It's the beginning of the end.

In the wake of the Mad Hatter and the Joker's criminal escapades, their targets were left damaged- including Harley's niece Jenny and Damian's closest friend outside of the family- Carrie Kelley. Everything's silenced again, and Gotham is quiet. For the most part.

Gossip is whispered in the streets; playboy billionaire Bruce Wayne is getting married. Under the radar, however, is the buzz about returning bridesmaid Pamela Isley, who shows up to Dick and Harley's picture-perfect home just as he's about to head out on patrol.

Harley moved the couch throw pillows before looking at them and moving them back to how they had been. Dick grabbed her hand when she went to refold a blanket.

"Everything looks fine," he laughed.

"I know, I know," Harley sighed, glancing around the room. "We don't have enough plants," she groaned.

"I'm sure she'll remedy that," Dick smiled.

"But what if she's disappointed?" she asked.

"Harley," he laughed lightly. "She loves you. She isn't going to care if you don't have flowers. If you want, I'll go out to get some more…" It would be the fifth time he'd run to the store. Harley had been bustling about all morning making sure that the entire house was spotless, and not just cleaned; she'd successfully converted every room into the pages of a Better Homes & Gardens magazine. Dick tried to keep up, buying groceries and Christmas decorations and every little thing that Harley asked him for. He'd done his best to clean himself up, and Harley had suggested they put makeup on him to soften the dark color of the angry bruises still blossoming across his left cheek and over his nose. The cut at his hairline had mostly healed and was covered by his bangs; she'd wanted to cover the fading bruise on his neck, it still made the scar across his throat stand out, but Dick had turned down the makeup.

Harley turned to him, frowning at his t-shirt tucked into the front of his torn jeans. His socks were still damp from kicking his snow boots off at the door, and a hoodie with a stain looking suspiciously like blood on the collar was draped over his shoulders and pulled up to his elbows.

"No you don't- but- What's on your collar?"

Dick looked down at it and shrugged. "It's a hand-me-down from Jason." Harley looked up at him with puppy dog eyes.

"Please go change?"

"What?" Dick stared at her, and then broke into a grin. "Oh I'm sorry, do I not look right against the backdrop of your picture-perfect little home?" he teased. "Do I need to look like a soap opera protagonist, or a Calvin Klein model? Do you want me to unbutton my shirt halfway down my chest? Do I need-"

"-No." Harley puckered her lips. "I want you to be you… just maybe the cleaner you." She fidgeted with the front of his shirt before smirking. "Although a half buttoned shirt…"

Dick laughed before turning around and taking the stairs two at a time. Wally sprinted after him, and Clark licked Harley's hand, wagging his tail lazily as he looked up at her. Harley scratched his ear.

"You know if Red hates dogs, we're going to have a serious problem," Harley told him. She heard Dick cry out from upstairs.

"Dammit- Harley! Call Wally down the idiot is staring at me again-"

Harley laughed as she whistled shrilly, and Wally came bounding down the steps, falling down the last three and flopping onto the carpet. He leapt up and sprinted to her, jumping up and barking happily.

"Calm down crazy," she laughed. Wally ran around her, knowing better than to jump on her. He licked her hand. She scratched his head absentmindedly. It had been stressful lately, and she wanted this to be perfect. Damian hadn't come back since the night Carrie was arrested, but Harley thought she'd wait another day or so before she went to see him at the Manor. Once he'd left, Dick had spent the day covering the house in Christmas lights before making her watch Frozen again. Then Harley had gotten the call from Ivy.

The doorbell rang. "Dick! She's here!" Harley yelled up the stairs, shooing the dogs as she headed toward the door. She flung it open and smiled at Ivy.

"I hate planes," Ivy complained.

"Shut up." Harley laughed and pulled her in for a hug. "I've missed you."

"You're always so clingy," Ivy mock whined. She hugged her back. "You look well." She stepped back and studied Harley.

"You too. The rainforest suited you." Ivy was her pale human self, except now she had some color; although she did look out of place in a thick winter coat.

"It's freezing in this hemisphere," she muttered.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Harley opened the door wider. "Come inside."

