"Harley?" Ivy called as she peeked into the funhouse. She had a feeling that something was wrong. Her plants sensed that Harley was upset. At first, Ivy thought Harley had been picking off flower petals daydreaming about The Joker again. But it was more than that this time. She was unsure so she went to visit the clowns themselves. She walked further inside, closing the door behind her.
"Harley, darling, it's Ivy." Her soft voice echoed off the large area. She walked down a hall and turned right. That's when she heard soft whimpers from inside one of the rooms. Her head turned to a door a little down the hall. The wooden door was cracked open just a smidge. Ivy walked closer then placed her hand on the door to slowly push it open. A bedroom was revealed along with an unmade bed and objects thrown all across the room. Things were scattered about the floor. Ivy's eyes travelled from the mess to a beaten and bruised jester: Harley Quinn. Her back was turned to the door and she was curled up in the fetal position. Ivy's eyes widened at the sight.
"G-Go away. P-Please!" Harley murmured, only having heard the door creak open. Ivy ran towards her best friend and kneeled beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder to which she flinched to.
"Harley. It's me, Ivy." She said, carefully turning the clown to face her. Her makeup was smeared and a large red mark was visible beneath the white face paint on her cheek. Once on her back, her bright blue eyes looked up at her friend.
"Red? What..." She moved a bit, trying to sit up. She obviously wasn't expecting Ivy to be there and became, well, embarrassed. Ivy placed an arm beneath her back and helped lean her up. "What are you doin' here?" Her high voice nearly cracked.
"I knew something was wrong..." Ivy shook her head, saddened by her friend's state, "What happened this time?" Her emerald eyes showed something they rarely ever did: sympathy.
"N-Nothin'." Harley claimed, trying to sit up more on her own but moaned in pain instead. Ivy held onto her friend, pushing a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear.
"Tell me the truth." Ivy looked her in the eyes for only really a moment as Harley quickly looked away.
"What does it matter?" She blinked her watery eyes to suppress her tears and bit her lip, "I just don't wanna talk about it, Red." She muttered, trying to escape the woman's gentle grasp. Ivy shook her head, pulling Harley closer into a hug. Harley hesitated but then hugged her back, not expecting Ivy to do that.
"I wish you would listen to me." Ivy whispered, placing a hand on the back of Harley's head. Harley buried her face into Ivy's red hair, resting her chin on her shoulder. "I wish you would save yourself the pain."
The tears were getting harder to hold back. "But, Ivy, he..." She almost couldn't say it. Perhaps after whatever happened, she found herself doubting his affections. But Ivy knew the exact words she was going to say.
"No, darling, he doesn't."
She didn't expect Harley to gasp so loudly in her ear. Not in surprise but more in pain. Mental pain. Ivy felt her clown companion's tears drop onto her shoulder. The hand she had on Harley's back travelled down then up again in a soothing motion. Harley's breathing became irregular as she tried her very best to compose herself. It just didn't work.
"Let me take you home." Ivy suggested softly, glancing over at what she could see of Harley at that angle, "I'll lay you down on a nice, big bed of roses." Harley whimpered a bit then finally pulled back from Ivy. She nodded a few times, wiping her tears that caused her makeup to run. Ivy looked at her and placed a hand on her cheek, her thumb moving across to pick up any tears Harley missed. The clown flinched slightly as it was her bad cheek. Ivy shook her head and helped Harley up. Small grunts of pain were heard as she tried to stand. Her knee was scrapped, her jester costume ripped, and the parts that weren't ripped probably hid bruises. She limped a bit but then stretched out her leg and tried to walk normally once more. Ivy stayed by her side all the while, acting as her cane. Together, they walked out of the funhouse. Joker was no where to be seen. He probably stormed off in anger.
