Finally, after a little over a month, I've got a new chapter! Sorry it took so long, was out-of-state for the holidays and had a hard time getting back into the writing spirit once I got back. Anyway, enjoy!

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Almost immediately, Ivy found herself regretting the decision to let Harley tag along. After traversing a few rooftops and returning to ground level, Ivy led the excitable clown to where she'd hidden her car. Harley couldn't help but comment.

"Pink!? You gotta hot pink convertible!?"

With a small sigh, Ivy said, "Yes, and I'd like to avoid Batman impounding it, so if you could hurry and get in…"

With that irritating, adorable smile still plastered on her face, Harley leaped into the passenger seat, not bothering to open the door. Once Ivy was properly seated and had the rear view mirror adjusted, she glanced over at Harley, sprawled out in the passenger seat.

"Seatbelt."

Harley frowned. "...Seriously?"

Ivy's eyes narrowed. "Yes."

"We're villains!" Harley said, throwing her hands in the air. "What's it matta?"

"It's about safety, not law following," Ivy said, resolute.

Waving a hand, and grabbing the seatbelt, Harley said, "Yeah, yeah, whateva you say, Mom."

Once Ivy heard the satisfying 'click', she sped off, out of the alley and into the late-night Gotham streets. Though they were still far from empty, the streets were much less crowded than during the day, making it easy for Ivy to bob and weave through them at high speeds. If Harley had genuinely thought the seatbelt issue held its roots in being a rule-stickler, Ivy assumed her driving habits quickly disillusioned the girl of such notions. A quick glance, in which she beheld a wide-eyed, clenched-teeth Harley desperately gripping the sides of her seat, confirmed this assumption, and brought a grin to Ivy's face.

As they passed out of the downtown area and into more suburban territories, Ivy's bobbing and weaving lessened, even as her speed grew. Before long, they passed through the nicer, well-kept suburbia, through the poor side of town, and further still to the abandoned section. A billboard loomed up ahead, reading "Welcome to Paradise Meadows!" The end of the last word was covered up by a skewed, cheap sign plastered on top which read "Condemned by Gotham Health and Safety Department."

Eyeing the latter sign with apprehension, Harley said, "Hey, uh, Ives… you live here?"

Ivy's eyebrows raised, and a smirk returned to her lips. "Indeed! Isn't it lovely?"

The smile and laugh Harley offered were unconvincing. "Oh, heh-heh, yeah, it's… it's great!"

They passed a few partially-built houses, dilapidated cars, and leafless trees before finally approaching one of the few fully-constructed houses in the area, which Ivy pulled the car into.

"Home sweet home," she said with a grin, hopping out of the vehicle. The much less enthusiastic Harley soon followed suit. Ivy watched her companion look the house over, taking in the one-story, drably-painted exterior.

"It's, uh… nice," Harley offered.

"Glad to know you think so," Ivy said dismissively, turning away and opening the front door. She kept it unlocked most of the time; there was no one within miles, so she had precious little reason to bother with things like house keys.

As they entered, Harley's face lit up slightly, her eyes wandering over the plants displayed throughout the entryway and living room.

"Oh hey, not everything's dead 'round here."

With a short laugh, Ivy said, "Of course not. I take great care to keep my babies thriving." She trailed a finger along the length of a vine on the wall, her smile shifting from condescending to something softer, more genuine.

"So, uh, where'm I gonna sleep?" Harley said, glancing around, not yet daring to explore the house on her own.

Ivy shook her head. "There'll be time for that later. Right now, I need to whip up a serum to inject you with, since you're staying. You won't last another two hours in this environment without it."

Face falling, Harley said, "Wait! You didn't say nothin' 'bout needles!"

Waving a hand toward the door, Ivy said, "You're free to leave, if you wish. But the injection is completely necessary, otherwise."

Despite her lower lip wavering, Harley nodded. "...O-okay, fine, if I hafta…"

Smiling, Ivy swiveled around and walked down the hall toward the garage entrance. "Good. I'll be a few minutes. Do not leave this room, and do not touch my plants."

As Ivy's hand gripped the knob on the garage door, Harley shouted at her. "Hey, but, uh, Ives, you… you don't gotta tv or nothin'. What'm I s'posed ta do?"

Ivy stared blankly, unmoved by Harley's plight. "Sit with your thoughts, perhaps? You'll figure something out."

Ignoring Harley's immediate protests, Ivy entered the garage and shut the door behind her.

The open space of the garage was where Ivy had set her lab up, filled with a few tables and a great deal of lab equipment. Some of it was stolen, but a fair bit of it had been given to her by her rich girlfriend, for which Ivy had given her 'special' thanks. Selina didn't care much for scientific pursuits, but she seemed to appreciate that Ivy did, and she was continuously supportive of Ivy's passions. Except for the 'destruction of human society' thing, but, then, even the best couples rarely saw eye-to-eye on everything .

