3480/To hope for a cat.

To hope for a cat.
Date of Scene:	21 September 2020
Location:	Boardwalk - St Martin's Island
Synopsis:	How can anyone refuse the 'Donut Explosion' that Harley offers? Not Gar! So they meet at the boardwalk of St. Martin's and talk about their life without Vorpal, their hopes. And perhaps find a bit more of understanding on one another.
Cast of Characters:	Gar Logan, Harley Quinn

---

Gar Logan has posed:
(Some time before the Fearsome Five and Doctor Light attacked Titans Tower...)

In the kitchen, Gar was staring at the contents of the fridge, the door open long enough that a little condensation is beginning to form on a few things. "So many choices..." he says to himself, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Where to begin? I could go with the salad, or maybe the lunchmeats, or toss a pizza in the oven but then I'd have to wait to pre-heat then give another twenty minutes or so and I don't want to wait that long." It's so difficult being indecisive sometimes. This is what inevitably leads to him just eating everything.

That's when his phone buzzes, so he pulls it out to see why.

Harley Quinn has posed:
> Haaaai Gar!

Yes, the message was sent by yours truly, the supposedly reformed clownette of Gotham. Another message is sent right after.

> Guess where I am at!

Hopefully not at the tower right now! A few moments later a selfie pic is sent of Harley standing on the boardwalk, behind her a place called 'Donut Destruction'. She is winking in the picture.

> Come meet me, I am at the boardwalk on St. Martin's Island. My treat!

Boo! Bribing Gar with food. But she has been wanting to meet Gar for a few days now. And being a DOCTOR OF PSYCHOLOGY she attacked where she knows people are more vulnerable. The stomach!

Gar Logan has posed:
"Oh, God..." Gar whispers. It's Harley. How did Harley get his number?

Aside from the fact he'd already given it to her at some point in the past through Terry, /and/ sent her a text after coming to the conclusion that Terry was (probably) still alive?

He's just going to ignore it, pretend like he was busy. Then the second text comes through. "Obviously not back in Arkham, if you're texting me right now," he mutters under his breath this time. The photo confirms it.

Then, the invitation is extended. That was, after all, the only natural progression to this. At least she didn't type the same way she spoke. The texts are easier to understand, sometimes.

> I feel like this is going to be a bad idea, but fine. No kidnapping, though. You have to promise.

Harley Quinn has posed:
> Pinky promise! Cross my heart and hope to die! Good girl scout cookie promise!

Another picture is sent, that of a shiny sun beating down on the beaches near the boardwalk. Yes, she certainly knows how to lure people! Which.., come to think of it..., perhaps she did get that experience with kidnapping during Mistah J's reign in Gotham... But different times. She's reformed, really! Vorps confirmed it so it must be true.

> I will be waiting. And if you don't come soon I am eating your share of the donuts. I want to see you face to face.

It's almost as if she cared!

And she will wait out at the boardwalk, making her way about it until finally coming to settle down on a bench, legs sprawled up on it lazily.

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan exhales. The sooner he does this, the sooner he gets this over with. Thing is, Terry saw something in Harley. Maybe it's..well, that may come up later, depending on things.

> Give me five minutes.

He shuts the fridge and takes the first couple minutes to make his way outside. It takes a couple more to fly over to the boardwalk once he's changed into a bird. That gives him about a minute of leeway, which he uses to pinpoint her location based on the next photo...and whether or not there's a circle of space around the woman. Soon, he touches down and returns to normal, /his/ normal, given the green skin. Casualwear is what he's gone with today.

"So."

Harley Quinn has posed:
Five minutes is a loooong time in Harley time. She gets bored easily. But she shall endure. For Vorps! Not that she isn't half-way through a donut already when Gar is doing his flyby of approach. And nope, no apparent goons or other clowns hiding behind trees or under benches ready to kidnap Gar. Doesn't seem like it's her intention today!

"I gotta say, Hah'lee dahlin' this is bein' some delicious explosion on my tummy..." Yes, she is talking to herself, still unaware of sneaky Gar's approach, licking her fingertips off until she hears that 'So'. It makes her jump then peer towards Gar.

"Gahh!" Yes, that's how she says his name. "Ya actually came." she jumps up to her feet like a pogo stick.

