#Taron's Mum Tina

[taron-egerton-fan]

Taron and Paul hugging just after Paul won the best supporting actor Limited Series globe for Black Bird.

[holdmeclosertinytaron]

RHW: Chapter Five

Story Page / Playlist / Wattpad / AO3

A/N: I've just had such a weird moment of 'how am I already uploading chapter five?' and now I feel so weird. This chapter was so fun to write, and the sprinkles of Liliana's friendship with Evelyn and Jacob is so fun. It's absolutely how my two best friends and I am. I hope you love it as much as @brayndilyn and I do!!

Word Count: 7.1k

Warnings: Explicit language

December 25th, 2021

It was clear as soon as Liliana opened the door that she’d been crying. Her eyes were red and puffy and they weren’t tears of happiness. Taron wanted to pull her into his body and tell her that he was taking her to his house where she’d be okay. But he knew she wanted to spend the day with Matilda and that she wouldn’t let him. 

She looked at him curiously, not sure why he was at her house instead of his with his family. He was slightly out of breath and had his hands stuffed in his pockets. When he went to speak, Liliana stepped out of the house in just her socks and pulled the door closed behind her. 

Taron wanted to ask what happened and why she was upset but it was clear that if he asked her, she would immediately fall into fits of sobs and he didn’t want to upset her anymore than she was already upset. 

Liliana watched as he pulled a velvet box out of his pocket that had a bow on top of it, thanks to Tina insisting that it needed to look like a gift rather than just a box. 

‘I saw this a couple of weeks ago and I knew I had to get it for you. It’s not much.’ 

Liliana was speechless. So speechless that she didn’t even open the box. She wanted to have him wrap his body around her while she told him everything that happened that morning but she couldn’t burden him with it, not on Christmas. 

He looked at her with concern and she smiled at him and said, ‘Thank you, Taron.’ 

His arms wrapped around her and pulled her in for a hug that she needed more than she liked to admit. He smelled like Christmas, warm and comforting with hints of sweetness from the chocolate he’d had for breakfast. 

‘You’re welcome,’ he said into her ear, her hair tickling his nose. ‘I mean it, Lil, I’m here for you whenever you need me. If you want to talk about it, let me know.’ 

Liliana gulped loudly and pulled away from him with a nod. She thanked him again before she walked back into the house and closed the door. It wasn’t a day for her to be around people and Taron understood. 

Inside the house, Liliana escaped to the bathroom, the one room in the house where she wouldn’t be disturbed by her family. When she was safely locked inside the tiled room, she sits on the edge of the bath and opens Taron’s gift, cursing herself for having forgotten to give him his gift the day before. 

She gasped when she saw it. A beautiful gold necklace with the letter ‘M’ on a textured circle. Her fingertip brushed along it as she broke down crying again. 

She couldn’t believe how much attention he paid to her and how much thought went into the gift. Taron told her it wasn’t much but it was everything to her. After the worst Christmas morning she’d ever had, seeing Taron and the gift he’d bought for her broke her heart even more. She knew that he would go home to a happy home filled with noise and laughter and love while she was stuck with the opposite. 

Every year, Liliana hoped that going home would be different than the last. Especially as Matilda got older and she could chat to her and take her places. But it was still the same as it had always been. It wouldn’t ever change. 

Liliana continued to stare at the necklace in her hands, even when her eyes were so full of tears that she couldn’t see anything. Her chest went tight as she struggled to breathe and she had to slide onto the floor and put her head between her legs to try to calm down. 

She could hear her mum, Hudson and Matilda laughing together downstairs and she cried more knowing that she wouldn’t be welcomed down there by anybody but Matilda. If she went downstairs, the air would turn sour and she refused to ruin Christmas for Matilda. So she moved to her bedroom and climbed into bed where she pulled the covers over her head and tried to drown out the thoughts she’d fought off for so long. 

***

A few hours later, the bed dipped beside her and Matilda peeked behind the covers. Liliana had fallen asleep at some point and woke up with the worst headache and a dry mouth. She moved over so that Matilda could sit next to her but she didn’t sit up herself. 

‘Mum’s put leftovers out for dinner if you’re hungry.’ 

‘I’m okay, thank you though, love bug. I think I’m going to go back to sleep to be honest. I’m really tired.’ 

Liliana tried to put on a smile for Matilda but she was too emotionally exhausted to pretend that she was happy. All she could think about was going back to London and locking herself in her flat with a bottle of tequila and a pile of books. 

Her phone buzzed on the bedside table but she ignored it. She’d only been on it once that day to answer Evelyn’s yearly Christmas message and to check train prices in case she decided to head home early. There was a high chance that Taron had texted her but she didn’t want to talk to anybody, let alone Taron. 

As much as she felt about him, the emotional baggage was too much and she knew that the inevitable message of him telling her that he couldn't be friends with her was due to come. Her family had a way of ruining all the good things in her life. 

Matilda looked down at her big sister with big eyes, and Liliana wanted so badly to whisk her away forever.

‘Who was at the door earlier?’ she asked as she toyed with the corner of the duvet. ‘Was it Taron?’ 

Liliana nodded. ‘It was.’ 

‘Why didn’t he come in?’ 

‘He had to go be with his mum and sisters. He came over to bring me a gift. It’s on the bedside table if you’d like to look at it.’ 

Matilda grabbed the box and opened it. Her eyes went wide and then she looked at it. ‘Did you get him a gift?’ 

‘I did,’ Liliana said as she started to sit herself up. Her back hurt and she groaned as she tried to find a position. She wrapped an arm around Matilda and pulled her into her side. ‘He had to leave before I could give it to him. I’ll let him have it when I see him next though.’ 

Matilda ran her finger over the necklace the same way Liliana had and it made Liliana think to the night before when Taron told her that it couldn’t be a bad thing if Matilda ended up like her. But it could. If Matilda grew up to cry herself to sleep in the middle of the day on Christmas, she would have failed as a sister. 

‘This is so pretty,’ Matilda whispered. ‘Why is there a ‘M’ on it?’ 

‘For Matilda,’ Liliana replied. For the first time that day she smiled. A real smile that made her eyes glisten. She ran her hand down Matilda’s cheek softly. ‘He knows how much I love you so he brought me something special that he knows I will cherish forever.’ 

‘I love it,’ Matilda said. 

I love him, Liliana thought. 

December 26th, 2021

Hey, T. I’m headed back to London this afternoon. I can’t stay here anymore. It’s suffocating. Thank you again for the gift, it is truly so special and I love it so much. And thank your mum for the other night for me please. It was really so lovely of her to let me stay x 

Liliana had woken up that morning with another headache. Matilda had crawled into bed with her in the middle of the night and was curled into her back. It had been years since that happened and Liliana had stayed there for ages enjoying the comfort that it gave her. 

When they were all awake, Liliana braved going downstairs so she could see Matilda’s gifts properly and play with her for a few hours before they headed to Hudson’s parents’ house for a few hours. 

Eliza had woken up in a mood, which wasn’t unsurprising, and had taken it out on everyone in the house. She’d made a comment about nobody helping her to clean up from the day before despite Liliana having cleaned the kitchen after Christmas Lunch and Matilda putting her wrapping paper in a bin as she opened her gifts. 

The air in the house was stale and thick, and Liliana needed to get out. Leaving the house wasn’t enough, she needed to go back to London. So she booked a ticket, not paying attention to how much it cost, and texted Taron to let him know. 

While packing her things, Matilda went to her room and looked around sadly. ‘You’re leaving?’ 

Liliana looked up at her and had to fight back the tears. Matilda’s lips quivered and her eyes grew wet. In two strides, Liliana got to her and wrapped her into a bone crushing hug. The hardest part about leaving Aberystwyth and going back to London was saying goodbye to Matilda. They both cried without fail and it chipped Liliana’s heart more each time. 

‘I’m sorry, little bug. I have work,’ she lied. One thing she’d promised herself when Matilda was born was that she wouldn’t ever let her sister know how strained her relationship with her mum was. She didn’t want Matilda to feel the way she did. ‘I’ll come back as soon as I can though, okay?’ 

Matilda cried into her chest and held her tighter. ‘I don’t want you to go. I want you to stay. I miss you.’ 

Tears tracked down Liliana’s cheeks as she bent down to scoop Matilda into a bigger hug. ‘I miss you too, Tilly. So much you have no idea. My heart hurts so much because I’m not here but I have to go to work.’ 

Her phone buzzed on the bed but she left it a little while longer, letting Matilda hug her for as long as she needed to. Her heart hurt and her head pounded but she didn’t care. Matilda needed her and she would be there for her. 

‘When do you go?’ 

‘This afternoon. So I still have time to play with you for a bit. Maybe we could make one of your perfumes together and then when you’re sad you can smell it and pretend I’m here with you?’ 

Matilda nodded and wiped her eyes. ‘That sounds nice. I’ll go get it ready?’ 

‘Okay, little bug.’ 

When Matilda left the room, Liliana collapsed on the floor and cried more. Her phone’s incessant buzzing almost tipped her over the edge into a full blown sob fest. But she wiped her tears and took a deep breath and grabbed her phone to see Taron calling. 

She answered and put the phone to her ear. He was somewhere with a lot of people because there was Christmas music and laughter and shouting. It made her sad because she wanted that. 

‘Let me drive you back,’ he said instead of greeting her. ‘It’s a five hour train ride to London and then you’ve got the tube ride which is forty ish minutes on a good day. Plus by that time it’ll be dark and sketchy. Let me drive you back, it’ll be quicker.’ 

‘And once you dropped me off you’d do what? Miss out on family time because of me, again? You’ve done enough of that already this week.’ 

She sat with her back against the bed and held the phone to her ear. 

‘I’ll come back here after. It’s no bother.’ 

‘You’re saying that a five hour train ride and a forty minute tube ride is a long time but you’d be looking at a ten hour round trip,’ she said matter of factly. ‘I refuse to take you away from your family over Christmas again, and I refuse to let you do that for me. I promise I’ll be okay. I could do with the time to myself anyway.’ 

Taron sighed on the other end of the phone. ‘Lil, are you sure you’re okay?’ 

‘I will be,’ she said, ‘once I’m home.’ 

‘I’ll see you soon, yeah?’ Taron asked, voice full of hope. It almost made her cry again, how much he hoped to see her again soon. After everything that had happened that week with her mum and the number of times she’d messaged Taron to complain, she was sure that he wouldn’t want to see her again. But there he was, on the phone willing to spend even more time away from his family to help her, not a trace of resentment to him. ‘When I get back to London, I mean.’ 

‘When you get back to London we’ll do something fun. I still have your gift anyway.’ 

‘You didn’t have to get me anything,’ he said. 

‘You got me something,’ she defended. ‘And I promise it’s not much. Just a little something to show my appreciation.’ 

‘What time is your train?’

‘At three, why?’ 

‘What time are you leaving for the station?’ 

‘At two, why?’ 

‘Just wondering. See you soon, Lil. Merry Christmas.’ 

‘Merry Christmas, T.’ 

***

The train ride home was long and Liliana struggled to keep herself still. Her body was riddled with restlessness and no matter what she tried, she couldn’t keep herself from thinking about things she wanted to forget about. One of those being just how sweet Taron was. 

Just before she was about to call a taxi to take her to the train station, a car beeped its horn outside and Liliana opened the door to Taron smiling at her from his car. She rolled her eyes at him and shook her head but smiled just as widely as he smiled, something that made Taron breathe in relief. She was going to be okay. 

‘What are you doing here?’ 

‘You wouldn’t let me drive you back to London, which I still will if you want me to, I thought I would at least drive you to the station.’ 

‘I’m getting the train. But thank you. You’re very sweet.’ 

When he dropped her off, he got out of the car and gave her a long hug, telling her that he had a nice time seeing her. He thanked her for making his Christmas all the more special and she held back the tears as she thanked him for everything he’d done. 

He offered to stand on the platform and wait with her but she told him that he didn’t have to do that, even though she would have liked him to. The last time they’d both been at the train station, it had been the last time they’d seen one another. They stood on the platform saying their goodbyes and crying. Liliana didn’t want to think about that time and him waiting at the platform would have brought back memories they both wanted to forget. 

On the train, she’d put her music on and stared out of the window until the conductor came and checked her ticket. He walked away after wishing her a Happy New Year and left her alone again. 

The first part of the train ride went by so slowly she thought they must have still been in Aberystwyth. She’d tried to read a book but couldn’t concentrate for longer than two minutes. She must have read one paragraph five times before giving up and putting the book back in her bag. 

When she tried to write out how she was feeling, she gave up in frustration. She didn’t actually know how she felt so there was no way that she could put it into words. There were too many emotions fighting one another in her mind that she gave up and put her laptop away with an aggravated sigh. 

Just before she hit Birmingham, she opened her texts with Taron and started to send him a text. But each time she typed something she deleted it. Words were working against her and she thought it better to not text him and to sit with her music and let the world pass by. 

For hours, Taron had checked his phone constantly, hoping that she would have texted him. His heart pounded every time he saw the three tiny dots in their text chat, but it stopped when they disappeared. Tina had tried to distract him with a game night with his family but his mind was elsewhere. It took everything in him to not get in his car and drive to London to be with her. The only reason he didn’t was because he’d been drinking throughout the afternoon. 

His family left one by one until it was only him and his mum left. There was a Christmas film playing on the TV and they both ate from a tin of chocolates. Tina had poured them a Bailey’s and they sat in silence for a little while. 

Taron grabbed his phone from the arm of the chair when it buzzed, and Tina looked at him with her usual, knowing smile. Taron’s lips curved into a shy grin when he saw Liliana’s text. 

I’m home. Thank you again. You have no idea how much you mean to me x 

He texted her back to let her know he was glad that she was safe, and that she had nothing to thank him for. 

‘She got home alright, I gather?’ Tina said to him. He nodded and put his phone down. ‘Good. She could have come here if she wanted. We would have made space for her.’ 

‘I think she needed to get as far away as she could,’ he whispered, tears threatening to spill. ‘I know it’s different this time but this all feels too familiar. The last time she ran away like this, I lost her.’ 

Tina moved to Taron as fast as she could and held him to her body just as he started to cry. ‘I can’t lose her, mum. I can’t.’ 

‘Shh, you won’t lose her. Do you hear me? Things are different this time. We won’t lose her again. If you need to go home earlier than normal, that’s fine. I understand.’ 

Taron shook his head. ‘She’d kill me,’ he chuckled lightly. ‘If she texts me and asks me if I can go be with her then I’ll go but unless she does, I’m staying here with you guys. She wouldn’t let me drive her back because she thinks she took me away from you all too much already this week.’ 

Tina sighed softly, rubbing his back gently as she rocked him. ‘Oh sweet boy. She’s always been stubborn, the silly girl. I’ll tell you what. Why don’t we make a hot chocolate, put on another film and then get some sleep? Then tomorrow we can see what the best plan of action is?’ 

Taron nodded, mumbling that it sounded like a good idea. Tina kissed the top of his head and went to the kitchen to make them a drink while Taron texted Liliana again. 

How do you feel about movie night when I’m back in London? You could come to my flat and we could order in and get snacks and watch movies? Let me know if you’re down x

The reply came almost instantly. 

That sounds perfect, T. As does the pot noodle I’m about to eat for dinner. The classiest Boxing Day meal there ever was. And then I’ll probably watch Netflix in bed with chocolate so if I don’t reply, I’ll speak to you tomorrow x 

The necklace Taron had bought her sat on the coffee table in front of Liliana and she stared at it for what felt like hours. She’d wondered if the feelings she’d had for him were simply because they were together a lot in Aberystwyth and if they would go away when she was at home. They didn’t. 

They were just as strong in London as they had been in Wales. They consumed her completely, wrapping around her tightly and not letting go no matter how much she begged them to. The necklace stared back at her and she wished that she could stop feeling the way that she did. 

Everything in Liliana told her that she wanted him. But how could he ever reciprocate those feelings? There were so many other women far better suited to him. Women who didn’t come with emotional baggage heavy enough to sink a ship. Women who didn’t feel useless at everything. Women who grew up in a loving household and who knew how to love somebody. He could have anybody. 

