Another one shot from me, because I seem to have the bug for writing these at the moment! I meant to post this yesterday, but unfortunately I had to work! Ah well, better late than never.

It was Easter morning, and Chas sat at her kitchen table, hands wrapped around a mug of coffee as she thought hard. There had to be a way to loosen the hold Robert seemed to have on her son. It was going to be especially difficult after the revelations Aaron had admitted lately. That the person he'd turned to first, trusted most had been Robert. That was going to make parting them more difficult than ever, but then Chas was never one to give up without a fight, was she? The truth was, there was nothing good about Robert Sugden. True, he'd been very supportive of Aaron lately with the Gordon issue, but sooner or later, he'd be back in Aaron's life as a boyfriend, lover, whatever suited him at the time. Chas did not want to let that happen. She was going to have to think about some way to get that mans claws out of her son. Aaron could be happy without him, she knew he could. Robert had done so many bad things over the past 18 months she could barely keep track of them. There just had to be some way of making Aaron see he was bad news. But how could she do it?

Chas also felt the nagging annoying feeling that Robert wasn't entirely bad. If he was, he'd never have stood by Aaron's side when the abuse secret finally came out. But that didn't change who he was, or the fact that he was such a bad influence on Aaron.

"You look miles away." She turned, smiling as Aaron came into the kitchen.

"Just thinking," she said, shaking her head slightly. "Hiya love. Happy Easter." Aaron looked at the chocolate egg on the table with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm not seven," he said easily.

"I know," she said. "But you'll always be my baby." The words were meant innocently, but it brought to mind things from the past that weren't being mentioned today. "It's only chocolate," she said. "Coffee?"

"Yeah, please," Aaron said. He sat opposite his mum, lost in thought. Last Easter he'd been tucked up in bed with Robert at Home Farm, Chrissie being away. It had been a blissful few days. A few short days where he hadn't felt like the dirty little affair, the hidden secret. Like he was doing something wrong. Of course it had ended far too soon, when his wife came back. He could still remember how cold that had felt when Chrissie had announced she was coming back, the way Robert had pushed him away so quickly. The push which had been the trigger that led to Aaron completely self destructing. It'd hurt like hell, to see what life could be with Robert, then to have it snatched away when reality came back. For the moment, he ignored that. Instead focusing on what it'd felt like, to wake up in bed next to him like a normal couple. Any other normal, boring couple in the world. The way Robert had leaned over to him, kissing the back of his neck before they were even really conscious. Those sleepy fumbles which had made him smile and feel loved without needing the words to express it. By that time, it wasn't just about the sex, though that had been mind blowing. Especially having all the time they could want, rather than half an hour stolen here or there before Chrissie started getting suspicious and looking for her husband. No rush, just lounging about and enjoying their privacy.

"Sorry?" Aaron asked, realising that his mother had been speaking to him, and he'd totally been ignoring her, lost in thoughts of Robert, or more specifically the way Robert could make him feel when he did that thing with his tongue…

"Hello?" Chas said. He shook his head, hard trying to clear the enjoyable vision in his mind. "Aaron?"

"I was thinking," he said.

"First time for everything," Chas quipped, though she was smiling. Aaron raised his eyebrows for a moment, but said nothing, smiling into his coffee. His phone buzzed with a text, and he quickly looked at it. Robert. Morning. If you need me, just call. x Aaron smiled at the message, absurdly pleased that Robert was thinking of him.

"Don't answer that," Chas said.

"Why?"

"It's Robert," Chas said. "Don't bother lying to me."

"Wasn't going to," Aaron said, typing on the phone. He didn't send the message, needing to think about it before committing to sending it and put his phone back in his pocket. "Just leave him alone, mum."

"He's bad for you," she said. "I know he's been there for you lately, but you have to leave him alone."

"I can't," Aaron said.

"Don't you remember last year?" Chas tried. "When Robert and Chrissie went away, you were happier. I thought you might be back to normal. It all went downhill when they came back. Why can't you see that, Aaron?"

"Are you naïve or stupid?" Aaron asked.

"Aaron!"

"Oh, come on mum," Aaron said, his patience beginning to run out. "We were having an affair. Do you really think Robert left? He wanted to be with me. He sent his wife and her family away, so he could… so we could be together. That entire Easter week last year, I was with him, sleeping in his bed while his wife was gone."

"Oh, Aaron," she whispered quietly.

"To be honest I'm amazed you didn't notice I wasn't sleeping here."

"I thought he was gone," Chas said. "I didn't think you'd be stupid enough to…"

"You said I was happy," Aaron interrupted, latching onto the one thing that he hadn't known.

"You were," Chas admitted, very reluctantly. "I thought you were finally getting over him."

"Mum, I can't get over him," Aaron said. "And you know what, I don't want to. And you nagging me to chuck him isn't helping me."

"What is it about him that's so special?" Chas asked, being sincere rather than shouting the odds.

"You can't help who you fall for, mum," Aaron said. "You know that better than me."

