In Love With A Good man
Chapter 4: Cutie
Harley stretched her arms out as she came downstairs. According to the clock, it was almost noon now. She was used to sleeping in until the afternoon, so she wasn't surprised to see that Casey was already awake and going about his day.
However, she was surprised to see what he was doing when she first came down.
"Hey, Harley. Nice of you to finally rejoin the land of the living." He greeted her, chuckling at the end of his teasing comment. She yawned and smiled at him.
"What can I say? I'm not much of an early bird anyways," She shrugged. "Are you cooking?"
"Yeah! I was, uh, gonna make you breakfast as payback for last time, but then you never woke up," He explained with a chuckle. "So I'm doing a bigger lunch instead."
"Aww thanks!" She smiled, going up next to him and kissing him on the cheek, "Chicken and noodles, huh? Looks good!" She said, resting a hand on his arm as she looked over the food.
"Yeah, I hope it turned out good. I've only done this a couple times." He admitted.
"Well, I'll have to judge it, but it looks like it should be in a restaurant!" She complimented with a laugh. He chuckled and looked down at her.
"Well thanks," He said before smooching her. "Bet you never had a guy cook for you the day after, huh?" He joked, referencing back to Harley's comment the first time she had stayed over.
"Definitely not! So whether it's good or not, you're already the first!" She giggled.
"Well that's a win in my book. You mind pouring the drinks? Food's almost done." Casey requested.
"Yep! I gotcha!" Harley nodded.
The two went about serving themselves then sat down together to enjoy their meal. Much to Casey's relief, the food turned out very good! Harley was very appreciative of his gesture; it was completely unlike anything she'd experienced before.
Staying with Casey felt to her like living a completely different life; one that belonged to someone else.
"This food is really good, Casey. I'm actually impressed." She said sincerely.
"Good! That's a relief. I made this a few times with my family, but I've only attempted it by myself like twice. This is the best it's turned out." He chuckled a little.
"Third time's a charm. Plus you knew it would impress me, so it had to turn out well." She joked. Casey laughed and shook his head.
"Yeah a little. At least I scored a few points."
"More than a few." Harley said softly, smiling at him. Casey looked away bashfully and chuckled.
"Well...that's good." He smiled to himself.
"Haha, you're cute," Harley giggled and sipped her drink. "You know, Casey...I think I'm really starting to like you." She said. Despite her lingering emotions with the Joker, she did believe this to be true.
"Yeah? I like you too." Casey replied with an awkward chuckle.
"You do?" She asked, her head lifting and her eyes widening in surprise.
"Enough to say so, yeah." Casey answered, chuckling again.
"Yeah haha," Harley said, tapping her fingers on the table. "So...whatcha wanna do about it?' She asked.
"I don't know. You just got out of a major breakup, didn't you? You sure you wanna get into all that stuff?" Casey asked honestly. The thought of this gave Harley pause for a second, but she decided to risk it.
"I do... You're the most honest guy I've ever met. I don't even know you that well, but I trust you already." Harley expressed her feelings. Casey swallowed and nodded.
"I honestly feel the same...I haven't really been in a relationship myself for like a year and a half now. I'm a little rusty at this stuff." He admitted.
"Well, why don't we figure it out together then?" She smiled, reaching her hand across the table. He took her hand in his.
"Sounds good...I'm down for it."
"Me too...so I guess we're dating now then?" She asked.
"I guess so." He replied with a smile.
They both smiled at each other, running their thumbs across each other's hands. They both began to chuckle as the tension in the room started to dwindle slightly.
"Well..." Casey took in a breath and chuckled again. "That was a moment, wasn't it?"
"Heheh, yeah it was. But I'm happy about it!"
"Yeah, me too. I look forward to getting to know you better." He said with a smile.
"Yeah! I wanna do the same!"
"Haha, well we have a little time," Casey brought up. "Ask me anything. What would you like to know about me?" He asked.
"Oh! Uhh...let me think...hmm..." She thought about it for a little bit, "Where are ya from, hun?" She asked.
"I moved here from down South," He answered, taking a sip of his drink before continuing. "My buddy Mac told me that there were better work opportunities here in this city. I was hesitant to come honestly, what with crime being as high as it is." He admitted.
"Oh yeah? I don't blame ya, actually. So what changed your mind?"
"I needed the money," He answered with a chuckle. "Things were slow in the town I was living in. 50-60 hour work weeks on $9 an hour just wasn't cutting it. So I made a deal with Mac and June that if they could find me a job that I could work, I would move here."
