Harleen looked herself in the mirror. She had dark smudges under her eyes, her hair was a mess and her cheeks pale. She hadn't had much sleep this night. The images of last night kept flashing in her head. help me, the man's voice echoing in her mind. She had so many questions she wanted to asked the Joker, but she wasn't sure how.
She decided to wear heavy eyeliner to conceal the signs of sleep deprivation. She still looked a mess, she thought. Maybe pigtails would lighten the mood? She began to brush her hair. She had almost finished when it knocked on the bathroom door. Guess he's finally up, she mouthed to the mirror. She hadn't wanted to wake him. He had looked so sweet and innocent.
"Harley, are you done soon?"
She gave herself a last look in the mirror and opened the door. The Joker was looking at her with tired eyes. His hair was a little out of place and his lips a little paler than she had gotten used to. He flashed her half a smile.
"Good morning." She tried, forcefully cheerful. "Good- Have you done something with your hair?" He asked surprised. "I like it." He indifferently added. Harleen felt a wide smile form on her lips. She hadn't really done it for him, but he liked it. She made a note to herself to wear her hair like it more often... well, maybe not at work.
"Thanks!" She said, this time actually a little cheerful. "I'm done now, so you can just do... Uhm whatever you do. I'll make breakfast, yeah?" She asked as she passed him. "Yeah, whatever." He said as he closed the bathroom door.
Harleen decided that pancakes was a perfectly fine breakfast on its own and began warming some on a frying pan. From time to time, when she was waiting to flip the pancakes, she set the table with things like syrup and sugar. She was almost done when the Joker entered the room. His hair had been combed, not a single strain out of place and his face somehow looked fresher, his lips bright red. She caught herself staring at him with a blissful smile and quickly returned her attention to the pancakes. She couldn't get lost in him right now, she still had to figure out how to get him to talk about yesterday's events.
The Joker went to the table and sat down. He took a deep, slightly comically and overdramatic breath through his nose. "Mmmm, pancakes!" He said with delight. She smiled to herself, not looking at him, as she flipped the last pancake. "Do you drink coffee?" she asked, turning to him. She figured she wouldn't deny him a morning coffee if he usually had one. Most people who drank coffee in the morning were grumpy if they didn't get their cup. She didn't remember him having any the other days, but you never knew until you asked, she figured. "Coffee, me? Blech! Nooo thank you!" He said, sticking his tongue out. She giggled a little at his expression. He had a way of caring himself that was just... wonderful.
She brought the warm pancakes over and sat down opposite of him. She watched him as he forked some pancakes onto his plate and started eating. She took one herself and poured a little sugar onto it, then waited a little.
"Joker..." She started, looking him in the eyes "Uhm... about yesterday. What happened exactly? Why was it so important?" She asked. She wanted to ask so much more, but this was probably a good place to start. She somehow had a harder time asking about these things outside of Arkham, maybe because she didn't have the same amount of time to think about it, maybe because there wasn't an expectation of her to ask these sort of questions here... Maybe because she wanted him to like her. The Joker raised an eyebrow and looked slightly impressed at her. "I had a deal with Vinnie and the gang. You see..." He stopped and stood up. "That reminds me!" He said and stormed out of the kitchen. Harleen followed him with her eyes, unsure what had just happened. Should she follow him? She decided to wait for him to come back. She heard him search through the living room. After a while he came back, with him was the black bag from the jewellery store. He placed it on the table amongst the plates and glasses and opened it up. Harleen could see something green inside. Was that money? The Joker realised that she was looking and stepped in front of her line of sight and said: "Ah ah aaah, Noooo peeking!" She held a hand in front of her eyes to show him she wasn't going to look, her eyes closed as well. "Ah, there it is!" He said with a smile. "Open your eyes, Harl'."
She did as he said. The Joker stood right in front of her, rather close, with both his hands on his back. "Pick a hand." He said teasingly. She thought for while. She didn't know if this was a smart idea. If it was the right thing to do... to engage. "Left." She said and smiled. "Because right is boring." She added, speaking mostly to herself. "Hah!" He laughed at her pun, and showed his left hand. Empty. He placed it behind him again. She smiled at him. "Are you gonna make me pick the other now?" She asked, her tone light and sweet. She had to admit, she was a little curious as to what he had gotten. "Left or right." The Joker sneered impatiently. "Left." She repeated with a grin. "Never mind!" He shouted, turned around and left the kitchen. She decided to follow him "What's wrong?" She asked, unsure if she had done something wrong. "Nothing." He said angrily. She looked at him and couldn't help but smile a little. "... You changed hands, didn't you? I used play this game all the time, when I was younger..." she trailed off, her voice getting lower and lower with every word as she realised what she was doing. The last word was only a slight whisper. The Joker just looked at her. Not a smile in sight. His eyes burned through her. She felt herself growing smaller under his glare. Maybe she should leave him alone? She didn't want to. She took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry if I ruined your game... I didn't mean to." She said softly. "I just wanted to give you that." The Joker said angrily and pointed to a pearl necklace that lay on the coffee table. She looked at it, then at the Joker, then at it and then back at the Joker. "F-for me?" She felt a tight knot in her stomach. No one had ever given her anything except for Christmas or birthdays. "I'm sorry." She said again, she wasn't sure what to do. She truly felt sorry that she had ruined the game. The Joker stood up and walked over to her. He just stood in front of her, as if he didn't know what to do. He frowned angrily, then raised his hand as to strike her. His hand hung in the air for a couple of seconds, then he slowly placed it on her head and ruffled her hair. "Let's eat." He said tired. Harleen's heart was raising in her chest. She hadn't been afraid... not really, but she was relieved he didn't hit her. "S-sure." She said and walked to the kitchen. The Joker removed the black bag from the table and sat down. Harleen sat down at her spot quietly. she slowly took a bite. That could have gone better. She stared down at her plate. "Well, I guess it's time to go soon." The Joker said. He still didn't sound happy. "G-go?" she asked looking up at him. "Why?" She felt strange, uneasy. She didn't want him to go anywhere. "I have done what I came to do." He said, not looking at her. "Where are you going?" she asked, still not sure what he was talking about. "Home, of course." He said annoyed. Home? she thought for a while "A-Arkham?" She asked surprised. She had heard him refer to it as such before, but she wasn't sure. She couldn't imagine anyone wanting to go to Arkham. "Why, yes. We have a session scheduled for next... Wednesday?" He said and looked at Harley, this time with a milder expression on his face. She smiled at him "Yes, but... It would probably be moved. If you came back today you'd have a session with..." his name escaped her. She was painfully bad at names. "And then they'd call me in right after. Arkham wants to get the details of inmates' time on the run, when they're fresh... They tend to forget things while on medication." She said, her voice grim and dark. She really hated the way things where run at Arkham. She hated the place. But she liked working with the inmates- especially since she was allowed to work with the Joker.
