Harley watched as Pam put the car in park, pulling up behind—
"Holy shit," Harley breathed. "Is that a Scaglietti? A '57?"
Pam furrowed her brow, taking a closer look at the white convertible parked ahead of them in the Wayne Manor driveway. "You can ask Diana when we get in there."
"That's Diana's car?!" Harley was in absolute awe at this point.
"Yes…" It was clear Pam wasn't sure why this was all so exciting…which just made Harley grin wider.
These people can't be real, Harley chuckled to herself, shaking her head. This entire thing was surreal. They were all so beautiful and their cars and their houses…even Bruce's driveway was spectacular. And now here Pamela Isley was, unbuttoning her shirt for some reason and…Harley was 100% sure she lived in a fairytale at this point.
Pam smirked at what Harley was sure was a hungry look in her eyes. "Tank top." She explained, slipping the button down off her shoulders and tossing it into the back seat. "I really didn't feel like wearing that ugly thing all night."
Harley bit her lip as her eyes traced the outline of Pam's bra below the thin fabric of the tank top…No, stop it, she chided herself. You gotta focus, Harl. These kids ran the school and came from families that ran the entire city, and this was the first opportunity she'd been granted to impress them, or even get to know them as a group.
She felt pretty comfortable around Diana already, and Pam definitely. But Bruce she only really knew in the context of Selina, and she didn't really know Dick at all…this was her chance to show Pam's friends she was more than just a poor kid from the inner city. But, knowing herself, Harley was pretty sure she was gonna fuck it up somehow.
Pam was leaning over the console now, kissing her gently and running her thumb along her cheek. Harley smiled, some of the nervousness in her stomach dissipating as she pulled back to look into those green eyes.
"Are you ready?" Pam asked.
"Mhm," Harley nodded. She hoped she didn't look as anxious as she felt…Pam didn't seem anxious at all, although Harley wasn't sure why she would, these were her friends after all. But Harley thought maybe Pam would be anxious on her behalf—worried that Harley might embarrass her. That not seeming like an issue reassured Harley somehow, so she took a deep breath and opened the door, leaving the safety of Pam's car behind.
Pam took her hand as they passed through the second wrought-iron gate and ascended the flight of stairs up to the grand main entrance. And grand it was. Harley had seen pictures of it before, online and in the paper, but actually being there was a whole different ballgame. She honestly couldn't believe people actually lived here. It was just so…massive. And cold looking. She wondered how it was for Bruce growing up here as a child. She couldn't imagine how a building like this could ever feel "homey".
Pam rang the doorbell once they reached the front step, and as they waited, Harley watched the girl's hand wander to the wall which was nearly overrun with climbing ivies. Her fingers gently brushed the leaves of the plants. Her touch reverent, respectful…it made Harley smile, and she gripped her other hand tighter.
In another moment, the door swung open to reveal an older gentleman in a tuxedo. "Miss Isley," he greeted, cordially. "And who might this be?"
Pam dropped their joined hands, which earned her a raised eyebrow from the man. "Alfred, this is Harley—Harleen. Quinzel. Harleen Quinzel."
Harley's face grew hot, but without the warmth of Pam's hand in hers she felt cold on the last day of October, as a chilling breeze permeated the soft cotton of her t-shirt. The man was watching her now, looking her up and down, his expression void of reaction.
"Master Bruce instructed me to let Miss Pamela Isley and her 'girlfriend' in whenever they arrived," Alfred informed them. "I assume you fit that description, Miss Quinzel."
Harley didn't know how to answer. She thought she did, but after how quickly Pam had dropped her hand…
"I have no obligation to Mrs. Isley," he assured them.
Harley watched relief wash over Pam then. The redhead took her hand once more, smiling brightly as she laced their fingers together. "Then we have arrived."
"Excellent," Alfred opened the door wider, allowing them inside. "The children are downstairs in the recreation room."
"Alfred, please," Pam huffed. "We're nearly adults."
The man looked exceedingly unimpressed as he showed them to the stairs. "Miss Isley, no matter how pretty the girl you bring over, you'll still be the child who came here to play Secret Garden."
Harley giggled, finding the embarrassment on Pam's face adorable. "Secret garden? Like the movie?"
"Like the book," Pam corrected as she rapidly descended the stairs.
Literally even the staircase leading to the basement is nicer than my house, Harley realized, following closely behind Pam as she led them to a large oak door.
"What the fuck?" Selina asked immediately, not stopping what seemed like an intense game of ping pong to address them. "What took you so long?"
Harley allowed Pam to pull her into the room. Actually, that was necessary, as Harley was pretty sure she'd have just stood out in the hallway starring until someone pinched her. Ping pong, pool, air hockey, arcade games…Wtf? Is this heaven? And the couches look so comfy! Is that a heavy bag? And a pullup bar? And a beverage bar? What is this place?!
