Did You Mean It?

Batman wasn't good with words. As his Greatest Enemy, Joker should have known that by now.

"Did you mean it?"

Batman didn't answer. His head was still ringing from where it'd collided with concrete a few minutes ago. He might've deserved it possibly, maybe, definitely, but still...it hurt. A lot.

Purple and orange entered his field of vision and Batman span around, leg coming out to kick the crap out of whoever approached.

"Hey, hey!" Joker yelled, jumping back and only just managing to dodge the attack.

"Oh, it's you!" Batman said, one hand held up apologetically, as the other rubbed the back of his cowl. It really did hurt. "Sorry."

"It's alright," Joker said, relaxing now that the threat of a flying kick to the face had passed. "Just, y'know, warn a guy before you start-" he waved his hands in a way that vaguely resembled karate.

"Right," Batman nodded. "Sorry. It's just-" He wanted to take the cowl off so he could rub the sore spot on his head. Wasn't this thing supposed to be armored?! "Been a heck of a day," he finished.

Joker smiled, warm and whimsical. "Yeah." His hands came together, fingers lacing and thumbs twirling and his eyes turned left to where the sun was slowly sinking. "It certainly has."

The smile faltered and a frown started to form but Batman didn't see it because he was still too busy wishing the damn headache would go away! His fingers fiddled with the back of the cowl. If he could just…

"But you didn't answer my question, Batman."

Batman looked up and when he saw the look on Joker's face his stomach dropped. He knew that look. Alfred, Dick and Barb had been giving him that look all day. It was the look people got when they wanted to discuss...feelings.

He had to suppress a shudder.

"Um…" Batman tried to stall. "What question?"

One of those bushy green eyebrows - way more expressive than they had any right to be! - twitched and Joker's thumbs started moving even faster, running circles around each other. He looked just as he had in the manor when he told Batman he hated him, looking at him with those eyes, a tentative smile on those lips, eyebrows begging him to say it back.

Batman's head started throbbing even more. Yeah...he really needed to get-

"Did you mean it?" Joker took a small step forward, the eyebrows all green and fluffy and earnest and Batman had to work very hard not to react with a step backwards.

"Uh, mean what?" He said instead, eyes darting left and right. If he didn't look at those eyebrows, then maybe…

"What you said back there." Joker jerked his head in the direction of the city behind them. "Y'know...when we…"

"Crunched?"

The eyebrows and voice went flat. "Held hands."

Oh. Oh yeah. They'd done that, hadn't they? Batman's fingers twitched but he didn't say anything. He didn't really know what to say. He was still getting used to this whole discussing feelings thing. And this wasn't the same as letting Robin call him Dad, or telling Barbara he was sorry. This was...

Joker let the moment pass and clasped his hands together again, this time behind his back. "Soooooo..?" he prompted, rocking on his heels.

"Sooooo…"

"About what you said." Joker was doing his best to be patient, Batman could tell. "Come on, don't make me do all the work!"

Batman chewed the inside of his cheek and, for a moment, wished he'd packed a razor into his utility belt. Getting rid of those eyebrows would've made this a damn sight easier.

He tried stalling a second time. "Did I, um, mean it?"

"Yes!" Joker said, patience quickly wearing thin. "Did. You. Mean. It?"

The eyebrows curved hopefully and Batman really had to look away this time. Yeah, a razor would've been a good idea. Or maybe a waxing kit or-

There was a loud huff and Joker threw his hands into the air before turning his back. Batman chewed his cheek again and looked awkwardly at the ground. He was trying. He really was. He wanted to make the cogs of his brain move in the right direction, give his mouth the right words to say. He knew exactly what Joker was talking about and what those damn eyebrows wanted...but…

Batman wasn't good with words – or feelings - and, as his greatest enemy, Joker should have known that by now.

Joker span back around to face him and there was a hint of desperation in his face this time.

"Why is it so hard?!" he demanded, eyebrows now so high they almost disappeared into his hairline. "Why can't you just say it?!"

Batman's mouth opened but it didn't know what to do. What was it supposed to do?

Joker frowned again. "Unless, of course, you didn't mean it and it was all just lip service to save this stupid city!"

Those big wide eyes glared at Batman in challenge and he panicked. Oh crap! He needed to say something, but what? What did he say? How did he say it? Dammit, where were Phyllis and her stupid television montages when he needed them?!

Joker yanked at his hair. "God! I knew it was too good to be true! Even after all of this you still haven't changed! You'll never change and I was a massive schmuck for ever thinking you would!"

Joker turned and, with head held high, stalked away like the prima donna he was. For a minute, Batman was dumbstruck with that defensiveness that always took over in situations like these and a dozen different insults rushed to fall out of his mouth. What the Hell was the clown's problem? He'd already told Joker why he did what he did, wasn't that enough? He'd even used the word us! What more did he need?