She starts ambling closer to Gar, "How ahe ya doin'?"

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan keeps his arms by his side, his phone tucked away in a pocket of his jeans. So she /does/ have the donuts, and she's even eating a few. That could mean anything. If they're poisoned, maybe she's immune. If there's a knockout agent in one of them, all he has to do is eat /that/ one and it's sleepytime.

Or this could all be legit. She wouldn't do anything to him that would make Terry or Vorpal or Vorps upset, would she? What if he never found out?

"Of course I did," he answers, rolling a shoulder in the effect of a shrug at the question asked of him. "I've been better, and I've been worse. You seem..okay." He just stands there, though each step closer to him leaves him wondering what she's going to do once she's within reach.

Harley Quinn has posed:
Ding ding ding! She is indeed immune to toxins, but that's not something everyone knows, only a select few. Blame it on Ivy really! But whoever can refuse those nice, fluffy donuts, mmm? She even has a little bit of sugar around her lips after her devouring of the earlier one. And she is smiling wide at the young Gar even if her eyes do seem to be scrutinizing him, studying, maybe making use of all that psychology knowledge she has hidden under those layers of insanity.

But what will she do indeed when she's close enough.. It becomes apparent enough when her arms open up for an incoming hug. Of course that Gar can still escape the crushing inevitability coming his way. "I miss Vorps.." she states on her approach, her tone shifting from the brightness it was in just a moment ago to a low, trembling one.

"He sent me a video.." She then adds.

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan surely didn't think she'd really go for the hug, did he? Or was it waiting there, in the back of his mind, to see how he'd handle it? There's no way he should let her in enough for an embrace like that. He ought to stay a minimum of arm's length between them. There's that nagging voice inside that reminds him she /does/ have a lengthy rap sheet and has been in and out of Arkham more times than he could probably count. She used to hang with The Joker. She's killed and had no qualms about doing it. There's no way Terry should even be a friend of hers, no way April ever should have allowed her to become her roommate, and yet...

Even with the optimism there that Terry and the other Titans are still out there, alive, there remains enough doubt about other things related to it all that he probably needs a hug too, even if it's from a woman who's certifiably insane.

So, it happens. It's even returned, if briefly, but he's holding himself together lest he give her something else to analyze about him. That's the absolute /last/ thing he needs right now. "So do I..and he sent me one too, and no I'm not going to talk about it." The hug is brief, for he slips out of it to step back.

Harley Quinn has posed:
While her arms are around Gar Harley starts to shoot out words at 100 miles per hour, almost as if she was trying to speak up all there's in her mind all at once. "He tol' me ta keep his Wondeh Woman stuff and ..., ta build up a foundation... I ..., I got some dark thoughts as I was seein' the video. Vengeance.." maybe it's not the best of things to be saying while standing so close to Gar! A clownette with murderous thoughts?!

"But he has always been a good cat foh me, believin' in me. So whateva ya need I am heah foh ya." The offer appears sincere, but she is also known as a great actress when she wants to afterall. For what is an harlequin but someone whose grand stage is life itself?

"And when he's back ya make suwe ta give him lots of cuddlin' ya heah?" Yes, she seems to be on Team 'They are alive'. She steps back as well, picking up the donut case and offering it up to Gar, arms fully extended.

Gar Logan has posed:
There's a lot going on with this, a reluctant and uncomfortable look in Gar's face. He's even avoiding making direct eye contact with Harley at the moment. "That's..good, and.." He can only give her a confused glance as she brings up a foundation. "Why would he be talking to you about makeup?" Because there's no way 'build up a foundation,' in her case, could mean anything /but/ that given her proclivities for the clown stylings. Right?

Right?!?

He reaches across the front of his body with his right hand, clutching his left elbow to rub it idly. "I guess you know we got outed just before all of this went sideways, and I released a statement. Then this happened, and I..just wanted to quit everything. I mean, everything. But a couple things got me thinking again, and now I'm sure they're not done for."

Cuddling? Encouraged by Harley Quinn? He clears his throat to fend off a brief cough, then he peers at the box of donuts and opens the lid to see what's there. A glazed should be low-risk.

