Morning came and Stephanie, despite having had less sleep than her roommate, got up first. She hesitated initially, seeing Harley's peaceful expression made her want nothing more than to stay in bed forever.
She brushed her feelings aside, not entirely sure where they were coming from or where they were leading her. She made a cooked breakfast of waffles and syrup, to the best of her ability.
They weren't for her; however, as she got everything she needed from a half-bowl of cereal. They were for sleeping beauty.
Harley woke up and, receiving the plate of waffles being offered to her, couldn't contain a flash of gratitude. Once she'd finished them, however, her new-found dour expression came back.
"I thought we could go shopping today. Get you some new clothes of your own." Stephanie smiled but the suggestion was meant with passive acceptance.
"Okay." Harley shrugged, repressing her emotions.
They, first, had to get Harley dressed. The broken girl picked out one of Stephanie's old plain tee-shirts and a pair of black trousers.
Stephanie tried to coax a smile out of the other girl by feigning an interest in wearing an ugly woollen sweater. It half worked; Harley gave a brief smirk but it didn't go any further.
Stephanie eventually settled on a white tank top and a pink skirt. They got changed and Stephanie, once again, averted her gaze.
Harley did not, however, afford her the same courtesy. Instead, she sat with a vacant expression staring directly at the younger woman. Of course, Stephanie could have just gone through to the bathroom to get changed; a part of her, confused but excited, kept her there and allowed the other girl to see most of her body.
Stephanie managed to shield the more sensitive parts of her body from view and the pair exchanged a look of unspoken acceptance that something had, indeed, passed between them.
Somewhere along the lines, perhaps yesterday or perhaps earlier, they'd formed a connection; unconsciously or subconsciously or…
Stephanie was the first to blink and, embarrassed, cast her eyes down. She thought she heard the slightest hint of a laugh escape Harley's mouth. She hoped that, in time, she would be able to get more out of her; to make her laugh as hard as she had the night before.
She spent the entire day trying and she did get a few smiles and gentle chuckles but nothing that lasted; they would go from store to store and, as much fun as Stephanie could make for her, it would always end with Harley dismiss whatever item of clothing the other girl tried to sell her on.
The day passed quickly and as they shuffled through the skirt rack of the last store, Harley found something out of place. A white vest-top, with red playing card diamonds patterned on it; her eyes went wide and Stephanie picked up on it immediately.
"Do you want it?"
Harley just nodded, with a grin slowly growing. They rushed off to the changing rooms.
They chose adjoining rooms; Stephanie had already decided to buy what she had but took the time to try it on. She listened through the thin panel; Harley's squeals of joy as she altered her appearance brought a smile to her face.
After a moment or two, Harley left and knocked at Stephanie's door. "Are you decent?" The question came in a jovial tone; though Stephanie was confused as to why, given the morning's events, the answer really mattered.
"Yeah, sure, come in."
Harley came in, sporting her new top but, also, wearing her hair up in pigtails. "What do you think?" She was bouncing on the balls of her feet, awaiting the answer.
Stephanie laughed, happy to see a glimpse of the old Harley. "It's very you… I like it."
Harley beamed and, unthinkingly, leaned into the other girl's face and gave her a short, sweet, peck on the lips. Stephanie stood in stunned silence, with Harley's bubbly expression never changing.
It all clicked, of course, and, soon enough, Stephanie realised exactly why she'd chased Harley down, exactly what had passed between them and exactly what she wanted now.
Without warning, Stephanie slammed the giggling psychopath against the changing room door. Before she showered her in hard, passionate kisses, she let Harley squeal in delight.
They could've gone all the way but what little sense was left in Stephanie's mind stopped them short. They paid and left as fast as they could and went running home, giggling all the way.
Clarity came to her, having been working its way toward her in the background of her mind since she left the store, after they'd got home to their apartment.
Harley tried to pepper kisses down the Batgirl's neck but she held her back. The older woman, by age but not demeanour, offered her a look of pitiable confusion.
"Wait… I have to know what this is before we take it any further."
Harley's twirled her pigtails around, playfully. "I like you, silly." She made a second attempt to engage the other girl; kissing her each side of the strap on her left shoulder. Before she could make move to go any further, Stephanie pulled back.
"Prove it."
Harley made puppy dog eyes and gave another look of confusion that threatened to buckle Stephanie's knees.
"I'm gonna' go on patrol tonight. Wait for me… be here in the morning and I'll take this as far as you want." Stephanie considered that she was being harsh or weird or stupid but the rational side of her mind, wrestling with her heart, pleaded with her not to get her self hurt.
Harley tilted her head, contemplating the request. "Sure thing, puddin'…"
Her accent was back and that word sent chills down Stephanie's spine. She became a little unnerved and she took no time at all in going ahead with her plan.
She suited up and took off; leaving a window open. She leaped, dashed and glided away; getting far enough away that she could gather her thoughts.
She set herself up, legs dangling over the edge of an apartment building rooftop. She began an internal monologue.
"This is so screwed. What the hell was I thinking? I've got a fucking psychopath in my apartment? She could kill me! I kissed her. I fucking kissed her!"
She buried her face in her palm.
"I think I like her. Shit! I think I really like her. But… …I just screwed it all! Or, maybe I didn't. What if she leaves? What if she stays? Am I supposed to have a secret relationship with the Joker's bereaved girlfriend?"
She began to feel unsteadiness in her stomach as she considered everything. She needed her; she realised that, now. She'd never needed anyone before, not nearly as much as she needed this girl right now.
She took off, not even half an hour after she'd left, for her apartment. She raced towards Harley as if her life depended on it, hoping, begging and praying that she was still there.
She swooped, effortlessly, in through the open window. She glanced over the room. Harley wasn't in bed. She felt herself begin to panic. "Harley!" She called out, desperately.
A response came and her panic subsided. "Hey, there, puddin'... I'll be out in a sec, okay?" It was coming from the bathroom.
Stephanie paced, anxiously and impatiently.
Harley came out, in nothing but the bobbles holding up her pigtails and the white make-up she painted her face in. She offered the Batgirl a coy smile and an instinctive giggle.
"I want you." Stephanie's words, though not planned, matched up perfectly with everything her mind was screaming at her. She rushed over to the crazy girl and into a long, loving, kiss. Through gloved hands, she stroked and squeezed her all over.
Harley tried, without success, to remove parts of the Batgirl's latex costume. Each time she tried, however, Stephanie pinned her arms back against the wall and decorated her body in kisses.
Once Harley had relented and given in completely, Stephanie took her kisses lower and lower; making a trail down her collar, over each breast in turn, across her navel and down her left hip.
Making her way from the harlequin's hip to her thigh, she paused. She looked up at the white-faced girl. "Beg."
Harley let out a squeal of laughter. Steadying herself, she brushed her hand over Stephanie's mask. "Please…"
Stephanie responded with a kiss, where the other blonde had never been kissed before, that went on forever and only ended with shaking legs and tortured screams of pleasure.
Stephanie got up from her knees and, in between the other girl's grateful kisses, guided Harley over to the bed. She moved about half a metre away and made a little show of undressing.
Down to nothing but her pink lipstick, Stephanie dove onto the bed. She made her way, refusing to be teased or toyed with, over to Harley's painted face. She sat over her, grasping handfuls of her hair, long since ruffled out of its style, and had her needs satisfied almost instantly.
Puffing and panting they settled into each others arms, naked. Stephanie stared deep into her old enemy's eyes. After a long stretch of comfortable silence she spoke up. "What does this mean?"
"It means that I like you, silly."