Chapter Text
Robyn shook her head towards the air steward as he asked her if she would like anything to drink.
“No thanks.” She answered turning her attention back to her wordsearch in her hands, taking a glance out of the window, seeing nothing but willowy grey and white clouds. Her lips had been in a permanent grin since she reached the airport and she was beyond excited at her reason for flying back to London again. A certain thirty-one-year-old man who had a weekend of surprises planned for her, the Welshman keeping tight lipped when she tried to tease it out of him even bribing him with the promise of a full back massage.
“Robyn why on earth would I even take you up on that offer when I have a book full of massage vouchers to be used whenever I want?” Was his reply.
Robyn grunted at him over the phone, frowning as he chuckled her way.
“Chicken, you really don’t have patience when it comes to certain things, do you? It’s only two days and then all will be revealed. It’s your turn for a bunch of surprises and treats.”
Shaking her head as she recalled the conversation with him, Taron not giving into her, even when she threatened to never give him a head massage again.
“Do you even think you can hold yourself to that? You know that’s your favourite thing to do for me.”
Robyn had to admit defeat herself, knowing first that she would never not be able to give him a head massage and second that she would have to wait until see she saw him to know what he was up too and went along with the change in conversation as she asked him about his filming. She did try to get the plan from him as they came to the end of the phone call, easing it back into their laughter but Taron only chuckled at her again.
“You can wait Robyn.” He insisted.
She turned her phone over on the airplane tray top, grinning at the pop socket of his face which was still stuck on her back cover. Even with the slagging she had gotten from Emma, Robyn hadn’t been tempted to take it off. It was a little reminder of her wonderful weekend with him at his premier, the cushion he got her sitting beside cwtch in the corner of her couch, the lava lamp on her dressing table in her bedroom.
Turning her phone back over, she pressed play on her music app, smiling to herself as Taron’s voice filled her ears, the Rocketman soundtrack her chosen music choice for the short flight to London. For the first time since New Year’s Eve when she went to visit Taron in Aberystwyth, Robyn’s journey to the airport was a stress free one. She left work on time, drove to the airport and arrived with two hours to spare for strolling around the duty free, giving her lots of time to frown at the over-priced products. Once settled in window seat of the airplane, she had pulled out her phone and without a second thought, chose her most over used playlist to listen to; songs that reminded her of Taron or of him singing himself. She scrolled through her messages from Taron, his zipped smiley face emojis making her grin. She had tried to get him to talk about his plans for the weekend through text message too but his answer came back with the tight-lipped zipped emoji and all she knew was that he had something planned, so gave in asking him yesterday, realising she had to be patient and trust in Taron and his secretive birthday plans.
His skype call on her birthday was very early and from set in London and after he had sung ‘Happy Birthday’ to her twice, once in English and then again in Welsh, he had just told her to bring two nice outfits, one more fancy then the other for the weekend plans and left it at that. Robyn of course started to panic and had begged him for more information about the weekend but Taron had answered her with a ‘I have it all under control chicken.’ After another worried phone call explain to him what she was bringing to wear, Taron had told her that her two chosen outfits were perfect for what he had planned. Robyn still wasn’t convinced that her second outfit was good enough for his secret evening activity, concerned it was another red-carpeted event, so took a late-night shopping trip to the designer dress shop in the next town to pick up a brand-new special dress, even ringing Stella for advice as she stood in the dressing room. It was packed neatly in her suitcase ready to be worn with a pair of matching heels and she hoped it would be suited for his plans.
She happily sighed as she closed her eyes, listening to Tiny Dancer, the fingers of her left hand running over the healing bruises on the back of her right hand. It had taken the four weeks since she had last seen Taron for the worst of the bruising to fade and thankfully, even with the light blue and yellow discolouring on her skin, she had full use of her hand which she was so grateful for. It made the mundane tasks simple again and was glad that she could now blow dry her hair properly and wouldn’t have to worry about asking Taron to help her in and out of her dress, though she hadn’t really objected to his help out of the green one, or the lightest of touches he made with his fingers on the skin of her sides. Memories of dancing to her new favourite Elton song at Taron’s premier flashed through her mind and she grinned. Her thoughts then turned to the tabloids on the Monday, the showbiz pages of all the newspapers had their picture as the main focus of the articles about the premier and Robyn counted her lucky stars as the words underneath the picture were kind and lovely, the critics raving about Taron’s movie and their framed picture on her piano took pride of place in the middle of all of her other photos of her and Taron together. She half smiled as Take Me to the Pilot came on and skipped the song, moving on through the sound track.
