flying so high in your perfect sky

I was flying so high in your perfect sky

But I needed to fall, cannot have it all

…."Good morning Ladies and gentleman this is Captain Bernstein speaking. In just about ten minutes we will begin out final approach into Nottingham East Midlands airport. The current temperature in Nottingham is 15 ºC with a light wind out of the west at 20 miles per hour. We will be landing at approximately 10:05 a.m. Please make sure your safety belt is buckled for landing. Thank you and have a nice day."….

Shaking his head as if to clear it, Robin gazed out the airplane window. There wasn't much to see yet - just a blanket of white fluffy clouds stretched forever in all directions. He sighed and shifted in his seat for the umpteenths time in less than half an hour. No matter what position he tried, he couldn't get comfortable. He didn't mind flying, but it was just so mind numbing. Not to mention rear-end numbing. He couldn't help but feel relieved that it was a short flight and that he would soon have his feet on the ground again.

Scratching his head, he glanced over at the slumbering form in the seat next to him and felt his heart skip a beat at the at the mere sight of her. Emotions he had never expected to feel hit him like tidal wave and he nearly drowned in it. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, hold her and never let her go…. Then it suddenly hit him -these emotions weren't new at all. He had been feeling this strongly about her for quite some time now… He was falling hard for her…actually, he had fallen hard for her, but of course there were a couple of hitches. For a start, you can't really base a relationship on lies and falsities, it's always doomed to failure...

As if she knew he was thinking about her Marian chose that exact moment to wake up. Yawning, she stretched her arms over her head.

"Did you have a good nap?" Robin asked and lovingly brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face.

"Like a baby," she responded and rubbed her sleepy eyes. "I'm sorry I fell asleep on you. I don't know why I'm so tired. Busy week I guess…"

"…Busy night, you mean, " he said, grinning broadly at her.

"Yeah, that too," she chuckled and buried her head in his shoulder.

There were a few moments of silence before she spoke again, this time in a hushed almost shy voice. "So...um...was I…um… okay?"

"Huh?"

"Last night, I mean. It sort of was my first time…." she added with a slight blush on her cheeks..

"Could have fooled me. You were amazing , Marian. I thought I told you that."

"You did. Sorry, I just needed to hear it again," she trailed off until the final words "hear it again" were merely a spoken whisper.

She looked so unsure of herself, so insecure, and so ... so vulnerable, that Robin could have sworn he felt his heart melt even more. Pulling her closer to him he intertwined his fingers with hers.

"Marian...," he said softly and swallowed hard when he felt his throat closing with emotion. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he just spit it out …. Say the right thing, for once in his life?

"I love you," he finally choked out in a strangled whisper. The intensity of his feelings scared him, yet excited him in the same time.

At first, Marian was simply shocked. But a smile quickly spread across her face. "Oh, Robin… I love you too!" she whispered in delight as she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a lingering kiss.

"So I guess we're in love then," he laughed as they parted, licking his lips. "My heart is in you hands now Marian so don't break it okay!?…"

"I won't, Robin...unless you give me a reason to."

Marian felt the cab pull to a stop and heard Robin pay the driver.

"Are we there already?" she asked in a confused tone. Lifting her hand to scratch her nose, she nearly knocked herself out with the cast on her arm and hand.

"Yes, rise and shine, princess. Nap time is officially over."

"I'm not sleeping, I'm just resting my eyes," she denied hastily, blinking herself out of the grey fuzzy world she kept floating into.

"Good. I'm too tired to carry you inside." Robin replied with a little chuckle and held the car door open for her.

"Hey now, watch it. That sounded almost like an insult…" she protested as she scooted out of the back seat.

"Aww, you know I'm just teasing you, sweetie…But I'll lay off until you're fully awake, okay…. And.. uhm… if you don't feel up for this right now we can always do it some other time. I mean I totally understand if you want to go home and sleep for a decade… or two…"

"Nah, I'm fine. Don't try to weasel your way out of this. You promised you'd cook lunch for me," she reminded him and grasped the handle of the nearest suitcase and started dragging it across the driveway.

"Alright then, but just so you know, I'm lousy in the kitchen. So don't expect anything fancy. The only two permanent residents in my refrigerator are beer and frozen pizza," he warned her as he caught up with her by the front door.

"Oookaaay I see, so when you said 'Please spend the afternoon with me, I'll even cook for you….' what you really meant was 'I'm starving, let's have sex on my kitchen table…'."

"Ha, no not really but if you want to get naked in my kitchen then I'm all for it!" he chuckled and fumbled for his key chain. Once he found the right key he tried to open the door only to discover that it was already unlocked. He stared at it for a moment. "That's strange" He murmured.

"What?"

"The door… I could have sworn I looked it before I left for the airpo-…." He paused mid-sentence upon noticing there was a radio playing somewhere in the house. "What the fck I think someone is in there."

