4507/The Clown and The Fool

The Clown and The Fool
Date of Scene:	27 December 2020
Location:	April's Apartment
Synopsis:	Gar confronts Harley, thinking he knows all the answers, when it's the questions that may have been wrong from the start.
Cast of Characters:	Harley Quinn, Gar Logan

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Harley Quinn has posed:
Christmas had went great! Gifts given around, lots of food and merriment at April's. Of course that what happened in christmas stayed in christmas, but Harley was in a good enough mood today. In such a good mood that she had went up to the roof to hit some balls with her baseball bat. There was quite the advantage to April own the whole building afterall. And one of those was that Harley could have aaaallll that space to herself..

So it was with some glee that she was throwing a ball up and down on one hand, looking at her hyenas. "Awright, booyyzz. First ta bring me the ball back gets a sip outta the beeah." she announces, grin wide. "BUT ONLY A SIP! We don't wanna April bein' upset again foh drunken wreckin' her apartment again, do we? No, we don't!" the hyenas whimper, looking sufficiently chastised but they seem eager to get on pursuing that ball. So without further ado she throws it up in the air and hits it hard, sending it flying across the brooklyn roofs... It makes the hyenas run out quick, jumping over roofs in pursuit..

This also does two things.
One: If Gar actually rings up to the apartment he won't get any reply.
Two: If he hears for a bit he will note the clownette's loud voice coming from the roof, along with the hyenas.

Gar Logan has posed:
This was probably going to be an uncomfortable talk, but it was one Gar needed to have. Still, when it's with Harley Quinn, even if she's supposedly on the path to reforming herself, it's not a bad idea to let someone else know what's going on. At least someone back at Titans Tower is aware of Gar's plans tonight, but he insisted he had to do this and he had to do this on his own. That doesn't mean he isn't being monitored.

This is while he monitors April's place from a nearby rooftop of his own. Vorpal should have let Harley know Gar wanted to see him, but little did Gar know that Terry never got to that point based on what happened after the green Titan left the temporary residence in Happy Harbor that Terry was keeping.

So, Harley likely has no idea what's going on. That might not even matter.

There she is, atop the roof, with the hyenas. He'd rather not have to deal with them, but if push came to shove...there were benefits that came with what he could do. So, yes, there she is, smacking baseballs or softballs or whatever size they are, letting the hyenas run off after them in a version of fetch only she could come up with.

With them having run off, he picks his spot, changing to a small bird before flying over and assuming his normal shape, and he's wearing the new costume Vorpal got him as he steps out from behind a metal box. "Harley. Did he let you know?" He assumes it was covered. Gar doesn't look especially comfortable or happy.

Harley Quinn has posed:
Jumping and down with one hand just above her eyes as if she can have it make her see further Harley is incentivizing her hyenas. "Go on! Ya can do it! No fallin' though!" but as they then get out of sight for a bit she sighs and goes to reach for a beer. It's when she notes Gar. "Ah! Stalker!" she replies, jumping up in place before resuming her motion to get a beer. She gets two! "Ya want one, green boy?"

"And mmmm, nice collahs..." She says in approval at the red and black, winking. "And who let me know what?" she canting her head to the side. A small frown. "Did Vorpal get in trouble again oh somethin'?" she assumes it's something about Terry.

Gar Logan has posed:
"I'm not old enough," Gar answers, which is funny to think about considering how much he's done before even turning twenty. It's like that for a lot of the people in this line of work, though. His arms cross, so he can rub at an elbow with the opposite hand. If the chilly weather bothers him, given the bare (not bear this time) arms and feet, he's grown good at not letting it show.

As for the colors..he glances down and his mouth draws into a thin line, enough that the one tooth sticks up from the underbite that's pronounced enough to show it, hinting at his more animalistic side. "He got it for me. As a present." She's right about one thing, with this having to do with Vorpal, but in spite of what he might /want/ to say he tries to give her a chance even though it comes out like an accusation. "Would you like to explain to me how you came to have a bunch of toys with contraband hidden inside, getting both you and Vorpal attacked?" he asks, keeping his voice on an even level.

Harley Quinn has posed:
"Foh what? Bein' a stalkah?" Blame's all on Gar for not clarifying this was about the beer. It has Harley quirking a brow. "Ya'd be amazed about some o' the shit I have seen in Gotham. Real creeps out theah..." she shakes her head a bit to herself. Not that she is a criminal, nope. She is sweet clean this one! (Or not). If the cold bothers her or not, well, she is keeping a good woolen shirt dressed on, yellow overalls atop. So maybe a little. No skimpy outfit today!

