Chapter 1: Domestic Thievery

Usually, Harley and Ivy would spend their typical weekend doing something any regular couple would do; gardening, watching a movie together cuddled on the couch or spending the night out on the town, but this wasn't their typical weekend. In fact, the two had been busy gathering resources from Ivy's greenhouse in Robinson Park.

It took a lot of convincing the parole board and officers to let them live at Ivy's old hideout, but only under three fair conditions; they stay out of trouble, they get themselves secure, full-time work, and a bi-weekly visit from Batman. The Dark Knight himself wanted the pair to remain out of trouble too. They had been out of Arkham for almost five months and their income was surprisingly higher than they expected. But unsurprisingly less fun to accumulate...

Harley recently started work at a garage; one of the most popular in Gotham. With her bill of health now clean and her extensive knowledge of most vehicles, she landed the job quite easily. Beyond her mask (and face paint), Harley was a pretty sweet, lively and bouncy girl, her colleagues quickly learned. All of those years being the Joker's henchwench had given her more experience with cars than she expected. After all, when his vehicles got shot up and damaged during a mass homicide spree in Gotham, she was the one to pick up all the pieces. She didn't really like to think about her wasted time with the Joker... But besides, her employer and workmates were impressed with her handiwork, that was all that mattered.

"I want to go over our plan one more time before tomorrow. If anything goes wrong, we'll be back in Arkham in seconds flat. No questions asked," Ivy said nonchalantly whilst cutting stray leaves off her rose bush and handing them to the blonde beside her.

Harley deposited the leaves into a small plastic bag. "You're gonna go to the museum and steal a plant so I need to keep Batsy at bay. What more is there to know?"

"There isn't. But if things go wrong we have an escape plan. Don't drop hints, don't imply anything, and if he asks about me, there's no need to lie."

And honestly, there wasn't. ''She's at the museum's new diamond exhibit'' wasn't a lie at all. Even if viewing the new diamond wasn't her intention. Ivy handed Harley a final leaf. "There. That should do it."

Harley held the small bag of greenery up to eye-level. "Hah! Your mommy has ulterior motives, how 'bout that ya stupid bag o'leaves!"

A green hand snatched the bag away from Harley's face. "These stupid leaves are the reason I'm not going to get caught. The Middlemist's Red Camellia is one of the rarest flowers in the world and I read that it was transferred here a few months ago because its popularity had decreased. Nobody in Gotham appreciates a good Camellia more than I do; those halfwits would mistake it for a rose before they even batted an eyelash," Ivy's voice a state of anger and determination.

"So you're going to replace it with a rose?" Harley asked, her tone sounding more like a statement than a question.

Ivy walked over to her desk and placed down the bag, sitting in the out-of-place dining chair and inspecting the leaves with a microscope. Her desk was a small glass table topped with lab equipment and chemicals left to brew in the faux-light of a lamp. She hated using lamps instead of sunlight, but at night there really wasn't much she could do. If she left the liquids in the dark for too long the chemical would turn an earthy brown and die. Who knew liquefied plants needed such persistent attention?

"A genetically modified rose. For this to work it needs to be the same colour and shape as the Camellia. The only thing different will be the DNA."

The blonde stood behind her girlfriend, tucked back her red hair and began to rub her freckled green shoulders. "Is this gonna take too long?"

"A few hours. Why?"

"I was gonna wait up but I have work tomorrow. Oh, I forgot to tell you that they moved my shift to four-on four-off. Pretty cool huh?"

Harley thought it was more than cool. It was fantastic! She got to sit at home for four entire days and do nothing but watch TV and eat slightly dated cereal.

Ivy nodded, her lips pursed. Far too concentrated on diffusing cells from the leaves to answer... until the relaxing shoulder-rub had stopped and she heard a humming sound coming from behind her. She turned to see Harley bent over with closed eyes and puckered lips.

"Goodnight buttercup," Ivy whispered before pressing her lips to Harleys. "Don't forget to water the succulent."

The blonde padded her way out of the greenhouse, up the stairs and in to their bedroom, giving the room's succulent it's weekly watering and then hopping in to bed. It wasn't often that Harley slept alone for most of the night, but she did fully appreciate having the bed to herself. Moreso sleeping in Ivy's spot.

Notes: I'm honestly surprised I even finished this chapter. My computer keeps making ugly whurrring noises every few minutes and it distracts me so much. I also started writing this at 3am.. at this point I think i'm nocturnal.. or insane.
Anyway this is my first piece of writing in over a year or so, I forgot how fun creative writing was!

The next chapter will be out within the next week if my motivation doesn't crash and burn. (This was supposed to be a ficlet but I thought it would be a nice starting point for a small fic I have planned.)

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed! Feedback would be very appreciated!

~4D