When Ivy woke from her midday nap, albeit quite slowly, the first thing she noticed was the feeling of an arm wrapped over her midsection. Leading from that, there was a woman in the bed holding her from behind, given she could feel the chest pressing into her back.
She still felt mentally exhausted, but after the fiasco that was her morning wake-up, she took the unexpected presence of another with a lot more tact.
Her eyes were hard to open, but clear when she did so. A brief glimpse under the blanket confirmed that it was Harley's hand resting across her stomach, putting her a little more at ease. No repeats of flipping out of the bed in a panic.
Crawling into bed to share it was mild in the list of Harley's antics anyway. Something she had likely been barred from doing during treatment at Wayne Tower.
It was also better than Harley jumping on the bed and waking her up, or any of the other possible things she could have done in a less cognitive state.
Deciding not to interrupt that idealized moment of peace between them left her with reason to lie there and think, as well as observe.
Outside, the light rain had turned heavier, filtering out more of the dwindling light as sunset approached. Gotham's affinity for rain hadn't changed at all.
Her attention wandered back into the room again. Plain and minimal in decoration beyond what Bruce had always kept in it, though that was to her preference anyway. Adding her own personal touch to the place meant more plant growth. And in a more intangible front, meant settling into living at the manor long term.
Getting back to the point of having her own abode was still a vital goal for her. Settling down was much further off.
That brought her thoughts back to Harley at last. However traumatic the night was, it had ended with the death of the Joker. He was well and truly gone from their lives, and unlike Harley's past recoveries, he couldn't barge in and pull her back into the spiral of gleeful insanity.
They had each other, and the only barriers to them finally making good on all their wistful, but otherwise empty promises was getting their lives back. Back from Harley's fragile mental state, and Ivy's declaration of war against the criminal underworld.
A huge commitment that had to be met on both sides to work. The worrying feeling that stemmed from it grew in Ivy's mind, that neither of them were ready, or perhaps even willing to see it through.
It took a series of mental exercises to push that thought away. Exercises taught to her by Harley herself back in the early days. Ones she still used regularly, trying to keep the ever-present call of the Green out of her waking thoughts.
In the moment, she was safe, comfortable, and had a secure future for herself. There was much to be done ahead, for her own needs as well as those around her. She had to focus on the small, personal issues first, a new foundation to work up from. Just like any plant in nature.
Hearing Harley mumble incoherently put a smile on Ivy's face. That was enough for her to act on, starting with freeing her thigh from Harley's grip so that she could turn on the spot.
She had yet to understand what Harley had been through in those three absent months. For Ivy, seeing her pretty face in a state of sleepy serenity after the torment they had been through, mere days ago from her perspective, was a treat unto itself. No nightmares, no mania, no terror.
At the first fluttering of eyelids, she reached her hand up to that pale face, stroking the back of her knuckles along the upturned cheek. That drew Harley out a little more, and even brought on a smile.
"Hey Red."
"Harls."
They stared into each others eyes for a lengthy time. Wistful in the peace they had together. A perfect moment of serenity.
Until Harley rolled over with a grumble.
"Ten more minutes."
The moment being interrupted so abruptly didn't bother Ivy at all. She covered a quiet laugh in fact, leaning over Harley to leave a kiss on her upturned cheek.
"Take your time. I'm not going anywhere."
That was meant in a more general sense, as Ivy carefully made her way over to the other side of the bed. As much as she wanted to stay there and keep Harley warm, there was an inescapable desire to be active for obvious reasons.
The warmth persisted when she left the bed anyway, precisely regulated throughout the room automatically. Another little perk of staying in the manor that she hadn't appreciated the first time around.
Bruce was halfway through a fresh cup of tea when he saw Ivy enter the spacious kitchen. The beginnings of suit schematics sent over by Lucius were hidden from view on the table with a discrete swipe.
"Good morning."
Still pulling her fingers through the mess of red hair she had let loose, Ivy blinked at Bruce a few times before cognating what he had said.
"Isn't it late evening? I was only asleep a few hours surely."
"Actually, it looks like you slept through the entire night. I sent Harley up after we talked a bit, she any better?"
