Joker's POV. Roughly around 1:00 am.
We walked into the room and instantly it hit me; there was only one bed. I looked over at Annie and it didn't even seem to register with her, she was practically falling asleep just standing there. I chuckled lightly and left her standing to pull back the covers. It looked clean enough, I suppose. There were no funky odors so really, what's there to complain about? I walked over and stood in front of her, suddenly becoming very aware of how much of a towering presence I must have been.
"You alright?" I asked. She looked awfully winded.
"I'm fine. Just very tired." She half smiled up at me.
"Here, get some sleep." And I took her by the shoulders and lead her to the bed. She suddenly woke up and I could feel her muscles tense. "Hey now, I won't try anything. I promise." She just nodded her head and snuggled deep into the covers. I tucked her in then surveyed the room. I saw a chair; I could prop my feet up on the desk and it would work for now. However, as soon as I sat down I heard her soft, sleepy voice behind me.
"What are you doing?"
"Getting some sleep, which is what you should be doing." I turned my head and gently admonished her.
"That doesn't look very comfortable. Take the other half of the bed. I don't mind."
"I...no I can't...you..." But she cut me off.
"I insist." Her big smile sealed the deal for me and I not so reluctantly slid in the other half of the bed, making sure not to touch her in any capacity.
"Now will you sleep?" I chuckled at her and I could feel her shift in the bed.
"Haha yes. Goodnight Jack."
"Goodnight Annie." It took every bone in my body not to roll over and wrap my arms around her slender frame and bury my nose in her hair. As luck would have it, my Joker side actually kept me in check and I contented myself with the notion that she liked me well enough, and trusted me enough, to let me share this bed with her. I didn't fall asleep until I could hear her quiet breaths, then I allowed myself to doze off. I knew, however, that I would need to wake up early to run out and get things that we needed.
Analiese's POV. About 5:00 that morning.
I woke up to an empty half of the bed and Jack quietly digging around in his pocket. The room was dark but I couldn't miss his tall silhouette.
"Jack?" I whispered. I was still so exhausted and I hadn't found my voice yet. He quickly turned around to face me.
"Analiese? What are you doing up?"
"I heard someone shuffling around. Is everything ok?" I was genuinely a bit worried. He wasn't going to leave me, was he? I suddenly panicked and sat up.
"Hey, shh. Yeah everything's fine." He sat on the side of the bed and gently pushed me back down. "I'm going to run out and get a few things while it's still early. I'll be back. And since you're up, is there anything you need? I was going to get us some new clothes and food."
"I think I'm ok for now."
"Alright, then go back to sleep. I'll be back soon." I sorta didn't want him to leave, I rather liked having him so close. And he acted hesitant as well.
"Jack? Be safe." I could hear his distinct and warm chuckle as I slid deeper under the covers.
"Don't worry, Princess. I'll be back before you know it." He tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear and left rather quickly. It didn't take me long to doze off again, but when I awoke several hours later, he still was not back yet and I was getting worried. However, I knew that my worry was perhaps misplaced. He was, after all, the Joker and he could certainly handle himself. As I actively attempted to reassure myself, I decided that a nice hot shower was in order. Really, I smelled pretty yucky from being a bus, running and sleeping in someone else's clothes. Gross. As I got out of bed I noticed a few shopping bags sitting on the floor. So he did come back! I sifted through them to find that he bought me some real clothes, or as real of clothes I assume he could find. I chuckled when I saw what he bought me. Clearly he tried to get me something fashionable, but didn't know what. Or he just wanted me to wear black leggings. I supposed that both were the case. He also got me new shoes and a jacket since it was getting cold outside. I was certainly very grateful at his thoughtfulness, as well as the fact that he didn't get me anything brightly colored.
Just before I stepped into the shower I noticed a book laying on the table, The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky. It had a hastily scribbled note attached.
Annie,
Went to the store and came back to drop this stuff off. I had to go and run more errands; I'll be back later. There's food and clothes in the bags. Oh, and I hope you like the book. I thought you might enjoy something to read while I'm gone. Stay safe, keep the door locked and the blinds shut.
- Jack
It was so sweet of him and I couldn't wait to dive into one of my favorite books. I stepped into the shower and let the steam carry my worries away for the time being while I awaited his return.
Joker's POV. Later that day.
I underestimated the amount of time it took me to walk to the nearest Wal-Mart, so instead of doing all my errands at once, I decided to drop off the clothes I had bought for Annie back at the motel. The town was eerily quiet and no one seemed to notice me. This was going well.
