deal with the devil! | JOKER X READER ✅

CHAPTER 25: bad dreams.

   The rest of the day was uneventful. Harley was getting situated into her new room, and she had poor Frost haul all of the luggage that she had preemptively brought to said room. After that, because she was busy fussing with her closet and the room's decor, you didn't see her much. You were very grateful for this, since she had the type of personality that drained your social battery astonishingly quick. She was just always talking, and always smiling. You wished that she would come back down to Earth and abandon whatever utopian planet she was living on. Your life was at stake, and she was effectively crashing your and Joker's party by just being around. You figured she knew both of these things but just didn't care enough to act accordingly.

   The silver lining of this shitty day you had was the end of it. The part where you laid on top of Joker's chest, ready to go to bed. The part where his body heat permeated through your thin tank top, warming your core and making your eyes droopy. If you had to endure Harley's nonsense to get this every night, then you would. Happily. Because no experience could ever measure up to how you felt in his arms.

   "Are you okay?" he mumbled to you, gently playing with your hair. He could obviously sense your discomfort with the decision that you had come to; hell, anyone could, with how your attitude had been that day. Snapping more at your teammates, speaking to Joker less. You knew you were being immature, especially since you brought this situation upon yourself. But it was such a huge adjustment, one you felt like you were being forced to make. After all, you had to base this decision on what was best for your physical well-being, not your mental well-being.

   "Fine," you said back. Immediately feeling guilty at your short reply, you added, "Thank you. I'm just struggling a little to deal with this."

   You did not have to elaborate on what this was. He knew. "I know. If I remember right, though, this was your idea. Didn't I tell you that I wanted to give that whore the boot?"

"Please, Joker. Not the time." The last thing you wanted to hear right then was fault being assigned to you. No matter how accurate the statement was, you did not want to take responsibility for the consequences of your own actions. You wanted to be comforted, not held accountable. You supposed that if that had been your goal, you had picked the wrong man for that.

Joker couldn't help but snicker at your stern tone. This annoyed you, since he clearly did not feel the same unease with Harley that you did. You wanted to feel like he was one hundred percent in your corner, but how could he be if he could take all of this so lightly?

"It was your idea, but I changed my tune too, baby," he volunteered, clearly trying to placate you. "You had good points. And I get that it's hard now that it's happening. Just please, don't take your regrets out on anybody else. She's here, so make the most of it until there's a reason to throw a tantrum. What do ya say, pretty?"

While it was rather petty, you almost wanted him to kick her out at the slightest sign of you being uncomfortable. You knew this was impractical, since Harley could potentially be your most useful asset. However, you just wanted hard proof that you were priority number one to Joker. And although he was being rational, he wasn't showing you that. He hadn't blindly fulfilled your wishes. You knew your reliance on the idea of this submissive version of Joker was toxic, since you were not immune to faulty decisions or opinions, and since that was simply not the man you had fallen in love with. You couldn't craft him into something else just to suit your benefit. You did not want him to be the next Harley, for God's sake.

   So, you conceded. "Okay."

   "Atta girl. Sleep tight, now, okay princess?"

   You nodded, nuzzling your cheek against the warm flesh of his chest. Nothing you were stressing about could be solved right at that moment anyway, so you needed to relax. "You too. I love you."