She was still up half past midnight.
Harley was staring at the wall for, what was it, an hour? She'd been in that position for a while now, repeatedly telling herself to go to sleep. She thought of maybe moving to a different position, but she didn't want to move much as to not disturb Ivy.
Oh, Ivy.
The redhead was much more successful in sleeping, as Harley watched her breathe quietly while feeling her chest rise and fall with each one. She had one of her girlfriend's arms wrapped around her, in an almost protective form of sorts. She was incredible.
Her girlfriend.
They'd been dating for about 8 months now since the wedding incident. Oh god, the wedding. What a shitshow that was.
Harley thought about that day a lot. She thought about the conversation Ivy and Kite Man had. The hurt that Kite Man felt was clear, but Ivy seemed....restrained. Like, she might have been regretting her decision before he flew off? Even when she told Harley that she loved her, there looked to be a reluctance in her voice. But it also felt genuine. Maybe that was the rush, the feeling of everything that happened that day combined with getting chased by Gordon and his cronies?
What about the eight months together?
In the apartment that they shared together, Ivy stayed home a lot, tending to her plants and usually being the one that cooked. She was disgusted by Harley's diet when the two were still just friends, so by that point, she started coming up with meals that were more fruitarian than what Harley was used to, though she still kept some stuff like pasta. She also discovered that fruitarianism was a thing. But for the most part, they spent their time together, usually watching some show that Harley was into or going on walks in the private parts of town with Bud and Lou. The two hyenas seemed to be getting along with Ivy, even if she did get annoyed by how they could tear at the furniture if not watched closely.
Oh man, did she lose focus again?
What she wanted to know was if Ivy was happy. Sure, she smiled, she always seemed to like being around Harley, and she seemed to....she seemed to....
"She seemed." Those two words kept coming back while she thought about it.
Was Ivy just pretending this whole time? Or was she just being nice? Was she unhappy? Did she....
No, no she couldn't have hated her. Harley showed nothing but devotion & love to Ivy since the two got together. Before, yeah she was not exactly the best at being a good friend, but again, that was before.
She kept telling herself that she was a good spouse. It was the one thing keeping her from crying, though she could feel the tears forming in her eyes. She grabbed Ivy's arm around her and brought it closer to her face. It felt comforting, enough that she allowed herself to shed a tear.
There was some silence for a second.
"Harley?"
Oh no.
Harley looked up, seeing Ivy, who was tired but clearly awake.
"Ives, hey honey. Did I wake you?"
"Yeah, I felt you moving around and then saw you-" She stopped midsentence, taking a pause before: "Babe, are you crying?"
Oh god.
"Oh, nah, I'm good. Who cries at midnight anyway?", Harley said, trying to play off with a chuckle.
Ivy didn't buy it.
"Harley, I can see something by your eyes that look like tears. And I'm pretty sure I felt something wet on my arm when you pulled it closer."
Before Harley could come up with an explanation, she was surprised when she felt Ivy hug her tighter, bringing their faces near each other.
"Hon, what's wrong? Don't tell me nothing's wrong because you don't cry over nothing. I want you to talk to me, that's what we spoke about when we got together, right? That we can only get through stuff if we speak? So just tell me, and I'll listen. Sound good?", Ivy asked. Even in the dark, Harley could make out the soft but sincere smile that her girlfriend gave. It was enough for her to concede to Ivy's request.
"Have I been good to you?"
"What?"
"Have I been a bad girlfriend?", Harley asked. When she looked up, she saw Ivy's reaction, which showed only confusion.
"Harley, where's this coming from?"
Harley was actually starting to get annoyed, though she didn't know if it was due to Ivy's confusion or her inability to get across what she was trying to explain. But it was enough to get her to suddenly sit up in the bed,
"Ivy, I can tell when you're unhappy, and the way you look, the way you act, everything just tells me that you're unhappy. I know you wish you could just have a normal life with your plants, and not be running from the cops constantly, and dealing with all the folks that want me dead, and.....and I don't want to be holding you back. I just, I wish that-"
"Harley, stop."
She complied, looking back at Ivy who was also sitting up now and looking at her with worry.
"Harls, life has been kinda nuts since we got together. And yeah, we have had to move around a lot and get chased, and sure, I wish we didn't have to do that. But you know what?"
Harley didn't say it, but her reaction indicated that she didn't know what Ivy was getting at.
"That was already what we were dealing with before we got together. We're bad guys, Harls.", Ivy said with a chuckle. "We're ALWAYS gonna have that. And maybe I'd like a normal life, sure. But it's not your fault that it's not like that, and if I got to have a messy, chaotic life, I'd rather it be with you."
It gave the feeling of reassurance that Harley needed, causing her to smile and give her girlfriend a short kiss.
"You're telling the truth?", Harley asked.
"Harley, I'm always honest with you."
"Okay, that's bullshit and you know it."
"You get my point." The two chuckled at that.
"Love you, Ivy."
"Love you too. Now come on, let's get some sleep. We got errands to run tomorrow."
Ivy laid the two of them back down in the position they were in before. Only now, they were both in a more peaceful state of mind than earlier. Especially Harley.
She was finally able to get some sleep after a few minutes.