Liliana was just a girl who spent most of her day at her laptop, hair messy and still wearing yesterday’s makeup. She only got herself ready when she went to the office, and even then she barely made an effort anymore. She was clunky and frustrating, and Taron deserved more. 

They were in two different universes and she knew there was no way for them to intertwine into the same one. No matter how much she searched Pinterest to find ways to be a better human. 

When she climbed into bed, she sent him one last text message before she turned her phone off for the night. She needed to escape from her life until the morning but she didn’t want him to worry. 

She fell asleep to the image of Taron holding her, telling her that he loved her and kissing her lips ever so gingerly. A tear fell down her cheek knowing that she’d never know that. 

January 16th, 2022

Her phone buzzing on the bedside table woke Liliana up. Taron’s name being on screen was the only reason she answered it, her eyes falling closed again as soon as she did. 

‘Hello,’ she said. Her voice was groggy and sleepy, and she heard Taron gasp quietly. 

‘I’m sorry, did I wake you?’ 

‘It’s fine,’ she chuckled as she put him on speaker so she didn’t have to hold the phone to her ear. She sat up in bed and stretched her body, moaning happily at the feel.  ‘I didn’t sleep until late writing so it’s my own fault. What’s up?’ 

‘I was going to ask if you wanted to go for coffee but if you’re tired we can do it another day. I have an event tonight so won’t be able to do our usual call but still want to talk to you properly and not over text.’ 

‘Coffee? Coffee sounds so fucking good right now,’ Liliana guffawed, already headed to the bathroom to get ready. She turned the shower on and stepped away from the bath so that she could hear Taron properly. ‘Were you thinking of anywhere specific?’ 

‘There’s this small place on Oxford Street called Kaffeine. They do coffee and light breakfast and lunch food. We could do coffee and breakfast if you’re hungry? And if you want to meet soon?’ 

Liliana peered back through to her bedroom to see what time it was. Nine thirty. ‘Breakfast sounds good. I’m going to need a minute to shower and get ready so if we meet in an hour? Is that okay?’ 

Taron nodded before he realised that Liliana couldn’t see him. ‘Yeah, that’s perfect. I’ll see you soon. Sorry again for waking you.’ 

‘Taron, it’s fine,’ she chuckled. ‘It was better than my usual alarm clocks. I’ll see you soon.’ 

After a shower, she brushed her teeth and threw some light makeup on so that she didn’t look as tired as she felt. She wanted to be comfortable but still look cute, both for herself and also for Taron, so she wore her black, leather-look leggings and an oversized Queen t-shirt. She added a grey plaid shirt and her big chunky boots and pulled her bag over her head so that it sat across her body. 

Since Christmas, they had met up a couple of times for coffee or lunch, and the movie night that Taron had promised her. And every day they texted or called one another. Most of the time they texted through the day and then called on an evening when they were winding down. 

Liliana loved having him back in her life and she loved that things weren’t sour after Christmas and everything that happened with her mum. She’d asked him multiple times if she’d been too much and he reassured her each time that she hadn’t been and that he would do it whenever she needed it. 

The coffee shop was quieter than she had thought and she was thankful. It took her two seconds to spot Taron in the corner facing her, his lips already turned up. She walked over to him and he stood up to pull her in for a hug. 

‘Hey,’ she said, holding him tightly. 

‘Hi. I didn’t order yet because I wanted to wait for you.’ 

‘You didn’t have to do that. Come on, let’s get some caffeine in us,’ she chuckled as she pulled away. 

In a fridge next to the counter were numerous different food options, from sweet to savoury. The coffee shop ordered more food that couldn’t be left in the fridge but that didn’t matter because both Taron and Liliana grabbed a ham and cheese croissant. 

‘What coffee would you like?’ Taron asked her, taking the sandwich from her hands. 

Liliana’s head fell to the side as she eyed him. ‘We’re not doing this today, Taron. Give me my sandwich back.’ 

‘Actually, it doesn’t matter. I remember your coffee order from last time, and the comment you made about it being the only thing you ever ordered so it’s fine.’ 

He turned to the employee and put the food down. She took them both and asked someone behind her to heat them up while she took their drinks order. It was obvious that she recognised him but she did a good job at hiding the excitement building behind her eyes. 

‘Can we get a medium vanilla soy latte and a medium regular latte, please?’ 

‘Yep, no problem. Altogether that will be sixteen pounds when you’re ready.’ 

Taron tapped his card on the reader and turned to Liliana who scowled at him. ‘You’re so evil.’ 

‘Yeah but you love me.’ She grew quiet and Taron cleared his throat. 

‘We’ll bring it all over to you when it’s ready,’ the girl behind the counter said, watching as Taron and Liliana walked back to the table in the corner. 

‘Is this the last time we’re going to be able to see one another before you go away?’ Liliana asked as she preemptively grabbed two sugar packets from the basket to the left of her. Taron nodded, cracking his knuckles. ‘Oh.’ 

Taron wanted to bring up what happened at Christmas and how she left the way that she did, but he knew that it was still raw and he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. Even though he really wanted to find out how she felt. 

He opted to talk about his upcoming work trip instead. ‘I finally got my itinerary for filming.’ 

‘Oh yeah,’ Liliana asked just as their coffees got to the table. ‘Thank you.’ 

‘Yeah. I leave next week and come back at the end of next month. It’s a good job I love New Orleans. A month and a bit there.’ Taron watched Liliana stir her sugar into the drink and take her first sip. Her eyes fell closed and he smiled at the bliss that washed over her face. That was his favourite part of Liliana, the part that was so unapologetically herself. He wished he got to see that part of her more often. 

‘New Orleans sounds fun,’ she said as she put her mug down. ‘I’ve always wanted to go there. It will be weird being in different time zones for a bit though.’ 

Taron nodded in agreement. After two months of texting nonstop and getting a reply pretty soon after, it would be strange to go hours without a response. He worried about how much he would miss her. 

‘It is,’ he agreed verbally. ‘But you don’t wake up until late anyway so it’s not like there’ll be much difference.’ 

‘You are so mean.’ Liliana threw her head back and laughed and Taron watched in awe. 

Since getting back from Aberystwyth himself, he’d noticed more about Liliana than he would have before he realised how he felt about her. Whenever he saw something on the corner of her mouth, he wanted to reach forward and wipe it away with his thumb, but always had to refrain. 

He noticed that her smile always grew a little bit wider when she saw him, the corners of her lips almost reaching her eyes. He noticed her perfume more, and basked in the scent of the warm vanilla that attacked his nostrils. 

Liliana had noticed things about Taron too. Like how he would crack his knuckles a certain way. He always started on his left little finger and worked along until he got to the little finger on his right hand. And how he made sure they were really cracked and not just half cracked. 

She noticed that if they were out in public and somebody walked into the building they were in, his leg would bounce under the table. She always wanted to put her hand on his knee to ease his anxiety but never did, not wanting to overstep a boundary. 

‘So this event tonight,’ she continued. ‘Tell me about it.’ 

Taron’s eyes brightened as he went into telling her about the premier he’d been invited to. He told her about the Armani suit he’d been loaned and how he had a room at a hotel near Leicester Square booked as a base for his team to get ready. She listened to every word he said, enchanted by the way he spoke so freely, and so proudly, about his work. 

*** 

January 29th, 2022 

Liliana wrapped her cold hands around the mug of coffee she’d bought on her way into the office. It was lukewarm and tasted bitter so she didn’t plan on drinking it but she was so cold from her walk from the tube station that she would try anything to warm up. 

The conference room was far too big for the four of them. Them being Liliana, Evelyn, Jacob and a member of the financial department whose name Liliana couldn’t quite remember. Liliana sat at the end of the oval table, her elbows resting on the fake wood and her head craned back to try and ease the crick in it from sleeping funny the night before. 

She’d spent most of the night trying to come up with an idea for her second book while also talking on the phone to Taron. He’d only been in New Orleans for a week by then but she missed him more than she thought she would. They would go hours during the day without speaking but once Taron had a break he would text or call her. 

Liliana always loved when he called, and would try to stifle her yawns if he called late at night. She wanted to talk to him and know all the things he was doing in New Orleans, which meant that for four nights in a row she hadn’t gone to sleep until almost two in the morning and had woken up just before seven to get ready to leave for the office. 

Early morning meetings were her least favourite and she often tried to get out of them. But these meetings were about her so she had no choice but to attend. The book had been released in the US two weeks before and in the first week hit a company record number of 35,000 copies bought. 

She cried when she found out. Like actually sobbed, in the middle of the conference room surrounded by everyone who had been involved in the book and who had waited painstakingly with her to find out the numbers. The mascara she’d carefully brushed onto her lashes that morning had leaked down her cheeks, and the concealer she’d used to attempt to hide the bags caused from staying up late with Taron had disappeared and left her looking like a raccoon. 

But she didn’t care. Not only had she published her own book, but Liliana was a New York Times Bestselling Author. The first person she texted had been Taron who sent so many confetti cannon emojis her way that she laughed through the tears. By the time she got home, a large bouquet of flowers, a box of chocolates and a bottle of wine were waiting for her. 

To my NYT Bestselling best friend. I’m so proud of you. T x

She sent a photo of the gift to Taron and thanked him profusely. He responded in the way of a phone call where he let her gush about everything to him before he told her that he was so insanely proud of her and that he wished he could be there to celebrate with her. They made plans to have dinner when he got back and he let her go to sleep ready for her first early morning meeting. 

Then she texted Tina who told her just how proud she was of her and how she knew she was destined for great things. That made Liliana cry even more. 

The final person she texted had been her mum who simply said ‘well done’. It wasn’t that she expected a big fan fare at the news, but Liliana would have loved to hear that her mum was proud of her. She didn’t have time to dwell on it though as she was immediately thrust into talks about a US book tour. 

They hit five cities in the space of a week on her UK tour, including Edinburgh where she and Evelyn visited their old university and the cafe where they’d spent hours writing together. They had dinner at their favourite Italian restaurant and introduced Jacob to deep fried Mars bars which he hated. 

It had been nice to go back to Edinburgh while not running away from life. She texted Taron the entire time she was there, giving him a guided tour of the city through photos. Her favourite was the little alleyway near a pub she’d found by accident one day. It was a small pub, with a handful of seats that were often filled by older men, but it was quiet and she could get work done while having a drink. Taron thought it was sweet and she was grateful she got to share it with him, even if it was years too late. 

Taron had been texting her throughout the meeting, updating her on his scenes and lines he’d messed up. Every now and then he would send a photo of himself pulling a funny face in the makeup chair or a video of him and his costars dancing in their trailer. She loved how happy he was at work and how much he very clearly loved it. She’d been replying to his texts sneakily, not paying attention to what everyone around her was organising despite the fact that she should have been. 

‘So we’re headed to the states for three weeks, hitting six cities slash states?’ Evelyn asked, pulling Liliana back to the room. ‘There’s Boston first, then New York City, Philadelphia, LA, Seattle and then Chicago. And from there we fly back to New York and then through to London? Wouldn’t it be easier to fly directly from Chicago? And cheaper?’ 

Liliana sat upright and sipped her coffee. She grimaced at the taste and almost choked. Everyone looked at her and she smiled sheepishly. ‘I second what Evelyn just said.’ 

The financial guy, who she vaguely remembered introducing himself as Liam, looked at them as though they had two heads. ‘Yes, technically it would be cheaper, and easier to fly straight from Chicago. However, there are no first class seats from Chicago on the date we would need them. There are from New York.’ 

‘First class?’ Liliana choked out, eyes wide as she looked at Evelyn for confirmation. Evelyn shrugged her shoulders. ‘We don’t need First Class. Stick me in economy and be done with it. Saves so much money and it means we’re not taking too many flights.’ 

‘Unfortunately, Liliana, I’ve been put under strict instructions that any flight you go on must be First Class as per the instruction of Martin. It was supposed to be a surprise but you guys are so money savvy that I should have known you wouldn’t understand me putting you on so many flights. Martin’s email to me entailing everything he wishes you to have on the tour include First Class seats paid for directly by him. And he said he knows you will have an issue with that and if that’s the case then you take it up with him. He wants, and I quote, to treat the person who’s changed the trajectory of Between the Lines to the highest class flights on her first US book tour.’ 

Liliana was lost for words. ‘Well, I’ll be sure to speak to Martin this afternoon.’ 

‘Very well. Now, onto the last thing. Hotels.’ 

The rest of the meeting went by in a blur. Liliana hadn’t travelled out of the country since she was six and when she had, she travelled economy and wound up being squished between her mum and a random stranger who didn’t want to give up their window seat. The thought of travelling First Class hadn’t ever been on her radar but she knew she would spend the evening at home looking at Youtube videos of First Class travel so she could see what she was in for. 

‘Lili, did you hear anything I just said?’ Evelyn said at the end of the meeting, nudging her arm to bring her back to Earth. ‘Oh my god, did you hear anything in the meeting other than that we’re flying First Class?’ 

Liliana remained silent, pulling her lips into her mouth to try to stop herself from laughing. Evelyn threw her arms up in the air and let out an exasperated sigh with a smile on her face. ‘You are so predictable. Let me guess,Taron? You haven’t stopped texting him since the book launch.’ 

‘Wha-ho-how did you know?’ 

‘Like I said-’ Evelyn pulled Liliana out of her seat and pushed her towards the door so they could go up to Liliana’s office, ‘-predictable. Let’s get you back to your office and I’ll give you a rundown of what’s going on. We leave in two weeks and I swear if you’ve no clue what’s going on I will personally flush your phone down the toilet.’ 

Liliana feigned hurt but laughed at Evelyn. Her best friend would always have her back and she was thankful that she had someone like that on her team. They weaved their way through the cubicles on that floor and headed to the lift to get to their floor. Jacob met them in Liliana’s office with a box of donuts he’d stolen from the reception desk on his way up. 

‘They’re so good,’ he mumbled over a mouthful of one, icing sugar on his nose and jam on his lip. 

‘You are disgusting,’ Liliana laughed, grabbing a donut for herself before she sat at her desk. Since the book was released, she’d been moved into a slightly bigger office. One with a window overlooking the city, a sofa on one side with a coffee table, and a counter on the other for the coffee machine Martin had gifted her as a congratulations for getting the bestseller title. She’d decorated the office perfectly to her aesthetic, warm and cosy with lots of 1970s inspiration. ‘But these are so good. So tell me, Evelyn, what exactly did I miss in this meeting?’ 

Jacob looked at Evelyn in disbelief. ‘She didn’t.’ 

‘Oh but she did,’ Evelyn responded, shaking her head. ‘If she isn’t staying awake until the middle of the night talking to him, she’s texting him in important, career altering meetings and getting so distracted that she missed the entire thing except the fact that she’s flying first class.’ 

‘She’s so predictable.’ 

‘Exactly what I said. What should we do about it?’ 

‘You guys aren’t my parents. You can’t do anything about it but tell me what I missed. And remember,’ Liliana said, wagging her finger at them, ‘I can request other people come with me on this tour and leave your sorry arses here in rainy old Blighty while I have the time of my life in America.’ 

Evelyn lifted her hand to her chest and sighed dramatically. ‘But how would you know where you are in America if we aren’t there to remind you what you missed?’ 

‘You two are bullying me. I’m going to go to Martin and tell him that I am being bullied by colleagues.’ 

‘Fine,’ Jacob said, throwing himself down on the sofa and putting his feet up on the table in front of him. ‘Basically we’re headed to six cities over three weeks. We’ll have roughly three days in each city, with the first and last day being travel days. We’re in Boston, Philadelphia, LA, Seattle and Chicago for three days and then we have four days in New York City. We hit three book stores in each city and you’re being asked to read the first chapter of the book in each place before signing books and meeting people. Martin wants us to meet one of his contacts over there for dinner but other than that and the book signings we basically have free reign in New York, including a full day of no commitments so we get to be tourists.’ 

