Meeting the 'Joker' without the 'the'

"You are stiff when you're around even your friends." She said, walking along side him down the hall after they left Garrus in the training room.

"That really was amazing fighting back there. Blew me away." She said, smiling and making hand motions as she spoke.

It felt weird, almost girly of him to blush when she complemented him. But there was a way she said it that made his ego throw normalcy out the window, "I try." Blake almost cursed to himself, how lame was that. I try. Even EDI could have come up with a pick up line for Joker than he could with Barbara. It seemed to weird. So odd. His brain couldn't control what he said around her or how he acted. He felt like a desperate child trying to desperately get the attention of a parent. So desperate. So insecure. Why?

Barbara giggled. "It shows." She said, smiling at him.

"If you had any tall skyscrapers around here, I could really show you my skills." She said, her hand, self-consciously, going to her belt where her grappling-hook was placed.

"So, tell me about this 'Joker' friend of yours?" She said, curious to see the man who had the same name as the villain.

"Let's let you find out on your own." Blake stated, the door in front of them slid opened to show a Joker, pacing around in his cabin. He shout at the sphere that would come back with a witty come back before he'd just insult EDI right off the back, "Would you just shut up for a flying fucking moment!" He yelled at the sphere. Blake's eyebrows turned downwards, it was out of character for Joker to react to EDI like that. Sure, there was insults thrown around but that... yelling. The severe rage and anger he could feel rolling off Joker was not him, "Jeff, what's going on?" Blake said a bit worried for his friend.

--

Joker snapped his head back, noticing the door opening. Not even EDI could keep Shepard out. He exhaled angrily before noticing a woman with Blake. A woman Garrus had warned him about earlier. Which lead to their current 'discussion' about Garrus's deleting of the videos of the arena. EDI wanted Blake institutionalized while Joker knew he could cheer the man up.

"It's nothing, if I pressed on the mute button I'd probably break my thumb." He mumbled out in cold, callused humor.

Barbara was surprised at the yelling when she walked into the room; she almost reached for her batarang.

She noticed the look the man threw her when he noticed her. She set him a wave.

"Hi... so... you're the man who flies the Normandy?" She asked, not sure what else to say at this point.

Jeff nodded, "Yup, the one and onl--" He was cut off by EDI, "Mr. Moreau flies with the help of all--" She was then re-cut off by Jeff, "Shut the fuck up EDI." The man growled out, "Blake can you shut her off?" Joker pleaded with the man, you could see it in his eyes.

--

Blake felt bad, but he nodded, "EDI, take autopilot. Run sequence DND - 3." He stated, the sphere lost it's light. Blake could hear the sigh of relief from Joker, "Yes, I do fly the Normandy." Jeff added, answering her question.

"I would say sounds like fun, but I get the feeling it's not always in the best of company?" She asked, referring to him yelling at the machine.

"How does this all work?" She asked, looking at the controls, without touching anything.

Joker brightened going into long, drawn out complicate maths and physics of the mechanical of space flight. He seemed so into his place is was almost... perfect. Joker was exactly where he belonged.

--

Blake silently watched the conversation, giving a smile, subtle smile to how excited Joker was. Blake knew he disease was gone making him much more lively than he was used to. But it was refreshing.

Barbara listened to 'Joker' go on and on about space flight. It interest her greatly, that she couldn't help but picture it all in her head.

Joker beamed when she seemed to understand it all, absorb all the information like a sponge, "You'd make a great pilot, y'know? Just get ya into some training and I think we could have a little Joker-Apprentice."

--

Jeff's voice almost sounded... giddy? He liked piloting and loved to talk about it. But it almost seemed like he was flirting with his Barbara. Blake paused in his thoughts there, trying not to think of the hundred and three ways to kill Jeff for even thinking about her in a way he didn't approve. Blake started counting backwards from ten, he was being overly protective, maybe because... he knew he never had a shot. He'd hold on to her and long as he could before some emotional, sensitive, handsome man would steal her away from him.

"I've flown a plane bit before, but it was only when my mentor was in danger and I was the only one that could get there..." She said, remembering the time she flown the Batplane.

"The training sounds fun, I'm always up to learning something new." She stated, smiling. Then she looked over at Blake and smiled at him.

