Disclaimer: I don't own anything. All characters included in the story below are the property of DC Comics, etc.
Additionally, it should be noted that all words included in italics are intentional direct quotes from Gotham City Sirens. This story also contains detailed references back to the events in and writing of GCS. Thank you to Peter Calloway for crafting such memorable dialogue and imagery in the first place.
Is it because you love me?
It had been weeks since Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, and Catwoman had gone their separate ways, but the memories hadn't grown any less painful and Pamela Isley's hand tightened on the wineglass she was holding. In the immediate aftermath of what had happened with Selina, she pushed Harley's betrayal to the back of her mind – she had to if she was going to succeed in killing the cat bitch. But then Harley had left her all alone, and that had broken Ivy's heart.
Of course she had been angry – she had been entirely ready to kill the only person she considered a friend. Ivy had walked right up to the line – but then she had been so quick to forgive Harley her "illness", so willing to justify her actions. It was not dissimilar to Harley's behavior toward…
"Joker." Ivy snarled, curling her lip. An orchid on the kitchen counter shrank away from her fury.
That man, that… clown had taken something precious from her. That psychopath liked to break things, and he had broken the only person that Dr. Pamela Isley had ever allowed herself to love. The Joker had crushed a brilliant young woman beneath his boot and turned her to dust. Her flower.
How do you know that Harley isn't the fake one? How do you know this isn't the real me?
No, not her flower. Never hers. Harley had made that perfectly clear when she had used Ivy's love to manipulate her, using her ace in the hole without principle or restraint. Ivy glanced over at a vase full of daffodils resting on an end table – Harley's favorite. She had often reminded Ivy of a daffodil with her golden hair and constant smile, but had shown herself to truly be the strangler fig of Ivy's nightmares, squeezing the life out of Ivy's heart even in her absence. And her supposed commitment to learning how to stand on her own? Ivy had known that wouldn't last.
An insistent knocking on the door drew Ivy's attention. Setting her wineglass down, she traveled the short distance to the front door of the apartment and threw it open.
"Hiya, Red!"
Ivy took in the blonde pigtails, the mouth stretched into an almost-too-wide smile, the fresh bruising blooming around the eye socket and along the jaw line. Ivy had been bracing herself for this exact turn of events since it had shown up on the news that The Joker and Harley Quinn had been spotted together during a heist. It had been her intention to slam the door in the betrayer's face, but now that the moment for that course of action had arrived, Ivy found herself frozen in place. "How did you find me?" she managed.
Harley shrugged sheepishly, her smile faltering. "You're not that hard to find if a girl knows what she's lookin' for."
Ivy clenched her jaw. To her knowledge, Harley had never known what she was "lookin' for." She stared coldly at her former friend, green eyes boring into blue, until Harley shyly dropped her gaze. "Can I come in?"
Do you know what the definition of "insanity" is, Ivy?
"Yes," Ivy said flatly, stepping aside to let Harley into the apartment.
Harley surveyed her surroundings while Ivy closed the door behind her, taking care to lock it. "I went by your greenhouse, but ya weren't there so I started huntin'."
Ivy was currently sneaking back to her greenhouse a couple of times a week, removing specimens by ones and twos, but Harley didn't need to know anything that she might be able to use against her later. As it was, Ivy was going to have to find another hideout and decide on a new alias – apparently Paula Irving was growing tired. "I can't risk it while the Bat is still bent on sending me back to Arkham."
Harley nodded noncommittally and wandered into the kitchen. "Ya drinkin'?" she asked, noticing the nearly empty wineglass. "But I thought it didn't really do nuthin' for ya on accounta ya bein' part plant n' stuff."
"It doesn't stop me from occasionally trying," Ivy muttered under her breath. She continued more loudly, for Harley's benefit. "There's more wine in the fridge if you want it," (Ivy knew she didn't), "and there's still some vegetable curry on the stove. Feel free to crash on the couch for as long as you need. I have some work to take care of." Ivy turned to go to the bedroom, intending to put some distance between herself and the blonde in the kitchen who was already wreaking havoc on emotions that Ivy fought hard to keep buried deep.
"Red?"
The plaintive note in Harley's voice forced Ivy to turn around despite her better judgment. "What?"
I'm not going with you.
"Is that it?" Harley asked, her voice small.
Ivy sighed. "What else is there?"
"Well, ain't we gonna sit and chat a little like we always do when I visit ya? Ya know, after ya lecture me about how Mista J ain't no good for me." Harley had adopted a worried expression that made Ivy want to slap the look off her face.
"I have nothing to say to you," Ivy said, low and dangerous.
