Bound Beneath

by MuppetSawyer

Summary:

Harley takes revenge, and of course, it’s slow, and painful. Poor Bruno.

At first I was going to make this into separate chapters, but decided otherwise. I find it easier to do it all in one :3 Thank Ajoure in tumblr for this AU !!

Farewell my mischievous munchkins.

Bruno lays on the examination bed, his body battered and bruised, some old, some new. Knife marks lace his skin, a few of them splattered with blood. He’d passed out long before, his body limp and sore. His polo shirt was torn at the edges, a scar visible from Harley’s past treatment. His hair was messy, sticking to his forehead. Or ‘revenge’, as The Doctor calls it. The room is dim, the only light was the cracked one above. It strained right into Bruno’s eyes, and he had no doubt Harey did that deliberately.

That bastard.

Equipment lay on a small table nearby, blood splattered on the side, and a few tools are covered in it. Some from Bruno, some from The Hour Of Joy. It didn’t exactly matter, anyways.

————————————————————————————

Dr. White’s eyes open weakly as he hears the sound of Harley’s distinctive footsteps.

Not again.

Harley’s tall silhouette appears at the doorway, barely visible under the darkness. A purple glow illuminates the room, the source coming from The Doctor’s eyes.

“Ready for your next check-up, White?” Harley’s voice is cold, though a hint of amusement is clear. Of course he’s enjoying Bruno’s pain. He steps into the room, closing the door and flipping on the lights

Bruno couldn’t make out Harley’s appearance very well, due to the removal of his glasses. But he didn’t need to see to know Harley was grinning ear, too, ear.

Harley walks towards Dr. White’s bashed up body lying on the examination table, his grin unwavering. Bruno’s eye dart towards The Doctor’s supply of equipment, some stained with previous blood. He whimpers slightly, shifting away as much as he can. Like that’d stop Harley. The scientist picks up a scalpel, blood smeared on the tip. Harley inspected the sharp scalpel, like it was almost mesmerising.

Finally done with his inspection, Harley turns to Bruno. “Oh White, we’ll be having plenty of fun today.” He says, amusement obvious in his tone.

Dr. White shakes his head vigorously, disagreeing.

“Hm.” Is all Harley mustered, stepping closer, slipping a pair of gloves on. He then reaches for a scalpel, the blade glinting under the lights. Bruno begs and screams, his eyes filling with tears as the blade inches closer and closer towards his skin. But then the door opens, and Leith enters.

“Amore, I have some blueprints for your…” leith trails off as he takes in the scene, a small smirk on his face. “Oh…oh! Apologies, my dear, I thought you’d be alone.”

Harley’s demeanour shifts completely, like a switch, and turns to Leith. “Oh don’t fret my love, I’m sure our precious White can wait for his check-up.” He says. “Besides, it’s fun to watch him slowly go insane…” he murmurs lowly, fixating a brief warning glare at Bruno that clearly said ‘Consider yourself lucky’.

Leith chuckles, “I’m flattered, love” He steps closer, placing the blueprints down onto a nearby table.

The shorter man smiles, adjusting Harley’s lab coat tenderly. His gloved hands straighten the cuffs, readjust the collar, and smooth the creases gently. He looks up at the taller man, circling his thumbs on Harley’s arms soothingly.

“Aren’t you just the sweetest?” The Doctor teases, though he leans down and presses his lips against Leith’s. Bruno’s eyes widen in disbelief, looking up limply with utter shock.

Leith’s hands slide up to rest on Harley’s shoulders, caressing softly as he kisses the taller man back. Leith pulls back, nipping Harley’s bottom lip softly, enlisting a small gasp from The Doctor. It was a quiet gasp, but loud enough for Bruno to hear, baffling him even more.

Leith tucks Harley’s sweater up slightly, his hands wandering.

Harley bit his lip, gasping out, “L-Let’s take this somewhere else…” He says, tucking his sweater back down.

Leith chuckles, grabbing The Doctor’s hand, and leading the blushing man away.

Bruno watches, his jaw dropped. Did he just witness that? Didn’t they hate each other? He decides to ignore it, instead focusing on the fact he’s still tied down. He looks down at his body, desperate tears pricking at the corner of his eyes.

He doesn’t want to die. Not like this, not with him. Not due to Harley’s hands.

————————————————————————————

Around three days later, Harley enters the labs again, much more composed than before. He notices the bulb had fully blacked out, so his eyes illuminate the room with a purple glow. Bruno wakes up, blinking groggily at the sudden stream of light. He sees The Doctor, and fear turns to dread, then to terror. Dr. White tries to scream, but it’s not use. He’s bound beneath any sort of help. He’s in the pits of hell.

