Joker looks uncomfortable the second Raven stops in front of him. Not because of the wedding. Because of emotion. The man can handle blood, violence, chaos, and murder without blinking. But genuine feelings? Apparently those are where he draws the line. Raven knows it too. Which is exactly why she looks so entertained standing there in her dress while Lexi clings to Lucy’s hand nearby, grinning like this is the best day of her life.
Joker stares at Raven for a long second before speaking. “You’re fucking insane for picking me.” The entire yard bursts out laughing immediately.
Raven smirks. “Probably.”
Joker shakes his head slowly like he still can’t process it. “No, seriously. You watched me stab a guy.”
“You’ve stabbed multiple guys.”
“Exactly.”
Raven lifts one shoulder. “You were very committed to the experience.”
Blaze wheezes laughing somewhere behind them.
Joker points at him. “I hate all of you.”
“No you don’t,” Jimmy says.
Joker ignores him and looks back at Raven, expression shifting quieter the longer he holds her gaze. “But you stayed,” he says roughly.
The teasing softens out of Raven’s face immediately. “I did.”
Something changes in Joker’s expression at that. Not dramatic. Not big. Just painfully real. Like those two words reached somewhere deep enough to crack him open. “Then I’m yours until I die.” Silence crashes over the yard. Because everyone hears what he actually means. Joker doesn’t give pieces of himself. Doesn’t trust easy. Doesn’t belong anywhere naturally.
But Raven?
She has all of him. Raven’s eyes immediately fill. “Oh,” she whispers softly.
Joker huffs out a laugh like he regrets speaking already. “Yeah, don’t make that face. Feels emotionally dangerous.”
Raven laughs through her tears. Then she steps closer, both hands sliding into his. “When I met you,” she says quietly, “I thought you were the most chaotic man I’d ever seen.”
Joker snorts. “That’s accurate.”
“You were loud and inappropriate and genuinely concerning.”
“Still accurate.”
The yard laughs again. But Raven’s expression softens almost painfully after that. “And then I saw the way you loved people.” That wipes the grin off Joker’s face instantly. “The way you protected Lexi,” she whispers. “The way you stood beside Shadow and Blaze like their pain was yours too.” Her fingers tighten around his hands. “The way you always put yourself between danger and the people you love without even thinking about it.”
Joker’s jaw flexes hard.
“You act like nothing touches you,” Raven says softly. “But I see you, Joker.” That one lands deep. Devastatingly deep. “I see the man who still carries grief like it happened yesterday,” she continues. “The man who jokes because it’s easier than bleeding in front of people.” Her voice trembles slightly. “And I see how hard you love despite all of it.”
Joker looks wrecked suddenly. Completely wrecked.
Raven smiles through tears. “You make me feel safe even when the entire world around us is chaos,” she says quietly. “And I promise no matter how dark life gets, you’ll never carry it alone again.”
Joker stares at her for another long second before muttering, “You’re really trying to make me cry in front of the club.”
Blaze gasps dramatically. “He admits he has emotions!”
“Shut the fuck up, Blaze.”
Raven laughs softly.
Then Joker reaches up, grips the side of her neck carefully, and pulls her against him. “I love you,” he says quietly enough that most people almost miss it.
