You wanna know what I think?

Chapter 28

Sorry about the delay. Usual disclaimer: own nothing, not even a brain.

Thanks to Ripley10 for editing so perfectly. :)

Chapter 28

Jane looked down at the headlines and sighed audibly.

"I thought you'd forgotten all about that article," she murmured as she stared down at the front page of the Gotham Globe.

"Me?" he cackled and slid his hands onto her shoulders as he leaned over her. "I never forget anything."

Jane's eyebrows rose at that statement but she said nothing as she stared at the picture of the two of them in the Vegas motel room with her holding the certificate. Underneath, printed word for word, was the article she'd written ages ago in response to the original kidnapping issue.

"I think we look good together," he said and sucked on his lips, making a popping noise.

"You look... Well, you look..." she stopped, frowning as she tried to find a suitable descriptive term for the sheer evilness that reflected in his smug face.

"Handsome? Gorgeous? Sexy?" he teased and tightened his grip on her shoulders slightly.

"Yeah, but it's your eyes," she replied and leaned back against him. "You look quite... Mephistophelian," she said finally, her voice cracking on the word.

"Mephisto what?" he inquired with raised eyebrows.

"Coldly calculating, cunning, ingenuity towards evilness, diabolical; that kind of thing."

"Mmmm, from anyone else I'd take it as a compliment, but you're not so sure, are you?" he whispered in her ear.

"I know what you do," she said softly. "I made peace with it quite a while ago." She lifted her hand and slid it onto his scarred cheek.

"Then what? What ghosts your voice?"

"Nothing. This picture wasn't for me, was it? It was for them. A direct statement, a pictorial two-fingered salute, so to speak."

"I like that," he cackled. "A 'pictorial two fingered salute,' that's your way of saying I'm telling them to fuck off, isn't it?"

"Pretty much," she murmured, her fingers sliding along the edge of one particularly puckered scar as she re-read the article again. "Besides, I've got the other pictures in the album if you want to see them."

"Where?" he asked in surprise and looked at where she pointed at a purple covered photograph album lying on the packing case/coffee table. They were back at the printers and Jane was never going to complain again, or at least she was going to try very hard not to.

He moved away from her and picked up the photo album.

"Was this on that list you gave Jimmy?" he asked and sat down next to her on the battered settee. He was referring to a long list of items she'd asked for the kitchen and the bedroom.

"Yeah," she replied and watched as he opened the cover and saw a picture of them standing on the little bridge at the Chapel of Flowers. He rolled his eyes and gave a snort of disgust. They were side by side, his arm slung around her shoulder, his head was down slightly and he was smirking at the camera while she was beaming with radiant happiness.

"You look..." He stopped and frowned, turning the pages. He saw more pictures of them together. In every one Jane shone from the page with happiness, while all he managed was to look more and more sinister. He had got fed up with it. There were a few of just Jane on her own, when he'd finally had all he could take without gutting someone, so he'd wandered away for a bit, but even so her happiness was not diminished.