Chapter 7

"Nooooo," she cried out as he gave her body a hard push. He knew the wooden floor wouldn't hold before she even hit the ground. Her body slammed into the rotten planks and then the whole floor creaked as the old planks broke beneath her weight. The floor came loose and with a thunderous roar she flew through the air. With a hard bang and the sound of breaking glass she landed on the floor below.

Aaron took a few steps and peeked over the edge at the broken body below. He glanced down at his hands. The hands that had pushed her. The hands that had killed her.

Aaron sat up in bed. His mouth opened in a silent scream. He wrapped his arms around his shaking body and closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths. He was drenched in sweat and his heart was beating erratically against his ribcage. He was overcome by panic and felt the urgent need to go for a run no matter what time it was. He threw back the blankets and moved to get out of bed when a hand on his shoulder and a sleepy voice stopped him. "Aaron? Is everything alright?"

Aaron paused his movements when he suddenly remembered that he wasn't at home. He was with Robert. He felt some of his panic dissolve and slightly relaxed beneath the comforting touch of Robert's hand. He shivered before he gave a tight nod. "I'm okay," he whispered, his voice loud in the complete silence of the night. "Just a bad dream."

Robert placed his other hand on Aaron's other shoulder and Aaron let Robert ease him back onto his side. Robert pulled the blankets back over Aaron's body and rearranged himself against Aaron's back, sliding his arm around Aaron's torso and pulling him tightly against his chest.

Aaron felt the soft press of lips against the back of his neck and a hand that stroked his hair softly. Aaron sighed in content as he pushed his body back against Robert's, too tired to keep his eyes open any longer. "Robert?" he muttered.

"Shhh, go back to sleep," he heard Robert murmur, his breath a warm puff against Aaron's neck.

Aaron fell back asleep in the safety of Robert's arms.

xXx

Sometime later Aaron woke up in an empty bed, the early morning sun shining through the windows. The mattress next to him was still warm so he knew Robert had left not too long ago. For a moment he closed his eyes, losing himself in the peace and quiet. It was so different compared to what he was used to at the pub. There was always noise there, people walking in and out; needing something, wanting to talk to someone or simply hanging around.

But here it was completely quiet. There was no sound of footsteps, no talking or shouting or the classical music Diane liked to play. Something he always pretended to hate, but he secretly did enjoy some of the pieces.

Now that he was alone Aaron took the chance to look around the room. Aaron noted that it was a nice room. It was light, big windows on the right side of the bed. The walls were off-white and there was a large painting on the wall opposite of the bed. On the left side of the bed was a door and Aaron guessed that it was a walk-in closet since there was only one closet in the room which didn't seem big enough to hold all their clothes. Beside that door hung a large mirror. The room was smaller than he'd expected from this huge house, but Aaron had to admit that it had something cozy.

There was a part of Aaron that still felt guilty over the fact that he was in Chrissie's bed, but it was a little too late to worry about it. After everything they had done last night...

Robert had clearly showed Aaron that he'd missed him in recent weeks. Both hadn't had much sleep, even though they went to bed pretty early. Not that Aaron was complaining.

He climbed out of bed, wanting to go downstairs to find Robert when he realized that he wasn't wearing anything. He looked around and Aaron found his disregarded boxers on the floor, but remembered that all his other clothes had left his body long before they had reached the bedroom.

Fuck, Aaron thought as he pulled on his boxers. He wasn't going to go downstairs in only his underwear. He looked around for something to wear, but found the room lacking any clothing. Screw it, Aaron thought as he pulled open the door on the left side of the bed. He'd been right, it was indeed a walk in closet. The lights flashed on and Aaron raised his eyebrows as he looked at the amount of female clothes. He shook his head as he entered the closet, it felt freaking weird, he usually only saw walk in closets in movies, he'd never thought he would ever be in one himself. The first thought that crossed his mind was that Chrissie had a ridiculous amount of clothes. Her clothes took in almost the whole closet and it was beyond him why anyone needed so many clothes.

He looked around for Robert's part and spotted his clothes at his right hand. It was a small space compared to Chrissie's, but there were still a lot more clothes than Aaron had. Aaron had the sudden desire to pull open all the drawers and rummage through Robert's clothes. In recent months he'd seen Robert in anything and everything and Aaron had to admit that Robert had had some questionable wardrobe choices. He was curious to see if there was any clothing he'd never seen Robert wear before. With difficulty he managed to suppress the desire, it seemed a violation of Robert's privacy and he felt dirty even considering it.

