Elo y'all! Been a while since I've updated I know Reality got crazy but rest assured this story will continue to get updated.

As always, hope you enjoy and make sure to comment to let me know what you think. :3


A bounce in her step and a smile on her face was how Harley walked towards the little café. She received a text from Tatsu earlier that day mentioning that she was close to the clinic Harley worked at and wanted to grab coffee or dinner.

She had asked specifically if June was coming and when the answer was in the negative, she had said she would be around right after her shift. It wasn't as if she was trying to avoid June, but with the recent events—very recent—she knew that Joker would have told Flag. They were done hiding from their friends their…well she wouldn't call it a relationship, but it was a friendship…sort of.

So why was she trying to dodge June? She just felt bad whenever she looked at her best friend's stern motherly look. It was the type of face with the narrowed eyes and pursed lips that made youngsters run away from their mother because they knew a sermon was coming.

She knew a deep conversation about the situation with her gals was needed but she felt so high from her night and morning with Joker that she didn't want to come down from it yet with a stuffy conversation. Even the surprise visit from Flag wasn't enough to bring her down, so when she walked into the café and her eyes landed on the brunette with piercing eyes, Harley froze.

June's eyes were directed at her and for a moment they just stared at each other. It wasn't until Harley's eyes scanned the table that June sat at and found Tatsu that she broke her eye contact with the woman to silently ask her darker haired friend what June was doing there. Words were exchanged through her eyes and without actual speech, but the other woman understood her question.

Watching as Tatsu lifted her hand to her face, using it as a partition between June's vision and her lips, she mouthed, "She knows. Sorry."

Dammit, she totally saw this coming. She should be an adult about this and confront her friends. They deserved to know everything. Joker and she had talk about this and had both agreed that they knew what they were doing and where they stood. Yes, she should talk to them.

Closing her eyes, Harley took a deep breath, steeled her nerves and took a step.

That's right, she took a step. A step backwards towards the door as she made to high-tail it out of the café.

"Harleen!" The yell came from none other than her best friend and made Harley stop in her tracks.

Turning around from the glass door that symbolized her only escape, Harley pouted with her cheeks puffed and dragged her feet towards the window table.

Not bothering to look at her friends, she pulled out the chair with a loud squeak and plopped her butt down, arms crossed.

"Why are you sulking? You don't even know why I'm here. Thanks for the invite by the way," June said, though just from her tone Harley knew exactly why she was there.

Instead of answering, she let her eyes land on her friend's face and rose one perfect eyebrow. She watched as her friend first stare her down then with a sigh June rolled her eyes at her dramatics.

"Okay, so I'm kind of mad because I was the last to know," June confessed.

"Last to know about what?" Harley replied. She was trying to evade the question. She just wanted to be sure that they were talking about the same thing. For all she knew, they could have been talking about the last piece of pie that she had stolen from their fridge the previous day when she had still been pouting over Joker.

Her friend looked her dead in the eye. "I'm the last to know about Joker." And there it was. "Rick told me this morning and when I hurriedly called Tatsu, it seemed like she already knew about it too."

Harley watched as June sent a glare over at the dark-haired lady who just shrugged. "Not my fault that your building is so far away from the medical buildings on campus. And I may have completely forgotten to mention that Joker came to pick up Harley by the time I saw you."

June rolled her eyes again. "Right. Forgot."

Regardless of the seriousness of her friend's countenance, Harley couldn't help but let out a giggle at Tatsu's evasion. She had almost forgotten that she should have been sulking at being bamboozled into showing up.

Then something occurred to her. June was mad not because she was caught with Joker but because she had been the last to know. Or maybe she was mad at both being the last to know and it being Joker. Either way, June was not very pleased, and the guilt began to eat away at her.

She was going to come clean to her at some point, honest. She just really didn't want it to be today since she needed time to prepare for her mother talks.

Letting out a dramatic sigh, Harley lifted her eyes to June's. "I'm sorry."

For a second, June's eyebrow shot up. "What?"

"I'm sorry, okay. Don't make me say it again." Harley sat up straight in her chair. "It wasn't like we were planning on not telling Flag and you. It just kind of ended up like that. And I swear J and I were trying to be friends for your guy's sake. It just kind of got out of hand."

