A few weeks later…

Most days you found yourself keeping your distance; literally and figuratively. Unless the boss made you otherwise, you rarely socialized with the small crew he had assembled at the hideout. J hadn't demanded a lot for you, yet; instead, he seemed contented with gradually easing you back into your old life. Thanks to this, you managed to stay right on the fringe of having to interact. Loitering just on the edge of participation, you kept close; seeing and hearing everything without the actually need to engage with any of them. You were completely content with keeping to yourself and only pursing a connection with J.

After putting the brakes on what was obviously a substantial physical attraction, J still continued to keep his focus on you. When it was just the two of you, words were not needed; sure, the desired was there but the need was unnecessary. Unlike other times, when he was the pulse of the room, the center of everything, or the performer, he didn't seem to crave that requisite from you; whether it positive or negative, you hadn't decided yet.

At first, the manner in which he would watch you proved to be aggravating. J could spend an hour or two, sometimes longer, simply scrutinizing you; causing you to become overly aware of your own movements and actions. Trying to ignore him seemed impossible; so giving in to his behavior, you found yourself becoming accustomed to it. Soon you realized that he wasn't observing you out of suspicion or any misgivings that he had, no, he was more transfixed on you; he was fascinated by how different you'd become while still being so familiar. This clarity brought you solace and instantly changed everything. A non-verbal dynamic between the two of you swiftly materialized; a quick glance, a small hand gesture, a curl of the nose, the wink of an eye, a tiny smile, a big smile, simple eye movement, or even the tone of a laugh could be translated into meaning that the other one perfectly understood.

So today, there you were. J had called a meeting and you sat in the back of the room. Not wanting to be there and feeling the craving to claw yourself, instead you pulled and adjusted at the clothes you wore. Your nervous fidgeting was getting better, simply because you were becoming accustomed to your new surrounds. There seem to be a correlation between aggravation of any kind and the fidgeting. Little did you know but would soon come to realize, the violence that was encouraged with the company you kept was actually a piece of the puzzle. Your body and mind merely wanted to react the same way they always had to mild annoyances and inconveniences; with violence.

You tried to maintain your attention on what was being said; the sound of Frost's voice faded in and out as your mind wondered.

"When is this going to be over?" you asked yourself, almost sighing out loud.

Choosing once again to keep your distance, you sat in an oversized chair, by yourself, on the same side of the room. Frost, Mo, and Ollie sat around a table located adjacent to a huge window; the curtains were pulled shut, expect for the faintest little sliver of sunlight coming through. You watched the dust dance and floating in the light.

"Damn. Focus." You scowled yourself.

Your eyes shot over to where J was seated; a wing back chair near the head of the table but he had pulled it a few feet away from the table. He was slouched in the chair with the same kind of dreadful weary look on his face; he tried to focus on what Frost was saying also. Once again you moved you eye back to the others, this small intimate crew that J had gathered around him. Why these people?

Jonny Frost: Apart from you, Frost had worked for Joker the longest. The two met by chance one day after Frost was sent by, none other than you, to go pick Joker up from Arkham; granted, you didn't remember that fun little fact. At the time, Frost was simply a low ranking thug with no influence but for whatever reason J took a liking to the man. Eventually, you and Jonny worked side by side, but never as equals. There was no competition when it came down to the person J trusted and favored above all others; you.

Regardless, overtime the repeat demonstration of Jonny's dependable and loyalty, in conjunction with your accident, set him on the course to gaining the position he held today as Joker's acting second. A verity he was, no doubt, very pound to laid claim to. You got the inkling that Frost was working hard to make sure you wouldn't be reclaiming your place as Joker's second; including an odd notion that he didn't want to see you in the boss's bed.

Eamon Molony or better known as Mo: Mo started out as a two-bit thug like most. The two of you were very agreeable, possessing the same disposition. It was obvious that Mo had not only been your point-guy but a personally friend; your 'fidus achates' as J called him on more than one occasion. Whether or not that bond survived remained to be seen. He was perpetually trying to reconnect with you, when given the chance; trying to rebuild that bridge of friendship that you just didn't recollected.

However, there was a comfort, a sort of reassurance, which you sensed around him; something you definitely didn't exist when Frost was near. Perhaps you were uninterested in getting to know Mo but your intuition told you, you could trust Mo and that was nothing to pass off as folly. Like all the information you were rediscovering and compiling, you made sure to retain for future use.

Next there was Oliver Waters, also known as Ollie: He was a very young and a very handsome lad, just starting out in the Gotham Crime Scene. Always very willing to learn and eager to assist, he wanted to please no matter the circumstance. Ollie was a cheerful guy who fit the part of a flaky airhead fairly well. His silly personality, mixed with his juvenile sense of humor could easily be deceitful; making one pass him off as no-threat, but this wasn't the case. You had talked with him a few times and saw pass it; he had plenty of intelligence and aptitude hidden underneath all the wise cracks and horseplay. There was actually potential there, and you assumed J saw it too; which is probably why he tolerated him.

