A/N: REVIEW FOR IT FEEDS MY ENGINE OF CREATION!

Being sick!

Is absolutely not!

Fucking fuuuuun at aaaaalll!

I'm also headed to the dentist...why me? T_T

Ah, but enough about my declining health woes and such!

At long last, here it is, the final chapter of Toxic as promised.

Feels good to finish another story and give Red a happy ending of her own.

I think this is the fifth-feel free to correct me if I'm wrong-story that I've finished since February.

Not a bad track record, and I'm nearly done with a few more! Keeper of My Heart is about done, as is I'm Only Human and a few others. Feels good to finish my stories, even if I am closing to kicking the proverbial bucket. Who knows? People say I'm too stubborn to die. I might beat this. But I don't...well, I want to be remembered for doing what I love. Writing.

Its been a wild ride, but thanks for sticking it out with this silly old soul!

Any and all quotes belong to their respective owners, properties, etc.

Dragon Age quote belongs to Dragon Age, obviously.

And let's not forget Infinity War.

Ah, I do love campy stories...

Now, I'm off to see Solo...hopefully its a good movie. Wish me luck!

Sorry if its short, but although I'm really not feeling well right now, I wanted to keep my promise.

Its short, sweet, sappy-excuse the pun-and a nice little ending.

Warmest regards,

~Nz

"Hmm. Not a bad ending."

...sarcasm does not become you."

~?

Epilogue

They say love is toxic.

Maybe it is.

When you love someone-and they you-truly love them, you put them first. Above all things. Some would call love that weakness. A cancer that grows inside and makes one do foolish things, like poison ivy wrapping its slender vines around your heart. To them, such a love is death. The love I speak of is something that would be more important to one than anything, even life. To care for someone that much...its dangerous. If they don't feel the same you risk destroying yourself, or worse, them.

Love is dangerous.

Poisonous.

Lethal.

Love takes away all reason, every semblance of self. Everything. You would kill to preserve love, do anything to protect it. Looking back on that day now, holding my little girl-I can't help but wonder if I was wrong. Love can be dangerous to be sure, but to love and be loved in return! There can be no greater joy on this green earth. To have someone who'd give their all for you, of their own volition...I can't put it into words. Once, I thought love was poisonous, much like my namesake. Now I see how wrong I was.

When did I fall in love with a fool like him?

And why don't I regret it?

(...Scene Break...)

Green.

A sea of trees stretched across Ivy's vision and into the horizon, as far as the eye could see. The forest was a proverbial paradise, untouched by humanity. And so it would remain. Anyone fool enough to try and topple these ancient oaks would be in for a most unpleasant surprise indeed. Indeed, the last group who'd tried to fell her precious babies found themselves strung up by their britches and hung out to dry. A tame way to go about dealing with intruders perhaps, but she couldn't fault her husband's methods.

Humiliation was a potent deterrent, after all.

From her balcony-this vantage point-Ivy found she had a prime view of her kingdom in all its glory...and the people below. Her lip curled at the sight of them going about their business, but any anger she might've felt at their presence had been dulled with time. Unlike the city's former tenants, her new subjects respected nature and thus she tolerated them...as much as she could tolerate anyone who wasn't family. This had been Gotham, once. It felt like ages ago now. Back then, the city-folk hadn't taken kindly to them turning their world into her own personal greenhouse. The League, even less so.

Had she attempted this alone she suspected the reaction might have been more...heated.

As it stood, even with Naruto's...assistance things were touch and go for a time. Batman hadn't taken kindly to the Amazon growing in his backyard; least of all when the creators of said forest took it upon themselves to eradicate every criminal and ne'er do well in his city. Thankfully cooler heads finally prevailed in the end. Not that League had any say in the matter these days. They were otherwise...occupied by her husband's antics. After all, they weren't very well going to focus on a harmless forest when someone sent an invasion their way every other week.

There were some perks to marrying a living god after all.

Speaking of perks...

