The next morning when Aaron woke up, the wind was blowing a gale and the rain was lashing against the window but, as far as he was concerned, it was a beautiful morning because he was waking up next to Flynn again. Last night had been such a special night, the final step in getting their relationship back to where it had been before and he promised himself that he wasn't going to let anything spoil it for them again. He looked at the clock and saw that it was after ten. He didn't want to disturb Flynn who was sleeping like a baby curled up beside him but he needed to use the toilet so, as carefully as he could, he got out of bed and went to the bathroom. When he returned, Flynn was awake and smiled at him as he came back into the room. Aaron smiled back thinking that Flynn had never looked as gorgeous as he did right now.
"I wondered where you'd got to, I thought you might have gone to sort out some breakfast for us" Flynn said.
"Not yet, I want to stay here with you for a bit longer" Aaron replied as he climbed back into bed and gave Flynn a kiss. "There's no rush is there?" he asked as he cuddled up to Flynn. "No, there's no rush" Flynn said putting his arm around Aaron. They lay there sometimes talking, sometimes silent, relaxed and happy to be together like this again. Flynn felt Aaron's fingers tracing over the outline of his tattoo and he smiled to himself.
"You're doing it again" he said.
"Doing what?" Aaron asked.
"Going over my tattoo with your fingers."
"Am I? Sorry, I didn't realise."
"No, it's fine, you can run your fingers over whatever bits of me you want, I was just wondering why you do it."
Aaron thought for a few seconds before looking at Flynn. "I suppose I find it comforting, it sort of helps me relax. Sounds weird doesn't it?"
"No, not really, if it keeps you happy, you carry on." They smiled at each other before Flynn kissed him, a long tender kiss full of love. Both knew it wouldn't go any further than a kiss and they were both fine with that. Sometimes, they enjoyed just kissing and cuddling, being close to each other and this was one of those times. As Aaron cuddled back into him again, Flynn was reminded of a line from his mum's favourite Westlife song, Flying Without Wings. She'd played it so many times, the words were etched into his brain, whether he wanted them to be or not. The line says it's little things that only I know, those are the things that make you mine and only now did he realise how true that sentiment was. Only he knew that Aaron found stroking his tattoo relaxing or that he always put his left sock on before his right just like Aaron was the only one who knew that he kept his cd's in alphabetical order or that one of his guilty pleasures was The Lion King. He'd been mortified when Aaron found the DVD in the player and Aaron had teased him mercilessly for a good couple of days afterwards for liking a film that was a cartoon and had songs and stuff in it but then he'd said that he thought it was sweet and they'd even watched it together a few times. Knowing things like that about each other made him feel like they belonged together and that's how he wanted it to stay. He also wanted to stay in bed with Aaron but his stomach was rumbling and, comfortable as he was, he needed something to eat.
"Any chance of that breakfast then, I'm starving" he asked.
"Yeah, ok but I'm not bringing it up here. If I have to get up, so do you."
"Fair enough" Flynn said kissing Aaron again before he got out of bed and started to get dressed. By the time Aaron stirred and got out of bed himself, Flynn was fully clothed and sitting on the end of the bed waiting for him. Aaron took his clothes out and put them on the bed before going to the bathroom. When he came back, he started to get dressed chatting to Flynn as he did so. He put one sock on and then realised he couldn't find the other one. He checked the floor in case he'd dropped it, stood up to make sure he wasn't sitting on it but he couldn't find it anywhere. He looked over at Flynn who was waiting patiently, fiddling with his chain.
"Ok, where is it?" Aaron asked.
"Where's what?" Flynn said, his face a picture of innocence.
"My sock."
"I don't know, maybe you only took one out of the drawer."
Aaron was pretty sure he'd taken out a pair but he went to check anyway. There was no odd sock in the drawer. He turned around and faced Flynn.
"Come on, give" he said holding out his hand.
"I haven't got it" Flynn said starting to laugh, holding out his two hands to show Aaron they were empty. Aaron walked over to him. "Last chance, hand it over."
