Contains lyrics from Just a kiss by Lady Antebellum

Warnings: Some language 

Joker sat in his all too familiar cell in Arkham, blankly staring at the dirty white walls. He had only been there a matter of hours, but it already felt like years. After a bungled heist, he'd been caught and dragged back to Arkham kicking and screaming, literally; now he just hoped that his men would realise where he was and break him out.

He found himself once again scratching at the mark on his left wrist; his soul mark had been burning and irritating him ever since he had stepped foot into this hell hole, and now the damn thing was red and inflamed. He got up from his bed and soaked the mark in cold water, hoping to relieve some of the pain but his efforts only seemed to make things worse.

He had tried everything over the years to destroy the mark, not believing he could have a soulmate, someone that could love him for everything he was and everything he had become; but no matter what he did the mark would reappear. His mother had always told him that it was destiny and that he couldn't fight his destiny, and that was why the mark would always come back.

The black and red rose that had been there from the day of his birth seemed to taunt him; when he was Arthur, he would look at it whenever he felt unhappy or lonely, wondering who she was and what she was like. Would he know her as soon as he saw her? Would it be love at first sight?

But as the years rolled on, and there was still no sign of her he had grown to hate the mark; he had taken to believing that the mark had been placed there to torment him, just like so many other things in his life.

He made his way back to his bed, throwing himself onto the uncomfortably thin mattress.

"LIGHTS OUT!" Came the call, as his room was suddenly plunged into darkness with only a small shaft of light coming from a tiny barred window high up in the wall enabling him to see; he turned over and lay on his back staring at the ceiling.

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He didn't know how long he had lain there staring at the same spot; it could have been minutes, but it was most probably hours. The silence was deafening, only interrupted sporadically by the cough from another inmate. The pain in his wrist had kept him awake, it burned like hell. Why did it have to do this now? Of all the places, of all the times, why here and why now?

Joker got out of bed, his warm bare feet instantly cooled by the floor beneath them; he started to pace, trying to calm his mind and the ache in his wrist. He suddenly stopped, his ears picking up an unfamiliar sound; it started off as a soft hum that slowly built up until a beautiful voice drifted through the empty corridors of the dreary asylum.

Lyin' here with you so close to me
It's hard to fight these feelings
When it feels so hard to breathe
Caught up in this moment
Caught up in your smile

He didn't know the song, but its words and the voice were so beautiful that he couldn't help but love it.

I've never opened up to anyone
So hard to hold back
When I'm holding you in my arms
We don't need to rush this
Let's just take it slow

Joker fell against the wall, sliding down it until he hit the floor. He felt a tear slowly roll down his cheek as the woman bore her soul through the words of the song.

Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight
Just a touch of the fire burning so bright
And I don't want to mess this thing up
I don't want to push too far
Just a shot in the dark that you just might
Be the one I've been waiting for my whole life
So baby I'm alright, with just a kiss goodnight

Just those words, 'the one I've been waiting for my whole life' struck something deep down in Joker's empty soul. The anguish and pain in her melodious voice spoke to him like nothing before; whoever this woman was she had suffered like him, was suffering like him. He could tell that she too was waiting, waiting for someone that had never arrived; someone that would possibly never arrive. But mixed in with the anguish and pain, there was hope and maybe even love.

I know that if we give this a little time
It'll only bring us closer
To the love we wanna find
It's never felt so real
No it's never felt so right

Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight
Just a touch of the fire burning so bright
And I don't want to mess this thing up
I don't want to push too far
Just a shot in the dark that you just might
Be the one I've been waiting for my whole life
So baby I'm alright, with just a kiss goodnight

He could feel his hands shake as he reached for the mark on his arm; the pain was now gone replaced by a warmth that radiated throughout his whole body. What did that mean? Was his soulmate nearby? Was his soulmate the woman that seemed to be singing just to him?

No I don't want to say goodnight
I know it's time to leave,
But you'll be in my dreams

Tonight
Tonight
Tonight

Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight
Just a touch of the fire burning so bright
No I don't want to mess this thing up
I don't want to push too far
Just a shot in the dark that you just might
Be the one I've been waiting for my whole life
So baby I'm alright, oh, let's do this right

With just a kiss goodnight
With a kiss goodnight
Kiss goodnight

Joker could hear the sob in her voice as the song finished and her voice faded away; he could feel his heart drop as the silence once again became all consuming.

"HEY! CAN YOU HEAR ME?" Joker called through his door.

"HEY! WHOEVER WAS SINGING, TALK TO ME." There was nothing but the voice of a male guard shouting down the hall.

"SHUT THE HELL UP FLECK, DON'T MAKE US COME DOWN THERE!"

"FUCK YOU! COME DOWN HERE AND MAKE ME SHUT UP!" With that two sets of heavy footsteps could be heard making their way down the corridor. A small window opened in his door and the faces of two guards met Joker.

"I told you to shut the fuck up freak, don't make me get the medication." Spat one of the guards.

"I only wanted to talk to the lady that was singing." The guards looked at one another.

"She wouldn't want to talk to you." Said the other guard sheepishly looking at the door opposite Jokers.

"How do you know the lady wouldn't want to talk to me? I'm irresistible." Joker laughed mocking the two guards.

One of the guards drew closer to the window, his voice barely above a whisper. "Look Fleck, as dangerous as you are you don't want to get involved with her, believe me."