It had been quite some time since Ivy made the serum she now set to work constructing. Months and months, for sure - she couldn't remember exactly when she'd moved here, or when Selina had first visited, though she new the two events were rather close together in the timeline of her life. There hadn't been any thought of her needing to make it again at the time - if Ivy had her way there would never have been another living soul that stepped foot in this place save for her and her girlfriend. But life didn't always go the way Ivy wanted, despite her best efforts, which was something she was constantly having to come to terms with.

"Hey, Ives!" Harley called, pushing the garage door open without warning. Ivy was surprised to find the clown in a state of partial undress, the top half of her suit dangling toward the floor, her chest and shoulders exposed save for a black sports bra. "You got some PJs or somethin' I could change inta? Anxious ta get this thing offa me."

Ivy's response wasn't forthcoming. She was stricken mute, frozen in place with a vial in her hands as her eyes roved up and down Harley's form. Wandering eyes took in Harley's blonde hair, her partially-smeared makeup, her pale skin. But what really caught Ivy's attention was the marks upon that skin. Bruises covered Harley's torso, and arms, and probably her back, too. Some were light and faded, others darker, more recent. Some were small and localized, while a few covered large swaths of skin.

"I-Ivy…?" Harley said, confused.

Realizing with a start that she had not only been staring, but that her face had hardened into a fierce glare, Ivy shook her head, returning her expression to something more neutral.

"Harley, where did those come from?" she said, pointing.

The blonde seemed surprised, as though she had forgotten what her own bare skin looked like. Toned arms shot out to bring the dangling costume back up, partially obscuring the bruised skin. "Oh, uh, ya know. It's rough, bein' a criminal! They're from, ya know, Batman, and stuff."

Ivy felt her grip on the vial tighten, coming dangerously close to shattering it. "Would some of that stuff happen to be a green-haired clown?"

Harley's gaze dropped to the floor. She kicked at the ground a little. "I, uh… I just wanna know if ya got any clothes I can change inta."

Barely avoiding a frustrated sigh, Ivy said, "Check the bottom drawer of the dresser in my bedroom. Second door on the left down the other hallway."

Nodding, Harley left without another word, closing the door behind her. As soon as she was gone, Ivy walked directly over to the hazardous waste bin and dumped the serum she'd been making into it.

Upon further reflection, the serum required some alterations.

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About half an hour later, Ivy sat Harley down in a chair near the kitchen table, taking a seat next to her. The blonde had let her hair down, and was wearing a loose-fitting plain white nightgown. It was one of Ivy's more comfortable pieces of clothing, a fact she hoped Harley appreciated thoroughly.

"So, before I administer the shot, I need to warn you of a few side-effects," Ivy said. She noted Harley warily eyeing the needle that sat a few inches away on the table. Wanting Harley as focused on her words as possible, she turned Harley's seat to the side, putting the syringe out of sight.

Belatedly processing Ivy's words, Harley dramatically pouted again. "Wait, so now there's side-effects? What's gonna happen, I'll sprout two heads or somethin'?" With the crossed arms, pouting lips and oversized outfit, Harley looked absurdly childlike, which made it difficult for Ivy to maintain her composure. She desperately wanted to laugh at the sad-sack before her, but it would just prompt more pouting and then more laughing, beginning a vicious cycle that Ivy would have difficulty extricating herself from.

"No, no, nothing like that." She paused, contemplative. "Though, if you stay here much longer without this serum, your corpse might grow a second head."

Somehow, Harley's pout intensified. Barely holding back her laughter, Ivy cursed herself for the attempt at humor. She needed to get this explanation over with quickly.

"What will happen is that you may see an increase in your athletic ability, allowing you to more easily perform acrobatics and the like." Harley's eyes went wide, her pout evaporating. "In addition, you will find that you are able to withstand a great deal more blunt trauma with minimal injury. Your fights with Batman should leave you much less bruised and broken after this."

Rather than the scared, grumpy kid from before, Harley now seemed more like a kid who'd just unwrapped the game console they'd been begging for all year on the first night of Hanukkah. "These're side effects!? They're more like superpowers!"

Giving her best nonchalant shrug, Ivy said, "Yes, well, call them what you like. Either way, that is what you can expect from the serum, along with its main purpose of inoculating you against toxins."

The excitement on Harley's face suddenly faded away. Her eyes met Ivy's. To Ivy's surprise, they were filled with… it seemed like melancholy. Maybe even sadness. "This shot… it gonna make me immune ta your pheromones, too? The kisses and the airborne stuff?"