There were some neatly folded T-shirts on a shelf and Aaron grabbed the one on the top. It was a navy blue T-shirt. It seemed strange to put on a T-shirt of Robert, but he didn't have much choice if he didn't want to walk down stairs in his underwear. He sighed and pulled the T-shirt over his head. It was too big and it hang around his frame, but it smelled nice, of washing powder and something that was all Robert. He hoped Robert wouldn't mind him wearing his clothes.

He left the closet -that thought made Aaron chuckle, he'd never walked out of a closet before- and made his way downstairs. A nice smell entered his nose as he reached the end of the stairs and he followed the smell into the kitchen.

He found Robert behind the stove. Aaron leaned against the wall and watched as Robert flipped a pancake. "I didn't know you could cook," Aaron said surprised.

"On occasion," Robert answered as he glanced over his shoulder: "I thought you might be hungry." He fully turned around when he saw what Aaron was wearing. A crooked grin appeared on his face, he looked pleased, but he turned back to the stove without commenting.

Aaron arched his eyebrows behind Robert's back before he asked: "You've got any coffee?"

"Yeah, there's still some left in the coffeepot."

Aaron randomly opened a cabinet and found the mugs immediately while Robert plated the pancakes and placed them on the table. Aaron poured himself a mug from the coffeepot and added two sugar cubes. When he turned back to the table, he watched as Robert poured a ridicules amount of syrup over his pancakes. It looked disgusting and probably tasted like that too.

"Who would have guessed, you're a real sweet tooth," Aaron said amused.

"What?" Robert muttered with his mouth full, glancing up at Aaron.

"Nothing," Aaron said, shaking his head. It was weird to think of Robert as adorable, but right now he was. He looked like a little kid who had gotten his favorite candy. It was sweet. Again not a word he usually would relate with Robert.

"Sit down," Robert commanded between bites, pointing with his fork at the empty chair in front him, "Before it gets cold."

"Yes dad," Aaron smirked as he sat down opposite of Robert. The older man glared at him, but Aaron ignored him as poured some syrup over his pancakes. It was much less than the amount that Robert had put on his pancakes.

They ate in a comfortable silence. By the time Aaron had finished most of his plate, Robert was long done and was sipping his coffee. Robert broke the comfortable silence, saying: "How long have you been having nightmares?"

Aaron shrugged, stuffing his mouth with a big piece of pancake as to avoid answering. Robert looked at him patiently, waiting for him to answer, not pushing, but clearly not letting it slide either. Aaron thought about lying, but it seemed pointless so when he'd emptied his mouth he said: "Ever since your wedding day."

He took his mug and took a big sip, draining away the last bits of pancake. For a moment he hesitated before he said: "Most of the times I see her fall down, see how she hits the ground and how her life drains away. Sometimes I-" Aaron broke off the sentence not able to say the words out loud. Only thinking about his dreams made him shiver.

"Sometimes what?" Robert asked tentatively. He looked concerned and strangely guilty. It was the first time Aaron had seen him show any kind of emotion about Katie's dead since the actual day it happened.

Aaron sighed, rubbing a hand across his mouth. "Sometimes I dream I'm the one who pushes her."

It was silent after Aaron's admission. When Aaron glanced up he found Robert completely frozen, he looked shocked and for a moment something that looked like panic crossed his features. After less than a second all emotion was brushed from Robert's face and he turned back in this cold distant person he always showed to the world. "I'm sorry," Robert said, his voice stiff, closed off.

Aaron raised his eyebrows in confusion, wondering if it had been a mistake telling Robert about his dreams. He didn't understand why Robert reacted the way he did. He was filled with a sudden anger caused by insecurity he felt because he'd just opened up to Robert about something so personal. Aaron pushed away from the table. "Just forget I said anything." He turned around and made his way out of the kitchen. He planned on finding his clothes and getting to the pub so he could go for a much needed run.

There was a sound of a chair being pushed backwards and footsteps following him. "Aaron." A hand encircled his wrist, putting him to a pause. "I'm sorry," Robert said again, this time the apology sounded sincere.

Aaron dragged a hand through his short hair, facing Robert again. "You don't have to apologize. I just…" he sighed. "I'm not good at this… opening up about stuff." He clasped his hands together, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

Robert huffed out a laugh. "Yeah, me neither."

