It was a Friday evening in early November, it had just hit 7pm and Helena had put Nell and Billy to bed. She was determined to have a relaxing evening with Tim as she had worked all week. She walked up the stairs being careful not to wake the children and made her way into the communal room at the higher level of their conjoined apartment. It was dark outside and the warm colours from the lava lamp filled the room giving it a less gothic feel. She smiles from across the room to Tim who was sat drawing in the corner. He returned a shy and assuring smirk back. Helena's loud but loving voice booms across the room to Tim and says with a tired sigh, "finally, we're alone. I've missed you today; it's been such a hectic today, I just want to relax". Tim looks up from his sketch pad and gives her one of his 'oh you' kind of look, and says "well now we're alone without any noise, let's just sit and relax". She reaches across to a magazine on the coffee table next to the black leather sofa and smiles to herself. "What did I do to deserve him?" she says to herself.
Picking up the magazine, setting herself down on the sofa she fluffs the pillows for comfort and began flicking through the pages, until she came across an article about her and Tim, which by the looks of it, didn't make Helena too happy. "URGH!" she grumbled angrily. Tim looks over his glasses and asks "What's wrong Hel?" "The fucking press is criticising us on "not looking in love". What the fuck is that about?! I normally just ignore it, but something just made me erupt inside and I've just had it with them." She snapped. Tim sets down his sketch pad and pencil and walks over to Helena sat on the sofa on the verge of smashing something, and sits next to her, he puts his hand on her leg and says in a quiet, unlike-Tim voice, "Hel, you know we have total control of our relationship. No one, especially not press can tell us that we "aren't showing enough love" who are they to tell us that? Do they see us when we're cooking dinner or doing things with the kids? No! I know, and you know how much we love each other, and that's all that counts, okay?" She looks up at Tim's large dark hollowed eyes lovingly and sighs "you're right baby, I just get so wound up sometimes, you know?" "I know, Hel, I know. Shall we just go to bed early tonight, get some rest? I know how hard you've been working this week, I'll make some hot chocolate and I'll be up as soon as it's made" he smiles sweetly at her. His warm and ensuring words had made Helena emotional and wanted to go to bed and just rest, it got a bit too much for her. She walked into the kitchen and threw herself at Tim and stood there in his arms, her heart beating fast, and her hunger to just fall asleep in his arms just made her even more exhausted. He looked down at her sleepy face and he instantly smiled and kissed the top of her head and she squeezed him tighter until she let go. She looks up at him and smiles sleepily at him. "Okay, I think your hot chocolate is ready now, marshmallows?" "Yes please" she nods at him. He walks up to a psychedelic cabinet in their shared kitchen a pulls out her favourite pink mug and a jar of marshmallows and fills the mug up with the steaming hot chocolate. "Mmmm..." she says as she sips the drink carefully not to scald herself. "Come on then Hel, you can sleep in with me tonight, you deserve it, you're so exhausted." "Hmmmm" she sighs. Tim extends his hand out to her and she holds his. He leads her to the door that separates their two apartments, and heads towards the bedroom. Tim turns a delicate black porcelain lamp on, on the bedside table. She walks the other side of the bed, her side when she needed to be with Tim, and set down her still steaming mug and got into her nightgown. Tim walks in, in his black and white stripe pyjamas, hair as wild as ever and sits beside her. "Please don't let them boneheads get you, sweetheart." "Okay baby" she smiles. She sits up in his bed and gulps down her recently cooled down "hot" chocolate and wriggled down under the covers. "Ahhhh finally..." he whispers, "I have you all to myself... we should really do this more often." He suggested. "Yeah... we'll see about that one" she giggles. He nestles his head next to hers and whispers "I love you my little superstar. Goodnight."