"Niiiice.." This about the present. And it reminds her. "Been enjoyin' the french maid outfit..?" her tone all mischievous.

The direct question about the contraband has her lifting a brow. "Heh?" a pause, "Well, if we gonna get technical about it it's us that attacked 'em, not the otha way around!" which is true! They only stole the truck and were running off! Then the Harley nation attacked ...

"Kids were happy though! Shoulda seen some o' the pics we took with 'em. Has Vorps showed you 'em?" she asks, reaching to start looking for her cellphone. (Or a shiv, one never knows)

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan's brows scrunch together. "No, for drinking," he confirms. "And I'm not stalking. He was supposed to tell you I wanted to talk." So this leads to him realizing that probably never happened, which also suggests Harley wouldn't understand why Gar's not in a happy mood right now. Grrf.

"Yeah, I know Gotham's nuts, but I...look, forget about that. I'm not here about that," he scowls as she teases him about the french maid thing. It's not a Batman scowl, maybe not even in the ballpark, but for him, for someone who usually prefers smiles and laughter, it's a stark contrast.

"Harley, look. I just want to understand how it is you guys ended up in a situation to the point that you got mixed up with a gang over toys that were hot. I want to know why my boyfriend, who just came back from being missing in space for three months, got into trouble just trying to do something nice for kids. He was so happy to let me know he didn't get hurt or shot after hanging out with you, and you know what? If that's where the bar is set, I don't know if I can handle this."

By now, his arms have unfolded, spreading out to the sides, palms up. He looks and sounds exasperated, and stressed out, and borderline angry. "No, we didn't get that far!" he exclaims about any pics with the kids. "Because we had a fight about you!"

Harley Quinn has posed:
Harley is in the process of getting her phone out, starting to flip forward to her photo album to the kids photos until Gar just persists on asking about on the whys and hows on what happened.. It has the clownette pause, look up from her phone and watch Gar with some more attention, analyzing him with that doctor eye of hers. "Yoh boyfriend, a titan." she reminds Gar. Because sometimes it's good to remind others who they are talking about!

The shift to that angry demeanor has Harley fold her arms together, most of the grin fading. "Fightin' about me? What foh? Because we went against some bandits and took em out?" it perhaps has her become a bit confused, "I mean, he's a titan... Ain't that what ya do?" she asks, "Fightin' crime? Does he get upset with ya when ya go out and fight off against whateva is tryin' ta get the titans down?"

The sound of the hyenas squealing is heard as they are running across the rooftops on their way back, Bud having caught the prized ball.

Gar Logan has posed:
This wasn't going to be a conversation simple enough to be over by the time the hyenas returned, was it? Of course not. Gar can hear them, so he shifts his placement enough to keep them in sight based on the direction the sounds are coming from.

Shaking his head, he says, "It's not like that. It's not about just running into trouble because we're Titans and we try to stop the bad guys. It's..stuff that shouldn't even /be/ trouble in the first place. You got those toys from some friends of yours, right? And you just assumed they were clean? Then, guess what happens?" he asks, arms spreading wide again. "Here comes a gang, because the toys just happen to have a bunch of diamonds or whatever inside! What if those got into the hands of the /kids/ by the time the gang showed up? Did you ever stop to think about how bad /that/ could have gone?"

He tries to answer for her. "No, because you just do whatever you want, and then when it goes all sideways, it pulls others in. How am I supposed to be able to trust that Vorpal will be fine when something this basic goes to hell? It doesn't matter what he can do, or what you can do. All it takes is one bullet and I might not have ever seen him breathing again!" After a reluctant pause, he has to add, "Or that could have happened to you!"

Harley Quinn has posed:
Regret? Owning up to her own failures? Nah, that's not how Harley rolls. And besides, she knows it wouldn't help in this. Much better to just accuse Gar back! "Well, ain't ya just bein' a little bitch right now...?" she states, shaking her head to herself before her clear blue eyes harden up some, "Ya chose ta be a freakin' hero, so did he. Life's about danger when ya choose that path.. What dya wanna do? Keep him inside this lil bottle so he can't be harmed? Guess what, he won't be takin' that shit. And nor would you if he tried ta pull the same numbah on ya.."

She points a finger at Gar right after, "So why don't get off yoh high horse and get a grip?" a beat, "Kids awhe happy, gangstahs weah taken out. Who cares about the 'what ifs'?" certainly not Harley! "And what makes me even mooouh mad is that ya'd get upset with him ovah somethin' he was quite happy ta be part of! Ya shoulda seen those kids smiles!"

