"Insanity is everyone expecting you not to fall apart when you find out everything you believed in was a lie."
—Shannon L. Alder

|•|•|•|

Horton, Joker and Ember crowded around a limp, bloodied body of a man they all did not know.

Joker stood with his hands on his hips, sucking diligently on his bottom lip as soft tsks tumbled from his lips.

Ember quaked in her sandals, brown eyes widened at the sight of the dead man on the gravel as Horton merely sighed.

"The fucker was following me from the grocery store," He blandly explained, kicking a radiant pebble aside with the toe of his boot. "I panicked."

"Don't apologize, bud." Joker lowly spoke, falling to his knees as he rummaged through the deceased individuals pockets. Finally, he retracted an old leather wallet, flipping through it with his slender fingers.

"Rod-ney Earlington, thirty-seven." He grumbled, prying the plastic ID from the wallet as he thoroughly inspected it. "D'yah think he was in-tent-ion-ally following you, Hor-ton?"

Horton's stomach fluttered when Joker's gaze suddenly met his. Those black holes for eyes drove him absolutely mad.

"Rather be safe than sorry, boss. I didn't want to find out. I couldn't possibly put you in danger."

Joker ascended to a standing position, shuffling towards the blonde boy as his hand clamped firmly down on his shoulder.

Horton's breath hitched in his throat at the gesture, his pulse quickening as Joker's scars tugged upwards.

"I don't-uh, tell you this enough, but I really appreciate you, pal."

Horton's thin lips curled into a smile, his hand impulsively rising to meet Joker's on his shoulder. His fingers grazed the mans paint-stained ones as he let out a shaky breath.

"Always a pleasure, boss."

"Love-ly," Joker sang, his scars stretching as he pulled his hand from Horton's awkward touch. "If you-uh, ever in-ter-rupt Ember and I again, lets just say it won't be a pretty situation."

Ember's brows raised at his statement, slightly confused about what he meant when Horton nodded curtly.

"Yes, sir. So sorry."

Joker quickly scooped his fingers along the underneath of Horton's chin, smacking his lips before turning on his heel and making his way up the distressed sidewalk.

Ember and the henchman stood in silence, glancing downward at the dead man before she finally spoke.

"I'm going to go inside." She whispered, twisting in her place to head back up the sidewalk.

"Wait!" Horton chanted, prying open the door of the van as he shuffled through a plastic shopping bag. "Here's your, uh, tampons."

He tossed a box of tampons in Ember's direction. She weakly smiled as she caught them, an odd tension rising between them as she curtly nodded before skipping along the deep cracks in the concrete.

Ember found Joker in the living room, lounging against the back of the slightly torn sofa, his arms draped along each side as his gaze focused on the television.

"Nice TV." She whispered, taking her spot on the opposite end of the couch, a good distance between them as she ineptly crossed her legs, slamming her foot against the wooden coffee table in the process.

Joker observed the entire scenario, a snort coming from his nose as he refocused on the television, which displayed the Gotham news.

"Yah know what I miss?" He mused, his fingers lacing in his flourescent curls.

"What's that?"

"See-ing my face on the news." He openly admitted. "Being the talk of the town."

"Maybe it's best that you're laying low for a bit. Doesn't it get old, always being on the run from the cops?"

"No." Joker said quite frankly.
"It's exhilarating."

They sat in silence for several moments, both fixated on the TV as a blonde woman blabbed about the decrease in registered voters.

Suddenly, Joker's expression brightened. 

"I ha-ve an ide-uh." He gloated, spinning in his spot to face Ember, who had a rather dumbfounded look plastered on her face.

"Okay?"

"Let's go on an adventure." He gleefully said, crossing his legs on the couch as he giggled like a little kid on Christmas morning.

"What kind of adventure?" Ember anxiously pried.

"Only the bes-t kind, my love."

|•|•|•|

"You're not seriously going to make me shoot this, are you?" Ember gasped, turning the empty pistol over in her hands as she sat in the passenger seat of the SUV.

