Well, this is it, the last chapter. Hope you enjoy!

To Break A Star #21

Truthfully, he only had one real thought on his mind in regards to the lovely kiss he had given her. Yes that memorable night, a whole four months ago, he had given Harley a simple and gentle caress to the lips. Sure it was nice, sure it was intimate, and sure it was a bit romantic some could say. But really there was only one thing to be said in the end…

You can provoke with a sword, but a kiss…a simple kiss…can conquer.

Of course all thirty four facial muscles are used, millions of nerve endings shoot from your mouth to your mind, dopamine shoots through your body rushing and racing to reach a destination that is ultimately unknown, but…

He dominated.

A cushy and effortlessly undemanding touch is all he had done! And to think, to begin to comprehend the complexity of such a damn simple gesture, a kiss! A kiss conquered, subjugated! It was without a doubt, a beautiful thing.

A mind-blowing realization of something that is thought to be so simple. When in all reality its something that is so much more.

Even when you begin to recount all the things he had done to provoke the kiss, the white lies, the stories, the over exaggerated sympathy acts…it only helped. The kiss, that prominent tiny brush against Harley's lips was the true an effortless judge that broke her mind, the rest was just the appetizer that induced her to want to kiss him.

And he had done it all.

Though of course there were other things that added to her fractured mind. Just little things here and there that he repeatedly followed after the kiss. A few more lies, playful kissing during sessions, those wonderful acts he produced…little things.

She had come so far from what she had been. Once a proud and righteous psychologist, who only wanted the best for her patients, was now a girl who strived to gain the attention and affection of only him. Always willing, always sacrificing, no matter what the cost, to make sure that he, The Joker, was happy and content.

It was perfect.

Harley had a long way to go though. She made awful mistakes at times and for that she was reprimanded sternly; it was the only way for her to learn. After all, she had been the one to produce the grave blunder of letting their intimate secret of being 'together' out, which just so happened to result in her breaking him out of Arkham. And supposedly being warm and close toward your patient or doctor was a 'no no', especially in the eyes of his playful Cur.

The stupid little wench didn't mind to cover the small see through window located within her office door. He told her time and time again, that before she even consider sitting next to him and magically using her fingers to tickle and prance about him, to make sure that the door was locked and the window covered. And, consequently, the one time she hadn't kept to her religious caper, his other oblivious toy, Cur, had by chance seen a bit of affection unfold between the two of them.

Supposedly the lumbering fool had taken action against the seeing of this torturous and shocking display, and went straight to Dr. Arkham in anger towards Joker, for 'stealing his girl'.

Please.

Harley was his and no one else's, that was for damn sure! So, Joker had the brilliant idea of scolding Cur appropriately for his unneeded and selfish attention grabber. With Harley Quinn right by his side.

Joker came upon the old lifeless building that lingered closely to the harbors edge. The relentless scent of the salty air snuck into his senses and enticed him to complete infatuation with the present time, and those soon to be wincing screams. A pure joyous aroma that was about to encase his very being with unrelenting devotion.

He gave the door to the building a grinning push and felt his skin pucker into delicious goose bumps as the hinges gave a terrifying screech. His own maddening smile however, was nothing to battle with.

As he pulled off his wide brimmed hat and closed the door shut with the heel of his shoe, he tilted his head in warmth at the glorious sight before him.

There, right in front of his glistening purple eyes, sat his Harley. Propped up on the small table in the room. With her legs crossed, swaying back and forth childishly, her hands comfortably folded and placed in her lap, her beautiful upper body slowly teetering side to side, she smiled…smiled happily and devotedly to him.

"Puddin'!" she jumped up and away from the table and skipped merrily over to him with a hint of pep in her steps, "I thought you said you weren't going to be back until later on."

And he graciously opened his arms up for her small form that was fitted and clothed with her black and red suit. It pounded against his soul, her entire aspect of appearance, from the cleverly placed alternating diamonds, to the harmonious jester hat. When her body came in contact with his, he couldn't help but feel a never-ending ray of heat encompass him. Casually he embraced her, wrapped his arms around her and smiled, "Are you saying you didn't want me to come early Pooh? I thought you said you were eager to do this."

