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promptthebear · 1 year

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Hello! 🐰 may I please get prompt number 23 with Arthur Fleck please?😭

Here you go! Sorry this is so late, and congratulations on being my first Arthur prompt!

Arthur Fleck x Reader

Prompt: Why can't I braid your hair?

CW: Penny is having a mild delusional episode and Arthur gives her some of her medications. Some mentions of Arthur being bullied at work. Mild swearing. Let me know if I miss anything! 2nd person, reader is referred to as "you", no physical description of reader mentioned, F!reader

A/N: There's some stuff in this that's basically me experimenting with my personal head canons about side characters. Ie. Gary being married with children and Randall being divorced. It's mostly there to give the conversation between Arthur and the reader a more realistic flavour. I was just going for something really comfortable and domestic feeling for this. Enjoy!

It was only after he heard the clunk of the deadbolt closing and the feeling of familiar, worn flooring under his feet did Arthur finally feel like he could breath again. Yes, the apartment was still a shitty little hole in the wall that reeked of cigarette smoke and where the hot water came out from the tap a copper colour half the time, but it was also his own personal oasis. A sanctuary where the two of you could shut out the rest of the world and bask in the solace of each other’s company.

He could feel the grime and grief of the day slowly start to dissipate as he padded down the hall, his sock feet no more than a whisper on the threadbare carpeting. It was a little early in the day for you to be home, but he could hear the sound of the TV, a faint drone that was still too far away for him to make out anything distinctive.

If it was the daily newscast, then it was probably Penny watching. She never missed a chance to catch sight of Thomas Wayne, no matter how brief. If the local baseball game was on instead, then Penny was napping and you’d be getting dinner started. The Gotham Knights were the worst team in the Tri-State area, but you were a loyal fan all the same.

What greeted Arthur when he rounded the corner and came into the living room, however, temporarily stopped him cold in his tracks. The TV was on, yes, but at a much lower volume than the ear shattering blare his mother preferred. Penny was awake too, still dressed in her robe and slippers, but awake never the less. Instead of occupying her usual perch on her favourite chair and basking in the glow of the flickering screen, Penny was doing her own version of pacing. Arthur watched as she shambled from one side of the room to the other, muttering quietly under her breath to someone only she could see.

After deciding she was only having a mild episode and not a complete break from reality this time, Arthur pulled his eyes away from Penny and began to search the room for you. It was only on his third pass of the space that he realized the reason he kept missing you. What he thought was a pile of laundry on the couch, was in fact your body, lying half sunk into the cushions. You were still wearing your work scrubs, as well as your shoes, and your head was buried beneath a stack of sofa pillows. You hadn't let out so much as a whimper since he'd walked in, or even let on that you knew he was home.

“Sweetheart? You alright?”

Within seconds, Arthur was kneeling by your side, contorting his body between the sofa and the coffee table to get to close to you as possible. At the sound of his voice, you stirred slightly, and brought up a hand to lift up a corner of the bottom pillow in the stack. A bloodshot, dark rimmed eye stared back at Arthur from beneath it, and he instinctively reached out to run a soothing hand down your back. He’d been through enough bad days with you to recognize the warning signs, even when you hadn’t said a word.

“Migraine again?” he asked, purposely keeping his voice low and even so as not to cause you any further discomfort.

The pillows wobbled precariously as you nodded in reply. Arthur sighed, before glancing over his shoulder to look back at Penny. In the short amount of time it had taken him to come over to you, his mother had stopped her pacing, and was staring at him as though she was now just realizing who he was.

“Happy?”

“I’m here Mom.” he said, placing a hand on the nearby armrest so he could push himself to his feet “Did you get your medication today?”

“She missed her third dose” your voice was half muffled by the pillow “Mrs. Bianci from downstairs called my job around three-ish to say she heard yelling coming from our place and she was worried. I caught an early train home, but the migraine hit before I could do anything for Penny, I’m sorry.”

Arthur bit at his bottom lip, not hard enough to draw blood but with enough force that the pain it caused overwhelmed any lingering frustration. He could feel the laughter, unwelcome and oh so insistent, clawing at the back of his throat, trying to break free. He grit his jaw against it, forcing it back down as best he could. Doing this too often would eventually trigger a fit that would last hours instead of seconds, but the last thing you needed right now was for him to be out of commission.