"I guess I do."

"Do you really think I'd have chosen someone like him, if I was being rational? Manipulative, liar, married, cheat, secretly gay. Couldn't get much more complicated."

"Aaron, we need to talk about…"

"No, we don't," he said sharply. Over the last few weeks he'd become very attuned to that tone of voice from his mother. The one that said "Gordon" or "trial" or "rape" without actually having to form the words. "Not today."

"Fine," she said. Aaron got his phone out and sent that text to Robert before he could change his mind.

Robert was alone in the kitchen, drinking tea when he received Aaron's text. I can't stop thinking about Easter last year. I miss you. Knowing Aaron as well as he did, he was pretty convinced that he'd thought about it very carefully before adding those last three words. Robert couldn't help the smile on his face as he reread the text. Maybe things were looking up for them. He thought about it for a moment, then replied.

I've got the house to myself. If you want company, come over. No strings. :) He hoped that was okay, and he unlocked the front door, letting Aaron in if he wanted to. Victoria and Adam had stayed at the farm last night, something to do with Adams sister falling apart. Right now, Robert didn't care, he was just pleased he had some privacy.

Within ten minutes there was a knock on the door. Trying and failing to ignore the way his heart leapt, he answered it, seeing Aaron there. He had that gleam in his eyes that Robert hadn't seen for months and months. Not since he was living with Chrissie. Without really stopping to consider it, he kissed him, right on the doorstep where anyone could see. And Robert didn't care. He wrapped his hands around Aaron's waist, pulling him into the house. The kiss continued, passionate and leading towards something more. After a moment, Robert reluctantly pulled away, breathing heavily, keeping his hands on Aaron's hips because he wanted to be touching the other man.

"That's not exactly what I meant when I said come over," Robert said, trying to rein in his self control. He couldn't do exactly what he wanted after recent history. God, if he took advantage of Aaron, and he regretted it later on, Robert would never forgive himself. Before he knew the truth, he'd have just taken Aaron to bed and to hell with the consequences.

"It might be what I meant," Aaron said, the half smile on Robert's face that he'd greeted him with when he'd opened the door making him more convinced than ever. "What I want."

"Are you sure?" Robert asked. "I need you to be sure, I can't… If you're not ready, it's okay."

"Shut up," Aaron said firmly, smiling at him. Robert pulled his body close so they were touching everywhere, but he didn't make the first move, he couldn't. He needed Aaron to be okay with this, despite the desire pounding through his own body making it hard to think straight. Aaron's fingers slid under his shirt, up his spine slowly, teasingly. Robert closed his eyes with the effort of not moving, not devouring the man in front of him. His self control broke when Aaron kissed him deeply, pulling at the T shirt impatiently. "Bedroom," he demanded. Robert did not argue, pulling at Aaron's clothes as they stumbled upstairs.

Afterwards Aaron must have slipped into sleep for a few minutes because when he opened his eyes his heart rate had slowed down significantly. It'd been months and months since they'd slept together and Aaron was filing away new details for his memory, or details he hadn't quite remembered. Just in case it never happened again The way Robert made him feel, so wanted and desired. It'd never been quite like it for him before. That urgency, that… desperate need. Robert pushed his chest against Aaron's back, holding him close, their skin touching everywhere.

"I should go," Aaron said eventually.

"Don't run away from me," Robert said.

"I'm more thinking about our clothes scattered all over the house," Aaron said. "No need to advertise what we're doing when Vic comes home."

"Maybe," Robert conceded. "Are you all right?"

"No," he said in a tone that wouldn't take any argument. "We're not doing this. We do not talk about that when we are in bed, not ever," Aaron said firmly. "I need the space from it."

"Okay." Robert kissed him, very lightly. "You could always stay. Neither of us are hiding anything."

"Mm," Aaron said.

"I mean it," he said. "It's Easter, we have nowhere we have to be right now." Aaron smiled, his eyes going to the scar on Robert's chest from the shooting, and the surgery which had saved his life. After a moment, he ran his fingers down the six inches or so of his scar, still pink and looking painful.

"I know it's not pretty," Robert said.

"I wasn't thinking that," Aaron said lightly. "I can hardly talk, can I?" indicating his own scarred chest. "Does it still hurt?"

"No," he said quietly. He covered Aaron's hand with his own, to stop the questions. He really didn't want to think about being shot right now. The pain, both physical and emotional when he thought he'd driven Aaron to his breaking point, the point where he'd be pushed to pulling the trigger. Robert kissed him gently, both of them stopping when they heard the door open downstairs. Aaron could almost see the scene downstairs, their clothes scattered everywhere, leading up the stairs.

"I'm home!" came the shout from downstairs. Victoria, then.

"You don't have to go," Robert said, correctly reading Aaron's body language from the interruption.

"I should," he said. Robert could almost feel the barriers come down between them, Aaron locking himself away.

"Okay," Robert said. "Please don't regret this."

"Believe me, I don't," Aaron said firmly, smiling slightly.