But Batman knew why it wasn't enough. There was something Joker wanted to hear above all else. Three words that would finally - finally - let him know just how important he was. And, no matter what Batman did, whatever else he said, until those words came out, Joker wasn't going to be happy or satisfied.

"Joker, wait!" He called.

"Not interested!" Joker called back with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Joker!" Batman called again but the clown refused to even acknowledge him.

Batman growled and finally caved. "I hate you!"

Joker skidded to a halt and Batman waited as, slowly - ever so slowly - Joker's head turned to look over his shoulder and one of his eyebrows lifted. It wasn't quite ready to believe Batman and neither was the person it was attached to.

"Come again?" Joker said, his eyes narrowing.

"You heard me," Batman said and the headache he'd briefly forgotten about came back, its beat matching the sudden thudding of his pulse.

"I heard something," Joker said, his body following the direction of his head to face Batman again. "It sounded like words, but it could've easily been my ears playing tricks on me. I'll need to hear it again to be sure."

The pair stared at each other for a moment and Joker's brows dipped even further in the middle. He wasn't going to give in.

Batman took a deep breath and his mouth narrowed into a thin line. Fine. He could do this. He could do this. "I said...I hate you."

Joker's eyes flashed with…something and he took a step forwards, body leaning in. "Say it again?"

"What, why?"

"You kinda…" Joker shrugged. "Trailed off at the end, there. Didn't, um, quite catch the last bit."

Batman glared and was tempted to refuse. But that would just take them right back to where they'd been a minute ago and he didn't really have the energy to argue anymore. Besides, he'd already said it twice, so what was a third time? With a sigh, he said, "I hate you."

Joker shook his head, but his mouth was fighting back a smile. "Nope. Still not quite feeling it."

That smile should have annoyed Batman, but he found himself trying not to smile as well and, this time, it was him moving forward. "I hate you, Joker."

Hearing his name almost made Joker gasp and his eyes grew wider. He swallowed and moved closer and stopped trying to hide his grin. "Sorry," he said. "Missed it again."

Feeling the way his stomach flipped at Joker's reaction and registering somewhere in his brain that he liked it, Batman continued. "I said...I hate you, Joker."

Joker bit his bottom lip and his eyebrows curved upwards again as the space between the two of them continued to shrink. "I...I hate you too, Batman."

Turned out he liked Joker saying his name, as well. Another step and there was no room left to move forwards anymore. "Well…I hate you more."

"I hate you the most," Joker said and the way his face crumpled with delight was almost too much to handle.

Batman looked down and saw that their hands were only inches apart. He was tempted to just grab those white hands but didn't have a clue what he'd do next, so kept his fingers still. Instead, he looked back up at those big shiny eyes that had started to water, that were being framed by those ridiculously bendy, fluffy eyebrows on a face being bathed in pinky purple sunlight.

Batman leaned forward, bringing their faces even closer together. Well, he'd come this far. "I hate you...forever."

Joker's mouth slowly fell open and his eyebrows almost disappeared entirely into that mop of wild green hair and, before Batman even knew what was coming, arms wrapped around his neck to pull him into a kiss.

Batman's entire body froze and his mind went blank as those lips pressed against his. Then, his brain caught up to what was happening and his arms lifted to wrap around Joker's waist. He pulled them even closer together, making their lips press harder and threw everything he couldn't quite put into words into the kiss. Joker let out a small whimper and his body melted against Batman as he finally got the one thing he'd wanted all along.

Kissing Joker wasn't anything like Batman had imagined. To be honest, he spent a lot of his time trying to not imagine it, because…well…

But on the rare occasions he let his mind drift that way, he'd always thought it'd be made of the same angry, hateful stuff that fuelled their fights. He didn't expect this. This was soft and sweet and slow and…nice. Very nice.

Their mouths moved to make the kiss even deeper and Batman forgot all about the ache in his head, as long skinny arms held on for dear life and hands gripped fistfuls of cape. He forgot about everything but the clown in his arms until he heard a voice shout, "Get a room!"

They broke apart and Batman would have looked over to glare at the heckler but Joker's face was too close, those eyes too bright and lipstick was smudged across a ridiculously wide grin that was just…

So, Batman decided whoever had shouted wasn't really important enough to waste attention on, not when the slowly dimming daylight was hitting the clown's face in that way and Joker was practically beaming when Batman leaned in for another kiss.

It was just as slow and soft and nice as the last and, by the time they next came up for air, the sun was saying its last goodbyes and Batman decided that, if those pesky feelings could make him feel like this, well, then maybe they weren't quite so bad, after all.