Harlivy & Hivy

Desire and Desperation

by LemonsAndGrapefruits on AO3

Ivy had found her in Robinson Park in the middle of some bushes, slowly dying.

The bushes had screamed in pain when she had landed in the middle of them, which caused Ivy to rush to that area, ready to kill some drunken man for harming her park. Instead, she found Harley Quinn in the middle of the bushes with a black eye, two broken ribs, a concussion, scratches all over her exposed arms and legs, and blood coming out of her mouth. They had never met before, but Ivy knew exactly who she was. (After all, when you're a villain in Gotham it's in your best interests to keep track of the newcomers, in case one of them forms a grudge against you or comes up with a scheme that would pollute the entire city.)

She carried Harley to her nearest greenhouse and gave her concoctions that she had originally been storing for herself. She quickly applied poultices all over her body for the cuts on her arms and the bruises that were sure to follow. Ivy hoped that none of the medicines she gave Harley would kill her-they had been prepared in dosages that were designed for Ivy, and it had been a while since she had thought about the body chemistry of regular humans.

After she had finished treating Harley to the best of her ability, Ivy left and asked the plants what had happened. She already knew that Harley was obsessed with the Joker and that the Joker didn't reciprocate Harley's feelings (Nigma really liked to hear himself talk, especially after a few drinks at the Iceberg Lounge). The plants told her that they had seen the Joker slap Harley across the face before kicking her out of a speeding car. Harley had rolled down the side of a hill and landed in the middle of the bushes, which is where Ivy had found her. Ivy had originally assumed that the wounds had come from the Caped Crusader, but it seemed like most of them (if not all) had come from the Joker.

It took Harley two days to wake up. Ivy was working on replenishing her storages for her poultices (and preparing some poultices that were more suitable for regular humans) when she heard a scream come from the other side of the greenhouse. It appeared that Harley had attempted to sneak out of the greenhouse, but didn't anticipate the giant Venus flytraps that were guarding the entrance. "Oh good," Ivy said. "You're awake."

After Ivy had explained where she was and what had happened to Harley, she was shocked when Harley asked if she could stay at the greenhouse. It had been a while since Ivy had experienced contact with any humans (she went to the Iceberg Lounge about once a week to stay updated on the criminal underbelly of Gotham, but that was about it). She also couldn't quite remember the last time she had talked to another female-Catwoman had stolen some very expensive files on genetic engineering from her a few months back, and they weren't quite on speaking terms yet. (Besides, Kyle preferred galas to nightclubs.) But Ivy realized that Harley probably had nowhere to go other than back to the Joker, and in a rare case of human emotion, Ivy agreed to let the clown girl stay with her.

It was a process getting Harley all moved in. Ivy had to get the carnivorous Venus flytraps to recognize Harley, and Harley was too weak to go anywhere for the first week. (It turned out that Harley had just escaped her first encounter with Batman, so she already had been nursing some pretty bad wounds when the Joker had gotten frustrated with how his plan had gone south and decided to take out his frustration by literally kicking Harley out of their escape car.) After Harley's condition had stabilized, Ivy moved them to a greenhouse that was attached to an abandoned mansion, which was more suitable for regular humans. There they met another plethora of issues. Harley started vomiting uncontrollably a few days into living together, and it took a while before Ivy realized that her natural pheromones were poisoning the girl, forcing Ivy to whip up a toxin immunizer for her. There were also more normal roommate struggles: Harley was naturally very messy, which didn't pair well with Ivy's neat-freak nature. Ivy was vegan and Harley loved bacon, which led to a few fights. Harley's money was mostly tied to the Joker, so she couldn't pay rent for the first few weeks. Surprisingly normal issues for two super-villainesses.

Before either one of them knew it, they had been living with each other for almost half a year. The two worked surprisingly well as roommates: Harley helped Ivy through her murderous rampages and seasonal depression, while Ivy helped Harley stay out of trouble and away from the Joker. All of their major issues had gotten resolved-or at least Ivy thought so. Heck, even Batman had recently agreed to leave them alone after Ivy gave him an antidote to an extremely rare and deadly poison and promised to give up ecoterrorism and take up eco-activism for a while. He'd even given her a ton of money for rent, the antidote, and research for a new plant that would help with the air pollution in Gotham. Things were good.

Harley and Ivy had gotten into the habit of going out for a girls nights every Friday night. They would go to the Iceberg Lounge, or watch a movie, or go to the state fair. Ivy stayed out of trouble, and Harley stayed out of major trouble. (She occasionally got into minor trouble with one of the minor vigilantes in Gotham, but through a combination of her psychoanalysis and Ivy's pheromones, Harley managed to keep herself out of Arkham Asylum.) Afterwards, they would go back home and have a drink (Ivy would have a glass of wine, while Harley would fix a fun cocktail for herself) and watch an episode of whatever trashy TV program Harley was into that month while gossiping about their super-villain acquaintances.

It was April, and Ivy was in a good mood this week. It had stopped snowing and the first plants were poking out of the ground, signalling the end of her seasonal depression. The plants were alive once more, and Ivy could feel her mood getting better.

Harley was in a good mood because there were acrobats in town this week, and the two had gone to watch one of the shows. Even Ivy had to admit that the troupe was pretty good (although they weren't as good as the Flying Graysons before the tragedy happened). Harley had talked excitedly about all of the stunts on the way home. Ivy smiled, amused at her roommate's excitement.

When they got home, Ivy poured herself a glass of wine and quickly sat down on the couch and covered herself with a blanket. Even though the plants were starting to grow again, it was still too cold for her taste. Harley fixed herself a Blue Lagoon and sat down next to Ivy. "Fuck, it's cold. Can I share the blanket with you, Red?"

Ivy responded by lifting up a corner of the blanket for Harley. "Holy shit, why are your feet so cold?"

"It's not my fault you decided to stay in a mansion with cold kitchen tiles."

Ivy rolled her eyes and waited for Harley to load a new episode of The Real Housewives of Gotham, but looked over to find Harley chewing on her lip. "Harls? What's up?"

Harley seemed to come back to her senses. "Nah, I was just thinking." Ivy arched an eyebrow as she sipped her wine, signalling for the other woman to continue. "Well, I was just wondering why you saved me in Robinson Park all those months ago."

Ivy opened her mouth, then closed it again. She frowned. Why had she saved Harley? It wasn't like she had been particularly fond of humans. She thought for a second, before replying. "You looked like you needed help. You were in a really bad state, and I just responded. I guess... I guess that I could sense that you were just another girl who had been tricked into crime by a cruel man. You didn't ask for any of this, and I guess saw a bit of myself in you. I wanted to help." Harley nodded. She knew about the professor who had seduced Ivy and injected her with the toxins that made her who she was today.

Satisfied with her answer, Harley reached for the laptop. "Oh my gosh, apparently Melissa finally snapped and had a mental breakdown this week..."

Something about Harley's question stuck with Ivy that night after they had finished their drinks and Harley had gone to bed. She felt troubled as she prepared herself for sleep. Why did I save her? Why did I let her stay? I could have left her dying in that park, or I could have let the Venus flytraps eat her when she tried to escape from my greenhouse. I could let the police haul her to Arkham whenever she gets in trouble. So why did I save her, and why do I continue to save her?

As she lay in bed that night, a simple answer popped into her head. Ivy thought that all of the major issues in her life were resolved. But there was one issue that wasn't.

Poison Ivy had fallen in love with Harley Quinn.

Shit.