Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Aaron looked out from his position behind the bar. It was his second week working as a barman in The Tavern, a slightly rundown bar in the west end of the city. The place had definitely seen better days, but Aaron was enjoying the job – he got on well with his new boss, and the pay here was better than in his previous place, one of a chain of brash gastropubs.

‘Hey, Aaron, go and collect some glasses would you?’ Marc, another barman, worked most of the same shifts as Aaron, and evidently had no problem with telling him what to do.

Aaron nodded and went around the room picking up the odd empty glasses he could find. It wasn’t all that busy at 8 o’clock on a Wednesday night, but it was starting to liven up a little. As he took the glasses back to the bar, Aaron saw a striking man walk into the middle of the pub, stop and look around him. Aaron couldn’t help but notice the guy, as he was extremely good-looking. Blonde, tall with a well-defined jawline, Aaron found him instantly attractive…

‘You wanna close your mouth, you’re drooling,’ Marc’s snarky comment snapped Aaron out of his stupor.

‘Get lost,’ he grumped. He busied himself behind the bar for a moment, then looked over again. The blond was grinning at him. As Aaron was about to look away embarrassed, to his horror, the stranger winked at him. What an arrogant prick! Aaron turned away, furious that this cocky bastard thought Aaron was going to fall for his charms like some idiot.

A group of rowdy men and women came up to the bar, and while Aaron served them, he did his best to ignore the blond altogether. About ten minutes later, there was a lull in customers again, and Aaron allowed himself to glance back in his direction. To his surprise, the man, now sitting at a table, had been joined by someone. This guy was much older though - he looked in his sixties maybe, and he was podgy with thinning hair. Aaron kept staring as the older man put a hand on the inside of the blond’s thigh and squeezed gently. The blond smiled in response and said something Aaron couldn’t hear.

Aaron tore his gaze away and nudged Marc. ‘Who’s that blond guy?’ he asked, ‘And what the hell’s he doing with that old bloke?’

Marc grinned. ‘Aw, you really are naïve, aren’t you?’ he said patronisingly. Aaron scowled back at him, waiting for an explanation. Marc sighed. ‘He’s a rent boy, isn’t he? That ugly old fart there is obviously paying for it. Blondie and a few of his whore friends come in here all the time with their customers, everyone knows what’s going on. It’s pretty disgusting if you ask me…’

Aaron felt shocked. He’d never encountered anyone who had sex for money before, and now he did feel naïve. The blond guy was so attractive, and he looked like a young businessman or other respectable type of person, it was hard to believe what Marc had said. But as Aaron looked over again now, he noticed the bags under the handsome man’s eyes, the slightly unhealthy pallor of his skin and how worn his clothes were. The blond flashed the man he was with a dazzling smile, then as Aaron watched, the older man stood and walked towards the toilets. The blond’s smile disappeared immediately. Suddenly he looked serious, even nervous, as he chewed a fingernail. He looked up and before Aaron could look away, their eyes met.

Aaron stood rooted to the spot as the blond’s expression changed again, and he got out of his seat and came up to the bar. He was grinning at Aaron. ‘Hi’, he said.

Aaron bit his lip, then replied, ‘Hi’.

‘I haven’t seen you before. Are you new?’

‘Yeah.’

‘My name’s Robert.’

‘Aaron.’

Robert flashed his megawatt smile at Aaron now. ‘Nice to meet you Aaron.’ He looked back at his table, checking that the other man hadn’t returned, then looked back at Aaron. ‘Can I buy you a drink?’

Aaron hesitated. Before he could decide what to say, Marc leant over his shoulder.

‘Piss off rent boy, we don’t drink with you lot.’

‘Marc…’ Aaron tried to interrupt but Robert was glaring angrily at Marc and spoke over Aaron, ‘Who the fuck asked you?’ he spat, his voice trembling with rage. ‘We were having a private conversation so fuck off you prick.’

Marc sneered back. ‘I wouldn’t let you and the other whores in here at all if it was up to me. You make me sick…’

‘Well it’s not up to you is it, so shut the fuck up’, Robert snapped back furiously.

Marc looked at Aaron. ‘You should be careful with the company you keep,’ he said bitterly, and stalked off to the other side of the bar to serve someone.

Aaron looked at Robert. He’d gone from looking charming and confident to angry and defeated. Aaron saw the older man, presumably Robert’s client, walking back to their table. Robert saw him too and shook his head, exhaling slowly.

‘Never mind,’ he muttered under his breath. ‘I’ve gotta go anyway… See you around, Aaron.’ He turned and went back to sit with his client. They spoke briefly, then left together.

Aaron stared after them for a moment, until his thoughts were interrupted by a group of women waiting to be served.

______________

‘Right, George, the usual is it?’ Robert asked his client. The older man nodded and took out his wallet. He handed Robert some cash which Robert checked and then put in his jacket pocket.

‘Ok,’ Robert said. ‘C’mon then.’ He undid his trousers, took them off and sat on the bed. As George knelt between Robert’s legs and took hold of his dick, Robert closed his eyes and mentally switched off from what was happening. He’d got pretty good by now at detaching his mind from what was going on with his body. While the older man started to greedily suck him off, Robert allowed his thoughts to wander to the man he’d met in the bar earlier.

As soon as Robert had sat down in the bar, he’d felt the new barman looking at him, and when Robert had checked him out, he saw a handsome, shy-looking man. Robert had been amused when he winked at his admirer, only for the barman to sulk and turn away.

When they’d spoken briefly, Robert was immediately attracted to Aaron’s unassuming attitude and his sweet awkwardness at being chatted up. He thought there was a bit of a connection between them, or there was until that other bitchy barman had intervened. No doubt his comments had put Aaron off Robert completely…

Ten minutes later, Robert was pulling his trousers back on and arranging another appointment for George the following week. He was a regular client and an easy earner, as he always wanted the same thing. George was a wealthy, respected businessman with a wife and three grown-up daughters, who was determined his taste for cock should be kept a secret. Robert was happy to oblige for as long as George was willing to pay for it.

Robert saw George out of the hotel room, then took a long, hot shower. Afterwards he checked his phone and saw there was a voicemail from his flatmate, Connor.

‘Hey Robert, I’m gonna be staying at Luca’s tonight so I’ll won’t see you, but Madsen came round earlier, looking for you. Don’t worry, I think he’s just after his money so you’d better get in touch with him fast, ok? See you tomorrow, mate’.

Robert sighed. Madsen was their manager, a kind of pimp. He owned the flat that Robert shared with Connor, and the two of them had to pay commission from their earnings in return for living there. Madsen was an intimidating character, to say the least, and Robert was always reluctant to see him, but he’d be in big trouble if he didn’t hand the money over promptly, so as he left the hotel and walked out onto the street, he dialled Madsen’s number to arrange a meeting…

Chapter Text

As he started another shift, Aaron felt like he was getting into the swing of his new job. The landlady, Beth, was a great person to work for, and the other staff were all quite friendly. The only one Aaron didn’t really get on with was Marc, who could be catty and interfering, but when Marc wasn’t working, Aaron enjoyed it.

This evening he was working with Beth, and they were expecting it to be a quiet one as it was a week night. As he put some bottles in the fridge behind the bar, Aaron thought of the handsome blond again. He’d thought about Robert often since they’d met just over a week ago, but hadn’t seen him since that night. Aaron had assumed he’d see him again, as Marc seemed to think he was a regular, but he hadn’t been back yet. Aaron hoped the argument with Marc hadn’t put Robert off coming back.

An hour later, Aaron was serving at the bar when he caught sight of Robert again. He felt a surge of excitement to see him. As Aaron spoke to a customer, he saw Robert approach the bar and tried to catch his eye, but Robert didn’t look over. Instead, he waved to Beth.

‘Hi Robert, what can I get you?’ Beth said warmly. Aaron was surprised that she seemed to know him.

‘Whisky with ice please, Beth… oh and a white wine.’

As Beth got the drinks, Aaron leaned over. ‘Hi again,’ he said.

Robert looked unfriendly. ‘Hi,’ he replied in a flat voice.

Aaron realised that Robert wasn’t going to make this easy.

‘Look, Robert...’ he said, ‘I’m sorry about Marc, the other barman. He’s an arsehole and I want you to know he didn’t speak for me the other day. I’m not one to judge people…’

‘Don’t worry about it,’ Robert said abruptly. ‘I’m here to meet someone, so I won’t bother you.’

Aaron felt aggrieved as Beth came back with Robert’s drinks. It wasn’t his fault what Marc had said, and it wasn’t fair that now Robert was being so cold towards him.

Robert took his drinks and sat at a table, ignoring Aaron. A few minutes later, he was joined by a woman. She was in her forties and looked quite glamourous, well-dressed with a lot of jewellery. She smiled at Robert as she sat opposite him and sipped the white wine on the table. As they smiled and chatted together, Aaron would have thought they were a couple if he hadn’t known better.

He turned to Beth. ‘How do you know that guy Robert?’ he asked.

Beth smiled. ‘Oh yes, Marc mentioned you seemed to like him,’ she teased.

Aaron frowned. ‘Well Marc certainly doesn’t like him.’

‘No, well Marc’s not as open-minded as some of us. I met Robert almost a year ago when I was leaving the pub one night.’ She leaned on the bar, ready to tell her story. ‘I’d closed up on my own, and I was walking home with the night’s takings in my bag. I don’t usually take the money myself, but I wanted to get some to the bank the following day, so I had a big bundle of cash in there. It must have just been a coincidence, but some bastard decided to try and steal my bag that night.’ She frowned, looking angry at the memory. ‘This little creep came up behind me and grabbed the bag. But obviously there was no way I was letting it go, so I clung on to it and wouldn’t let him have it. Then I realised he had an accomplice with him, this other guy who appeared, wrapped his arms around me and dragged me over on to the ground.’

‘Bloody hell, that must have been terrifying,’ Aaron interrupted.

Beth grimaced. ‘It was. I was really scared and I struggled to hold on as they tried to pull the bag off me, but just as I was about to give up, someone rushed up and punched one of the guys in the face. He fell backwards, and then there was a scuffle with the one who was trying to take the bag. Eventually, the two muggers ran off, empty handed. The guy that helped me was Robert. I didn’t know him or anything, he’d just seen what had happened and came over to help.’

‘Wow…’ Aaron said in surprise.

‘He was bleeding from where he’d got hit, and I was very shaken, so I brought him here to sort us both out, and we had a few drinks at the bar. We spent hours chatting that night. Since then I’ve got to know him pretty well.’

Aaron was quiet for a moment, then asked, ‘So is that why you let him bring his… clients here?’

Beth smiled. ‘I suppose so. I’ll always be grateful to him for that night, and to be honest, he’s had a pretty shit life. I wanted to help him out, give him some money or a job or something, but he’s too proud for any of that. So I just let him have free drinks when I can, and I turn a blind eye to him and his friend Connor using this place to meet their clients.’

She looked serious. ‘Aaron, Robert’s a lovely guy, but he’s not easy to be friends with. If you want to get to know him, you need to tread carefully. Don’t expect too much from him, and you have to accept what he does for money. If you can handle that, I’m sure he could do with a friend…’

Beth walked off to serve a customer. Aaron exhaled slowly and considered what she’d said. Did he really want to get to know this guy, who seemed to come with a lot of baggage?

Robert was chatting with the woman at his table, and she had her hand on his hand. Aaron could only assume she was another client, which raised the question of whether Robert was gay, straight or bi. Aaron thought he’d been flirting with him the other day, but now he wasn’t sure. There was definitely something about him though. Aaron found it hard to take his eyes off him.

When Robert came to the bar for another couple of drinks a few minutes later, Aaron made sure he got to him first.

‘A whisky and a white wine please,’ Robert said.

‘Sure,’ Aaron made the two drinks and put them down on the bar in front of Robert. ‘Have these on me,’ he said.

Robert frowned. ‘I have got money, you know…’

‘It’s not like that. I just want to buy you a drink after what happened the other night, by way of apology for my colleague.’

Robert looked suspicious, then relaxed. ‘Ok,’ he said. ‘Thanks then.’ He took the drinks back to his table and sat down with the woman again.

Aaron watched for a while but Robert didn’t look back at him. ‘He won’t make it easy for you to help him, you know,’ Beth had obviously heard their conversation. ‘His defences are very high and hard to break down.’

Aaron nodded. He got it. ‘So…is that woman a client of his?’

Beth shrugged. ‘I don’t recognise her, but I’d assume so, yes.’

‘And…is he gay or bisexual, do you know…?’

‘Robert’s bisexual, and he has both male and female clients. But to be honest, I’ve never known him be in a relationship at all. I think he might have had a bit of a thing with Connor, his flatmate, but they seem to be just friends now.’

Aaron nodded again, and went to serve another customer, deep in thought.

Chapter Text

‘Where did you find these two then?’ Robert asked Connor as they walked along the street.

His flatmate had approached him that morning and asked Robert to join him on a job. A woman and her boyfriend wanted two men to take part in a foursome with them. Robert said no at first, but Connor had managed to persuade him eventually. It was a lot of money, and there was safety in numbers, Robert supposed.

‘I didn’t find them, they came through Madsen.’

‘What?’ Robert stopped walking. ‘You never said that.’

Connor looked at him. ‘Why would I? What difference does it make?’

Robert sighed angrily. ‘Clients that come through him are usually dodgy aren’t they? He makes promises that we don’t want to deliver, you know what he’s like.’

Connor put a hand on Robert’s arm. ‘Calm down, it’ll be ok. There’s two of us, and we can handle it. OK?’

Robert wasn’t happy, but after a moment’s hesitation, he nodded and they carried on walking to the address Connor had on his phone.

They found the flat, rang the bell and were buzzed in. A youngish, good-looking man opened the door. ‘Hi,’ Connor said confidently, walking into the flat. ‘I’m Connor and this is my friend Robert.’ Robert followed him in.

The man looked a bit nervous. ‘I’m Kyle, and my girlfriend’s called Nina, she’s just getting ready.’ He gestured for Robert and Connor to sit on the sofa. ‘Can I get you a drink?’

‘Have you got a couple of beers?’ Connor asked. Kyle nodded and went out to the kitchen.

‘See?’ Connor whispered at him. ‘It’ll be fine.’