Ivy stifled a cry as Wally and Clark started barking, jumping around her feet. A sharp whistle called the dogs to the stairs as Dick walked down, smiling dashingly as he put his hands in his pockets. Harley raised her eyebrows. He'd changed into clean, nice jeans and a deep maroon button down. It was unbuttoned down a bit, exposing his collarbone and the barest hint of his strong chest. He'd combed his hair back and it fell beside his cheek, highlighting his handsome face, and the bruises did nothing to detract from his features. "Ivy. Nice to see you again. And not trying to kill me, for once." He stopped beside Harley, still smiling as he shook Ivy's gloved hand. "Let me get your bags." Dick walked past her and out the door.

"How have you been? What have you been up to?" Harley asked, lacing her arm through Ivy's as she led her into the living room.

"I haven't been doing-"

"-Don't you dare say you haven't done anything," Harley told her. "You were out of here so fast like it was important. What have you been doing these months?"

"Just some research, Seeing new plants." Ivy insisted. Dick came back inside and closed the door behind him, glancing at the two women in the living room.

"I know I'll get kicked for saying this, but did your sudden trip to the Amazon have anything to do with a certain former Robin? Every time we ask what the hell happened between you two, Jason says to ask you. So, um, what the hell happened between you two?" Dick breathed, cold air clouding from his lips as he dusted the snow off of his dark shirt and put her bags down. Harley shot him a look, and he glanced between them. "What… is that a girl-talk thing? Do I have access to that information?"

"There's not some super secret information," Ivy told him. "I had the opportunity to go and do some on site research. As for Jason, you'll have to talk to him about… whatever it is." She sounded bitter. "He wanted me to go."

"That's not how he puts it," Dick shrugged, kicking his boots off. He picked up her bags again and took them upstairs to the guest room.

"I'm really glad you're staying here, Red," Harley told her. Ivy nodded slowly, watching her. "Okay," Harley suddenly burst out, "you know I'm not going to let it drop. You and Jay? What happened?"

"I told you." Ivy rolled her eyes.

"Don't try that attitude with me. Spill."

"It's nothing."

"Yes it is," Harley pressed. "What happened?"

"Nothing!"

"What won't you tell me?"

"Because I don't know," Ivy cried. It was silent for a moment. "I don't know what happened, okay?" She rubbed her forehead. "He had clearly moved on, so I decided to get some space to do the same."

"So you felt the need to go halfway around the world to get space from someone you had never even admitted to dating before?" Ivy didn't answer. "That's dumb. I missed you, and you left for stupid reasons. I bet you didn't even do any fun research."

"I made some new plant hybrids-"

"-No, no, not good enough." Harley turned away in mock anger, and Ivy rolled her eyes at her antics. Dick came back down the stairs and sat down on the couch beside Harley, draping an arm over the back. She could smell the faint familiar aroma of his cologne.

"Uh-oh, she's got the 'I'm mad at you but not really but really' face on... what, you won't tell her why you and Jay broke up? Or didn't break up or whatever- I know he's just dying to see you. He was so excited when he heard that you were coming to the wedding." He grinned at Harley, and she shoved his chest.

"Stop being mean, or I'll be fake mad at you."

"You were fake mad at me at least six times today, I don't know that one more would affect me much. Not much more than the first one, anyway," he glanced at Ivy, "she threw a mixing spoon at me earlier."

"You ate half of the batter and gave the other half to the dogs," Harley whined. "There was barely any left to use."

"You made more," he waved a hand dismissively. "If you're hungry, she prepared a ton of food. She worked all day on it. Granted, there were a few times when I was distracting her."

"Why do you think I kept sending you on errands? To get you out of the way." Harley smirked.

"Ouch," Dick scoffed, but he couldn't keep a smile from flickering across his lips. He got up and walked into the kitchen. "If I'm not wanted, maybe I'll just go over to Will's to watch something and have a beer."

"I thought you didn't drink," Ivy pointed out. Dick ignored her.

"And what makes you think Will wants you?" Harley laughed. "You'd end up watching Frozen with Lilly and drinking a juice box, and you know it."

"Good! Maybe I want to watch that movie again, since I can't watch it here!" he called back to her. Ivy gave Harley a questioning look.

"Why can't he-" she asked, but was cut off as he started belting out 'Love is an Open Door' from the kitchen.

"Your wailing is upsetting Clark!" Harley called. "He's scratching at his ears!" Clark didn't even look up from where he was napping on the tree skirt.

"You like my singing voice, and you know it!" He laughed. "Jason is the tone-deaf one." Harley rolled her eyes.

