rogueinladysclothing | Lovesick fools often do foolish things [Tagging Majima and Harley]

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Lovesick fools often do foolish things [Tagging Majima and Harley]

For all the things Amelia was bad at in her life, one thing she could count on was a sense of something not being right. And the current situation with Harley? It had definitely reached that point.

Everything that had followed their Valentine's evening in together didn't make sense. Amelia had sent several text messages to Harley to see how she was doing and to ask if she might see her over the days that followed. Most of the time, she received nothing but silence in response. After a while, though, she got text messages of random words or letters, and the occasional video of a darkness with sniffing and whining sounds that reminded her very much of a dog.

Amelia's been on such a high lately from all of the wonderful things she's been feeling with Harley that this sudden drop off after promises of wanting her around set off the rogue's anxiety. Did she do something wrong? Was it awkward for her to leave at the end of their night in, instead of crashing at Harley's place? She'd had an appointment the following morning that she needed to keep, so going back to the inn had made sense. Was it wrong of her to want that kind of space? Did Harley want something more for her?

Was she doing everything wrong?

The last straw in trying to decide what to do next came in the form of a video message that sounded like the dog answering Harley's phone was chewing on it. It was time to see if the only other person who was as involved with Harley as her knew what was happening. Unfortunately for the rogue, Majima knew as little as she did. Rather than try to work it out with him, she asked him to meet her at Harley's place, to see if they couldn't get the other woman to open the door and let them in.

When Majima finally arrives at the door to Harley's apartment, Amelia's wearing a hole in the floor with her pacing. She turns to him the second he steps through the portal, her hands clenching into loose fists at her sides so she doesn't pick at the embroidery on her fine clothes.

"She won't answer the door. I've called and knocked dozens of times. What do we do?"

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Once it's served its purpose, the bra is stuffed safely back into Majima's jacket. Giving the Poochyena wide berth, he cautiously perches on the corner of the bed. He sighs when he sees Harley's lump of blankets.

"Ya get on my case 'bout bein' secretive, figure I might as well return the favor." His tone is teasing, and he feels for the lump of her foot and gives it a comforting shake. "What's eatin' ya, cupcake?"

Poochyena sits nearby, near a dog bed that is in the corner. Keeping an eye on the two. Harley's PINpoint is actually laying near the dog bed.

It takes Harley a moment to realize that someone else is in her apartment. She sits up slightly, adjusting the blankets so she can see. And blinks softly at the sight of Amelia and Goro there.

Her mind trying to determine if this is a delusion or not. Goro giving her foot a comforting shake is the physical contact that verifies she has not lost it.

She is not wearing any make-up. Her long blond hair is down. She is not wearing her colorful hair extensions.

Harley blinks at them again. Then softly, she speaks. "The 16th of February was the 10th anniversary of the day I died."

Her lips pull into a frown as she rests a hand on Harley's shoulder. What would be the appropriate thing to say here? Amelia wants to be supportive, but the first thing that comes to mind is how glad she is that Harley is still here. She exhales a silent breath and squeezes the other woman's shoulder gently.

"Anniversaries like that are never easy to face, but you don't have to be alone if you don't want to be." She gives Harley's shoulder another small squeeze. "What can we do for you?"

Majima mirrors Amelia's frown, in large part because he's trying to parse Harley's answer. Literal death? Metaphorical death? He knows she has that fancy healing ability. Where does that fit in, if at all? Ultimately, he opts to take Harley's words at face value and mine for details later.

He pushes his hand up to clamp her ankle. "That's ... I dunno. I ain't gonna pretend I got pretty words to make you feel any less shitty. But like Amelia said, you need anything, you got it."

"I haven't eaten in a few days..." Harley frowned. Except for keeping her promise to Goro to take care of the club for him, she has hardly been out of bed.

"And then... we can just talk. If you want."

Days? Amelia knows she has terrible eating habits when things get rough, but this is far beyond what she's ever done before. Her frown deepens as she gets to her feet.

"I'll find us something. Maybe there's some fruit left from the basket I brought the other night?" It's worth a look anyway, because she sure as hell doesn't want to leave Harley right now. It helps that Majima's here, but two sources of comfort seems a better option than none.

As she descends the stairs, she calls back up to the others, "If there's nothing here, what would you like? I can get anywhere and back very quickly."