They were it; you never saw anyone else, beside J, of course. Harley, to their surprise, never returned back to the hideout. J never once acted like he seemed to notice or care that she was gone. The only one who remotely showed in cause for concern, had been Frost, who had made several attempts to contact her, all without luck. Finally after two weeks, Frost made Mo accompaniment him into Gotham, in order to try and locate her. Two days later, when they returned Frost was covered in his own blood and Mo was missing a finger. J only laughed, finding the whole situation quite amusing; actually, complementing Harley for holding such an unyielding grudge against everyone associated with him.

You couldn't help but wonder what she was up to…

Suddenly, you snapped back to what was happening in the room for some reason. The last few minutes of conversation, between Frost and the others, was a complete blank to you. You had gotten sidetrack thinking about these assholes in the room with you, letting your mind wonder off into la-la-land. You couldn't shake the misplaced feeling that you'd done something wrong by zoning out; naturally, you bounced your eyes around the room in a peccability fashion trying act like you had been listening.

Your heart skipped a beat as you suddenly made eye contact with J; he was blankly leering at you. You quickly remained yourself that there was no way he could have known you were thinking about other things and not actually listening.

"And so what, if I was." You through making yourself smirk.

J gave you a slow smirk in return and slowly ran his eyes over your body, before bringing those gorgeous bright eyes back up to meet your gaze again. Little did you know but J was preoccupied thinking to his self, just like you. And also, just like you, not really paying any attention to Frost. He was torn about the feelings he had for you.

"I adore you. No. I appreciate you. No. I prefer you. Geez, get a grip man. You can't tell y/n that you prefer him/her. Prefer you, to what? Well, Harley for one, to these assholes." His eyes quickly shot over to the table and snarled at Frost.

"He's still flapping his mouth." J immediately looked back in your direction.

His thoughts when right back to you, "I selected you. I picked you. Yes...I chose you. Lucky you, Heehee, lucky me." He'd been struggling with exactly what he wanted to say to you, only trying to avoid using the L word at all cost.

You smiled at J for across the room.

"Just look at that smile." J smiled back at you, "See…"

"Fuck, you drive me crazy. Image that, me…crazy. Hahaha." Another smile slowly crossed his face.

"You're not dispensable. I didn't enjoy your absence. You're never going away again." J continued to gaze at you. "There it is…that feeling; it makes my gut twist thinking about something happening to cause you to leave. I'll keep you locked in a room, chain to the chair or tethered to my side if that's what it ever takes to keep you."

Believing someone dead can make you start to see things coherently. And at least in J's mind he was seeing things very clearly now.

"You belong to me: The Joker, The Clown Price of Crime. But you know that, don't you. I like belonging to me. You want to belong to me." He grinned at you as he thought about you belonging to him. "Mine. Maybe I could tell you that…you're my prize possession. Granted, I didn't realize until it was too late but that's not my fault, not really. How was I supposed to know? They said you don't know how you feel about something until it's gone."

In all the time J had known you, the longest that he had ever went without seeing you was only 2 months. Even when he was in Arkham, he would talk to you nearly every day about business and you were the only person he made sure to put of the visitation list; granted you used an alias and wig so you come and go without getting arrested. Needless to say, the two of you had never actually experienced an absence from the other until this last year apart.

J went right back to contemplating, "So, yes, while you were 'gone' I realized that I wanted you, no-no-no. That, I needed you, no. Wanted you. Fuck. The Joker doesn't need or want any…" Hiss thought trailed off as he watched you playfully curl you nose up at him, causing him to instantly grin at you.

"Expect you… I want you..." He thought before quickly getting angry with his self, "Enough, pull yourself together!"

J cleared his mind and focused on Frost.

"It's important we keep up appearances." Frost paused; he was waiting on a response that he wasn't going to receive.

"What is this buffoon still going on about?" J rolled his eyes.

Not receiving a response, Frost moved on to a subject that he knew J would listen to.

"The Bat's been given everyone a hard time, boss." Frost said. "He's been tearing the city apart looking for you and…" Frost glanced at you, instead of saying your name.

You felt the weight of Mo and Ollie's eyes shift toward you, following Frost's lead.

J continued to look at you, as he listened to Frost; bring up the Bat had done the trick, sort of.

"Someone's been ratting out where some of the old hideouts were located. The Bat left this at the apartment downtown." Frost tossed a batarang down on the table.

"And this at the warehouse by the docks." He tossed another batarang down beside the first one.

"You sure it was him?" Mo asked as he picked up one of the batarangs, "He doesn't normally just leave this things lying around."

