In Love With A Good Man
Chapter 25: Call Me Red
It happened late one night while Harley was at work.
Casey was sitting on the couch watching TV in the living room. Poison Ivy was in her room, but then she came out, got herself and Casey something to drink, and sat down with him on the other side of the couch. She wasn't too interested in what was going on, and neither was Casey honestly.
"Do you wanna put something on?" He asked, holding out the remote to her. Ivy shook her head.
"No, thanks. I don't really watch TV. If it's not the news, it hardly interests me, and even then, it doesn't really interest me." Ivy said with a chuckle. Casey scoffed and nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, I'm right there with you. I just don't feel like working on anything. I'm in a lazy mood." Casey said humorously.
"I've been feeling lazy since I got here. I've hardly done anything really. I'm ready to get back to my babies." She expressed.
"Aww, sick of us already?" Casey joked. Ivy rolled her eyes and smiled.
"Only a little bit," She answered to tease him. "I'm sure you and Harley will appreciate it when I no longer come between the two of you when you want to be romantic and intimate." She added.
"What do you mean? Like you think you make things awkward? 'Cause we've never really felt that way." He quickly reassured her.
"Well either way, I can't stay here forever." She commented.
"Yeah yeah of course, I'm just letting you know you're not imposing at all." He said.
"I know. But this place is yours and Harley's. I want you two to be able to get back to your relationship without having to accommodate for me." She explained.
"I see," Casey hummed and nodded. "I appreciate that...we're not making you feel awkward, are we?" He asked.
"No! No, it's nothing like that at all...okay, maybe part of me feels like I'm getting in the way sometimes." She admitted. Casey immediately turned towards her.
"Aww, no no, it's not like that. It's not a big deal, honestly. Harley and I are doing just fine, I promise." Casey said with a chuckle.
"Heheh, well that is good. You two are doing good. Where do you think you two will end up?" She asked curiously.
"Huh? What, like where do I see the two of us going?" He asked.
"Yes." Ivy answered slowly with a nod, feeling that the meaning behind her question was quite obvious.
"Oh! Uhh," Casey sat back and thought about this for a bit. He pursed his lips and looked to the side, nodding slowly. "I don't know." He answered with a shrug.
"No? You two seem so...dead set on each other now, I figured by now you would be making some grandiose plans." Ivy shared her presumptions. Again, Casey shook his head and chuckled this time.
"Heheh, nah. I'm just enjoying things while they last." He said.
This comment gave Ivy pause.
"While they last? What do you mean by that?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Just that," He shrugged again. "I mean, that's not really the best answer to give, heheh, but it's true."
"You don't want things to last with Harley?" She asked.
"No, I do! I'm gonna be in this relationship as long as she wants to be with me, there's no doubt about that. I'm just not expecting it to last forever." He explained honestly.
"Why not?" She continued to ask questions, now starting to grow worried.
"Why would it?" He replied shortly, sitting back on the couch and kicking his feet up.
"You'll have to explain what you mean to me, Casey. I'm not following."
"Uh...well, look at Harley. She's beautiful, she's loyal, she's amazing. She could get any guy she wanted if she just pushed for it. Why would she stay with me? Sure, she loves me now, but someone who can provide for her better or give her something I can't will come around and that'll be that." He theorized.
"You...don't really believe that, do you?" Ivy asked slowly, her eyebrows furrowing.
"I do," Casey answered, looking over at her. "That's how it is with these things. Relationships only last when the girl is happy. I only have so much to offer before it gets boring. I'm just along for the ride." He expressed his surprisingly pessimistic feelings.
"Harley isn't like that, Casey, you should know this." Ivy said defensively.
"She's not. Not right now. But hey, things change, you never know. I've had enough bad experiences to know not to get my hopes up." He said honestly.
"Even despite her risking her life just to be with you?" She argued.
"She risked her life to be with Joker too," Casey pointed out. "I'm not saying it's the same though."
"Then what are you saying?" She questioned him.
"I...I guess I just won't be surprised," He answered, his tone becoming much softer. "I try to do my best for her, but those insecurities just don't go away, you know? Well, maybe you wouldn't know about that," Casey said with an ironic chuckle.
He couldn't imagine a woman as beautiful as Poison Ivy ever being insecure about anything.
"But there will always be a part of me that worries and doubts whether I'll be able to keep Harley around – whether I'm worth sticking around for. I'm just a normal guy, you know? I'm not as fun and exciting as her old lifestyle. Things like that." Casey tried to explain, absent-mindedly looking away from her now.
"I can understand that...when Harley first told us about you, I thought that she was just getting involved in another fling, or something equally bad for her. I had to be proven wrong – you proved me wrong. I hope that in time she proves you wrong." Ivy said, speaking softly too.
"Me too." Casey agreed.
This left the conversation in an awkward stalemate. Neither of them knew what else to say. However, the silence allowed them both to hear a strange noise coming from outside the front door. Casey didn't recognize the sound at all, but Ivy did.
