--3rd person POV--
It was a relief for (y/n) to be outside and get some much-needed fresh air to clear her head. Well, as fresh as the exhaust fume-choked atmosphere of central Gotham had to offer.
It was bizarre being out in the enclosed grounds, hearing the traffic mulling by outside of the hospital yet being cut-off from the world, imprisoned in these mundane, bleak surroundings.
Several guards and hospital orderlys patrolled the grassy outside area, keeping a close eye on the inmates, their presence a constant reminder for them to behave.
Across from the steps where she sat, Arthur was lounging on a bench smoking a cigarette, looking so at ease you'd think he was sitting on a park bench with not a care in the world.
Did he even have a conscience? At first (y/n) had doubted it, but given the fact that his laughing episodes were becoming more frequent she was inclined to believe that he did.
What was scary is the man knew the difference between right and wrong. If he was capable of feeling remorse or regret, that could make him the worse kind of sociopath. Unlike psychopaths, sociopaths were at least capable of feeling those things, as well as a modicum of empathy.
(y/n) was seriously starting to have her doubts about the preconceptions she'd formed of him, regardless of the labels his previous therapists had stuck on him.
Just then he turned her way and saw her watching him. She swore under her breath and hastily turned away, furious at herself for having been caught staring at him for a second time now. And since they'd begun playing this weird little game they hadn't said a word to one another. Not since that awkward, bizarre, heated kiss they'd shared several days ago. Now she knew he would be smug about her watching him.
To prove her theory she stole another glance at him, and just as she'd suspected he was silently gloating.
How could she tell?
The bastard smirked at her. Openly, brazenly, smirked at her. The satisfied smile was still firmly on his face even when he looked away.
Feeling something snap inside her, possibly a rogue neurone in her brain, (y/n) got to her feet and begrudgingly made her way over to where he was sat. At least he was by himself.
Standing over him, she waited for him to say something. A snarky remark, anything. But he didn't. He just carried on smoking his cigarette, refusing to acknowledge her presence.
(y/n) stood there for at least a whole minute, before finally cracking.
"You know....this is getting kinda boring now, wouldn't you say?"
Arthur blew a smoke ring, his eyes affixed on the way the smoked curled in the air before dispersing on the breeze. Then his gaze languidly came to rest on her.
"I'm sorry, what? Were you talking to me?"
Bristling, (y/n) sucked her teeth. Trying hard not to lose her temper.
"You know damn well I'm talking to you. There's nobody else here."
"There's plenty of other people around." He made a big show of gesturing to his left then right. "Why don't you go and talk to them?"
Choosing to ignore his mockery she huffed and sat down on the opposite end of the bench, as far away from him as possible.
"Hey, I didn't say you could sit down." He exclaimed.
"You don't own this bench, Arthur. Get over yourself."
Arthur's brow furrowed. "Maybe I was enjoying a moment alone and you're invading my personal space."
"Personal space?" She scoffed. "Really? You weren't complaining about your personal space when you kissed me."
"When I kissed you? Uh, if I remember correctly....you were the one who kissed me, princess."
She blushed. "You were more than happy to go along with it though."
"Perhaps I was just being polite. I'm a nice guy. I didn't want to hurt your feelings." He grinned crookedly.
"Hurt my feelings? Pfft. It was just a distraction." She said, rolling her eyes. "I only kissed you as a diversion tactic so you'd let go of that fucking razor blade!"
"Yeah I figured as much. Which is why I purposely kissed you back like I did."
(y/n) regarded him disdainfully. It was so hard to tell if he was telling the truth, lying for his own amusement, or lying because he was hoping to conceal the truth. The truth being that he actually just wanted to kiss her.
Perhaps there was only one way to find out.
"Okay." She said coolly, folding her arms. "So if I were to say.....meet me over by the orchard in two minutes....you wouldn't come?"
Arthur shrugged noncommittally. "I'd want to know why you were asking me. Why would you want to meet me there?"
Steadying the tremor in her voice, she said calmly. "Well it's pretty secluded over there. The guards only come by like every ten or fifteen minutes. There's a lot you can do in that time."
(y/n) watched him closely, gauging his reaction.
