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TWO SIDES OF ME CAN'T AGREE

indie / sel / BATMAN THE ANIMATED SERIES Harvey Dent / Twoface with inspiration TAKEN FROM EYE OF THE BEHOLDER/LONG HALLOWEEN & VARYING COMICS/ARKHAM GAMES/TELLTALE GAME

elected by SAV/MAMABEAR

Perhaps, that was the problem with friends you’ve known too long. It was harder to keep secrets. Harder to hold onto them. Harder to be subtle. But then again, he doesn’t think he’s been this visible, this comprehensible to his old friend for a long time so even this is a small victory. 

He smiled again, relaxed somehow. Or a practiced facsimile of it. Leading the way back to the kitchen in short slow strides to keep Harvey company. Letting the silence take over for now as his thoughts wandered from one thing to another. Focusing itself on a particular purpose until they reach the dining room and Harvey speaks up again. 

There’s only a small moment of confusion in Bruce’s eyes before comprehension takes over once again. His face growing serious as he took in every detail of his explanation and compared it to the many references of studies and research he’s read up on in hopes to help him in his head. Smiling gently, almost laughing, that his biggest concern right now would be his discomfort. 

“ I guess  I understand. “ He offered, doubting he really could put himself in his shoes, but the duality of  it he could understand perhaps better than most. He paused then, touching his friend’s arm reassuringLY. “ No, I don’t mind the company. You and Big Bad Harv are welcome in my home. “  He pulled his hand back, thoughtful for another moment. “ I’m just glad you’re here, Harvey. “

He walked ahead, finding his usual seat at the head of the table where a plate was already prepared for him. Another set down for the seat to his right if Harvey didn’t mind sitting too close. 

“ He is right, though. Harv, I mean. This did take considerable effort and some machinations to achieve. “ He started, looking at him directly, hoping Big Bad Harv would understand what he meant. “ I’m not letting you or the city down. “ He finished, picking up his fork and knife. “Eat. It’s not poisoned, I promise. “

Bruce’s hand on his arm it’s so familiar yet new all the same. All of the years between the old and the new. It left things feeling surreal. Bruce was trying his best to make them both feel welcome and Harvey would be damned if he didn’t appreciate the length, never mind the legal obligations at play here. Regardless of how short the touch was Harvey leaned into to it as though Bruce was anchoring him to reality. It was the only familiar thing that had not been tainted. 

I’m glad you’re here. 

Perhaps his host was just being polite nonetheless the sentiment made Harvey want to break all composure then and there. Hold his friend and sob, years of pent up fear and anger hitting him all at once. He had never been so free since the incident. He wanted to let it all spill. He didn’t. But he wanted to. Swallowing a lump in his throat. Don’t cry, college boy. We wouldn’t want the only friend you’ve got finding out what a wimp you are...that being said he probably already knows. 

Harvey obliged to sitting next to Bruce. His friend. Of course had no real objection rather than this all felt so surreal. In Arkham neither personality particularly like to eat besides other inmates. They stared too much at the gaping whole in one side of his mouth. From the angle you could certainly see all the chewing. Harvey was only thankful that the seat nearest Bruce would only expose his right, unscarred side rather than the disfigured left. Harv’s left.

As Bruce spoke Harvey picked up his knife and folk to do as Bruce suggested. Eat. 

Something in his eyes flittered and his expression seemed to sour all of a sudden. ❝ So what’s your game here, Wayne? Doing all this for me and Harvey? I mean...you might have Harvey fooled, the poor pup still thinks you’re his friend. But me? I ain’t buyin’ none of this. Don’t tell us it’s ‘cus you still care for ‘im. You know all that stuff we did was together, right? Not just me flipping that coin. So...why now? You could’ve bailed us out on this house arrest years ago but no. You waited for us to rot in Arkham a bit.  ❞ 

As  soon  as  the  threat  slips  out  of  Harv’s  lips,  Eddie  immediately  giggles  in  response.  He  claps  those  obnoxious  hands  together,  &  he  leans  in  closer.  “  Then  you  must  not  know  me  too  well.  Because  I  always  enjoy  being  a  bit  roughed  up.  It’s  exciting.  ”  Yes,  he  was  odd  fantasies.

