Friday morning, Harley felt great. She got up early enough to get Joan and herself a coffee. She knocked on Joan's door and was greeted with a distraught Joan.
"Oh Harleen, good come in."
"Harleen? I'm detective Scott." a middle aged man put his hand out to her.
She shook his hand, "Nice to meet you."
She handed Joan her coffee noticing the firm set of her mouth.
"Thank you. It's been an upsetting morning."
"What happened?" Harley sipped her coffee, her stomach feeling slightly soured.
"Well, Joker and Jonathan Crane escaped."
"What? When?" she didn't have to fake the panic.
"Some time during the night or very early morning. The police are checking the security footage to see if they can figure out anything."
The detective looked at Harley. "Did either man say anything about escaping?"
Harley looked at the man, his pen poised on paper to write anything she would give them. This is were she could come clean and tell them everything. She opened her mouth to speak.
"I didn't really speak with Crane, but Joker and I had a session Wednesday. He didn't say much, and I was out sick yesterday."
The man wrote it all down and nodded to Harley and turned to Joan. "Dr. Leland, we will keep you updated if we hear anything."
"Thank you detective." Joan was frazzled, she sipped the coffee and then sat in her chair. Harley watched as the energy was sapped from her.
"They killed Davis, the guard you caught accosting Joker."
Harley wasn't surprised. "Did anyone else get hurt?"
Joan let out a sour sounding laugh. "No. Crazy right?"
They spent the day going over every session note and talking with four different detectives. Harley was tired and slightly annoyed by lunch.
She found Frankie. "Hey stranger."
She sat down at his table, resting her chin on her hand.
"You heard about the breakout?" he asked.
Harley sighed. "Yep."
"I'm sure they will be back soon enough. Batman's going to be all over this."
Harley looked at him, "Yea I guess. I was just finally getting some hands on experience." she pouted.
He laughed, "Yea, way to leave me behind, by the way."
"Oh hush, you would have done the same if you had the chance."
He pretended to be insulted. "Yea probably." he finally admitted it.
"Guess it's back to the slums again." she said.
She got up and headed to her napping room. If nothing else, it was quiet. She moved into the room and straight to the couch. She couldn't sleep, but let her mind wander. She was sad, it was going to be so boring around here now.
She wasn't sure if Joan would keep her doing what she was doing now. Joker was the main reason, no the only reason she was pulled from shitty intern duty. He alarm pulled her back to reality. She moved to sit up and saw the corner of paper tucked into the cushion.
She pulled it out, hand shaking. Her name was written on the outside edge of the folded paper. She unfolded the page, and was shocked to see her. He had sketched her she was looking up, chewing her bottom lip. It was amazing seeing her face like this.
This had to have been the other picture Joker had drawn. She folded it and tucked it into her pocket. He left this for her, She would add it to her collection of his impressive art work. She hurried back to Joan's office, feeling better about the day.
She stepped in and Joan looked up at her. "You can go home if you'd like, I should have something else lined up by Monday morning."
Harley smiled. "Sure, See you Monday. Have a good weekend Joan."
"You too, you too." She dismissed Harley.
Harley left, driving straight home. She trudged up to her apartment and froze. She looked at her door unsure what to do. The lock had been jimmied and her door was slightly open. She didn't know what to expect. Was her place ramshackled? Was it empty?
She slowly pushed the door open, there was no sound from inside. She stepped inside, nothing looked out of place. She shut the door behind her, sliding the chain lock into place, then pushed a kitchen chair under the handle, just in case.
She moved to the sink, there was a dirty bowl she knew she hadn't put in there. She put her things down and looked around, everything else seemed the same. She turned to walk into her bedroom, the door was closed. She never closed her door.
She slowly turned to knob and pushed the door open. The sight she saw was not what she had expected. Curled up, asleep in her bed was a wet haired Joker. She looked around her room and frowned. He had dug through her closet, Some clothes hanging half off of hangers.
A wet towel was on her floor. A pile of Arkham issue scrubs and the strange soft shoes the patients wore. Without thinking, she just started to pick up his mess. She hung the towel on the rack in the bathroom to dry, tucked the dirty clothing in the garbage, doubting he would want them back.
She fixed her clothes in the closet, closing the sliding door when she finished. When the full length mirror was visible, she saw his sitting up watching her.
"Hi." he said, as he rubbed his face.
"Sleep well?"
"Best sleep I've had in months." he admitted.
