The rest of the day was uneventful. Harley was getting situated into her new room, and she had poor Frost haul all of the luggage that she had preemptively brought to said room. After that, because she was busy fussing with her closet and the room's decor, you didn't see her much. You were very grateful for this, since she had the type of personality that drained your social battery astonishingly quick. She was just always talking, and always smiling. You wished that she would come back down to Earth and abandon whatever utopian planet she was living on. Your life was at stake, and she was effectively crashing your and Joker's party by just being around. You figured she knew both of these things but just didn't care enough to act accordingly.

The silver lining of this shitty day you had was the end of it. The part where you laid on top of Joker's chest, ready to go to bed. The part where his body heat permeated through your thin tank top, warming your core and making your eyes droopy. If you had to endure Harley's nonsense to get this every night, then you would. Happily. Because no experience could ever measure up to how you felt in his arms.

"Are you okay?" he mumbled to you, gently playing with your hair. He could obviously sense your discomfort with the decision that you had come to; hell, anyone could, with how your attitude had been that day. Snapping more at your teammates, speaking to Joker less. You knew you were being immature, especially since you brought this situation upon yourself. But it was such a huge adjustment, one you felt like you were being forced to make. After all, you had to base this decision on what was best for your physical well-being, not your mental well-being.

"Fine," you said back. Immediately feeling guilty at your short reply, you added, "Thank you. I'm just struggling a little to deal with this."

You did not have to elaborate on what this was. He knew. "I know. If I remember right, though, this was your idea. Didn't I tell you that I wanted to give that whore the boot?"

   "Please, Joker. Not the time." The last thing you wanted to hear right then was fault being assigned to you. No matter how accurate the statement was, you did not want to take responsibility for the consequences of your own actions. You wanted to be comforted, not held accountable. You supposed that if that had been your goal, you had picked the wrong man for that.

   Joker couldn't help but snicker at your stern tone. This annoyed you, since he clearly did not feel the same unease with Harley that you did. You wanted to feel like he was one hundred percent in your corner, but how could he be if he could take all of this so lightly?

   "It was your idea, but I changed my tune too, baby," he volunteered, clearly trying to placate you. "You had good points. And I get that it's hard now that it's happening. Just please, don't take your regrets out on anybody else. She's here, so make the most of it until there's a reason to throw a tantrum. What do ya say, pretty?"

   While it was rather petty, you almost wanted him to kick her out at the slightest sign of you being uncomfortable. You knew this was impractical, since Harley could potentially be your most useful asset. However, you just wanted hard proof that you were priority number one to Joker. And although he was being rational, he wasn't showing you that. He hadn't blindly fulfilled your wishes. You knew your reliance on the idea of this submissive version of Joker was toxic, since you were not immune to faulty decisions or opinions, and since that was simply not the man you had fallen in love with. You couldn't craft him into something else just to suit your benefit. You did not want him to be the next Harley, for God's sake.

So, you conceded. "Okay."

"Atta girl. Sleep tight, now, okay princess?"

You nodded, nuzzling your cheek against the warm flesh of his chest. Nothing you were stressing about could be solved right at that moment anyway, so you needed to relax. "You too. I love you."

That declaration rolled off your tongue in a surprisingly natural way. You hadn't told him that yet due to the fact that you guys had only been dating for a couple weeks. Even in a normal relationship, those three words would've come too early, let alone in this one. You were with a sociopath, for God's sake, and he had literally said earlier that day that he wasn't sure if he loved you. All you did was look silly, and set yourself up for rejection.

You visibly colored as Joker looked at you questioningly, brow arched. He smirked. "What was that?"

"I love you." You knew that he had heard you, and he wouldn't drop this topic of conversation until you had repeated it.

"Hm?"

"J," you mumbled with a laugh, growing more embarrassed by the second. Here he was, creating all this buildup, only for it to inevitably lead to nothing.

"Come on, one more time."

"I love you."

He let out a noise that hovered somewhere between a longing sigh and a lustful growl. "Oh, baby," he moaned, stroking your hair. "And I love that you love me. I've got you right where I want ya."

   The rejection stung, even though it was expected. "Yeah?"

