#now excuse me while i go panic over robron week

[sugdenlovesdingle]

Baby ch 4/ epilogue (AO3)

(look! I finally finished something!)

italics = flashback

for @robertssvgden who was having a bit of a rough day today - i hope this makes it a little better.

---

“We should get up.” Aaron stretched and wrapped himself around his husband again, making no move to get out of bed.

“The kids can take care of themselves.” Robert decided. “They’ll just rope Oli into making them all breakfast. Again.”

Aaron smiled to himself.

“That kid is too good for this world.”

“Hmm…” Robert agreed. “Too gone on Seb more like.”

“That too.” Aaron chuckled. “He’s picked a good one though, our Seb. One that likes to cook.”

“Yeah, he takes after his father. Got himself a personal chef.”

“Yeah, good to know he does listen to me from time to time.” Aaron teased and pressed a kiss to Robert’s lips. “This is nice. Having a lie in. We haven’t done that in a long time.”

“We’ve been kind of busy, haven’t we? Ruby and the baby. Scott all but moving in. Oli actually moving in.”

Aaron nodded.

“I can’t believe the house is quieter with a two month old baby in it than before, though.”

“He keeps them all busy doesn’t he?”

“Just like his granddad. Likes to be the centre of attention.”

Robert rolled his eyes at the dig.

“And yet you’ve put up with me for all of these years.”

“I guess I kind of love you. And you’re useful sometimes. For decorating nurseries.”

“You and Ruby threw out almost all of my ideas!”

Aaron propped himself up on his elbow and raised an eyebrow at his husband.

“Because you wanted to make him a soft play area and what was it – an interactive wall display?”

“The one website said it was good for the baby’s development.”

“Sure. And their profits.”

“Well forgive me for wanting to spoil my first grandson a bit.”

“You did. He’s got more clothes than the rest of us combined.”

“I regret nothing.” Robert said and laughed, thinking back to the first shopping trip for baby supplies with Ruby.

“Look, Rubes, this is cute.” Robert held up a onesie with bunny ears. “Seb used to have something like that too when he was a baby. It was a teddy bear though, not a bunny. But he looked really cute.”

“It is cute…” Ruby agreed and looked at the price tag. “But it’s way too expensive.”

“We talked about this, we want to pay. We want to help out.” Aaron reminded her. “And you know what he’s like. If you say no now, he’ll come back on his own next week and buy it anyway.” He bumped his shoulder against Ruby’s.

“Fine… I suppose he would look cute in it.”

“That’s my girl.”

They walked around the store for a while until Ruby got tired and sat down in a rocking chair.

“This is a popular model.” A saleswoman walked up to them. “And we sell matching nursing pillows for extra comfort during those night feeds.” She gave Ruby a bright smile. “Are you going to be breastfeeding?”

“Oh… uh… I haven’t decided yet.”  

“Well the nursing pillows are popular with dads too, if you decide to bottle feed.”

Ruby nodded and looked around for her parents who had walked on to the furniture department.

“Right.”

“Do you want to try one? Get a feel for it?”

“Uh no thanks. I’m uh… just getting the basics for now.”

The woman smiled.

“How far along are you?”

“Almost 19 weeks.” Ruby rubbed her belly.

“Oh about halfway. Is it your first?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, enjoy it. And enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasts.” She joked. “If you need any help, just come find me or one of my colleagues.”

“Thanks. I will.”

The woman walked away and left Ruby alone with her thoughts. She’d been so wrapped up in her drama with Scott that she hadn’t even thought of things like breastfeeding.

“Hey love, we found this pram and there was a cot that seemed nice over there. It had one of those mobile things with music with it.” Aaron walked up to her pushing a pram in her direction. “What do you think?”

“It’s nice.” Ruby said without really looking.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah… Yeah I’m fine. Just… girl stuff.” She plastered a smile onto her face and got up. “Tell me you didn’t leave dad alone with the expensive furniture.”

“I’m glad Vic and Gabby took her under their wing with the girl stuff.” Aaron said, lying back down next to Robert. “All that talk about pumping and pads and all that other stuff�� We had no idea did we? Google only tells you so much.”

“Well in our defence, we never had to deal with those parts of having a baby.”

“And Vic never let us forget it. Like that time she basically kicked all of us out of the house to go paintballing with Harry and Ellis so she and Ruby and the twins could have some girl time.”

“And you kept checking your phone every 5 minutes to see if there was any news.”

“So did you.”

“Well… it wasn’t long after she’d had those bad cramps and we all thought there was something wrong with the baby. I was worried.”

“Yeah, me too. Scott really stepped up when she was in hospital didn’t he? I think that’s the first time Seb actually accepted that he might really care about Ruby.”

“How are you feeling?” Robert sat down on the edge of Ruby’s bed and stroked her hair out of her face. She looked so young to him, like she was still the 5 year old rushed into hospital with appendicitis.

“I’m tired.”

“Just close your eyes then. Get some sleep. Your dad and I will be right here when you wake up.”

“You don’t have to stay here all day for me.” Ruby protested.

“Sweetheart, if you think we’re leaving you on your own here, you don’t know us very well.” Aaron said, squeezing her hand. “We’re not leaving until we can take you home with us.”

Ruby gave him a tired smile.

“Just rest like the doctor told you, and before you know it, you’ll be back in your own bed at home.”

Suddenly the door opened and Seb walked in, closely followed by Scott.

He rushed over to her but awkwardly stopped at the foot of her bed.

“Hey, Seb told me you were in here, what happened?”

“Just a little over tired.” Ruby said downplaying the drama of the past few hours. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Scott asked, looking Ruby up and down. “Seb said you were pretty scared.”

Ruby glared at her brother.

“Traitor.”

Seb shrugged.

“I don’t care.”

“Do you want to tell me what really happened?” Scott asked, not wanting to push Ruby.

“Not really…”

Robert got up from his spot on Ruby’s bed and gently pushed Scott towards it. He sat down and gently put a hand on Ruby’s belly.

“Fair enough. I think I already know most of it. But are you both ok?”

“Yeah. Yeah I think so.”

“Good.” He leaned forward and softly kissed her. “That’s all I need to know.”

“He’s a good guy after all, isn’t he? As much as I wanted to throttle him when we first found out.” Aaron said and Robert hummed in agreement.

“And then Seb actually did… and got arrested.” Robert groaned. “Keeping up with the family tradition.”

“Yeah… I’d hoped that tradition would have died out with us.”

“Well hopefully Oli will keep him out of trouble now… and Seb won’t drag him into trouble.”

“He’s our son… that means he’s a trouble magnet.”

“Yeah… probably.” Robert said and laughed.

