"Would you hurry up, our reservations in an hour and we gotta drive to the next city over!" Alex urged from the opposite side of the bathroom door. He'd made reservations for one of the fancier restaurants in Metropolis as they both agreed that a change in scenery would definitely be nice and as such that required Harley to put in more effort into her appearance. She'd even went out and bought a nice dress for the occasion.
"Yeah, give me a sec will ya!" She shouted back through the door as she finished applying her makeup. He had it so much easier, being able to wear a uniform for any occasion that required a dress code. Once Harley gave herself a last look over in the mirror she opened the door and left the bathroom.
"It's about time Harley, we gotta…whoa." He stood in the center of the living room, his brown eyes wide as they took in the sight of her. "Damn Harley, you look absolutely stunning…literally."
"Speak for yourself Alex, that uniform looks good on you." Everyone's heard about how the Marines Dress Blues uniform makes women crazy, in a good way, and it's absolutely true. Harley had only seen him in the uniform once before and he looked as good then as he does now. There were some slight differences though, more chevrons on the sleeve, more ribbons on the left side of his chest, and a red stripe running down the sides of the blue trousers all indicators of the transformation he's made since last she'd seen him.
"What, this thing? I only wear this for special occasions." He said with grin and wink.
"Well I'm glad I'm one of them." Harley replied, closing the distance between them and draping her arms over his shoulders.
"Course you are. Now unless you wanna be late for dinner we really should get a move on." Alex hated to ruin the moment but the reservation had cost quite a bit of money.
"I've never been late ta a free meal an I aint startin now!" Harley exclaimed, grabbing Alex's hand and pulling him towards the door.
Alex drove them out of Gotham and through the country side to Metropolis, blasting music and singing along to Katy Perry of all people. Harley thought Marines were into like Rock or Metal music but this guy was happily singing along to "Teenage Dream" and "California Gurls". Maybe those IED's did more damage to his head than she thought?
Eventually the music stopped an they started talkin about other stuff, Alex was going on about his second deployment an how it went much smoother than the first one. Harley still felt kinda bad for not being able to talk with him through it but he told her not to worry, that his boys had his back the whole time, which made her feel better knowing that he wasn't alone out there.
When they finally pulled up to the joint in Metropolis Harley found out that it was one of them places only people with a lot of money could afford to go to. She hesitated to even go in to the place as she knew that he didn't make nearly enough to pay for the place.
"Hey, ya sure about this Alex? This place is really expensive an I know you don't make much on yer paycheck…"
"Don't worry about Harl's, General Anderson's hooking us up. Said it was his way of rewarding us for a job well done." Wow, that man acts all tough but Harley guessed he really did look out for them.
They walked inside and were immediately shown to a booth, menus and silverware placed neatly on the table and a bottle of wine already on its way. As they walked by Harley noticed a group of military looking guys notice her but didn't pay them any mind, she couldn't really blame them for staring cause she knows she would have.
Everything on the menu looked so delicious she couldn't decide what to get, but if the General was paying she might just get one of everything! Harley eventually decided on a nice looking steak and placed her order with the waiter while Alex ordered chicken. Once their orders were placed Harley turned her attention back to Alex but he was looking out the window at the horizon, deep in thought about something. It wasn't the first time she'd seen him like that, staring out at nothing, but Harley hadn't asked what was on his mind, until now that is.
"Penny fer your thoughts?"
"Hmm, oh, sorry. It's nothing, just some stuff from a long time ago on my mind."
"Such as?"
"Harley, you know you're not my doctor, right?"
"Yeah, but I'm the closest thing ya got so spill." Alex shook his head and sighed in defeat.
"Look I've done a lot of things I wished I hadn't over the last few years but I really only have one regret and I think of it every time I look at you." He admitted while avoiding her eyes.
"What do ya mean? I thought things were fine between us now?"
"They are, trust me you don't know how happy I am to have you back. No, what I regret is not taking the chance with you all those years ago. We were best friends for over twenty years and somewhere along the line I fell in love with you all those years ago. I wanted us to be together but the deployment was coming up and I kept thinking that I'd only hurt you if we were together and I died in Afghanistan. So, I never told you, I figured that if I made it back I'd tell you then..."
"But I never gave you the chance…"
"No, by the time I got back the Joker had already gotten to you. And ever since then I keep thinking that if I had told you before I left…maybe you wouldn't have felt so alone back here and you wouldn't have fallen into his trap. It's my fault that he got to you, if I hadn't enlisted…"
"No, don't you dare say that. It was no one's fault but my own, you went out there to defend us and I'm so proud of everything that you've done. I looked up ta you ya know, back then. My best friend was a fucking Marine, going out ta war ta keep the rest of us safe back home. You were a hero ta me Alex, ya still are…"
"Yeah, I saved everyone except for the people I cared about. First Daniels then you, hell I almost got Barbara killed! Some hero I am…"
"You saved me, and I'll never forget that. I'm sorry I didn't realize your feelings fer me back then, an I don't deserve you now, but if you'd have me I'd like the chance ta try."