Kyle came back with two bottles of beer and a thin woman with long black hair and lots of make-up came in. Robert took several long swigs of beer while Connor spoke to the couple about what they wanted.

‘…so why don’t you two gorgeous boys start, while we watch?’ Nina finished. Connor grinned, put his beer down and leaned over to Robert. They started kissing, gently, softly, both aware that they were putting on a performance. Connor caressed Robert’s face with his hand and Robert moaned softly. He didn’t fancy Connor and he was faking it, but snogging Connor, who he knew so well, was a lot better than kissing a stranger.

The kiss gradually became more intense, and Nina knelt in front of the two men. She started pulling Robert’s jacket off his shoulders, then undid the buttons on his shirt. She stroked his bare chest, and pulled him into a kiss. She tasted of alcohol, and her kiss was very different from Connor’s, softer, and more sloppy. As she pushed Robert back on the sofa, climbing on top of him, he could see Kyle and Connor getting it on behind her.

Nina rubbed a hand over Robert’s crotch and he wished he’d had more to drink. He found his work easier to handle when the edges were blurry, and now he was too aware of what was happening. As he tried to get into it, he found himself thinking of the surly dark-haired barman who’d bought him a drink a few days ago. He felt his cock spring to life and so did Nina. She cooed with pleasure and undid his flies.

After stroking Robert’s cock for a while, Nina suddenly moved away, and Robert found himself being fondled by Kyle instead. After a while, Kyle straddled his chest and pushed his hard dick gently into Robert’s mouth. Robert sucked him off as Kyle moved tentatively up and down.

Robert heard Nina shrieking at regular intervals, and assumed she was getting fucked by Connor. He drifted off, thinking about Aaron again until a while later, he felt a warm mouth close around his own dick. He thought it was Nina, until he realised she was above him, kissing Kyle, who still had his dick in Robert’s mouth. It must have been Connor deep throating him then. Robert decided to try to switch off his brain and stop trying to work out what the hell was going on. Kyle’s shy thrusting gradually became more and more urgent, until finally he reached a climax, pulling out of Robert’s mouth just in time to come over Robert’s chest. As Kyle and Nina tumbled onto the floor, kissing and cuddling, Connor finished Robert off expertly, swallowing it all down when Robert came.

Robert sat up and Connor was licking his lips lasciviously. ‘You cocky prick,’ Robert grinned, and smacked Connor playfully across the arm.

‘I knew you’d love a proper blow job from me,’ Connor smirked.

‘I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist sucking my cock,’ Robert retorted.

Fifteen minutes later, the two men were walking back down the street together, having collected a decent sum of money and a suggestion from Nina and Kyle that they might all do it again some time.

‘See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?’ Connor said.

‘No, I guess not.’ Robert agreed reluctantly. ‘Fancy a drink?’ They were only a few streets away from The Tavern, where that good-looking barman worked.

‘Yeah, sure.’

Once they’d got to the pub, Robert walked up to the bar, where Beth was serving.

‘Hi Beth,’ he said. ‘Couple of beers for me and Connor, please.’ As she went to get two bottles, Robert looked around, but there was no sign of Aaron. Beth put the beers on the bar. ‘On me,’ she said.

‘Thanks Beth,’ Robert said. ’Er, I don’t suppose Aaron’s working tonight…?’

Beth grinned. ‘Oh right, that’s who you came to see, not me’ she joked. ‘Sorry love, it’s his night off.’ Robert smiled ruefully and took the drinks over to where Connor was sitting. Damn.

___________________

Aaron took two cans of lager out of the fridge, handed one to his friend & lodger Adam, and plonked himself down in an armchair.

‘Cheers, mate,’ Adam said, and slurped from the can. ‘So how’s the new job going?’

‘Yeah, it’s alright, actually. Better than that last place definitely, and the landlady’s really nice.’

‘Yeah, well that pub you worked in before was a right dump! So it’s ok having a woman for a boss then, is it?’

Aaron rolled his eyes. ‘Doesn’t make any difference, you idiot, it’s not about the gender. She just happens to be a good person. Honestly, you’re such a caveman, Adam…’

‘Alright, alright…’ Adam laughed. ‘So what’s on your mind then? You’ve been really quiet the last few days, what’s going on?’

Aaron looked confused. ‘Dunno what you mean, mate. There’s nothing going on.’

Adam grinned. ‘You don’t fool me, bro. If it’s not your job, then I’m guessing it’s a guy… have you met someone?’

Aaron couldn’t believe it. He was sure he hadn’t given anything away, but somehow Adam could always tell when Aaron had something on his mind.

‘Ok, maybe I did meet someone…’

Adam whooped loudly. ‘YES bro! I knew it! Go on then…’

Aaron grinned. ‘I don’t know, it’s nothing really, I just met this guy in the bar, and I can’t stop thinking about him. We’ve only had a couple of short conversations, and I hardly know him… it’s stupid really…’

‘So why do you like him then?’

Aaron thought about it for a moment. ‘He’s really fit, for a start...’ Adam whooped again and punched the air.

‘… and my boss Beth knows him. She thinks he’s a good guy. And… it’s hard to explain, but when I spoke to him, I just felt like we had a connection, you know? There’s just something about him…’

Aaron couldn’t pin down himself what attracted him to Robert so much, let alone explain it to his straight friend. When he’d spoken to Robert, Aaron had been immediately attracted by his confidence, then charmed by his vulnerability.

‘So he doesn’t work with you then?’ Adam wanted to know.

‘No,’ Aaron said. ‘He, er …. I’m not sure what he does actually, he just drinks in the Tavern so I chatted to him there.’

Adam seemed satisfied with that amount of detail for now, as he reached for the remote and turned the TV on. That was fine with Aaron – no way was he telling Adam what Robert really did for money...

Chapter Text

Aaron was really bored. It was another quiet evening in the Tavern, and he was working with Marc, who he got on with the least well of all his colleagues. He’d already collected the empty glasses, wiped some tables, done a bit of tidying, and he couldn’t think of anything else to do, when suddenly the door opened and in came Robert.

Aaron hadn’t seen him since he’d apologised and bought him a drink just over a week ago, and he smiled when he saw Robert look straight towards the bar – was Robert actually be looking for Aaron? Robert returned the smile and came over.

‘Hi.’

‘Hi.’

They smiled at each other for a moment.

‘Er… what can I get you?’

‘Oh, a large whisky. With ice.’

Aaron made the drink and put it on the bar. ‘There you go. Are you ok?’

‘Yeah, I’m fine, I’m good. How are you?’

Aaron took those words with a pinch of salt as Robert was twitchy and seemed nervous.

‘I’m OK. Haven’t seen you for a few days. Are you…. are you meeting someone tonight?’

Robert’s smile faded. ‘Yeah,’ he spoke quietly and looked down at the bar.

‘What’s up?’ Aaron said.

There was a long pause while Robert seemed to be deciding what to say. Eventually he looked up again and spoke in a soft voice, as though he didn’t want anyone else to hear.

‘I’ve got to meet a new client tonight, and he’s someone who came through my manager.’

Aaron frowned. ‘Manager…’

‘Yeah, I guess you’d probably call him a pimp, but he calls himself our manager. Anyway, he sometimes sets us up with new clients. The thing is, when he’s arranged it, you don’t know who they are or what they’re like. He basically says yes to anyone and anything, as long as they pay enough. It just makes me nervous, when I don’t know anything about the person I’m meeting…’ he sighed. ‘Oh, I dunno, I’m sure it’ll be fine…’

He looked around the bar, and took a swig of whisky, flinching as the alcohol went down. To Aaron, Robert seemed a long way away from ‘fine’. He didn’t know what to say. A customer came up to the bar, waving a credit card, and Aaron went to serve her. By the time he’d finished, Robert was sitting in the corner, talking to a large, stocky man who Aaron assumed must be the client. Seeing Robert like this made him feel incredibly sad. He couldn’t imagine how it must feel, waiting to meet the person you were going to have sex with that night.

After a while, Aaron saw Robert and the man stand up and head towards the door. As they left, Robert looked back behind him, and caught Aaron’s eye. He gave him a small smile, then turned around and walked out of the door.

____________________

The rain started to fall lightly as Robert and his client walked from the pub to the hotel just round the corner. It was a hotel he and his colleagues often used as it was largely unstaffed – the clients just put their credit cards into a machine at reception and they could book rooms at an hourly rate.

Robert stood in the doorway while the other man swiped his card. He wasn’t feeling any more comfortable about this client. The large man seemed on edge and moody, and Robert couldn’t help but feel that if he said or did the wrong thing, the man could erupt into a rage at any moment.

The man put his card in his wallet and turned to Robert.

‘Come on then,’ he muttered.

Robert followed him up the stairs and into a small but clean and tidy room. He took his coat off and sat on the bed. The client began to undo his trousers.

‘Hang on,’ Robert interrupted him, ‘You need to pay up first.’

The man took out his wallet again and handed Robert some cash. Robert checked it, put the money away, then started to take his own clothes off…

_________

It was almost midnight by the time Aaron had finished his shift, helped Marc tidy up the bar and stepped out into the street. It was raining heavily now, and he was glad he’d driven to work earlier so he didn’t have to walk or wait for a bus now.

He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Robert all evening. He wondered where he’d ended up and what had happened with the client he was worried about going with. Aaron wished he had a phone number or something, so he could text and see if Robert was ok, but then he thought he was being ridiculous – they hardly knew each other really. And did Aaron really want to get any further involved with someone who did what Robert did for a living? It was hard to imagine anything romantic ever happening with Robert, and Aaron wasn’t sure whether either of them wanted that anyway….

His mind was still whirring with these questions when he saw a figure slumped in a doorway on the side of the street. Aaron put his hands in his jeans pockets, checking whether he had any spare change to give the poor guy. He always felt sympathetic towards homeless people, especially in this kind of cold, wet weather.

But as he got closer, he began to recognise the worn leather jacket, the long legs and the blond hair of the person sat with his face buried in his arm.

‘Robert?’ he asked in disbelief.

Robert looked up with a similar expression of surprise.

‘Aaron… what are you doing…?’

Aaron gasped as he saw that Robert’s left eye was a deep purple colour and he was struggling to open it properly. As Aaron crouched down to Robert’s level, he noticed that there was also dried blood above the eye, and various bruises on Robert’s face.

‘What happened?’ he asked, upset. ‘Have you been beaten up? Who did it? Are you alright…?’

‘Shut up, I’m fine...’ Robert said, but his speech was distorted by a swollen lip.

Aaron thought for a second, then made up his mind. ‘Right, you need to come with me,’ he said, in a tone he hoped indicated he would not be argued with. ‘I was on my way to my car, so I’m going to drive us both back to my place and we’ll get you cleaned up and sorted out there. Ok?’

For a moment Aaron thought Robert was about to protest, but instead he gave a small, miserable nod, and went to stand up. Aaron grabbed his elbow and helped him to his feet.

‘Are you gonna be able to walk a couple of streets to the car?’ he said.

Robert nodded again, and allowed his arm to rest on Aaron’s shoulder, Aaron helping to support his weight. Moving along the road at a slow pace, they made their way together to Aaron’s car in silence.

Chapter Text

Robert was looking a bit better once he’d washed his face in Aaron’s bathroom and cleaned the blood off his eyebrow. His bruises were still very vivid though, and Aaron thought his black eye looked particularly painful. He took a small bag of frozen peas out of the freezer, wrapped it in a towel, and handed it to Robert.

‘Hold it against your eye,’ he instructed Robert.

Robert looked at him as if he was mad.

Aaron sighed. ‘Just do it. It’ll help the pain and reduce the swelling, alright?’

Robert reluctantly took the package and put it next to his face, wincing as it made contact.

‘Cup of tea?’, Aaron offered.

Robert nodded. ‘Thanks. Milk, no sugar.’

Aaron busied himself in the kitchen making tea while Robert sank into his sofa.

When Aaron came into the living room with two full mugs, he noticed how exhausted and pale Robert looked under his bruises. He put the tea down and Robert looked up.

‘Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?’ Aaron asked.

Robert looked away. ‘I don’t need charity, Aaron,’ he said defensively.

Aaron shook his head in frustration. ‘It’s not charity, Robert. For God’s sake, I’m gonna make myself some toast so I wondered if you wanted some. It’s no big deal.’

Robert was quiet for a moment, then looked up at Aaron. ‘Ok,’ he said. ‘Sorry. I’m an ungrateful arsehole sometimes, I know. I’d love some toast if you’re making.’

Aaron smiled. ‘That wasn’t so difficult, was it?’

He went to the kitchen, grinning.

When he came back in with the toast, Robert looked as though he was falling asleep, but hearing Aaron come in, he blinked a few times and sat up. Aaron flicked the TV on in the background, and they both sat eating their toast without speaking.

Then Aaron’s curiosity go the better of him. ‘So… what happened tonight? Was it the guy you met in the pub?’

Robert didn’t move or say anything for a few seconds, and Aaron wondered whether he was going to answer the question or not. Then suddenly, Robert started talking.

‘Yeah, it was him. I knew there was something off, as soon as he came and sat down. He was acting all weird, and I just had a funny feeling about him… Fuck, I never should have gone with him…’

Aaron waited for Robert to continue.

‘He said he wanted me to fuck him, so I said that was fine, and we talked about the price and he was ok with that. So we went to the hotel. He took his clothes off, and I did too, and everything was going ok… we got started, but…’ Robert paused and cleared his throat. ‘When I went to… y’know, put it in… he suddenly freaked out. He jumped up, and punched me in the face. Then he pushed me onto the floor, and started shouting ‘you fucking faggot, you dirty faggot’, and he started kicking me over and over… he just lost it completely.’

Aaron stared at Robert. ‘God…. that’s terrible…’ he said, hopelessly.

Robert gave a small smile. ‘It’s ok, I’m ok,’ he said. ‘It’s hardly the first time something like this has happened, and I’m sure it won’t be the last….’

Aaron was starting to feel out of his depth. This was a situation, a world that was completely alien to him, and again, he questioned what he was doing, trying to help someone like Robert. Could he really help him? Did he even trust him? They hardly knew each other after all. He didn’t know what to think.

‘This is a really nice place,’ Robert was saying. ‘Do you live here alone?’