Liliana had been jotting notes down on the notebook on her desk and looked up when she heard the last word. ‘Tourists? You mean I get to do all the things I’ve always wanted to do in New York like go to Central Park and Times Square and the MET? I get to walk on up the steps and pretend that I’m at the Gala, or pretend I’m Serena or Blair? I get to go to Target and Trader Joe’s and be an actual tourist? Oh this is so fun. I can’t wait.’ 

Evelyn chuckled softly, putting the last half of her donut back in the box and walking behind Liliana to hug her tight. ‘My little tourist. I’m so fucking proud of you, babe. America!’ 

‘America!’ Liliana and Jacob repeated, holding their donuts in the air as though they were champagne glasses.

[applesfallingfromblondehair]

Hi! Hope you’r enjoying Venice.

Do you think Taron could ever settle in LA? He’s been a lot there lately and he’s not shooting in this moment. Carry On production is due to start in NOLA at the end of September (I read Monday 26) so it’s still in prep, and if he is required for any rehearsal it’d be in NOLA and it’d be two weeks at most, So there’s not “apparently” reason for him to be there, at least not related with Carry On, cuz I don’t know his agenda or others projects

Personally I think he is a very familiar guy, honestly can’t imagine him living miles away from his mum, sisters and friends, and you don’t need to live in LA to be working in Hollywood movies, but, I don’t know him personally (I wish). Did he ever speak about this in any interview?

I'm loving Venice, thank you for asking ❤️❤️

Short answer to your question is no. I can't see him doing that any time soon, especially if Tina's health is in any way precarious still. Like you said, one does not need to live in LA to work in Hollywood. And sometimes, even if one does, one does not work, so...

*cough cough*

[dreamingabouttaron]

History Repeating - Part 2

Warning - Mentions of Unplanned Teenage Pregnancy.

Taron knocked on your bedroom door and waited. He impatiently knocked again, and again. When you didn’t answer he slowly opened the door; only to be surprised to see the room empty. He frowned to himself and closed the door back up before heading down the corridor to the family bathroom. As he enters he noticed a piece of paper tucked neatly underneath the stand alone sink. He huffed loudly to himself before bending over and picking it up. As he picked it up, the bright blue lettering caught his attention.

“Shit.” He whispered to himself before taking a closer look. 

A bright smile appeared on his face when he suddenly realised what this meant. He quickly left the bathroom and hurried down the stairs to find his wife. Taron practically ran into the kitchen, scooped his wife up and kissed her face over and over, causing Lily to squeal loudly.

“What on earth has gotten into you?” Lily laughed when Taron finally placed her back on the ground.

Taron placed both his hands around Lily’s face, gently covering her ears. His eyes were beaming with love for her. Lily looked at him with a confused expression. Taron was just about to open his mouth when they both heard the front door open and close. Lily pulled herself away from Taron briefly as you entered the house after taking Nelly out for a short walk.

“Dinner in half an hour, Grace.” Your mum called out before you ran back up to the safety of your room.

Taron came back over to Lily and wrapped his arms around her waist. “When were you going to tell me?” His voice was low and flirty.

Lily felt her heart stop in her chest. “Tell you what?” She asked cautiously, not fully following her husband.

“That we’re going to have another baby.” He said gently, unable to contain his smile any longer.

Lily couldn’t stop the little gasp from escaping her mouth. “Tan? What do you mean?” She asked not wanted to give away too much with her stiff body language. Taron released himself away from Lily before showing her the Blue Clear instruction manual he had found on the floor. Lily’s eyes widened when she saw what was in his hand. She knew she couldn’t lie for you, the truth was going to have to come out at some point.

“Tan…” Lily started with a slight quiver in her voice. “That’s…not mine.”

Taron released a light chuckle before saying, “Well, who’s is it then?”

Lily looked up at him with large sympathetic eyes. It took him a moment for things to click. His face dropped from excitement to anger. His whole demeanour changed. He pulled himself away from Lily before practically running to the bottom of the stairs.

“Grace!” your father’s voice ripped up the stairs and through the empty hallways. “Get down here right now!” He sounded enraged. Your heart leaped in fear. You dropped everything you were doing and dragged yourself down the stairs to see your fathers face, his eyes were fierce.

“Take a seat.” Taron said pointing at the sofa, not exactly in a ‘if you want to’ voice but a ‘you better park your arse right here, or you else you’ll regret it’ voice. Slowly, you sat down. Your heart sank, you couldn’t even look him in the eyes. “Grace,” Taron began, trying to get your attention. “You’ve got two minutes to tell me what the hell is going on,” his voice was shaking.

“What are you talking about?” your eyebrows furrowed, you looked over at your mother who was stood in the corner of the room.

“Is this yours? Are you pregnant?” He asked as he uncurled his fist to better reveal the pregnancy test manual he was holding.

You clenched your jaw and let a heartbeat pass before slowly nodding, keeping your teary eyes down. You couldn’t look at him. You watched from your peripheral vision as he shook his head, “How...how could you let this happen?”

“Dad, I’m sorry- I...I didn’t want this to happen,” You said, trying to make things right even though you knew they were far from it.

Taron held his tightly fisted hand close to his lips, “you know...I questioned your mother first because-” he stopped himself mid-sentence and laughed unamused to himself. “Never in a million years did I think this could be yours.”

You wrung your hands in your lap, watching him nervously as tears fell from your eyes. For the first time since you’d come downstairs, he looked you in the eyes. They were sad. So sad and fatherly you couldn’t handle it. You both were frozen in silence, your sobs being the only sound in the room.

“Get out….” Taron snapped, finally breaking the ice in the room. He looked positively furious; his eyes were darker then you'd ever seen them and his face had darkened from red to an almost purple colour.

“What?” Lily shouted as she walked further into the room. “No…”

“Get out! I want her out! After everything I’ve done for you. This is how you repay me?” Taron shouted causing you only to cry louder and harder. You stood up feeling light headed and shaken. Leaning against the edge of the sofa for support, you somehow managed to find your way out of the room and half way up the stairs when you jumped at the sound of the front door being slammed. The sound made you collapse in a heap on the stairs. The tears burning your face, stinging every pore. You struggled to catch your breath as you started to panic.

Taron had to take himself off. He couldn’t believe the news he had just heard, but he also couldn’t believe the way he was acting. His emotions were rife. He didn’t know how to feel exactly. He was so incredibly protective of you and he felt like he hadn’t done his job. He didn’t protect you. You still had your whole life in front of you. The thought of his beautiful daughter getting up to such acts made his stomach turn. How could someone take advantage of her in such a way. In his head she was still his tiny little girl. And now, she was about to become a mother herself.

As Taron walked to cool off, he thought back to when he found out that Lily was pregnant and the joy and fear that he had felt. He could imagine how you felt. He remember how terrified he was to tell his mum. She had done everything to protect and look after him, he had never felt so ashamed in that moment telling her. Of course she was supportive and loved every moment of becoming a grandparent. Just like he would, some day, because you were everything that he had always wanted and never knew that he needed.

“Mum, there’s something Lily and I would like to tell you.” Taron starts and thickly swallows, Lily’s grip tightens around his hand. Taron looked at her for encouragement, even though he knew she was just as terrified.

“I-I…I’m…pregnant-” Lily stuttered.

Tina’s eye widened briefly, before blinking then narrowing a little, a smile showing the lack of belief. However, when there was no “Joking!” or “Got ya!” to follow the bold statement, her smile dissolved, horror showing plain as day.

“What do you mean you’re pregnant?” Guy asked nervously as Tina sat back against the sofa and staring off into space for a few moments taking in then news that had just been announced.

Taron’s heart began to race, he started to breathe rapidly, panicking of what was yet to come. He had a feeling his mum was going to explode at him. She had always taught him to use protection. She had raised him all by herself when Taron’s parents broke up. Taron knew the struggles she went through to give him the opportunities he had.

Guy looks up at his stepson, rubbing his hands together. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. We went to doctors the other day who confirmed it.” Lily butted in, trying to take some strain off Taron.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Tina ran her hand through her hair before standing up. She walked over to Lily and tells her to stand up. Lily anxiously rises to her feet. Taron watches with wide eyes, unsure of what his mother was going to do and say. The tension was released with Tina pulled Lily into a warm hug. Taron pushed himself up and pulled his mother into a hug moments after.

“You’re not mad?” He asked in a low voice.

“No. I’m just disappointed, because you have your whole life ahead of you, but I’m your mother and I’ve always promised to support you in any way I can.” She says as tears start to cradle in her eyes.

When Taron finally arrived back at the house, he takes a moment to compose himself before entering. The downstairs was empty, dinner still half made in the kitchen. Taron quietly walks up the stairs, taking each step in slowly. He hears the slight mutterings coming from inside your bedroom.

As he approaches your bedroom, he stands silently in the doorway, taking in the scene before him. After a moment or two he walks over to take your hand, squeezing it gently to make sure you knew he were there. Meeting your father’s eyes, your heart shattered, knowing how much you’d failed him. Especially after he had worked so hard to give you the life that you deserved.

“How many tests did you take?” Your father said in an almost whisper.

You dried your tears softly. Your quivering hand reached down to open a drawer next to your bed, pulling out the tests you’d kept hidden away. Taron couldn’t look down, keeping his scared eyes on yours or Lily’s the whole time.

“I’m scared dad, and I need you and mum around me right now. I just don’t want to let you down,” you confess.

His eyes fell on the tests widening, not expecting there to be so many. Instinctively, he gasped, horrified. He always thought you would be careful and take precautions, especially at such a vulnerable age, but when he saw the tears continue to fall, he knew he needed to be there. He needed to be a father. It was his job. Especially after the way he had just reacted.

“You know that you could never let me down, and nothing will change that.” he comforted, kneeling in front of you, resting his hands on your legs. Just like he had done when Lily found out she was pregnant with you. “I think we all need to have a bit of a talk though; don’t you think?”

You nodded slowly, slightly taken aback by the comforting approach your father now took. Inside, he was raging, but his anger wasn’t the solution to this situation. He knew his previous behaviour had been out of order but unfortunately he could take it back. “I’m sorry dad.” You blurted out.

“Don’t say that,” he requested shaking his head, “you don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

Your mum smiled softly, turning to face you. She nodded lightly, pressing a soft kiss to the top of your head. “Just because you’re pregnant, doesn’t change the fact we still love you endlessly.”

“You’re not mad at me?” You whimpered, looking between the two of your parents. Of course, there was an element of worry, you were still learning and growing, leaning on the two of them. But they couldn’t tell you that, neither of them wanted to make things worse for you. You were fragile, scared, not just as you thought to the future, but the worried expression evidently on show on Taron’s face.

“I think we’re both just a little bit surprised sweetheart, but maybe this could be the making of you, just because you’re a young mum doesn’t mean you can’t be the best mum in the world. Your dad and I managed, but we were slightly older.”

“I don’t think I can do this by myself, will the two of you be with me through it all?” You asked, looking at you both through tear-stained eyes.

Despite how shocked he was, there was no way Taron could ever abandon his only child, and now, his grandchild. “Listen to me closely, your mum and I are going to be with you every step of the way, whenever you need something, we’ll be there for you. It’s going to be hard, and at times you’ll probably just want to give up, but we’re a family, and we’ll get through this together. Even when you’re throwing up in the early hours of the morning or staying awake because the baby is wriggling.”

“Your dad used to stay up with me, massaging my tummy trying to stop you wriggling around.” Your mums comment made your dad blush. “D-do you have any idea who the father of your baby is?” Your mum asked changing the mood back to a more serious tone.

“Y-yeah,” You stuttered, your eyes flickering to Taron. Straight away he knew there was more to things, but right now, he didn’t want to push it, simply offering you a warming smile. You didn’t want to provoke him any further.  That was a conversation for another day, but father or not, Taron would step up whenever he needed, the early mornings and late nights, he’d never leave you to suffer alone.

“We’re going to be the greatest team, you don’t have to face any of this alone, not if you don’t want to, we’ll always be here to support you,” Taron assured you as he kissed the back of your hand.

“Thank you for both being so incredible about all of this, you really are the greatest parents in the world.”

“It might not be ideal, but we’re family, and we stick together no matter what. We’ll make this work, just like we always do,” Your mother whispered.

After a moment, Taron stood up and encompassed you in a crushing hug. “You’re my baby girl, and I love you so much.” your father spoke softly, his voice breaking. You felt a tear fall onto your shoulder, causing you to cry harder. “It’s hard to watch you grow up. It’s hard to see you start a family of your own. When I look at you, I still see my little girl,” he pulled you even closer, crying harder into your shoulder.

A/N - Any feedback would be appreciated! Thank you for all the support so far! 

Tag list - @writingformany 

If anyone would like to be added to a tag list please let me know! 

[whateveridreamup]

The Job Offer- Chapter 2

Claire stood at the top of the hallway, frozen in shock. Her mind was trying to process the scene in front of her- her eyes darting back and forth between Taron, to the girls, back to Taron, to Tina, and back to Taron again. THIS was their brother? Tina’s son was Taron Egerton?!?

 A soon as her eyes had cast over his face, she knew that she recognised him from somewhere, and it had only taken her brain a few seconds to realise where from. She had seen a couple of his movies over the years, but her attention was really drawn to him when he was in Rocketman. Being a big Elton John fan, she had seen the movie multiple times with many different friends. One of her friends in particular, Emma, had developed quite the celebrity crush on him during the Rocketman press tour, often showing the girls pictures of him and declaring how adorable he was to anyone who would listen.

Now as she stood there, she really couldn’t believe that the man she had seen so many times on screen was right in front of her in real life. He was completely breathtaking. Even dressed as he was in just black jeans and a T-shirt, he was effortlessly handsome.

 Oh. My. God.

 She heard his words as he introduced himself to her, and knew she needed to respond. She realised suddenly that she must have looked like a fool and quickly picked her jaw up from the ground, internally chastising herself for being momentarily starstruck. She let out a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding, and tried to put some sort of semi- normal looking expression on her face as she headed down the hall towards them.

 “Oh- hi! I….ah…was just….sorry….I um….”

Oh lord she wondered to herself- could this get any worse? She took a little breath, and tried to string a sentence together “Yes. I’m Claire, the girls teacher” She finally managed to get out. “Nice to meet you” She said as she reached the end of the hall and offered her hand out to him to shake.

  “Lovely to meet you” He replied, taking her hand as their eyes met in a warm smile.

 Claire opened her mouth and took an intake of breath as if she were about to say something, thought twice, and then shut it again when she realised she had no idea what to actually say to him. Hi? I know who you are? I’m a fan of your work? Was she meant to tell him she recognised him, had seen some of his movies, or should she just act as if he wasn’t a celebrity and just your average, everyday person?

Perhaps she should ask him something about his flight? Yes, she thought, that was good. She opened her mouth again to speak, then realised how much of a boring predictable question that was, so changed her mind again and closed her mouth.

 She was suddenly struck with the realisation that she must look like a floundering fish, opening and closing her mouth like that without actually speaking. When she looked up at him she thought she saw a slight look of bemusement cross is face. Thankfully, she was saved from the moment by the girls, each trying to get Taron’s attention.

 “Taron, Taron, come and see my room!! All our stuff arrived from home and I have my doll house, my train set and all my toys all set up! Come see! Come See!” Screeched Mari

 “No come and see my room! Rosie cut her off. “I’ve got all my books set up on the shelf, and Mum bought us new doona covers the other day and mine has animals all over it and a jungle, and I’ve got a matching pillow, and…”

 “Okay! Okay!” he agreed laughing “I promise ill come see, but can I just get inside the door first? I haven’t even put my bags down!”

 “Oh I’m so happy you’re here” Mari said as both girls wrapped their arms back around his waist, and Taron hugged them back, just as fiercely.

 Claire looked over at Tina and saw her wiping a tear from her cheek as she looked adoringly at her children embracing. Claire realised then that she really was intruding on a special family moment, and so excused herself quietly and walked back towards the kitchen. Once there, she rounded the corner and leant back against the wall. She closed her eyes and took a long slow breath.