Harley tried not to laugh at what he was dressed in. He had found a pair of basketball style shorts she had bought a few months ago. They were a bit tight on him. He had also found one of her bigger sleep shirts. It fit him better than the shorts. He looked ridiculous.
"Why are you here?" she asked slightly worried.
"I was out and about and decided to visit my Harley girl."
Her heart skipped a beat, or two.
"But no one was home, So, I let myself in and got freshened up."
She had the strangest mix of fear and arousal coursing through her at that moment.
"You can't stay here." she said.
She watched as his eyes darkened and he stood from the bed. He moved to her, even in the too small clothes, he was still intimidating.
"Are you trying to kick me out?"
She shook her head no, "It's not safe, what if they come looking for you here?"
He shrugged, "I will kill them."
She frowned. He moved so quick, she didn't have anytime to think. He had hair in his hand,her head pulled back painfully to look at him.
"What's the matter Harleen? I thought you wanted to see the tiger, out in the wild?" He moved his face close to hers. "Isn't that what you said? Caged tigers are no fun."
He brushed his nose along her cheek. Harley let out a shaky breath. She could feel her heartbeat along her flesh, her entire body felt so alive.
"I did, I do." she said licking her lips.
His eyes watched the movement. He let her go. The sudden movement caused her to stumble.
"I need your phone."
Harley walked back to the kitchen, trying to clam herself down, as she grabbed her phone from her bag. She handed him the phone. He left the bedroom and she collapsed on her bed. Her blankets smelled like him. She wasn't sure how long she laid there in her thoughts.
The bed bounced and he was there next to her. "I've got one of my guys coming over to bring me clothes. You need to get changed."
"For what?" she looked at him.
He moved his finger to touch her forehead, trailing it down to the tip of her nose. "To go out."
She was confused. "Out where?"
"Out on the town." the finger moved to her cheek, then jaw, finally his hand sliding around her throat.
She watched his face as he gently squeezed his hand. She could still breathe, but the blood flow was blocked enough she could feel her face get hot. She didn't fight him, she watched different feelings flash along his face. His hand relaxed on her.
The pressure that had been building lessened and he smiled at her. "We are going to have so much fun."
She watched him get up and move out of her room. She hurried into the restroom, starting a shower. She had a limited time, and wanted to get ready as quickly as possible. She finished and wrapped the much smaller towel she had around her, Joker having used her larger towel.
She moved out into her room and grabbed a bra and pair of panties, deciding to put them on in the restroom. She stood in front of her closet in her undergarments, unsure what to wear. She finally decided on a gray pair of skinny jeans, a long sleeve, form fitting shirt. She decided to pull her wet hair into two very low ponytails.
She pulled out her mid calf boots and slid them on. She headed to the living room. Joker was there dressed in jeans and a T shirt.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Yeah." she moved to grab her phone. "Do I need this?"
Joker looked at her, then the phone, and shrugged.
She tossed it back onto the counter and followed him into the night. He led her to a beat up clunker of a car, and they got inside.
"Where are we going?"she asked, doubting he would answer.
"First things first. Can I trust you Harley Quinn?"
Was that a trick question? "I think so, I wouldn't hurt you on purpose."
He looked at her face, then turned back to the road. "Good enough for me." He sped into traffic.
He sped thru the city, weaving through traffic with ease. Harley was sure she would pee her pants. She was happy when they finally stopped at a large brick building. He pulled the car down the small alleyway and killed the engine.
"Home sweet home." he said climbing out.
Harley was nervous, "This is where you live?"
"Come on." he moved to a metal fire escape.
She watched as he pulled the ladder down waiting for her to catch up. She moved to the ladder and started to climb up. She let out an embarrassing squeak when he pushed her ass up the ladder quicker.
She stopped at the first landing, looking back at Joker, he pointed up. She continued to the second landing she looked back again, he pointed up again. This continued until she stopped on the fourth landing. She looked back and he smiled. She moved, and let him get up onto the landing with her. He moved to the window and slid it up.
"After you." he said.
Harley crawled through the window into the dark room. Joker was right behind her, closing the window once he stepped through. He moved quickly to the opposite wall and flipped the light switch. A bare bulb lit up, showing a small, clean apartment.
Joker was moving all over the place, grabbing things, moving things around. Harley watched him silently until he had started to undress. She turned, trying to give him some privacy. She looked around the room they were in. No real personal things. No photos, no trinkets, just white walls.