She saw the fleeting look of surprise cross his face, and then the flicker of...something, in his emerald gaze. His eyes seemed to become hooded. They darkened, making him appear almost predatory and feral. She could only assume it was a glimpse of that wild, untamed aura which lay barely suppressed beneath the surface.
Joker? Quite possibly. But all she could determine for certain was that she'd most definitely seen a glimmer of lust.
"Oh yeah? Like what?" He asked eventually, feigning innocence.
Sliding a little closer, she deliberately rested her arm behind him along the back of the bench, as she twisted her body around to face him.
"Come on Arthur. You're a smart boy. I think you know what I'm getting at."
"Do I?"
She sighed. "Look, why don't we stop playing games and call a truce?"
His eyes snapped to hers, and to her surprise he now looked genuinely stunned. "A truce? Aha. Right. You're still trying to fuck with me aren't you (y/n)? Well it won't work. I'm not buying it."
"Fine. Don't believe me." She said airily, getting to her feet and stretching. "It's your loss if you choose not to come, and at least I'll know where I stand."
Arthur continued to hold her gaze. He threw his cigarette butt away carelessly, his eyes still locked on hers as she casually backed away.
She was forced to break eye contact because she needed to see where she was going, and it was a good thing because even though she would never admit it, the way he looked at her turned her insides to goo.
Turning around she headed towards the orchard, a small patch of trees over in the far corner. It wasn't exactly an orchard but that was what everyone at Arkham referred to it as.
Slipping between the trees, (y/n) hid behind a large tree trunk. Her nerves were jangling, part of her wondering if he'd call her bluff and come, the other part wondering what the hell she would do if he did.
Several minutes passed and she had no way of telling how long she waited, but eventually she ended up sinking to the ground, resting her back against the rough bark.
The longer she waited the more convinced she became that he would not come. So much so, that when she heard the sudden snap of a twig her heart almost leaped right out of her chest.
"Well it looks like I managed to sneak over here without being seen. Was that the test?" Arthur's voice came from behind the tree she was sat leaning against.
(y/n) fought to steady her breathing. "W-what makes you think I was testing you? Perhaps I just wanted some privacy."
He stepped out, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously.
In truth, he was surprised that none of the guards or orderlys had spotted him, and he knew it would probably mean a spell in isolation if he were found here.
Yet that wasn't enough of a deterrent. To his own annoyance he found (y/n) intriguing, regardless of her game-playing. She had a recklessness to her nature that appealed to him and he couldn't help but admire it.
And of course he'd been driven by curiosity. Could it be possible that she found him attractive? Alluring? For all his bravado as Joker, Arthur was by no means a ladies man. His awkwardness, his condition and mental illness, made every woman he'd ever been interested in run a mile.
But (y/n) was different.
"Okay we have our privacy....now what?"
She looked up at him and gave a wry smile. "Who is it I'm talking to right now, Joker or Arthur?"
Arthur frowned. "What kind of question is that?"
"I'm just interested that's all. Your Joker persona is like a totally different person, so I was just wondering if you're feeling more like one or the other."
He smiled lazily. "No. Joker, that's the real me."
"You're one and the same?"
"Yeah. Even the laugh....the doctors always told me it's a condition but it's part of who I am, that's my Joker 'persona'." He made quote marks in the air with his fingers.
(y/n) considered the new information carefully before saying. "But...would Arthur be brave enough to sneak off like this? Is it something you would've done in the past? Before the whole Joker thing?"
Slightly stumped, Arthur brought a large hand to his sharp jaw, contemplating. "Uh, maybe not. Who knows? But I became braver over time. The more shit life threw at me, the stronger I got I guess."
"Right. So you evolved and when you'd had enough of everything you became Joker. He was your emotional response to all the stress you were under. Plus you weren't taking your meds, were you?"
"No I wasn't, but I felt better without them."
"In what way?"
"I don't know." He idly kicked at the ground with the toe of his shoe. "More alert. Less groggy. The medication slowed me down a lot. I couldn't think straight."
She nodded understandingly. "That kinda fits with all the side effects of those medications."
Arthur's beautiful eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What's with all the questions anyway?"
(y/n) shrugged. "I'm just curious that's all."
"Yeah? Well I don't really like talking about myself. I never have."
"How come?"
"Nobody ever listened."
