Authors' Note: The next chapters are going to be awesome. Remember to review if you have a chance.
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Fuck. He woke up with the sun shining in his face. The Joker knew he had a dream...but he couldn't remember it. The details evaporated like mist. That never happened. He always remembered his dreams. He had moved during the night. He was lying on his chest with his right arm slung over something that was moving. He cracked his eyes open and the night before came flooding back. He grinned as he slowly moved, scooting closer to his bed warmer. He pressed his lips to her cheek and to her temple. Her blond hair was tangled and she looked deeply asleep. He kissed the corner of her mouth. "Harley," he whispered. He wanted to take a shower with her of course. They had to get moving.
Her eyes started to flutter open as she felt something tickling her face in her dreams. As soon as she realized who it was she smiled wide, " 'Morning, Mistah J." Her voice was sleepy sounding. She curled up next to him a little more, trying to stay as warm as possible.
Joker moved away. "Come on, Harlequin. It's time to get up. Bright sunny day out and we have a lot to do today." He got up and walked to the bathroom. He splashed his face with water trying to wake up and grabbed a nearby brush. His green hair wasn't too tangled. He was completely at ease walking around with no clothes at all. It was actually more comfortable. More...breezy.
Harley rubbed at her eyes as she got up and walked towards the bathroom also. Unlike him, her blond locks were a tangled mess. She opened the drawer and got out another brush. She always had extra of everything, because she knew she would probably lose one. "What're we doing today?"
He bent over and turned the shower on. He came up behind and wrapped his arms around her waist. His chin rested easily on her shoulder. He studied their picture in the mirror. A reflection of an appearance. He'd always loved mirrors. They always held an image that wasn't quite real. He grinned. His gorgeous purple-red eyes contrasted starkly with his pale skin and bright green hair. Harely looked beautiful like always. Her skin glowing like peaches and cream and her blue eyes like the bright blue sky. "Well, I think we should probably move to the secret hideout," his voice was rich and warm with laughter. He kissed her neck gently pressing his red lips to her fragile shoulder.
She leaned into his touch and grinned, "Of course, Puddin'. We wouldn't want all those idiots from Arkham coming and ruining our party." No doubt they would be arriving at her apartment anytime now. They had reasons to suspect her. That made her grin even wider.
He sighed and took her by the arm pulling her toward the shower. He wasn't going to take one alone especially when he had such a gorgeous girl. He stuck his hand under the water. It wasn't too hot and he stepped in pulling her behind him. The water felt really nice. Showers at Arkham were limited. He loved the way the water droplets fell on her skin. He wanted to lick them all off.
This only surprised Harley a little, so for the first few seconds she had an adorable little shocked look on her face. Then she full out started laughing. Her laugh was like bells. She walked backwards into the water, lifting her face up so that the water came crashing down on her cheeks.
He couldn't help but lick a few off. Damn, he loved her laugh. He grabbed the shampoo and smelled it. It reminded him of her floral scent she always had. He poured a generous amount on her head and grabbed another kind for himself. He didn't think he couldn't stand it if he smelled exactly the same. He soaped up quickly the bubbles and water running down his skin.
As the bubbles made a thick layer of white foam on his body, Harley started writing a drawing in it. Whenever she wanted to "erase" something, she would just cover it up with the bubbles from her own body. This was fun! Whenever a guy had wanted to do something like this in the past, it hadn't been fun. It had just been another awkward moment.
The Joker groaned. He was going to supernova. How in the world could she be so perfect? He struggled to control himself as she rubbed all over him. It was like being tempted by the devil. He gave in. He put his hands on her arms holding her still. His control wasn't very great when he was so aroused. "Don't. Do. That. Unless you are willing to face the consequences," he panted out the words. He was slightly flabbergasted at how she could do that. He liked to think that he had a pretty good grip on his emotions...most of the time but this was insane. His lust was even worse than it had been before.