Perplexed by how she had managed to sleep for so long after the coma, Ivy shrugged on her way to take a seat at the island counter. "She's still sleeping. We said hello, that's about it."
She looked to the spread of glass windows and doors on her left, overlooking the patio and estate grounds out back. The view did look slightly brighter than before. Her sense of time being so incorrect was still disorientating.
The rain would be colder regardless, putting a halt on any plans to go outside a while longer. The warmth inside had become a comfort she wasn't ready to abandon so easily.
"And how about you, Ivy? Are you feeling better?"
Ivy looked to Bruce again. She didn't have an immediate answer, caught between her earlier anxious thoughts, and the fact that she was living in comfort without any threat posed to her. The nebulous rift of admitting that not all was well, between complaining and complacency.
"There's still a lot to think over. A lot I'm confused or lost about." She dragged her nails along the polished marble, then tapped them a little with an easing of her mood. "I'm not fearing for my life though. I'm not running scared. I actually forgot what this was like."
It brought a great deal of comfort to Bruce in turn, taking another sip of his tea. "I know it's far from over, but I'm still glad you decided to stick with it."
"Turning good?"
"Getting help."
Ivy rolled her eyes, but there was still a smile to her reaction. "That too." After eyeing the tea, she left the seat to saunter around in pursuit of preparing her own. "I need a bit longer before therapy. Getting up to speed with Harley, rejuvenating so I don't look like the inside of a cucumber..." She twisted her extremely pale green fingers around to make the point while searching for the tea leaves. "Among other things."
Right as she found the leaves, she stopped again, reaching for her face with a longing sigh. "Who am I kidding, Bruce? Making it all sound so simple. Like all it'll take with Harley is a fancy dinner with conversation and the rest will work itself out."
"I'd say you're putting too much weight on one evening then. Take your time with decompressing. Enjoy a nice night with Harley, then talk things out when you have a better idea of where you stand."
Ivy looked over her shoulder to Bruce at that with another smile. "Cutting right to the good advice?"
"I've been through this kind of hand-wringing a lot. Trial-and-error says to pace it out." Bruce finished the last of his tea to set the mug aside, going back for the tablet. "I keep a table on reserve at the Wayne Tower restaurant, founder's privilege and all. And I can always cover for anywhere else you think of. Helps to know the options."
"I'm not going to be picky after getting away from vegan burgers." Even in saying it, Ivy was smiling while turning to lean against the counter. "That was the only time we ate out somewhere together, since I got back. For me, it feels like it was last week. Then again, knowing Harley, she's just as likely to go back there over going to some five star full course establishment."
A still tired Harley entered the kitchen at that point, apparently having gone down to a red silk tunic.
Bruce scratched at his ear, then put all his attention to the tablet while nodding to Ivy. "I need to get ready for the day. Got new construction contracts to oversee in person."
His departure was clean and swift, sparing him the flustered sensation that Ivy herself was going through while she watched Harley draw closer.
She had completely forgotten about the tea beside her, leading to a moment of great tension when Harley slipped right past to get at it.
By contrast, Harley was so fazed by morning drowsiness that she was oblivious to Ivy's blatant blushing, focused solely on waking herself up properly.
"I'll just… uh…"
Ivy moved out to circle back around the counter island to take a seat again. Giving Harley a bit of space only served to put her on a particular angle to watch her from.
"So…"
She half expected to get a raised finger for silence from Harley while she set about the routine. Not even that much in acknowledgement. Then again, the previous day had implied she was in a low phase of her bipolar behaviour.
Focusing on the marble seemed to be the only thing she could do in the meantime. Without tapping at it, or touching it with her nail at all for that matter. Anything that could become an irritating sound at that quiet hour.
Hearing the rising sound of the electric kettle was a welcome break from the awkwardness. And the only thing capable of pulling Ivy away from staring at Harley's thighs.
Going outside in the cold rain didn't seem like such a bad idea any longer. The feeling started to pass as she thought about the rain again. Cold, but also very awakening, and not at all clammy like the tropical rain she had endured for half a year.