Eddie  then  goes  back  up  against  the  seat  -  attempting  to  relax,  but  his  body  just  wouldn’t.  That  leg  of  his  keeps  bouncing,  &  it’s  making  him  wish  he  is  outside  running  -  doing  anything  but  sitting  down.  His  finger,  with  the  same  quick  motion  of  his  leg,  tapped  against  his  chin  thoughtfully.

Luck  has  never  been  on  his  side  throughout  his  entire  life.  If  it  was,  Eddie  wouldn’t  be  here  right  now.  He’d  be  a  respectable,  successful  young  man  who  had  loving  parents,  &  a  firm  job  as  the  head  of  the  cybercrime  unit  in  the  GCPD.  He’d,  perhaps,  be  eating  with  Bruce  Wayne,  &  not  snorting  coke  off  a  mirror…  when  he’s  not  put  away  in  the  mental  hospital  for  his  puzzle  -  themed  crimes.  But  even  so,  Eddie  says,  “  mm…  I’d  like  a  new  car.  I  just  got  some  puzzles  today,  &  I  have  plenty  of  drugs,  soooo…  a  car  would  be  something  different.  ”  He  smiles,  of  course  he  has  

Of course Eddie giggling like a school and indicating the excitement of it all irks Harv to no end. He just simply grips the steering wheel tighter with a snarl. Fortunately Nigma retreats back into his seat. At least Harv wants to consider it a retreat. 

If Eddie want to move his legs so much he may as well tie him to a rope, throw him out the car and watch his try to keep up then. It was a passing thought, not one he actually wanted to act or, not one he needed to flip for. Empty and dissipating as soon as it entered his head. 

Not that it was a simple ordeal. It took a lot of convincing and some arrangements and a written promise to consider donating more to the GCPD as well as incurring any and all repercussions of what they thought must have been the Prince of Gotham’s bored little social experiment. 

And perhaps, it is to some degree. 

A desperate attempt to bring an old friend back into the light. 

But Bruce has never felt more certain, more confident that this could be the time, the chance, to bring some balance back into Harvey. He doesn’t think he’d ever seen such clarity in the other’s eyes for a long time. 

And as he stumbles out of his own room and down the stairs, he finds him. Quiet as they share a conversation. Not wanting to intrude until Harvey eventually notices him. Smiling gently despite his nervousness. “ Harvey. “ He interrupts carefully, smiling still. Calm despite the clear panic slowly overtaking his features. Hand touching his arm, squeezing gently. 

“ I’m sure about this. “ He nodded, smiling as he walked past him then, making it to the bottom of the stairs. Looking back at him with another smile. “ Come on. Are you hungry? We can discuss it more over breakfast if you insist. I think Alfred is making his famous Omelette.  “

This was late by Harvey’s standards for breakfast,...well his standards his DA of course since then he has experienced it much later sometimes not at all. Rubbing a his good eye to rid himself of some of the sleep he follows behind Bruce. Bruce’s discomfort had not gone unnoticed. 

❝ Thank you, Bruce. Again and again. I owe you. ❞   He knew he had nothing to offer it was the best he could do. Hopefully the notion was not too empty. ❝ Omelette sounds good. ❞   He thinks. No he’s sure. It was. Hands now working at playing with the knot on his dressing gown. 

Harvey had been doing better than before. He had actually found a psychiatrist that helped beyond prescribing drugs to keep him quiet and telling him his face should be fixed and he would “feel whole again”. He had been encouraged to let Harv say what he needed from time to time, repressing Harv only made him agitated and hurt. He was starting to understand that now. All the same he felt he should at least acknowledge the conversation that Bruce very clearly overheard. It was better to just acknowledge it. Right? He reflects the smile shined to him. They must both be nervous in this, hoping it was the best step forward.  Just hope alone was all they had. 