"Yeah, 'out of hand.' That's one way of putting it. I think Rick might have actually puked in his mouth when he was retelling the story about this morning."

Harley's face reddened. Her face was so hot, she was sure she could boil water on it.

"Wait, what am I missing?" Tatsu leaned in. "You just told me that you knew that J and Harley were a thing."

"Oh no! Doesn't it suck to be kept out of the loop," June fake gasped.

"Har har," Tatsu replied.

Pointing a finger in Harley's direction, June filled Tatsu in on what Flag had explained to her as being one of the most awkward exchanges he had in his life.

"You didn't!" Tatsu neared screamed as Harley tried to hide behind the menu. When she didn't answer, Tatsu looked more amused than Harley had ever seen her before. "I would say that I am surprised, but I've seen the way you eye that man. I'm sure you would have kept on going even if a blanket hadn't been thrown over you."

That brought Harley back to that morning when she had felt Joker moving inside her. Even now as she was getting interrogated, she was so close to salivating over his exposed muscles. The man was all muscle and tattoos that the image of him was forever carved into the back of her eyelids.

"Okay. I can tell that we are starting to lose her, so this is where I stop the sex talk." June's voice broke her thoughts regardless of how much she wanted to continue thinking about the green-haired man. "

"I didn't mean to scar Rick, and I was going to tell you tomorrow, I swear." Now that she was confronted with it, she knew she should have told June sooner. "I just needed some time to process what was happening."

"From the timeline Rick told me about, you've had months to process the information."

Harley bit at her lower lip. "Last night was new development."

It was then that June's eyebrow rose in questions and it donned on Harley that perhaps Rick hadn't told her everything. Or maybe that her Puddin' hadn't told Rick everything.

"Why don't I just start from the beginning? I'll tell you girls everything, but can we order first?" Her stomach growled. "I'm starving."

Tatsu's lip warped into a sadistic smile. "After that late night, early morning, and mid-day work out, I bet you are." A comment to which Harley stuck her tongue out to.

Once they ordered, Harley recounted the story of how she had bumped into Joker's shop the day she locked herself out of her apartment. When she had mentioned that it was because of June scarring her, the other woman blushed lightening the mood of the table. She went on to mention that they had sex that night but stayed friend's for months before last night happened.

"Oh my gawd, was that why you dragged us out dancing? Because J had someone's number on his hand?" June asked and when Harley nodded, her face fell. "Oh Harley, how deep are you?"

It was a vague question, but Harley knew the answer. "I'm in so deep you might as well toss me into the Marianas Trench with concrete shoes on," she said with a straight face.

She watched as her best friends traded concerned looks.

"How well do you know him? I've heard from Rick that J's had a hard time coming back to the civilian life since he came back from his tour."

Harley nodded her head and she had to stifle a smile from sneaking onto her face remembering the conversation that they had. It was their own little secret that both Joker and she were not the soundest of mind.

"I am aware, June." There were many nights that they chatted about what he had seen during his tours. Her Puddin' would always groan and roll his eyes when she asked how everything made him feel, but she couldn't help asking the cliché words of a doctor.

Regardless, Joker answered her inane questions. It was from this that she learned of his past and the adventures that he had encountered. All the while, she shared stories of her early life and how she had met her friends.

"Do you really?" June continued, "I am not angry at him for the tattoo incident anymore, but I still think he is rather secretive. Remember how you asked why his name was Joker? Well I asked Rick, and it's just a nickname. In fac- "

"Only Frost and Flag know his real name and even in the military they had used the name Joker as his codename," Harley finished the sentence for her. "He told me himself."

At that her friend's eyes nearly bulged out of her face and she watched as June traded a look with Tatsu.

"So, he told you his real name?" Harley hesitated before nodding her head. She wasn't sure why June seemed more interested in this fact than when she found out about them sleeping together.

Joker tended to tell her a lot of things. He always said that she was so annoying that he would tell her anything just to shut her up.

"Well then," June started, "Perhaps, he's a little bit too far in as well."

Her forehead crinkled as she tried to decipher was her friend was saying. "What do you mean?"

