Not Done Yet

A/N: I just discovered there was a way to enable anonymous reviews--I didn't know it had been disabled! Please do leave a review, signed or not, I very much appreciate them! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far!

Seds

* * *

Bruce woke up with Jack cradled in his arms, his back to Bruce's chest. The sore, slightly raw feeling in the dark haired man's nether region reminded him immediately of what they had done the night before, and a slow grin stole across his face. Damn Joker. He definitely had a way of breaking down Bruce's boundaries, and making him like it, too. Last night had been the third night in a row that Jack had taken the dominant position in their coupling, and he had definitely lost any concern he might have had for Bruce's inexperience. He had fucked the living hell out of him.

Bruce nuzzled his lover's neck before pushing him over onto his stomach and sliding all the way into him with one deep, hard thrust.

"Unh...wha'? Hey, fucker, I'm not even awake, wha'cha doin'?" asked the blond, groggily.

"Just a little reciprocation for the fun I had last night...."

"Hey, at least I used lube...."

"You always say you don't need it...."

"Aw, give me a break, big guy, I'm a delicate li'l flower, remember?"

"Right. How about you just shut up and take it, then we'll both limp down to breakfast?"

"You're such a bastard..."gasped the clown, smiling. The thrusting felt damn good and he lay there happily, moaning softly as his lover satisfied himself.

Afterwards, they got up, showered and dressed, and headed to the kitchen for much-needed sustenance.

"Big plans for today?" asked Jack of his partner as he helped himself to extra brown sugar for his oatmeal.

"Two meetings and a phone conference. But, I'll probably make it home early. How about yourself?"

"Oh, the day's just packed. I'll be doing laundry, watch some TV, see if they uploaded any new porn on a couple of my favorite amateur sites, and probably conk out for a rousing nap around two. Jealous?"

"Maybe when I get home we can do something fun."

"Oh, yeah? Like what?"

"I was thinking I'd bring home some stage makeup and see if we can do something to cover up those scars. Then, we could take a drive out of town, get some dinner, maybe go to a movie...."

"Really?" Jack looked genuinely interested and surprised. "I didn't think you'd let me out of Gordon's jurisdiction until I was an old man."

"You've been doing awfully well, Jack. You can't stay cooped up here forever. Do you like the idea?"

"Well, sure! And, don't worry. I'll be good. I won't let ya down...." Jack nodded his assurance at his lover and they smiled at each other, both pleased at the thought of doing something "normal" together.

* * *

Bruce hurried home, arriving during Jack's promised naptime, so he found a snack and holed up in his communication/surveillance room to kill some time. He did some checking to see if Batman needed to make any appearances later that night, then idly flipped on the security camera footage from the day before.

He watched Jack lounging in their bedroom, reading with the television on, as he often did, a habit that irritated Bruce beyond belief. He watched as the blond yawned, stretched and lay down on the bed for a nap. Bruce grinned. When he was asleep, the Joker looked very young and harmless. He was almost ready to switch the machine off and head upstairs, but something niggled at his brain and made him reverse the footage.

There was something...odd. He couldn't figure it out, it was like a word on the tip of his tongue that he couldn't quite verbalize. He ran the tape again--it was perfectly normal, nothing unusual, he just had that odd feeling....Shaking his head in puzzlement, Bruce called to Alfred.

"Hey, Alfred? Could you come here a minute?"

"Yes, sir?" Alfred had been cleaning up the kitchen, and still had on an apron and rubber gloves.

"Yeah, would you watch this footage and tell me if you see anything unusual? I feel like I'm missing something, but...."

The two men stared at the screen depicting a napping blond former clown, and Alfred shook his head.

"I'm sorry, sir, I don't see anything unusual...."

"Wait a minute...." Bruce muttered.

The clock.

After their wild wrangling for top the other night, Bruce's grandfather's crystal clock had never been properly replaced in its usual position facing the interior of the room, and was now actually facing the camera.

Bruce ran the footage again.

"God...damn...it," he spat disgustedly. How could he have been so stupid? He reached for something in a drawer and stuck it in his pocket.

"What is it, sir?" asked Alfred, bewildered.

"The clock. Look at the clock."

At the start of the Joker's nap, the timepiece read two o'clock. In the final frame of the period, it read four-thirty-five, yet, according to the tape monitor, the time span should only have been one hour.

Bruce's blood was boiling.

Alfred was still puzzled.

"I'm sorry sir, I still don't see it...."

"The fucking Joker tampered with the security footage. He tampered with the security footage! Who knows how long this has been going on! Damn it, Alfred, why don't we have a security camera on the security camera room?"

"I'll order one immediately...."

"Too late for that! What the hell, what the fucking hell, has that psycho been up to!"

