Title: Outlaws2006 - Chapter Thirty Five: The Eye Full Tower
Rating: 15
Author: moonmajik and Tanya
Synopsis: Robin and his gang of outlaws, plus Guy of Gisnborne and the Sheriff, get swept 800 years into the future, to the year 2006, into the ladies bathroom of a Starbucks Coffee House. Follow their journey as they get to grips with their new surroundings. Based on the BBC's 2006 Robin Hood.
Pairings: Robin/OC, Will/OC, Alan/Djaq
Disclaimer: We do not own Robin Hood or any associated comments, such as "We go to Nottingham" or "Not being Funny, but..." Especially do not own the Sheriff. Damn. We do, however, own Charli and Tanya. In the later Chapters, there may be other characters that we own.
"I don't think I ever saw anything so high before." Much gulped as he craned his neck back to look up at the tower that stood before them.
"Yes, I agree, it is huge...are we going up there?" Alan asked in amazement.
"Only if you want to," Charli grinned at him. "Come on." She grabbed Will's hand and dragged him to the entrance. The rest of the group all moved forward, following Charli and Will, all except John. He stood back, gaping up at the tall structure and looking a little white. "I think I'll stay right here."
Tanya stopped and turned around. "Oh...of course…um..." She looked around, hoping maybe somebody would stay behind. Everybody, it seemed, wanted to take a trip up the tower. Tanya looked a little disappointed. "Okay, I'll stay. Meet you back down here in a while," she said to Robin.
He frowned. "You're not coming?"
"I can't," she replied. "Somebody has to stay here with John."
"I'll be fine on my own, you go with Robin," he urged her forward.
Tanya looked around, a little unsure. Would he be okay? How much trouble could one man get in to? Although, John was reasonably sensible. "Okay...stay here. Do NOT move!" She said before taking Robins hand and running to catch up with the rest of the group.
After paying and walking through the turnstiles, the group of seven began their ascent. "How far is it?" Much looked up again.
"Okay...well it's three hundred and sixty steps to the first level, another three hundred and fifty-nine to the second and then...you have to take an elevator the rest of the way."
"Steps? I hate steps!" Much moaned.
"I hate elevators," Alan looked white.
"Stay here with John then," Tanya looked exasperated.
Charli shook her head wildly. "Oh no! One we can leave on his own, but any more and they will probably manage to knock the tower over!"
"I thought that wouldn't be possible," Tanya looked around worriedly. "That was until I met you lot."
"Hey!" Robin frowned. "That was mean!"
"Deal with it Locksley." Tanya nudged him in the arm as she began to walk up the first set of steps.
"Oh god, this is going to kill my legs! I know it! I can feel them hurting already!"
"Shut up, Much!" Robin snapped, still sulking from Tanya's last comment.
"Awww," Charli threw an arm around Robin's shoulders. "Someone is feeling touchy!"
"I'm fine!"
"He's just PMT-ing," Tanya called back over her shoulder.
"PM what-ing?" He glared up at her.
"P.M.T - ing...like when women get moody once a month." She shrugged. The rest of the outlaws sniggered at Tanya's comment but Robin soon silenced them all with a glare. Charli began to giggle slowly. "What?" Tanya sighed.
"PMT-ing! That's what!"
"You just got that?" Tanya raised an eyebrow, staring at her.
"I call it PMS, give me a break." The outlaws stared at the bickering girls. PMS, PMT. It was always abbreviations. Were the people of 2006 so lazy that they couldn't say anything properly anymore?
"Robin?"
"What?"
"I don't understand."
The group finally made it to the second set of stairs, Much puffing and panting like a stroppy child and moaning that he was hungry again. The rest of the guys ignored him as they continued without fuss, admiring the view of Paris, as they got higher.
"If you boys thought the view from the Arc was good, this will take your breath away." Charli grinned, stepping past Much who had stopped to rest for the fifth time.
