Alistair

From writing the Scotty one-shot I realised that the Alistair storyline was as unresolved as Scotty's, especially since most of the interesting development happened off-screen. Because of this, I've written a one-shot about what happened between Aaron and Alistair from episode 7158.

Aaron was relieved once Nate and Tyler had left. He remained in his seat for a while, watching as Alistair's friends gradually departed until the brunette was sitting alone. Noticing Alistair's empty glass, Aaron quickly sidled over to him and placed himself down in front of the bar next to him.

"Hey" Aaron greeted, "Fancy another one?"

Alistair shrugged heavily, "Might as well, it's not like my life could get any worse"

"That's the spirit!" Aaron cheered, before ordering another round and gazing at Alistair sympathetically, "What's wrong?"

Alistair scoffed, "You mean you don't know?" he questioned scornfully, then nodded over to the table where he had previously been sitting, "I saw you with Nate over there so I'm guessing he and his interfering aunt have told you everything"

Aaron nodded slowly, "Well I do know what happened, but I only know one side of what happened" he replied, then moved the new drink towards Alistair, "So, in return for the drink, you can tell me your side of the story"

Alistair shot him an uncertain smile and Aaron extended his hand, "I'm Aaron, by the way"

Alistair grasped his hand and shook it, "I'm Alistair"

xxx

Aaron realised that it would take more than one drink to get Alistair to talk about his problems. As second and third drinks (on top of the ones that they'd had separately) were consumed, Aaron opened up to Alistair about himself in the hope of relaxing the atmosphere and encouraging him to reveal the truth, telling him about his rather straightforward coming-out despite his father's disapproval. He also told him about how he and his brothers had learnt the family trade, although there was still (and would always be) tension between him and his dad. Aaron finally talked about how and why he arrived in Erinsborough: his older brother – Mark – had called him to ask for help with cheering his younger brother – Tyler – up, so Aaron had made arrangements with his agent, who found that The Waterhole was looking for a male revue act.

Alistair was rather intrigued by Aaron's career, "So what's it like being a stripper?" he slurred

Aaron put a hand up, "I'd prefer to think of myself as an entertainer" he replied, "And it's great. I get to do what I love in front of people who are buzzing with energy, there's no better feeling"

"Have you had a lot of stick about it?" Alistair asked

Aaron shrugged, "A bit, but it's worth the hassle"

Alistair thought to himself before sniggering, "Maybe you could 'entertain' me sometime" he murmured suggestively

Aaron glanced at him, "Maybe I could" he responded equally suggestively, "How about a trade? I'll 'entertain' you if you entertain me about what's going on"

Alistair shrugged, "I'll hold you to that"

"Ditto" Aaron replied

There was a lingering pause before Alistair sighed, "So, what do you want to know?"

"Well I'm not going to ask about your sexuality" Aaron began, "That's not my business or Nate's, or Susan's, or even Coco's. It's just yours"

"Thanks" Alistair breathed, "I've just spent so long being confused that I don't know who or what I am anymore"

"Then start from the beginning and we can figure it out together" Aaron suggested, "There's no rush"

Alistair held his gaze momentarily before shaking his head in exasperation, "I thought I loved her" he whispered, "I've been with Coco since high school and never even looked at anyone else"

"So what changed?" Aaron asked

"Well one day my best mate came out to me, and it wasn't a problem at first. But as soon as he got a boyfriend everything changed" he explained, "I was insanely jealous, it bordered on stalking so I eventually ended the friendship because it became to difficult for me to be near him. Luckily I went off to Uni to study politics and didn't see him for years"

"But…?" Aaron prompted

"I ran into him one day" he replied, "We caught up over an awkward lunch, but just before we were supposed to part ways, we slept together. It was like all those pent-up feelings came flooding out the moment I laid eyes on him again. I managed to flee the room afterwards, so he didn't get the chance to confront me about it. And I ignored any attempts he made to contact me so I never saw or heard from him again"

"That's pretty tough" Aaron interjected sympathetically, "I can only imagine how difficult it was to deal with those feelings whilst being in a relationship with a woman. Sometimes it's easier to just pretend rather than admit the truth"

