Surprises

Disclaimer - Emmerdale & its characters do not belong to me, they belong to ITV

"You've met my Mother; this won't be that hard will it?"

Jackson has finally convinced Aaron to spend the night with him and his friends, which had been agreed, would happen a few weeks ago but actually getting him to meet them proved to be the hardest part.

"I'm knackered" Aaron tells him. They are still in Smithy, both of them have just finished work but Jackson is still intent on going, with Aaron.

"So you wanna stay in then?" Jackson asks. He already knows the answer, "No" will be his boyfriends answer because he isn't knackered he just doesn't want to spend the evening with his mates, he'd rather sit in the Woolpack.

"Not really" Aaron answers a faint smile on his face as he watches the way Jackson rolls his eyes and sighs.

Aaron is sat at the table and Jackson is standing leaning against the door frame, he's not talking. Just staring at him until finally he takes a deep breath and says "We're going Aaron"

Aaron face scrunches up, showing his obvious resentment at that sentence "What if I just say No? and I don't go?"

"Then things between you and me are going to be really awkward"

Aaron takes in this new information with a nod of his head, he thinks it through then asks "for how long?" he's smirking and Jackson isn't entirely sure if he's playing him or not.

"Try it and find out"

Aaron sighs dramatically and stands up of his chair and pushes past Jackson on the way out of the kitchen. He starts up the stairs and Jackson turns around to follow him to his bedroom

"You do my head in" Aaron says as they climb the stairs but behind him Jackson is smirking, to himself "Does that mean your coming?"

Aaron kicks open his bedroom door "Doesn't look like I have much of a choice" he tells him but Jackson disagrees "You have a choice"

Leaning against his window, Aaron crosses his arms over his chest and looks at his boyfriend. He knows he's trying to hide his smirk because for some reason Jackson knows Aaron won't really say no. He'll go along with him because part of him is still trying to pay him back for that night in the pub, even although both of them were over it.

"I'm sick of all your crap" Aaron starts, he's changing the subject. He picks up some of Jackson's clothes "Lying all around my room"

"Stop begging me to stay over then" Jackson returns with a grin "I don't beg" Aaron tells him, as he opens his wardrobe, trying to decide what to wear.

"Oh I'm sure you've begged me before" Jackson tells him, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively with a grin on his face.

Aaron points at his wardrobe "going to tell me what to wear tonight too?" After all he had told him to change just before they met his Mother.

Half an hour later they are walking through the doors of Bar West

"Why am I here again?" Aaron asks and Jackson grins at him "What do you want?" he asks as they reach the bar.

"Whisky" he says and Jackson shakes his head. Aaron wants a hard drink, he needs it. He knows these guys are gonna hate him for punching Jackson and he know that he is going to have to try and not punch any of them

"I'll get you a pint" Jackson tells him.

Jackson is pulled from the bar by some guy. Aaron doesn't follow him, he can't. He's hoping Jackson forgets about him at least until it's time to go back to Smithy, just so he doesn't have to put up with his friends.

Ten minutes later Aaron feels a hand slide up his back, he tenses for a second until he hears Jackson whisper in his ear "miss me?" Aaron smiles to himself and turns around "You wish" he tells his boyfriend.

Jackson pulls a face "maybe" he tells him with a smile "So…" he starts and Aaron lifts his eyebrows, waiting on him going on "planning to sit at the bar all night?"

Aaron lets out a long exaggerated sigh "You're not gonna let me, so no. I'm not going to sit here all night"

Jackson rolls his eyes "anyone would think I'm trying to kill you" he says pulling on Aaron's arm to pull him off the bar stool.

Aaron allows himself to be pulled up "You might not" he says "but them" he nods in the general direction of Jackson's friends "probably have other ideas"

"I promise I'll protect you" Jackson tells him throwing his arm over his shoulder and practically dragging him to the table

"Our drinks!" Aaron exclaims pointing at the bar. Jackson stops walking, runs back to grab the drinks and hands Aaron his "now am I gong have to drag you the last remaining few feet?"

Aaron scowls at his boyfriend "You are so making this up to me when we get home"

"You remember Sol and Joe don't you?" Jackson asks as they reach the table where his friends were say "How could I forget?" Aaron retorts and Jackson shoots him a look "Yeah" he says with a forced smile "good to see you again"

Sol jumps up "You too, wanna dance?" he asks stopping in front of Aaron. Aaron looks around, "Uh. No" he answers with a roll of his eyes and before he can say anything rude Jackson pushes him down into one of the chairs and slips in next to him.

Jackson then introduces him to a few of the other guys around the table. Aaron recognised most of them from his time spent in Bar West but he had never spoken to them, the only person that he had ever, really spoken to while in Bar West. Apart from the bartenders was Jackson.

