657/Half Past

Half Past
Date of Scene:	28 May 2017
Location:	Gotham City
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Karrin Murphy, Two-Face

---

Karrin Murphy has posed:
Karrin got the news that morning that Harvey had been reinstated as DA. While it was something she dreamt of for him for a long time, she knew this wasn't the time or place to make it happen. He wasn't well enough yet. That other personality was probably in charge as much as her own lover. So, she spent the morning trying not to think about it before her heart finally took over from her head and she decided to fall into a old habit -- bringing him coffee at work.

It's well into the evening that she walks down the long corridors of city hall, towards his old, familiar office. This was all a horrible bit of deja vu, because she knew what she saw at the end of the hall wouldn't be what she wished. But she cared, so she was here. Still in her uniform, just having gotten off shift, the place is mostly dead because city workers like to go home at five. But not Harvey. Never Harvey. She's got a strong coffee with half and half (the way he always liked it) and a protein bar. Cookies and cream, his old favourite as well. The dinner of champions, he once joked. She always told him this wasn't dinner and he worked too much, but she brought him another round the next night anyway. She knocks with her free hand before pushing the door open and peaking her head in. "...Dinner delivery."

Two-Face has posed:
Harvey Dent was once again the District Attorney of Gotham City. It was a familiar job and the old stomping grounds were doing everything they could to keep Two-Face on the back foot. In fact, all reports and rumors since Harvey was put back in charge of this office that there hadn't been a sign of Two-Face. He'd been Harvey Dent for the longest stretch in a while. The only hinderance being the scarred face that he refused to look at out of fear of it sparking something from deep within himself. No reflective surfaces were in the office. Even the windows were kept dark by the blinds he had installed.

Harvey's hunched over some papers on his desk and nowhere near the chair that he could be sitting in. The chair is stacked up with file folders and papers too. The office looks the same as it used to and shows no signs of Two-Face decorating. In fact, even the suit that Harvey's wearing is one of his old ones. There are no two-tones. There aren't any different colors. It's just a normal beige suit. Harvey Dent is home.

"Hey..." Harvey doesn't sound upset so much as he sounds distracted as he's flipping through some papers in his hand. "Not hungry but thanks." He's back to focusing on the paperwork like he's trying to find the needle in the haystack that'll bust his current case wide open. Then again, when he's in this office that's always the look on his face.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
Other than the way his face is turned, this could have been any given evening a few years ago. It was such a familiar dance. Though times were hard even then, they worked too much, saw each other too little, there was a strange comfort in the nights she brought him food to the office. This felt like falling into a comfortable old shirt that she forgot she owned. She even says the same thing she used to, "Your brain might not be hungry but your body is. Muscles need protein. Eat."

Karrin moves to come around his desk, subconsciously stepping around to his good side. She doesn't need to tempt out the other parts of him. She sets the bag down and leans over, almost going to press a kiss against his temple the way she used to. SHe stops herself a heartbeat before making contact. "I know you're drowning. I know there's a lot of catch up. But you're only human, Harv... Come on. Take a break." Her voice is low, soft, in that throaty tone that she reserved for the bedroom or genuinely worried moments.

Two-Face has posed:
"Thanks." Harvey reaches right past the food and goes for the coffee. Looking at the good side of his face will show just how much he hasn't slept. He seems to be overworking even for a workaholic. Which might be a bit strange considering that this is an opportunity that Two-Face would surely want to exploit. It's pretty weird that he's not around right now, huh?

Even Harvey noticed as much.

He takes a sip of the coffee and it is the perfection of how it was made that finally lifts his eyes from the papers and over to Karrin. Immediately, the one good eye softens and he looks as though he's been kicked through a wormhole and back to a time when things were simpler. Things were better. A time when he wasn't half a monster. "And just what exactly does this break involve? You can't come in here wearing that." There's a smile that comes with it. Well, a half-smile since the other half of his face is stuck in a forever gruesome grimace. Still, though, there are some shades of Apollo Dent still at play here as he closes the folder.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
Karrin is just about to reach down, touch his shoulder, actually slightly shake him free of working, when he tastes the coffee and snaps out of that semi-fugue he had been in. She hesitates for a heartbeat, not certain what side of him she's going to get, but as she sees that gaze softening and the familiar half smile, her fingertips fall to his shoulder and she holds on warmly. The pad of her thumb rubs a lazy circle against the tension of the muscle there, slightly digging into a knot. Even after years, the dance came back easily as breathing.

