Lost and Found – Chapter 3
-O-
DISCLAIMER: I am not connected to Emmerdale and its characters, which belong to ITV
-O-
Aaron awoke early and tried to get his bearings. He had never slept in this room before, or in this bed. Then, he turned his head to see Jackson slumbering on the pillow beside him. The events of the previous night came flooding back to him. They had spent a brilliant evening at a really nice restaurant; getting to know each other again, then made their way back to Jackson's flat; that's where he was now. He propped himself up on one elbow, staring at the man that he thought he had lost forever. He felt his eyes moisten and told himself that he was being a soft git!
Jackson roused and focussed on the blue eyes staring at him intently, "What?" he said.
"Nothing!" replied Aaron, bending to give Jackson a peck on the lips.
"Good morning!" Jackson said, with a smirk.
"Well, as I'm a guest; you gonna offer me breakfast!" Aaron asked, cheekily.
"Always thinking of your stomach!" Jackson scolded him.
"Not always," Aaron replied, licking his lips, "I do think about other things too!" He ran his hand down Jackson's firm body.
"Naughty!" said Jackson as he felt a stirring in response to Aaron's manipulations.
Suddenly, Jackson pulled away. "What's wrong?" asked a concerned Aaron.
"Look at the time!" Jackson replied, "We'll both be late for work!"
"Sod work!" Aaron tried to continue their hot morning session, but Jackson stopped him.
"Look, I'd love to spend the day in bed with you; but we've got to earn a crust! We'll have plenty of time to ourselves later!"
"Awww!" Aaron pouted, "I was really up for it as well!"
"Easy, tiger!" Jackson gave Aaron another quick kiss before heading for the bathroom, grinning all over his face.
Later, Jackson was humming and whistling as he worked on his building job at David's shop.
"You're very chipper this morning!" David remarked.
"Oh, you know, just happy in my work!" Jackson replied, with a big grin.
"Anyone would think you're in love!"
"That would be telling!" Jackson could not stop smiling.
"I take it that you and Aaron have kissed and made up?" David said; then quickly added, "Sorry, none of my business!"
"Its fine," Jackson put him at ease, "If you must know, he stayed at mine last night."
"Oh! I'm really pleased for ya!" David said with all sincerity, "I won't tell a soul!"
"It's no big secret," Jackson replied; he felt like telling the world how happy he was.
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That evening, Jackson drove himself and Aaron to his flat in Hotten. They decided to have a night in watching DVD's and they ordered a pizza for their meal. After they had eaten, they curled up on the sofa together to watch a film, but neither of them showed much interest in it; they only had eyes for each other.
"I can't believe I waited all this time to get back in contact," Jackson said wistfully, "I was afraid you'd send me packing; or that you would have met someone else and moved on. All that time wasted, when I could have been with you; I never stopped believing that we would meet again."
"Absence makes the heart grow fonder, isn't that what they say?" Aaron gazed into the big brown eyes that he loved so much.
"Hark at you, getting all poetic!"
"Shut up!" Aaron felt embarrassed.
"You shut up!" Jackson suddenly had another of his déjà-vu moments; here he was with the one person who really mattered to him and they were back; swapping banter, just as they had always done.
Aaron moved in for a kiss which Jackson eagerly returned; they both felt that the bond they now had was unbreakable. "I love you!" Aaron whispered, wanting to reassure Jackson of the fact at every opportunity.
"And I love you too!" Jackson felt tears filling his eyes.
"What's wrong?" Aaron saw the tears welling up.
"Nothing! I'm just happy, that's all!"
"You big, soft lad!" Aaron smiled at his boyfriend, his face full of love and pride. He knew exactly how Jackson was feeling; as he felt the same.
"Have you had your holidays yet?" Jackson asked.
Aaron snuggled his head on Jackson's chest, "No, why?"
Jackson stroked Aaron's cropped hair, "Well, I was thinking, we could go away together. It would be nice to get away for a while and spend some quality time with each other, don't you think?"
"I'd love it!" Aaron started to get excited at the thought; his only holiday with Jackson so far had been one of the happiest times of his life, "Where would we go, Lanzarote again?"
"How about New Zealand?"
Aaron shot up from his prone position and stared Jackson in the face, "Are you for real? How could we afford that?"
"Well, my Mum is always banging on about visiting her over there. She and Shane would foot the bill for the air fare, plus we'd be able to stay with them; they've got a lovely big house, I'll show you the pictures."
Jackson produced some photos of the house in New Zealand and Aaron looked at it in awe. It was a large, single-storey dwelling in an idyllic setting of grass and trees. "It's fantastic!" gasped Aaron.