‘Thanks, er no, my friend Adam lives here too. He’s my lodger, but we’ve been friends for years. We grew up in a little village, about twenty miles from here, and moved to the city together a few years ago. He’s out tonight, I think he’s staying at his new girlfriend’s place…’

Robert nodded. ‘So have you ever been a couple? Sounds like you’re pretty close…’

Aaron grinned. ‘Adam is as straight as they come,’ he said. ‘He’s my best mate, but there’s never been anything like that between us.’

Aaron tried to work out whether Robert looked pleased with that information, but he didn’t seem to be giving anything away.

‘Do you own the house then?’ Robert went on.

‘Yeah. I inherited some money and I bought this place with it.’

‘Wow. Nice one.’ Robert looked around the room appraisingly. ‘You’ve done well, it must’ve cost a fair bit. It’s really well done out too, I like it…’

‘Didn’t realise you were into interior design…’ Aaron joked. ‘Do you want a guided tour?’

Robert stood up, grimacing with pain as he did so. Aaron pointed out the other rooms downstairs, and Robert had a good nosy around, making appreciative comments every now and again. Then Aaron led him up the spiral staircase.

‘Bit impractical these stairs,’ he said as they went up. ‘But they look cool, so that’s the main thing.’

Robert joined him on the landing. ‘That’s Adam’s room down there, the bathroom’s next door, and that’s my room,’ Aaron said.

He pushed the door open and Robert went in. ‘Very nice,’ he said.

They stood in silence for a moment, and Aaron started to feel slightly tense. Somehow he’d ended up with this stranger he hardly knew – a prostitute for fuck’s sake – in his bedroom at two o’clock in the morning.

He moved to the door. ’Shall we…’ he started, but as he spoke, Robert walked over, closing the gap between them, and planted a soft kiss on Aaron’s lips.

‘Shh,’ Robert whispered, ‘Let me do something for you now…’ and he pulled Aaron’s head towards him, kissing him passionately now. Aaron lost himself in the kiss for a moment, then gradually became aware that Robert’s other hand was on his crotch, stroking his growing erection… This didn’t feel right…

‘Stop,’ Aaron said suddenly, and pulled his head back. He pushed Robert’s hand away from between his legs. Robert looked surprised and hurt.

‘I don’t want you to …’ Aaron started, but before he could say any more, Robert opened the door and rushed down the stairs.

‘Wait,’ Aaron called, and followed him down. ‘Robert, don’t go, please.’

As Robert headed for the front door, Aaron managed to push past him and block his exit. He stood facing Robert and put his hands on Robert’s arms to stop him going.

‘Wait,’ he repeated. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you…’

‘Whatever.’ Robert was back in his defensive mode again.

Aaron sighed. ‘Look… I like you Robert, I really do, but the last thing I want is for you to feel like you have to do anything for me, to pay me back. I helped you tonight because… well, you seem like a nice guy, and I just wanted to help you out, no strings attached. I’m not expecting sexual favours in return, and I don’t want that from you, ok?’

Robert looked embarrassed. ‘Fine. I just wanted to do something nice for you…’ he said.

‘That might be what you’re used to, but I’m not ok with that,’ Aaron said. ‘Please sit down…’

Robert rolled his eyes impatiently, but turned and sat back on the sofa.

‘I think you should stay here tonight, I can use Adam’s room, and you can have my bed,’ Aaron said carefully. ‘You’re in no fit state to go home and it’s really late. Stay the night and we’ll see how your injuries are in the morning…’

Robert hesitated, then nodded. ‘OK, thanks.’ he said reluctantly. Then he shook his head. ‘Why are you being so nice to me?’

Aaron smiled. ‘I must just be a nice guy, I guess. Either that or a total mug…’ And the fact that you’re the most gorgeous man I’ve ever met might have something to do with it as well, he thought, as he picked up the dirty cups and plates and took them into the kitchen.

Chapter Text

When Robert woke up the following morning, it took him a minute to work out where he was. After a moment, he remembered he’d spent the night in Aaron’s room. Unfortunately, Aaron wasn’t there with him, having politely given up his bed and gone to his friend’s room for the night.

Robert took in his surroundings. As well as the photo he’d seen, there were a few other pictures on a shelf, including a photo of an older couple who he assumed were Aaron’s parents. There was a bookshelf with just one or two books on it, and a stack of old DVDs. The titles were pretty macho – Rocky, Die Hard, Terminator etc, not really to Robert’s taste. In the corner was a huge pile of music magazines. Robert wondered if he had much in common with this guy, who seemed to be a wealthy alpha male with an interest in indie music.

A tap on the door snapped Robert out of his thoughts. ‘Robert?’ came Aaron’s voice. ‘Are you awake?’

‘Yup’, Robert replied, stretching his arms and yawning. Aaron’s face appeared around the door. Robert saw his host glance at his naked torso, taking in the bruising that he hadn’t seen last night. Robert pulled the duvet up.

‘I’m feeling a lot better, thanks,’ he said quickly. The last thing he wanted was anymore of Aaron’s sympathy. He was getting fed up with being pitied.

Aaron looked Robert in the eye. ‘Cuppa?’ he offered.

Ten minutes later, they sat together in the kitchen eating toast and drinking tea in a repeat of the previous night. Robert cleared his throat.

‘Look, I just want to say… thank you… for all this,’ he said, looking at the table. ‘I appreciate the bed, the food and everything.’

Aaron nodded. ‘Do you need to get back?’ he asked.

Robert shrugged. ‘I should, but I don’t want to.’ He looked at Aaron. ‘The thing is, my manager… pimp… well he owns the flat where I live, and he’s not gonna be happy about what happened last night, so I’d like to avoid him for a bit…’

‘But that wasn’t your fault,’ Aaron interrupted. ‘What were you supposed to have done?’

‘I dunno… I did what the guy wanted, and I didn’t provoke him, but Madsen will say that I did. He’ll say I did something wrong, and I should’ve tried harder to please the customer…’

‘Well that’s ridiculous.’ Aaron said angrily.

Robert chuckled. ‘Yeah, I’ll tell him you said that.’ Aaron glared at him.

‘Aaron, it’s not exactly a fairly run business, you know? It doesn’t matter what actually happened, all that matters is what Madsen thinks happened, and how he sees things. And he always sees things from the client’s point of view not ours, especially when the client was someone he organised.’ He smiled. ‘Don’t worry about it, I’ll deal with it.’

There was a pause. Aaron had so many questions he wanted to ask, but he didn’t want to upset Robert or put him on the defensive again. He decided to try one.

‘You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but… how did you get into this in the first place?’

Robert folded his arms and leant back in his chair. ‘Well… that’s a long story…’

‘You don’t have to tell me, it’s ok…’

‘No, it’s fine.’ Robert thought for a moment, as if deciding where to start.

‘Ok, so when I was nineteen, I left home. I’d always had a rocky relationship with my Dad – my Mum died when I was a kid – and when he found me kissing a boy in my room one day, he went mental and kicked me out. So I moved to the city and stayed with a friend for a while. I had a few jobs, I was a chef at one point, which I really enjoyed and things went ok for a while, but after a couple of years, my friend met someone, and decided to get married and get a place with his wife, and suddenly I found myself homeless. I slept on friends’ sofas for a bit, but after a while I was turning up to work in unwashed clothes and I never got much sleep so I was always knackered… so eventually I lost my job…’

He sighed. ‘That’s where it all went wrong, I guess. I had nowhere to go for a while, but then I met this guy, through a friend of a friend. He was charming, handsome…. and loaded. His parents had their own business and he worked for them. I ended up moving in with him – his name was Harry – and he got me a job in the company, just basic office work really, but I enjoyed it. I got on well with his Dad too, and I got promoted, and started working my way up through the company. Harry was about ten years older than me, but I really liked him. He looked after me, and he saved me from the streets, so I felt like I owed him.’

He looked at Aaron. ‘Seeing as I’m telling you all this, can I have another cup of tea?’

Aaron smiled and put the kettle on.

Robert went on, ‘I stayed there for a couple of years, living with Harry and working with him, for his Dad. Then things started to go sour… I don’t remember when it started really, but Harry wasn’t doing very well at his job, and he was arguing with his Dad a lot… he started drinking, and his behaviour changed. I didn’t notice it happening at first, but… well I suppose it became what you could call an abusive relationship. He started undermining me at work, blaming me for things he did, and we argued about it at home. Then he started getting violent…’

Robert stopped talking as Aaron made him another mug of tea and waited for him to gather his thoughts.

‘Thanks…’ Robert said, taking his tea. ‘So, yeah… he was a big guy, taller than me, and strong and fit, and when he was violent… well, I couldn’t do anything to stop him. It went on for several months until I decided I had to get out. I didn’t have anywhere to go though, and there was no-one who would help me, so I did something really stupid. I stole a load of money off him.’

He took a sip of his tea and grinned at Aaron. ‘What a dickhead, eh?’

Aaron didn’t respond.

‘Anyway, I nicked one of his credit cards, as well as some cash, and I did a runner, but of course he called the police, and I ended up in prison on a charge of theft. That was a pretty bad time in my life… but while I was inside, I met this guy called Connor.’

Aaron raised his eyebrows in recognition. ‘The same Connor…?’

‘Yeah, the same Connor I share a flat with now. Basically, I ended up telling him all about what had happened and he suggested I get a job with him, working as an escort. He was already connected with Madsen. I couldn’t see any option, to be honest. Either I went back to being homeless and unemployed, or I had a warm, dry place to stay and could earn some money as an escort. It seemed like a no-brainer…’

‘But…’ Aaron hesitated, not wanting to offend Robert. ‘…you’re not really escorts, are you…?’

Robert smiled. ‘Not now. But that’s how it started. Me and Connor got loads of jobs accompanying rich women to posh events. That was all Madsen wanted us to do, at first, and we made a lot of money for a while. It was so easy. But after a few months, Madsen started asking us to do the odd sexual favour with a client… then we started getting more and more male clients, wanting sex most of the time … then eventually we were making all our money from sleeping with fat old men. We’d graduated from escorts to whores.’

Robert was smiling as he spoke, but his eyes were so sad, Aaron could hardly bear it.

He swallowed hard and tried not to show his emotions. ‘So you haven’t been home to see your Dad since you left?’ he asked.

Robert shook his head. ‘He died last year. His girlfriend found my phone number and texted me – can you believe that? A text, to tell me my Dad was dead? Unbelievable. By the time she did that, he’d already been buried, not that I would have gone…’

‘My Dad’s dead as well,’ Aaron blurted out. He found himself wanting to share something about himself in return for Robert’s candour.

‘Yeah? Sorry…’

Aaron snorted. ‘I’m not. He was a bastard…’ He paused, apparently unsure of what to tell Robert.

‘My Mum left us when I was a kid, and he couldn’t handle being a single Dad. I ran away too and went to live with my Mum eventually. But my Dad got cancer a few years ago, and left me a load of money when he died. I suppose he wanted to make up for… being a shit Dad. That’s how I bought the house…’

‘Oh right…’ Robert nodded. ‘So do you see your Mum now?’

‘Oh yeah, we’ve got a great relationship now.’

‘That’s good.’

They sat in silence for a moment. Aaron was grateful to Robert for sharing his story, and surprised by open he’d been. He wondered again just what this was between them – friendship? Something more? He wasn’t at all sure where this was going.

Chapter Text

It was almost 10:30am and Robert was still in Aaron’s kitchen. They’d had breakfast together, then spent an hour or so just chatting and getting to know each other better. Robert was feeling unusually calm and relaxed when suddenly his phone rang.

He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the screen – he’d already had several calls from Madsen which he’d decided to ignore. But it wasn’t him this time. ‘It’s Connor.’ he said to Aaron. ‘Sorry, I’d better take this…’

Aaron nodded and turned around to the sink to do some washing up and give Robert a bit of privacy. Robert stood up and wandered into the living room as he answered the call.

‘Hey Connor,’ he said.

‘Robert where are you?’ Connor sounded highly stressed out.

‘I’m, er, at a friend’s house… What’s up? You haven’t heard from Madsen, have you?’

‘Jesus, Robert, what happened last night? Madsen called me earlier and he’s not happy, mate. He wanted to know where you were and why you ran out on a client last night…’

‘I didn’t run out on anyone,’ Robert said angrily. ‘The guy changed his mind at the last minute, and started laying into me. He attacked me and then HE left, I didn’t run out…’

‘Ok, well Madsen’s saying you ran out on him and you’ve messed up. He said you’ve cost him money, and now he’s trying to find you. Robert you need to come back, you’re gonna be in trouble..’

Robert sighed. Connor sounded really worried, and he knew Connor was trying his best to help. Robert knew he was going to get in trouble now, no matter what. But, it occurred to him, if he was going to get in trouble anyway, he might as well not rush back for it …

‘Thanks Connor. I’m going to stay here for a bit…’

‘Robert! You’ve got to…’

‘I’ll see you later. Thanks for letting me know. Bye.’ And Robert cut Connor off before he could protest any more.

As he walked back into the kitchen, Aaron was looking concerned, and Robert assumed he’d heard most of his side of the conversation. He didn’t want Aaron to worry on his behalf.

‘Connor just wanted to check I was ok,’ he said. ‘Apparently the boss was wondering where I was, but it’s no big deal. I’m not in any rush to get back, so… do you want to hang out for a bit?’

Aaron looked surprised, but then he smiled. ‘Er… yeah, ok,’ he said. ‘I’m working later, but I don’t start until five o’clock, so I’m free most of the day.’

Robert smiled back with relief. He could do with something to take his mind off the situation he’d managed to get himself into, and he was really enjoying Aaron’s company. They’d shared a lot of personal stuff with each other that morning, and for some reason Robert had a strong sense that he could trust this quiet, brooding man.

‘What do you want to do then?’ Aaron said.

‘Well, first, I’d love to use your shower if you wouldn’t mind?’

________________________________

Robert sat at the bar, quietly watching Aaron as he poured drinks for customers. It was just after six o’clock, and Aaron had persuaded Robert to come for a few drinks while he was at work. They’d spent the day together, first at Aaron’s house, then hanging out in a greasy spoon where they got a late lunch.