Alistair glanced at him, "It wasn't easy" he replied scornfully, "Nothing about the past decade has been easy. Every day I had to keep up the pretence, some days I could barely get out of bed because the façade was so exhausting. Every day was a lie, so no wonder I didn't know who I was"

"And you still don't" Aaron murmured

Alistair nodded despondently, "I spent so long being with Coco that I could almost convince myself that it was my real life" he explained, "Without her I've got nothing, no identity"

Aaron considered this, "You spent the most important years of your life confused and in denial so you missed out on discovering who you really were" he looked at Alistair, "But you can make up for it now"

"And how do I do that?" Alistair replied contemptuously

Aaron sighed, "By asking questions, by putting yourself out there, communicating, research, anything that'll help" he responded, "But most importantly, being honest"

xxx

After several more drinks, Aaron realised that Alistair had drank enough: the other man was slurring his words to an almost incomprehensible extent, so Aaron helped him virtually limp out of Off Air.

"Thanks for listening tonight" Alistair mumbled, "It's really helped"

"It's no problem" Aaron assured him, "Thanks for talking"

There was a pause, and before Aaron had the chance to ask Alistair where he lived so that he could take him home, Alistair turned to face him, "Hey, I upheld my end of the deal, so now it's your turn"

Remembering their trade earlier on, Aaron glanced away bashfully, "Look, I am pretty confident about my job, but not confident enough to do it right here"

Alistair raised an eyebrow, "You do realise I wasn't actually talking about you performing your routine, right?"

Aaron nodded slowly, "I know, but based on what you've told me, I don't really think you're ready for that yet"

Alistair rolled his eyes and closed the distance between them, "I may not know who I really am, but I do know what I want. You" he slurred before pulling Aaron into a rough kiss. Aaron should have pushed the confused and drunk man away, but all logical thinking had gone out of the window the moments that their lips met, so he kissed him back instead.

xxx

Aaron and Alistair burst through the front door of number 24, still locked in their heated kiss. Just as Alistair attempted to remove Aaron's shirt, Aaron realised what was about to happen and gently pushed him away.

"What?" Alistair asked, looking and sounding offended

Aaron sighed, "This can't happen"

Alistair snorted, "You were all for it ten seconds ago"

"I know, but we've got to think about this properly" Aaron warned him

"Can we not think?" Alistair groaned, "Just once, can we switch our brains off and just do what feels right?"

As Alistair grabbed Aaron's shirt again, the shorter man took a step away, "I'm sorry but this doesn't feel right" he replied, "You're drunk and confused and vulnerable, I don't want you to wake up in the morning and regret it"

"I'm not going to regret it" Alistair assured him shakily, "I want this, I spent years denying myself this"

Aaron shook his head, "I get that, but this is wrong"

Alistair stared at him in despair and Aaron continued, "I want to be a friend and I want to help you, which is why this can't happen"

There was a pause before Alistair turned away. Aaron was almost heartbroken as he watched tears fall from Alistair's face. Gently, he padded over to him and rubbed his back comfortingly.

"I've got nothing" Alistair whispered, "Even after all of this, I still can't be who I really am"

"You can" Aaron reminded him, "Maybe not right now, maybe not with me, but you can one day"

Alistair smiled a grateful and watery smile at him, then Aaron headed over to the sink to pour a couple of glasses of water and fill the kettle.

"Here you go" Aaron murmured as he passed the glass to Alistair, "We both drank a lot back there, so we need to try to prevent a hangover"

They tapped their glasses together before gulping them down. After a long pause Aaron broke the silence, "Look, you shouldn't try to get home in your state, so why don't you stay here tonight?"

"Really?" Alistair clarified

Aaron nodded, "Tyler's staying with Nate and his family – it's a long story – so we've got a room going spare"

At the mention of Nate, Alistair visibly tensed up but Aaron reassured him, "He's not gonna know that you're here, don't worry"

Alistair nodded unconvincingly and Aaron started to make them coffee as he continued, "Mark will probably be back at some point, so try not to make too much noise later if you can help it" he warned him, "He's a cop so if he suspects that someone's lurking around he'll take action"

"That's me told then" Alistair joked

Aaron chuckled and handed him a mug which Alistair took gratefully, "So are all of your brothers as hot as you are?" he asked, trying to lighten the atmosphere

Aaron shrugged, "It's debatable" he replied, "I guess it's a common trait of the Brennan brothers"

"Is that a trademark or something?" Alistair questioned, "'The Brennan brothers'?"

