Author's Note:

So I have decided to continue this story, mostly because of all the support from you readers. I want to thank you all for your support. However, I don't know how quickly I will be able to update these chapters, seeing as I don't have much free time in my personal life.

I do hope you enjoy this. And remember to read and review!

Lady Angelic

Harley struggled to open the car door, battling against the thick underbrush and branches that screeched in protest against the glass and metal. She forced the door away from her and slipped out into the tangle of leaves. Edging around to the front of the car, she looked about, a little more frantically than she thought she would.

The Joker was close behind her, surveying the car before deciding that there was nothing of value left in it for him. He started to walk away from her, deeper into the forest before she balked and trotted after him, finally tucking her gun into the back of the waistband of her pants.

"Wait! Where are you going? Civilization is that way!" She threw a hand behind her, pointing back towards the car though she continued to follow him as he trudged on.

"It isn't safe going back, yet. Half of Gotham is on fire looking for us. We'd be lucky if they only threw us back in Arkham, Harls…" he trailed off, eyes focusing on the path ahead of him.

She frowned up at him, tugging at the elbow of his coat, trying to get him to turn back and look at her, to be reasonable and realistic.

"There's no way—" she started, falling short of his footsteps and dragging behind.

"What?" He whipped around to face her, grabbing her arms in his large hands. "No way we'll what?"

"Survive…" she whispered, eyebrows twisting up.

He scoffed and let her go, continuing on in the same manner as before. "Have a little faith" she heard him mutter and he shrugged his coat off from his shoulders.

They seemed to walk forever. Her whole body was aching from the night's ordeal, bruises and scrapes appearing all over. She was exhausted, barely keeping her eyes open or urging her feet to continue to carry her. She wanted to lay down and rest, to gain her strength back before she was sure she'd fall.

The sun was rolling dangerously high in the sky, beating down through the thick canopy of trees. It sprayed light about the ground as if it were a thousand shards of shimmering glass. The carpet of ferns and leaves seemed to be always moving, fluttering in the breeze that snaked around Harley's feet. It was like the forest was alive with some restless spirit, trying to motivate the rest of the world into light-movement as it was.

A steep incline rose up in front of them and the Joker dutifully began to climb, his coat having been tied around his waist. He glanced over his shoulder to his follower and nodded his head towards the slope.

"We'll be able to see where to go from up here," he mumbled, shaking his fingers through his damp, curly hair.

By this point, Harley had stopped arguing, stopped resisting and whining to go back. She nodded up at him and shrugged out of her coat as well. The heat was slowing creeping up, at points becoming a sweltering, unrelenting force that almost knocked the energy entirely from her. But then the breeze would kick to life again, stirring life back through the forest's green carpet and bring with it relief from the oppressive temperature.

The climb upwards was worse than she had been expecting. Even though she had removed as many layers as she could manage without totally stripping, the sun beat down on them, forcing water from their bodies and breath from their lungs.

The Joker untucked his shirt from the waist of his pants and yanked the thin cotton material over his head, stuffing it in with his coat around his hips. Harley glanced up as he did this, frowning in jealousy that he was allowed to strip down and continue on, but if she did the same, she'd be scolded for it.

His bare skin was paler than she would have thought it to be. He never really went outside undressed, so she had only ever seen him bare-chested inside the confines of their various hideaways. And even then, it was usually dark.

He was riddled with scars, glittering in the sunlight. They puckered up in an unusual manner, and Harley found herself wondering how half of them had come to be. There were scrapes and bruises from the previous night's escape. And there were the claw-marks that she found herself blushing at from familiarity. But the rest of the seemingly endless highway of discolored skin was something she had never really been given enough time to admire and memorize.

She found her eyes glued to his back, watching as his skin smoothly moved over his knotted muscles that quivered deep within him. She saw his ribs swell with air, counted the subtle points of his spine, and again found herself glowering in jealousy that he was allowed some relief from the heat.

The trees gave way quickly and Harley found herself struggling to climb the last few hundred feet to the top of a large embankment, slipping on the loose dirt and gravel that gave way under her feet.

The Joker stood waiting for her, breathing heavily, sweat shimmering in the afternoon light on his bare skin. His hands were tucked against his hip, resting on top of the knotted fabric that was his shirt and coat. He looked back to her, smiling slightly as she clambered over towards him.

Huffing a little, she stood next to him and surveyed the world around them.

Surrounding them, three-hundred and sixty degrees was nothing but thick forest: never ending, dense green, constantly shifting shades and hues. Harley felt so small, standing at the top of their small mountain, looking down upon the wilderness that was enclosing them. The hill continued on behind them, more tall trees and underbrush.

He took a step forward, shading his eyes from the sun.

"There isn't much as far as water goes…" She heard him mumble, and scanned the horizon with him. It must have been a couple miles away, but there was a small break in the top of the trees. "Over there – " he pointed to where she had been looking. " – there is either a field or a pond. Either way, that's where we should be headed."

She felt her stomach flop nervously in her gut. "But what if there isn't any water?"

"We'll make do." He replied and turned to her. He placed one large hand on her shoulder, and she felt the weight of his arm settle on her. He didn't quite smile at her, but there was a gentleness to his face she had never really seen before. He thumped her shoulder once and turned away.

The reality sunk in. It was just the two of them out here, in the middle of nowhere. She was entirely alone except for him. And that shook her somewhere deep inside. It scared her more than he ever had. He was something wild, sure. But he was not all-consuming. He was not full of creepy-crawlies, and wide eyes in the dark, and unpredictable weather. He was wild, but she knew him. She could handle his beastliness.

She was afraid for them – for herself, mostly.

And he turned back, noticing she hadn't moved, and grabbed her by her handle. Gently. She jumped, thinking there was suddenly someone new touching her.

"I can't make it without you." He said, his face serious and hard. "This isn't going to be anything like Gotham. We can't just sneak around and steal and live. We're going to have to try. And I'm going to need your help."

She frowned, turning her lips in to her teeth. She knew that as well as he did. But something hesitated in her. Some nagging feeling need inside of her heart told her to go back to the world and turn herself in. At least prison was predictable.

But she stepped forward, gripping his fingers between her own, and they set off for the gap in the trees.