Aaron smiled back at him. His eyes caught the time on the clock on the wall behind Robert's head. He should probably get ready to go to work. "Can we talk later? I thought maybe we could take a shower," he said sleekly. Aaron was almost surprised to hear those words come out of his own mouth, usually he wasn't so blunt. "I need to get to work, but you know maybe we could…" Aaron let the suggestion hang in the air as he traced a finger down Robert's chest.

For a moment it looked like Robert wanted to object. They both knew Aaron was just trying to post pone the conversation they both knew they needed to have. But Robert was only human and Aaron knew that Robert found it hard to resist him, especially when Aaron was being evocative. Robert smirked as he nodded. "Yeah," he answered, his voice slightly hoarse. He grabbed Aaron's hand and pulled him upstairs and into the bathroom.

They undressed each other and got into the shower. Aaron washed Robert's hair and back and he let Robert do the same for him. They lost themselves in each other's mouth, rubbing their tongues together. After a while Aaron got to his knees and took Robert's cock into his mouth. He licked and sucked and watched as Robert came undone above him, gripping Aaron's hair in an almost painful way. Robert came into Aaron's mouth, and as much as Aaron hated the taste of come, with Robert he found that he didn't mind. It just turned him on even more.

Robert pulled Aaron back onto his feet and kissed him sloppily, tasting his own come on Aaron's tongue and moaning softly. He quickly brought Aaron to his own orgasm with his hand while Aaron leaned his whole weight into Robert's body, panting against the side of Robert's neck.

Eventually Robert turned off the shower and they stepped out of the shower cabin to get dressed. Aaron went downstairs to find his clothes, but took the T-shirt of Robert he'd been wearing before, down with him. He decided to wear Robert's t-shirt instead of his own as he remembered the way Robert had looked at him when he saw Aaron in his clothes. It made him want to take a shower with Robert all over again.

After he'd dressed, Aaron went to look for his shoes and found them underneath the staircase. He sat down in the living room to put them on. He'd just tied his lashes when there was a sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. Robert entered the room. His hair was still wet and slightly disheveled, but apart from that he looked very dapper and sexy. He wore his dark blue jacket and a light blue shirt. "You look nice," Aaron heard himself say, his own words surprising him. He rarely gave compliments, most of the time only when he felt forced to do so, but for once he really meant what he said.

"You too," Robert said, his smirk arrogant. His eyes were on the T-shirt Aaron was wearing.

Aaron snorted and stood up. "I need to get going."

"Hmmm." Robert grabbed him by his waist before Aaron could pass. "Don't I get a kiss goodbye?" he asked cheekily.

Aaron rolled his eyes in fake annoyance. "That depends," he said.

Robert cocked his head to side, considering Aaron. "On what?" he sounded distrustful, his eyes narrowed.

Aaron grinned as he said: "What do I get in return?"

Robert pursed his lips, thinking for a moment. "How about…" he leaned in close, his breath caressing Aaron's lips. "I cook for you tonight," he finished, his eyes sparkling.

Aaron's eyes widened in surprise. He knew Robert had been baking pancakes before, but he'd actually thought that Robert was joking when he'd said that he could cook. "Seriously?" he muttered, he knew he sounded shocked, but he couldn't help himself. He couldn't imagine Robert actually cooking his own meal.

"I'll have you know that I've worked as a chef for a while. Back then it was kind of a disaster, but I've learned a lot over the past ten years. Who do you think does all the cooking around here?"

Aaron still couldn't wrap his head around it. "You're kidding right?"

Robert's smile widened. "Well yeah, Lawrence does most of the cooking. But I really can cook." He leaned in, his mouth close to Aaron's. "And I'll prove it to you. Tonight. We'll eat around six so don't be late."

"Okay, deal." Aaron took Robert's face between his hands and pressed a kiss to his lips. He let the kiss linger for a few seconds before he pulled back. As he passed Robert to get to the front door he said in a mocking tone: "I'll see you tonight honey."

Robert let out a low growl and gave Aaron's ass a hard smack. Aaron hitched out a laugh and quickly left the house. He climbed into his car and checked his mobile. He'd one missed call from Adam, and at that moment he realized that he was more than an hour late for work, but he couldn't find the will to care. He started the engine and drove off.

xXx

He'd a stupid smile plastered on his face the whole day. Aaron tried to suppress it because people were giving him weird looks, but he couldn't help it. At some point Adam even asked him if he was on drugs. Aaron told him it was nothing, but Adam kept glancing at him during the day, seemingly trying to peel the secret out of his head. But even Adam's moodiness and complaining, he'd had a fight with Victoria, couldn't discourage his cheerfulness. For the first time in weeks he spent the whole working day without feeling the need to go for a run.