She had absolutely no idea what Taron was up to for the weekend apart from the fact that he was working late that evening and he had told her to let herself into his flat in London which she was very much looking forward too, planning to snoop thoroughly through every inch of his place in the same way he had snooped through hers last year. Whatever he had up his sleeve, she was just happy to be seeing him again, glad he had the two days off from filming, giving him an emotional break from the demanding script, his first since he started back working. It would be another quick forty-eight hours but with Taron’s tight schedule, she was glad to get any time with him.
The flight was a quick forty minutes and having been through Heathrow airport four times in the last five months, Robyn could walk to the baggage carousel with her eyes closed. After a quick trip to the toilet, she pulled her case from the moving belt and wandered toward the arrival’s hall. She stopped for two minutes to text Taron, not expecting a text back as she knew he was working through his extremely busy daily schedule as he filmed with Matthew but wanted him to know she had arrived safe. Making her way out of arrivals with her suitcase, Taron had told her he had organised a driver for her to bring her to his flat and she smiled as she recognised the smartly dressed man waiting for her at the exit to the airport as she headed towards the pick-up area of arrivals.
“Miss Quinn!” Anthony grinned, laughing as Robyn rushed towards him with a light jog and gave him an unexpected hug. “So lovely to see you again.”
Robyn smiled back his way as they took a step apart. “You too Anthony and you know you can call me Robyn.”
“Of course Miss Quinn.” He nodded taking her case from her. “Going to Taron’s, right?”
“Please.”
Robyn went to open the car door but felt a hand on hers as Anthony shook his head her way. “Miss Quinn, you should know by now how this works.” Robyn stepped back and he opened the door for her, gesturing for her to get into the car.
“Thank you.” Once inside the car she let Anthony close the door and smiled to herself, taking her shoulder bag off and putting it to her left, her head turning in the same direction as she wanted to route through her bag for her phone to give Taron another text to say thanks for asking Anthony to pick her up when she noticed the very large bunch of flowers on the back seat beside her. She reached over to pick up the bunch of colourful flowers, different varieties in the bouquet, a card stuck in the very middle. “Taron…” She murmured to herself.
“I see you got his flowers.” Antony settled himself into the driver’s seat, seeing Robyn’s reflection in the rear-view mirror.
“I see Taron is up to his old surprise tricks.”
Anthony turned around in the seat to look at her. “Taron is not actually the person behind these flowers. I suggest you read the card Miss Quinn.”
Robyn stared at Anthony, trying to frown at him as he called her Miss Quinn again but he only gave her a small wink and started the car.
“We will at Taron’s within the hour Miss Quinn.”
As the car pulled away from the curb, Robyn took the card from the centre of the flowers and opened the small envelope.
‘My dear darling Robyn. Wishing you a very Happy Birthday. I look forward to another duet with you. We must organise another visit soon. I never did get to hear you play but would most definitely enjoy your company once again. Hope you get everything and more that you wish for on your special day. Love Elton and David.’
Robyn’s mouth dropped as she read the card once more, catching Anthony’s eye in the mirror. “Not from who you thought.”
“How did Elton know it was my birthday?”
“You do know that Taron and Elton are friends Miss Quinn?”
“You do know that Miss Quinn is my mother?” Robyn answered bringing the flowers to her face to smell their fragrance.
“I believe your mother is actually Mrs Quinn, Miss Quinn and Elton wanted to mark the occasion of your birthday with something.”
“You will have to thank him for me. These are beautiful.”
“I will do Miss Quinn.” Anthony chuckled as his passenger frowned at him. “Sit back and relax Robyn. We will be at Taron’s soon.”
Placing the flowers carefully beside her, Robyn got her phone from her bag and finally got to text Taron. Knowing he wouldn’t get the two messages until he had a break in filming, she popped her phone back in her bag and ran her right hand over the pink plastic wrap of her flowers. She had barely stepped out of the airport and already was met with a birthday surprise, starting to worry about what Taron had in store. He had been so secretive about it all and her mind drifted back to his birthday weekend in Aber. It had been a wonderful weekend getting to know his family, nice and simple with no plans at all, their sudden swim in the ocean the only unexpected surprise and with their relationship changing so much over the last few months, Robyn was a little nervous about what he had in store for her, especially as she became more open to his world in the public eye but she knew he wouldn’t do anything she would be uncomfortable with. Leaning her head back against the headrest, she couldn’t help but smile. Four weeks seemed like an age since she had a wonderfully tight squishy hug from Taron and she had a feeling her birthday hug from him was going to be a great one.
