Masquerade
A smile of relief spread out on Harley's full red lips as the nurse handed her a box with all her belongings in it. "You did good Harley, your okay now, go live your life" a firm hand rested on the blonde's shoulder and Bruce kissed the top of her head, running his hand down her arm, pulling her petit body against his chest as he spoke in his infamous husky voice "She will"
The nurse cocked her head to the side and her eyes turned to slits "You can't be serious?" Harley's blue eyes turned to slits through she kept smiling and her boyfriend kept a good hold on her. The blonde fought her urge to shove the woman's ascot in her mouth and turn her bouncing pigtails up like horns whilst making faces at the woman. Your sane now, Your to mature for all that. She told herself softly inside her head.
"Don't make rude comments like that out loud, Come on, Harleen" Bruce took her by the hand and led her right out of Arkham, finally sane and ready for the world. The dark haired man looked to his left and noticed Harley's lower lip quivering something awful and turned to look down into her blue eyes "What's wrong?"
Tears gathered in her cerulean eyes "I…" she burst into tears and held onto him, arms locked tightly around his waist "I'm sorry Bruce! I'm sorry! Being with me makes people think badly of you" she cried violently into his chest. Strong arms wrapped around her slender form, holding her in a strong embrace and kissed the top of her head.
"I don't care" he whispered huskily, tipping her chin up so she had to look into his eyes "Harley, it may seem strange but I spent 6 months behind that glass, talking to you, listening to you, falling for you, you are a beautiful young woman with a heart full of love and we'll just have to make people see you for what you are"
Harley smiled sweetly, stifling her quivering lip "Thanks" her voice was a little shaky from crying. Bruce kissed her forehead swiftly and dried her tears with his fingers "Wanna go shopping?" asked the sparkly eyed blond.
A light chuckle left the dark knight's lips "how about I take you home first, get you situated and after I go on patrol for a little while, I'll come back and take you out to dinner then we can go to the mall, Alright?" Harley's heart was doing flips as she threw her arms around his neck and planted a firm wet kiss on his lips.
"Yes! I can't wait! Its gonna be so much fun" the girl was jumping up and down as Bruce smiled taking her by the hand and started walking her down the street. Harley relished having the sun on her face once more. She was content, full of life again but in her own opinion….not entirely whole. She looked around slowly and bit her lower lip as they approached Bruce's manor.
Bruce kissed her cheek "I'll be gone a few hours, here's the key, get situated" he said dropping a little silver key in the palm of her hand. Harley kissed his lips turning her head as he left and walked up the long drive way. A gust of wind blew her hair around her face as she lifted her eyes to the door. It opened before she touched it.
A thin older man smiled at her with gentle eyes "Hello miss Quinzel, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, you may call me Alfred"
"Nice to meet you, Alfred" the girl smiled.
Haley walked around looking at every detail of the extravagant interior. Don't freak out…this is normal…this is what life is supposed to be…nice things…good days…a good man… This is right…That's what Harley told herself.
The house felt to spacious to the little blonde, it made her feel small, alone. In her mind she went back to a place where the area was smaller, cramped, a little sofa slouched in front of a staticy TV screen. A door just around the corner led into a small room, papers covered the floor and a little desk was placed in the corner, in the shadows…..her Mistah J would be working up his newest schemes.
A silent tear slid down her ivory cheek when her mind came back to her…this place wasn't that old theater…normal people don't live in a rundown theater with a psychotic clown….any girl would be lucky to have Bruce. Silently she walked down the hall and opened up the first door to her left, a little guest room, the comforter was white, the curtains billowed in the wind, the dresser at the foot of the bed was mahogany.
"You stupid girl!" the voice boomed in her ears as if he was right beside her. The scene unfolded in front of her like a movie meant for only her wide eyes to see. The Joker grabbed her by the arm and she stared up at him terrified. "You had one job! One simple job! Wanna tell me why you couldn't do that Harley?" he raised his hand and brought it across her face with a loud SLAP!
The little Harlequin fell back against the bed teary eyed and holding the side of her face "I'm sorry"
The memory faded away and Harley ran from the bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her as her breathing grew labored. Stop it! Stop it Harley! You want this…you do not miss him! She ran down the hall and opened another door, looking for a bathroom to wash her face down in. The next door wasn't a bathroom it was a den of sorts, a huge brick fire place fire place came out of the wall beside a couch, on the other side at an angle was a little recliner. Harley stared into the fireplace and as the flames danced she drew nearer to it.