J responded to the conversation with the snarl of his what I mean... action caused you put your fist to your mouth in order to not snicker, which he returned with a playful curl of his nose. The two of you continued to exchange small facial expression ridiculing what Frost was saying.

Frost gave a dirty glare to the whole room before continuing, "Everyone's scared of doing business with us…you, boss."

J open and closed his hand in a mocking fashion, mimicking Jonny's mouth as he babbled on.

"Afraid it will bring the Bat down on them tenfold." Frost was overwhelmingly aggravated, "Frankly, you can't blame them."

J rolled his eyes again, still cutting up with you, while at the same time becoming very annoyed Jonny.

"What have we done? What have you done to make sure your position at the top of Gotham's crime ring remains secure?" Frost was about to cross a line, but he was too worked up to realize it.

He got louder.

"We've got to make our move now while there are still some in Gotham who respect and fear us. You may not have another change to take Gotham back." Frost demanded.

As soon as you heard what Frost said your eye's flashed off of J and looked at Frost. The nasty expression you gave Jonny made J grin.

"What. Do. You. Think?" The sound of J's voice made you cut your eyes back toward him to see that he was addressing you.

Your mouth hung open slightly, not knowing what to say at first. The fact that everyone's eyes were on you now, did not help.

"Boss, we could-" Frost tried to continued.

J snapped his fingers at him, making him hush instantly.

"I want to know…" J suddenly stood up, "…what y/n thinks about all this…." He waved his hand, "…all of these words you've been trying to spin into a fancy tapestry."

J paced around the room as he continued to address you.

"You didn't like something Jonny-boy said. What was it?" J stopped moving and stood there giving Frost a threating look.

Nervously, you sat up in your chair and scanned the room to see how everyone else was reacting. Then you took deep breath and swallowed before answering, "T-Take Gotham back."

"Yes." J excitedly pointed at you as if you've been a student who'd just answered correctly.

Then he turned back to Frost giving him the same ominous stare as he continued to address you, "And what was it about that statement you didn't like?"

"Well. It seems to me, that you, The Joker… never lost it." You shyly replied.

Everyone jumped as J unexpectedly clapped loudly as he crossed the room.

"Ding! Ding! Ding! That's right my sweets!" He said in a congratulating tone.

He pompously made his way to the table and leaned over it, hands palm down, face to face with Frost, "I. Never. Lost. It." He was condescending.

A loud smack echoed in the room as J back-handed Jonny across the face. Twice.

J viciously grabbed Frost by the head, running his fingers through his hair as he spoke to him with an impending tone, "Gotham doesn't forget The Joker. Gotham doesn't become fearless of me."

J was panting heavily, very threatening, "Gotham simply holds her breath when I'm away…"

He released Frost's hair with a shove and playfully patted his cheek.

"Frankly, it doesn't matter what silly group of buffoons think they run Gotham. I'll do what I've always done; simply take what I need when I get there. Hahahaha. Somehow, I don't think anyone will try and stop me." J was standing now, grinning.

"HAhahaHaHA. And let's not forget, the most important thing about Gotham." J ran his hand through his hair and he spun around to face you.

"Batss." It was almost a whisper. The gleam in his eye was like nothing you'd seen. He lit up. You watched as he performed.

"After all, if the Bat is out beating and bruising the lowlifes of Gotham in order to locate little old me…Then I'm not missing the fun. So, shall we?" J asked flashing his silver grin. "Pay Lady Gotham a visit?'

"Just like that? Go into Gotham? Now? Boss?" Frost asked almost disbelievingly.

J shook his head 'yes' eagerly, "Oh yes. Let's do."

"I…I mean, come on J. Do you really think it's a good idea with everything that's on the radar? I mean, I still say we conduct business from here." Frost pleaded. "Besides that mess at Arkham is still on everyone minds."

"But, Jonny my boy! Isn't that what you wanted?" J turned his head just enough to look back and address Jonny. "You were just rambling on and on about making our move and taking Gotham."

"Yes, but from here. It's not safe to actually move our operators back into the city. Besides, it's not as if you haven't been overly distracted lately with y/n." As soon as it came out of his mouth Frost cringed, wishing he could take it back.

All movement from J stopped for a second before he snarled, flashing he silver grin as he rolled his eyes shut. For a moment he tilted his head back and lifted his brows; it looked like he was mentally trying to talk himself out of over reacting. It felt like everyone in the room was holding their breath; that everyone knew the consequence of Frost's inquiring and doubt would be perpetrated by all.

It seem to happen in slow motion, J slowly tilted his head back down with a roll of his neck, cracking it. The moment he opened his eyes they met yours; the expression on your face was a mixture between anticipation and encouragement. You were almost advocating J's actions before you even knew what they were going to be. He could see it written all over your face, causing him to smirk quickly; followed by him puckering his lips together and blowing you a hasty kiss.

