In Love With A Good Man
Chapter 21: Appreciation
Harley and Casey went for a walk by the coast of Gotham. Casey had a nice camera strapped around his neck. They would walk hand in hand near the docks until he found a shot he wanted to capture – then he would let go and promptly start taking pictures.
"Heheh, it's cute watching you work, hun." Harley said with a giggle, watching Casey move awkwardly and bend his knees to take certain pictures. He looked over at her and tilted his head a little.
"Is it?"
"Yeah. It's just funny watchin' you get all into your camera. I haven't seen ya try to take pictures in awhile. Did visiting your little buddy Jonathan last week light a fire under ya?" She asked humorously.
"Right, yeah," Casey scoffed at this. "Speaking of which, aren't you supposed to be going in for your first photo shoot tomorrow?" He asked. Harley shook her head.
"Nope! It's the day after tomorrow, baby."
"Oh ok, my bad." Casey nodded.
"You're fine! We've had a lot goin' on lately." She commented.
"Yeah, true," Casey chuckled. "Between getting you settled into the house, finding you the job, and now your friend Ivy's living in my study." He listed.
"Yeah, you can say that again...she's not in your way, is she? 'Cause we can always move her mattress to another room." Harley offered.
"Nah, it's fine. I gave her that room because I really only use it when I'm working on music or processing my pictures. And I can just use it when she's not in there." Casey pointed out. He leaned on a railing at the edge of the path they were walking on to take a few pictures of some nearby boats.
"Okay, just makin' sure. I really appreciate you letting me help her out like this. It means a lot...to her and to me." She thanked him, rubbing his arm with her hand.
"Of course, babe. I'm happy to help your friend out. After everything she did to help us, I wasn't gonna say no." He pointed out with a little chuckle.
"Heheh, yeah I know. But still, it's a big deal. I'll have to figure out a way to pay ya back." Harley teased him before leaning over and kissing him on the cheek. Casey chuckled and looked at her.
Harley giggled and smiled at him, expecting him to say something snarky in response. Instead, Casey just put a hand on her cheek and kissed her. She returned the kiss gladly, placing her hands on his cheeks.
"Am I distracting ya from your pictures, baby?" She asked in a cutesy way. Casey laughed at this.
"Haha! Yes, you are, babe. But you know I don't mind." He said with a smile.
"Aww, sorry. Well, you can always take some pictures of your model girlfriend." She joked.
"Haha, sure. Say cheese." Casey joked, taking a step back and holding his camera up.
"Cheeeese!" Harley grinned widely, doing a pose with one hand behind her head. Casey snapped a picture of her and smiled.
"Perfection." He chuckled.
"Aww, let me see!" She went over to him, looking down at the screen on the camera. Casey pulled up the picture of her. She held the camera in her hands and looked at her big smile.
"What do you think?"
"Man, do I look happy in this picture or what?" Harley giggled.
"Yeah. Haha, we should take another one. I don't think you showed enough of your teeth here." He teased, pointing at her mouth in the picture. Harley scoffed and pushed him playfully.
"Whatever, jerk!" She laughed, "Let me have my good mood! I got a lot to be happy about." She said.
"Me too," Casey said in response, going over to her and wrapping an arm around her. Harley smiled and rested against him. "It's starting to get late. We should probably get back to the house." He suggested.
"In a minute. Let's just relax here a little longer, sweetie. Please?" She requested.
"Of course." Casey agreed, kissing the top of her head...
It only took two days for plants to start growing all around Casey's house; plant vines and stems grew up alongside the outside walls, and buds were beginning to form on his front porch. It was pretty, but at the same time it made his house look more abandoned.
"Reeedd! We're hooome!" Harley announced.
"Ok! I'm working!" Ivy called back.
"Kay!" She responded to her before kissing Casey on the cheek again. "I'm gonna go upstairs and take a shower. You comin'?" She asked.
"I'll be up in a few minutes. I gotta transfer my pictures into my computer real quick." He answered.
"Okay! Have fun." Harley said before heading upstairs.
Casey made his way to his study: the room where Ivy was staying in. The door was closed. Casey walked up to the door and took in a breath before knocking, "Ivy? It's Casey. Are you busy? I need to get in there for a few minutes." He said to her.
"Casey? Oh, yes, you can come in. Actually, there was something I needed to talk to you about." She said.
"Oh?" Casey opened up the door and walked inside. He found Ivy sitting at his desk mixing liquids together in one of his wine glasses. "Uh...what's up?" He asked, eyeing the strange green liquid oddly.
"Since it looks like I'm going to be staying here for a little while, I will need to give you a shot. It's something of a vaccine, so that way my pheromones don't make you sick." She explained.
