"Sometimes, the best way to help someone is just to be near them."
—Veronica Roth

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Ember woke with a start. Her head was pounding, and her slightly trembling fingers had discovered a slight bump present on the left side of her forehead.

Her eyelids flickered open, adjusting finally to her surroundings as she scrambled upwards in the bed.

Instead of seeing the typical white walls covered in red lipstick and fine poetry, she stared wide-eyed at four green walls, all littered with oozing red "HA"s. A sliver of sunlight entered the room, courtesy of the kink in the blackout curtains.

She pulled the purple comforter up to her chin, her hand unintentionally brushing against her nose. A grunt of pain escaped her lips as thick tears brimmed in her eyes.

Oh, right. Joker broke her fucking nose.

It was several moments later that the woman realized that she was, in fact, not alone in Joker's bedroom.

Her neck craned to the right, half of her vision buried into the pillow as she glared in the direction of the open bathroom door. The routine sound of running water came from the shower, masked by a cloud of steam and a withered yellow shower curtain.

Ember shifted her position, putting her weight on the right side of her body as she steadily studied the swaying shower curtain.

Suddenly, a rather glorious sound resonated through the air, sending an array of goosebumps along the skin of her arms as it met her ears.

The Joker was singing.

Ember shifted forward in the bed, as if moving an inch closer would somehow make the words clearier. Unfortunately, all that she could really catch were several words, the rest masked by the rumble of the shower.

From what she could gather, it sounded as if the man was singing "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" by Frankie Valli, but she wasn't one-hundred-percent certain.

Regardless of the fact, the tone of his voice was quite deep, unlike his typical clowny speech. If this wasn't his bedroom, she wouldn't even think that it was actually the green-haired man singing behind that curtain.

Ember was broken from her slight trance when the sound of the water discontinued. She watched with wide eyes, barely blinking as if she'd miss something if she did.

A hand reached out from the side of the closed curtain, retrieving a familiar mocha tinted towel from the counter as it disappeared from sight.

The curtain opened with a shing, the yellow plastic bunching together against the side of the shower as her eyes widened.

Joker brought the towel to his face, which was free of any greasepaint. It was a sight she'd seen before, but was still mesmerizing to see. Under all of that gaudy makeup, he was truly gorgeous, scars and all.

Ember's breath shallowed as the towel dangled perfectly in place, concealing his... package... as he swiftly dried his bare skin of the water.

Just as the woman prepared herself to finally blink, the towel swayed a bit too far to the left, revealing a bit too much of him to her as she desperately attempted to contain a squeak.

Her little show, however, was cut short when he wrapped the towel around his waist, the material clinging lowly onto his hips as Joker ran a hand through his drenched flourescent curls.

She quickly squeezed her eyelids shut when his soft brown gaze flickered in her direction.

Fuck. She was a total creeper.

Joker inhaled deeply as he admired Ember's lax figure on the bed. It had been two days, and he could admit that he honestly missed her. Seeing her unconcious twenty-four-seven was a bit boring and slightly concerning.

He merely sighed, his gaze meeting the reflection in the mirror as he inspected the scars that marred his face. With a simple lick of his lips, his hands darted outwards to claim the nearby circular container, untwisting the lid as he promptly dug his pointer finger into the bright white greasepaint.

The pad of his finger met his destroyed cheek, coating the flesh with white paint before dipping his finger back into the container and repeating the action.

Ember lay in the bed, her breaths short and jagged as Joker applied his infamous makeup, his towel covered torso leaning against the counter as he massaged the paint into his face.

What seemed like ages later... not that she was entirely complaining... Joker finished applying his greasepaint, his lanky fingers coated in the colorant as he rinsed them under cool water, ridding his skin of the excess paint.

Her eyes squeezed shut once again when he twisted on his heel, exiting the bathroom as he inaudibly murmured something under his breath.

Ember gradually peeked through her left eye, Joker's hunched frame wiggling into a pair of black slacks as his slim fingers fiddled with the button. His chin rest against his neck, creating an illusion of him having a "double chin" as his jaw lay slack in concentration. Beads of water dripped from his curls, rolling elegantly along the dips of his collarbones and onto his broad chest. She practically salivated at the sight of him.

The woman watched in awe as he rummaged through an ebony stained dresser parallel to the bed, retrieving a honeycomb checkered black and grey dress shirt from the drawer. Ember silently observed as he dipped his arms into the material, pulling the shirt up his shoulders as he promptly adjusted the collar before buttoning it up and concealing that toned stomach of his.

Next, came a vibrant purple tie, which glided between his fingertips with ease as he laced the material around his neck.

Who knew that the Joker could make something as simple as getting dressed look so damn sexy.

"Look who-ah, decided to wake up." A cheeky voice interrupted Ember's thoughts.

She blinked several times, her cheeks immediately growing hot as Joker eased his palms into his pant pockets, an amused grin plastered on his painted face as he stood beside the bed.