"I don't think it counts as playing naughty cop if I'm in an *actual* police uniform, handsome. ... Not that it ever stopped us before." A wry smile, definitely edging on flirtatious, dances across her lips. "And this break involves taking a few deep breaths, eating a protein bar, and talking to me for at least five minutes. Then...if you want me to go away, I will. If you want to do something else, I'll do that too... but you're exhausted. I know you. I see it." Her second hand comes up, brushing a lock of hair from just over his good eye. "Some things don't change."

Two-Face has posed:
"I've been... lost for so long. There's a lot to catch up on. And with that Clown running things, I've got more than my work cut out for me." There was almost a twitch of the voice when he said 'Clown' but Harvey managed to keep it under control. It wasn't even really that much of a battle. Even Two-Face doesn't care for the Joker so that wouldn't have been so bad.

Harvey drops the folder down to the desk and keeps the coffee in his hand to stop himself from grabbing Karrin about the waist. He's really loving the thoughts of the past and the feelings that are coming from being in such a familiar space. It's almost as if the more he dives into the past the easier it is to keep Two-Face from coming back with a vengeance. Maybe that's why he's fallen into these old habits so hard.

"I feel like we're going to do more talking now than we've ever done in this office." Harvey's words are not borderline. They are just straight up in the realm of rekindling flirtatiousness. "This is the same desk, you know..."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
"Oh...I remember." Karrin's voice almost purrs, shifting her hips back enough that she's perched on the edge of his desk, sitting there, toes off the ground. Being short means she cannot quite sit on the desk and keep her feet there. But there had been other things they did in this position, and a hint of flush comes up on her cheeks just settling back into it. Memories are a hell of a drug. She doesn't lean in for the kiss, though. She just lets her fingertips trace back through his hair and down the back of his neck, the good side, of course.

"With the clown running things... we all need to keep ourselves in better SHAPE than ever too. We can't be exhausted. We have to be on our toes. You know I'm right, as much as you hate it." She murmurs softly. And then she does something that might be a very poor choice, or a good one...

She leans over to reach her hand off his shoulder and, ever so gently, to the scarred side of his face. She tries to touch him there as tenderly as she does the normal Harvey. It's meant to be a show of acceptance, reassurance. It might backfire. But she isn't hiding from either side of him. "Harvey...this city needs you. I need you. But we need all of you."

Two-Face has posed:
There's a flinch. It's a flinch that's more forced than anything, though. Harvey flinches more because he doesn't want to scar the poor Karrin for the rest of her life. It's bad enough he looks like this and he can't do anything about it. He can't actually allow anyone that likes him in any kind of way to have to suffer the fate of being around such a horrid face for any extended length of time. Not without finding a way to do something about this half of his face.

The flinch only lasts for a moment, though, as Harvey Dent is still in complete control of the body at this moment. He actually takes a step closer to Karrin and the desk. As he moves to set the coffee cup down on the desk, he leans that scarred face against the hand that's there. It takes him a moment but he closes the one good eye to stay in control of this. He also doesn't want to see her expression as she gets to see exactly what that acid has done to him. She's getting to feel exactly why he's as torn as he is on everything that's important. Why he will never truly be Harvey 'Apollo' Dent ever again.

"I'm working on something. Something to get him out of there and get this city back in the hands of the people that can actually save it." He's whispering these words because he's not exactly sure how else to keep this train of thought going. He can't talk sexy back at her because she's touching the worst half-of-a-face in the history of the world. He's not even sure she'll want him still after that.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
The flinch is felt. Karrin Murphy is more than detail oriented, and she knows Harvey Dent well. Even if only half of him, these days. She leans over, pressing the faintest of kisses to his good temple. "Hey. Harvey. Don't...be scared. You know I don't care what you look like. I'm here. This... we can make this better. We can get things back to normal. You just have to stay with me. Harvey. The man I KNOW." Her hand presses fully to his bad cheek, not a single flinch or line of fear in her body. No disgust.