"Sweet, would be a lot better having a real woman around instead of the EDI, literally takes the life outta me." He whined before looking at Blake, "Can I keep her?" Joker almost made a whining noise, Blake raised an eyebrow at him before looking at Barbara, "It's your choice, Barbara." Blake wanted her to be happy, in whatever environment she felt comfortable with. He said she didn't like guns, which made her useless on the battlefield, well their battlefield. She'd need some training, but he had faith she'd do well.

Barbara laughed at Joker asking Blake if he could keep her, before she smiled at Blake for giving her an option. "If I can be useful, I'd love too. I don't want to sit around the ship while everyone else is doing something productive." She stated.

"This would provide real-world experience with the universe's greatest human pilot!" Joker tried to sway her to the pilot side of things.

--

Blake shrugged, "It's productive, and if Joker ever needs a break we'd have a Joker protege to replace him with. I'd say go for it." Blake explained his reasoning for his statement before folding his arms. Giving Joker a cold, glare that gave him one message. 'Touch her and I swear to God I'll end you.'

"All right then, you have yourself an apprentice." She said, giving a little bow, while smiling.

{ooc: sorry for the lame post}

Jeff moved his arm around her shoulder, giving Blake a cheesy grin, "Now, where to we start!" Jeff started to babble on about the rooms showing her exactly what did what and how what did what it was supposed to do.

--

Blake watched a bit humiliated by his friend, but he'd get over it. He silently slipped out of the room to let them... regrettably have their time together. As much as he hated to let her out of his sight, he knew he had to.

Barbara looked back to see Blake slip out. It made her kind of sad to see him leave without saying goodbye.

She looked up at Joker as he explained everything. She took mental notes in her head, as he showed her everything.

Joker perked up for a moment letting go of her shoulders, "Thank God he left." Joker said a bit relieved, "So, tell me all about that little connection." Jeff said, prying for gossip now. It wasn't usual that Garrus requested deletion of tapes for the areas in the training areas, "Can you tell me what happened?" He asked quickly, implying the training area.

Barbara looked at the man in shock. "What are you talking about?"

It clicked in her brain what he was asking and she sighed. "Well... I think what happened was, Garrus thought Blake was going to shoot him in the forehead when Blake actually shot a droid behind Garrus, distracting Garrus long enough for Blake to take the folder." She said, telling him what she saw.

"And... they had an argument..." She said, biting her lip. She wasn't sure if she should tell him that she actually overheard the discussion in the dressing room.

A look of realization dawned on his face, "I understand. Okay, I thought I was going to be dealing with a psychopath again." Jeff released that shaky sigh, the breath he seemed to be holding since Blake walked into the room.

"What... do you mean?" She asked, slowly.

She only heard bits and pieces of the story...

Jeff froze for a moment before sighing, "Keep this under wraps, I know you probably heard most of it. Blake wasn't always on the ship with his sister. He.. had a mission to do, he was the last one alive, again. His sanity... completely shattered, most of us couldn't get him to talk and if he did he'd say things we didn't understand. We brought him aboard the Normandy because he had to help the man most of us had with in our entire military careers. The strong Shepard duo seemed... broken with Blake's cold, harsh new personality. Juliet never knew about it all though, Blake knew how to... try to be normal around her. Sure, if gave us hope he could be saved... but then..." Joker shook his head, "We're trying our best, we're getting him slowly back but he pushes us away, unlike you. He glad accepts you, let's you in. Any clue why?"

"I... I don't know." She stuttered. "We just started talking and enjoying each other's company... I don't know why he would accept me or anything." She said, almost blushing a little bit.

"Whatever you're doing, keep doing it. I'd hate to..." Jeff sighed out, "I hate to see another friend shot in the face, as well as seeing Blake... go back to... that place." Seemed to be a bit out of character for Joker but he quickly sobered up, "Now on with the lesson! Over here is the..." He babbled on, explaining the navigational systems while Blake still bugging his thoughts.

All the while he was talking, in the back of her mind, she wondered what Blake's side of the story was...

And what exactly happened to him...?

{OOC: Adding more to make it to where we can keep going XD}

After awhile, Barbara watched as Jeff showed her how to fly the ship by flying it himself.