Hush Little Baby

Let's Play A Game

Harley forced himself to keep his breathing even as he pulled an old plastic chair from the stack in front of the Jokers cell. He was so nervous. Dr Strange had left him alone with the most dangerous woman in Gotham, and yes, she was behind a set of solid steel bars, but Harley was sure that they wouldn't make much of a difference if push came to shove. Dr Gray was proof of that. He placed the chair a few feet away from the bars of the cell, seating himself down and placing his folder across his lap. He jumped as he looked up, seeing that the joker hadn't taken her yes off his frame, and was regarding him with keen interest. He felt his face flush as she unashamedly ghosted he eyes up and down his body, lingering on his chest and crotch as a quiet purr escaped her lips. He had always been shy around women. People in general if he was being perfectly honest. He had preferred to keep to himself throughout most of his life, and as a result, he found he was nervous around new people. But especially with women. And he couldn't deny that despite her dirty, messy appearance, the joker was certainly an attractive women. He wondered what she looked like under the dyed hair, red lip stick and dozens of tattoos. What would she look like if she were.....sane?

"Penny for 'em?" The Joker smiled at him, revealing that mouth full of diamonds and silver.

He cleared his throat before shuffling the papers on his lap nervously. "I was just going over notes in my head." He said, glancing up at her from behind his glasses.

She giggled, dropping her hands from the bars to fold them across her chest. "You're not a very good liar, Dr Quinzel."

Ha gawked at her. "I wasn't lying!"

"Yes you were." She scoffed. "I happen to be very good at spotting a lie when I hear one, and yooooouuuu, are lying. Now tell me, what were you thinking about?"

"I...I...." He stammered.

"Tell you what." The Joker started. "Let's play a game."

"A game?" Dr Quinzel frowned. "What sort of game?"

"A question game. You need to be taking notes for Dr Strange, seeing as he's so desperate to fix me, and I want to have a little fun. It's a win-win situation." The Joker shrugged with a smile.

Harley mulled over her words in his head. She seemed strangely eager to play the 'game', but on the other hand, it was a way to do the task that Dr Strange had requested from him.

"I can see the wheels turning in your head." The Joker smirked. "You expect honesty from me, but refuse me the same courtesy. That's a little hypocritical, don't you think, Dr Quinzel?"

Harley could hear the disdain in her voice. She was right. How could he expect her to open up to him if he wasn't willing to offer the same thing. "Alright." He relented as the joker squeaked in delight.

"You can go first." She declared, stepping back and dropping to the floor, crossing her legs before folding her hands into her lap.

Harley chewed his lip as he pondered his first question. He couldn't be too bold, for the risk of her shutting down completely and refusal to answer anything after that was too great. He mulled over a few choices in his head before deciding on one that was suitable.

"Why did you attach your bed sheets to the ceiling bars?" He glanced at her to check her facial expression, making sure his question hadn't been too much.

To his relief, she kept smiling. "I like hanging upside down, it helps me think. Hanging upside down increases blood flow to the brain and I've actually come up with all sorts of ideas that way. I'm sure a friend of mine does the same thing. He's always spoiling my fun though." She shrugged.

Harley had a fair idea of who she was taking about. "A friend you say?" He asked.

"Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah!" She scolded, waging a finger at him. "It's my turn."