Pure malice
@ravenettegoth you called to the void and the void answered. Joker x paramedic!reader ~1 200 words of fluff Enjoy!
Her life was a mess as it was. Career as a paramedic destroyed her sleep schedule to the point of no return and the additional side job from Victor did not help at all. In moments like these one develops surprising ability to sleep at the most uncomfortable places. So, when [Y/N] decided to move with the wires she was working on to the couch it was a lost cause.
[Y/N] woke up maybe 15 minutes later, maybe an hour. The only thing that was certain was that she hadn't slept longer than a day, as she was still sleepy. Wrapped in the omnipresent smell of cigarettes, she blinked her eyes lazily, recognizing the familiar interior of Light's hideout. The light she used to work was already off, only the side lamp gave off just enough light to look around the room.
[E/C] landed on her work. The colorful cables were safely placed on a nearby table. She couldn't remember the time when she was conscious enough to put them away herself. The small screwdriver digging into her thigh suggested that she had fallen asleep with her work in her hands. She reached down to pull the tool from between the cushions, and the material resting on her shoulders slid down, exposing her to the unpleasant chill of the underground. Her body, torn from the pleasant warmth of her nap, shivered as she reached for the material. The black coat was nothing more than a blur of darkness in the dim light, but the smell of cigarettes emanating from it aroused no suspicion as to who it belonged to.
A gentle and rhythmic movement at her side announced her companion's presence. [Y/N] tensed, her breath frozen, as she nestled between the back of the couch and the man's side. Blood roared in her ears as she frantically tried to find a way out of this situation. But so far, not a single sarcastic comment was dropped.
She turned her head cautiously, glancing at the man. To her surprise, he seemed unaware of her awakening. Joker was leaning against the faded couch, his arms crossed over his chest, rising slowly in rhythm of his calm breaths. Most of his face was hidden by a red scarf as he rested his chin on his chest. Only a closed eye was visible between the loose strands of hair. Joker's pale skin stood out despite the darkness of the room, but the shadow under his eye seemed even deeper than usual. Was it just the poor lighting?
Many of the people who inhabited the Nether were not ambitious individuals. Hidden in the darkness from the church's gaze, they lived their own mediocre lives. However, the longer she spent in the hideout, immersed in her work on the machine, the more she was convinced that the man before her was not one of those people. He seemed to constantly work on matters anything but trivial. Her gaze fell on the journal forgotten on his knee. The tattered pages hid secrets beyond her understanding. This state of matter suited her. Her hands were stained, but they had never delved into matters so deep and so soaked in politic. Joker had no such problems. His mysterious motivations pushed him much further than hers did.
She returned her gaze to his face, suddenly strangely unfamiliar. Joker always kept his guard up. Even when he was carelessly joking and fooling around, or was busy with something. It could be seen in his lightning-fast reaction to any change in his surroundings, and in the way that no matter how much time they spent together, or how close he let [Y/N] get to him, his figure always remained shrouded in mystery, always keeping her at a distance. But this time the sharp features, smoothed by calm for the first time, seemed almost alien, unreal.
Her hand slipped out from under the coat and reached for him, freezing mere millimeters from the pale skin. Unwanted touch was a plea for an attack from Joker. She had no doubt the man would be capable of a violent blow despite his calm demeanor. And one well-placed elbow would undoubtedly be able to dislocate her jaw.
The problem was that [Y/N] was known for her stupid decisions. She held her breath as her fingertips gently brushed his skin. The lack of any reaction gave her courage and she carefully brushed her palm against his cheek. Fascinated, she watched this unusual sight until a purple eye flashed in the darkness.
“Boo!” His voice was barely audible, but when his warm breath grazed her hand, she had no doubts. [Y/N] nearly jumped out of her skin as if electrocuted, not caring about the table or the cloak covering her. She fell to the floor, accompanied by the Joker's evil chuckle.
*
Joker's senses were heightened to their limits, and after years in the underground, his eyesight was the last one he relied on. The change in her breathing alone was enough to put him in a state of absolute alertness. Despite that, he didn't even move, his calm breathing masking his vigilance.
He pretended to sleep, hoping that would be enough for her to leave him alone. He didn't have the strength to deal with her today. All he really wanted to do was collapse onto the couch in his own hideout and sleep, but someone had already occupied it when he got here.
Joker's alert ears listened as the woman woke up and looked around. He was able to detect the slightest movement of her body. Including the sudden paralysis and slow turn towards him. He expected an immediate escape, sudden creation of distance, anything. But nothing happened. Despite the sudden increase in his curiosity about her behavior, his body gave no sign of it. He sat still, curious to see what would happen next.
Well... The touch of [Y/N]'s hand on his cheek was definitely not the most likely idea. His mind was screaming in alarm, demanding a reaction. An attack, or rather a defense. Her touch burned with a fire that his generation had not protected against. It was strange, completely unnatural.
But his body did not react. It continued to follow the gentle rhythm of his breathing, camouflaging the battle boiling in his mind. It allowed the warmth of her touch to spread deep into his bones, broken many many times.
He opened an eye slowly, meeting her gaze. Despite the lack of light, he had no trouble seeing her eyes focused on him as they shined in the darkness.
“Boo…” he muttered quietly. The word didn’t contain even half of his usual malice. It was purely automatic. A miserable way to act like himself in this unusual situation.
The effect was immediate. Faster than he would have expected her to, she landed on the floor, her cheeks glowing red in the darkness of the room. A quiet chuckle echoed in his chest.
And for the first time in years, it was sincere.