"But I thought…" Harley trailed off, her lip trembling, "I thought we were okay."
Ivy laughed then, a hollow, humorous sound. "The last time we saw each other, you threw the love I had for you in my face and then punched me in the jaw! So no, we're not okay."
Harley's eyes had filled with tears. "I know ya were mad, but – I mean, I helped ya go after Kitty…"
"The only reason that I didn't kill you back at Arkham is that I wanted to kill Selina more," Ivy said roughly, striding toward the object of her ire.
"You asked me to come with you!" Harley shouted, her voice breaking.
"And you turned me down!" Ivy was yelling too now, slowly encroaching on Harley's space. Some philodendrons had begun to snake toward Harley menacingly. "You weren't even honest with me about why you did it. You could have at least had the decency to tell me the truth about wanting to go back to him, but instead you fed me bullshit!"
Tears had begun to stream down Harley's face. "But I didn't…"
"No, you don't get to talk right now! I know what The Joker marking his territory looks like, so don't even try to deny it. You think you can knock on my door any time you like, walk into my life and back out of it when it's convenient for you, and that I'll just welcome you back no matter what. You take and you take and you take until I have nothing left, and I hate you for it!"
"Why are you being so mean?" Harley cried, trying to hold back sobs.
"Because I'm in love with you!" The words ripped from Ivy's throat as she watched Harley's mouth drop open.
And you call ME the crazy one?!
"Don't say that," Harley said hoarsely, her voice barely above a whisper. She made a half-hearted attempt to choke back her tears.
Now that Ivy had finally bared her soul, there was nothing more to say. Feeling hollow, she turned away from the woman who had been her only friend. "You can sleep on the couch tonight," she said coldly," but you're out in the morning. And after tomorrow, I never want to see you again."
With that, Ivy turned on her heel and went off to bed, leaving Harley still standing slack-jawed in the kitchen.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Ivy tried to sleep, but unconsciousness proved elusive. She lay in bed for what seemed like hours, eyes closed, focusing on her breathing. She didn't move when she heard the bedroom door creak open and soft footsteps approach her bed, but she tensed her body underneath the sheets defensively. Ivy's eyes nearly shot open when she felt a weight shift her mattress as her visitor sat down. She waited for an eternity, but the mattress didn't move again. "What do you want, Harley?" Ivy murmured, eyes still closed.
"Tell me you don't love me." Harley's voice was hoarse.
This was unexpected. Ivy opened her eyes and turned to face the woman sitting on the edge of her mattress. "What?" She fixed Harley with an intent stare.
"Tell me you don't love me." Harley's eyes were red from crying, and she looked ready to start again at any moment.
Ivy sighed, and sat up in bed. "I can't do that."
"Why not?"
Ivy rubbed her eyes, trying to think of words that wouldn't send Harley into either a violent tantrum or an emotional breakdown. She was unpredictable when she was upset. "I decided the day we met that you were deserving of my respect, which means that I can never lie to you. So I'm sorry, but I can't tell you I don't love you when you and I both know the opposite to be true."
Harley wrapped her fingers in her hair and began rocking back and forth, whimpering. "Red, stop! You were supposed to be safe…"
"Safe?" Ivy said incredulously, inching toward Harley. "Something else that I promised myself that I would never do was lay hands on you, and yet a few weeks ago I almost killed you. Nothing about me is safe," Ivy hissed, mere inches away from Harley's ear. Close enough to see Harley shudder at her words.
"Pamela," Harley breathed, her use of Ivy's real name telegraphing her seriousness, her desperation. "Please."
Ivy allowed her eyes to rake over the curve of Harley's neck in the darkness before answering. "Why?"
Harley turned to face Ivy then, her blue eyes filled with pain. "Because if you don't love me, then I don't have to love you back."
Ivy felt her breath catch in her throat, the anger and hatred she had been cultivating suddenly melting away. No longer fully in control of her actions, she shifted forward and pressed her lips to Harley's, eyes fluttering closed. Harley sighed and brought trembling fingers up to trace Ivy's jaw. Ivy drew back at the unexpected contact, finding Harley's eyes with her own.
"Red?" Harley whispered Ivy's name softly, like a caress, the question in her voice barely audible.
"I love you, and I'm never going to stop."
The fear in Harley's eyes faded, and she pushed Ivy back onto the mattress with considerable force, slinking forward in order to effectively pin Ivy on her back. "Promise?" she asked breathlessly.
Ivy smirked and reached up to tuck a wayward strand of hair behind Harley's ear. "Yes."
Ivy knew, as Harley's lips met hers again, that it was a promise she intended to keep.