Chapter 22: I'd Do Anything for You

"Puddin'! You got all dressed up for me?"

"Oh, you know I'd do anything for you."

Harley Quinn and the Joker Suicide Squad Extended Version (2016).

"Well." Porter said.

Harley, Jodie and the Joker looked at him waiting for something else to follow.

"Do you have anything else to say?" Harley asked and he blushed. "No, sorry I can't go beyond well."

"If I may..." Mistah J started and despite Harley and Jodie's unison no, he said: "The little boy explained that you take people in who want to change and who want second chances."

"Well..." Porter said, earning two identical hateful glances from Jodie and Harley. "He's not wrong!"

"We take in people who need help!" Jodie snapped. "Not rich mob bosses who live in a mansion."

"Hey, you're all welcome in my mansion." Mistah J declared. "Mi casa is su casa, but if you're staying here, so am I."

"He's just here for Harley!" Jodie exploded.

"What if I am?" Mistah J countered. "What's so bad about me wanting to protect her? Isn't that in your interest too?"

"Well." Porter said and Harley snapped:

"Porter, stop saying that!"

"I don't know what to say!" He snapped back. "He's offering help, we don't know where Peter and Wendy are or what they have planned...he's offering to change and asking for a second chance and I mean, that is the whole point of Neverland right?" He looked between the two Queens. "Right?" Porter sounded desperate. "If Hook's crew gets a second chance then we have to give the Joker one too. It's about integrity."

Jodie groaned and Harley sighed, feeling for the first time how tired she really was.

She couldn't go on without sleep if things were this stressful.

"You know." Mistah J purred, leaning forward. "I think you just might be my favorite."

"Shut up!" All three of them snapped and he leaned back with a chuckle.

Porter and Jodie turned to Harley. "What do you think?"

There was a silence, only interrupted by the strange whistling sounds in the pipes.

"I think Porter is right." She eventually muttered, massaging her temples. "But Mistah J, if you put so much as one toe out of line I will throw you out personally, do you understand?"

"Sure, my queen." He grinned and she sighed.

"He's on Rung 1."

Jodie and Porter nodded.

"And we're putting Aiden on Rung 9, is that ok?"

They nodded again.

"Porter, could you explain the rules to him? And then after breakfast I want to send a team out to find the crew."

"Sure, Harley." Without glancing at her former lover she walked away and into the smaller dining hall where the Lost Boys were chatting happily, eating together and laughing.

They cheered when she came inside and she laughed because it felt so over the top. She went to get her espresso and already felt much better just by sitting down with Rachel and Gracie.

"Is it true?!" Rachel asked her eyes wide. "Is the Joker here?"

Harley sighed. "Yeah, he's here and he wants to be a Lost Boy apparently."

"So...he'll be one of us?" Aiden sat down beside them with a large plate full of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast.

"I like him." He said. "I think he's funny."

"Well that's kind of the point." Harley muttered.

Humor was charming, relatable and gave a perfect way in to any kind of relationship. Laughter melted hearts.

"It's romantic." Rachel said as if she had decided this as if it was a steadfast fact not up for discussion.

"Do you want some bacon?" Aiden asked, pushing his plate closer to her. "You didn't eat that much breakfast."

Rachel blushed and pushed her glasses up. "Eh, sure, thanks Aiden."

The two of them moved away from Gracie and Harley, whispering quietly among themselves.

The sight tugged at Harley's heart.

"Will you go away?" Gracie asked. "If your boyfriend is here now?"

"No." She rolled her eyes. "He won't like it here, Honey, he'll be gone two days I promise."

There was no way the Joker was sleeping on the ground amongst teenagers and doing rung 1work.

No matter what he said or what he even thought himself.

He didn't love her that much.

"So the toilets need to be cleaned and then you can help in the kitchen. Porter left instructions, but he should be back by then."

Mistah J scowled. "You're enjoying this too much, Jodie."

She sighed happily. "I'd say it's just about the right amount actually."

He didn't respond.

"We work for and each other here in Neverland."

He had heard this before, but when Jodie said it, it sounded like an accusation.

Porter at least was grateful to have him here and had told him very clearly he could work his way up this stupid ladder and the higher up he was, the more important tasks he would get.

Clearly someone could see that cleaning toilets was a waste of his talents.