"What're the consequences, Mistah J?" She asked, looking up at him through her eyelashes.There were little drops of water glistening like diamonds on her skin. Her voice was a low purr. He was so amazing! It was so sad that the rest of the world couldn't see what a truly beautiful person he was. Stupid close-minded idiots.
He grinned and pushed her up against the wall. He held her arms over her head and kissed her hard. His tongue pushing bossily into her pretty little mouth. Her body seemed to melt against his dominating one. The water made everything much more slippery and warm. The sensuous feel of the water kissing their skin made him sensitive and excited. He wasn't being very careful anymore which was much more dangerous.
Harley didn't mind this at all. In fact, she sort of liked this rougher side of him. It made the situation so much more passionate and emotional. If someone was really giving in to their desires, things could come out a bit more rough around the edges because desire is such a huge, overwhelming emotion. She slid her body along his, letting her tongue lick up stray water droplets on his chest.He had such soft white skin.
He swallowed. Why was she not running away? If anything she seemed to like this better. How..surprising. He used his other hand to hold her chin. He kissed her softly, barely touching her and then released her. That took extreme effort but he stepped back and managed to wash off all the soap. "We really have to go. Time is running short, sweet." He was amused at her willingness to do...what he wanted. It was an odd thing to find in person.
Harley had to take a deep breath after that. Her desire had been welling up inside of her. Now, she just had to drop it and change her pace? Well, he was right. They really did have to get going. "Well, I'm all packed, so we can leave as soon as we dry off and stuff."
He turned off the faucet and sighed. "Yes," he said flatly stepping out of the shower. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his head like a turban. He wandered back to find his clothes. They were strewn everywhere. He didn't want to have to put on the Arkham clothes but his suit was at the hiding place.
She quickly grabbed a towel and dried off, before picking out some clothes she hadn't packed in her bag. Just a plain white t-shirt and some short shorts. Nothing special. It made her feel kind of odd, because the Joker had only really seen her in the clothes she wore to work, which were usually pretty nice.
He picked up his Arkham shirt and slipped it back on. It made his skin feel itchy and unclean. He really wished he could make it to Arkham without clothes on but that would attract too much attention. Unwanted attention that was. It would create wanted attention from Harley though. He grinned as he shoved on the pants. "Harlequin. Do you have another car? I'm afraid the police will be looking for the one we escaped in."
He went though the different plans in his head. He had to keep reorganizing his agenda. He had a few chores he needed to do but those would have to come after they had gotten settled.
"I don't have another car, but..." She grinned over at him. A grand idea had just popped into her head. "I know how to break into cars! Some people here don't even lock their doors." When she was a teenager she used to sneak out and break into her father's car. He never found out.
He paused and thought a moment. That might just work, "Hm.. we can ditch the car a mile or two away in the junkyard and walk to the place." He muttered out loud. "Grab your things, kitten. Time to get a move on," he smiled and picked up a suitcase opening the door.
Happily, Harley got her bags and locked the door. She kept her room and car keys, not wanting anyone to have an easy time getting to any of her things. Soon, they were in the parking deck, Harley testing the doors on all the pricey cars. It didn't take to long to find one that was unlocked. "Seriously, these people are idiots! They deserve to be taken advantage of for destroying the gene pool with their stupidity." She laughed.
Joker just shrugged. He didn't really care who's car he stole as long as it was one that could get them where they needed to go. He got in the driver's seat and bent down messing with the wires. Green one...here. Blue leave unconnected... He jiggled Harley's key in the keyhole and felt the engine sputter to a start. Cars were ridiculously easy to break into. He put the car in drive and hit the gas pedal screeching out of the parking lot. He loved going fast. He laughed and shifted gears effortlessly. Soon, they were speeding along the highway to Gotham's notorious ghetto. An abandoned toy factory would serve as their new home sweet home. Harley would love it.
As the car sped through the streets, Harley's laughter flew through the air. She had never had so much fun in her life. It was like all those years of a strict household were melting away from her. She could do whatever she wanted to now! She was free! Flying through the streets at speeds fast enough to be considered suicidal wasn't scary to her. Maybe to her old self it would have been, but letting go required a person to stop being afraid to have fun.