"I bet you can see right to the ends of the Earth...the FLAT Earth," Alan sniggered at Robin.
Robin half snarled, and leapt at Alan. Why would he humiliate him again? Tanya seized the back of his shirt. "There will be no fighting on the Eiffel Tower. Take a deep breath and let it go."
"Yeah Robin" Charli grinned. "Repeat after me. I am a cool, calm and collected Outlaw."
"I am a cool...shut up Charli!"
"Anger management on the Eiffel Tower, what ever next?" Tanya laughed.
"How about 'how to throw an outlaw from the Eiffel Tower'?" Charli murmured just as they reached the top of the stairs, ready to take the elevator. "If you write it, I'll back it and send it to the publishers, best seller within a week, I guarantee it."
"Oh yes, because everyone has an outlaw or two they desperately want to throw from the "Eye-Full" Tower." Tanya shot back, sarcastically.
"I was just kidding, stop being so tetchy and let's get to the top of this tower." Charli then turned to Much and looked at him rather sympathetically. "No more stairs now, I promise."
"Yes but it's a lift." Alan paled. "Are you sure there are no more stairs?"
"No. And before you ask, no you cannot climb up the outside."
Robins face brightened for a moment and he was about to speak up, but was quickly silenced with a death glare from Tanya. Djaq burst out laughing as she climbed into the lift, the rest of the gang following close. "Please, let him go and climb. I am sick of seeing his miserable face."
"Yeah, Djaq's right." Charli said as the lift doors closed shut, enclosing the outlaws and about a dozen other people in the lift. "Suck it up Robin. What ever it is!"
"He's just upset because I said he was PMT-ing, PMS-ing...whatever." Tanya rolled her eyes.
"I am not!" He shot back at her as the lift began to move upward.
Alan looked around him nervously. "Sure is high."
"Are too," Tanya continued, ignoring Alan. "Straighten your face, Locksley."
"Maybe he has moved past the PMS, and he is too embarrassed to ask for a Loo stop." Charli grinned wickedly.
Tanya almost choked at Charli's words. "Oh my...that was..." She patted Charli on the back. "That was great. Sometimes I am proud to call you my friend."
"Stop! I have no idea what you speak about!" Robin growled and kicked the lift door, adding to the effect even more. The girls laughed harder. The other outlaws looked a little lost, and the other lift occupants edged away from the hysterical girls. Alan was continually getting paler and paler, and was being conveniently ignored by everyone else.
"Why can't we see anything from up here?" Much asked. "Hey, when we get to the top, will we be able to see John?"
Charli paused from laughing for a moment, shaking her head. "Ooh, I hope he hasn't been abducted by those street sellers!"
"Don't be so ridiculous!" Will scoffed at Much's earlier comment. "Judging by the height of this tower and the size of John, there is just no way you would be able to see him. Anyone could figure that out. And what is a street seller?"
"Someone who sells things on the street." Much scoffed back. "Anyone could figure that out."
"You know, for once he is right." Tanya smirked.
Alan, despite of himself, grinned. "Wow, I wish I had that written down! It would be worth so much gold when we get home."
At the mention of the word 'home', the outlaws fell into a deadly silence. Apart from Robin and Much mentioning it to each other earlier back at the cafe, they had all completely forgotten about it; their time in Paris and other such adventures had torn their minds away from where they had all originally come from.
"Oh come on!" Charli moaned. "Don't get all depressed on us now. Or we will have to stop for sugar. Hyper outlaws, maybe, depressed outlaws, now way."
Djaq smiled. "I like sugar. Can we get sugar? How about popcorn?"
Tanya's eyes widened as the lift finally came to a stop. "You're obsessed woman!"
"With popcorn. Yes." Djaq nodded vigorously. At least she wasn't depressed any longer.