"S-Sorry," She stammered, shifting upwards in the bed so that her back rest against the uncomfortable poles of the headboard. "I promise I didn't see anything."

"I wouldn't've cared if yah did, sweet hear-t." Joker cooed, inching closer to the bed as his left arm tore from his pocket, outstretching to claim Ember's forehead.

She stilled beneath his sudden touch as his callused thumb gently caressed the bump on her head, that habitual pink tongue lapping out to trace his scars as he did so.

"How you-uh, feeling, Em?" He huskily whispered, the pad of his thumb gliding along her cheek as it eventually grazed over her pouted bottom lip. His eyes were masked by the darkness, both the room itself and the paint, but Ember could clearly tell that he was eyeing her mouth.

"My head hurts like a bitch," she revealed, his touch leaving her face suddenly as her hand instinctively darted outwards to claim his. "And my nose is still broken."

An amused sigh escaped Joker's nostrils, his fingers gliding across hers as he cozily laced his longer fingers between her shorter ones.

"I-uh, have something that'll help your head, if you wan-t it." He said, tearing his fingers from hers almost as quickly as they'd come together as she merely frowned.

"Okay." Ember nodded, sinking back into the bed as Joker flashed her a genuine toothy grin before exiting the room with hunched shoulders.

She molded into the mattress once again, her head pulsating in pain as she desperately tried to remember how she'd even hurt it in the first place.

Did she fall and knock herself out when Joker broke her nose?

Joker returned several minutes later, a syringe in hand as he walked with a slight skip in his step, kicking the door closed with his heel as Ember flinched from the noise.

"Alrigh-t, toots. This'll help reeeeal goo-d." He muttered, plopping into the bed at her feet as she flinched slightly.

"A needle?" She gulped, pulling the thick blanket up to her neck as she cowered away from him.

Joker raised a painted brow.

"Don't te-ll me you're afraid of needles." He groaned, inching towards her on the bed as she pulled the blanket up over her mouth and nose, attempting to almost hide from him as he merely chuckled.

"Don't be such a pussy." Joker playfully mocked, hooking his bare pointer finger around the blanket as he peeled it from her face.

"What's in it?" Ember whispered, lowering the blanket as Joker manuevered himself on the bed, somewhat straddling her waist as he retracted an electric blue elastic band from his pocket.

"Always asking so many questions." He murmured, roughly taking her left arm in his grasp as he placed the syringe between his teeth.

Ember kept her lips sealed, watching intently as he wrapped the band around her upper arm, tight enough so that her veins began to pertrude.

"Joker—"

"Hol-d this." He thrust the end of the band in her direction, instructing her to hold it tightly against her arm as he removed the syringe from his teeth.

"B-But—"

"Fu-ck, Em." He harshly scolded, his dark gaze meeting hers as she continued to hold the elastic in place. "D'yah wan-t the pain to go away?"

"Yes." She lowly spoke.

"Then shu-t it."

Ember's heartbeat accelerated as he poked and prodded at her inner bicep with his cold fingers. Once he found a vein that he was completely satisfied with, he injected the needle into it without warning.

She hissed in response, her jaw going slack as her arm painfully throbbed.

With gentle fingers, Joker urged her to let go of the band, unwrapping it from her arm as he discarded both that and the empty syringe onto the bedside table.

His hips still straddled hers, an amused grin tugging at his scarred lips when a sudden sense of euphoria overcame the woman underneath him.

Her eyes rolled back in her head at the abrupt sensation, an overall feeling of immense warmth filling her veins as she shuttered beneath his hips.

"Nice, ain't it?" He slurred, feeling somewhat jealous that he wasn't experiencing the same high that she was. If him and Horton didn't have plans in twenty minutes, he would've shot some up as well.

Ember's eyes fluttered closed, her body becoming limp under him as she molded into the pillows. An odd, somewhat heavy feeling traveled to her extremities, her toes curling in satisfaction as she went completely lax.

Joker climbed off of her lap, collapsing on the bed next to her as he propped himself up on his elbow. Even in a drug-induced state, Ember looked absolutely beautiful.

Her eyes were screwed shut in pleasure, soft breaths escaping through her partially cracked lips as her hands traveled to her hair, tugging at the greasy, grown-out strands as his fingers traced lightly along her pertruding jaw.

"I told you I'd take the pain away, baby." He whispered.

Ember dipped in and out of conciousness, her lanky fingers lacing in Joker's dampened curls as she curled her hand into a fist, lightly tugging on his hair as he throatily groaned.

Joker lulled his head back, bolts of electricity shooting down his spine as Ember continued to tug on his hair.

"Em, fuck-ing stop it. Otherwise, I'm-uh, going to take you righ-t here, right now." He growled, desperately trying to ward off the naughty thoughts that littered his brain as her fingers detached from his ringlets.

Bummer.

An odd sense of weight fell over Ember's arms as they collapsed onto the pillows above her head. The pain in her nose and head dissipated immediately as she let out a moan of content.