Aaron was feeling pretty good as he was aware of Robert’s eyes on him. They’d spent all day getting to know each other better, and it had been great. Aaron couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this kind of connection with someone. But then, he wasn’t used to getting to know someone so well before they had so much as kissed, let alone slept together. Still, he wasn’t even completely sure whether Robert was romantically interested in him anyway… but surely the way he was looking at him now must mean something…?

‘You know, I’m gonna have to get back soon, Aaron… ’ Robert said quietly. ‘I don’t want to go, but I really should…’

Aaron had the sense of a bubble bursting. The whole day had been so perfect, mainly because they’d cocooned themselves away from the reality of Robert’s problems, but now that reality came crashing back in. They both knew it had to happen, but that hadn’t stopped Aaron from wishing it wouldn’t.

‘I know,’ he said reluctantly. ‘Why don’t you have one more drink before you go?’

Robert smiled warmly. ‘Yeah, sure.’ Then he looked serious. ‘Er… Aaron, I just wanted to say, today’s been amazing. Thanks so much for everything. It’s been… well it’s the best day I’ve had in a really long time…’

As Robert gently took hold of Aaron’s hand, they stared intently into each other’s eyes for a moment. Aaron thought he felt his heart swell with emotion, and he had butterflies in his stomach as Robert smiled at him…

‘Aaron! Aaron, one of the barrels needs changing’ Marc interrupted with an annoyed tone to his voice.

Aaron rolled his eyes at Robert. ‘Back in a minute,’ he said, and went down to the cellar.

When he came back to the bar, he poured Robert another pint and gave him a packet of crisps.

‘Have something to line your stomach before you go,’ he grinned. Robert grinned back as he tucked in to the crisps. He glanced around the bar, and then suddenly his expression changed completely and his face was overcome with fear.

‘What is it?’ Aaron asked, worried.

‘Madsen… he’s just walked in…’

Aaron looked up in horror to see a short, grey-haired man in his fifties coming into the bar. He was flanked by two thuggish looking men, one of whom held the door open for Madsen as he came in. Aaron was surprised to see how small and unassuming Madsen looked. Could this really be the person Robert was so afraid of?

Robert was staring at the men and he looked absolutely terrified. ‘Aaron,’ he said urgently, ‘…whatever happens, don’t do anything, ok? Don’t say anything, you’ll just make things worse if you do… ok? Aaron!’

Aaron hesitated. He couldn’t stand by and not react if this guy was as bad as Robert had portrayed him.

‘Aaron, please, promise me…’ Robert said, panicking now.

‘Ok. Whatever you say. Robert…’ but before Aaron could say anymore, the three men were at the bar, standing in front of Robert.

‘Well. Here you are.’ Madsen spoke with a soft but menacing voice. His smile was tight with anger. ‘I’ve been looking for you Robert. Why haven’t you been answering your phone?’ He didn’t seem remotely interested in the fact that Robert was covered in bruises and had a huge black eye.

Robert stood up, trying to control his fear, but Aaron could see through his act easily.

‘It ran out of battery,’ he said defiantly. ‘I was just about to go back to the flat so I could call you…’

Madsen nodded. ‘Really?’ he snarled. ‘You’ve been missing and unreachable since last night, and you know that’s not acceptable.’

To Aaron’s shock, Madsen suddenly reached out an arm and grabbed hold of Robert’s face, squeezing his cheeks hard with his thumb and forefingers. Robert didn’t react, other than to stumble backwards slightly, and Aaron had to use all his self-control not to rush forwards and shove Madsen off him.

‘We need a conversation. Now.’ Madsen pushed Robert back against the wall of the pub. His two bouncers moved towards Robert, and one of them grabbed his arm.

‘Let’s go,’ Madsen growled, and as he let go of Robert, his sidekicks manhandled Robert towards the door. As he was pushed along, Robert managed to turn round and lock eyes with Aaron, just for a brief second. Aaron tried to give a supportive smile, but he wasn’t sure he was able to hide his concern.

As the group left the pub, the slight air of tension that had fallen over people was lifted, as everyone went back to their own conversations and the noise level grew again.

Aaron had never felt so helpless.

Chapter Text

It had been several days since Aaron had watched Robert marched out of the pub by his ‘manager’ and his cronies. Since then, Aaron hadn’t heard anything from Robert. He’d tried texting and calling him, but there was no reply, and whenever Aaron was working, he yearned for Robert to just walk in, but it hadn’t happened. Aaron had even gone to the pub on his day off, hoping Robert might be there, as it was the only place he could think of that he might go to find him.

But there was nothing. He couldn’t stop thinking about what might have happened. For all Aaron knew, Robert could be badly hurt, held against his will somewhere, or even dead. But he just didn’t know what to do about it.

On Saturday morning, he was sitting at the kitchen table, staring into space, lost in thought about Robert and where he might be, when Adam walked in.

‘Alright, mate?’ Adam said. ‘Cup of tea?’

Aaron nodded.

‘How’s it going?’ Adam asked, as he put the kettle on. They hadn’t seen much of each other that week, as Adam had been spending a lot of time with his new girlfriend, so hadn’t been at home.

‘Yeah, fine...’ Aaron said, unconvincingly.

‘Hmm, are you sure?’ Adam probed further. ‘You look well grumpy, mate. Did something happen with that bloke you liked?’

Aaron frowned. Adam wasn’t the most intelligent person he knew, but he had a knack for knowing how Aaron was feeling, and for getting him to spill his innermost feelings.

Adam put a mug of tea in front of him. ‘C’mon mate, you can tell me, you know you can…’

Aaron sighed heavily as he weighed up how much to share with Adam.

‘Well, we’ve been spending a bit of time together, and it’s been going well. I really like him actually…’

‘But? Don’t you think he’s into you?’

‘I dunno,’ Aaron admitted. ‘That’s not the problem, although we haven’t done more than chat as mates so far. Last time I saw him, he definitely seemed to be interested, but we got interrupted.’

He hesitated again.

‘And…?’ Adam prompted.

‘I think he might be in trouble,’ the words suddenly tumbled out of Aaron before he had time to censor them. ‘It doesn’t matter why… it’s complicated, but there’s a guy he works for who’s dodgy, to say the least, and he came looking for Robert, and I haven’t seen him since.’

He took a deep breath, relieved to have spoken some of his worries out loud.

‘Shit…’ Adam said. ‘That sounds rubbish, mate. How do you pick ‘em, eh?’

Aaron didn’t smile at that, he couldn’t.

‘Is there anything I can do?’ Adam asked.

Aaron appreciated his friend’s kindness, but he had no idea what Adam could do about his situation.

‘Cheers, mate,’ he said. ‘No, I don’t think so, but thanks for listening.’

He sipped his tea. ‘How’s it going with the girlfriend?’ he said, trying to lighten the mood. As Adam waxed lyrical about his new woman, Aaron’s mind drifted uncontrollably back to Robert…

_____________

‘Connor?’ Robert called. ‘Is that you?’

The door to their flat had just banged shut, and Robert heard a familiar tuneless humming from the hallway. A few moments later, Connor walked in to the living room.

‘Alright?’ he said, putting a rucksack down on the sofa. He opened it and took out a bar of chocolate, a can of coke and a tatty looking sausage roll, all of which he passed to Robert. ‘Here, I got you some things,’ he said.

Robert took the food gratefully. ‘Thanks,’ he said. He hadn’t been eating much since he’d been more or less under house arrest for the last few days.

After Madsen had found him in the pub, Robert had been driven back to his flat, where Madsen’s goons had roughed him up a bit. Madsen had taken Robert’s phone, and told him he would be spending the next week paying for his disobedience by taking on as many clients as Madsen sent him, unpaid. He told Robert he was to stay in the flat, and not to contact anyone.

Robert was scared enough of Madsen to take him at his word, and he hadn’t dared go out. At least he had Connor to bring him food and to talk to.

But most of the time, Robert had been kept busy by a steady stream of customers, all sent by Madsen, all wanting sex. Robert could usually just about tolerate most of these pathetic scumbags as long as he was thinking of the money, but just doing it to keep Madsen happy was tough. He felt his self-worth being gradually eroded, as he was treated as an object, something to be used at the whim of other people. More and more, to take his mind away, he found his thoughts returning to Aaron.

Of course, he hadn’t been able to contact him without a phone, and without daring to venture out of the flat. After a few days, he assumed that Aaron would probably have given up on him, and he couldn’t blame him if he had. Robert knew he was impossible to be friends with, let alone be in a relationship with. The only reason he and Connor were friends was because they were both stuck in the same situation, although Connor had a potential escape route – an old Italian client, Luca, who was besotted with him. That was where he’d spent the previous night, Robert assumed.

‘How’s Luca?’ Robert asked, tucking into the sausage roll, hungrily.

Connor smirked. ‘Rich. Handsome. Totally crazy about me… the usual.’

Robert laughed. He was happy for his friend, who deserved some good luck.

Connor sat down on the sofa next to Robert. ‘Are you ok?’

Robert smiled at him. Connor had been great these last few days, making sure Robert was eating enough and generally looking after him. It had been really tough, spending hours in his bed, always half-dressed, waiting for the next customer to turn up, while his mind escaped to a better place. Right now, he felt like a piece of elastic that had been stretched to breaking point… But he didn’t want to get into any of this with Connor.

He started to reply as he always did, ‘I’m fine…,’ but as he said it, he heard his own voice crack. He was appalled to realise that his eyes were filling with unexpected and unwanted tears.

‘Robert?’ Connor said gently, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Robert found himself unable to speak. He put his head in his hands hopelessly and wished he was somewhere else, anywhere else…

Connor pulled him into a hug and rubbed his hand soothingly up and down Robert’s back. As he crumpled into his friend’s arms, Robert allowed himself to let go of his pent-up emotions for the first time in weeks. The tears started to spill out of him, a trickle at first, then breaking down into a wave of sobs that was impossible to hold back.

Chapter Text

When Aaron woke up in the morning, the first thing he did was check his phone to see if Robert had been in touch. He’d been doing this every day for a week now, since Robert had left the pub with Madsen. But as usual, there was nothing.

His heart sank as he got out of bed and wandered downstairs. What could have happened? Although his initial concerns had been for Robert’s safety, he was starting to wonder now whether perhaps Robert just wasn’t interested enough to get in touch. Surely he could have got a message to Aaron if he’d really wanted to?

It was time to stop mooning around waiting to hear from Robert, and move on, Aaron decided.

He had a day off, so he spent the morning doing a few boring chores. By lunchtime, the house was tidy, he had a load of washing drying in the bathroom and the kitchen surfaces were clean. That was enough for Aaron for one day, so he decided to go into the city centre for a bit of browsing in the shops. He didn’t feel like company, so he drove himself into the city, and spent a couple of hours looking around at music, shoes and clothes. Aaron was in a sportswear shop thinking about splashing out on another hoodie when his phone rang.

He looked down at the screen, immediately hoping it would be Robert. Of course it wasn’t though, it was Beth, his boss. He answered the call.

‘Hi Beth….’

‘Aaron? Hiya, look I’m sorry to trouble you on your day off – are you busy?’

‘Not really, I’m just having a look round the shops, but nothing urgent. Do you need me to come in?’

There was a short hesitation on the other end of the line.

‘No,… but you might want to. Aaron it’s Robert. He’s turned up in the pub and he’s asking after you. I told him you’re not working this evening, and he nearly left, but I managed to persuade him to stay for a while. I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but he looks in a really bad way, and I think it’d be good if you could come in.’

‘Yeah of course,’ Aaron replied quickly, putting the hoodie he’d been looking at back in an unfolded heap on the shelf. ‘I’ll get there as soon as I can. I guess I’ll be about twenty minutes or so…’

He walked quickly to the door of the shop and out onto the High Street.

‘Ok, great,’ Beth said, sounding relieved. ‘I’ll tell Robert you’re on your way. See you in a bit.’

‘See you,’ Aaron ended the call and shoved his phone in his pocket, making his way to the pub as fast as he could.

Just over fifteen minutes later, he burst through the doors of his workplace, and spotted Robert straight away, his height and his blond hair standing out as he hovered near the bar. Aaron walked up to him.

‘Robert,’ he said. ‘Are you alright? I’ve been so worried…’

He took in Robert’s appearance. Although the bruises and black eye Robert had sported last time Aaron saw him had faded, they were still clearly visible. Robert looked absolutely shattered though, as if he hadn’t slept for days, and his skin was dry and pale. He seemed jittery and agitated, chewing his lip and Aaron noticed his hands were shaking slightly.

For a horrible split second, Aaron thought Robert was going to tell him to get lost, that he didn’t need him, but then Robert gave a half-hearted grin.

‘Of course I’m alright,’ he said, unconvincingly. ‘What did you think? That I’d jumped off a cliff or something?’

Aaron hadn’t really considered suicide as a possibility, but he wondered if he should have done, looking at the state of Robert now.

‘I didn’t know what to think,’ he replied angrily. ‘That Madsen guy and his two thugs dragged you out of here and I haven’t heard anything since. Of course I was worried… I didn’t know what they might’ve done to you… Why didn’t you call or get in touch?’

Robert’s expression softened as Aaron poured his heart out. He swallowed a mouthful of whisky from the glass in front of him. Then he looked Aaron in the eyes.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said, sincerely. ‘They took my phone so I couldn’t call you, and I didn’t know your number without it. And… I couldn’t get away to come and find you… I was busy all the time… and I couldn’t leave…’

Aaron nodded, and put a hand on Robert’s arm.

‘It’s ok,’ he said. He sighed heavily. ‘I’m so relieved to see you.’

Robert stared back at him. ‘Thank you,’ he said suddenly, ‘…thank you for being here…’ and he grabbed hold of Aaron and hugged him tightly.

The gesture was so unexpected that it took Aaron a moment to recover his senses, but when he did, he returned the hug, wrapping his arms around Robert and holding him close.

As they broke out of the embrace, Aaron asked, ‘Are you busy now? Can we go somewhere, maybe?’

Robert nodded and downed the last of his whisky.

‘Let’s go back to my place for a while then,’ Aaron continued.

Robert nodded again, and followed Aaron out of the pub.

___________________________________

It was a quiet journey back to Aaron’s house. He tried to start a conversation a few times, but Robert clearly wasn’t in the mood to chat, as he gave monosyllabic answers or just grunted in reply. After a while, Aaron gave up and turned the radio on instead.

