Falling Apart

An hour later, Adelaide was freezing and starving but she finally started running into things that she recognized. She was still walking; she knew better than to try and hitchhike in Gotham. She'd either get someone who planned to take advantage of her, or nobody would look her way. Finally, though, she knew she was getting close to J's mansion.

About a half hour later, it finally came into her view as she rounded a corner. She sighed in relief as she approached it, going around the back to the garage door. The door was open and it looked like someone had just left, but J's purple Lamborghini was securely in its spot, along with her matte black motorcycle. She'd learned a long time ago that J was a bit of a neat freak, and it looked like either he or one of his men had still been cleaning and caring for the motorcycle.

She walked through the garage, trying to decide if she wanted to knock on the door that led inside or if she'd just walk in. The knob turned as she still debated, and she froze as someone stepped into the dim light of the garage. The Joker stepped out of the house, his attention focused on his phone in his palm. She took him in, from his slicked back green hair, to the makeup smudged on his face, down to the purple suit jacket, and all the way down to the black leather shoes. He looked up a moment later, and his face looked like he'd seen a ghost. That was fair, she supposed.

"No," he whispered, reaching for the gun that was always holstered to his waist. He pointed it at her, and she raised her hands in surrender.

"J, it's me," she whispered back, and he shook his head violently.

"No. My Adelaide is dead," he said, and she could almost see the whirlwind of emotions that he was feeling. Before she could say anything else, he shot her in the chest, and she could almost feel that it was a few inches away from her heart. She fell to the ground, trying her best to hold on and keep her consciousness.

"J... It's me. I swear. Pull the slug out and you'll see. I'll heal," she gasped, and she could tell that he was considering it. He made a noise in the back of his throat and threw himself on the ground beside her.

"You better hope you're telling the truth," he said, his eyes full of rage and something else that she couldn't figure out. He ripped her shirt down and reached into her wound roughly, making her grit her teeth in pain. She felt it as he grasped the bullet and ripped it out. He watched the wound for a moment, and seemed to be ready to say something else, and then she could feel the skin around the wound tightening slowly. In a minute, there was no trace of the wound at all other than the blood that now covered her, her shirt, and J's hands.

"Adelaide?" he asked her, wiping his hands on his pants and touching the scarring on her neck with a fingertip.

"It's me, J," she whispered, watching as tears formed in his eyes.

"How... It's not possible," he whispered, still looking like he wasn't sure if he believed her.

"It's a long story. Right now... I just need you to kiss me," she said, and his eyes locked onto hers and stayed there for what seemed like a long time.

Then, he did what she asked. He lowered himself to her and kissed her like she'd never been kissed before. She could feel his tears pouring onto her cheeks as he leaned into her and kissed her like he'd never meant anything more in his entire life.

"Adelaide?" he whispered again when he pulled away from her a moment later, still staring at her like she wasn't real.

"It's real, J," she told him, looping her arms around his neck.

"I'm so sorry," he said, plopping into a fully-sitting position.

"Don't be sorry. There is something you should know, though. There's a pretty good chance that my sister is going to be trying to kill you," she said, and he looked at her like she was absolutely crazy.

"Your... sister?"

"Like I said, long story. First, I'm freezing, my feet feel like they're on fire, and I don't think I've eaten in a month," she said, and he nodded and automatically picked her up to carry her inside. He took her up to her bedroom and she was surprised to see that everything looked exactly like she'd remembered it.

She changed into her own clothes and instantly felt a million times better. She examined her neck, running her fingers over the gnarled skin and scar tissue. J came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, looking into the mirror with her.

"It's beautiful," he whispered, and when she looked at him in the mirror, he looked like he might cry again.

"That's one word for it," she said, turning and catching his lips in another kiss.

"It feels good to be home," she said, and he smiled at her, but not with the smile she was most used to seeing from him. Usually he offered her the signature "Joker" smile; the huge crazy one that made you feel like he might be about to eat you alive. But this smile was different. It was genuine.

"I love you, Adelaide," he whispered, and she smiled back at him.

"I love you too, J," she said, hugging him tightly.

"Now, I know you're getting settled and everything, but I'm going to need you to tell me what the hell happened, and exactly what your sister has to do with it all," he said, kissing her on the forehead and leading her back downstairs.

"I was hoping you'd forgotten about all of that by now," she said, and he chuckled just lightly.

"I'm notoriously insane, not notoriously stupid," he told her, flashing her a wink as he sat at the kitchen island while she got herself some food.