12 pm,

Robert was walking past and spotted his loved one practically falling off of the sofa, unable to keep his eyes open. Robert smirked and walked over before grabbing his boyfriend's collar and leading him up the stairs.

"Robert? Where are we going?", Aaron inquired, glancing about manically like there was some unseen fire.

Robert said nothing as he pushed Aaron onto the bed and then he climbed over to lie beside his boyfriend "You really are a sleeping beauty" he whispered to Aaron before he snuggled up against him.

Aaron was shocked at first but he wrapped his arms around Robert and he closed his eyes "You're amazing". lack of sleep soon got the better of him and his eyes drifted shut.

Robert smiled and he kissed Aaron's cheek "So are you" he whispered. He settled down and he held the young man close to himself before having a small nap himself.

Time skip,

After about half an hour Aaron woke up. He was still exhausted but, seeing Robert's sleeping face, he could not help himself and sent his fingers through the sleeping man's hair.

Robert woke up and he flashed a smile at his lover before nuzzling into his neck. Aaron laughed quietly and hugged Robert back. The two cuddled for a short period of time before someone knocked at the door.

"Yeah?" Aaron called out.

"Aaron? I need a bit of help, the bar is jam-packed!" Chas yelled to her son through the closed door.

Aaron immediately got up at the sound of his mom's voice and went to answer the door, "Alright, I'll come now!"

Robert followed his loved one out of the bedroom and then down the stairs. Aaron headed straight towards the bar with Robert close behind him, they walked into the pub and the blond placed his hands on the younger man's hips.

"I'm gonna do some work on my laptop, call me over if you need me" Robert whispered before he kissed Aaron's neck.

Aaron had been stood behind the bar for a few minutes before he started to polish the glasses, whilst everyone was drinking, talking and eating. The bar was vacant except for Aaron Dingle's blond-haired cocky and 'slightly' arrogant boyfriend.

Robert was watching in admiration as Aaron completely his task with speed but grace. To be honest, he thought that his boyfriend was amazing no matter what. Unable to just watch, Robert stood up and he closed his laptop, he then walked around the bar "Hey, my sexy grease monkey" he greeted as he embraced his boyfriend from behind.

Aaron smirked and he put the glass down, he also put the cloth down and he held on Robert's wrists "Hiya, gorgeous".

"Need any help?", Robert asked.

Aaron pondered the offer for a few seconds before nodding, "Yeah, if you don't mind. Can you help me serve some of the customers? I can barely keep up".

Robert kissed Aaron's shoulder and then his cheek "Of course I don't mind, babe. If it's for you then I'd do anything".

Aaron giggled and turned to kiss his boyfriend on the lips. "I would do anything for you too". He whispered as he slowly rubbed Robert's upper arms.

"Oi! When you love birds are finished, I would like a drink!".

Robert and Aaron pulled back from their kiss; Robert looked passed Aaron and the brunet looked over his shoulder, they laughed when they saw that Cain looked quite grumpy. As the couple served and talked to Cain, Chrissie could be seen walking in with a glare on her face as the couple smiled, happy to be near each other. She wandered off to a booth and was later on joined by Lachlan. Some time passed by and Robert had to get some work done on his laptop.

"I need to do some work. Are you gonna be okay?", he asked he smiled when he received a kiss on the cheek as an answer.

"I'll be fine" Aaron smiled.

Robert nodded and he walked back over to where she had been sat at there bar, he sat down and opened his laptop So that he could get back to work.

Aaron was minding his own business, serving someone their drink when himself and Robert heard laughter not so far away from where they were. The long-haired man turned his head and caught sight of Chrissie and Lachlan glaring at Aaron with smirks on their faces. He then looked at his boyfriend and Aaron looked at him; his boyfriend looked slightly anxious and Robert knew that the younger man hated being the centre of attention.

"Look at that pansy!", Lachlan taunted, "His dad should have beat him harder!"

Chrissie burst out into laughter at her son's joke.

Robert was fuming. How someone could taunt his boyfriend with something like that? 'That vile little piece of snotnose shit. I will cut his tongue out if he says anything else about my Aaron' he thought to himself as he glared at Lachlan.

"That Walsh kid had a lucky escape, he was probably sick of Mr messed up!" Lachlan scoffed.

Aaron winced at Lachlan's sour words and he sighed 'He has no idea' he thought.

