AN: Holy Hell I am 2 weeks behind in updates and I apologize. You'll get a double chapter update today! Sorry guys, life got in the way again.
ENJOY!
Chapter 9
Harley's casts came off the next day, thanks to the Joker's drugs. She felt better than ever and ready to take on the entire world. At least she felt that away until she stood up and promptly fell flat on her face. She was far too weak to go anywhere on her own, but that didn't stop her from trying. Once the nurse was gone she managed to stumble out of her room, leaning heavily on the wall for support. She made it all the way down the hall, round the corner, and was circling the main structure before she collapsed from exhaustion. Thankfully she collapsed outside of the training room, were Diana and Shayera were just leaving. Both women were on Harley in a second, helping her to her feet.
"What are you doing outside the infirmary?" Diana asked, catching Harley as she lost her footing again.
"How did you get out?" Shayera asked, wrapping one of Harley's arms around her shoulder. "And how did you get this far? Quite a feat, seeing as you can't really stand."
"I walked on my hands," she joked, making both of them chuckle. They got her back to her room in less than half the time it took her to get to where she was, making her realize exactly how slow she had been moving. "Thanks."
"We're going to be family soon, Harley," Diana said with a smile, setting her back down on her bed. "It's the least I can do."
"Out of all the men on earth, I still don't understand why you had to choose him," Shayera said, shaking her head and leaving the room.
Diana got up to leave too, but Harley stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Speaking of family, I wanted to tell you something."
"What is it?" Diana asked, sitting back down. "Is everything alright?"
"That all depends on you," she said, her voice dropping to a threatening level. Diana sat up a little straighter and gave her a quizzical look. "I love Bruce like a brother, and as such I'm a bit protective. He doesn't open his heart to just anybody." She leaned in close, settling herself just inches from Diana's face. "If you hurt him, they ain't never gonna find ya body."
Diana had no doubt that Harley would make good on her threat, and managed to nod. "Don't worry, I have no plans on hurting him."
"That's what they all say." Harley looked like she was about to say more, but a dark shadow in the door stopped them both.
"Glad to see you two getting along," Batman said as he stalking into the room, cape closed completely around him.
"Like peas in a pod," Harley sang, smiling brightly at him. The corner of Batman's mouth twitched upwards and suddenly Diana understood everything that Dick told her about Harley.
"Ready to go home?" he asked, holding a hand out to both of them.
A batarang embedded itself in the wall barely an inch from Dick's nose. He stopped in his tracks, looking over to see Damian pulling another from his belt.
"Stop pacing, Grayson, you're making me nervous," he growled, spinning the knife around his fingers. He was his usually lazy self, propped up on an over plush chair, one leg hanging over the armrest. The supplies of his utility belt were scattered on the floor around him, the actual belt thrown over his shoulder. He did that sometimes when he was agitated. Checking his supplies like that was almost a compulsion.
"Seriously big bro, I'm getting dizzy watching you," Jason said with a smirk from the upper landing of the library. He back flipped over the rails, landing like a cat on the back of the couch before sliding down onto the cushion. "What's got your knickers in a twist?"
"Nothing," Dick muttered, pulling the batarang out of the wall and tossing it back to Damian, who caught it without even looking. "Just try to behave when Harley gets here, alright? She's not totally stable yet."
"If she's even half as sexy as I remember her, I'll be on my best behavior," Jason said with a lecherous grin. "That is, of course, until I get her into my bed." Dick's hand smacked so hard into the back of his head that he fell off the couch. "Yo, chill, it was a joke! Shit, I get it, she's off limits."
"Must you swear so much?" Damian drawled as he started to put his belt back together.
"Yes I fucking do," Jason snapped, gritting his teeth. "Shit, I need a fag. You goddamn assholes are the reason I smoke." He'd barely gotten the pack of cigarettes out before they were nailed to the wall by a batarang. Shocked, he stared at his empty hand for a second, looked at the pack on the wall, and turned to Damian. "You're fucking a piece of shit."
"Pot, kettle, black," Damian said, returning Jason's glare. "Father doesn't like smoking."
"Fuck your fucking father!" Jason shouted, making both Damian and Dick jolt in surprise. He ran a frustrated and shaking hand through his hair and jumped to his feet. "Fuck him, fuck this family, fuck you, I'm fucking out of here!"
Jason stormed out of the library, shoving Alfred aside as he went. The butler didn't look phased and manage to keep the tea balanced on the tray he was carrying. Dick was poised to run after him, but Alfred just shook his head.
"I think it would be best to let Master Jason go for now, Master Dick," Alfred said with a sigh as he put the tray down, eyes finding the cigarettes on the wall. "Do remember the last time he saw Harley Quinn, she was beating him to death. I doubt he's in a hurry to see her again."