It was slightly disconcerting that her apartment was very similar. The only thing decorating her walls was the recent addition of Joker's face paint art project. He moved passed her, into the small hall. She peaked around the corner and saw him step into a bathroom.
She watched as he leaned forward, smearing his grease paint over his face. She couldn't take her eyes off of him. For a make up that looks so sloppy, he was meticulous about it. He turned to look at her.
"Come here Harley."
She walked down the hall on shaky legs. She took a deep calming breath and stepped into the small bathroom.
"If you are hanging out with me, you need to look the part." he shook the tin of paint.
Her eyes widened, but she nodded. Joker smiled as he wiped his hands clean and started fresh on her face. She kept her eyes closed, she could feel the cooler feel of the make up as he moved it over her skin. He worked slowly, keeping the edges clean and crisp. He put black around her eyes in a classic domino mask. Then trailed the color along her lips.
When she opened her big blue eyes, Joker knew he'd made the right choice. He turned her to see the work of art. She looked at her face, the effect was startling. She looked so different.
"Looks perfect, let's go." he said.
She followed him back out of the window after turning off the lights. The trip down seemed quicker. They got back into the car and he sped off. This drive was worse than the first. He hit signs and sideswiped cars.
She was near nauseated when they pulled up to a warehouse. He parked the car and hopped out. Harley followed behind him, just glad to be out of that car. She held her shaking hands at her side. They stepped inside and the entire place grew silent. All eyes were locked on them.
Joker waltzed through the place, men moving out of his way without having to be told.
"Harley, come on." he barked at her.
She jumped and hurried after him. She made note on the way that there was no other women here. She felt the men's eyes on her. She ignored them and followed Joker. He walked them to a small room, her eyes burned when he turned the lights on. She looked around seeing different types of weapons.
Joker was moving here and there picking up random items. Harley walked around not feeling 100% comfortable with the variety of things. She saw a baseball bat, she might be able to use that if she had to. She picked it up and gave it a practice swing.
"Good choice." his voice startled her.
She let out a girly squeak when he suddenly dropped down to his knee in front of her. She watched as he tucked a knife into her boot. Letting his hand trail up her leg when he finished and stood.
"You never know." he said shrugging trying to hold in the laughter at the look on her face.
Harley recovered quickly. "What kind of trouble are you getting me into?"
He smiled at her. "The fun kind." he wiggled his eyebrows.
She did laugh now. He tucked a small gun in the back of his pants, as he turned to leave. They walked back into the large room. The men were all milling around, chatting quietly. The room was silent and Joker turned back to her.
"Pick a number between one and five."
Harley thought about it for a second. "Two?"
"Group two, lets go."
The men moved quickly it took less that 10 minutes for them to be armed, masked, and ready to go. Joker spoke with them as they moved towards the van. For a chaotic force of insanity, Joker was fairly organized. The long ride gave her time to think. Joker sat next to her, in the middle row of seats.
She could hear him as he leaned forward talking with the masked man in the front passenger seat. The heat from his leg bleeding through her jeans and into her own. She tried to concentrate but couldn't tell where they were going. She was starting to get nervous, she wasn't crazy. She had no problem with violence, when violence was necessary.
She wasn't a murderer, and wasn't sure if she could hurt someone, even if they deserved it. Her stomach felt hot, would he ask her to? He seemed to like that she had picked up the baseball bat, would he make her use it?
The van pulled up to a nightclub, she was very confused. Why would he bring her here? This was very public. The man driving, parked the van and they all started to pile out.
Joker got out, reaching for her hand, "Ready?"
She couldn't have said no, even if she had wanted to. "Yes."
"That's my girl." he pulled her out and up to his chest.
She was thankful that she had her face painted white, because she was certain her face was beet red. She looked past his shoulder and frowned.
"I think we are under dressed."
He laughed and twirled her around like a ballerina, "Nonsense, you look delectable."
She could feel the heat on her face again. They moved to the door, the man inside swinging it open, letting the group inside. Joker pulled her up even with him and they moved to a large office.
"Joker, good to see you back out." A man spoke from behind the desk.
Harley looked at him he was average height, dark hair, beady eyes. His nose was long and slightly pointed. She hated him instantly, though not sure why.
"Good to be out Ozzy."
Joker pulled her with him as he sat in a chair in front of the large ornate desk. She almost let out a squeak when he tugged her down onto his lap. Once again, she was happy for the face paint.
