Joker exhaled impatiently through his nose as he glanced at his watch for the hundredth time since he had woken up at seven to come downstairs. It was now nearing eleven and as he and Dotcom finished making a list for things from the store, he drummed his fingers on the table, turning his head to glance up at the second story. His eyes rolled when he noticed it empty but turned back when Dotcom stood up.

"I'm surprised you haven't gone to wake her up yet." he said over his shoulder as he walked to the kitchen. Joker sat up with one eyebrow cocked, looking as though something had just dawned on him.

"Ya know what? Me too." And with that, he stood abruptly from the table to march over to the stairs and go up to his room. At the door, he paused for just a second before pushing it open to reveal a completely dark bedroom, save for the light now spilling in around him. Across the room, he could see her sleeping figure tucked under all of his blankets so he shut the door behind him to creep over to the bed.

As gently as he could, he starting crawling up the bed toward her on fours until his knees and hands came to stop on either side of her. Surprisingly, she was still asleep even with the movement of his weight and for several moments, Joker stayed still and quiet, wondering which way was best to approach this. On one hand, he could be cute and make her day by leaning down to kiss her exposed shoulder then bury his face against her neck but then again, he could just be himself and scare the living daylights out of her. A nasty grin spread across his face as he imagined the next few moments.

Taking a deep breath in, he shouted "Jayde! Wake up!" at the top of his lungs and several things happened all at the same time.

Jayde gasped, sitting up quickly, but she banged into Joker hard, causing her to then scream, all while her knees came up to hit him right between the legs. Joker groaned loudly, rolling to the side to curl up in a ball while Jayde sat up, slapping him hard on the shoulder.

"What the fuck is your problem?" she shouted, raking her fingers into her curls to push them away from her face. "You gave me fucking heart attack!"

Beside her, Joker was still moaning, one hand between his legs, the other gripping his other elbow. "MY problem? You just kneed me in the nuts so hard…" he whined, rolling onto his back with his eyes still squeezed shut. He swallowed hard but grunted again when Jayde landed another hard smack on the middle of his chest.

"You deserved it." She snapped, standing up from the bed. "What did you want anyways? What time is it?"

By now, Joker had uncurled and was now sitting up, still looking rather uncomfortable as he scooted to the edge of the bed. He winced when he stood up to tower over her while she picked up her discarded panties from the night before.

"It's almost eleven and you need to go to the city." He answered, following her to the door to step out into the sun light filled hallway. Jayde nodded, but turned to him as he shut the door behind them.

"Fine, but only if you kiss me first." She said, tilting her head to look up at him as he leaned against the door with his arms folded over his chest. He looked away with a roll of his eyes before looking back down at her.

"You just crushed my dick, Jayde…" he answered, arching one eyebrow while Jayde frowned.

"And you just went out of your way to scare the shit outta me…" she paused, before taking a step toward him. "Call it even?"

Joker cocked his head to the side, squinting at her while he evaluated her request before he nodded and leaned down to meet her halfway as she rose onto her toes. Their lips met somewhere in the middle and he couldn't help but let his hand reach up to slide under her hair at the back of her neck. Jayde sighed against him but he pulled away a moment later, licking his lips.

"Alright, now go get dressed. You and Dotcom are leaving soon." He said, smacking her lightly on the ass as she turned to walk down to her room. She jumped, turning her head to glare at him over her shoulder as she went.

Downstairs, Dotcom had just retrieved the keys to the Escalade when Joker walked over, cracking his knuckles. He looked up, wiggling his nose to scoot his glasses back up. His boss seemed to be thinking about something as he glared at him, squinting.

"I feel like I should be going with you two." He blurted a few moments later, drumming his fingers on the counter. "If something happens-…" he went on, but Dotcom cut across him, shaking his head.

"Nothing is going to happen. It's all planned out to where no one will even see her with me." he explained, but hesitated before he went on, shaking his head. "Things are too hot in Gotham right now for you to risk it. You should just stay here. I'm taking my phone so I'll just call if anything goes down."

