Two-Face stood on the balcony of Grace's apartment, smoking a cigarette. It was after midnight, but he hadn't been able to sleep – there were too many thoughts keeping him awake. Thoughts and memories. That was what bothered him.
He had had a wonderful evening with Grace. They had ordered a Chinese takeaway with a bottle of wine, which was the classic meal they used to have when they were both working on cases and couldn't be bothered to cook.
"Just like old times," said Two-Face, pouring her a glass of wine. "Although I feel like we should be discussing a nice murder or something. Maybe one of mine this time."
Grace didn't smile. "I'm sorry, that was a bad joke…" he muttered.
"It's just hard for me to think of you as a criminal," she interrupted. "When the Harvey I knew would never have hurt anyone."
"Well…I'm not exactly the Harvey you knew, Grace," he said, slowly. "I need you to understand that if…if you want to give us a chance again. This…other personality of mine is as much a part of me as Harvey was. I've got a dark side that's done some dark things, and I'm ok with that. I need you to be ok with it too."
"I just…it's hard to believe sometimes," she murmured, picking at her food. "You were just the sweetest, nicest guy…"
"I pretended to be," he interrupted. "I hid my bad side from everyone, including myself. I was afraid of it. But I'm not afraid of it anymore. I've had to deal with it for a long time now. You can't hide away parts of yourself, or pretend they don't exist. As unpleasant as they are, you have to face them, and accept them."
"Or change them?" suggested Grace, gently.
"Maybe," he agreed. "But I can't change back to the way I was. Things can't be the way they were. We can't go back. We can only go forward, and start again, if that's what you want."
"Is that what you want?" she asked.
He looked at her, reaching for his coin. "No, don't do that," she said, catching his hand. "Just look at me and make the decision. Do you want to be with me?"
He didn't respond, taking a large gulp of wine. "Harvey, I can accept your mistakes," she murmured. "I can accept that things won't be the same between us. But I can't accept you living your life and mine on the whim of fate. Based on chance. I need you to take control of your life now. Of our life."
She placed both her hands on his. "You are a sane, rational man," she murmured. "You can make this choice. Not the coin. You."
He stared at her in silence, saying nothing. "I…I can't decide, Grace," he whispered. "I can't. Not without the coin."
She smiled sadly. "Let me help you, Harvey," she whispered, kissing him tenderly. He seized her tightly in his arms, returning the kiss as she grew more passionate, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him close. The next few moments were a blur of hands and lips and clothes as they made their way into the bedroom and tumbled down onto the bed together.
Two-Face glanced back inside to see Grace sleeping soundly, curled up in the sheets, the moonlight glowing off her pale flesh, and a peaceful smile on her face. He took another drag on his cigarette as he obsessively flipped his coin.
He didn't regret what had happened – it had been incredible. But he couldn't help but feel like he had taken advantage of a vulnerable woman who had just gone through a bitter divorce, and was desperately trying to cling to any shred of happiness, including her past relationship with her ex. He didn't feel like Grace wanted to be with him necessarily as much as she just wanted to feel happy and loved again. And he could certainly understand that feeling.
Because the truth was, he knew he wasn't still in love Grace. It had been fun to remember old times together, but that was all they had in common anymore – old times. Past experiences which, wonderful as they had been, were gone forever, and couldn't be recreated in their future. They were both different people now. At least, he was. His accident had changed more than a few things about him. Driven him crazy, maybe. He supposed he would have to be crazy not to be in love with Grace. She was the sweetest, kindest, gentlest woman in the world. But that wasn't the kind of woman he wanted anymore.
And she deserved better. She deserved a bright, happy future with a new relationship, not to chain herself to an old one, to someone who wasn't any good for her anymore. The right thing to do would be to let her go.
He flipped the coin again. Objectively, Grace was its good side. With her help, it was entirely possible that he could reconcile his two halves again, that he could try living a normal life. Or it was possible that he could not. That he could just drag Grace down with him, to a life of misery and unhappiness and indecision.
And the bad side, he thought, flipping it again. The bad side was Poison Ivy. He knew he was in love with her, despite everything. Hell, he had to be in love with her to still care about her after the way she acted. They deserved each other, in a way – both of them were considered crazy, homicidal criminals. That was certainly who he was. Maybe only one half of him, but that half could never be satisfied with a good, normal life with Grace. There would be something missing every day they were together, something that would eventually eat away at their relationship and destroy it. He couldn't make Grace suffer that, not after all the crap she had gone through. She deserved a happy, stable relationship with a happy, stable guy. And that wasn't him.
They had really loved each other once. And maybe that love could still conquer all. But he doubted it. The truth was, he had outgrown that love. It was something Harvey had desperately wanted and needed, but now…now it seemed like a distant memory. And a guy couldn't be happy living in a memory. Nor could a relationship.