They settled down under the covers again, relaxing and listening to the muffled sounds of their family waking up and moving around the house.

They’d both drifted off to sleep again at some point because when a knock on their bedroom door woke them up the sun was peeking through the curtains and it was a lot warmer in the room than before.

“Dads? Are you awake?” Ruby asked and knocked on the door again. “Dads?”

Robert disentangled himself from his husband and the sheets and opened the door.

“Where is the fire?”

“Can you please watch him for a little while?” Ruby asked, handing Robert his grandson. “Scott won’t be here for another four hours and Seb and Oli are too busy sucking face, and I just really need a bath and some me time.”

“Oh… uh… sure.” Robert rocked the little boy in his arms.

“I tried to give him his bottle but he’s only taken half and spit that out all over me.”

“Alright. I’ll get your dad to work his magic. You go have your bath, we’ll be fine.” Robert promised her and walked back to his and Aaron’s bed with the baby.

“Hey mister, are you giving your mummy a hard time this morning?” Aaron said, taking the boy from Robert as he got back into bed and putting him on the bed between them. “I thought we’d agreed you were going to be good for her?”

The boy just looked around the room and grabbed at Aaron’s beard.

“Your uncle Sebby used to do that too. Your mum was more into hair pulling.”

The two of them laid down on either side of the boy and just stared at him.

“I can’t believe he’s two months old already.” Robert said, tickling his belly.

“Yeah… it feels like only yesterday that we were rushing around town to get to the hospital on time.”

“I never knew Ruby knew that many swearwords.” Aaron laughed.

“Just floor it, Rob!” Aaron snapped at his husband. “Or pull over and let me drive!”

“And end up in the quarry again? No way, boy racer.”

“That wasn’t my fault!” Aaron argued. “It was an accident.”

“Yeah, well, I’d like us all to get to the hospital in one piece.”

“Can you two stop being so YOU and just drive?!” Ruby yelled from the backseat. “I’m about to have a baby and I don’t want to have it in the back of this fucking car!”

“I’m going as fast as I can. I’m over the speed limit as it is.”

“Since when do you care about that?” Aaron asked

“Since my family is in the car and I don’t want to wrap it around a tree.”

“I’m sure they’ll let you off with a warning if the police pull you over, dad. Especially when you let Ruby yell at them.” Seb reasoned.

Ruby screamed and tried to breathe through a contraction, squeezing Seb’s hand tightly.

“Come on Ruby, we’re almost there. Hold on a little longer. I texted Scott and he’ll be there too.” Seb told his sister. “But I kind of still need my hand after today.”

Aaron turned around and offered her his hand.

“Crush mine. I don’t care. Squeeze as hard as you need to.”

Ruby blindly reached for her father’s hand while Seb tried to get her to focus on her breathing exercises.

“I should have taken aunt Vic up on her offer to stay with her.” She whined. “I’m so sick of all these men in my life! I’m becoming a lesbian. Only girls from now on.”

“I don’t think it works like that, love.” Aaron said and got a glare in return.

“And you’ve seen the drama between aunt Liv and Gabby. Only dating girls is no easier.”

“I’ll take my fucking chances!”

They reached the hospital in record time and Robert parked right in front of the main entrance.

“Sir, you can’t park here.” A member of the hospital security staff told him as he got out of the car.

“I really don’t care right now, mate. My daughter is having a baby. Make yourself useful and go get a wheelchair.” Robert ordered as Aaron and Seb helped Ruby get out of the car.

The guy did as he was told and returned moments later with a wheelchair.

“You take her inside, we’ll go park the car and be right there.” Aaron told Seb.

Seb nodded and pushed Ruby towards the automatic doors and into the hospital where they were greeted by a nurse and before the doors closed, Aaron saw Scott running down the main hall.

“Sir, I’m afraid you really have to move the car.” The security guy said again.

“Yes, yes, we’re moving, we’re moving. Give me a break.” Robert muttered and got back into the car as Aaron did the same.

“There is a spot right there.” Aaron called out, pointing at an open spot near the entrance.

Robert glanced over.

“That’s a parking spot for the disabled.” He looked at Aaron and the two had a silent conversation through looks. “No. We can’t.” he decided and Aaron nodded and went back to scanning the car park.

In the end they found a spot not too far from the entrance and rushed inside.

“What floor is maternity?” Aaron asked the first person in hospital uniform he came across.

“Uh… three… I think.”

“You think? You work here don’t you?”

“Yes… as a cleaner.” The guy gave Aaron a helpless look. “And it’s only my third day.”

Aaron, this way.” Robert called out, pointing at a sign and grabbing his husband’s wrist and dragging him along when he didn’t react quickly enough.

“When they reached the maternity ward, Seb was waiting for them by the doors.

“They took her through to a room. Scott is with her and he’ll let us know when the baby is here.” He told them. “I’m not going in there until it’s all done.”

The three of them sat down and after what felt like an eternity, a beaming Scott came to find them.

“He’s here. And he’s perfect.”

“Are they both ok?” Aaron asked while Robert asked “Can we come see him?” at the same time.

Scott lead them back to the room where Ruby was half sitting, half lying down in bed smiling down at a little boy in her arms.

“Look who it is, it’s your granddaddies and uncle Seb.”

They took turns greeting both Ruby and the baby.

“Have you decided on a name?” Robert asked.

“Yeah… I… we decided on Bobby.” Ruby told them, waiting for Robert to realise what she’d just said. “Do you want to hold him?” she offered, ignoring the tears of joy in her father’s eyes.

Robert nodded and carefully took the little boy from her.

“Hello Bobby. I’m your granddad. And just so you know, me and your other granddad are going to spoil you rotten.”

“We did alright didn’t we? In the end. With this whole parenting thing.” Aaron said, staring at Bobby while letting him grab onto his finger.

“Yeah, we got there in the end.” Robert agreed. “And then our baby got us this wonderful little man.” He stroked Bobby’s head with one finger. “And you’re already the smartest and sweetest boy I’ve ever met.” He told the boy.

“Just like the man he’s named after.” Aaron said and leaned over to press a small kiss to Robert’s lips. “Love you, granddaddy.”

[susieskinner93]

Their baby wasn't due for another 2 weeks, but ever since the scare last month, the doctors said it would be better to monitor them 24/7. The only problem was, Robert had a business trip to go to... Will his daughter wait for him to come back home, or she decides to make an early appearance?

for day 7 of robron week 2020

The baby wasn't due for another 2 weeks but ever since the scare a month ago, the doctors said it would be better if Alice – their surrogate - was nearby. Nearby meant in hospital. She was fine, the baby was fine, but the doctors wanted to be sure. It was more than okay with Aaron and Robert. They were nervous wrecks ever since they rushed to hospital after Alice called them at 4 in the morning last month.