By then, Jayde was coming down the stairs, now dressed in jeans and a sweater and was looking at Joker and Dotcom by the garage door with a slight frown as she approached.

"Everything cool?" she asked, looking first to Joker, then to Dotcom as he nodded, smirking at Joker behind his back.

"Everything is fine." He answered, opening the door with keys in hand. "Joker was just worried about you going out without him…Actually kind of sweet, if you ask me." Jayde grinned as Dotcom disappeared into the garage leaving Joker to glare after him angrily before he turned to Jayde. He rolled his eyes.

"Just play it safe, 'right, tuts?" he asked, handing her a piece of paper. She took it from him before rising onto her very tip-toes to kiss his cheek.

"Don't worry."

With that, she left him standing there to go join Dotcom in the Escalade and Joker watched her go until the door had closed behind her. Even then, he stood there, listening until the sound of the engine died off and he felt extremely ashamed of himself for feeling a little like a dog that got left out of a fun car ride. He realized after just two days stuck this house, he was already starting to feel anxious and wound up although the previous night with Jayde had certainly helped ease a bit of it. Still, he felt a little like running in circles.

Tre had called him that morning from Chicago saying that he had packed overnight and that he was on his way so after doing a little math, Joker had estimated that, without stopping, he would be there at around two that coming morning. So Joker figured it would be a good idea to go check out Grizz's old room and get it empty before their new 'roommate' arrived.

The ride to Gotham city did not seem to take as long as it usually did but she figured it was because she and Dotcom were actually having interesting conversations. They had just been laughing at a story he had told her about a few of his friends from the city when they pulled off the interstate onto an exit ramp.

"So I bet Joker has told you some pretty interesting stuff," he said, glancing over to motion with his hand. "C'mon, give me somethin'." Jayde laughed, shrugging.

"He hasn't really told me anything too-…" she paused, looking over at Dotcom with a serious face. "Ok, if I tell you, you have to swear you wont say anything, even as a joke. Ok? He would be so pissed." When Dotcom nodded eagerly, she took a deep breath. "He told me his name…like, his real one…"

"And?" he urged her on when she hesitated. "Oh, please say it's like 'Bob' or 'Hank' or something…" Jayde laughed, shaking her head.

"It's Kieron…Apparently, it means 'little dark one'." She finally said, watching Dotcom until he shrugged, looking back over at her.

"Well, that's a pretty hot name." He put honestly, laughing when Jayde tossed her hands.

"I know! That's what I told him, but he hates it." She shook her head, glancing out the window as they pulled into the basement of her apartment building. "He tries to act like he doesn't know what a stud muffin he is…" her voice trailed off when Dotcom laughed, turning off the car.

"Oh, but he does. He definitely knows, how else do you think he lured all those women he killed back to the house? Some he had to drug, others…he didn't have to." Dotcom was saying in a rather off-handed way as Jayde unbuckled her seat belt, suddenly feeling a weight drop into her stomach; she had almost forgotten about that.

"Right," she agreed absentmindedly, glancing down at the grocery list in her hand before stepping out of the car. "It shouldn't take me too long…" She started to walk away, her mind still spinning a little when Dotcom called after her.

"Wait, wait! Jayde! Come back for a second."

She doubled back, sitting back down in the front seat, holding out her hand when he reached for her wrist. He was holding a small silver watch and fastened it around her wrist before reaching into his coat pocket again to pull out a tiny ear piece.

"Holy shit, Joker would've killed me if I had forgotten to use this and something happ-…Oh my god…" he was muttering to himself while he tested the earpiece on his own ear before handing it to Jayde. "Alright, this is a tiny microphone and receiver." He then started to explain, pointing at the watch while Jayde placed the tiny flesh colored ear piece in her ear. "I can hear what you're saying and you can hear me, that way if you run into any one, police meaning, I'll know what's going on."