He flipped the coin again, and it landed good side up. He needed to decide what that good side meant. Was the right thing to do in this scenario to let Grace go, as much as it might hurt her? Or was it to stay with the woman who could possibly redeem him in some way? The coin couldn't decide this one for him.
He sighed, pocketing the coin and flicking the cigarette butt off the balcony. Heading back into the bedroom, he took a seat on the bed next to Grace. He brushed her face gently with the back of his hand, and she stirred.
"Mmm…Harvey?" she whispered, gazing sleepily up at him. "You ok?"
"Grace, we need to talk," he murmured. "I've made my decision."
"Oh…ok," she said, yawning and rubbing her eyes as she sat up. "It can't wait until morning?"
"No, I…I don't think it can," he said, slowly. "I can't stay here, Grace. I can't be with you here like this. I'm not your boyfriend anymore. And…I don't think I can let myself be that again."
She stared at him in confusion and pain. "Why not?" she asked.
He was silent. "Look, you want to be with Harvey Dent," he muttered. "The way he used to be. Pure and unscarred and whole and sane. And that's not who I am anymore. We can't ever get back what we used to have. That's in the past, and it's gone forever. And that's all we really have in common – the past, old times. But I'm not the guy I used to be. And you deserve a man who's so much better than the man I've become. I can't be so selfish as to drag you down with me, and that's what would happen, Grace. I know ideally we'd both like to think that maybe you could pull me back up to a normal, stable, sane life, but…it's so much easier to go down a hill than climb up it. The chances are we'd both end up in Arkham. And I can't be responsible for ruining your life. Not when…I care about you so deeply."
She nodded slowly as tears began to stream from her eyes. "Oh, Grace, please don't cry," he murmured. "I never wanted to hurt you. But deep down I think you know we're wrong for each other. I think you know this happened because you wanted to feel loved and special to someone. And you are, Grace. I…love you so much. But I'm just not in love with you anymore."
She nodded again. "You always were good with words, Harvey," she whispered. "I guess that's why you made DA."
"You forget my stunning good looks," he said. "Which is why I ain't DA anymore. That and the whole crazy thing."
She managed a laugh. "Now you look at me," he said, tilting her chin up. "You don't want this monster, not really. Look at your face. Pure and unscarred and whole and beautiful. There's no two faces about you, Grace. Your true face is yours, and mine is mine. And they don't match."
He kissed her tenderly. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "But this is my decision."
He pulled out a gun and shot the security camera. "That should make the cops come running," he said.
"Where did you get a gun?" she asked, shocked.
"Got a connection I visited when I went to pick up the takeaway," he muttered. "See, you can't trust me, Grace. My bad side always wins out. Sometimes I feel like it wants to destroy Harvey Dent completely. I can't destroy you along with me."
He gestured to a chair. "Now please take a seat. I want you tied up for when the cops come, so they can't implicate you in my escape."
She stared at him with tears in her eyes but obeyed. Her tears fell as he began tying her to the chair with her bedsheets. "Grace, I want you to understand this," he whispered. "Please try. I don't want us parting on bad terms again."
"I do understand, Harvey," she murmured. "It's just hard for me to accept. You don't belong back in Arkham with the rest of the weirdos and the crazies…"
"Yes, he does!" shrieked a familiar voice. They both turned to see Poison Ivy climbing onto the balcony with the aid of a giant plant stalk. "What the hell is this?!" she demanded, storming into the room and seeing the situation. "Some kinda kinky sex game?! I'm the only one who can play those with him, get it, blondie?!"
"Pam, what are you doing here?" demanded Two-Face.
"Taking back what's mine!" she shrieked. "And that's you, Harvey! I won't let this annoying, good girl type take you away from me! She's not who you need! I am!"
"Pam…" began Two-Face.
"All right, you want me to say it?!" she shrieked. "I'll say it! I want you! I need you! I love you, Harvey! Are you happy now?! I love you!"
Two-Face smiled at Grace. "See, we all got our crazy exes…" he began.
"Don't you dare call me crazy!" she screamed. "I won't let this woman take you away from me! I'll summon my babies and have them choke the life outta her first! I'll do it, Harvey! You know I will!"
"Don't do this, Pam," muttered Two-Face. "I'm warning you…"
Ivy raised her hand to call her plants, and then screamed in pain as a bullet embedded itself in her ankle. She fell to the ground, clutching it. "You shot me!" she screamed, glaring up at Two-Face's smoking gun. "You shot me, you bastard!"
Two-Face said nothing, bending down and tying Ivy's arms behind her back. "I love you too, Pam," he muttered, picking her up and tossing her over his shoulder. "Now c'mon, let's head back to Arkham."