When they got back, Aaron opened his front door and he and Robert walked in. Adam was sprawled on the sofa watching tv. ‘Hiya mate...’ he said to Aaron, then looked at Robert.

‘Oh,’ Aaron said, ‘This is… er… Robert, a friend of mine. Robert, this is Adam, he lives here.’

Adam stood up and stretched a hand out to Robert. ‘Pleased to meet you mate,’ he said. ‘You look like you’ve been in the wars…’

Aaron felt awkward. He hadn’t really expected Adam to be there, as he’d been spending so much time with his new girlfriend lately. Robert’s bruises were still visible, so it was no wonder Adam had commented on them, but Aaron knew Robert wouldn’t want to talk about them.

Robert shook Adam’s hand. ‘Good to meet you too,’ he said reservedly.

There was silence as the three of them stood looking at each other awkwardly.

‘Right, well I’ve got some stuff to do upstairs, so I’ll see you in a bit…’ Adam said. He glanced at Aaron and gave him a quick wink. Aaron smiled gratefully. He didn’t think Robert was in the mood for small talk with a stranger, and it was good of Adam to make himself scarce.

He turned to Robert. ‘Cup of tea? Something to eat? I can make us some toast if you want…’

Robert chuckled as he sat down on the sofa. ‘Do you ever eat anything other than toast? I’m getting the impression that you don’t do much cooking…’

Aaron looked offended. ‘What do you mean? I can rustle up a mean scrambled egg and beans if you’d prefer?’ he grinned.

Robert smiled back. ‘Nah, toast’s fine.’ He relaxed into the cushions on the sofa. ‘You know, you should let me cook for you one of these days. I’m actually pretty good, I could make you something decent.’
‘Yeah? Where did you learn to cook then?’ Aaron called from the kitchen as he made the tea.

‘When I left home and was sleeping on my friend’s couch, I worked as a chef for a bit. Just in a couple of little cafes, nothing flash, but I got trained up and learnt a few things.’

‘Oh yeah, you mentioned that before. Did you enjoy it then?’

‘Yeah, I love cooking actually. I had to give it up as a job when I was homeless, but I reckon I could’ve been an pretty good chef…’ his voice drifted off.

Aaron looked over from the kitchen to see Robert was deep in thought, probably contemplating how his life had changed since that chef job, and he felt bad for bringing it up.

‘I’m gonna hold you to that one day,’ he said brightly, trying to cheer Robert up. He brought two mugs of hot tea over to the sofa. ‘Here you go,’ he said, sitting down. ‘So what would you make me then?’

‘Eh?’

‘If you were gonna cook me dinner, what’s your best dish?’

Robert smiled. ‘I dunno, it’s been a while, and it depends what you like.’ He sipped his tea and thought for a moment. ‘I reckon a macho type like you would go for something with red meat, maybe a steak, or a nice handmade burger with my special relish…’

Aaron scoffed. ‘I’m not macho!’ he protested.

Robert grinned. ‘Yeah you are. You like cars and sport, and I’ve seen your DVD collection…’

Aaron grinned back. ‘Well I do like steak and burgers actually,’ he admitted. He heard the toast pop up in the kitchen and went to get it. As he stood putting butter and jam on each slice, he wondered whether Robert was able to stay the night. Aaron hoped he could, although he might have to use the sofa this time, as Adam was obviously in his own bed.

He took the plates of toast back into the living room to find Robert fast asleep on the sofa. He was sitting awkwardly with his head leaning back, but he looked peaceful, and in a deep sleep. It was only 7pm.

‘Robert?’ Aaron said softly. There was nothing but a soft snore.

Aaron reached behind Robert and pulled out a cushion that was propping him up, then put his hands on Robert’s shoulders and moved him gently into a more comfortable lying position. Then he went to a cupboard in the corner and pulled out his favourite soft blanket. He lay the blanket carefully over Robert, making sure it reached all the way up to the top of his arms.

Aaron stood looking at the sleeping figure. What now?, he wondered.

Chapter Text

Robert woke up with a start. He blinked a few times and rubbed his neck, which was aching. It took him a while to work out that not only was he on a sofa, but he was in Aaron’s house. He brought his arm up to check his watch, peering at it blearily through sleepy eyes. It was 11pm.

He rubbed his eyes and hauled himself up into a sitting position. As he did so, he heard a toilet flush, and moments later, Aaron came out of the bathroom.

‘Hey, you’re awake,’ he said softly. ‘I was wondering whether you were out for the night there. You looked fast asleep.’

Robert nodded. He felt as though he could do with a few more hours, but he knew he should get back to his flat in case Madsen was checking up on him.

‘I should go,’ he muttered. ‘I can’t risk getting into more trouble…’

He pulled off the blanket that had appeared over him. Aaron must have put it over him while he slept. The realisation of this kindness made him pause, and it took him off guard. He felt a wave of gratitude to this man he hardly knew really, but who had done so much to look after him over the last few weeks.

He looked at Aaron, who had come over to sit next to him.

‘Aaron…’ he said softly, but then he didn’t know what to say next. He noticed, maybe for the first time, how incredible the man’s eyes were, and they held each other’s gaze for a few seconds. Then before Robert knew what was happening, Aaron was leaning towards him and was kissing him.

Aaron’s lips were soft, and his warm mouth opened slightly as Robert brought his hand up to caress Aaron’s cheek. He relaxed into the kiss, ready to forget everything that was going on, just wanting to think of nothing but pressing his lips onto this man’s lips. He felt Aaron’s hands on his waist, and they held each other as the kiss deepened and Robert felt the heat of Aaron’s tongue…

Then Aaron was pulling back, gently, resting his forehead on Robert’s as the two of them caught their breath. They sat like that for a while, heads touching, neither wanting to move and break the moment that had fallen over them.

‘Robert…’ Aaron whispered.

Robert closed his eyes and cupped Aaron’s face with his hands. What was he playing at? What could he offer this lovely, caring man who had done so much for him? Aaron deserved a boyfriend, a man who could look after him too, someone with stability. He didn’t deserve to get mixed up with the human disaster that was Robert.

He felt tears prick his eyes as he knew he couldn’t burden Aaron with his mess. He blinked them back and cleared his throat, pulling away from Aaron.

‘I have to go,’ he said, unable to look Aaron in the eye.

Aaron grabbed both of Robert’s hands with his hands. ‘Please stay, just a bit longer…’ he pleaded.

Robert shook his head as he kept his eyes on the floor. He thought that if he looked into Aaron’s eyes again, he’d never be able to leave.

He stood up, shaking Aaron’s hands off of his.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said hoarsely, ‘You deserve so much better, Aaron. You’re amazing… you really are…’
‘Please, Robert,’ Aaron was begging now. ‘Don’t walk out on me like this. At least let me drive you back…’

Robert walked to the door. ‘It’s better like this,’ he said. He opened the door and walked out into the night, tears beginning to leak out from his eyes now and trickle down his face.

_______________________

‘Aaron! Do you want a cup of tea or not?’

Aaron realised that Adam had been shouting at him. He’d been unable to sleep much last night after he made the stupid mistake of kissing Robert. He hadn’t meant for it to happen, it just had, and now he fervently wished it hadn’t. Robert had left quickly, leaving Aaron to spend the night regretting his impulsiveness and wanting to go back to the friendship they’d been building slowly. He’d given up on trying to sleep a couple of hours ago, and now Adam was making breakfast and getting ready for work.

‘No thanks.’ Aaron replied at last.

Adam plonked down in an armchair and started eating his cocoa pops. ‘You look like you haven’t slept, bro,’ he said through a mouthful of cereal. ‘What happened to Robert? Did he stay over?’

Aaron rubbed his forehead. ‘No. He left around eleven last night…’

‘Aaah, no man. What happened?’

Aaron sighed. ‘It’s a long story, mate. If I told you, you’d be late for work…’

Adam grinned. ‘I’m in no hurry. C’mon, you can tell me…’

‘Ok.’ Aaron started by telling Adam about the kiss the night before, and how Robert had reacted.

‘The thing is though, it’s kind of complicated…’ Aaron hesitated, not really sure whether or not he wanted to tell Adam the truth about Robert’s background.

‘Has that got anything to do with the cuts and bruises on his face?’ Adam asked.

Aaron decided to go for it. He knew he could trust Adam, and he felt like he could do with someone to talk to about all this. It was doing his head in on his own.

‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘Robert got beaten up the other night by a customer, a client… it’s all about his job… he’s a… well he’s a sort of escort…’

Adam’s eyes widened. ‘You mean he goes out with people for money, or… he sleeps with them?’ he asked.

‘The second one,’ Aaron admitted, sighing. ‘I think the polite term is a sex worker…’

Adam looked shocked. ‘Woah...’ he said. ‘And this is the guy you like? A… sex worker?’

Aaron nodded. ‘I know, it’s crazy, but I met him in the bar one night, and he seemed alright, then Marc the other barman was really horrible to him and he just looked so hurt and he got all defensive… then Beth, my boss – she’s known him for ages - she told me more about him and he sounded like a sweet guy underneath it all… then he was attacked and I helped him out, and he told me about all this shit that he’s been through… he’s got no family and he was homeless, and then he ended up in prison. That’s how he got into sex work, from this guy he met in prison who seems to be his only friend… and there’s this total bastard called Madsen who’s like their pimp, and Robert’s absolutely shit scared of him… I met him the other night when he came to find Robert and these big guys dragged him off out of the pub, and then I didn’t see him for ages until last night, when he was all quiet and knackered, and I then I screwed everything up by kissing him, fuck….’

Aaron put his head in his hands as he ran out of words. His thoughts had just tumbled out as soon as he started to tell Adam, and he didn’t know whether what he’d said had made much sense or not, but at least he’d got it off his chest.

Adam exhaled slowly. ‘Bloody hell, mate,’ he said. ‘That’s some heavy shit… seriously, Aaron, what have you got yourself into?’

Aaron looked at his friend. He knew Adam would find it hard to understand. ‘I can’t help it,’ he said. ‘I really like him, and none of what he’s done or what’s happened to him can change that.’

He stood up to go and have a shower and try to feel more awake.

‘Wait,’ Adam said. ‘Look… I’m glad you told me. It sounds like you’re getting mixed up with some dangerous people though, you’d better be careful. And if there’s anything I can do to help, let me know, yeah?’

Aaron couldn’t imagine what Adam had in mind, but he appreciated the offer.

‘Thanks,’ he said. ‘I don’t know what to do. I just really like him…’

Chapter Text

‘… so we gave the driver some more money and told him to take us somewhere else…’

Robert was only half listening as the woman sitting next to him wittered on and on about her adventures on holiday with her girlfriends. They were sitting at a table in a marquee full of wealthy, snobbish guests at an event to mark the publication of a book, as Robert understood it. The woman he was with was a regular client, Amanda. She’d been paying for the pleasure of Robert’s company (and other charms) since his early days of escorting, and was somewhat classier than most of the men he tended to be employed by nowadays. Amanda worked in publishing, and as a single businesswoman in her forties, she needed a ‘plus one’ to accompany her.

It wasn’t a bad gig for Robert – he was required to look the part, so his client had taken him to get his hair cut and styled and to have a good shave, then she’d bought him a beautiful new suit, shirt and tie to wear. Thankfully his bruises had healed up completely now, and he knew he looked good. The food and drink at the event was top quality, and if Robert had to earn all this by pretending to be Amanda’s boyfriend, then he didn’t feel he had much to complain about.

The trouble was that part of that job was for him to be witty and charming, and provide good company. But Robert was struggling to concentrate. He couldn’t stop thinking about Aaron, and what had happened between them a few days ago. He didn’t regret his decision to leave that night – he would make the same choice again – but he wished things were different. In another world, maybe they could be together, but not in this one. Not in this world where Robert was a screwed-up mess who could only cause trouble for Aaron…

‘…Robert, are you even listening?’ Amanda was looking annoyed.

Usually he quite enjoyed this type of event, but tonight his mind was all over the place. He’d better pull his socks up if he was going to get paid. He needed to focus.

Robert took Amanda’s hand and kissed it, flashing her his most winning smile. ‘I’m sorry, I promise to give you my full attention from now on,’ he purred. ‘Let me get you another glass of champagne.’

Amanda seemed placated by this as she smiled back and nodded. Robert walked off until he found a waiter and hurriedly downed a couple of glasses of fizzy before taking two full ones back to their table.

As he got back to their table, Amanda was talking to a woman who looked every bit as posh as she did. ‘… so where did you meet him?’ the woman was asking.

He stood next to Amanda and held out his hand. ‘I’m Robert, how lovely to meet you,’ he said, plastering on another charming smile. The woman smiled back and fluttered her eyelashes flirtatiously.

‘I’m Linda, and the pleasure’s all mine,’ she said, as Amanda rolled her eyes theatrically. She put a possessive arm around Robert’s waist. ‘Where’s your husband?’ she asked Linda pointedly.

The woman’s expression soured slightly. ‘He couldn’t make it,’ she said. ‘How long have you two known each other?’ She was keen to get back to the topic of Robert, it seemed.

Amanda’s grip on Robert’s waist tightened, and she put her other hand on his chest. ‘Robert’s an old friend,’ she said. ‘We met years ago, didn’t we darling?’

Robert knew the drill here. Obviously no-one here could ever know that Amanda had paid him to be her date. He put all thoughts of Aaron to one side as he concentrated on playing his part convincingly for the next few hours.

___________

Before the party was anywhere near finishing, Amanda was ready to leave. ‘I need you to take me home,’ she told Robert, looking much less immaculate than she had at the start of the night. He wasn’t surprised, he’d been topping up her champagne constantly all night.

He went outside and got them a taxi, then the two of them climbed in the back and drove back to Amanda’s huge flat in a nice part of the city. Robert knew he’d be expected to come up with her, so he walked her into her flat.

Amanda took her shoes off and leaned against the wall. ‘Oh Robert, I’m too tired to do anything other than fall into bed,’ she pouted. ‘Help me out of my dress and then you can go.’

Robert was relieved. He’d been hoping that given enough champagne, Amanda would be too drunk for sex, and let him get away earlier than planned. He helped her take off her dress and put on her silk pyjamas, then she pulled him down and kissed him goodnight.

