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]

"Wow, I didn't even need to get my high points out!"

Aaand she was back.

Just still in a hushed tone and continuing her nuzzling. She could contain multitudes.

[hasaknightjob]

"You've got layers," Marc replied. She could probably feel his grin with how close she was.

[totalwildcard]

Harley could. She leaned right into it, in acknowledgement.

And replied, "Yeah, a shirt and a bra."

[hasaknightjob]

Marc obligingly rolled his eyes. "Beside that. Pain in the ass."

Still smiling while he said it.

[totalwildcard]

Harley pressed a smacking kiss against his cheek and snickered as she pulled back just enough to actually see him.

"What?" she asked, all innocence. "Am I not behavin'?"

[hasaknightjob]

"You're being you," Marc replied.

This was very much not a complaint. The way he moved his hand down to briefly give her ass a squeeze helped indicate that.

[totalwildcard]

"Yeah," Harley agreed, with perhaps a slight shift into that particular touch, "and you like that."

[hasaknightjob]

"I do," Marc said. Not even an admission, a statement of fact. "Didn't expect you, but it's nice."

[totalwildcard]

"No one expects me," Harley assured him. Because clearly he would want and need reassurance for that. "But you're keepin' up now that I'm here."

[hasaknightjob]

"Doing my best," Marc said. "Been interesting so far."

[totalwildcard]

"And yet you still wouldn't stay for Barbie."

Wrong kind of interesting. She knew.

[hasaknightjob]

Marc shrugged. "Not my type."

[totalwildcard]

"But she's so pretty, though!"

Oh, hey, a joke about the resemblance! Without making herself tear about it!

Progress!

[hasaknightjob]

"Not my type," Marc repeated. He kissed her on the forehead again. "I like you better."

[totalwildcard]

There was almost an embarrassingly instant softening to Harley's smile.

"Okay, but will you still like me if I wear pink? As myself?"

The odds of her making a whole outfit of it were low, but hey, you never knew.

[hasaknightjob]

"It's the person, not the outfit," Marc said.

Ignore how he wasn't denying he liked her.

[totalwildcard]

Clearly saying he liked her better than Barbie was a different matter altogether.

"Oh, well, then I have nothing to worry about!"

Like him not liking her.

[hasaknightjob]

"Except maybe turning into a unicorn that can't talk," Marc said. To be a pain in the ass.

[totalwildcard]

Harley made sure to give a big gasp at the mere suggestion --

Only to snort and roll her eyes. "Please, what've I got to worry about there? You'd probably show up and be grumpy about gettin' me whatever unicorns eat, or I'd be magical and just do it myself!"

[hasaknightjob]

"I checked that Bruce was eating," Marc said.

Because somehow that made all the difference.

[totalwildcard]

"Yeah 'cause Bruce was the animal who wasn't talking."

What was his point?

"Also I'm hearing even a peep of you disputing you did it grumpily."

[hasaknightjob]

"I don't smile," Marc reminded her.

While smiling.

[totalwildcard]

How was Harley supposed to resist the temptation to poke him in both corners of his lips and that very same smile?

No way. She did it, asking, "What the fuck do you call this, then?"

[hasaknightjob]

"A mouth," Marc replied, oh so helpfully.

[totalwildcard]

"And what's it doing?" Harley prompted. "Don't say talking, I mean the expression."