The group of seven stumbled out of the elevator, along with the rest of the tourists, and out onto the top level of the tower. The wind whipped against their faces coldly and Tanya automatically wrapped her coat tighter around her. "Should have known it'd be bloody freezing up here." Her teeth chattered together as she made her way over the railings.
Robin followed her without hesitation, and slipped his arms around her in an attempt to warm her up. The other outlaws moved more cautiously. Suddenly, there was a shout of laughter as the wind caught hold of Charli's hair, and Much had glanced in her direction at the same moment. Tanya and Robin looked over in her direction and began to giggle at her.
"Stop laughing!" She yelled as she tried to flatten her hair down as best was possible. "It's nowhere near as bad as your hair the day we met these guys!" She shot back at her friend.
This was true, so Tanya stopped laughing, and cupped her hand over Robin's mouth to stop him giggling. Charli gave up with her hair, and with Will looking worried and holding tightly to her hand, she made her way out to the edge of the platform.
"Its like being on top of the world!" She yelled above the wind, grinning.
Will tried his best to smile at her but it was obvious he was slightly uncomfortable. Much had disappeared completely, yet again, and Alan and Djaq had strolled off to take a walk around the top. "Where is Much again?" Tanya seethed, still absolutely freezing.
Charli shrugged. "Doing a Titanic?" She suggested. "You know, the whole...'trust me' thing?" She mimicked Kate Winslett's famous pose, sniggering as she imagined Much copying it.
Tanya shook her head. "Don't you need a woman to do that with? Last time I checked, Much was alone." Will and Robin looked between the two girls, having no idea what they were talking about.
"You didn't see him on top of the Arc... he was chatting up this poor French tourist like there was no tomorrow." Charli grinned, sheltering from the wind by moving slightly behind Will.
"He was?" Robin said in surprise. "That's not like Much."
Tanya turned her head to look over her shoulder at the man who had his arms wrapped around her. "I think you may find that your friend is full of surprises."
There was a scream, which caused the four to look over in surprise, and Much came running around the corner, chased by a rather formidable looking woman waving her purse at him. "You leave my daughter alone!" She was shouting in French. "You dirty man!"
"See what I mean." Tanya smirked.
"Oh god," Charli moaned as Much finally reached them, sweating and panting. "Robin? He has a tendency to harass women. Were you not aware of this?"
Robin shook his head, his jaw tightening in the process. "Much! What on earth are you doing? Can't you stay out of trouble for just one moment? Please!" He begged.
"I wasn't doing anything!" Much protested.
"Much! See that woman running really fast at us? She seems to think you were. What's she saying?"
"She seems to think you were hitting on her daughter." Charli looked amused.
"Hitting on? I would never hit a woman." Much looked indignant.
"No Much, it means you were coming on to her..." Tanya rolled her eyes when Robin and Much still did not understand her use of words. "Wooing her." She translated.
"Oh. In that case." Much paused. "Maybe we should run?"
"We can't run," Charli sighed. " We are on the bloody Eiffel tower," she stepped forward to try and calm the irate woman down.
Tanya looked on in amusement as she watched Charli speaking to the angry lady. Much looked truly worried, a little unsure of what to do with himself. "Is he always this much trouble?" She murmured to Robin.
"You have no idea. If he's not causing mayhem, he's singing, which is worse." Robin rubbed his eyes tiredly before pulling Tanya closer to him, he too feeling the cold chill in the air.
Charli finally convinced the woman that Much meant no harm, and rejoined them, walking into Will's embrace. "Much, if anyone asks, until we get back to England you are in rehab for LSD, and you have weird relapse moments."
"I'm sorry?" Much blinked at her several times, not understanding a single word she had just said to him.
Tanya giggled uncontrollably and shook her head. "Come on, let's take a walk around the tower, see where Alan and Djaq are and try and get a little warmer too." She moved out of Robin's arms and took his hand to lead him away from the railings.
"We'll go to." Will decided. "Meet you round the other side?" He took Charli's hand and led her in the other direction. Much was left alone.