Aaron kept checking his phone to see the time and was relieved when the pointer finally hit five o'clock. Relieved cause he could go back home to Robert. He said his goodbyes to Adam and left before Adam had a chance to answer.

The front door was unlocked when he reached Home Farm so Aaron let himself in. "Robert?" he called out, closing the door behind him and throwing his jacket over the couch. He heard a faint 'I'm here' coming from the kitchen. When Aaron entered the big kitchen area, Robert was, as he'd promised, cooking. He'd an apron tied behind his back and was busy steering something with a wooden spoon. He looked up for a moment and smiled faintly at Aaron, before he turned his attention back to whatever it was he was doing.

Aaron pushed his hands into his pockets and smiled at the sight before him. "What are you cooking? It smells great."

"I'm making cod in dill sauce with green beans and potatoes. Get yourself a pint from the fridge. It will be done in twenty minutes." Robert sounded distracted.

Aaron got himself a pint and hovered in the kitchen for a moment. "Anything I can do to help?"

Robert didn't look up from his task as he answered. "You can set the table if you'll like."

"Sure." Aaron went out to set the table. He'd to search for everything in the cabinets, but he eventually managed to find everything he needed and was happy with the result. For a moment he felt tempted to light the candles standing on the table, but it felt a little to cheesy for his liking so he decided against it. "I'm all done," Aaron said to Robert. The older man was busy plating the food on two plates and just hummed in answer, probably not even hearing the words Aaron was saying as he walked to the other side of the kitchen to get something out of the fridge.

Aaron sat down at the table, nurturing his beer, and watched Robert with an embarrassing fascination. Cooking had never interested him before, but it was totally engaging seeing Robert cook. He seemed at ease, completely relaxed yet very focused. Like he wanted to make sure the dish was completely perfect. It occurred to Aaron that it was very important for Robert because he wanted to show Aaron that he was indeed a good cook. Robert always felt like he needed to prove himself. The thought saddened Aaron.

"There you go." Robert placed the two plates with the fish on the table, breaking Aaron out of his thoughts. Robert pulled back his chair and sat down opposite of Aaron. Aaron inhaled the spicy scent. It smelled delicious. Normally he was not really a fan of fish, but he'd to admit that it looked great. He lifted his beer bottle to make a toast. "To this week and that we won't kill each other before it is over."

Robert laughed, the sound rich and elated. "I'll toast to that." He clinked his bottle against Aaron's before bringing it to his mouth and taking a large sip. His voice took on a more serious note when he said: "I do drive you mad sometimes, don't I."

Aaron placed his bottle back down on the table and shifted in his chair. "Yeah, but you just don't know when to keep your mouth shut," Aaron answered, a tint of humor keeping his voice light. "It's fine. I know I'm not the easiest person to deal with either."

Robert shook his head, smiling lightly. He moved his eyes to Aaron's untouched plate. "Just take a bite before it gets cold."

It was unsettling to feel the intense stare of Robert's eyes on his face as he swooped some of the fish on his fork and placed it into his mouth. He chewed carefully, tasting the richness of the dish and the different flavors that filled his mouth. His knowledge of food was limited and he couldn't separate the different ingredients, but he couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten anything as refined and delicious as this. He met Robert's eyes and smiled at the insecurity mixed with excitement he saw there. "You've proved your point. You're a good cook," Aaron said and watched as Robert's face light up with satisfaction and pride.

Aaron shook his head in silent amusement. That man had an oversized ego and Aaron didn't make it any better. He should stop giving Robert compliments before Robert would develop a god complex.

They fell into easy conversation. Aaron told some stories about his time in France. He told Robert how hard it had been to learn any French and how much he'd hated watching TV there because they dubbed everything. And how most of the people, especially older ones, refused to speak English which often had led to him standing awkwardly in a room while everyone spoke a language he just didn't understand. He told Robert about that one time he went to Paris and how he got lost because he took a wrong turn somewhere and how he hadn't been able to understand any of the signs because they were all in French. Eventually he'd walked around for hours till a nice old lady told him were he'd to go and it turned out he'd been walking in circles and his destination had literally been five minutes away.