Aaron suddenly looked inspired, "No, but it totally should be!"

Alistair chuckled, which eased the tension between them. After several minutes of sipping on their drinks, they finally sat down on the couch and Aaron gently encouraged Alistair to talk about himself, not just regarding his sexuality but about his past in general. They chatted long into the night until they mutually decided that they needed to sleep. Murmuring an awkward 'goodnight' to each other, Aaron was beginning to regret pushing Alistair away, though he knew that realistically he had made the right decision by not sleeping with him despite how determined Alistair had been earlier on.

xxx

Following the delicious scent of cooking, Aaron was pleasantly surprised to find Alistair preparing breakfast.

"Hey" Aaron greeted, "What's all this?"

"Breakfast" Alistair replied matter-of-factly, "It's the least I could do after everything you did for me last night" he paused and wrinkled his nose, "Or didn't do"

Aaron sighed, "Look, about that-"

Alistair interrupted him, "No, don't worry about it, I'm glad you stopped me" he assured the other man, "Like you said, I was drunk, confused and vulnerable so I was in no state to make those kinds of decisions"

Aaron nodded gratefully, "So how are you feeling now?"

"Like a new person" Alistair breathed, "Seriously, it's like everything makes sense now that it's all out in the open; what all of those feelings meant and why I acted the way I did, it feels amazing"

Aaron smiled, "That's great" he replied honestly, then cleared his throat and glanced at the frying pan, "So what's on the menu?"

"Pancakes, I always used to make them for Coco after a rough night" Alistair responded, and Aaron noticed that he didn't even falter at the mention of his ex-fiancés name, instead he smiled softly, "It's not the most effective 'thank you' but I wanted to do more than just say it"

Aaron shook his head, "It's not a problem, I'm just glad that things are working out for you now"

Alistair smiled gratefully and passed Aaron the plate full of pancakes, then glanced over his shoulder, "I noticed that you've got a pool in your back yard"

Aaron nodded, "I was pretty surprised when I first saw it, but if my brothers had told me about it earlier then I probably would have been here a lot sooner" he joked, "Did you want a swim?"

Alistair shrugged, "I don't have any shorts or anything"

"Not a problem" Aaron assured him, "We've got spare ones and loads of towels, so go ahead"

"If you don't mind" Alistair replied cautiously

Aaron shook his head, "I reckon it'll help. You know, water's supposed to be good for relaxing"

"I'll gladly test that theory" Alistair chuckled, then looked coy, "Thanks again for everything, mate"

"You don't have to thank me" Aaron responded dismissively, "I just think it's great that we can have second chances"

Alistair nodded slowly, pondering over what Aaron had said. Aaron hoped that Alistair had caught on to his insinuation about dropping his complaint about Susan.

"Actually, I was thinking a lot about what's happened lately" Alistair began, "I've realised how unreasonable I've been towards Susan and Nate. They've both tried to do the right thing, but I guess that no matter what happens, someone's bound to get hurt. And I was the one who started this, I kissed Nate while I was engaged to another woman so I guess I have no-one else to blame but myself"

Aaron couldn't help but agree with Alistair, who continued, "I was angry when Nate told Coco about the kiss because it wasn't his place, but I know that I wouldn't have done it and we would have entered into a marriage that we shouldn't have. And when Nate told Susan about the kiss, she did the ethical thing by refusing to officiate rather than going ahead with a wedding that she knew was fraught with lies. She didn't breach confidentiality, she prevented a disaster"

Aaron smiled slightly and Alistair finished preparing his batch of pancakes before stacking them on a plate. Although Aaron was genuinely pleased for Alistair, he also felt slightly smug about potentially having one up on Nate by convincing Alistair to drop his complaint against Susan. He was prepared to do anything to wipe that condescending smirk off of Nate's (strangely attractive) face.

Thanks for reading! It's such a shame that this story was wrapped up so offhandedly, whilst other – more boring – storylines are dragged on for ages, so I wanted to fill in the gaps. I know that Aaron claimed that 'nothing happened' between him and Alistair, but I just wanted to add this twist in. As always, if anyone has any ideas for one-shots then just let me know; and remember that reviews are always welcome!