you matter to me / loki laufeyson

Chapter 24

Johnny picked me up after 45 minutes of waiting and took me to Jack's place. We exchanged niceties, but other than that we didn't talk.

As the car started, I glanced at my arm subconsciously, remembering a moment of mine with Jack. It had seemed dark before I regained my emotions. Now it was a happy memory, that occurred a while after he began to trust me, allowing me to wander around his mansion. I mostly hung around him though, getting bored otherwise.

"I hope this doesn't upset you, but I have come to a conclusion," I spoke, sitting on the main room's couch.

Joker didn't answer, so I gestured for him to play along.

"What have you concluded?" He asked begrudgingly.

"Your name." I braced myself for his reaction, expecting it to be negative.

"Joker?" He played dumb.

"No. That was not your birth name. If it was you would have changed it out of spite for your parents seeing as—"

Joker held up a hand to silence me, putting an end to my blabbering before things got too personal. "You think you know what my real name is?"

"Mmmhmm."

"Fine," he sighed. "Get on with it. You have 60 seconds or I'm going to tell you my name and then I will never know if you ever actually knew it." He knew of my desperate need to be both correct and acknowledged. 

"Hey! That's mean. You know I love a build up. I have to do the long explanation!"

"58.... 57...." Joker counted, pretending to look at an imaginary watch on his wrist. He had gotten use to my random guesses and profiles, and was taken aback by how often I was right. He didn't admit that, but I could tell.

"Okay! Okay!" I sat up on the couch. "You have people call you J a lot more than they do Joker. Your face tattoo is a "J". Only the media and pedestrians call you Joker, so I think your name begins with a J. Am I right so far?"

He rolled his eyes and nodded.

"Your neck tattoo has playing cards on it. I think four aces is kinda odd. I mean, yes, it'd occasionally win in poker, but usually people consider a royal flush to be the best hand. Why are you avoiding the King, Queen, Jack, and ten of spades, I wonder?"

I looked at him and waited for another nod before continuing.

"Lastly, I've been testing your micro expressions. Slipping the name into conversations to see how you'd react. Even if you have a calm exterior, your micro reactions will give you away. "You're a jack of all trades." "Pour me a glass of Jack Daniels." "Hit the road, Jack." It only showed for like 1/15 of a second, but I saw surprise in your eyes when I said your name... Jack," I finished and stayed quiet.

"Like always, Everest, you would be correct," Joker sighed. "Am I that transparent?"

"You're an open book." I paused. "Well, audio book. Did you know that you talk in your sleep?"

His face was of pure shock as I ran into the kitchen, Joker following close behind me.

"Here I was thinking you were some kind of mentalist! But really you just heard me say my name whilst asleep?" Joker said, sorta angry.

"I can read minds! You'll see soon. I know you're upset now, but take a deep breath because you will be fine in about a minute."

"Why should I believe a liar like you?"

"I didn't lie! I embellished! I'm a good embellisher!" I said quickly as Joker walked towards me slowly, backing me into the counter while intimidating me with his height. "But you know what else I'm good at?"

He opened his mouth to speak when— DING! Joker turned his head to the oven, noticing that the timer had gone off.

"You like blueberry muffins, right? See, I can read your mind!" I giggled with an innocent smile. I inhaled deeply, smelling their deliciousness. "That I didn't learn from your sleep talk, just polite observation."

I got out some potholders and reached inside the oven to take out the hot muffin pan.

During that time, the Joker's henchmen burst through the front door, having just come back from doing some odd jobs for him.

One man, who Joker had named Klutz, rushed over to see what the sweet smell was. He went to grab one from the pan, a simple enough plan. But, in true Klutz fashion, he tripped, knocked the hot pan off the kitchen counter, making its burning sides hit my upper arm. The dread in Klutz's eyes was palpable. You could tell that he had that sinking feeling in his stomach we all get when we are slowly riding up a roller coaster hill.

I gasped when the pan hit me and once again when I felt the burn. Though, the burn on my arm was tiny compared to the raging fire now in Joker's eyes.

"Look what you did, Klutz! You fucking idiot!" he shouted. Adding insult to injury, the muffins were now on the floor. I couldn't tell which one Joker was more upset about. Just kidding. He unfortunately made that part very clear.

Joker punched Klutz once in the head. Klutz fell to the ground fast. I saw he was unconscious.

"Chuckles, take him downstairs," Joker commanded to the guy in front of the other goons, who were all starring at the scene with worry. That meant to the torture room, I knew. "Everyone else, scram!"

When it was just him and me again, he took my hand from my uninjured arm and walked me to his bathroom. He lifted me up on the counter and rummaged in the cabinets for something to put on the small burn.

"Joker, it's really nothing. It'll be gone in a week," I smiled.

"No one will ever hurt you again, baby," he said in his deep voice. He grabbed my arm and applied the cream to it.

Baby? Where did that come from? Joker had never before displayed anything more than a platonic interest in me.

"Thanks, but Klutz didn't intentionally do this. I mean, his name is Klutz for a reason."

"He still hurt what's mine."

"I'm not yours, and you shouldn't hurt him because of an accident. What don't I just put in another batch of—"

I stopped talked when Joker put his hand on the side of my face. I looked in his eyes and saw another micro expression: happiness?

"Whatcha doin there, Joker?" I asked him.

"Jack," he spoke, indicated he wanted me to address him as such.

"Jack."

Joker leaned forward and put his lips on mine.

Like the terrible person I am, I didn't think of Klutz again that night.

Klutz was the first guy Joker killed for me.

He certainly was not the last.

A/N: thank you readers for 2k!!!