It was Ivy's turn to experience difficulty in maintaining eye contact. "...Y-yes. Yes it will."

The look vanished from Harley's face, replaced with a big, goofy smile. "Great! Well-" the smile shifted into an exaggerated grimace, "let's do this."

Administering the shot didn't take long. Harley scrunched her eyes closed tight, held out her arm, and let Ivy do the rest. A few seconds later, Ivy pressed a cotton ball against Harley's arm and wrapped it with a small amount of gauze.

"All done."

Tentatively, Harley opened her eyes. She glanced at her arm, blanched, then looked at Ivy and smiled. "Thanks! That was quick, not too bad!"

With a smirk, Ivy said, "Good, I'm glad the world didn't end, like you imagined."

"Hey, look, my family's gotta phobia 'a needles, okay? Don't need tha mockery."

"Fine, fine," Ivy said, leaning back in her chair, still smirking.

Silence overcame the two of them for a moment. Not an unpleasant one, either. It was nice to not hear Harley chatter for once… it seemed like the girl talked just to fill the silence much of the time.

"Hey, uh, Ives-"

Sighing, Ivy said, "Please stop calling me that. Ivy. It's Ivy. It's not even a good nickname.. seems like an abbreviation, except it's the same length."

Harley shrugged. "Kay, fine, Red, whateva you say."

"...Red?"

"So anyway," Harley continued, "I was just gonna say that I saw ya room earlier, and… well I might'a looked at the rest'a the house, too. Point bein', ya got one bed. And no couch. So, like… what's tha plan tonight?"

Though she seemed to be attempting some manner of light deception, Harley's attempt to hide her delight at the implications of the scenario failed miserably. It was rather endearing, admittedly.

"We'll have to sleep together, of course," Ivy said, in as detached a manner as possible.

Though her eyes immediately lit up, Harley otherwise managed to mask her reaction to this news. "Oh, I see," she said flatly.

"I trust this is acceptable to you?"

"Oh yes, indubitably!" Harley said, her voice a parodic take on dignified.

Despite herself, Ivy let loose a small chuckle, which prompted Harley to beam happily. "Good. Well, unless you have other plans, I think it's best if we head to that bed now. It's quite late."

Harley leaped to her feet, still beaming. "Sounds great!"

Languidly rising to her feet, Ivy said one more thing, before turning and walking away. "Oh, did I mention? I sleep in the nude."

At first, Harley said nothing, and the lack of footsteps seemed to indicate she hadn't moved, either. "What? " she cried.

{}

"You didn't mention that ya sleep in a friggin' plant sleepin' bag," Harley said, the pout she wore obvious in her tone.

As Harley had so eloquently put it, Ivy was indeed wrapped in a sort of cocoon of leaves, which covered everything but her head. This was her preferred method of sleep after dealing with Batman and other physical nuisances - it always left her body feeling refreshed the next day.

Smiling, she turned her head to look at Harley. "Oh, did I not? My apologies."

Glaring back, Harley said, "Way ta mess wit' a girl, Red. Sheesh."

Turning her head back to face the ceiling, Ivy laughed. "Hah, sorry. I think that's Selina rubbing off on me."

"Phrasing," Harley grumbled. "Also, yeah, ya sure didn't have that sense'a humor back when we first met."

It went quiet again, the silent elephant in the room growing to uncomfortable proportions. Ivy knew there was a conversation the two of them needed to have, but a significant part of her was terrified at the prospect. Given how little there was in the world that could manage to strike fear in Ivy's heart, the fact that she was so scared of one little conversation really irked her.

"Ivy…" There was a tone in Harley's voice that made it difficult for Ivy to breathe. She wasn't going to bring it up now, was she? Please no, please no…

She heard the woman beside her take a deep breath, then exhale it slowly. Yet still she didn't speak. Finally, "...G'night, Red."

"Goodnight, Harley," Ivy said, her voice small.

Harley shuffled beside her, and when Ivy glanced, she found that her bedmate had turned to face the other way. Breathing a small sigh of relief, Ivy let herself relax. Not tonight. Good.

Closing her eyes, Ivy pushed away the thoughts she didn't want to deal with. It did no good to worry about such things now. They would have the conversation when they had it, and no amount of preparation would change how it would go. It was best not to worry now, and to just drift off to sleep, like Harley was doing.

"Why'd ya do it, Red?"

It felt as though all of Ivy's organs suddenly stopped working. Her heart, her lungs, her brain - all frozen. Slowly, painfully, they began to work again, and yet Ivy still found herself at a complete loss for words.

And so she just… didn't say anything. And neither did Harley. They lay there in silence, as though nothing had been said, and after what felt like an eternity, Harley's breathing shifted into something heavier, with the occasional snore.

Ivy didn't sleep that night.