The man at the desk looked her over, "She's new."
"Harley, this is Penguin. Ozzy, this is Harley Quinn."
The man moved from behind the desk and Harley knew why he was called Penguin. The nose, the greasy dark hair, the pronounced limp. She tried to hid her laughter behind a polite smile. He was in front of her now and she stuck out her hand to shake his.
Penguin took her hand and turned it like he was going to kiss her knuckles. She jerked her hand away abruptly, before his lips could touch her skin. Joker laughed at the look on Penguin's face.
The man looked very angry, "That was rude."
"No, It was rude to assume you were allowed to kiss my hand." she spat back at the man.
He looked at her his eyebrows raised. He looked over to Joker to see if he would do something about her insolence. To add insult to injury, Joker lifted Harley's hand and kissed her hand, his eyes on Penguin.
He rolled his eyes at the display and moved back to sit behind his desk. "Why are you gracing us with your presence tonight?"
Harley listened too, wanting to know the answer herself. Joker still held her hand in his, his thumb rubbing small circles on her skin.
"Just showing my girl a night out on the town." he said.
Penguin raised his eyebrows "Your girl? That's new, who ever said you didn't have a sense of humor?"
Harley turned to look at Penguin. "Why is that funny?"
He looked her in the eye, "Are you really with this clown? You let this mad man touch you?"
She didn't understand. "Why wouldn't I?" She genuinely wanted to know.
Penguin laughed, "He tends to break his playthings. They definitely don't last long."
Harley looked back at Joker, he shrugged his shoulders, almost daring her to say something. She was almost sure this was a test. She would not fail him.
She looked at the man behind the desk. "Do I look Broken?" she paused, then let a dreamy smile cross her face "Besides, you should see what he can do with a whoopee cushion"
Penguin frowned. Joker laughed harder than she'd heard before. She was almost sure she had passed his test.
"Enough!" Penguin waved his hand, "I don't want to hear about your... perversions. I regret bringing it up. How can I help you?"
Joker, having calmed down started to talk business, his hand now resting on her thigh. "I was coming by to check on my investment."
"Yes, well, as you can see, it's fine."
Harley watched as Penguin picked at imaginary lent on his sleeve. This conversation was making him uncomfortable for some reason. She leaned back to ask Joker.
"Why is he nervous?"
Joker smiled at her. "He doesn't want the public to know that I am an investor of this posh little club of his."
That made sense. She turned back to Penguin. His eyes were burning holes in her.
"Lets have a drink." Joker said loudly. "What would you like doll?"
"Amaretto sour." She said.
"Oh, wonderful, I'll have whatever you have handy, on the rocks." he said to Penguin.
The man nodded at his guy and within a few minutes, their drinks had arrived. The drink was large, Harley sipped at it. Joker's hand on her thigh tightened slightly.
"You approve?"
She nodded, "Tasty."
His hand relaxed on her thigh and he downed his drink in one large gulp, tossing the cup behind him. Harley laughed. She downed hers and tossed hers as well. Joker laughed. Penguin was frowning at the pair.
"Great, I see you are teaching her your bad habits." he said gesturing to have his guy clean the broken glass.
"Don't be a ninny." Harley blurted. She watched Penguin's face turn dark red.
Joker laughed again, "Well, Ozzy, It's been fun, but we will head out now. I'll be expecting you to keep up with our deal, yea?"
"Of course."
"Good," Joker patted Harley's bottom. She stood and fought not to sway.
She shouldn't have drank that large drink so fast. They left the room, followed by four guys they'd brought with them. They made their way back to the van. Joker was silent, while they drove. The van pulled over and Joker got out.
"Bring the bat." he said and started walking.
Harley grabbed her bat and followed, surprised when the van drove away. The building was very tall. Not as tall as Wayne tower, but still pretty high up. She caught up to him.
"Okay, Harls, I need you to break the glass." He pointed to the small window on a side door.
She looked around, they were all alone. She held the bat and smashed it into the glass. The glass shattered and Joker pushed his arm through to unlock the door. They made their way inside and to the elevator. Joker pressed the up arrow and waited.
The doors opened and they stepped inside. Joker hit the button for the top floor.
"You nervous?" he asked.
"No," she smiled, "Should I be?"
He shrugged. She was now sure that he had been testing her all night. Seeing if she could take what he was dishing out. It seemed like she was doing well so far.
The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Joker pulled her along to the roof access and moved them outside. Once they stepped onto the roof, She felt like the wind was going to blow her away. It was no where as windy on the ground.