"Well then, no rush. Unless you are talking about good old Bartholomew himself? I sure do love messin' with his head." He said and smiled to himself. "You mess with a lot of people." She stated. No one lasted long as his doctor. "People have already started asking if you've broken me yet." She said and stared at him. "They think I can't handle you." She said a little insecure. "Aaaw, isn't that sweet?" He said, a slightly evil look in his eyes. "I don't want to break you. I like you, you know that. You are one of the only doctors that actually listens to me, cares." She smiled and leaned towards him "I do care about you... a lot, actually." Her smile then faded a little. "How are you getting to Arkham? You're not going to go out and hurt yourself, are you?" She asked worried. "I figured you could give me a ride." He said and winked. He reached for the black bag. "I can even pay for the gas!" As he said it, he opened the bag and emptied it on the table, laughing. Money. Lots of money! She shook her head "That's okay, I'll pay... That money is stolen." she added. As his doctor she couldn't encourage him to spend it. He gave her a condescending look. "So? It's not like anyone else has anything better to use it for. Especially not the people from the store." He said and laughed grimly. Harley looked away and nervously played with one of her pigtails, the man from the store reappearing in her mind. "About that..." she started, not sure how to finish the sentence. "Besides," The Joker continued." It's not like I can get any other income. Arkham isn't exactly a paying gig. And who would want to hire a guy like me? The way I've been made out to look, I'd be surprised if I ever got a chance at anything else, than what I do. It's the media's fault really." He said with a frown. She smiled at him slightly "You look good." She said, not really thinking about it. "But.. We need to talk." She tried, she didn't really want to, but she felt like she needed to. "About yesterday." "What about it?" He asked. "I need to know what happened. I mean... I saw what happened. But why? I need to know why he had to die..." she said avoiding eye-contact. She didn't want to appear weak in front of him, but she was. "Who?" He said slightly confused, but no really caring. She bid her lip "The man who wanted me to help him... and well the others too" She added. She hadn't thought much of them. They hadn't scared her as much, now that she thought about it, they hadn't scared her at all and that frightened her a little. "I don't get it? they didn't have to die, per se, but none of them mattered." The Joker explained. "They're just... How do I explain this? They are shadows! Mindless, boring, useless shadows that walk through life not doing anything important, only making life miserable for people like us! As soon as you try to make a difference, try to speak up, someone stomps you down! They aren't good for anything other than a few laughs, at most."His face darkened as he spoke. "Turn on the TV, heck, look out your window! No one has any colour in their life, they are all grey and boring! They go their entire monotone life, not doing anything that matters, anything important, and when they die, it's as if they never existed. I, on the other hand, try to give them an experience they will never forget! Shake them out of their non-existing existence! I entertain them, make them realise that they are alive for the first time in their life! It only takes one encounter with me, and you get more substance in your life that you've had up until that point." He moved closer and closer to Harleen as he spoke, until he was right in front of her. She looked at him intensely. Was it wrong that she got it? She knew just what he meant. She had even felt the same, it...was like her life made so little sense and that nothing mattered. It had been so refreshing meeting the Joker... to laugh again. She slowly nodded still staring at him. "I... understand." she said blankly. "I knew you would." He smiled, then leaned in and kissed her. "People that doesn't matter will always try to push you down or take advantage of you. You know you don't have to let them, right? All the rules you think you have to follow was made up by people who don't want you to be happy. If you want to live, you have to do what you want, and not let anyone tell you what to do. So what if you upset some people. They don't feel anything, really. They don't even know they are alive until you upset them. " She pondered for a moment. Everything he said made so much sense to her. Life would be so much easier if she could live that way... But she wasn't sure she could. She had always been a people-pleaser. She looked at him and smiled deeply. "Ya' such a smart man, Mr. J!"
" 'Tis true, my dear!" He said and nodded. "But Let's leave it at that, for now. We do have a session coming up in a couple of days, and it feels like you have a lot of things on your mind." The Joker took Harley's hand, dragged her to the living room and sat her, then himself down on the couch and turned on the TV. He flipped through channels and settled on cartoons. She crawled onto his lap and kissed his cheek. She liked the way he lived his life. Everything was so much simpler, there weren't so many worries and everything seemed more fun. She dreaded having to go back to Arkham and be normal again. She buried her face in the Joker's lap and listened to the cartoons. The cartoons and the soothing laughter of the Joker.