when my time comes around, lay me gently in the cold dark earth. no grave can hold my body down, i'll crawl home to her

---

When you came to, it was raining.

You knew you were somewhere in Midway- you knew because the lights were out, and the lights were always on in Gotham. Gotham could never be dark and lifeless the way Midway was now.

A bead of warm liquid trickled down your temple, mixing with the cold rain. When you lifted your shaking fingers to it, they came away red. A head wound. Just your luck.

You tried to get to your feet, which was slow going, because as soon as you lifted your head from the wet asphalt, you started feeling vertigo. But you eventually pushed yourself up to standing, your head reeling.

Now, you'd never been to Midway, so you had no clue where you were. But in the distance, you could see a column of smoke rising into the night sky. You were pretty sure that that was where the helicopter had crashed. How you'd gotten so far away from it, you didn't know.

You started walking towards the smoke. Your bones ached with every step, and you were sure you had some kind of concussion, but you kept going. You had to make sure there were survivors, and you focused very hard on not thinking about Jonny or the Joker dead.

It took a while to get to the smoking wreckage of the helicopter, but when you did, you were thrilled to find Jonny slumped against the wreck, still breathing. There was your first miracle. Now you just needed that second one- you needed the Joker alive.

You found him barely fifty feet away. Unlike Jonny, he was conscious, but only just barely. Your knees almost buckled beneath you with the force of your relief, and you crouched down beside him, smoothing his electric green hair away from his face. He was bleeding from a cut on his cheek, but otherwise his face looked alright. It was the rest of him that you were worried about.

"Y/N," he said. You winced- his voice was rasping, grating like his voice had been scraped raw.

"Yeah, J, I'm here," you said.

He raised his pale fingers to your temple, putting feather-light pressure on your wound. You didn't flinch.

"It's fine," you assured him. "I'm more worried about you. Are you okay?"

Joker's laughter was rough. "Peachy," he said. "Where's Jonny?"

"Back there. He's out cold, but he's alive."

He nodded. "Good. Help me up." You stood and hauled him to his feet, staying close in case he needed you. Then you led him back to where you'd found Jonny, who was just waking up. He looked immensely relieved to see you both.

"Alright, boss?" he asked J.

Joker nodded sharply, then glanced around at the surroundings. "Jonny Jonny, I don't suppose you could call us a cab?"

Jonny pulled out his phone. "Not a city cab, no. But I've got friends around here, and they owe me a favor."

"Call them."

After Jonny made his call, the two of you searched what was left of the helicopter for any other survivors. You didn't find any, and though you hadn't known any of the other guys on the copter well, you felt their loss, sharp as a knife in your chest.

You closed your eyes, teeth clenched to hold back the lump in your throat. The bodies were burned so badly you couldn't identify any of them, and you wondered if they had family waiting for them back home. Could you have done anything before to ensure that they were alive now?

"Don't," Jonny said softly, as if he knew exactly what you were thinking. He put a hand on your shoulder. "None of us could've predicted what happened. We couldn't have stopped it.

You turned away from the sight and went to rejoin Joker, who was watching from a slight distance. Jonny followed, silent in your wake. No one spoke about it, and you waited for Jonny's friend to show up.

She rolled up a few minutes later, a blonde bombshell in a tight black shirt and jeans. And though she didn't comment on the company she was going to be keeping all the way back to Gotham City, her sharp blue eyes missed nothing.

Jonny took the passenger seat while you and Joker settled in the back. The adrenaline rush had worn off by now, and you felt sluggish and drowsy. Safe for now, you listed sideways, leaned your head on Joker's shoulder, and passed out.

—-

YALL i'm so sorry i just left u hanging for like. two months and some change?? i promise this fic WILL be finished by december (i absolutely refuse to not have this finished in a year, come on now). i haven't lost any love for this fic at all- it holds a special place in my heart and i'm so grateful for every one of u who have stuck around and actually just everybody who's read this. i wouldn't be here without u guys.

more plot next chapter- love ya <3