Robert's blood was boiling like larva at this point, he saw red and he shot up off of his seat and he charged over to Lachlan, ready to beat him. However, Aaron saw the tension rising and ran over to steer his boyfriend away.

"Aaron, let go of my arm. I'm sorting this out" Robert whispered.

"Not today, Rocky" Aaron rushed his boyfriend into the backroom where Robert proceeded to breathe heavily in order to calm himself.

Aaron, seeing Robert struggling to hold in his anger, snuck up behind the older man and massaged his shoulder's. Robert instantly felt the relief and sighed as all the troubles washed away.

"Any better?", Aaron asked.

"Much", Robert said with a small smile, "Thanks".

"Sit down, I'll get you some water" Aaron instructed before he walked into the kitchen.

Robert sat down on the sofa and he sighed as he closed his eyes "Sorry, that I nearly caused a scene. I was just trying to defend you".

Aaron walked out of the kitchen with a glass of water "I know, thanks". He sat on the sofa and he handed the glass of water to Robert.

"Thanks" Robert took the glass and he sipped the water, he then leaned forwards and he placed the glass on the table.

"You didn't have to try and protect me" Aaron leaned forwards on the sofa.

Robert looked at Aaron "Yes I did" he placed his hand on his boyfriends arm "I will protect you no matter what".

Aaron turned his head and he looked at Robert "And I will always protect you".

"Come'ere" Robert lifted his arm.

Aaron moved to sit next to Robert and he leaned in to rest his head on his boyfriend's shoulder, he felt two arms wrap around him and he closed his eyes.

"I'll never let anyone hurt you. Aaron, you are my everything, I love you more than anything in the whole world. You are my whole world" Robert kissed Aaron's head, he then started to rub his boyfriend's upper arm.

"I will keep you safe no matter what, I love you so much. You mean everything to me" Aaron whispered as he held onto Robert's wrist.

"Aaron!",

The younger man flinched when a whiny voice yelled his name, "What is it, Liv?!"

"I'm hungry!". Liv yelled down the stairs.

Robert rolled his eyes as Aaron sighed in exhaustion.

"Is it too late to retire from brotherhood?", Aaron asked sarcastically.

Robert sniggered, "Unfortunately, yes. Trust me, I have already tried."

Aaron stood up and let out a fed-up-with-life groan before shuffling towards the kitchen.

"Wait up. I'll help too.", Robert said and followed his boyfriend to the kitchen.

The couple worked quickly together, Aaron cooked the meat while Robert chopped up all the vegetables. The younger man finished the filling and his boyfriend made all the layers until they had a lasagne.

"There." Aaron said, feeling very satisfied as he slid the meal into the oven.

"Let's go and ell Chas that dinner is in the oven and then we'll go to Vic's house for the movie.", Robert suggested and Aaron smiled before following his lover towards the bar.

"Hey, mum", Aaron greeted his mother as they approached the counter.

Chas looked up with a big smile, "Hey, sweetheart. Are you two off now?"

Aaron nodded, "Yeah, yours and Liv's tea is in the oven just turn it to two-hundred and leave it for twenty minutes." He instructed kindly as an arm snaked around his waist and a hand rested onto his hips 'God I love it when he does that' he thought to himself.

Chas thanked Aaron and continued to work whilst Aaron and Robert left for Vic's.

Adam was stood at the doorway of his house as he waited for the couple to arrive. When they finally did, Adam raced down the path to pat his best friend on the back. "Hey, you! How are you?", he greeted with a large grin.

Aaron laughed, "I'm good, you?".

Adam nodded and allowed the two men to enter his house. They were told to sit down whilst drinks and food were fetched to which they happily obeyed.

Aaron was sat on the sofa and Robert laid down with his head on the younger man's lap, Victoria walked into the living room with a bowl of popcorn and Adam walked in with a pack of beers.

Victoria pressed play on the movie and they all started to watch the movie, Victoria was snuggled up against Adam and he had his arm around her shoulders. Aaron and Robert were holding hands and Robert kissed his boyfriend's knuckles, this earned a smile from Aaron and he started to stroke the older man's hair.

The movie wasn't even near halfway when Adam began to laugh and everyone looked at him in confusion.

"What is it?", Vic asked.

"That main character is so dumb!", Adam shook his head.

Robert joined in and he started to laugh as well "I know right? Who goes into the woods at 3 am?! I sure wouldn't!"

Aaron sighed and he stopped stroking Robert's hair so I that he could rub his tired eyes, "Oh, I don't know. Maybe a person who actually cares about their significant other?"