Then he immediately spun around on his heels to face the boys, giving them a warm and charming smile.

He slowly ran his hand through his hair as he spoke, "Quest-ion. What separates triumph from tragedy?"

J only allowed a slight pause before he answered his own question with a huge grin, "Why just little chaotic luck…of course."

And without warning J had his gun drawn from his shoulder holster and was randomly discharged his gun aimlessly toward the table where Frost, Mo and Ollie sat. By the time his clip was void of bullets, J was laughing hysterically at the prospect of having, maybe, hit someone. Frost, wanting to show courageous and defiance, was still in his chair; his eyes were closed tightly, slightly cringing. Mo and Ollie were completely flat on the floor, taking refuge, cowering from the bullets. They made no immediately movement, keeping their hands and arms covering their heads. From what you saw, everyone appeared unharmed and intact, somehow.

J quickly put his gun away and spun back around on his heels toward you. He said nothing as he reached out his hand and gestured for you to take it. You did. With a yank of your arm he pulled you up and out of the chair, into his reach.

He aggressively hugged you around your lowered back with one arm, pulling in close; his scent coursed through you like a dose of drugs. All you could do was gasp for a breath of air.

Then he whispered into your ear, "Want to know a secret?"

"Yes." You didn't even think about saying it; it just rolled off your tongue like a reflex.

"The scent…" He purred into your ear, "…of gun smoke turns me…"

His arm tighten around your waist, "…on."

He nuzzled his face into your neck briefly before giving you a low deep growl, "Ggrrrrr-hmmmm-hem-hem-he-he-he…" that turned into a soft chuckle that tickled your ear.

This was the most physical contact that J had allowed the two of you to have since that night after breaking you out of Arkham. Regardless of everything that just happened, all you focused on at the very moment was him. You immediately slung your arms around his neck, without a moment's hesitation; the sudden urge felt right. He chuckled softly as his other hand made contact with you. Once he had you in his brace, he started to sway his body back and forth, playfully hugging you.

It wasn't until hearing the sound of Mo and Ollie stirring, that J lifted his head and looked back at them. It was clear that Ollie was spooked and trying to regaining his composer. Mo, use to the violent outburst, simply dusted himself off. However, your eyes went straight to Frost, who still remanded in his chair watching you and J interact; there was contempt on his face. Narrowing your eyes at him in a threating manner, he acknowledged the threat with a challenging, upward nod. And just like that you knew; you knew that one day, very soon, you'd have to kill him or, at the very least, beat the living hell out of him.

"Go get your things together, Gotham's expecting us." J spoke softly, giving you a quick kiss on the top of your head and released his arms from around your waist.

He focused his attention back to the others; speaking loudly and condescendingly to them, "Now that we're all in agreement, we leave after nightfall. Do you concur, gentlemen?"

"Yes, boss." Ollie hastily answered.

Mo nodded at J, and also gave you a nod. However, you were preoccupied still glaring at Frost.

Frost nodded that he understood to J.

"Excellent, then! Let's get to crackin' then. Ollie. Come here." J gestured for Ollie to follow him. As they started leave the room, J started to give him special instructions about moving his newly acquired pet hyenas.

Immediately after nodding to J, Frost got on the phone and started making the necessary arrangements required for a quick, unplanned move back into Gotham. Listening and studying Frost as he conducted his business on the phone, you made sure to show your condemnation of him with the expression on your face. As he talked, he periodically let his eyes glance over to you before quickly acting like he was ignoring you.

"You intimidate him." Mo was standing beside you. "He's finally gotten as close to J as someone like him can and you threaten that for him."

For once you didn't mind Mo trying to talk to you; in fact, you took advantage of it.

"I know." It came out a little on the smug side making you almost smirk.

Gesturing toward Frost, "Do you trust him through?" You kept your voice low as you asked Mo the question.

"Jonny? Sure, I guess. I mean he just wants to be the boss." Mo sounded casual.

Your eyes shot over to Mo and he realized he needed to rephrase his statement, "Not be The Boss but he wants to be like the boss. You know, he tries to act like J, copy him… He's got a man crush. He looks up to him. Admires him."

You nodded your head slowly.

"He's too scared of the boss to ever cross him." Mo added.

"What about me? Would he ever cross me?" You watched to see what express Mo had on his face as you asked the question.

Mo made a doubtful face, "Noooo way. That would be no different than if he crossed the boss. Hell, probably worse. He might be worried about losing his position…but a death wish…not in a million years."

Mo's eyes followed you as you quickly glanced back toward Frost who was now leaving the room.

"Specially now, you're not just the boss's right-hand-man anymore…" Mo continued to talk as you stared at the door Frost disappeared threw. "Even before everyone knew…there was no way anyone would have touched you. Hell, you ran everything for J and with that came-"

Your attention peeked by something Mo said and you interrupted him, "Before everyone knew? Knew what?"