Jackson was at the pool table with Sol and Aaron was sat, bored out of his mind when one of Jackson's friends decided to strike up a conversation with him. Up to that point they had been pretty nice to him but no one had really gone out of their way to talk to him and Aaron was grateful. He was also grateful that they kept buying him pints although he wasn't looking forward to it being his round.

"So…You're a mechanic?" a voice from the side of him asked. Aaron turned around he looked at the guy who had just spoken to him but he couldn't remember his name

"Yeah. I am" he tells the guy…he's trying to remember his name.

"Sounds like fun" the guy comments

"It can be" Aaron replies. Jake! That was his name "what do you do?" Aaron asks, to be polite and maybe make Jackson happy that way they won't end up arguing and maybe, just maybe they would end up in the same bed tonight.

Jake smiled "what do you think I do?" he asks and Aaron shrugs, he has no idea what he could possibly do.

Jake laughs at the look on Aaron's face "I'm a builder" he tells him "I worked with Jackson till he dumped us all for the job in Emmerdale"

Aaron's gaze shifts towards Jackson who is too busy with his game of Pool to notice or care what Aaron is doing "Oh, right"

Jake laughs once more "not that I'm bitter or anything. I get why he took it"

Aaron's eyebrows knit together "you do?"

Jake nods "You don't?"

Aaron shrugs. He isn't sure he wants to talk about Jackson and his reasons for taking the job in Emmerdale.

"Want another?" Jake asks pointing as Aaron's now empty glass. Aaron nods "Yeah" he says "but I'll get them" he tells Jake already standing up "what you having?"

"A pint will do me, cheers" Jake informs him and with a nod Aaron is headed to the bar. Not before stopping off to ask Jackson if he wanted anything though.

Aaron found that he and Jake had quite a bit in common. Well there was Jackson and they also liked the same music and Jake had a thing for cars. Aaron was enjoying getting to know him. Thankful that he wasn't anywhere near as camp as some of Jackson's other friends, in fact he was just like him and Jackson.

"So my MOT is up in a few weeks, I'll bring it around?" Jake asks and Aaron nods "Yeah, sure. We're not hard to find, only garage in Emmerdale"

Jake laughs "I guessed as much" he says as he stands "be right back"

Aaron nods and drinks his pint. He hates to admit it but he is actually having quite a good time, whether or not he's going to admit that to Jackson is another question.

He was lost in his own little world when a snapping noise brought him back to earth. He looked up to find Jackson, with a slightly concerned look on his face standing in front of him snapping his fingers.

Aaron smiles up at him "Hey"

"Hey" Jackson replies "you alright?"

Aaron clears his throat "I'm good" Jackson gives him a look. A look that says I don't believe you and Aaron shakes his head "I'm fine" he tells his worried boyfriend.

Jackson nods but Aaron isn't sure if he believes him or not "wanna play?" Jackson asks gesturing towards the Pool table but Aaron shakes his head "No thanks, I'm alright here"

Jackson's eyes narrow and he pulls a face "I shouldn't be worried should i?" he asks and Aaron isn't entirely sure what he means

"You what?"

"Jake" he says gesturing towards where Jake had headed "should I be worried?"

Aaron rolls his eyes "What do you think?" Jackson shrugs but he's grinning "Don't worry, I don't have a thing for builders or anything"

"Glad to hear it" Jackson says pulling on the front of Aaron's top he plants a kiss on his lips "but I have a thing for mechanics" he says when he pulls back.

Jake walks back to the table "alright Jackson" he says slapping him on the back. Jackson smiles at his friend "Yeah" he tells him "want a game?" he asks "he" he says gesturing to Aaron "doesn't want me to beat him so he's not playing"

Aaron scoffs and rolls his eyes and Jake laughs "Sure, why not but when I beat you don't go crying to your boyfriend"

"It's alright" Jackson says "cause your not gonna beat me"

Sometimes Aaron wished he could be as relaxed as Jackson. He just seemed to get on with everyone he ever met and he seemed completely fine with his sexuality or least now he did. Aaron was getting there but he wasn't fully there yet but he'd get there and he knows that Jackson will be there every step of the way.

Aaron was content to watch Jackson and Jake play pool and talking with Joe on the odd occasion but he was happy to be left alone and he was left alone that was until a group of girls came staggering through the door and found themselves at Aaron's table.

"Hey!" one blonde said throwing herself down onto the seat next to Aaron "Alright?" Aaron asks nodding at her as she makes herself comfortable. One of her friends is at the bar and the others are talking to Jackson's friends. It's clear they knew each other.

"Jenny" she says bumping into his shoulder

"Aaron" he says with a slight smile. The girl keeps looking him up and down "What you doing here?" she asks bluntly.

Aaron's eyebrows knit together "Excuse me?"

Jenny smirks "Well, it's a gay bar, didn't you know?"