"Oh!" she looked up at him with those purely pleading eyes, "I didn't mean it that way honest! I was just surprised."

Joker gave her a somber pat on the head and she smiled in utter delight, and without truly noticing, advanced up onto the tips of her toes as she removed herself from the hug.

"So how's our little tattler hmm?" he giggled in his question as Harley gave a startling but happy jump in response.

She swaggered over to an adjacent room and grabbed hold of the rusty knob leading into it, giving Joker a sympathetic and wanting look, "Can we check?"

He gave a simple nod and she excitedly entered the new room. Sitting in a chair, bound and tied down, was Cur who looked rather cozy. The skin on his left cheek had been pulled away, leaving a patch of already infected raw meat bare and exposed to the salty air. And on his neck lay a large gash from what could only be suspected was from a knife, as well as other meaningless and torturous doings.

Joker tediously took proportioned steps towards his victim until he was standing by his side. Looking hungrily down at Cur with his everlasting glare, he placed a firm grasp onto the withered mans shoulder and spoke cheerfully, "How are we doing today Cur?"

Cur looked drowsily up at him, his eyes rolling in ache, in agitation, to the pain he was feeling throughout his body, "I'm okay…I'm okay Boss."

Joker looked over at Harley and she instantly understood what his demanding look wanted. With quick and effortless steps, she brought him a chair to sit down in, holding onto it until he was situated in a physically pleasant position.

"Okay?" he leaned forward in his spot and smiled chillingly, "You're okay?"

"I…I understand that what I did was wrong. You're…the Boss, you-"

"Shut it!" Joker snapped suddenly, his calm tone now filled with bitter anger and frustration, "You can't excuse your preposterous doings! You had no right, no dignified standing as to even remotely think about telling Arkham about what you saw. And yet, yet you go and tell, not think, you fully tell!"

A single tear dripped away from the crevice of his swollen eye, "Boss…but I," he looked up at Harley and she smirked rudely but softly back at him.

Joker waved his hand in the air, shooing away Harley from the room. But she was quick to provide a protest, "But Puddin', I want to-"

He gently looked over his shoulder in her direction, placing a semi glancing stern look onto her figure. Understanding the strong look, Harley slouched down with a sigh and removed herself from the room.

"You see Cur," he started after Harley had fully exited the area, "I don't care about your excuses. Even if they somehow make a great defense in your position, I really couldn't care less. So…you'll shut up and not speak another defiant word until I allow it, got it?"

Cur nodded to the best of his ability, which caused a silent stream of blood to run from his nose.

"Good. Now, I understand that you wanted to tell me something, but Harley's presence was making that difficult for you. And, as you can clearly see, she's not here anymore. What was this ill mannered excuse that I could merely give a damn about…about?"

He hesitated slightly at first but then mustered up a small strength of courage to proceed, "I did what I did…because I love her. I saw…I saw you kiss her and she looked so happy. I wanted to make her happy, and I just go so angry that it wasn't me. I love…I love her Boss. But she doesn't love me, she loves you…"

"Oh Cur," he bellowed out a long sigh, "Love is a horrible thing isn't it?"

He swallowed down a mouthful of blood and saliva and furthered his attention, trying to make sense of what his Boss was talking about.

"It makes an individual so incredibly vulnerable. It…opens up your body and heart and that simply means that someone can get inside and screw your functioning up," Joker stood from his spot and paced mesmerizingly in front of Curs spot. "You build up these giant defenses to block away that dreaded love, a whole suit of shining armor so that way nothing can ever hurt you. But then one day, one little slip, this stupid person, no different from any other stupid and idiotic person, comes wandering into your life…and it just happens that you give them a piece of you. They didn't ask for that piece of you, you just give it to them. They do something so inconceivably dumb one day like…smile at you, and then your mundane life isn't your own anymore, never again. Love takes hostages my friend. It somehow seeps inside of you. And it eats you out, leaving you crying in the blind darkness, to the point of where you hope that they never say, 'maybe we should just be friends' which turns into a glass splinter that jabs and thrusts never endingly into your worthless heart! It hurts, and not just in your imagination, not just in the mind. It's a soul hurt, a real gets inside of you and rips you apart pain that will never end, no matter how far you get away from it. I hate love."

