One Shots: Harley and Joker

Run Back

Harley sat on the roof and sighed. The roof of Joker's city home had the best views, and no one could reach her, no one except for Batman.

He was always watching her, she could hear the flap of his cape, the light footsteps on the building next to her, he was waiting for her to pull out a gun, make one wrong move, anything.

Joker knew where she was, he always knew where she was. But he also knew that Bats was with her, and he didn't want to waste his time when he was planning, his planning was important, everything had to be planned perfectly.

Harley looked down at the street, questioning her choices, questioning whether she should have followed her Puddin to the end of the earth and back. She loved him more than anything, but she knew it wasn't healthy for her to stay were she was.

She looked down at the open window she had climbed through, if she slid down the roof, then walked down the fire escape, she would be free, she could run anywhere she wanted, fall in love again, go back to being Harleen Quinzel.

The curtain from the attic was flapping in the cool wind, Harley shivered, before sliding down the bricks. All it took was a small jump, then she would be on her way.

"Should I?" She asked the man behind her, "Should I just leave?"

The black eye Joker had given her throbbed painfully, harmonising with the rest of the bruises around her body. He never used blades on her, he didn't want to scar her perfect skin, but bruises faded.

Harley was met with silence. But she had made up her mind. Pushing the curtain back inside, she closed the attic window, and jumped onto the fire escape, running down the metal stairs as quietly as she could.

The years of emotional manipulation had caught up to her, she expected it now, and would bend to almost anyone. She was no longer as creative as she had been in her early days, therefore she was expandable, rather than useful.

She hit the ground running, moving as fast as she could to get as far as she could. Joker would think she was still on the roof for another half hour at least, which gave her time to get out of the city.

Her blonde hair whipped around her face, getting caught in her mouth, and falling into her eyes. The colours had faded out, leaving the platinum blonde colour, she had no makeup on, and was wearing the clothes she knew Joker hated, but were the comfiest ones she owned.

She stopped once she reached the bridge, her muscles aching, and her breathing laboured, but she had made it. All she had to do now was hitch a ride in someone's car and change her name, simple enough.

She stepped forward and stopped. Ivy, Joker, Bats. She needed all of them, Ivy was her only friend, the person she ran to when in doubt, Bats was always there, Harley didn't know what life would be like without the ever-present Batman behind her, lurking in the shadows.

She was in love with Joker, uncontrollably, and dangerously. She couldn't leave him, even though he didn't want her, she needed him, and would stay until he made her leave, until he killed her, until he drove himself off the edge of insanity to the point of no return.

Harley turned around and began to make her way back dejectedly, he may not care about her, but the fact that she would consider leaving would land her in hot water.

"Were you really going to leave?" Bats asked, the voice modulator drawing the emotions out of his words. Harley shrugged, she didn't know, she might have at one point, but now, when the bruises on her body were fading, and her love for the Joker was strong, she couldn't.

"I don't expect you to understand." She said, continuing her long walk home, "You don't get addictions."

"I don't understand your feelings, you're right, but I'll accept them." Harley let out a hollow laugh.