Joker Imagines

Bruises (IV)

Arthur smoked a cigarette with a soft sigh as he walked down the streets of Gotham with bloodshot eyes.

Today was supposed to be a good day...but the day had only gotten worse.

He had tried presenting his mother with Angel's home cooked food, but the woman was too busy blabbing on about Thomas Wayne.

How she hated that some lunatic had decided to kill three of that man's workers- that he hardly knew- which pissed Arthur off even more.

His brain was constantly working hard to figure out why he wasn't good enough.

He had always been the man of the house and taken care of her.

Why wasn't that enough?

She had a roof to live under, food to eat, and someone to care for her.

SO WHY WASN'T HE ENOUGH!?!

He growled as he continued to smoke his cigarette.

And then he found out.

He tried not to lose his temper, but he did.

He feigned his calmness but his mother refused to speak any further.

So he left and promised to return in the morning.

As he approached a familiar house he put his cigarette out and rang the doorbell.

Moments later, Angel opened the front door and smiled at him.

He relaxed before offering an awkward grin.

"You came back." She laughed as she pulled him in for a warm hug.

"You said I could."

"Well." She hesitated before letting him go. "Yeah."

Arthur watched her lock the front door before she walked back towards the kitchen with sock covered feet.

"Did your mom like it?"

"Like what?"

"The food?"

"Oh." He looked down. "She wasn't really listening to me."

Angel frowned at that as she diced some vegetables and put them in a large pot.

"How was your day, Arthur?"

The question caught him off guard and sent him into a fit of laughter.

He flinched as flickers of yesterday's attack crossed through his mind.

His laughter sounded almost painful before he finally managed to stop.

At this point he was almost too scared to answer.

"It was...ok...."

"Okay?" She wiggled her eyebrows. "I want details, hun. The whole shabang."

"Um. I went to work and cleared out my locker..." He hummed in thought. "Randall was acting oblivious."

"Randall?"

"He's the one who gave me a gun to defend myself...."

"Oh."

"And then he told my boss I bought it from somewhere."

"Wow. That's fucked up."

"Yeah and then I went home."

"Oh. Well how are things there?"

"Mom's doing fine." He pressed his lips into a fine line before continuing. "Found out something interesting."