Things have calmed down since the only obstacle in the way was the business conference Robert had to go to. It wasn't that far, only in Leeds, but it was an overnight thing, and they weren't very comfortable with leaving the house for too long. Robert's biggest fear was that if he goes, and their daughter decides to come and meet them early he could miss it. Aaron tried to calm him down, tell him to go and get the deal done because after the baby's born, they're gonna need more money. With 4 kids... they're gonna need a lot, and Robert couldn't let this meeting go wrong.

“I know, it's just... I have this feeling...” - he sighed as he packed his bag early in the morning.

“Robert, we talked about this. You have to go. Everything's ready, you worked so hard in the last few weeks to get this done....”

“What if I postpone?” - wondered Robert. Aaron saw that he was really considering it, so he tried to talk him out of it. He knew they would lose the contract if he did.

“On the day of the meeting? 4 hour before? You're not serious.”

“I tell them it's a family emergency...”

“Yeah? And then what? They would want to meet next week... that's another week closer to the actual due date. You think you could concentrate then?”

“No, I'd tell them to wait until...”

“Until they find another company to sign with?” - reasoned Aaron.

“I just... I don't wanna miss it.”

“You won't.” - smiled Aaron. - “She's gonna wait for daddy to come home.” - he said fondly. Robert shook his head before he stepped closer to Aaron, kissing his forehead.

“You always know what to say.”

“It's a good thing one of us does.” - he chuckled.

“You're right.” - said Robert nodding firmly. - “It's gonna be great. I get the deal done, I come home, and nothing's gonna happen.” - her told himself. Aaron wasn't sure he actually believed it all though, but it was definitely progress. - “But you'd call me if anything happened right?”

“Straight away.” - he said squeezing Robert's hand.

   Robert knew he was a bit edgy but he couldn't turn his brain off... not completely. He knew that despite Aaron promised to call if anything happened, he couldn't fully concentrate. He also knew how it would look from the outside, him being uneasy, checking his phone every 2 minutes... it's not a good look when you wanna sign a business deal. That's why he told the other parties that he's gonna have to keep an eye on his phone, in case there's a call.

“Sorry to start with this.” – he said after briefly telling them about the situation. - “Usually I don't let anything disturb a meeting...”

“No, there's no need to explain yourself, Mr Sugden, it's quite understandable.” - smiled the woman. She looked like someone who understood what he's been going through. At least she was very sympathetic. Robert just nodded with a little smile, thanking her, before the third-party arrived and the meeting started.

Two hours later the contract was signed, and they were celebrating. Robert was relieved that it went so smoothly, and while they were waiting for their drinks, he excused himself to call Aaron.

“Hey, what's up? How did it go?” - asked Aaron after picking up.

“Yeah, it went great. They signed. We're gonna have a drink to celebrate, but then I'm gonna head back home.”

“If you're worried about the baby... don't. I'm at the hospital...”

“What? Why? Is she okay? Is Alice?” - he asked worried.

“Calm down, it's fine, I just popped by to check on them.” - laughed Aaron. They're all fine. I'm gonna go and tell our daughter that her dad just managed to get us new clients, and that means we can get that fancy rocking chair you wanted so bad.” - he laughed.

“Don't laugh at me, Aaron. You're gonna thank me when she's not gonna scream the house down at 2 in the morning waking everyone up.”

“Yeah... maybe.” - said Aaron knowing that somewhere his husband was right.

“What about the others? Did you have to beg the twins to get up?”

“Not this morning.” - chuckled Aaron. - “They went off fine.”

“And Seb? He has that science project today. I hope he's not gonna be nervous.”

“Seb? Nervous about speaking in front of other people?” - asked Aaron almost laughing. - “You've met our son, right? He likes attention. That sounds familiar?” - he joked.

“Alright, alright. I won't fuss.” - smiled Robert as he noticed his new client, Mrs Hayes, approaching him. - “Aaron I've gotta go, tell Alice I said hi.” - he said, and after Aaron promised to deliver the message, they hung up.

“Is everything alright?” - asked Mrs Hayes.

“Yes, it's alright.” - said Robert not quite sure if he wanted to get into too many details about his private life. That short answers didn't seem to satisfy Mrs Hayes, Robert could see it in her eyes.

“You can go if your wife wants you to be with her, I'm sure Jim wouldn't mind.” - she said understandingly, nodding towards Mr Brooks direction. As soon as she spoke the word “wife” Robert knew he might be in trouble. It's not like his marriage was a secret. On the contrary. Most of their clients knew him and Aaron, knew they were married, but he couldn't expect everyone to just have that kind of information. It wasn't on his business card after all, and it seemed like Mrs Hayes didn't do a background check on him.

“No... erm... that was my husband.” - he said not knowing how to get this over and done with. He didn't want to share every detail of his life, but he couldn't let this woman believe he was married to a woman. It didn't matter what she thought, but it wouldn't be fair to Aaron.

“Oh, sorry..” - she laughed with ease. Robert didn't want to jump to conclusion, but he didn't notice any malice in her voice. It seemed sincere. - “I should stop assuming things, right?” - she asked. - “I hope I didn't offend you.” - she told him and for a second Robert was speechless.

“Erm, no, don't worry about it.” - he said finally.

“So, first baby?” - she asked, remembering the reason Robert was so uptight at the beginning of their meeting.

“No.” – he said letting out a laugh – “Fourth, but it still gets me nervous.” - he smiled thinking about the times the twins were born. Maybe he was a little bit more laid back now, but nervous nonetheless.

“Woah, that's impressive. Congratulations.” - she said. - “Boys, girls?” - she asked. Normally Robert would hate this kind of small talk, especially with a client, but somehow talking about his family felt right. A sudden wave of emotions ran through his veins as he thought about them.

“Thank you, erm... our oldest is a boy... then we have twins, a boy and a girl.. and this one... she's a girl.” - he smiled, he couldn't not to.

“Well, that's a big family. If you want to go, it's really understandable.” - she told him again. Before Robert could think about it, his phone starting ringing.

“Excuse me for a second.” - he said stepping a few metres away. It was Aaron. - “What is it? Is she...”

“Yeah, told her about her successful daddy and I guess she can't wait any longer to meet you.” - laughed Aaron, although Robert could hear a hint of panic in his voice.

“I'm on my way.”

“Typical.” - sighed Aaron loudly, and Robert knew he wasn't talking about him – “She's not even born yet, but she's already craving attention. That's your fault.”

“My fault? She's already impatient... that's a Dingle thing.” - he shot back – “Look, I'm going now okay, tell her to wait.”