Robert laughed a lot while Aaron talked and Aaron felt happy because he'd been the one to make Robert smile.

When they finished the main course, Robert brought out desert. Two beautiful plates with chocolate mouse and fresh red fruit draped over it. It was simply delicious though Robert admitted that he hadn't made it himself. "I could have made it myself, but I had work to do so buying it was quicker."

"Must be a lot of work now that you've to do everything on your own."

Robert shrugged. "I'll manage. It's only for one week and it's actually kind of nice not to have Lawrence breathing down my neck all the time. Same goes for Chrissie to be honest, they're very protective of the business."

Aaron fiddled with his spoon for a moment. "How did you two meet anyway?" Aaron asked hesitantly, not completely sure why he asked, but curious about this piece of information of Robert's past. He'd been wondering about it for quite some time now.

Robert pursed his lips together. "I actually met Lawrence first." He smiled, but the smile seemed tense. His eyes were on his plate, playing with a strawberry with his spoon, pushing it around on his plate. It looked like he was reliving some kind of memory. "Let's just say that it were unusual circumstances." He glanced up at Aaron. "He was the one who introduced me to Chrissie."

"And let me guess, it was love at first sight." Aaron couldn't keep the bitterness out of his voice.

Robert shook his head. "Far from. We couldn't stand the sight of each other at first." He finally pricked the strawberry onto his fork and put it in his mouth. When he was done chewing he said: "But enough about me and Chrissie. This week is all about us."

A thrill ran down Aaron spine at the word us. Robert smiled at him knowingly like he'd read Aaron's thoughts.

After some more light conversation they got up and together they did the dishes. It was very domestic and the thought made Aaron chuckle. He couldn't help but feel like they were in a real relationship as much as he knew that it was just an illusion.

When they were finished they fell down on the couch in the living room, both with a beer in their hand. Robert put on the TV, but Aaron didn't pay attention to what was playing. He simply enjoyed sitting next to Robert, without feeling pressured to keep up meaningless conversation. If there was one thing Aaron loved in this world, it was enjoying the silence with someone sitting next to him. It might be a strange thing to enjoy, but he loved it. It rarely happened that he could enjoy some peace and quiet because most people felt forced to keep the silence at bay. As if silence was something to be ashamed off, like it was contagious. With Robert it was different, they could be silent, and he loved that.

After a while he could feel Robert's eyes burn a hole in his skull and he knew the conversation he'd been avoiding for the past two days was going to take place. He glanced at Robert, who shifted his eyes away quickly, like he'd been caught doing something sneaky. "Did you go for a run today?" Robert asked casually, staring at the TV.

Aaron sighed deeply, letting the air pass through his pursed lips, it produced a strange noise. "No," he said, already starting to feel the annoyance course through his body. He knew the conversation had been coming, Robert had stirred it in this direction more than once, but he would rather avoid it at all. He knew that he'd a shitty way of dealing with his problems, but that didn't mean that anyone had the right to interfere. It were his problems so he'd the right to deal with them however he wanted to. And it was unclear to Aaron why Robert even cared. The only reason he could come up with was that Robert felt guilty because it was partly his fault. But that still didn't explain his obsession with Aaron's mental health.

The only other obvious reason was that Robert might actually be worried about him, but he'd never said anything that indicated that he actually did.

Robert dragged a hand across his face. "Look I know you don't want to talk about this. I do. But just hear me out alright."

"Fine," Aaron almost spat after a long pause. "But this is the only time we're gonna talk about this. You speak one more word about this after tonight, I'm gone, understand?"

Robert nodded, apparently just relieved that Aaron gave him the chance to talk about this at all.

"Go on then," Aaron snarled impatiently.

Robert took a deep breath next to Aaron, but Aaron didn't bother to look at him. "I won't pretend that I know what you're going through, that I understand what you've gone through with Jackson-"

"Robert," Aaron warned at the mention of Jackson. It had been years ago, but what happened with Jackson had never stopped hurting, never would. He never talked about Jackson anymore, it was easier to just let the memories rest, gain dust. Not that he'd forgotten Jackson, he never would, but it was easier to not think about him most of the time.

Robert held up his hands. "Just hear me out." He paused, taking a slow breath. "I don't know what it's like to lose someone that close to you. I've lost my dad, but that's not the same." Aaron dared a glance at Robert and found him staring at the TV screen. Aaron looked back down at his hands, Robert's voice was soft as he continued, "I can't imagine what that must have been like. To have to do that to someone you love." Robert was silent for a moment. "I always thought you were brave," he murmured almost absently.