His eyes grew hazy, and even from where she sat on the ground she could see that they were glistening with unshed tears, and the sight caused a dull aching in her heart.
"I-I'm listening, Arthur."
Arthur felt a stirring deep in the cavity of his chest. The area where he'd sworn never to allow anything to go, but here she was, this bold, amazing young woman, and her words were prodding and poking at his heart.
It threw him off balance. He didn't really know how to respond, and he was still slightly suspicious of her, thinking she was too good to be real.
"Why...why would you want to listen?" He cleared his throat. "Why would you even care? You hate me. You blamed me for getting your boyfriend killed."
"Fiancé."
"Whatever." He snapped, suddenly filled with irrational jealousy. "The point is you still hate me."
It made no sense of course, but the dark, selfish place inside of him was now glad of her lovers death. Otherwise she may have been married by now. Then he'd feel compelled to shoot the poor unfortunate guy himself.
Arthur just didn't like the thought of anyone else having her. Not then and not now. Not ever.
She was too rare. Too perfect. He'd never met anyone like her in his life, and he wanted her for himself.
"I don't hate you. Not really. I want to get to know you, Arthur." She said, shattering his petulant thoughts. "I want to know everything about you."
He quirked a dark brow questioningly. "You already know everything. You dug into my history. Shit, you even knew more about me than I did, if all that stuff you said about Thomas Wayne and Penny is true."
"It's true. Why would I lie to you?"
"I don't know." He dragged his hands through his hair. "I don't know that much about you."
"Would you like to know? I can tell you if you like."
"Okay...what's your favourite colour?"
"What?" (y/n) giggled. "It's (y/f/c). What's yours?"
"Green." He answered without hesitation. "Or maybe red. I can't decide."
"Ah, I should've guessed."
She made to move and stand up but Arthur unexpectedly held his hand out to her, kindly. She stared at it, surprised, then slipped her hand into his and allowed him to help her to her feet.
They were now standing awfully close. Her pulse kicked up a notch, so she leaned back against the trunk of the tree to steady herself.
"You know, we probably know quite a lot about each other already." She mused.
Arthur smirked. "You know more about me since you're the one with the obsession."
Her small brow creased. "Um, let's just get one thing straight, Joker Fleck--"
"Joker Fleck?" He interrupted, but she kept talking, wanting to set him straight.
"I am not obsessed with you!" She snapped, more than just a little vexed by his teasing.
"Okay, okay." He held his hands up, surrendering. "It was just a joke."
Her brow unfurrowed, her expression softened and she smiled apologetically. "That's alright then. I didn't mean to overreact."
She watched him as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other as if agitated. Wanting to lighten the mood again, she flashed him a warm smile. "Hey, wanna play a game?"
His lips curled, his forehead wrinkling slightly. "What sort of game? Hide and go seek?"
"As exciting as that would be, I was thinking more along the lines of a testing game."
"A testing game? See I knew you enjoyed testing me." He pointed out.
She couldn't help laughing. "Close your eyes and tell me what colour eyes I have."
"What?"
"I want to see if you know. Then I'll try to remember yours. It kinda proves how well we know each other."
Arthur raised a sceptical eyebrow but complied. "Um....are they (e/c)?"
"Get you! Was that just a lucky guess or did you actually notice?" She giggled again.
The sound of her laughing warmed him, even stole his breath away slightly. His eyes glimmered as they watched her.
She was secretly astonished. But she couldn't help feeling pleased by the possibility of him paying enough attention to her to notice such a simple, seemingly insignificant thing.
"It was easy." He grinned moronically, leaning his hand against the tree. "Now your turn. And no peeking."
Her eyes fluttered shut and her smile widened with confidence. Of course she knew the colour of his eyes. They were so striking.
"Your eyes are sometimes a kind of greenish-blue, other times they even look a little grey, which must mean they're actually green. Green eyes are the rarest, and the only ones that can look like different colours." She paused, taking a deep breath. "They're actually rather beautiful."
Arthur blinked, and gazed at her in wonder. And he didn't need to imagine anything. This wasn't a daydream. The way her beautiful face seemed to light up as she spoke. Her soft pink lips stretching into a heart-stopping smile.
And that was for him.
