What Love Is

By Semerket

Chapter 2: Sunshine

The blond sat on the arm of the couch in a stunned silence. Wow. All this time Red had feelings for her, more than friendly feelings? That explained a lot of Red's issues with Mistah J. She was jealous. "I really am as stupid as Mistah J says I am. All this time and I didn't even notice my best friend was in love with me."

Harley had never considered Ivy in a more than friendly way. Well, actually she had (by accident!) on numerous occasions, but that's just because Ivy was gorgeous and sensual and completely devoid of any sense of modesty. Even a blind nun would be hard pressed to avoid an erection at the sight of Ivy's attributes, but it wasn't like she ever thought to-

Harley's eyes grew wider. "Holy shit!" She would never have imagined that she might be able to have Ivy in that way. For someone as classy and gorgeous and smart as Red to want someone like her was just... Harley let out a low whistle. The blond didn't know what to think about that. She had never considered that she could do better than the Joker, and even still she hardly deserved him. But Red was actually an option. Although considering how angry she was, maybe that option was now permanently off the table.

Eventually Harley heard the door to Ivy's lab open and the redhead, who was clearly still fuming, made a beeline past her. She didn't spare Harley a glance as she made her way up the stairs. The plants trembled when Ivy's bedroom door slammed shut. Most sane people would have sense enough to vacate the premises after surviving a screaming match with Poison Ivy, but not Harley.

Harley Quinn was far from sane.

She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there considering her best friend, but Harley knew she might not be able to call Ivy that anymore unless she engaged in some serious damage control. The blond waited at least fifteen minutes before she mustered up the courage to go up to Ivy's room. Standing outside her door, she carefully turned the knob and peeked inside. She was greeted with darkness. She could tell that Ivy was on the on the far side of the bed and facing away from the door. Harley carefully pulled back the blankets and climbed into bed with her. She sidled up behind her and hugged her. This wasn't anything new on Harley's part; she always crawled into bed with Ivy like this, it had just never occurred to her that it may have meant something different to the redhead. She knew Ivy was still awake; it always took her a while to fall asleep.

"Red?" She ventured carefully as she rubbed Ivy's arm gently. She could feel the slight ridges of the mini plant tendrils that traced her body. Harley didn't have any vines wrapped around her neck yet so that was probably a good sign. She sat up slightly and leaned over to try and see Ivy's face in the dark. There was little to no light in the room save for the not-quite-full moon shining in from the window that Ivy was facing. As her eyes adjusted more to the dark, she was able to make out the sheen of moisture on her friend's face. Ivy was crying.

"Red, I didn't mean it."

She could hear a sniffle or two. Harley was beginning to cry too as she felt the guilt gnaw away at her. Ivy was her guardian angel and she had treated her like crap. The blond pleaded in the dark as she brushed Ivy's hair away from her face, "Please, don't cry, Red. I wasn't thinkin." Harley rested her face in the crook of Ivy's neck. "It's like I've got a bazooka for a mouth. Can we talk about it?"

The redhead shuddered involuntarily as she felt the blond's hot breath on her neck. She could smell Harley's hair. She smelled like soap. Ivy muttered bitterly between sniffles, "There isn't anything to say."

"Didja wanna hit me? Would that make ya feel better?"

She felt Ivy's body stiffen. Her voice was rough, "I'm not like him. Causing you pain doesn't lift my spirits."

She lifted her head up from Ivy's neck so that she could see the woman's face better. The blond's eyes had finally adjusted to the dark. "I didn't mean it like that, Red." Harley was still snuggled up to her friend. The blond noticed, not for the first time, that Ivy was a very curvaceous woman.

"But is it really any different?"

"Do you think you could forgive me?" Soft… Ivy was very soft too.

"Just," Ivy sounded genuinely miserable, "Just go to sleep, Harley."

"No." The blond insisted. Ivy always tried to put emotional things off until they were forgotten. She could hear Harley's befuddlement, "Red, are you in love with me?"

Her inquiry was met with silence as Ivy now appeared to be asleep. "Red?"

Harley shook her a little. "Red?" She remained still.

"Reeeeed?" Harley said it in a sing-song voice as she resorted to light tickling, but unfortunately the redhead wasn't ticklish.

Reeeeeed?" The blond had a mischievous glint in her eye as she leaned over and thrust her tongue into Ivy's ear.