A memory filled her head. "Wow Puddin! Your such a romantic" her voice was syrupy as The Joker wrapped an arm around her and the ocean liner a good 100 ft away from them went up in flames. Flares shot up into the air exploding into bursts of color against the black night sky. The joker chuckled as he wrapped his fingers around the one of the entrails of Harley's jester hat. "Anything for you, Pooh" His lips collided with hers as her arms wrapped around his neck and their tongues danced with one another. The Joker lifted a gun from the pocket of his jacket and as his free arm wrapped around Harley's waist he fired rapidly into the sky.
Harley started to tear up again, smiling warmly at the nostalgia of the flames. Grabbing a tan blanket from the arm of the recliner Harley curled up in the chair and hugging her knees to her body, thinking of the man she loved so dearly….wishing that she could be thinking of Bruce…she fell into a deep…long since needed sleep.
Harley spun herself around in front of the full body mirror in the bathroom that came off of her and Bruce's room. She was dressed in a black knee length dress, the straps fell off her shoulders, long blond hair was down and in her own opinion in desperate need of a trim. She wore a pair of 6 inch black stilettos "You look beautiful" Bruce said from where he leaned on the frame of the door, dressed in a black suit with a black tie.
"Happy birthday, Bruce" Harley said placing a sweet kiss on his cheek. Bruce kissed her forehead to say thank you and then let Harley draw back into her place. She never lingered in his arms though in her heart Harley wished she had the strength to.
Bruce smiled at her faintly "Your incredible, Harleen."
"Don't be so modest Bruce" the girl replied sweetly "You gave me a second chance at life"
He moved forward and took her by the hands "I love you; you gave me a second chance to"
Harley blushed and tipped her head to the side not fully understanding, Bruce read the look in her eyes "You showed me Theres more to my life then constant battle…and gave me something to come home to, Thank you" When the door bell rang the couple looked to the left "Everyone's here" said the dark haired man.
"I'll get it!" Harley tore her hands away and ran down the hall; the click clack of her heels could be heard against the tile throughout the entire manor. Her hair billowed behind her as the bell of her dress blew around her thighs. Ivy was the first at the door, red hair pulled back into a formal bun; she wore a long strapless green dress with a slit up the left leg. Her beautiful eyes were surrounded by a light green masquerade mask, it suited her beautifully and also reminded Harley that she'd forgotten about her mask. This year she decided the birthday party should have a masquerade theme "You look beautiful, Ivy"
The red head wrapped her arms around her good friend and hugged her tightly "Harley, baby I'm so proud of you" Bruce walked up behind the two and smiled warmly at them.
"I'm proud of her too" he took ivy by the hand and kissed her knuckles like a gentleman. Harley smiled sweetly "I forgot my mask, I'll grab yours to Bruce, Ivy let everyone else in, please" she added the last part politely and fled around the corner and down a long corridor and finally to the bedroom she and Bruce shared.
Both masks were black, hers was decorated with light shimmers, they rested side by side on the dresser. She lifted hers to her eyes delicately placing it over the bridge of her nose. Staring in the mirror she smiled faintly almost wanting to put on a little white face paint. One year…she'd been with Bruce for one year and still she yearned for Joker.
She sighed grabbing Bruce's mask and walked back to the room, music played through the air and people danced around the ball room happily. The room was dim but the lights Harley had swung around the columns glowed bright and beautiful. A buffet table was laid out to the left of the room and near it round tables for everyone to sit and eat when they felt like it.
"You did a marvelous job, Harleen" Bruce said wrapping his arms around her from behind. "The room looks beautiful, the food is delicious, I watched you plan this for months…it's everything you aimed for"
Harley's blue eyes fell hooded as she fell back into a memory. "Freeze Clown!" she screamed holding the barrel of a gun to her lovers head. Joker's face contorted until he stood and said "You wouldn't dare"
Harley's lower lip quivered "You don't have the guts" the Joker snapped "never in a million years would you-" Harley pushed the pulled the trigger, a rat tat tat sign fell from the barrel and Harley stared at her lover scared…worried…wondering.
"Baby…you're the greatest!" The joker opened up his arms for a hug. Harley squealed happily and ran into his arms, he spun her around and held her tight pulling her into a needy kiss.
"You're the greatest" Bruce kissed her ear. Harley's heart did a flip. The music picked up and Bruce pulled her against him for a dance. Harley's hand rested in his, her other hand on his shoulder his hand at her waist, they glided across the dance floor "You alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine" she smiled up at him
"You look absolutely beautiful, Harleen..."
