Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Joker/Clover/Heart no Kuni no Alice.

Title: When Backed Into the Corner

Prompt: -

Summary: Joker, Joker/Alice. It has been such a long time and she's ashamed to have forgotten how it felt to be on the receiving end of that smile.

Mockery was a colour Joker wore best; flamboyant and garnish as his vivid jester clothes as well as subtle and lethal as the throwing knives he kept up his sleeves. That smile of his was bright as always - plastered on his face, stretching across so wide that he would have put the Cheshire Cat to shame.

"Why the troubled face, dear Alice?" Joker hummed, and this time around it was White who addressed her. He carelessly gestured at her with his pale, slender hands and she can't help but stare at it, flushed as she remembered the feel of the coarse pads of his fingers tracing her bare arms, awakening a trail of goosebumps, just a moment ago. "Am I not entertaining you enough?" he asked, lowering his voice an octave, the sound making her shiver slightly.

"T-That's not it." Alice tripped on her words as he edged forward into her personal bubble, too caught up in that pleasant smile that he always had for her. "It's just...um...I have errands to run! Yeah! So, I really need to get going, White-"

Alice stumbled backwards, the edge of the table digging painfully into her lower back. The cards fell and scattered messily on the ground; hearts, spades, clovers and diamonds watching her as she nervously looked for an escape.

A cornered mouse will always have the options to fight or flight. But it does not necessarily mean that either options would exactly work and unfortunately, Alice did not have the luxury to sit down and make a decision.

Joker playfully titled his head and considered her. "Errands? But you just got here, Alice. Stay for a while, there's no rush in a timeless place like this. It's been too long since the last April season, let me entertain you."

She gulped audibly at the predatory look in his eyes. "T-There's no need to do that! I'm really busy anyways, so maybe another time-"

Suddenly, Joker was caging her in with his arms on either side of her, that mischievous smile curled around his lips had her feeling breathless. "Such a dumb little miss," he whispered, his hot breath fanning over her lips. Alice met his ruby-eyed gaze, and Black stared back at her with a dark smirk. "You never had a choice."

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