Bruno’s eyes blur with tears, watching Harley grab something behind a storage container.

What The Doctor picks up confuses Bruno and scares him more. Before him was an empty, lifeless version of Poe. One of the many Smiling Critters.

Harley places the Poe body down, and pulls out a nearby chair, sitting down and crossing his legs. He’s silent. Unusually silent.

The Doctor finally breaks the silence, “How are you, White?” He asks, his voice emotionless.

“W-wha? What? W-what do y-you think!?” Bruno snaps.

“Oh White, I’m simply asking you a question? Is that so wrong?” Harley asks, his eye’s glinting beneath his glasses.

“Y-your making fun of me, a-aren’t y-y-you?!” Bruno yells, tugging at his restraints. “Y-you l-lock me down h-he-here like some damn la-lab rat! You bare-barely feed me, never m-m-mind give m-me water! I’m starving, c-cold, and t-th-thirsty, yet you’re h-here mocking me?!” He says, thrashing slightly as his pent up anger and terror explodes.

Harley watches all this with a blank expression.

“T-the last thing I d-drank w-was th-that water you held my head under! I-I don’t k-k-know when it w-was, or i-if it was real! It m-m-might’ve been a d-dr-dream! O-or nightmare more like i-it! The only dream I have is…the only true dream I have is strangling you and everyone here w-with y-you…W-with m-my b-bare hands…Ritterman, Greyber, Leith…a-and especially YOU! AGAIN!” Bruno finally stops his rant, breathing heavily. Tears were how streaming freely down his face, staining his cheeks.

A grin slowly spreads across Harley’s face, his hands reaching for the lifeless body of Poe. He plucks a feather, bringing it to his eye.

“I’m glad you voiced your mind. It’s good to let things out sometimes.” The Doctor says.

“W-why?” Bruno chokes out, his voice quieter now. “W-why a-are you d-d-doing this?”

Harley chuckles lowly, standing up with the Smiling Critter in his hands.

“Again, why not? Can’t I enjoy my last moment with you?” Harley asks, tilting his head.

“W-what do you m-mean ‘last moments’…?”

“‘You’…as you know yourself…” Harley murmurs.

“W-wait, w-what..?”

“Your last words…” Harley finishes, now grinning ear to ear. He waves the feather slightly, almost mockingly. “Do you like them, White?” He asks, gesturing to empty body of Poe.

“Wha…?” Bruno stammers out, confused.

“Their beak resembles your nose. Don’t you think it’s fitting?” The Doctor asks, stepping closer.

Fitting? What does he mean…fitting. He-he isn’t thinking of…that? Right..?

“S-sawyer! P-p-please! D-don’t do this!” Bruno yells desperately, his tears completely spilling over. “Y-you bastard! You ss-sick, ba-bastard! Y-you wouldn’t d-dare! Y-your l-l-lying! Right…? No, you ha-have to be! Y-you w-wo-wouldn’t!”

“I fear your pleas won’t get you anywhere.” Harley says. “So if you’d allow me too—“ He’s cut off by Bruno.

“NO! N-no! Y-y-you wouldn’t! Y-you’re a failure! A fa-failed e-ex-e-experime—“ Bruno chokes as Harley grabs his throat tightly, placing Poe elsewhere.

“Do NOT speak over me.” Harley’s voice was cold as he interrupted, his eyes dangerous. “I thought long and hard on what body would suit you best. A lot of time…” he says. “I thought perhaps DogDay. You’re like a dog, give you a bone and you’re at your knees. Pathetic, naive…but no, no-no…It wasn’t good enough, White. You’re special…” he murmurs.

“Wha…?”

Harley tightens his grip on Bruno’s throat as he proceeds, “Then I thought about Hoppy. A scared little bunny. You always tried to act brave, but you’re just a nuisance, a pathetic, scared little nuisance. But no…it wasn’t right.” He explains darkly. “Then Poe. It just…clicked.” He says, letting go of Bruno’s neck.

The Doctor fills a nearby tank with the red smoke, connecting it to various tubes and a mask. He places the mask onto Bruno’s mouth, watching the smoke take effect.

Harley slips on a pair of blood stained gloves, watching as Bruno’s battered and bruised body go limp.

The Doctor grins, leaning forward and whispering, “Farewell, old friend…” as Dr. White goes unconscious.

Notes:

This was way longer than I expected, oops! I’m actually pretty proud though, so I hope you lot enjoy it! ;3

Please excuse the few mistakes that are there, I wrote some parts late at night🙏