That was when Dick realized he and Bruce were probably the only ones looking forward to see Harley come home. He'd almost forgotten how much his family had suffered at her hand. Even though she was the Joker's proxy, it was her face attached to all that pain. He looked over at Damian, the only one of them yet to face the Joker like the others. The boy seemed calm and relaxed, but the way he put his belt back together told Dick that he was on edge, though perhaps it was just because the rest of the household was. He went over to his youngest brother, covering his small hands with his own. The simple act made Damian's mask slip and he sucked in a shaky breath, squeezing his eyes shut.
"Damian…"
"She's going to hurt us, isn't she?" Damian breathed, suddenly sounding very much his age. "You and Father and Jason and Tim… it's what she does. She'll slit our throats in our sleep and dance on our graves."
What Damian wanted to say and what Dick heard were probably two different things. Dick heard his brother worried that he wouldn't be able to stop his family getting hurt. It was heartwarming to see the ice around his cold baby brother's heart starting to melt. Even if it was only a little bit. So he wrapped Damian up in his arms and felt his brother give him a squeeze.
"Don't you worry," Dick said, feeling Damian bury his face in his shoulder, "she wouldn't be coming if we didn't trust her. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. I promise."
There was a small nod and one last squeeze before Damian pulled away, jumping over the back of the chair and looking like his usual grouchy self. He didn't even look at Dick again as he grabbed his belt and stomped out of the room. Dick just chuckled and stood, shoving his hands in his pockets.
There was no more he could do for Damian, so he went up to check on Tim. The second youngest had barricaded himself in his room for fear of being attacked by the cat. He rapped on the door, hearing a grunt from inside and pushed the door open. Tim lay on his bed reading a comic, his phone blaring some strange dubstep next to him. He barely looked up when Dick came in, just gave him a short wave and turned the page.
"Harley's gonna be here any minute," Dick said, pressing pause on Tim's phone. "Come downstairs."
"Is the cat dead?" Tim asked, pressing play without looking. Dick pressed pause and Tim glared at him.
"No, the cat is not dead," Dick said firmly as he took Tim's phone out of his reach. "The cat will not be dead any time soon. Bruce is calling another doctor about another round of shots, by the way."
"Dude no," Tim whined, putting his book down finally. "Those were miserable. You try getting stuck with a needle three times a week for six months."
"It's either try to get it dealt with or go into shock every time Beast Boy walks into a room," Dick reasoned, arching a brow. "Which would you rather?"
"Well I don't have to worry about the latter anymore, so there's not really any point, is there?" Dick's look of confusion made Tim sit up a little straighter. "Did you not know…?"
"Know what?"
"Beast Boy's gone. He vanished with Raven like six months ago."
Dick smiled a little at that. "Well good for them. And Starfire?"
"Went back to her home planet ages ago. Have you not kept in touch with your own team?"
"Not really my team anymore…" Dick muttered, crossing his arms over his chest with a furrowed brow. "I just got a call from Raven the other day, but… I guess I have been a bit busy… That's not important right now. Bruce is bringing Harley home and he wants us all there so get your ass downstairs."
"Pass."
"Not an option."
Damian had since moved into the den, Alfred the cat sitting on his lap and Titus curled up at his feet. Jason was just outside, leaning against one of the windows with a lit cigarette in his hand. He'd been staring up at the sky and Damian watched his lips move in some strange language. Usually he was good at reading lips, but there was something about the words Jason muttered that he couldn't understand. Some long forgotten dead language that made Damian wonder where his brother learned it.
The door opened and Alfred jumped out of his lap, running out the door to outside that was still open. Dick walked in with Tim slung over his shoulder, the younger boy grumbling about being manhandled. He was deposited on the couch and Dick went out to talk to Jason. Damian glared at Tim as he righted himself.
"Finally decided to join us, Drake?" Damian asked, reaching down to pet his dog.
"Not willingly," Tim muttered. He turned to look out the window, where it looked like Dick and Jason were in earnest conversation. "We're gonna have to keep a close eye on Jason."
"I always do," Damian replied. "I don't tru—AH!" Tim's head snapped back as he watched Titus try to sit in Damian's lap. Instead he smothered the boy, taking up the entire chair and then some, the long legs of the purebred Great Dane hanging over the edges, his body completely covering the twelve-year-old. All Damian did was shift enough so his head was visible and let it be. He was used to it by now. "As I was saying… I've never trusted him."
"He's usually a good guy but lately he's been… off." Damian arched his boy at Tim's words, as if to say 'no shit'. "Apparently he'd been making a lot of progress with his PTSD but I think the explosion set him back a bit. Look at him. He's shaking." Sure enough, when Damian looked closer, Jason's fists were shaking under his white knuckle grip, cigarette crushed in his hand.