"Nothing would make me happier." He smiled, reaching over the table to hold her hand in his. Harley felt her heart flutter as they looked into each other's eyes, leaning across the table closer to each other until…
"Harley Quinn!" A voice shouted angrily followed by a shotgun blast to the ceiling. Seriously, couldn't wait one more friggin minute!? Those guys checkin Harley out earlier must've been members of The New Era and they tipped off their friends about her. A woman holding a shotgun stood in the middle of the dinning area, two soldiers flanking her. The others in the restaurant cowered and whimpered in their seats as three soldiers dressed in the same black body armor as the ones from before stalked through the room. They had their faces covered save for the brunette chick carrying the shotgun who Harley assumed to be their superior, the other two waving assault rifles around to keep the occupants back. As the womans eyes finally fell on Harley she walked over pointing her finger at Alex.
"Hey get away from her soldier boy!"
"Stay cool Harley." Alex whispered to her, ignoring the woman and enraging her further.
"You fucking deaf!? Hey I'm talking to you!" The soldier shouted as she reached their table, focusing her attention on Alex.
"Now!" Alex shouted. Alex grabbed the neck of the wine bottle they'd been brought and smashed it into the soldier's face as she refocused on Harley, knocking her out as Alex stood and drew a pistol he'd been concealing. Alex fired at the second soldier before he could react, three bullets taking him down, sending the other patrons into a panic as Harley fumbled for the leader's shotgun, finding it under the table. She brought the weapon up just as Alex was finishing off the second soldier, unaware of the third bringing his weapon level with him. There was no time to waste so Harley pulled the trigger and the man crumpled into a heap on the floor, the 12 Gauge having torn through his unprotected side.
"Holy shit! I got one, Alex did ya see that!?" She cheered excitedly. She'd shot at people before, Batman would tell anyone as such, but never actually killed another human being before. The feeling was...odd. She didn't feel guilty, he'd have killed Alex if she hadn't but it was more of a revelation of her capabilities. Harley now knew that she had the capacity to kill.
"Yeah, great job. We gotta move though, sounds like there's more outside!" He warned, picking up one of the fallen soldier's assault rifle and ammo. It was amazing at how quick he had switched from being relaxed to a combat mindset, assessing the situation and reacting accordingly. Sure enough as Harley looked out a nearby window she could see black SUV's and soldiers flanking the building. She'd never thought she'd say this but for once Harley really wished the police would show up. "Multiple hostiles outside, shotguns and assault rifles. I'll keep them suppressed, go make a move for the car!"
"Alright, waiting on you!" Harley joined Alex at the door and brought her shotgun up. He counted to three on his fingers, shouldering the door open and firing in controlled bursts as she sprinted around him and towards the parking garage, blasting another soldier in the leg as she ran past. Alex tossed a smoke grenade he'd recovered and ran as fast as he could to her, jumping into the passenger seat just as Harley got the Challenger's engine started. She threw the car in gear and swerved out of the lot and into the street as the remaining soldiers resumed firing at them.
"Ram them outta the way!" Alex shouted, using the buttstock of his rifle to bash out a portion of the wind shield for him ta shoot out of. Harley pressed her foot into the pedal as hard as she could, sending the vehicle surging forward and into a soldier unlucky enough to not get out of the way in time. The car had taken some bullets and the engine was smoking a bit but they seemed to be mostly unscathed. That is until Harley heard Alex choking next to her.
"Hey you alright!?"
"Fuck….fuck…fuck!" He replied, opening up his coat to reveal a steadily growing blood stain coming from his chest. Oh shit! Not good, definitely not good! He must've caught a round as Harley blew past those goons. Fuck what was she gonna do!? She was trained to fix minds not treat gunshot wounds, that's his job! Harley could at least tell by the way he was struggling to breathe that one of his lungs must've been hit, definitely not something to leave untreated for to long.
"Just hang in there Alex, im gonna get ya to a hospital!" Fate decided otherwise it would seem as the car slowed ta a halt, the engine spurting and dying from the damage it had taken. Shit, they were only a few blocks away, the soldiers would catch up to them in no time! Alex was struggling with the glove box so she reached over and opened it, removing the first aid kit and giving it to him. Harley grabbed his assault rifle from where he had dropped it and exited the vehicle. "I'm gonna find help, just stay calm ok?"
Fate is a funny thing, one moment it's fucking people in the ass by breaking their car when their friend needs medical treatment and the next it's dropping salvation from the sky. The soldiers ran up, guns drawn and surrounded Harley just as she saw a blue and red blur zooming through the air towards them and making an earth-shaking landing between her and the soldiers. Once the dust settled Harley swore those soldiers were shitting themselves, she definitely would have in their shoes cause they were about to get royally fucked up. All she could do was stare in amazement as one of the strongest beings in the world faced down a dozen armed soldiers.
"Superman…"
…Mission Complete…