"You two are so happy it's almost disgusting," Ivy told her.

"At least I'm happy," Harley countered. "You hated it when I cried."

"Oh please no more crying."

"I second that!" Dick shouted from the kitchen.

"No, ganging up on me! She's my friend," Harley called back.

"Yeah well, she's also my help line when it comes to you," Dick came back into the room and handed Harley a mug of hot cocoa. "She cried I think three times last week, once, literally over spilled milk. Can I get you something to drink? Water with an extra shot of Miracle-Gro?"

"Ha ha, very funny. Don't you have to get Batman's permission before telling jokes?" Ivy asked. Dick smirked.

"I make jokes when I feel like it. I'm a rebel like that." He winked at Harley, raising his own mug to his lips.

"Careful, your dangerous streak may scare her," Harley teased.

"If she's seen Jason naked, nothing can scare her," Dick put his mug on the coffee table. "Did we tell you about his stripper friend? Her name was Flower. Lovely redheaded girl. Seriously, can I get you something to drink? Don't want you wilting."

"Im not going to- Wait- What? Who?" Ivy looked between them as Harley frowned at Dick. He raised an eyebrow as he watched Ivy. Harley couldn't tell who he was trying to provoke, her or Ivy.

"The bachelor/bachelorette parties were quite eventful. Jason brought a stripper named Flower home," he glanced at Harley. "What? It's relevant. Ish. And we really did miss you at the parties, by the way." Dick added, and he sounded genuine.

"Yeah, maybe you could have refrained from getting as blackout drunk as everyone else. It was ridiculous," Harley was talking fast, trying to cover up the awkward subject of Jason and another girl. "I'm glad you're here now for the rest of it. I mean, I'm sure you'll hate all the wedding stuff. But you'll have to put up with it again, so get used to it. You're obviously going to be in my wedding, and you do know I'm engaged right?"

"Not exactly, but I figured you would be by the time I got back here." Ivy genuinely smiled. "Congratulations." Dick smiled and walked around the couch, and he kissed Harley's head as he sat beside her. He looked like he couldn't sit still, his fingers tapping the side of his leg.

"Thanks." Harley grinned at Ivy, grabbing Dick's hand to stop him from fidgeting. "We have quite a bit to catch up on. Oh, and then my neighbor, Molly. I invited her over because I think the two of you- Dick!" Harley smacked his hand to stop it from fidgeting with her fingers. "Just go. You're way too anxious to be here. Go visit Bruce and get some of your energy out."

"No, I'm fine," he insisted, smiling. Harley and Ivy stared at him. "Okay! Jeez, I'll head out, and leave you two to your girl talk. Or whatever," Dick stood up and walked out of the room. A bit later he came back, wearing his Nightwing uniform. The lightweight, black, bulletproof fabric conformed to his body and moved with his muscles. He'd upgraded to a new uniform; sleeker, more streamlined, his escrima sticks now strapped to holsters on the outside of his thighs. The sharp red stripe across his chest bled over his shoulders and down his arms, wrapping around his middle and ring fingers elegantly. It stood out brightly against the dark fabric tight around his torso. Pockets lined his hips in two sharp red streaks angling down from his hips. The collar was higher than before, with a built in voice changer pressed to the throat. Also equipped in the suit, like the rest of his family's uniform upgrades, was a tracer, a sensor to monitor vitals, and brand new comms built into the masks. He smiled, and the action contrasted oddly against his angular mask, sharp points gripping his forehead and lining his cheekbones from the corners. Red shadowed in a thin line under the white lenses of the mask. "You girls have fun," he took Harley's hand and helped her to her feet, kissing her gently.

"Please, you're making me sick," Ivy rolled her eyes, but she couldn't keep herself from smiling a bit. Nightwing smirked, inhaling deeply as he kissed Harley passionately; one of his hands rested on her belly, and the other slid to her cheek as he stepped closer to her. Harley giggled into his kiss. When he finally pulled back, Nightwing grinned.

"I love you," he stroked a thumb over her cheek. Harley kissed his nose, giggling.

"I love you too." Nightwing stole another kiss, and then another- and another- "Stop it! Dick!" Harley laughed as she pushed him away, smiling and blushing. Nightwing laughed and bit his lip.

"Have a good night, Harles," he beamed. When he gave her a quick kiss again, he ran to the back door laughing before she could hit him with a throw pillow.