Author's note! Hello! Do you remember the back-story I made up for Robin in my fanfic 'Behind the Scenes at the Muppet Theatre'? Well, that interested me and I wanted to do a bit more to it, so I decided to make you this, for Valentine's Day because Valentine's Day isn't about stupid girly crushes or chocolate or dates to the movies, it's about family, because as time goes by, they're the only ones that will be there for you all the time, they love and care about you and won't let you go until the very end. So there's my rant, here's my disclaimer. You all know I don't own the Muppets, if I owned the Muppets, I wouldn't be here on this fanfic site talking about Valentine's Day, this plot is in no way true or real in any way, I made it up, OK? So enjoy this story. Robin's tale, a story of family and friendship but also growing up, realising things, doing the right thing and it never being too late to apologise.
And I've said too much, God damn it!
"So, Robin," my uncle Kermit said. "You're eighteen now, what do you want to do with your life?"
I took a deep breath. "I want to go and live with my dad...in Britain."
When I was a little frog, about five or six, my dad went to England with his girlfriend Ivy.
I didn't think much of my dad; he was an inventor and was constantly blowing our apartment up with his hair-brained schemes. I spent nearly all of my time with my newly discovered favourite relative, my uncle, Kermit.
Kermit was a TV show host and he worked on this show called the Muppet Show alongside his friends, (who were unsurprisingly called Muppets). I adored it at the Muppet Theatre, where all the Muppets lived; I spent as long as I could there only ever coming home to go to bed.
But as time went by, my dad met another frog, her name was Ivy.
I never had a mum; she died when I was born. I didn't miss her because I never knew her but I certainly didn't want a stepmum!
I used to spend consecutive days at the Muppet Theatre, not coming home at all if I could help it just because she was there.
Ivy the plant has a habit of taking everything over, wrapping itself around things, controlling, destroying. And Dad's new girlfriend certainly did that. Within only a few weeks she had plans for us all to go and live in Britain.
I can remember my exact reaction, clear as anything. I stood, stock-still for a while, then gave a great shriek and ran inside the Theatre to Uncle Kermit. I blurted the whole situation out to Uncle Kermit and he carried me outside to face my dad.
"You can't take me away!" I yelled at Dad as soon as we were outside. "You can't! I love it here! Uncle Kermit and the other Muppets look after me a thousand times better than you ever did! I'm not leaving them to live with you and your disgusting girlfriend, you're pathetic! I hope you don't go to Britain, I hope you shove off to the moon and NEVER COME BACK!"
OK, so maybe I over-reacted a little, but I was young and it felt like my world was ending. Uncle Kermit fought for my case, the other Muppets fought for my case, I hoped that if I kicked up enough of a fight, then Dad might change his plans and life could go back to normal.
"To be fair, Michael," Uncle Kermit said. "I think you're being a bit tough on poor Robin. It's clear that he wants to stay here."
But Dad was love-blind by Ivy and it was sickening.
Dad sighed sadly. "Well, it looks like you've persuaded him, Kermit," he said. "I know Robin won't budge once he's made up his mind about something."
My heart rose, I had done it! I was only six but I had fought for what I believed in and I had won!
Or so I thought.
Dad took out a piece of paper and a pen and wrote something down. He handed it to Uncle Kermit.
"Look after my little boy until I get back, will you, Kermit?" he said.
My newly rose heart broke. Shattered into a thousand pieces. "You're going without me?" I whimpered.
Dad patted me on the head as if I was some insignificant pet about to be abandoned at the RSPCA. "Well you said it yourself," he said. "You'd rather be here, with your uncle. Don't worry, I'll be back in a few months, a year tops."
I jumped out of Uncle Kermit's arms. "But Dad…" My face crumpled, tears ran down my cheeks. "Please don't leave me."
Dad kissed my cheek. "Goodbye, son," he said. And he left.
He promised he'd be back in a year, but in the twelve long, hard years after he left, I never saw him again.
I raged, cried, moped about. I mourned in a different way every day. One day I sobbed not being able to bear how he'd left me and how he could ever love his new girlfriend more than his own son, the next I roared the place down in fury and refused to reason with anyone.
The worst days thought, were when I sat without doing anything. I didn't cry, I didn't shout, I just sat, thinking.
He sent me a letter, the day after he left, but I tore it into pieces without reading it. The piece of paper he'd left Uncle Kermit contained his new address and telephone number but I refused to contact him.
Years and years went by, and I never heard from him.
After a few years, Uncle Kermit became my official guardian, once we had worked out that Dad wasn't coming back. I became a proper Muppet, I got an act on the show, the others loved me. But it just didn't feel quite, right. Especially, after Uncle Kermit had two children of his own, Axel and Jasmine.
And so we come to now. It was my eighteenth birthday today and I was a long way from the six year old frog that Dad had crushed. I had seen so many things, been through so much, I had the most amazing life, regardless of a little problem in my childhood. Uncle Kermit was the best guardian I could wish for. And yet, somehow, all I wanted was to see Dad again. To try my luck to make him love me again. The Muppet Theatre may be my home, but the Muppets weren't my family, no matter how much I wanted them to be. Sometimes I would close my eyes and wish. I would wish Ivy straight out of the picture. I'd wish Dad on a plane, all the way home back to me. I'd wish away all the things I said. And just wish that it could go back to how it was, twelve years ago, it was so long, but I still remember it wistfully, when life was perfect, before it all fell apart.
I had to make it up to Dad, tell him that through all the hate and all the anger, that although I didn't realise it, I never stopped loving him. Tell him that I needed him.
There was only one thing I had to get past first, and it was a lot harder than I thought. Uncle Kermit.
Woah, that was deep.
As you've probably worked out, this has Axel and Jasmine in it, characters from 'Behind the Scenes at the Muppet Theatre' because it's set after that happened, so to avoid spoilers, READ THAT FIRST!