Work Text:
Arrowverse || Harlivy || Arrowverse || Love Like Lipstickstain || Arrowverse || Harlivy || Arrowverse
Title: Love Like Lipstickstain – Phoe's Tumblr Drabbles
Fandom: DC Comics / Arrowverse
Disclaimer: All rights concerning the show reserved to Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim, all rights for the comics reserved to DC. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Tags: f/f, dealing with a partner with PTSD, hurt/comfort, female friendships
Main Pairing: Harley/Ivy
Side Pairings: Kate/Kara, Nyssa/Felicity, Frost/Caitlin
DC Characters: Pamela Isley, Harleen Quinzel, Katherine 'Kate' Kane, Nyssa al Ghul, Killer Frost
Summary: Prompt: Love
The one where (reformed villainous) women who love women formed a deep bond and hang out to talk about crime and girls.
Love Like Lipstickstain
Phoe's Tumblr Drabbles
"Sometimes, being in a relationship with Harley is... so hard", sighed Pamela.
She heavily sank into her chair. The woman opposite her huffed before lifting her drink to her blue-painted lips. Pamela narrowed her eyes at the woman known as Lin Frost. According to herself, she used to share a body with her own now-girlfriend before some big bad had killed the multiverse and the archer in the green, tacky hood had restarted the multiverse. Pamela... questioned essentially every single part of that story. Sure, meta-humans existed – she was one herself, controlling plants, and Lin Frost was also a meta-human. But there was a difference between 'meta-humans exist' and 'also there is an infinite number of alternate Earths and they all collapsed so a non-superpowered hero had to restart the universe like some god'. Very doubtful. Still, Pamela had learned her lesson and stopped arguing about that one with Lin; it was a lost cause. And she did have some experience with letting people believe their own delusions, so why not indulge the ice-controlling villain.
Their relationship was already strained enough as it was. Mostly fueled by their opposing powers – ice and plants did not exactly go hand in hand. When there was too much alcohol or arguing involved (though too much alcohol usually did lead to too much arguing), they tended to try and one-up each other and it occasionally escalated when they used their powers. Still, in a strange way, Pamela considered her one of her best friends. Not that she would ever admit that to Killer Frost.
Then again, one could argue that Pamela's circle of friends in general was a bit unorthodox. Ever since Nyssa al Ghul had retired – after completely wrecking her father's legacy, much to every villain's amusement – and moved to Gotham, the two had had a couple run-ins, usually at the new, very trendy gay bar and they had bonded rather quickly. And then there was the owner of the bar. Kate Kane, who always made this constipated, pained face when looking at their small gathering of reformed villainesses, but she had never said anything aloud so they figured they were fine. With Kate, Pamela actually got along, genuinely. Which had surprised them both.
While Killer Frost lived in Central City, where she was performing the whole reformed part of 'reformed vilainess', she often traveled to indulge in the less legal activities that she couldn't quite kick and she had found a particular liking in Gotham, especially after the first couple of times she ran into Pamela, Nyssa and Harley. It seemed that Frost mostly was surrounded by heterosexuals and men in Central City – her own bisexual girlfriend excluded – so the woman appreciated to have a circle of gay women to sit with and talk to; them all being former more or less villains was a wonderful addition. Sometimes, Harley joked that they could start a club of sorts – be gay and do crimes. Frost had jokingly suggested she knew a little bird who was a reformed villain in a committed relationship with a heroine and that they could invite her along too. Admittedly, Pamela wasn't that surprised that there were so many queer female villains; not when she looked at all their fashion choices, really. Still, it was strangely... reassuring to have this little community with them.
"You always say that", pointed Kate out as she brought them their drinks.
"At least yours doesn't want you to be a total goodie-two-shoes", drawled Frost annoyed.
"And yours didn't come with a small toddler", added Nyssa, heaving a tired sigh. "I do quite adore Mia, she will be a brilliant and fierce warrior once I get to start training her, yet... admittedly, I did not expect my next relationship to involve changing my former husband's baby's diapers."
"Something tells me you didn't predict to date your husband's wife either", noted Kate.
"That... is true", admitted Nyssa after a pause, blinking a couple of times.
Kate huffed amused and sat down with them then; someone else was manning the bar so she seemed to have a bit of time to spend with her favorite customers and close friends. Frost lifted her glass to hit lightly against Nyssa's, the both of them exchanging an amused smile.
"All three of you are dating goodie-two-shoes and while I admit to that having challenges of their own, at least they're all grounded", muttered Pamela and took a deep, long drink. "The things Harley comes up with sometimes. It's... hard keeping up with her..."
The mood turned a bit more solemn at that. It was true. Frost was dating Caitlin Snow, a scientist who fought alongside the Flash and was very hard-working, honest and down-to-Earth. Nyssa was dating Felicity Smoak, a genius hacker whose only real concerns right now was raising her infant daughter, playing house with her girlfriend Nyssa, none of that hero-business anymore (though she used to be married to the Green Arrow and was involved with that superhero team). The only normal one in their midst was Kate, who owned her bar and dated her ordinary, sweet little journalist Kara Danvers, cute nerd with glasses for whom Pamela and the girls usually pretended to be just normal, regular customers since the blonde was from out of town.
Harley was different. She had suffered severe trauma and abuse at the hands of her ex and it had messed her up pretty badly. While there were highs so high that Pamela could get dizzy, there was also pretty deep lows. She loved Harley, fiercely so, and she would never break up with Harley because of this, but sometimes, it was just so straining for Pamela. Sometimes, when she saw the aftermath of what that man had done to Harley, all Pamela wanted to do was break down and cry, but she couldn't because if she fell into pieces, how could she pick up the pieces that were left of Harley and try to piece them back together? So she had to be strong. Just, sometimes, she needed a night out with her girls, who would listen to her, who understood – maybe not every detail or every way it made Pamela feel, but they still understood. And it helped.
Frost reached out to tap against Pamela's glass, a sheet of ice covering it and the drink turning pleasantly chill. While Frost wasn't the best with expressing emotions and Pamela didn't want anyone to tell her that 'it sucked' or that 'it's all going to be fine', they had their own way of communicating and of comforting each other. Nyssa and Kate offered her gentle looks.
"All my favorite girls at one table! Perfect. I need y'all for a jail-break."
Startled, the four women turned toward where all of a sudden Harley stood. She had a manic grin on her face and a newspaper in her hand that she slapped soundly onto the table before getting comfortable on Pamela's lap. She turned enough to press a kiss against Pamela's cheek, one that was sure to leave a stain. It made Pamela smile thinly, because sometimes, that was what it felt like. As though Harley was leaving lipstick-stains all over Pamela's heart and soul.
"What is it, babe?", whispered Pamela softly, resting her chin on Harley's shoulder.
"So there's a circus in town that has hyenas but doesn't treat them right. Help me liberate them."
Pamela blinked slowly as she stared at her girlfriend. This was going to be... a long night.
~*~ The End ~*~