Souls - Chapter 1

-O-

DISCLAIMER: I am not connected to Emmerdale and its characters, which belong to ITV

-O-

"You still haven't told me about Archie and Roderick," Robert looked at his husband as they settled down in their bed.

Aaron knew that Robert was referring to the two people that they had seen after their regression experience with a spiritualist, but he looked at him quizzically, "What about them?"

"When we went for a walk in the woods earlier and found the two hearts carved into a tree, you said that they had a happy ending. How did you know that?"

Aaron looked deep in thought, "I know that Archie wasn't able to read and write, yet he wrote on the tree when he inscribed that second heart. So, I assume Rod taught him. Then there were the things that the old man told us in the pub. That means that they must have been together for a long time, doesn't it?"

Robert looked at Aaron's face...it was the face that he loved. At that moment, Aaron looked content and satisfied and Robert knew that his husband had certain knowledge that Archie and Rod had been happy, "I guess it does," he smiled reassuringly before passionately kissing his husband on the lips.

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Archie Dingle rolled over onto his side and stretched out his right arm to the other side of the double bed. He could feel nothing but bed linen. No lover's warm skin, no soft, blond hairs against his fingers...nothing but crisp sheets.

He opened his beautiful blue eyes and gazed at the empty pillow next to him. But, he did not feel abandoned or lonely. His lover, Roderick Sugden, had told him that he would have to leave early, so he was expecting to wake up alone. Archie caught sight of a small piece of paper on Rod's pillow and he picked it up. Archie was unable to read, but Rod had drawn a heart shape and a 'u' on the paper and Archie felt a warm glow as he knew that Rod was, in a unique way, telling him that he loved him. The young doctor had started to teach Archie how to read and write and he recognised the 'u' and Rod had told him it was pronounced the same as the word 'you'. The heart, of course, symbolised love in any language.

Rod had booked them into a hotel for an overnight stay. It was killing both of them that they could not display their love openly for fear of being arrested. The year was nineteen hundred and nineteen and sexual relationships between men were illegal in Britain, so they had to tread carefully. Rod could not share a bed with Archie at his home as he was still married to his wife Ruby. Neither could they use the bed in Archie's room as his landlady, Mrs Davies, tended to breathe Christianity over any callers to the house. The risk of being caught was too great. Even Archie's sister, Lily, with whom he lodged, did not know about their relationship and would start asking questions if Rod stayed in Archie's room all night.

Archie knew that the hotel room was paid for in advance, so he could go whenever he wanted and the hotel staff would not stop him leaving the premises and ask for payment. So he relaxed a little and took advantage of a bit of a lie in. He snuggled into the sheets and, gazing up at the ceiling, his head comfortably cushioned by his pillow, he thought back to the previous night. He had made love to Rod for hours as they wrestled naked in their bed. They both delighted in their physical differences. Archie was solid and well-built, with big pectoral muscles that Rod loved to caress as he kissed and licked the firm nipples, sending electric bolts through his lover's athletic body. They had gone on to partake in some activities which Archie had heard people refer to as 'unnatural practices', but he did not understand how penetrating and being penetrated by your lover could be unnatural: and to him it felt like the most natural thing in the world, to physically bond with your lover. Archie ran his hand through his thick, dark hair, making his muscular bicep bulge as the memories of their night of passion came flooding back to him.

Archie was dark-haired and Rod was blond and they were fascinated by the differences in each other. Rod was not as thick-set as Archie, but he still had plenty of muscles, albeit more slender than his lover's. Rod was also the taller of the two, but there wasn't a huge difference in their height.

Archie's thoughts then drifted back to the time that he and Rod had first met. He had woken up in a field hospital after being rescued from a fierce battle. The first face that he saw when he regained consciousness was Rod's. He knew in that instant that he was attracted to the handsome young doctor, but had no idea that Rod would ever look at him in the same way too. Rod comforted Archie when it was found that Archie's closest army comrade had been killed in the battle that had injured him. In truth, Archie had developed a crush on Private William Burgess: Bill to his friends. Bill was as rough and ready as Archie, but he had a tender heart underneath his manly, gruff exterior. He had been quite a handsome lad, with dark hair, long sideburns and deep, brooding brown eyes. In truth, Archie felt attracted to Bill sexually and did not fully understand his feelings. On one occasion, as they had huddled together for warmth under a blanket, both Archie and Bill had become aroused with the close physical contact. Fully clothed, they had rubbed their crotches together until they both climaxed, but no mention was made of it between them afterwards. Archie had harboured hopes of a repeat and maybe to take things further, but then Bill had been killed in the line of duty.

Archie quickly discovered that Rod was married, so he never imagined that any kind of sexual relationship could develop between them. Then, one night when it was all quiet and Rod sat chatting to Archie, the young soldier told Rod about his experience with Bill. He felt comfortable with Rod and had the confidence to tell him practically anything. Rod listened to Archie pouring his heart out about the close friend that he had lost and was not only sympathetic, but also intrigued. Rod knew that he had his own latent feelings for other men and he was strongly attracted to handsome Archie.