So Jayde, feeling slightly more apprehensive than before, set out again, glancing both ways as she crossed the garage to the stairwell entrance, hoping beyond all belief that her neighbor would not be in there. When she first opened the door to go up, she paused, listening for the sound of cheap heels clicking from anywhere above her, but it was completely silent.

Once she had made it to the first floor landing, she made a right and stepped out through the door and out onto the sidewalk to head across the street to the large grocery store. Keeping her head up, Jayde walked confidently, hoping that she looked as if she was going about her business as usual. She did not think there was anyone watching her but she figured one could never be too careful and that it might look suspicious if she kept glancing around.

After getting a cart inside the store, Jayde glanced down at the list in her hand to find the first item and she went ahead, walking toward the refrigerators, surprised to find herself still a bit distracted by what Dotcom had said in the car. She shook her head slightly, willing herself to forget about it. A second later, Dotcom's unexpected voice in her ear caused her to jump.

"Everything alright?" he asked when Jayde had just leaned over to pick something up from a cooler. She took a deep breath as she placed the gallon of milk in the shopping cart.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up killing me eventually, Dotcom." She murmured quietly, continuing to walk along the aisles casually. There was a pause on the other end of the ear piece.

His voice came through again, a moment later. "I don't think so, Jayde." He answered honestly and Jayde noted then how much she liked that about him; he never tried to pretend things weren't the way they were. When she had expected him to say 'No way! That wont happen,' or something like that, he had come right out with it and she now grinned to herself at how up-front he was and how refreshing it felt to have someone be completely honest with her.

"Why don't you think so?" she then asked, glancing to see if anyone was watching her talk to herself. Dotcom sighed from the other end and she could tell he was rolling his eyes.

"Because I've seen the way he looks at you," He answered. "he's fascinated by you and…you're still around even after three months. You waited for him for three months and that meant something to him. Joker is big on loyalty, Jayde. I really don't think you should worry." Dotcom paused and Jayde reached out for a loaf of bread, already half-way down the list. "And I think that even if Joker decided he was tired of you, he would give you a chance to leave before he…ya know…killed you. And that's saying something."

Jayde wasn't really sure what to say to this, so the ear piece fell quiet for a bit while she finished making her way down the list, finally reaching the last item- laundry detergent. She grabbed the largest box they had and made her way toward the registers, looking down momentarily to hide her lips moving.

"I'm checking out now," she murmured, looking back up to move forward into the shortest line, behind an old man.

From the other end of the ear piece, Jayde heard Dotcom start the truck. "Alright, just pay with your card. I put money on there this morning." Jayde smirked to herself again at how clever both he and Joker were.

Once she had paid and taken all of the bags out of the cart, she hurried back outside to walk over to the crosswalk and back across the street to the stairwell door. She jumped as it swung open, held that way by Dotcom and he reached out as she stepped inside, taking half of the bags from her. Jayde groaned, rubbing her shoulder as they went back down the stairs to the waiting SUV.

With all the bags loaded into the back, Jayde got in next to Dotcom who immediately pulled out his phone while she plucked the ear piece from her ear. As he backed out of the parking space slowly, he dialed a number before pressing it to his ear.

"I promised him I would call when we were on our way." He explained in a mutter, rolling his eyes while it rang. Jayde could hear it and she listened hard but grinned to herself when Dotcom seemingly knew she would want to hear what he said and put the phone on speaker, pulling it away from his ear.

"Is she alive?" came a raspy, gravely voice through the phone after only two rings, causing that grin on Jayde's face to expand into a smile. Dotcom rolled his eyes generously again.

"Yes, she's alive. We're headed back."

"Good." 'Click'

Twenty minutes later, the Escalade bounced into the driveway only to stop momentarily while the garage door slid up. When Jayde had expected to find Joker standing there, waiting, she couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed when the door opened to reveal a completely empty garage. Figuring that he was just inside, she climbed out to get half of the bags from the back before walking over to let them inside.