Robert closed his mouth and looked down in shame 'You bloody idiot!' he thought.

Adam smirked, "Ooooh, look who just got told!"

Vic glared up at Adam who caught her eyes and repeated Robert's movement. Slowly the tension lifted and the four returned to normal.

Robert lifted his head and he looked at Aaron "I would run through any forest at 3 am to find you if you were in trouble".

Aaron looked at Robert and he smiled "And I would do the same if you were in trouble" he whispered as he started to stroke his boyfriend's hair again.

Robert smiled and he went back to watching the movie "I love it when he strokes my hair like those he thought.

Victoria and Adam were both focused on the movie but Aaron was already starting to get sleepy. Robert watched Aaron closely, making sure he was comfortable.

Eventually, Aaron felt eyes on him and he looked down at Robert, "Are you okay?", he asked the older man.

"Yeah, you?", Robert whispered back.

Aaron nodded with a sleepy expression.

Robert smiled as the younger man slowly fell asleep. He decide to slowly sit up and lay on his back before dragging Aaron carefully on top of him so that the younger man you rest a bit more comfortably.

Adam was solely focused on the movie but Victoria saw the whole thing unfold and was smiling at how cute the couple was.

Robert put a finger to his lips to silence his sister as Aaron's breathing deepened. "He didn't sleep well last night" he whispered

Victoria nodded and she went back to watching the movie.

As it got to the cliff-hanger of the movie of whether or not the doctor would manage to save the fiancée, Adam cursed at how dumb the character and story plot was. Both brother and sister glared at the man who shook in actual fear. The damage, however, had been done because Aaron had woken up, sighing and giving the movie his full attention.

Robert looked down at Aaron and he stroked his boyfriend's hair "Hey, do you wanna call it a night? You look shattered".

Aaron tried to suppress a yawn "Nah, I'm fine".

"Are you sure? We can go home if you're too tired" Robert rubbed Aaron's back.

"I'm sure" Aaron looked up at Robert "I'm scared to fall asleep, I don't want to have a nightmare again." He whispered.

Robert held Aaron's hand on his chest and he stroked his boyfriend's hair "Alright, you can go to sleep if you're too tired and I'm here and won't let anyone or anything hurt you".

Aaron smiled and he kissed Robert's hand "Thank you".

Robert wrapped his arm around Aaron's shoulders and he started to rub his boyfriend's upper arm "It's no problem, I love you".

Aaron snuggled into Robert and he listened to his boyfriend's soft heartbeat "I love you too".

Aaron and Robert went back to watching the film with Adam and Victoria; Robert kept his arm wrapped around Aaron's shoulders and he held onto his boyfriend's hand, Adam had one arm around his wife's shoulders and they both remained silent. Aaron drifted off to sleep as he listened to the calming beating of Robert's heart.

After a few minutes, the blond haired main heard a small whimper and he looked at his boyfriend, he saw that Aaron was asleep but that he seem scared. Robert started to rub Aaron's upper arm and he kissed his hand "Ssshhh it's okay, you're okay. I've got you and you're safe now" he soothed.

Victoria and Adam looked at Aaron and Robert, they saw that the younger man was flinching in his sleep and the saw the fear on his face.

"Please don't. I want my mum" Aaron whimpered.

Robert pulled Aaron up slightly and he kissed his head "Ssshh he can't hurt you anymore. You're safe now, baby". He cooed as he rubbed his boyfriend's back.

Aaron calmed down and he melted back into a peaceful slumber, Victoria and Adam watched as Robert he rubbed circles around his back and they listened as he shushed Aaron.

"How often for a he have nightmares?" Adam asked.

"Most nights. He struggles to sleep a lot of the time" Robert answered.

"How do you put up with it all of the time?" Victoria asked.

Robert shot a glare at his sister "It's not his fault, he apologises to me when he has nightmares. You were pretty much asking how I put up with my boyfriend. I'm not putting up with him... I'm in love with him and I'm taking care of him like I promised to do from day one. I'm making sure that the man I love feels safe and loved, he deserves to be loved and safe" he then looked back at Aaron and he kissed the younger man's head "I love you more than anything" he whispered to his sleeping boyfriend.

Adam smiled as he watched Aaron smile in his sleep, he best mate snuggled even more into Robert and the blond smiled before he kissed Aaron's head again. 'They're so perfect together. He'll keep my best friend safe' he thought before he kissed his wife.