“Yeah, if she listens.” - said Aaron, before he hung up.

“Sorry, looks like I have to go.” - he said returning to their table.

“No worries Mr Sugden, Mrs Hayes and I will drink to the contract, you go and be with your family. Thanks for meeting us under the circumstances.” - said Mr Brooks.

“The pleasure is all mine.” - said Robert with his charming voice as they shook hands – “We're gonna discuss the details soon.”

“We're counting on that.” - said Jim. Robert nodded at them, quickly settled the bill, and rushed to his car. This day was already successful, but meeting their daughter would definitely be the icing on the cake.

[bibibibuckleykinard]

Hi. Please could we have a roblivion fic where Liv relapses and Robron have to put her through withdrawal. Thank you.

Hi Lovely!

Not quite everything that was asked for but hopefully y'all still like it

Sorry if there are any mistakes! Enjoy!

Day Twenty-Five: Relapse

She had been acting strange for weeks now, both Aaron and Robert had noticed it. It had been a rough couple of months, school, her break up with Jacob, it all seemed to be piling on top of her. It had started with one drink, a beer that Robert had opened for Aaron but never touch, she had taken a sip of it before dumping it down the sink. Telling her brothers that she had spilled it when she was making herself something to eat, running upstairs without giving them a chance to question it. She was fine the next couple of days, staying clear of any type of alcoholic drink, things felt like they were getting back to normal. Between family dinners at the pub and Gabby and her being mates again she had seemed to push the urge to drink away. It wasn’t until she made her way into David’s shop with Robert to help with the dinner shopping, when she saw him behind the counter, Jacob.

“We can go if you want,” Robert told her.

“It’s fine.”

Robert knew she wasn’t okay, but he didn’t push it. They had got the shopping done and had gone home to be met by Aaron, Liv leaving the two, telling them she wasn’t hungry when they asked her about dinner, heading upstairs to her room instead. Aaron eventually made his way up with a plate, a soft knock coming at her door, she took the one earbud out, “Come in,” she called out. Aaron made his way in with her food.

“I know you said you weren’t hungry, but…”

“Cheers,” she replied placing her laptop aside before taking the plate. Aaron took a seat on the bed facing her. “Liv.”

“Can we not?”

“Robert said Jacob was back.”

“Yeah,” she replied picking at the food. “He was bound to come back sometime.”

“You know you can tell me and Robert anything right?”

“I know, Aaron, there’s nothing to really talk about though,” she explained.

“You sure?”

“Yeah,” she replied unconvincingly.

Aaron hesitated, “Well, Rob and I are gonna pop on a film downstairs if you want  to join…”

“No, I have some revision to get done.”

“Come on,” Aaron replied. “With you down there I might actually get a chance to watch something decent,” he joked.

“Thanks though,” she replied.

“Right, well you know where we’ll be,” he told her before getting up from the bed leaving her to eat.

It was later that night, Robert and Aaron had ventured up to bed calling it a night. Liv had made her way down, her plate from before in hand, she had washed and placed it on the drying rack to dry. She glanced over to see the liquor cabinet ajar, she stared for a moment before opening it staring at the bottle of Vodka, she looked back towards the stairs, before grabbing her reusable bottle and then grabbing the bottle of vodka carefully pulling it out so it wouldn’t make a noise. She uncapped both bottles making a mental note of how full the Vodka was before pouring it into her bottle.  She then made her way over to the fridge fetching the filtered water before making her way back to the counter to pour it into the vodka bottle making sure it was at the same level as before. She heard the toilet upstairs go, panic setting in, she quickly capped both bottles, carefully replacing the bottle back in the liquor cabinet before closing it. She held her breath as she heard Robert call out her name.

“Down here,” she called back taking the water back to the fridge. Closing the fridge door, she turned to see Robert stepping off the last step.

“You alright?” He asked

“Yeah, was bringing down my plate,” she explained. “Got thirsty so I got some water,” she added making her way back over to her bottle.

“Clearing up, thirsty job, ay?” He joked. Liv rolled her eyes before heading towards the stairs only to be stopped. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Robert questioned noticing her odd behavior.

“I’m fine, just tired is all,” she explained. “Still have loads of revision to get done.”

“Well don’t stay up too late yeah?”

“Yeah,” she replied leaving the man, racing up to her room closing the door behind her. She breathed out, before going for it, uncapping the bottle and gulping down as much as she could. That’s when it began, she had managed to make that bottle last a day or two before making an excuse to visit Paddy and Chas at the pub, nicking some of there’s refilling the bottle there while Chas was busy in front arguing with Charity. She hated her self for it, she was better at hiding it, this time around making sure her grades didn’t dip, drinking actual water making sure she wasn’t getting drunk too fast. She knew Robert and Aaron could tell something was up, but she managed to give them a reasonable excuse that they didn’t necessarily believe but would except for the time being.

She was about a few weeks into sneaking the drink when she slipped up, forgetting her bottle of Vodka up in her room. Her head had been killing her all day, the painkillers she had taken hadn’t done her any good, but she still managed to get through the rest of the day. She had made her way into the Mill, finding Aaron and Robert stood in the kitchen Aaron clearly fuming and concern painted across Robert’s face.

“Alright, Rob, what’ve you done now?” She semi-joked.

“Sit down,” Aaron replied trying to hold back his anger.

“Easy,” Robert told him.

“Was just gonna grab something to drink before heading up to my room,” she explained heading over to the fridge.

“That wasn’t a question,” Aaron told her making his way over, shutting the fridge door for her. “Now sit,” he added pointing towards the kitchen table.  She hesitated, turning back to look at Robert who was holding the bottle, she let out a small breath realizing what was going on. She made her way over to the table dropping her bag on the ground before taking a seat. She stared at her hands waiting.

“Found this shoved under your bed,” Robert explained holding up the bottle.

She didn’t say anything.

“Nothing to say?”

“You two had no right going through my things,” she muttered.

“I’m the one that found it actually,” Robert explained. “Aaron only found out about it before you walked in.”

“You didn’t have to tell him,” she told the blonde.

“Didn’t have to tell me?” Aaron replied.

“It’s not a big deal,” she argued.

“You’re drinking, Liv!” Aaron nearly yelled. “You’ve been sneaking drinks again!”

“I’m sorry,” she muttered trying to blink away the tears. Aaron breathed out slowly before making his way next to her taking a seat, leaning towards her, “How long?” He asked more calm.

“…A couple of weeks,” she admitted.

“Liv,” Robert replied.

“I know, okay, I’m sorry,” she replied as the tears began to fall.

“What happened?” Aaron asked. “Why didn’t you come to me or Rob, hell even my mum or Paddy.”

