Unsuspecting Hero (Batjokes)

Chapter 3

Joker woke up back in the medical bed. He felt achy, and couldn't bring himself to move.  "Hey"  A gruff voice said from beside him, and Joker blinked his eyes open to look at Bruce. "Hey, Batsy" He grinned, though the smile didn't fit his mood. 

"You passed out earlier. I thought I would bring you back to bed" Said the other man, and Joker hummed softly to show his acknowledgement. Both of them fell into an uncomfortable silence, unsure of what to say and how to voice their thoughts. "You're left eye, it..." Bruce began, and Joker tensed up at the words that were following. 

"I'm blind" Joker quickly said, almost like he was scared for it to come out of someone else's mouth. "I can't see through my left eye" 

"How did it happen?" Wayne asked, concerned and unable to help without asking the questions on his mind. Joker fell silent, unsure of how to answer the question. He almost expected Bruce to fill in the silence, but he didn't. He patiently waited. Joker felt himself untense at the patience.

"Last month, when you broke in to stop the bank robbery I did. You were picking off my men one by one, stealthily trying to get to me. I had hidden myself in one of the rooms to buy myself a little more time. I waited for you over the banks alarm, watching the door for you. I didn't hear Harvey behind me" Joker explained, a single tear running down his face that he refused to acknowledge.

"He knocked me out before I could blink. I woke up chained and gagged, with Harvey telling me what a nuisance I had been, stealing his plans. Not my fault he's so fucking predictable" Joker dryly chuckled. "At first, he just wanted payback. But it morphed into something else. He wanted to break me, psychologically or physically, he tried everything"

Joker left it at that, he didn't want to explain any more right now, he couldn't let the words leave his mouth. "Are there any other injuries we should know about?" Bruce asked, moving closer as a way to console the other. 

"I don't know" Joker mumbled, closing his eyes once again as if to will the conversation away. Still, Bruce persisted. 

"There were a total of 30 cuts and bruises along your chest and torso, multiple needle marks along the arms,  two sets of scaring atop of your head, the branding on your chest, a pulled ligament in your ankle and bruises around the wrist and feet. That's all we know of. We didn't want to check anywhere else without your consent, so if there is anything else we should know about, let me know"

The silence between them was massive. Joker didn't want to fill it, he couldn't. The grimace along his expression gave Bruce the answer he needed. There was more. "I only want to help" 

Joker glared at the other, unable to control the sudden mood swing. He laughed, manic and desperate. "Oh Batsy. Batsy, Batsy, Batsy..." He repeated that name in a sing song tone between his fit of giggles. 

His voice died in his throat as Bruce held his hand. Not threatening, not to calm him, almost...protectively. Joker couldn't ignore the flutter it left within his chest. "It's okay. I know you're scared, but-"

Joker shot up within an instant, adrenaline helping him ignore the pain it caused. "Scared? Scared!?" Bruce was spot on. That was what he was doing, wasn't it? Ignoring the fear and laughing instead. He should have known that the other knew him too well at this point for him to lie. After all, their years and years of cat and mouse helped eachother learn about the other.

Still, Joker didn't want to acknowledge that fear, that terror at the back of his mind. "The only one who should be scared, is you, dear Brucey" Joker threatened, and Bruce couldn't help but pay attention to the manic clown finally saying his real name. It was always 'Bats, Batsy boy, Dark knight', never Brucey. 

Bruce knew he needed to let Joker calm down, even if it was the last thing he wanted to do. "You don't mean that, J" he nicknamed back in the hopes that it would throw Joker off enough to change the course of discussion. Instead, it did the opposite affect, and he watched as the others eyes went dark and cold. "Don't ever call me that again, unless you want your pretty blood spread along these white walls...wouldn't that be pretty?" He began to ramble, and Bruce took that opportunity to stand. 

"I'll come back later. Just remember that I'm here to help. Whatever Two-face did to you, I'll make him pay for it"

Those words made Joker stutter to a halt. That cold, manic expression was gone, replaced with something that looked almost like...admiration. Bruce didn't want to unpack that just yet, so he offered the other a smile. "I'll be back at four" He offered before leaving the space.

Joker watched him go, stunned to silence. That adrenalin from before was gone, and he laid back down to give his wounds a break. Glancing up at the ceiling, those words repeated around his frazzled brain.

'Whatever Two-face did to you, I'll make him pay for it'

For the first time in a while, Joker couldn't help but feel...safe.