She hurried to the front door and threw it open. She stepped out onto the front porch and saw one of her plants growing quickly, wrapping itself around a column and sprouting to life before her. It opened its mouth and twitched its head like an animal.
"Oh my! You're okay!" Ivy exclaimed in relief, stroking and petting and hugging it, "Is it finally time? Have you found somewhere safe for us?" She asked it.
The plant chirped affirmatively. Casey's eyes widened on seeing one of Ivy's 'babies' again. He stayed by the front door, watching it interact with its mother.
"Oh that's great! Mommy will get her things and then you can show me where." Ivy said. She turned to hurry back into the house and ran right into Casey, nearly knocking them both over.
"Whoa whoa haha, sorry, didn't mean to get in your way there. So they found you a home?" He asked.
"Yes. I need to get my things together." She said urgently.
"Okay. You go. I'll call Harley and then I-I'll drive you to where you need to go." He said.
"No, Casey, you've already done enough for me. I can take care of it." Ivy said. However, he insisted.
"Oh come on now. What, you're gonna walk there? I got you. Now go get your stuff." He said.
"...alright...thanks." Ivy said slowly before going into her room to get her stuff together. Meanwhile, Casey made a phone call to Harley.
"Hey, baby!" She answered quickly, "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, all good over here. One of Ivy's plants just showed up on the front porch. Seems like it's finally time for her to go. They've found her a new place to stay." He informed her. He heard Harley gasp loudly on the other end of the line.
"No way! Crap, I still got a lot to get through over here. I-I can bail and get over there in like 15 minutes." Harley said. However, Casey stopped her.
"No no babe, you do your thing. Ivy's getting her stuff and getting packed. I'm just gonna drive her there." He said. Harley sighed a little.
"Man, but I really wanted to be there to see her new place." She whined a little.
"You'll get to see it anyways, honey. I'll tell her to send a picture. Now you do your thing, I'll take care of Ivy, and then I'll come and pick you up from the studio after. I'll take you by for a visit tomorrow. Deal?" He offered.
"Deal!" She agreed, "Okay, gotta go. I love you! Mwah!" She gave him a kiss over the phone.
"Love you too, baby. See you soon. Bye." Casey chuckled and hung up the phone...
Once she had all of her things, Casey helped Ivy take her suitcases out to his car. They loaded up everything in the trunk, and she sat in the passenger seat while he drove. Following the pheromones that Ivy could sense coming off of her plants, they eventually found their way to a small abandoned house in the middle of an empty field on the outskirts of Gotham.
"Oh wow. This place looks old. Very...farm-like?" Casey commented.
"You don't like farms?" Ivy asked in a faintly humorous way, turning to look at him.
"Heheh, I'm a city boy, what can I say?" Casey joked in response.
"Well that I could tell just by looking at you," Ivy smiled before taking her seatbelt off. "Thank you for driving me here, Casey."
"Yeah, of course." Casey replied before removing his seatbelt too. However, Ivy held out her hand to stop him.
"You should stay here. My babies have rooted themselves throughout this field. They might think you're a threat if you come with me." She warned him.
"Oh I see. Yeah, I don't wanna get eaten. Almost once was enough." He said with a nervous chuckle.
"Yes, I'm sorry about that," Ivy said, patting her hand on his arm. She paused for a moment and cleared her throat. "Ahem, um...well, it's too bad that Harley couldn't be here. I know she wanted to see me off too."
"Yeah, just bad timing, I guess. I told her I'd bring her by to see the new place tomorrow if that's alright with you." He told her.
"You both should come." She said.
"Really?"
"Of course. Once I've added my personal touches to the place, I'd like you both to see it. After all, you opened your doors to me – it's only fair that I return the favor." She said meaningfully. Casey smiled and nodded.
"We'll be here then, both of us." He agreed.
"Thank you for everything, Casey, and please give my thanks to Harley too." She said.
"Hey, we're just returning the favor too after all. Anytime, Ivy." Casey replied with a warm smile.
Ivy reached towards Casey, placing her thumb, middle finger and ring finger on his jawline. She leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek, lingering in it for a few moments before slowly pulling away and smiling softly at him.
"Call me Red." She said gently.
"O-Okay." Casey said quietly in reply.
"Hm," Ivy chuckled a little before opening up her car door. "Goodnight, Casey." She said to him as she made her way towards the back of his car.
"Ahem, yeah, goodnight. You sure you don't need any help with your stuff?" He asked as he pulled a latch to open up the truck for her.
"I got it!" Ivy said, grabbing her suitcases and taking them into the field, "See you tomorrow!" She waved to him.
"See ya!" Casey waved back before driving away.
Casey only got about half a mile down the road before he had to stop again, his eyes widening as his mind processed what had just happened. He turned on the lights in the car and pulled his mirror down to look at himself.
As his fingers brushed across his cheek where her lips touched him, he felt a tingling sensation on his face, as if he could still feel her. He swallowed nervously and closed his hand...
How was he gonna tell Harley about this?