Aaron's head snapped up to look at Robert in disbelieve. "Why? Because I killed him?" his tone of voice was hard.

Robert shook his head, finally pulling his eyes away from the screen. He looked at Aaron with a desperate intensity. "No, because you saved him from a life that wasn't worth living anymore. Because you choose to help him end his life, knowing that you would have to live with that for the rest of your life." Robert sighed, a sadness in his eyes that hadn't been there before. "You choose him over yourself. I don't think many people would have done the same thing in your position. That they could have been that selfless."

Aaron closed his eyes. He put his elbows on his legs and leaned his head in his hands. "It never… It never felt selfless to me. It was horrible to have to watch him suffer like that and when he died…" Aaron felt tears sting in his eyes, but he held them back. He'd shed enough tears over Jackson over the years, he didn't want to cry about him yet again. His voice was rough when he continued: "Some part of me was relieved that it was finally over. Relieved that he was dead because I wouldn't have to watch him suffer anymore…"

He fell silent. The only sound in the room was the soft noise coming from the television. He looked over at Robert, who had pulled one leg onto the couch, and sat sideways, turned towards Aaron. "I hated myself for what I had done." Aaron smiled bitterly. "You've seen the scars. I didn't… handle it very well."

Robert reached out, giving Aaron's thigh a comforting squeeze before he pulled his hand back. "I guess there's no right way to deal with something like that."

Aaron frowned, shaking his head slowly. "I suppose not."

His eyes drifted through the room and landed on the television. Vaguely he realized that they were watching a football game. He usually loved watching football, but right now he couldn't care less.

Robert's voice pulled him back from his thoughts. "I'm sorry I dragged you into all this."

Aaron blinked, it took a moment before the words got through to him. "You mean Katie's death? It isn't your fault." He was surprised by the softness of his voice.

Robert huffed and it sounded strange as if Aaron was saying something incorrect. "It isn't yours either," Robert answered. "Her death was an accident. So please just stop blaming yourself, stop hurting yourself."

"Why? What's it to you?" Aaron said, his voice rough.

Robert's voice was urgent as he turned to face Aaron completely. Aaron didn't look up, but he could see Robert's piercing gaze from the corner of his eye. "Because there are a lot of people out there that care about you, that love you. And I don't say this because I think that you owe it to them to get better, cause you don't owe them a goddamn thing. I say it because I know you. You deserve better and you owe it to yourself to get better." Robert pushed himself closer on the couch. Aaron could feel the warmth of Robert's body next to him. For a second he thought that Robert would reach out and touch him, but Robert kept his hands in his own lap. "You're a good person Aaron and it is time that your start forgiving yourself."

Aaron was taken aback by Robert's words. His chest burned with a sudden whirlwind of love and sadness. He could feel his throat closing up and felt the sudden need to cry.

Robert's voice was somehow filled with warmth as he spoke on. "Just promise me you'll stop. Promise me you'll stop harming yourself with all this running." Robert took a hold of Aaron's chin and turned his face to force Aaron to look at him. "Promise me," Robert insisted when Aaron stayed quiet.

Aaron gave a tight nod in the confines of Robert's hand. "I promise," he said, his voice barely audible. Aaron wasn't sure whether the words he was speaking were true or not. Right now he wanted the words to be true, but he knew his determination would waver if not completely disappear by the time his week with Robert ended.

xXx

Five days passed in quick pleasantries. During the day they worked and when Aaron came back home they hung out. They cooked together, which mostly consisted of Robert cooking and Aaron watching, or they ordered take out when they didn't feel like cooking. They ate at the dinner table, talking, or eating side by side, watching TV. They watched loads of movies, comparing movies they liked and disliked. Robert made him watch some old classics like Chinatown and Citizen Kane, explaining the difference between movies now and then and why he liked the classics more. Aaron made Robert watch some of his favorite action movies and though Robert complained at the beginning of every movie, he fell silent every time the story managed to engage him. Aaron felt pleased every time a scene managed to make Robert laugh. They had long discussions after every movie: talking about the story arc, the special effects and debating about their favorite characters. After a lot of pushing and probing Aaron even managed to convince Robert to watch a horror movie. They ended up watching The Mist and Aaron spend the whole movie trying to suppress his laughter as Robert screamed at the TV every time a character made a stupid decision that lead to their dead, he didn't comment on the fact that Robert had his hand in a dead grip pretty much the entire movie.