In her head Harley knew she didn't look like herself. She looked sophisticated like a fully mature young lady. Harley Quinn was no lady…nor was she sophisticated or mature…and this whole thing was just wrong, Bruce was a good man but Harley wasn't a good girl. Every moment in that house she felt out of place, every moment in his arms she felt out of place, this wasn't her stage…like a chameleon she could blend in beautifully but she would never make this a real home. "Thank you" she looked around.
Blue eyes searching the faces of everyone around her, no one, not even Ivy looked out of place. As the music tempo raised her heart started to race, her head started to feel like a mess, a dizzy fucked up mess. Everything was blurry; dancers moved and began to look like blurs of black and white to the blonde. Through those blurs one face stood out only because this person wasn't moving.
He was leaned against the back wall, arms crossed, head down, face hidden by a black hat, the brim came down over his nose and eyes, a purple ribbon was tied around the side band. He seemed uninterested in everyone else in the room. The song came to a halt and Bruce placed a gentle kiss on her lips "I need some water" Harley said pulling herself from his grasp as she walked toward the buffet table.
On the table right beside the punch bowel there was a pink rose, a little note attached to it said 'May I have this dance, -J' Harley's eyes started to water as she wrapped her delicate fingers around the stem . She knew it now, it was over. Her mind immediately flashed back to the man who was leaning against the wall, she spun around on her heal and looked around frantically, he was gone.
Harley turned her head in Bruce's direction. He smiled at her when she caught his eye. Harley's heart did another flip and sank to her stomach. Shaking her head she gripped that rose in her hand tightly, not minding the thorns she fled the ball room, nearly tripping over her heals. As she ran down the hall she dropped her mask on the floor and kicked her stilettos off. Her hair bellowed behind her as she searched for the back door, mascara running lightly the blonde flung the door open and ran into the backyard garden. It was beautiful; flowers of every kind surrounded a white gondola. The sound of the rock fountain and the crickets was all that could be heard. The night sky was dotted with bright stars. Harley fell to her knees on the steps of the gondola.
She knew she must have looked pathetic, blond hair frizzy and full of tangles, skin pale with puffy red eyes, and now she was down on her knees barefoot, shaking body clad in black. The hand she held the rose in bled out around the stem due to the thrones. And finally collapsing she let herself cry openly, loudly. Tears she'd been holding back for a year came spiraling out.
Footsteps made her burry her face further into her folded arms "Not now Bruce" she rasped. A light chuckle made her look up as the Joker tipped his black hat "May I have this dance?" Harley took his out stretched hand and he gave her a look of disapproval.
"Mind the thorns on roses, Harley" He said as he took her by the waist and she rested her free hand on his shoulder. As her started to turn her around he smiled one of his usual smiles "1 2 3…1 2 3.." he spun her around in sync with his counting. Harley couldn't help but laugh.
"I didn't know you could dance, Mistah J"
"One of a great many things you don't know about me"
"Why are you here? Theres no cargo, no weapons…nothing"
"Theres you" The Joker responded lightly as he spun her out and pulled her back into his arms so her back was against his chest and her arms crossed as he held both of her hands.
"You came all the way down here just….to"
"Collect what's mine" he cut her off and that familiar happy squeal of hers worked its way out of her pink lips. She spun out again and came back to him, wrapping her arms around his neck as they came to a slow stop.
"What's wrong?" she asked a little confused.
"Something's off" The Joker said as he slipped two hair ties out of his pocket "I know what it is, I'm not looking at my little harlequin" He pulled her hair up into her usual pigtails and out of the vest her wore under his jacket he pulled a black jester hat, the little silver bells jingled whimsically as he put in on her head.
"Dance with me Harley" he pulled her against him once more and spun her around. There was nothing now in her mind, not the gondola, not Bruce, not Arkham, just her, just Joker. He placed his hand on the small of her back and pulled her into a kiss "I missed you, Puddin" she said sweetly against his lips.
"Believe it or not, I missed you to, Pumpkin, I simply go loony tunes without you around" he slipped his tongue into her mouth and Harley lost herself in a passionate kiss, feeling whole again for the first time since she got out of Arkham a year ago. She needed her Puddin in her life or she was simply out of place.
"Come home Harley"
Tears of joy filled her eyes and she nodded smiling raptly.