She listens to his whispered words, eyes half opened, looking over to him in pure, simple trust. She even tries to turn his face just enough she can see both sides and there's still no flinch or withdrawal from her. Yes, it's awful but she clearly doesn't care. She just holds on, letting him talk as she watches him like an equal. "Tell me how to help. I'm with you, Harv... You know that. I always have been and always will be. We took care of this city together once, we can do it again. But you gotta let me in... You can turn away from me."

Two-Face has posed:
It takes Harvey a few moments but he finally manages to open his good eye and realizes that maybe there's no fear or disgust in Karrin after all. It's really an interesting thing to not be visually revolting to someone when there are so many that run in fear. It could also have something to do with the fact that his other half is a psychotic murderer.

"Okay." Wait, that's it? That's all he has to say right now? He's actually just going to allow himself to open up enough to let Karrin back in and that's going to help fix Gotham. "You're right. We've done it before and we can do it again." Harvey looks down at the desk. "As long as I never leave this office and just stay focused everything should be fine. No more Two-Face. Just me. Just Harvey."

He almost starts shaking at that thought. Involuntary shaking. Like he doesn't want to let Two-Face go or like he's already suffering from withdrawal. Does Harvey Dent need Two-Face?

Karrin Murphy has posed:
And yet, there is something in her that knows Two-Face isn't just going away. It's not that easy, as much as she wishes it was. Karrin's jaw sets quietly, not in anger or disgust but mainly a little bit of sadness. She exhales a slow breath through her nose, the pad of her thumb tracing one of the scarred ridges of his cheek. Almost affectionately. It's was still Harvey beneath that surface, even if there was a psycho inside as well. Psychos never scared her, maybe that's part of her problem.

"Harvey, you can't never leave this office. If this is going to work you have to rest, relax, be a PERSON on occasion as well. And then come back. Like you did before." Even if he wasn't Two-face, Karrin would say that. Hell, she's said almost those exact words before. She then leans over and does something which MIGHT be what pushes him over the edge, but she's testing the lines right now. She dares to press a kiss to the scarred side of his temple.

"I... I don't know if you can just say no more Two-Face. It might not be that easy. He's a part of you two. But... he came out of your head and your heart so... I'm pretty convinced that he's not all bad either. We just have to... figure things out. A step at a time. Together. *All* of us." She whispers barely audibly, just a rasp of gentle breath against his scarred skin.

Two-Face has posed:
Harvey grabs onto the edge of the desk and squeezes. He doesn't want there to be anymore Two-Face. Two-Face isn't a nice person. Two-Face isn't exactly the type of person he wants to be. In fact, Two-Face is the exact opposite of everything that Harvey Dent strives to be in his life. He wants to be a force for good and justice. He wants to clean up the mean streets of Gotham and return the city back to the former historical glory.

He wants to make Gotham a city that no longer needs The Batman.

"Time." Harvey says but he doesn't sound at all too happy about thinking about that. "That may not be a luxury that I have." He takes a moment and moves slowly to press his forehead against Karrin's. It's an old one but a familiar one. It makes it easier to look into her eyes and see that she wants to help him. It makes it easier to forget that half of his face is a rotten mess. It just makes things easier when he has actual contact with someone else.

"Every day, no matter what, I have to flip that coin. Every day the chances of Two-Face coming back gets closer and closer. Every day that I don't find a way to cure myself is another day that someone could walk into this office and not walk back out again. Right now? Gotham has me, Harvey Dent, as its District Attorney. What happens when it's not me? What happens when it's... him?"

Karrin Murphy has posed:
The hand which is on the side of his scarred face comes around to wrap gently against the side of his neck. Her fingertips never stop their gentle track, like touching the awful side of him might make him realize he's not a bad person. That she doesn't care about how awful he looks. Karrin sinks into the touch of his forehead, breathing deeply of the air they are now mutually sharing, scented with the coffee she brought him, the faint sweat of the day on both of them, and the stale office around them. "Harvey..." She breathes out quietly, heartbreak behind the way she says his name alone.

