Makeup and Masks

Soft crying came through the thin door of the theater bathroom as Harley stared at her broken reflection. Harleen Quinzel was a beautiful woman, wrapped up in gorgeous ivory skin with long blond hair that fell in strands of silk over her shoulders; cerulean eyes that were complimented by long dark lashes graced her smile made up of her full pink lips.

Water dripped from her wet hair that clang to her face and made ripples in the puddle the naked Harlequin was sitting in. She'd practically flooded the bathroom. The bath water was still running, flooding the tub and spilling over the side and onto the floor. Harley had positioned herself in front of the large mirror that took up most of the side wall.

Black and blue…her ivory skin was black and blue, something she never thought about until she was staring Harleen in the face. Sometimes she was visible to the little Harlequin, she could see her former, saner self shining in her reflections blue, tear filled eyes. Her body trembled and she bit her lower lip hard, drawing a small amount of blood, it filled her mouth with an irony taste. The girl stared at her new found black eye in the mirror….Her Puddin was angry with her again.

It was of course her fault, she did interrupt his scheming. It was a mistake she should have learned a long time ago not to make twice but she'd made that same mistake a thousand times. Harley reached out and touched her finger tips to the finger tips of her reflection. She was searching the eyes of the girl in the mirror for strength, an answer, a solution, the motivation to get up off the floor.

She finally decided that the girl in the mirror was no one and she would disappear once her makeup was back in place. Her knees ached as she stood on shaking legs using the sink for leverage as she grabbed the sopping wet towel up off the floor and wrapped it around her naked body, long legs peaking from the hem, bust peaking from the top. Harley also had a beautiful, curvaceous body, a fact she knew all to well from the many stares she earned from the men she worked with at Arkham and the men who work with her Puddin now.

The beaten beauty walked back to the bedroom, she of course had her own for Joker did not always want to lie down beside her. Sometimes she thought about the nights when he did lay with her…back when she first moved in with him and sometimes she'd wonder why he stopped. Asking would be stupid because he'd never give her a straight answer. Her clown prince could be quite blunt.

Harley dropped the towel in a wet heap on the floor and opened up her drawer to look for a costume. She smiled a faint smile and tipped her head to the side looking at an old one. It was black and red just like her more recent costume but it was a bit bustier and hugged her curves like a long sleeved corset. The entrails of the headdress were much, much longer almost down her back, the resembled large ram horns.

Harley smiled fondly at it and stepped into it after drying off with a towel she pulled from her closet. Once she had it all zipped up she picked the brush up and pulled the tags out of her hair a bit violently. Her hands worked her mess of blond into two pig tails and she smiled at herself in the mirror applying the white face paint she used on a daily basis to make herself appear more clown like. Slipping her black mask onto her face she smiled a bit more….the bruises were gone and as she painted her lips ebony so was Harleen Quinzel…out of site out of mind.

"Harley" an all too familiar voice sounded from behind her "it's been ages since I've seen that costume on you, pooh….what made you want to pull it out of the drawer?" It was her clown prince, her Puddin. The little harlequin turned herself around, switching her weight to one leg.

Ebony lips parted slowly "I felt like wearing it, Puddin, that's all"

The Joker looked her over and snarled with disgust "Take it off"

Harley's blue eyes widened, she didn't understand why he didn't like her outfit. The girl turned around and looked in the mirror that hung lopsided above the dresser. She looked beautiful in her own opinion, the top hugged her curves perfectly, cleavage teasing the eye with soft ivory, all down her stomach the suit didn't wrinkle or bunch up, just fit like a glove leading off into firm round thighs. She was still barefoot maybe Joker would like it better with her boots.

"I think it looks nice, Puddin" Harley said softly "Maybe it'll look better to you once I get my boots on" Joker's face contorted into a scowl and Harley knew she was in trouble. The clown prince of crime walked closer to her, slowly, he did not lunge but his eyes were dark, darker than usual.