“I don’t know, it just… it just happened… everything just…. got too much and…” she cried. Aaron leaned over pulling her into a hug. Aaron looked over to Robert the tears welling up in his eyes, unsure what to say.

“The drinking is stopping now,” Robert replied firmly.  Liv pulled away from Aaron, nodding her head in agreement. “And we’re gonna get you professional help, counseling… anything you need, you understand?” he went on. She nodded her head again. “Good,” he replied. He uncapped the bottle, “Here,” he stated. “You’re dumping it down the sink.”

She pushed out of the chair hesitating before making her way over to Robert taking the bottle before making her way over to the sink emptying the bottle leaving it to drain. She turned and faced the two men.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered.

Robert made his way over to her pulling her into a hug, “We are too,” he muttered placing a kiss on top of her head.  “We’re gonna make this right… I promise.”

ao3 link

previous fic

[notwithout-mymuse]

Fic: Misconceptions

Five times the Dingles expected the worst of Robert – and the one time none of them did.

All of these fit within canon, and a couple of parts will feature scenes or lines from actual episodes, but from a different perspective. Set at various points between Aaron’s abuse reveal and the Robron wedding. This got way longer than it was meant to be, oops.

Relationships: Robert & Aaron, Robert & various Dingles

Warnings: Implicit rape references (basically includes some Gordon/trial stuff), panic attacks, hints of self-harm, alcohol consumption, and discussion of sexual consent.

1.       Belle

Belle had been determined to be here, no matter how unpleasant it might be. Aaron deserved to know that he had people on his side, and they were going to send a message to that piece of scum today.

Today being the day of Gordon’s plea hearing, which finds Belle sat up in the courtroom gallery, next to her mum, and behind Chas and Aaron. A show of solidarity, and an attempt at reassuring Aaron, who looked so pale and nervous that Belle was slightly surprised that he hadn’t thrown up already.

The door to their right swings open just before the hearing starts. Robert swans in and all heads spin in his direction.

“Room for one more?” He asks.

Belle had heard Chas ask after his whereabouts before they left the pub, when she had wondered aloud whether he might have changed his mind about coming, but Belle hadn’t thought much about it. She certainly hadn’t expected him to show up.

It’s perhaps because of her surprise that she can’t resist asking:

“You’re cutting it a bit fine, aren’t ya?”

“Oh well, you know me, always like to make an entrance.” He replied coolly, not even looking in her direction.

Belle is ready to tell him to leave his smart mouth at the door, because Aaron doesn’t need that right now. But then Aaron himself is speaking, for the first time since they left the pub.

“I thought I told you not to come?” Aaron mutters, tilting his head towards Robert slightly.

“And since when did I listen to anything you say?” Robert replies, watching Aaron intently.

There’s a beat where Belle thinks Aaron might tell him to piss off. But instead he takes a deep breath and a little bit of the rigid tension in his shoulders, that Belle can practically feel radiating off him, seems to melt away. She catches the slightest glimpse of a smile on Chas’ face, before the judge bangs on the desk and calls the court to order, drawing the eyes of everyone present.

Belle wasn’t wrong about it being unpleasant. Although it was just a plea hearing, with no evidence being presented, hearing the crimes being presented in that way, so coldly and clinically, Aaron repeatedly flinching, while Gordon rolled around play-acting at being ill, it made Belle want to punch something (or preferably, someone).

Belle distracts herself by looking down in front of her. It’s why she sees it when it happens. The way Aaron starts trying to tear at the skin of his hand with his blunt nails. The way that Robert, his eyes constantly flickering to Aaron, catches him, and nudges his arm. Robert’s eyes are softer and more concerned than Belle has ever seen them, and she’s even more surprised when Aaron lets go and stops, without even the hint of an argument.

Belle also notices the way Robert’s face screws up in utter disgust whenever Gordon speaks. She clocks the harsh venom in his voice when he hisses about Gordon being an “Evil little…”. An evil little what? She doesn’t get to find out, but she’s pretty sure she would agree.

When the judge gives Gordon bail, Belle can’t help jumping to her feet alongside Chas and her mum, her voice adding to the cacophony of Dingle protests.

“You can’t… what about what he did to the car?

“He is a liar!”

But as the court guard comes to clear them from the room, Belle sees the one person who hasn’t jumped up to scream in Aaron’s defence. Robert is still seated, and isn’t even looking at the rest of the room, he only has eyes for Aaron.

“Look at me… it’s going to be ok.” Robert tells him, his voice low and soothing, his arm around Aaron’s shoulders where he sits, frozen apart from the tears making tracks down his face.

Robert gets moved along by the guard, but Belle sees him wait by the door for Aaron. When Chas and Lisa stride off to give a mouthful to the guard, to DS Wise, and to anyone else who will listen, Belle is left with the two men as Aaron emerges at last, scrubbing roughly at his wet cheeks with the sleeve of his jacket, and looking completely lost.

Before Belle can even think of anything helpful to say, Robert is gently guiding Aaron down the hall to the nearest bench and is encouraging him to sit. Robert squats down in front of him, rubbing Aaron’s forearm and muttering a constant stream of reassurances. She follows them, but hangs back, feeling vaguely like she’s intruding. She listens to Robert comforting Aaron, telling him that it doesn’t matter, that he isn’t going to let Gordon anywhere near him, that Gordon’s acting-up in court because he’s desperate now, because he knows that Aaron is strong enough to beat him.

It’s ten minutes before Robert stops talking and moves to sit beside Aaron, before Aaron’s tears stop and his hands stop shaking. Belle can still hear Chas shrieking at someone down the hall. Aaron seems to notice to, as he shakes his head and rolls his eyes, giving both Robert and Belle a weak smile.

“Give me a minute to sort her out will ya?” Aaron asks, standing and heading in the direction of his mum’s voice.

Belle feels like a spare part, just standing in silence, so she sits down on the bench next to Robert.

“Do you really think it’ll be alright?” Belle asks, even though she isn’t sure why she’s asking, or why she’s asking Robert of all people.

His eyes hold her gaze for a second, like he’s actually considering his response instead of just feeding her some meaningless platitude.

“Yeah, I do. If anyone can do this it’s Aaron” he tells her, his voice earnest and in that moment, she believes him completely. She also decides that maybe Robert Sugden’s gob isn’t all bad.

2.       Marlon

It’s late when Marlon rings the bell behind the bar for last orders. He couldn’t be more glad that the night was nearly over as he feels dead on his feet. Chas and Charity had left him in charge of the pub all night, insisting that their girls’ night out was more important than, you know, running their business. Vic had shot off the second they’d closed the kitchen for the evening, leaving him with a huge pile of washing-up that he would have to finish once he had shut the pub up for the night.