   "Yeah. Now, go to sleep, sweet one." He kissed the top of your head gently, a gesture unusually soft for a man like him. "Everything's gonna be okay, just as long as you trust me to protect ya. Don't I owe you that, for a love so devout?"

   "Yes."

   "Yes, I do. Goodnight, dollface."

   "Goodnight."

   He shut the light off, and you shut your eyes, listening to his heartbeat and finding patterns in the rise and fall of his chest. You latched onto these consistencies, knowing that among a world so uncertain, Joker was here, and he was alive. And that was all you needed to get you through anything and everything.

   Even with all the stress you were under, sleep came quickly. And, shortly after that, you began to dream.

                              *            *            *

You were in the mansion, attempting to look for Joker. You didn't know why you were doing this, but there was some urgency that you couldn't explain. Some compulsion to find him, and find him quick. You were shouting his name, going up staircases, peering in rooms. Yet, each time, you were met with no response from him.

In fact, you were met with no response from anyone. The mansion, usually abuzz with the activities of your team members, maids, cooks, and other staff, was eerily barren. Aside from your voice, it was completely silent, and there was no sign of life or movement anywhere. This was where you should have realized you were dreaming, since it was very unrealistic to just have everyone in your life disappear at once. But, this felt so real. You could even feel the thudding of your heart as your intuition told you that something was wrong.

Eventually, you had searched the whole house save for the assembly room. So, you hurried down the stairs, hoping with all your might that for some reason, Joker would be standing behind the door, ready to ease your tensions caused by God knew what.

As you walked into the kitchen, you felt your eerie sense of dread worsen. Like with every step you took, the more you realized you shouldn't go there. But, you knew you had to. You needed Joker right now. Why, though..?

Once you made it to the assembly room, you stood in front of the closed door. You forced yourself to stand tall despite the fact that nobody was watching. The last thing you wanted was to appear weak, even to yourself. "Joker?" you asked quietly, your voice smaller than you had intended.

Like before, there was no response. Your skin crawled at the silence, and you prayed that Joker was hiding behind the door with some surprise for you. Maybe a romantic date or something.

You shook your head to herself. A date? In the assembly room? Your boyfriend wasn't exactly the best with romantic gestures, but you knew that even he would think that was a no-no. After all, what could you do in there besides review paperwork?

Your mind began to reroute itself to darker thoughts. What if Joker was hurt in there? As much as you were hoping for the best, you found yourself starting to believe the worst. After all, with that context, it made sense why he wasn't answering you and why you couldn't find him anywhere else.

You swallowed thickly, grabbing the doorknob with a shaking hand. "J?" you asked one final time, hoping that your lover's voice would respond.

It didn't.

So, you pushed open the door.

Immediately, you were faced with a horrifying sight. Two-Face was standing before you, a sickening grin spread out across both halves of his face. His injured side looked especially grotesque in your dream, skin actively falling off and decorating the floor below. He had no lips on his injured side, so his smile didn't even look like a smile. He was...grimacing.

In a flash, he grabbed you and placed a hand over your mouth. His hand smelled as rotten as his face looked, and you retched violently behind his palm. You weakly tried to call out for Joker, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Look at you!" Two-Face crooned, laughing wickedly as he looked into your eyes. It disturbed you to find that the mania in his eyes rivaled Joker's. Just by his eyes and his hysterical tone of voice, you knew that you were not talking to Two-Face's rational side, Harvey Dent. You were talking to the Two-Face. His bad side. The very entity that gave the two personalities their collective name. "Joker's little bitch, wandering into my arms!"

You tried to fight back, but he easily overpowered you. He pushed against you until your back hit the wall hard, laughing at the sound of bone on wood. "You knew that he was gonna have to pay for almost murdering my goon, right?"

He reached into his waistband, pulling out an extremely sharp knife. Even in your current situation, you briefly wondered how he had managed to carry a knife in his waistband without cutting himself. Yet another instance where you should've realized this was a dream.

He held the blade to your neck. "He attempts to take something I love, I succeed in taking something he loves."

Then, randomly, you saw a form materialize in the room, just a few feet away from you.