"Hey guys! What about me?" The two pairs ignored him as they headed either way. "Well that's just fine!" Much sulked as he made his way over to the railings, pulling his jumper tighter about his body. "I'll just stay here on my own and admire the view. Not that I have to stay here on my own. I could find a nice lady to admire the view with any day...yeah..."
"So, Robin," Tanya asked, as they walked along the platform, hand in hand. "You've been quiet. Don't you like the tower? Or are you just upset I didn't let you climb it?"
Robin, feeling a little more cheery, laughed at her words. "I think if I'd tried to climb this thing, I'd have fallen and would be pretty much dead. Not too good, I reckon."
Tanya smiled at him as they walked. "Yeah, you're right."
"I do like the tower though, it's like nothing I've ever seen before..."
"So what was wrong?" Tanya didn't want to give up. He had been quiet, and she had noticed, even if the others hadn't been that bothered. Robin sighed, stopping walking and leant against the barrier.
"It was just something Much mentioned earlier on, back in the cafe..." He looked out ahead of him at the view, not really paying any attention to it though. Tanya joined him at his side.
"Go on."
"I guess, I haven't really thought too much about going back, until Much brought it up again. I've been having such a good time here with you...it has took my mind of all the problems I have to deal with back in Locksley...does that make me bad person? Would that make me a bad person if I said I didn't want to go back? As much as I know I HAVE to."
Tanya simply stared at him. All the thoughts that had stopped her from wanting to get involved with him in the first place had just come tumbling out of his mouth. Would it make her a bad person if she didn't want him to go back and save the people he was supposed to save?
"Robin - I..."
He turned and looked at her, cutting her words short. "You don't have to answer that. I know it's selfish of me, to even think like that. The truth is, no matter what happens here, between you and I, with us, I have to go back. I have a responsibility." Robin knew that his words may have hurt her, but to be untruthful with her would have hurt even more. It was as though his conscience was having a fight inside his head. He had to go back, but at the same time, what use was there in fighting for something when in the end, when it was all over, the one thing that could make you happy wasn't going to be there with you?
Tanya blinked at him, and before she could stop it, a single tear trickled out of her eye and rolled down her cheek. His words had stung her. Turning away from him before she actually wept, she wiped it away and stared out into the wind. She knew he would say that, but it hadn't made it hurt any less.
"I'm sorry..." Robin tried to comfort her, but she shrugged him off. She felt gutted at his choice of words. She understood more than anything that he had a job to do, it was part of the Robin Hood legend after all. Why then, had she been thrown into it all? And why had he insisted on pursuing her this whole time? Surely there was a reason for him being thrust into her life? Surely she played some part in his story somewhere? She pushed those thoughts to one side, her heart beating like crazy and knowing that whatever happened she was going to get hurt.
"Maybe you should think with your head more, Robin. You're right. You ARE selfish. You've thought only about yourself since you arrived here, instead of thinking about others around you and the consequences of your god damn actions. Maybe it's best you leave me alone, before you cause any more damage."
Robin stopped, stock-still. "Tanya...I...Tanya..." He desperately fished for something to say as she turned her back on him and stared pointedly out at the view. Stepping forward, he took hold of her waist. "Tanya, please…"
"Robin, I'm sorry, but I really don't see why we should make this any harder than it's already going to be," she said coldly, her acting experience skillfully hiding the emotions within her. She did not turn to face him though, her eyes would have been a dead give away. "Don't you understand? One of the reasons why I was so reluctant to be with you in the first place is because of who you are. Why be with someone when you know it's not going to last?"
Robin cursed under his breath. He cursed his name, everything he was and what he stood for. He shook his head violently and turned her around, making him look at her. "I will NOT let you push me away."
"You'll have you," she pushed at his shoulder, but he stood firm.
"No Tanya. It will hurt too much already when we have to part, why make it hurt now as well? Why make it so we cannot stand to be around each other?"
