Arthur Fleck X Reader Oneshots // Drabbles

Not Funny

He had invited her to watch him perform the comedy club, and now he wants to know what she thinks.

Word Count : 754

Not Funny

"Well, what'd you think?" he asked her, all while clutching his notebook tight in his right hand. He could feel cold sweat drip down his forehead, courtesy of the anxiousness he'd felt on stage still surging within him.

And, of course, he was also nervous about what'd she say.

He gleamed with hopefulness, swallowing hard as he observed her.

"Be honest with me," he urged her.

"Your jokes are.... Well..." she struggled to find the right words, seeming to think long and hard, her face set into full concentration, lips pursed tight as she grimaced slightly.

"Well," she said again, stumbling, and he could tell it was probably something that would hurt him, and while of course, it stung, he appreciated the fact that at the very least she was kind bout it. Anyone else would have knocked him down by now, not hesitated on making sure he understood there wasn't anything amusing about his act.

" They're not funny, are they?" He said softly, with a strained smile being formed.

He tried...he really did.

But it's hard to have a passion where you have no actual talent.

It's hard when you keep getting knocked down.

She blinked up at him in surprise before bursting out in a large fit of laughter, something he definitely wasn't used to. And it was strange being on the other end, caught staring at a sudden outburst of hers, but, silently he watched, taken back, surprised.

Mesmerized...

"oh no, not at all!" She said continuing to giggle through her words, her laughter taking over her, making her entire body quiver. "You're already getting the wrong idea," she said while rolling her eyes, just as she began calming down.

Sighing in relief she heaved before peaking again, "No," she said with a steady pause followed, "Arthur..." she started softly, taking a needed breath.

"I absolutely loved them!" She exclaimed, arms spreading out wide, an enormous grin stretched out over her face.

"Really?" He said surprised, forest green eyes wide and bright, his face instantly perking, the muscles there working fully as he geared up an equally jovial smile to shoot her way.

"Yep!" She chirped, nodding once with certainty. "In fact, I think they're hilarious, " she continued on, the traces of worry on his face beginning to fade, instead leaving a soft glow of appreciation behind. Color surfaced, glowing with bashfulness and the heat then spread down from his face to his neck.

"Problem is, I've been told my sense of humor is a bit..." she trailed off, not knowing what to really call it. "Well," she murmured, back to the same level of thoughtfulness as before, a small musing hum leaving her.

It's been called many things before, none of which she appreciated, so how could she describe it to him?

" Dark?" She replied in a questioning tone, sounding uncertain and small.

Nodding in understanding, he continued to smile, knowing just what she meant,

"You mean morbid?" He said back to her, using his thumb to wipe across his neck in a slitting motion, tongue lightly peeking out as he hung his head after the action.

He closed his eyes tight to play on, and though he couldn't see her, he could hear the huff of amusement that left her.

Curious, he peeked at her through an open eye to see her still beaming at him, "Pretty bad too," she huffed out, pointing right at him.

"Pretty bad?" he answered back, raising a brow at her, teasing mirth in his voice as he pretended to sound insulted, "Oh, you mean not funny? " he determined, to which she replied back with a powerful smile, all her teeth showing with a wide grin.

"That one, " she agreed, her (e/c) irises nearly hidden as her eyes squeezed together as a result of her cheeky grin.

And he swore everything became brighter, the world behind her lighting up, so much so that the murky grim scene of Gotham seemed like some otherworldly sight.

Bright and full of color...

Full of hope and joy...

'Is this what it's like?' He wondered, feeling warm all over, watching the (h/c) young woman with sparkling eyes.

There was no sense of pain, only a small throbbing within his chest that felt sweet. And he welcomed it, his hand finding it's way over his chest, touching the barrier between it and his heart.

'I like it...' He thought to himself, 'No...I love it,' He corrected himself, watching every one of the woman's moves. 

((( TBH I found his jokes pretty damn funny. )))