The Joker stopped the car in a place where the old factories and industrial buildings were crumbling. The crime lords of the city ruled this area and no person would dare venture in this territory without being especially brave or especially stupid. "Get out, sweet and let me pull this into the junkyard."
Harley did as she was told, getting her things out of the back seat. She backed away from the car, making sure to keep a safe distance. The ghetto was still a little creepy, but she had The Joker as protection. That had to count for something. As she backed up though, she noticed that three burly idiots were giving her some really lecherous looks. She rolled her eyes, tempted to flick them off.
Joker pulled the car into the lot hiding it behind a pile of cars close to the front of the lot. He kept his eyes on Harley the whole time. He got out of the car and walked back toward Harley just as the three assholes started moving toward her.
She knew they were getting closer. Every few seconds she would glance out of the corner of her eye. She gripped the handle on her suitcase, ready to swing at their heads if necessary. When she glanced back ahead she saw that her Puddin' was coming. She already felt safer. He would take care of her.
The three men stopped when they saw the Joker coming. They were debating on whether he was a threat or not. The Joker grinned. Their slow, quagmire thoughts showed so easily. He passed Harley and walked straight up to them. "Something I can help you with?" he said menacingly. His teeth clenched and his hands balled into tight fists. One of the men in the front grinned, "How much for some time with the girl? I got 100 bucks." Joker shook his head, "Well, you see, she's not for sale. She's mine and if you ever touch her, look at her, or even fucking think about her I'll kill you." He said the statement happily, he laughed softly at the shocked expressions. The head idiot's face turned purple with rage. He started to swing his fist but the Joker was already ready and he struck him so hard in the jaw he heard it crack pleasantly. Music to his ears. The man screamed in pain and his buddies backed up. Their faces were pale. The Joker turned, his job finished but he felt a hand wrapped around his ankle. He rolled is eyes and turned back around. He kicked the man in the ribs a couple times until he heard a few cracking sounds. The man seemed to lose consciousness at that point and his buddies had seemingly vanished. Joker went back to Harley and took her hand. "Time to go, darling."
It took her only a second to regain her composure. If she was going to live in this world she certainly had to get used to violence. "Thanks, Puddin'!" She gave his hand a little squeeze. As they passed the man laying on the ground, she gave him one a nice kick to the groin. When he groaned she laughed. No other girls were going to get taken advantage of by that bastard.
He smiled and kept her moving. She was easily distracted. When they finally made it to the factory he lifted up an old brick and removed the key. The door unlocked easily and didn't creak as he opened it. That was good. The place was covered in dust but looked pretty good. However ramshackle the building looked on the outside it was nicely furnished on the inside. There were toys everywhere and the old machines still were there. He led Harley up to where he had made his humble home. It had taken him a couple of weeks to tear out all the walls of the employers offices but the huge space that overlooked the sprawling factory floor was furnished nicely. It was one big multi-purpose room with a bed, a few trunks with clothes, couch, television, mini-kitchen, and a few other things. Everything was fairly plain. The purple plush carpet matched the purple blanket on the bed.The green couch complemented the purple nicely.His work space was down on the main floor of the factory. He sighed. Finally home sweet home.
As soon as she entered the room, her breath was taken away. The hide out was so amazingly awesome that she couldn't even put it into words. The closest thing she could get out was a series of excited squeaks. She ran through the building then, taking in every aspect of it. At one point she just started spinning around in the middle of the carpet until she got so dizzy that she fell over.
He laughed genuinely. She was amazing. He walked over to a trunk of clothes and started rummaging through it looking for a shirt and pants. He finally found the one he wanted at the bottom. He pulled it out a pair of jeans in a dark purple wash and a green shirt. If he wasn't going out he usually didn't both with a suit. He then moved over to the next trunk looking for something he had picked up years ago. Where was it??