"I can't give you what I haven't got" Flynn said.
"Right" said Aaron as he wrestled Flynn off the bed. Exactly where Flynn had been sitting was his sock. As he put it on, he said "Are you going to be messing about like this all day?"
"I don't know, I might do" Flynn said picking himself up off the floor. "I'm in such a good mood who knows what I'll do."
Aaron nodded his head. "Great, lucky me." Flynn went to go downstairs but Aaron stopped him and kissed him holding him tightly, enjoying the feeling of Flynn's arms encircling him and holding him back just as tightly. "Do us a favour, put the kettle on will you?"
"I'll try but I don't think it'll fit" Flynn said.
"Oh please tell me this will stop soon" Aaron said as Flynn left the room.
When Paddy pulled onto the driveway, he noticed Flynn's car parked outside. He was both relieved and pleased that the two of them had managed to sort things out. He still didn't know the full story, all Aaron had told him was that it was something to do with Flynn's ex but he didn't want to talk about it and he hadn't pushed him any further. As he put his key in the door and opened it, he could hear Aaron's voice, "Will you stop that, behave yourself will you, just go and sit down, if you do that again I swear…." He smiled as he closed the door.
"Alright you two, not interrupting anything am I?" he said.
"Paddy, great timing for once, am I glad to see you" Aaron said pushing Flynn away from him and guiding him onto a chair. "Can you get something out of your surgery and give it to him to calm him down, he's doing my head in." Paddy watched as Flynn smiled at Aaron and Aaron tried unsuccessfully not to smile back. "He looks calm enough to me" he said.
"Yeah well looks can be deceiving."
"I know, you're living proof of that." Aaron pulled a face before carrying on getting them something to eat. Paddy had already eaten but he joined them for a cup of tea as they ate then made himself scarce. They watched a bit of TV and by mid afternoon decided to go to the pub before heading off to Flynn's. As they walked in, they bumped into Cain who was on his way out. "Aah, look who it is, Romeo and Romeo" he said. Flynn smiled as Aaron with a bored look on his face said " you're not funny."
"Well, he's smiling."
"Yeah well he's in a strange mood, I don't know what's got into him."
"Ooh, I'd rather not think about what's got into him if you don't mind" Cain said. Flynn's mouth dropped open as Aaron started to blush. Cain smiled." Look at your faces, classic. Anyway, time I wasn't here" he said. "Oh, and you" he said pointing at Flynn "Do us all a favour, try not to fall out with him again, he's a right pain in the backside when he's miserable." He smiled at them both before leaving.
"I can't believe he just said that" Aaron said as they made their way to the bar.
"Well you are a pain in the backside when you're miserable."
"Not that bit."
"No, I know Aaron. Your face was a picture. You're so cute when you get embarrassed" Flynn said laughing.
"Am I? Just get the drinks in, I'll be back in a minute" Aaron said kissing him briefly.
Flynn ordered their drinks and by the time he'd been served, Aaron was back. They sat down next to each other rather than opposite each other, wanting to remain close. They'd only been there about ten minutes when Adam arrived. He'd been so busy with work he hadn't seen Aaron to see if he'd sorted things out with Flynn. He'd sent him a text asking how things were and Aaron had sent back a message saying ok which didn't really tell him a lot. Looking at the two of them now chatting, smiling, sitting so close their legs were touching, it was obvious they'd sorted everything out and he couldn't have been happier. He walked straight over, a big smile on his face. "Alright you two. You both look a lot better than the last time I saw you" he said sitting down.
Flynn smiled at him. "Yeah well, I don't know what he looked like when you saw him last but I couldn't have looked much worse. Pint is it?" he asked Adam as he stood up.
"Cheers mate, that'd be great" Adam said. As Flynn walked off, Adam looked at Aaron. "Well?"
Aaron smiled at his friend. "Yeah, I'm alright thanks how are you?"