"Harley had to ask permission from her mother," Pam was saying...although Harley barely even registered that she was talking. She was too busy taking everything in.
"Damn it!" Selina fumed, throwing her paddle down on the ground when one of Dick's shots just barely snuck onto the edge of the table, scoring before Selina could defend it.
"Ha!" Dick laughed. "Two out of three. Truth or dare."
"Ugh," Selina grimaced. "Dare."
"Gimme 20. Hand stands, on the wall." He pointed to an empty space near the punching bag.
"Asshole," Selina grumbled, walking across the room and kicking herself up into a handstand, her feet kissing the wall as she bent her elbows until her head touched the floor and then pushed herself back up.
"One!" Dick counted for her.
Bruce and Diana were sitting on the couch, watching with amusement as Selina endured her punishment.
"So—uh, what are you guys doing?" Harley ventured. Wow, that sounded supremely uncool.
"Sober truth or dare," Diana told her, patting the couch next to her for Harley to come sit down.
The blonde obliged, while Pam elected to sit in the armchair across from them
"What's—"
"We only really 'party' in the off season," Bruce cut her question off to explain. "You signed the agreement, you know the drill."
Harley nodded. When she'd made the gymnastics team, she'd had to sign a piece of paper promising sobriety as long as she was actively competing.
"So, during our seasons, we do this instead of drinking games." Bruce finished. "But anyway, welcome."
"Oh—umm—thanks," Harley smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Did Alfred give you the tour?" Bruce wanted to know.
"No," Pam answered for her.
"Oh," the boy seemed a little disappointed. "Well, what do you think of the house so far?"
For some reason, Harley could tell this was important to him…which she found endearing, sort of. He didn't seem like he wanted her to kiss his feet or anything, more that he was just proud of his home. "It's beautiful, and, like, gigantic."
Bruce grinned. "You know much about the Wayne family?"
"Umm…I know you." Harley smiled charmingly, which made Diana laugh beside her.
"20!" Dick finished counting and Selina dropped out of the handstand position.
"Well, the first Waynes were trappers, fur traders-," Bruce began. His sentence was cut short, though, by laughter: Diana, Dick, Selina and even Pam all starting in.
"Truth or dare." Diana punched him playfully in the shoulder.
"Oh, fuck you guys." Bruce complained. "Harley didn't know! It was educational!"
"Bullshit," Selina panted, still a bit out of breath from her dare. "Dems the rules. Truth or dare?"
Bruce narrowed his eyes at his girlfriend. "Dare."
"Kiss that boy on the mouth. Do it now." Selina pointed at Dick.
"No!" was Bruce and Dick's immediate response.
"On the mouth! On the mouth! On the mouth!" Selina chanted, Diana joining in soon after, and Pam following suit a round later.
Bruce finally pulled himself off the couch, mumbling "I hate you guys," as he went.
"And my panties better be wet when you're done," Selina warned.
"Sweep him off his feet, Bruce!" Diana cheered.
In a grand sweeping motion, Bruce dipped Dick like one would a dance partner, kissing him as he did.
"Tongue!" Pam enjoined, receiving a middle finger from Bruce in response as the boys separated with an exaggerated smack.
"Are you not entertained?" Bruce delivered the line like Russell Crowe, earning cheers and claps from his audience.
Even Harley was clapping, although she barely understood what was going on.
"Is this when I come out?" Dick asked, clutching at his chest in overplayed mock-concern. "It's been you all along, Bruce!"
"Oh, shut up." The taller boy collapsed back into the couch cushions between Diana and Harley. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Harley."
"Don't be sorry!" Harley said, a bit too excitedly. Excited at being included in whatever this was…not at seeing Bruce and Dick kiss, although that certainly wasn't terrible.
"That feel like kissing your sister?" Diana wondered.
Bruce shrugged. "I've had worse. Pam, namely."
Harley and Pam's reactions were essentially the same, although with different motivations. Their jaws dropped open. For Harley this was yet another revelation about Pam's past love life within her close circle of friends, and for Pam herself…well, she looked downright offended.
"How dare you," Pam said as if Bruce had just slapped her in the face. "I am a fantastic kisser – it was you who was inebriated that night, and sloppy, frankly. Nauseatingly so."
"Jesus, Pam, you're so fucking predictable," Bruce laughed. "TRUTH OR DARE?"
"OK," Harley put her hands out to stop them as Pam grimaced, done with playing catchup. "Will someone please explain this game to me?"