Ivy soon sat Harley down in the stolen car she took to get there. The poisonous villainess sighed lightly. She got in the driver's seat and looked over at Harley who was pouting and cradling her wounded knee close to her chest. Ivy took a breath, looked in the rear view mirror, then pulled out into the road. Harley realized the position she was in hurt more than when she had her legs down so she placed her feet on the floor of the car. She looked out the window, ashamed to catch Ivy's glance. It was only a misunderstanding. Harl sighed. It's always a misunderstanding.
The ride was silent. Harley didn't want to explain what happened and Ivy didn't want to scold her while she was in such a state. Once they got to her greenhouse, Ivy did exactly what she said she would: lay her on a bed of roses. It was soft. They had retractable thorns, being the mutated plants they were, so it felt nice. They were strong, so Ivy wasn't worried Harley would crush them. It felt like laying on a cloud, almost. Certainly a better feeling than being curled up on the hard, wooden floor of a funhouse. Ivy sat next to her, running her fingers down Harley's pigtail, untangling a few knots on the way. Harley closed her eyes and smiled.
"You're too much, Red." She stated before opening her eyes to glance at the flora fatale. Ivy grinned back momentarily then shook her head.
"You know how much I care about you. When he hurts you, it hurts me." She said in all seriousness. Her hand left Harley's hair and she stood to go to her lab. Harley tried to sit up to watch her leave but Ivy held a hand up to her, gesturing for her to stop. She walked away, leaving Harley with a pout. Harls ran her hand over the rose petals and soon Ivy returned with a medical kit.
"Ivy, it's not that bad. Really, I'll be-" Ivy cut Harley off by sitting beside her and placing her wounded leg over her lap. Harley sighed deeply and prepared herself for the stinging sensation Ivy's disinfectant would cause. The disinfectant was carefully applied to a gauze and dabbed on Harley's wounded knee. She winced in pain and grit her teeth.
"Ooooo! Red, it burns!" She whined, gripping tighter on the roses. Ivy looked over to her then down at the roses.
"Careful!" She said with narrowed eyes. Harley paused then soon realized what she was doing and lightened her grip on the plants.
"Sorry." She shrugged sheepishly. Ivy looked back at the knee and continued to clean it, Harley whining all the while. Soon, Ivy rolled her eyes at the jester. She took a breath to control her annoyance then held out a hand. Harley looked at it then at Ivy, unsure. Ivy nodded to her hand and Harley slowly took it in her own. Grasping tightly, she took a breath. Ivy continued cleaning the wound with one hand, occasionally getting assistance from the vines around them to hand her things. It was dead quiet in the large greenhouse for a while. Perhaps they were both too lost in their own thoughts. Harley thinking about what happened that day and wondering what she did wrong and how she could prevent it from happening again the next time she sees her puddin'. Ivy thinking about how much strength it will take her not to strangle the psychotic clown the very next time she sees him. If he was dead, Harley would be safe. Heartbroken, but safe. Ivy wasn't convinced, however, that it was real love. Harley was.
After the knee wound was patched up, Ivy looked at Harley's disheveled clown makeup and shook her head. She used her free hand that wasn't holding Harley's to lift her chin up. She wanted to say something. She wanted to say a lot of things. Why don't you stay with me? Why don't you leave him? Why can't you see the truth?
Harley's eyes slowly travelled up to Ivy's green ones when her chin was lifted. She sighed, wanting to ask many questions as well. Why did he do it, Red? Why does he lash out like that? Why don't you believe me when I say he loves me? Because he does, right?
The women stayed silent before darting their eyes away. They both knew what the other wanted to say. They've had these discussions time and time again. They always ended with the same conclusion: Harley would stay with Joker.
Their hands slipped from each other's grasp. Ivy collected her materials then handed them to a vine to bring back to the lab. She took a breath and looked down at Harley who's eyelids got heavy but tried to remain open.
"Get some rest." Ivy broke the silence, getting up from the bed of roses. She turned to walk away.
"Thank you." Harls piped up softly. Ivy paused, looking at the clown over her shoulder. She nodded.
"Anything for you, Harl." She replied. Harley's bright, red smile widened as she closed her eyes.
At least she would always have Ivy.