thedifferencebetween | Ryslig Inbox

However Jack sleeps as a robot- whether he just flips on and off, has a rest cycle, whatever- Harley, at least, still sleeps like a normal flesh girl. And unless someone's banging on her door and shouting that they're the cops, it takes awhile, piecemeal until her eyes are open and she's back in the world.

This particular morning- although it's nearly afternoon- is no different.

She stretches, first- silk sheets and something hard and cool under the arm and leg that've flung themselves wide. Not Bruce- Arly? Since when does he take up the other side of the bed? No- it's Jack, of course it's Jack. The realization has her tucking closer, her face against his chest, and fading out again for a little while.

But this morning is different, somehow. There was something- she was supposed to do? There's a party, but that's not until tonight. And Slade's having a party because-

Because it's Christmas.

Harley's eyes pop open.

"Jack." It's a whisper, in case he's still asleep. "Jack, it's Christmas!"

Jack's sleep mode is like a computer's - a low power setting that he can come out of immediately. His processor is dormant, the light in his eyes and leaking out around his faceplate is off. He still likes lying in bed when he does it, even when he's alone. It's the little things. Especially now that he's living in his castle and has a giant bed with ridiculously expensive bedding to 'sleep' in.

In this case, he comes out of it when Harley says his name. Suddenly there's a soft whirring sound as he powers up, the light coming on in his eyes.

"Hey babe." The human part of his mind is slower to come online, and the words are sluggish and muffled. Christmas, right. Mercenary Day! It's here! He shifts a little, reaching up to run his fingers through hair that's only slightly mussed from sleeping.

"Morning."

"Christmas morning," is her correction. She's already half on top of him: a little shimmy, and Harley is outright straddling Jack, propping her head up on his chest. A kiss is planted on his mouth, and then she straightens a little.

"Or Merc's Day- sometime you got to tell me that story." The Santa Hat Jack was wearing during last night's, ahem, festivites, is still puddled on the nightstand; Harley reaches to plant it on her own head, hair still wild and going this way and that.

"Presents, and snow, and hot chocolate and cookies, and presents, and songs, and jingly bells, and presents-"

Okay, now she's bouncing a little. It's not meant to be licentious- or at least, not much.

"Mmmm, no real story. I dunno when the name changed or why." Jack stretches his arms over his head, though it's out of habit instead of necessity. Well, he can guess why, but he isn't sure when. Mercenary Day was what he grew up with - not that there'd been much celebrating in his childhood.

"Wow, you are really ready to get the festive ball rolling! Alright, alright, calm down. I promise Santa came last night. By which I mean my houseboy put stuff under the tree last night." Because that's another part of it, coming in to see surprise presents under the tree that weren't there the night before.

And there should be cocoa ready and waiting. Jack can't do liquids, but Harley can. It's cute, though, how excited she is. Even if half of Jack's brain is still waking up. He's just taking it all in, enjoying waking up in the enormous royal chamber of his castle, with Harley in bed with him.

"Got anything you're really hoping for this Christmas? I mean aside from getting to hang with me, obviously, which you've already got."

"Oh." The bouncing stops, Harley's smiled turned to a half-pouting frown. "I was hoping there was some big story, like, some guy name Travis showed up and beat Santa's ass and now it's Merc Day because Travis The Merc beat Santa in a cage match."

... Okay, so Harley's spent some time pondering Merc Day's lore. It sounds appropriately Pandoran, from what she knows of the place.

"What do I want?" She slouches down, propping her chin up on folded hands on his chest. "... Uh... all right, this is going to sound dumb, but- I don't really think about it, most years. Mostly I don't get much. Last Christmas I was still with my ex- he gave me a dead snake."

There's a moment's contemplative pause, at that.

"In retrospect, I probably should have known we were on the skids. Like not even a pair of furry handcuffs or a new baseball bat, just- a dead snake. Not even as like a threat- I think he just had it lying around."

Her eyes snap back up to Jack's, lit up again. "But! I love giving people presents. And I'm super good at it, too. You saw me put your two under the tree, so I can't really call Santa on that- but I hope you like them."

"I'm sorry, a what? A dead snake? No. Oh, no no no. You deserve way, way better than that. And trust me, you're getting way better than that. No dead things from me."

Holy crap, that's a terrible gift! Yeah, that sounds like that relationship was already dead in the water at that point.

Jack wraps his arms around Harley, tipping his head forward. The more he hears about Harley's ex, the more sure he is that he is ten times better than that dude. Not that he's Harley's boyfriend, but...they're something. He's an important dude in her life, at the very least.

"If I'd have known how shitty your last holiday was, I'd have gone even bigger. Also, no one beat up Santa, Santa lives on an ice planet with his army of weapon making slaves." Duh.

"Okay, I know how it sounds- and he was an asswipe, don't get me wrong! Just-" And Harley runs up against that wall again; where for all her eloquence and expression and ability to speak people's personal languages, she can't for the life of her make anyone understand why she stayed with the Joker.

