Jerome Valeska One-Shots

Polly Finale

Arkham was a darker place than usual. Not only were its brightest personalities gone, but without Sionis keeping things together, the power vacuum was quickly opened. There were vicious fights just about every day as different lunatics fought for control. And outside all of that, was Polly.

Anyone who cared to look could easily see that she had fallen, hard, and was very close to fully losing it if she hadn't already. Sadly, no one really did. Without Jerome there to help her or watch over her, she was truly on her own. Not even the doctors really tried to do anything for her, but then, they always thought she was crazy, and so hardly noticed a change in her.

Once, out of desperation, she actually took her medicine instead of spitting it out. She never repeated that mistake.

Because while the medicine did calm her pain for a while, it also gave her heart-rending hallucinations. In them, Jerome would appear to her, smiling like mad. He would sweep her up and keep her company, telling her sweet nothings that turned bitter in her mouth when he inevitably disappeared.

After that, she kept seeing him all over the place, no longer a byproduct of the pills but a coping mechanism of her own mind. He got her through before, why not now?

The only issue seemed to be that seeing him only made her worse because she inevitably discovered he wasn't real. Her mind was unable to perfectly project him, just as her powers could not perfectly portray his speech.

So, she needed Jerome to help her continue on, but the realization that he wasn't there ripped her open again and again, releasing old heart break that only got worse over time.

As she further down-spiraled, she tended to just sit and stare into space wherever she was brought. It was like this that Jerome finally found her in her cell one night.

He had soon realized the Galavans' plans for him and the others, so he killed them both and escaped as soon as he was able, then going into hiding. He was biding his time in order to make his move on Arkham and break out his precious Polly.

His entrance to Arkham had been through stealth, but he did have a few surprises laying around to help them beat a hasty escape. So Jerome snuck into the asylum in the dead of night and crept to Y/N's cell.

Finding her as he did disturbed him greatly because he could tell she was no longer in her right mind. Not only should she have been asleep at this hour, but she was staring off in space and mumbling, neither of which had he known her to do previously. It seemed that solitude in Arkham had finally broken his crafty little Y/N. But surely that could be fixed.

"Y/N," he called to her through the cell bars. He had to repeat himself a few times before she turned her head his way and noticed him.

"Hey gorgeous, it's me! I've come back to break you out," he grinned, holding up the key to her cell.

"Oh, hi Jerome," she replied weakly in her own voice.

"Where's your excitement, sweet-cheeks?" Jerome asked. "I came back for you, and now we can bust this joint."

"I can't leave the cell, Jerome," she said tiredly. "We tried that last week. You can only do it because you're not really here."

The ginger's brows furrowed in confusion at that. He certainly hadn't been here the week previous. But that seemed explained by the fact she thought he wasn't real. She must have been hallucinating him.

"I know things have been crazy, gorgeous, but it's really me. I'm here. Look, I'll prove it to you," Jerome said, moving to unlock the door.

Everything he did sounded thunderous to his own ears. He knew they were on a time crunch, but he needed Y/N to wake up from whatever stupor she was in if they were both gonna escape. He managed to get the door unlocked and pulled it open, stepping inside.

"See? It's open, I'm here. Now come on, princess, we gotta get out of here before we're caught," Jerome says hurriedly.

She begins shaking her head furiously, covering her ears and shutting her eyes. "You're not here. I know you're not here. And I can't handle falling for this again. I see you everywhere but you're never really there!"

Jerome moves forward swiftly, gently pulling her hands from her ears and trying desperately to look her in the eyes. "Shh, gorgeous, look here. Look at me. I'm here, I'm holding you, and I'm not gonna leave you ever again."

Y/N sobs, opening her eyes to search his. She returns his hold on her arms. "Are you really here, after all? I've never been able to feel your touch before..."

"Yeah, gorgeous, it's me. I'll explain it all to you once we're out of here," he whispers, trying to drag her to the doors.

She pulls back, removing her arms from his and wrapping them about herself instead. "But what if I'm just imagining all this?"

Jerome sighs in exasperation. "I know you've got fuck all going on in your head, babe, but I don't have time to fix it right now."

Suddenly he heard footsteps from down the hall. Surely it meant guards coming their way.

Panicking, Jerome scrambled to think of something to convince her. When an answer came to him, he went with it, grabbing her arms again and pulling her to him in a kiss.

Aware of the dwindling time, Jerome kissed her with everything he had, all but pouring his soul into her through their lips. Finally, he pulled away, despite being hungry for more.

"You and I both know that was too good for you to imagine, gorgeous," he smirked, panting a little.

Her eyes were wide in disbelief and adoration. "It's you. You came back for me. I thought I'd never see you again."

"Surprise, surprise, doll. Now I would love to have a heartfelt reunion, but sadly we don't have the time until we're out of here," Jerome replies. "I could use your help. Redirect the guards coming our way? I plan for us to exit out the back."

She snapped into herself a little, finally beginning to realize the situation. As the footsteps drew closer, she hollered in a guard's voice. "I need backup! Inmates rushing the front station!"

Jerome chanced a peek out into the hall and watched the two guards pause, confused. She switched to another guard's voice and added, "We're nearly overrun!"

She added a couple convincing gunshot noises and screams to imitate the supposed fight. Finally the two guards seemed to take the bait, running the opposite direction.

"Good work, gorgeous, now let's get out of here," Jerome grinned.

He took her hand and ran out, weaving through the cell blocks like smoke until they neared his exit. The man held Y/N back with one hand, and with another pulled what looked like a detonator from his pocket.

Without another word, he pressed the button, and explosions rocked the asylum, one of which destroyed the wall before them. She ducked and hid behind her hands, but Jerome just cackled, hands in the air.

"Whew, that was fun. Now let's beat it, gorgeous. I've got a lot of explaining to do," Jerome smiled, taking her hand again. "I'll fix you yet, doll face."

With a tentative smile, she returned his smile, allowing him to guide her to freedom.

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Word Count: 1275
This has been a long time coming. Enjoy the wrap up of Polly. Those crazy kids are gonna go live happily somewhere. I think I have another request in the queue, but if anyone would like to add some, fire away!
Gingy