"Oh." Jodie smiled brightly. "There you are, Honey."

A little girl was walking towards them.

She had blonde pigtails and large blue eyes. She was wearing what looked like a fairy costume from at least 10 years ago. It was dirty and broken and he frowned in annoyance.

"What's this?"

"This is Gracie." Jodie beamed. "She's going to help you."

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Nope." Jodie couldn't wipe the smile of his face. "She's on Rung Three, so if she tells you to do something, you have to do it." He clenched his fists. "But don't worry, she doesn't talk. So I doubt she'll give you any commands."

She smiled warmly at the child. "You can though, if you want to, Gracie."

The little girl nodded.

"Oh, and don't touch her. She doesn't like that."

"Why would I touch her? Do you think I'm a pervert or something?!"

Jodie arched an eyebrow. "I think you're scum, but that's not the point. The point is you're not allowed to touch her, not even innocently. Do you get it?"

He sighed deeply. There had been many low points in his life so far, but this was definitely a new level.

"Oh and just so you know." Jodie whispered, leaning in close so that he could feel her breath on his face. "We've all taken bets on how long you'll stay and I bet that you'll be gone by nightfall." She leaned back and clapped her hands. "So, chop chop, get to work!"

As much has Peter and Wendy had hurt her, Harley wanted to keep some of their traditions.

Even if it had been a lie, they had created something beautiful with Neverland and she determined to fight for the good things. So she invited Aiden up onto to the platform to talk to him. The little boy was fidgety and having him so close to the edge was making her nervous.

"Aiden."

"Harley." He mocked with a cheeky smile that made her smile too.

"I have good news for you, but first I wanted to ask you how you are."

"Fine." She was momentarily thrown back to her time as Dr. Harleen Quinzel and remembered how distant some of her patients had been, mainly men. "I know that Lauren was a friend of yours."

The boy closed his eyes and didn't answer.

"And I just want you to know how sorry I am for everything that happened. If you want to talk about...about how you're feeling we can always do that."

There was a silence and she expected that he wouldn't say anything, but he surprised her by admitting:

"I feel grateful."

"Grateful?" She repeated and tried to hide her shock.

"We left five minutes before the shooting started." He explained. "Because you told me to look after the younger ones. If you hadn't told me to do that I would be dead too."

Harley was speechless.

"I'm sad because of Lauren, I miss her. And I'm worried about Rachel. She's not eating right, you know."

She hadn't known that actually, but made a mental note of it.

"I'm angry at Peter and Wendy. But I miss them too."

"Yeah." Harley sighed. "I get that."

"What were the good news?" His boyish face lit up and Harley's heart felt lighter in her chest.

"We have decided to put you on Rung 9. You're brave, you're loyal and we're so proud of you."

"Cool!" He beamed. "I can't wait to tell everyone!"

"Well you'll have to." She said in a loving tone. "You were up all night and you need to go and lie down."

"Ok." He muttered. "But only for a few hours."

"Six." She corrected. "We'll tell everyone tonight at dinner. Now go to bed."

He went immediately and she felt jealous about how happy and freely he could go to sleep.

She was exhausted, but the idea of sleeping felt impossible to her.

The toilets were cleaner than he had expected, but that was probably due to the fact that the Lost Boys had only been here one night.

There were six cabins in a row and he cleaned each of them separately

The little girl watched him work with what he would describe as an open, interested expression.

Of all the kids he could have had as a partner he was actually glad it was one who didn't talk. He recognized her from last night when she had been sleeping in Harley's tent and was surprised by how quickly he got used to the smell of her dirty wings.

He hurried up with his task and made sure to do it well. Jodie's provocative words had actually motivated him.

He would certainly not leave tonight, no matter how much he wanted to.

Maybe he would work himself up this ridiculous ladder. It didn't matter how long it took.

He would prove to Harley that he loved her and that they belonged together.

"Why is your hair green?"

He was so startled to her the girl speak he almost knocked over the bucket of water. He looked at the child sitting on the floor before him.

She was looking at him intently. This was probably one of Jodie's games. Telling him the kid was mute and then springing her on him like that. But he could handle a six-year-old.

"Why do you were those wings?"

"My first mummy gave them to me." She explained as if the concept of havng more than one mother was the most normal one in the world.