But once again, upon entering, she and Dotcom found the first floor empty and she was just about to call his name when a dull thud from the other side of the house caught her attention. After setting the bags down on the counter, she walked toward the source of the sound to find that it had seemingly come from the only bedroom on the first floor, just behind the underside of the stairs. She was almost positive she could remember this being Grizz's old room but she had never been in there and wouldn't have dreamt of entering when the huge, black thug of Joker's had been alive. But since Joker was no where to be seen and the only sound had come from inside there, Jayde figured who she would find if she pushed the slightly cracked door all the way open.

Sure enough, just inside, Joker had just pushed the bed across the room and was now standing up to crack his back a few times. He hadn't heard the door open so Jayde took advantage of the moment to pause in the doorway and take in the sight of him in a white tank-top and jeans that sat extra low on his hips. A second later, he turned and saw her standing there, a smirk immediately jumping to twitch his scars.

"Oh," he said, placing his hands on his hips to take a deep breath. "Hiiii." Jayde grinned, crossing the room to him as he pulled the hair tie from his short ponytail to shake his waves out. "Did you girls have-" he began tauntingly, but Jayde cut him off by rising onto her tip toes to pull his neck down and kiss him abruptly on the lips.

Joker grunted once against her lips but let himself reply to her kiss, leaning down slightly as she tilted toward him, her hands coming to rest on his forearms. As she stood there, Jayde realized that even if he did come to grow tired of her, they still had that moment and the one after it to enjoy each other's company. They would cross that bridge when they came to it.

Several hours later, all the groceries had been put away, Tre's new room was empty and set up properly, and Jayde and Joker found themselves upstairs in her room, watching tv from the bed. While Jayde leaned comfortably against the pillows, Joker had decided to lay on his side with his head rested on her lap and was now drifting in and out as she played with his hair. At first she had combed her fingers through it slowly but had now retired to wrapping a tendril around her finger then letting it unwind itself, gently…methodically…the Joker was practically purring.

He had just about completely slipped off to sleep when Jayde stopped, breaking the silence.

"When is Tre going to get here?" she asked out of nowhere and Joker took a deep, sleepy breath as he curled his fingers into fists, cracking his knuckles.

"Probably not until two or so." He exhaled heavily, opening his eyes to turn onto his back and look up at her. "Why?" he then asked, arching an eyebrow. Jayde shrugged, shifting her gaze from the tv to meet his eyes.

"I'm just excited to get to know him. I didn't really get much of a chance to when we were there." She explained, reaching back down to push her fingers into his hair while he nodded, turning back over onto his side to face the tv. Jayde looked down at some of his soft wavy hair between her fingers, momentarily envious of his natural, honey colored highlights.

"Are you going to keep your hair like this?" she asked randomly, frowning when he barked "Hell no!" and reached up to pull a piece down over his face as if gauging how long it was.

"Why not? I think it looks good." She admitted, watching him as he blew the piece of blonde hair back out of his face.

"'Cause I look like some punk, faggot, surfer kid that just came in from the beach. Not a good look." He suddenly sat up, holding up a finger. "That reminds me," he leaned to the side to pull his phone from his back pocket. "I should have Tre stop by Maggie's on his way in and pick up the green dye she owes me…"

At this, Jayde arched an eyebrow, watching him as he dialed a number; she decided it was probably better not to ask who 'Maggie' was. After a few rings, someone answered the phone on the other end and Jayde listened as Joker gave specific instructions to Tre before he hung up and tucked the phone back into his pocket.

"I got big things in the works, Jayde…" he explained a moment later as he lay back down with his head on her lap. "And I know they say 'blondes have more fun' but I still can't be running around trying to wreak havoc on Gotham looking like-," he paused to yawn. "-Malibu Barbie…"

Jayde laughed, reaching down to comb her nails along the side of his head, through his hair, forcing him to give in to a slight shiver. Her eyes drifted back to the tv, watching mindlessly as her hands gradually slowed until they stopped completely, and it eventually dawned on Jayde that Joker had not moved nor made a sound in what now felt like almost an hour. Sure enough, when she looked down, she found that he was indeed completely out on her lap, growling quietly as he slept, his breathing deep and even. Jayde grinned to herself when she noticed the characteristic scowl on his face and almost felt the slightest bit glad that Joker trusted her enough to let himself be vulnerable around her…sometimes.