All that did was make her think about warm showers, and all the times she had wanted to share at least one with Harley. By all rights, that was closer to being achievable than it had ever been, and still couldn't feel more distant as the sullen mood crept back in.
"You okay Red?"
Ivy whipped her head back from staring out across the grounds again, then tried to play off her return to blushing with an awkward smile. "Just thinking, about things, and stuff. Yeah."
Harley twisted her lips in doubt. She approached the counter island from the other side, setting her lightly steaming tea down while leaning forward a little. "Me?"
There was another exchange of awkward glances from Ivy, unable to face Harley directly, and also trying her best to not look down the top of her tunic.
It took more mental exercises for her to feel comfortable making eye contact again. "I don't know where we stand, so I'm kind of all over the place. I mean, I did wake up with you in bed holding me like that, but…"
"But?"
"I don't know. I just…" Ivy put her hand to the left side of her head, going back to tracing the marble. "Bruce and I talked a bit, and it's the first time in years I've had a comfortable conversation about myself that wasn't more complaining, or whining about the environment. I'm worried it won't be the same with us."
She sighed painfully at doing exactly what she had hoped to avoid. "And there I go dumping all the emotional baggage on you when you're barely awake. I'm sorry Harls."
Harley blinked slowly for several seconds. When she caught up to that much, she leaned back and took a long sip of her tea.
Ivy felt as if she was shrinking while retreating back in self-imposed shame.
"I mean, I feel awful for leaving you worrying about me for three months-"
The tea went back down to the counter when Harley had drank enough.
"-and now there's so much I've missed out on that I don't want to make you feel like I'm neglecting you-"
While Ivy's long ramble continued on, Harley started walking around towards her, head tilted in response to the obliviousness.
"-but I'm also trying not to overwhelm you at the same time and it's all so confusing and…"
Her ramble went out into mild mumbling when she finally noticed Harley on direct approach. Something deep within brought on a feeling of quiet thrill at her saunter.
"Harls?"
After shaking her hair out behind her shoulders, Harley took hold of Ivy's shoulders and slid up onto her lap. Once settled, she brought one hand up to brush some of the red locks out of the way, then went in for a tender kiss.
It was short, but had a large impact on Ivy as she brought her arms up to hold Harley on reflex. For the time, her worrying and fear was able to subside with that simple reassurance from her.
When they parted lips, she was left without words, only able to keep staring into the soft blue eyes while the many feelings going on inside swirled away.
Many things passed through her mind, a lot she could see ending in awkwardness so easily. Eventually, she came to the only real response needed.
With a soft hum, she turned her head and hugged Harley back, sighing when she felt the hands move from her shoulders to return the embrace.
"I'm sorry for being such an emotional wreck."
"We both are."
Harley eased the hold back after a while. She stared down at Ivy, then pursed her lips, reaching a finger up to trace down the middle of her lips and chin.
"Ivy."
"Harley?"
After a bit more tracing, Harley went back to the shoulder hold, nudging herself a little closer again. "We need to get you new clothes."
Ivy tilted her head with an uncertain expression. "Clothes? That's where this-" She gestured at Harley's provocative positioning. "-is going?"
"You're still in a shirt and shorts, Red. What you need is clothes."
The tinge returned to Ivy's cheeks when she caught on properly, drawing one hand down towards Harley's thigh. "Fine, but I get to pick a couple as surprises for you. And, while we're on the subject, something sharp for that high class dinner we always wanted for a while. Nothing wrong with going all out, right?"
Harley's smile changed slightly, a bit more crease at the corners, before it slid up into a soft grin.
"Sure. You were always hotter with those open-back pieces. Let's find something like that."
She slid off Ivy's lap quietly, readjusting the tunic as soon as she was back on her feet. "I'm glad you're back, Red. Maybe we can swing by my place first, catch up there and all."
"Yeah. We've got a lot more than just three months to catch up on, Harls. Shower?"
Ivy had noticed the discomfort on Harley's part, putting on her own brave face a little longer. Her simple test was the best way she had on hand to be sure.
Seeing that pale smile subside was the confirmation she dreaded.
"Maybe another time. Bruce has my address, come by when you're ready, alright?"