"She's saying that he has the hots for you," Tatsu explained in her deadpanned voice.

At first, hope caused Harley's heart to flutter, then within a second, she squashed down the ideas of her friends.

"No," she said firmly. "He doesn't want a relationship, and I…I am too busy to be in a relationship. So, it's better that we just stay friends."

"Bull," June said in a sing song voice.

With a sigh, Harley face planted onto the wooden table. If her friends were able to see through that lie, then she worried that Joker would be able to as well. Most of the time, she said the words more to convince herself that she didn't need more. Even though she was busy, she knew that if Joker wanted a relationship with her that she would jump through hoops to rearrange her crazy life to see him. Heck, she was already doing it.

She never used to take Fridays off but since their hang-out nights began, she did so.

"Guys just shoot me now," she grumbled and put her fingers to her head in the form of a make-believe gun before pulling the trigger and making the shooting sound.

"This is what I was worried about, Harleen." June placed her hand on hers and waited until Harley looked up at her. "I could see that you really liked him from the moment you laid eyes on him that night in the club. At first, I thought it was the booze but then I saw the steam practically coming off you when you met again the day after. It was so hot in there that paint was practically peeling of the walls."

"This isn't helping with the, 'I am falling for him fast but don't want to give it up' situation."

"Okay, well basically, you have two choices. One, you break it off completely and remain friends. Or two, you continue on this path of destruction and hope that he falls in love with you," June summarized, and emphasized the first point as if it was the obvious choice.

There was a snort and both women looked at Tatsu. "Like they could stay friends. June, you may have just found out about them, but trust me when I say that there is no way on earth that they could be just friends. They nearly ripped each other's clothes off in the middle of the parking lot last time."

Before Harley could retort, the waitress had come back with their food. Normally, she would dive right into the sandwich that she had ordered, but right now her thoughts ran.

Tatsu was correct. There was no way they could ever go back to a platonic relationship, if they ever really had a purely platonic relationship. In their situation, sex and friendship went hand in hand. Yes, they enjoyed each others company, but they also could not help mentally stripping each other.

The biggest problem was that for her, the sex and friendship also dragged along feelings of love. She knew it from the very start that Joker was like a poison that slowly seeped into her system and now he was slowly worming into her heart. A heart that had never really known a romantic type of love.

If she decided to leave Joker right now, she would be heart broken that much she knew. But, if she was to go along with the situation, her heart wouldn't be broken, it would be shattered when her Puddin' would eventually get bored of her and move on.

It made the idea of leaving this instant all the more endearing. But then the laughs and smiles that they shared would vanish as well.

"I'm staying," she said definitely, more to herself than anyone else. Then she dove into her sandwich as her friends shared another look.

"I told you so," Tatsu taunted.

"You can't be serious, Harleen. I know there's no point of telling you not to see him, but please just really think about this," June pleaded, ignoring the bowl of pasta was in front of her. A bowl of pasta that Harley now had more interest in than the present conversation. She made up her mind and wasn't going back.

She inched her fork towards the pasta as she replied. "I'm going to be heartbroken regardless, so why can't I just spend more time with him before he dumps me to the side."

It was a crass way of saying it, but Harley decided that there was no point on lying to herself. She was falling for Joker and had to deal with the reality that he only saw her as a friend who he couldn't seem to keep his hands off. The fact that he hadn't slept with anyone since he had met her was already enough for her to feel happy.

What she had said distracted her friend enough that she was able to stab a couple penne pasta and quickly shove it in her mouth before June could pull away her plate.

They gave her a worried look but said nothing.

Harley knew what they were thinking. Watching her situation was going to be like watching a cup of coffee slowly inch to the edge of the table until it lost balance, fell to the ground and shattered. They would feel helpless watching it but would still watch regardless.

Except, what made it worse was that she could put a stop to it whenever she wanted. But somehow, she wanted to watch that coffee stain the hypothetical Persian carpet below and enjoy the fall until then.


Joker nursed his beer as he doodled a customer's request in Flag's apartment. The man had wanted a photo of his wife tattooed onto his chest and as much as Joker wanted to tell the man just how many cover-ups he had done on divorced couples who had a similar idea, he kept his mouth shut.

