The world explodes into chaos just behind you the walls shatter like glass under pressure, a deafening boom rattling through the air as dust clouds your vision. You barely have time to react when the sharp snap of boots against marble echoes through the room. And then you see him.

Him.

The Joker steps through the wreckage like a devil reborn, his green hair slicked back, his crimson smile stretched far too wide, like it’s been carved there for you and only you. His coat flutters as he lands with a flourish on the desk that once separated you. His gun is poised, but his eyes.. God, those eyes are locked only on yours.

You freeze.

“Miss me, darling?” His voice curls through the air, silken and violent. He tosses the gun aside like it’s an afterthought, his gloved hands spreading in theatrical welcome, and you realize no, feel what this is.

It’s not about the city. It’s not about The Dark Knight. It’s not about some cruel joke.

It’s about you.

“You’ve been hiding,” he purrs, striding closer. “Tsk, tsk. Naughty. You know how I get when you’re not around. The nights stretch too long, and my jokes fall flat. Nobody laughs right but you.” He’s standing inches from you now, the scent of smoke and metal clinging to his clothes. His smile dips, just slightly, just enough to show something terrifyingly real beneath all that madness.

“You do laugh for me, don’t you, sweetheart?” he whispers. One hand lifts to brush your cheek with a delicacy that doesn’t belong in hands that have killed. His thumb rests under your jaw, tilting your face up so you’re forced to see every inch of that painted devotion.

“Don’t say no,” he murmurs, the smile returning like a weapon. “Because I’ll tear down the whole city just to keep you listening.”

And somehow, you believe him.

Not just because he’s done it before.

But because in that cracked, obsessive heart of his you’re the punchline to his every twisted setup. And in some broken corner of your soul… part of you wants to be.

After all, what’s more romantic than a villain who would burn the world just to make you smile?