You turned your whole body toward Mo to address him, "What exactly does everyone know?"

Mo's expression changed, as if he was fearful that he'd said the wrong thing, "I didn't mean anything-"

You interrupted him again, "Tell me."

Mo's acted hesitant, "I mean, you know. You and the boss where close, always had been, from the time I started working for J. Naturally, people always assume the worst when two people work close together. You know how it is."

You lifted an eyebrow in suspicion, "There must have been a reason to think that."

Mo clearly felt uncomfortable talking about this.

"Mo." You used a demanding tone that made him look instantly back at you.

"Yeah, alright. There were a few incidences, we all saw it." Mo nervously continued, "Before that, you and him had always kept things very professional. Then…"

He stopped to think to himself for a moment, "About a year before, what we all thought was, your death you and the boss got into, what I through was a fight but thinking back…I'm not sure if it wasn't more of a…" He trailed off then immediately picked right back up in the same spot of his story.

"Anyway, I don't know what it was, but after that night, the flirting, the two of you disappearing for hours at a time, it all seemed to quickly snowball and became noticeable to everyone. Pretty soon, one thing led to another and…let's just say that there was no longer an effort to hide what was happening between the two of you…" Mo waited for you to say something, but you didn't.

You were rationalizing everything in your head; he had just confirmed everything you'd suspected about yours and J's relationship before this…mess happened.

You gave a short lived smile; you were ready to be along.

"Get to work. We'll be leaving in a few hours." You said, as you began to walk off.

Meanwhile, Somewhere in Gotham…

"I don't believe you. Where's The Joker?" Batman growled at Harley.

"Honest, b-man. I don't work for Mister J anymore." Harley acted coy and innocent. "The last time I saw him was the same day he went tearing through Arkham a few weeks ago."

She giggled bubbly, "That was some joke you and Commissioner G pulled on my Puddin'. Making everyone think the Maroni was dead. Yeah, Mister J really believed she/he was done in for." She made a dead face with her tongue hanging out before she started to laugh.

Then Harley made a quick, last ditch effort to escape The Bat by trying to blind side him with her empty gun, using it as a blunt object. It was a futile gesture only causing the Bat to cuff her hands behind her back.

"You two are thick as thieves. You don't really expect me to believe that you're not on a job for The Joker, right now. Do you?" Batman almost sounded amused.

Harley's face wrinkled up out of angry, "Yeah, that's right! Believe it or not, if you want to. It doesn't change the fact that…" She hesitated, "That me and Mister J…we aren't a couple any more. I'm over that…that..."

Her angry quickly faded into sadden before she perked right up again, "Besides, I'd never give Mister J up, regardless. You know that, B-man. I'm loyal to my Puddin'."

"Quinn! Innocent people will get hurt the longer he's out on the streets." Batman pleaded.

For a moment she thought it over. There were so many reasons to tell Batman where he could find The Joker. She thought back on the last thing J had said to her, prompting her to leave: "Oh Harley. You know what they say, if you love something, let it go. And if it comes back… you keep it. Well, she's/he's back and Daddy's got no use for you now." The very idea of her Puddin'…with you made her blood boil but even then, that wasn't enough. For all the reasons to rat, there was still one reason not too: she loved him.

She started to shake her head no, "Sorry, Batsy. I just don't know where to find him."

He could read it on her face that he'd never get it out of her.

"Have it your way then, Quinn." Batman started to drag her toward the Batmobile. "Either way, it's back to Arkham with you."

Harley pulled back, struggling with the Bat, trying to get her footing so she could walk on her own. Bruce allowed it, keeping one hand gripping her upper arm for caution.

The door of the Batmobile opened, "In." Batman ordered.

"Oh come on, B-man. Isn't there something a girl could do to change your mind? A favor for a favor, how's about it, Batss?" The sexual tone of what she was offering was more than obvious.

Harley giggled, "You can keep the cuffs on me if it makes you feel safe."

She batted her eyes, "After all, I don't need my hands…just my mouth." Even when she tried to be sexy her tone was overly bubbly and off putting to the Bat.

"Quinn." Bruce was stern. "Enough. Have some dignity."

"Fine, but you can't blame a girl for trying." She pouted and crawled into the Bat Mobile.

Back at the Hideout…

You skimmed over all the unopened boxes before looking down at the duffle bag beside you, then back to the boxes. There were so many; all marked with your name. So far you had only gotten around to opening two of them; lucky finding some clothes in the second box. In order to keep as much of your belongs out of the cops hands after your "death" J had his men boxed up nearly everything from your house before having it boarded-up. This seemly unimportant act didn't mean much until you took to account that J hadn't threw away any of it, even after a year.