‘Thank you Robert, you’re such a gentleman…’ she slurred. As he smiled and stood up, she was already falling asleep.

Outside on the street, Robert realised he was also feeling very drunk. He looked at his new phone, and saw a couple of missed calls from Aaron, although there were no new messages. He looked back at the texts Aaron had sent over the last few days. Robert hadn’t replied to any of them.

‘Please call me. I’m sorry about what I did. I think we should talk.’

‘Why did you walk out? Call me, we need to talk’

‘Robert, please get in touch, I’m worried about you. We can just be friends – I know I shouldn’t have kissed you’

‘Do you think you’re not good enough for me? Because you are. I need to see you, please x’

‘Robert don’t do this. Please just text and let me know you’re ok. Then I promise I’ll leave you alone if that’s what you want. x’

There were several more, but Robert hadn’t replied to any of these messages because he didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to explain to Aaron how he felt and have Aaron argue and try to convince him they could be together, because he knew Aaron was wrong about that. And he didn’t want them to be friends – how could he cope with seeing Aaron all the time but not being able to fall for him?

But he also hated the idea of Aaron worrying about him, or feeling that he’d done something wrong and needed to apologise. Robert couldn’t bear the thought of Aaron feeling bad because of him. He checked the time, and saw it was only just after ten. In his drunken state, he suddenly felt a desperate need to speak to Aaron right now and sort out this mess, and he found himself striding off in the direction of the Tavern.

___________________

Aaron had been pulling pints for several hours when he looked up from the bar and saw Robert walk in to the pub. He couldn’t believe it. The man had been ignoring his calls and messages for days, and here he was, strolling casually into Aaron’s place of work as if nothing had happened. Aaron didn’t know what to make of it. At least he was relieved to see that Robert looked well though. In fact he looked a lot better than that; with his bruises now gone, a sharp new haircut and a beautiful suit, Robert looked unbelievable...

He saw Aaron and came up to the bar as Aaron tried to look casual, as if he wasn’t drooling over Robert’s handsomeness.

‘Hi,’ Robert said, a little nervously.

Good, Aaron thought. Robert knew he’d been a dick. Aaron nodded, unsmiling. ‘Drink?’ he said.

‘We need to talk.’

Aaron nodded again.

Robert sighed. ‘Sorry I didn’t answer your messages… but I thought I should let you know that I’m ok, and you don’t need to worry about me.’

Aaron chewed his lip but still didn’t say anything.

Robert looked exasperated. ‘Look Aaron, I said I’m sorry ok? You were right when you said I’m not good enough for you, and that’s why I had to go…’

‘I never said that,’ Aaron interrupted. ‘I never said you weren’t good enough for me, I said that’s what YOU think.’

‘Ok…’

‘…and I said that you ARE good enough. Bloody hell Robert, why did you have to just walk out like that and then go all incommunicado on me?’

Aaron turned to Beth who was standing behind him, pretending not to listen.

‘Can I have my break now?’ he asked her.

She nodded. ‘Why don’t you two go and sit over there and I’ll bring you both a drink each?’

Aaron nodded gratefully, and he and Robert went and sat at a table in the corner, where they could talk properly. Robert stumbled slightly as he sat down.

Aaron narrowed his eyes. ‘Are you drunk?’

‘Er… yeah, a bit,’ Robert admitted. ‘I’ve been at a posh do with a client. Remember that glamourous woman I was in here with a few weeks ago? She had a work event and it was all tiny bites of food and free champagne, so…’

Aaron sighed. That explained Robert’s sudden appearance he supposed. He probably wouldn’t have come at all if he was sober.

‘Did she put you in that expensive-looking suit?’

Robert grinned. ‘It’s nice, isn’t it? Want a feel?’ he rubbed the lapel of his jacket with his thumb and forefinger inviting Aaron to do the same.

Aaron got the impression that Robert was fully aware of how good he looked right now.

‘I’ll resist.’ But he said it with a smile.

Beth appeared with two pints of beer. ‘Alright boys?’ she said. ‘Looking sharp tonight, Robert. I hope you got dressed up for Aaron, he’s been mooning after you the last few days,’ she winked at Aaron as she walked off, and he frowned at her.

Aaron expected Robert to take the piss about that, but when he looked back at him, Robert’s expression was serious.

‘Aaron I really am sorry,’ he said. ‘My head was messed up and I didn’t know how to handle it when you kissed me. I shouldn’t have walked off, and I should have texted to let you know I was alright.’

‘Right,’ Aaron said, and sipped his beer, thoughtfully. ‘Robert… was I wrong to kiss you?’

Robert seemed taken aback by the direct question, and didn’t reply.

Aaron went on, ‘I like you Robert, and you can’t tell me you haven’t felt something between us…’ he bit his nail, trying to choose the right words. Aaron didn’t consider himself to be much of a talker, and he wanted to get this right.

‘I know you think it wouldn’t work, and I know it’s not easy with your… job,’ he said carefully. ‘And yeah, it’s not an ideal situation… but I can’t help what I feel Robert. I like you, and I think you feel the same way….’

He felt embarrassed now. He wasn’t good at opening up like this, but he was trying to talk from the heart.

‘Robert, please say something,’ he said desperately.

Robert looked conflicted as he gazed at the table. ‘I don’t know, Aaron,’ he said. ‘I…I do like you, of course I do…’ he looked up and into Aaron’s eyes. ‘I’m a mess, Aaron,’ he said vehemently, his voice thick with emotion. ‘I’m a total fucking disaster.’

Aaron started to protest but Robert cut him off angrily.

‘No… let me tell you who I am. I’ve got no money and nothing to my name…I’m basically homeless… I’ve got no future and no skills, all I do is suck cocks for a living and get drunk to forget it… I’ve stolen money and been sent to prison for it… I’ve got one friend, no family, and I haven’t had a boyfriend or girlfriend since the last one realised how useless I am and beat the crap out of me…’

Aaron couldn’t let that slide. ‘Robert, that wasn’t your fault, he…’

‘I’m no good for you Aaron, I’m no good for anyone,’ Robert spat. ‘Of course you deserve better, you should be with a nice, normal person who has a proper job, a good future and can look after you.’

He grabbed Aaron’s hand suddenly, and his voice softened. ‘You deserve the best, and Aaron I… I’m the worst…’

Aaron stared at Robert. He hadn’t realised quite how little self-worth Robert had.

‘You’re not the worst Robert,’ he said softly. ‘You’re incredible…’

Suddenly there was a beep of a phone. Robert reluctantly let go of Aaron’s hand and reached in his jacket pocket.

‘I have to answer it,’ he explained.

Aaron nodded. Of course. It could be Madsen.

Robert sighed as he read a text. He looked up at Aaron with a pained expression.

‘It’s Amanda, who I was with tonight. She wants me to go back over there.’ He drank steadily from his pint of beer. ‘Aaron I’m so sorry, but I have to go. Madsen would kill me if…’

‘It’s ok, I understand,’ Aaron said. He felt hopeless as Robert downed the rest of his pint, as if to give himself courage. As Robert stood up, Aaron did too, resting a hand on Robert’s arm.

‘Can you come over to mine later?’ he said. ‘Please Robert. We need to finish this conversation properly.’

Robert nodded, and Aaron decided to risk a hug. He pulled Robert into him and nestled his head on Robert’s shoulder. To his relief, Robert responded by rubbing Aaron’s back and squeezing him with his strong arms.

Then Robert let go, turned and walked away without looking back.

Chapter Text

When Robert arrived back at Amanda’s flat and rang the doorbell, she was quick to answer the door. She’d redone her make-up and brushed her hair, but she was still very drunk.

‘I had some coffee and then I realised I needed you here after all,’ she grinned.

Robert attempted to smile back but he couldn’t have felt less in the mood. He’d hated to leave Aaron in the middle of that conversation. It felt as though they had unfinished business, but now here he was in a woman’s flat about to have sex with her when he just wanted to be with Aaron…

Amanda pulled him towards her by his tie, and started to kiss him. She was a good-looking woman, although she wore too much make-up for Robert’s taste, but usually he found her quite attractive. Tonight though, he couldn’t help thinking of the man he’d rather be with…

He felt Amanda move her hands down to his waist, then she started undoing his trousers as she kissed him. He felt her hand dive down his trousers and into his pants, and before he knew what he was doing, he gasped, broke off the kiss and grabbed hold of her wrist.

She stared at him. ‘What the hell’s the matter with you Robert?’ she demanded.

This had never happened before. No matter what, Robert had always been able to separate his personal feelings and his work and get on with whatever he was asked to do. Now though, he’d let Aaron get under his skin, and being here with Amanda now almost felt like he was cheating on Aaron. Even as he thought it, he knew it was ridiculous – there wasn’t even anything going on with him and Aaron, was there? He tried to pull himself together.

‘Sorry, sorry…’ he said desperately. He tried to calm down and forced himself to smile. ‘Nothing’s wrong with me. Let’s start again…’

He started kissing Amanda again, and as she removed his clothes, he undid her silk pyjamas and caressed her naked skin. As she took hold of his dick, he found himself not for the first time thinking about Aaron in order to get himself hard…

_______________________

Aaron changed TV channel for the millionth time as the credits rolled on the programme he hadn’t even been watching. He looked up at his huge wall clock again – just after 2am. He checked his phone – still nothing from Robert. He’d been sitting here flicking through TV channels and drinking cans of beer since he got back from work at 12am, but he had no idea how late Robert might be.

Just as he started to doze off, the door-buzzer jolted him awake. He rushed to the door and opened it.

‘Sorry it’s so late…’ Robert said, ‘I wasn’t sure you’d still be up.’

Aaron was so relieved to see him. ‘Come in then,’ he said, and Robert went in the living room and sat down.

Aaron got two cans of beer from the fridge and brought them over.

‘Cheers,’ Robert said.

As Aaron sipped his, the thought popped into his head that Robert had probably just been having sex with that woman. It was a strange thought that he didn’t really know how to deal with. This situation was so messed up, but Aaron couldn’t walk away from it now, he was way too invested.

‘So…’ he wondered how to broach the subject. ‘Did you, er…. was everything ok with your client?’

Robert looked uncomfortable. ‘Yeah… er, she was fine.’

There was an awkward pause before Robert spoke again.

‘I suppose you’re wondering whether I slept with her, and yes, I did. It’s what I do, Aaron, and if that’s too weird, let’s just stop this now, please, before I…’

Robert didn’t finish the sentence and Aaron wondered what he’d been about to say. Before he what?

He looked at Robert. ‘Yeah, it’s weird. I’ve never been with someone who was sleeping with other people… I can’t just pretend that I’m ok with all this…’

‘Well I’ve never lied to you Aaron, you knew the score when we met… and YOU kissed ME, remember?’ Robert was getting wound up.

‘I know, I know… calm down,’ Aaron said. ‘I’m trying to deal with this as best I can, but it’s not easy, sorry…’

They sat drinking from their cans for a while in silence.

‘Er… you should probably know that all my clients and I have to use condoms,’ Robert said suddenly, ‘…and I get tested regularly for STDs, so you know… I’m safe…’

Aaron scratched his eyebrow. ‘Fucking hell,’ he said. ‘This is mad…’

He caught Robert’s eye and smiled at him. ‘I guess neither of us really know how to handle this…’ he said, getting up from his armchair and sitting down next to Robert on the sofa.

Robert looked him in the eye. ‘You weren’t wrong,’ he said firmly, ‘…when you kissed me, you didn’t do anything wrong… I like you too, Aaron. I like you a lot, but I don’t know how to do this…’

Aaron thought he felt his stomach flip over as he leaned forwards and kissed Robert again. Those full, soft lips pressed against Aaron’s, and he felt Robert’s tongue slip into his mouth. Aaron put a hand on Robert’s waist, and as the kiss intensified, he put his hand under Robert’s shirt and moved it up to his chest. He found Robert’s nipple and tweaked it gently as he felt Robert’s hand moving up his thigh… Aaron wanted them to take things slowly, but Robert was irresistible… Aaron broke off from the kiss and started to nuzzle at Robert’s neck, but as he did so, he suddenly smelled an unfamiliar smell. As he realised what it must be, he pulled back.

‘What’s up?’ Robert breathed, his eyes wide with passion.

Aaron looked away. ‘Sorry, it doesn’t matter… it’s just… you smell of perfume… like ladies’ perfume, you know…’

Robert looked devastated. ‘Oh God, Aaron… It’s Amanda, my client, she wears loads of perfume…’

Aaron nodded. The moment between them was broken, but he wanted to get it back. Then he had an idea. He looked at Robert.

‘How about we go upstairs, take all our clothes off and have a shower? Together… I’ll make you smell of my most expensive shower gel…’

Robert smiled gratefully. ‘That sounds perfect,’ he said.

Aaron took hold of Robert’s hand, stood up and pulled Robert up onto his feet.

‘Come and get your kit off...’ he giggled, and led Robert upstairs to the bathroom.

Aaron switched the water on in the shower, and they grinned at each other as they each took their clothes off, both moving as fast as they could. Robert’s expensive suit and shirt ended up in a heap on the floor alongside Aaron’s t-shirt and jeans.

Aaron got into the shower cubicle and Robert followed him in. They stood facing each other, water pouring down over them as they ran their hands over each other’s bodies… Aaron grabbed a bottle of shower gel and squeezed it into his hand.

‘Let me wash you…’ he breathed, and started rubbing his hand over Robert’s shoulders, across his chest and under his arms, covering every part of his torso with the soap. Then he took both hands and slowly reached around to Robert’s buttocks. He took a cheek in each hand and squeezed them gently as he rubbed the gel in. Aaron gasped as Robert suddenly grabbed his face with both hands and kissed him again, passionately this time, more hungry than before. Aaron kept his hands on Robert’s backside as Robert moved his hands down towards Aaron’s dick.

Robert kept looking at Aaron as he took hold of him, as if he wanted to check that he had permission to keep going, and he started jerking him off slowly. Aaron nodded, wanting Robert to know that this was all good, and he moaned with pleasure at Robert’s touch.