"Well?" Jackson continued, "Shall I tell my Mum we'll go?"
"Yeah, why not?"
"Great! I've thought about going before, but I didn't really want to go on my own. Now I've got you, I'd love to go, if you would."
"Anywhere you go, I want to be with you," Aaron looked at Jackson, his blue eyes sparkling.
Jackson kissed him passionately, "I think it's past our bedtime!" he said, softly.
Aaron took Jackson's hand and pulled him up from the sofa, "C'mon then!" he said, with a huge smile on his face.
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"New Zealand?" Flynn was surprised at Aaron's announcement in the garage the next day.
"Yeah. Some of Jackson's folks are out there; it won't even cost us anything."
"Lucky sod!" Flynn said, "Can I stow away in your luggage? I've always wanted to go there!"
"I don't think Jackson would be too keen on you tagging along; playing gooseberry!"
"Yeah, you're probably right; though I could always hook up with a hot New Zealander!" Flynn chuckled.
"You could double-date with Jackson's step-brother Brad, he's gay!"
"Have you got a picture of him?" asked Flynn.
"No, but Jackson might have. Mind you, from what he says, I think this Brad is a bit of a muscle-bound surfer dude, probably not your type!"
"Yeah, I know what they can be like, all brawn and no brain!"
"I don't know about that! I think Brad went to uni."
"More of a hunky college jock, then!" Flynn joked.
"Anyway," Aaron continued, getting the subject back to the garage, "you'd need to stay here and keep this place afloat!"
"I knew there'd be a catch!" Flynn said, good-naturedly, "When are you going?"
"In a couple of weeks or so, we've got to sort out flights and what have you. That reminds me, I'd better make sure my passport is up to date!"
"Well, if you don't, they might strip-search you at customs! Mind you, you'd probably enjoy that!" Flynn laughed at his own joke.
"Oi!" Aaron threw an oily rag at Flynn's head.
Later, in the Woolpack, Aaron was awaiting Jackson's arrival.
Chas was in her usual chatty mood, "I'm going to miss you being around; New Zealand, eh!"
"It will only be for a couple of weeks; it's only a holiday!"
"Yeah, I bet Hazel's looking forward to seeing Jackson again. Say 'hello' from me when you get there!"
"You should see the house she lives in now! Her husband's a rich bloke."
"What does he do?" Chas was curious.
"Property development, I think. Oh; and he runs a fleet of luxury hire cars."
"Sounds quite a high-flyer!"
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Hazel waited patiently at the airport; she had missed her son and was excited that he was finally visiting her. A young, smartly dressed man with short, blond hair stood by her side.
Aaron and Jackson approached the exit and spotted them.
"I see Hazel's found herself a toy boy!" said Aaron with a chuckle, "I thought Shane was her own age!"
"That's the driver, you div!" Jackson replied, "Shane's sent one of his cars to pick us up and take us to their house."
Hazel pulled Jackson into an embrace and kissed him, "Oh, it's wonderful to see you again, I've really missed you!" She then surprised Aaron by hugging him too, "It's lovely to see you too!"
"This is Dirk," Hazel introduced the young man, "He's one of Shane's drivers."
"Hi," Dirk smiled, "Let me help you with your luggage."
"Where's Shane?" asked Jackson.
"He wanted to be here, but he had an important meeting that he couldn't get out of, he'll meet us later," Hazel explained.
On the long journey from the airport, Hazel sat in the passenger seat next to Dirk and Aaron and Jackson sat in the back. Jackson succumbed to jet-lag and fell asleep but Aaron was, amazingly, full of beans.
"I suppose you were surprised when Jackson told you that we were back together," Aaron said to Hazel.
"Well, I was a bit," Hazel replied, twisting around to look at her son's boyfriend, "I hope you're not going to mess him around this time."
"Look, Hazel, I know you have your doubts about me and I don't blame you. But, in the time we were apart, I came to realise that I love your son. I'll never let him down again, I give you my word."
Hazel looked serious, "He was lost without you, bless him! I knew he'd never be content unless you got back together again. I know he loves you with all his heart and if you love him too, that's good enough for me. I just want him to be happy."
"He will be, I'll make sure of it, I promise."
"Good!" Hazel smiled; she felt that Aaron was being sincere.
Aaron was stunned when they arrived at the house; the pictures that he had seen did not do it justice. They approached it on a long drive and found it nestled in a secluded spot, surrounded by lush green trees. He was even more stunned when they were shown to their living quarters; a huge room with panoramic windows and a large en-suite bathroom.
"I could get used to this!" Aaron said, flopping down on the king-size bed.
