Robert Carlyle

Munching on a spring roll, she rolled her eyes at her husband, trying to stop herself from grinning. It was amazing what a little time alone - well, almost alone - with her husband would do after a stressful and busy day, because she could feel the tension slipping out of her body. Their daughter’s usual routine had been blown out of the water and she had no idea when they’d get to sleep that night but he made her laugh, he made her feel at ease, and that made things better already. ‘’That 10% of the time is usually when your mouth is preoccupied with something else.’’ Emilie quipped cheekily, wiggling her eyebrows at him with the mischievous sparkle in her eyes making it very clear what she meant. 

It was definitely hard to steal moments together with a six month old baby, but they tried. Nap times were usually their opportunity to be together and they had arranged for a babysitter - usually a friend - to look after Vera a few times. Now they were back in Vancouver for the next 9 months, they could potentially look for a more permanent child minder who could take care of their little girl whenever they wanted some alone time or a date night. Not a nanny, because she didn’t like that thought, but a babysitter for the odd night was more than okay, because they needed that. 

Chuckling at Robert’s words, she grinned at him, reaching for her wine. ‘’Give it another year and you’ll have another audience member, I’m sure. There’s no privacy in this house.’’ She agreed with a laugh, gesturing towards Vera. As soon as she was walking and talking, there would be no stopping her. 

Waggling his eyebrows at her, Robert couldn’t help the smirk on his lips. “My best 10%, eh?” he quipped, well aware that she had no complaints when it came to him and his skills in the bedroom. He was a very attentive lover, someone that derived a great deal of pleasure out of giving her pleasure and there were few acts he enjoyed more than burying his face between her legs and making her fall apart for him. Multiple times, if she could handle it. Sure, they weren’t as active as they used to be but having a baby just meant you had to be a little more creative with your time. 

With a mouthful of food he looked over at their sleeping girl, having to smile at the thought. Little kids tended to just follow you everywhere no matter what it was you were doing and he at least had experience with that. “Oh no, every time I need the loo I’m telling her to go to you for chocolate. I’ve got it all figured out,” he teased, aware that even if he did that, Em would come up with a way of directing Vera right back to him. Not that he’d mind, most of the time. Privacy was something of a luxury when you had children, and he fully accepted that.

His words made her giggle, aware that he was very right there. She absolutely adored him, she was in love with him, but that didn’t mean he didn’t drive her absolutely insane sometimes and she wanted to throttle him. He wound her up, on purpose half of the time, but she gave as good as she got and she knew they were well matched in that department. Emilie didn’t let him get away with his shit most of the time, she could stand up for herself and keep him on his toes too, which worked very well in their marriage. ‘’That’s your own fault for being a little shit 95% of the time.’’ She retorted with a grin, smacking his arm lightly as he sat with her, the two of them never ones for mincing their words when they were together. That honesty was something they both appreciating. 

Even with their teasing and brutal honesty with one another, there was no-one else she’d want to do this with. No-one else she trusted, no-one who could support her like he did. They made an incredible team with their daughter, and a good team in general. It made her smile when he handed her the remote, clearly expecting that she’d complain about whatever nonsense he put on the television. It would likely be sport and she definitely didn’t have the patience to watch that right now, so she settled for some kind of family game show instead, aware that it was mostly for background noise than anything else. 

‘‘It’d be nice if we could take a bath together.’‘ She admitted, pulling a face because she knew they wouldn’t have time for that, not that evening. Vera would need to wake up soon, they’d have to try and wear her out again before putting her to bed later than usual, and they’d probably go to bed at the same time after such a tiring day. ‘‘But if you’re volunteering to be on baby duty for a few hours, I’m not going to complain.’‘

Laughing quietly, reaching for his plate, Robert began to put some of the Chinese on there for his consumption, shaking his head as he pointed at her with a spring roll. “I think you’ll find I’m only a little shit 90% of the time. 10% of the time I’m a delight.” It was silly, it was funny and it was them down to a t. He loved that they were so well matched and that she could give as good as she got when it came to him and his being a little shit sometimes. She could be just as bad and though they’d had big arguments in their time, they usually were just silly little bickers that had them both being dumb and bickering over the silliest of things. 

Picking up another spring roll to take a hefty bite from he blew out he was nodding along, admittedly missing those days when they could both enjoy a bath together. They’d have to steal a moment at some point soon, be nice and intimate when they had the opportunity to do so. “Me too. We’ll make sure we get one together soon,” he was sure of it. But tonight he’d take the baby shift after how much she’d put them both through today, especially Em, and let his wife have a little peace to wind down. “But if it helps I’m sure some of the pets will happily come and watch you. Can’t even walk in to the bathroom without an audience,” he added with a wry smile. He was used to it by now and had long given up trying to tell one of their pets to piss off when he wanted to be in there alone. 

Reaching for her glass of wine to sip at as Robert entered the room, bringing in the plates of food until their coffee table was covered with their Chinese favourites. She smirked at him when he complained about her sitting on the floor, aware that it wasn’t typically the most comfortable place to sit but it wouldn’t be forever, just until Vera woke up. She was very much out of synch that day, her routine changed because she’d usually be having her bath round about this time, before having some play time then they’d put her to bed, but she’d fought them so much that day that Emilie wasn’t prepared to wake her up, not when she’d likely be more grumpy than when Robert didn’t have his early morning coffee. 

‘‘If you’re nice to me I will. If you piss me off, I’ll definitely leave you down here.’‘ She retorted teasingly, wiggling her eyebrows at her husband. He did yoga, he was pretty fit all things considering, and she rolled her eyes whenever he used his age as an excuse for something. He might have been just under 20 years older than her, but she never felt that difference, not really. They had similar souls, similar humour, and it didn’t really matter that he was older than her. It did mean that she wouldn’t be able to have a football team’s worth of children, but Vera and potentially one more would be enough for her, she was sure. Especially after the nightmare they’d had that day. 