"Can't wait."
The departure was gradual, the embrace slipping away to a grasp on each others arms, then the wrists, fingers dragging along each other. Soon, the last bit of contact was broken, Harley turning to get dressed again.
A few long seconds after she had left the kitchen, Ivy turned back to the counter and buried her face in her hands.
All she could think about was how tragically right she had been proven about losing Harley. Not to another person, but to her own hollow psyche.
"Dial back the zoom a bit."
"On it."
From high in Wayne Tower, the view of Gotham in medium rainfall was limited. Tiffany could see most of the other high rise buildings, especially the brighter ones in the distance. Ground level was limited to the island itself though, the simple density of the rain blocking out the view of Bludhaven far beyond.
At that moment however, she was looking back into the tower. The view of a drone over a hundred metres out was being fed right to her virtual lens.
"That's better. Getting the right amount of sharpness on my end."
She swapped her tablet over to a digital sketch pad, writing out a few words, then turned to face it out towards the window view. "Can you read this, Barb?"
"Fork lift its shelved?"
Tiffany pouted with a roll of her eyes. "Frank Herbert's sherbert. I like Dune." She twisted the tablet back around, humming in thought. "Probably pushing it a bit far anyway. Let's test the-"
The doors opened to Lucius, who exchanged a wave with Tiffany as he entered his own office.
"Sorry to barge in."
"It's okay. Barbara and I were about to test the new remote microphone, if you've got a minute for a test conversation."
"Switching to drone audio now."
Lucius leaned past to peer out the window at the grey view beyond. He couldn't see a drone out there at all.
"Huh, pushing the range on them already?"
Tiffany cleared her throat while putting her voice slightly louder for the sake of the test. "Yeah, we've pushed it to eighty percent of optical range compared to clear conditions. There's still work to be done on text. It's definitely not because I can't fingerpaint words."
"Keep going, I'm getting a good start on filtering out extra ambient sound."
While it felt odd to speak up in casual conversation, Lucius did the same regardless. It was rather more a throwback to his early days doing similar tests with Bruce and Alfred.
"Well I must say that I am impressed. Navigating the problems that result when rainfall and bitrate clash is no small feat. When we started on this, shrinking cameras down below the size of a hand was near impossible. And the resolution was nothing worth writing home about either."
"No kidding, I remember that old model you showed me a while back. Come a long way in fifteen years huh?"
"That should be enough. Conversation surveillance at 450 metres should be achievable even in the worst rainfall."
Tiffany nodded while bringing the drone back in for recharge. "So long as they don't talk under a sheet metal roof, right? There's a lot of places like that in the downtown."
"Remote sensors are still our best bet on that front, if you can get the all-weather silent rotors figured out."
"I'm still stalled on it. Maybe someone down at aerodynamics will crack it. Catch up later, Barb."
Lucius had returned to his desk by then. While waiting for Tiffany to bring the drone back for recharge, he worked on preparing his own tasks for the day. An ample opportunity to think about what he planned on saying, or asking.
As soon as the drone was back at its station, Tiffany pulled off the lens and closed both eyes to let it rest. Even then, she was more focused on answering whatever her father was about to say.
"I need a bit longer."
"There's no immediate need for drone upgrades, Tiff."
Before she even turned around, Lucius lifted a hand in submission. "I know, that wasn't what you meant." Once his point was made, he reached under for the lockdown switch. The spacious window darkened, and a small jamming field went up around the office itself, while the door locked to admission only.
Even with all the security checks in place, Tiffany still felt hesitant to say the actual words. "I know the suit is pretty much done. I know Dick and Tim have put in the long haul, and it's my turn to step up."
"Tiff, if you're not ready, that's all that needs to be said. You're still doing invaluable work, even to this exact day."
"Improving camera and microphone range is still small compared to what everyone else is doing. Barbara's already writing a shortlist for her new squad, and I know she's waiting to put me on it." After a few more calming breaths, she turned around to look back out through the darkened glass. "Rationally, I know I'm going to be safe in that suit. But every time I look at it, I think about Tim's arm. Barb's back. Bruce's shoulder."
