joker&joseph

Joker wasn't stupid enough to believe that anyone other than the three girls had done something to the house. Things were wrapped up and broken, and Joseph's dog Greene (whom Joker had a weird affinity towards, oddly enough) was sitting in the middle of the living room in a Christmas sweater. After a wildly successful week of bank heists, murders, and chaos, this was the least of his worries. Though, there was an amusement in his eyes, as he pushed one of Joseph's dining room chairs and it immediately fell over broken, that he realized he could use this. Just not in the way that those damn women might have thought.

It took a bit, but as soon as Joe realized something was wrong, it all seemed to fall apart. He had woken up on Sunday sleeping on the floor, but he wasn't sure why -- he knew Joker had an inability to get drunk, so that doesn't seem the reason to be on the floor. Perhaps it was another trick, but when Joe got up and put his hand on the bed to try to stand, the bed crashed down on one side. And so Joe groans, thinking this is another prank that Joker has played on him. It's something he's used to now, always waking up with his other side fucking with him in some way, but he's thankful that it's just broken furniture and not something else.

There was no doubt in his mind that Harley was behind this. She seemed to take his "honest" concern about her throwing her unborn children into harms way to heart, and for the first time, it hadn't been intentional. Joker had simply take Joseph's concern (he didn't want Harley doing something to hurt her babies that Roxy would ultimately regret) and twisted it only slightly. The hormonal blonde did the same. Sometimes, it was too easy. But coming back to destruction? Well this was icing on the cake.

But he quickly realizes that Joker didn't do this. He sees little notes in Ivy's (or Rose, he can't keep it straight these days) handwriting, and his stomach starts to sink. It's not until he finds the video that was left for him, and the note from 'the sirens' that he starts to panic. That he starts to realize that maybe, maybe Joker is right. Is he ever going to be able to not be punished based on his life choices? If he's not punished by Joker, he's punished by others, and Joe finally realized that he was... well he was getting very sick of it.

It took time, but he removed all the hideous wrapping that the sirens (really, they couldn't call each other anything better?) did to the house, and made sure everything looked normal. With Joseph's dog Greene happily following him around the house, Joker took stock of everything. All the furniture was damaged in some way. Even the bathroom had been tampered with. A prank done to try to get to him and he wasn't phased by it at all. But he knew who would be phased by it. Someone who had recently found happiness, had found a new path, and had begged Joker to stay out of it. Sometimes, it was just too easy.

In hindsight he should have tried to stay and fix things, and he should have tried to give people a heads up, especially Ivy. Telling her "I'll see you around" is a little dramatic, but he can't really think of anything else to say, and as he ignores each of her desperate text messages asking what he meant by that phrase, he tries not to go back on what he thinks he should do. And right now, his flight instinct is kicking in, and he has to get out of his townhouse, he has to get out of Boston. He throws some things into a bag, he packs some things for Greene, and picks up the dog and heads to his car.

It was now part of the routine for Joker to leave some things for Joseph to find. Typically traps, but that was already done for him. So this time? This time it was a video. So he set it up, and he started to record, looking right into the camera. "Joey boy, you might have noted things are a little different by now. Here I was, thinking we could keep our agreement to stay out of each other's lives -- despite your unfortunate connection to Pamela -- and I kept my side of the bargain. But of course, others don't agree with our teaming up. Look." And Joker held up a note that was from the women that simply said "Merry Christmas, we hate you" and it was signed. "No matter what you do, no matter how you try to get away from me, people are going to always come after you."

He's driving out of the city, Greene happily looking out the window, his tail wagging, and Joe realizes then that he doesn't know where he's going. The last time a trip like this happened, he found himself waking up to himself driving behind the wheel, halfway to Florida, and crashing promptly into a tree. But he's not half Joker and half Joe this time around, he's fully himself (but not fully thinking straight) and once again on the run because of weeks he isn't around for. But this time, he's not wanted for kidnapping or murder. This time he's not wanted by the police. This time, he hasn't hurt anyone. And so, Joe pulls over to the side of the road, and takes a moment.

"They're going to always attack you. All because of your little association with me! All because of your new found immortality, thanks to me, and your strength, thanks to me, and all the other gifts you have thanks to me! Did you really think any of them were going to let you have a good life? Let you be happy? You are a fool, Joey! A fucking fool. And trust me, I know a lot of them. Three of them destroyed your things, for example." Joker shook his head in faux sadness, and clicked his tongue. "It's a shame, isn't it? Just when you think your life is in control...your girlfriend and her friends ruin everything for you. You'll always be stuck with this."

A few hours later, Joe is checking into a hotel in Nashua, New Hampshire, a dog friendly one, and bringing in Greene into the suite. He doesn't need to run. He knows that. A few days away though, to get his head on straight, to figure out where things are in his life, isn't going to hurt him in the slightest. It's been over a year now since all of this bullshit has started to happen, but he needs to remember that he's in control 3 weeks out of the month. He needs to remember that he shouldn't let things get to him so easily, even if it does hurt him when he wakes up to destruction on his new home just because of who he's connected to.

He stopped recording. He set the video recorder down, and placed it on the table gently, though the table immediately crashed to the ground thanks to the tampering. He smirked, but he didn't laugh. No, this wasn't deserving of laughter, not yet. Not until he knew the damage this would cause Joseph. He almost wanted to thank the girls; they did his job for him. There was no way that Joseph was going to stick around now. And the more isolated Joseph became, the easier it was for Joker. It was all going perfectly.

He knows he's going to need to have a strong conversation with someone when he gets home -- someone who is around all the time, and should know better of the consequences of what she'd be doing; but that's a conversation he'll have to tread lightly on, given everything. He's still struggling to find a way to navigate dealing with the consequences of everyone and everything, while not having Joker around 24/7, and he knows it's not easy. But he had already made a promise to himself a month ago, and there was no point on going back on it now. He was going to have a better year, and it started with letting himself enjoy what he had, as much as he could. The rest could be figured out later. But in the Nashua hotel room, Greene hopped up on his lap and started licking his face, and Joe figured that was a pretty good start. Even if Joker was sadly right in some respects, but the Clown didn't need to know that.