"You don't have to flip that coin. You don't. You could make the choice to stop. YOU. Not him. Because you are the man in front of me and you are the man who loves this city. He's... trauma. He's a part of you too, but it's the trauma. Don't pick up the coin. Stay with me. Stay... Harvey. You can come home with me tonight and I'll be there in the morning and I'll help you make this choice, then we'll go back to work like we always did... It'll be like it was. And when he needs to come out, when he needs to talk... and not be alone... I'll be here too. And we'll talk." Her heart is in her throat, pulse far quicker than before, terrified of taking this step and it not working, but she's jumped now and there is no going back.

Two-Face has posed:
"You don't..." Harvey stops himself lest he create a hole that allows Two-Face to stick his crazy thought process back into the mind of Harvey Dent. He's got him tucked away beneath nostalgia and memories at the moment and he's buried under the weight of the coin landing on the Good Side so many times. It's becoming a bit more easier to keep him pushed down and away from the surface lately.

A little too easy.

Harvey, though, doesn't realize that as he takes a longer breath to put the thoughts of Two-Face returning to bed. "Okay." He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, keeping his head still pressed against hers. "Okay. Let's go." He looks tired. He looks beat. He looks like he's been fighting his own mind for as long as he's been back in this office. he looks scared and worried at the same time but he also manages to look as though he can't think of anything else he'd rather do than go home with his old flame right now.

"If I'm going to beat him, then I'm going to do it standing next to you."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
It almost seemed too easy. Something in the back of Karrin's mind says it is. But she offered that hand and he's taking it, she's certainly not going to pull back now. Her throat tightens with a strange rush of almost tears as well, the hope a fierce thing with his comment about standing next to her. "Just like old times. We never thought it would be easy then, certainly isn't going to be easy now. But that never stopped us." She smiles a bit more, half against his mouth.

Then she leans up, into a kiss. Not a lustful, pressuring one, not the sort of old, stolen kisses they shared here, but a full kiss. On both sides of his mouth. No fear or hesitation. She just kisses him like old flames, a promise on the lips, that she isn't going anywhere and this is alright. He is alright. She lets it linger a good few heartbeats before pulling back enough to wrap an arm around his shoulders.

Arm in place, she tries to gently guide him up and away from the desk, from his safety, sanity and work. She doesn't let GO, letting herself be that reassuring presence even as she's taking him out of this place. "...Shit, this is the earliest I ever got you out of the office. We should celebrate, it's a fucking miracle." She half laughs.

Two-Face has posed:
Harvey is quiet, not silent but just quiet through it all. It has been a long time since anyone has even gotten this close to him let alone had the thought to kiss him. He doesn't know how to feel or how to react. He really doesn't understand anything that may be happening in his moment. He doesn't know if there are flames burning again or if this is even going to work.

That's why he's afraid.

Still, though, he doesn't stop Karrin. Not with words or even with his movements. "A fucking miracle." he finally says we they near the doors to get out of this office. "That's exactly what we're going to need." He almost sounds hopeful as he says these words during their exit.

As they leave, one hand is idly resting behind his back and with two fingers flipping that coin of his over and over between them...

Karrin Murphy has posed:
Karrin's Mazda hasn't changed either. Little and practical, it gets her around. She is walking slow, enjoying the night air next to him, her arm around his shoulders, completely oblivious to the fact that he scooped up that coin on their way out. She's just walking, enjoying. It's like they are almost normal people. A few people mutter in the hallways, watching them go. Karrin's faint glare DARES them to say anything, her blue eyes protective and harsh. No one does.

She shifts her outside arm enough to grab her keys from her pocket. She pokes at the control several times without it working. "...Damn car. Hasn't been the same since Harry rode in it last. Sorry." She mutters with a slightly gruff laugh. It means she has to let go of him to open the door, but that'll be alright, right? She leans over to shift the key into the lock and turns it twice to unlock all doors of the car. "Your ride is here, handsome. I can't say I'm the best chauffer, but Gotham's DA deserves to go in style." She mutters with a wry, flirtatious sort of grin.

Two-Face has posed:
"Your car has always been something special, Karrin. Tonight is no different."

Harvey has one hand in his pocket where he's likely still playing with that coin because it's the only thing that's keeping him from turning into Two-Face right now, right? Or is it? He doesn't even know. He just knows that he can't let anything happen to Karrin. Not while she's attempting to be such a good former flame right now.