At least it had been a quiet evening, Marlon supposes, gazing round at the pub’s remaining five occupants as he dries a load of pint glasses. Fortunately, two of them are Aaron and Robert, so at least he doesn’t have to worry about encouraging them to go home. Marlon had been watching them for a while now, for lack of anything else to do. They were sat on opposite sides of a table in one of the booths, two half-finished pints and a couple of crumpled crisp packets on the table beside them, playing some complicated card game that Marlon hadn’t been able to fathom the rules to, even after watching them for the best part of an hour.

Liv had been playing with them until about half an hour ago, after which she had disappeared upstairs to take a shower. The three of them had been chatting and laughing, and judging by the unimpressed look on Aaron’s face, Marlon had been pretty sure that Liv and Robert were ganging up on him so that he would lose. Robert and Aaron were quieter now, the game seemingly just something to keep their hands occupied while they chatted back and forth across the table, their feet tangled together underneath. They seemed quietly content and domestic in a way that Marlon still wasn’t used to seeing.

Marlon’s gaze flicked over to the bar’s other three remaining occupants. Three young lads that Marlon had never seen before, certainly not the Woolpack’s typical type of patron. They were apparently on some sort of rural bar crawl, judging by their increasingly loud conversation, which mostly seemed to comprise of what they termed “lad banter”.

It’s only when Marlon has returned to the bar, after fetching another crate of wine from the cellar, that he notices something has shifted in the atmosphere of the room. The three lads are louder than ever, and Robert and Aaron’s focus has shifted from their quiet little bubble, and they’re both now watching the other group. The look on Robert’s face is dark and thunderous, like he wants to go and punch the blokes, for reasons that Marlon cannot fathom. He’d only left for five minutes, what on Earth had happened in that time? Aaron seems to be trying to talk Robert out of his mood, the three guys completely unaware of the glares in their direction. Marlon is about to stomp over and chew Robert out for causing trouble with paying customers when he hears what’s got him worked up in the first place.

“I’m serious mate, that peado bloke used to live here, the one who got banged up for messing about with a little boy, then he topped himself didn’t he?” One of the lads crows, almost seemingly amused, and Marlon only just manages to hold in a groan. It wasn’t the first time he had heard random strangers gossiping about Gordon in the pub, in the few weeks since he had been sentenced, but it is the first time it has happened with Aaron present.

Aaron’s hand over Robert’s clenched fist seems to be the only thing stopping the latter from flying off the handle completely and battering them, so Marlon decides it’s time to intervene. He makes quick work of shepherding the men from the pub with a random excuse about needing to close early for a stock take, even letting them take their glasses of drink with them, just to get rid of them quicker. It takes nearly ten minutes in the end, herding them off with the number of the Barton’s taxi in hand, and locking the external doors.

When Marlon returns things have changed again. Robert is sitting on the same side of the table as Aaron now, muttering something to his boyfriend who is curled over slightly. At first Marlon thinks Aaron is crying, then he realises that it’s more than that, his hands are scrabbling at the table in front of him, harsh rattling breaths ripping out of his chest, he’s panicking. Robert shoves the table away so that Aaron has more space, taking his hand and places it on his own chest.

“It’s ok Aaron, you’re fine, it’ll pass ok? Just breathe with me alright? Deep breath, in…out, that’s it…”

Marlon feels useless, hovering a couple of metres away, unsure what to do as Robert continues his efforts to calm his boyfriend, trying to get Aaron to match his breathing with his own, his thumb rubbing over Aaron’s hand.

“Is…Is there anything I can do to help?” Marlon asks, alarmed.

Robert’s head tilts up, like he’s only just remembered that Marlon is in the room, and he pauses for a second.

“Could ya get him a glass of water?” Robert asks.

“Yeah… yeah of course” Marlon dashes off to get the water, pleased to have something helpful to do.

When he returns, Aaron seems a bit better. His breathing more even, now he mostly just looks tired where he is resting his head on Robert’s shoulder.

Robert thanks him while Aaron lifts his head, takes the glass and starts sipping from it.

“Are you ok? Do you want me to, I dunno, call Chas or something?” Marlon asks.

“Nah, I’m fine, really. I just…wasn’t expecting it, that’s all” Aaron says, he sounds stronger now, more together, though still a little shaky.

“Really, I’m ok Marlon. Just need a good night’s sleep.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on him” Robert adds. Aaron still has the energy to roll his eyes at Robert, although he doesn’t stop his boyfriend from wrapping an arm around his shoulder when they stand and head towards the back room of the pub.

Marlon leaves the washing-up until the morning in the end. Sometimes mundane things just don’t seem so important.

3.       Sam

Despite what people might say, and he knows what people say, Sam isn’t dumb. Ok, so he might not be bookish like Belle, or shrewd like Cain, or have street-smarts like Charity, but he’s good with people. Lisa told him that once, “perceptive” she had called it, “you know how to read people Sam”.

It’s how he knows, within seconds of Lisa answering the phone, that something is wrong. It’s why he has car keys in his hand before she’s ended the call, clearly flustered and worried.

“… was Chas on the phone… Aaron’s in hospital… him and Robert… some sort of accident.”

Sam hustles her out of the door, and gets them to the hospital in record time. By the time they arrive in the relative’s room - hot on Charity and Cain’s heels, Marlon not far behind – Chas and Liv are surrounded by worried Dingle faces, all demanding answers.

Chas’ voice shakes as she fills them in on what happened. How Aaron was driving and had spun off the road to avoid a massive pile-up. How the boys had ended up in the quarry, Aaron injured and trapped as the water level rose. Chas’ voice tails off at that, clearly upset.

Her horror is reflected in the faces of their surrounding family, Sam notices. For once they are all unable to speak. It’s so unlike his family, that Sam has to say something, unable to stand the awful silence and determined to find answers.

“Why didn’t the police and firemen look for him? And what was Robert doing when all this were happening ey? Saving ‘is own skin I bet.” Sam knows he’s clutching at straws, but he still doesn’t expect the sharp reply, cracking like an angry whip in the silence.

“It weren’t his fault, you idiot! Robert was the one that saved him.” It’s the first time Liv’s spoken since everyone else had arrived, but as she leans forward, silently daring him to contradict her, her eyes are as fiery as they are frightened.

Belle reaches an arm round Liv to try to pacify and comfort her, and when Sam’s gaze lands on Chas, she nods shakily, a confirmation.

“Where’s Robert now?” Charity asks.

“He’s with Aaron… wants to be there when he wakes up again.” Chas replies.

