All of me

Joker sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. It was 4:30 in the morning and he couldn't sleep. He stared unseeingly at what was supposed to be plans for the gangs next crime spree. Somehow he couldn't see releasing all the animals from the zoo or attacking town hall with jelly bombs really cutting it. He groaned and flipped upside down in his chair to gaze at the ceiling. He just couldn't concentrate.

"I hate you forever."

Batman's deep voice echoed in his ears as he replayed that moment for the hundredth time. Joker's heart skipped a beat just thinking about it. He'd never expected Batman to actually say that to him and now that he had Joker had no idea how to deal with it. For the past couple of months things had been carrying on as normal. Joker committing crimes and Batman stopping him. As Joker got up from his seat he realised that that just wasn't enough for him anymore.

"Harley. Harley! Wake up girl buddy, it's important."

Harley Quinn opened a bleary eye to find Joker's face inches away from hers. "What is it?" she asked sleepily, her voice slurred. "I've been thinking" Joker gushed, bouncing up and down on the bed. "Do you think Batman and I need to get to know each other better? Outside of the usual fight scenario I mean.  Let's face it, after over 70 years I should hope we know each other well enough in that sense by now. " Harley squinted at him.

"J-J, I only went to sleep 2 hours ago! Couldn't this have waited for a bit?"

Joker didn't seem to hear her and carried on talking. "I know it's not really the done thing between heroes and their villains but I think Batsy should really get to know me. Me outside of crime. What we have...what we are is special and I think we are mature enough to make this greatest enemies thing work. What do you think?" he asked her. Harley groaned inwardly. Normally she would be more than to help J out but she was just too tired. Next to her Poison Ivy, who had been woken up by Joker's bouncing, glared at her in a way that clearly said "Make him shut up or I'll punch him." "Boo-boo" said Harley gently "It's up to you how you handle things with Batman. If you are sure that is what you want then go for it. I'm sure he'll like you just the way you are, he'd be a fool not to. Now I really need to go back to sleep Puddin' but we can talk about it later if you want." With that she buried her head under the covers and instantly fell asleep. Finally getting the message Joker left, closing the door as quietly as he could behind him so as not to disturb them further. He paced up and down his bedroom for a while, thinking. Deciding that sleeping was hopeless at this point he went over to the giant walk-in wardrobe that he shared with Harley. It was home to all of her costumes, 57 of his purple suits (one with tails twice as long as he was tall) and a small selection of suits and everyday clothes for when they wanted to go out without attracting attention. 

Half an hour later Joker was dressed in black jeans, boots and leather jacket with a Batman t-shirt underneath. He had used a packet of Harley's wash-out hair dye and made his make up a little less extreme. He looked at himself in the mirror as he made his way out of the front door. He had never tried being a brunette before, he quite liked it. He didn't now where he was going. Maybe he would get a coffee at one of those all night fast food places. As he walked along the dark streets of Gotham Jokers thoughts travelled back to Batman. He wondered what his big, bad bat was up to now.

**********************************

Bruce sat behind the wheel of his car and waited for the lights to change. For once he didn't need to rush off to save the day, in fact Batman wasn't needed at all at the moment. He breathed in and out nervously, clutching the steering wheel tight. He always felt this way when he wasn't wearing his cowl but he was making an effort to try and do without it occasionally. Barbara and Alfred both thought that Robin needed to spend time with his dad without the mask on sometimes. At first Bruce thought they were crazy but after awhile he began to realise that they were right. Robin seemed more relaxed, happier. So once in a while he'd take it off for a bit. However, he still found it very difficult which is why he could be found driving alone around the streets of Gotham on quiet nights. The pressure of taking his cowl off with the others watching was still to much for him sometimes, this was his way of practicing. Alfred knew that he had problems with it but he doubted his butler really knew how he felt. Without the mask the world seemed so huge and unfamiliar. He was alone and defenceless. Bruce would never let them know that though, Batman didn't do feelings. As he drove he wondered what the various criminal low lives in the city were planning. Would tonight be one of the rare quiet nights that Gotham seldom go to enjoy or would the Bat-signal be activated before the night was over? Deciding that he needed to stretch his legs Bruce parked outside a McDonalds to get a coffee. Expecting to find the place silent and empty he was surprised to hear a great deal of talking as he entered the room.