Harvey gets into the vehicle and looks as though he's pretty uncomfortable. He doesn't like being cooped up in a place where he can't run away in case he turns or something. He doesn't like putting people in danger. Even if the people he's putting in danger asked for it themselves. In the midst of all his worry and thinking, though, Harvey reaches out to himself to try and keep up his flirtatious role from earlier.

"By the way, since we're headed to your home away from home, does my key still work? I think I still have it. Somewhere."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
"Well, it's getting more special as the days go on..." Karrin mutters, especially as she puts the key in the ignition and fights with it to turn over. It takes about four tries before the engine actually takes and there's a faint trace of smoke coming out from beneath the hood. She reaches up, patting the dashboard gently, "It's okay, baby... I know Dresden fucked you up. We'll get you into the mechanic... Sometime." Sometime when there is time and money. So, maybe in two years. But the engine is still going so after a few more moments she pulls out of the spot and onto the road.

She hasn't moved, it seems, as she's still heading up to the old, middle class section of Gotham where her grandmother's house resides. She inherited it, but never really changed anything. It's horribly pink and horrily girlie compared to Karrin, doilies on a lot of surfaces, tiffany lamps, pictures of pastures and butterflies. She motors along at a pretty good clip, not much traffic this time of night. Once she's on the highway, her right hand comes out to rest on his thigh as they drive. Just like old times.

"Should still work. I think if I tried to change the locks on that house, the doors would give up the ghost. And I still keep the spare hidden in that fake rock in the back yard, if you ever need." She pauses enough to look over to his face for a moment or two before pulling blue eyes back to the road. "You know you can ALWAYS come there, Harv. No matter what is happening. My place? It's safe for you. Something goes wrong..." He comes out, Harvey can't get control, anything like that, that's what her voice implies, "You...run there, hold up, call me. I'll be home as soon as I can."

Two-Face has posed:
Harvey listens to all these words while he tries to relax. Even he doesn't understand why he's sitting here and asking her all of these questions. Questions he should know the answer to. Why is he trying to find out so much about how things are going to work now that they're trying to establish some kind of 'fix him' plan. He doesn't get why he needs to know all of these little details.

Maybe he's not the one that needs to know. Or even wants to know.

Harvey closes his eyes as he works on trying to find some sense of relaxation in the middle of all this craziness that's going on inside of him. He really wants to understand himself and why he's even allowing this to happen. "You realize we shouldn't be doing this, right? I can't always keep him under wraps. What if he hurts you? I couldn't deal with that." Harvey states these things for the record to get them out and in the open. "I want you to be safe. Me being around you more than I need to isn't safe."

Harvey sighs. "We just need to find a cure and fast. I want my life back."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
That commentary about her being hurt just gets a strong side eye from Karrin and a deep smirk, "...Harv, it's ME. I've got three black belts and know more styles of martial arts than anyone else on in the tri-cities police force. I keep an arsenal of guns and I took the top spot at the PD's marksmanship competition three years in a row. You might be the golden boy but I could kick your ass any day, five ways from Sunday. He can TRY to hurt me. It won't happen." It's not really bragging, those are all actual things she's done. She genuinely believes she could take him. "I'd rather me than someone else innocent in Gotham. You're safe here. Trust me." SHe gives his leg another good squeeze.

"...and... I don't know if we'll ever actually find a cure. I... don't think you can bank on that, Harvey. This isn't something you *cure*. It's not a cold or sinus infection. It's... life. Brains are kind of fucked up places and yours got scrambled around. So... we learn how to deal with it. We learn coping mechanisms. We bring tools into the tool kit and make it easier, alright?" Karrin offers, only now pulling her hand away so she can take the hard right turn into the driveway of her cute pink and white almost-cottage. She literally hasn't changed a thing in 3 years.

Two-Face has posed:
"Maybe I should get a psychiatrist. They can give me pills. Pills can kill him, right? Didn't that work in Drop Dead Fred?" Harvey's trying to make jokes to keep himself from thinking about Two-Face getting his ass kicked by Karrin. Which is giving him a pair of mixed emotions. On the surface he's ready and willing to watch Two-Face get his ass thrown around by his ex. Be deeper down beneath the surface he'd like to see her try. It's a very complicated brain.