She looked out over Gotham, with the building all lit up, it looked almost pretty. Joker pulled his phone from his pocket, dialed a number and waited.
"Yea boss?"
"All set?" Joker asked, eyes on Harley.
"Yea boss."
"Good head back to base. You aren't needed."
"Sure."
Joker hung up the phone and moved to the edge. Harley watched him, She was almost sure that he didn't plan on pushing her over the edge. She moved closer to the edge and sat next to him. He turned to look at her.
"You impressed me, handling Ozzy like you did." he said.
"Yea, well, he was being presumptuous."
"Was he?" Joker laughed, "you don't like that he thought you were too good for me?"
Harley was confused. "Was that what he was implying?"
Joker nodded and she laughed.
"Whoopsie, I misunderstood."
Joker looked at her funny now, "What did you think he meant?"
For the millionth time she was happy to be wearing the face paint. She wasn't sure she wanted to tell him what she had thought was happening.
"Come on Harls, don't chicken out now." his voice lowered , sounding less nasally.
"Did you just call me chicken?" she asked.
"If the feathers fit." he said laughing.
"Fine, I thought he was implying that I wasn't good enough to catch and hold your attention."
He laughed and that hurt. She knew it was stupid. Now she let out a little insecurity to the Joker. God she was a moron. Once his laughter had stopped he turned to look at her. Just his dark serious eyes piercing his soul.
"Harley, you are just too perfect."
She frowned, that was now what she had expected him to say. She felt her stomach feel warm again. He thought she was perfect.
"You think so?"
He reached for her, his fingers gripping her jaw, digging small lines into the paint.
"You calling me a liar?" his face was so close to hers.
"No."
He looked at her face, her eyes looking bluer that normal, surrounded by the black. The way he was holding her face caused her lips to look like she was puckering up for a kiss. Harley felt light headed. He could kill her, one push to the side and it would be over, She'd be splattered on the pavement below.
She didn't think he would, well, not tonight at least. Instead, he leaned forward and brushed his mouth over hers. Not quite a kiss, but a brush of lips.
She moaned without meaning to, and that caused him to let out a growl. Then he kissed her.
Joker didn't kiss. He didn't like that his scars made the act feel weird and the few women he had been with since having them didn't mind the lack of affection. He didn't miss the act, but Harley, she loved when he kissed her. He appreciated the soft moans and whimpers she let escape. He found after the first kiss, he had been wanting to do it again. He had enjoyed it. This tiny little blonde made him want to do all kinds of naughty things.
Harley felt like all the bones in her body had turned to jelly. This kiss was amazing. When Joker had pulled away, Harley was a mess. Her heart was racing, her mind was screaming different thoughts at her.
Why did he do that? Why did he stop? Why did she enjoy it so much? How did his mouth taste like he'd just finished eating candy?
"I want to show you something." his voice had silenced her racing mind.
"What?"
He pulled a small device from an inside pocket. It looked like a remote to an RC car.
"What is it?"
"It's how you prove you're up to the challenge."
She looked back at him. "What challenge?"
"I'm going to be completely honest. I like you kid, you are fun, but you are green around the gills."
Harley was lost, "What?"
He smiled, then grabbed her small hand in his much larger one.
"You are so innocent, I should leave you alone, but I am a selfish man. I want to take you under my wing, train you, taint your very soul."
Harley was at a loss for words. That was the scariest, and sexiest thing anyone had ever said to her.
"I shouldn't have talked to you. I should have just killed you that first day. It would have been a kindness, really."
She was getting slightly nervous now was he going to kill her after all? She jumped slightly when he put the device in her hand. He used his thumb to flip the plastic cover off of a button. He turned the key on the side and the button lit up.
"I have to be fair now, you can say no and be free of me," He paused, "Or you can press the button and I will take you back to my apartment and fuck you senseless."
Harley didn't even think, she pressed the button. In the distance, she saw a flash of light, then seconds later heard the explosion. The plume of fire had lit up the night sky. She had no clue what she had blown up, but she also didn't care.
His eyes were on her, he stood up and pulled her up next to him. He tossed the small device over the edge of the building. They took the elevator down, she was slightly put out that he wasn't touching her, other than holding her wrist.
He pulled her away from the building and to the east, a few blocks and he was pushing her up the fire escape again. She hurried to the fourth floor. He let her in and shut the window behind him.