Before Joker could say another word, the trap door was shut, enclosing him in his black, silent world once more.

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Joker woke from his slumber as he heard the guard's keys jangle in the lock.

"Ok clown, breakfast," huffed the guard.

He dragged himself out of bed, instantly remembering the night before; maybe the woman he wanted to speak to would be at breakfast he thought to himself. Hurriedly he changed and raced to the dining room; ignoring the looks and comments of the other inmates, Joker collected his food and sat at a table. Pushing the slop, that Arkham jokingly called food around his tray, he lost himself in thought.

*BANG*

Joker's eyes suddenly shot up as someone banged their fist on the table; in front of him was a younger woman, her eyes, which were even greener than his, stared right through him. His heart began to pound violently in his chest as the pair glared at one another.

"Get out of my seat!" The woman growled.

"I didn't see your name written on it, sweet cheeks." Joker retorted as he smirked at the woman.

The woman moved closer to his ear, "I'll carve my name in your ass if you don't move from my seat, sweet cheeks!"

Joker abruptly stood up from the chair, "DO YOU KNOW WHO THE HELL YOUR TALKING TO BITCH!?" he almost screamed.

"Yeah! You're the asshole in my seat!"

Before Joker could say anything else two guards rushed over to the pair and addressed the woman.

"Come on (y/n), you promised the doc you'd play nice. Give the clown a break yeah?"

The woman stared at the guards, "Get him out of my seat and I'll play nice!" She said.

"Ok Fleck, let's go!" Said one of the guards as they both dragged Joker away from the chair, shoving him into another seat at a different table.

Joker's blood began to boil as he watched the woman smirk at him and take the seat.

"You don't want to mess with her!" Joker swung his head around to find one of the patients talking to him.

"No one messes with her, not the guards, not anyone." The patient nervously whispered.

Joker stared at the woman again who was now furiously scratching at a wound on her left wrist.

"Why? Who is she?" Joker asked.

The patient shifted uncomfortably in his seat before looking at Joker. "That's the devil. They call her Diablo!"

Joker stared wide eyed at the woman, "She's the one that made all those people kill one another?"

The patient nodded, "Yeah, they say she can get into your head; make you do things you don't wanna do."

Joker looked over again, he could see the bloody bandage on her wrist; he couldn't help but be entertained by her discomfort, that was until his own wrist began to burn again. Rubbing at his wrist he saw her remove the bloody bandage, his heart almost stopped as he noticed the mark; a single black and red rose.

"Stop that, it won't go away you know, damn thing always comes back; believe me I've tried." The woman looked up annoyed at seeing the man in front of her.

"What the hell does it have to do with you, what would you know about it?" The woman asked angrily.

"I know all about it, believe me." Joker rolled up his sleeve revealing the mark and shoved it right under the woman's nose. She looked at the mark and then up at him; she abruptly stood up and slapped him across the face before running off. Rubbing at his cheek, he quickly followed the woman back down the corridor where his room was to be found; watching her slam the door to the room opposite his.

He banged on the door, "Don't you think we should talk?"

"Fuck off clown! What makes you think you can just walk into my life now after all these years?" An angry voice came from the other side of the door.

"Hey! I've been waiting for you too." Joker waited for answer and watched as the door slowly crept open revealing the bright green eyes of Diablo.

"I suppose you better come in." She said, opening the door wide and motioning for him to enter.

"So" began Joker, "Your name's (y/n)?" He sat down on the edge of her bed and patted the spot next to him urging her to sit.

She stayed next to the door, "So you're Arthur Fleck? And I prefer Diablo, only people I like call me (y/n)."

"Well I'm your soulmate, doesn't that count?" Joker asked.

She looked him up and down, "Just my luck I get stuck with a clown."

"Don't think I'm happy about this either, you're not exactly what I was expecting." Joker huffed.

She cautiously sat next to him on the bed, "Have you looked in the mirror recently, you're not exactly what I was expecting either."

The room went eerily quiet as the two sat, cautiously inching closer to one another.

"So, you heard me sing last night?" Joker looked at her wide eyed.

"That was you?" He asked, not sure whether he could match such an angelic voice with such an evil reputation.

"Yeah, I knew my soulmate was here when this damn thing started hurting, it was itching like crazy, kept me up all night; I sang hoping you would hear me." She looked at the mark on her wrist and then up at him.

"I've been waiting a long time for you; I'd given up hope." Joker watched as a single tear fell down her cheek, which she quickly brushed away.

He tentatively put his arm around her shoulder, expecting her to shrug it off, but instead she moved closer to his side.

She looked at him through misty eyes, "Well I suppose beggars can't be choosers." She said with a slight chuckle.

"You keep saying things like that and I'm gonna start taking it personally, sweet cheeks." Joker carefully tightened his grip on her.

"So, what do we do now?" She asked, as two sets of green orbs peered into one another's souls.

"I don't know, but maybe this would be a good start."

The joker placed his fingers under her chin holding it gently before leaning in and placing a tender kiss on her lips. They pulled apart, only for her to lace her fingers around the back of his neck and pull him back to her. Their lips danced together in perfect harmony; years of pain and anguish disappeared as the two soulmates connected.

With heavy breaths they parted, "I'm never letting you go." She said as she placed her head on his shoulder, her arms clinging to his waist.

"Don't worry my little devil, you'll never have to; because you're the one I've been waiting for my whole life." Joker hummed as he lent in for another kiss.