She'd told Slade once that it was a kind of power; that he'd out a weapon in her hand, and made her feel invincible. But it wasn't just that. The Joker was just- a force of nature. A tornado deciding where to touch down; and Harley was absolutely a storm chaser.

"It had its good moments," Is what she finally mumbles; but Jack's arms are around her, and she's in bed with a hot guy in a freaking castle and maybe don't dwell on the past, Harls.

"Handsome, we're hot robots waking up in a freaking castle. How much bigger can it get?" But a grin tugs at the corner of her mouth, and she reaches one finger to brush against the tip of his nose.

"No, for real- just being here is- it's nice. It's real nice. You're real nice." Stretching up a little, Harley brushes her mouth against his.

"Now see, that's what I expected of Pandoran Christmas. Guns, subjugation, and other planets."

"Hey, no judgement here! I've been with people I shouldn't have been with for probably not awesome reasons. The right 'yes' can excuse a lot of 'nos'." He gets it, he does. That was him and Moxxi. They'd been shit for each other, and she'd turned out to be a flaming garbage heap of a person, but he'd stayed with her.

At least until it got to the breaking point, and then...oh boy did it break.

"And trust me, it can get bigger. But you're right, this is nice. Sucks waking up alone on a holiday, ya know? You're supposed to be sharing it with people, at least according to every friggin holiday card and seasonal jewelry commercial I've ever seen." And this year...with him and Angel still on the outs, he's been feeling just how big his shiny new castle is.

But right now everything's feeling pretty freaking cozy.

"His rocket sled's pulled by bullymongs, too! That's...uh...think four armed abominable snowmen only some of'em can get like twelve feet tall."

"Commercials are bullshit- but, yeah. I get it." Poor Jack. The Angel situation hadn't changed, and now he was rattling around in this place, all by his lonesome.

"Is that what a bullymong is? I've only ever heard you talk about their balls before." She gives another wiggle, but this time to get to his other side, and slide out of the bed. "C'mon, let's go see what Santa left us." She tugs at his hand, but stops. "Wait... if it's a rocket sled, why does it need to be pulled by anything?"

She's in one of Jack's shirts and a pair of boxers- that counts as decent! Who else is going to see them, anyway?

"That's why sucking bullymong balls means something's really shitty! And I dunno, holiday magic. How do any of them breathe in space? How does he visit every fucking planet in one night when every planet has a different day and night cycle? Who knows!"

It's just all part of the fun or whatever. Jack shrugs as he gets himself up, wearing a pair of silk pajama bottoms. He doesn't need them, but it's just part of being a person. People wear clothes.

But before they head down to Jack's personal living room at the bottom of the main tower, he steps to the glass balcony doors to throw open the curtains and look out over the snowy landscape. God, what a view. You could see the forest from here, dark and snow covered. And the sea...it's just spectacular. And it's all his!

"Just look at that. You ever seen a prettier Christmas morning?"

Noon. Whatever.

"Alright, let's go check out our holiday swag!"

An arm goes around Jack's waist, when he throws open the doors; and Harley took takes it in, a big, deep breath, and a happy sigh. Her head leans against his shoulder.

"I can just see it, you know- a hopping little town, right on the coast- if you're going to be a king, always be king of a port city, they're always rolling in it. Make up your own holidays- throw big feasts- ride through the city, and I don't know, spread largess to the populace? Oh my god when's your birthday, you can have a city wide party!"

The man makes some good suggestions. Harley slips away to take his hand, instead, tugging him toward the big sweeping staircase down to the main floor.

"Is this what it's like to be rich? Not just rich, like in Felfri rich, but like- your kind of rich."

"Kind of! It's about as rich as you can get here, probably. But I...I don't think anybody else has ever been as rich as I was back home. I could buy any planet I wanted. And it wouldn't even put a dent in my bank account. There...there isn't a number for the actual amount of money I had. Gajillion? Is gajillion an actual word? A million was pocket change!"

The deals Jack had made, the clever trading, the investments...he'd been wealthy even before he became president, and after that...he'd been richer than god.

"My birthday's in summer! And you better believe it was a holiday back home. Actually I had a lotta holidays. Handsome Jack Day, Jackanalia, Jackentines Day... outta bring those back once I buy Prosperity. That's what I'm calling my city." Or town, whatever. He's not sure what the difference is, but once he has some more coins, he's buying it.

He follows down the staircase - lit with small golden lights woven around the bannister - down to the opulent living room area, complete with towering decorated tree with a spread of presents beneath. The fireplace was already lit. It's just a welcoming as hell sight.

Harley doesn't really get cold, anymore; she can feel it, sure, but she doesn't so much have the ability to get goosebumps or the shivers no more. Still, the crackling fire somehow makes the whole scene perfect; like the icing on a big pretty cake.

"I'm calling shenanigans on Jackentine's Day. At least Jackanalia rhymes with the original, almost. What the heck did a Jackentine look like?"

The tree's taller than- well, taller than both of them. Even takler then Slade, who's probably the tallest guy she knows. And it fills the whole room with a gorgeous piney scent. When they get to the ground, Harley just takes a second, breathing it all in.