Moving as slowly and gently as she could, Jayde slid down further into the pillows when she felt the sleepies begin to creep up on her, tugging at her eyelids. Luckily, Joker barely moved so she closed her eyes to drift off along with him.

It may well have been midnight by the time Jayde stirred, groaning softly before she opened her eyes. Something had woken her and once her head cleared a bit, she realized it had been the sensation of something gliding along her stomach. At first, without looking, she had no idea what it was, but she could still feel a warmth just next to her and upon opening her eyes and looking down, she sighed when she saw that the Joker was awake and was now tracing his finger along her stomach. He was just barely touching her, creating patterns as he watched the tip of his finger glide along her skin, over her hipbones and around her belly button.

"Mmmm…" Jayde groaned, closing her eyes again when Joker replaced his finger with his lips, leaving a gentle kiss on the side of her stomach near her left hipbone. She reached out to stretch her arms but gasped a little when his teeth suddenly nipped at a section of her skin, just hard enough to leave a small red mark. When he continued on, he kissed a few more places before using his teeth again, this time up toward her ribs and Jayde jumped, squealing slightly as he tickled her.

"Ok, stop…" she murmured, reaching down to pinch him but he apparently was not listening and instead wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her still as he caught her skin between his teeth. "Joker, stop." She said again, louder, trying ineffectively not to giggle as he nibbled on her with his front teeth. Again, he did not stop and by now Jayde was laughing, wriggling in his grip to get away from him while he just held on tighter. His other arm had been sliding underneath her until he could link them around her waist and Jayde let out a loud squeal of laughter when he dug his thumb into her side.

"STOP!" she finally screamed, tilting her head back as Joker hummed, pulling her down until she was laying under him as he leaned on one elbow next to her. He opened his eyes, meeting hers and a moment or two passed here where he looked from one of her blue orbs to the other and back a few times, Jayde wishing desperately that she knew what was going on in that mind of his.

She jumped when Dotcom's voice called out from downstairs, breaking the staring contest she and Joker had fallen into but instead of groaning irritably, Jayde was surprised when he leaned down, connecting their lips.

"GUYS!"

Dotcom's voice shouted from downstairs again, but Joker did not pull away and instead brought his other hand up to the opposite side of her face, turning it more toward his to deepen their kiss. Jayde responded deeply, letting her fingers rest on his shoulders but a second later, Joker had pulled away only slightly so that his lips just hovered over hers. She sighed, reaching up to push a bit of his hair away from his face.

"Are you gonna be mad if I call you Kieron?" she asked in a soft whisper, opening her eyes to look up at him as he did the same to look down at her. He blinked, but then slowly shook his head from left to right.

"No."

"Uh, GUYS?"Dotcom's voice now sounded as though he were standing right outside the door and when he said 'oh' a moment later, Jayde figured he must have turned the corner to find them laying in her bed, Joker practically cradling Jayde as they talked quietly to each other.

Her eyes had started to water in the outer corners from the way she was laying and Joker noticed, using his thumb to wipe some of the moisture away, still glancing from eye to eye, studying her. He kissed her one more time, hoping to memorize the way it felt, just in case he ever got arrested again.

Jayde barely even knew it had ended before she found Joker had released her and was now standing from the bed, smoothing out his grey t-shirt along his chest. She sat up, watching dejectedly as he strode from the room without another word, cracking his back, out onto the balcony where he leaned on the railing.

"Hey!" he shouted harshly down at Dotcom. "What were you squealin' about, boy?"

Jayde heard him reply "Dinner!" from far off so she stood up to follow Joker downstairs to the table where Dotcom had already started eating. As she approached, he let his eyes rise over the top of the book he was reading on fake IP addresses to make eye contact with Jayde. He raised one eyebrow at her and she rolled her eyes, knowing they would be talking later.