Pam sat back in a huff, her arms crossed, which Selina thought was hilarious. With them both indisposed, Diana decided to step up. "Sorry, we're being rude. It's just a game we made up after knowing each other for so long. We're all too predictable. So…when Selina is a sore loser, she has to answer truth or dare. Same for when Bruce starts bragging about his family, or anytime he refers to 'The Waynes' as some sort of glorious entity or lineage. Pam has to do it when she gets conceited or gets on her environmentalism high horse…I do it when I get righteous and Dick does it when he complains about his many admirers or when he mentions Gordon."
"Wait, are you serious?" Harley laughed.
"I don't lie," Diana answered, sobering suddenly.
"Truth or dare!" the others all shouted at once.
…which just made Harley laugh harder.
Diana was amused. "What's so funny, Quinzel?"
"Just—," Harley wiped her eyes. "You guys are the coolest kids in school. Coolest kids in the city, even. And you—you're not even assholes, are you?"
Now it was Diana, Bruce and Dick's turn to be offended (Selina just sort of shrugged and Pam was still pouting). "Well I certainly hope not…" Diana said.
Harley grinned, getting up so that she could pull Bruce into a tight hug. "Thank you so much for inviting me." She didn't let go until he'd offered her an "umm…no problem?" When she sat back down, she looked at Pam expectantly. "Well? Truth or dare, babe?" (She saw Selina cringe slightly, but she didn't really care.)
"Fine. Truth." Pam acquiesced.
"What's the weirdest place you and Harley have done it?" Dick asked, plopping down in the beanbag chair between Pam and Selina.
"I don't know—my guest bedroom, maybe?" Pam said without a stutter, without even a hint of blush in her cheeks.
Bruce narrowed his eyes. "Which one?"
"East wing." Pam told him, plainly.
OK, so maybe Pam wasn't blushing, but Harley definitely was.
"Booooo," Selina heckled. "You guys are boring. I thought for sure Crotch Rocket would be kinky."
Now Harley was really blushing. "Well, I'm—I'm sorry I disappointed you, Selina."
"Yes, I'm sorry you did too." The brunette sighed, turning her attention to Diana now, evidently done with Harley. "Same question to you, Princess."
"With Mera or Steve?" The tallest girl asked.
"No, with Clark." Dick said.
Pam chuckled, finally having fully recovered from earlier, it seemed. But Diana shook her head. "We didn't."
Selina looked legitimately surprised. "You serious? You dated for like a year."
"Yeah, and how long did you and Bruce date before you did it?" Diana laughed. "Like 8 years?"
"We were kids," was Bruce's explanation.
"I was only a freshman," Diana argued. "Definitely felt like we were still kids then."
"I'm sorry, who's Clark?" Harley was back to playing catchup.
"Good friend of mine and Diana's. He goes to Metropolis." Bruce told her.
"Well, anyway, he found himself a Selina now," Diana chuckled. "Steve and I did it in his car one time—that was super uncomfortable…and Mera and I did it on the beach."
"So chaste, so pure." Selina mocked.
Dick was clearly disappointed with those answers. "What about you, Pam?" he prompted. "Clark put out for you?"
"OK, firstly," Pam sat forward before Harley could even react. "You all are going to give my poor girlfriend a heart attack. Secondly, Richard, I never actually dated Clark. I got him to accompany me to the homecoming dance because he's handsome, muscular, well-respected and above all a decent human being who allowed me to enjoy myself that night rather than spend the entire time refusing the advancements of lesser men."
Dick was incredulous. "How'd you get him to go?"
"Mind control, obviously." Pam rolled her eyes. "Look at me, Dick. In what world would I ever have trouble attracting male attention?"
"Ooh, truth or dare!" Harley said, excitedly, joining in on the fun.
Pam looked betrayed. "Et tu, Brute?"
Harley giggled, but put her hand over her heart. "Te amo," she said, apologetically.
And…yep, there was Pam's blush.
Selina rolled her eyes. "Truth or dare, Pam?"
"Dare," Pam answered, smiling. Not taking her eyes off of Harley as she did.
"How about you strip naked, run around outside and bark like a dog," Selina suggested.
"That's three dares," Pam intoned. "Pick one."
"Your pick," Selina challenged.
Dick, Bruce and Diana all humorously crossed their fingers, making their preference clear.
With an eye roll, Pam obliged them, pulling her tank top off over her head and putting her toned stomach and black lace bra on full display. "You're welcome," she taunted. "Bu you're going to have to buy me dinner for tickets to the rest of it."
/
Pam wasn't surprised by her friends' reactions to her semi-undressed status. As she primly folded her now-discarded tank top and placed it on the coffee table in front of her, she noted Selina's victorious smirk, Diana's raised (and appreciative) eyebrow, Bruce's wide grin, and Dick's whispered Wow.