The drive to Taron’s apartment block was quick and as Anthony took her bag out of the boot of the car, Robyn waited patiently with her flowers.
“Are you sure you can manage Miss Quinn? I can help you carry this inside.”
“I can manage thank you Anthony and please call me Robyn.”
Anthony grinned at her. “Enjoy your evening Miss Quinn and I will see you and Taron tomorrow.”
“Oh so you call Taron Taron but you won’t call me Robyn?” She stood with her hands on her hips as he got back into the car, her flowers on top of her case.
“Good evening Miss Quinn!”
Robyn rolled her eyes as he closed the car door and drove off slowly leaving her alone outside the gates to the apartment complex. She picked up her flowers and wheeled her case over to the pillar with the keypad on it, pressing the code in which Taron had given her to open the gates. She waited for them to open enough so she could walk through and pulled her case behind her entering the grounds of the private apartments.
“Good evening Miss Quinn.” Ben the security guard, strolled out of his box and leaned against the door giving her a wave. “Happy birthday.”
She gave him a small wave, stopping as he hopped out of his security hut and strolled over to her. “Taron asked me to give you this.” He handed her a key. “Said you would need it to get in to his flat.”
Robyn took the key from him and pushed it into the right front pocket of her jeans. “Yes please. Thank you.”
“No problem. Have a good birthday.”
“Thank you Ben.” Robyn smiled his way and then kept walking towards Taron’s block, shaking her head as she walked. She knew she had to get the key for his flat from the security guard and it really shouldn’t have been a surprise to her that even the security guard knew it was her birthday weekend but it seemed Taron had told the whole world about his weekend with her. Pushing her way in through the doors, she reached the lift and once on Taron’s floor, headed to the end of the corridor to his apartment. She dug the key from her pocket and held it against the keypad, the door unlocking with ease. The apartment was dark in comparison to the light of the hallway but Robyn figured with his very early starts on set, Taron just got up and ran, not bothering to open curtains around his home. She dragged her case in, the bag falling over onto the ground as she fumbled along the wall for a light switch, not remembering quite where it was. She kept the door open with her left foot giving some light into his flat and eventually she found the light switch. Bight light flooded the open space of his living area and as she thought, it looked like he had left in a hurry. The grey fleece blanket she had given him was in a bundle on his couch, a cup on his coffee table. She pushed her case over with her foot and walking into his living area, placed the key and flowers on the coffee table beside his couch. Shrugging her light coat off, she threw it onto his couch too and walked into the dark kitchen, heading straight for where she thought the light switch was. She flicked it on and screamed as a loud shout and bang disrupted the silence of the apartment.
“Surprise!”
Robyn turned her on feet, her heart beating incredibly fast in her chest and tried to catch her breath as a flutter of colourful confetti fell over her head, Taron the other side of the island in the kitchen smiling her way, his hands in the air, a party hat on his head, a glittery rainbow banner over his right shoulder.
“Jesus Christ Taron!”
On seeing the shock in her face, Taron quickly walked around the island to stand in front of her. He knew he finished filming early on the Friday that Robyn was coming to London and he hadn’t told her so, wanting to surprise her for her birthday but he never meant to give her a fright and as he placed his hands on her shoulders, he gave them both a squeeze, watching as her eyes looked to him.
“Surprise.” He repeated again but a little quieter this time.
As Robyn placed her hands on his chest to steady herself, she was relieved to know it was Taron who had frightened her but she could have killed him for giving her a slight heart attack. She saw the concern in his eyes and tilted her head at him a little taking in the hat on his head and birthday banner over his shoulder, seeing his concern change into a grin as he took his hands from her shoulders. She caught his quick movements as he pulled something from his back pocket and she jumped a little as he pulled another confetti popper over the two of them.
“Happy Birthday!” He cried excitedly, chucking the now empty popper behind him and quickly pulling her body into his for a hug, her hands trapped between the two of them. “Happy birthday.” He repeated into her hair, smiling at the confetti scattered through her ponytail, rubbing her back in circles. “I think I scared you. Not my intention at all. It was meant to be a surprise.”
