Don't Believe Everything You Read On the Internet

Chapter 19

      Batman built himself a small helicopter on his way from the skyscraper. It made the way back shorter, even if it was a little unnecessary. When he arrived home, he entered through the Batcave, giving his password before going in (who did Robert Downey Jr. think he was anyway?). He switched into his robe as he entered, asking what had arrived in the mail. There wasn't a lot of important stuff, yet he also received his special package that he ordered. He hadn't told anybody else about what he had ordered, or that he ordered anything at all, so hopefully they wouldn't notice the pretty big package that had arrived. Then again, Richard and Alfred would probably just expect it to be a bench-presser knowing Batman.

       Alfred had left some leftover lobster in the fridge, so Batman decided to have that for dinner and go see what his son was up to. Richard usually greeted his dad with a big hug when he came back from his missions, so why hadn't he today? Bruce took off his cowl and walked to the boy's room, opening the door without knocking. Sure, that might not have been the most polite thing to do, but Batman wanted answers, dang it! Richard looked surprised at the sudden visit.

        "H-hey, Daddio, what's up?" Richard greeted, sitting up right with something clearly hidden behind his back.

        "Daddio? I know that you like giving me nicknames, but you need to choose something that's been used since the 80's," Bruce responded sarcastically, grinning at his joke.

          "Heh, I guess you're right. Anyway, I hope you have a good night."

         "What? No good night hug?"

        "Sorry, not tonight."

         "You used to beg me to give you good night hugs. What's with the sudden change?"

       "I'm doing something else, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

          "You're so busy that you can't give your dad a hug? Does this have to do with the object you're hiding behind your back?"

           "What? No..."

           "What's behind your back?"

          "Nothing."

          "Don't lie to me, young man!"

           "Young man? You were just getting on my case for Daddio."

           "Where is this sudden attitude coming from?"

          "I don't know what you're talking about!"

         "Really? Then what's behind your back?"

          "It's really embarrassing..."

           "You just called me Daddio, I don't think that whatever's behind your back can be more embarrassing than that."

           "Thanks, but I sincerely doubt it."

          "Please, you're not just my son, you're my sidekick. I don't want there to be any secrets between us."

          "I guess, but I'm still not sure you'll like it."

           "If you don't show me, I'll take away your cookie privileges for two weeks."

           "Fine," Richard said before showing his father the object behind his back. It seemed to be some sort of video screen that was showing Joker and Batman's conversation earlier. Bruce looked at his son with a questioning look.

              "Where did you get this footage?" Bruce asked his son.

             "I built a drone that flew by the skyscraper. I made sure that it flew quietly so you wouldn't hear it, and I figured that you guys would be focused on each other so you probably wouldn't notice it. I've been replaying it a couple of times, mostly just the kiss on the cheek you gave him. Honestly, I didn't really understand half of the stuff that you were talking about because I wasn't there when it happened, but I still found the encounter really cute," Richard explained, twiddling with his fingers, expecting his father to be ashamed.

              "Wait, so you built a drone all by yourself? I'm so proud!" Bruce replied, tears welling up in his eyes.

            "So you don't mind that I was listening in on your private conversation with Joker?" Richard asked, surprised at how well his father took the news.

            "It is pretty hard to stay angry at you," Bruce admitted, ruffling the boy's hair, who only giggled at the gesture.

.....

           Joker happily skipped back to his lair, a huge grin on his face. He was still ecstatic over the kiss on the cheek that Batman had given him. Sure, he had known for a couple of weeks that Batman had the same feelings for him, but this was one of his official first ways of showing it. This must've been how Batman felt when the clown gave him a kiss on the cheek about a month ago! Man, time had really flown by....

             "There he is!" yelled one of the villains as Joker got closer to the building. It looked like almost all of the villains were there at the door, greeting the clown with cheers and clapping.

             "I've been here almost all day, what's with the Welcome Party?" Joker asked, thinking about how he had been greeted home earlier that day.

          "This isn't about you arriving home from the hospital," Tarantula informed the Joker as if it was obvious.

           "This is about you getting a boyfriend!" Riddler yelled, a smirk on his face.

          "Harley, did you tell them about our conversation?" Joker asked his best friend, an eyebrow raised.

           "I couldn't help it! You two are so adorable!" Harley proclaimed, plastering an innocent look on her face. Joker shook his head. It seemed like no one could keep a secret in this city.

              "So, are you two going on a date or what?" Zodiac Master asked from the middle of the crowd of villains.

             "Well, I wasn't planning on telling you guys, but yeah," Joker admitted, his cheeks becoming pink. There were multiple cheers from the crowd.

             "Are you a good guy now, or is Batman a bad guy?" Poison Ivy asked, being one of the only villains to still be suspicious about the whole Batjokes thing.

              "I'm not sure. Hopefully we can still do our regular hero and villain shtick even with our relationship," Joker tried to rationalize, thinking about how they could still do their usual thing. He hadn't really thought about it before, but he hoped that it wouldn't mess up what made Joker love Batman in the first place. The clown still wanted to spread total chaos.

                 "To be honest, I'm just surprised you got a date in the first place," Bane said, receiving a couple chuckles from the other villains.

                 "Ha ha, I don't see you getting any girls," Joker retorted, crossing his arms.

                  "It's not like you got any girls yourself," Polka Dot Man called back, getting even more laughter.

                   "I guess you've got me there," Joker said, throwing in the towel.

                 "Hey, how about we all have some hot dogs on me?" Condiment King suggested, which everyone agreed to. They all feasted to the relationship that had started to bloom.

Author's Note:

Hey, sorry for the bit of a long wait. I sincerely hope that these breaks aren't making anyone lose interest in the story. Writing this story is so fun, and I really want you guys to have as much fun reading it as I do writing it! Other than that, please continue to tune in!