"Have you ever met Harley off the battlefield?" Damian asked, shifting the dog on top of him again.
"Just once," Tim said with a nod, turning away from the window. "It was at a Wayne Enterprises charity function of something. I don't remember, but I know I had to wear a tux. She showed up in this gorgeous red dress with her hair down… I didn't recognize her, honestly. But she was kind. Stayed for a grand total of ten minutes, spoke to Bruce, had a drink, did one dance, and then left."
"That seems to be the general consensus," Damian muttered. "She's 'kind' outside of the mask."
"You haven't met her yet at all, have you?" Damian just shook his head. "Lucky you. First time I met her she was trying to poison me. First time she met Jason, she kicked him off a ten story building."
"Too bad she failed both times."
Tim glared at him. "She's not to be trusted either, despite what Bruce and Dick say."
"I know that. I'm not stupid like you."
"Glad we're sort of on the same page."
Damian's attention was caught by Jason taking a swing at Dick. He was about to run out when he saw Dick grab his brother's fist and pull him into a hug. Jason's back was shaking and Damian could only assume he was trying not to cry. They could see Dick tell him something and then Jason shoved him away, a snarl on his face. He relaxed after a second, a laugh on his lips as he ran a hand through his hair, his other hand grabbing another cigarette. Dick didn't even try to stop him as he lit it and dragged half of it down in one breath. It looked like they came to an agreement and Jason stomped out the cig and they both walked inside. It was perfect timing too, because Alfred walked in at that moment announcing that Bruce, Diana and Harley were home. An air of uncertainty fell over the room as Jason became stiff. Dick wrapped an arm around his shoulder and squeezed enough to break him from his stupor.
"Let's get this over with," Jason muttered, shrugging Dick's hand off and stalking from the room, hands in his pockets.
Tim ran after him, wanting to keep him in his sights. Dick helped Damian out from under the dog and they walked towards the main hall. Titus followed close behind, nudging Damian's arm every once in a while. Dick watched with a smile, remembering when he brought Titus home for Damian as a puppy. Damian had been pleading to Bruce for some kind of pet to prove he was responsible. Bruce had been convinced that Damian would end up killing the animal, either on purpose or from neglect, and had given him a firm no. Despite thinking it was completely unfair, Dick agreed with him. That was until he saw a stray pup wandering the streets, half- starved and mostly dead a few nights later. It was a perfect opportunity. If Damian could nurse the pup back to health then he'd prove to be more than responsible. On the other hand if he died because the boy couldn't handle it, well it would have been dead soon anyway. Dick had no idea that the pup was a Great Dane, or that he'd grow to such a size. He also had no idea that they would become so attached to one another. He wouldn't be surprised if one day Titus was seen jumping from rooftops in a cape and a cowl.
He still remembered how Bruce found out about the dog and chuckled at the memory. When Dick brought the dog home, Bruce had been out on patrol with Damian at home recovering from an injury. The boy showed his age when he was handed the starved dog and Dick watched his heart melt. They conspired to hide the dog in Damian's massive closet and he readily helped his brother care for him. Dick even secreted them to the vet to make sure that Titus was an otherwise healthy dog. Damian doted on that dog, even going so far as to sleep in the closet with him to make sure he didn't die during the night. Not even Dick had known that, and when Bruce approached him about Damian vanishing again, he panicked. The first thing Dick did was go to Damian's room to check on the dog. Unbeknownst to both, Bruce was suspicious of them and followed Dick closely to find out what was going on. They both found Damian fast asleep in a nest of blankets, the pint sized pup curled up to his chest. Bruce was rightly flabbergasted and initially wanted to toss the dog out. After a very loud and violent argument, Bruce acquiesced to the dog staying. The two had been nearly inseparable ever since.
Dick was pulled out of his musings when he heard a series of shouts from the foyer. He and Damian broke into a run, coming into the room just as Jason took a dive for Harley, a wickedly curved knife poised to kill. It was lucky for Harley that she could barely stand because her knees gave out on her just as Jason got close. The knife swiped the air where her neck had been a second before. Bruce had been getting a couple bags out of the car when he heard it and rushed in. Not before Titus was bounding over to Jason, however, biting down hard on the arm that held the knife. Jason cried out in pain as he dropped it, turning the throw the dog off him. Titus let go and ran back to Damian's side as Bruce grabbed Jason by the collar and threw him across the floor. Dick was at Harley's side in a second trying to help her to her feet. He saw Tim knocked out in the corner, no doubt by Jason's hands. Bruce was wrestling said psychopath to the ground, Jason snarling and wiggling to break free to no avail.