"I said take it off" his voice was a low growl. Harley's eyes were a mix of fear and confusion. The green haired man's hand caught her by the crook of her arm, rough, another bruise. Harley winced but bit her lower lip to hold it in. Joker didn't want a weak girlfriend, he didn't want a crybaby who couldn't even take being grabbed and Harley would make herself into whatever Joker wanted. All it would ever take was a little cover up.

"You look like an idiot" Joker sneered as he tore her headdress off and threw it to the floor "I don't want to see this thing on you again" his voice grew and though it didn't show on her face immediately the little harlequin was scared for her life. His fingers tore into the where the corset held her breasts and ripped it off, casting it to the floor he threw Harley onto her bed. Harley's naked chest spilled into the open, one of her pig tails had come out when he pulled the headdress off and so she laid on the bed, shocked, scared, on the verge of tears.

Joker gripped the legs of what he'd left of the body suit and pulled them off, ripping the martial apart with rough hands "Am I clear Harley?" his chest was heaving, nostrils flared he was really mad….why?

Harley nodded shakily; he'd torn her costume up so fast she couldn't process it all. His hand caught her by the big tail that went undamaged by his little episode. He pulled her close to him so they were nose to nose. Harley slammed her eyes shut…out of sight out of mind…out of sight out of mind. She knew he was going to hit her again, that was okay she could just cover it up. It would only hurt for a little bit…just a little bit.

Harley awaited that first blow…but it never came instead he gently kissed her lips and Harley's eyes opened as he walked out of the room shutting the door behind him. Shocked, Harley picked herself up thinking to herself how weird he was acting. The beauteous blond ran toward her dresser and grabbed her usual costume, throwing it all on almost messily she ran out of the room as fast as her legs would carry her and down the hall into Joker's study.

He wasn't doing anything, not making plans, not scheming, not ranting, just sitting, very, very still at his desk in his corner, with his head in his hands. He was sitting still, this wasn't right and Harley knew it. "Puddin" whispered the blond as she slowly approached the desk. He didn't look up at her or speak or motion for her to go away.

She placed a hand on his shoulder before her heart sank into her stomach, he was crying, her Puddin was crying and she didn't even know why. The Joker didn't cry often but Harley had seen it maybe twice after he broke out of Arkham….he was confronting some pretty bad demons back then and Harley remembered how he fell to his knees and cried into her stomach, holding onto her as if she'd save him from himself.

It was a terrible time, Harley hated to see him cry, it made her want to cry. She picked his face up between her delicate gloved hands "Mistah J" her sweet voice lingered on the air as the green haired man stared up into her blue eyes. His own eyes were red and puffy, his face was drenched with tears and his lower lip shook violently. "Mistah J…what is it?" his pupils centered and his body wracked with sobs, he tried to stifle the horrible, ugly sounds that were erupting from the back of his throat. "Puddin, I love you, what's wrong?" that was it.

The Joker threw his arms around his little harlequin's shoulders, his embrace tight as a death grip. Harley was taken by surprise; her heart beat a million miles a second. "Puddin" he sobbed into her neck, hand pulling her headdress off for the second time that day. Her pigtails fell free and he held her tighter gripping her headdress in his hand he held it in a tight fist against her hip, keeping her held against his with his free arm draped around her shoulders. The position forced her to lean over his desk, supporting her weight on her hands, one foot barley on the tile floor.

"Harley" sobbed the green haired man. She nodded and lifted one arm to wrap it around his waist as he kissed the hollow of her throat "I can't anymore Harley" he cried, his tone was agonizing, he was so broken, he was supposed to always smile, he was the clown prince. Harley's heart was breaking for him. This was the man she loved and she didn't understand a word he was saying. The Joker fell back in his chair, pulling the girl over the desk and into his lap at a bit of an awkward angle.