Her mind raced trying to recall the conversations she had had with Tina, Guy, or even the girls about Taron. Had anyone mentioned his name? Had she missed it, or had it just gone by unnoticed? Surely she would have recognised his name if they had??

 She let out a shaky breath, and knew she had to pull herself together. He wasn’t here in the house as a celebrity visitor- he was a family member. And despite him looking like he belonged on the cover of a magazine, her rational brain was reminding her that he was just a person. A regular guy. This was about to be his home, and she knew he didn’t need someone ogling him and acting like a teenage girl around him here.

 ‘Pull yourself together girl’ she muttered to herself again. ‘Start acting professionally’. She was in this house as the girls teacher, she reminded herself. Time to start acting like it again. She took one more breath, did a little shimmy to shake out any jitteriness she had lingering, and then looked around the kitchen to their teaching space. It was clear that no more work was going to be completed that day, so she went over to the table and started to busy herself by packing up the work into the large tubs that she now kept at the house. As she was finishing up, Tina came back into the kitchen.

 “Oh there you are! I’m so sorry Claire, how rude of us. I just got so caught up with seeing him, I didn’t even think about the girls schoolwork”

 “Its fine, Tina- we were nearly done for the day. And even if we weren’t, this family time is more important. Plus, “ she added “I know there is no way I’m going to get them focussed back on fractions when they are this excited, so I think we should just call it a day and I’ll pick up where we left off tomorrow? If that’s ok with you?”

 Tina smiled as her eyes welled over again.

 “…oh I’m sorry” she said, as she dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “You know it doesn’t matter how old they get, when you haven’t seen them in a while, it just melts your heart. It just floods me with memories every time I look at him, and all I can see is my baby, even though he is a grown man” She said smiling wistfully.

 Claire smiled at her, and handed her a tissue from the table in front of her .

 “Its lovely to know that that deep feeling of love doesn’t fade, even as they grow older” She smiled back at her, and moved in to give Tina a quick comforting hug.

 “Oh thank you- honestly, I’m fine, I’m just being silly” she said pulling away after a few seconds and wiping her eyes again. “Just a little overcome. Here, ill help you to tidy this up.”

 Once the table was sorted out, with only a few books left out for the next days activities, Tina offered Claire a cup of tea, as she usually did at the end of a working day.

 “I think I’ll pass today, thanks. You go have some time with your son” She added smiling. Tina smiled at her, appreciating her thoughtfulness and walked Claire towards the front door.

 “Girls!” Tina called up the staircase” “Claire’s leaving!”

 Claire heard the thuds of the girls running towards the top of the staircase.

 “Bye Claire!” “See you tomorrow!” they called out as they stuck their heads over the railing at the top of the stairs

“See you girls” She replied back at them grinning.

 Taron then appeared behind the girls “Oh I’m sorry, Claire- has me coming early ruined the girls schoolwork for the day? Sorry I should have called first, I just really wanted to surprise everyone.”

 “Its not a problem, really” She smiled, seeing the concerned look on his face “We were almost done. And to be honest- they have been distracted all day waiting for you to arrive, so it’s good that you are here” She said smiling up at him.

 “Ok great” He replied, looking relieved. “Well I’ll probably see you tomorrow then, I guess…if I’m out of bed at a decent hour!” he called back, and he and the girls disappeared back to their bedroom.

 Claire took a quick moment to congratulate herself for managing to maintain her composure when talking to him this time. She then turned back to Tina who was trying to move all of the luggage out of the hallway where it had been abandoned. It was only then that Claire noticed just how much of it there was.

 “Gee, he, ah….doesn’t travel light, does he?” Claire laughed as she grabbed the nearest suitcase and helped to drag it into the front bedroom where Tina was.

 “Well yes..I mean, no, he doesn’t travel light. And he has stuff here for the next few months, and has to pack for different events and press and any number of different things he gets called on to do.

Oooof! There- that will do” She said hauling one of the larger cases into the room.

 “That will do him. He can do the rest and unpack later” She said brushing down her hands and straightening her shirt. She looked up at Claire, as something else dawned on her.

“Oh Claire- I’ve just realised… I’d wanted to talk to you about T before he got here. I wasn’t sure if you would recognise him, and didn’t want to give you a shock when you first met him. He works as an actor, you see, and some people have been known to recognise him when they see him. Such an odd thing for us, of course, because to us he’s just our Taron, but it can catch some people off guard. I’m sorry I didn’t get around to mentioning it earlier” She said.

 “Its fine” She said smiling. “Really” She added, when Tina was still looking at her with slight concern. “I mean, I wont lie, I was a little bit surprised when I saw him, but its not a big deal. Don’t worry about it” She added reassuringly.

 The two ladies walked back into the hall, and Claire grabbed her keys off the hall table.

“You have a lovely night with your family” She said, giving Tina another quick hug goodbye “And I’ll see you tomorrow” She added with a smile as she walked out the front door.

  Claire held her composure until she was in the car. She deliberately drove around the corner from the house and down a few streets before she pulled over to the side of the road to just sit for a minute, trying to process what had just happened.

 Wow.

She stared ahead numbly, trying to gather her thoughts.

 Had that really just happened? As much as she tried, she just couldn’t shake the image of Taron from her mind. He was seriously good looking. She was torn between desperately wanting to see him again, but also not wanting to EVER see him again at the house when she was working for fear of becoming completely distracted from her job.

And ohmygod what was EMMA going to say she suddenly realised. She was going to loose it when she found out who she had just met.

 After allowing herself those few moments to wrap her head around this situation she had now found herself in, she shook her head and refocussed.

‘Get a grip, Claire’ she chastised herself. ‘You’ve got a job to do.’

 This job had worked out to be just perfect for her and it was going so well. She really didn’t want to risk loosing it all by acting like a teenage fangirl around the girls big brother. ‘He’s just a normal person’ she told herself as she pulled the car out and started the drive home. ‘Just a normal person. Maybe a seriously good looking one, but still, just a normal person.’

 As she drove, another thought struck her, For all she knew she may not even see him again as she was sure Tina had said he had wanted to travel around whilst he was here. If she did see him, she told herself she would act just as she did before he arrived. She couldn’t even believe she was having to have these conversations with herself, really unsure of what had come over her.

‘Just a normal…really attractive….guy’ she repeated again as she drove on.

  She drove home via the supermarket and then went to pick her kids up from school. She saw her friend Lisa, waiting at their kids pick up spot and wandered over to meet her. They chatted briefly about the upcoming school play that both Tom and Lisa’s son were in. Claire was trying her best to focus, but her mind was clearly elsewhere.

 Lisa gave Claire a funny look. “Are you feeling ok, love? You look like your off in a dream somewhere. Everything go ok at work today? All going well with the tutoring job?”

 “Oh…sorry. Yes I’m…just a little tired I guess” She replied making up an excuse “Yes its going well. Really well actually. The family are just lovely, and I’m loving the work.”

 She looked at her friend, and thought about saying something about Taron, but stopped herself. It somehow didn’t seem right, as though she would be breaking some sort of trust with the family she had grown so close to. It felt like she was keeping a secret which she didn’t love- but the idea of answering all her friends questions and listening to their excitement at this new development all seemed a bit overwhelming, when she was still trying to process it all herself. She decided it was possibly best if she just didn’t mention Taron’s new existence in her world to anyone for a while.

 Once the school bell rang, Lisa headed off to meet with her daughters teacher. It wasn’t long before Claire was nearly bowled over by Tom as he raced over to her and enveloped her in a hug.

“Hi Mum! Missed you today”

“Nawww missed you too, buddy. Only one more day till the weekend though! And tomorrow night is your sleepover night at Nan and Pa’s! How was school- did you have rehearsal for the school play today?”

“Yeah we did- its really good, but I keep forgetting all my lines”

“Well- I guess that what happens when you have so many to learn” She said proudly, kissing the top of his head “It’s ok buddy, we’ll just have to make some more time to practice them” She reassured him giving him an extra squeeze.

 Soon after Bella joined them, and they made their way to their car and back home. After the days events, she really didn’t have her heart in going home and cooking for them all ,so decided to swing past the take away pizza place near their place instead. The kids faces lit up when they saw it.

“Really, Mum? Are we having Pizza?!” exclaimed Isabella

 “Yeah- Mums had an…..interesting day. I’m just really not in the mood to cook.” She said as she got out of the car.

 It turned out to be a great decision, as they were able to just sit, eat and relax when they got home, and it gave Claire more time to spend with Bella on her spelling words, and Tom on his lines for the school play.

 Once evening came, she gave them both an extra kiss on their foreheads as she tucked them into bed. Something about seeing Tina so emotional with her kids had really left her feeling quite sentimental. As she looked at both their perfect little faces as she kissed them good night, she was once again left with that pang in her heart; that ache where she really hoped she was doing enough for them. Raising them on her own had been a bigger challenge than she had ever imagined, and as always, she wondered if she was being enough, and giving them all they needed.

 She sighed as she walked back down the hall, and instead of pulling out the schoolwork she knew she really should be doing, she got changed into her favourite comfy t-shirt and shorts, and crawled under the covers. She was feeling emotional, tired, and a little overwhelmed by the days events, and knew that what she really needed was a good nights sleep.

 Before long she found herself drifting off to a peaceful sleep, only to find her dreams interrupted by visions of a certain, very good looking, Welshman. It was the best nights sleep she’d had in a while.

[writingformadderton]

She is perfect

Ship: Madderton

Word Count: 1406

Summary: Baby Emilia meets the families of Richard and Taron for the first time. While everyone adores her, she quite enjoys the company of her parents and their families.

Additional Tags: fluff, soft, baby fic, lullaby, cuddles 

Requested via chat by: @queenmerabby

----

Taron holds his daughter in his arms, thumb fondling gently over the back of her head, while he walks through the nursery. He rocks her softly. Emilia woke up crying about twenty minutes ago and wouldn’t let anything settle her back to sleep so far.

He glances at the clock and bites back a sigh. It is currently 4am in the morning, Richard hadn’t been feeling well yesterday and he had to handle her on his own.

“Shh sweetie, I got you.” he coos softly. His daughter wails into his shoulder, fist grabbing his shirt tightly. Taron looks up when he hears Richard stepping inside.

“Do you need anything?” he asks and Taron shakes his head quickly.

“I’m fine, love. But you should go back to bed.” He looks him over, taking in his messy hair and pained expression. “You need sleep to fight off that nasty headache.”

“I know.” he nods and makes grabby hands towards his daughter. “Let me hold her for a bit.” Taron nods, thankful to relax his arms a bit. Richard lays her down in her bed and leans down. “Hey angel face, you really should get some sleep.” He says and fondles over her belly. Their daughter gets a bit calmer and Richard continues talking to her.

Taron watches them with a little smile, now it makes sense. Rich wasn’t around much yesterday due to his headache, she probably missed him. “Seems like she just wanted your attention after yesterday.”

“Maybe.” He nods and chuckles softly as Emilia wraps her fist around his finger.

Taron watches her putting her own fingers into her tiny mouth and scans her over. “And I think she’s in pain. Probably her teeth again, she was yesterday.”

Richard nods and puts his finger into her mouth, rubbing her gum gently. “That’s better, darling?” he asks softly as she looks up to him with teary blue eyes.

She sucks on his finger and T nods. “I’ll go and make her a bottle.” Taron is more than relieved that it only took Richard’s voice to calm her down again. He suspected that she missed him, but he didn’t want to wake up Rich.

He makes his way back upstairs where Richard sits in the rocking chair, a blanket over his shoulder, holding her in his arms. T hands him the bottle and sits down at the edge of the chair. Richard holds the bottle, feeding her while rocking the chair calmly. “Good girl,” he says quietly and watches her adoringly. “God, I’m tired,” he sighs looking at Taron.

“Me too.” he nods yawning. “Let’s hope she will be asleep soon.”

“Mm, I really could use some cuddles,” Richard says and smiles as Taron starts running his fingers through his hair. They keep on talking, knowing that hearing their voices would calm Emilia down. Richard puts the bottle aside and looks up at Taron. “I think she could use a lullaby now.”

Taron takes her smiling softly and sits down on Richard’s lap, leaning against him. He starts singing “Your Song”; Emilia’s favorite lullaby. Richard cuddles into him, closing his eyes. Emilia looks up at him, watching him curiously while he gently rubs her gum.

It didn’t take long and she was sound asleep, he stayed there for another while humming softly, to make sure she was really asleep. He gets up and puts her down in the crib gently before turning around. Taron smiles adoringly, seeing his husband fall asleep as well and places a kiss onto his forehead. “Come on, love. Back to bed.”

Richard sighs and follows him back to their bedroom. They settle down and Richard cuddles into him. “Night, bubs.”

“Night, Richie,” he whispers and hums quietly, smiling as his husband drifts off quickly.

 -

Two days later Richard hears his daughter squeaking before her giggles mix up with Taron's. He steps inside and his heart warms at the adorable picture in front of him. Taron is dressing her up and tickles her belly making her kick. He adjusts her pants and puts her socks on. “Having fun, you two?” he asks chuckling.

Taron lifts her up and plants a big kiss onto her cheek. “Yes we do, am I right, cupcake?” he asks in a silly voice and bops their noses together making her let out a happy sound. “You’re gonna meet your grandparents and aunties today, baby girl.” He says and fondles over her head. “They’re gonna love you just as much as we do,” he continued. “You’ll never be left alone again, my sweet darling, I promise.” he cuddles her tightly to his chest and kisses her hair lovingly.

Richard smiles and steps closer to his little family. “I love you, you adorable dork.” he chuckles and kisses Taron full of love. “And I love you, angel face,” he says and leans down to kiss his daughter’s cheek.

Her sweet blue eyes watch them shining delighted. “I love you two so much.” Taron smiles beaming. They share another sweet kiss before the doorbell interrupts them, ringing through their house.

Richard pulls back and makes his way downstairs to open the door. His mother pulls him into a tight hug and he returns it chuckling. “Oh I missed you!” she says and makes space for her husband to do the same. “So where is she?” They ask and Richard turns around as Taron comes down the stairs to greet them, with a fully dressed Emilia now.

He has her in his arms and softly fondles her cheek. “Here she is.” he smiles.

Pat leans down to her and fondles over her hair. “Hello, you precious little girl.”

Emilia hides her face in his chest peeking at her curiously. “Aw hun, it’s alright.” he giggles. “Say hi to your grandma Pat.”

Emilia grabs the finger Pat holds out for her and squeezes it. Her little giggles fill the room when Richard pokes her cheek, all in all, she was a happy baby. “Gosh, she is precious!”

 -

A bit later Taron’s mother arrives with his little sisters. Taron greets his sisters, leaning down to them smiling. “You two got so big again!” he gets up and wraps his mother into a close hug. “I missed ya, mum,” he mumbles and she just returns his hug lovingly.

Richard comes over with their daughter who’s looking around curiously, not used to so many people at the same time around her.

Tina softly tickles her belly and smiles brightly. “She is beautiful. You’re sure you adopted her? I mean, those curls and blue eyes, Richard? And the dimples and giggles, Taron?”

“Yeah, we know.” Taron laughs. “She’s perfect, right Rich?” he smooches a kiss onto her cheek and watches her adoringly.

“Definitely.” Richard agrees.

“Uncle Rich, can we see her?” Mari asks politely and smiles sweetly up to him.

Richard nods and crouches down with her. “Here she is. Look, Emmy, that are your aunties Mari and Rosie.” he points at them and Emilia turns her head. “If you hold out your finger, Mari, she can take it.” Richard shows her how and watches her eyes light up as his daughter grabs it.

“She is so tiny.” she coos, and Rosie leans down to fondle her cheek.

“Right? She still is.” he giggles and shows them how to hold her, encouraging them softly.

Taron’s heart is about to burst, watching his husband. Richard is amazing with kids, always has been, but he overdid himself with having their daughter.

Tina lies her hand onto his shoulder and smiles at him. “You do have a beautiful little family there.”

Taron hears his daughter giggling and Richard softly talking to her. His eyes brim with tears and he nods happily. “I sure do, mum.”