Bruce barreled furiously out of the small room, heading straight for his bedroom with Alfred worriedly striding along after him, fearing for the Joker's well-being. He still wasn't particularly comfortable having the criminal in the house with them, but he couldn't help but like him, and, besides, he didn't relish having to clean up the mess after Bruce Wayne finished venting his anger on the skinny young fellow.

Bruce arrived at his bedroom door and jerked it wide open. Jack was curled up in the corner of the lounge, television on, book in hand.

"Oh, hi, babe. I thought I heard you. Hey, thanks for getting me this shark book, did you know that great whites can detect a even tiny amounts of blood up to three miles away? Isn't that cool?"

"You're going to wish you were three miles away from a great white after I'm done with you," Bruce stated coldly as he strode over to his lover, jerked him into a standing position and dragged him over to the bed, with Alfred standing in the doorway. Jack's book fell dramatically to the floor.

Jack grinned lasciviously.

"Gosh, big guy, you really want to do this with Alfred around? Doesn't bother me, but his heart's not so good, and..."

"Look at the clock," Bruce said benignly.

"Huh?"

"The clock. Look at it."

Jack was beginning to get a very bad feeling about his current situation.

"Uh...ok. What about it?"

"Is there anything wrong with it?"

"Well...I don't think so, I mean, it's kind of tacky, but...."

"No, there's not anything wrong with it. It keeps perfect time."

"Uh-huh. So?"

"So. When security footage is tampered with...."

"Uh-oh."

"Yeah, uh-oh. Not as smart as you think you are, are you, you little shit?" Bruce's fury was rising again and Jack shrank back, holding his hands in front of him in a defensive position as Bruce's large frame advanced menacingly.

"Now, just a minute, Brucie, don't get so upset! I didn't do anything wrong...."

"Where were you?" Bruce's voice had dropped to a lower register and taken on a Batman rasp.

"Nowhere! I was just, you know, bored, playing with the controls a little, no big deal...."

"Bullshit. Where did you go?"

"I told you, nowhere!"

"Really. Did you remember to reset the exterior cameras, too? Or, will I see you sneaking out of the house if I go check them?"

"Uhhh..."

"Right." Bruce jammed his unfortunate boyfriend hard up against the bedroom wall by the front of his shirt, holding him almost off of the ground.

"TELL ME WHERE YOU WENT!"

"Wow, you really are a control freak, aren't ya?"

"TELL ME."

"Can't a man go for a little solitary constitutional in the afternoon if he wants?"

"If you don't tell me EXACTLY where you've been going, I will take your broken, bleeding body down to the car, throw it in, and drop it off at Arkham without slowing down. Now, tell me where you've been going."

The Joker rolled his eyes.

"Ok, ok! Sheesh. Can't a guy have a few secrets from his sweetie?"

"Joker, I swear, I will..."

"You'll laugh at me."

"I seriously doubt that."

"Yes, you will."

"Just tell me," Bruce said tiredly.

"Fine. But, don't go calling me a sissy. 'Cause I'm not..." Bruce detected a light of amusement dancing in Jack's dark eyes.

"Huh?"

"You know, lots of guys take up hobbies...."

"Joker..."

"...and, I can't do the athletic stuff anymore, not after you beat the shit out of me so many times..."

"Jack, please...."

"...but, I wanted to do something nice for ya...." Jack was beginning to snicker in anticipation.

"You are so dead..."

"...so I decided to take some knitting classes..."

"Do not go there...."

"....so I could make you a lovely sweater!" By this time, Jack was helpless with laughter, but Bruce's face was a blank wall. He let go of the clown with one hand, drew back, and smashed his fist across Jack's jaw.

"Ow! Oh, shit, I thought you liked sweaters! Come on, doll, I've been workin' on it for weeks, at least try it on!" The blow only intensified the Joker's hilarity and Alfred shook his head in sorrow. This was not going well at all.

Bruce pulled his fist back and threw another shot that collided with the side of the Joker's face and across his nose, creating a sudden spurt of blood that began to trail downward over his mouth.

"What have you been doing! Is anyone in danger, are there explosives involved..." Bruce was trying to speak calmly but was beginning to feel panic rising within him.

Jack stared at him, bewildered.

"Huh? Explosives...no!" he responded scornfully. He shook off the pain of the blows and tried to regain a serious tone.

"Honest, Bruce, I haven't done anything wrong! I thought you trusted me...." he said, sounding a bit hurt.

"You earn trust, and you can lose it. And, you just blew it, every bit of it. You are going to tell me exactly what you've been up to, and then, assuming I don't have to go run out and rescue anyone, I am taking you straight back to Arkham. For good." Bruce was past playing with his boyfriend, and was speaking with deadly seriousness.

Jack's eyes narrowed. When he spoke, it was with a bitterness that Bruce had never heard before.

