Let's go home - Joker X Harley

two: welcome home

The cold winds of Gotham's nighttime greeted Harley and Joker immediately as they headed towards the streets.
Each heavy breath of theirs formed warm wisps in front of Harley, fading away almost immediately as her steps pick up. She made sure to trail behind Joker, of course.

"Not so fast." The joker growls, grabbing her by her waist and pulling both him and Harley into an alley way, shrouded completely in an almost opaque darkness. If they were not in the middle of an escape, Harley would probably determine that this was extremely intimate.

"What is it, Puddin'?" Harley demands, lifting a hand up to rest on his tense shoulders; a sign of comfort she'd often offer him.
The joker only growls, pulling his shoulder back angrily, away from her, and out of her reach. He begins to pace towards the near end of the Alley, keeping his back turned to Harley in dismissal.

"He's here." Joker finally says, quietly; breaking the silence between them. The way h says "he" - almost as a curse - was enough in itself to notify Harley completely.

Suddenly the cold wind manifested into ice, as if the winds themselves were threatened by the insinuation of Batman's own appearance.

"He's here." The joker says again, shouting loudly; and although his back was still turned away, Harley recognised the smile in his voice, and felt her heart skip a beat.
He turns to her, his arms spread out; welcoming Harley. His lips were pinched up at both sides, exposing his gold tinted teeth.

"It appears we have-" he breathes in, his eyes gleaming brightly, as he searches for a word to finish his sentence.

"Company."

Harley immediately bounces up and down, clapping with excitement.

The two of them together created a mass of dangerous vibrancy.

"Let's kill em', Mr J. Finally show that son of a bitch who's boss." Harley suggests darkly, mimicking the joker's widened smile fluently yet seemingly doing it with more determination.

The joker laughs quietly, slowly walking towards his Harlequin. He brings his hand to her cheek slowly; caressing it gently.

"Honey." He whispers softly, his eyes pouring into hers.

Then, he pulls his hand back without haste, and before Harley can even think of turning in the other direction; he hits her. Hard.

"I make the decisions." He reminds her, his smile growing wider. Harley chokes back a cry, determined to keep herself contained in order for his impression.

"Remember?"

Harley giggles, in an effort to cover the pain of her right cheek. "Yes Mr J." She almost sings.
Besides, Harley was too excited to worry about anything; and she knew the Joker would be kinder to her if they weren't in a sticky situation, didn't she?

The joker smiles, clearly very pleased with how quickly Harley had retrained herself.

"Excellent." He growls softly, kissing the cheek in which he'd previously scolded. He allows his lips to linger there, for Harley's sake, and then pulls them away. It was all he could do to manipulate her into trusting him again; although he knew deep down that Harley's trust had always been with him. Even if sometimes he thought she needed reminding.

Then, again, he turns away towards the end of the alley; leaving her vulnerable. It was his favourite game to play, and he played it and mastered it effortlessly; as if the instructions were on the back of his very hand.