Robert woke up and he immediately sat up when realised that Aaron was gone "Aaron?!" he jumped out of bed and he ran downstairs, he saw that Aaron was asleep on the sofa and he crouched down next to him.
Aaron stirred from his slumber when he felt a kiss on his forehead and a hand stroking his hair, he opened his eyes and he smiled when he saw Robert "Hiya".
Robert smiled "Hiya. How long have you been down here?"
"Since 6" Aaron answered.
Robert looked at the clock "It's 7:30".
"Lie with me for a bit" Aaron yawned.
Robert smiled "Scooch over a bit".
Aaron sat up and he moved so that Robert could lie down.
Robert laid done on the sofa and his boyfriend laid down on his chest, he wrapped his arm around Aaron and he kissed his head. They were happily snuggled up on the sofa for a few minutes until everyone in the house started to run around and shout.
Chas came downstairs and she started to make her breakfast "Aaron, could you help me out in the pub today? Charity and Faith have the day off and I'm knackered".
Robert was about to say that Aaron was good tired and that he needed to rest...
"Sure, mum" Aaron answered Chas.
Chas went upstairs to get ready for the day ahead, she was first in the bathroom.
"You have been helping her in the pub for weeks. You're exhausted, you need to rest" Robert stated.
"I know, but she's struggling with her PTSD. She needs me" Aaron sighed.
"I can stay with you for a bit today but I have to go to a meeting in York at 6pm. I might be back late" Robert explained.
Aaron nodded "Thank you".
Robert kissed Aaron's head "I love you".
"I love you too" Aaron smiled.
Liv and Noah ran downstairs and Aaron stood up, Robert followed his boyfriend into the kitchen and the started to help Aaron make the breakfasts. Live was sat on the sofa whilst Noah was sat at the dining table, Robert and Aaron made pancakes and they stacked all of them onto a plate. Robert carried the plate over to the table and he sat down, he had placed the stack of pancakes in the middle of the table and he picked e top one off, he placed it on his plate and he went to grab the golden syrup but Liv snatched it.
"Aaron, Robert's not sharing!" Liv yelled.
Robert sighed and he slouched in his chair.
"Stop lying about my boyfriend, Liv" Aaron said as he made his and Robert's coffees.
Liv glared at Robert and she kicked his shin. Hard.
Robert grunted in pain but he said nothing 'Ouch' he thought to himself.
Aaron had heard something hitting another thing and he had heard Robert grunt in pain. He walked over to the table and he put the mugs of coffee down, he then sat down on Robert's knee and he kissed his boyfriend. He placed his hand on Robert's cheek and he felt an arm wrap around his waist and a hand on his bicep.
Robert kissed Aaron back and his heart skipped a beat when Aaron licked his bottom lip in a request for entry 'Fuck, I love him' he thought. He opened his mouth slightly and he welcomed his boyfriend's tongue.
Liv glared at Aaron and Robert as they kissed, Noah was too involved in eating pancakes to be fussed by the couple.
Aaron and Robert were too occupied by their tongue thrashing to be bothered about the looks that Liv was giving them. Robert wanted to lower his hand and place it on Aaron's thigh but he did not because it might make Aaron feel uncomfortable. As well as the fact that Liv and Noah were in the room.
Aaron pulled back from kissing Robert and he looked at Liv "Kick my boyfriend again and you're grounded for a month with no phone, laptop or iPad. Got it?"
Liv groaned in annoyance and she went back to eating her pancake.
Aaron stood up and he kissed Robert's head "To go with your pancake" he whispered.
Robert smiled up at Aaron and he watched his boyfriend walk into the kitchen 'He is so hot! I could just grab him and kiss him all day' he thought.
Aaron smirked when he felt eyes on him, he washed up the pan and bowls and then he went to sit down next to Robert. A felt a hand on his back and he smiled at Robert, the older man smiled back at him and he kissed his cheek.
Liv finished her breakfast and she went out to see Gabby, Noah upstairs to his room to watch tv. Aaron and Robert washed up and then they walked through to the pub, Robert sat at the bar with his laptop whilst Aaron helped run the bar.
Chas went to the cafe to meet with Paddy and Robert looked at Aaron. Robert saw how tired his boyfriend was and he stood up, he walked around the bar and he hugged Aaron from behind. Aaron smiled and he rubbed one of Robert's wrists and he felt soft lips on his neck, he continued to pour the customers drinks and once everyone had sat down, he turned around and he kissed Robert.