Chas continues to relay what had happened since she arrived, the feedback from the doctor on Aaron’s surgery, the scare he had given them when his heart stopped, the long wait for more information. They all lapse into silence again, broken only when Marlon leaves to retrieve coffee for everyone from the crappy vending machine at the end of the corridor.

Before he can return, Robert himself appears in the doorway, and everyone’s heads shoot up.

“Don’t worry, he’s fine, still sleeping. They just wanted me out of the way so they could run some tests.” Robert is quick to reassure them all, before slumping down in Marlon’s vacated chair.

Sam can’t help but notice how rough he looks. He’s all pale skin, rumpled clothes and red-rimmed eyes. He looks nothing at all like the strong, confident businessman Sam knows him as, and he feels a pang of guilt for jumping to conclusions before. Sam doesn’t need to be clever to know that the man in front of him is falling apart.

When the nurse comes in, about twenty minutes later, to tell them that they’ve finished Aaron’s tests and will let them all know when the results are back, Robert returns immediately to Aaron’s room, this time with Liv.

Chas watches Robert leave, with an odd look on her face.

“They’re getting married” Chas announces quietly to the family. “Him and Aaron” she clarifies, in response to the confused looks, nodding her head in the direction of the door that Robert had just exited.

Chas lets the initial wave of “what?”, “are you kidding?”, and “oh my god, really?” settle before she speaks again, explaining about Robert’s proposal gone wrong, about him showing her the ring, and Aaron’s response.

Sam stands up after a while, needing a walk to stretch his legs. He walks along the corridor, but finds himself hovering around the window to Aaron’s room, watching Robert and Liv sitting on chairs on either side of Aaron’s bed. Liv is resting her chin on her folded arms on the edge of the bed. Robert’s slumped forward, one hand smoothing Aaron’s bed sheet unnecessarily, his other hand curled around Aaron’s, the slightest glimpse of silver just visible in-between fingers and thumbs.

It’s only when Robert and Liv jump up, their faces breaking into huge smiles, that Sam realises Aaron has woken up. Liv steps back slightly to press the call button to alert the nurses, while Robert leans forward, meeting Aaron’s gaze, then placing the gentlest of kisses to Aaron’s forehead.

No, Sam might not be bookish, or shrewd, or street-smart, but he damn well knows love when he sees it, and right now it’s radiating from every single part of them.

4.       Cain

Cain swears to himself, that the next person to make any kind of noise is going to make friends with his fist. He’s had a long day at the garage, has a banging headache, and to top it all off he’d had another argument with Charity, which is why he’s found himself in his current predicament, tossing and turning on the sofa in the back room of the pub and getting increasingly pissed off.

First Noah had been banging around the room looking for his homework that’s due tomorrow, then Chas had started shouting up the stairs about Liv leaving her stuff for people to trip over. Cain had thought everyone was finally asleep in bed, when the back door had banged open noisily. Aaron and Robert’s muffled laughter drifting through the closed door, followed by a thump on the wall which only serves to annoy him more.

“Oops!”, Aaron giggles – honest to god giggles – seemingly the one to have bumped into the wall. Great, Cain thinks, he’s drunk.

“Careful” Robert warns him, laughter in his voice, but sounding much more in control than Aaron. “I told you that last round of shots was a bad idea!”

“Mmm fine. I’m not even… not even that drunk, just like tipsy, like a tiny little bit.” Aaron responds, slurring in a way that completely undermines his insistent words.

Cain is about to snort in denial, but Robert beats him to it.

“Yeah yeah mate, sure you are.”

“Well if I was drunk would I be able to do this?” Aaron retorts.

Cain isn’t sure what “this” is but the way Robert gasps and exclaims “Aaron!” gives him a few ideas and he cringes. There are some things a man just doesn’t need to know about his nephew.

“C’mon Robert. Let’s go upstairs… want you…want you to take me to bed, c’mon.”

Cain leaps off the sofa, his ear pressed to the door and hand on the door handle, ready to grab Robert by the scruff of the neck and chuck him out of the house because there’s no way he’s letting Robert take advantage of Aaron in his drunken state.

His anger, it turns out, is premature.

“Nope, no way, not happening! There’s no way I’m having sex with you tonight when you’re completely pissed.” Robert’s voice is still amused, but sterner now.

“Roooooob!” Aaron whines.

“No, I’m serious! The only thing you’re going upstairs for is to sleep this off.”

“Ok, I’m going….” Aaron’s voice is cut off by another, louder thump. This one followed by two pained groans.

This time, Cain does open the door and moves into the hall. He finds Robert and Aaron in a heap at the bottom of the stairs, Aaron still laughing, his arm wrapped around his Robert’s neck. It seemed like Robert had tried to help Aaron up the stairs, but the latter had lost his footing, bringing Robert crashing down with him.

“Oi, keep it down out here, some of us are tryin’ to sleep” Cain barks at them.

“Why you sleeping down ‘ere anyway, you in the dog house or summat?” Aaron shoots back grinning, clearly oblivious to the death glare on his uncle’s face.

“Aaand we’re going now” Robert says, steering Aaron upwards on the stairs again. “Sorry to disturb” Robert calls back to Cain over his shoulder, his hands on Aaron’s lower back to stop him falling again.

“Oi Sugden!” Cain calls at the last minute, causing Robert to look back over his shoulder, an eyebrow raised in question.

“Look after him yeah?”

“Yeah, always” Robert answers, before disappearing upstairs after Aaron.

And if the next morning Cain almost runs into Robert on the stairs as he heads down after his shower, the two of them sharing a knowing look over the tray that Robert is carrying upstairs, laden with a small mountain of buttered toast and two steaming mugs of tea – then no one else needs to know do they?

5.       Lisa

The winter air is biting when Lisa steps outside, the old door swinging shut behind her, trapping the warmth and merry laughter inside. But the freezing air is a welcome relief as the house had had far too many people crammed into such a small space, which combined with the heat from cooking Christmas lunch, has left Lisa with permanently red cheeks for hours. But she wouldn’t change it for anything, having the family round the table talking, laughing, joking and drinking far too much is what a Dingle Christmas is all about. It’s been a while since the family felt whole and complete – but Lisa tries not to think about that – it’s been such a good day and she doesn’t want to lose that warm feeling in her chest just yet.                                                                                                                    

Lisa had escaped from the house, leaving Belle and Chas to finish the drying up, with the excuse that the pigs needed putting away for the night. Which was true, but for a few minutes she is content to lean against the wall, watching a few flakes of settled snow slip from a tree branch as it shifts in the wind, listening to the distant shouts of an affectionate argument in the house behind her. The smell of woody smoke still lingers in the air, probably from where Zak and Sam had set up a fire inside a metal barrel round the side of the house, so that they could keep warm when they snuck outside for their traditional cigar while her back was turned.