Harley sat up and rose one elegant eyebrow, "Watcha' lookin' for?" She didn't get up though, wanting to give him his space. She stretched her legs out in front of her on the carpet, frowning at the state her tennis shoes were in. They had dirt all over them. Oh well.
He finally touched the soft fabric and he pulled it out carefully. He smirked. The Harlequin outfit was beautiful. Black and white. A perfect compliment to him. The Joker and the Harlequin. He crawled across the floor to her and presented the garment to her. "I picked this up a long time ago. Try it on, kitten. I think it'll fit," he said softly. He took off his old Arkham inmate shirt and pants and put on the jeans and t-shirt.
Harley's eyes went so wide it almost hurt. A little squeal escaped her lips as she gingerly took the garment and stood up. It was so beautiful! She slipped out of her normal clothes and pulled on the stretchy material. It fit like a glove and made her curves stand out even more. Once everything was on properly she posed for him, "I love it! What do ya think?"
His heart beat a bit faster. She was so lovely it almost hurt to look at her. "Harlequin, you look amazing," he said quietly. He stomach growled he hadn't eaten anything all day. Thankfully, he paid someone to restock his freezer downstairs every week. He proabably had a mountain of food in there by now. "Let's go get some food."
"All right, Puddin!" She half-sang, already skipping over to the fridge. While there, she noticed her reflection in the mirror. There was something wrong. It took her a second to realize what it was. Her skin. It didn't look quite right. It was too pink. A clown should have white skin.
He walked to the freezer and picked up a microwavable dinner. He wasn't an expert chef he admitted but at least he fed himself...most of the time. He looked over his shoulder, "Harley! What do you want to eat?" He loved her outfit. It made her seem sexier, stronger. If only he couldn't see her underwear line it would be perfect. She would never voluntarily not wear underwear though...unless...
She looked back over at him, pulling herself out of her daze. "Um..." Harley sauntered over, bending over to look into the fridge. "Whatever your having, I guess." She didn't really care what she ate. It had never seemed like a big deal to her. Food was food. It would all end up in the same place anyway.
He picked another package up and walked back upstairs. He was salivating a little and not over the thought of food. Harlequin was naturally seductive. It was like...she couldn't help but make him want to take all his clothes off and do very naughty things. He ripped open the box and threw the packaged food in the microwave. He wasn't really hungry for food anymore. "Kitten. You look so good," he said his voice betraying his thoughts. He tried to focus on the food. Three minutes left.
"Awww, thanks Mistah J." She ran up the stairs to stand next to him. Her body language had sort of changed once she got in that suit. Maybe it was just because it was easier to move. When she stood, her chest was thrust out a bit more than usual. "You look sexy as always!" A little grin worked it's way across her face.
He smiled. Too tempting and too distracting. Hunger. Remember hunger? Oh, what happened to hunger? He stared at the microwave. Two minutes. Two minutes. Food was important right. Food was needed to make energy. He need energy for his plan. Fucking Harley would take away energy which was needed. So, food is more important. Logically, it all made sense. Reality, didn't make sense. He was hard and uncomfortable in his enclosed jeans. He wanted to rip her clothes off. Why couldn't he control the...instinct. Or was it an impulse? All he knew was that it was ruling him almost completely. He was going to be one of those men that were led around by their noses by a woman. He shook his head. No. That wouldn't be fun. Life was supposed to be fun.
"What's wrong, Puddin?" She asked, noticing the look on his face. His smile had gotten bigger and then nearly vanished. Had she upset him somehow? Oh gosh that wouldn't be good. Harley blinked a few times in the silence.
The microwave thankfully beeped. A welcome distraction to the thoughts which were swirling around in his head. He would be perfectly fine being with someone. It was odd to welcome someone in to his private hell house. Why would anyone want to come in anyway? He reached a hand in and grabbed the hot containers. He concentrated on the feel of the burn. Pain often helped him focus. It helped him connect to what was real.
