I miss you.

Chapter six: Let's start over.

The next few months were strange. Joker didn't quite understand what was happening. Bruce had been admitted out of the asylum, but he still came back. Why? After spending two weeks in such a hellish place, why would he return here? The clown wondered this often.

Whenever Bruce visited, cloaked in his cape and cowl, something felt off. Instead of beating him up or interrogating him, the Batman almost seemed... at ease?

He no longer growled or had that stern look in his eyes. When he visited, they only talked. They had pleasant talks, that lasted hours and hours. Joker was starting to get pretty damn irritated.

"Why, Bats?! Why aren't you trying to kill me?! The moment I escape this looney-bin, I'm going straight for your for friends and family, so there's no use being nice to me! We're all the same, you hear me?! All it'll take is one little push and you'll be just like me!"

Bruce smiled softly.

"I already am like you," he replied. "The difference is, you're unhappy. And I'm going to make sure you aren't."

Joker didn't answer. He had nothing to say. He just stared at the floor angrily.

"It's too late for that," he finally said. "Far too late."

Bruce shook his head. How hopeless did he really think life was, anyway?

By some unstoppable force of nature in the bat's mind, something compelled him to embrace the clown. He didn't know why, but he had to. The Joker jumped in defiance, but soon he returned the hug, and for once, he thought he felt happy somehow. After all this time, he only needed reassurance. He only wanted someone to finally understand. But Batman, of all people? The one he'd worked the hardest to destroy? Why him?

"I was always unhappy," Bruce said, releasing from the embrace and looking down sadly. "Because of my childhood, and because of you, too. But you... Even though you're responsible for so much of my suffering, you indirectly helped me to smile again."

The irony of that was too much to bear for the Joker. He started laughing and laughing, and eventually, the other man did too. Then they both started laughing about the mere fact that Batman was laughing. Then they started laughing about the fact that he was laughing with the Joker, of all people. It was uncanny.

Their laughter subsided. Bruce cleared his throat and smiled nervously.

"Joker," he started, "let me help you. It's not too late. I'm getting better, and like you said, we're the same. If I can get better, so can you. We can start over." Joker couldn't believe what he was hearing. The thought was absolutely ridiculous. He couldn't get better, and he didn't want to get better. However, he couldn't help but nod his head reluctantly. This time, it was the clown who embraced the bat.

"I missed you, Joker," whispered Batman. He felt Joker grin into his shoulder.

"I guess I missed you, too, Bat-brain."