The struggling eventually stopped and a tense silence fell over the room. Harley was clinging to Dick, her face buried in his shirt as he held her close. He glared at Jason for doing this, but at the same time he couldn't blame him. He was still traumatized, after all. Dick's eyes slid over to Tim, who was being roughly awoken by Damian. He felt Harley take a shuddering breath and looked down to examine her. She was in a simple yellow sundress and one strap had slipped off her shoulder when she fell. He was actually surprised that she hadn't fallen over sooner, if the height of her heels was anything to go by. She took in a shaky breath and slowly picked up her head. He gave her a reassuring smile, but it sank as her pupils blew wide in fear. He'd almost forgotten that the Scarecrow's toxin was still in her system.
With a scream she fell back out of Dick's arms, scrambling away as quickly as she could. He had no idea what she was seeing, but whatever it was was terrifying enough that she put herself within Jason's reach trying to get away. Thankfully Bruce had a good hold on him so he didn't get a chance to lash out. Dick wasn't quite sure what to do as she looked around frantically. He wasn't sure that the anti-venom he carried around would do anything, but he knew he had to act fast. Bruce realized it too and nodded Dick over, letting him take Jason as he slowly walked over to Harley, approaching like one would to a wounded animal.
Dick had let his guard down for a second too long. Jason busted out of his grip, diving for his knife and making another beeline towards Harley. He easily evaded Dick's grab but he once again he forgot about Titus. The dog tackled Jason to the ground, growling in his face. All 200 pounds of dog laid down on Jason's chest, restricting his breathing and pinning his arms and legs on the floor. The whole ordeal, while it only lasted a couple of seconds, was enough to make Harley scream in terror again. This time she tried to stand and run, but she was still unsteady. She only managed to stumble a few steps away before she tripped over her heels. Bruce caught her easily and put her right down, not wanting to risk her wiggling out of his grasp.
"Harley, it's me Bruce," he said slowly, kneeling down in front of her. She scrambled back and hit the wall, her breathing completely erratic. He held a hand out to her that she just swatted away. "The toxin is fueled by adrenaline. You need to try and calm down." It took a few seconds, but her breathing slowed and suddenly, her gaze turned clinical.
"Bruce." It wasn't quite a statement, more like a question, but with a knowing edge that made Dick arch his brow. Bruce nodded slowly, holding his hand out again. This time she took it and carefully stood up, making sure not to trip over her heels. She looked down at Jason, still pinned by the dog, and smiled at him with a wink. "You're looking well, Jay. I see you haven't lost your edge."
"Bitch," he snapped, making Titus growl threateningly.
"I see things are still pretty lively around here, huh?" she asked, chuckling as Titus stopped growling and started slobbering. Jason redoubled his efforts to get away as some of the drool got into his mouth. Dick and Damian started laughing and neither tried to help.
"Yeah I guess they are," Bruce said, nodding a little. "Damian, get Titus will you? Jason, apologize. Now."
"Oh no need," Harley said quickly, putting a hand on Bruce's chest. "Fair's fair. I was expecting this. I'm actually glad he did this now instead of later. I'd be looking nervous over my shoulder until he did try to kill me." Damian called a command arabic and Titus came bounding back to his master with a big smile on his dopey face. Dick helped Jason to his feet but kept a firm grip on his arm, a motion not lost on anyone. Harley took a few careful steps over and held out a hand to Jason with a big smile. "I'm real sorry about what I did to you, Jay, I got no excuses. But if you want, when I'm feeling better, we can spar you can kick the crap out of me as payback. Until then, are we cool?"
Jason looked down at her hand, then back up into her eyes. Everyone held their breaths. Jason flipped his knife around and shoved it back in his boot, taking her hand firmly. "Yeah, we're cool for now."
"I'm so glad," she sang, pressing a quick kiss on his cheek before turning to Tim, who was just getting on his feet with Damian's help. "Tim, a pleasure to finally meet you for real. And—gosh you must be Bruce's son Damian!" She ruffled his hair and pinched his cheeks, making his smack her hands away and take a few steps back. "Aren't you just the cutest little thing? You look just like your father!"
"Cute?!" Damian snapped as Harley turned away from him to focus back on his father. "I'm not cute! I'm the grandson of Ras Al Ghul! I'm the heir to the Demon! I'm—"
"Cute as a button. Exactly like your father," Harley said over her shoulder with a chuckle. She returned her attention to said father and her gaze turned clinical once again. "Now. You and I need to have a chat."
Next Chapter Preview:
"Stop stepping on my foot, Drake."
"I'm not on your foot."
"Move the fuck over. Your bony ass elbows don't belong in my gut!"
AN: Should I rename this fic BatBro Shenanigans? Because that seems to be all these chapters are recently lol. Again, sorry for the late updates, please enjoy this special two chapter update day~