"You been hittin' the Sunshine on an empty stomach?" he clucks his tongue. "I'm surprised I didn't get a call from Youda tellin' me you'd passed out half-way tangled in those silks.

"'Majima-san, help! We can't get her down!'" He does his best impression of a panicked Youda, trying to lighten the mood.

While Amelia sees to a food solution, Majima goes for lower-hanging fruit and fetches Harley a glass of water. Hopefully she's at least had the wherewithal to drink, but better safe than sorry. He sits further up on the bed, offering her the cup. "Oi, oi. Drink up. Should help get that stomach prepped for some food."

"I have a blender. A smoothie would honestly be better." Harley calls out after Amelia, as the other woman gets up to find something in the kitchen. And luckily, the kitchen is not completely barren. There is even bread and fresh jam placed in the fridge from a recent visitor.

And it looks like Harley had at least had the presence of mind to keep up on grocery shopping, even if she has not felt like eating.

Harley blushes slightly at Goro's gentle clucking of his tongue. "I am used to a jailhouse diet. And hitting the field with little in my stomach."

When Majima returns with the cup of water, she reaches out for it. Her pale skin seems even paler today. With her other hand, she pats the bed beside her, an offer for him to sit close by. "Thanks."

A blender? Oh, right. Amelia's seen those at cafes before. It can't be that hard to use if everyone seems to have one.

The rogue takes her time cutting up some fruits and putting them into the blender the way she's seen done by baristas. She throws in a couple of ice cubes for good measure and then surveys the assembled mass. All the fruits go together, so this should be good. Hopefully Harley will like it.

With a nod to herself, she hits the on button, yelping when bits of fruit and ice start to fly everywhere. She rushes to hit the button again, but it's far too late. Most of blender's contents are now all over the kitchen counters and floors - and Amelia herself. Sighing heavily, she grabs a wash cloth and starts to clean up the mess.

"It'll be a few more minutes," she calls up to the loft. "Don't worry, I've got this."

Majima scoots in closer on the bed and loops an arm around her shoulders, giving her a reassuring squeeze and a teasing tap on the nose. "Well, you ain't in jail, alright? Time you upped your culinary standards, cupcake."

And then things explode downstairs. Majima steps to the edge of the loft to survey the damage. Oh wow. He gives Harley a small wave as he descends the stairs. "You sit tight. Gonna just, uh, give Amelia-chan a hand."

Down in the kitchen, he picks up a towel and helps with damage control. He leans in close to whisper conspiratorially, "Look, we already know we ain't cut out for this kitchen shit. Let's say we cut our losses here and order somethin', eh?"

He pulls out his PINpoint and hits a button. "Oi, Pippa? Yanno that one place that sends the food? ChowNow? Have 'em send a couple smoothies our way. Somethin' sweet."

"Alright! I've placed your order. Estimated delivery time to your location is ten minutes," the voice assistant chirps back.

Majima gives his device a reverent look before returning it to his pocket. He sighs. "Goddamn, I love the future."

Harley leans into Majim'a embrace when he loops his arm around her. The physical contact is very nice.

And then he goes to Amelia's rescue. Poochyena hops on the bed, curling by Harley's legs to keep her company while both of her friends are downstairs. He is glad that he let them in now.

Harley stretches out to run her fingers through the Pokémon's fur. Her drive to not let anything get to her is slowly returning. And she knows that she can survive this. She won't let her past ruin her future.

Especially with two wonderful people in her life.

The instant ordering is convenient and Amelia heaves a relieved sigh when the assistant lets them know smoothies are on the way. "I'll cut up some extra fruits, too," she murmurs in a hushed tone. "In case she feels hungry enough for it."

By the time the smoothies arrive, the kitchen is mostly clean and the rogue has prepared a decent sized plate of cut fruits. She allows Majima to lead the way up the stairs with the smoothies, setting the plate down on the bedside table. Once she's sure that the other two are settled, she takes up her place on the floor next to Harley again.

"Let us know if you need anything else," she says, smiling up at Harley. "We're not going anywhere until you want us to."

On his way back up, Majima scrutinizes the cups -- decorated in some unintelligible script, a cute creature mascot -- and gives one of the smoothies an experimental taste. He has a hard time identifying the constituent ingredients outside of "vaguely fruity." They didn't skimp on the sweet, that's for damn sure.

