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51. Slowly

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Disclaimer: As for a real disclaimer this time, um, well, there may be some inappropriate but much needed…action…in this chapter. You were forewarned. Hahahahehehehahahahohohheheehaahooheehah…There is also a scene involving drug use…another FYI. The song 'slowly' by Amon Tobin is fantastic for this chapter. I'd recommend listening to it, since I named the chapter for it!

Bruce and I walked down the hall in silence. When we got back to my office, we exchanged a short good-bye and a Merry Christmas. I was almost late for my med pass. I hadn't anticipated his question/answer session with the Joker would last so long. I was pretty upset with Bruce for putting me through that experience, but I was sure I'd experienced worse. It just further propelled my want to kill Pixie—a slow and painful death—at my hand.

I must have bee moving at the pace of a snail, because I didn't get through with my med pass until 8:30. I couldn't believe it. I only had thirty minutes until the Joker and I would be free for the evening—finally free to get my long awaited Christmas surprise.

I made my way back to my office and gathered my things. I then made a phone call up to the other NP on this evening, Lilly.

"Hey Lilly, it's Giada. Yeah, I'm not feeling so well—I just threw up in the bathroom up on seven. Would you be horribly upset with me if I took off for the evening? Are you sure? I feel awful leaving you, but my med pass is done, so you won't have to worry about that. Oh, okay, thank you so much Lilly. I owe you one. Bye now. Merry Christmas," I lied into the phone.

I took my belongings, and left my office. I clandestinely made my way up to the sixth floor, checking every which way to make sure no one was watching me. Finally, I swiped my badge to the Joker's door and slipped inside his room.

"Right on time," he remarked as the door closed behind me. I turned to face him, still a bit pissed about the Batman twenty question game.

"So you did drugs with Pixie these past two years, huh," I said finally, widening my eyes.

"And you're surprised by this? How else would you expect me to get by…being with...her…all the time?" he asked, amused by my tiff.

"Well, the fact that she was your fiancée should have helped you a bit," I huffed.

"Let's not discuss this here—we've got a date to escape this…place," he said finally. I let it go, but I wasn't going to let him get off that easily. Slowly but surely, I'd get it out of him.

"Let's get this over and done with—my nerves are ready to break," I demanded as I put on my winter coat and scarf. I glanced over at him and he was removing his makeup. He then placed a knit hat over his head, tucking his matted hair into the hat.

"So we're just gonna walk right out of here?" I asked, incredulous as I observed him getting out of his orange jumpsuit.

"Yup. Edward gave me these to wear over my clothes," he giggled as he pulled on another pair of pants over his purple ones, and another coat over his purple one. He then tied a scarf about his neck.

"Ready?" I asked, relatively calmly, seeing just how normal he could look. I remembered a time when he looked all cute and bundled up—the day we got our Christmas tree two years ago. My heart sank at the memory. I swiped my ID and we left the room. He had made it look like he was sleeping. I felt like I was assisting in a middle-school sneak-out. But it seemed to work. We made it all the way to the first floor without anyone questioning us. I simply told everyone he was my brother from Boston here to pick me up.

When we were free of the asylum, he took my hand in his and led me down a couple of side streets. Things were beginning to feel like they did in the past. I smiled on the inside, hoping that this surprise was going to well worth the wait. I just wished I didn't have to bring him back to the asylum—I wished he didn't have to blow it up either.

It wasn't until he led me down a familiar alley that my heart really started to quiver and tremble with anxiety. All I could remember were the days before Pixie Dust and how much I wanted him to love him—the times we spent together and my assisting him on various riggings. I missed those days. I missed how he held my hand like this as we meandered through the alley. When we stopped at the bottom of his familiar apartment building, I could only guess how many times he and Pixie probably stopped her in the last two years. I forced the thought from my mind as we climbed the memorable fire escape, my heart pounding each step of the way.

When we reached the top floor, he paused and turned around to me, "Wait here, just a…moment," he said in a low voice. I nodded my head and watched him as he kicked the window in and landed on his feet in the kitchen I had baked him cookies two years ago—the night he claimed to have forgotten me. I stood out in the cold waiting for him to come back. I wondered what the hell he was doing in there. Suddenly, I heard music coming from inside. Hm, that was interesting to me.