"Oh wow! Uh...so who are Mac and June?" Harley asked, realizing that she had no idea who he was talking about.
"Oh! Haha, they're my best friends here in Gotham. June and I went to high school together; we were pretty tight 'til she moved to Gotham for work. Mac's native to the city; we worked on some beats together. He wants to bring me in to his little DJ gig." He explained with a chuckle.
"Ohh I see," Harley nodded, making a mental note of June. She was probably gonna come up again later. "Beats, you said beats? You make music?" She asked. Casey nodded.
"Mhmm. It's one of my side hustles. Yeah, music and photography."
"Oh wow! I'd love to hear your music and see your pictures!" She said excitedly.
"Sure. I mean, I'm more of a producer really. I don't really, like, sing or rap much on my own stuff. I usually license out beats to other artists. But I'll still play you some of my stuff! Yeah...oh, and then Mac has a DJ gig going too that I actually plan on getting with him on.
"He plays for parties and clubs and stuff. I used to do that too but I didn't like the crowds too much. But hey, I need the money. Actually, Mac was the DJ that night at the club when we met, matter of fact." Casey rambled and pointed out at the end.
"Oh no way! So that's what you're gonna be doing too?"
"Sometimes," Casey shrugged. "I just wanna bring enough money in to stay afloat. The music and the pictures help, but it's just not enough."
"I understand. But your friends helped you get a job, you said!" Harley pointed out.
"Yeahhh, but working at a bank," He specified. "Something solid and steady."
"Oh..." Harley trailed off. She'd been going steady with the Joker for so long, always having spending money to go around, that she had forgotten the feeling of needing to scrounge to survive. Materialistically at least, she quickly realized that Casey wasn't gonna be able to spoil her much.
"Yeah. It is what it is." He shrugged it off.
"So...if you could choose, what would you rather be doing? Wouldja keep the bank job or do something else?" Harley asked curiously.
"Huh, that's a good question...probably the music. You know, maybe if I had the time I'd put some of my own stuff out instead of just throwing my tag on a beat and putting it up for sale. Maybe I could have my own music video instead of just appearing in other people's."
"Oooooh! That would be really cool!" Harley smiled, wanting to be supportive.
"Maybe," He chuckled and shook his head doubtfully. His expression then changed and he became serious. "What're you gonna do now, Harley? Are you still crashing with your friend?" He asked.
"Oh! Yeah, I am right now. I...haven't figured the rest out yet." She admitted.
"You're like a party clown, right?" Casey asked. Harley glanced at him oddly.
"What?"
"Party clown. You were wearing that red and black outfit when we met?" Casey pointed out. Harley's eyes widened and she nodded.
"Ohh! Yeah yeah, I'm...something like that." She answered.
"Is that gonna be enough for you?" He asked.
"I...I'm gonna talk to a friend. I'm sure she can help me work something out." Harley decided.
"Okay. I know you've got a friend you're staying with, but you can stay every once in awhile if you want. My door's open." He offered with a faint smile. Harley smiled at him and giggled.
"I'm sure you'd like that, wouldn't ya?" She teased him.
"Actually, I would very much." He answered with a chuckle. She blushed and smiled again.
"You're cute, Casey. Thank you. You already know I'll take you up on that offer." She said, getting up and going over to kiss him. He kissed back and smiled up at her.
"Great. I get the feeling you're gonna be heading out soon?" He asked. She nodded.
"Yeahhh. My friend...works nights, so I wanna catch her when she's at home, you know?"
"Yeah. Let me know how it goes. If you need help finding a job, I've got a couple friends I can talk to." Casey offered.
"Thank you, Casey, but I should be okay. Don't you worry." She said, kissing him again.
"Okay," He returned the kiss and stroked the back of her head. "Offer still stands though."
"Haha, okay. I'll call you tonight, alright?"
"Alright, Harley. Take care." He said, getting up and hugging her one more time before walking her out.
"Bye, cutie!" She smiled and waved at him. Casey smiled and waved back, watching her go before closing the door behind him.
As Harley walked away from her new boyfriend's house, she started thinking about all the differences between Casey and the Joker. Casey had a lot of mundane problems and challenges that the Joker didn't have. But Casey was a much better man; he'd already shown that just in the first few days of them knowing each other.
She wanted to give him a genuine try; dating a good guy might prove to be exactly what she needs to get her life in focus. But she still had her own problems to deal with.
Harley Quinn needed to get back on track, and in order to do that, she was gonna start by talking to Catwoman...
