Would You Live for Me? (Destiel Joker!Cas/Harley!Dean AU)

Chapter One: In the Beginning

Dean Winchester was a lonely person growing up. It wasn't that he was alone, no, it is possible to be lonely in a crowd of people.

It was because of his situation at home.

His father, John, for lack of better word, was a complete and utter bastard. He was a drunk and a poor excuse for a parent. When his wife, Mary, died in a fire back when their two children, Sam and Dean, were just kids, he became a shell of a man. He had lost his whole world, a world that had left behind two kids to raise. Too many times did four year old Dean have to stay up with his baby brother to comfort the crying child because their dad wasn't going to come home.

Over the years, John's grief built up more and more. He completely ignored the fact that he had children and instead became best friends with good old Jim, Jack, and Jose. John couldn't live with the children who reminded him so much of his darling Mary.

Now, you may be feeling bad for John. You may think that he had reason to be upset. And, don't get me wrong, he had every reason to be. But don't forget that John had some extremely young kids he had to take care of.

Now that we've covered all the bases of John being a drunk and a neglectful father, let's move on to the real reason we're all here: Dean Winchester.

While John was away, Dean took care of his little brother Sam. Every week or so John would stop by and give the boys sandwich supplies so they wouldn't starve. However, these supplies usually only lasted a few days, leaving the motel manager to take pity on them and sneak them some snacks every once in a while...when he felt like it. Dean, when accepting the food, often failed to see the leers directed toward him while he was closing the door. That was the character of the other man who helped take care of them. That's precisely why CPS was never involved.

John came home at other times as well as the bi- weekly food visitations. John often would wander in drunk off his ass, only to verbally abuse the four year old Dean. He would tell the child that he was "worthless", "stupid", "a fuck up", and so, so much more.

From Dean's point of view, his dad was always right. He knew everything. He was his hero. So when John would tell him these things, he would believe them. He soon began to believe he should have never been born.

Screw you John. It's not his fault that he took after his mother more than Sam.

Anyways, this abuse went on for years. The boys kept growing up, John kept drinking, and Dean's self esteem kept plummeting exponentially by the day.

Broken little Dean started cutting. He landed himself in the hospital a few times. A psych ward more than a few times. But he always managed to get out by faking perfect mental health. He always managed to make it back to Sammy. Sam woke up every morning unknowing of how he's the reason his big brother was still alive.

Meanwhile, Castiel Novak was another troubled soul. He had been broken down by bullies, society, and even his own family for years. Little did they know that little Castiel Novak would end up being their biggest threat.

A few days after Castiel was born his mother left. She did not leave due to the  child's birth; she left because of a previously existing issue with the Novak marriage which literally had nothing  to do with the bringing of Castiel into the world. However, Castiel's father didn't see it that way. He bullied Castiel all throughout his childhood.

Now, Castiel was the youngest of the Novak bunch. He had four elder siblings:
Michael, Lucifer, Gabriel, and Anna. The elder two never really interfered with the evils that their father inflicted upon Castiel. However, the younger ones often intervened, leaving Castiel bruise free for the time being.

If you thought that Castiel had issues at home, just wait until you hear about his school life.

Castiel was a quiet kid. He was averagely smart, got good grades, and was pretty sweet when people got to know him.

However, kids can be cruel. Castiel had a hard time smiling at school, even though he was technically away from his father for eight hours a day. He never smiled.

This led the school bullies, Uriel and Alastair, to gang up on him continuously.

This torment continued. Maddening taunts about Castiel filled his days. His nights were filled with the constant fear that his father would come in and hurt him. Or worse, like he had when he was really missing the Mrs. Novak.

His breaking point was a Tuesday in his Junior year. That particular Tuesday had felt like it had lasted forever.

His ass still hurt from the visit with his father the night before, as did his ego. He had been harassed about it all day by the bullies who roamed the hallways waiting for the right moments to strike down their prey. And, on top of that, he had gotten a C on his French paper. Not his fault that Gabriel wouldn't turn down his goddamn pornos.

Stupid brothers with their stupid rooms right next to yours.

As he was mulling over his French paper and the difference between aussitôt and
aussi tôt, he heard footsteps behind him. Next thing he knew he was being held, arms behind his back, books out of his hands, and was being dragged inside a nearby closet. When he looked up he saw Alastair, which meant Uriel was right behind him.

"Well, well, well. Hello there Castiel."

Alastair emphasized the name's syllables, making his voice sound like a cheap mockery of a bedroom voice.

Castiel rolled his eyes. This wasn't his first time being jumped by Uriel and Alastair to fill in the role of their personal punching bag. He knew what would happen. He wasn't scared.

"Cassie, dear, why don't you ever smile?"

Castiel looked up with surprise. This was new. Normally they would beat him to a pulp and then leave him bleeding on the ground.

"I mean, is it a problem-" Alastair punctuated problem with a punch to the stomach. "-Deep seated mental issues-" another punch "-or is it just you being boring old Castiel, the boy who never smiles, the boy who can't take a joke. So-so cold. Cold Castiel."

Castiel still couldn't make heads or tails of the angle Alastair was playing. All of a sudden, the bully stopped punching the other teen. Alastair reached back into his back pocket and pulled his hand out.

Castiel saw a flash of metal in the other boy's hand before hearing Alastair's nasal and terrible voice say:

"Let's put a smile on that face."

Minutes- or was it hours later? Castiel was never quite sure- a teacher found Castiel standing over Uriel and Alastair's bloody bodies, knife in hand and bleeding cuts in the shape of a smile next to his mouth, giggling maniacally at the murders he had just committed.

These two different yet similar souls never knew that, years later, they would find their sun to their moon. Their night to their day.

Their Harlequin to their Joker.