That evening, Harley was standing at the kitchen sink as she rinsed the dishes from her and The Joker's dinner. It was the first time they sat down together to have a meal in the longest time. It seemed her punishment was over for putting the baby ahead of him and that things would be getting back to normal soon. She should have felt elated to have her Puddin' back, so why did she feel like a part of her was missing?
She had been absentmindedly scrubbing the sauce pan for several minutes and the water was getting cold. She turned off the tap and stared into the darkening backyard through the small window over he sink. The sky was streaked with pink and orange. She began to wonder how Hope was doing with Hannah. Was Hannah a good sleeper? Did she cry a lot? Did she realize that Harley was gone? She tried not to allow herself to think of the baby, but sometimes she couldn't help it. She wondered if J thought about her at all. It felt strange having such an intimate connection with him and he not having any interest. He didn't even know the baby was a girl or what her name is. She wondered how he could not be feeling the same pain she was with losing their one and only child. Her lip began to tremble and a tear streaked down her cheek. She hoped she made the right decision as she assured herself that this was not the right place to raise a child.
She heard The Joker's ambling gait walking down the hall toward her. He was using his cane, of course. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her small waist and rested his chin on the top of her head. "Harley, I was a good boy and ate all my dinner. Now I'm ready for dessert.", he said as he nuzzled her neck and nipped at her ear. She smiled and turned the water back on to rinse off a few more dishes.
"There's some Oreos in the cupboard, Mista J."
He growled playfully and said, "That's not what I meant." He started kissing her shoulder and his hands moved toward her stomach which was still quite doughy from pregnancy.
She quickly spun around and rested her hands on his chest. "I'm sorry, Daddy, but I'm still healing. I'll need to take a raincheck.", she said as she winked at him.
"How long?", he grumbled.
"Oh, about another... five weeks.", she said nervously.
After a heavy moment of glaring into her blue eyes, he scrunched his eyebrows at her and reached over to the cabinet above her head, pulling out the package of Oreos. Without taking his eyes off of her, he opened it up and shoved a chocolate cookie in his mouth and chewed noisily.
Her expression of anxiousness dissolved as she tried to hold back a chuckle.
He came to bed hours after Harley fell asleep that night. He could see that she decided to wear a barely there pink neglige which frustrated him to no end. He should wake her up and punish her for being a tease, but if he was honest with himself he would have been just as turned on if she was wearing a potato sack at this point. She snuggled closer to him in her sleep and hoisted a leg over his hips. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
His hand rested on her intruding thigh and his thumb rubbed against one of the many marks he'd left since the start of their relationship. The one he grazed felt like it said "MINE" if he ventured to guess. The pregnancy left its own mark on her body. He noticed especially that night when his hands had rested on her stomach that she was currently far from the toned Harley he last touched all those months ago. Her shape felt a little different, maybe a tad wider, although he wasn't one to complain about a curvy woman. He noticed more often that she had a distant look in her eyes and he assumed she was daydreaming, as she was prone to do during the most inappropriate times, but her face appeared sadder than it had before. These thoughts inevitably led him to thoughts of the child he would never know. He couldn't get himself to muster much of a feeling either way about it. He didn't feel sad nor did he feel any sort of paternal instinct. He really couldn't even muster much interest in the gender or appearance. He reminded himself to get another vasectomy as soon as possible before his eyelids fluttered shut as he drifted off to sleep to the sound of Harley's light snores.
The next morning Harley awoke to loud sounds from downstairs and men talking and laughing or swearing. She rubbed her eyes and saw that she was in bed alone and that it was after eleven o' clock in the morning. She got out of bed and slipped on her pink silk robe and bunny slippers before quietly going downstairs. Several henchmen were throwing what few items were in the house, mostly guns and ammo, into crates and boxes. Then she saw The Joker sitting at a kitchen chair smoking and drinking coffee as he watched the men heaving the boxes out to idling vans.
"J? What's going on?", she asked as she approached him.
He pointed a finger at her as he spoke. "You need to go pack up your stuff. We're moving."
"What? Why?" Harley loved the duplex and the privacy it granted her from the henchmen. She dreaded going back to a warehouse situation. She hated when she was the last to know about their plans. She didn't know if he thought he mentioned it or if he just liked to keep her in the dark. She figured it was the latter.