“Oh it was a surprise all right.” Robyn mumbled into his shoulder, breathing in his freshly showered scent, freeing her hands so she could give him a hug back. “Thought you were filming.”
“I was.” He gently kissed her head. “This morning.”
“You plan all this? To get the day off?”
“I wish I could say yes but nope just the way our schedule worked this week. We were actually supposed to be finished at eleven but we ran over. I had trouble with a scene.”
Robyn moved her head from his shoulder. “You ok?”
Taron nodded. “Some of the lines are just horrible and hard to react to. It is very difficult to stay in character at times.”
“Sounds like you need a squishy hug this time.”
Taron smiled a little sadly. “I definitely could have done with one earlier but I am ok now.”
“You sure?” Robyn asked as she reached up to take some confetti from his forehead.
“Yep.”
“I am going to give you one anyway.” Robyn said firmly as she pulled him close to her, one hand flat on his lower back, the other going to the back of his head, scratching his scalp deeply. “Apart from the difficult scene today, filming going well?” Robyn knew how hard Taron was finding the abusive script and was emotionally drained by it already and it was only a month into filming. He hadn’t given her the indebt details of the script but Robyn understood that the part of the son that Taron was playing was subjected to physical and emotional abuse within the script from his father. Over the last week the scenes required more specific details and Taron had to sit in make-up now, Stephanie, the same make-up artist from Kingsman, applying bruising effects to his skin just making the realism behind the movie much harder to take in.
“It is. We are on schedule which Matthew is delighted about and will be due to move to Belfast now in the next two weeks.” Taron nestled into Robyn’s neck. “You will come and visit me, right?” He asked in a whisper.
“Naturally and I will be bringing cookies with me.”
“Just for me though?”
Robyn moved her hand to the short hairs at the back of his neck, her fingers running in light circles on his skin, some confetti falling from the back of his head as she gave him a small massage. “Only for you.”
Their cuddle was close and tight and Robyn kissed his neck lightly, grinning as he lifted her off her feet a little.
“Happy Birthday Robyn.”
“Thanks Taron.”
He carefully let her go, Robyn finally getting a chance to look at him. A tiredness was evident on his face but it wasn’t from lack of sleep but more so an emotional fatigue and his eyes looked laden with worry even though his mood had been bright and cheery when he surprised her. The short-cropped hair was the same cut, if not a little shorter, as when he came to see her in April and the tight shave around his ears and back of his head was waiting to be scratched with her fingers. Not even hesitating, Robyn brought her hands to his face, cupping his cheeks very lightly, her hands moving to his head, taking the birthday hat from his head and letting it hang off her elbow. She returned her hands to his head and let her nails graze his scalp as she went. As expected, his head fell towards his chest and she was very happy to continue her little treat for him.
“Jesus Robyn.” Taron moaned as she knew exactly how to scratch his head, which spots to hit and how to literally make him melt on her hands. He felt her body move closer to his and his forehead rested on her shoulder as she deeply massaged his head, another grateful moan leaving his lips when she further increased the pressure she was using. A long happy breath left his body along with the stress he had felt that morning and he was amazed with how easy it was for this wonderful woman in front of him to know what he needed so quickly. He would have stayed with her hands in his hair all evening but this weekend was for Robyn and reluctantly he reached up to take her hands from his head, kissing each one as he lifted his face from her shoulder. “Thank you.” Her smile was perfect and as always, his heart skipped a beat with love for her.
“Any time.” It was quick two-minute massage and Robyn could see a slight light back in his eyes and she loved being able to give Taron that feeling of relief, even more so getting to give him a small massage and hear the appreciative sounds that came from him as she gave him a little bit of pleasure. His quiet moans made her shiver and her body tingle in all the right places.
“These are actually for you.” Taron took the cone shaped birthday hat from her elbow and carefully placed it on her head and then slipped the rainbow birthday banner from his shoulder and over his head, onto her body, making sure it was sitting right. “You need to look the part.”
“And do I?” She jumped as he pulled another confetti popper from another pocket of his jeans, another cloud of coloured paper confetto falling over the two of them. “You need to stop doing that.”
“Last one, promise.” He grinned, fixing the hat so it sat a little straighter on her head. “And yes you do. Ready for all the birthday activities.”
As Taron fixed the hat on her head, her eyes glanced past him and to the island in his kitchen, only then noticing the mess on the marble countertop. “What on earth have you been up too? What are you making?”