"Well, I actually jumped into one of those vats and then they turned them green." He pointed to his hair. "Do you like it?"

"No."

He laughed. "Honesty. That's a good trait, kiddo."

Mistah J turned to go into the next cabin when Gracie asked:

"Did Harley fall into the vats too?" He turned around to her. "Yeah, she did."

"She's really pretty." Gracie announced and even though he didn't want to, he found himself smiling.

"Yeah, she is."

"She's mad at you."

The smile vanished and he went into the cabin.

"I know."

"But it won't last. Lauren used to say–" She gasped suddenly, as if she had said something wrong and the Joker came back out of the cabin. He wasn't really worried, just a little bit.

"What?" He asked because Gracie looked like she was about to cry.

"Lauren's dead." She mumbled and her bottom lip trembled. "She was my sister and now she's dead."

"I'm sorry." The words sounded foreign to him, coming out of his mouth. "You must be really sad."

Gracie nodded and he stepped towards her, before he remembered that he wasn't supposed to touch her. Not even to pat her head comfortingly.

"Well what did she use to say?" He asked and crouched down in front of her. "You can talk about her if you like."

"She said that if you and Harley are soulmates then you'll get back together." The child's eyes were large with excitement. "Lauren was already eleven and she knew lots of things about love!"

"Well, you know Gracie, I've been around for a while myself so I know a thing or two about love. And Harley and I will get back together, because we do love each other. And we are soulmates."

"Jodie said you're a bad man."

He stood up again. "Jodie is a real bitch."

Gracie giggled. "You're funny!"

He wanted to roll his eyes, a part of him wanted to scare the girl to get rid of her. But the problem was that her laughter and her acceptance warmed something deep within him he hadn't felt before. Instead he said nothing and went back to his work. He didn't want to give Harley or anyone else any incentive to kick him out. He was here to stay until he had won her back.

There was a silence and when he was done with fifth toilette and came back out he was surprised to find Gracie still sitting there.

"Mr. Joker?" She asked and looked at him with wide-eyes. "What?"

He pushed the bucket of water along the tiles with his foot.

"Do you think Peter and Wendy will come back to hurt us?"

He stopped pushing the bucket and turned to her. She looked sad and upset. But lying wouldn't help her, he knew that. The Joker bent down so he was eye to eye with the child. She didn't seem to be afraid of him.

"Maybe. They will probably try, but do you know what you need to do if that happens?"

The little girl shook her head.

"You take a deeeep breathe like this." He breathed in as much oxygen as he could. "And then you scream as loudly as you possible can, you scream so loud they have to cover their ears. Do you know what happens then?"

She shook her head.

"That's when I'll hear you and come running." He pointed to his chest. "And I will protect you, so they can't hurt you."

"Or Harley?" She asked with a scared look in her eyes. "Definitively not Harley." He promised. "I won't let them hurt her again."

When Gracie smiled he could see that she had a gap in her mouth where her tooth had fallen out. It was adorable.

When she smiled he realized that the heart he had thought for so long was dead and cold was alive and beating. When Gracie smiled at him it was filled with warmth and light and for the first time in forever the Joker wanted to be something else than he was.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Mistah J almost fell over because Jodie's harsh voice made him jump.

"Your alleged mute child has been talking to me."

He matched his voice to be as cold as hers, but as usual Jodie wasn't intimidated.

"Gracie, Honey, go upstairs and find Harley."

The little girl with the broken fairy wings stood up from the floor gracefully and went without looking back.

Jodie was staring at the Joker with a look of pure hatred and he shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know what your problem is. I'm cleanin' the toilets, I'm almost done." He pointed behind him. "I didn't touch her, she just started talking. I did nothing wrong."

"Not this time you didn't." She muttered and turned to the door where Gracie had just left. "Why did you say she doesn't talk?"

"Because she doesn't!" Jodie snapped as if this was his fault. "She never spoke to anyone, not even Peter or Wendy. There's only one other person here she talks to!"

"Who?"

"Who do you think?!" She shook her head looking at him in disgust. "Harley of course."

The Joker couldn't help it, he laughed.

Jodie was not amused as she announced: "Of everyone in the whole of fucking Gotham, Gracie chose the two of you."