Harley Quinn and Nightwing are enemies.
Harleen Quinzel, Harley's alter-ego, fell in love with Dick Grayson, a smiling, caring, sweet policeman. Among the many problems with the relationship was his alter ego. Nighttime Gotham saw Dick Grayson disappear, and Nightwing rose in his place.
The Joker, Harley Quinn's everything, has murdered her. Dick Grayson is faced with the pain and regret of what he should have told her when he found out that her other half, Harleen Quinzel, was just a facade. And she is, too.
"You shouldn't be here," she whispered. He flicked the light on above the kitchen table between them from where he was leaning against the kitchen counter. Nightwing. Dick. Harley reached up and pulled the hood off her head, tossing it on the kitchen table before meeting his eyes.
Dick's Nightwing mask rested on the counter beside him where he leaned against it, his arms crossed. His face was cold and unreadable, a bandage across his forehead and over his bruised nose. Intense blue eyes watched her from under a furious brow.
"Explain." his voice was a hoarse whisper. Her eyes flicked up to the wounds on his face, and a look of concern flashed across her face.
"What happened?" she cried, reaching out and stepping toward him before hesitating. Dick tried to decide between telling her or not.
"Car crash," he finally admitted, still staring at her heavily. His jaw was pushed forward in anger, and his voice still sounded hoarse. Harley glanced away, setting her jaw because she felt like she might cry. She didn't know what to do.
"You shouldn't have come," she muttered, wishing he would leave but never wanting him to go.
"I want to know why," he said evenly.
"I could ask you the same thing," she snapped.
"Don't play tough with me, Lee, I know you want to cry as much as I do," Dick sighed. "Why? Just answer the damn question."
"I already told you everything," she cried. "Don't you remember? The first day we met, and you asked me about Harley Quinn. Everything I said was true, I just didn't say it was me."
"That's not what I meant," Dick sighed again, his voice emotionless. "I mean why, when I asked you out to dinner, did you say yes." He stared at her, stony-eyed. She burst into laughter and started crying at the same time, shaking her head as she realized how ridiculous the answer would sound.
"He forgot our anniversary," she finally said.
"He- I'm sorry, what?!" Dick stared at her incredulously.
"It was the anniversary of the day I broke him out of Arkham, and he didn't remember," she clarified drily. She put her hands over her eyes. "I was bitter and there you were."
Dick bit his lip and looked down. "You know, I didn't think it could get any worse. But you showed me, didn't you?" His gaze returned to her, his blue eyes narrowed and cold. "On top of being used for information and lied to, I was also just a toy to make the Joker jealous. I knew I'd been used, just didn't know that it had literally been from day one. Thanks for proving me wrong." Dick snapped furiously.
"I never told him about you," she said, lowering her hands. "I don't know why. I couldn't do it." She crossed her arms over her chest, not sure why she was telling him this. Maybe she wanted him to understand that it hadn't all been a lie. "But he found out about you."
"Of course he did." Dick closed his eyes, and he ran a hand through his hair as he fell silent. The quiet hung in the air between them.
"I'm sorry. I didn't want this to happen," Harley finally whispered.
"I'm sorry too." Dick said gravely. "I came here with so many things I wanted to ask you. To say to you. I can't remember any of them now." She wiped another tear away.
"Are you sure? Because I could think of a few terrible things to say to a person like me." A criminal. A murder. A psychopath. A monster.
Dick rested his elbows on the counter and dropped his head in his hands. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Honestly… There's only one thing I really want to say to you."
"And what's that?" she asked, wondering if she really wanted to know.
"I hate you. And after all this shit… I still love you." Dick groaned, his voice muffled by his hands. Harley couldn't understand how her heart could break even more at his words.
"Are you sure?" Dick glanced up, but she wouldn't meet his eyes. "All of me? Because earlier you said you 'loved me'." She turned her back to him. "You loved the girl who doesn't exist."
Dick stood up straight, looking down at her. "Then our relationship doesn't exist. If Lee isn't real, if Lee is the mask you wear during the day to hide who you are at night; then I fell in love with your lies." He swallowed hard. "The sad part is, I'm still falling for them."
"You think I don't want them to be real too?" she asked, spinning on him. "You think I sometimes don't wish that I could just be Lee? You made me want that!"
"Then why can't you be that!" he demanded.
"I don't know how," she said sobbing. Dick marched over to her and dragged her into an embrace. Harley clutched at his back as he wound his hands through her hair.
"We can do it together," he whispered. Harley cried harder, balling up her hands.
"I don't deserve it. I've hurt you," she muttered.
"I'd try, for you." He said. He sounded like he was almost pleading with her.
"Would you?" she asked him desperately.
"Of course." She pulled away to look him in the eyes.
"I love you," Harley whispered.
