John wrapped both arms around Harley and pulled her tightly against his chest.
Harley’s entire body went rigid.
The smug comment waiting on her tongue disappeared before she could release it. Her hands remained planted against John’s chest, and the playful possessiveness vanished from her face as she felt the strength of his embrace.
John held her like someone who had reached solid ground after drowning for far too long.
Nobody inside the room moved.
Maureen stood at the foot of the bed, covering her mouth with one hand. Hippolyta stood next to her, keeping her calm queenly posture, but she stayed focused on John’s face. Maze leaned against the nearby wall with her arms crossed. The usual sharp amusement she had was gone, replaced by quiet understanding.
John barely noticed any of them at first.
Six thousand years pressed against him at once.
The Presence had called those memories a gift, though nothing about them felt gentle. Every century inside Hell now existed clearly inside his mind. He remembered every judgment, rebellion, execution, experiment, punishment cycle, and night spent listening to the endless screaming beyond the throne room.
He remembered sitting alone upon Lucifer’s throne while entire ages crawled past outside the windows.
He remembered training until his bones shattered, his soul burned, and reality collapsed around him. He remembered rebuilding broken sectors, reading infernal contracts, crushing ambitious demon lords, and forcing himself to remain sane while Hell tried to turn endurance into cruelty.
Maze had been there through much of it.
Harley, Maureen, and Hippolyta hadn’t.
Their faces had survived inside his heart and mind, and he guarded their memories more carefully than anything else. However, six thousand years had stretched those memories thin. Harley’s laugh had sometimes sounded distant. Maureen’s quiet smile had occasionally become difficult to picture. Even Hippolyta’s eyes had started fading beneath the weight of countless centuries.
John had hated himself whenever that happened.
He had returned to those memories constantly, afraid that one day he would search his mind and find only names without faces attached to them.
Now Harley was inside his arms.
She was warm, alive, and exactly as chaotic as he remembered.
John buried his face against her hair and tightened his embrace.
He wanted to scream until Earth itself shook beneath him and release every ounce of rage, grief, exhaustion, and loneliness he had buried while fulfilling the deal.
Instead, he remained silent and held Harley closer.
Harley just stayed there as she realized this wasn’t playful affection or an attempt to keep her from starting an argument.
Something inside John was breaking.
Her voice became quieter as she rested her cheek against his shoulder. “Jonny, are you okay?”
John tried to answer, though his throat refused to cooperate. He swallowed the pressure building inside his chest and kept his eyes closed for several more seconds.
Harley didn’t rush him again.
Harley Quinn always filled silence with laughter, insults, threats, bad jokes, or unnecessary descriptions involving explosives. Seeing her remain completely quiet made the weight of John’s reaction impossible to ignore.
Maureen moved closer to the bed and sat beside him. Her cold fingers touched his forearm, as if she feared any sudden movement might make him disappear again.
“We’re all here with you,” Maureen said while her eyes filled with tears. “You don’t have to hold everything alone anymore.”
John’s grip around Harley tightened once before slowly loosening.
He finally opened his eyes.
Harley’s face was the first thing he saw. Her blue eyes searched his expression with none of the madness or playful hunger she had shown moments earlier. Concern had stripped away every mask, leaving only the woman who had waited an entire year for him without knowing whether the version that returned would still be hers.
John lifted one hand and touched her cheek.
His thumb moved gently beneath her eye while he studied every familiar detail, almost convincing himself that she was another memory created by Hell.
Harley caught his wrist and pressed a kiss into his palm.
A tired smile slowly appeared on John’s face.
The sight of it seemed to release something inside the room. His shoulders lowered slightly, and the crushing pressure hidden behind his eyes softened as he turned toward Maureen.
She was already crying.
Maureen tried to wipe the tears away before he noticed, though her trembling fingers made the attempt useless. John reached toward her and gently pulled her closer until she sat against his side.
“I missed you all so much,” John said as his voice finally broke through the weight in his throat.
Maureen wrapped both arms around him immediately. Cold air gathered around the bed as her emotions slipped through her control, frosting the sheets and leaving thin crystals across John’s sleeve.
“I missed you too,” Maureen whispered while pressing her face against his shoulder. “Every day...”
John closed his eyes briefly as he held both women. Harley remained against his chest, while Maureen clung to his side like she feared he might vanish again.
His gaze eventually moved toward Hippolyta.
The Amazon queen had remained composed through wars, invasions, political disasters, and the possible destruction of entire civilizations. She had ruled Kahndaq during his absence and carried every responsibility he had left behind without allowing anyone to see how deeply his departure affected her.
Now her eyes shone with restrained tears.
John extended one hand toward her.
Hippolyta’s control lasted another second before she crossed the distance between them. She sat beside Maureen and allowed John to pull her into the embrace. Her arms wrapped around him and the others, turning the reunion into a tangled group hug that covered most of the bed.
For several minutes, nobody spoke.
John simply breathed them in.
Harley smelled faintly of gunpowder, perfume, and strawberry shampoo. Maureen carried the clean scent of winter air, while Hippolyta smelled of flowers. These small details struck him harder than any grand reunion could have.
They were real.
And he was on Earth.
John tightened his arms around them as tears finally escaped his eyes. He made no attempt to hide them because six thousand years had taught him that pride became meaningless when compared with moments like this.
“I’m sorry for hiding the truth,” John said after the silence had settled around them. “I didn’t want any of you doing something stupid while I was gone, especially Harley.”
Harley lifted her head from his chest and stared at him with wet eyes. “I would’ve shot myself right in the head and gone looking for you.”
“I know,” John said softly while brushing his thumb beneath her eye. “That’s exactly why I couldn’t tell you.”
"You aren't going to disappear again, are you?" Maureen asked.
"No. I plan to stay right here," He replied.
Hippolyta looked at him. "Sacrificing so much just to keep Earth safe from Trigon... I... I can't imagine how hard it must have been down there."
John leaned in and kissed her softly.
"It must've been so lonely," She whispered against his lips.
"Yes, it was. But thanks to Maze and the memories of you all, I was able to keep my sanity," He said.
"Is Maze gonna join the harem?" Harley's question made everyone chuckle a bit. She got her priorities sorted out.
"Yes," John said as he looked at Maze.
Maze moved away from the wall and walked over to the bed. Harley, Maureen, and Hippolyta watched her. She stopped near the edge of the bed and crossed her arms again. “Before anyone starts planning matching dresses or some ridiculous bonding ceremony, I’m making something clear. I didn’t spend six thousand years beside him just to walk away now.”
Harley’s concern for John slowly gave way to familiar mischief as she looked Maze over from head to toe. “Six thousand years is a pretty serious head start, demon girl. I’m gonna need details, schedules, number of dates, favorite positions, cuddling habits, and a complete list of every dirty trick he learned while we were waitin’ here.”
“Wouldn't you love to know?” Maze’s mouth curved into a dangerous smile. "Oh~ The things we've done in Hell." She got on the bed and moved her face toward Harley's and looked into her eyes. "Just thinking about it makes me gush down there."
--
AN: I'll end this one in the next chapter. Yeah, I know it's short, but I'm done with DC ffs for now. This is probably my last DC fic. I'll be focusing more on Lucifer next.