He retuned moments later, smirking at me through a freshly painted face and in his complete purple suit. He held out his gloved hand for me and helped me in. I landed in his arms. My hands clutched onto his upper arms. I had forgotten how strong his arms felt. He released me from his hold and led me into the rest of the familiar apartment. My heart skipped a beat as we turned the corner into his bedroom. The bed was made up, not messy like he and I had left it in the past. I wondered if this was something Pixie did, but I forced her from my mind again, afraid I would ruin his surprise.

"This is just the pre-lude to the actual surprise," he began, "I made sure to leave the place looking nice the night I got caught,"

"Wait, what?" I asked, unsure of what he was hinting at. I guessed this wasn't a product of Pixie.

He just smiled at me cunningly.

"Wait, so you…planned to get caught---and sent to Arkham?" I asked finally, his knowing smile setting into my mind.

"It was the only way I knew I could get a hold of you—when I heard you were…back…in Gotham—well, that was exciting enough for me. But then I heard through the…grapevine…that you were at Arkham, of all places. Easy for me to get in there—I'm crazy, you know," he explained.

"I can't believe it—and there I was thinking, wow, what an idiot to get caught stealing from a museum," I laughed at my stupidity. I really was out of practice with the Joker. It had been too long for me to be separated from him.

He licked his lips and stared hard into my eyes, "you know me better than you think you do—I haven't changed. Trust your…instincts with me. You'll be right when everyone else will be wrong—except maybe, the Bat," he snickered, "but you…you're something else, Giada," He brushed his gloved hand up by my ear and pushed the hair away from my face.

He leaned in, ready to whisper something to me, "I also know more about you than you think I do, remember?"

"Yes," I breathed, completely unable to make an audible sound. He had me breathless—speechless like the first night we were together.

"I know you're…" he cleared his throat, "jealous, of Pixie—but I assure you, she's nothing to me. I also know you're…upset…about the drugs. But see, it was my way of…dealing with…her. I can't stand her. So…I'd just…shoot up…or snort a line with her—mostly to shut her up—mostly for me to…get away from her," he explained.

"You know I did cocaine—I was addicted to it," I whispered.

"Mmhm. And I don't want to leave you feeling jealous of Pixie either. Admit it, Giada—you want to snort a line with me,"

He hit the nail on the head, but I didn't want to get back into drugs. I was jealous of her doing my drug with him, but I didn't want to get into drugs. I shook my head.

"You're absolutely right, but I don't have any desire to do drugs again—I'm clean and I love it," I spoke, fully capable of finding my voice.

"I have two lines over there—one for me and one for you—that's it—that's all, for the rest of our lives," he said, "I won't let you get addicted again—and I know you won't let me get addicted,"

"You weren't addicted before? You did heroine," I mused.

"I don't get addicted to drugs easily, Giada," he explained. Everything was whirling around my head so fast I could barely breathe. His scent, the apartment, the fact I could do cocaine one last time and have it be with him—I could become Jade with him. The music changed to a song I knew, "Slowly" by Amon Tobin. Everything about him and the way he spoke was seductive. He was seducing as he led me over to the dresser with the cocaine on it. He handed me a small paper tube.

"You first," he said. I took the tube and bent down and snorted the line. I nearly gagged as the terrible taste of the drug slowly leaked down the back of my throat. I forgot how much I hated the taste of cocaine. I watched him as he leaned down and snorted his line. He took it like a champ. It didn't take long before my heart started racing and the world around me was altered. His eyes were dark and seductive as he took my head in his hands and placed his lips to mine.

I fell loose in his arms as he placed me down on the bed and crawled on top of me. We undressed each other slowly, in time to the song. It felt perfect—I was elated. He kissed down my neck slowly until he got to my chest. He unsnapped my bra and tossed it to the ground. I rolled over on top of him and pulled his pants and boxer briefs off. He pulled me down onto him and spread kisses all across my body, like a thousand butterflies. They had all escaped from my stomach and were now covering my entire body.

I moaned softly into his ear as he placed himself inside me. I rocked back on him and he let out a soft groan. I rode on top of him for several minutes, until he flipped me over and did me from behind. I reached back and grabbed onto his hair and he pulsed himself in and out.

"Oh, Giada—I've missed…this feeling," he breathed heavily into my ear as he pulled on my hair.

"Me too," I sighed as I leaned over further, allowing him to penetrate me deeper. I was a perfect state of bliss—we were racing inside, but everything was slowly.