Sitting in his lap bridal style Harley touched his face "Tell me what's wrong" her hands ran over his cheeks and shoulders and arms in a soothing manor.

"Your too much for me, Harley" he whispered through his tears "I've fought men with guns, my own demons and believe me girl, they are horrible demons, I am the clown prince of hell for Christ's sake….I kill with a straight face…I think nothing of it…..criminals scare other criminals with stories of my escapades….but you…you make me….weak…" the words left his mouth slow "don't you see Harley….you make me do these awful things to you"

Harley shook her head and gave him a confused look "I do no such thing, Puddin…" he gripped her arm a bit roughly, Harley winced forgetting that she was pretending to be strong for a moment.

The Joker's dark eyes met her blue ones "You stupid girl, I bet you think you've got it hard huh…think its hard to love someone like me…someone so cruel…so evil…the most dangerous man in Gotham" Harley swallowed the knot in her throat. Her Puddin's grip on her arm grew even tighter. "Try not being able to hide behind the makeup…Harley…I don't have the option!" he growled, eyes growing darker by the second "Try having this beautiful woman beg for your attention and have no idea how to give it to her! You have memories Harley! Feelings! Family! You came to me with a heart full of love and I have none to offer…no matter how much I want to!"

Harley's eyes were wide and her mouth gaping slightly, she couldn't believe what he was saying. Her Puddin wore a mask to…just like her but he didn't hide behind makeup like her…he hid behind the violence…behind the cruel words and the beatings. "When you first came along Harley…I was caught up in your kisses….it took years to learn to push you away…caught up in your arms…it was painful to brush you off…but you're so damn insistent…you wear that mask of yours so easily…you make me hate you…can't you understand I don't know how to love you? That you confuse me with your affection! That your distract me with your body! I don't like these feelings Harley" he snapped.

Harley placed her hands on either side of his face and kissed his lips slowly "These feelings are simple, Puddin" The joker frowned into the kiss feeling a little insulted, he was a fucking genius 'if these feelings were simple I would understand them, ya dumb bitch!' he thought to himself. "Let me explain it" she said in between kisses that he was slowly starting to return "Why did you want to stop returning my kisses in the first place"

"They made my chest hurt" he said against her lips.

"Your heart skipped a beat" she whispered running her fingers through his hair "I make your heart race, Puddin" The Joker's eyes searched hers.

"What dose that mean?"

"I make you nervous" the blond responded sweetly and kissed his nose "Why did you untangle yourself from my arms that first time"

"I got dizzy, lazy, my limbs felt heavy" she kissed him more passionately this time and smiled looking him over. His cheeks were still wet but he'd stopped crying.

"you were relaxing…it's good for you"

The joker stared at her with curious eyes "Then your good for me" Harley nodded in response.

"I make you more human, Puddin…I just have one more question"

"Oh and what's that, doll?"

"Why did you rip up my costume?" Harley really was curious.

"I didn't want any of the other men running around this hell hole to see you dressed that way" he admitted staring directly into her eyes, she felt the intensity of his stare down to her core and her face turned pink beneath the makeup. "I understand jealousy….I dislike it because it hurts…worse than a bullet" Harley touched his face and searched his eyes.

He was hers and she was his but they would never change. She had needed to hear these words from her Puddin but the Joker disliked the way she made him feel. He said so himself she made him weak and he hated weakness. It was a given truth he would hit her again tomorrow and she would cover the bruises with makeup.

It would tear her apart inside as it had been for the past seven years. Seven year's she'd been hurt but her obsession made her stay. Soon she was sure her obsession would take her body mind and soul she needed him. Harley could keep herself hidden away behind that mask…her makeup…but underneath the bruises existed…the obsession was real and she was slowly losing her mind.

Still her lover wore a mask of his own and he too has become obsessed, he can't be without his little harlequin and he too will lose it completely because behind the cruelty, behind the violence, the clown prince of crime loved Harley Quinn.