Descent

Chapter 18

Harleen hopped off the counter and took a seat at the table across from Frost. Pulling the glossy black box towards herself she wondered what she was going to find in its depths. Knowing the Joker's criminal past and his propensity for violence it could have been anything.

Perhaps Bruce Wayne's tongue. That would be apropos since he seemed to think he could wag it in front of the Joker. Demanding that she do as he said in front of the sociopath who had claimed her as his own.

Bruce Wayne was either fearless or stupid. Though Harleen was leaning more towards stupid.

Steadying her trembling hands, she lifted the lid. There was chartreuse tissue paper in the box and Harleen was reminded of the Joker's hair. She fingered the paper and found it soft and wondered if the Joker's hair was just as soft. She itched to touch him in such an intimate way.

Get a grip Harleen. So you think he's the best looking guy you've laid eyes on. He's also a very bad man. Not the type you bring home to mom.

She couldn't help but scoff at her voice of reason. The voice Harleen had dubbed the doctor. She knew if it was Harley talking she would have encouraged her, pushed her into pursuing Mr. J. But it had to be the goodie two shoes. The voice that only ever kept her a prisoner of her mother and Jimmy.

"You might want to hurry. You do have a lunch date." Johnny looked at his watch.

Sighing Harleen glanced at the clock above the stove, "Wish I didn't have to go."

She said it so low she hoped that Snowman didn't hear her. But from the smile stretching across his lips she knew he had.

Wonderful, she thought, now he'll run and tell the Joker that she was a woman without options. Which would only spur on the Joker's advances towards her.

Not that Harleen didn't like his attention, it was just that she knew no good could come of it. He was a vicious monster by society's standards and she was his doctor. The one person meant to help him, not fall for him.

"The boss would rather you cancel."

Johnny saw her sit up straighter and knew that because she didn't like being told what to do, she would go. Even if it meant suffering through lunch with grabby Bruce, she would not do as the Joker wished. This was just another way for her to show everyone she was her own person.

But that wasn't right, he thought. She was hiding something; deep beneath all those layers of strength he could see it. The doctor was eager to be submissive, though only with a man who was worthy of such a gift.

So why the hell was she fighting what the boss wanted her to do? Then it clicked, she didn't accept the Joker's claim on her yet.

Or maybe she didn't realize it. Johnny saw it in her eyes when he made her coffee, Harleen liked to be taken care of. That she longed to have her wellbeing looked after. The world had jaded him enough to know when someone was putting on a tough front. And that was exactly what Harleen was doing.

She was tired of being her own hero, of seeing to her needs. There was no doubt in his mind that the boss would care for her. Treat her like a queen once she learned her place. But he knew from her rebellion that she still had a long way to go.

Harleen was too wrapped up in her imaginings of what the Joker had gifted her to notice that Johnny was scrutinizing her. Slowly she pulled the tissue back, and peered inside the box. The breath she didn't know she was holding whooshed out of her.

Burgundy silk lay in a pool, beneath the tissue. She reached in and took it out. Standing she held the shirt up to herself. Quirking a brow, she placed the shirt back in the box and pushed it towards Johnny.