Tanya opened her mouth to speak, but nothing escaped her. She was at a complete loss as to what to say. Instead, she tried to turn away from him again but he stopped her. "Robin!" She cried out in despair. Before she could say another word, he pulled her tight against his chest and held her close.
"I can't do it on my own Tanya" he whispered against her hair. "I can't."
Tanya sniffled into his chest. "But you'll have to...when you go back, you'll leave me behind. What difference does it make?"
Robin's head swirled in confusion as he looked down at the woman before him, a thousand thoughts swimming around in his mind. Again, he thought back to what Much had said earlier, unsure of whether to bring a specific part of the conversation up. "If you could...if it were…possible..." he stopped, trying to find a better way of wording it without Tanya thinking he was completely insane. "Would it be such a bad idea if you DID come back?"
"Don't ask me to," she cried, her head still against his chest, her hands now clutching his shirt. "Please." She had considered the possibility herself a thousand times, and each time she hated herself for thinking she could leave her family, her friends, her life...but then, what life would it be without the man she was desperately clinging too.
Robin kissed her head. "I won't ask you again, if you do not want me to. I am sorry." He had never felt so torn up before. Never in his life did he feel like he had to make such a big decision. He always thought that when he met the right person, which he was beginning to think Tanya pretty much was, that he'd meet her at least back in 1192 where he lived, making things a whole lot easier for him. Meeting her eight hundred years into the future was just pure torture when he knew that, if given the chance, he'd have to go back.
"Um…what did we miss?" Charli and Will finally approached after finishing their walk around the tower and meeting them again. Charli looked at Tanya's tear stained face as Robin held her in his arms. She narrowed her eyes at the man. "What happened? What did you do this time?"
Tanya pulled away from him. "Charli, it's okay. He didn't do anything." She looked up at the man and mustered a smile. "We were just talking."
"Are you okay?" Came another voice. The four of them turned to find Djaq and Alan approaching. "What did he do this time?" She asked.
Robin growled. "Why are you people always so quick to judge me? I did nothing to the woman." Except perhaps fall in love with her in the wrong time and place.
"Would you like me to get you a tissue?" Will stepped forward in concern.
Tanya began to giggle at his words, feeling better already at the look of genuine concern on his face. "I'm okay, Will." She smiled.
Robin looked down at her, his head still a little fuzzy from the conversation he'd just had with her. He was still unsure about where he now stood. Until the day he would have to return, did he stay clear of her? Or did he continue his pursuit and enjoy what little time he may have had left with her while he still could?
Tanya answered his questions when she stood on her tiptoes and reached up to kiss him lightly on the lips. "We're fine. We just needed to clear the air a little."
Robin's heart fluttered in his chest at her words, knowing then and there that whatever happened, she was not going to push him away. The thought of that had almost killed him a few moments ago. He squeezed her hand in thanks and was about to deepen the kiss a little when a loud voice interrupted them.
"Did you know you can see the Arc De Tree-ompf from here!" Robin cursed under his breath as he pulled away from Tanya and looked at Much. The man was approaching them quickly and pointing enthusiastically out over the side of the tower. "That's where we were before! And now we're all the way up here!"
"Yes Much, well done. " Alan rolled his eyes. "Not being funny, but it's really cold up here. Can we go?"
Charli looked at her friends, mainly Tanya and Robin. "You ready? Or do you need some more time?"
Tanya looked at Robin, silently asking what he would like to do. When he nodded at her, she turned back to the others and sighed. "No, we're ready. We need to go anyway. John is still on his own."
"We left John?" Much suddenly looked away from the Arc he had been staring at for the past few minutes and over at his friends.
"Yes, he's down at the bottom. Remember? Wow, what planet do you live on?" Charli asked him amazement.
"Planet?" Much blinked at her.
"Forget it," Charli murmured. "Let's go."