Taron’s eyes opened wide and his mouth fell open. “Oh shit!” He stepped away from her and quickly dashed around the island to open the oven, Robyn following him, looking at the chaos of stuff on the island. Bowls, spilt flour, a weighing scales and food colouring littered the usual tidy kitchen unit. She watched him open the oven and saw a cloud of smoke puff out from the oven. She heard his curse loud and clear along with a second one and a clatter of something metal.
“Taron?” She walked over to him as he stood running his hands through his short hair and then down his face, a new aura frustration radiating from him, his whole body slightly hunched in exasperation. She came to stand beside him and saw what had caused his sudden change in mood. “Oh Taron. It’s not that bad.”
He turned to look her way. “Not that bad? Not that bad?” He repeated. “Robyn it’s black. It’s meant to be pink! It’s the last layer and I ruined it.”
She stepped a little closer to him, wrapping her right arm around his waist and she could feel the tension as he now stood straight, his body almost shaking in his growing irritation. “You baked?”
“If you call this disaster baked, then sure, I baked.” He groaned furiously. “I just wanted to do something nice for you. Make something for you and I even followed the recipe you wrote down. I figured I made the key lime pie for my mam; I could make the rainbow cake for you but of course I fucked it up.” He pushed the tin away from him in anger, cursing once more as the hot tin burned the tip of his index finger. He immediately brought his finger to his mouth, sucking on it to ease the slight heat he felt.
Robyn gave his side another tight squeeze, taking his hand from his mouth, running her own index finger over the tip of his slightly red one. “It is ok Taron.”
“No it’s fucking not.” He returned irritably pulling his hand from her roughly. “One thing I wanted to do for you, that I did myself, that’s not from a shop and I fucking ruined it.” In huff of frustration and annoyance, Taron stormed past Robyn and out of the kitchen and she heard the bedroom door slam loudly, leaving her completely bewildered standing in the kitchen alone.
Robyn stood still entirely perplexed by Taron’s sudden and complete change in his mood and pulled the slightly cooled baking tin towards her. She could understand his disappointment as she touched the burnt cake but couldn’t figure out why he was so infuriated. She turned to face the island, taking the three steps needed to cross over the kitchen floor. A mess was an understatement for what Taron had been up to as he baked. Her eyes roamed the table and sitting on the left corner was the memory book she had made him last year, the page for the rainbow cake open and lightly dusted with floury fingerprints. She walked over to the book and smiled sadly, his upset becoming more understandable. When he came to visit her, it must always have seemed to him like her life was perfect especially when he always got a good sleep and respite with her and he only wanted to return the favour to her, giving her the same love and affection that she always gave to him. From the outside it looked like her life was perfect but she had her own worries and troubles just as he had.
She turned the book over and flicked through a few pages, her smile growing as she looked at the photos she had stuck into his book. Such lovely memories filled her mind but her face became sad as she picked up the book to look at his bruised and hurt face in the photo of him kissing her cheek. It was the first photo they had taken together, their first kiss. Sometimes her dreams were still filled with images of Taron unconscious in the 7/11 and lately she woke up with a fright, her hands shaking. Now at the end of May it was only three months away since she had saved his life and she wasn’t surprised to be caught up in the horrible nightmares again. She ran her fingers over the photo of them. They had had so many more kisses and hugs and touches and moments since then and she felt her heart flutter as she thought about the closeness they had with other, how warm his body was, how wonderful it felt to be back in his arms.
“Robyn get a grip.” She said to herself, feeling her cheeks blush and that all too familiar heat on her skin that seemed to be gaining fire the more she thought about Taron, the more she was in his presence.
She turned the pages in the book and it warmed her heart to see how well he had looked after the leather journal but also how he had tried to make her something special for her birthday using one of the recipes she had wrote out for him. She could imagine how perfect he wanted this weekend to be for her and a burnt cake just pushed an already emotional charged and tired man over the edge.
She closed the book over, took off her birthday hat and banner, leaving them beside the sink and walked down the small hallway towards his bedroom and the closed door. She didn’t bother to knock but pushed down the handle and let the door roll open and took a single step into his room. It was dark inside, his curtains pulled and no lights on, the only brightness came from the open bedroom door but the body on the bed could only have been Taron’s. Laying on his stomach, his face was buried in the green dinosaur in his hands and he was so still, Robyn found it very hard to see in the dark the easy rise and fall of his back as he breathed.
