Joker and his Ace

Scars

•TIBERIUS•

The door creaked open slowly to reveal Ace standing there. She was covered in blood, not hers I assumed and looked to be filled with anxiety. Her eyes floated right past me and landed on the clown. His eyes filled with something as he looked at her. Then she screamed and ran in a blur right into his arms. I watched as they crumpled to the ground together, and kissed. Jealousy and disgust made their home inside my mind as I watched their reunion with clenched fists. 

The ride back Joker hadn't said a word except "Ace" the whole way. He had sat in the back, across from me. I watched as he whispered her name over and over again, almost like a prayer. His hands were locked tight in his lap, so tight that his knuckles turned white, then purple. At every stop sign, he would jump up and look out, only to realize we still weren't there and plopped back into his seat. Some "terrifying maniac" he was.

After about 5 minutes wrapped in each other's arms, Ace stood up and gently pulled him to his feet. He leaned against her as they walked into the house. Not even his house. I had found this house. He didn't deserve to set foot inside. 

3 months ago, Ace had sent me to find a new hideout. Some of our enemies had found our old one and it was compromised. I spent almost a week looking until I found the perfect place. It was at the edge of Gotham, an old warehouse. It needed some love, but the inside was set up like someone had lived there. It had two stories, and a small basement which turned out to be the best dungeon ever. The downstairs had a big open area that we had set a kitchen a dining room up in. On the left are three rooms. One is now used for Ace's (and Joker's I guess) bedroom. The second is her "office", basically where she holds her "meetings" with people like Penguin and Poison Ivy. The last on that side is her "playroom". I haven't seen the inside of it, nor do I want to. If you go in there and you aren't Ace or the cleanup dude, you never come out whole. 

The other side had two rooms, but we knocked down a wall and made it into one. It's the weapons room, and it is jam-packed with fun things. The upstairs is basically our barracks. She let us set up a living room with a 72 inch TV and a gaming system. We built this place for ourselves without Joker here, and now he just expects to live here. I loathe that clown.

•JOKER•

The place she got for us is amazing. Ace helped me over to the kitchen and set me down. Then she whipped a meal up for me. Chicken and rice. It was delicious. As she was making it, I noticed the scars. She was covered in them. Even wearing a t-shirt and carpi leggings, I could see so many. There was a large one that started at the edge of her neck and went under her shirt. Her legs were covered in small ones. Her hands had tons also, and it looked like the tip of her pinky was missing. There was around one below her sleeve line that looked like a bullet hole. I had to stop looking after that. It made me feel worthless, she had been so abused in my absence, because of my absence. Once I was strong enough, I would track down the makers of each and every one of the scars. 

"I love you." I looked up from my plate to see her staring at me with such adoration and devotion in her eyes that it took my breath away. I smiled.

"Ace," was all I said and then I hobbled over to kiss her. She kissed me like it was our first, but this time felt like ice. It froze me to the spot, filling my veins and my everything with it. She was so small pressed up against me, and she pulled my arm while backing up. Never breaking the kiss, she pulled me into our bedroom and shut the door. Then she spun me around and threw me onto the bed, before climbing on top of me. She pulled off my pants, then my shirt, leaving me in my underwear. I growled and ripped her stupid clothes off of her body, exposing her to me. I was shocked at the amount of damage she had managed to hide, but she didn't let me dwell on it. She smashed her lips onto mine, and I lost myself in her.

•ACE•

It was after midnight. Jack was softly snoring beside me, occasionally gasping my name before snoring again. I couldn't sleep. Last night was amazing, it had been so long since I had been with Jack like that, it ached to even think about the time frame that we were apart. I was afraid to fall asleep. Afraid that somehow, if I let my guard down even for a moment, that he would slip from my grasp again, I had hardly survived the first time, and I knew deep down I wouldn't survive it again. 

7 months ago, an hour after the Batman caught the Joker

Three steps. Turn. Three steps. Turn. Three steps. Turn. Remember to breathe. Three steps. Turn. Breathe. Three steps. Turn. Collapse. Cry until you can't breathe. Breathe. Stand. Three steps. Fall. Can't breathe. Can't move. Can't feel. Try to stand. Fail. You failed him! Stand. Three steps. Turn. Breathe. Grab that drink. Drink the whole bottle. Can't see. Numbness. Relief for the night. Escape. 

The thoughts that went through my mind were those of a robot. I was constantly telling myself about the tasks I had to do each second of the day. I felt as if Batman had ripped the bleeding beating heart out of my chest, and stepped on it with his big boots. It didn't make sense that a heart was capable of such love. I hated myself for it. I couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that he was gone. Or that I was so deeply in love with a clown he made me almost kill myself from alcohol consumption. 

I tried to even my breaths. Still the rapid breathing of my chest. Calm the pitiful flutter of my heart. The only remedy I ever found was killing. Killing. Killing. Killing. I think my body count rivaled that of Jack's now. I killed instead of drinking. I killed instead of weeping. I killed to live. 

Jack started to stir by me. I closed my eyes and evened my breathing, pretending I hadn't spent the whole night locked in a waking nightmare. He smiled and rolled over, pulling me as close to him as I could get. In the comfort of his arms, I felt my eyelids getting heavy. It felt as if someone had placed 100-pound weights on each of my eyelids and let go. I couldn't fight it. 

•JOKER•

Ace was sleeping. I had periodically woken up throughout the night, to listen for her. She hadn't slept a peep. I knew how she felt. But I couldn't dwell on love right now. It was time to reclaim what I had lost, my kingdom. I planned on ruling side by side with Ace, but right now I had to go solo. It would make me look bad, look weak if I relied on her too much. I needed a little space, maybe even rival against her, all in good feelings. 

I tried to snap myself out of it. I was the clown. I shouldn't be dragged down by a girl. Not again. After Oriana had died, I promised myself. Then I met Ace, and everything changed. She had stolen what little of my heart remained and replaced it with her own.  I was still the king. Still the clown. The prince of Gotham. I was just slightly changed. Still ruthless, to all but one, and that was the one who held my heart in her tiny, scarred hand.