Placing her wine down, she began to fill her plate with food, a grin passing across her lips. ‘’We can put it on. As much as I don’t want to wake her up, we probably should soon, or she’ll be wanting to party at 3 o’clock in the morning if she sleeps much longer right now.’’ 

A brief laugh and he cocked an eyebrow just for a second. “So I’m doomed to floor life,” he quipped, aware that he could be quite the irritant when he wanted to be. He was pretty fit really, especially for his age, thanks to his years of yoga. He wasn’t a cardio man unless sex counted, in which case he liked to think himself a regular and expert level. But yoga kept him fit, it kept him flexible and it also helped to give him something healthy to do.

Humming briefly in agreement with his wife he picked up the remote and turned on the television, admittedly turning the volume down a little bit so it gave them some time before Vera woke up to just enjoy some dinner together. He immediately held the remote to his wife though, letting her pick whatever they put on. If it was up to him he’d be putting ESPN on after such a long day but he wouldn’t do that to her. “Let’s get some grub down us and then if you want a nice bath or something to wind down I don’t mind taking on the job of waking her up so she doesn’t sleep through the night.” He’d take the headache if he had to so that his wife could have a little bit more rest that evening.

These soft moments were rarer between them, but she always knew that Robert loved her. Whether he showed that love through making sure he’d made her a cup of coffee in the morning or making sure that Vera’s changing bag was packed while she rushed around or tried to feed her before they went out the house, it was definitely more about the little things between the two of them. No big gestures, no fuss, just two people who loved and supported each other and showed that through their actions. She supposed that it came from how their relationship had started; words had been pretty meaningless when they’d both been married to other people and it’d only been big, brave actions that had helped get them to where they needed to be. 

It made things mean more when they weren’t as frequent, and she mourned the loss of his warmth when his arms left her. Emilie almost cursed the delivery man at the door for interrupting their moment, a little sigh leaving her. If it wasn’t their 6 month old interrupting them, it was the take out delivery and she was definitely thinking they needed to take a vacation as soon as possible - even if they had only just started work again after the Summer off, technically. In reality, Robert had been working for the majority of their break and it hadn’t been completely relaxing. 

Grabbing the two glasses of wine and tucking the rest of the bottle underneath her arm, she entered the living room, waiting for him to join her with the food. Vera was still sleeping in her car seat on the couch so she settled on the floor by the coffee table, clearly quite happy to sit down there. 

Robert made his way in to the kitchen with the bag of food so he could busy himself dishing it up and putting it in to receptacles that wouldn’t leave grease marks on the table. He’d learned his lesson on that one once before and even if he wasn’t always the most thoughtful when it came to things around the house, he tended to learn his lessons quite quickly after being told off for not doing something how he was meant to do it. 

Taking the things through to the living room, a few plates at a time so it took him two trips, it was on his second and the final one that he gestured down to the floor next to her. “Hope you’re ready to get me up off of there,” he joked, grabbing on to a cushion to chuck down for him to sit on. He did yoga, he was relatively fit really but even he couldn’t cope with sitting on a solid floor for too long. Not unless she intended on massaging his arse for him later, of course. 

“Do I dare put the telly on, or do you think our boss there would protest?” he asked, wondering if they should risk it or not. Sitting without it on wouldn’t bother him. He had all the company he needed right there with her after all.

It made her lips curve into a soft smile when he kissed her cheek, leaning back into his embrace. It’d been a long day, and it felt good to just sink into his arms and let him support her. Parenting was difficult; even when you felt like you’d gotten a handle on it all, something happened or changed that threw all of that out of the window and she was left doubting her abilities to some degree. Emilie knew she was a good Mother, she adored their daughter and did everything she could for her, but she had definitely been left wondering whether she was making the right decision about going back to work right now, when Vera was only six months old. She was too young to go to nursery, as far as her parents were concerned, and her Mom was beginning to wonder whether she should have stayed at home. 

Her husband wasn’t stereotypically romantic; he only brought flowers when he’d done something really wrong and his romantic speeches tended to be dirty talk, and she’d gotten used to that. Being overly cheesy wasn’t her thing either, so she liked him just as he was. ‘’We’re not exactly on the breadline.’’ She agreed with a chuckle, glancing around their hi-tech kitchen and trying to hold back her amusement. It wasn’t lost on Emilie that they were privileged, because money wasn’t something they would have to worry about it even if neither of them worked again. 

‘‘You have done pretty well, Mr Carlyle.’‘ She agreed teasingly, tilting her head to press her lips against his, wanting that moment of sweetness. 

To Robert the life he had now was such a stark contrast to the one he’d had as a lad. His Dad had done his best by him and even without the money or even the stability of a constant home for many years he had grown up knowing his Dad loved him and supported him entirely. That was a lesson and a way of parenting that he made sure to learn from and emulate himself. It just so happened that he could also provide financially for his kids too, and being able to do so was something he was always appreciative of. 

A smile at her words which were essentially a compliment to herself, Robert tilted his own head to allow for his lips meeting hers in a tender kiss. Sometimes he really did enjoy being a little more romantic and making sure to spoil her but he didn’t like to go over the top with it. Moments like this, maybe he didn’t do all that often but he liked to think that meant that it was all the more special when he did. 

It was only when there was a knock to the front door to signal the arrival of their food that Robert drew back from his wife, giving her a tender squeeze in his hold before he was drawing back. “I’ll get that,” he spoke as he began to make his way towards the front door. She could get their drinks sorted now and he’d get the food all sorted. She could just have a settle down when the drinks were poured and they could settle in with Vera for their dinner.