Harley Quinn has posed:
"Nooo, a foundation foh men and women who fall victim ta people like Mistah J..." Harley then giving Gar a wide, deep grin, eyebrows waggling. "But ya know, when he's back we definitely gonna have a talk about makeup.." Yep, Gar just gave her ideas! But for now she doesn't exactly *share* them that what she just said..

"Yea, I saw. I was even mindful enough ta not comment so ya wouldn't be embarassed fwom knowin me." She eagerly nodding her head a few times. But yes, she has aware that Gar wasn't exactly too comfortable around her. It wasn't hard to tell either, probably wouldn't even need to be a DOCTAH!

The box opens to reveal a marvellous display of donuts. One sugar-coated, the other with chocolate. And how can any donut from a place called 'Donut explosion' be anything but delicious? "They ahe mahvellous.. Heah, take the box. Have 'em all." he won't even need to be deciding on which kind he'd prefer!

Gar Logan has posed:
"If you put any laxatives in these, I will find you and take over your bathroom," Gar says, knowing exactly where Harley and April live. But, that would also impact April and maybe that's not such a great idea, unless they have separate ones. "I knew that, about the foundation. I was just testing you," he basically lies. "And we, uh, don't exactly do makeup, you know." They're guys, and..well, /some/ guys do makeup, but do they look like the sort to?

He nods a couple times as the 'Yes, Vorpal and I are a thing' statement is replied to, rubbing the back of his neck. "We were already talking about that because that story was about to come out in the Daily Planet, so I guess that kind of ended up being a thing. And then the day his story hits.." Yes, it was the very day of the big battle. Talk about timing. The donuts are set down on a nearby bench but he stays standing, looking at her. It's as if he's just waiting for whatever else she's got on her mind about all this.

Harley Quinn has posed:
"When ah told Shorty.." That's Damian, ".. that I wanted ta help I meant it." The clownette says, brows furrowed, arms folding about her waist once Gar takes the box of donuts, one hip jutting to the side, "And while yoh bowel movement may need some help because yea, I know ya like ta eat, it also doesn't mean that's the *kinda* help I am goin' with ya know?" See? Unbeatable logic for not having put laxatives on the donuts. They should be perfectly safe!

"Nothin' wrong with makeup on guys.." She says with a shrug. "Everyone should ta look bettah." her grin widening again, she bringing her fingers as if to open her smile further, "Make everyone look happieh."

"Maybe it was fate, a test ta yoh love. Because the woahld ain't faeh. But we take what we get and make it woik."

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan's mouth just opens and shuts. He is not going to encourage Harley and her ideas of makeup. Nope. Not happening. "Yeah, he made an announcement about you," he lets her know. With the donuts out of his hold, his hands meet in back for a time, biting his lower lip when she emphasizes that smile, already wider than it'd be for most people.

"I guess nothing's easy." If she's done her homework on what's publicly known about Gar, this would have hardly been the first time he'd lost someone important to him. It was becoming too common. "But we're not giving up."

Harley Quinn has posed:
"He did?!" That makes Harley literally give a little jump, tapping her hands together rapidly in an excited little clap, "I knew I had gotten through ta him. Did ya know he has grown since last time I saw him?" she grinning. "He's boob-tall now." She making a line a bit over her chest line now. "They grow so fast..." she lets out a little dramatic sigh before re-focusing back on Gar.

"All things o' woath ain't easy." She then says in a more quiet tone. "It's temptin' ta go down da easy path, give up." it's a dark path she has been on more than once. But ironically her insanity keeps her at bay, in that teetering edge to the precipice. "And damn right, noone should be givin' up. If they do you let me know, I will bring Smiley to knock some sense on 'em." Is that her hammer?

Gar Logan has posed:
"Just that you were trying to help and stuff," Gar explains, taking a seat next to the box of donuts before a brow shifts upward. "Most people use measuring tape. Just saying," he informs her, fidgeting with his hands for a few seconds. They got a lot more interesting!

Silence follows, her talk of giving up and taking the easy way out striking a chord with him. "I know how easy that can be," he answers, voice lowering to something more quiet. No questions are forthcoming about 'Smiley,' but it sounds like a Joker thing to him. "Sure, yeah. Look, ah..you know I'm kind of uncomfortable about all this," he tells her, gesturing in her general vicinity. "But I'm trying. Terry likes you, and I guess he trusts you too."