"There's one way to cure it. We both know what that is. That'd solve the problem for me, you and Gotham." Harvey's smirk is a bit on the morbid side. "Just one bullet and all of my problems could be solved." Harvey doesn't take it any further than that, though, because he's turned to look out the window just a bit. His next sigh is one that sounds just so defeated.

"I'm a mess, Karrin. I've never been a mess like this before. You shouldn't have to be the one to clean me up."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
The moment Karrin kills the engine, especially as he's talking about that cure, she looks straight back at him. "Harvey. Stop it. Stop talking like that RIGHT NOW. I know you aren't...necessarily a church going boy," he'd gone with her once on Christmas eve, she was still a church going girl, but it wasn't a constant thing for them, "but SOME fate in this universe meant you survived what happened to you. You are alive for a REASON. I'm willing to sit here and fight for you. You just have to be willing to fight for yourself." She stares into his eyes, both of them, as best she can. She doesn't avoid either side of him.

"You shouldn't need cleaned up like this... but if I ended up shot and fucked up, would you abandon and forget me, or would you come out and try to help? Hell...when I had the flu, what did you do? Neither of us runs from a fight... Why do you want me to run now?" She still hasn't opened the doors to the car, though it'd be easy enough to unlock and get out. If they are having this conversation, she's having the conversation.

Two-Face has posed:
"It's different when the patient is a lost cause."

Harvey says this with all the genuine conviction he has in his voice. He knows there's no way that he can be fixed or patched up. He knows that Two-Face is always going to be around no matter what he does. Even with the Drop Dead Fred pills. He understands all of these things and yet he doesn't want to accept any of them. Of course, he's been dealt a shitty hand since he was a child so he should actually be used to it by now.

"I appreciate this. I really do. I just... it's going to be hard. And dangerous. And, ultimately, useless. I mean, just because you can look past this ugly mug..." Harvey looks dead into the reflective surface of the window. "There's no way Gotham'll ever trust me again. With good reason."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
The woman leans over the car, pressing her nose to his cheek. Karrin just rests there and breathes a moment, "Harvey... let's... not start with Gotham. Let's start with one person. Gotham can come later. And recovery... it'll always be recovery, yes. It doesn't mean you're a lost cause. Trust me. Please." One more kiss to the side of his mouth and then Karrin pulls away enough she can actually get out of the car.

She swings free of the driver's side door, already getting her little set of keys to step up to her front door and open the door to the little, vintage house that has been in the Murphy family for ages. It smells like her and the faint, lingering touch of years of roses. She pops on one light, tossing one look back over her shoulder to him, almost an encouragement for him to come in as she peels out of her jacket.

Two-Face has posed:
Harvey gets out of the car with all the feet dragging and reluctance of a child that doesn't want to go where he knows he should go. Well, it's a little bit different because he's not sure if he should even be going in this house. He doesn't know if he should even be welcome in this house. He just really wants to run off now but its too late.

Also, he kind of wants her help.

Harvey follows her inside and makes sure that closing and locking the door happens behind him. He doesn't need any of Two-Face's boys following him or something. Even though he's pretty sure that Two-Face probably is keeping tabs on him. Might be why he's so quiet. Two-Face is probably up to something and Harvey has no idea what it is.

"So, I guess the question of the night is where am I going to sleep?" Harvey's once again resetting to his flirtatious nature because that's the way he feels the most comfortable. Especially in this space.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
Jacket off, Karrin just leads the way straight down the short hallway to her bedroom. Because she's been in uniform over 12 hours and she just wants it ALL off. "Well, unless you decided you don't like my cold feet any more, I figured you'd take the bed with me. Not like it's anything you haven't seen before." She calls back to him, leaving the door to her bedroom open as a CLEAR indication of his welcome. "You want a drink or coffee or something?"

She's casual. TOO casual, really, acting like this is just another night they are tumbling home after a long work day. Acting like the last few years and horrid accident didn't occur. Maybe Karrin is just as good at self dellusion when she needs to be. But she also never shies from looking at the bad side of his face, even now as she's stripping out of her uniform. Belt removed first. Gun locked up in the little vault in her closet. Pepper spray and other things go ino the bedside table. Then the shirt comes off to reveal her under silk camisole. She wasn't in a vest today, apparently not on that sort of duty. Once that is off, she's sitting down to unlace her boots. The toned lines of her body are becoming more and more apparent as she loses every layer. She certainly hasn't gotten soft in her older years.