“Taron?” She called quietly, a mumble coming back to her in reply. Walking over to the double bed, she climbed up beside him. “Taron?” He didn’t answer her this time and she moved closer to him, sliding down the pillows a little so her hip was in line with his head. Without even asking him she placed her right hand onto the crown of his head and very gently started to run her fingers in circles over his scalp.
He desperately wanted to be mad and stay mad but as Robyn lovingly scratched his head, he could feel his anger slipping away fast. He was so distraught with the disaster of a birthday cake he had been making for her and the fact that he had arrived home late had put him under pressure to make the cake and he was already feeling down after filming that morning and even though Robyn had tried to lift his mood when he burnt her cake, he just knew he had ruined the perfect birthday he had planned for her and stormed out of the kitchen, falling dramatically onto his bed, cuddling draiocht to his face, inhaling the light lingering scent of Robyn’s perfume on the blouse that the green dinosaur wore. He couldn’t even bring himself to his look at Robyn who naturally had followed him to his bedroom. He now felt ashamed of his actions and though it wasn’t her intention and he knew she meant well, feeling Robyn’s hand in his hair made him feel worse but so wonderful at the same time.
“When you are ready, I am here.”
Exhaling miserably, Taron turned his face to the left, his nose touching Robyn’s leg, she sat that close to him. He shuffled closer to her and as Robyn encouraged him up onto her lap, she cradled his head and with two hands started to massage his scalp again. He blinked away tears that had suddenly come to his eyes and moved his hands to rub them roughly, digging the heels of his hands into his eyes. A new tiredness filled his whole body and it was worse than feeling weary and drained and when he felt Robyn so carefully run her left hand up and down his waist comforting him, his whole body was filled with guilt. He knew in his heart, she wasn’t mad at him and with her soft hands on his body, he cuddled into her some more but he still felt extremely awful for his behaviour.
“I am sorry.” He spoke into her leg. “Fucking hell Robyn, I am so sorry.”
Robyn eased her fingertips into the shaved part of his hair and let her nails lightly scratch his head. “Nothing to be sorry for.” She assured him.
“On your birthday and everything.”
“My birthday was on Wednesday. Today is Friday. Not my birthday anymore.”
“Robyn…” Taron tilted his head back a little, Robyn’s hand moving with him so her hand was now on his forehead.
“You have nothing to apologise for Taron.” She smoothed his frown away. “And you haven’t ruined anything.”
“I think the words I used were fucking ruined it.”
Robyn applied a deeper pressure to his head. “You haven’t fucking ruined anything. I have only stepped in the door Taron.” Robyn ran a finger lightly down his nose, watching as his eyes closed. She did it again before her hand wandered back to his hair. “Matthew have anything to do with this?” She asked, her fingers running over his short hair, making sure to scratch deep over his ear.
Taron inwardly groaned as Robyn lovingly kneaded his head, once again taking care of him without question and he snuggled a little further into her warm body, craving her touch. “It was longer earlier in the week but for the movie and script, I had to cut it myself on camera.” He felt her hands stall momentarily before they picked up their pace again and if possible, the deep pressure on the side of his head felt even more pleasurable than before.
“You had to cut it on camera?”
Taron nodded into her lap. “It was in the script Robyn. I didn’t just cut my hair for the fun of it.” Robyn heard the change in his voice and went take his right hand which was tucked under his chin, giving it a very light squeeze.
The new touch to his hand was comforting and inside Taron was kicking himself for being short with her. “I mentally can’t go into it at the moment but within the script my father likes to grab and pull my characters hair, giving him something to hold as he rips into me. By my character cutting his hair, he prays it will ease up on the beatings.”
Robyn wrapped her two arms around him and hugged him tight against her, kissing his head. “I like your hair like this.” She whispered against his temple.
Taron slipped his arms around Robyn’s. “Can we just stay here for a little while?” He asked her very quietly.
“For as long as you want.”
Robyn moved her hands back to his head and starting above his right ear, gave every part of his head a deep rub, making sure she got a few nose strokes in too, finally feeling him relax against her after a good five minutes of silence. “Anything else you want to get off your chest?”
“Sorry I burnt your cake?”
Robyn gave his side a playful pinch. “Not what I meant and you know it.”
Taron sighed against her. “I am sorry for getting angry in the kitchen. I just want this weekend to be perfect for us and you are barely in the door and I found a way to just upset everything.”