Dinner was delicious and Jayde thanked Dotcom for cooking by taking all the dishes in to put them in the washer and scrub the pots and pants. By then, it was nearing ten o'clock and Jayde strained her ears as she heard Joker's phone ring from the kitchen. He answered but his voice trailed off as he went upstairs, into his office to shut the door behind him. Jayde sighed when she heard it snap shut and shook her head at how infuriating he was sometimes…well, most of the time.

She could remember from before- Joker had an irritating habit of being incredibly sweet and gentle, even romantic with her one minute, only to act like she did not even exist, the next. She looked up as Dotcom walked over, hopping up onto the counter next to her. He leaned in after he had glanced over his shoulder to make sure Joker was still in his office.

"So…that was interesting to walk-in on…" he murmured, taking off his glasses to clean them with his shirt. "What was that all about?" Jayde rolled her eyes, scrubbing the inside of a steel pan a little harder than she normally would have done.

"Nothing. Joker was just in one of his cute, flirty moods." She answered somewhat bitterly, glancing up as Dotcom nodded. He must have been able to tell it was bothering her as he slid off the counter, taking her wrist to pull her outside onto the back porch with him for their now nightly cigarette.

"I wouldn't let it bother you, Jayde." He said quietly a few moments after they had both lit a smoke. "It's only his second day back, he probably just needs time to get used to everyone again." Jayde nodded and it fell quiet on the porch.

After a few minutes, both Jayde and Dotcom jumped slightly when the tall, glass door behind them slid open and Joker stepped out to sit in between them at the round table and take a cigarette from the pack that was sitting there. He lit it and inhaled deeply, leaning back in the chair as a thin trail of smoke issued from between his lips. Jayde watched him at first, but looked away when he caught her staring. He smirked to himself, fully pleased with the way he was confusing her with his severely mixed signals.

As Joker sat there, he started to frown slowly, glancing from the side profile of Jayde to the side profile of Dotcom and back again. It was deafeningly silent on the porch, both of them staring off in different directions and it was starting to make him feel a little anxious and itchy. A moment later, however, Dotcom put his cigarette out and stood up, muttering something about 'shower…and bed' as he stepped inside. Joker watched him go, still frowning, but looked back to Jayde when she exhaled smoke, still staring off aimlessly as if in a trance. He smacked his hand down on the table close to her, causing her to jump and blink several times as she looked over.

"Why so serious, Jayyyde?" he asked, leaning forward with his hands linked together on the table in front of him. Jayde shrugged, turning to face him in the chair. She leaned forward as well, tilting her head to the side.

"I wont lie, Joker. You confuse me." she said, smirking when she noticed Joker blink, obviously a little thrown-off by her candidness. He copied her, tilting his head to the same side and throwing a smirk back at her.

"Well, they don't call me the Joker for nothin', sweet tits." He answered, raising his eyebrows to grin when Jayde's face fell and she rolled her eyes. She was about to go on but once again, Joker's phone rang and he stood up, answering it. Jayde sighed and was about to really start feeling dejected if he just walked away and went upstairs again. But only a half- second later, she looked up when Joker held his hand out to her, waiting for her to place hers within it. He was looking down at her expectantly as she glanced from his hand back to his eyes skeptically a few times but she eventually took it, allowing him to stand her up from the chair.

She followed him inside, glancing down when she felt him shift his hand so their fingers were linked together and like that, he pulled her around the living room and kitchen, turning off lights with his free hand as they went. His head was tilted to the side, still on the phone with Tre as he held it between his shoulder and the side of his head. Jayde continued to follow him after having tried to let go of his hand only for Joker to tighten his grip and by the time he finally hung up, they had already made it to the stairs.

The entire house was dark now, save for the faint blue light shining inside from the moon, but just when Jayde expected Joker to go all the way up to walk down the hallway, he stopped on the top step and turned to sit. At first, Jayde hesitated but he looked up expectantly at her, his stand still tightly holding hers, so she sat down next to him. She looked over when Joker let go of her hand to cross his arms over his knees with a sigh as he looked out over the dark, bottom floor.

