Needful Things Building; Monday

[totalwildcard]

The Dream House was gone by morning, replaced again with the antique store and the apartment above it, both with all four walls intact, and the color scheme decidedly less pink.

And in said apartment, late in the morning, Harley woke up with a start. Like fully bolting upright and everything, with a gasp.

"... Barbie looks like me."

She couldn't believe it. She brought her hands up to her face, smooshing her cheeks.

"Like me."

This jaw! These cheekbones under her skin!

Something about it was making her eyes well up.

At least, until something else about the weekend came back to her. "Bruce!" Oh, God, he'd been eating something obviously plastic, all weekend long! Harley scrambled out of bed to find him - only to, yes, find him curled up in one of his usual spots, seemingly right as rain.

She still ended up taking him on a long walk around town. It took a while for her to be convinced that just as magically as he'd turned into a toy dog for the weekend, whatever the plastic stuff he'd been eating (and, to be fair, pooping out at what seemed like an alarming rate for a fully functioning gastric system) had just as magically turned into actually edible stuff in his guts when he'd turned back. He seemed fine! He was leaving behind dog shit that was the usual level of disgusting!

Still, between the long walk and then breakfast for both him and herself, the morning had already turned into the afternoon by the time something occurred to Harley, and sent her bolting down the stairs into the store.

There, she found the display of dolls of varying ages and kinds.

And there, tucked near the back, was a Barbie. Harley carefully pulled her out from between a Victorian-ish porcelain doll and a fairly creepy 1950s baby, and smiled down at her.

It was a little watery, but there was no one here to see it, was there?

"Oh, there you are."

Something in her chest ached a little.

(expecting one!)

Comments

[totalwildcard]

Harley sighed, going just a little more lax in the embrace, the way she sometimes did when there was enough pressure.

Thebn she frowned, unseen, since her face was very much still pressed against his chest.

"Wait, did ya come here to... check up on me?"

[hasaknightjob]

The question caught Marc off guard enough that honesty happened.

"Yeah."

[totalwildcard]

Harley peeled her face away from his chest enough to look at him - and, yeah, his shirt was not just wet now but also likely had some mascara and stuff on it as well, based on what a mess Harley's makeup was now. Oops?

"Oh," she said.

And then, very small: "I like that."

[hasaknightjob]

Marc didn't mind. Shirts could always be washed or replaced.

"It was weird for Steven and Watts," Marc said, trying to shrug it off. But not so much actual shrugging since he was still holding her. "Figured. Maybe you too."

[totalwildcard]

Harley tilted her head a little, like she was considering that. Maybe trying to read his face a little, too?

But what she actually said was, "You wanna go upstairs?"

[hasaknightjob]

Marc was still looking at Harley like he was confirming to himself that it was her. Which he kind of was. Not that he doubted, but, yanno. It was nice to see her again.

"Sure."

[totalwildcard]

Barbie probably wouldn't have looked like as much of a mess right now. Certainly not as deathly pale.

Harley nodded. "Okay." Tried to pull away, but also to find his hand with her free one.

[hasaknightjob]

Marc still liked this view better. Which was possibly indicated by the way he let Harley take his hand.

"Bruce okay?"

[totalwildcard]

Harley perked up a little. It also distracted from the way she squeezed his hand as soon as she had it.

"Oh, we took a long morning walk, he's fine," she said. "Probably doesn't even know anything happened!"

[hasaknightjob]

Marc squeezed back, but don't expect him to realize he'd done it.

"Least he's not sick or anything," Marc said.

Not that he cared.

[totalwildcard]

"Not even a little bit!" Harley agreed, her cheer still a little muted and heavy with all the tears that had clogged up her whole face (or that was what it felt like, anyway), but it was getting better. Also, she was pulling him along towards the back, now. "And he ate a lotta plastic over the weekend. You'd think that'd fuck with his poor tummy, but nope."

[hasaknightjob]

Marc let himself be pulled. Not that he needed convincing to follow Harley, but it didn't suck knowing she had a strong opinion about him coming along.

"I think he was plastic? But you weren't. Her. Whatever."

[totalwildcard]

"Yeah but she was weird about eating, too," Harley replied. "Also didn't have like a... all the way human body, either."

[hasaknightjob]

"Have you eaten?" Marc asked.

Look, sometimes he and Steven had things in common.

[totalwildcard]

"Breakfast?" Harley replied. It was both a confirmation that she had eaten today as well as a question about whether she should have eaten something since then.

By Harley standards, it was very efficient communication!

[hasaknightjob]

"I guess," Marc said, since she didn't say how late that breakfast was. "Long as you're okay. Considering."

[totalwildcard]

"Considering what?"

They got to the back room, where Bruce was not in his usual spot, for once. Which just meant no need to pause before Harley pulled Marc to the stairs.

[hasaknightjob]

"Considering you weren't you for the weekend?" Marc replied.

[totalwildcard]

"Oh, right!" Harley said. And shrugged. "Well, at least I was mostly just eating pretend food and not plastic."

That was better, right? A little?

[hasaknightjob]

"Glad you're back," Marc said. And maybe her hand got another squeeze.

[totalwildcard]

And maybe that made Harley smile a little.

"Good to be back!"

Even if it was hard to tell from all the crying.

[hasaknightjob]

"You remember being gone?" Marc asked, curious. "Watts didn't."

[totalwildcard]

"Well I didn't just guess I'd been Barbie," Harley replied with a bemused little huff, as they entered the apartment, "or that Bruce ate plastic, 'cause lemme tell ya, only one of those things would even ever occur to me as a possibility."

The apartment looked the same as it had last time he'd been here. Bruce was curled up by the couch and lifted his head at their arrival.

[hasaknightjob]

Marc gave Bruce the usual bro nod when he saw him.

"I meant - never mind. Not important."

[totalwildcard]

Oh, but Harley had already turned to face him again, a question on her face.

"What? What'd you mean?"