Jðkêr//Är†hµr x RêåÐêr ïmågïñê§ & ðñê-§hð†§

• Inmates (Pt.1)

: IMAGINE : You find yourself in Arkham State Hospital where you meet the notorious Joker and he takes a liking to you

⚠️ Warning: will contain angst, drama & possible smut at some point, idk.

-- 3rd person POV --

Staring up at the ceiling in the dark, Arthur lay on his cot bed chain smoking.

Suffering from insomnia was no fun when you were incarcerated.
The days at Arkham already dragged by unbearably slowly, but the nights were even worse.
He hated the dark. He always had.
It made him feel suffocated, and being locked-up only added to the feelings of claustrophobia and vulnerability.
At times it would get too much for him to cope with and he'd have a panic attack, which always brought on a rib-aching bout of painful laughter.

His fellow inmates had grown accustomed to the laughing and knew better than to taunt him or tell him to shut up.
The last guy who'd done that suffered as a result. Arthur had violently attacked him in the corridor with a razor, slitting his throat and almost killing him.

As punishment Arthur spent three days in isolation. A room with no windows just a partition in the door which enabled the guards to look in on him and yell at him for repeatedly hitting his head against the door due to his frustration.

He sighed heavily, smoke pouring from his nostrils.
He'd almost fallen asleep that night.
For once instead of contemplating his imprisonment and endlessly scheming about possible escape routes, he'd almost dozed off.

But then the heavy silence had been shattered by the arrival of a new inmate.
The lights were switched on, temporarily blinding him as his retinas struggled to adjust to the sudden brightness, and the sound of the door opposite being unlocked then slammed shut again echoed throughout the hallway.

No sooner had he sat up, rubbing his eyes, the lights were switched off again before he'd had chance to take a look at the newest addition to Arkham.

After the interruption sleep evaded him as usual, and he found himself feeling irrationally angered by the newcomer for robbing him of his chance to sleep.
It wasn't exactly their fault, but still.

Eventually 6:00am came and the lights flickered back on, just like they did every morning.

God, he hated the banal repetition of it all.
Even though his life prior to being sectioned had consisted of relentless drudgery, getting up for work, going to the pharmacy, heading home, taking care of his mom, was repetitious...but at least he had his freedom. For what it was worth.

Muttering under his breath, he swung his legs out of bed and sat up.

The cells weren't exactly designed with privacy in mind, consisting of a wall of unbreakable glass so that the guards could keep a watchful eye on what the prisoners were up to.

The cell opposite Arthur had been vacant for as long as he could remember, and he liked it that way. Now he would be exposed, like a fish in a bowl, for whoever had been put in there to see.

Standing, he stretched and turned his attention toward the opposite cell, curious to see who his new neighbour was, and to issue a threat. He intended to tell the guy in the usual way, that he was the Joker, which carried considerable clout, and that if he caught him watching him he'd gouge his eyes out with a spoon.

But as his tired eyes settled on the figure across from him, he let out a shocked gust of breath.

It was a woman.

A very beautiful woman, and the sight of her pacing restlessly back and forth made him question his own mind.

He was taking his medication they issued him each day, so surely he couldn't be delusional. Nor was he prone to having hallucinations any more.
She had to be real.