Chapter 18

Celebration was definitely in order and what better way to celebrate than with alcohol? Even though the food cellar was now used as a storage for weaponry, there was still a cabinet down there with several bottles stocked inside. The Joker grabbed a bottle of Scotch whisky and brought it back upstairs. Harley followed him into the kitchen and watched as he opened up several cabinets in search for glasses. When he finally found the right cabinet, he took two glasses out, put them on the kitchen island and poured the whisky all the way to the brim. "Here you go," he said and handed her one glass and grabbed the other himself. Harley took it, trying hard not to spill. "Here's to Harley Quinn." He raised his glass and she did the same, smiling behind her glass at the mention of her new name.

"To Harley Quinn." They both downed their glasses in one swift motion. It burned. But it felt good. Harley put her glass down on the counter top.

"Come on," the Joker said and walked towards the lobby. "Time for you to meet the boys." She wasn't too chipper about the idea, but she figured she would have to get to know them sooner or later.

When they headed out into the lobby, Harley was once again met by judging stares. She did a quick headcount of how many goons there were in the room and unless no one was absent, it seemed he had a decent number of sixteen followers. Sixteen guys and not a single one of them cleans the place up. Gotta do something about that. She made a note to herself that she would bring that up some other time. "Boys, I'd like you to meet Harley," the Joker announced and once again put his arm around her, placing his hand on her waist. Some of the guys exchanged confused looks at this. Harley smiled to herself. This could be fun. "And if uh, anyone here has a problem with there being a woman in the house, then be my guest and scram. Just know that if you do, then I will have to kill you." Nobody protested or even opened their mouth. They knew better than to assume their boss was kidding around. "Oh, and uh, there's a bit of a mess down in the basement," Joker added as he remembered. "Clean it up, will ya?" He let go of Harley's waist and proceeded to the staircase leading up to the second floor. Harley tagged along.

She followed him back into his room again. He left the door open for her and she closed it behind her once back inside the room. She leaned against the frame, just looking at him. He sat down on the edge of the bed and took his shoes off. He didn't say a word. Instead, it was Harley who spoke first. "It's Hartley, isn't it?" He looked up at her, clearly confused at her question.

"What?" he asked. "Who is Hartley?" Is he playing innocent or has it really slipped his mind? The thought came to her head naturally. She was a doctor after all. Or, used to be, anyway.

"One of the three orderlies who were assigned to you," she explained. "He's your 'little bird', isn't he?" His confused expression vanished, but he still didn't give anything away.

"Why would you assume that?" She pushed herself away from the doorframe and took a few steps closer to him.

"That time you asked me about my date, I thought it was just gossip. But after the incident with Dr. Wilson, I knew something was up. There was no way for you to know anything about her unless someone had told you and as far as I'm concerned, the only people you've had any social interaction with are me and those three orderlies. I excluded Dwight, since your men shot him and though I don't think I've ever met Carter, there was just something about Hartley that seemed… well, odd." He might have been able to hide it, but whenever Harley saw him, she couldn't help but get a feeling in her gut. "But it wasn't until now that I was absolute certain that you had an inside man," she went on. "Because I never told you about Cassidy. That ultimately comes down to the conclusion that your man has been spying on me and that is just creepy," she said matter-of-factly. There was a quiet moment before the Joker smirked at her with a glint in his eye.

"You are smarter than I thought." Gee, thanks, she thought sarcastically. Did everyone really think she was just another bubbleheaded blonde bimbo? Heck, she wasn't even a real blonde! "And I am sorry about the whole spy-thing," he added and got to his feet, closing the distance between them by grabbing her hips and pulling her close. "I wanted to make sure you weren't getting into any trouble." Harley raised her eyebrows at this, not quite believing it, although she really wanted to.

"Gee, that feels so reassuring."

"You're not mad at me, are you?" He didn't put it in a sarcastic way. It actually sounded quite genuine. Like the time he had said she had a lovely smile. The memory had her smiling again.

"Not a chance," she said and shook her head. "I have a question for you, though." He raised his eyebrows, anticipating her question. "Why were you at a children's birthday party?" She wanted the truth now and nothing but the truth. Of course, the truth she wanted could be a far cry from his.

"I like free birthday cake," he said with a shrug. She had to laugh.

"Nothing else, then?" she asked suggestively and bit her lip.

"Well, that and because I knew you'd come find me." This time, he took the first step and leaned in for another kiss.

It tasted even better the second time around. Maybe it was because he had initiated it? Or maybe it was because this time, there was nothing holding them back. Harley only wanted more and it seemed he did too. He buried his hands in her hair and at the same time pulled her face closer. This inevitably led to the kiss getting deeper and Harley felt their tongues meet. She had never been kissed like that before. It was toxic. She could feel the rough edges of the scars on the inside of his mouth. Suddenly, he placed his hands on the small of her back instead and pulled her with him down onto the bed so she was sitting on his lap. Now she didn't have to stand on her tip-toes to reach him. His hands slid up under her top and she helped him get it off. She started unbuttoning his shirt in turn and then it all went on from there. Not a word was spoken, nor did it have to. They both knew what they wanted.

Harley had been so exhausted from that day's events (especially from that last exertion), that she had fallen asleep and was now waking up sometime in the night. It had to be night anyway, because the room was dark. When she opened her eyes, she wondered where she was. She was looking at a wall. There was something close to her. Or rather someone. It all came flooding back. His arm was wrapped around her, holding her close like a child would a cuddly toy. Her back was against his bare chest and his deep breathing confirmed to her that he was asleep. Harley smiled. She could definitely get used to this.

A/N: Some Joker/Harley sexy times. ;) Sorry if I didn't elaborate on that, but it's not my thing. XD You're just going to have to imagine that one on your own. ;) Pretty short chapter, I know, but I'm kind of having a writer's block, or just lack of inspiration, so I need to sit down and think this through before I do another update. Plus, I have some other projects to work on. Not fics, but I am a video editor on youtube and I have a couple of vids I need to get done. My username is BelleofAvonlea in case you want to check that out. ;) And also, what I'm thinking about the most these days is Suicide Squad! I'm going to see it next Wednesday, which I'm very excited about! So my excitement pretty much takes my focus away from everything else, LOL. XD