Lucius nodded sagely. "My hip?"
Tiffany looked back over her shoulder. Her father's own injury that kept him from being more actively involved was something she didn't think about nearly as often, and in a way she found that more shameful.
"I know we don't always get to pick our fights. But with more guns on the streets, I keep worrying I'll freeze up, and that'll be it. I don't want to start out as the new Batgirl by running away."
After giving it some further thought, Lucius turned away from the computer to stand. "If you don't feel ready to be Batgirl yet, Tiff, there might still be field work you can take on. An intermediate, if you will."
"I guess Barb can handle scouting and surveillance on her own a while if she needs to. What are you thinking?"
"Well, Ivy regained consciousness yesterday. Late last night, Bruce informed me that he brought her into the know; Batcave and everything. We're considering her an ally now, and showing some on-the-ground support would help assure her of that. And not as a bodyguard, before you ask."
Tiffany was already on the verge of questioning when he brought up the last part. "We've never met. And she's not exactly in my age range for casual chatter either. Don't think I can watch her back without it getting weird."
"We'll figure out something, and it won't be on a constant basis either. For better or worse, Harley's a capable fighter, and they'll be sticking together for a while yet." Lucius shrugged belatedly after that. "Just a thought. And you're always welcome to discuss other ideas with myself and Bruce."
"Thanks Dad." Tiffany turned away from the window, considering leaving at first. With the security measures still up however, she instead reached for the hidden locker controls.
A nearby wall panel began to twist around. From the other side emerged one of the displays that housed suits in development. Hers in that case, armoured plates of dark metallic purple atop the black underlay. Taking after Barbara's own suit, but more streamlined to accommodate drone flight. Still maintaining the yellow symbol to carry on the legacy. Alongside the suit, all the mini-drones and other gear she had worked on herself. An otherwise outstanding portfolio of what she had done in her time already.
She didn't feel ready to put it all to use. To make herself an open target of Gotham's worst, in order to protect the greater good.
"I wish I could say I'm ready. But I'd be lying to everyone, Dad."
"Better to admit that, Tiff. It'll be ready when you are, I promise."
Tiffany gazed over the suit a while longer, then nodded sagely, putting it all back into hiding.
"I need to bring some things by the Clocktower. I'll think about being Poison Ivy's tag-along while I'm at it." Before she went to leave, she managed a bit of a smile through the hard soul-searching she had gone through. "Just don't count on inviting her to dinner. If you haven't noticed, Luke's really not into vegan food, at all."
"Neither is your mother. We're not at that stage with Ivy anyway. Ally yes, house guest is up for debate, and the jury's out for now. Don't worry."
It had been a whirlwind of a day for Ivy.
Visiting the apartment had been skipped entirely at Harley's own insistence, the rainy day instead spent at the various market complexes in Gotham's uptown.
A welcome escape from her rollercoaster of feelings in the morning. No time to think, to get bogged down in worrying about the future. She could live for the moment. And the moment being alongside Harley made it all the better.
No concern about being outed in the various applicable ways. No fretting over the thought that the fun would inevitably end. No lingering call of the Green pulling her out of the new life she had been granted. Urging her to return to a violent crusade she no longer wanted to pursue.
Now, she was in the lobby of the Wayne Tower restaurant, just as Bruce had suggested. All the arrangements and clearances had been made. The only thing keeping her from going inside was a desire to wait for Harley and walk in alongside her.
It was the first time in close to two years that she had gone to such efforts for another. Her messy approach to tying up her hair had been refined considerably. The washing out of her skin she had opted to make the most of through a return to makeup, including lipstick despite its long association with her seductress persona. Breaking free of that on her own terms had never felt quite so liberating.
The off-white dress that looped around behind her neck to leave close to the entirety of her back open, and most of her cleavage for that matter, before stopping at ankle height was far and above the piece she was most excited to show off. Taking Harley's assertion to heart, it was one of a few pieces she had picked out on her own and put on when they had parted earlier. The long fingerless sleeves had come later, when she felt there was a crucial part missing when putting it all on.
Possibly a bit of a reach for what had started out as a very light and cozy plan, but with the moment at hand, she felt like nothing less was worth it.
