Who do you trust?
Author's Note: Okay, I was reading this fanfiction the other day about Harley not thinking she could trust anyone, until she remembers all the stuff her "friends" did for her, and it got me thinking that that's nonsense. None of the other inmates treat her like she has actual feelings, not even Ivy. Then I thought about how Batman always seems to be there for her, even though she never wants his help, and that thought is where this came from.
Disclaimer: I do not the Batman franchise, nor any of its characters.
Harley Quinn was confused. No, more than that; she was absolutely baffled. The woman who'd lied, cheated, kidnapped and killed, alongside the most fearsome rogue Gotham had ever seen, was confounded by one simple question.
"Who do you trust, Harley?"
This was why she hated her physiatrist, Dr Joan Leland: she always asked such impossible things like this. However, the young woman couldn't deny that her doctor had asked an excellent question, one that she didn't have the answer to. Judging by the twinkle in her eyes, Leland did not expect an answer, and instead carried on speaking.
"Fully trust, I mean. Someone you know protects and cares for you, and is always there when you need them."
Leland was playing a risky move, one that could result in one of two outcomes. Either she could learn more about what went on in Harley's mind, or she could learn nothing and possibly have to deal with one of the inmate's mental breakdowns.
What she didn't realise was that Harley had created a third option: go into shutdown mode. When she refused to answer the difficult question, Leland had tried changing the subject, only to discover that the woman had gone into "La-La Land", as people often called it. The doctor knew from experience that this meant Harley was thinking very intently about something, and would not utter a word until she had finished her train of thought. Reluctantly, Leland called the session to an end.
••••••••••••••
Four hours later, Harley was still thinking about who she really trusted.
Despite how obsessed she was with her 'puddin', she wasn't deluded enough to think that she could trust him with her costume, let alone her life. And, much as it pained her to think it, she began to wonder how she could love a man who she knew couldn't be trusted. Then she carried on down the mental list of her so-called friends.
Johnny? She asked herself, then quickly shook her head - while the man often acted as a father figure for her, she knew that he would leave her to the police or Batman if it meant he could escape. Sadly, the same could be said for all her other fellow inmates, except Red.
But Poison Ivy had her own complications. Although the plant-woman cared deeply for her, Harley knew Red was so invested in their friendship simply because she had no other close friends. In their line of work, there were only so many women to spend time with, and since Ivy hated all men, she was left with Harley and Catwoman. And Selina Kyle was only friends with people when it benefited her financially.
In fact, the more Harley thought about it, the more she realised something about the people she spent time with. It was always because she somehow benefited them. Ivy craved female company, and had made it her mission to get Harley to leave the Joker. Catwoman loved money; Harley was the one she came to when she wanted to do a robbery with someone. The Mad Hatter often asked her to be his temporary Alice, which she did (though never long enough for him to become attached). She helped Jonathan develop new fear toxins and found test subjects for him too.
And Mr J loved to use her as a punching bag.
Harley didn't realise she was sobbing until the door of her cell opened and a tall, muscled shadow stepped inside. As if she needed to feel worse. Of course HE would be here - several super-criminals had escaped earlier that day, including Crane, Tetch, Nygma, Red and Mr J. None of them had bothered to break her out with them.
"Quinn." The deep voice broke into her thoughts.
"What do you want, Bats? I'm not in the mood for an interrogation today." She hated the way her voice shook slightly as she spoke.
"Where are they?"
This was the final straw for Harley. Her so-called friends had escaped and left her alone in this hell, then she'd realised that they'd only ever kept her around when they wanted something from her. Now Batman was here demanding their whereabouts, and she couldn't take anymore.
"Where are they?! WHERE ARE THEY?! How the HELL d'you expect ME to know? Clearly they didn't want to, otherwise I'd BE WITH THEM! They don't give a damn about me, that's obvious now! And now you come in here and ask WHERE THEY ARE?! I shouldn't be upset though, should I? I mean, I'm a clown, and you know what clowns are like. They find everything funny. Because it is funny. Everything is just SO. FUCKING. HILARIOUS!" As the last of her screams echoed around the cell, the young woman collapsed to the floor, a sobbing mess of dyed-blonde hair and running face paint.
Harley knew Batman was stunned at her outburst, but eventually the shock would wear off and he would be back to his harsh, brutal self. Her ribs had only just healed from the Joker's last fit of rage, and she hoped they wouldn't be broken again by the Dark Knight's "interrogation".
Her train of thought was broken, however, when she felt warm, strong arms wrapping around her protectively, keeping her safe from the rest of the world. Too shocked to do anything else, Harley hugged Batman back, her head resting on his muscled chest, just listening to his heartbeat. After a few minutes of stroking soft, blonde hair, the Dark Knight spoke, his voice uncharacteristically gentle.
"I should have thought before talking to you, I'm sorry. Are you alright now?"
When he received no answer, he began to worry, and softly shook Harley, only to find she'd fallen asleep in his arms. Smiling slightly, Bruce carefully picked her up and carried her to her bed; when he placed her down gently and turned to leave, however, he felt a small hand tugging at his own. Looking down at Harley, he was shocked at the words she spoke.
"Please don't leave me alone."
"Harley I can't stay, I have a life outside of being Batman." Even as he said the words, though, he knew he wasn't unkind enough to leave her crying on her own in this hell, despite what people would say.
"Please Batman, I can't be all alone, I can't stand it." Her reply sent a wave of pity and sadness rising up within Bruce - she had never called him Batman before; it had always been joking nicknames.
"I suppose I could cancel tomorrow's plans, it's not urgent anyway." Mentally cursing his inability to refuse the woman's request, he laid down on the bad next to Harley as she curled into his chest, and he soon fell asleep.
Harley, on the other hand, suddenly couldn't sleep at all; her mind was still trying to wrap itself around the idea that Batman was being so nice all of a sudden. Then again, now that she was thinking about it, he'd always been nicer to her than the other inmates here. While the rest of them came in as messes of broken bones and bruises, he was careful not to hurt her - she had never received more than a small cut - and, if she came quietly, she would always be given one of the nicer cells with a window. The one time she had asked him about it, the vigilante had merely told her he didn't need to hurt her, and that he had nothing to do with the cell she was placed in. It was clear that he was lying.
As the tears dried on her cheeks, Harley hugged the Dark Knight tighter, and smiled for the first time that day. Because she wasn't alone after all. She never had been. There was one person who cared about her, even though she didn't know why.
Who do you trust, Harley?
She finally had the answer.
A/N: Aww, isn't it so cute when Batman's sweet to people? Especially Harley. Anyways, please leave me a review and let me know what you think! ~ Dark Knight HQ