When he had his back turned, Harley's eyebrows pulled together and a puzzled look overwhelmed her face. He wasn't being as receptive to her flirtatious behavior. Maybe she was just flirting too much. It could be over kill. She pulled a chair over and sat down in it backwards, resting her arms on the back.
He held her tray in his hand and set it on the floor. He set his own next to hers and went to get utensils. They were around here somewhere...he pulled a jar from the shelf. There were three forks and one knife. Well...that would have to be fixed. He took two forks and sat down on the floor in front of her. "Hungry kitten?" he said lightly handing her a fork.
"'Course I am, Mistah J." She smiled, taking the fork gently. Soon she was eating her microwave meal. It was kind of interesting. The food had definitely not been cooked through all the way and for some reason it tasted burnt at the same time. She managed to keep her face neutral though. At least he had made food for her. That was probably a big step for him. He wasn't accustomed to having to take care of another person.
He took a few bites and moved food around but threw it away in the end. He didn't' really like food that much anyway. He wasn't ever hungry and basically ate when he thought he would need to survive which was once in a while. Time was relative to the Joker. He had more important things to do. Now, time to get Harley to bed so he could go... He watched her eat. She took small, little bites.
Soon Harley was done, not too hungry herself. She never ate big portions, so this wasn't anything new to her. Her head tilted to the side as she tried to look out of one of the dirt-covered windows. From the lack of light streaming in, she determined that it was getting late. She threw away the rest of her meal with a little yawn, "I'm sleepy..."
"That's good. Me too." He got up and took off his shirt. Clothes were so confining. He looked at her with a mischievous grin, "You know I usually don't sleep with clothes on." He always got too hot and had trouble sleeping anyway.
"That's fine with me, Puddin'." She grinned, unzipping the amazing Harlequin costume. "I usually stick to just a bra and panties." A little giggle escaped her lips as she skipped to the bed. It was really nice for being in a hideout.
He took off his pants and lay down on the bed. He took up most of it by himself but he was willing to share at least tonight. He always hated sleeping almost as much as being awake. Neither seemed good. When he was asleep he always felt someone would find him vulnerable. But, reality was too...boring awake. He liked being in the place somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness. How do you define that? Insanity maybe? He closed his eyes, "My brain keeps talking. It's really annoying. How do I get it to stop?" Harley was a psychologist after all. Her brains must count for something.
Harley smiled softly and closed her eyes, "Concentrate on just breathing. Don't let your mind think about anything else but keeping your breaths steady. Relax your muscles." She had to use this technique a lot, especially when she had been working on his case.
He ground his teeth. Thinking about breathing. He thought about it...for five seconds. It was much too boring. He needed a good plan. He had a general idea but had to come up with the more specific points. He sighed. He usually did well without a plan anyway. He was spontaneous. After all, he was the Joker. He was suddenly struck by a brilliant idea. "Harley, come here. I.. can't stop thinking about bad things," he said in a pitiful voice. He sat up holding his pale, strong arms out. Come on, Harlequin. Come to daddy.
She slithered into his arms, looking up at his face, "What's the matter, Mistah J?" Harley didn't feel as giddy with the costume off. Her voice was already back to it's normal level in pitch. The costume was a part of her already and she realized that. It brought out her alter ego. That part of her that always wished she had been born stupid so that she didn't have to see the cruelty of the world. To paraphrase from The Great Gatsby, the best thing for a girl to be is a beautiful fool.
He laid down, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. He felt a warm feeling when her skin touched his. However odd and unexpected it was, there was some kind of connection he felt to her that he had never felt with anyone else. He couldn't describe it and didn't want to. It was the oddest feeling. He kissed the back of her neck softly. The soft hair at the nape of her neck was silky and warm. "Good night, Harley. Don't let the bed bugs bite."
He nipped her lightly with his teeth.
She shivered a little when he bit her. It was such a cute little line. A little smile spread across her lips as she closed her eyes, "G'night, Mistah J." It didn't take her long to fall asleep. The stress of the day had left her exhausted.