He's always gone for the big things, all the lavished gifts and expensive dinners that people had wanted, had expected from him. Even at the very end, when everything else was falling to pieces, he'd come home with a bouquet of flowers or a glistening ring that could buy him one, two, if he were lucky even three more months of a "happy" relationship before someone stormed out or he found himself signing dthose all too familiar divorce papers. Yes, it was only a temporary fix, soon enough everything would fall to pieces and all his gifts would their value, but it made things easier, made things not hurt quite as much when he fucked something up.
When he met Robert, things were supposed to be the same; those extravagant gifts were supposed to be raining down upon the blond Aussie but he never found himself able to do it. Instead the gifts were small, a kiss on the cheek and a chocolate bar to keep him going on a late night, or a cup of ea when he got home or even not asking too many questions when he finds an angry bruise on the other's cheek but instead doing an act that surprised even himself at first. None of it was supposed to hold so much meaning, none of it was supposed to be worth a damn thing but he felt that somehow, those moments were valued more than any dinner or diamond he'd ever bought.