Nope, she still isn't saying how she got those toys in the first place.

Gar Logan has posed:
That's not how Harley rolls, and that's a main reason Gar's not sure this will get anywhere productive. But, someone told him to stop keeping everything sealed up inside, and this is where that's leading him right now.

"Maybe I am," he retorts at being called a little bitch, "but you know what? That's fine. I know all about how dangerous life can be. Yeah, I chose to be a hero, because I know what it's like to lose someone important and if I can help someone else not lose someone like that, then I feel like I've done something good."

The finger of accusation is cast upon Harley Quinn. "But I'm not sure you even care about anything except whatever's tugging you in the direction you're going at the time. Look at you justifying it. Bad guys lose, kids get their toys, kids are happy, like that makes everything else fine? It doesn't work that way!"

He climbs atop that metal box, some kind of fan unit, lest the hyenas react to this and decide to make him more of their business. At least it gives him a chance to put some distance in. "Vorpal likes you, Harley. He believes in you, that you can be better than you were. I still dunno how you ever ended up staying here with April, but I'm gonna guess she's all right with you. I want to believe you can change too, but whenever something weird happens you aren't sorry about it putting anyone in danger. If it works out in the end, that's all that matters to you, isn't it?"

Harley Quinn has posed:
The hyenas arrive with a huff, panting, Bud dropping the ball right in front of Harley, expectant. But as the beer isn't forthcoming it just whines and sits down. Harley though, she isn't much paying attention right now, instead her eyes being up on Gar, "And I like Vorpal back!" She says back to the green-colored titan, "But not with any help outta you!" she accuses, continuing to point, "I see how ya look at me, always judgin'. Because ya don't like it one bit. And yea, he does believe in me, one o' the few that do.. And do ya even know why?!"

The second hyena, Lou, being already pissed about losing looks up at Gar. Stressing up Harley? It makes him start to growl, head low, ears back..

Harley continues, "He sees himself in me. The odd one out that everyone casted out. Have ya evah stopped ta think on why he even cares ta hang with me?" she lets that hang a bit but soon enough continues, all anger and impulse but also with that Doctor Quinn analytics she has used with her friend, ".. And now heah you awhe gettin angry at him because he hangs with me. Let me guess, ya wanted him ta cut ties with me? Me oh you? I am suwah that musta went great."

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan does indeed keep an extra eye on the hyenas, and when one begins to growl at him he points a finger at it, at Lou. "You cut that out, or I might just turn into a lion here in a minute," he warns the beast.

Still with Harley as his main focus, he remains frowning. But, part of what she tells him has him starting to chew at his bottom lip in a pensive way. It's not enough to completely snap himself out of his righteous indignation, but it gives him reason to pause, to rethink a little.

"I could never figure out why he wanted to hang out with you," he confesses, "and I was always afraid that you'd do../something/ sooner or later." Harley's reputation is no secret, and he has fit the bill of the typical hero, often seeing things as good or bad without a lot of room in between. But, good guys aren't always pure and good, and bad guys aren't always nasty and bad. Right?

"I wasn't angry at him. I was angry at you for putting him in danger over something that was supposed to be simple, and safe, and.." She's kind of got him with the last part. He did tell Vorpal something about seeing her, if the way he looks elsewhere is a sign. "I don't want to see him hurt, or wounded, or worse," he admits, voice getting smaller. "I know I can't protect him from everything out there, and he can take care of himself better now, but I can't figure you out. You say you're trying to be better..." He trails off there, and the arms wrap around his upper body and shoulders again. Worried Gar is threatening a comeback.

Harley Quinn has posed:
Pfff, lions? These hyenas were bred in Gotham. No lion ain't gonna get 'em! It's fur bristles at the finger pointing at it but it doesn't go forth to attack, just staying there, perhaps waiting a word out of Harley. They are well trained!

Harley just frowns further... There goes her nice afternoon with beer! "'Something...'" the clownette echoes, "Ya livin' out in feah.. Yea, I can imagine how that talk went real well. But ya still don't understand shit about Terry, do ya?" she shakes her head to herself again.

She takes in another BIG breath, perhaps ready to go on another tirade but then pauses, watching Gar more attentively and then just exhales with a sigh. She sits down with a flop at the chair she had let out for her sunbathing, which would mostly be snow-bathing. But who's paying attention to those things anyway? "I am not suwah what ya want me ta say.." she finally replies, "That I am messed up? No good ta be around? That I am broken goods..?" she presses her lips to a line. "Yea, I am all that. And Terry knows it, and he still hangs with me. Because he believes even if I may not sometimes. That should tell ya somethin' about him. And maybe ya should trust him a bit moouh instead o' thinkin' ya may know best."