It was free money. Besides that, he also had a tattoo that constantly reminded him of a certain blonde-haired woman.

Around him, Flag and Frost sat on the couches and watched the sports channel. It seemed like gym and TV was the only thing the three of them did.

He wanted to see Harley, but he knew that she was out with the girls. He smiled when she had texted him that they had "bamboozled" her into coming.

Considering how she was still in a chipper mood, the chat about their now revealed friendship must have gone well. Then again, the woman was so happy that even the apocalypse would have her smiling. She had a twisted sense of humour so chances were that she would be laughing during the apocalypse anyways.

When Flag had revealed to Frost what he had seen earlier that day, Frost smirked and didn't even bother to say anything. However, the look that he gave Joker said more than enough. 'Better get your shit together soon, brother.'

Thinking about the morning, Joker pried his eyes away from his sketchbook and took a glance at the guest bedroom that he had occupied with Harley just that day. Just thinking about her had him wanting to readjust himself in his pants.

Unfortunately, his line of sight was noticed by Flag who made a choking noise.

"You are never allowed to sleep in this apartment again," Flag stated keeping his eyes on the TV. "I would take away your key privileges if you didn't keep coming here with six-packs of beer with you."

"I would be out of your hair right now if your girlfriend hadn't dragged Harley out for dinner," Joker mumbled and took another sip of his beer.

When he turned back to his sketchbook, he nearly spat the brew all over the living room. Looking back at him was the black and white eyes of a woman. The sketch had wide eyes and delicate features along with a glowing smile. Regardless of it being done in pencil, he could already see the bright blues of the woman's eyes.

With a growl, he flipped the page over onto a fresh page. He had been so distracted thinking about her that the picture of the customer's wife had suddenly began taking on her characteristics. Before he knew it, he seemed to have drawn a perfect replicate of Harley.

It wasn't normal for him to be obsessed with a certain woman, but he chalked it up to her being able to literally bend over backwards for him.

He shook off the screams of denial in his mind and instead once again focused on the picture of the man's wife and began to sketch anew. For minutes he lost himself in the photo and congratulated himself on being able to draw the outline of the woman instead of Harley.

It was then that the front door to the apartment swung open and a group of chattering women entered.

Ever since Flag had gotten a girlfriend, their normal man cave had slowly begun to turn into a hang out spot for June and now her close friends as well.

It didn't really bother him considering the object of his obsession was now bending over to take off her shoes letting him have the best view of her backside. Tatsu and June also did the same, but Joker's eyes were fixed on Harley.

When she stood to her full height, she took a glance around and when she spotted him reclined on the couch, smiled.

"Puddin!" she nearly screamed before bounding to him.

She crashed into his lap and gave him a tight squeeze. It didn't shock him when she did so and gave her a pat on the back. However, when he took a look around, he could see the disgusted look on Flag's face, the surprised one on June's and the equally deadpanned faces of Tatsu and Frost.

"You know you just saw me this morning, right?" he asked as she continued to nuzzle him. He didn't say it, but he was also a little glad to see her. Just a little.

"I know, but it's been a hard day. And June cornered me." She said the last part in a yelled whisper.

At that, June yelled, "Hey! Not my fault you guys have been sneaking around behind my back."

Harley pouted. "I said sorry already."

"Yes, you did. And you?" June gave Joker a pointed look.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Where's our apology?" He could tell that she was half joking.

"Sorry we scarred Flag," he said in a monotone voice. Then his lips spread into a smirk. "Even though he should have been honoured to see something like that. I know you probably think that he could learn a couple things from me when it comes to the bedroom, June. I'm sorry you're stuck with him."

Harley giggled in his lap at her friend's baffled face.

"Not funny, bro," Flag mumbled and dragged June towards him for a kiss.

"Ah, so vanilla," Joker teased earning him a finger from Flag.

Suddenly he felt a finger poke him in the chest, and he turned towards Harley to see her staring pointedly at his sketchbook. Then she turned her puffed out cheeks and glare at him. Without saying anything, she turned the sketchbook around dramatically so that he was looking at the sketch of the wife and then pointed at it as if you emphasize her point.