Richard catches his look and smiles softly handing Emilia to Tina and watches them joining his parents in the living room. “Alright there?” he asks softly.

Taron nods and hugs him, hiding his face in his chest. “More than alright.”

He smirks knowing what’s going on and rubs his back soothingly. “I love it when you get emotional,” he whispers.

T looks up blushing and smiles. “I know you do, you softie.” he watches him for a moment. “You’re perfect, Richie.”

“You are.” he insists and smiles softly as he kisses him. They turn towards the living room seeing their daughter surrounded by their families. “She is perfect.”

“She really is. Our little Emmy.” Taron agrees.

 @multicoloredchicken @primaba11erina @taron-eggmcmuffin @maddertonmyheart @madderton-obsessed

[tefanfics]

Changes

Chapter 45

Our first Christmas in the our was perfect. We slept in, opened presents and has breakfast. And it was just us.

But now it was the day after and we were loading up the car for the trip to Aberystwyth. I was excited and a little nervous. This was going to be the longest I’d been around Taron’s mom and my first official time meeting Rosie and Mari.

“Ready?” Taron asked as he locked the front door and came down the steps.

I nodded as I pulled the door open on my side of the car. “As ready as one can be for a five hour drive,” I answered. “I’m picking the music though.”

Taron laughed and nodded as he climbed in on his side. I did exactly what I said I would I took control over the stereo and chose song after song to play. Eventually I grew bored of the process and let Taron take over as I got comfortable in my seat. I debated a nap as a way to kill time but I didn’t want to leave Taron without anyone to talk to.

“Babe, you haven’t been sleeping much. Nap,” he urged.

I shook my head, fighting back a yawn. “No it’s okay. Staying awake during a road trip is important.”

“Sleep,” Taron pressed again. I stuck my tongue out at him and reached for the blanket in the backseat. I covered my legs before reaching for Taron’s hand. He held onto it until I had managed to fall asleep.

But I must’ve needed the sleep because I slept for two and half hours. When I started to stir, I stretched my hands up over my head as far as I could and sighed. I sat the seat back up and looked at Taron.

“Well hello sleepyhead,” he said with a little smile. “Sleep alright?”

“Best sleep I’ve gotten in a car,” I answered.

Taron chuckled and reached over, putting his hand on my lap. “I’m glad you were able to get a couple hours. You needed it.”

I nodded as another yawn escaped. “I guess so. How much longer?”

“About an hour,” Taron said, glancing at me. “I can’t wait. It’s been so long since I’ve seen the girls.”

I smiled at him as I took control over the stereo again. The last hour of the ride was spent singing and talking until I became too distracted by my surroundings to carry on. There was so much to see in Wales.

“I get why you talk about it so much,” I said finally. I forced myself to look at Taron. I could see the smile on his lips as he focused on the road.

I went back to singing along with the music as the drive came to an end. We parked in front of a house. I got out of the car, groaning as I stretched. Being cooped up in a car forever was not my favorite thing but it wasn’t the longest road trip I had ever taken.

As Taron came around the car and I could see the excitement radiating off of him. He pressed a kiss on my cheek before I heard the front door creek open.

Two young girls came bounding down the pathway and barreled straight into Taron, almost knocking him over as he wrapped his arms around them. I could hear kisses and giggles as I watched the three of them

“Rosie, Mari, I want you to meet somebody really important to me,” Taron said as he squatted down in front of the girls. “This is Rose.”

I heard shy greetings from the girls as they suddenly became bashful. “Hi cuties,” I said with a smile.

“You remember how I told you I was going to get married?” Taron asked. Rosie looked back at him while Mari stayed focused on me. Taron pulled Rosie close, his voice lowering to a whisper. “I’m going to marry her. Isn’t she pretty?” Rosie giggled and nodded.

“That means she’ll be our sister, right?” Mari asked, turning to face Taron.

“Sister-in-law,” I answered.

“Well hello.”

I turned as Tina came down the pathway now. I accepted a hug from her, smiling at the motherly embrace. That was something I missed. Taron stood up and hugged his mother, kissing her cheek.

“Hi, Mum.”

“About time the two of you made it up here.”

“Been a little busy,” Taron answered, laughing. “Evidently planning a wedding is time consuming.”

“Planning two is worse,” I countered. Taron shot me a little look and I grinned in response. “Your son’s idea.”

“Doesn’t surprise me,” Tina said. “He’s always been the hopeless romantic type. Come on, kids.”

I walked in with Tina, her arm over my shoulder as we talked weddings. I told her everything we had planned- flowers and décor, the china we had picked out and the color tie Taron would be wearing.

She leaned in close and whispered in my ear. “Does he have any clue about the dress?”

I shook my head rapidly. “Nope. I locked the photos and I’ve told him nothing.”

“I can hear you,” Taron announced from behind us as he put Rosie and Mari down.

“Good,” Tina answered with a smile. “You’re not to see her dress until the wedding day.”

Once we were inside, Tina went straight for the kitchen. She put a kettle on to boil water for tea as I stood there and continued to talk to her.

Mari came into the room and joined in, smiling at me all the while. “I can’t wait to have a new sister.”

I chuckled and walked over to her. She hugged me quickly and tightly, grinning the whole time.

“You kind of already are,” Tina said as she eyed her daughter.

Mari squeaked in delight before hugging me again and running from the room.

“They adore you,” Tina said as she pulled the whistling kettle from the stove. “Every time we end a  FaceTime call,  they rant and rave about how much they love you. So don’t let their timid act fool you.”

I laughed and nodded. I walked to the doorway that connected the kitchen to the living room and looked at Taron sitting there with his sisters. They were animated as they spoke, laughing and playing.

I couldn’t help but to smile as I watched Taron. I loved him more than I knew how to put into words. I was so ready for him to be my husband and to start a family with him.

He looked up and caught my eyes. He gave me a curious look before blowing me a kiss.

Tina snuck up behind me and followed my gaze to Taron. “He’s over the moon about you, Rose. I’ve never seen him light up the way he does around you.”

[gothicwidowsworld]

Taron Egerton #4

Dating Taron Egerton would include...

- Probably meeting him when he first moved to the island (around age 10).

- Tina loving you almost straight away, call it mothers intuition or whatever but she knew you were going to be special to her boy.

- Cuddles ALL the time, it was rare for Taron to keep his hands to himself.

- him calling you Cariad or tywysoges.

- starting to date in secondary school. He would have probably sent a note but of course English teacher Mr Francis reading it out infront of everyone... oh boy you'd never seen Taron go so red but it was cute.

- As teenagers having late nights out on the beach with your friends and some illegal beers. Even though you enjoyed a drink like most teenagers basically being the Mum and Dad of your friendship group.

- After Uni moving to London with him to start your lives together.

- Even though you now lived in the fast paced city you called home you would always make time to go back to where it all began and spend time with both your families.

- Helping Taron practice his lines alot, however if the scene was a tad steamy sometimes the script got ditched on the coffee table for another night.

- Getting invited to all his premieres because he couldn't imagine going without you.

- pda wasn't a massive part of your relationship but it didn't mean it wasn't loving. On red carpets the majority of pictures would have Taron whispering in your ear as you grinned like a mad woman.

- Basically acting like an old married couple so when Taron finally pops the question nobody's suprised.

[mavspeed]

Ok so idk if you’re really into this kind of stuff but I really like looking at people and seeing who takes after who, and I feel like with Taron he mostly looks like his mum? But maybe his nose is different idk, I saw a comment on IG that one of his sisters looks like him, but anyway How wonderful life is while a beautiful person like Taron is in the world! ❤️💚🖤💕💗💝🧡💙💞💖💛💜❣️💓💘🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

Actually I think both his sisters looked like him, they just had different aspects of him in their features. like if you look at those pictures of them posing for the camera the similarities are like 😳😳😳 tina has some strong genes lmao

[applesfallingfromblondehair]

What happen with his dad? I’m new and don’t know that story

His mum and dad got together really young, not sure if they were ever married (but somehow I assume they might have been). Tina was 23 when Taron was born? Something like that. Anyway David fucked off very early in the game and Tina brought him up all on her own. He has her surname and everything. From the very little there is online about him, David looks like a bit of a weird absent father with a huge ego who only hangs out with him when he can chase some clout—e.g. those Abbey Road pics. Idk he gives me weird vibes all round.

And Taron clearly has lived a charmed life riddled with attachment issues because of him 😬 And is apparently treating yet another project as grounds for therapy lol

[applesfallingfromblondehair]

I was reading taron article in attitude magazine and I kinda feel weird about it. I'm a psychology major in my 3rd year and him talking about his therapy kinda felt like conversion therapy in a way. Idk why it didn't sound good cause anxiety don't make you question your sexuality but question it might induce it. Was I the only one that felt that way, I'm exaggerating?

Oh honey I'm right 👏🏻 there 👏🏻 with 👏🏻 you 👏🏻

I've always always always felt miffed about that. I live in hope that Tina wouldn't do it to him, he worships his mum and she sounds like an intelligent enough woman to realise that conversion therapy isn't the way to go about dealing with your only son questioning his sexuality. That being said, it might not have been conversion therapy, just a (very) wrong therapist. As in, Tina might have had the best intentions by sending him to a specialist, but not have known any better regarding how to choose them.

Whichever way it might be: yes, my overarching theory is that some damage might have been done at that very early stage of him figuring himself out. That would explain so many things, unfortunately.

P.S.: do you know where I can find that Attitude interview? I used to have it bookmarked (like 3 years ago) but now I can't find it anymore, and I'd like to read it again. Thanks ❤️

[dreamingabouttaron]

History Repeating - Part 5

Warning - Teenage Pregnancy 

You take a moment to compose yourself and calm your nerves before taking one last glance at yourself in the mirror. You force a smile onto your face hoping that it would release some endorphins. You grab your converse and slide them on your feet before picking up your bag and slowly and cautiously walking down the stairs. You knew that you would have to face the backlash of your comments to your father at some point. You had unnecessarily snapped at him when he was trying to reassure you and make you feel loved.

As you reached the bottom of the stairs, you heard mutterings of voices out in the garden. You walked into the open planned kitchen and walked through the open bifold doors which lead out into the sunny garden. You watched Nelly sprinting around the garden with her ball. That brought a real smile to your face.

It was your mum who noticed your first, “Come to join us have you?” She said before sipping at her tea. You watched as your dad purposely didn’t turn to greet you. He continued to watch as the dog raced up and down the garden. You took a big breath before walking over to the seating area and sitting in one of the spare seats.

“Dad, I’m sorry.” You said as bravely as you could. This caused Taron to look at you coldly. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you. You were trying to make me feel better and I, in return, made you feel bad. Which I shouldn’t have done.”

“Look, Grace. I love you to pieces and I understand that your hormones are changing but I am still your father and you can’t talk to me like that.” You looked at the ground, a little line of ants caught your attention. Watching them meant you didn’t have to look at your father in the face.

“I know and I’m sorry.” You said, eyes still on the ground.

“Okay you two. We really need to get going now or else we are going to be late.” Your mum chimed in as she stood up from her seat.

You looked up and saw your father examining you. You pushed yourself up and walked over to your dad causing him to stand too. You wrapped your arms around his waist and held him close. “I love you dad.” You said quietly, you weren’t even sure if it was loud enough for him to hear which meant it caught you by surprise when he returned the love.

—

The walk to your grandparents didn’t take long at all. You only lived a few streets away from each other. Living so close had always been such a privilege as you had spent so much time with Rosie and Mari as you grew up. Having Aunts’ a similar age to you had always been strange but it also meant you were ridiculously close. It was probably their reaction you were most anxious for.

As you approached the front door, you felt your heart race with anticipation. You watched as your dad knocked on the door and let himself in. You followed in slowly with your mum close behind. You heard a rumble of voices coming from the garden, as a family you all walked outside to greet everyone. Smiles and hugs were exchanged as everyone greeted each other again. Guy’s children were also there with their young children, which you hadn’t expected to see. The smell of a classic BBQ was wafting in the air, which didn’t help with the queasiness of anxiety you already had.

It didn’t take long for everyone to settle down and the conversation to start flowing. You were chatting to Rosie and Mari about their university applications and things going on in their friendship group. You smiled, listened and stayed quiet for the majority of it, only speaking when you were asked a question. Your eyes glanced over to your father who was chatting away with his mother. You knew you would have to break the news at some point. Taron felt eyes burning on him and looked over to you and nodded slightly in reassurance. You nodded back, knowing what he was aiming at. It was time.

“Can I get everyone attention for a moment?” Taron announced, his eyes still on you trying to make you feel safe. But, it wasn’t helping. You felt the blood rush to your cheeks in despair. Everyone fell silent and looked at Taron. All waiting to see what news he was going to break.

The world around you felt dizzy, but you found your mouth moving and making sounds without you even being aware. “I have some news.” Everyones eyes switched from Taron towards you.

“So.. I’m.. I..Um... I’m pregnant.” Your eyes never left your fathers. You felt that if your eyes broke contact, you would be exposed to the shock and shame that everyone felt around you.

“Wait.. What?” Rosie pipped up. “This is a joke right?” She asked with a slightly giggle in her voice.

You shook your head, “It’s not a joke.” You felt everyones eyes burn into you.

“Really?” Guy asked in shock, turning to look at Taron. He broke eye contact and looked over at Guy and smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I’m going to be a grandfather. You’re going to be great-grandparents!”

The loss of your safety net of your fathers eyes meant you had to look around and view everyones expressions. “Yep.” You swallowed a lump in your throat but struggled because your mouth was so dry. “I’m going to have a baby.” You placed a hand carelessly on your stomach to accentuate your point.

“Oh shit.” You heard Mari mutter under her breath, only making you sweat more. You didn’t want to know what was going through her head.

The person who looked shocked the most was Tina. “How far along are you?” She asked with a croak in her voice. Her thoughts and feeling were written all over her face.

“Um, I have a.. uh…” You picked up your bag and pulled out an ultrasound picture you packed. You held it up and positioned it in her direction.

“Wow! Congratulations!” You heard Guy’s daughter Sophie reply before getting up and pulling you into a hug. She could clearly sense your anxiety. The human contact made you want to burst into tears. You felt like you could cut the tension with a knife. You hated it. But you knew you had to rip the bandaid off and tell everyone. Sooner rather than later.

“Who’s the father?” Mari asked rather loudly.

“It wasn’t planned…” You say trying to defend yourself.

“You don’t need to explain to us; we’re your family and we’re here to support you.” Guy said as he stood up and hugged you too. You watched Guy stand up and congratulate your parents. This made your eyes rejoin with Tinas’. She looked so disappointed in you.

You built up the courage and walked over to her, as everyone slowly started to converse again. You sat down in your fathers seat which was now empty and turned to look at your grandmother. “I know you’re disappointed.” You announce quietly.

“Gracie, I’m not disappointed.” She says with slight tears in her eyes. “I just know how hard it’s going to be.” You felt tears burning in your eyes listening to her. “It was hard for me when I had Taron, and you know how hard it was for your parents. You know that we are going to be here for you no matter what though. I promise you Gracie. Look around, look at this wonderful loving family that we have. We are all here to support you.” Tina took your hand in hers. “We love you, and this new little one.” You hadn’t noticed your dad coming back over until he placed his hand on your arm.

“It’s true Gracie, we love you and this baby.” You instantly felt yourself calm at your grandmother and father words.

“But I’m certainly not going to be called grand-grandmother! I’m not old enough for that yet!” She said trying to lighten the mood which brought a slight smile to your face.

You looked around at your large crazy family and knew that everything would be okay. Because you had them!

Tag list - @writingformany @sarahegerton96

[dreamingabouttaron]

The Assistant Part 30

It had been a long cold wet winters day, you were currently wrapped up tightly under the bed covers reading a book, in an attempt to keep yourself warm before you drifted off into a deep sleep. Taron had just finished up some last minute emails before he joined you up in the bedroom. You watched him, as you peered over the edge of your book, as he waltzes around the bedroom effortlessly getting changed for bed. He hadn’t said a word since he stepped in the room.