Two-Face has posed:
Harvey follows and just gives a wave of his ruined hand in the midst of his walking. He's not exactly in the mood for anything to drink. Not really. Not while he's in the place he hasn't been in for years. He's almost taking an actual walk down memory lane that kind of puts a pause on his flirtatious advances in favor of actually making him feel something. There's even a little bit of a twitch of his left hand during those moments of feeling. Someone inside doesn't like to feel anything real.

"You're making it hard for me to remember that we're not together anymore. Just stating that for the record." Harvey is quite clear on his words and lingers near the door in a way that he might've back in the past. There are things at work in his mind now that don't exactly run down the same path as they did before. Things are the same but different and that's got Harvey with a very complicated mind right now. "But, as long as you're okay with it, I think sharing the bed could be beneficial to my mental state."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
The laces of her second boot are freed and Karrin uses the toe of her other foot to push it off. She gives a little groan of happiness as she does that, flopping back on the bed a moment and just breathing. It was nice to be half free. ANd then she's unbuttoning her pants and sliding them off, revealing the set of little black booty shorts she was wearing beneath, that match the black silk undershirt. That's enough to be fully comfortable. She's sitting up again and looking over to him with that flat, earnest gaze.

"We...never... Really broke up. You just didn't want my help. I mean... no. We're not... partners. But we're still friends. Still... maybe something more. I don't know. I'm really shitty at relationships and tend to bite off the heads of someone I decide to spend my life with, so... Maybe taking it a day at a time is good for BOTH of us. But I'm okay with it. We're both adults and I've *missed* you. I wouldn't have invited you back if I didn't mean it." Karrin pushes herself into standing with that, walking back over to him and reaching her fingertips out to try and take both his palms. "So... stop standing in the hall like you're watching someone in the zoo."

Two-Face has posed:
Harvey doesn't particularly understand that train of thought. He got acid to the face and everything else became a blur. It takes him a while to figure out how to cross the threshold into the bedroom he used to know so well. He just stands there for a long moment before he steps into the room and moves over towards the bed with a steady walk. He takes his time before he sits on the edge of it and just kind of sits there. It's a moment where he doesn't have to worry about losing his mind or anything. He just gets the opportunity to rest.

"This is going to suck. But I'm all in. If you are, I mean." Harvey doesn't know if he's talking relationships or if he's just talking about trying to get himself to a stable state of mind. "If we work together then the odds are better. Two..." Harvey motions towards himself and Karrin. "... on Two." And then he motions to the scarred side of his face.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
Those hands guide him backwards, to the bed, to sitting there. It's Karrin's sheets, dark with pin stripes and 1,000 thread count. She didn't sleep on her grandma's sheets. She settles next to him, the outside of their legs touching as she lets him take a few moments to get steady. Her arm reaches around the center of his back, resting hand against his scarred ribs. It's the sort of motion that lets him lean into or against her if he wants, but doesn't totally trap him. She's used to dealing with jumpy, dangerous people. He's still a bit in that category.

"I told you I was. I'm not going away. Whether we... end up a thing again or... just good friends, I'm at your side. This never changed. It never will. Two on two, then. Deal. She offers with a crack of a smile to her lips, almost teasing, almost reassuring. But clearly caring. And, probably somewhere deep down, clearly a challenge to Two-face. But then, Two-face is a criminal. She's always been his enemy.

Two-Face has posed:
Harvey allows himself to be reassured and wrapped around without feeling too much pressure. He almost flinches again, because it still feels really weird to be by some sort of human that's not scared of him or trying to shoot him or even trying to take him to jail. It's all very strange. He doesn't count the endless legion of cronies that follow Two-Face around because they get paid (in either money or getting to live) to serve and adore him. No, this is happening because of Karrin's own mind and her own feelings. This is new. This is different.

Harvey finally takes a relaxing breath. He hasn't eased up on his mind or himself since he was released from Arkham. It's almost like he's been holding his breath for that entire time. Scared to let it out for fear of letting out the other side of him.