You looked over all the boxes again; feeling discouraged you started in the bathroom. One big swoop of your arm and you were done; all the toilettes on the counter had been dumped into the duffle bag. You felt accomplished, at least a little bit. So with a deep breath, you walked back to face the unopened boxes; you peered down at one of the boxes, giving it a dirty look.. Each one seemed like an unnecessary obstacle placed in your way, just to diminish your hopes of getting on with your life.

"This is silly. Just open them." You scowled yourself.

But was it silly? Was it senseless or was it smart to fear what they may hold; the truths, the lies or the secrets they could contain. The thought made you feel overwhelmed. Holding your breath, you reached out with a shaky a hand and opened the first box. The smell of books hit your nose and a sigh of relief washed over you, but only for a moment; your eyes moved on to the next box and you felt the same rush of dread. Box after box, you had to force yourself to open each one. Leaving the stuff in them untouched, you were building up to that part of the ordeal. Or maybe that was as far as you wanted, nay, needed to go; you hadn't complete decided yet.

Suddenly, there was one exception; nearing the last box you opened one that contained more clothes. You dug through the spoils of this particular box with a smile on your face. You pulled a once folded over garment bag out of the box and unzipped it. Your eyes lit up as you saw what was inside the bag. It was difficult choosing once one to wear out of the six suits.

"Excellent taste." You commended yourself, as you finished dressing.

The dark gray pinstripe suit was slightly wrinkled but it fit like a glove; clearly, it had been tailored to fit every inch of your body. Examining your 'new' old wardrobe in the mirror, you couldn't help feel boastfully about your appearance; you were starting to understand why the boss would have been attracted to you.

"Your ass looks amazing in these pants." You critiqued yourself, while still looking in the mirror.

Digging into the same box, you found some boots; so you continued deeper, hoping to find socks. Instead, in the very bottom of the box, wrapped in a few pieces of clothes were some framed photos. Once you realized what they were you hesitated before looking at them but ultimately found the courage. You found yourself looking at a group photo that you were part of. You studied yourself; there you were, wearing the same type of suit, a double shoulder holster packing two guns, a huge smile across your face and an elbow rested on Mo's shoulder. Behind you, with his head poked out to the side, was J sticking his tongue out at the camera.

In the photo, Mo was clearly 20 pounds lighter and younger. There was another person beside Mo who you didn't recognize. You moved your eyes back to J. Not only was he sticking his tongue out, but his was giving you bunny ears. His green hair was slightly longer than he how he kept it now and it was brushed over to one side. You laughed to yourself and agreed that it looked better shorter. You also had different hair. It was shorter in the photo; over the last year it had grown out a few inches. Even then, your hair in the photo was still shorter than it was in the news clips of you jumping from the roof top and being caught by The Bat; you actually liked it.

Taking the photo into the bathroom, you studied your reflection in the mirror for a while before looking back at the photo one last time. Digging through the duffle bag, you found a straight razor and opened it. Not really to your surprise, there appeared to be blood on it; so you washed it and dried it. You held up a section of your hair and with a deep breath and slight cringe, you sliced. Piece by piece, section by section you chopped your hair off, discarded it in the sink, until it mimicked the haircut in the photo.

Wetting your fingers, you ran them through your freshly cut hair; trying to decide exactly which side you liked the part on best. It suited you well; edgy, badass and just a little sexy. You glanced down at the photo and then back to your reflection and smiled.

Almost, as if on que, you heard J enter into the room. Feeling the rush from having an ego boost, you walked out of the bathroom to find him staring at the boxes.

"You opened them." He mumbled out as he glanced over to you. Then doing a double take at you, he froze.

Was he astonished or disappointed? You just couldn't tell, standing there, staring back at him. J gawked at you with his odd expression, making you feel slightly less attractive than your initial vanity had generated. The stand-off ended when you decided to take a step toward him but hesitating and then stopping altogether. Sensing your reluctance, J gestured for you to come toward him with a wave of his long elegant fingers. Slow approaching him, he held out his hand for you to take. He lifted your arm up and gave you a slow spin in order to relish every inch of you, overtly displaying the fact that he liked what he saw.

For the first time, you completely resembled the person that he had missed so desperately. The person he wanted and desired. The person he dreamed about; his vicious and deathly partner in crime that he'd pined for over the last year. He was completely seduced.

There was no control, he seized you; pulling you to him, until your back was completely flat against his body. His hands lustfully moved around your body until one hand was suggestively holding your lowered waist and the other hand was passionately gripping your throat, tilting your head to the side so he could kiss your neck.

You let out a low whimper as he grinded his whole body against you, holding you firmly in place. Out of pure reflex, your arms reached backwards, your hands grabbed the slender curve of J's hips and you pushed your ass against him. Suddenly, you found yourself being lifted by the waist and carried across the room.

