He could’ve avoided it, but he didn’t.
He could’ve thrown her to the ground, but he didn’t. No, no, no— he was far too kind, far too gentlemanly, for that sort of behavior. Obviously.
Catching her with outstretched arms, Joker accepted her clumsy embrace, bodies bumping as he straightened her just slightly. “Heyy.. Sugarbumps.” His half grin seemed to be only half genuine – an expression immediately dropped as he continued to hold the blond in his arms. “I’m sorry, that was crude.” But his childish, almost mocking, tone of voice made it difficult to tell if any of what he’d said was truly sincere. Reaching, he pushed a dark lock of hair from Harley’s eyes, swaying slightly as he gazed at her.
“Do you like crude things?”
Harley was pleasantly surprised when Mr. J not only caught her, but returned her affection. Did he really care after all? Even though he didn't remember her? Best comfort hug ever! Her hands locked together as slender arms wrapped loosely around him. Her smile was as cheery as could be, all unpleasantries forgotten as if they'd never even happened in the first place.
She playfully quirked a brow in his direction at the nickname. How silly, she thought, the only person that called her that was... and then it hit her. He'd found out about her flirting, at least some of it. He always did. Even though they weren't in Gotham anymore, her puddin was resourceful as ever. Whether he was just angry or a little jealous as well remained to be seen.
Her little heart skipped a beat over the intimate gesture; perhaps it wasn't incredibly intimate, but anything short of violence was a good sign. Harley stared lovingly into the Joker's eyes, her smile fading from excited to something gentler. "I like you puddin'. If it's comin' from you, it could be crude or minus the c and I wouldn't mind," especially not if he was going to keep holding her like that.