Despite her annoyance at how exposed they were around all the tourists, Talia couldn’t keep the shit-eating grin off her face at how deeply Raven sighed, the curl of her shoulders underneath her cloak speaking volumes. The assassin’s steps quickened as she tried to catch up with Harley as the Gothamite rounded a corner, hoping that the blonde’s enthusiastic twirling wouldn’t lend to her accidentally tumbling over someone. Following the red and blue-tipped pigtails and the rollerskates’ obnoxiously bright lights, Talia let her shoulders relax as she turned and spotted Harley taking an extra taco from a guy resting against a food truck. 

Spinning in a circle as she savored the stickiness of car exhaust in the air, Harley took a bite of birria and thought of home. She turned at the honk of a horn, not stopping her chewing as Raven’s magic silently enveloped Talia’s hand to prevent the assassin from fully drawing whatever dagger she had strapped to her person. 

The siren looked like a child in a candy store as she rolled up to her friends, blue eyes zeroing in on the ‘$15 tattoos, 15 minutes, no wait!’ sign not even a foot away. Lit up by the neon lights that adorned the tattoo parlor behind them, Talia looked murderous as she tried (and failed) to run a calming hand through her hair. The tourists gave the trio a wide berth at the sight; the parlor’s owner seemed hesitant to step out and shoo them away for loitering, obviously unsure if her blade was a plastic prop or not. 

Brown lips curled into a frown at the inadvertent attention and Talia fully sheathed her dagger. Raven pinched between her eyes as the assassin hissed out, “Harley, why are we here of all the damned places?”

Bright blue eyes went wide, “Don’t tell me you’ve never wanted to visit La La Land!”

Green eyes narrowed and Talia let her nostrils flare. “I’m choosing the next place,” The assassin grumbled under her breath, shoving aside a passing tourist and stalking towards a barely lit alley. 

Harley let out a laugh and called to her friend’s back, “C’mon, Tally Marks!”

At her shout, a tourist across the street let out a happy chortle as he noticed them, the flash of his camera going off in their direction. His voice carried over the sound of traffic as he blabbed to his family, “She’s got a really good Harley Quinn costume!” The headphoned teenager next to him rolled his eyes and let out a derisive, “Too bad she’s in the wrong city.”

Harley pouted at the remark and let Raven tug on her arm, her wheels lighting up neon as the pair followed Talia’s path. They ducked around a corner and into an alley, the shadows instinctively curling around the goth as Raven kept them against one side of the alley’s brick walls. Along the other side there was a man sitting at a fold-up table, his fanny pack filled with cash. He shuffled the well-worn deck of cards in his hands as he tried to sweet talk Talia into joining his scam disguised as a game, “C’mon, now! A gal as pretty as you wouldn’t be in an alley if she didn’t like to gamble, now would you?”

His words trailed off as the assassin merely lifted her elbow to partially brandish her dagger; the conman raised both palms in the air, “Fair enough, Doll.”

Raven’s steps hastened as she felt the violent pulse of Talia’s anger, not wanting either of her friends to be arrested during their outing. As the purple-haired hero stepped out of the shadows the man finally seemed to notice Harley and the Titan; grinning, he ashed his cigarette on one of the table’s metal legs and gestured to the card game, “You ladies wanna play?”

Talia aimed a scathing glare his way and the man held up his palms again, flawlessly hiding his nervousness at the air of lethality that cloaked the trio, “Get all three and you win. But you gotta put down at least a hundred each.”

“No thanks,” Raven hummed out. Her magic wrapped around Talia’s wrist as they kept going through the alley, seeing the neon of Harley’s skates in her periphery. The blonde eagerly rolled up in front of them, skating backwards as she chatted, “I dunno about this, Tal. We make a great team already--”

Raven let out a snort and Talia shook her head, “No.”

“--Let’s make some money off him!”

Talia narrowed her eyes and repeated again, a bit harsher but less forceful, “No.” 

The clown smoothly rolled around the cracks in the concrete and the miscellaneous cans and bottles that tried and failed to trip her. A pout had worked its way into Harley’s voice, “But we gotta do something together! We’re tourists in La La Land, you two.” 

“Oh!” Harley’s eyes went wide as she grinned at her friends, suddenly remembering why she had been so insistent to get them somewhere so public. Big baby blues were shining as the clown spread her arms, “We should go to the theater!”

