Give Me a Smile

My head was in Joker’s lap when I woke up. He was snoring with his head tilted back. One of his hands rested on my cheek, fingers twitching against my skin. I smiled and rolled over only to feel him jump on me with a knife to my throat.
“Who are-Oh. Mornin’, Quinn,” he said slowly, getting off me. “Uh, morning.” Joker was definitely better than the night before. His breathing wasn’t as harsh and he moved easily. He yawned and stretched, then bent over to examine his ripped clothes. “Damnit,” he grimaced, holding them gingerly in front of him. “That was a nice coat.”

I watched him, biting my nails. My stomach growled. Joker paused and turned his head towards me. “Hungry?” “Uh...yeah. The food ran out yesterday.” He tsked and took my chin in one hand. “Quinnie, Quinnie! Why didn’t you tell me? You’re my princess, I CAN’T let you go hungry.” I nodded. He watched my face for a moment before he tugged me into the bathroom, pushing my shoulders until I sat on the sink.
“I’ll be....I’ll be right back! Brush your teeth,” he ordered. He was back before I was done. I spit and looked at him patiently. “Alright, alright, sit on the sink. I wanna, we’re, ha. Going out. We need a disguise. Now....SIT.” Joker rummaged around under the sink until he came up with a few makeup kits.

He started rubbing foundation on my face with fairly practiced hands, fingers lingering on my scars. It felt nice, especially when he stroked my cheek and smiled. “Close your eyes.”He put a lot of makeup on my eyes. I could feel his breath across my skin. Like always, Joker smelled like smoke. He moved to the side and I felt his hands in my hair, tugging out the tangles. I winced and moved away from him, but he pulled me back. “Stay still.”
After a while it didn’t hurt as bad, and I relaxed into his touch. Air brushed my neck as he tied my hair up, then stepped back. “Done.” The mirror showed my face, but different. He had caked on makeup around my mouth, slightly disguising the scars, and blue eye shadow was garish across my eyelids. With the way my hair was up, I looked like a hooker. “Uh...”

“There’s clothes on the couch. Wear them.” I’d been wearing the same clothes since he had kidnapped me, so I was grateful for new ones. It was a cheap, trashy dress though. I put it on and felt naked. It had been a long, long time since I’d been willing to expose skin. I began to wonder what he was planning. “Joker?”
He popped his head out of the bathroom. He was wearing makeup, so most of the scars were hidden. I didn’t like it. Didn’t look right. “What’s going on?” I asked. He cackled. “You’ll see. You’ll see.” I sighed and sat on the couch.

When Joker finally left the bathroom I gaped at him and started laughing. He was dressed in an ugly suit and a loose hat. He gripped a cane with a grinning skull head. “I do so love to see you smile,” he said as he took my hand. “Wanna know where we’re going now?” “Yes.” “Ivy and Scarecrow wanna meet up. We’re going to Ivy’s place this time. But, the coppers and that....bat are out looking for me. So....we’re in disguise.”
I finally realized what he was getting at. In order not to get caught, we were going in disguise as a pimp and his whore. I giggled. “Good girl,” Joker said, kissing my scars before he led me from the room.

The whole day (well....night) was almost like a game. We stayed out for hours, Joker’s hand warm around my waist as we pretended to stumble down side alleys and sewers. I kept my face buried in his coat like I was too drunk to focus. I could hear his hushed laughter in my ear.
We grabbed breakfast, larked around a bit, got lunch, vandalized a few apartments, ran from the cops, got dinner, and headed to Ivy’s. It was a boring, squat building at the edge of the city. Graffiti decorated the outside, but I noticed the paint was green, and even the weeds looked healthy. Joker glanced around before he stepped inside.