He distributes the cups to Harley and Amelia, keeping the last one in reserve for anyone who wants seconds. He's more about that raw fruit option, plucking up a slice of apple before resuming his seat on the bed.

"So ... ya wanna talk it out, Harley-chan?"

Harley takes the cup offered to her, and nuzzles back against Goro when he reclaimed his seat on the bed. She gets closer to him, so there is space on the bed on the other side of her for Amelia to sit, if the other woman so desires.

"When I left university, I thought I was ready to conquer the world. I was in my 20s... I was confident. Bold. And smart enough to pass the tests that played by the rules... and daring enough to break the rules when necessary."

"I was no innocent when I walked into Arkham, believing that I could solve the twisted mind of Joker. But I was still too naïve to deal with him."

Harley twirls a lock of blonde hair in her fingers. Goro and Amelia might know her well enough to realize she does this when she is upset. Or nervous.

"He pretended that he came from a broken home. Like me. He pretended that he had an abusive father. Like me. He lied to me over and over again, until I thought that we had so much in common... that it made sense to believe every word that he told me."

"And I believed him that he would only get better, if he was able to escape Arkham. I got him a gun... his Goon Squad raided the whole place. They captured me." Harley closed her eyes. "He put me on a table, and decided to see how far he would push my dedication to him... with electro-shock therapy."

"I survived that. It only made him angry. It was not what he had expected."

"He took me to his Factory, where they were making vats and vats of his infamous Joker Toxin. He took me to the catwalk, where we could see everything. And he held a gun to my head." Harley shivered. "He asked me if I would die for him. I told him yes. He said that was too easy..."

"He asked me if I would live for him. And I..." Harley shivered again. "Jumped. Into a vat of Joker Toxin."

"You have to realize the only other person who survived drowning in Joker Toxin was Joker himself..."

"And he thought for certain that I had died. For him. And I did." Harley looked up at the ceiling. "I saw my life flash before me. I felt the Joker Toxin consume me. I laughed myself to death. Glorious Glorious Death."

"The next thing I remembered was seeing a shadow come towards me... it was Joker. He had dove into the vat after me. I thought it was to save me." Harley gasped sharply, drawing in a sobbing breath. "I lived again. But I had been re-born. I was his Precious Porcelain Doll."

"And because of him... those memories haunt me every 16th of February. The moment when everything changed."

With space offered to her, Amelia climbs up next to Harley. She sets aside her smoothie so she can be ready to offer her hands to Harley if she wants or needs them. It's all she can think to do as the other woman explains how she and the Joker became so entwined.

The story itself is haunting, more terrible than she could have ever imagined it to be. To know that someone would do these things to another person, to drive them so far that they would convince another person to do such horrible things for such a stupid, selfish reason makes her angry. She already hated Joker, but now she's furious. If she could get her hands on him now, she would tear him apart limb from limb. Damn the consequences of such actions, because no one should be allowed to hurt Harley this way.

But all of those desires will have to wait. The second Harley tries to breathe through a sob, Amelia inches closer, resting a hand gently on the other woman's shoulder. She wants to say something, to comfort Harley somehow, but she just... doesn't know how.

"I'm so sorry." It doesn't feel like enough, but it's all she has. Her head bows a little under the weight of that thought and she gives Harley's shoulder a small squeeze. "I'm so sorry you went through that."

Majima leans in, propping up her weight as he listens to her story, minutely aware of the effect the telling has on her breath, her heartbeat.

If he's aware of any distinct parallels to his own experience, it only registers in some muted, subconscious empathy for misplaced faith and the sting of betrayal. He captures one of her hands and pulls it away from its nervous activity to clasp it in one of his.

"Thanks for lettin' us know. Shit's hard to talk about," he mumbles into her shoulder, feeling like his words are feeble consolation.

After Goro takes her hand to help steady her from the nervous habit, Harley reaches out with her other hand to take the silent offer from Amelia.

In a way, the fact that they listened meant the world to her.

And even now, when she is trying so hard to find herself again, the sensation of Goro's breath on her shoulder makes Harley sigh contently.

She is safe. They won't hurt her.

"I was his right-handed girl for several years. I tried so hard to live up to expectations. And he just kept... trying to break me. Break the doll he made." Harley squeezed both hands. She knows that they know a little of the ways that Joker tried to achieve this. Because of the video.

"Red... Ivy gave one of her super boosters after one of the worst moments, when I was on death's door again. And that is where the healing ability took effect. So no matter how much he tried to break me... I healed."