It was Joker. His hands and feet were bound together with rope as duct tape covered his mouth. He was kneeling pitifully on the floor, and for the first time, you could read what was in his eyes:

Fear.

You tried to yell his name from behind Two-Face's palm. Surprisingly, he let you go after you made the effort. You tried to run to Joker, but Two-Face grabbed your arms again and held you still.

"If I let you go over there," he whispered, "you have to promise to come back to me. Otherwise, he dies, too."

The mere mention made your stomach churn. "Why do I need to come back? You can just run over and stab me, like you're gonna do anyway." Your voice was unstable and your bottom lip wobbled.

"Because I need him to see how well I've trained his pet. That she can willingly come to me if I ask her to."

The fear in Joker's eyes dissolved into anger. He tried to pry his wrists away from each other in a desperate attempt to fray the rope, but he was unable to. He mumbled something against the tape, probably curses that his adversary even had the gall to dehumanize you like that.

"But—" You were about to pipe in with some quip about how if you were being blackmailed, then you weren't willingly coming to him. But, you figured that would be unwise, given the circumstances.

Two-Face was pleased at how you had cut yourself off. "Good girl."

Those two words were so sweet when Joker said them. But, when Two-Face did, it felt wrong. Anything he did felt wrong. Hell, he somehow managed to restrain you in a more uncomfortable way than Joker had prior to your relationship. Two-Face hadn't really done anything different in his execution of the task, but something about his vibe just made any type of touch feel like an invasion of privacy. Joker's touch, however, was always somewhat welcome. Whether that be him restraining you as a deserved punishment or lovingly kissing your lips, it was welcome.

   Two-Face seemed even more pleased at the disgusted expression on your face. "Now, do you promise?"

   "I promise." Your answer came quick. It was an easy promise to make. You would've put yourself in the most uncomfortable situation ever if it meant you could spend even a second with Joker.

  Two-Face nodded, an unspoken gesture of consent to rush to Joker, which you did. You sat before him, hugging him tightly. Even though his arms were bound, it felt like he was mentally hugging you back.

   "Can I take the tape off?" you asked. You resented the fact you even had to ask. "I'd like to speak to him."

   Reluctantly, Two-Face nodded again.

   So, you ripped the tape off of Joker's mouth, the act causing a small wince of pain from him. "(Y/N), doll," he immediately cooed. "Are you okay?"

   The fact that his first instinct, even when he was tied up, was to comfort you... It caused a watery smile to develop on your lips.  "No, but you're less okay than me right now."

   He chuckled weakly. It was hard to find humor in any comment right then, but he was trying his best to lighten the mood. "I can't lose ya, (Y/N)," he mumbled, an equally watery smile on his red lips.

   "You have to. Otherwise, you die, too."

   "I'm okay with that."

   "But I'm not." You could feel your voice rising with anger at the mere suggestion. Even if you had to die, you wanted Joker to live the longest and most fulfilling life he could.

   "Don't go back to him. Please. If you have to die, let me die with you."

   "No! You're telling me that I'm literally about to die, and you can't even respect my dying wish?" You took a deep breath to collect yourself. "Please. If I can't save myself, at least let me save you."

He looked away, tears threatening to spill. You had never seen him get teared-up before, and the image was enough to make your heart ache. "Is that really what you want? To let me live in despair and misery?"

He wasn't making his survival sound very appealing by phrasing it like that, but you knew it was best, regardless of what he thought. "You'd get over me."

"If ya truly think that, you're vastly underestimating how much I care for you." With an almost bashful look, he mumbled, "I love you."

You had been scared that when Joker first uttered those fateful words, it would be insincere. However, something in his tone, his expression... You really believed them, and that made you start to cry. "I love you, too," you gasped, hugging the body that couldn't hug you back. You heard him sniffle next to your ear, knowing that somehow, he was feeling true and genuine emotion.

"Okay, that's enough," Two-Face interrupted impatiently. "I'm gonna give you three seconds to come back to me."

"Please," Joker begged one final time. "Don't leave. Let me go with ya. It's what I want."

You smoothed down his green hair, smiling numbly. "I can't."