Face first; he tossed you down onto the bed. J was immediately on top of you, knees on either side of your legs and his hands aggressive snaking under your body, where he started unbuttoning your pants with urgency.

"Wait." You were definitely turn-on but still very reluctant.

There was no heeding on J's part as he continued to explore your body as he pleased. You gasped as his hand forcefully slipped inside your pants, pass your underwear and found its way between your thighs. You wanted him but not like this.

"Wait-Wait." You growled it a lot louder this time and bucked against him out of objection.

For a moment he hesitated before removing his hand. You felt his weight lift off of you, giving you spilt second of a false sense of relief. He aggressively took your pants and began trying to tug the down over your hips. Fight or flight took over; your elbow went up as your body rolled over, knocking him across his face hard. He stumbled back and caught his footing, grinning as he reached up to feel whether or not you'd broken his nose.

Like a deer in headlights you frozen but immediately snapped out of it.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." It rolled off your tongue like rapid gun fire as you quickly got to your feet and tried comforting J.

He took a step back from you, keeping you from touching him. His grin was still across his face as he spoke, "Sorry? Oh, you're gonna be."

Before you could even comprehend what he had just said to you, J half heartily backed handed you. It hurt enough to make you reach up and cup your cheek. Then suddenly he had you by the back of the neck, viciously manhandling you. Forced you back toward the bed, you struggled prompting him to shove you violently toward the night stand. Tumbling backward, you lost your footing causing you to fall into night stand unbraced; your ribcage taking the brunt of the impact, incredibly hard. You cringed loudly; the wave of pain made you feel suddenly nauseated for a moment.

You pulled yourself up, using the night stand to support your weight. At quick as the nauseating feeling had come it was gone and replaced with something else; a rush of endorphins. You let out a short laugh before standing up to face J. He was on top of you before you knew what was happening, pinning you against the wall with one arm across your chest and his other tightly against your throat. To your surprise, the fear, the anxiety, which one would assume would be felt while being attacked, wasn't there. You showed no fear.

His body pushed against he and you smirked in his face. He instantly removed his arm from you throat and replaced it with just his hand; squeezing your throat almost playfully. Another smirk crossed your face his he leaned in close; not only could you see that he was panting but you could feel his panting as his chest raptly moved. There was a spark of intense sexual desire and at the point, you didn't know if you wanted to hit or kiss him.

You didn't think about it, you just did; reaching up and grabbing his f ace, you pulled his lips to yours. Immediately, there was a push and pull as both of you tried to demand control of the kiss. Wildly osculating back and forth, there was a mix of love and hate.

"Fuck." J abruptly jerked away.

Touching his already bleeding lip, "You bit the shit out of me."

A huge smile creeped across his face; then he let out a chuckle of amusement.

Your adrenaline was pumping and your need for physical contact, both sexual and violent, was indispensable at this point.

You leaned forward and in a challenging tone, "what are you going do about it?'

Unexpectedly, you caught J off guard, slapping him across the face with extreme force. Like an animal he pounced. A quick struggle resulted in him getting the better of you. Pinning you face first against the wall and twisting your arms behind your back for leverage; he was panting heavily, tickling your ear. You tried to break free; it was more of a teasing wiggle than a real attempt to get free. In return, he tightened his grip, holding you in place, happily feeding into this violent, sexually charged game. The mutual, back and forth, grinding and rutting between the two of you made it impossible to hide how aroused J had become.

Turning your head to the side J kissed as much of your mouth as he could; you could feel urgency behind his effort. He forcefully spun around to face him and immediately attacked you with a vicious kiss. Once again, there was a power struggle over who would control the kiss. Cupping both side of your face, trying to hold your head still, J demanded control; advisedly slamming your head back into the wall. It hurt just enough to make another wave of adrenaline excite you. As J leaned in to resume the kiss, thinking he had won the bid for control, you met him with a head butt.

It hurt.

You'd hit him way too hard and the wrong way; causing more harm to yourself than to him. Immediately, you felt light headed and everything went burry for just a second or two. Then you went out, almost hitting the floor except J caught you.

His laughter was like distance echoing in your head; you were mildly disoriented as you came to. J was hovering, beaming down at you, as you laid on the bed. He was smiling at you with a busted lip, banged up nose and a bright red knot on his forehead; not to mention the blood and lipstick smeared on his face and down his neck. For a second you waited, not completely sure of what was going to happen next.

Your body was still feeling the effects of everything; the rush of adrenaline from the fighting and the lustful state that your body was in needed tenting to, it was imperative. You slightly adjusted your body and moved your arm around his body. He leaned over you even more, cupping the side of your face almost tenderly; you nudged face against his hand as he began to caress your cheek with his thumb. Then he ran his thumb over your lips, causing you to take it into your mouth. The hungry was already there but it began to building as J watched you provocatively kiss and nipple his thumb in a teasing manner.