He knew your migraines only came around in times of extreme stress, and as much as he loved her, he was also very much aware of just how stressful dealing with Penny could be. You’d tried your hardest to get along with her since you’d moved in, but Penny was stubborn at the best of times and hateful at the worst, especially when it came to who administered her daily dose of medication.

“Let me get Mom comfortable, and then we’ll get you looked after, okay?” He said, smiling down at you.

You gave Arthur a wobbly smile in return from beneath your pillow cavern. The gesture almost broke Arthur’s heart, you were trying so hard to put on a happy face for him and play it off like things weren’t so bad. If anyone knew how that felt, he certainly did.

It didn’t take long to crush up Penny’s next round of pills into a pudding cup, and even less time to coax her into her recliner in front of the news. By the time the first commercial break started playing, she was already lulled into a blissful stupor, a dreamy look on her face as her glassy eyes watched the screen without actually seeing it.

Once he was sure his mother was settled, Arthur then turned his focus entirely towards you. Without needing to be asked, you had already sat up, your stack of pillows sitting neatly on the floor while you waited for Arthur to join you. The springs squawked in protest as he sat down on the cushion farthest away from you. As soon as he was ready, you crawled over and placed your head on his lap, with your face turn upwards towards the ceiling.

“Comfy?” he asked, once again smiling down at you. A loose lock of hair was hanging across your face, and he reached down, tucking it behind your ear with nimble fingers.

“Best seat in the house” you replied, your voice a hoarse whisper. “Thanks for doing this, Arthur.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

With that, Arthur brought his hands down to either side of your face, with one arm draping over your torso while the other sat atop the armrest. He moved his thumbs over your temples, and began to massage the skin there in tiny, circular motions.

The effect on you was almost instantaneous. Arthur watched as your eyes fluttered shut, and he could feel the tension leave your body as you settled more firmly against his legs. The migraine would’ve eventually run its course whether he was here to help you or not, but the two of you had discovered this trick could sometimes turn hours of agonizing pain into a more manageable level of discomfort.

“How was work?”

Arthur couldn’t help but smile again, even though he knew you wouldn’t see it. You could be having the worst day of your life, and yet you always found time to check in with him. It made him feel like each time you asked that question, you were really interested in what he had to say, and not just making polite conversation or because of some unspoken sense of obligation.

“It was okay,” he replied, making sure to keep his voice soft “Hoyt’s been looking into getting me a position in the Founder’s Day parade next week, since I’m more comfortable in front of crowds than the other guys, and Gary’s wife is pregnant again.”

“Oh, good for Ella. That’s what, their third together?”

“Fourth, actually.”

“Jesus Christ, any more and she’s going to make Gary sleep outside.”

Arthur let out a quiet chuckle, in part because he appreciated the joke and also because he was relieved to see your usual sense of humour returning. That usually meant you were slowly starting to feel a bit better.

“I mean, yeah. But she probably never gets migraines either.”

A faint crease appeared on your forehead, more from confusion than discomfort.

“How do you figure that?”

Arthur felt his cheeks heat up, a wicked grin playing about his lips.

“Well, cause of all the kids, you know? Randall says there’s nothing better for a headache than a good fuck.”

“Arthur! Oh my god!”

One of your hands came up, and gently smacked Arthur on his chest. He laughed, a warm and genuine sound that burbled from deep in his gut, the complete opposite to what came out during his fits. You were laughing too, though it was a much more subdued giggle than usual, most likely due to the migraine.

“Your Mom is right there!” you said, cracking open an eye to shoot him an admonishing look.

“She’s not listening to us.” he replied, still grinning. “Those blue ones will keep her out for hours. Watch.”

He turned his head slightly to the side, his green eyes coming to rest on Penny in her chair. The older woman hadn’t even glanced away from the screen, despite the ruckus you two were making.

“Hey Mom. The martians have landed and they wanna make me president of the United States.”

“That’s nice, Happy.” came Penny’s answer, as cheerful and calm as though Arthur had just told her the price of milk.

“See?” he said, looking back down at you. “I could say anything and that’s exactly what she would say back every single time.”

“Okay, okay.” you replied. Both your eyes were open now, and you were staring back up at Arthur “But you shouldn’t be listening to Randall anyway, especially when it comes to anything he says about women. He’s been divorced at least twice. If anything, you should be doing the opposite of what he says.”