As Aaron’s dick got harder, Robert slowly sank onto his knees and took Aaron in his mouth. Aaron ran his hands through Robert’s hair, which was soaked with water, as he enjoyed Robert’s lips moving up and down his cock. He leaned back against the shower wall and closed his eyes as the sensation became more and more intense, and when his body started to shudder with the start of an orgasm, he pulled out from Robert and came in hot streaks that dripped onto Robert’s chest before they were washed away.

Aaron pulled Robert to his feet with his hands around his head and he kissed him deeply. Then he looked at Robert and said, ‘Now it’s your turn…’ and he got down on his knees to return the favour.

_____________

Later, they lay sprawled across Aaron’s bed. Robert thought it must have been after 3am by now, but he felt wide awake still. His arm was wrapped loosely around a sleepy Aaron, whose head rested on Robert’s chest. As Aaron started to snore quietly, Robert wondered if he’d ever felt so damn content in his entire life.

Chapter Text

Aaron woke up with pins and needles in his hand, and felt irritated until he realised what was causing it. He opened his eyes to see Robert lying next to him, Aaron’s hand wedged under Robert’s torso. He smiled and pulled his arm out from underneath the sleeping man and flexed his fingers to bring them back to life.

Robert stirred and opened his eyes. When he saw Aaron, he smiled sleepily. ‘Morning…’ he said.

‘Morning,’ Aaron smiled back. He sighed happily as Robert rolled towards him and kissed him briefly.

‘Did you sleep alright?’ Aaron asked.

‘Mmm,’ Robert said.

Aaron didn’t want to spoil the atmosphere, but he was concerned about Robert getting into any more trouble.

‘Robert…’ he said carefully, ‘Is it ok that you stayed here all night? I mean, that pimp of yours isn’t going to come looking for you again is he?’

Robert stroked Aaron’s face gently, Aaron revelling in the touch of those beautiful, long fingers.

‘Don’t worry,’ Robert replied. ‘I was supposed to be at Amanda’s anyway, so no-one will be checking up on me. And I haven’t got anywhere to be today, not yet anyway. I just need to make sure I keep an eye on my phone though…’

‘So you can stay for a bit then?’ Aaron asked hopefully.

‘Yep,’ Robert smiled. ‘It’s Sunday, isn’t it? They’re usually pretty quiet, even for me.’

Aaron couldn’t believe their luck. A day off together was more than he could have imagined. He immediately started thinking of things they could do… but first things first.

‘Cuppa?’ he offered.

___________________

It turned out to be a fine, sunny day, so after some breakfast, Aaron decided they should go out. Robert didn’t want to wear his posh suit, so he borrowed a t-shirt that was only a little bit tight on him. He couldn’t wear any of Aaron’s trousers as they were too short, but they found a pair of baggy shorts that fitted ok. Aaron drove them to a nearby park, and they wandered around, chatting happily as they enjoyed the sunshine. They walked past a busy café, and Aaron fancied a coffee, so they got some drinks and sat at a table outside.

‘This is amazing,’ Robert said, stretching his arms up into the air in satisfaction.

‘What?’

‘Just this… doing nothing together...’ Robert smiled. ‘You know you’re giving up your day off to walk round a park talking to me… are you sure you don’t want to be doing something else?’

‘Quite sure,’ said Aaron firmly. ‘It’s the best day off I’ve had in ages.’

They drank their coffees and sat looking at all the people out walking in the park. It was the first day of good weather for a while, and everyone obviously wanted to make the most of it. After a while, Aaron broke the silence.

‘Robert,’ he said falteringly, ‘Can I ask you a question?’

Robert’s smile wavered. ‘Is this going to be a question about sex, by any chance?’

Aaron winced. ‘Sorry, I shouldn’t bring it up now. Forget it Robert, it’s none of my business anyway.’

‘No, it’s ok Aaron. Really, you can ask me anything you want.’

Aaron took a deep breath. ‘Ok then…’ he said. ‘I was just wondering… what’s the difference… I mean, how is it different… when you have sex with your customers, and when we had sex… don’t you hate sex by now or something? Doesn’t it feel like work? Cos it IS your work…. oh, I don’t know…’

He ran out of words, wishing he’d never started down this route.

Robert thought for a moment. ‘Look, I don’t blame you for having questions and feeling weird about it. It’s hardly a normal situation, is it?’ he said. ‘But Aaron, you have to know that it’s completely different… I mean, being with you… spending last night with you… you just can’t compare that with what I do with my clients. It’s totally different…’

‘But, how?’

‘Because I don’t care about them. There’s no feeling involved, it’s just a boring procedure, and you just go through the motions. When I’m working, I’m usually trying to concentrate on… you know, trying to perform properly. And apart from that, I’m trying to disassociate myself from where I am and who I’m with. With you… well there was no problem getting a hard-on, that’s for sure…’

He grinned wickedly, and Aaron smirked at the playground expression.

‘Well I’m flattered that I can make you get a hard-on, Robert,’ he laughed.

‘Oh, all the time, Aaron,’ Robert looked pointedly down at his groin. ‘It’s a nightmare…’

Aaron laughed even more, and felt his cheeks getting hot with embarrassment.

‘I suppose it’s a bit like acting,’ Robert was serious again now. ‘Like when film stars kiss and have to pretend they like each other, it’s just an extension of that. Or even, you know when you’re working or whatever, and there’s someone you don’t like, and you have to pretend to like them, to be polite…’

‘Like Marc?’ Aaron grinned.

‘Yeah, maybe, or some rude customer.’

Aaron tried to see the comparison, but he couldn’t help thinking that there was a big difference between smiling politely at a stranger and sucking them off…

_______________________

‘So who owns this restaurant again?’ Robert asked as they walked down a street in the city centre.

Aaron sighed, but good-naturedly; ‘I told you, I used to work with Sue and she’s a good friend of mine. She runs it with her girlfriend Vikki. Got it?’

‘Ok, got it.’

‘Good. Here we are.’ Aaron pushed open the door of a cosy looking place and walked in. Robert followed him as a woman with a long, red ponytail came out of the kitchen. She saw Aaron and waved at him.

‘Hiya darling!’

Aaron walked up to her and they hugged warmly. Robert hovered in the background while the two old friends caught up. He was never very good in social situations unless he was being paid, for some reason. He supposed he just wasn’t as comfortable presenting his real self as he was at playing a role.

Aaron turned round and beckoned him over. ‘This is Robert,’ he said. ‘Robert, this is Sue. We used to work together in a bloody awful pub full of arseholes.’

Aaron and Sue laughed together.

‘Nice to meet you, Robert,’ Sue said. She spoke with a strong scouse accent and the manner of someone who was in her own domain and completely in charge. ‘Are you two staying for lunch?’

Aaron nodded. ‘If you’ve got room.’

The restaurant was busy, with several families and groups of friends giving it a lively, noisy atmosphere. Sue lead them to a small table in the corner which she’d obviously reserved for them. Robert and Aaron sat down and ordered a couple of beers.

‘Sue seems very confident,’ Robert said.

‘Well she does own the place,’ Aaron said. ‘But yes, she’s not the shy retiring type, that’s for sure. We used to have a really good laugh working together though. She’s loud and bossy, but she’s a good person.’

‘Where did you work together?’

‘This gastro pub in the west end of the city. It was the sort of place that was full of pissed young lads and girls, the customers were usually hammered and really rude. I hated it. One night, this group of dickheads were in, and they started taking the piss out of one of their group, saying he was gay. They used some nasty language, and Sue told them to stop talking like that or get out. One of them said to her, ‘What’s up with you, you lezzer...’ and she tipped a pint of beer over him.’

Robert laughed. He could imagine the woman he’d just met not taking any shit. He liked her already. ‘So did she lose her job then?’ he asked.

‘Nearly, but it was me that spoke up for her. I told the boss that these guys had been well out of order and they deserved it, which was all true. She kept the job, but soon after that she quit anyway, and then bought this place with Vikki. We were firm friends after that night, though.’

Robert and Aaron had a leisurely lunch, then dessert, then they sat around chatting in the restaurant as the other customers finished and the place gradually emptied out. As they finished off their drinks, Sue came to their table with a shorter woman with short brown hair.

‘Hi Aaron,’ the other woman said, and they hugged.

‘Robert, this is Vikki, Sue’s partner and the chef,’ Aaron said.

‘So did you cook what we just ate then?’ Robert asked.

‘Yep, all of it,’ Vikki said proudly.

‘Well thanks, it was lovely,’ Robert smiled.

‘Robert used to be a chef,’ Aaron said. ‘He likes cooking apparently, although he hasn’t cooked me anything yet…’

Robert smiled shyly. ‘I wasn’t a proper chef like Vikki though, I just helped out really,’ he said.

‘Well I’m a good cook, but cooking’s not really my passion,’ Vikki said. ‘I do a bit of art on the side.’

Aaron smiled, ‘Oh yeah, Robert, Vikki draws for comics, she’s had lots of stuff published, haven’t you…’

Vikki rolled her eyes. ‘Graphic novels, Aaron, not comics.’ She looked at Robert. ‘Yeah, that’s what I’d rather be doing really. I’m getting a fair bit of work too, so I’d like to take someone on here in the kitchen really. Are you working as a chef now?’

Robert looked at Aaron, and saw a brief expression of horror flash across his face at the mention of Robert’s job. Robert hated the thought that he was causing Aaron to feel embarrassed and awkward.

‘Er… not now no,’ he said. ‘Maybe one day though. Sorry, I need to pop to the loo…’

He got up and left the table, hoping it wasn’t too obvious that he wanted to get away. In the toilets he stood at the sink and splashed water on his face. This was hard work, hanging out with normal people. For the last few years, Robert had spent all his time with Connor, a couple of other guys who worked for Madsen, and his clients. Trying to fit back into society now was proving more stressful than he’d expected. He couldn’t stop wondering what these people would think of him if they knew what he did, and he really didn’t want to let Aaron down, or cause problems with his friends. This was exactly why he should have stayed away from Aaron. Instead he’d been selfish and indulged his attraction…

It occurred to Robert that he hadn’t checked his phone for a couple of hours. He’d been having such a great time with Aaron, he’d forgotten about everything else for a while. He got his phone out and saw to his dismay that there were two missed calls from Madsen. The noise in the restaurant must have drowned out the ringtone.

He felt his heart beat faster in his chest, and breathed out slowly, trying to control his panic. He needed to go.

When he got back to their table, the two women had sat down and were chatting happily with Aaron. Aaron looked up and smiled.

‘I have to go,’ Robert said waving his phone at Aaron meaningfully.

Aaron’s smile vanished. ‘Right,’ he said. He looked at Sue and Vikki. ‘I’ll hang around for a bit, but let me just see Robert out.’

Robert said quick goodbyes to the two women, and Aaron walked him to the door and out onto the busy street.

‘You got a call from Madsen?’ Aaron asked.

Robert nodded. ‘I’m sorry. I have to go, I’ve already fucked up by not answering… thank you for today, it was amazing…’

Aaron clutched Robert’s arms and pulled him into a soft kiss before enveloping him in a hug. ‘I wish you could stay,’ he whispered.

‘Me too,’ Robert replied. ‘I’m so sorry…’

With a great effort, he pulled himself free of Aaron’s embrace and walked quickly away, frantically trying to call Madsen as he went.

Chapter Text

Aaron couldn’t believe he was in this position again. Sitting in front of the TV, staring at his phone, worried sick about Robert and unable to contact him. This time at least he wasn’t on his own though. Adam offered him an open packet of crisps.

‘Are you gonna try calling again?’ he said.

Aaron shook his head. ‘Not yet, I only left a message about an hour ago. And I’ve sent loads of texts too…’

It was Monday evening, the day after Robert had left, and Aaron hadn’t heard from him yet. He knew Robert would get in touch if he could, but he was so worried about how Robert was being treated. Had he been locked in his flat again? Beaten up or worse? All Aaron could do was wait and hope to hear something soon.

‘Here you are,’ Adam said, passing Aaron another beer. ‘You know he’ll be alright… he’s survived this long doing what he does...’

‘Survived? Yeah, but in what state? He’s petrified of that Madsen, he’s a fucking monster, God knows what he’ll do to Robert…’

Aaron took a couple of deep breaths and tried to stop himself getting any more wound up. ‘Sorry mate,’ he said. ‘I just can’t…’

Suddenly Aaron’s phone rang. He leapt out of his seat and grabbed it. Robert’s name was flashing on the screen.

‘Robert? Are you ok?’ Aaron almost screamed into the phone.

‘Hey,’ came the soft, reassuring voice that Aaron had been so desperate to hear. ‘I’m ok Aaron, calm down...’

Aaron breathed out heavily and felt tears of relief fill his eyes.

‘I’ve been so worried Robert,’ he said, trying to keep his voice steady. ‘Where are you?’

‘I’m in a hotel now. I’ve only got a few minutes, but I just wanted to hear your voice…’

Aaron let out a tiny sob at Robert’s words, and quickly tried to gather himself.

‘Are you sure you’re ok? When can I see you? I miss you so much...’

Robert chuckled, ‘I only saw you yesterday, Aaron.’

The sound of Robert laughing warmed Aaron’s heart and made him feel better.

‘I’m really busy, but I’m fine,’ Robert continued. ‘I’ve got a client on his way now, but I’ll be free later. I can come round if it’s not too late?’

‘I don’t care how late it is,’ Aaron said. ‘I’ll be here.’

‘OK’ Robert sounded as though he was smiling as he spoke. ‘I’ll see you then. I’ve got to go… bye Aaron’

‘Bye Robert’.

Aaron ended the call and wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

‘See? Told you he’d be alright!’ Adam said happily, slapping Aaron on the leg. ‘So he’s coming over later tonight?’

Aaron nodded. He was so glad to hear from Robert, but knowing he was in a hotel waiting for a client, and that he’d been kept busy before that… well it didn’t exactly set his mind at rest.

‘Come here, you idiot’ Adam stood up and gave Aaron a big hug. ‘I’ll make myself scarce if you want the place to yourselves when he comes over…’

‘Yeah, ok. Thanks Adam.’

__________________

Robert put his phone down, relieved to have spoken to Aaron at last. Even though it had only been just over 24 hours, he knew Aaron would be wondering where he was. He fell back on the bed in the hotel room without thinking, and flinched as his back touched the bed. He moved onto his side instead.