"We've been here too long.", he shrugged. "Can't stay in once place forever, babydoll." He was so nonchalant about it.
"Where are we going?", she said as she scrunched her eyebrows and crossed her arms.
"Ah ah ah, Harley. You better change that attitude right now, little girl. I secured us a nice place and you'll be thrilled to live there because you will have a roof over your head, got it?"
She knew that the conversation was over and if she wanted to avoid a nice black eye she should shut up. He gestured with a shooing motion and clicked his tongue telling her to go pack. She pursed her lips and grabbed a couple of boxes on her way upstairs.
They arrived at he new hideout that evening. Much to Harley's distaste it was an old firehouse that had obviously been abandoned some time ago. They were still in the Narrows, of course, and the block they were on was all but a ghost town minus the one redeeming quality, a Chinese restaurant on the corner that still seemed to be open.
Harley stepped out of the van and sighed as The Joker rested his arm on her shoulder and smirked at her. She walked inside to peruse their new home. They would house the vans and spare cars in the large garage that once housed the fire trucks. The ammo and guns, etc. would be stored downstairs in the various offices. Upstairs there was a large sleeping quarters where the men would all stay. The kitchen was generous. The Joker and Harley claimed the bedroom that the Chief would have stayed in. There were only two bathrooms, a men's and a women's. Harley decided she would claim the women's to herself like she did when they all stayed in the old theater.
Henchmen were scurrying around like ants as they unloaded and unpacked. There were a few new faces. They must have had about a dozen men working for them now. She had been separated from all of them for so long, it would take a while to fall back into a routine. The Joker allowed her authority over his men to some extent and he expected them to respect her or she had permission to injure or kill them as she pleased. She took him up on that from time to time. Pretty much the only people she had ever actually killed were his men.
A voice downstairs stood out to her. It was higher pitched than she was used to. Was that a giggle? Curiosity got the best of her and she stopped hanging up J's suits in their closet to go take a peek. The voice was more distinctive as she made it down the bottom of the stairs. It belonged to a woman. She peeked around the corner and there she was working alongside the men bringing in box after box. She was a little taller than Harley and a bit curvier. Her skin had an almost olive complexion. Her hair was dark and wavy with streaks of violet. She wore a tight black tank top, tight leather pants, and combat boots.
Harley grabbed the sleeve of one of the guys passing by. "Hey! Who's that?", she asked.
The guy looked over, "Oh, the boss hired her with the last batch." He shrugged. "Her name's Amber." He walked away and continued his task.
The Joker was barking orders about where things should be placed. He was leaning on his cane and obviously getting impatient with the way things were being handled. Harley walked over to his side and watched as the operation played out, but kept her eyes on the woman. She seemed to fit in with the guys. She was strong as she lifted heavy weaponry and her arms flexed with each heave. She smiled a lot. Harley looked up at The Joker and when he felt her gaze he glanced down at her for a second before lifting his eyes again. "What?", he asked irritatedly.
"Nothin' Mista J."
He sighed. "Listen, sometimes we need a woman's touch on a job. It's not something that I was ever interested in pursuing before, but she comes with good references and she can handle herself. She specialized in going undercover. We need her. What I don't need is for you to get jealous. You can't touch this one, Harl. Understand me?"
Harley felt the pang of jealousy rise to a full blown rage. Her face felt hot as soon as he said he needed her. "Fine.", she said as she turned and stormed back up the stairs to their bedroom.
Later, after everything had been brought in downstairs, Harley's stomach began to growl. She heard some talk about pizza so she meandered into the kitchen which opened up to a large common area where the guys were sitting around the TV watching an old western and joking around. J was leaning against the wall in the hallway on his phone. Harley opened a pizza box and was surprised to see any left. She looked over to The Joker and raised a plate to get his attention with an expression as to ask if he wanted a slice. He shook his head and turned to the side. She hopped up to sit on the counter and ate her slice.
Amber walked out and started pilfering through the boxes to find herself another slice. Harley eyed her carefully. Amber was obviously avoiding eye contact. Finally she sat her paper plate down and wiped her greasy hand on her shirt across her stomach and she turned to Harley.
"I'm sorry, I'm Amber.", she said with a big grin as she extended her hand to Harley.
"Why are you sorry?", Harley asked.
