Fear Revisited [Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow]

007

He sat there, nearly stunned. Even Scarecrow had nothing witty to add.

She was willing to break things off with her boyfriend of nearly a year without expecting firm commitment in return. That defied the typical need for a safety net that he usually saw in people - a most curious departure from the norm.

Not only that, but she understood that his work had to take the utmost priority. She harbored no delusions of eating away at the time he spent pursuing his goals, though she remained unaware of their less than savory nature.

Jonathan's heart was beating quickly, a thrill of exhilaration running through him, though he maintained his passive demeanor.

"You're quite certain you haven't just been overcome by the excitement of the weekend?" he asked, readjusting his glasses although they had not slipped whatsoever.

For someone who wants this, you seem to be offering her a lot of outs.

He needed some measure of certainty that he was not putting himself in a vulnerable position needlessly.

"It does seem a bit crazy, doesn't it?" This earned a genuine note of soft laughter from her before her dark eyes turned serious. He examined them closely as he watched for microexpressions that might denote dishonesty.

"I wish things had happened differently, that I hadn't gotten someone else's feelings tangled up in this, but I can't just walk away from you, not again."

Her words sent a chill through him, combined with the distracting way she continued to worry her lower lip between her teeth.

It was, as it had always been, as though she spoke directly to his ego. Her praise and admiration were a soothing balm over the wounds that so many years of torment and abuse, doubt and belittling had left strewn across his pride.

Jane was the one person who had never needed to fear him in order to make him feel powerful.

But let's not rule that out, just yet.

"Was that too much?" she asked self consciously, wincing a bit.

"Not at all," he spoke with restraint. There were too many feelings he could not readily express in a way he could trust, making the flat affect he used a necessity.

She shifted uncomfortably after a beat of silence and he wondered briefly if she was expecting some sort of emotion-laden declaration that was not going to come.

The best he could do was to allow the corners of his mouth to turn up into a small smile.

"I don't want to pressure you to talk and make this more awkward," she began hesitantly, "but I've no idea what you're thinking right now."

This needy, intrigued request brought a larger smile to his face and emboldened him, ever so slightly. He liked that he'd brought her to a point where she was all too eager to know what was going on in his head, even more pleased that she couldn't even formulate a guess.

"I'm thinking," he said as he grinned somewhat wickedly, "that you're feeling a little nervous."

"What makes you say that?" she asked with a very nervous sounding giggle.

"Your carotid artery is giving away how quickly your heart is beating. I'd say - one hundred and twenty, maybe one hundred and thirty beats per minute?" he reached out and ran his fingertips over the pulse point in question.

"Not to mention, your cheeks have been flushed since the moment I walked in..." he continued, slowly walking his fingers up to the smooth planes of her cheekbone and listening with satisfaction to the sharp inyake of breath she took at his touch.

"... And you seem to have a moderate compulsion to bite your lip when you're feeling out of sorts," he finally concluded, dragging his thumb over her full lower lip and watching as her eyes fluttered gently.

Without warning, he withdrew the touch, purely to observe her reaction. The look of shock and disappointment mingling on her face was fascinating, dissolving into a pout.

So, you do like playing games with her, hmm, Jonny?

"Do you want to know what else I'm thinking?" he nearly whispered, inclining himself towards her. She raised her eyebrows expectantly.

"That it's getting very late."

"You don't play fair, do you?" she scoffed almost playfully. He offered her a good natured grin in response, quite pleased with the effect he had on her.

"Not even remotely," he agreed, removing his glasses to clean them before placing them back on his face. "But I'm quite serious. It's nearly eleven, and we've both got very busy days ahead of us tomorrow."

He loved Mondays, when the beds were always most full of vagrants shipped over from the police station and weekend admissions from Gotham General; it was the most prime selection from which to choose new subjects for his experiments.

Jane, on the other hand, would be returning to Cyrus, forty-five minutes west of Gotham.

"So, how does this work, after that?" she asked as he stood and straightened his jacket.

He produced a business card from his breast pocket and handed it to her. It bore the Arkham Asylum insignia at the top, followed by Doctor Jonathan Crane in embossed letters over both his phone number and e-mail address.

"After you've sorted things out at home, give me a call. I'll be free this weekend, if not sooner," he instructed as she took a moment to admire the card.

"I'll try to have things taken care of tomorrow," she told him eagerly.

"Then I'll try to make room in my schedule for Wednesday," he promised, more an incentive than as a desire to do so.

Silence lingered between the two of them for a moment, an expectant pause in which he was not altogether sure what to do, before she stepped closer, sliding her hand into his as they walked towards the door.

"Thank you for everything this weekend, Jonathan," she whispered, lingering near the door.

He observed the context of the situation and acted accordingly, leaning in to kiss her indulgently, running his teeth over the lower lip she'd been so fond of worrying that evening.

She deepened the kiss fervently, her mouth needy and insistent against his before he pulled away.

"I'll see you soon," he promised, smiling a bit as he left the room. Better to leave her wanting so as to provide her motivation to act quickly in regards to the Steve problem.

I suppose that went better than I'd expected.

I have a feeling the best is yet to come.

I hope you guys are enjoying this! Are things moving too slowly, too quickly just right? Let me know! I thought one positive, encouraging chapter for everyone would be a nice treat (before things get crazy for them again).