"Do you love me, Harleen?" Joker grinned, his black hair wild and messy.

"Yes. Yes, of course I do, Mr. J."

"Then prove it." He gestured to the bubbling pit of green chemicals at least twenty feet below them.

"What?" Harleen Quinzel's eyes widened.

"Well, if you can imagine, I've known a lot of liars in my life, kissed a lot of women who told me they loved me but weren't willing to become one with me. Jump, Harleen, and I'll jump after you."

"But... Isn't there another way to prove my feelings for you?"

"No, there isn't," he snapped, "Do you love me or not?"

Harleen glanced at the bubbling waste, swallowing a bundle of nerves creeping up her throat.

"I'll jump."

"Wonderful!" Joker clapped.

"But on one condition."

"And what might that be?" He tapped his chin eagerly.

"We do it together."

"Hm..." He considered it for a moment, his emerald eyes pointing skyward towards his brain.

"I think it's fair if you prove your love to me while I prove mine to you," Harleen reasoned.

He considered it for another moment, "Hm... I suppose you make a fair point. Alright, on the count of three, we jump."

Harleen took Joker's warm hand in hers, and he squeezed hers three times. Even though his voice was nonchalant and indifferent, she could see that he was a little anxious under that disguise.

"One," she said.

"Two," he counted.

"Three." Harleen and Joker suddenly dropped their intertwined hands. Joker turned to push her in, but Harleen was too quick. She shoved him as hard as she possibly could. Suddenly he reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her down with him. Joker pulled Harleen into him and they held each other in a tight embrace, laughing as they fell.

Harleen's skin hit the toxins like ice, and immediately her whole body was burning. A hundred wasps were stinging her skin at the same time. The pain was so shocking and so great that she passed out. She would have drowned if someone hadn't dove down to save her.

Joker was used to pain before, his skin was nearly numb to it by now, so all he felt was a dull sting on his legs and arms. When he surfaced, he immediately began to laugh and looked for his Harleen.

An overwhelming feeling of joy washed over him, Harleen loved him, and by leaping in with her, he had realized how greatly he returned her feelings. He could never lose her now.

But something was wrong, he could feel it like a deep pit in his gut. Joker had somehow been ripped from her warm embrace when they fell, and now he couldn't see her sweet face anywhere.

He laughed loudly, hoping that she would hear it, "Sugarplum! Such a funny joke! You got me!" He shouted.

She didn't surface. He didn't see her beautiful figure anywhere. He spun in a circle, looking for her everywhere.

"Harleen," he commanded, "I'm not laughing anymore."

He didn't waste another second. He knew that she would have come up sooner if she was just trying to prank him. She would never want to cause him real worry or fear.

Joker dove into the toxic waste, his body starting to sting and blister the farther he swam down. His limbs tingled and burned as he desperately searched for her.

Finally, he saw her unconscious body lying at the bottom of the pool. He grabbed her by her armpits. Suddenly, he froze in pain. He was on fire. His skin was melting.

He yanked her up to the surface and dragged her body from the chemicals, coughing and choking the toxic waste from his mouth. His lungs were engulfed in blazing flames.

He collapsed on the dirty wet tile, pulling Harleen's lifeless body next to his. His eyes widened when he took a good look at her chemical soaked frame. Her skin was white as snow and covered in burns and blisters, and her natural blonde hair was stripped to the color of milk. He brushed his hand along her white face.

She was as cold as ice.

She didn't look like his Harleen anymore.

Chemicals suddenly spewed from her mouth as she coughed. She looked at him with wide eyes which were once a deep blue but were now the sky.

"P-Puddin'... Your hair... And your skin..." She rasped, her throat burned raw, "Y-You're so cold..." She whispered as she felt his hand on her collarbone.

Joker coughed, "Worth it for you, Harley," he chuckled.

"W-What did you call me?" She asked.

"Harley," he grinned, "Suits you better than Harleen."

"I like it," Harley smiled at him with her now bleached white teeth.

"Good."

Then he kissed her, and he swore he could still feel the toxic taste of chemicals lingering on her red lips.