Aaron looks around "Huh, really?" he asks with a laugh "didn't notice"

Jenny lifts her eyebrows "You're not gay" she states and Aaron can't help but grin and nod at her "fraid so" he says

Jenny's eyes widen "My god!" she exclaims "My gay dar didn't pick that up!"

"Imagine my surprise too" Aaron tells her "So what about you?" he asks

Jenny shrugs "Here to meet our friends' new boyfriend" she informs him and Aaron nods "From what I heard he's not that great a guy, which is a shame because his boyfriend is"

Aaron's eyes narrow, he has a feeling she's talking about him "thinks with his fists so I've heard. Aint too happy about being Gay either" she smiles at Aaron "Jackson" she says pointing at the Pool table "you know him?"

Aaron nods "Yeah, pretty well"

Jenny misses the look that crosses over Aaron's face "Yeah. Real nice guy and from what I heard he's nothing like his usual type but I'm a good friend, I'll support him"

Aaron "Well I'm sure whoever he's seeing doesn't care what you think"

Jenny shrugs and just then Jackson walks towards the table "Ha! I bet him, I'm amazing" he exclaims picking up his pint "Alright Jenny!" he asks messing up her hair. Jenny stands up and hugs him "Not see you in ages man!" she tells him

"Sorry, busy" he tells her "work an all"

Jenny shakes her head "Not what I heard"

"Oh yeah?" Jackson asks lifting his eyebrows "what did you hear?"

"This new boyfriend of yours doesn't want to share you that's what"

Jackson smirks "ask him yourself" he says pointing at Aaron.

Jenny's eyes widen "You…" she trails off pointing at Aaron "are his…" she points at Jackson "why didn't you tell me!" she demands

Aaron shrugs "Thought I'd let you make an idiot of yourself"

Jenny crosses her arms over her chest and smirks "hmm" she says and her eyebrows lift as she says "I think I might just like you"

Aaron stands up "Like I said, I don't need his friends to like me. I don't give a crap what anyone thinks"

"Aaron…" Jackson says in a warning him not to go on but Aaron isn't going to go off on one.

"What?" Aaron asks coming to stand in front of Jackson with a smirk on his face "will you quit the worrying?" he asks his boyfriend "I told you I would be nice and I'm doing well!" he says defending himself.

"You are" Jackson agrees with a small smile "thank you"

Aaron returns his smile "how about we go back to yours and you can thank me there?" Aaron whispers so no one else can hear him.

Jackson closes the distance between them, not that there was much to begin with "you mean you want me to dump my friends and my pool playing just to take you home?"

Aaron nods

"Why should I?"

Aaron thought about it for a few minutes and looked at his watch "Because I've sat here for five hours, playing nice plus! I was at work today and I just wanna go to bed…" he trails off

Jackson takes a deep breath "Well…how am I meant to thank you if you're only going to sleep when we get back to mine?" Jackson teases.

"I said I wanted to go to bed, not that I wanted to sleep" Aaron informed him with a grin.

Jackson's eyes were lit up, he was enjoying himself as was Aaron "Ok" he says planting a quick kiss on Aaron "I'll be five minutes"

Aaron nods "I'm gonna wait outside" he says picking up his Jacket. Jackson shakes his head "how many times do I have to tell you? Smoking kills"

Aaron rolls his eyes "how many times do I have to tell you?" he retorts "I don't care"

Ten minutes later and Aaron is just finishing his second cigarette when Jackson finally comes out of the bar "took you long enough" Aaron complains throwing his butt to the ground.

"Quit your whining" Jackson tells him as he takes off down the street, he doesn't live that far and they can walk it.

Aaron catches up with him and they walk in silence, comfortable silence towards Jackson's. They were almost at his front door before one of them spoke

"So…was it better than meeting my mum?" Jackson asks with a smirk

"Yeah" Aaron says "at least no one called me a tramp"

Jackson laughed "not to your face anyway" he says with a mischievous smile "they know better"

Aaron nods in agreement and waits as Jackson unlocks his door "anyone home?" he calls in as they walk in "must be out" he says and Aaron closes the door.

Aaron shrugs off his Jacket and throws it into Jackson's bedroom before following him into the living room. Aaron ends up colliding with Jackson's back at the living room door "what you…" he starts to say but is interrupted by

"SURPRISE!" Aaron knows that voice, he would know it anywhere. He peeks around Jackson's shoulder and sure enough it's Hazel.

She stands up and makes her way towards them "Hope you don't mind. I'm staying for a few days" she says planning a kiss on Jackson's cheek before she pushes past them on her way to the bathroom "Hi Aaron"

Aaron and Jackson share a look "great" Aaron says throwing his hands up in the air and sighing.

A/N - REVIEWS ARE ALWAYS WANTED, WELCOME AND MUCH APPRECIATED!