"Why do you always ask so man-y damn questions?" Joker grumbled, clipping the loaded magazine into his gun as he slid back the slide, putting one in the chamber before discarding the gun into the toolbox between their legs. "Give it."

Ember placed the gun into his outstretched clutch, a slightly disappointed expression plastered on her features as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

It was a clear night in Gotham. Not a single cloud sat in the sky, the stars fully on display as Ember rest her head against the window of the vehicle.

"You know what I love?"

"What's that, swee-t pea?" He wondered, igniting the engine as his gaze settled upon her slightly giddy frame.

"The stars. They're just so romantic."

"Stars? How can stars be romantic?" Joker scoffed, lacing his gloved fingers around the gear shift and he thrust it into drive.

"Picture this," Ember exclaimed, straightening in her seat as a hearty smile tugged at her mouth. "Laying down looking up at the clear, starry sky. Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac playing in the background, limbs laced together and breathless kisses."

"Jesus, you're still obsessed with tha-t damn song?" Joker grinned, stealing a glance at a blushing Ember as the disheveled house disappeared into the distance.

"Yes. I'll love Stevie Nicks 'til the day I die."

A genuine chuckle slipped from his painted lips, his left hand resting on the top of the steering wheel as his right lay limp on his thigh. "I-uh, remember when Eve-lyn bought you that record for your thir-teenth birthday. Tha-t shit was stuck in my head for years."

"Anyways," Ember sighed, pulling her ripped jean-clad knees to her chest as she readjusted her seatbelt. "That's why stars are romantic. That whole scenario alone would melt me into goo."

"Di-d you and Noah have lit-tle star dates like that?" Joker huskily wondered, lifting his hand from the steering wheel to do air quotations when he spoke the words "star dates".

His gaze lingered on her a bit too long to see her expression falter.

"No." She frowned.
"I always asked him if we could do that, and he thought it was lame."

Joker openly scoffed, running a hand through his messy curls, as he shifted in his seat. "Sounds like a total tool."

Ember propped her elbow on her leg, resting her chin in the palm of her hand as she focused on the dark trees that passed by the van at a rapid speed.

"I want to name my daughter Rhiannon, actually. That's how symbolic that song is to my life."

Joker stiffened in his seat, an indescribable feeling overcoming him at Ember's mention of children.

"You want-uh, kids?" He pried, not daring to tear his focus from the road.

"Of course. I'm starting to get old though. By the time I find love again, I'll probably be too old to conceive anyways." She frowned, picking at the loose skin on her fingernail as Joker sucked on the inside of his cheek. "Do you want kids?"

"No-pe." He muttered, his lips smacking together tightly to enunciate the "p".

Not that he could have them anyways.

"Where are we going anyways?"

"Ever wonder what it's like to rob a jewelry store, darlin?" He raised a brow, tightening his hold on the steering wheel as Ember's jaw dropped.

"Um, not really..." She murmured as he thrust a black and white checkered bandana in her direction.

"I'd-uh, wear this if I were you."

"Why?" Ember drawled, the tips of her fingers brushing against his as she took the bandana from his grasp.

"D'yah want people to recognize you?"

Ember smoothed the pads of her fingers over the fabric, chewing mindlessly on her bottom lip as her legs met the floor of the van once again.

"Well, according to you, I won't be going home ever again, so who fucking cares, right? Who knows, maybe being a criminal could be fun." Ember snorted, appalled that the words actually escaped her mouth.

Joker snickered, his brown eyes meeting her identical orbs as his hand suddenly met her thigh.

"That's my girl."

|•|•|•|

"Are yah ready?" Joker beamed, parking the SUV behind a mom-and-pop Jewelers in downtown Gotham.

"No." Ember divulged, a bit of a queasy feeling settling in her belly as the clown climbed from the vehicle.