Talia kept walking, glad that the wannabe scammer was intelligent enough not to keep trying to coax them into his games even as he so obviously tried to listen in on their conversation. Olive eyes scanned the area where the alley turned into an intersection, her attention on the streets around them as she jumped a broken down fence. Talia considered the sheer amount of people they’d seen along the storefronts and already knew the buzz of herded humans was not something she or Raven would like. Clicking her tongue, her rejection wasn’t as harsh with the lack of bright lights and noisy people around them, “No.”

“There’s a pretty famous pier if we head towards the ocean,” Raven shrugged out. “They’ve got vendors selling great strawberries on the side of the street if that’s better.”

“I do want food, but we need to steal--” Harley’s voice skipped at the look the Titan aimed her way, her excuse forming a new idea instantly, “--the night away and team up! Mess with some bad guys, get some food, flirt with our babes…”

Talia raised a brow at the last one, “Excuse me?”

Harley pretended not to notice, “Think of it! Rae’ll teleport us to get everyone and then we can head out! Kicking ass and taking names and eating cheesecake, the six of us--”

Talia cut in again, “Six?”

“Oh yeah, six.” The clown’s grin turned impish as she held up four fingers and a peace sign. The Gothamite tilted her head Raven’s way, “Remember when Moonbeam had to leave early when we were in SanFran? Well when I got home, Pam and Kitty were getting comfy.”

Purple eyes closed, “I don’t like where this is going.”

Harley wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pressing her cheek to the teen’s temple as she giggled out, “You should, Ray Ray!” 

She brought her hands in front of their faces, her red and blue glitter nail polish sparkling as she spread her palms, showing off an invisible screen. Sighing happily, Harley tried to get her friends used to the idea, “Think of this: triple date night tonight!” 

Before the two rejections could come, Harley rested her cheek on Raven’s head again, “You and Starshine, Pam and Kitty, Me and Tally Marks.”

Despite her better judgment, the Titan felt a lazy smile tug on her lips. She tilted her head to glance towards where Harley’s cheek touched her temple, “There are better ways to ask her out, you know.”

Grinning wide and turning on her heel, the siren abruptly flung herself into the assassin’s arms. Talia kept her face blank but couldn’t keep the hum out of her throat as Harley sing-songed, “So, what d’ya say, Tally Marks?”

She pressed a kiss to Talia’s cheek, leaving a black and red lipstick mark along tan skin. “Triple date night? You and me?”

“Well, you did always kinda suck at Smash, Ro’,” the clown said, smiling sadly. And that was when Rose’s demeanor shifted. Because Duela’s jaws might’ve been locked in a smile, but nothing was alright.

“Hey, Double-D,” she bumped shoulders with the clown as she stood next to her. They leaned against the kitchen’s countertop together, the quiet of the space settling around them. From the next room, loud cheers of victory competed against low groans of defeat. “What’s up, dude?”

She wanted to kick herself, mentally, for the casual tone she heard her own voice take on. But really, what else could she do? She certainly didn’t have her sister’s knack for deciphering emotions, much less controlling or comforting against them.

But she did have another superpower; being a good listening ear.

Unfortunately for her, Duela could be just as stubborn about actually opening up. She glanced upwards, at the dimly lit space. Low oranges from lights along the floor, keeping the room in a soft glow that was perfect for a midnight snacker to make their way, half asleep, to the fridge. A chill that never seemed to leave the bunker clung to their clothes now, and she rubbed at one of her half covered arms.

“There’s, uh, two lights,” she observed, “And Kon just put up that sign over-”

“No. For real,” Rose insisted, watching her face carefully, “How’s it hanging?”

Another mental slap as Duela’s more mischievous smile returned, splitting her face in pure delight. Rose really needed to stop setting herself up like this.

“Certainly not straight.”

The Ravager felt her lip twitch for only a moment, before setting it back into a firm line again. No more playing around. Third time was the charm.

“Duela…”

The clown’s wild green eyes calmed for the shortest of seconds as she locked them with Rose’s. She swallowed what must have been a growing lump in her throat as she looked away.

“I’m fine. I promise, I’ll-” she paused, sighing, “I promise, I’ll let you know when it’s not okey-dokey, artichokey.”

And there it was. That little clue she’d been looking for. Their little code.

Being almost out of meds.

She elbowed Duela’s arm and gave a flick of her head toward the hanger, where their cars and cycles were waiting.

“Let’s ride, then. There’s a twenty-four only a block away from a golden arches.”

“Can we get Wen-”

“No.”