"Oh, really. So, all of a sudden, you don't trust me, and never will again. All because I pulled a little joke on ya. Well, ha-ha, I guess the joke's on me. Fine, take me back to Arkham. At least there, they don't pretend to believe in me. All the fucking video cams are right out in the open."

Bruce had forgotten that he had never mentioned to Jack about the supposedly hidden bedroom camera. He had a momentary rush of guilt come over him, but quickly brushed it away.

"I had to do that. I've taken a huge risk with you, right from the beginning, and look what you've done to repay me. You escaped from the hospital, and now this. I can't trust you."

The Joker continued to stare balefully at him as the blood dripped from his nose onto the carpet, much to Alfred's dismay.

"I didn't do anything wrong, Bruce. No one and nothing's in danger."

"Then, tell me where you've been going."

"That's none of your fucking business."

Bruce stared at his lover and a sudden thought came to him, filling him with anger and self-loathing. Of course. How blind could he be?

"God damn it, Jack--have you been...cheating on me?" Bruce gasped in disbelief.

Jack's eyes opened wide and his mouth fell open in surprise.

"Shit, NO! You think I need more of this?" He cast a disparaging glace down at Bruce's bulging crotch.

"With a woman, then?" asked Bruce, his heart sinking.

"Jeeze Louise, you jerk, I wouldn't do that! You told me it hurt your feelings, so I quit fucking around on ya a long time ago! Why would you even think that?" he asked, distressed.

"You are so full of shit, Joker." Bruce said, his voice suddenly cold. He didn't know what to believe, but somehow he did believe there wasn't another lover involved. That left crime. He pulled back and delivered a hard blow to Jack's midsection, dropping him to his knees. Jack groaned as the wind was knocked out of him.

Bruce shoved him down to the floor and pulled Jack's hands behind him and placed the pair of cuffs he had retrieved from his desk drawer in the security room on him.

"Come on, sweetheart, let's go. Maybe Arkham has some new techniques for wandering psychopaths by now...." Bruce said resignedly as he yanked the prostrate man to his feet.

"Master Wayne, may I ask Jack a question?" Alfred interjected quickly. As unpredictable as the Joker was, Alfred got the feeling he meant it when he said he hadn't put anyone in danger. The bloodied young man stared sadly at him, waiting for his question.

"Jack...you said it wasn't any of Master Wayne's business. Why is that?"

"Because. Not everything I do has something to do with him. And, like I said, I didn't do anything wrong...." he offered sullenly.

"And, you do want Master Wayne to trust you?"

Jack shrugged, then nodded slightly.

"Is it not fair to think that Master Wayne wants you to trust him, as well?"

Jack shot a glance at Bruce and shrugged again.

"I guess."

"So...wouldn't this be a good opportunity for the two of you to...well...trust each other?"

"What do you mean?" asked Bruce.

"Well, whatever Jack's been up to, he obviously doesn't want you to be involved. Perhaps, you could assure him that he has nothing to fear by sharing it with you. And, Jack, if you are indeed telling the truth, then what you're doing shouldn't cause any problems if you were to trust Master Bruce with it, isn't that right?"

"He won't believe me," Jack stated dully.

Bruce made an impatient gesture.

"Why wouldn't I?" he asked in exasperation.

"You haven't yet!"

"That's because you start out with some bullshit about knitting school, for crying out loud!"

"I was just kidding...."

"Then, stop kidding and tell me the truth," Bruce pressed Jack against the wall, gently this time, and looked deeply into his eyes.

"No," he stated flatly.

"Jack..."

"No...I won't tell ya. But, I'll show you!" Jack brightened, suddenly happy.

"What??" asked Bruce, bewildered.

"Yeah! Come on, big guy, take off the bracelets for me and let's go. I'll show you what I've been doing, then you'll believe me!" The Joker was almost bouncing with excitement. Then he stopped.

"But...."

"But what?" asked Bruce, emotionally drained.

"You have to promise me something."

"What?"

"You have to promise me you won't try to fix something that can't ever be repaired." Jack was suddenly solemn and he looked worriedly at Bruce.

"What are you talking about, Jack?"

"Just promise me. Promise, or just take me the fuck back to Arkham, because if you can't promise me, there's no hope for the two of us anyway," Jack said quietly.

Bruce had never heard such a serious tone in Jack's voice. He thought rapidly, and made his choice.

"All right, I promise. But, if I find out anyone's in danger, or...."

"They're not. I told you, I haven't done anything wrong. This isn't like that."

"Ok." Bruce pushed Jack sideways and removed the handcuffs. "So, where are we going?"

"You'll see when we get there."

"Great."

The two headed out, leaving Alfred to get a bucket and cleaner to sop up the blood that spotted the formerly pristine white wool carpet.