Chapter Text
She was lying down on a bed softer than her own, with red sheets instead of pink. The pillows were fluffed and covered in silk and rose petals, and she looked up to see him above her. So that was the strange weight she had felt. His face glowed in the candlelight, but he looked different to her. Softer. His skin was darker, his hair brown, his green eyes muted. Even his nose wasn’t as pointed, as if he had never in his life broken it. He kissed along her neck, softly, like butterflies, and she bit her lip. This wasn’t like him. He was never this... boring.
She didn’t like it. There was no fun or mischief in his gaze when he looked up at her, his mouth resting just above her bellybutton. He crept closer and closer, down, down, down, below her waist line. His head disappeared beneath her dress. Since when was she wearing a dress? It was yellow and bright, like summer, and she looked over into a standing mirror. She looked different, too. Her hair was brown, its natural color, and her glasses perched on her nose. Her face and body was tanned from the sun, but she hadn’t seen the sun in weeks. It had been too cloudy and besides, she only ever went out at night.
She saw his head bobbing beneath her dress, but she couldn’t feel anything. She was numb. Slowly, she reached over and pinched her arm, relishing the pain and tingling. So, she was not numb to everything, only to him. Or maybe he wasn’t real. She reached down and threaded her fingers into his hair, pulling on the soft (softer) locks. He didn’t whine, or groan, or giggle, just stayed down there. He was real, then.
Her legs squirmed. She didn’t like this at all. Usually she could feel him, she wanted to feel him, why couldn’t she feel him?! She punched the bed with her hands, felt the soft linen and groaned, but no sound came from her throat. She tried telling him to stop, to come up beside her and look her in the eyes, but he couldn’t hear her, she wasn’t making any noise. She screamed, but all she could hear was a muffled cry, as if one of the fluffy pillows was covering her mouth.
”What’s wrong, pumpkin?” She saw him in the corner of her eye, the man she knew, the one she wanted. If he was there, who was beneath her dress?
”No one important. But then again, no one ever is,” he laughed, short and breathless. She looked to him.
”Oh, sweets, only I can hear you. Nobody else in this miserable old house can.” She heard a child banging on the door, asking to be let in. She tried telling them to go away, Mommy and Daddy were busy, but it was no use, the girl burst in anyway. The man she knew who wasn’t really the man she knew shot up, grabbed the girl, and walked out of the room. She couldn’t move. She tried to scream again.
”Oh, shh, cupcake, Daddy’s here. Only me. And that’s just how you like it, isn’t it?” He sat beside her on the bed. As fast as a snake he reached up and covered her mouth, pinching her nose shut. She tried calling for help, but she couldn’t make any air move past her chest. He giggled at her squirming. She moaned into his hand, tears welling up in her eyes.
”Hush now, Harleykins. Uncle Joker here will keep you safe and sound.” His voice dissolved into laughter as the world faded to black.
Harley opened her eyes, gasping for breath. It was all just a dream. No one else was in her bed, no children were knocking on her door, and he wasn’t lurking in any corners. She was safe. Stretching her legs, she went to the mirror. Her hair was as blonde as ever, her face was pale, and her glasses were gone, making the world a bit fuzzy around the edges. She smiled to herself and went to the bathroom.
It had been two weeks since she left him. He had crossed a line, left Arkham without her for the first time in years, and when she escaped, she made a point to not go back to him. The night of her leaving, she snuck into his new hideout, grabbed her things, loaded Bud and Lou into her car, and drove away to a little motel on the outskirts of the city. He hadn’t tried to contact her, and she preferred it that way. She was still pissed.
Harley studied herself in the mirror while she brushed her teeth. Her natural brown roots were starting to come in, and crows’ feet were forming at her eyes. Damn, she really was getting older. The fact that she was tired and a mess didn’t help. She stripped and stepped into the shower, letting the warm water cascade down her back. She tilted her head back and started humming “Sally’s Song” from The Nightmare Before Christmas, her favorite movie. It was so perfect, it could be a Halloween or Christmas movie! For her, it was both!
“Mistah J always loved that movie. He always said I was Sally and he was Jack. How romantic!” Truthfully, the Joker has said this because Jack ignored Sally for the majority of the movie even though she did most of his dirty work, but Harley paid that no mind.
I thought you weren’t with him anymore, Harley. She growled.
“I’m not, so shut up!”
Jeez, he really must’ve twisted your mind if you’re talking to yourself.
“Ha! You ain’t me. You’re a crummy old doctor who fell in love with her patient! Ya just got so embarrassed, you let me have him. And anyway, I don't love him anymore, so there!”
Oh really? Then why haven’t you unpacked your bags?
Harley didn’t answer. The little voice was right. She hadn’t unpacked yet. She was too busy anticipating a call from her puddin’. This made her angry. Her own emotions had betrayed her! She was supposed to be hating and ignoring him!
Harley stomped out of the shower, grabbed a towel, and ran into the dingy motel room. She grabbed her suitcase and ripped it open, sending clothes flying in the process. Bud and Lou grabbed each end of a shirt and played tug of war as she threw clothes around the room, hanging up only the essentials.
What are you doing?
“Putting my clothes all around the room,” she replied as she stuffed a bra in between the chair cushions. “That way, if he comes crawlin’ back, I’ll have time to think while I get my stuff before I run off into the sunset.” Just then, she heard her phone ringing. She looked around for a moment as Rihanna sang through her phone’s speaker.
“Must be love on the brain
That’s got me feelin’ this way
It beats me black and blue
But it fucks me so good
And I can’t get enough
Must be-“
Harley found her phone shoved beneath her pillow. Seeing Selina’s name pop up, she answered.
”Hey, Kitty! What’s up?”
”Hello, Harley. I have a question to ask you.”
”Shoot!”
”Just how much do you hate Batman?” She pondered this. She shared the Joker’s hate of him, only because Joker hated him. In reality, Harley didn’t mind the Bat. She might’ve even liked him once, enough to kiss him when he gave her the dress she had been accused of stealing, even though it was really the cashier’s fault.
”I dunno. Enough to kill ‘im, but not enough to enjoy it.”
”Mhmm. And how much do you love the Joker?”
”I don’t love him no more! He left me to rot, so I’m doin’ the same!” Selina smirked on the other end of the phone.
”Purrfect. Meet me at Gotham City Memorial Garden, out of costume, and no weapons.”
”Why?”
”Just trust me, Harls. Pammy’ll be there.” Harley paused. She looked to Bud, and he looked to Lou, who seemed to nod. Bud relayed the message and Harley grinned.
”Alrighty! See you there!”
”Thanks, Harley. See you in thirty minutes.” Selina hung up first, and Harley raced around her room to find the perfect outfit as Bud and Lou chased her feet, all the while barking out laughs that reminded her a bit too much of him.