At night they had the most amazing sex. Robert showed him and made him feel things he'd never experienced before. Robert took him apart piece by piece before putting him back together again. After one particular night Aaron was so sore that he'd a hard time walking normally and sitting down without hissing in discomfort the next day. But Aaron didn't care cause the pain he was experiencing had totally been worth it. They barely slept, four a five hours a night, a little longer if they were particularly tired. Sometimes Robert woke him up in the middle of the night to go at it again and every morning they took a long shower together.

To Aaron it felt like he was living the dream. He knew that it couldn't last and he was dreading the end of it, but he pushed all those thoughts aside and just lost himself in the moment, just lost himself in Robert, in every moment they spend together, in every kiss and every shared smile.

He did not go for a run once.

On Saturday afternoon, their last whole day together, Robert was showing him how to make a cherry, chocolate pie. According to Robert the best pie on the whole planet. Aaron hadn't agreed, arguing that Robert was addicted to sugar and didn't have a sensible opinion when it came to anything having sugar and chocolate in it. And of course this meant that Robert had to prove to him that it was the best pie ever by baking him one, cause that man always had to prove that he was right.

"I can't believe that you actually convinced me to do this," Aaron muttered to himself.

Aaron wasn't aware of Robert's close presence until he heard the other man speak somewhere next to him. "I can be very persuasive when I want to be," Robert answered, sounding way too pleased with himself.

They were actually making pie together, the ridiculousness of it all made Aaron want to laugh out loud. At the moment Aaron was chopping the chocolate into smaller pieces so they could melt it. Robert was finishing his home made dough, carefully arranging it into the cake pan. He placed it into the fridge when he was done.

"Like this?" Aaron asked when he thought the chocolate must be small enough to melt.

Robert finished whatever he was doing with the fresh cherries and walked over to Aaron to glance over his shoulder. "Perfect," he whispered close to Aaron's ear.

"Great," Aaron said, putting the knife down. He was glad he was done. He stretched out his hand carefully, it was stiff after all the chopping he'd done.

When he moved his head to the left to look at Robert, there was a hint of a smile on the older man's face. Robert placed a quick kiss on the side of Aaron's neck before he returned to his task. For a while Aaron watched Robert work. Robert melted the chocolate and finished the stuffing before he asked Aaron to put it onto the dough.

Aaron tried to be precise as he filled the cake pan. He could barely remember the last time he'd baked a pie. It must be back when he wasn't even a teenager yet. He was surprised to conclude that he actually enjoyed making pie, even though he'd no knowledge about baking whatsoever.

"You're gonna love it," Robert said a little while later as he placed the pie into the oven and closed the oven door.

Aaron shrugged nonchalantly. "We'll see about that. You haven't convinced me just yet."

Robert strolled over to him, crowding him against the counter with his hands. "Believe me… Once you've had that first taste…" He zipped down Aaron's jacket and pushed the fingers of his right hand beneath Aaron's shirt to touch his bare skin. Aaron shivered at the slow caress. Robert leaned in, murmuring: "You'll grow as addicted as I am." Robert moved his eyes down to Aaron's lips and wetted his own lips with his tongue.

Aaron was transfixed and the innuendo of Robert's words didn't slip passed him. Robert pushed his body into Aaron's. "We'll have an hour to waste before the pie is done. How shall we spend it?" the low purr of Robert's voice didn't leave much to the imagination.

"I can think of something," Aaron answered as he wrapped his arms around Robert's neck and pulled him close to kiss him. Robert's eyes were dark as his mouth curved into a smile.

Their mouths were millimeters apart when a door slammed close and a familiar voice broke them apart: "What in god's name is going on here?"

Aaron froze in the confines of Robert arms before he was pushed harshly into the counter as Robert scrambled to get away from him. Aaron's head snapped to the side to take a look at their intruder.

His eyes landed on Lawrence standing in the doorway, looking raged.

In that moment Aaron knew that they were completely and utterly screwed.

Am I an evil person? They were so happy and now I've ruined everything. I would say I'm sorry, but I personally love drama and I enjoy writing cliffhangers. I told you I'm an evil person. I'll try to upload the next chapter as soon as possible! On a more personal note. Have any of you ever seen the Mist? That movie is scary as hell. If you want to watch a good horror movie I would definitly recommend it. I won't spoiler anything, but damn that ending...