"I'd say our chances of making this work, whatever it is, are about fifty fifty."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
"...I don't know if that's a really shitty joke, Harv, or not... but it's shitty." Karrin only half teases him, a tired chuckle behind her voice. Then, unless he fights her, she sinks back onto the bed and tries to pull him with her. She might be the short one, but at this angle it's easy enough to help guide him down to resting on her chest. She just wants to SURROUND him in human warmth, the show that he's not a monster. Someone can still care for him for who he is and was. So, she gently tries to let him rest on her chest, so her head can tuck against his hair and she wraps one arm fully about his shoulders. They've lay like this before, when they both came back home at 2 or 3 in the morning, too tired to think or move, just collapsing on the bed sideways to simply rest together. One night they even fell asleep like this.

"...This isn't going to work. Not perfectly. Parts of it will and... parts won't. ANd one of these days I'm going to have to talk to him too. But, right now, we've got this. It's a start. And I've... missed you." She whispers into his hair, taking a deep, so breath, keeping her pulse calm and all of her a warm, protective press against him.

Two-Face has posed:
Harvey doesn't know what to say or do. This is the nicest that anyone has been to him since he's become Two-Face. Well, unless he's counting those twin nurses during his first run in Arkham. Oh, they were plenty nice. Just a different kind of nice. Y'know, the sexy kind. There's a reason why Two-Face made his first two attempts at criminal activities so easy to stop.

Ahem, anyway, Harvey is more relaxed than ever in this position. There's still an underlying current of tension beneath the surface that shows just how careful Harvey is being right now. It's almost as if he ever fully lets go he won't be able to continue to control his impulses and his urges... or Two-Face's. It's become very hard to distinguish who's is who's. So he always has to leave a bit of control in place. Probably why he never really sleeps, he just kind of takes random power naps to be able to function.

"Let's leave the conversations with Two-Face on the backest burner we can find. I'm in no rush to let him back into my life. Not when I could be spending as much time as possible with you." Apollo charm activate!

Karrin Murphy has posed:
A deep, slow breath is drawn in through her nose, partially to keep herself even and calm, allow herself to be that centering touch stone for him. But also partially to get a good breath of his scent. It's been a long time since they did this and Karrin knows it might not last, so she's taking the few moments she can get. Her fingertips idly rub up and down the side of his ribs, instinctively bringing his shirt up so she can just find some skin.

"Well, we're both here. That's what matters. But... you should sleep. I know you haven't for... I don't even want to think how long. Really sleep. We don't have to move. You can sleep just like this and you'll know I'm here. That can be your focus." Instead of *HIM*. Instead of that damn coin. The coin she doesn't even know has made it into her house.

Two-Face has posed:
It's almost as if she knows him better than he knows himself. The moment he gets comfortable enough to get still... he closes his eyes and drifts right off. It's not the most calm of drifting because he's fighting it the whole way but only half-heartedly because he could really use the rest but even the combined efforts of both Harvey and Two-Face can't fight the human body's need for rest.

There's no actual response to her words as Harvey slips into the land of the slumber. Instead, all she gets is his scarred hand clutching her arm and his other hand tucked into his pocket, fingers clutched around that coin that will decide if this house is still standing when he wakes up...

Karrin Murphy has posed:
"...Men." Karrin mutters quietly as she realizes he's actually fallen asleep RIGHT there. Both of them sideways on the bed, his scarred hand holding on too tight to her arm. They'd be stiff and miserable in the morning if they stayed like this. So, Karrin does a dance she's done before -- she lays there for another ten minutes, breathing slow and deep, almost half dozing herself. Just long enough to ENSURE he's deeply asleep. Then she shifts enough to get out from under him and start gently moving the sheets down.

It's a slow, soothing sort of dance. Get him around the proper, long way in bed. Get his shoes off. Then slacks. Karrin, for really the first time ever, gets a full understanding of the burn scars that cover literally half his body. "Oh...Harvey..." She breathes out fainly. But hopefully he doesn't wake. She tries so gently. If she can get to his shirt, that will come off too, along with her's. THen she's just in booty shorts and her black sports bra. That's far better for sleeping. Now, the plan is to crawl back in with him... As long as he doesn't wake.