So, you stood up to walk back to Two-Face. But, you found that you couldn't move all of a sudden. In true dream fashion, no matter how hard you tried to move one foot in front of the other, you were rooted to the spot. You could feel yourself begin to panic as Two-Face started counting down from three, his expression growing more and more agitated. You looked at Joker, as if searching for an answer on how to move your unmovable limbs, and he had this blissful expression on his face. Like he was totally at peace with leaving with you.

After Two-Face reached the number one, he charged up to the two of you, seizing your hair so that you couldn't run away. You yelped, desperately trying to pry his hands off you. But, you gave up when the only thing you accomplished was pulling your own hair.

"Since you thought it was a good idea to defy me, not only will he die," Two-Face gestured toward Joker with his glistening knife, "but he's going to die first. That way, you have to watch him bleed out and suffer."

You swallowed a lump in your throat, fear causing your stomach to knot. "Wait. Please," you got out, but your voice was hoarse.

"No more waiting. I've waited enough." He raised the knife so that it was hovering intimidatingly over Joker.

Still, even with death staring him straight in the face, your lover looked content. "Do it," he whispered. And this time, this statement sounded like genuine encouragement. Not a taunt like it had been with Harley. He really wanted this.

And so, Two-Face did it. He plunged the knife right into Joker's chest with a dramatic flourish, giggling as your boy, your sweet boy, lurched due to the sudden impact. Joker let out a strained gurgle as blood began to leak from his wound, then from his mouth, staining his already red lips even redder. His blue eyes looked at you with acceptance and even joy. "I love you," he affirmed again, his voice weak and trembling.

You were desperately putting pressure on his chest in order to stop the bleeding, but it was no use. After all, no ambulance would come for a man like him, and he was losing blood faster than you could contain it. Your hands were being drenched by his warm life force, but you didn't care. You just kept pushing on his chest, kept sobbing before him. "I love you, too," you kept repeating, making sure that he would not die without knowing how you felt.

After a minute or two, you watched your lover die. You watched lucidity fade from his eyes, you watched his body go limp. You watched his pants be soiled as he lost control of his bladder. He was dead, yet he died with a smile on his lips. Like he knew he had made the right decision in encouraging his demise.

For a moment, you were struggling against a silent scream. As you beheld Joker's lifeless body, you couldn't believe that he was finally beaten. Beaten by some sick fuck who just wanted to torture you. The loss caused you to begin panting as you began imagining what life would be like without him:

Dull. Not much of a life at all, really. No matter the darkness in his heart, he still managed to bring light into yours. He made you feel alive, he made you feel love. Nobody had ever made you feel half of what he could, and you knew that, dead or alive, your heart would always be his.

And that fact was so fucking ugly. Because now, you belonged to a person who would never belong to you again. Any time you would absently call out his name, forgetting what had happened, you'd be screaming into a void with no possibilities. He was dead, and you were alone. Alone, and without the love of your life.

Finally, you were able to scream. The noise came exploding out of you with surprising ferocity, and you began desperately hugging Joker's body. You didn't care that his blood was now all over your body. You didn't care that you could smell the pungent scent of his urine. You didn't care that he couldn't say "I love you" back to you as you kept repeating that phrase. You just needed to be close to him right now, before you could never be close to him again.

Two-Face smiled at you. "Time to wake up," he said cryptically.

                              *            *            *

You didn't know what that meant until you were forcefully ripped from your slumber. You were being shaken violently, and you were still screaming. Once you realized that it had all been a dream, you quieted down. You could feel relieved tears swim in your eyes as you looked at Joker's concerned face, which was alive and well.

He was okay. And that meant you were okay.

"(Y/N), what's wrong?" he asked quickly. He was looking around the room in a disoriented way, as if he were searching for some physical threat.

"Bad dream," you mumbled in reply. Just repeating what you had experienced was enough to send you into a fit of hysterics. The dream felt so real. Although you were overjoyed that it had just been a dream, you were still being plagued with the image of Joker drained of all his blood. Dead with that terrifying, yet serene smile on his lips.

With a sigh that you couldn't tell was of relief or annoyance, he pulled you to him in a tight embrace. You inhaled his scent, making sure to remember it just in case anything happened. You smiled through your tears as you realized that he smelled like he always did: cologne and clean skin. Not urine, not blood. Just his own, unique scent.