“You have upset nothing. Like you said, I am only in the door and something is so obviously bothering you and the weekend doesn’t need to be perfect Taron.” She heard him mutter something. “Wanna repeat that for me?”
“It has to be perfect.”
“Taron…” Robyn placed her right hand under his chin, lifting it so he had to look at her. “It does not have to be perfect. I will take confetti in my hair, a burnt cake and a squishy hug over perfect any day. It is more than I have been given before and we could just sit and watch movie’s and I would be happy and I know you know this.”
“I know chicken.” Taron nestled back onto her lap. “Keith never celebrated your birthday?”
“He thought a six pack and a ready meal was perfect and then during our last year together, he was hooking up with that ex friend I told you about and came home with take out for one after a good few beers. You can guess where that went.”
Taron sat up quickly, his face in shock. “Robyn…”
“Not there you tosspot.” She felt him sit beside her, their shoulders and legs touching. “Not even close. He fell asleep on the couch after he had puked all over my rug. Such a lovely thoughtful gift which by the way was the only one I got from him.”
“Fucker.” Taron replied to her.
“Homemade cake and scary surprises trump any birthday Keith ever did for me Taron. So, while to you cake and confetti might not be perfect, to me it is. Just to be here is perfect and I know you have a lot of stuff planned, secret stuff Taron, so please don’t be fretting over a cake which by the way, you made from scratch and if only the pink layer got a little bit crispy, I am imagining there are six other layers and while we are on the subject of layers, anything you want to get off your chest? You seem to be carrying a load on your shoulders.”
“I never thought about the other layers.” Sighing, he moved a little so he could rest his cheek on her shoulder. “I am so sorry for the shitty mood. It’s been a hard week. I am so emotionally drained by the script and I knew it was going to be a tough shoot and Matthew and the cast have been great but still, it is heart breaking acting out the lines and reacting on set and for some reason, I can’t shake the day off when I come home. I was beyond frustrated today when I kept messing up and not because I couldn’t get the lines right but because I was so overwhelmed and overcome with emotions and just needed to collect myself before we could continue. We were due to finish early and we did but it was probably three hours later than planned but we never got the scene completed. Matthew insisted on letting us finish up early as planned, even though I wanted to try again. He practically pushed me out.” Once Taron started to speak, he found it hard to stop and felt a little better after his confession. “Like I said earlier, today was just horrible.”
“And then you put yourself under such pressure for me.”
Taron closed his eyes, reaching for Robyn’s right hand, being careful as he was not sure if it was still injured four weeks after she caught it in the gate at work. “You always do such wonderful things for me Robyn. I just wanted to make sure that this weekend was one full of lovely things for you to enjoy.”
Robyn slipped her right arm around his shoulders and guided him under her chin, Taron moving to lay on his side, a long sorrowful sigh filling his lungs, as he closed his eyes, his ear right over her heart. “We could stay like this for the whole weekend Taron and I would be more than happy. I don’t need big gestures.”
“Which is why I wanted to make your cake for you. It’s something so special for you, something you deserve and have every right to get. It’s your birthday and it should be celebrated.”
Robyn kissed Taron’s head. “Thank you and it is ok not to get your scenes perfect on the first try and I am only a phone call away when you need to get this stuff off your chest.” She kissed him again, her lips lingering on his warm skin. “A fresh head on Monday will make all the difference to how you feel and how you act out the script. Trust Matthew, even more so with this movie. It’s so awfully hard in comparison to Kingsman and when he tells you it’s ok to stop, then stop. It doesn’t take from your ability or skills but rather gives you the moments you need to process the emotions you feel so you don’t exhaust yourself and if you still have six layers, we can still make a rainbow birthday cake.” Robyn ran her the back of her fingers of her right hand very slowly and lovingly down his right cheek. “I never was partial to the colour pink anyway.” She felt the grin on his face under her hand. “Would you like me to help you with the rest of the cake?”
Taron nodded and then spoke. “Can I just have a few more minutes of a Robyn cuddle first? I can use my voucher.”
Robyn chuckled. “Since it’s my birthday and I get to do what I want and I want to cuddle you, this one is on the house.” Wrapping him up in a tight squeeze, Robyn closed her eyes, resting her cheek on his head. “You are doing a wonderful thing with this movie Taron. Please don’t doubt yourself and I am already having the best birthday I could ask for.”