"Funny guy. You know what I mean."
" Well, I had a think about what you said and what I wanted and we did that thing that grown ups do, what's it called now, oh yeah talk, that's it and we sorted things out." He glanced over to where Flynn was chatting to Marlon as he waited to be served before looking back at Adam. "I just realised I couldn't lose him."
"Ah, nice one mate, I'm chuffed for you, for both of you. See, I do know what I'm talking about sometimes."
"Yeah, you'll be having a column in the weekly paper next. Ask Adam, no problem too big or too small."
Adam laughed. "Now, that's not a bad idea, I could make some extra cash out of my words of wisdom."
"Yeah well, I wouldn't go giving up the day job just yet."
"Oh, I don't know. If I can sort your head out, everyone elses will be a piece of cake."
Aaron smiled at him before turning serious. "Look mate, all joking aside, thanks for making me see sense."
"No worries, I've always got your back, you know that."
"Yeah, I know. What would I do without you?"
"Er, isn't that supposed to be the sort of thing you say to me" Flynn said handing Adam his drink and sitting down next to Aaron again.
"Yeah but you hear stuff like that more often than he does. He's been on his own for so long now, when he does meets someone, she'll need to come with an instruction book so he knows what to do."
"Ooh, that's harsh" Flynn said.
"Harsh but true" Adam said. Aaron looked at Flynn, a silent communication passing between them. Flynn nodded his head.
"Right you, how d'you fancy a night out in town tonight, the three of us. You need a decent night out."
"Bar West again, great" Adam said smiling.
"No, you're in charge tonight. We'll go wherever you want to go, see if we can find someone daft enough to be interested in you and, if we're with you, you'll have an advantage over everyone else out on the pull."
"Oh yeah, how d'you work that one out then?"
"Well, you'll probably be the only lad out with mates who aren't interested in what you are. There'll be less competition and any girls that come our way, you'll get first go at."
Flynn turned to look at Aaron. "First go at, wow, you really do have a way with words don't you?"
"Oh shut up, you know what I mean. So, what do you say?" Aaron said looking at Adam.
"Alright then, you're on. Let's do it."
Later that evening, Adam and Aaron met Flynn in town and started going round the pubs and bars. They played pool, had a few drinks and a laugh until Adam decided he wanted to go to a new nightclub that had just opened. He was enjoying being in charge and loved the look on Aaron's face when he suggested it knowing that this was his night and Aaron couldn't say no. The club was modern, full of glass and wood and leather and had a sound system that made you feel the bass vibrating through you as you walked around. It was packed and it took ages to get served. Flynn and Adam were itching to get on the dance floor but for the moment they resisted, not wanting to leave Aaron on his own. They took their drinks and went for a wander instead. The club had all the usual suspects on show. There was the bloke who thought he was a fantastic dancer but couldn't dance to save his life and his mates who thought it was hilarious to convince him to keep dancing, there was the smooth operator who sidled up to girls and moved on to the next one every time he got knocked back determined to find somebody to spend the evening with. Then there were the groups of girls who approached groups of blokes with the precision of a military operation, each knowing which one of the group they were going to target and, of course, not forgetting the people watchers who stood and watched others make fools of themselves for their own entertainment. As they moved around, Aaron pointed out some girls that he thought Adam might be interested in with Flynn watching with interest as Adam knocked back every suggestion. The two of them didn't notice the girls sat at a table towards the back of the club watching the three of them but Flynn did. He said something to Adam who looked over and smiled. All of the girls smiled back so they made their way over. Adam asked if they could join them, the girls said yes and they sat down. With introductions made and the help of all the alcohol they'd drunk so far, the conversation flowed quite nicely and the girls seemed like a good laugh. After a while, one of them stood up and said "Right, anyone fancy dancing?" One of her friends got up to join her as did Adam. She looked at Aaron and Flynn. "You joining us then?" Aaron said no while Flynn said "Er, I'll stay here for a while, maybe later" before looking at Aaron.