"Okay! Who should go first? If it's you, open the big one first. Or should we flip for it?"

"Usually like a box of chocolates with my face on'em."

Jack settles himself in, just enjoying it all. This is nice, this was a good idea. God it would have sucked to be alone today, just absolutely sucked.

"Oh, I'll go first. Gimme." Hey, she'd just said she loves giving gifts! And he loves getting them. Makes sense to him. And he likes the sound of 'the big one'!

"Normally I'm all about the Cult Of Jack? But that one's a little weird."

But Harley's smile is wide, and she's maybe started bouncing a little bit. The box is long and flat, and wrapped in shimmery gold paper with a black ribbon around it. Scooping it up from under the tree, she deposits it in his lap, and settles next to him.

Inside, when Jack gets it open, is a long leather duster, that will fall past his knees when it's on. Although it's black, all the stitching is done with thick gold thread; lines of it running up the lapels, curling over the shoulders, down the sides and back. The lining inside is all gold, a shining satin. Where a breast pocket would be on a suit jacket, the Hyperion logo is stitched. (Harley had to make some hasty doodles of his favourite shirt, when Jack wasn't looking, to get that little detail.)

Her eyes are bright, biting both lips as he pulls it out of the box, tissue paper going this way and that. "Thought you needed something to go over your jersey. Hope you like it."

Edited 2020-12-24 04:27 (UTC)

"Oh....oh babe...."

Jack lifts the duster out, face lights brightening in sheer delight.

"Look at this. Look at it! This is friggin gorgeous, this is..." It's great! "This is fit for a king! I love it, Harley!"

He stands up to try it on, pulling it on over his silk pajama pants. It fits perfectly. He does a little turn, enjoying the way it moves. Oh yeah, he's loving it.

"What do ya think? Sexy, right?" One eye flashes brighter than the other, and he bends to retrieve Harley's main present. "Here, your turn."

He's excited about this. He put a lot of thought into it, he's proud of himself. He hovers, knowing he might need to explain a little. Inside the box are...sheets of some kind of shiny, glossy white paper of some sort and a device that looks like a handvac nozzle attached to a hair dryer.

Her teeth catch at her bottom lip, eyes bright, as he gets up and swirls around in the coat. She'd got his height right, too; the other measurements she got from the tag inside one of shirts. It fits well; and it does look damn good.

"It's gorgeous on you, babe. Sexy as all hell, and sharp enough to cut." And he likes it. Just that is a little bit of a thrill, all on her own.

The box being shoved into her hands is a different kind of thrill. She's had a couple of different presents already; but it still isn't typical. Slade gave her a gun- he probably gave everyone a gun, now she thinks on it- but this- she has no idea what this might be.

The paper is ripped away in excitement, lifting out- the hair dryer? And then the paper, looking at the front, then the back. Finally, it's Jack that she looks up at. "What is it?"

"Ha, yeah, I figured this would take some explaining! I whipped this up special for you."

Jack's eyes flash again, in excitement. He's proud of himself. He'd put actual thought into this, tried to come up with something that Harley would enjoy and get use out of. Something special.

And thankfully, the computer parts of his brain help him actually recall and identify what other people care about.

"Okay, so...I know you're into tats, but that's kinda a no-go when you're a robot. But this is the next best thing! You got specially formulated decal paper here, draw on the shiny side and peel off the backing and bam. And this little gadget'll seal'em right onto your chassis. The paper'll take any ink, ya can draw shit on it yourself or have someone do it and bam - self expression via self decoration! And you can remove'em pretty easy, too, mix it up, switch shit out...."

Harley's eyes start to go wide the moment he mentions tattoos. By the time he's done, her mouth is open in a big O, staring at him.

"Jack!" It's nearly a shriek, and she jumps up to fling her arms around him. "That's so cool, that's so fucking cool! And you made it? Just for me?!"

The hug is hard and tight, Harley jumping up and down a little; at least until she gets her hands on either side of his face, and pulls him down for a hard kiss.

That's the response he's looking for. That excitement and delight, that thrilled reaction....Jack knows he did good.

"I made it just for you!" So he'd had some help from his department, but nobody needs to know that. "Cuz you're my favorite girl."

God he loves how she just kisses his mouth, like it's a normal human guy's mouth. Sure, sure, she's a robot now too so she gets it more than most people would, but still. It's one of those things most partner's just avoid, staying away from the whole face area in general.

"Merry Christmas, babe."

Favourite girl warms her all through, the seconds before it freezes her instead. But it's fine. It's fine. That's just the old deep-seated need for approval rearing its head- and it don't mean more than what they've already talked about, about liking each other and being close. That's all.

"Merry Christmas, handsome honey." One more kiss, and Harley tugs him back toward the sofa they've been curled up on. "Come on, you've got one more present to open! Oh my god, I'm gonna start drawing like as soon as I get this stuff home. You know I did most of my own tattoos? Or as many as I could reach, anyway. This is going to be perfect."

Edited 2020-12-26 22:47 (UTC)

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Action - Christmas Morning

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