Robert pulled back and he smiled "Hello, beautiful".
Aaron smiled and he wrapped his arms around Robert's neck "Hello, gorgeous".
"You look shattered" Robert whispered.
"I am. But my mum needs me" Aaron whispered.
"Don't wait up for me tonight, go straight to bed so that you can get some sleep" Robert kissed Aaron's neck.
"Okay, promise to kiss me when you get back though?" Aaron asked.
"I promise" Robert rested his chin on Aaron's shoulder.
Aaron continued to manage the bar for the next hour, Victoria had just arrived for her shift and Marlon was being Marlon.
"Picture this... Lettuce, red onions, tomatoes and spinach" Marlon started.
Robert pulled a face of disgust at the idea of rating spinach and Aaron looked at him.
"Goats-cheese gloriously wrapped up in pastry, seasoned with pepper and thyme" Marlon continued.
"Sounds more like an apperunner than an appetizer to me" Robert scoffed.
Aaron chuckled and then he looked at Marlon "I'm not convinced, Marlon".
Marlon sighed "Alright, mixed beans, grated carrot, tomatoes..."
"Sounds nicer" Robert shrugged.
"With escargot" Marlon finished with a proud grin.
Aaron gagged "Snails?"
"And I take it back" Robert commented as he started to feel sick.
"Escargot is a French delicacy," Marlon said as he defended his idea.
"It is also gross, i tried it when I was in France. I felt sick for a week". Aaron stated.
"I'd rather eat Bernice's apple pie" Robert pulled a face and he gagged.
Marlon groaned in annoyance and he stomped back tone kitchen.
Aaron turned around to face Robert and he sighed "That was disgusting".
"Did you really eat snails?" Robert asked.
"Bloody hell no! I just thought that my mum might want to keep the punters coming here" Aaron chuckled.
"Very wise" Robert held onto Aaron's hips and he kissed his boyfriend.
Aaron held onto Robert's upper arms and he kissed his boyfriend, the feeling of Robert's soft lips on his own lips made a shiver of excitement go through him and e feeling of Robert's warm hands on his hips made him feel safe.
"Oh isn't this a pleasant sight? Two parasites exchanging saliva" Chrissie scoffed.
Aaron and Robert pulled back from kissing and they looked at Chrissie, Robert wrapped his arm around Aaron's waist and he held the younger man close. Aaron placed his hand on Robert's chest and he looked at Chrissie.
"You do know that he'll throw you aside when he's bored of you? He is incapable of being faithful" Chrissie scoffed.
Aaron already struggled to trust people but he did trust Robert, he looked at Robert's chest and he felt his boyfriends grip around hues waist tighten. It was then that he felt safe and loved.
"Don't say that stuff to him, you're just bitter because I left you to be with Aaron. I could never get bored of my boyfriend because I love him and I will never 'throw him aside'!" Robert exclaimed before he kissed Aaron's head "I love you, Aaron" he whispered.
"I love you too" Aaron looked up at Robert. He then pulled back from Robert and he looked at Chrissie "What can I get ya?"
"Some poison because your a husband stealing rat!" Chrissie snarled.
"Hhhmmm, I don't think that we serve that here. We serve: wine, spirits and beers... Oh wait, I know what drinks you might like. Would you like an Apple sour, a Hobgoblin or perhaps a Bloody Mary?" Aaron smirked.
Everyone who was in the pub started to laugh at Chrissie and Robert hugged Aaron from behind. Chrissie glared at Aaron before she asked for a glass of white wine, Aaron poured the drink and Chrissie paid him before she went to sit down.
Robert smiled and he kissed Aaron's neck "You are so bad. My village bad-boy" he whispered.
Aaron smirked and he held onto Robert's wrists "Are you sure that you can handle me?"
"I love you just the way you are, I love my village bad-boy. I don't want to control you, you keep me on the straight and narrow" Robert whispered as he kissed Aaron's neck.
Chas arrived back at 1 pm and Robert sat at the bar to do some work and to keep Aaron company. Liv walled into the pub and she picked up a glass to pour herself a drink but Chas quickly grabbed her wrist.
"No way, kid." Chas firmly said.
