! I never settle down for more than a minute, don't think I could handle it!" The Joker said, smiling.

Batman said nothing.

"Point is, I'd be dead without you. I'm so glad you exceeded my expectations," the Joker looked up to gauge Batman's reaction.

"Expectations?"

"It was a test. Now I couldn't live my entire life thinking that you were something you weren't could I? I knew you'd save anyone, no matter who they were. Haha oh Batsy! You could never let me die, I control this dance! And if I wasn't completely in love with you...," The Joker grinned and stood, leaning in close to Batman to whisper in his ear.

"...I would kill you."

Ah feels great to get this on here. Reviews are appreciated. And don't worry Harley will be back I swear! Thanks in advance!