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Post by Olivia Hale on Jan 23, 2011 3:49:17 GMT
((Set after Darkest Before Dawn and The Valley of Unrest))
Olivia had been struggling with her emotions a lot the past few days. Her afternoon with Bruce had been both amazing and confusing. After deciding that she needed to do something to clear her head, Olivia headed to Harvey's apartment.
She tried to go a few times a month to clean and make sure nothing in the fridge and pantry was alive. The first time she'd cleaned out his fridge had been a very eye opening experience. Blue milk was not something she wanted to see again.
Since Harvey was still spending a lot of time in Arkham she was expecting the apartment to be empty. Due to that fact she had to fight back a scream at the sight of someone sitting on the couch.
Olivia's brows furrowed in concern as she took in her boyfriend's appearance. He looked...different. A bottle of tequila was gripped loosely in one of his hands. He looked so tired.
She set down the groceries and moved swiftly over to him. "Harvey, are you all right? What's happened?"
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Post by Harvey Dent/Two-Face on Jan 23, 2011 10:38:00 GMT
Two-Face turned his face away, an exhausted sneer on his expression. "Wrong Harvey, Kid."
He lifted the tequila bottle and drank, barely tasting it. He had forgotten how silent the aprtment was, with its high ceilings and well-soundproofed walls. After the noise and clamour of Arkham, where Joker's laughter and chatter was never too far away, the apartment seemed an unrelentingly bleak place.
He had seached online for a copy of the White Knight photograph where Joker claimed he and Harvey had met before, but no fresh memories stirred. Looking at the photo now was like a dream from another life. There was now almost nothing left of the light and life in the handsome face of the man in the photo, he thought; only a broken, insane mess. He almost looked forwards to telling Harvey that.
After a couple of hours Two-Face had begun to drink steadily, to shut out the stabbing pain of the last few hours. He didn't know how long he had been sitting there before the door opened and Olivia entered, cheeks flushed with the cold and eyes wide with concern. He didn't look at her.
"Joker and I broke up."
He took another drink. "Actually he did the breaking."
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Post by Olivia Hale on Jan 23, 2011 14:12:45 GMT
Olivia stood awkwardly by him for a long moment. How exactly was one supposed to respond to finding out their boyfriend's insane other personality had broken up with a psychopathic clown? They certainly didn't teach this in school.
After a moment she hesitantly moved to sit on the couch next to him. The smell of tequila was overpowering. She wet her lips before speaking. "I'm sorry, Two-Face. I...Do you want to talk about it?"
She reached out and rested her hand lightly on his arm. "How about I make you something to eat. Pancakes, maybe?"
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Post by Harvey Dent/Two-Face on Jan 23, 2011 21:46:03 GMT
Two-Face snorted and took another swallow of tequila. "Pancakes, huh? Pancakes will make everything better. He broke my fucking heart but it's ok, we've got pancakes." He turned his head to face Olivia, mouth twisted. "What the fuck are you thinking?" he snapped.
He fixed his bloodshot gaze on her. "We're moving back in. I've sent someone to pick up the rest of my stuff from Arkham." Two-Face set the bottle down and twisted on the sofa to face her. "And that means I want your key back. I'm not having you waltz in whenever it suits you to distract Harvey. I have a business to run here."
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Post by Olivia Hale on Jan 23, 2011 23:49:15 GMT
Olivia flushed. "I'm just trying to help. I'm sorry I don't exactly know how to react in this situation. Please just tell me what I can do. I'm here for you, Two-Face."
She subconsciously leaned back as he turned to face her. "I...okay." There was something different about him that was beginning to frighten her. It was a certain intensity in his gaze that hadn't been there before. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the key. "Here, it's all yours."
She nervously held out her hand and bit her lip. She felt hopelessly lost. The situation was just so odd. A part of her was jumping for joy that she didn't have to worry about pissing Joker off anymore but she could see how affected Two-Face was by it. She was very conflicted.
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Post by Harvey Dent/Two-Face on Jan 24, 2011 0:11:00 GMT
"I don't need you, " he stated, slurring his words only very slightly. "I don't need your sympathy or your do-gooding. Go find someone else to save."
His eyes regarded her with bitterness. "You hated Joker. He threatened to kill you more than once... not that I blame him, I've thought of doing the same thing. That's two of us whose jugulars he's nearly severed. We should form a club."
Two-Face picked up the bottle again, regarded the level of liquid inside then dropped it disinterestedly.
He took the key without thanking her, and dropped it in to his left pocket. "So I suppose things are easier for you now. You've got what you wanted. No more parcelling out our time between the two of you. Just admit it, you're glad."
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Post by Olivia Hale on Jan 24, 2011 0:15:21 GMT
"I didn't hate him, Two-Face." Olivia said, tugging anxiously at her shirt. "And...wait a second, you've thought about killing me? I thought we were past that."
She shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not glad. I don't know what to think, to be honest. I'm sad for you but I'm not going to lie about not being completely beat up about the idea."
Her eyes flicked to the bottle on the floor. "Can I get you anything?"
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Post by Harvey Dent/Two-Face on Jan 24, 2011 0:24:55 GMT
Two-Face leaned back aginst the comfortable sofa cushions. "I think about killing a lot of people. Don't take it personally, Kid."
His eyes held a cynical glitter as he glanced at her. "You feel sad for me. I'm touched. Is that supposed to cheer me up? That you and your bleeding heart have deigned to take an interest in my life?"
Two-Face picked up the bottle once more and took another swig. "You can get the hell away from me."