He follows ensuit of his friend. ❝ I know it’s...unusual but I have to let him talk. He’s angry at me for trying to get rid of him. I guess. A psychiatrist suggested I let Big Bad Harv.. ❞   He said that name steadily. Not Twoface. That name was a collective of both Harvey and Harv for that matter. Not HIM. Big Bad Harv was the name Harvey gave his alter when they were six, it was better to call him by the original name. Even if it was ridiculous. Fortunately Harv sufficed likewise. ❝ Uh, speak sometimes. It’s not the way we did things before, I know, but it’s been keeping us together rather than fractured into...you know...Twoface. ❞   He ducked his head at the name, thankful that they were at the dining room already. ❝ I just hope you don’t mind the extra company.  ❞

Bruce hated that things had to be this way. Every time Two-Face had to be turned back into Arkham by Batman, it felt like reliving all of his worst failures at once. He felt empty and depressed as he dressed himself and prepared for his visit that morning, dreading the desolate look the place brought to Harvey’s eyes, dreading that they wouldn’t be Harvey’s at all.

As he sat down and received confirmation of his old friend’s presence at the forefront of his shared mind, Bruce’s lips lifted ever so slightly at the corners, but his attempt at a smile was ultimately weighed down by the heavy sorrow that had overtaken every fiber of his being. “It’s good to see you again,” he said, leaving out the obvious fact that he wished it were under better circumstances. “I don’t know how much he shares with you, but it’s… been a while since it’s been you during my visits.”

The emphasis on the word ‘saw’ when Harvey asked about the bank robbery had some mild confusion crossing Bruce’s features, but it wasn’t until the coming accusation became abundantly clear that he started to slip up. When the realization finally hit, his eyes widened ever so slightly in dread, but he trained the rest of his features into as inconspicuous of an expression as possible, playing into his earlier natural confusion.

“Harv …Harvey, I don’t-” Bruce started, trying to deny what might be a mere suspicion, but he found himself cut off by the other man getting up and waving him over. “I-” he tried again once his alter ego was actually named, but again, he failed as his friend continued to speak. His eyes filled with despair, his body stiffened nervously, and once the evidence was laid out before him, he looked away, knowing there was no way he could keep hiding the truth. Not from Harvey.

“…I’m sorry,” Bruce finally spoke, a sincere, if abstract, admission. “I wanted to tell you. Back before-” His words failed him, but the implication was obvious. Before Two-Face became one of the very people they used to help each other bring to justice. He still couldn’t bring himself to meet Harvey’s eyes, to see how he looked at him now that he knew Bruce was the one who’d been returning him to this hellhole of an asylum every time he broke free over the years.

“Can you at least give me some time to get my family somewhere safe?” the now-outed vigilante asked. “Before anyone else finds out?” He didn’t necessarily think Harvey would tell anyone, although he wouldn’t blame him if he did, but Bruce couldn’t account for how his friend’s less savory half might react to this discovery.

❝ Time. Bruce? You know I don’t have that kind of power. You can relax. HE doesn’t know...it’s only me. ❞  

Part of him already regrets this. What did he hope to gain? Some part of Harvey was always so sure he knew everything about Bruce... He guessed he had just felt betrayed, he had thought he would be more upset and angry at Bruce rather than just desolate and jaded. He probably expected Bruce to come in here, say he knows what he does on his nightly endeavours and feel...what? In control for once. He always was hurt that Bruce was always just out of reach, never truly opening himself up to anyone not even his best friend. It wasn’t Bruce’s fault and now Harvey’s left with the guilt. 

 What if Bruce stopped his visits now? What if this was the last time he would see him?  ❝  I’m sorry too, Bruce. Sorry I haven’t been myself. Harv did always let me know that you stopped by. More rubbed my nose in it. He knows that you’re the only damn thing in this God forsaken world that makes me happy. I’m almost sorry that this is probably it. Right? You’ll be avoiding me for the safety of your family. It seems like the right call. ❞ Harvey caught himself. Now that wasn’t fair. In Bruce’s position putting his family first was reasonable. Even if it meant staying far away from his former friend. 

He settles down in his chair once more. Not making eye contact until he can muster a fake smile on his side of their face. It was meek, and tragic just like Harvey was. 

❝ Well whatever it is you decide. I would like to point out that you probably wouldn’t have told me either way. Whether I was sat here, hideously disfigured, broken into two or whether I was sat back at the DA office hideously in denial , broken into two. I was fated to wind up this way the day I came into the world. As were you. We didn’t have a choice. ❞   He stops to breathe in deep. His voice was never the same after the incident. Though raspy the softness indicated that it was still Harvey. His eye (the other too dry) would threaten to spill salty seas. How scarce now to save face while his emotions stirred.