I couldn't open my eyes, but I felt myself being lifted.
"Stay with me, Harley." I heard a voice that was familiar to me. Ivy. I was being cradled by her. My head sat on the front of her shoulder and I could feel her heartbeat on my cheek. It always amazed me how someone as petite as Ivy was could carry me around or withstand a blow from Bats. She is an amazing woman. I felt myself settle into her and I guess I fell asleep.
The next thing I know, I was waking up and feeling like I had been hit by a truck. I fluttered my eyes open as they adjusted to the dim lights in the room, but my left eye remained mostly closed. I looked around me as my body ached from the movement. I recognized some of Ivy's favourite potted plants on the shelves and side tables. And then I saw her back as she was leaning over her work counter.
"Red?" My voice surprised me as it scratched and hitched.
"Welcome back to Gotham, Harley. How do you feel?"
"Awful." She finally turned away from her counter and walked to me with a bowl in her hand.
"Whassat, Red?" I was getting used to the aches and I rolled over so that I could face her better.
"This? This is a magic mixture, Harley. Made special for you." She pulled a chair next to her bed where I was laid.
"Whacha gonna do with it?" I noticed that I was grinning a little. Ivy always made me smile. She was so good to me.
"Lay back down and relax Harley." I did as she told me. I mostly always did. She usually knew best anyway. When I laid back down, she took some goop out of the bowl and started rubbing it on my face. She started with my chin and jaw and I realized how sore they were until she started putting her mix on them.
"Hey Red, this is really nice." I sounded high, which made me chuckle. I saw Ivy smile lightly as she hummed in response. I closed my eyes as she put a whole bunch of the slime on my eyes. She rubbed it on my apparently broken nose and tapped the tip of it as she finished and most of the pain was gone.
"This smells really nice, Red. What is it?"
"Oh, it's many things. All of the best healing herbs and analgesic plants around. But just for you, the scent of Lily of the Valley. I knew you'd love it." I noticed that I was not wearing my suit anymore and was instead in one of Ivy's t-shirts. She lifted it to the middle of my torso and started rubbing her hands covered in the plant stuff over my belly and bottom ribs.
"Whatsa anniegezic, Red?" I giggled as her fingers tickled my skin. I think she moved her nails that way on purpose.
"Painkiller, Harley. And its analgesic." She sounded out the syllables for me as she smiled.
"There." She said as she ran a towel over her hands.
"Better?" She asked, turning her chair to face my head.
"You're the best, Red!" I reached up and pulled her down to hug me. It still hurt, but it was so much nicer to have Ivy close.
"Careful or you'll hurt more." She cautioned me. She loosed my arms from around her slightly, but put her arms softly around my neck and kissed my cheek where she lingered for a while. Eventually, she pulled away and brushed my hair away from my face as she sat back in her chair.
"Harley, I hate to ask, I really do, but what the hell happened?"
"Whacha mean?" I asked without thinking, still swimming in the scent of the special mix and Ivy's hair.
"Harley, you're only lucky that I found you instead of the cops, or worse Batman. What did he do to you this time?" She hissed like Catwoman at the he. I knew which he she was talking about. I didn't want to think about it. I couldn't really remember much of it anyway.
"I don't remember, Red. Can't we just cuddle up and forget about it?" I tried not to sound too glum and it sort of worked. It wasn't enough to fool Red, though. She is one clever girl and I know it probably better than almost anyone.
"Are you sure that you don't remember anything that happened, Harley? Anything at all? How did you end up on the main road at two in the morning in a heap of hurt? Maybe it was Batman. I suppose that I shouldn't always assume that it's the clown's fault." She walked to the other side of her bed and gently climbed in.
"I dunno, maybe it was him. I don't think it was though. Usually even Bats doesn't beat me up as bad as Mista-" My peppiness stopped suddenly and I could suddenly remember everything that had happened earlier instead of just little bits. I hic'ed a few times as I felt myself start to cry.
"Harley-" Ivy sat up next to me leaning on her elbow and side.
"Re-e-eeed!" I reached out blindly, my eyes were filled with tears. I really wished that there were times that I could spend with Harley that didn't start with me needing medical care or bawling like and idiot. I felt her hands lift me to her and her arms wrap firmly around me. She stroked my neck and I felt her hand firmly on my lower back. I fumbled to put my arms around her as I held on for dear life. I was scared.
"Harley, will you tell me what he did?" I gasped a few times until I got control of my breath again.
"Well, Mista J was workin on a big machine. I was sitting with him and I was bein quiet like he likes but the thing started sparking up and I had to push him out of the way or he woulda got hurt. I guess it wasn't actually gonna hurt him cause he got mad..." I trailed off. I knew that she knew how the story ended. The evidence had been under her hands a few minutes ago. The evidence was pressed up against her now.
"Harley, can I ask how many times I need to take you away from him after this? I really would like some sort of guide to you." She stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. "I really don't want to find you...you know...next time." I didn't feel her breathe for a few seconds. I held her tighter.
"You gotta keep me away from him, Red. You just gotta." She sighed and laid me down. I sat up, still achy. She took my shoulders in her hands.
"You need to stay away this time, Harley. Can you do it? I can't see you go back to that again. You wont survive another...attack like this."
"I promise, Red! I don't need him!" I smiled big, feeling more like myself.
"Good girl." She said. I saw her trying to suppress a smile. She carefully and slowly pulled me to her and kissed my forehead. I felt my stomach flutter happily and build in anticipation until I felt her lips on me. The fluttering exploded into a giggle which made her draw back slightly so I could see her smiling before she kissed me quickly once more on the forehead. When she sat back in front of me, I leaned forward on my arms and smiled dreamily. She chuckled lightly at me.
"You know how I know I'm not goin back this time?" I smiled with a closed mouth playfully.
"Why's that, Harl?" She played right along.
"Cause I lov-" Ivy smiled and put her finger to my lips.
"-you!" I finished quickly with a smirk as she took her finger away, knowing that she had filled in the blank. She didn't like it when I said it, but she never hit me for it. Instead, she leaned in and kissed me on the lips. She lingered on my lips and I melted into her. She held me up and pulled me closer with a finger under my chin. I grinned as she kissed me.
We breathed slowly for a while, savouring the taste of each other and not breaking away from the other's lips. I felt the aches in my face and stomach fade to nothing. It was as if she was kissing away my pain.
Eventually, way too soon if you ask me, she pulled away from me. She ran her hands down my arms and took my fingers into her palms. She stared at me with a shine in her eye. I noticed the little grin that she tried to (and always failed to) hide when she was around me. She kissed the back of my right hand.
"I have an idea, Harls." She said while still looking down at my hand. I giggled as her breath tickled my wrist.
"What?" I asked excited.
"I say we go find the clown...and give him a toxic taste in his mouth." She had a mischievous look to her whole being at that moment. I felt my whole body flutter at that look.
"I agree." I said, putting on my best play of seduction.
"But not tonight. First, I wanna play in the garden." I painted a little circle on her collar bone with my finger. I pushed her back softly with every round. She reached up and curled my hair around her hand and fingers.
"My garden." She said as she turned me took charge and pushed me onto my back. She reached to her bedside table and plucked a petal from one of her roses. She laid beside me and ran the petal over my cheek as she blew softly into my hair. She traced the petal along my jaw, then neck, then collarbone, then...
Soo, whacha think?
Did you know that the creators of the series said that all of those little hints that made you think the girls were, you know, together, were intentional?
I love it.
There should be a few more pieces to this. I actually know exactly what I want to do.
So let me know if I'm doing a good job in a review? Please please please? Thanks!