As soon as I got back to the motel, which was considerably early still, I noticed she was still sleeping peacefully and I took a few moments to study her. She was curled up with her knees slightly bent and her hands underneath the pillow. Her long dark hair was splayed over the entire pillow and her breathing was calm and even. She had a peaceful look on her face, and I was enjoying watching her sleep more than I enjoyed watching her read. And we all know I enjoyed that very much. Not wanting to wake her, I made myself snap out of my trance from watching her and quietly stepped into the shower. I took a rather quick shower, hastily put on my new clothes (a purple shirt, of course) and was just on my way out the door when I hesitated.
I stepped back into the room and stood next to her side of the bed and before I could talk myself out of it, I placed a quick kiss on her forehead. She stirred but to my good fortune she remained sound asleep. I looked back at the book I had picked up for her, a book I personally enjoyed and knew that she probably loved, and wrote a quick note. I wanted to write something more, romantic shall we say, but good thing that my more rational side came to the rescue and convinced me otherwise.
I arrived back at the room only to hear the shower running. I smiled to myself. She was up! I noticed that some food was eaten as well. Apparently she didn't expect me back because while my back was turned I heard "Jack!" and I immediately turned around. She was clad in only a towel that barely reached half-way down her thighs. I couldn't stop myself from eyeing her. I realized that I must have stood there gaping for a few seconds because she immediately turned bright red.
"Well I seemed to have come back at the most opportune time." I smiled and winked at her. Really, I couldn't help it. She looked so good. I just hoped she didn't notice that her towel clad body was having very, stirring shall we say, effects.
"You mean the most inopportune time." Annie chuckled at me and I felt more relaxed. She didn't seem angry in the slightest, but she did look embarrassed and quickly grabbed her clothes and headed to the bathroom. Meanwhile I busied myself getting out the lunch I had bought. The only available restaurants in this town were a McDonald's and takeout Chinese and I was dearly hoping that she liked vegetable melody and fried rice.
"That looks good." I turned around and the first thing I noticed were how good the clothes I bought her fit. Maybe too good. Especially those leggings and that shirt that was short enough that I could get a nice view of her cute little rear...I needed to stop.
"Well, I would say that my shopping was a success. They fit!" She laughed along with me and stood next to me.
"This looks delicious!" I handed her a fork and pulled out the chair, gently guiding her to sit down. "Now really Jack, you're just spoiling me!"
"Haha anything for you. My lady, may I present the finest cuisine in all of Gotham!" We both laughed and we caught ourselves staring into each others eyes. We both blushed and looked away, and I pulled the table up so that the end of the bed acted as a seat for myself, and turned on the news.
As I expected GCN's headline read "Joker and several Arkham patients escaped!" The newscaster was in a panic and I was sure that the city was in an uproar. I smiled triumphantly.
"Look what a splash we're making!" Annie didn't seem to share my enthusiasm however. "Don't worry, we'll be totally fine. Look they don't think it's just you. And besides, I'm the only one they are worried about." She seemed to relax and continued to dig into her food. I was glad that she was eating so much. "Hey, uh, once we're done eating we need to go. We need to get back to Gotham." She merely nodded her head because she had a mouth full of food.
As soon as she was done eating I grabbed the coat I bought for her and tossed it her way. She grabbed it and we both put on our shoes and headed out. I pulled my hood up to cover my scars and didn't bother cleaning up much.
"Oh wait, I forgot something. Here." I placed her locket in her hands and she looked up and me with a huge smile on her face. Then she did the unthinkable again; she kissed my cheek right over my scar.
"Jack, I don't even know how to thank you!"
"Then don't. It's no trouble at all." She handed the locket to me and lifted up her hair. I carefully placed the locket around her neck and as I stood behind her to fasten it I couldn't help but lean into her hair and rub my fingers on the soft smooth skin of her neck. She merely let down her hair and leaned back into me and I moved my hands to her shoulders and down her arms until I wrapped my arms around her. She leaned fully against me now and I prayed she didn't feel me straining against her. I held her against me for a bit and dropped my head on her shoulder. We stood like that for a few moments but I knew we had to go. I gently kissed her cheek right by her ear and whispered, "Ready to go?" She nodded and moved out of my embrace. I suddenly felt the emptiness of my hands; she had no idea what effect she had on me. God she was perfect. I looked at her and she had a small smile on her flushed face. Apparently I had an effect on her too. At least I hoped I did.