The unnaturally blonde woman followed pursuit, teetering back and forth on her heel as Joker removed a set of brass keys from the front pocket of his ostentatious coat.

"Please tell me you didn't kill the owner to get those." Ember panicked, her eyes widened at the keys in his right hand, while in his left, sat a very much loaded gun.

"I didn't kill the owner," Joker stated, approaching the rusted metal door of the building. Arlen's Jewelers sat plastered on the door in faded lettering, peeling at the corners as he thrust the door open. "I killed the manager."

Ember's heart plummeted in her chest, her feet shuffling closely behind the broad-shouldered man as they entered the dark abyss of the jewelry store.

Joker hummed a nameless tune under his breath, walking with a slight skip in his step as Ember's fingers brushed against his back.

"Sorry. It's dark." She sheepishly stated, an amused grunt coming from him as he rounded a corner, flicking on a set of lights that illuminated the compact store.

Ember blinked several times, her eyes taking awhile to adjust to the sudden light as Joker disappeared from view, whistling sharply as he searched for a safe full of money.

"Take anything yah like, toots!" He called from around a corner, gun still held firmly in his clutch as he shuffled through stacks of paperwork on a desk.

She paced the floor, her feet clad with an old, matted pair of sleek black combat boots with scuffs on the toe. Joker had only grabbed her four pairs of shoes, and thankfully, her favorite boots were one of them.

Ember's body jolted at the abrupt sound of Joker rummaging through items in the back of the store, the distinct sound of him smacking those damn lips could be heard from several yards away.

Her chocolate brown gaze lingered on a particular glass case full of vibrant colored rings.

A short squeal emerged from her chapped lips as she rounded the case, tugging at the glass door, only to sigh in defeat when it didn't budge.

Of course it was locked.

"Joker?" She lightly called, her gaze set on an emerald stone accompanied by a silver band.

"Yeeeees?" The man drawled, his tone high-pitched and quite eldritch as he reappeared around a corner, his shoulders hunched as he held a hefty stack of bills in his clutch. 

"I want this one." The woman confidently spoke, pressing her forefinger harshly against the glass to point to the ring she wanted.

"Fuck, Em." Joker groaned, shoving the wad of cash into his coat pocket as he retrieved a white cloth from his pinstripe pant pocket, a loaded gun still held in his opposite palm. "Stop leaving behin-d prints."

She watched as he vigorously rubbed the glass, wiping away her fingerprint as he sighed deeply.

"Wha-t else did yah touch, babe?" Joker groaned, rolling his eyes when she embarrassingly pointed to the handle of the glass door.

"Next t-ime, you're wearing gloves."

"Deal. Now, give me my ring." Ember giddily replied, clapping her hands together when the man removed the set of keys from his pocket once again, thrusting open the door and outstretching an arm.

"Which-uh, one?"

"The emerald one." Ember exclaimed, her hand darting into the case as she carefully removed the ring from the holder, not leaving behind any prints as she retracted her hand from the case. "It's beautiful."

"Can't believe they charge three grand for tha-t shi-t." Joker spat, hanging onto his "t"s a bit longer than usual as he closed the glass door once more.

"Thanks, Joker." Ember whispered, a blush creeping onto her cheeks as the painted-face man swayed in place.

He intently watched as she placed the ring on the fourth finger of her right hand, the band slipping perfectly into place as she grinned.

"You're welcome. Let's get outta here-ah."

Just as the duo turned to make their way towards the back of the store once more, several pairs of flashing lights, red, white and blue, glimmered on the back wall.

"Fuck." He breathed.

"J-Joker—" Ember stammered, her knees beginning to wobble as several police men climbed from their vehicles, guns pointed directly at the two of them as they shouted on the opposite side of the glass.

"Run." Joker bluntly ordered, his fingers lacing around her bicep as he tugged her backward.

She stumbled behind him, nearly toppling over her own feet as tears began to freely fall from her eyes.