"And a few years back, Batman caught me. Then Waller put me on Suicide Squad."

"They were the first ones I really felt... cared about me. That didn't care that I got manic. Or obsessive. Or paranoid. Or schizoid. They saw more than just Joker's Girl. I was Harley."

"And coming here... finding the Nexus. Finding you both..." She reaches one hand up to caress Goro's neck. The other hand gently squeezed Amelia's again.

"I want my new life. I want it so much."

All of this wrenches Amelia's heart in a painful way she's never experienced before. She's never wanted to change her own past, but if she could change Harley's... she'd do so in an instant. Anything to spare this amazing woman she cares so much about the pain she's been feeling. It's not fair that Harley's been put through so much when all she wanted was for someone to feel about her what she did about them.

At that last little confession, the rogue leans closer and presses a gentle kiss to Harley's cheek. "Then have it. We're here for you and will help you live that life however we can. All you need do is ask." She won't say it aloud, but Amelia knows one thing for certain: She'd do anything for Harley. She offers the other woman a small smile and then nods knowingly at Majima. "We can't change what's happened before now, but we can make sure what's ahead is what you want it to be."

Majima quashes a wave of nagging doubt, that white-hot fear of failing again. His heart thumps at the jolt of panic, but he does his best to keep his breath even. Reassuring.

He loops his free hand around her waist and hears himself say, "Amelia's got the right idea. Ya got a chance to leave all that shit behind ya, sweetheart."

Harley takes a few deep breathes. Reassured by both of them.

"Today is a good place to start."

She lets go of Amelia's hand, to reach for her smoothie again.

"And after finishing this smoothie... I should try for a shower." A small smirk. A sign that she is on the path of recover. "Either of you willing to help me do that?"

It's becoming increasingly clear that both Harley and Majima are experiencing some kind of fear that Amelia simply can't relate to. She's never been to the edge the way they have or been pushed to a place where she felt she had no control. When things got bad, she could always do something. Maybe not something good, but if it spared her loved ones? That's what mattered. It hurts to see them both hurting like this, knowing she can't reach them the way she wants to.

Her lips draw into a thin line as she watches them closely, and threaten briefly to tug into a frown - until that smirk comes along. And then it's time for that ever so familiar blushing Harley (and probably Majima) knows very well by now.

"I-I don't think I could... I-I mean I can try if you want, but--" Dreams, this is awkward. She turns her face away from the two of them and raises her now free hand to play with the strands of her hairpin, both to ground herself and distract the other two. "Maybe Majima should take this one. I can try to clean the kitchen a little more after the mess I made earlier..."

It takes Majima a moment to register Harley's request, jostling him out of the thick, emotional cloud he was caught up in. He slaps a palm on his forehead, and shoots Amelia an almost apologetic look.

"Harley-chan. I ain't never seen someone flip that horny switch as fast as you," he snorts, giving her hip a playful squeeze. "How's about you take a second to recover from all that fastin' before we deal with any other appetites, hm?"

Whether or not this comes from a place of legitimate concern or a desire to spare Amelia from critical levels of awkwardness, it's hard to say.

"You are the one who is flipping that horny switch..." Harley gently swats at Goro, more playful than anything else.

"I was thinking about having someone to support me, so I could walk downstairs and get in the shower. I haven't really left my bed, except for the whole dancing and security thing at the Sunshine Club. But if you guys don't think I stink to high Heaven..."

God she loves them both so much right now. Amelia for blushing. And Goro, for being a gentleman, but still teasing her all the same.

The teasing makes her cheeks darken all the more. Of course she made the wrong assumption about someone's intentions. Again. And now she's done in front of Majima, who at least had been spared it until this moment. Dreams, she couldn't make this more awkward if she tried.

"O-oh! Of course. I can do that." A slightly awkward beat. "Whenever you're ready, I mean. We don't have to go right now or anything. ...really."

But she can make it more awkward without trying. Whoops?

If it's any consolation to Amelia, Majima rolls his eye at his own risqué assumptions. He's grown accustomed to double entendres with Harley.

He stands from the bed to help her up and guide her to Amelia's capable hands. He still doesn't trust his eye, so he's happy to pass the buck.

"Just watch her wandering hands, Amelia-chan," he warns with a lopsided smile.

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Trigger Warnings... it's Harley's backstory. they are there

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