"Ugh! Harley!" Ivy's hand shot up to her ear as she wiped away the spittle. She swatted at the blond as she turned to face her.

The blond giggled as she moved back slightly to avoid flailing arms. She settled down on the pillow across from hers. The blond clapped her hands twice and the lamp turned on.

Ivy groaned and recoiled as she squinted at the sudden introduction of light. "I'm surprised you're still here, seeing as how I'm a paranoid anti-social that hangs out with my stupid plants as substitutes for real friends."

Harley cringed at the hurt in her voice. "I didn't mean those things. I really like your stupid plants- especially the one that eats people." Harley sniffed as her eyes became moist, "And I don't want you to think that I don't appreciate what you do for me. Because I do, Red, I do. And I'm sorry that I always make you sad when I visit. I just get upset when you say bad things about Mistah J."

"I don't want you to die, Harley. I worry all the time."

Harley reached out and grabbed Ivy's hand and squeezed it reassuringly, "Nobody's gonna die, Red. It'll be okay."

Ivy's smile was sad. "No. One day you'll leave me and I'll never see you again. If he lets the police find your body I might hear about it on the evening news. And the really sad thing is that I'll be the only person who misses you when you're gone. Do you think the Joker will be broken up about it after he murders you?"

"Red, you're exaggerating!" Harley was slipping further back into dipstick-denial-mode.

Ivy chuckled sadly. She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. Harley was so exhausting when she was like this. She just sapped Ivy's energy with her sick rationalizations. It was like talking to a brick wall- a brick wall with little to no regard for its own wellbeing. "Harley, you enrage me to distraction." She stated matter-of-factly. "There are only two things in this world that piss me off more than you: deforestation and the Joker."

"What about Bats?" The blond ventured carefully as she hugged her pillow.

"Nope." Ivy said calmly, "You upset me far more than he ever could." Batman had never actually made Ivy cry. Only Harley had that kind of power- Harley and Corporate America.

The blond was quiet as she chewed her bottom lip. She wasn't really sure how to respond to that. "Then why are you my friend?"

"Because you make me happier than anyone else. I even..." Ivy was embarrassed to admit it so she mumbled it under her breath, "Prefer your company to my plants." She continued to stare up at the ceiling as she felt herself blush a deeper shade of green.

Harley laughed and pushed Ivy good-naturedly, "You're just sayin' that!"

"Yea, that may have been an exaggeration there…" It wasn't.

"Soooo…" Sensing the shift in mood, Harley scooted closer to the redhead. She batted her eye lashes at the redhead and asked playfully, "Are you in loooove with me?"

Ivy turned back over to face the blond. She propped herself up on her elbow and asked with exasperation, "Oh, Harley, why does it matter?"

"Cause I wanna know. It matters ta me, Red."

"It's irrelevant." The redhead huffed in annoyance.

Her non-response was clearly an affirmative. She could tell by Harley's expression that she wasn't going to back down. The blond stared at her expectantly, "For how long?"

"I can't remember…" Ivy stared down at the bed, "Maybe a year or… so." Or forever.

The blond was more than a little annoyed, "Howcum you never said nuthin?"

"Because you needed me." Ivy had resignation in her voice, "Almost every time you've been here you were either hurt, or sick, or you needed a shoulder to cry on. You needed a friend. I felt like I would have been taking advantage of your vulnerability. And once you were feeling better you'd just leave me anyway."

"Well, Red." Harley became shy as she sidled up and danced her fingers across the redhead's belly, "What if I wanted you to take advantage of me right now?"

There was a long silence as Ivy's brain underwent a hard restart. "Are you… hitting on me?" She asked as though it were a foreign concept. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"Sheesh! Way to kill the mood, Red. I'm tryin' to be coy an' stuff."

"You don't have to do that, Harley." Ivy wanted Harley completely. She refused to settle for a pity fuck even if it was tempting.

She rolled her eyes, "I know I don't have to, but maybe I want too."

"Why? Why now? You've never expressed an interest in the past."

"Well, neither have you, silly!" Harley poked the redhead on the belly.

Ivy grabbed Harley's roaming hand and placed it on the bed. "Yes, and I explained my reasons. What could yours be?"

And there was the million dollar question. Even Harley wasn't sure how to answer that. She had never considered Red as an option in the past, but the idea was not disagreeable. It was quite the opposite actually, and with the revelation about Ivy's feelings her curiosity had been peaked by new possibilities.

"I… I'm not sure. I guess I'd never really thought about it, ya know?"