“You been talking to Gary?” Arthur asked as he reached down and gently tapped your nose with the tip of his finger “Because he tells me the exact same thing.”

“It’s a conspiracy” you said, scrunching up your nose and sticking out your tongue at him. You looked so cute, Arthur had to resist the urge to lean down and cover your face in kisses. It certainly seemed like you were doing better, but the last thing he wanted to do was cause you unnecessary discomfort.

Instead, he chose to lean down and place a gentle kiss on your forehead. The gesture made his curls slip from his shoulders and hang around his face like a curtain. You stared up at him, momentarily fascinated by the image and the way the sunlight picked up on the silver streaks that clustered near his temples.

“Your hair is getting kind of long.”

You reached up and wound a strand of it around your finger, watching as it sprung back into place the second it was released. Arthur chuckled softly, and caught your hand in his own so he could kiss your fingertips.

“Yeah. Mom thinks I need a haircut.”

“No!” you said, sitting up so suddenly you almost whacked your head off Arthur’s chin. Arthur’s eyes went wide, both from surprise at the intensity of your reaction and out of concern that you would agitate yourself further.

“I mean,” you continued, your cheeks starting to turn pink “You should cut it if you want to. But I…well, I like it this length.”

“Yeah?” The shock on his face melted away, and was quickly replaced by a wide, easy smile “I mean, I don’t mind it like this. But you’ll have to teach me how to take better care of it. Sometimes it’s hard to fit under my wig at work, and it gets matted if I leave it loose under there.”

“I can help” you said, shifting your position on the sofa so you were sitting with your feet touching the floor and your body turned towards Arthur “I could put it in a ponytail. Or maybe a braid?”

It was Arthur’s turn to scrunch up his nose, though you could tell from the strain in his smile that he wasn’t being playful.

“A braid? Me? I mean it’s nice of you to offer but I’m not sure-”

He trailed off, leaving you to fill in the gaps. What Arthur wasn’t telling you painted an all too vivid picture in your mind. You reached for his hand and clasped it in one of your own. His skin felt cool and soft against the pad of your thumb as you ran it over his knuckles.

“Hey. Arthur. What’s wrong? Why can’t I braid your hair?”

For a moment, Arthur stared at the TV, as though he was in the same zombified state as Penny. A commercial for dish soap playing in the background kept the room from being completely silent, but you could feel one pushing its way into your conversation all the same. When Arthur was truly upset, he either let everything loose all at once or shut down entirely. You seemed to be the only person who could coax him into a happy middle.

“Babe?”

He let out a sigh that seemed to come from the depths of his soul, while his free hand came up to scratch at the back of his neck.

“It’s the guys at work,” he said, finally, his eyes still trained on the TV screen “They…well, they make fun of me, y’know? And I feel like if I came in with my hair braided then they’d…I’d never be able to live it down.”

“Screw them.” you shot back, your voice calm but firm “Aside from Gary, they’re all idiots. Who gives a shit what they think?”

Arthur studied you for a moment before answering, most likely weighing the choice between making you happy and having you fuss over him, or keeping up appearances for a bunch of people who never seemed to hesitate to kick him when he was down. In the end, it was an easy decision.

“Okay.” he relented “My next shift is on Monday. If you’re feeling well enough before then, you can braid my hair before I go in.”

You grinned up at him, and scooted closer so you could plant a kiss on his cheek. At the last second, Arthur turned his head, catching your mouth in a warm, sweet kiss that had you tingling down to your toes. When you broke apart, you found he was smiling in earnest, with none of the tension lingering in his face from before.

“You’re so wonderful, Arthur” you said, reaching up to cup the side of his face in your hand “And if anyone says anything about it, just remember, it’s only because they’re jealous that your girlfriend loves you so much”

Arthur leaned into your touch, and he if could’ve purred, you swore he would be. Despite his apprehension, you figured that when he realized just how much of your attention playing with his hair would get him, he’d change his mind about the whole thing pretty quickly.

“It helps to have someone who makes being wonderful so easy. Now, if you wanna get better, you should let me finish that massage before dinner.”

#easter askbox event #arthur fleck x reader #arthur fleck fluff #arthur fleck #the joker 2019

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