Cur blinked and chocked a little in his breathing, indicating that he had something to say.

"Yes Cur?"

"Why are you telling me this?"

Joker stopped in his pacing thoughts and pushed his hands into the coat pockets of his suit. He stood quietly, pondering his own thoughts and actions until he finally broke the stirring silence, "Because it's hard to tell your mind to stop loving someone, when you're heart still does. It's even hard for me, but I wouldn't tell that to just anyone Cur. You should consider yourself a lucky person. As for Harley loving me and not you…all I can say is that life always and ever will be…just a game. And in the end, I won."

Cur dropped his gaze to the floor and let a few more wet tears stroll down his cheeks, "The only reason you tell me, is because you're going to kill me…isn't it?"

"Not quite, I'm not going to kill you. But you are right, in the end you'll die, and I'm glad you understand."

He closed his eyes hard and cleared his mind for a moment, "But why did you tell me…why did you feel the need to tell me. If in the end I am going to die, then why did you explain to me your feelings?"

"Harley!" he called out before answering the question given to him, "You know this reminds me of an old joke…not too funny and not too long. You see there's an Eskimo and a priest sitting together at a table, where it doesn't really matter. And the Eskimo asks, 'If I didn't know about God and sin, would I go to hell?' the priest considers the modest question and then replies, 'No, not if you didn't know.' The Eskimo now looks the priest dead in the eyes, 'Then why did you tell me?'

Harley entered happily, "You called Mistah J?"

Joker reached into his pocket and revealed a gun before tossing it over to Harley, "Make it quick," he commanded as he made his way over to the exit door to leave. As he opened the door he listened to the fumbling of the gun in her hands, the readying and preparing of what his Harley was about to do. He left the building and was reunited with the salty air around him; he then heard the familiar gunshot shoot. He smiled taking his time to walk aimlessly down the long dock and to the end, outstretched into the ocean, looking over all the depth-ridden blues and greens it showed. As the tail of his coat blew around him in flailing but majestic qualities, he felt that angel wing wrap around him once again.

"All finished Mistah J," she proudly noted, handing him back the gun and smiling briefly up at him until she noticed his smile wasn't as awe inspiring and grand as it used to be, "Puddin', what's the matter?"

"Do you remember what I told you at Arkham? About fear?" he asked in almost a daze, his eyes transfixed on the horizon line where the water met the sky, mingling together, such unlike qualities that actually merged into a fantastic unity.

"You said to me, that I could either follow my fears, or stay in my office and keep living a lie. So that's what I'm doin, I'm following my fears. I don't want to lie anymore."

Joker giggled and looked down at her bright eyes and then back up at the sky, "You see the stars Harl, they remind me of a mind. You can see it, just sitting there, minding its own business. And sometimes you want to touch it, just to see what it feels like…you want to grasp that star and see what it really is. But you can't, because no matter how close you get to it, the further it runs away."

Harley stood in front of him and pressed her back against his stomach looking up at the same stars and horizon line; comfortable in the essence of the man she deeply loved.

"It runs away because in the end, it cannot change, be subjugated, or broken. You see, in order to break a star, the star needs to decide on its own to break, to burst. You can't force that star to burst Harley, no matter how hard you try, you can't."

"Why?"

He opened his hand up for her to take, and once she placed hers within his, he whispered quietly for both of them to hear, "Because, love is a decision, not an emotion."

The End

I will leave this ending note short and simple. While writing this chapter, I had no intention of this being the ending one. It just worked out that way. I would like to explain, that some of you may be thinking that this ended quite suddenly, in all reality it has! But I got my point across, I won't explain it here, I did the explaining within the story, hopefully you all have gained that point.

In conclusion, I'd love to thank all of my reviewers and especially Alex Snape for listening to me, and helping me with some of the more complex parts. Which she probably didn't even know she was doing haha.

Thank you for reading, please leave an ending review with your thoughts, comments, hatred, whatever you want to write. Anyways, I hope you greatly enjoyed To Break A Mind!