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]

"Did it use to be real bad?"

Maybe even Harley knew that might be too personal to ask, because she also tugged him towards the couch, like a distraction.

[hasaknightjob]

Marc kept following where she led. He had no objections sticking close to her.

"Depends on what you'd call bad?" Marc said. Not deflecting. Acknowledging there were levels. "Time, yeah. Days, weeks sometimes. Nothing that long now. Far as we know."

[totalwildcard]

"Weeks?" Harley asked, and made a small 'oof' noise to accompany that. "Must be scary."

She was making a little pit stop at the shelf. Still holding the Barbie, after all.

[hasaknightjob]

"You get used to it," Marc said. "Steven had it worse than me. Least I knew why I was blacking out."

[totalwildcard]

"'Cause you knew he was there."

Still with just the one hand, Harley bent the doll at the waist, so she could set it on the shelf - next to the framed picture, no reason.

She patted the doll gently on the head.

And considered, for once, whether she should ask the question she wanted to ask.

[hasaknightjob]

"And because my brain is made of Swiss cheese," Marc said, since both were true.

He waited patiently at that point, figuring if she was quiet it was about the doll.

[totalwildcard]

"Oh, your brain is much more delicious than Swiss cheese," Harley quipped, choosing - for the moment, anyway - to let her question go, as she turned to him again, giving him a little nudge to sit down on the couch.

[hasaknightjob]

Marc sat where she indicated.

"Pretty sure anybody trying to make a meal outta that is gonna get indigestion."

[totalwildcard]

"It's a metaphor," Harley replied helpfully, flopping down beside him. Close. "I'm no cannibal."

[hasaknightjob]

Marc went to put his arm around her. To make room if she wanted to be close.

"Considering how often something of mine has been in your mouth, good thing you're not."

[totalwildcard]

So Harley just had to scoot even closer to him, happily plastering herself against his side.

While snickering. "Aw, but the threat of it would keep you in line! Gotta stay nice to me or your dick's gettin' bit!"

[hasaknightjob]

Marc held her closer. Because even though it'd been weeks since they'd seen each other, this weekend it wasn't even an option. And that made it different.

"I need keeping in line now?"

[totalwildcard]

"Not usually," Harley admitted, smirking up at him (with her makeup still all smeared onto her cheeks, but drying now), "but it never hurts to have a little something in my back pocket just in case! It's just smart thinking!"

[hasaknightjob]

Marc brushed her cheek with his free hand, using his thumb to see if he could help with some of that makeup.

"Gimme a warning if I make you start thinking about it? Rather fix it before teeth get involved."

[totalwildcard]

Odds were he was just going to smear mascara residue onto his thumb as well, but it also made Harley tilt her head into the touch, so wasn't all bad either way.

"Okay!" she agreed easily. "You'd really have to piss me off for me to get all hurty bitey like that, anyway."

Other types of bitey were different, as they both well knew.

[hasaknightjob]

It could join whatever had ended up on his shirt besides tears.

"Do my best not to," Marc said. Even as there was a twitch of worry that his best there wouldn't be good enough.

[totalwildcard]

"It's literally the most any of us can do," Harley replied with a sage nod.

[hasaknightjob]

Something about the way she said that made Marc kiss her on the top of her head.

"Nice having you back."

[totalwildcard]

The kiss made Harley's smile a little more amused in the softest possible way.

"Is it?" she asked, more as a tease than anything else. "'Cause Barbie had some killer outfits, and she was nice."

[hasaknightjob]

"You're nice," Marc said. "More interesting too."

[totalwildcard]

"Oh, like you stayed long enough to find out!" Harley replied without missing a beat. "You made sure Bruce was okay and ya left."

[hasaknightjob]

"Why would I stay if it wasn't you?" Marc replied.

He was going to skip past the Bruce thing in the hopes it wouldn't be noticed more than it had been.

[totalwildcard]

Harley shrugged, although her smirk didn't go anywhere. "I dunno, plenty of other interesting people out in the world!"

[hasaknightjob]

"Steven can be the one who makes new friends," Marc said. "He's got it covered."

[totalwildcard]

Harley raised her eyebrows at him. "And you're, what? A Harley exclusive? Limited edition? For serious collectors only?"

Not that they were friends, of course. Perish the thought!