Truth be told he had been quiet for most of the evening, not making too much conversation only small talk here and there. At first, you didn’t think much of it; you knew he was busy with work so he had lots on him mind. Yet now, as he gracefully got ready for bed, you could tell he was all in his head about something.

You closed your book, placing it in your lap as Taron pulled back the bed covers and carefully climbing into bed next to you. Once he was settled in, you shifted your body so that you were facing him. You could see the wrinkles appear on his forehead, you could see he had a lot going through his mind. Taron leant his head on your chest to listen to your heartbeat. The rhythmic beats sending relaxing signals to his mind and body. After a while he leaned up on his elbow to look at you. He stared at your lips as to silently asking for permission. You gave him a small nod and smiled at him. He leaned down to kiss you and hummed in content feeling your lips against his. After needing air, he pulled away with a sly smile. He looked at you with a beautiful smile on his face the only issue was it didn’t quite meet his eyes.

“Are you okay? You seem quiet.” You say gently, trying to test the waters.

“Yeah… yeah. I’m… fine.” He stuttered, no matter how good his acting was, you knew him and he wasn’t convincing you.

“Okay, spill it.”

“Spill what?” he asked innocently as he could.

“You have been quiet all evening. I thought maybe it was because you had so much work to do but even now I can tell something is wrong.”

“It’s nothing, beautiful.” He places his hand over yours to try and convince you too let it go, however you just looked at him and raised your eyebrow as if to say ‘really’. Staring him down until he cracked.

“Okay, okay it’s something. I have something to ask you.”

“Okay, now I’m worried.” You reply starting to feel restless at his words.

He clutches you hand a little harder, “No it’s nothing to worry about, it also no pressure.”

“Okay.” You drag out the word a little waiting for him to continue, getting more nervous at the second.

“You know I love you right?” You nod straight away, of course, you knew.

“Remember you can say no.” You nod again in understanding. “I was wondering if maybe you’d… only if you want to of course… Be my date to the Golden Globes? I want the world to know I’m taken, that you are mine and I’m yours.”

You were stunned, out of all the things there were going through your mind it’s safe to say that wasn’t one of them. You’d be lying if you didn’t want the same thing, let the world know how much you loved this man who was laying in front of you.

“Wow.” Was all you could manage to say.

“I mean you don’t have to be my date. We could go separately and meet there. I just want you to be there with me. O-or, you know if you aren’t ready yet, I-I completely understand, there’s no pressure at all.” You could see the anxiety take over him; he always did start to ramble when he got a bit nervous.

You push the covers off the both of you carefully placing your book on your bedside table. Turning to Taron before he could say another word, you throw one of your legs over his thigh so you were sitting comfortably in his lap. He instantly runs his hands up your legs, over your hips round to just above your ass, pulling you closer to him. You see his anxiety starting to fade away just a little. Placing both of your hand on either side of his head, tipping his head up to look at you before running your hand through his hair to the nape of his neck pulling it a little causing him to groan.

“Taron. Of course, I want to be the girl that’s there by your side. Just tell me how and when. I want to be there for you and it’s about time you let me.” You pause for a second letting out a chuckle trying to lighten the mood a little and get him to relax. It doesn’t work you feel his entire body tense underneath you. “I would love nothing more than to be your date Mr Egerton.” You tell him. Instantly a smile forms beneath your hand so you move its way. You feel his body relax again.

“Really?” He asked. His voice is so quiet you barely hear him. You nod, causing his smile to grow even more. His hand grips the base of your neck pulling you him as his places his lips over yours kissing you, once, twice, three times, before saying, “You know for a second there I thought you were going to say no.” He places another quick kiss to your lips before his hand returns to your lower back. “For once I am looking forward to one of these things. Mainly because you’ll be standing next to me looking all beautiful, letting the world know that you’re mine and I’m yours.” Taron muttered against your lips.

“You’re such an idiot you know that, right?” You chuckle.

“Uh-huh, but I’m your idiot.”

“Yes.” You run your hands through his hair. “Yes, you are.”

You let your head fall forward onto his chest with a huff, extracting your hands so that you could wrap your arms around his slender waist. You breathed him in slowly, closing your eyes as you did your best to leech every bit of calming and concerned energy he radiated.

His large hands rubbed soothing circles over your back, working out some of the tension that you had been carrying with you all day. He dropped his head to leave a soft kiss on the top of your head.

“I love you Megan.”

***

“I feel like I’m going fall over my feet in these shoes and break a bone right in front of everyone,” You looked down at your feet and back up at Taron who looked at you with amusement, he could tell you were getting yourself worked up and stressed.

Taron moves closer to you and snakes both his arms around your waist, “Well, I think you look beautiful. Broken bones or not.” You feel your cheeks grow rosey at his words. “I can’t wait to show you off. The future Mrs Egerton,” He says as he looks down at the silver ring on your finger before bringing it up to his lips to kiss lightly.

“And, what makes you think she’s going to take your name?” You heard Tina call from the corner of the room as she walks over to check her son out. You try to keep a straight face but a smile starts tugging at your lips. Taron leans forward and places a gentle kiss on your lips before he pulls his mum into a warm hug.

You watch as Mari and Rosie come rushing into the room all dressed up. Your heart melted as you watched Taron interact with his sisters. This really was going to be an evening to remember. Everything felt so special.

As you arrived at the red carpet. The cameras were blinding. Absolutely blinding. Like nothing you had ever experienced before. “I think I might be blind after this, how do you stand these lights?” You whisper to Taron as you walk down the red carpet, stopping every so often to pose. It felt awfully unnatural to you, and you felt like maybe the photographers would have preferred if you weren’t there. You partly wished you had walked straight in with the rest of the family, but Taron wanted you there, next to him. You couldn’t help but notice the warm proud smile he had plastered on his face as he held you close.

As you near the entry of the enormous auditorium the two of you stopped just once more. The flashes seem to be coming from every direction. People called Taron’s name loudly, all wanting his picture before the event. And that’s when Taron did something that made everyone roar with excitement. He leant in towards you and gives you a soft kiss on the lips. He hovered over your lips for a few seconds, nearly as if he wanted every photographer to have time to take a photo of you two. Taron wanted everyone to know that he was yours and you were his.

You sat next to Taron in a large ballroom, surrounded by hundreds of people as they announced the nominees for one of the final awards of the night. Every time he shifted, he sparkled, blinding and beautiful. The room filled with cheers as Taron’s name was announced. Your heart was pumping out of your chest, Taron had won. Taron had won a bloody Golden Globe. The whole table was cheering and celebrating. You could see the surprise in his eyes that were wide and filling up with tears, happy ones. He hadn’t thought he would win, he had told you that several times after finding out he was nominated. But you had assured him and nobody stood a chance this year, not after his heartfelt performance in Rocketman. Taron stumbled to his feet and dragged you up with him. He gave you such a hug you thought he’d never let you go. “I love you so much.” You whispered in his ear before you pulled away. You were so proud of him. You look up at him with starry eyes and nudged him forward towards the stage.

Taron was nearly out of breath when he got up on stage. His mouth was in a wide grin, his eyes crinkled. “Wow, I really wish I had written something…” He looks out in the crowd, looking for your face but you’re far away and he can’t locate you. “I am so honoured to be nominated alongside a bunch of legitimate icons….” One of his hands is holding up the golden miniature stature and the other hand is over his heart. Your heart felt like it was going to burst as you watch the man you loved more than anything in the world up there on that stage accepting this award.

He looked so happy, there were only a few times you’d seen the joy that was now displayed on his face. One of those times was when you said yes to his marriage proposal a few months back.

He continued, “I’d also like to thank my fiancé. The love of my life. I love you. Also, my mother is in here somewhere! This one’s for you mam!” Tears start to form in your eyes as you scan the room in search of Tina and the rest of the family. You couldn’t imagine the pride that Tina must be feeling as she watches her son up there.

When the award ceremony was over, it was time for the much talked about after party. Taron was walking close beside you, one  hand on the small of your back whilst the other held tightly onto Tina’s hand. You walked hand in hand with Mari and Rosie, keeping them close. You looked at the family around you and your heart exploded. You couldn’t believe your luck.

The beginning of your relationship had been rocky. You had experienced your fair share of ups and downs. But from the first moment Taron met you, he was transfixed. Absolutely head over heels. It didn't take too long before you fell madly in love with him. Taron had said it hundreds of times that that was his greatest achievement, making you fall in love with him. You always blushed like mad when he said it. But it was true. You both couldn’t be happier. He was your rock, your world and this was just the beginning.

Tag list - 

@primaba11erina @hitmeonmytspot @fuseburner @autumnslovex @huathmoon94 @y0ungandfuckingdumb @tiffleen

----------

So, several months and 70,707 words later. We have finished. I can not thank everyone enough. I didn’t think I would write 15 chapters let alone 30! I can’t believe it has come to an end. Thank you for all your love and support, you have no idea how much it means to me. 

I am going to open my requests, if you would like me to write anything I would love to hear it! 

All the best xx

[dreamingabouttaron]

The Assistant Part 24

A few months after the madness of Kingsman, you and Taron had been back in London alternating between both of your homes. Christmas had come and gone and you had both perfectly fit into each others schedules. You savoured every second you got to spend with each other. You had both kept your relationship rather private, only close friends and family knew. Keeping things on the down low was something both you and Taron had initially wanted.

A few weeks ago you had taken Taron back home to meet your parents and siblings. It was actually Taron who initially brought it up. At first you were hesitant about it but ended up agreeing to it. You had spent a long weekend catching up with your parents and showing Taron where you had grown up. He had fit in perfectly. You had only brought a handful of people to meet your family before but none of them had gone as smoothly as they had with Taron. They loved him and he loved them.

***

You looked over at Taron who was driving. He looked sleepy. You had been on the road for most of the day but you were almost in Aberystwyth. You had left first thing in the morning, you had offered to drive half way and then Taron was going to drive the last half.

Earlier that day, whilst you were driving your leg kept bouncing and you kept tapping the steering wheel like crazy. Taron had put his hand on your bouncy leg hoping to calm you down. When you felt Taron’s hand on your thigh, you turned your head to look at him. “I don’t think you’ve stopped bouncing your leg, or even breathed, since we got in the car.”

“You’re being dramatic,” you retort, trying to play it off, but he was right. He knew it, too, by the glare he sent your way. “It’s been a long time since I met someone’s family, T. I’m a little rusty,” you joke dryly, creating a laugh from Taron.

You quickly glance over at him, his demeanor had become more serious. “You have nothing to worry about, Megan. I wouldn’t make you do anything I thought was going to go any way but perfect.”

***

You were now sat in the passenger seat of the car, watching the fields fly by as you brought yourself out of your thoughts. “We’re only 5 minutes away.” Taron announced, his eyes stuck on the road ahead. As much as you enjoyed the new landscape, you were also looking forward to getting out and stretching your legs.

You took a deep breath and steadied your excitement that mixed perfectly with your nerves. You had met Tina, Taron’s mum, before but you were finally going to meet the rest of his family. You smiled to yourself when you realised this was how Taron must have felt when he met your family.

You looked out the window as you drove along the seafront, the winter sun was shining over the rough water as it crashed up and over the rocks. You watched families walk with their dogs along the beach, avoiding the waves. It brought a smile to your face. You could see why Taron was so attached to this place.

It wasn’t long before you pulled up outside a house. You took it in and smiled. You could see two little girls waving from the window. You turned to Taron and pointed it out to him. He laughed to himself and waved enthusiastically at them. You watched them run off. You giggled at the sight.

“Ready?” He asked as he flashed you a smile. He leaned over to kiss your cheek, you felt your shoulders drop a bit.

You nodded, “More than ready.” You leant forward and pressed a quick kiss on Taron’s lips before you both left the car. You walked to the boot of the car and retrieved your bags as Taron walked up to the front door which was quickly opened by Tina and the two girls. You watched Taron hug his mum and both his sisters warmly. You walked over and greeted Tina who welcomed you into a loving hug. She invited you inside. As you entered you noticed the pictures of the family that hung neatly on the walls. You loved how normal it felt. You knew that sounded stupid but you had hyped it up in your head. You knew you were no different to them.

“How was your journey?” Tina asked as she ushered you into the living room. You followed closely behind, leaving Taron with his sisters for a moment.

“It wasn’t too bad actually. I think we missed the Friday night traffic.” You made yourself comfortable on the sofa next to Tina. You could hear the squeals of the girls playing with Taron in the other room. Their screams getting louder and louder.

“Tan! Come on! Stop winding them up!” Tina called out. Taron walked into the room with both of the girls dangling in his arms. They were kicking and screaming but also laughing at the same time. You hated to admit it, but seeing Taron with his sisters temporarily made your ovaries explode. Taron placed his sisters back down and then sat on the sofa with them on his lap.

“Mari, Rosie. This is Megan.” Taron introduced you to them. You watched them look at you questioningly.

“It’s lovely to meet you both. I’ve heard a lot about you. Taron doesn’t stop talking about you.” You knew the girls were young but you wanted them to trust and like you.

You spent the rest of the evening talking and catching up on everything that had happened over the last few weeks. The girls were slowly starting to come around to you. They started to play with your hair as they distracted themselves from the boring adult conversation.

“When does Guy get home?” Taron asked.

“He should be home soon. We were thinking about getting a takeaway, if that’s alright with you.”

“Yes, of course.” You and Taron both replied over the top of each other.

As you sat on the couch, listening to Taron go back and forth with his siblings, you actually felt relaxed, far better than how you felt on the way there. You heard the door open and close, “Hello. I’m home.” The girls jumped up and ran out to the room towards their dad. Taron smiled at you informing you of how well you were doing.

A gentleman walked into the room and smiled warmly at you. “Hello Megan. I’m Guy. It’s nice to meet you.” You stood up and greeted him with a hug.

“It’s wonderful to finally meet you. Thank you for welcoming me into your home.”

“Oh don’t be silly. You’re more than welcome. Our home is always open.”

The evening began to quickly draw in. You all sat down and ate at the table once the food arrived. Once you finished eating you retreated back to the living room where you played a number of different games before the girls got taken up to bed.

You spent the rest of the evening talking with Guy and Tina. They made you feel incredibly welcome and you couldn’t thank them enough. When it got late you followed Taron up the stairs to his old bedroom. The room was small, the walls were painted blue and the furniture all looked worn. You placed yourself on the bed and looked around as Taron unzipped the bag you had brought with you. Your eyes flickered over the pictures he had around the room. Pictures of him and his friends and family. You got off the bed and walked over to them to get a better look. Your eyes scanned all the old pictures of Taron. He came up behind you and snaked his arms around your waist looking at the pictures with you. He pointed out who was who in each picture. It was nice to place a face with names that you had heard. You then got yourselves ready for bed and climbed into the small bed, falling asleep in each others arms.

The next day you went out with Taron and his family. They showed you around Aberystwyth. It truly was a special place. Taron just lit up when he was here. This was his home. It made you feel special knowing he wanted to share this with you. In the evening, you went out to a local restaurant. The food was amazing. After you finished the meal, you and Taron went to the local pub to meet his friends. You didn’t know what to expect but they were just as lovely as everyone else was. They warmly welcomed you into their group. The drinks were freely flowing but you paced yourself. You didn’t want to embarrass yourself in front of them or Taron’s family. 

Taron on the other hand, downed a mixture of different drinks that were handed to him. When it was time for the pub too close, you helped Taron back home. You were thankful you took a mental note of the name of the road the family lived on. You fished Taron’s keys out of his pocket and let yourself in. You helped Taron upstairs and then quietly tip toed downstairs to get some toast and water for him.

Taron gladly accepted and devoured both items. You tucked Taron into bed as you got yourself dressed in your pyjamas. His breathing became heavy. You watched him from a distance before you rolled your eyes at him. In the dark, you fumbled around and found your wash bag. Picking it up, you left the room and headed down the corridor towards the bathroom. You had just finished taking your make up off and brushing your teeth when the bathroom door opened to reveal a green looking Taron.

“I think I’m going to be sick.” Taron stumbled into the bathroom and sat down on the floor beside the toilet.