Ivy was skeptical and defensive, "And you're what? Suddenly a lesbian now?"

Red was so infuriating at times. "Pfft! You are so weird! You say you wanna do me and as soon as I express an interest you get all disbelieving and paranoid." Harley crossed her eyes and did an impression of paranoid Ivy, "What are you up too? What do you want from me? Why are you doing this? I'll kill you all! Ow…" Harley whined as she felt a pinch on her thigh. "Seriously, Red, why can't you just be like a normal person and say, 'hell yes!' and drill me already? If you were a guy you'd be finishing up by now."

Ivy felt her temper flare and she struggled to rein it in. It was disgusting the way Harley talked about herself like she was some kind of object to be used- like Ivy was her John or something. Argh! She answered in clipped tones, "Because you are more special than that, Harley. That's why."

"No, I'm not. Why can't you understand that?" Harley sighed, "I'm just cheap trash from the lower east side. I mean, even my name is cheap." She rolled her eyes, "Harleen Quinzel. God, that's just awful, isn't it? I'm not like you, Red. You're smart and gorgeous- you could have anyone you want! So why the hell would you want me? It's not just 'cause I'm the only one that knocks on the door, is it? Cause if that's the case I'm sure the mailman probably has more going for himself. I mean, he's got a job, right?"

"Harley, I didn't say I wanted to," Ivy rolled her eyes at the term, "'drill you,' I explained that I have feelings for you…" She muttered the last part. "Indirectly anyway."

Harley whined, "Red, this doesn't make any sense."

Ivy snapped, "You're right. It doesn't make any sense that you pine after this ugly little clown man that hates you." The blond felt Ivy's hand encircle her own and the redhead said softly, "Not when you could remain here," There was a silent question in Ivy's eyes. "With me."

That question made the blond very uncomfortable. Ivy felt Harley pulling away from her. She grabbed her arms to stop her.

"You don't mean that, Red."

"Of course, I do. I wouldn't ask you to stay if I didn't want you here."

"I… I... can't Red," The blond was positively uncomfortable.

"Why?"

"Because…" The blond thought about it. Why couldn't she? Even she wasn't sure anymore. "I dunno. I mean, what about Mistah J's feelins?"

"Fuck his feelings." Assuming the loathsome little bastard even had them. The only feeling Ivy wanted the Joker to experience was the pain of a slow death. What about Ivy's feelings? What about her feelings?

"But can'tcha do better than me, Red? I mean, what if you get tired of me? I'm not very smart and after a while I get on your nerves... and I distract you from your scientific stuff. And I'm pretty loud and I don't clean up after myself... and I always mess everything up and... and…"

"Harley?" Ivy gently stroked the side of Harley's face. "What the hell happened to your self-esteem?" Ivy couldn't really be surprised that Harley thought so little of herself. She had considered the state of the blond's self-esteem many times over the years. Nothing said 'poor self-image' quite like placing one's wellbeing in the hands of an insane clown posse.

Harley laughed and said cynically, "There's no such thing as self-esteem."

"Harl…"

She sighed, "What do you even see in me?"

"You're fun to be around. You're energetic and playful and you have great sense of humor. You always find ways to cheer me up when I'm unhappy. You're also um..." She suspected that Ivy was probably blushing, but it was hard to tell because of the greenness, "Very attractive and despite how silly you behave I know you are very intelligent." The blond studied Ivy intently as she continued, "It angers me when you leave and I miss you when you are gone. I need you the way my plants need water. And I know this is cliché, but you are..." Ivy rolled her eyes and grumped testily, "My sunshine, Harley Quinn." Ivy blushed furiously. Ugh! Why did she feel like she was about to write a country western song? How embarrassing. What she wouldn't give for a Batman interrupt right about now.

The blond's eyes were brimming with tears, "Well that's," Harley's heart warmed as it pounded away in her chest like a jackhammer. She said softly, "That's the nicest thing anyone has evah said ta me, Red."

The blond leaned in and planted (see the pun! Do you see it?) a kiss on Ivy's lips. Ivy's brain short-circuited again as she briefly considered the following information: Harley was kissing her. What should she do about this development? She could swear she felt one of her own vines cuff her on the back of the head at the stupidity of her own question. 'Kiss her back, you fool!' Ivy's brain shouted at her, jolting her into action. The redhead returned the kiss with increased fervor as she pulled Harley closer.