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It was very rare for Harley to get attached during a mission. Usually, it was "Get in, get out." And she often forgot the names of the people she spoke to.
So when she say Ivy reappear, and not only immediately recognized her, but also was instantly excited, she knew there was something different about this one.
"Hey!" She excitedly shouted towards her. "You can't get in round the front, it got all barricaded. This way.”
Ivy followed her into their hideout. Harley didn't really know why she was so excited about this -- she'd usually be nervous as Hell to show someone around here. There must just be something different about Ivy. Something that made her want to cling onto her.
“You live here?” Ivy asked her.
“For now, yeah, bunch of us do. Hoping to get out, though, last job we pulled–”
Wait. Shit!
“Job,” Ivy said, looking disappointed in a way that shattered her heart. “So it was you, then?”
“Me what?”
“Who robbed my family.”
Fucking damn it...
“What?” Harley tried her hardest to salvage this. “No. I was with you the whole time, Red!”
“But you were involved, though.”
“I...Yeah.”
Great. I've finally met someone worth a damn, and I've instantly scared her away. Nice job, Harley. You're such a people person.
“It was a distraction,” Ivy continued, as if it were a statement rather than a question. “You and me.”
“At first,” Harley quickly clarified. “But then– I was havin' fun. Honestly.”
She then took another look at Ivy's face, and noticed a bright purple mark that she hadn't before.
Wait, is that a bruise?! When did she get injured?!
“Did someone hurt you?”
“My father.”
Okay, she said that way too casually.
No one deserves to be hurt like that. Especially by family.
Now, I understand why she wanted to run away.
“Ugh. Fucking hate fathers!” Harley shouted before collapsing onto her air mattress. She then looked back up at Ivy and spoke more softly. “I'm glad you came.”
“I dunno why I did,” Ivy replied.
You and me both, Red.
“We don't know each other. And apparently you used me and stole from me, so.”
“So you're here to get revenge?” Harley asked, careful to ensure that the teasing tone was laid on thick. “Or get your stuff back? I can give you back your jewels, if you want 'em.”
“Don't care about them," Ivy argued. "I care about answers. I wanna know who you are, what you're doing here, how you did it. But first...I want to know if you meant it, when you said 'come with me.' When you said you were hoping to get out of here.”
Harley's eyes widened with excitement.
Yes! Yes, I meant it!
I'm so sorry I lied to you, but this is the real me now. I promise.
Wait. Let her talk, Harley. Don't scare her again.
“I want to know if you've got a plan. If you can help me disappear. And I know where to find you now. So you'd better start talking. Because I can tell them where to find the thieves, if I have to.”
“I'd tell you even without a threat, ya know," Harley reassured her. “Not that I think you'd follow through with it.”
But through the teasing, and the wall that was slowly starting to break down between the two girls, Harley began to see something genuinely soften in Ivy's eyes.
Like maybe she wanted to cling onto her just as badly as the inverse.
Harley patted the mattress, and Ivy sat next to her. “Right, then. Start talking.”
Easiest instruction I've gotten all day.