"Relax, it's probably just one of your friends, they know where you keep your spare key, right?!"

"Yeah, but there are no cars on the driveway... Do you think I should call the police?" He asked with a slight tinge of panic in his voice.

"Na, thieves generally don't use the front door, you know… I bet it's just Much. He is probably in your kitchen filling up your refrigerator right as we speak."

"You wish…," he snorted and put his phone back in his pocket again.

"Well, who else could it be?"

"I think we're about to find out because I can here footsteps and they are coming closer…"

Before the words had even left his mouth the front door swung open, causing both Robin and Marian to jump backwards like startled rabbits.

"Whoa, what are you doing here?! Marian asked in surprise as a familiar figure appeared in the doorway.

"Waiting for you, sister dearest!" The petite blond answered with a hand on her hip. "I have been trying to get a hold of you for days now but you wasn't answering you phone…so I got worried," she explained as she stepped aside to let them into the house.

"Worried? Why? I thought I told you I was going to spend the weekend with my boyfriend."

"Yeah you did, but you didn't tell me you were going out of town."

The accusation in her sisters voice didn't pass unnoticed by Marian.

"Don't go all parental on me! I'm sorry I didn't fill you in on our plans but I'm a big girl I can take care of myself…. Besides you're my sister not my mother, I don't have to tell you everything…" she protested defensively.

"Well excuse me for caring!" Sarah snapped, her voice raising a decibel and her hands clenching in frustration.

It was then Robin realised in what direction things were heading. Knowing he needed to interrupt them before their little dispute got out of hand he cleared his throat and quickly stepped between the two arguing sisters .

"Uhm… Listen you two, I know I should probably stay out of this but I think you should calm down… both of you…. Fighting never solves anything!"

He pointed at Marian. "You… behave. If you want to be treated like an adult, act like one," he paused to let it sink in and then quickly turned to Sarah. "And you my friend… How exactly did you get inside my house? I'm dying to know… Did you pick the lock or something?"

"Geez, do I look like Houdini to you ?! No, it was your wacko friend that let me in…uhm…the short one…the one watching your dog this weekend… I can't remember his name… "

"Much?"

"Yeah, that's the one. I was waiting on the front porch when he showed up. I think he came by to water your plants and bring in your mail or something… He couldn't stay for long but he said it would be okay if I waited inside… By the way you should call him. I think he's pretty pissed at you for not returning his calls …"

"Great, I guess that means he already knows, huh?! Oh, well, thanks for the warning…."

"Knows what?" Marian interrupted impatiently, feeling a bit left out of the conversation.

"That we skipped a certain important social function and stayed in our hotel room the entire night instead of rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous… " Robin explained quickly.

"Oh that… Sorry, I didn't mean to get you into trouble," she sighed patting his shoulder with the fingers sticking out of her cast.

"Hey, it's not like you injured your arm on purpose. He'll understand…."

"What?! Are you injured? Is that a cast on your arm?! Why didn't you tell me? Is it broken? When did this happen?!" Sarah completely exploded with questions.

Marian rolled her eyes at her sister in annoyance and cut her off when she paused breathe. "Knock it off already! I have been standing here for five minutes now with the cast on my arm fully visible and you haven't even noticed it. So stop pretending like you care… I was clumsy. I tripped and fell. It's nothing major, it will heal in a couple of weeks. End of story!"

Sarah shook her head and blinked a couple of times. "That was rude! I DO care! You're my sister, I don't want hurt you or see you get hurt," her words may have been directed at Marian but her eyes were focused on Robin as she spoke. When she didn't get the reaction she was hoping, or any reaction for that matter, she gave up and reached for her jacket on the coat rack.

"I can tell when I'm not wanted so I'll be heading home now. But before I leave I want Robin to check his answering machine."

"What ?! Why?! No wait don't answer that, it doesn't matter… You can't tell us what to do! Just get going already and leave me alone." Marian said and gave her sister a not so gentle push towards the door. She was tiered, hungry and cranky and quite frankly running out of patience with Sarah's strange behaviour. Less then a month ago she had considered her sister one of her closest friends but now she didn't know what to think anymore…. She didn't trust her that's for sure…

"Stop! Wait! I can explain… I was here when the phone rang. I didn't think it was my place to answer it so I let the machine take it. I didn't mean to snoop or anything but I couldn't help but hear what was said…. It's was short but…. uhm… interesting …. And I think it is of great importance that you listen to it. Not just Robin but both of you…."

Marian threw Robin questioning glance but he only shrugged.

"I have no idea what this is all about. But let's get this over with, shall we?!" he suggested and walked across the hallway to the wooden shelf where the phone was located. Soon the sound of the answering machine replaying messages filled the room.

Let's just say interesting was not the right word for it…