With a thought she breathed fresh life into the sundered ruins of Arkham Asylum, watching the seed she'd planted flower from a mere sapling to a towering oak in a matter of moments. Her will directed its roots, upturning still more of the ruined penitentiary brick by brick until it too sank beneath the surface to join the rest of Gotham. Humming softly to herself the redhead directed the earth to close over the abandoned asylum in a relentless tide; one that happily eradicated the last traces of the hated building. Now that her powers had been strengthened to near-cosmic heights by her partner, such feats were well within her reach.

The sight warmed Ivy's heart...what was left of it.

Fun wasn't something one considered in her line of work but this...this brought a smile to her face.

As if to herald that thought, a tiny hand tugged at her wrist.

"Mama?" a soft, almost musical voice tugged at her ears. "Is daddy done yet?"

"Hmm?"

Glancing down, the redhead found herself staring into a pair of startlingly blue eyes.

A distant explosion reverberated through the forested city.

"What the hell, Supes?!" a faint shout reached her enhanced senses, "I thought we agreed no heat vision! Don't go burning my balls off!"

She felt, rather than saw what came next.

"My turn!"

CRUNCH.

Despite herself, Pamela almost smiled.

Not a heartbeat later, a red-blue blur broke the atmosphere.

Oh, dear. Seemed whatever they'd been fighting about had finally-

"Just about, sweetheart."

By rights she shouldn't be able to have children; her unique biological composition prevented it. She'd simply accepted it as another unhappy factor of her life and moved on...until quite suddenly it wasn't. To this day she still didn't truly understand how she'd been able to conceive a child. Naruto had remained suspiciously mum on the latter, but she she had her suspicions. It might well have something to do with ascending to godhood. Or perhaps she'd been mistaken all along and he'd simply cured her of her infertility when she wasn't looking. Another living miracle. The gorgeous little girl holding her hand.

Persephone.

Bright blue eyes set in a round face framed by a curtain of messy red curls, her lithe form wrapped in a pale navy dress. Her skin pale, the faintest shade of green. And there, so faded as to be nearly invisible, a faint pair of whiskers etched into her cheeks. She hadn't thought it possible to find perfection in humanity, but as far as she was concerned, her little one was just that. Perfect. In all honesty, she wouldn't mind another, perhaps a son...

"Oh!" her daughter's delighted cry drew her back to the present with a start. "There he is!"

Something-or someone-broke the sound barrier with an audible pop.

Then, quiet suddenly, orange filled her vision.

"Daddy's home!"

Strong arms took Pamela by the waist and spun the green goddess around in a merry circle, sending her world spinning like a top. Just when she began to fear that she might lose her lunch, those same arms reeled her into a crushing bear hug, holding fast. Reeling, she pawed ineffectively at the robes arms encircling her. The smoldering scent of ozone and singed flesh filled her nose and laughing, she pawed at him to no avail. Whiskered cheeks nuzzled against hers, causing her to relent with a small sigh.

"Alright, alright!" she conceded. "I missed you, too. Now put me down you big lug!"

Reluctantly, her partner did as he was bade, laughing all the while.

"Why were the two of you fighting again...?"

"Eh, something about redheads being better than blackettes? Can't remember."

In disbelief, Pamela shook her head. This. This was why she'd married him. The sheer chaos that he embodied...it never ceased to make her smile. Naruto could be a complete and utter buffoon. Stubborn. Dense as a rock, when he wanted to be. But despite that he was also inordinately...kind. Caring. Forgiving. He saw the good, that broken part of yourself you tried to hard to hide, even when there was none to be had. Even if you were Toxic. Even if you didn't deserve it. He laughed at reality and tore it a new one. She didn't know what he saw in her, what he'd seen that day.

She felt unworthy of it.

A range of emotions chased themselves across her visage.

"Naruto."

"Yeeeeeees?"

...never betray me."

An arm curled around her shoulder.

The other gathered a beaming Persephone into his arms.

"Never."

A/N: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand done.

There we go! Naruto and Posion Ivy! I left the ending deliberately ambiguous, considering that these two can raise all sorts of hell together. You think this is crazy? Check out "Cold" or "Crazy Loves Crazy"! Then talk to me about lunacy~! Now, one last time...

So...in the immortal words of Atlas...

...Review, Would You Kindly?

Thanks for reading~!

R&R! =D