Batman The Animated Series-Annie Come Home

Chapter 7: Midnight Annie

Tim Drake/Robin

At first I thought there was an intruder trying to rob the manor, but after hearing the voice belonged to Annie, my worry went from being about my own safety, to hers. "Annie, how did you get in here? You're supposed to be down in the Bat Cave" I say as I leap off my bed and hug her. Bruce promptly turned on the light just to make sure it was her.

"I'm sorry Tim, I was just trying to find you, I can't get any rest, my mind is racing. I'm sorry I woke you up" she replies softly, like she was ashamed that she bothered me. Suddenly I noticed something was very wrong; Annie had called me by my real name. "Annie…how do you know my real name?" I ask with concern, surely she hadn't broken in here just to find out. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I came in here and heard you say it in your sleep, you were planning to tell me sometime weren't you?" she asks, her tone showing she was sorry she had heard before I'd planned.

"So you know who I' am, do you know who Batman is?" I ask, hoping she hadn't learned. She shook her head in response. "No, I just came in here and found you asleep" she says as she sits on the ground, curled up to me. I was stunned, she came all the way out of the dark, damp Bat Cave, just cause she wanted to find me; I was truly speechless at her devotion. "Thanks, that means a lot Annie; Batman, can we be left alone? I need to get back to sleep, and Annie needs to be around me to relax, can you please trust us?" I plead, hoping for a miracle.

"You don't have to worry about it, I already trust you Tim" he says with a smile. My jaw nearly dropped at hearing him, he'd just admitted he trusts me! "Good night you two, try not to have too much fun" he replies, combining a small wink with a firm glare, apparently still worried I might do something stupid. Trusts me, yeah right, I knew it was too good to be true, but at least he wasn't gonna try and separate us again. After quickly shutting the door and turning off the lights, he left the room. Upon knowing he was out of earshot, I immediately helped Annie up and motioned for her to sit on the bed. She eagerly complied.

"So Annie…you uh…really seem to be fond of me huh?" I reply, suddenly feeling nervous now that I was alone with her. "Yes, but its strange" she says, her eyes focusing on her lap instead of me. This was quite odd, considering how badly she had wanted to see me. "What do you mean Annie?" I ask worriedly. She finally turned her face to look at mine, and I felt my heart get caught in my throat. I knew she was cute from the day I met her, but I'd never seen her like this before. In the moonlight, her face was absolutely gorgeous! Her eyes shone like obsidian, and her skin glowed like a star was radiating right in front of her, plus her figure was just right, so this only made me feel even more nervous.

"Robin, ever since I was absorbed by Clayface, I've thought about you. Whenever I felt him trying to destroy me, I kept thinking about you to give me strength. I don't know why, but remembering your smile and kindness…it gave me a strength unlike anything I'd ever felt. Oh Tim, please don't be upset, I just feel the need to be around you" she says as she suddenly begins to shed tears and decides to hug me. Holding in my yelp, I decided to hug her back and help calm her down. "Annie, why would I be upset?" I reply as I hold her arms gently, her eyes looking up to see my face in response. "I like being around you" I say softly.

Annie

As I heard him say it, I felt my heart flutter; Tim likes being around me, I never could have imagined it. He then gently parted some of my hair that had fallen into my face, and smiled. "Why wouldn't I? You're so nice, and you're cute" he states, as if it was a fact. I was puzzled by the word "cute". It was completely foreign to me, what did it mean?

"Tim, what does "cute" mean?" I ask, hoping he wouldn't think I was being to needy. Upon hearing my question, he blinked, as if he was surprised I didn't know. "You don't know the meaning of the word cute?" he replies, proving he was surprised. I shook my head, feeling ashamed that I had to ask the meaning of a word so simple sounding. "Well, the word means the same as beautiful, so saying someone is cute, means you find them beautiful" Robin explains, his cheeks turning red, as he turned away from me and rubbed the back of his head.

I quickly gasped as the full weight of what he said sunk in. "(Stammering) Y-You think I'm b-b-beautiful?" I choke, scarcely able to believe what I'd heard. Tim nodded, unable to face me, he must have been nervous and scared to tell me, I could see him shaking. "Tim…no one has ever said that and genuinely meant it before" I reply as I hug him tightly, feeling a fluid substance leaking from my eyes. I quickly realized if I kept leaking my face would liquefy. I promptly sucked the tears back in before Tim could see what had happened. Suddenly, I felt a strange calm wash over me, as I held Tim, I felt something I had never felt before; peace, I finally felt peace and calm!

"Robin…can I get in bed with you?" I ask quietly, hoping he wouldn't object. "WHAT?" he screams, falling onto his back with a frozen face. "I just wanna stay with you, I haven't ever felt truly peaceful in my life, and I just finally realized I feel peaceful whenever I'm around you. All I want is to lay in the bed and hold you while you sleep" I explain, hoping I wasn't getting on his nerves. Upon hearing my explanation, he visibly calmed down and wiped his forehead. "Phew! You had me scared there, for a minute I thought you meant something else by that question" he says with a nervous chuckle. That made me feel confused, so I gave him a puzzled look. "I'll tell you what that means later, but sure, you can stay with me Annie" he says as he lays back on the bed and grabs his sheets. I quickly clambered under them and curled up to Tim, taking in his scent. It was a wonderful, peaceful aroma. As I held Tim, I could feel my mind shutting down, being incapable of real sleep, I guess I was just finally resting I'd reached such a relaxed state, and I was ok with that, cause even though I didn't know what might happen tomorrow, I knew I was with him now, my Robin.