"Harley!" a voice shattered her consciousness. Harley sat bolt upright in the bed and immediately regretted it. It felt like every bone in her body was broken.
"Nightwing!" she called frantically into the air as hands pushed her back down into a lying position.
"Relax, you're fine." Harley turned and saw Poison Ivy sitting beside her bed.
"Red?" she asked. "Where am I? What's going on? Where's Dick?" She got more and more frantic.
"You fell out of a window," Ivy told her. No, Harley thought, closing her eyes as it felt like the world was crashing around her. Her and Dick had just been a dream, and she had chosen the Joker.
"I was such a fool," Harley sobbed, tears streaming down her face. "What was I thinking?"
Ivy pushed her back down onto the bed. "I don't think you were," she said dryly. Ivy was right, she hadn't been thinking.
You've believed his lies since day one, and it was time you payed the price. "Why didn't I have Dick stay? Why did I go back to him? It was his father! I just want Dick!" she rambled.
Mid rant, Ivy just whispered, "I really hope that's his name."
"What did I do? I need to go find Nightwing!"
"You need to calm down," Ivy said in a monotone.
"I need to go!" Harley started to sit up, wincing in pain.
Ivy shoved her down again, roughly. "You feel the pain this time?" Ivy demanded. "You aren't in any sort of condition to be chasing any type of Dick."
Harley moaned in pain, clutching her shoulder. "Ow, that hurt," she complained.
"I am not a Witch Doctor, I work with plants, now keep your ass in this bed because I need more than one night, alright?" Ivy said harshly.
"Where am I?" Harley asked distractedly, glancing around in confusion. There was intricate furniture made out of vines and plants in the concrete room.
"My place," Ivy explained, a little softer now.
Harley squished the bed beneath her. "You have an actual bed?" she asked groggily. She felt tired, like she hadn't slept in days.
Ivy slammed the cup of water she was holding into Harley's hands. "Just because I like plants doesn't mean I expect everyone to want all of their things to be plants," she snapped.
Harley squinted at her. "Yes, but," she said, confused, "does that mean you went and bought a bed just for me?"
Ivy threw her hands up, exasperated. "If you don't want the bed, fine!"
"No, I want the bed," Harley mumbled over the lip of her cup, and she smiled to herself. "It's just... sweet."
Ivy ignored her and turned away, but as soon as her back was to Harley, she smiled too. When she turned back, she placed a cool cloth on Harley's brow. "You're going to need a lot of sleep," Ivy advised. "That will help you now more than I can."
Harley just realized how tired she was. "Red you're so pushy," she mumbled.
"Red?" Ivy asked, eyebrow raised, and Harley just grinned.
"Did someone say my name?" the Red Hood exclaimed with gusto. Ivy jumped and dumped a glass of water all over herself. "Don't worry, I'm sure it's good for your little plant outfit," he said to her glare.
"Dick?" Harley asked with her eyes half open. Red Hood turned toward her voice, and froze when he saw her.
Shit, he thought. Did not expect that… Thank God. Red Hood tilted his face into Harley's line of vision. "Sorry," he said, amused, "just me."
"No," Harley cried, exhausted. "So close."
"I get that a lot," he quirked.
"Shut up Jason," she mumbled into her pillow before falling asleep, and he smiled broadly.
"Jason?" Ivy cried. "Dick? What is going on here!" Then it dawned on her. "Oh."
"Damn," Red Hood said casually. "There goes my only bargaining chip." Behind his nonchalant behavior, he was assessing the situation. So Harley Quinn is alive and Poison Ivy knows the Bat family. Great, he thought.
Ivy wiped water off of herself while eyeing the Red Hood down. He responded by tilting his head down at the sleeping Harley. "What I take interest in is not of your concern," she hissed before grabbing his arm and dragging him away from the bed.
"I think this is," he replied lightly.
"You think so?" she asked coyly, and leaned into him. She put her hands on the side of his mask. "Since I know who you are now, why don't you take this off," she asked sweetly.
He breathed in loudy through his nose. "I think I'm good," he replied just as sweetly. Ivy rolled her eyes, annoyed at his pheromone blocking mask.
She was just about to move away when his gloved hands grabbed her wrists. Her face was inches from his. "You may not understand this," he whispered coldly, finally serious, "but I'm not going to let anything mess with my family."
Ivy held back her sarcastic remark. "I understand better than you think," she hissed. Then, she sighed and finally stopped fighting against him. "He was the first thing she called for when she woke up," she explained. Red Hood's grip loosened on her wrists. "And be high and mighty all you want," she warned, "but if you think I'm going to let you barge in here and harm her to protect what's important to you, then we're going to have a problem because she's what's important to me."
The Red Hood released her and sighed. "I think you and I have a bigger problem than each other," he said. Ivy crossed her arms. Red Hood nodded toward Harley, "We need a plan because we need to fix them."