All characters are owned by DC comics
Author's note: This story makes several references to my other stories
Harley and Ivy were getting ready to go to the beach for a day. Harley put on a black and red bikini and pulled on a pair of cutoff shorts. She stepped into the bathroom and looked in the mirror and sighed at her scars. The two bullet holes in her side, the long gash across her stomach, the burn mark on her right shoulder, the stab wound and whip marks on her back, the bullet hole in her left thigh and the smaller cuts all over her body. They had all healed, but the scars stood out against her skin. She let out another long sigh as she traced her scars.
"Everything ok?" Ivy asked as she poked her head in.
"Maybe a bikini was a bad idea" Harley said.
"What do you mean?" Ivy asked "you bought that just for today."
"It shows almost all of my scars" Harley said "I don't even know how many I have any more Red, I lost count."
"You should be proud of your scars" Ivy said.
"What?" Harley asked.
Ivy walked over and put her finger on one of the bullet holes on her side and said "you got this by pushing me out of the way of a bullet and taking the hit yourself" she moved her finger to another bullet hole and said "I believe you got this one while dragging Batgirl to safety out of that warehouse on our second mission with Task Force S" she ran her hand over the whip marks on her back "you got these when that sadistic criminal group captured you and whipped you to try to force you to talk and tell them about Task Force S, but you didn't tell them anything" she traced the gash across Harley's stomach "you got this by telling the Joker to screw off when he told you to kill me."
"What about all the scars from the Joker when he beat me for no reason, or when I screwed up?" Harley asked.
"How many people have survived more than one beating like that from the Joker?" Ivy asked.
"Nobody" Harley said "just me."
"See?" Ivy said "you're stronger than you think."
"What about the scars from the bat-o-rangs?" Harley asked "how can I be proud of those?"
"How many times did Batman catch you after you had a bat-o-rang lodged in your skin?" Ivy asked.
"Very few" Harley said.
"See?" Ivy said "you get hurt, but you just keep on going. Be proud of your scars Harl. They show what you've been through, and how strong you are for coming through it."
Harley gave her a confused look that slowly turned into a smile.
"I nevah thought about it that way" Harley said.
"So, do you still want to change bathing suits?" Ivy asked.
"No" Harley said "maybe I should show off a little, who else has this many scars? This many stories to tell?"
"That's my Harl" Ivy said smiling "let's go."