"For not introducing myself earlier. I think I'm a little intimidated by you.", she giggled nervously. "I've heard a lot about you. It must take a pretty strong woman to put up with that guy.", she said as she nodded her head toward The Joker who was still on the phone and getting more animated by the moment.
"What do you mean?" Harley figured she meant that he was abusive. Everyone saw her as the poor battered wife that was stuck in a blood contract with the devil, but she wanted to hear exactly what Amber thought.
"Well I just mean it must be hard to keep up with someone like him. He's so brilliant and so, what's the word, destructive? Yeah, I mean his work is so... masterful." As she spoke she had a far off look in her eyes as though she was speaking about God himself.
Harley sucked on the inside on her scarred cheek as she thought about Amber's words. Obviously Amber didn't realize that Harley didn't really have to keep up with The Joker because she didn't work with The Joker. She was more or less... a housewife.
"Well,-", Harley started when she was cut off by Amber.
"I mean, not to sound like a groupie or anything, but I have idolized that man since he came on the scene. I've been trying to get into his pants for months!"
Harley about choked and opened her eyes wide.
"Oh! Sorry, it's just a figure of speech!", Amber chuckled. "Honestly, I know he's your boyfriend.", she said as she patted Harley's arm.
Harley slid off the counter to stand and she held up a finger as she spoke. "First of all, The Joker is my husband, not my boyfriend. Second of all, I suggest you watch your 'figures of speech'. One wrong word will get your head blown off around here. Third of all, you have a job to do. You are not here to be buddies with him and you are not going to learn all his secrets."
Amber put up her palms defensively. "Hey, hey, I'm not trying to start anything, I promise! Sometimes I talk to much." She shrugged.
Harley snorted and went to walk away.
Amber put her hand on Harley's shoulder. "I'm sorry, really. I want to be on good terms with you. Please."
"I don't get attached to henchmen, or henchwomen I guess. You all don't usually last long." With that Harley walked back to the bedroom, running her hand across The Joker's back as she passed him.
After midnight, Harley was stirred awake as The Joker settled into bed next to her. He seemed tense. She was usually able to read the air around him to determine his mood. It was an important skill to have when living with someone like him. She reached out and rested her hand on his bare chest and he snatched it, holding it in an almost bone cracking grip. He was deciding to let it stay or cast it aside. Then he laid her palm over his beating heart and smoothed out her fingers. She felt relieved.
"What's up, Puddin'?", she said with a groggy voice.
"Go to sleep. I don't wanna talk about it.", he said flatly.
She knew she should turn over and go back to sleep, but she continued to press anyway. "Come on, Daddy. Tell your Harley-girl whatsa matter."
She heard a growl come from his throat. She propped herself up on her elbow and leaned closer, resting her lips against the corner of his mouth then she dragged her tongue over the knotted canal of his scarred cheek. That always drove him crazy. His paint was worn, but she could still taste it.
"Don't be a tease, Harley.", he said all the while still not looking at her. She brought soft kisses from the end of the scar to his neck where she stayed nipping and kissing. His arm wrapped around her and he grabbed a fistful of her hair as he pulled her head away. "What happened to five more weeks? Huh?"
"Five weeks for me, Puddin', not for you." She winked at him. "Now just relax and tell me what's wrong." She hoisted herself to straddle him and continued kissing the other side of his neck.
Why did she always make him so weak? He hated it. He kept a tight grip on her hair. Fine. She wanted to know what was wrong, he'd tell her.
"The boys are idiots who can't do a single thing right. I ask them to find someone for me and they can't do it. Felix could have done it."
"So what's the plan?", she whispered in his ear before continuing to ravage his neck.
"I haven't decided yet. Once Eddie gets back with me, I'll make a plan."
He must have Eddie Nigma digging up the dirt on Jonny Frost, she thought to herself.
"I'll probably have Amber track him down from there. Use her womanly charms to convince him to meet with me."
Oh of course he remembers her name. He can't remember the names of any other employees, but Amber he remembers. Her bruising kisses slowed in their pace and he noticed.
"Har-ley", he grumbled.
She resumed her pace as she tried to push the image of the woman who was sleeping right across the hall out of her head.
She sat up and looked him in he eyes. "There. Dontcha feel better now?" She smirked.
He narrowed his eyes at her before grabbing her hair and shoving her below the sheets.