Harley Quinn has posed:
"Do I look the type ta walk around with measurin' tape?" Harley asks in that tone as if Gar was just being a tiny bit weird about that! Her eyes glance down at her chest and she then lifts her shoulders. "And these I carry everywheah!" not that she needs to be explicit on what 'these' are!

But her eyes are more interested on following Gar now, doing that analysis, watching those mannerisms, the short responses, the way he tries to hide what is underneath. In a way she can understand it even if she says. "I know ya ahe, ya been all stiff since ya arrived as if ya got somethin' stuck up yoh behind." one of those wide grins appearing again.

"I am not gonna hurt ya. I love Terry, and since he loves ya, well that means I do too." It's Harley logic, but it works for her!

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan holds up his hands. "I am not going to ask you how that measurement even works," he says, perhaps a bit louder than is necessary. Don't think about it!

She's right, though. They /are/ always there. With her. All the time.

He stuffs his hands back into his pockets. "Maybe that's because no matter how many times we talk, I don't think I'm ever going to feel /comfortable/ around you. I know you've been trying to change, and I know April trusts you, and Terry trusts you, but a big part of me just can't forget things before. I know you got all twisted around the Joker's fingers and stuff, but.."

The hands come out again, palms up as he shrugs and shakes his head. "I can see why you and Terry get along. You're both, like, chaos personified."

Harley Quinn has posed:
Because Gar knows he doesn't need to ask! Harley just lets out a wicked little chuckle. "Oh, that's cos ya know already how it woiks.., yea you doooo." a wink. It will be their little secret! Or something.

She makes her way to the other side of the bench, resting her arms behind her in a casual manner and balancing herself back and forth on tiptoes. Nope, she can't keep a normal talking posture. "I wish I could fohget it too, but I can't." much to her dismay. Insanity does help though. "And I am what I am, that much is true. Theah is no middle ground with me. Love me oh hate me. The in-between is hard." But she seems to have accepted that a long time ago.

"This ain't about me now though, but about Vorps and you." Though at being told she is chaos personified she appears to take it as the grandest compliment possible. She bows deeply, full of flourishes. "Thank ya, Gahh!"

Gar Logan has posed:
"Whatever, Harley," Gar answers, totally done with boob talk! Don't think about it, and it won't put him in danger of grinning at all. Not even a little bit. Wouldn't be right.

He keeps one eye on her before lifting the lid to the box for another donut, a chocolate one. "I don't really know what that's like, being, you know, stuck with someone like that." Stuck, blindly following, same difference, right? "There was some stuff when I was younger that I don't really want to talk about, but I know a little about being in a bad situation."

It's fitting she'd take the chaos comment that way, though. "Sure. Any time. I just want them all back."

Harley Quinn has posed:
Fine! No more boobs! But Harley does reach over to take a donut for herself, sugar-sprinkled one. Yumm..! She takes a big bite from it and of course that she waits until she is chewing through to begin talking. Noone told her never to talk with her mouth full! "It's like, huh..." a beat, "Bein' chained willingly, ya know it's not good foh ya, that it will hoit ya but in the end ..., it doesnt mattah. Because yoh happy." or at least you think you are happy. "Which is why ah know I couldn't get out by myself, needed help from othas." and it might also explain why she is so close to April and Vorpal.

A shrug and she takes another bite. Donut eaten in two bites! Impressive! "It's what we all want." a beat, she looking at Gar. "I am gonna go. Was good talkin'"

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan nudges the box a couple inches closer as she moves in for the kill, claiming the one. He's still considering his, like the appetite is struggling for whatever reason. There is still a muted, subdued mood to him, like he won't be complete as long as Terry and the rest of his teammates are still missing, even if people believe they're alive. They could stay alive, but there's no telling if or when they'll be found or find their way home.

"Yeah, I like being happy. And it sucks when you feel like you're alone, stranded somewhere, lost. Sorry, I'm probably a big downer right now," he says, and this time he forces a smile. "Do I look happier now?" The grin is there, but the shine in his eyes is still not as bright as it usually is. She's seen him happy, and this isn't it.

"Take care of yourself, Harley," he adds, looking back down at his lap again. They're both missing someone special to them, and he's missing even more than that. Sometimes talking about it helps, and sometimes it doesn't. Where this conversation falls into the mix, he's not sure yet.