The consequences of standing up to the Joker, and his following death could wait another day. Their deeply regrettable past actions, all the abuse they had both suffered at his hands and others, for one night she felt able to leave it aside and remind herself of why she had taken risks and stood up for what she wanted to begin with.
She had Harley in her life, and there were no longer strings or looming threats attached to her. For one night, she was like any other woman with a deep longing, not the fallen villain-in-reform she would have to be the rest of the time.
All she had to endure was the waiting. Tense, quiet, the one thing that allowed for harmful thoughts and doubts to seep back in through the euphoria of anticipation. The internal war between consciously watching the lobby doors for the familiar red-black-white, and the fear that she wouldn't come at all.
When she became aware of the doubt creeping in, she pulled her eyes from the doors, focusing on one of the potted plants nearby instead. Distractions of the day had kept her from thinking about what she had seen in the morning. But it was resolve to see them both get better that allowed her to feel optimistic again. She didn't want that optimism to wear away.
Tentatively, she began reaching a hand out towards the plant. Before her return to Gotham, the call of all plantlife was melodic in her mind. Strongest after her change, then fluctuating as she established herself as the Green's new champion.
Now, for the first time, she truly noticed the absence of the call. The plant itself was definitely live, and yet it made no response to her outreach. The melody was gone.
The sound of the doors opening brought her back from the introspection. She turned around a little too sharply, ready to feel embarrassed at seeing it was another couple entirely.
For once, she was pleasantly surprised, a tinge returning to her cheeks as she looked over Harley in full.
Her own motif had remained constant, the divide of red and black in the long dress running right down the middle, with contrasting sets of diamond shape inlays below the hips, matched by the collar pendant. Compared with the morning look, the loose hair had a much more natural flowing charm to it. Lacking the bedraggled mess, a much nicer flow between the soft blonde and the dyed highlights draped around her shoulders.
Ivy did her best to not focus in on the eyes. Beneath the blue-pink shadow, there was a feeling of emptiness to them. Something that carried over to the tight smile.
"Dr Isley."
Once again, Ivy chased the doubts away from conscious thought, putting on a genuine smile in return.
"Dr Quinzel. May I?"
Harley offered up her arm. When Ivy looped her own through it, the smile softened a little.
"Pretty sure we haven't been licensed doctors for several years, Red."
"Pretty sure we haven't been allowed to be ourselves for just as long, Harls." Ivy's hand reached down to Harley's as they walked across the threshold. "This is where you want to be, right?"
"At Bruce Wayne's schmoozy city-view restaurant?" She turned her head to Ivy, then with a bit more of a smile, entwined her fingers with those reaching down for hers. One more little gesture she made herself do for Ivy's sake. "Not what you meant, I know."
Ivy led the way to the table, one of the three positioned right alongside the open view of Gotham. Something she had noticed earlier when being shown the table was that Bruce's 'favoured seat' had a conveniently placed view of the sky within vicinity of the GCPD. Knowing the truth as she did, she made a point of taking it in a discrete manner. The last she wanted was for Harley to be distracted by seeing the Batsignal light up the rainfall.
The usual routine of orders and other special extras followed, giving both some time to get comfortable before they were left to each other.
There was a layer of honesty to it all that kept Ivy's enthusiasm up. A busy day for a rather unplanned evening, something they had literally shown up on the spot for, with only some amount of preparation going into how they looked. To her, that meant more than spending weeks in planning and days in getting everything done up.
It no longer felt like a hard pressure to present the absolute best appearance for the other. She had meant what she said about being themselves, two people of varying degrees of chaos, sticking together through the best and worst. Putting in only as much effort as they wanted to, and no more. A bond without unfair requirements of the other.
"So, it's literally been two years since I dated anyone, Harls. Do I start out with calling you beautiful, picking a completely random conversation starter, or what?"
Harley's eyes went down to the table with another little smile, eyeing over the finery laid out between them. "I think you just rolled them both into one."
"That a good or a bad thing? Or am I being annoying with it now?"