Lowering his head, he finally kissed you again.

It wasn't vicious like before, instead it was tender but passionate. There was a more affectionate recognition between the push and pull flow up the kiss this time; when one took, the other gave and when one gave, the other took. J's hand held your head, keeping your lips connected to his as long as his breath would last. A quick breath and he was back to lavishing you with another kiss; this time he slowly began to adjust himself on top of you. Your bodies moved in sync together, complementing the other as he allowed his weight to gently pin your body against the bed.

A naturally progression occurred and the sweet making-out turned into fondling foreplay; kissing wildly, hands exploring, the two of you grinding and rutting like two teenagers making out with a yearning that they were afraid to fill. Finally, there was a natural pause; the both you, panting heavily, hearts racing, hormones raging just stared at each other. A soft smirk crossed your face and you gave J a nod to proceed…

He pushed himself up to his knees and began to peel out of his white vest and black dress shirt. Suddenly, clothes took to the air as everything was promptly removed. The two of you were completely naked as he crawled to you and then on top of you. It was all moving fast, there was no time to admire each other's naked form; the physical urgency to have sex was too much for the both of you. His hand glided against your skin and up your body as he crawled into a mounting position between your thighs.

Your legs instinctively wrapped around his waist as he stayed on his knees for leverage. Your body responded almost involuntary, rolling your hips toward him the moment you felt his erection tickle your thigh; begging to have him in your body. He grinned as you rolled your hips against him again and this time grinding back, moaning from the friction. He buried his face into your neck and with his hand on base of his erection, he guided his cock into you with a slow thrust; not stopping tilt he was fully hilt deep into your body. J let out a muffled groan from where he was biting your neck, trying to control his urge to just start pounding away.

A long airy gasp escaped your throat from the unexpected rush of being at this juncture. Your body had been ready and willing, ripe for the taking but your mind wasn't completely prepared for experience. However, the physical and mental feeling of intrusion instantaneously gave away to gratification as your body inherently knew what to do. With the roll of your hips against J, pleasure surged through your body making you wanted more. He gladly gave you what your body asked for, slowly pulling his cock halfway out and then sinking it right back into you warm welcoming body. Your fingers tangled in his hair as you arched your body under him. Immediately, the two of you were maneuvering and accommodating the other, grinding at a moderate pace, finally re-consummating the physical part of the relationship you and J shared.

For the longest time, J kept his head buried in the curve of your neck. From the sound of his moans, that seemed to accompany his rhythm, you could only assume he was adequately enjoying himself; perhaps he was working through his own moment of being physically and emotional over-stimulated. Finally, he lifted his head, kissing his way up your neck before taking your earlobe into his mouth. He playfully bit it as he rested his head against yours.

Cheek to cheek, he whispers into your ear, "Don't ever leave me again."

It boarded a mixture of threatening and pleading. As if he was saying 'I missed you' and 'you'll regret it, if you do ever leave'.

He immediately picked up the tempo, making his thrust more energetic as you barely answered, "I won't."

You turned your head to find his lips, kissing him viciously. His hand found its way around your throat, almost cupping your chin from underneath, as he continued to kiss you. The two of you were a crazed mess of heavy breathing, wild humping and kissing; a ball of legs and arms, wrapping around, grabbing, and holding on the each other.

Without warning J stopped mid-stroke and mumbled, "Shit. Oh, shit."

He quickly sat up on his knees and pulled his erection out of you. For a second, he tried to get handle on the situation, regain his control and composer, but it was too late. There was no turning back; he was in the final act, climaxing into his hand with his head tilted up, allowing himself to revel in the pleasure of the moment.

Surprisingly, you felt no disappointment as you watched almost spellbound; he was gorgeous.

Finally, he lowered his head with a sigh of relief, "pphheeww."

You smirked at him and chewed your bottom lip.

He narrowed his eyes playfully, "See what you do to me?" He took his free hand and playfully shoved your bent leg that rested on him.

Suddenly, he was off the bed and headed toward the bathroom. Your eyes followed him until you could see him no longer. You were still a mess of lustful need, having been so close to bliss only the have it snatched away for you at the last moment; it didn't matter though. You snicker to yourself, thinking about how abruptly J had busted his load. There was a little inkling of pride you felt, knowing you had caused him to lose control.

Hearing him come out of the restroom, your eyes immediately followed him again. He strutted across the room with a smug grin on his face and literally jumped onto the bed. He crawled right up beside you, threw himself down onto his back and stared at the ceiling, mimicking the same position you were resting in. You let your hand slowly creep across the small space between the two of you until your fingers bumped against J's hand. As soon as he felt you, he slid his own hand and threaded his fingers in-between yours. You didn't have to look over at him and he didn't have to look over at you to know that the other one was smiling. Somehow, the two of you already understood that inclination and nothing more needed saying.