"Your...pheromones?" Casey asked slowly.
"Yes. Did you forget that I was a plant lady? Actually, never mind, don't worry about it. Please, have a seat here. I'm almost finished preparing it." She directed him to sit on the edge of her bed.
"Sure, alright. After you're done, I'll just need to use the computer for a bit." He said as he walked over and sat down.
"Right, yes, okay. Sorry, I didn't mean to block you, but I needed to use your table."
"No, it's okay. I don't wanna get sick." Casey said with a chuckle.
"I don't think Harley would be very happy with me if that happened." She joked lightly, turning back towards the desk to finish the chemical mixture.
"Heheh...so I can actually get sick just from being around you?" He asked. Ivy nodded a little.
"Yes, which is why I'm giving you this. Once it's in your bloodstream, you won't have to worry about my poison or my pheromones ever having an effect on you." She explained.
"I see...I guess they don't call you Poison Ivy for nothing." He joked awkwardly, letting out a little chuckle.
Ivy didn't respond to this. She carefully poured her mixture into a syringe and attached it to a needle. She twisted it into place and turned towards him, gesturing for him to scoot forward. As he did, she scooted forward in her chair as well.
"Come closer and hold your arm still for me, please." She said. Casey followed her instructions, glancing up at her as she ran her hand down to the middle of his arm and searched for a vein.
"How did you get these powers?" He asked curiously. Ivy paused for a moment, glancing at him before going right back to searching for a vein.
"It's a long, painful story."
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry...if you ever feel comfortable telling it, I'm here to listen." He offered. Ivy nodded a little.
"I appreciate that. Extend your arm. I'll go for this one right here." She tapped her finger over his vein and steadied the needle again.
"That's usually where the doctors draw blood from." Casey chuckled.
"Heh. You're not afraid of needles, are you?" She asked.
"Not really. You seem like you know what you're doing." He observed.
"Yes. I used to be a scientist, you know. I spent a little time in med school, but my focus was in environmental studies." She revealed.
"Oh wow, I didn't know that." Casey said, his eyes widening a little.
"Well, most people don't assume that a pretty face like mine has any brains behind it." She commented.
"N-No, I wasn't saying that." He stuttered a little. He hissed a little as Ivy carefully stuck the needle in his arm.
"Relax. I'm only speaking generally. I'm not talking about you...maybe teasing just a little." Ivy smiled sideways. She pressed her thumb on the end of the syringe and began to push her chemical mixture in.
"Wow, that stings." Casey chuckled a little, looking down at his arm. Once she had finished emptying the contents of the syringe into his bloodstream, she pulled the needle out and pressed a nearby rag against his arm.
"There you are. All done." She said.
"Thanks," Casey reached for the rag and placing his hand over hers. Ivy slipped her fingers out from under his hand, allowing him to hold it himself. "Ahem, so now I won't be affected by the...uh, poison ivy?" He asked.
"Something like that," Ivy scoffed a little. "It'll make you a little safer around me."
"I didn't realize I wasn't safe before." He commented with a chuckle.
"Well...Casey, I wanted to thank you personally for allowing me to stay here. I'm sure that Harley had to convince you a little, but I do appreciate it. I really needed it." She said sincerely.
"Of course. You're welcome here anytime. There was no convincing required." He said.
"No?" Ivy asked in surprise.
"Yeah. It's like I said before, you've done a lot for Harley and a lot for me too. She's here with me now because of you stepping in and making sure she was safe. I can't even begin to pay you back for that, but...you know, we're here for you whenever you need it - both Harley and me." He said in response.
Casey maintained eye contact with Ivy as he said this. Looking back in his eyes, she could see that there was unwavering sincerity behind his words. If she didn't know any better, she would say that it looked like he was starting to care about her.
"I appreciate you saying that, Casey," Ivy said before standing up. "I'll step out for a few minutes so you can do your work." She said, beginning to leave the room.
"Actually, I'll just handle it tomorrow," He decided, placing the camera down on his desk. "Oh hey by the way, what's your plan as far as finding a place to stay? Not that there's any rush, I'm just asking." He asked curiously.
"I've sent my babies off to find me a new hideout. When they've found somewhere suitable for themselves and me, they'll give me a signal." She explained.
"Oh I see. Well, you can let 'em know there's no rush. Harley likes having you around anyways." Casey said with a chuckle, giving her a smile before leaving the room.
"It seems like you're beginning to like it too." Ivy commented.
"Heheh, I'm starting to. Long as there's no more needles," He joked. "Goodnight, Ivy." He said before heading upstairs.
"Goodnight, Casey." Ivy waved to him then shut the door again...