"So, talk to me, kiddo." He started randomly after a few silent moments and he looked over at Jayde, raising his eyebrows. "Tell me somethin' interesting."

"Uh…" Jayde stammered at first, the randomness of his request catching her quite off-guard. "Um…I'm allergic to bees…and honey." She finally said, turning a little to lean back against the railing of the stairs as Joker nodded.

"That's interesting." He answered, unfolding his arms to place his hands behind him and lean on them.

"Are you allergic to anything?" she asked somewhat carefully at first, arching an eyebrow when he laughed quietly, scratching at a itch over his shoulder.

"I'm lactose- intolerant, if that's an allergy." He said after a brief pause, laughing again when Jayde gasped.

"Are you really?" she asked in partial disbelief. The Joker was just full of strange, random surprises. He nodded but Jayde went on, shaking her head. "But I've seen you eat ice cream before and you were fine."

Joker nodded again, raising his hand to make the space between his thumb and forefinger very small. "I only had a tiiiny bit." He explained, turning to sit like Jayde was, with his back against the railing behind him, facing her. "A spoonful of ice cream wont kill me, but say, an entire glass of just straight milk?" he groaned, rolling his eyes. "I would probably die."

Jayde laughed, shaking her head and it grew quiet again for almost a full two minutes before she looked up, linking her hands together. She wasn't sure if her next question would kick things from somewhat pleasant, sitting there talking to him, to awkward in one swoop, but it had been bothering her for quite some time so she gambled on it.

"I've been meaning to ask you…" she started, but paused and immediately wished she hadn't as Joker looked over, now paying full-attention to her. An awkward laugh escaped her as she looked down at her hands. "Do you think maybe we should…ya know…use protection from now on? Like…I dunno…" she was about to keep rambling on when Joker started laughing, shaking his head once he caught on.

"There's no need for that, sweetie." He answered, patting his knee a few times. "It's already been taken care of. See, I didn't really think I was the type that ought to, uh…reproduce…So, I went and got fixed. Problem solved." He explained, holding out his hands. Jayde stared at him.

"You had a vasectomy?" she asked, absolutely intrigued by this point and she sat up, leaning on her knees. Joker nodded, shrugging.

"Something like that."

Jayde slowly shook her head, leaning back again. "You are somethin' else, Joker. Just a wealth of strangeness." She said, grinning when he inclined his head.

"I take that as a compliment."

For several hours, Joker and Jayde sat on that top step, looking out over the house, talking and laughing about anything and everything, about stories from their pasts, about their most embarrassing moments and as Joker glanced at his phone, yawning, his eyes grew wide. The time now read '1: 37 am' and he looked over at Jayde as she caught his previous yawn and was now stifling it behind her hand as her eyes closed tight.

"You can go to bed if you want." He said quietly, watching her as she scooted closer and closer to him along the carpeted stair. "Tre probably wont be here for another hour or two."

By now, she was right up next to him and her arm linked with his as her head tilted to the side to rest on his shoulder. He heard her sigh sleepily and he mentally kicked himself for having to try not to grin at how fucking nauseatingly cute she was sometimes. At first, Joker expected her to say something or even indicate that she had heard him, but she stayed quiet for several minutes, just sitting there rested against him. He ignored it, quietly lost on his own musings until he felt her head slip slightly on his shoulder. Laughing, he reached over, holding her upright as she grinned at herself for falling asleep.

"Jayde, go to bed." Joker now instructed and she nodded groggily, leaning over to kiss him on the shoulder before moving to rise from the stair. He looked over but only a second too late as she had already stood up and was now walking away down the hallway toward her room. As hard as he tried not to feel disappointed that she was not walking in the other direction toward his room, he knew that the time had come to define the terms of this…'friendship' they had started and that they had better start drawing some lines pretty soon…before things got out of hand.

A/N- IF YOU READ THIS, LEAVE A REVIEW…please. = ]

(QOM)