The mobile phone in his other pocket rang shrilly. Without looking at it, Two-Face pulled the phone from his pocket and threw it needlessly hard at Olivia. "Answer that," he ordered, and slumped backwards once more.
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Post by Olivia Hale on Jan 24, 2011 1:00:54 GMT
Hurt flashed across Olivia's face. Before she could formulate a response, he threw the phone at her. It struck her collarbone with surprising force. "Ow." She hissed, rubbing the spot.
She snatched the phone from her lap and chucked it back at him in anger. "Answer it yourself. I'm not one of your employees, Two-Face. Don't you dare talk to me like you own me. Joker breaking up with you does not give you permission to treat me like a servant."
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Post by Harvey Dent/Two-Face on Jan 24, 2011 19:16:38 GMT
The corner of the phone struck him on the temple, his reactions too sluggish with drink to let him flinch away. The damaged skin, chapped and taut from the cold winter weather, cracked at the blow, a tiny bead of blood welling up. He wiped it away in surprise, then lunged forwards, hand closing tight on her shoulder as he pulled her towards him, punctuating his words with a hard shake.
"You'll do as I damn well tell you. Just like eveyone else around here. Just like Harvey."
He swept his arm forwards, sending Olivia stumbling towards the corner, where the phone lay on the floor.
"Answer it."
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Post by Olivia Hale on Jan 24, 2011 19:33:15 GMT
Olivia whimpered as Two-Face grabbed her. The strength of the grip on her was a very unhappy reminder of just who she was dealing with.
She was very thankful for the thick, cream colored rug as she landed on her knees. One hand shot out to stop her from hitting her head on the coffee table. Olivia sat still for a moment, weighing her options. She finally decided that, considering how drunk Two-Face was, answering it would be in her best interests.
She picked up the phone with trembling hands. "Hello?" She answered, mentally kicking herself for how shaky her voice sounded.
"Oh, I believe I may have the wrong number. Is this not the phone of Harvey Two-Face?"
Olivia swallowed and attempted to compose herself. "It is. This is Olivia Hale. May I ask who's speaking?"
"Ms. Hale, I was not aware that you worked for Mr. Two-Face. Are you his secretary?"
Olivia rubbed the bridge of her nose. "T-Man? Do you want to talk to Two-Face? I'm not really up for answering questions."
"Of course, Ms. Hale. I need to speak with him concerning the ring of counterfeit coins in his casino."
"Yeah, sure, hold on." Olivia glared up at Two-Face and handed out the phone. "The Tally Man would like to speak to you about counterfeit coins, Your Royal Highness."
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Post by Harvey Dent/Two-Face on Jan 24, 2011 19:45:37 GMT
A faint sneer appeared on Two-Face's lips as he heard Olivia's voice shake. He watched her, eyes shadowed, as she held a brief conversation.
He held out his hand for the phone expectantly, eyes daring her to refuse him. With his other hand he absently fingered the coin in his pocket and decided it wasn't big enough of an issue to flip on. Work could wait until he was sober again... and not feeling so desolate.
"Not now," he snarled into the phone, and pressed the 'end call' button, tossing the phone onto the coffee table.
Two-Face looked over at Olivia with a thoughtful expression. "You know, Kid," he said, picking up the bottle again. "Your life would be so much easier if you just learned to do as you're told." He held out the tequila to her. "Want a drink?"
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Post by Olivia Hale on Jan 24, 2011 19:57:19 GMT
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Olivia asked shrilly. "All that and you don't even talk. Jesus Christ."
She stared at the tequila for a moment before she sighed heavily and moved to sit back on the couch. Keeping her distance, she reached out and took the bottle from him. "God that's strong." She said after taking a swig. "I don't think I've ever had straight tequila before."
She took another drink before giving it back to him. "Thanks." She muttered. "I'm...sorry for upsetting you. You know me, always trying to help and always having it backfire. If there's anything I can do for you that won't piss you off, just tell me. I'm not gonna suggest anything."
As she passed the bottle back to Two-Face she noticed something on his wrists. Trying not to seem obvious, she leaned over a bit to get a better look. "When did you get tattoos?" She asked curiously.
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Post by Harvey Dent/Two-Face on Jan 25, 2011 19:55:41 GMT
Two-Face glared back at her. "Would you want to talk to the Tally Man in my condition?" he imitated Tally Man's flat, halting tone and faint English accent "'Why would Mr Joker want to cut your throat if you were his boyfriend? Is that what people do when they want to break up?' Christ, he's hard work."
He shrugged at her apology and took another drink from the bottle then set it down, screwing the cap back on with a little more effort than such an easy task would generally require.
"In that case, you need to learn how to drink, too. Stick with me, Kid."
He pushed back his sleeves to reveal the jagged designs inked onto his forearms, and tried not to think about how gently Joker had cradled his wrists while he was working on the design.
"Joker did them for me," he said, the brooding tone returning to his voice. "I got sick of looking at the scars from those bat-shuriken things. What do you think of them?"
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Post by Olivia Hale on Jan 25, 2011 20:09:13 GMT
A ghost of a smile graced Olivia's lips. "You do his voice quite well. He's certainly an interesting man. Very strange, but interesting."
Olivia decided that commenting on Joker's apparent skill as a tattoo artist was dumb. Not mentioning Joker's name seemed to be the best game plan for the remainder of the evening (and possibly forever, depending on how Two-Face dealt with it). She reached out and gently touched his wrist. "I like them. They really suit you."
Olivia looked up at him, keeping her fingers resting lightly on his wrist. "Do you think you'll get any more tattoos? You definitely have the body to pull it off. Some people just look silly with them, you know?"
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