"This is even better than I'd imagined it!" replied Jackson, perching himself beside his partner.
A few hours later, after they had both taken a nap and freshened up, they went to the large lounge to meet Shane on his arrival. Aaron looked out of the window and saw a tall, well-built man walking up the path towards the house. He had brown hair, greying at the temples; and looked very distinguished.
"Hi Jackson; good to see you again!" Shane said as he approached his step-son and shook his hand.
"This is Aaron," Jackson introduced his boyfriend to Shane.
"Welcome Aaron, nice to meet you," said Shane, shaking Aaron's hand warmly.
They sat down to a delicious meal in the dining room and chatted about themselves, getting to know each other better. Aaron liked Shane; he was a decisive, confident man of the world and Aaron admired that.
Later, in their bedroom, Aaron confided in Jackson that he had taken to Shane and Jackson grinned, "My Mum says he likes you! I think he sees a lot of himself in you, when he was younger."
"So, you think I'll become an entrepreneur one day, do you?" Aaron laughed.
"I think you could do anything you set your mind to!"
Aaron felt a warm glow inside; his partner's confidence in him meant the world to him.
The next day, Aaron and Jackson joined Shane and Hazel for breakfast. They had just slept solidly for several hours and had recovered from their jet-lag. Shane knew that Hazel was missing Jackson and he had made up his mind to try to do something about it so, over breakfast, he put a proposition to them.
"How about working with me, in my company?" Shane asked Jackson.
"What?" Jackson was taken aback; not sure that he had heard Shane correctly.
"Your mother here tells me you are a grafter; and I could do with someone with your skills on my team. Plus, we're family now. What do you say?"
"That's very kind of you, Shane, but I've only just got back with Aaron. I can't up sticks to New Zealand and leave him high and dry in England!"
"I'd anticipated that!" Shane looked at Aaron and smiled, "The offer's open to both of you. I have a vacancy for a skilled mechanic too! After all, my step-son's partner is also part of the family!"
Aaron did not know how to respond; he was not sure how Jackson was going to react; he looked at Jackson to answer for him.
"I don't know what to say!" Jackson said, genuinely shocked by Shane's offer.
"I know it's a lot to take in," Shane continued, "Talk it over between you and have a think about it; there's no rush, I know this will be a life-changing move. Just let me know when you've decided."
Aaron and Jackson spent the day in a state of suspended disbelief. They had only come away on holiday and suddenly they had an offer on the table to emigrate to New Zealand!
Later that morning, Jackson asked his mother about Shane.
"Well," said Hazel, "He'll want his pound of flesh, I know that. You and Aaron would have to work hard, Shane's quite a ruthless businessman; I suppose he's had to be, to get where he is now!"
"What about Brad?" Jackson asked about Shane's son, "Won't he be put out by me muscling in on his territory?"
"Oh, no!" Hazel chuckled, "Brad's not interested in being involved in the business. He spends most of his time surfing; he usually hops across to Australia, reckons the beaches are better there. That's where he is now. Shane would like him to take an interest in the firm, but he lets him do what he wants."
"Sounds like he bankrolls his lifestyle!"
"I keep telling Shane he spoils him! But, he's his son and he wants him to be happy; just like I want you to be happy too!"
"Another thing," Jackson had a further question, "where would we live?"
"Did you see the lodge at the bottom of the drive as you came in?"
"Yes."
"Well, there are some tenants in there at the moment, but they are moving out in a few weeks. You and Aaron can have that once it's empty. Meanwhile, you'd be welcome to stay here."
"Sounds like you've thought of everything!" Jackson smiled.
"Look love, you know I'd like you both to live here, but the choice is yours. Whatever makes you the happiest is fine by me!"
Jackson hugged his mother fondly and then went off to find his boyfriend.
Later that day, Aaron and Jackson were standing by Shane's swimming pool.
"What do you think?" Jackson asked Aaron, after they had discussed the situation at length.
"Well," Aaron replied, "On the one hand, we could stay where we are; in a cold, wet, miserable climate doing dead-end jobs, or on the other hand, we could live in a warm, luxurious place with prospects. I think it's a no-brainer, don't you?"
"As long as you're sure, I'll understand if you can't break away from your ties in Yorkshire!"
"Jackson, I know you want to go for it; and I'd love to have a chance to make a fresh start! You decide; and I'll stand by you, no matter what. I love you; and wherever you want to be, that's where I want to be too. That's all that really matters."
Jackson pulled Aaron into a tight embrace, "Do you know how much I love you?" Jackson said softly.
They kissed passionately; then Aaron said, "Like I said, it's your decision; it's 'make your mind up' time!"
