"Look, let go of me!" snapped Two-Face, breaking away from the guards' grip. "I ain't gonna attack anyone but that damn clown! And I don't want Grace to see me escorted in restrained like some maniac!"
"Yeah, 'cause she ain't gonna think that otherwise," muttered a guard under his breath.
Two-Face felt his hands tensing into fists to strike the man, but thoughts of appearing calm and collected in front of his former fiancee restrained him. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, seizing his coin instead and flipping it idly.
"All right, let's get this over with," he muttered.
The guards opened the door to the visiting room and Two-Face entered, looking up to see the woman on the other side of the glass.
She had always been a very beautiful woman – he had forgotten just how beautiful. And it wasn't just her outward appearance – Grace may be a lawyer, but nobody had a kinder, sweeter, gentler heart than she had. It had taken a lot for him to drive her away, but even the kindest, sweetest, gentlest woman couldn't be expected to forgive a man after he tried to kill her.
"Hello, Harvey," she said, smiling as he sat down.
"Hello, Grace," he murmured. "What brings you here?"
"I…wanted to see you again," she said. "I was…uh…moving house, and I found some letters of yours from…the early days of our relationship. It made me want to see how you were doing."
Two-Face shrugged. "Still in here," he replied. "Big surprise."
"Well…it is kinda a surprise for me," she murmured. "I always thought you could beat this thing, Harvey, if you really tried."
"Nothing to beat," he muttered. "Can't destroy one half of myself. My…bad side is here to stay."
"I don't believe that, Harvey," she said. "The man I loved wasn't a bad man…"
"Yeah, that was the problem," he agreed. "The reason it's manifested itself so permanently is because I've repressed it for so long. If I hadn't been afraid of this part of my true nature before, if I hadn't hidden it at the risk of losing friends and voters and…more important people," he said, glancing at her. "Then I probably wouldn't be where I am today. But at least there's a sense of self-acceptance now, and the shrinks say that's important. The coin's still here, of course," he said, withdrawing it from his pocket and flipping it. "But one step at a time, I guess."
She nodded. "And…how are you doing?" she asked, gently. "I don't just mean progress-wise, I mean…how are you feeling?"
"Fine," he said. "I feel fine. Got problems, but everyone does."
"What kind of problems?" she asked.
"Why do you care?" he retorted. "You made things very clear to me after my…outburst. We're over forever, and you never want to see me again."
"I didn't," she agreed. "But I can't just forget four years of my life. Of our life. Four happy years that…ended so badly."
"That's life," he muttered. "For every good thing, there's an equal bad thing. It's a lot simpler once you realize that. Things aren't just dependent on chaos. There's an order to it. The order of chance."
He flipped the coin. "People say it's random, but it's not. It's very fixed and certain. Good or bad. Heads or tails. Fifty fifty."
"I'm…glad life seems simple to you, Harvey," she said, quietly. "It's not that way for everyone. Maybe I should get myself a coin too, then maybe I'd never have…"
She trailed off, wiping her eyes. "If you don't want to tell me about your life, I'll tell you about mine," she said. "I…got married."
"Congrat…" began Two-Face.
"And we've just finalized our divorce," she interrupted. "Turns out he wasn't a…nice guy. Maybe we share that two thing, with me marrying a two-timer. I sure can pick 'em, huh?" she said, forcing a smile.
"I'm…sorry," said Two-Face, sincerely. "But I'm glad you got him outta your life. You deserve better than that, Grace."
She nodded. "Yeah, I know. It was me who asked for the divorce. I'm glad he's out of my life too, but…it's still upsetting to think about. I've always thought of myself as a smart, strong, independent woman, and so it's awful to think about me getting taken in so easily by a bad guy. But after…what happened between us, I just wanted to move on as soon as possible, so I fell for the first guy who took an interest in me. Stupid, really. But I guess that's what happens when you make decisions with a broken heart."
"Yeah, like coming to see me, I guess," agreed Two-Face.
"I don't think it's a bad decision," she murmured, gazing at him. "Do you?"
He shook his head slowly. "It's…good to see you, Grace," he murmured. "And I'm sorry that you've been having a difficult time. But I can't imagine seeing me in here like this has made your life any easier. To know that you've dated at least two bad guys…"
"It makes me realize I have a problem, if nothing else," she said, forcing another smile. "Maybe I should go into some therapy. Does Arkham offer that, for non-homicidal people?"
"Yeah, talk to Dr. Leland," he said. "She's great. And…uh…if you're around here more often, maybe we can…talk again."
"I hope so," she said. "It's good to see you too, Harvey. You seem…calmer. I'm glad being in here has helped you out. Probably more than I could have ever done, if we hadn't…"
"Bruce…comes to see me a lot," murmured Two-Face. "That's what helps me. Not the therapy, but just talking to people I…care about. People Harvey used to…be really close to. It's good for me to know that the people I used to care about still do care, that they still accept me, even though I'm some kinda monstrous freak…"
"I've never thought that, Harvey," she whispered. "I was…understandably upset at the way you overreacted about your own misunderstanding, when all Bruce and I had ever done was try to help you. I said a lot of harsh things, and I meant them. But you seem to have…changed a lot from who you were then."
"I still overreact about stuff," he retorted. "I like to think that if it had been true, I would still have killed Bruce for betraying me. But that's only because I hate liars and backstabbers. I've been forced to face the darkness within myself, and I hate people who can't do the same. The people who can't show their true face, like I show mine."
Grace nodded. "Yeah. Would have saved me a lotta pain if…my ex-husband had shown his bad face. At least any woman involved with you would know what they're getting into."
Two-Face didn't know what exactly prompted him to burst out, "Well, there ain't any woman involved with me at the moment."
Grace smiled. "That's a shame," she said, softly. "You're a sweet guy, Harvey. I mean, if your bad side's on show, so is your good side. And it's just…beautiful. Maybe even worth putting up with the bad side for."
She stood up. "I'll see you soon, Harvey."
"I'm…uh…really looking forward to it," he stammered.
She smiled. "So am I," she replied. "Take care of yourself."
"Yeah, you too, Grace," he said. "And…uh…you can always call me if you need to talk at any time. You know where I am."
Grace nodded. "Thank you, Harvey. I might."
Two-Face returned to the Rec Room to hear loud noises coming from the cell block. "Clowns at it again?" he muttered.
"Yep," said Ivy. "Just to prove my point that everyone starts rubbing your face in their relationships the moment yours ends. And speaking of ended relationships, how was the ex?"
"Ok," he replied. "Her marriage has just ended."
"And she's come running back to her ex, is that it?" snorted Ivy. "Pathetic."
"Oh yeah, you're a great one to talk, Pam," snapped Two-Face. "Don't insult her, all right? She's been through a lot."
"Yeah, I'm sure divorce is a lot harder than being transformed into a plant hybrid by the guy you loved," retorted Ivy.
"It's not a competition," growled Two-Face. "She hasn't had half her face blown off either, but I can still sympathize with her. Why are you being so heartless?"
"I'm not," retorted Ivy. "I'm just being myself."
"Yeah, that's your problem, all right," he muttered, heading off to his cell.