“Oh god, T!” You sat next to him and rubbed his back. He looked pale and fragile. You didn’t know how long you were sat there with him for, but you wanted to make sure he got everything out of his system. After a while he finally began to feel better. You heard a little knock on the bathroom door behind you. You got up and opened it slightly, peeping your head out. You saw Tina on the other side.

“Is everything okay?” She asked with bleary eyes. You opened the door further for her to see her son collapsed over the toilet. She tutted and shook her head. “Oh Tan..” She hissed under her breath.

“It’s okay, you go back to bed. I’ve got him.” You insisted.

“I’ll put some water and a bucket in his room for you, just in case.”

“Thank you.” You whispered before turning your attention back to the sleepy Taron. “I think we should get you to bed.” You muttered to Taron as you woke him from his slumber to help him back to bed. You and Tina got him tucked up in bed. Tina thanked you before she left you alone with Taron. You carefully climbed into bed next to him trying not to disturb him. It didn’t take you too long to fall asleep.

The next morning you woke early. Taron was still fast asleep. You could hear voices downstairs. You carefully crawled out of bed and wandered down to greet everyone. You walked into the kitchen to find Tina slaving away making pancakes whilst Guy made tea and the girls sat at the table waiting.

“Good morning.” You say as you join the girls at the table.

“Good morning.” They all chime back at you.

“How did you sleep?” Tina asked as she started to dish up breakfast.

You smiled at her and nodded, “Not too badly thank you. Taron’s still asleep.”

“Of course, he is.” Guy laughed, obviously referring to the situation last night.

“I’ll save him some food.” Tina said as she placed some breakfast aside for him.

You sat with the family and ate your breakfast. You felt more and more at home with them. Tina has asked if you and Taron would say in and watch the girls whilst she and Guy went food shopping for that evening. Tina had planned to cook a roast dinner for all the family.

You were sat in front of the TV with the girls when Taron finally came downstairs. He looked rough and grumpy. You could hear Tina giving him a hard time in the kitchen. You wanted to listen in but you knew you should respect their privacy. A few moments later, Taron came into the living room with a coffee and food in his hands. His sisters jumped in glee when they saw their brother again. He held his head and groaned at their loud squealing voices. You couldn’t help but giggle to yourself.

“How about we put a film on?” You encouraged the girls, you hoped it would keep them quiet and occupied whilst Taron recovered from his hangover.

You watched as the girls fawned over their DVD’s as they decided what to watch. It didn’t take them too long to decide on a film. Beauty and the Beast. They handed it over to you and you put the film on for them. You sat on the sofa next to Taron and pulled the blanket from the arm of the sofa onto your laps. Taron finished eating his food and cuddled in close to you.

A few hours later, you wake up to realise that you and Taron had both fallen asleep whilst watching the film. He looked over at you, gives you a quick smile and chuckles a little and then pulls you in closer and places a gentle kiss on your forehead. At that moment time stands still and all the world is perfect. As much as you loved and wanted him to kiss you on the lips there’s something about how he kissed your forehead that made you feel so safe and loved.

You looked around the room to see that both of the girls had fallen asleep too. You picked up your phone and looked at the time. Time was getting on. You placed your phone back down and sat up and stretched. You heard the sound of a car pulling up outside the house. You glanced outside the window to see Tina and Guy both carrying bags of shopping. You walked to the front door and let them in. You helped them unpack their shopping as the rest of the family continued napped. Once you finished unpacking, you made Guy and Tina a hot drink and then proceeded to help them with the prep for dinner. About an hour later, Taron trailed into the room to help too.

At around 3 in the afternoon, the rest of Taron’s family arrived. You were introduced to Tina’s sister and her family and Guy’s children that were of a similar age to you and Taron. It was a full house and you felt slightly anxious about meeting all these new faces. You had just made yourself at home with the core family and now you had to win everyone else over.

Everybody was being civil and seemed genuinely interested in what you did for a living. You loved how close all of Taron’s family was. You could see why he missed being home so much. Everyone gushed over the stories Taron shared.

Once dinner was eaten, you helped clear the table and offered to help with the dishes. You encouraged Taron to go join the others in the living room. He gave you a small kiss and left the kitchen leaving you with his mum and aunt. You could hear Taron’s rich booming voice in the living room, you couldn’t help but smile. He made you feel so happy. He made you feel emotions that nobody else had made you feel. You loved this man.

A few hours later, the evening started to draw in and everyone slowly started to say their goodbyes. Taron had asked if you wanted to go for an evening walk along the beach. An offer you couldn’t refuse. You wanted to get some fresh air.

You follow Taron out of the house. You wrap your arm around his waist, holding him close but also using his warmth. You walked and talked for a while before you reached the water front that you had passed when you arrived. You followed Taron down onto the pebbles and found a private spot for you to sit. Taron sat down first and opened his legs inviting you to sit between them. You obliged and squeezed in. His strong protective arms wrapping around you. You watched the waves crash back and forth, occasionally getting splashes of water upon yourselves. Watching the water was calming. It made you feel grounded.

“Megan..” Taron said breaking the silence.

“Mhh…” You replied still focusing on the water.

“I have a question I’d like to ask you.” You held your breath and froze. Taron kissed the side of your head and squeezed you tight. “I’ve loved having you here with me. I love spending every second with you and I don’t want us to go back to London and not have our own space to make our own. To grow and make new memories in. So, how would you feel if we moved in together? I know we’ve only been together for just under a year but I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So let’s take this next step. And let’s do this officially, not just moving in to one of our places, but actually going and getting our own place together.”

You melted into Taron’s arms as you felt tears building in your eyes. You didn’t think you could feel any happier. You turned in Taron’s arms, his face looked anxious as he waited for a response.

“I would love to move in with you.” Taron’s face dropped its tension. He leant forward and placed a loving kiss on your lips. You couldn’t wait for this next chapter in your lives together.

Tag List - 

@primaba11erina @hitmeonmytspot @huathmoon94 @tiffleen @y0ungandfuckingdumb @fuseburner @autumnslovex

Thank you everyone for your love and support! I would really appreciate any feedback! I have written the next few parts and I have almost completed this story but if you have any ideas, please do let me know! Have a wonderful week x

[writingformadderton]

The Book of You and I

Ship: Madderton

Word Count: 5449

Summary: Richard and Taron are a happy couple, hiding their relationship from the public. On their way home from a date they talk about coming out. They get involved into a car crash that will change everything overnight. Both of them have to go through their own trauma, but only one of them remembers everything...

Additional Tags: fluff, date, car crash, mention of blood, saying goodbye, memory loss, panic attack, friendship, Bodyguard, Rocketman

This here is the birthday request by @grungy-shirt I hope you like it :) - Nati

Part 2

Taron has his fingers tightly interlocked with Richard’s and smiles up to him. They just had a lovely dinner together at their favorite restaurant and are walking back to Richard’s car. The night is warm and the street lamps just turned on. Almost picture perfect. “Thank you.” he says.

“Oh that was nothing.” Rich says and smiles at him, fumbling in his pocket for his car keys. “Are you free tomorrow?”

“For you always, stunning.” Taron chuckles and stands up on his toes, kissing his cheek as Richard opens the car door for him. Taron wraps his arms around his waist and looks up to him with a big smile. “I love you so much.” he connects their lips to a sweet kiss and feels Rich fondling over his hair lovingly.

“I love you too.” Rich says smiling.

“Wanna stay the night? I’d love to have you close to me tonight.” he wiggles his eyebrows and giggles at Richard’s nod.

Richard just grins and closes the door behind him. He gets in on his side and buckles up before starting the car. “I think it’ll be good weather tomorrow. We could enjoy the sun a bit.”

“That sounds good.” T leans back in the seat and looks at Richard smiling.

“What?” he asks and focuses back on the road.

“I just love it when you drive, feels safe.” Taron mumbles and watches him adoringly. “I love you, Richie.” he says and doesn’t care about the fact that he told him that a few minutes ago.

“I love you too.” he says and smiles shortly at him.

“When exactly will we tell the public we’re actually a thing?” T asks and scratches his neck. “I mean we can’t hide it anymore and I don’t want to. I wanna spend my life with you and grow old with you.” He yawns a bit and looks over at his boyfriend. “And I don’t care if there are people that don’t like it, because you mean everything to me and I’ll never leave you.”

Rich smiles softly at his words. “We can announce it whenever you want.”

“How’s about when you win awards for bodyguard?” T teases him.

“It’s not even finished and you’re already thinking - Fuck.” Rich sees the woman crossing the street almost too late and pushes the brakes. Realizing that won’t be enough, he pulls the steering wheel right and they crash into a wall with the front of the car. Richard hears a loud bang and sees Taron’s head hitting the dashboard. He rubs his face and tries to push away the shock in his body to help his boyfriend.

Taron moans loudly as he pulls back a bit and holds his head. “Fuck.” he presses out and groans in pain. The pain in his head is excruciating and he carefully takes his hand away, feeling something wet. His hand is covered in blood and nausea takes over his body. He leans forward and retches. “Richie?” he whimpers in pain.

Richard turns at the sound of his name and sees how pale Taron becomes. His face is covered in blood and there’s a nasty wound on his forehead. “Fuck, T, are you okay?” His boyfriend wretches and throws up all over himself, coughing. Richard tries to open his own seat belt and succeeds after the fifth try. He leans over to Taron and rubs his back smoothly. "It’s okay. We’ll get you in a hospital.” he assures him and Taron braces himself, holding his pounding head and moaning loudly.

“I-I don’t think I can make it.” he groans and leans forward a bit. He never felt so much pain in one area and tears begin to well up in his eyes. “Fuck it hurts so much.” he groans and pushes himself up as he realizes he will pass out soon. Looking at Richard, maybe for the last time, he smiles weakly. “I love you forever, okay?”

Taron rolls his eyes and goes unconscious. Richard curses loudly and moves to get out. He tries to open the door, but it doesn’t work. “No, no, no.” he whines and tries again, throwing his body weight against it. He looks back at Taron. His white shirt is covered in blood now. Richard needs to get him out of here. He throws himself against the door over and over again until the door opens. Rich stumbles outside and rushes onto Taron’s side. He opens the door and unlocks his seat belt. Pulling him out of the car isn’t exactly easy when he doesn’t have any help. He tries his best.

The woman he nearly ran over suddenly appears next to him and helps him to get Taron outside. “Oh my god I am so sorry. I didn’t see the red light.” she apologizes and Richard can smell alcohol. “I called an ambulance. Is your friend okay?”

“No he’s not.” Obviously, Rich curses to himself. He holds Taron close feeling panic rising rapidly in his body. There was nothing more he wished for now than them working on set and the director screaming cut as soon as the ambulance rolled onto the scene. But there is no cut and no scene to be acted. It’s real life and consequences are ahead.

***

Later at the hospital, a nurse checks on him and asks him if anything hurts. Richard only shakes his head and takes the bottle of water thankfully. She brings him into the private room they’ll bring Taron into later and recommends him to get some rest.

But the shock and anxiety in his body are pulsing too rapidly to rest, so he paces the room and only sits down when exhaustion hits him.

After what felt like a week, but was only an hour, a nurse brings Taron in, lying on a bed. He’s sound asleep and his head is wrapped with gauze, the blood on his face gone. As soon as the nurse disappears, Richard leans down to him and places a kiss on his head. “I’m so sorry, bubs. I never wanted you to get hurt.” he whispers and fondles over his hair. He grabs his cold hand and strokes over his bruised knuckles.

After a while, he calls a taxi and heads home. He steps into the bathroom and sees his trousers and shirt that are covered in Taron’s blood. He has some leftover on his hands as well and he quickly turns on the water in the sink. He makes it hot and rubs his hands clean in quick movements. His sight starts to blur as he feels tears burning in his eyes. “Fuck!” he slams the soap into the sink and runs his wet hands through his curls shaking. “Why not me? Why Taron? Oh for fucks sake!” he curses and tries to take deep breaths. But it doesn’t take long for him to crouch down onto the floor and break down.

The love of his life was lying in a hospital bed and his fate unknown? What was Rich to do? What could he do? He racks his brain until exhaustion hits and he sighs. He forces himself up to take a shower and throw the bloody clothes in a bag so they can be washed apart from the other clothes. He slides into bed and tries his best to get some rest.

***

The next day, he cleans his apartment up and prepares the sofa for T. He would take him home as soon as he could and take care of him. Taron would probably tell him he’s okay and go to his own apartment, but Rich wouldn’t let that happen.

He had to take care of him. He was the one who got him into this predicament in the first place. His conscious just couldn’t let Taron recover on his own. He takes one final look at things and grabs his phone and keys. He leaves his place and heads out to start his day.

***

Some time later, he walks into the hospital and carefully opens the door to Taron’s room. Seeing Taron is awake, he feels relief swapping over him and he lets out a deep breath. “Hey, how are you?” he asks and walks over to him. He leans down, places a kiss onto his hair and fondles his cheek. “I’m so glad you’re okay, baby.”

“Who are you?” Taron asks confused and pushes him away.

“What?” Richard raises his eyebrows and takes a step back. “Come on, that’s not funny.” he chuckles weakly.

“I’m not joking.” T says firmly and watches him observantly.

“When is your birthday?” he asks. Taron shrugs his shoulders. “What’s your favorite food?” another shrug. “The name of your mum is Maria.”

“Okay?” T says confused.

“No, it’s Tina.” Rich says and feels fear creeping up in him. “Taron, this is not funny.”

“I’m not making fun of you. How would I know who you are if I don’t know who I am?” he asks a bit annoyed and looks out of the window. Who the hell was this guy and why was he asking him all these questions?

“You really don’t remember anything?” he asks and falls down onto the seat next to the bed heavily.

“Nothing.” he says and it scares him a bit. Anyone could walk in and tell him anything. Doesn’t mean it’s true. He needed answers. He pushes the button for the nurse.

She comes inside and greets the stranger friendly. “Oh Mr. Madden, how are you feeling?”

“I’m okay.” he barely gets out and looks at Taron still a bit startled.

“So, Taron, how are you feeling? Is everything alright? How is your head?” she asks and puts a water bottle and some pills on the bedside table.

“I’m fine.” T says and looks down at his knees. “Miss, do I know him?”

Richard’s heart breaks a little at the question and he bites his lower lip. This was worse than he could have ever imagined. Looking at Taron, he sees he isn’t mocking him. T looked horrified, confused and hurt. He just wants to wrap him up in a blanket and take him home, but now he doesn’t know if that will be even possible.

“Yes, you do. Richard is your boyfriend.” she says softly, looking at Richard shortly who told her yesterday when she asked him how he was related to T.

“My - what?” Taron’s eyes widen and he looks at her shocked. I had a boyfriend? Since when?

“I know it is all very confusing at the moment. Taron you had a bad accident yesterday and you hit your head really hard. You’re suffering from retrograde amnesia, which means you’ve forgotten a lot from your life before the accident.”

“Will I ever remember it again?” Taron asks timidly. It was all too much at one time.

“I can’t assure you that at the moment. But a few things will come back to you. Sometimes when you go to places you used to love, the familiarity comes back.” she suggests and smiles reassuringly.

“Oh yeah. And how am I supposed to remember those places?!” he asks pissed. “But thanks for the advice, I’ll take a tour around the world and see what comes back to me!”

“Don’t be so harsh. She’s trying to help.” Richard says and watches his upset boyfriend.

“I don’t know you, so don’t tell me what to do.” Taron says harshly and Rich swallows hard. He huffs out air from his mouth and looks out of the window. “I wanna be alone.” neither Richard nor the nurse move for a moment. “Please!”

Richard gives in and gets up, walking out quickly. The nurse closes the door and smiles at him compassionate. “I’m sorry. I would have warned you if I had seen you before you went inside.”

Rich just nods slowly and folds his arms in front of his chest. “This is permanent, doctor?” he asks and swallows hard.

“I fear it is. He will have to start all over. At this rate, I’m afraid he won’t let you help him.” she says slowly.