She was so fucked.

"I don't want to go to jail!" Ember loudly sobbed, wincing when the man tightened his hold on her frail arm.

"Shut up." He simply ordered, swinging the back door open with his foot as he released his hold on her skin.

She watched with wide eyes as he pointed the gun in the direction of the front of the store, his head nodding in the opposite direction as Ember merely froze in place.

"C'mon!" He urged, his hand finding hers as he drug her along, avoiding the parked SUV as they scampered down a dark alleyway.

A shriek left Ember's lips when the sudden sound of a gun being fired met her ears. She instinctively ducked, her fingers tugging away from Joker's as he lifted the gun, planting a bullet in the nearby officers skull with ease.

"O-Oh my—"

"Come!" Joker barked, gripping onto her arm once again as they weaved between the parked cars on the side of the road.
"Quick-ly." He urged, his long legs taking extremely large strides as she struggled to keep up.

The distinctive sound of police sirens wailed in the distance, Ember's heart thumping thickly in her throat as she followed closely behind the Joker. Her hand still lay laced in his large palm, her feet beginning to ache as they squeezed between several additional buildings, finally coming upon a deserted park lined with wilted trees and several hills of grass.

"This-uh, way." He grunted, sprinting in the direction of a relatively large hill, standing several yards above the road.

Ember trailed behind, her legs cramping as they swiftly climbed the hill.

"Lay down." Joker calmly instructed, collapsing onto the grass as he stilled against the ground, his tall frame undetectable from the other side of the hill.

Ember quickly shuffled onto the ground, the sounds of the sirens increasing as she flattened herself against the grass. Her chest heaved as she lay inches from the Joker, her fingers only gently brushing against his as several police cars zoomed by on the opposite side of the hill.

She'd stopped breathing altogether at the sound, her chest beginning to ache from lack of air intake as the sirens finally hushed, disappearing into the night.

Her eyes met Joker's, whose were filled with delight as a grin tiptoed across his scarred cheeks.

"Now tha-t is how it's done, swee-t cheeks." He sang, lifting his head from the grass so that he could snake his arm behind it, propping it upward to get a bit more comfortable.

"I feel like I'm having a heartattack." Ember dryly laughed, her chest heaving as she struggled to regulate her breathing.

"Adrenaline, love. It's a grea-t feeling."

The pair of them lay silently beside one another, Ember's heartbeat finally steadying as her gaze fixated on the cloudless sky above.

Millions of stars twinkled against the black firmament, her body becoming lax as she admired the beautiful sight.

"What a gorgeous night." She murmured, lacing her fingers together and resting them on her stomach as she became immersed in the beauty of the heavens above.

Joker craned his neck as he admired her expression. A silly grin was slapped on her face, her eyes wide as she hardly blinked, as if the stars would magically vanish if she did. Her damn lips were chapped again, the skin on her bottom lip beginning to peel as she wet them too often, drying them out even further. He adored the shape of her nose, the simple way it hooked at the end, almost pointing downwards towards her mouth. Her cheekbones were prominent, even more so than before, possibly from loss of weight. However, all of her imperfections were absolutely perfect to him.

The gun sat several inches on the ground from him, the safety flicked on as he dug deeply into his front pant pocket, fishing out a sleek purple iPod as he quickly shuffled through his playlist.

Ember lay tranquil against the earth, mesmerized by the beauty of the sky above when a sudden lick of lyrics filled her senses.

Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night
And wouldn't you love to love her?

The air immediately eluded her lungs at the sound of the familiar lyrics, her lips curling into a painfully large smile as her neck snapped sideways.

Joker lay beside her, his iPod resting between the overgrown blades of grass above his matching colored curls as his eyes twinkled.

"Joker," Ember sighed, her limbs growing warm with content as she stared deeply into his orbs. "You have this song on your iPod?"