"Do ya wanna talk about it?" he asked.

You could tell by his tone that he was tired, yet he was still humoring you in asking, which you appreciated. "I don't know if that'll make me feel better or worse," you hiccuped.

"Well, let's take a gamble, okay? I hate seeing you upset, baby."

You nodded against his chest, tears rolling down your face and wetting his skin. "I dreamt..."

You could feel yourself losing your composure, so you took a few breaths before continuing. Joker patiently waited.

"I dreamt that Two-Face killed you," you finally said.

The mention of your adversary made him stiffen. He tried to comfort you by petting your hair, but you could tell that even he was affected by the dream when it wasn't even his. "I won't let that happen."

He didn't sound entirely convinced of his own statement, which just made you cry harder. "J, we're fucked!" you wailed. "We're just locking ourselves in the mansion, cornering ourselves for when something does happen. We haven't done shit to end this!"

"We have Harley now." His tone was cold, like he didn't even want to entertain this conversation. Despite his frigidity and lack of emotion, you knew he was scared. "She'll know what to do. Things will get done, trust me."

"How do we know if she's really going to help? What if she tries, but is just as stumped as we are? What then, J?! We can't act like she's a sure thing. Hell, we don't even know if she has an ulterior motive! So, why are we putting all of our trust in her? We have to start doing something, too!"

He growled in irritation. "Can this be discussed later? Like, in the morning? This is too heavy for right now, (Y/N). Ya have to go back to bed."

You looked at the alarm clock on your nightstand. "Technically, it is morning," you mumbled.

It sure was. It was 3:03 AM.

You could tell that Joker wanted to be annoyed at your unnecessary comment, but he ended up chuckling. "Whatever. You know damn well what I mean, doll."

Happy to have thawed out his mood a little, you smiled. "Yeah, I do. But, I think this is important to talk about now. I'm losing sleep over it, J. We need a plan besides isolation."

"I'm not talking about this now." His tone was firm. "You're gonna lose more sleep if we talk about it now. Just try to put it out of your mind, yeah? Just until morning."

With a sigh, you nodded. You hated how stubborn he could be. "Fine."

"Thank you. Goodnight, sweet thing. I'll be right here if ya need me."

While the sentiment of his availability was appreciated, you couldn't help but feel a little bitter as you snuggled against his chest. Problems didn't just go away because it was nighttime. They needed to be acknowledged now, not ignored for a few hours of shut-eye.

You realized that in order to get anything done, you needed to start thinking of strategies yourself, since Joker was avoidant and Harley was unpredictable. So, you tossed and turned, hoping for something to come to you.

Instead, you began to drift off to sleep.

But, right as you were about to fall asleep again, you had an idea. It wouldn't necessarily lead to victory, but it would send a message to Two-Face and maybe even get the ball rolling for a battle or confrontation. While those two things were undesirable, they were also needed. Without those things, this situation would never be put to bed, and you'd be waiting for a resolution forever.

Your idea was to come out of hiding. Sure, it was probably stupid, since it would be much easier to kill you if you were out in the open. However, if Two-Face saw you out and about, maybe your confidence would give him pause. Maybe he'd hesitate, or even slip up and expose his location. Maybe you'd even bring Harley along to really make him sweat. As an added bonus, there would now be a sense of unpredictability as to your current location. Were you home, the club, or elsewhere? With your current strategy, you were always in one spot. With this new strategy, Two-Face would have to gamble on where you were, just as you were doing with him.

To you, running headfirst into danger and taking your chances was much better than just cowering and waiting for it to inevitably come to you. If you went down, you should at least go down with a fight, not while doing something as cowardly as hiding. You were a criminal, for God's sake. That's how criminals did things! And with the new deal you had formed with Joker, you had vowed to be useful as a criminal. This was you being useful, despite the fact that he would be vehemently opposed to you coming out of hiding.

So, you knew you had to convince him. And you would do so the following day, when he wasn't sleeping beside you.

As you drifted off to sleep again, you were a little worried about how unwavering his refusal might be. But, you made a deal. And you intended to keep it, even if he didn't know useful if it slapped him in the face.

Times, they would be a-changin'.