“So I lost my boyfriend in that accident?” he asks and bites his lower lip nervously.

“I’m sorry.” she says low voiced.

“Not your fault.” he says and sits down on one of the seats in the corridor. He looks down at the floor and his thoughts race. Did he really lose Taron yesterday? His one and only, his sweet cuddly love? His throat gets tight and he feels tears burning in his eyes. He thinks back to how Taron wanted to tell the public that they were a couple, how he talked about their future with big, shining eyes. The way he said he feels safe when he’s driving, only to get into a car crash not even two minutes later. The tears roll down his face and he sniffs knowing he needs to calm down.

***

“Ehm, hey. She said you can bring me home.” A soft voice speaks and gently nudges Rich.

Richard opens his eyes and sees Taron’s sneakers in front of him. He looks up and meets his favorite pair of eyes. “Yea? That’s good to hear.”

“You’re crying?” T asks and raises his eyebrows.

“Allergic.” he mumbles and wipes his cheeks clean.

“Inside?” Taron’s voice sounds a bit shocked and he tilts his head in both directions. “To what?”

This shit, he thinks to himself. “Sanitizer.” he says seeing one near and hears Taron chuckle.

“Sure.”

***

Richard opens the door to Taron’s apartment and lets him step inside. He looks around and rolls his eyes a bit seeing the mess.

“Oh I’m messy. I like it.” T says and Rich chuckles softly. Taron wanders around in his apartment and looks into the rooms. It’s strange to imagine he lived here and thought it would never be unknown to him again. T sees a few pictures standing around on a little table and walks over there slowly. “Who is she?” he asks.

“Your mum, Tina.” Rich says and sees the selfie of them, himself pressing a soft kiss onto Taron’s hair, next to the photo he was examining. It was Taron’s favorite.

T then looks at the same photo and frowns a bit. “I don’t think I can do this.” he says and points at the picture. Richard nods slowly and watches T take it out of the frame. Taron hands it to him, contorting his face. “I think I’ll get some sleep.” He speaks lowly and makes his way to his bedroom.

Rich stands silently, the photo in his hand. His love was gone and there was no coming back. With a sigh, he leaves the apartment, tears welling his eyes.

***

Coming to the apartment the next day wasn’t the best idea.

Taron is unsure about having Richard around him, not knowing him anymore. It’s hard for him to process that he doesn’t know anything and can’t even trust himself. They sit at the dining table sharing coffee when Taron speaks up. “Listen, I know you wanna help me but I - I need some time alone.” Taron starts and plays with his hands nervously. “I don’t even know what we were or if you really are who you told me you are.”

“Taron, I wouldn’t lie to you. You were my boyfriend.” Rich says tiredly and rubs his face.

“There was never an us. At least not in my memory and that makes it fucking hard to trust you.” Taron says firmly and runs his fingers through his hair. “How could I be able to love someone when I don’t even know myself?”

Richard watches him sad, his heart wrenching at his words. “I don’t know.” he admits.

“I can’t do this. I need some space and I need to figure things out, figure out who I am.” Taron says and Rich nods slowly.

“Okay then. Call me if you need help with anything.”

***

Three months go by.

Richard hasn’t heard anything from Taron since that day. It hurts to think his life turned upside down that night. To him, it feels like Taron died in that car crash this night. He is just unreachable now. His thoughts are constantly spinning, the car crash haunts his dreams, and wakes him up with screams for help following.

He spent a lot of time with his Bodyguard costar Keeley, who never failed to cheer him up but also gave him time to be sad about it. Richard is still struggling to this day.

Richard plays with the buttons of his suit nervously and looks at the car in front of him. Today was the day they would shoot the scene of the attack during the car ride. His costar and dear friend Keeley steps next to him and pats him on the back. “You’re ready for today?”

“I hope so.” he says and smiles shortly at her.

She nods quickly and watches him carefully. She could easily see how much it’s pulling on her friend’s nerves to act this scene. “We’ll get it done quickly and then we’re done for today. We could spend the rest of the day together if you want to.”

He smiles at her, grateful, and nods. “I’d like that.” he says and she nods smiling.

They sit down in the car and begin the scene. Keeley says her line, then the shot rings through the air. The driver falls back in his seat before sinking down his head. Then comes the cut and Richard is glad to get out of the car. They cover his face in blood just like his shirt, Keeley’s white suit is now covered in fake blood and Richard’s stomach turns seeing it. The picture of Taron’s white blood-stained shirt appears in his mind. But he gets himself together and gets back in the car.

They start again, their driver’s head sinks down and Richard knows he has to slip back into playing David and grabbing the steering wheel to get them to safety. But the sounds, Keeley’s screams in the backseat and all the fake blood does him no good. He feels himself getting cold while his body starts shaking and he breathes deeply, on the edge of a breakdown.

All he can think about is himself pushing the breaks and seeing Taron crashing his head on the dashboard. He sees himself trying to calm Taron down, who’s bleeding heavily and throwing up all over himself while trying to breathe. Taron’s body going limp while he tries to open the door, throwing himself against it and opening his seatbelt. Richard buries his face in his hands and sinks down in his seat trying to focus. The name of his former boyfriend leaves his lips like a curse and he feels nausea creeping up in him.

Keeley quickly realizes what’s going on and sees Richard starting to panic. She needs to stop this before it gets worse. She knew this would be torture for her friend. “Stop it, cut!” she says firmly and opens the door, getting out quickly. “Richard, hey, mate.” he suddenly hears Keeley next to him and feels her hand on his shoulder.

“I can’t - Keeley- I.” he stammers and looks at her with wide blue eyes. Richard grabs the hand she’s holding towards him and tries to breathe.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to do anything.” she leans over him and opens the seatbelt. “Come on, get out.” she urges him softly.

Rich gets out shaking with her help and holds himself at the door as his world starts spinning. He leans forward, resting his head on his hands and lets out a shuddery breath. Fuck.

Keeley rubs his back smoothly and waves her assistant closer. She takes the blanket that was meant to be hers and wraps it around her shivering mate. “Here take my blanket.” she watches him worried and sees how pale his face now was. “You should sit down, Rich.”

“Not in the car.” he presses out and takes a deep breath, standing up straight.

“Okay, then on the floor.”

“They’ll kill me if I sit down on the floor with this suit.”

“Oh fuck that! I don’t care about that. Sit down now.” she urges him and pulls him down. She sits down in front of him in her heels and white suit, not having a single care in the world if it gets dirty. Keeley opens a bottle of water and hands it to Rich, who takes it with a weak smile.

Their director comes towards them and looks down at Rich. “Are you alright, Richard?” Rich just nods and takes a gulp of water. “Brings it all back, huh?”

Richard closes the water bottle slowly and his grip around it gets tight. Of course it does! He remains silent, feeling panic in him mixing with hopelessness.

“I’m sorry but we can’t do this again today.” Keeley speaks firmly and gets up. She reaches her hand out for Richard, who grabs it and pulls him up. “Let’s get out of these clothes.” the Brit wraps the blanket around him tightly again and wraps her arm around him as she walks him away from set.

***

Richard puts on his clothes and follows Keeley to her trailer. He remains silent as she turns on the water boiler and puts some cookies onto a plate. She disappears in her bathroom and comes back with some make-up remover tissues. Her own face is now clean and she leans down to Richard, wiping away the fake blood and dirt, cleaning his face softly. “Thank you.” he mumbles and watches her throwing them away.

She gets two cups and fills them with the hot water, adding two tea bags and some sugar. Sitting down next to him, she wraps her arm around him and rubs his shoulder lovingly. “Are you alright, my dear?”

Richard shakes his head and rests his head on her shoulder. “I don’t think I can do this scene. Seeing the blood on your white suit reminded me of his shirt. The way our driver sank down transformed into Taron fainting in my mind.”

“I’m sorry bout that, Rich.” she says lowly and fondles over his hair. “We’re gonna find a way.”

“I just wanna forget the accident. And him.” he says sadly. “Sometimes I wish that I hit my head just as hard.” he admits, but feels bad about it. This wasn’t fair. Taron had to struggle to get his memory back and here he was sulking, wishing he was in his place.

“You’d really prefer not knowing who you are, not even your name, over this here? The constant paranoia that you know everyone who knows your name? How do you think it will affect his relationship with his fans? Some could tell him stories that aren’t even true.” she states and remains silent for a moment. “Imagine reading all the fake articles about stupid things you never said or did. You wouldn’t know your mum anymore. Your youth would be gone. Your first acting experiences. Everything that is normal for us.” she sighs a bit. “That isn’t what you want. And T needs time to cope and get his life back.”

“Yeah, I know. It just hurts. I don’t wanna feel this way anymore.” he mumbles and rubs his face tiredly.

***

“Richard, nice to meet you again.” Dexter Fletcher says and sits down opposite him. “So, you’re the top candidate of our role for John Reid. But it was brought to my attention that you aren’t thrilled about it anymore.”

“I- Well to be honest I’m neither a singer nor a dancer and since you wanna make it like a musical -.” Rich says and scratches his neck. He didn’t want to do this because he simply was bad at it.

“We have one dancing sequence with our main actor planned for you. We’ll see if it makes the final cut. You would sing one song and of course we would transform it into a scene.” Dexter explains and watches the man in front of him. He hadn’t told Richard that Taron was the leading man yet. Everyone heard about the car crash and knew their paths parted afterwards due to Taron’s retrograde amnesia. Dexter saw both of them struggling with their own lives after the crash. This could be another major reason for Richard to back out. But they wanted him so bad. He was perfect and Elton approved of the choice.

“Mm okay.” Rich says and thinks for a moment. “Who is playing Elton? You didn’t tell me yet.” he thinks and it seems strange. Dexter is normally raving about his actors and the excitement of the project overall. But he seemed to be holding back.

Dexter takes out his phone and connects it with his headphones. He gives them to Richard and watches him put one in his ear. “Just listen. Maybe this will help with your final decision. It’s a raw version but who cares.”

Richard frowns a bit but decides to give in. He can hear the first notes of Rocketman and as soon as he hears the singer starting, he looks at him shocked. “Oh.” he just says and listens. Taron’s angelic voice sends goosebumps all over his body, like it did every time before.

Dex remains quiet and watches Richard closely. The man in front of him looks lost in thoughts and his deep blue eyes are brimmed with tears.

Richard is stuck in his memories while listening to Taron singing. He bites his lower lip nervously and the vulnerability and softness in Taron’s voice hurts him physically. Damn, his golden boy still had an amazing voice. When the song stops, he looks at the table for a moment. “And you think playing the lover of my ex-boyfriend is a good idea?”

“Tell me.” Dex says and raises his eyebrows challenging. “Tell me this song, with his bloody amazing voice, didn’t touch you. Tell me you would give away the chance to get to know him all over again. Tell me you don’t want him to meet you again.” he sees Richard squirming a bit in his seat. “Do it and I’ll tell Elton that Richard Madden doesn’t want the role anymore.”

Richard folds his arms in front of his chest. “You do know it isn’t fair to just throw me into this all of a sudden? Exposing me to Taron this way?”

“It might have been a bit unfair.” Dex admits with a smirk.

“God Dex, you drive me crazy.” he sighs and shakes his head a bit. “Fine, I’ll do it. But just because you and Elton seem to want me so badly.”

“Okay! Ehm this might be a bit quick now, but I have T with me.”

“Shut up.” Richard says and his eyes widen. “Dex, don’t you dare-.”

But then the door opens and his former boyfriend steps in. “Hey, Dex you’re still on it or -?”

“No, it’s fine, Taron. Meet your new costar.” he says and gets up, seeing the look in Richard’s eyes. “I’ll let you get to know each other.” he says and winks at Rich, who can’t stop himself from rolling his eyes.

Taron watches him leave and smiles at him shyly. “Hi.” he says and walks over to him.

Richard gets up and shakes his hand. “Hey.”

“I’m Taron, do I know you? I’m sorry, weird question. I lost my memory in a car accident. Well, at least that’s what they told me.”

“Yeah, I heard about that.” I was driving, he thinks. But he couldn’t tell him that. “I’m Richard.”

“And you are playing-?” he sits down and watches him curiously.

“John Reid.” he says and sits down as well.

“Oh yeah. Sorry again. Sometimes I struggle to keep any information I get.” he chuckles softly.

“No problem.” Rich says with a weak smile.

Taron watches him observantly and he gets a funny feeling. He knew him from somewhere. “You seem familiar to me. I think I’ve seen you before.” he looks into his deep blue eyes and the brown slightly curly hair. The accent wasn’t unknown as well, it matched with his voice perfectly. “Have we met, like a month after the accident?”

“No.” That wasn’t exactly a lie.

“Okay. I can’t remember anything before and the month after the accident happened. It’s all a blur so I don’t really know what I was doing.” he explains. “Probably watched one of your movies.” he grins.

“Maybe.” Rich says with a small smile.

“So what convinced you to stay? Dex told me you considered not doing it.” Taron says and looks at him questioning.

“To be honest, it was you singing.” Richard admits softly. “You got a beautiful voice mate, sent goosebumps all over my body.”

“Oh, thank you.” Taron says and blushes smiling.

Oh God, don’t do that to me, he thinks. Not the blushing. “So how is your life now? Must be difficult to handle it all on your own.”

“Oh yeah, I’m doing okay. My mum helped me in the beginning, she’s lovely. Meeting her the first time was strange. I found out I have two younger sisters. Now I’m living on my own in the apartment and well I apparently worked with Dexter before. He decided to help me out as well.” Taron explains and looks down at the table. “I don’t know much about my friends from my earlier life to be honest. And almost nothing about the car crash.”

“No?” Rich asks confused. “You could have looked up your name.”

“I don’t wanna risk reading some fake news.” Taron says with a weak smile.

“Oh, yeah.” Richard says and an awkward silence lies between them.

T plays with his hands nervously. “The only thing I have is something I found in my jacket. I’ve been carrying it with me since then.” Taron pulls something from his trousers. He unfolds the piece of paper and looks down at it. Richard’s throat tightens at that sight and he presses his lips together. “It has my name on it, my mum’s phone number, and what happened to me.”

Rich looks down at it and recognizes his own hand writing. Seems like T kept the last memory he has of him.

Taron looks up and sees the tears in Richard’s eyes. “You okay?” he asks worried and watches him observantly.

“Yeah, just - an allergy.” he says and thinks back when he made up this lie.

“To what?” Taron asks and tilts his head sideways.

“Flowers.” he nearly chokes on the word and points at the flowers in front of them.

Taron gets up and throws them in the trash. “You could have said something, mate.”

He doesn’t know what hurts more. The way Taron just threw away what supposedly caused his tears or that he called him mate. “It’s okay.” he says with eyes full of tears.

***

Later that day, Richard calls Keeley and tells her everything. He doesn’t feel ready to work with Taron, who seemed to forget the first two days he left the hospital. It all happened too fast and it hurt him physically to look into those beautiful eyes he fell in love with all this time ago. It was strange to see the man who used to be his boyfriend, his clumsy funny lover who always wanted him close, become so distant from him. It’s worse than a break up because the Taron he knew was gone, without a warning, overnight.

Thinking back to Taron’s last words, he starts crying. I love you forever, okay? Did he realize he wouldn’t be the same afterwards?

How could he ever be able to start over again with Taron? Maybe they would never be madly in love again and it would only be a product of Richard’s imagination combined with some suspicions from the magazines.

“Keeley, I can’t pretend I don’t know the way his lips taste. Or how his hair felt underneath my fingers, his smell when he cuddled into me.” he says sadly and looks up at the ceiling.

“I guess you have to. Richard, the Taron you know is gone. It’s time to start over with him, hun.”

Richard tunes out the rest of her words as tears fall down his cheeks and his heart starts racing. This wasn’t right. This isn’t how it was supposed to be. They were happy, so madly in love, their whole future in front of them. Both thinking they would spend it together. Oh god, they were so wrong.

@taron-eggmcmuffin @sarahegerton96 @primaba11erina @multicoloredchicken @anxiety-at-the-classroom @maddertonmyheart @madderton-obsessed @naptitimadderton