When her attention began to wander, Harley gripped onto the provided napkin for a tangible feeling, then looked back up. "You're not annoying. Trying a bit too hard, yeah." She shook her head with a sharp inhale to further clear her head. "This is me, Ives. I literally wrote your psych file from the ground up. Don't ask me what I think as if you have to earn my approval."
Ivy swallowed lightly, taking her turn to look away. She still noticed Harley's immediate regret, looking back to her while reaching a hand out. "No, you're right. I wanted this dinner-date night, and I also wanted it to be semi-casual. I'm still trying to work out what that means I guess."
"I am too."
Unintentional as it was, the sharpness of those three simple words carved a hole in Ivy's mood. A small one, but still enough to let the doubts right back in, one at a time. Fear of boring Harley, of upsetting her with the overbearing behaviour, annoying her with a fixation on treating their relationship as normal when it was anything but.
A semi-misanthrope and a sadist. Two former villains, casually sitting at a table, pretending as if they were no different from anyone else around them. As if the pale green and bleached white skin tones weren't already obvious enough in an age when that still somehow mattered.
What did 'casual' even mean for them?
"So, Harls, you hung around me while I was almost a literal vegetable for three months, I'm still thinking peeled cucumber is the right description. Get up to anything interesting besides watching over me?"
The wine arrived in the midst of that, a glass poured for each. In Ivy's case, it was solely for the flavour.
Harley shook her head to the question while immediately going for the drink. It started with a sip, then a gulp, and ended with her downing the whole thing in one.
"Nothing I can talk about."
Ivy's fingers drummed on the table quietly. "So, Bruce has you working on NDA stuff already? He grilled me about being able to maintain confidentiality yesterday."
After growing impatient with the next glass being poured, Harley not so subtly lifted the ice bucket off the cart to set on the table, glaring at the waiter. Once he had moved on, she twisted her head about and brought the glass up to obscure her lips.
"Hint, Red, it's to do with a first rule."
That immediately put Ivy back into a state of concern. "You mean a 'first rule' that contradicts itself if you bring it up to begin with?"
Harley went silent, staring out the window as she rolled her eyes, sipping at the glass more frequently.
Ivy shrank back into her seat yet again. "Right, shutting up about it then."
"Red, I didn't mean-"
"No, it's okay. I'm not going to ask you to stop, and I won't say anything more about it. We have lives of our own…"
Her voice trailed off when the problem became more apparent, at least in her own limited understanding. A regretful sigh followed, her hand moving up to her forehead. "I got in the way of something, didn't I? I'm awake for two days and already-"
"Ivy stop apologizing!" Harley gripped the glass stem tightly as she twisted back around, facing Ivy head on. "You were gone a year, and then I barely had you for a few weeks before I nearly lost you to the fucking Joker! Because I was a fucking coward who never stood up for herself, you nearly died doing it for me! Of course I'm going to blow off a fucking fight club match to spend the entire day with you! Stop feeling like you're the shitty person here because you're staring right-!"
In the middle of Harley's ranting outburst, there was a sharp squeezing sound, then a violent crack. Glass and wine sprayed across the table as her grip reached breaking point, lacerating her palm and fingers in the process. Blood soon accompanied burgundy in staining the tablecloth red.
For far too long, Ivy was in total shock. Caught off by the outburst, the state of Harley's hand, and the real feelings being launched into the open. She was so far off the mark that it physically sickened her to know how wrong she was about Harley's attitude.
When the shock wore off, the first thing she did was reach for the ice bucket.
"Harls, get you hand in-"
Harley wrested her bloodied hand free as soon as Ivy took hold, pushing away from the table and out of her chair.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Ivy."
She stormed right past the other patrons as many moved to get up and provide aid, as well as the staff intent on the same. Within seconds, she had left the restaurant floor altogether.
In the wake of it, as staff moved in to clean the table and all the other mess that had occurred, Ivy simply buried her face in her hands once again.
That time, she went into full breakdown, tears seeping into the gloves of her fingerless sleeves.
Two days into her latest chance at a fresh start, and she had already found new ways to completely ruin everything. However much Harley had tried to assert she was the one at fault, Ivy couldn't shift the blame away from herself.