I lead her out into the hall and we made our way out of the motel with no problems. I had seen that there was a car parked along the side of the road for sale last night, so when I got up this morning I tried to open the door. The car was unlocked and some dumb ass had left the keys in the glove compartment. When I knew no one was around I made a mad dash to the car and started it up. Annie was right behind me and I sped out of town.
Once I realized that we were a safe distance away I slowed down a bit and stopped at a gas station. I needed to know exactly where we were.
"Stay in here. I'll be right back."
"Be safe." I was touched how concerned she always was for me.
"Hey, it's me." And before she could reply I had shut the door and was inside asking for directions. I went back to the truck as quickly as possible.
"So we're about a few hours outside of Gotham. We should have enough gas." I noticed that she was shivering slightly in the crisp air. Fall was coming upon us in full force.
"Cold?" Stupid question to ask but I asked anyways.
"Uh huh. Can we turn up the heat?" The good Lord knows that at that instant my mind was screaming yes, and it wasn't in response the the car heat either. I wanted to say yes, drive to the nearest out of site area and ravish her in the back seat. That was my ideal way of turning up the heat, shall we say. But instead I merely turned the dial on the dashboard up.
"Thanks."
"Of course. You don't have to ask you know." I smiled at her and we made the journey into Gotham. The car ride was mostly quiet. She read a bunch of that book I bought her and she dozed off for about an hour or so. I didn't mind one bit until we got closer into Gotham.
"Hey sweet-...Annie wake up." I gently shook her and her head snapped up immediately. "Hey we're getting closer into Gotham and they'll be looking for us. I need you to be awake in case we need to leave the car quickly, ok?"
"Um, ok. Hey Jack, where exactly are we going?"
"The Narrows. I know where we can stay to be safe."
"Safe? In the Narrows? Jack I-" But I cut her off.
"Listen, I'll protect you. I won't let anything bad happen. I promise."
"Well, you've done a marvelous job at it so far." And she wasn't being sarcastic. I glanced over and she was beaming at me and again I felt the flush rise into my cheeks.
I focused on driving as we neared Gotham. Luckily for us it was starting to get dark and I drove into town. I was on high alert on the inside, but being the Joker for so long meant I was an expert at looking calm and at ease on the outside. As we crossed the bridge into the Narrows I noticed Annie visibly tense.
"Didn't you grow up here?"
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I feel comfortable here." Her tone meant that she didn't want to discuss it further, and while I was dying to know why my girl was so tense, I didn't want to pry.
"Fair enough." I drove down some back alleys and less used roads until I parked the truck in a shady parking garage. We still had to walk for a bit to get to the safe house, but I didn't want to leave the truck anywhere suspicious.
"Um Jack, are we going to walk?"
"Yes, but don't forget, it's me your walking with."
"Well, I think I would feel more comfortable walking with the Joker right now. No one would bother him." That was probably the most absurd thing I would ever hear in my entire life. I loved this girl...I mean, strongly like of course.
"Haha very true. Look at me sweetie. Just because I don't have the makeup on doesn't mean I can't still do what the Joker would do. Do you understand?"
"Yeah. I'm sorry Jack. This place just makes me..."
"It's ok, I know. C'mon."
I stepped out of the car and went around to open her door for her. Immediately I locked the car, not like that would deter anyone much. I felt her cold little hand slide into mine and I gave it a quick squeeze as we made our way from the dimly lit garage to the even darker street. She huddled closer to me.
"Aww, you're so cold." I didn't mean for my voice to sound so sweet, I suppose, but it has been coming out more and more that way. I let go of her hand and put my arm around her. I smiled down at her and she finally smiled back at me. And with my arm around her, walking down the street, for the first time in what seems like forever I felt normal. The best part was how she leaned her head on my shoulder and put her arm around me. And I knew what they meant in that cliche about feeling like the luckiest guy in the world, or however it goes.
I lead her into the familiar run down building and led her up the falling in stairs to the top floor, where I unlocked the door to reveal a tiny apartment like room that was dusty but significantly cleaner than our previous establishment. The place was sparse, however, because it was the safehouse and someplace I didn't go to often.
"Oh Jack. This is honestly so much nicer than I expected!" I couldn't help but let out a howl of laughter at that one.
"Well, you didn't expect me to live in a pigsty, now did you?" She laughed too and I still didn't take my arm from around her as we walked to the sofa, both exhausted from the long drive and recent events. We both fell asleep in each others arms that night, tangled up on the sofa. Nothing had ever felt as amazing as having her cuddle into me and holding her close. It was even better than the feeling of flesh on my knife, and up until this point I had thought that was the epitome of all feelings.