Archie and his sister Lily had a tough upbringing. They lived in a poor area of Norwich when they were children. The city centre was brimming with slums and Archie, Lily and their parents lived in one of the city's many yards. Homes were crammed into small yards leading off the major streets and behind ageing properties within the old city wall. There were hundreds of these yards: each of which could house up to 30 people, in impoverished and sometimes unsanitary conditions.

Their parents died at quite a young age, which was not unusual in that era, especially in areas of poverty and poor medical facilities. Archie was called up to join the army at the beginning of the war. Their late mother had been in service at a large house as a scullery maid and Lily was lucky enough to be taken on after her mother died, so Archie felt that his sister would be alright while he was away. Archie did not have any proper schooling, so his lack of reading and writing skills would hinder him in finding employment if he survived the war.

Archie thought back to his revealing talk with Rod about his friend Bill. He could tell that Rod was compassionate and was on his side. He had worried that Rod would tell the authorities that he had taken part in an illegal sexual act with another man, but he felt that he could trust him. Rod started to get very tactile with him, over and above the physical contact necessary between doctor and patient. One night, Archie had been upset about Bill and the young doctor had hugged him tightly, trying to soothe him. When Rod drew back to look into Archie's wonderful blue eyes, the urge to kiss him was too great and their lips met for the first time. Archie was very surprised by the kiss, but he kissed back: hard. They were both aware of the reason why they were doing this: they were strongly attracted to each other. At first, it had all been furtive glances and innocent conversation, but it became more passionate whenever the couple could find a place where they could be alone. They both knew that they wanted each other physically as well as emotionally, but they needed to hide their love from prying eyes.

The war was nearly at an end, so they made plans to meet up after the war. Lily's employers had moved to a house in Leeds and Lily moved with them as there was nothing to keep her in Norwich anymore. However, her employers did not have a room for her at their new house but they had an acquaintance, Mrs Davies, who let rooms at her house nearby. When Archie returned home from the war, Mrs Davies let him rent the room next to Lily's, as it was vacant, so they were reunited.

Rod had returned to his home and his wife in Leeds. He and Archie, almost by coincidence, ended up in the same city and Rod would invite Archie to his house as a guest. Rod's wife Ruby did not suspect that there was any relationship between her husband and Archie other than a professional one. She did find it a little odd that Rod seemed to be giving special attention to Archie, but put it down to the strong bond that soldiers developed between themselves during wartime and military service. She could not have imagined in her wildest dreams that Rod would want sexual relations with another man.

Archie climbed out of bed and pulled on his clothes. He realised that he had been daydreaming and it was time for him to vacate the room. He made sure that he had the train ticket in his pocket that Rod had given him so that he could return home from the hotel. He walked to the station and stood on the platform, waiting for his train back to Leeds. Before long, he could hear the familiar chuffing and wheezing of the steam locomotive that was pulling his train.

He sat, looking out of the window at the rolling countryside and his thoughts once more turned to the previous night. Rod had assured him that he loved him and he was going to tell Ruby that he no longer wished to be married to her. Archie knew Ruby and, being a decent sort, he was upset that Rod was going to break her heart, but his sadness was eased by the joyful knowledge that Rod would soon be his.

He smiled as he gazed out of the window. He wanted to climb onto the roof of the train and shout to the whole world that he loved Roderick Sugden, but he knew that he must keep his secret locked away forever in his heart.

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Rod had left the hotel early as he was due to attend the hospital as part of his work, so he went there first before going back home.

When he eventually arrived home he found a note, in Ruby's handwriting, waiting for him on the small table in their hallway. It said that his wife had gone to visit her parents as her father was ill. She expected to be gone for a couple of days. Rod immediately saw this as an opportunity to see Archie again, even though he had just returned from a trip away with his lover. So he arranged for a cab to take him to Archie's address in Macclesfield Terrace. When he arrived, Mrs Davies wanted another free consultation about her housemaid's knee before Rod could get up the stairs to Archie's room, so he indulged her as it was easier than trying to refuse to talk to her.

Eventually, he managed to prise himself free from the landlady and made it to Archie's room. His lover was surprised but delighted to see him again so soon. Once Rod was safely inside the room, they closed the door and Rod swept Archie into his arms and they kissed passionately.

When they broke apart, Archie looked into Rod's eyes, "How did Ruby take the news?" he asked.

"I haven't had a chance to tell her yet," Rod replied.

Archie looked crestfallen, "You got cold feet you mean. You can't force yourself to leave her, can you?"

Rod was heartbroken by the sad look on Archie's face and wanted to reassure him straight away, "Listen to me, my love, I am still going to leave her, but she's gone away to see her parents: it sounds like her father is ill. I'll tell her when she returns. I've come to ask if you'll stay with me while she's away."

Archie was relieved and he smiled again, "I thought you were going to say you'd changed your mind and you still loved her after all."

Rod tenderly put his hands either side of Archie's face, "My darling Archie, you've stolen my heart and, because you keep it locked away inside you: with your heart, it can never belong to anyone else."

Archie fell into Rod's arms. He knew that Rod was being honest with him. It would be a tough job for Rod to tell Ruby that he wanted to leave her, but he felt sure that Rod would do just that...no question.