A/N: And the chapters just keep coming. Blahblahblah, credit to Daniel for helping inspire this.

When Harley woke up the next morning, she was acutely aware that she had been dreaming about Eddie the night before. Though this was definitely preferable to her usual dreams, it was still a bit troubling. Why couldn't she stop thinking about him as a potential lover? She wished she had never had that conversation with Ivy; then she wouldn't be constantly wondering what sort of lover he was and, even worse, wondering if there was more to her attraction.

She got up, seeing that her costume had been washed and placed in her room while she was asleep. It so figured that he would be the type to get up early. She hoped that she hadn't been sleep talking when he had been in the room, though!

She was about to put it on when she felt her stomach growl. She hadn't eaten anything since early the previous evening, so of course she was starving. It was a bit time consuming to put on the whole costume, so she decided to go see about breakfast before she got dressed.

When she entered the kitchen, she saw that there was already breakfast on the table for her. Eddie was just finishing up a crossword puzzle (figures, she thought), and hadn't even noticed her entering the room. She was both relieved and disappointed to see that he was fully dressed. What she wouldn't give for a chance to see that body again! But she knew that it would be nearly impossible to control herself if that were to happen again.

"Good morning," she called to him.

"Good morning, Har-" His eyes widened as he looked up at her, noticing that she was still only in his shirt. She realized that she probably should have at least changed into her bodysuit. "H-Harley. Good morning, Harley," he finished with a nervous chuckle that sounded more like a cough.

She sat down at the table, keeping her legs crossed to avoid showing anything explicit, and said, "Thanks so much for breakfast!"

"You're quite welcome," he mumbled, and the two fell into an awkward silence. She could feel heavy tension in the room, though she wondered if it was just her own sexual tension being blown out of proportion. She had it bad, and if she didn't do something to remedy that soon, she was going to go out of her mind. Well, more so than she already was, anyway.

~X~

After what seemed like an endless silence, Eddie finally spoke up, saying, "Well, would you like to go on our little 'shopping spree' soon?"

She nodded, getting up and saying, "Just let me get dressed and I'll be ready to go!" As she walked out of the room, he couldn't help staring. Really, those legs were going to be the death of him if she kept showing them off like that. He tried to distract himself by cleaning up his kitchen, whistling absentmindedly as he did so.

Despite knowing that the day would be incredibly uncomfortable for him, given his interest in the woman he'd be accompanying around town, he couldn't help but be excited to spend some time with her. Having her around made him realize that he really didn't bother getting to know enough people and he wanted to fix that, starting with Harley. Potentially ending with her, as well.

When she came back in, in her full costume and makeup, she posed theatrically. "All ready to go!" she declared, grinning widely.

~X~

"So, where would you like to go first?" he asked when they were driving.

"Only the finest boutiques in Gotham," she said with a wicked grin. "We gotta keep me beautiful, of course!"

"Of course, of course," he said, smiling a bit. The tension from breakfast seemed to be diffused, at least for now. "Just point the way."

She gave him directions to her favorite store, one that she had never been able to shop in but one that she had become particularly fond of when she began obtaining her clothes through less-than-legal means. It would be the perfect place to start restocking her wardrobe.

When they arrived, she threw open the doors dramatically and said, "Alright, boys and girls! Stay out of my way and keep the cops out of this and nobody gets hurt!"

The reaction was immediate panic. As she and Eddie strode in, customers fought each other to get to the nearest exits. The clerks stood frozen behind the counter, hands up in surrender. It felt so good to know that she had the power to elicit such a response. She should have stopped doing the whole henchgirl thing ages ago!

"Eddie, be a dear and keep our little friends from pushing any alarms, will ya?" she asked, knowing that it wouldn't be too long before one of them got brave. She had to scope out her potential "purchases" quickly.

As she flitted about, grabbing anything she liked that was in her size (and some things she didn't, and some things that weren't, because she could), Eddie stood at the counter, tapping his signature cane and doing his best to look intimidating. He had tended to stay away from crimes like this- waltzing in and holding the place up with no real plans, depending more on physical strength than intelligence- but somehow Harley had even made this fun for him.

Soon, she was at the counter with him and demanding one of the clerks bag her findings for her. As soon as that was done, she grabbed his hand, just like the night before, and took off running with him, laughing all the while. They made it outside and in the car in record time, knowing that one of the clerks had undoubtedly set off an alarm by now and that they would have to move fast to avoid the cops.

As they sped off, Eddie couldn't help but laugh along with her.

~X~

That evening, after a long day of hitting various stores around town and dodging cops, they finally made it home, exhausted and giggling over their day. Both had had an excellent time, and had all but forgotten any weirdness between them. And to top it all off, they had worked well together, picking up on each other's actions and acting accordingly. In just a short time, they had become so much like a team that it was nearly impossible to remember how uncomfortable they had been initially.

"That was so much fun!" Harley said, as soon as they were inside. "I know ya said ya don't normally do stuff like that, but you coulda fooled me! You were like a pro today!"