But there was only one person whose reaction she truly cared about, and she kept her face carefully impassive as she stole a glance at Harley. Would her girlfriend (girlfriend!) be jealous? Or worse . . . embarrassed?
Then their eyes met, and Pam swore she felt a jolt of electricity, although that was clearly scientifically implausible. Harley's cheeks were pink, she was biting her lower lip in that way she always did when things between them got intense, and her eyes . . . they burned into Pam, with an intensity that took her by surprise, clear blue irises nearly swallowed up by black pupils.
Pam cleared her throat, breaking the moment before anyone else noticed something so private, and crossed her arms. "Enjoy the peep show, assholes," she grumbled, impressed at her ability to channel sexual frustration into what sounded somewhat convincingly like general grumpiness.
The six of them fell into easy conversation: Dick and Bruce started arguing playfully about who was the better kisser, Selina reluctantly allowed Harley to draw her into a discussion about the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team, and (after assuring herself that Harley could handle Selina just fine) Pam asked Diana what the latest news from Mera was.
All in all, Pam was pleasantly surprised, both by her friends' acceptance of Harley and by Harley's ability to interact in an unfamiliar group setting once her initial nervousness had subsided.
A while later, the sparkling water Dick had tossed Pam from the beverage bar began to take its toll, and she excused herself gracefully. As she was washing her hands for the CDC-recommended 20 seconds, the door clicked open and green eyes met blue in the bathroom mirror.
"CDC-recommended 20 seconds?" Harley said with a smirk, indicating the faucet with a head nod.
"Of course," Pam replied, stifling her grin as she dried her hands on the Waynes' color-coordinated guest towel. "I'm impressed that you remembered."
"Well, I might not have a PhD like some people," Harley said, stepping slowly closer until she was right behind Pam, resting her hands lightly on her hips from behind, "but I do have this great biology tutor who's taught me so much." She brushed her lips gently over Pam's bare shoulder, making the redhead shiver.
Pam gulped, caught off-guard by Harley as she so often found herself. She watched in the mirror as Harley's hands slid around her torso, grit her teeth as fingernails trailed lazily over her still-bare abs.
"So, Pam-a-lamb," Harley said, her voice pitched lower than usual, "you wanna get out of here?" Her teeth scraped oh so lightly over Pam's shoulder blade, and Pam let out a soft hiss without meaning to. She felt Harley's grin against the top of her spine before the blonde went on: "Or, while we're at Wayne Manor, did you wanna show me your secret garden?" Her fingertips slipped just under the wire of Pam's black bra.
Pam finally found her voice. Kind of. "H-how did you manage to make that sound so naughty?" she stammered.
Harley took a step back and cocked her head to the side, considering. Pam turned to face her, pouting a little at the loss of Harley's body heat against her back but curious to hear her reply.
"Well," Harley said, scrunching up one eye thoughtfully and tapping a finger against her chin, "the word 'secret' already implies something clandestine, forbidden even. Plus I said it in a suggestive manner, and I already had you a little worked up, and saying 'your' secret garden sorta implies your lady parts and not an actual garden–"
The rest of her treatise was cut off, however, when Pam pulled her roughly back into her arms and kissed her, hard. When she had Harley breathless against her, Pam shifted to whisper right in her ear, "We're going to go to my house now. Before we do . . . promise me that you'll never say 'lady parts' again."
She felt rather than heard Harley's answering giggle – and then noises outside the still-open door caught both girls' attention. Pam's – their – friends were apparently headed out, too.
"Get it, Pam!" Diana said with a grin as she passed the bathroom.
"Get a room," Selina sneered.
"Get over it, Party Cat," Dick said, affectionately ruffling Selina's hair until she grabbed his hand and bent one of his fingers back.
Bruce just waggled his eyebrows at them and tossed Pam's tank top to her. She caught it neatly, and Harley stepped back so she could slip it on.
The two girls smoothed their hair and clothes down as best they could and hurried after the others. Selina kissed Bruce fiercely before heading out to her car. Alfred held the door for all of them, and as she passed, Harley grabbed his hand (with her free hand, the one not tightly entwined with Pam's) and bent to smack a kiss on the back of it. "Lovely to meet you!" she said, and Pam couldn't suppress the laugh that bubbled up in response to the look on the butler's face.
They said their goodbyes and got into the car. Pam put her hands at 10 and 2 o'clock on the steering wheel, just to keep herself from pulling Harley into her lap right there. She chanced a look over at her, not surprised anymore by the hungry look in Harley's eyes.
"So," Harley said, mock-casually, "sounds like we need to come up with somewhere more adventurous than the guest bedroom on the east wing."
Pam's eyes widened, and then she smiled. "I know just the place," she said, and they peeled out of the Wayne Manor faster than Pam could ever remember doing so.