"Fuck, Em." Joker hissed, pressing an open-mouthed kiss to her jaw as she stirred pleasantly beside him. "You look so fucking sexy right now."

"Joker?" She giggled, twisting sideways to face the madman as his scars curled upwards on his face.

"Yes, darling?"

"Did you give me heroin?"

Joker let out a sincere chuckle, peppering an additional round of feathered kisses along her jaw and neck as he merely hummed in response.

"Are you complaining?"

"No," Ember defended, the warm, fuzzy feeling drifting away as she simply fell into a sedated state in his arms. "I don't feel any pain. I feel great."

"Goooood." His hands cupped her cheeks as he pulled her lips to his.

That comforting taste of fresh paint filled her mouth, her tongue immediately darting out to meet his as they both sighed in unison.

"How did I hurt my head?" She mumbled against his lips.

Joker hastily pulled away, the white paint on his forehead crinkling when he furrowed his brows in confusion.

"You don't-uh, remember?"

"No." She confessed.

Joker propped himself up on his elbows, his mind reeling as he contemplated telling her the truth, or lying straight through his stained teeth.

She didn't remember that he killed her mother.

"You-uh, had an accident." He vaguely revealed.

Ember raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of accident?"

Joker removed himself from her tiny frame, sitting up on the edge of his bed as his back faced her. She sleepily laid in her spot, a hand coming into contact with his broad, clothed shoulders as she rubbed circles on the small of his back.

"You came with on a lit-tle—Er—excursion."

Ember's eyes widened.

She went on a heist with the Joker and his men?

"And?" She pried.

"And nothing. You fell and hi-t your head. Out col-d for two days."

Ember's lips curled into an "o" shape, clutching the blanket close to her chest as she settled down from her temporary euphoric state.

"So, why did you not put my in my own bed?"

Joker craned his neck, stealing a glance at her over his shoulder as he blinked several times.

"I want-ed to make sure you-uh, didn't die on me, toots."

The duo went silent. The sound of Joker smacking his lips in anticipation filled the void as Ember spat out a rather idiotic response.

"Why would it matter if I did? You kill people all the time, why am I the exception?"

"Be-cause," He drawled, twiddling his thumbs in his lap as he avoided her prying eyes. "You're my Ember."

His Ember.

"And you're my Jackson." She whispered.

The name felt foreign falling from her lips, and even Joker was caught a bit off guard by her response. She hardly ever called him by his birth name, mainly because Jackson simply did not exist anymore.

But to her, he did. He always would.

"Lay back with me." Ember pressed, her fingers lacing around the sheer fabric of his shirt as he audibly sighed.

"Em, I have to go soon, doll."

"So lay back with me until you do." She sleepily insisted.

Joker finally obliged, swinging his legs onto the bed as he molded into her tiny frame. Ember pressed the side of her face against his chest, reveling in the consistent thumping of his heart against her skull.

"You're so comfy." The woman whispered, toying with the purple tie around his neck as Joker's had rest comfortably on her left shoulder.

"Can I-uh, ask you something, baby?" Joker cooed, tracing circles against her bare shoulder with his fingers as she nodded curtly against his chest.

"Why didn't you ca-ll? Or write?"

Ember lifted her head from his chest, shooting him a puzzled glance as his gaze met hers.

"I did! You never wrote me back or returned my messages."

Joker's heart plummeted in his chest.

Fucking Evelyn.

"Em, I—"

"Evelyn never gave you my letters or phone messages, did she?" Ember squeaked, her chin resting on his chest as his tongue routinely darted outward.

"No-pe."

The pair lay silent for several moments, staring longingly into one anothers eyes as Joker traced miscellaneous designs on Ember's bare shoulder.

"I'm sorry I called you a freak before. You're not. You just scare me." She admitted.

Joker snorted, leaning his neck forward to place a soft kiss on her forehead before swinging his legs to the side and shuffling out of her prying grasp.

"It's okay, doll. I-uh, should scare you." He stated, winking flirtatiously in her direction before readjusting his electric tie and fixing his disheveled curls.

"I trust you with my life." Ember muttered, curling into the blankets once more as a severe sense of drowsiness overcame her.

Joker simply pat her leg, a smile clinging to his lips as he exited the room, isolating Ember as she drifted into a deep slumber.

He was so inexplicably fucked.

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A/N: I know, I know... a bit of a sappy snooze fest. However, these chapters are essential for character bonding & development.

ALSO, the shower scene was totally inspired by Heath's scene in the movie "I'm Not There" (if you havent seen it, I recommend! You totally see his dinga-ling and its the best thing ever lmfaooo)
Did anyone catch what song he was singing in the shower? ;)

I totally died imagining him getting dressed idk why but that would be an amazing sight to see.

I totally spoil you guys with such quick updates. I've never written anything so fast in my life, so if any chapters are pure shit please let me know because I only want to put out my absolute best work for you guys.

Until next time, enjoy these gifs & pics of Heath from "I'm Not There" bc he's a sexy motherfucker and I love him to death