"Well, perhaps it's because I've been learning from an excellent teacher," he replied with a wink.

"Don't go flattering me now, ya might make me blush!" she teased.

"Why, Harleen," he said, feigning surprise, "I wouldn't dream of it!"

This could work, he thought suddenly. And it was true; they worked so well together, and he had warmed up to her so much over such a short amount of time. Whether she wanted him or not, he knew that neither of them could deny that they had a certain chemistry, at least where crimes were concerned. If they worked together in the future, who knew what they could accomplish! He noticed her staring intently at her, and figured she must be thinking the same thing.

"Harley," he said, in a more serious, but inviting tone. "I think we sh-mmf!" He was interrupted by her lips crashing onto his.

Wait, what?

He thought that there was no way that that could be right, but every time he stopped to assess the situation, that appeared to be exactly what had happened, and what was currently happening. Harley was kissing him, her arms wrapped around his neck, her hands knocking his had off and tangling in his hair.

When at last he had gotten over his shock and denial, he reached an acceptance of the situation. Harley was kissing him, and rather passionately, at that. It was round about the third time he had been kissed by a potential love interest in his life, and the first time in at least a decade. Knowing all of this at last, and really understanding it, he could relax and kiss her back.

So, after about two seconds of her kissing him and him working through it in his mind, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and met her lips with what he hoped was equal force. He was inexperienced and rusty at this, so he could only do his best and pray she found it to be as enjoyable as he did at that moment (though he sincerely doubted anyone could feel as good as he did).

It suddenly occurred to him, as he felt her moan softly into his mouth, that this was it. She was making her move. She was doing what she had expressed interest in doing all those weeks ago, right here and now. All the anticipation and nerves, all the awkward tension and hoping, every last moment had led up to this, and he was sure that he was ready. There would be the eventual issue of confessing that he was more fond of her than he had let on, and there would be the question of if she would still want to work together after the fact, but for once, he wasn't going to worry about that. All he cared about was what was about to happen, and so he mimicked her moan.

But then she pulled away, and her face did not suggest anything that he had expected. She looked afraid, upset, apologetic. Had he done something wrong? Had he done something that made her realize just how inexperienced he was, and she had decided that coming onto him had been a mistake?

"I...I'm sorry, Eddie," she said, looking down as she did so. "I don't know what came over me. I just...I got caught up in the moment and I...really, I'm sorry."

"That's not a moment I can say I mind getting caught up in," he replied, confused. Was he really that bad?

"Eddie," she said, her voice sounding weak, "we...we can't. I mean. One of us might get hurt and you're just such a great guy. I don't...I don't want to do anything to mess up what we have. I think it would be best for both of us if we just...forgot that part of tonight ever happened."

He blinked. She really meant what she was saying, he could tell, and yet he felt like she didn't want to say it. What was her deal, anyway? The mixed signals she kept sending him made her too complicated for even him to figure out. Did she want him, or not? Why had she said what she said at Arkham? Why had she come into his room, barely dressed, the night before? Why had she kissed him?

Did she even mean what she had said to Ivy?

"I understand," he said at last, barely managing to mask the hurt in his voice. "I believe I got carried away as well, and I wouldn't want to mess things up either. If you're willing to pretend this didn't happen, then so am I."

She smiled at him, but her eyes still looked uneasy. "Thank you," she said. "Well, on that note, it's been a pretty busy day. I think I'm gonna go get some sleep. Goodnight, Eddie!"

"Goodnight," he said, waving weakly as she walked to her room.

~X~

Of all the stupid things, I just had to lose my self-control like that!

As Harley began to get ready for bed, she wanted to punch herself. How could she have kissed Eddie like that, without any warning? One minute, they had been laughing together, chatting back and forth about their day, finally comfortable with one another, and the next, her lips had been on his and she had been about three seconds from shoving him on the floor. What was she thinking?

Of course, she realized she couldn't have actually been thinking. If she had been thinking, she would have remembered that it wasn't a good idea to screw up her new friendship because she was lonely, it wasn't a good idea to jump on the first guy who showed her a little kindness, and it wasn't a good idea to put Eddie in a position where he might get hurt.

She wanted him more than she could possibly say, but she cared for him, and did not want to use him like the easy rebound she had boasted about obtaining a few weeks prior. She wanted to work by his side again and again, not be a one night stand that meant nothing to either of them.

The more she contemplated the situation, the more she realized she was afraid of hurting herself, not just hurting him. She was really coming to care for him more than she ever could have predicted, and it was becoming clear to her that she was very much at risk of falling head over heels for him.

This was dangerous and it was not worth the risk, but she knew that she wanted to stay at his side as long as possible. Therefore, she would never again do what she had done tonight. She would maintain perfect self-control and do her best to remain by his side as whatever she could be.

It was time to request a partnership.

A/N: So this looked like it was gonna be the shortest chapter in the story thusfar and ended up the longest. Go figure.