"I'm jus-t full of surprises, aren't I?" Joker breathlessly spoke, a sincere chuckle tumbling from his red mouth as Ember's gaze flickered downward to meet his lips.

She is like a cat in the dark,
And then she is the darkness.

"D'you still ha-te me?" His tone was soft and full of worry as she merely smiled.

"You tell me." She whispered, rolling from her back to her belly, her upper body coming into contact with his broad frame as her left hand snaked its way into his hair.

Before Joker could even process the situation at hand, Ember's lips were on his.

If it were even possible, he was quite certain that the world had stop rotating entirely. It was as if all the noise had ceased, that time simply had stood still. Even in the middle of a severely populated and polluted city, somehow, the two of them felt as if they entirely alone. The world was theirs.

And suddenly, he was fifteen again. He'd just confessed his innermost feelings for the most beautiful and simply perfect girl on the entire planet, and her response was a kiss, much like this one. And just like that very first kiss, he'd forgotten how to breathe entirely, his lips remaining motionless against hers for several seconds too long as his brain frantically attempted to process the situation at hand.

Finally, it had registered. He was kissing Ember... his Ember... kissing her after all this damn time...

Her lips resembled wine and he fell drunk simply from the touch, his gloved hands knotting into her outgrown blonde locks as he pulled her closer.

An innocent moan slipped into his mouth as she reacted to his kiss, their tongues dancing blissfully against one another as they drifted into complete euphoria.

This was Heaven.

This was home.

Would you stay if she promised to you heaven?
Will you ever win?

Ember shifted her weight on top of him, her slender legs tangling with his as she cupped his painted jaw, smearing the white makeup as she traced circles against the skin with the pad of her thumb. His mouth tasted of paint as his scarred bottom lip brushed against hers, a foreign yet exhilarating feeling. Although his lips and cheeks had been marred by the hand of a violent, drunken man, they were still his lips. And oh, did they taste and feel so damn sweet.

And oh, was she so right. Laying here, underneath the stars as they molded together in a tangled mess of limbs, swallowing each others breathless sighs and whimpers as their lips fell numb from the contact. Her fingers threaded in his curls as his tugged at her straight locks, Stevie Nicks' enchanting voice filling the void as they equally drifted into a tranquil state.

Ember's lips slowly detached from Joker's, her bottom lip sticking to his slightly as his eyelids slowly fluttered open, only to screw shut again when her now red stained lips came into contact with the destroyed tissue of his left face.

She was extremely gentle, her lips barely grazing the raised skin as she inspected the healed wounds with her lips, an array of goosebumps littering every inch of her skin as she felt every bump, every crevice.

Even with the facial deformity, he was fucking perfect.

Her left thumb grazed over his right cheek, carefully caressing the marred skin as she pressed feathered kisses to his left scar.

"Em," Joker rasped, his eyes fluttering open once again as the woman retracted her face from his cheek. He giggled at the sight of her, cheeks flushed and eyes wild as her lips were smeared with bright red paint, courtesy of his lips.

"Yeah?" She breathlessly spoke.

"So I'm-uh, guessing this means you don't hate me?"

|•|•|•|

I'm totally cringing because he is soo OOC at the end there BUT  I felt like I've tortured yall long enough.

YAY JOKER AND EMBER HAVE FINALLY KISSED WOOT WOOT literally only took sixteen fuckin chapters but oh well.

Now the REAL fun begins ;)

QOTD: Have you seen any of Heath's other movies? If so, which one is your favorite? (Or, rather, your top two/three favorites?)

My answer: I CAN'T PICK IM SO INDECISIVE. Candy by far is my favorite, Dark Knight a close second, but I loveee 10 Things I Hate About You, Brokeback Mountain, A Knight's Tale & Casanova soo much as well!

Also, thank you so much for the 3000+ reads and over 300 votes!!! I never expected this story to get any attention at all, so I'm pleased to see that people are actually enjoying it haha.

Love you guys x