"No fair! Gabby is allowed to drink!" Liv yelled.
Aaron tensed up when Liv yelled but he turned to look at Liv "Don't you dare shout at my mum just because she told you that you can't drink!"
"You can't tell me what to do!" Liv shouted.
"I can and I'm telling you not to shout at my mum. You cannot have alcohol so do you want anything else to drink?" Aaron asked.
"I hate you!" Liv shouted and she threw the glass.
Aaron flinched when the glass smashed and he grabbed the bar as he tried to stop himself from falling over.
Robert placed his hand on Aaron's hand and his boyfriend looked at him "Are you alright?" he knew that the sound of things smashing could trigger Aaron's anxiety.
"Yeah" Aaron nodded and then he looked at Liv "Liv, get to your room now!"
Liv ran off to her room and she slammed the door.
Chas stood there frozen as she had a flashback of the night that Robert was shot, but then she heard Cameron's voice in her head.
Aaron saw that Chas had gone completely pale "Mum?" he walked over and he slowly grabbed her shoulders "Mum, can you hear me?"
Chas did not move and she did not answer Aaron's question. She just remained deathly still as she stared at the broken glass on the wooden floor.
Aaron realised that his mum was having an absence, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and he held onto her hand "It's alright, let's get you into the backroom to lie down" he then looked at Robert "I'll be back in a minute. Can you mind th3 bar for me please?"
Robert nodded and he walked around to stand behind the bar "Yeah no problem".
"Thank you" Aaron smiled, he then started to slowly walk Chas to the backroom. He helped her lie down on the sofa and he put a blanket over her from the shoulders down to keep her warm. He made sure that she was alright and then he shut the other door, he quietly shut the door and he walked back towards the bar. He walked over to Robert and he stood next to his boyfriend.
"Come'ere, baby" Robert pulled Aaron into a hug and he rubbed his boyfriends back "It'll be okay, I promise".
Aaron gripped the back of Robert's blazer and he buried his face into Robert's shoulder "Promise that you won't leave me?"
Robert kissed Aaron's head "I promise that I won't ever leave you".
Aaron worked in the pub until 4 pm, he then sat down at a table with Robert and they ordered some food and they ate their meals. Robert hesitantly left at 5:30 to go to a late meeting, Aaron was left to help Chas run the bar. Chas went to bed at 9:30 pm which left Aaron the responsibility of running the pub. It was exhausting.
11pm , Aaron is closing up the pub when he heard a scream, he ran into the cellar and he saw Chas "Mum?"
"He's back. He's gonna get me" Chas rushed over to Aaron.
"Nobody's gonna hurt you" Aaron soothed.
"We have to get out of here. We have to Go, Robert's angry at me for leaving him to die" Chas sobbed.
"Mum, you're safe. Robert's not angry at you and you didn't leave him to die. Robert's alive, he's at work and he's gonna be here soon" Aaron comforted his mother.
Chas fell asleep and Aaron carried her up to bed, he put her on her bed and then he walked downstairs. Aaron made himself a coffee but he fell asleep on the sofa.
Robert arrived at 1 am and he crept in through the back door. He walked into the backroom and he saw that Aaron was asleep on the sofa. He crouched down next to his boyfriend and he stroked his hair.
Aaron stirred from his sleep and he smiled when he saw Robert "How was work?"
"Long. The new clients wanted me to go out for celebratory drinks with them" Robert answered.
"What did you say?" Aaron asked.
"I told them that I had to get back to my boyfriend. How long have you been down here?" Robert asked.
Aaron looked at Robert's watch "I've been asleep for two hours. I had to sort my mum out".
Robert saw how tired Aaron was "Alright. Come on, time for bed". He helped his boyfriend up and they walked upstairs. They got into their pyjamas and Aaron practically collapsed onto the bed. Robert got into bed and he spooned against Aaron, he wrapped his arms around Aaron. The younger man's fingers intertwined with Robert's and he held his boyfriend's hand. Robert smiled and he kissed Aaron's head.
"You can sleep now. I'll take care of You, I won't let anything bad happen to you. Your mum's okay and I'm gonna look after you, Liv and Chas. I'm gonna take care of you now, beautiful" Robert whispered to his boyfriend.
Aaron yawned and he kissed Robert's hand "Don't let go of me".
Robert kissed Aaron's shoulder "Never".