It's not until she’s finished dealing with the pigs, and has rounded the house to check that the fire has settled enough to not be dangerous, that she sees them. Aaron and Robert. Lisa hadn’t realised they were still here, she had heard them leave the house about twenty minutes earlier, when she had been elbow-deep in turkey grease and fairy liquid. She had heard Chas shouting at them in her tipsy voice to mind the slippery pavements and had waved a soapy hand in the direction of the door without looking, assuming they would head straight home.

But evidently they didn’t as they’re both currently perched on the top of the waist high fence next to the barrel, backs to her, their faces half lit, half shadowed by the declining flames. They’re talking softly and neither of them seem to realise that she is there, the crackle of the wood logs louder than the crunch of her feet on the icy ground.

Of all the Dingle clan, Lisa was proud of the fact that she was probably the least judgemental of the lot when it came to who her family chose as their partners. Of course, she had heard plenty of stories about Robert over the years, had listened to many of Chas’ early rants about how he was no good for Aaron, about how he was trouble.

She had been quick to point out – to Chas and anyone else that would listen – that their family probably didn’t have much room to judge as they weren’t exactly a bunch of angels themselves. As far as Lisa was concerned, if Aaron was happy, it was fine by her. After the year Aaron had experience, no one deserved happiness more, in her opinion.

But still, Lisa had to admit that she had been surprised when Robert had turned up with Aaron and Liv shortly before lunch, the three of them in ridiculous festive jumpers and laden with presents. Aaron must have caught her surprise, because he’d pulled her aside shortly after, and asked her in an undertone if she minded having an extra person, to which she had patted him on the shoulder and reassured him that there was always plenty to go around.

It wasn’t that she was bothered, just surprised. Robert Sugden didn’t strike her as the sort of person to spend Christmas Day necking sickly-sweet snowballs in a silly paper-hat, and playing charades with his future in-laws. She had assumed that he would be too much of a, well... snob, for that. But that was exactly what Robert had done. He had thrown himself in wholeheartedly, had joined in with the games, returned the light-hearted banter, and even made a valiant attempt at keeping up with the Dingles’ Irish drinking habits.

So really it shouldn’t have come as a shock, the sight of Robert and Aaron huddled together in their winter coats and hats, their breaths rising simultaneously as clouds, twisting together in the cold air as they warmed their hands over the fire. But it still did. Lisa didn’t want to interrupt them, or make them think she was spying, but the truth was she was curious. She had never seen Aaron like this with anyone before. He seemed open, affectionate, and settled in a way that was brand new, and it suited him.

Lisa knew she wasn’t the only one who had been watching Robert throughout the day. She had seen the way Aaron’s eyes had lit up when he saw Robert laughing over a can of lager with Cain and Sam. She had seen his soft smile when Robert had kneeled down on the floor to help April construct her brand-new wooden train set. She’d noticed the way Aaron had drawn Robert back from the chaos for a little while, the two of them curled up on the sofa with Alfie, soft and completely lost in each other in a way that felt almost too intimate to watch.

Lisa is pulled from her thoughts by the sound of Aaron’s voice, clearer now the crackling noise was subsiding.

“…so, it was alright then?” he asks, unsure.

“Yeah, well I’ve eaten about a month’s worth of food in under 24 hours…” Robert replies, amusement colouring his voice, then suddenly more serious.

“…but yeah it was…really nice actually, a proper family Christmas and that. I don’t really get that anymore.” Robert shrugs as he says it, but can’t quite hide the emotion is his voice, not from Lisa, and certainly not from Aaron, who reaches for Robert, pulling him in so that Robert can rest his head on his shoulder.

“But we’re seeing Diane and Vic for Boxing Day lunch tomorrow, aren’t we?” Aaron asks.

“Yeah, ‘course… it’s just not really the same anymore you know? What with mum and dad gone and Andy… god knows where. It always just feels like there’s too much missing.”

Lisa wants to break her silence, to rush over and reassure Robert that he’ll always be welcome with them, because if there is one thing that Lisa cannot stand is anyone feeling cast-out or unwanted. But it seems that Aaron has the situation under control. He leans back slightly to press his lips to Robert’s cold-bitten cheek, before speaking again.

“I know it doesn’t make everything ok but… you’ll always have a place here with me, you know?” Aaron’s says, voice soft.

“I know.” Robert replies. Their eyes linger for a moment, like those words have some deeper meaning for them, before Aaron slips down from the fence.

“Come on, let’s go home.” He says, tugging Robert’s hand.

“Yeah, home.” Robert echoes, tangling their red-raw fingers together. The two starting the cold trek up the path towards the village, still oblivious to Lisa’s watchful gaze, before she turns towards home too.

Over the last year, after everything that had happened with Zak and Joanie, Lisa had felt herself becoming more and more disillusioned with the notion of true love, but as she turns back to watch Robert and Aaron disappear over the dark, snow-covered hill, their joined hands swinging in the space between them, she thinks maybe – just maybe – there is still something to believe in. If Aaron and Robert could find it again, then maybe she could too.

And she also thinks that maybe it wouldn’t hurt to add Robert to the list of people coming to their New Year’s fireworks party either.

+1

The room is stuffy, there’s cheap champagne and sandwich crusts littering the floor, the decorations are tacky. So basically, it’s a proper Dingle knees-up, and there isn’t an unhappy face in the room.

Charity’s yell of “They got wed!” is still echoing in everyone’s eardrums, party poppers flinging streamers among handfuls of confetti. Robert and Aaron are both grinning from ear to ear, and their happiness is infectious as they accept congratulations from their friends and family. Lisa is one of the first to wriggle through the crowd and congratulate them, pulling them both in for big hugs.

Zak hands Robert the welly, Cain and Marlon cheering in the background as Sam proudly announces to the whole pub that Robert is one of them now. Despite Robert’s protestations over the welly, there isn’t a single member of the Dingle family that believes he won’t do it. He’ll do it for Aaron, and they all know it.

When Chas tricks them into their first dance, Robert encourages Aaron to sway with him, not a hint of shame or embarrassment as he shows off his new husband for the world to see, at the wedding he had pulled together in under 24 hours. Their guests all beam with pride and love.

Belle doesn’t have as much luck getting Aaron to dance with her, he’s stubbornly content to prop up the bar with a beer in hand, surveying the scene in front of him. So instead she starts conferring with Sarah and Victoria about how many more wellies Robert would need to dance with them instead.

When Aaron finally ducks outside towards the end of the night, looking a bit overwhelmed, none of the Dingles make any moves to follow him. They let Robert follow instead, all of them confident that when it came to Aaron, Robert really was the best thing for him.