He knew exactly what she was thinking and had the urge to tease her. "Isn't she pretty? Man could fall in love with eyes like those."

As he said the words, he was staring at her baby blues and couldn't help but feel how true those words were.

Harley dropped the book, crossed her arms, turned away from him and continued to pout.

"I even have a picture from her." He took out the pocket-sized photo. "The perfect size for my wallet, don't you think?"

He tried to make her look at the photo, but she kept avoiding looking at it. He couldn't help but start to chuckle and around him he could hear others being amused as well.

"Come on, Harls." He placed the sketchbook to the floor and encircled her waist with his arms then dragged her closer to him until her back was pressed up against his chest. "Take a look." When she finally looked up, he flipped the photo over to the Post-it that he knew was on the back.

On it was his scribbled writing of the customer number, appointment time, and style preferences.

A bellowing laugh was ripped out of his lungs when he felt Harley quickly turn in his lap and land a punch to his chest. He didn't even try to block her punches since he could tell that she was also playing around. If she was really trying to hurt him, he knew that they would feel a lot more like bullets than kitten paws.

"So not funny, Puddin'!" she whined and continued to pound at his chest until he caught both her wrists in his hands.

"You always set yourself up for them," he chuckled then leaned in so that he could whisper in her ear. "The only photo I want in my wallet is a naked one of you."

Harley blushed and turned her head to give him a kiss, but before she could plant one on his lips, Flag's voice interrupted her.

"Okay, this is where I kick you guys out of my apartment before I have to call the police for public indecency," he said exasperatedly. He looked around at Tatsu and Frost who had taken seats around the TV. "You guys can stay if you want. Just you two, out."

Grumbling, Joker pulled away from Harley, but not before he saw the mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "Are you sure we can't just use your guest bedroom?" she asked sweetly causing Joker to cackle.

"Out!" Flag yelled as his eyebrow ticked. "I swear both of you are like children."

Joker set Harley on her feet before getting up and picking up his book. He quickly flipped it closed making sure that no one, including Harley, was able to see his earlier sketch of the bright eyed blonde.

"I don't know man, I would be concerned if children had the same habits as we did," he commented while making his way to the front door with Harley in tow.

His only response was a groan.

After Harley hugged her girls goodbye, they walked out of the apartment which promptly closed behind them. Harley began to walk down the hallway, but Joker grabbed her arm and pulled her back. He quickly pressed his lips against hers and maneuvered them so that her back was pressed against the wall.

It didn't take long for her to respond to him and soon she was grasping his hair in an attempt to bring him closer.

Between kisses, he mumbled, "Your place or mine?"

And as she placed a hickey on his neck, she answered. "Yours."


"I hope they don't go back to Harley and mine's apartment," June said when the door had shut behind them.

It had just occurred to her that now there may be a chance of her possibly hearing Joker and Harley going at it, or worse yet, possibly seeing them. The thought made her go white.

When the four left in the room took a seat in the living room, Flag asked the question that everyone was probably thinking.

"So, what do you guy's think?"

Tatsu visibly shrugged. "I don't think it's any of our business what happens."

At this Frost nodded his head in agreement.

"What if this ends very badly?" June asked while chewing on her bottom lip in worry.

"Then they live with the consequences. Harley and Joker aren't children, June," Tatsu said.

"Well they sure act like it." There was silence for a moment. "I didn't realize how close they were until today."

"First time I met Harley, she bounded into the shop and nearly bulldozed Boss into a hug," Frost recounted. "From what I've seen, they've always been like that."

June pondered for a moment. There were always immediate sparks. As she fell for Rick, she knew that Harley did the same for Joker. However, while Rick and she followed the regular progression of the relationship and started to date, she could tell that Joker wasn't exactly the type.

She cared for Harley very much, and while she knew that the woman was more than able to take care for herself, sometimes she was worried that Harley was too strong.

Harley knew exactly what she wanted and went for it regardless of the consequences, and even when the consequences came, she would deal with them and move on. No matter how much it hurt her, and no matter how tattered she came out on the other side.

Rick reached over and gave her hand a squeeze.

"Don't worry, J will get it through his thick skull some how," he said simply.

Frost added, "Eventually."