"No, you go, someone has to show him how it's done, stop him doing his dad dancing in public." The girls laughed and Flynn grinned at him. "Right, see you in a bit then." The four of them went off leaving Aaron with the one remaining girl whose name was Maddie. They spoke for a while, just the usual general chat before she said to him "So, you're not a dancer then?"
Aaron shook his head. "With my two left feet, I'm lucky I can walk without falling over, never mind dance."
She looked past Aaron at the dance floor where Adam, Flynn and the girls were dancing. "Your mates not bad, no dad dancing yet but your boyfriend's better." Aaron looked at her not quite believing what he'd heard. "He is your boyfriend isn't he, I haven't got it wrong."
"No, you haven't got it wrong" Aaron replied. "So how did you know?"
She smiled at him. "I just have a knack of noticing things other people don't. Your friend, Adam is it?" she said. Aaron nodded. "When Katie mentioned dancing, he was up like a shot and he hasn't looked over here once. Flynn on the other hand said no and then he only went to dance when you said it was ok and every so often, he looks over to make sure you're alright."
"Does he?" said Aaron turning his head to look at where they were dancing. Right on cue, Flynn caught Aaron's eye. Aaron smiled and he smiled back.
"See, told you."
"I never noticed. You're good, you can't read minds as well can you?
"No, whatever goes on in there, it's safe."
"That's a relief cos that could be really embarrassing. So are you seeing anyone?"
"Not at the moment. I have this habit of saying things that should have stayed in my head and I end up upsetting people. I don't mean to, I just say things without thinking it through first like what I said to you for example. You could have got really angry and told me it's none of my business or I could have been completely wrong, could you imagine how embarrassing that would have been." She shook her head and reached for her drink. At that moment, Adam came over and sat down next to her.
"So, apart from Mr No Co-ordination here, you're the only one who hasn't danced yet. Now, I know it'll be a struggle to drag you away from his non stop conversation but what do you say, coming to join us?"
Maddie smiled at him. "Yeah why not." A few minutes later, Flynn came back to sit with Aaron. It was hard for both of them, surrounded by couples and not really able to show their affection like everyone else could but this was Adam's night and one night here wouldn't do them any harm. It wasn't too long until the slow songs came on. Adam was dancing with Maddie so the other two girls came back over to Aaron and Flynn and sat down. They had a quick drink before Katie looked at Flynn and said "I hate sitting down during the slow songs, you'll dance with me won't you?"
"Oh, I erm, I think I've done enough dancing for one night."
"Oh come on, a couple more won't kill you."
"No, I'll pass thanks." He looked over at Aaron who was enjoying his slight discomfort. "Anyway, I'm already seeing someone, it wouldn't feel right."
"It's only a dance, it's no big deal."
"I know but they're the only one that I really want to dance with right now."
"But they're not here are they, I am."
Flynn took a deep breath. "Actually they are here" he said looking straight at Aaron smiling "He's just there." Aaron smiled back at him.
Katie looked at the two of them taking a few seconds for the penny to drop. "Oh right I see, you're…..so, you two are together. Thank god for that, I thought I was losing my touch for a minute. So you won't mind if I go and find someone else."
"No be my guest" Flynn said. The two girls went off leaving Aaron ands Flynn alone.
"So, I'm the only one you want to dance with am I?" Aaron said letting his hand come to rest on Flynn's.
"You re the only one I want to do a lot of things with."
"Really?" Aaron said raising his eyebrows.
"I'm not talking about that, trust you to lower the tone. I'm talking about what we spoke about before, you know, being together properly, living together, having a future."
"Are you going all soppy on me cos you've had a few?"
"It's not soppy, it's just honest" Flynn said. Aaron looked into his eyes and his heart melted. He wished they were in Bar West where no one would bat an eyelid if he kissed Flynn the way he wanted to kiss him.
"I know. It's still what I want too, I haven't changed my mind and I'm not going to either."