She was smiling and looking exuberant, glowing, effervescent with life, whilst describing his eyes in such great detail. Did that mean something? Surely it had to.
"Wow. Are you sure you're not a fan?" He joked, clumsily.
(y/n) opened her eyes sharply to see him standing dangerously close. She swallowed hard, feeling all her blood rush to her face. Her stomach twisted into nervous knots, and her heart suddenly began to race at the unthinkable thought.
Was she obsessed with him?
No. She couldn't be.
Arthur reached up and laid his arm against the tree above her, leaning down to let his forehead rest against his wrist. From there he gazed down at her, and she felt things, things she hadn't felt in a very long time; sinking deep into her chest and sliding down to her lower belly.
"I need to ask you a question now. Are you afraid of me?" His voice came low and rough.
She shivered. God, that voice. It was like warm honey, with a slightly gruff edge to it. It was deep, commanding, and undeniably sexy.
"No." Came her strained reply. "If I were then I wouldn't be here, alone with you. Would I?"
Arthur didn't answer verbally.
(y/n) instinctively closed her eyes, then cracked them open just enough to see his handsome face lean closer. Their noses brushed, then she felt his warm, firm lips on her own.
The kiss was sweet yet desperate, like a latent hunger laced with tenderness. It was unhurried and soul-deep, sensual and utterly divine.
When he broke the kiss he didn't pull away, just observed her closely. His actions had left her gasping, and aching for more.
"You kissed me." She couldn't think of anything better to say.
He grinned at her, looking wicked in spite of the innocence in his voice. "Was I not supposed to? Sorry."
She shook her head; eyes dropping to his mouth. "I...I wasn't complaining."
"Good. Because I can't resist you."
Her throat clenched. "We just...we just shouldn't be doing this."
"Shouldn't we?" He drew her mouth to his again, and she didn't object. "Do you...d'you want me to stop?"
"Mhm, n-no....No I don't...I don't want you to." She gasped, returning his kisses, revelling in the incredible sensation of being kissed so sweetly yet desperately, by a man who was so fierce and yet gentle.
He was an anomaly, and she didn't dislike it. Far from it, his uniqueness made him all the more desirable to her.
They were so lost in the moment, so enthralled by the slow, delicate tease of each other's lips; the sensuous tangling of their tongues, that they didn't hear the approaching footsteps until it was too late.
Arthur broke the kiss just in time to see a furious looking guard reach for him and roughly pull him away.
"Get your filthy hands off her, Fleck! What the hell do you think you're doing?" He barked at him, gripping his wrists and clapping him in handcuffs.
"Wait! He hasn't done anything wrong!" (y/n) cried, watching as two of them shoved him forwards, making him stumble.
"Did he hurt you?" A third guard demanded, grasping her shoulders and holding her at arms length, surveying her fully.
She shook her head frantically. "No. He didn't hurt me! Leave him alone. It was me, okay? I was the one who kissed him."
Arthur's eyes widened. He was shocked by her outburst. Her willingness to take the blame and vouch for him.
The guard glared at (y/n), his expression one of pure disbelief and disgust. "Oh is that right? Then I guess you're the one we'll be putting in isolation."
"No don't!" Arthur yelled in anguish, straining to break free, but the guards had his arms in a vice-like hold. "I did it! It was my fault!"
(y/n) couldn't believe the baleful look in his eyes. He looked wild and frantic, stricken by her having to endure such a punishment. Was it possible to fake such empathy? Could it be possible that he genuinely felt something?
"Don't do this (y/n) please! It's so fucking awful in that room, it'll drive you crazy!"
"Arthur...I'll be okay."
He shook his head. "I know you're strong. But I don't want you to suffer like that." His voice cracked with emotion, and it was enough to move her to tears.
"Right that's enough!" The second guard growled, his large hand clamped on her shoulder, and he began forcibly steering her away.
"You'll both go in isolation." The 1st one said, as he pushed Arthur in the opposite direction. "But obviously not together."
Arthur thought of a witty retort but bit his tongue, not wanting to make the situation any worse for fear of (y/n) being punished further.
And he knew in that moment he was doomed because he cared about her a lot. More than he'd initially realised. And he was absolutely terrified.
Terrified but elated.
Elated because she had made him feel again.