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan runs a hand through his hair, and he seems to be questioning himself in contrast to coming here like he thought he knew it all.

"He probably thinks I'm damaged goods too, and he wants to try to make me better," he says, not so much under his breath that Harley can't hear, but it's not intended to be loud. He shifts to sit atop the unit, drawing his knees in closer before wrapping his arms around them. "All I want to know is that you're looking out for him if you're out doing stuff. I worry about him, you know. Because I love him, and I know that sounds mushy, but when I thought he and the others died, I almost quit everything."

Clearing his throat, he glances toward Harley again, then down. "So yeah, I guess I'm a little overprotective of him sometimes. Because I care. And if you care about him too.." He sighs, struggling with some of this. "..you'd be looking out for him, and he'd be looking out for you, right?"

Harley Quinn has posed:
Harley knows a thing or two about quitting everything, nodding slowly at that. But wisely enough she doesn't comment on it, not exactly a matter she'd be able to help in just now. Instead she focus on the positive, "Just so we awhe on the same wave length and that we talkin about the same person ... Terry went out to SPACE with the rest of the titans, went into a damn adventure throughout various planets and pretty much kicked ass. If anythin' he's the one lookin' ovah me when we go out. But if ya need ta knoow.." a pause, "He's the kinda partner in crime I'd give my life foouh. Him and Apes awhe my family now."

"And that matters a lot foh someone like me.." the usual goofiness having been replaced with a more serious expression. She pops one of her beers open and takes a long drink from it.

"So yea, could say I am lookin' out foh him too."

Gar Logan has posed:
"Yeah, he did, didn't he," Gar answers, more along the lines of an observation instead of a question, as his head angles briefly toward the sky.

If Harley Quinn is telling him she'd give up her own life to make sure Vorpal gets out alive..it leaves him staring at her. "I never thought I'd hear you say something like that about anyone else." That's not entirely the truth. He'd expect it toward the Joker, but she hasn't been around him for a while that he knows of, and bringing up his name might not be wise. He isn't a /total/ idiot. "I'd leave out the 'in crime' part, but that's me."

The anger and accusations are fading, replaced by some remorse and self-blame. "I'm not trying to, like, push you back to a life you're trying to move away from, but it's hard for me to trust sometimes, and hard to open up about some stuff. I'm trying to give you a chance, but after he explained things with the toys I just started thinking about all the worst-case scenarios and.." He gestures with a hand, as if to say 'and here we are.'

"So I guess I should apologize for being a dumbass." If he's saying it expecting Harley to wave it off like it was nothing and say it's all good..well, how much does he /really/ know her?

Harley Quinn has posed:
"It ain't as if ya weren't right about some things..." Namely about on *how* Harley got the toys. But that's irrelevant now! And it's not as if Harley will say exactly on how they ended in her hands. Secrets in the hands of the Gods! "Look, uh .., bein in love can make us be a bit blind about things." like Harley with Joker! "And make us be part dumbasses too. Comes with the territory!"

Lou, the hyena that won the ball-fetching approaches Harley since she has a beer in hand. She indulges, letting the hyena drink from it. So yes, Harley is casually giving her hyena beer while giving precious advice to Gar! It makes it all very credible.

And where it comes to Harley though, she is pretty much about doing the unexpected so indeed she does brush it off with a shrug. "Think ya should go look foh him now, shouldn't ya?" because she knows the priorities here!

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan's not going to press the issue with what he's right or wrong about. Getting this far with Harley without her using the bat or a mallet on him is pushing the boundaries of good fortune far enough. Her indication of what love can do to someone leaves him to stare at her wordlessly, the 'no shit' expression on his face telling the story more than adequately.

With the hyenas vying for her tender affections - and beer in Lou's case - Gar pushes back to his feet and shakes some feeling back into a hand that had gone a little numb on him. "Probably should," he agrees, rubbing an ear of his. It's always one of his 'tells,' often hinting at discomfort of some kind, or an attempt to think more deeply about a thing. "Just, next time you try to do something nice for someone else, could you at least make sure it's legit first? That would save a lot of trouble."

Talk of family is left alone. He's far from ready to say he's welcoming her into the fold of his own, if that ever happens at all, but there's something more important to do first: go find Vorpal again and have another talk. A better one, this time. "Uh, I guess that's my cue. Later." Awkward farewells are still farewells, served in this case by him turning back into a bird so he can get the hell out of there.