"Really, I thought after the whole Matt thing…"
"Who?" Aaron interrupted.
"Very funny. I know we're back together but I thought it might have made you think about things differently."
"It did, it made me more sure than ever that it's what I want." He leant over and kissed Flynn briefly on the lips. They smiled at each other and finished their drinks as they waited for Adam. He came over on his own a few minutes later.
"Are you off then?" Aaron said.
"No, she's going home with her friends."
"Oh, bad luck mate, it looked like it was going alright."
Adam laughed. "It did go alright. We're going out again tomorrow if you must know."
"Nice one" Flynn said.
"Right" Aaron said getting to his feet "job done, let's get out of here then."
They walked to the taxi rank and waited with everyone else. Flynn suggested that Adam stopped the night at his place, his parents weren't there and the taxi would be cheaper as well. When they got back, they decided they fancied cheese on toast and a hot drink so Flynn went into the kitchen to sort it out. Adam and Aaron went in to the other room and Aaron switched the TV on, more for background noise than anything else. They sat chatting for a while before Aaron said "I think I'll go and see if he needs any help."
"Yeah right, you just can't keep away from him can you?"
Aaron's only response was to throw a cushion at Adam as he walked past. He went into the kitchen where Flynn turned to see who had come in. He grinned when he saw Aaron.
"Come to lend a hand?"
"Not exactly" Aaron said as he put his arms around Flynn and cuddled him. Their lips met and they kissed each other slowly and tenderly, completely lost in the moment until Adam's voice brought them back to reality.
"Oi, I don't know what you two are doing in there but something's burning."
Aaron moved away from Flynn and took the tray out from under the grill. "There's only one bit that's a bit black, the rest is ok. I'll have the burnt one."
"See what happens when you're around, you're a distraction. Go and sit with Adam, I'll be out in a minute" Flynn said shooing Aaron out of the way. Aaron kissed him again before doing as he was told. When Flynn brought the food and drink in, Adam was sitting in an armchair and Aaron was on the sofa so he sat on the sofa next to him. While they were eating and drinking, they talked about the evening and what a good time they'd had.
"She's a nice girl you know, don't know what she saw in you" Aaron said to Adam.
"Well, what can I say, there's no accounting for taste is there, I mean look at you two."
Aaron turned to Flynn. "Don't listen to him, I think you're alright and that's all that matters" he said patting him on the leg.
"He is, I agree, I was talking about you."
"Hey, I'm lovely me. Tell him " he said looking at Flynn.
"You're not bad" Flynn said.
"Listen boys, thanks for tonight. I know you couldn't enjoy yourself like you normally would so I really appreciate it."
"Don't be daft" Aaron said "we had a great time didn't we?" Flynn nodded.
"Right, where am I sleeping then?" Adam asked Flynn.
"Straight up the stairs, second door on the left, the bathroom's opposite."
"Great, I'll see you two in the morning, well, later this morning" he said as he made his way upstairs. Aaron and Flynn smiled at each other.
"Ready to go up?" Flynn asked.
"In a minute, let's give him a while to settle down first."
"Ok" Flynn said as he put his arm around him. Aaron kissed him, pleased to be on his own with his boyfriend again. It didn't take long for their kisses to become more intense, for them to start enjoying being together. After a while, Flynn moved away.
"We better stop. These walls are paper thin, there's no way we can carry on when we get upstairs, not with Adam in the room next to ours."
"Then, we'll stay where we are" Aaron said grinning at him, pulling him back towards him and kissing him again. When they made their way upstairs some time later and got into bed, they could hear snoring coming from the room where Adam was obviously fast asleep. After they'd stopped laughing, Aaron said "Blimey, you weren't kidding about thin walls were you?"
Flynn shook his head. "Nope, good job all we're going to do now is sleep."
"If we can ignore that racket" Aaron said smiling. They kissed each other goodnight and within a few minutes both were fast asleep, the alcohol and the lateness of the hour finally catching up with them.