When Robert had got back to his flat yesterday, Madsen had come round, furious that Robert had missed his calls. He’d wanted to make an appointment with a new client for that evening, but had had to give it to another one of his boys instead. Madsen hated not getting his own way.

He’d punished Robert by taking off his belt and getting one of his thugs to beat Robert with it. Robert didn’t know how many lashes he’d had on his back, but the skin there felt extremely sore, and he could see in the mirror that it was horribly red and bruised. He wondered how he was going to hide this from Aaron later.

That wasn’t all that Madsen had done – after his beating, Madsen had pushed Robert to the floor, taken his trousers off, straddled Robert’s face, and shoved himself forcefully and repeatedly into Robert’s mouth. There was nothing sexual about this act, rather it was an assertion of control and authority. Robert got the message loud and clear, knowing he’d have to get his act together to do as he was told from now on. At least there was no physical scar from this though, so Aaron would never have to know about it.

There was a soft knock on the door of the room, and Robert opened it to let in George, his regular client.

‘Hi Robert,’ George said brightly, as if they were old friends meeting for a chat.

Robert pasted on his usual smile. ‘Hi George, how are you?’

Fifteen minutes later, George had got what he’d wanted, and Robert was doing his trousers up as George got ready to leave. Robert took a deep breath.

‘George, we’ve known each other for a while now, right? And we get on ok, don’t we?’

George looked surprised but pleased. ‘Yes, Robert. I like to think so.’

Robert smiled. ‘I know it’s a bit… cheeky of me, but I don’t suppose you could lend me some money could you? I need to get somewhere fast and I haven’t got enough for a taxi…’

It was too late for Robert to get a bus to Aaron’s, and it would take ages to walk, especially with the pain in his back. Madsen had taken all his cash, and George was such a regular customer that he paid online by standing order.

The old man took his wallet out and pulled out a handful of notes. ‘I’ve got seventy quid here…’

‘Oh I don’t think it’ll cost more than about ten or twelve quid for a taxi…’ Robert said quickly. George was always kind to him, and he didn’t want to take advantage of his generosity.

‘It’s ok,’ George said. ‘Take it.’ And he held out the seventy pounds. Robert hesitated.

‘I know you don’t get treated well,’ George said suddenly. ‘I’ve seen you covered in bruises and looking ill sometimes. I noticed you wincing just now – is it your back? I’m not an idiot, Robert, and I know not all your clients are stupid old men who just want to give you a blow job every week… let me help you.’

Robert was stunned by this little speech. On the one hand George seemed like a lovely guy, but on the other, he was happy to exploit Robert, just like any other client.

Still, he was right that most of Robert’s other clients were a lot worse. At this moment, he was grateful to George.
‘Ok,’ he said, and took the money. ‘Thanks.’

George smiled. ‘Look after yourself, and any time you need some extra cash, let me know, ok?’

Robert wasn’t sure now if George was more kind or stupid, but he appreciated his sympathy. He kissed George gently on his cheek. ‘Thank you,’ he said again, and the older man left.

____________________

Aaron was asleep on the sofa when the doorbell rang at last. As he came to senses, he remembered what was happening, and rushed to the door. As soon as he opened it, Robert was on top of him, kissing Aaron greedily.

‘I’m sorry I made you worry,’ Robert whispered as he nuzzled into Aaron’s neck.

‘You apologise too much,’ Aaron said. ‘I’m just happy to see you.’ He wrapped his arms around Robert and rubbed his back, but as he did so, Robert gasped and flinched.

‘What is it?’ Aaron said, concerned.

‘Shit,’ Robert said, his face contorted with pain. ‘It’s nothing really, just…’ he really didn’t want to tell Aaron what had happened, but there was no way of avoiding it. As soon as he took his top off, Aaron would see the marks on his back.

‘Don’t make a big fuss, ok?’

Aaron looked taken aback. ‘Er…ok… Robert, what happened? Is it your back?’

Robert nodded. ‘Honestly, it’s no big deal… Just… Madsen lost his temper and he wanted to teach me a lesson so…’

Aaron was going red and starting to breathe more heavily with anger.

‘Please Aaron… it’s really nothing. He just got one of his morons to hit me a few times, that’s all.’

Aaron bit his lip as he lifted Robert’s shirt up carefully and turned him round. When he saw Robert’s back, he gasped. It was covered with long red welts that looked painful and sore. It looked as though Robert had been whipped.

‘Oh God, Robert… that must be agony...what the hell did they hit you with…’

Robert turned again to face Aaron. ‘It’s not that bad,’ he lied. ‘And I really don’t want to talk about it.’

Aaron started to protest but Robert interrupted. ‘Please, let it go Aaron. I just want to focus on being here with you now.’ He cuddled into Aaron, nuzzling into his neck again.

It was hard for Aaron to just accept that someone had deliberately done that to Robert, as a punishment. But the last thing he wanted to do was upset Robert or make him relive what had happened.

‘OK,’ he said. Then he had an idea. ‘I think we’ve got some antiseptic cream that might help… will you let me put some on you?’

‘Alright,’ Robert said. ‘Thanks.’

‘Go up to my bed and lie on your stomach,’ Aaron said. ‘Don’t worry, Adam’s gone to his girlfriend’s, so we won’t be disturbed. I’ll get the cream.’

When he went into the bedroom with the small tube of cream, Robert was lying face down with his shirt off. Aaron climbed on top of him, straddling him and sitting lightly on his bum.

‘Unf…’ Robert grunted into the pillow. ‘Be gentle with me…’

‘Yes sir,’ Aaron joked, squeezing a little cream onto his fingertips. Then he reached out and gently pressed into the red lines on Robert’s back, rubbing the cream in.

Robert hissed a little as Aaron touched him.

‘Sorry… it’s going to do you good… there you go…’ Aaron tried to comfort Robert as he was as gentle as he could manage.

‘There, all done,’ he said a few moments later. He climbed off the bed and went to wash his hands. When he got back, Robert hadn’t moved and was lying with his eyes closed. Aaron lay down next to him on the bed.

‘Oi… are you asleep?’ he said gently.

Robert’s eyes opened slowly. ‘No…’ he said sleepily. He propped his head up on one arm. ‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘I didn’t just come here for you to play nurse and watch me sleep, honestly…’

Aaron smiled back. ‘It’s ok. Can you stay the night?’

Robert nodded, stifling a yawn. ‘Mmm, I’m actually free tomorrow morning…’

‘Great,’ Aaron said, delighted. ‘You can cook me breakfast.’

Robert smiled, but Aaron could see he was struggling to keep his eyes open, and Aaron wondered when Robert had last slept. He leaned forwards and kissed Robert chastely on the lips.

‘Go on, go to sleep. I’ll see you in the morning,’ he said, and ran a hand through Robert’s fluffy blond mop of hair. Robert closed his eyes and seemed to fall asleep immediately as Aaron snuggled into him, kissing Robert’s neck softly before he drifted off to sleep too.

Chapter Text

When Robert woke up the next day, the sun was already streaming in through the window, and Aaron was lying next to him awake.

‘Morning, handsome,’ Aaron said, smiling.

‘Morning,’ Robert grinned. ‘Have you been awake long?’

‘Just ten minutes or so. Are you feeling better? How’s your back?’

‘It’s fine,’ Robert said, although it was still pretty sore. He gazed at the man who had already done so much for him. How had he ended up in the bed of this kind, caring, gorgeous, incredibly hot man? Robert wasn’t going to waste time wondering about that now.

He sat up suddenly and pounced on Aaron, kissing his warm neck.

Aaron laughed, ‘Wow, where did that come from?’ and he put his hands on Robert’s naked butt cheeks.

Robert spoke through his kisses, ‘You just… looked… so irresistible… lying there…’

He sat up and straddled Aaron, sitting on his lap as Aaron lay back on the bed. ‘I can’t help myself with you…’ Robert said hotly. He bent over and sucked at Aaron’s nipple, moving his hand down Aaron’s torso to his cock, which was already feeling firm. Aaron bucked underneath him as Robert bit his nipple and chest, stroking Aaron’s cock as he did.

He felt Aaron’s hand reach his own cock, but Robert wasn’t having any of that. He grabbed Aaron’s wrists and pinned them down on the pillow by his head. ‘Nope…’ he said, smirking and licking his lips.

Robert took a finger and stuck it in Aaron’s mouth. ‘Suck,’ he commanded. He watched as Aaron moaned and groaned underneath him, sucking eagerly at one finger, then two, then three. He stared up lustily at Robert as he took the fingers out of Aaron’s mouth and moved them down to Aaron’s hole.

Aaron squirmed with pleasure, as Robert slipped a finger in, then another, and the third.

Aaron was moaning loudly now, ‘Oh God… oh yes Robert… yes… oh Jesus…’

Robert was so turned on at the sight of Aaron wriggling around like this, he thought he might just come untouched there and then. Instead though, he gently removed his fingers from inside Aaron, and reached across to the bedside table for his wallet, grabbing a condom and unwrapping it quickly. He rolled it over his rock-hard dick, and pushed Aaron’s legs up, carefully nudging himself into Aaron’s hole.

‘Ok…?’ he breathed, wanting to check Aaron was ok with everything.

‘God…yes… Robert, just fucking fuck me!’ Aaron yelled.

Robert laughed with relief and lust, as he pushed harder, his laughter turning to moans of desire as he fucked this beautiful man.

‘Oh Aaron… fuck… Aaron’ he groaned as he rode him harder and harder, Aaron pumping his own cock with his hand. Robert cried out as he came, his body shuddering as the orgasm rippled through his body. Seconds later, Aaron ejaculated over his own stomach, calling Robert’s name as he did.

Robert fell forwards to lie on top of Aaron, and they lay there recovering for a moment.

‘Well that was a good start to the day…’ Aaron said after a while, and Robert grinned, nodded and kissed Aaron softly.

_______________________

Robert remembered Aaron’s wish that he make breakfast, so after Robert had had a quick shower – not easy when the hot water stung his back, but he managed it – he went down to the kitchen to see what there was in the cupboards. Aaron said Adam wouldn’t be around yet, so Robert didn’t bother getting dressed, and he padded downstairs naked while Aaron took a shower.

He found some bacon, a few eggs and a tin of beans, but that was about it. There was plenty of bread, which didn’t surprise him as Aaron seemed to exist on toast, but it wasn’t going to be much of a cooking challenge. Still, a small fry-up would be tasty. He was filling the kettle with water for tea, when he heard the front door close, and to his amazement, he heard the voices of two women.

‘Aaron?’ one of them called. ‘Did you get my message love? We’re here…’

‘Stop shouting, Chas,’ the other one said. ‘He’ll be in bed asleep.’

Robert walked into the living room and the two women stared at him. One was a brunette who appeared to be in her forties, and she was looking horrified at the sight of Robert’s naked body. The other woman was blond, and a similar age, but her reaction was totally different. She was smirking, and stared blatantly and delightedly at his cock.

‘Hello,’ he said, not sure what else to say.

‘Aaron!’, the brunette yelled. ‘Are you aware there’s a naked blond in your living room?’

There was a rush of footsteps as Aaron came hurrying down the stairs into the room. He looked at the women in shock. ‘Mum? Charity? What are you doing here?’ he said.

‘I’ve been calling you all morning,’ the brunette said, irritated. ‘Didn’t you listen to my messages? We thought we’d pop up for a quick visit…’

‘No, I dunno where my phone is, it’s probably down here somewhere…’ Aaron said, equally annoyed.

‘Well, we can see you’ve been busy,’ the blond woman said, grinning at Robert. Robert grinned back. She seemed like fun, he thought.

Aaron looked from the women to Robert, and seemed to realise for the first time that he was naked. ‘For God’s sake Robert…’ he said, rolling his eyes, and he grabbed a cushion from the sofa and held it in front of Robert’s groin area.

Robert took the cushion obediently, and Aaron went over to kiss and hug the women. ‘Mum, Charity, this is Robert, Robert, this is my Mum, and my Aunt, Charity,’ he said.

Robert waved at them. ‘Um… nice to meet you…’ he grinned.

_______________________

‘So, what’s the deal with the hot naked guy?’ Charity asked Aaron as she peered out of the door to get a glimpse of Robert in the kitchen.

‘He’s not naked anymore, and it’s none of your business,’ Aaron said quickly. He couldn’t believe this. He and Robert had such a limited amount of time together, and now he was wasting it having a cup of tea with his Mum and Charity while Robert was in another room. They’d decided to abandon the cooked breakfast and have bacon sandwiches instead, which Robert had offered to make.

Aaron muttered something about checking on the food and escaped quickly to the kitchen, where Robert was putting four sandwiches on four plates. ‘Alright?’ he smiled at Aaron.

Aaron smiled back. ‘I’m sorry about them. I had no idea they were coming, if I had I would’ve put them off, obviously.’

‘It’s ok,’ Robert said. ‘It’s nice that you’ve got a family who want to visit you.’

Aaron slipped his arms round Robert’s waist and kissed him gently. ‘I wanted us to spend the morning together though…’ he said in a whiny voice.

Robert kissed him back, more passionately. ‘I know,’ he said softly, ‘Me too…’ they stood kissing, holding each other and swaying gently together, until there was a shout from the living room.

‘Aaron, love? You got those bacon sarnies yet? We’re starving in here…’

Aaron and Robert broke apart and Aaron sighed heavily. Robert stroked his head. ‘C’mon,’ he said. ‘We'd better feed them before they start tearing us limb from limb…’

Aaron huffed a laugh and they took the plates into the living room.

‘Thanks, er… Robert is it?’ Chas said.

Robert nodded. ‘No problem’ he said.

‘So, are you two a couple then or what?’ Charity asked, biting into her sandwich.

‘Oi, nosy,’ Chas said, but she turned to Aaron and Robert for an answer.

Aaron rolled his eyes for about the tenth time since his Mum had turned up. He looked at Robert. Were they? He hoped so… As they locked eyes, the corners of Robert’s mouth turned up into a smile…

‘Yeah,’ Robert said, still smiling at Aaron. ‘I think we are.’

They sat grinning at each other like idiots, both unable to wipe the smiles off their faces.

‘Well, that’s nice,’ Chas said, amused. ‘So how did you meet?’

‘Er… Robert drinks in the pub where I’m working now,’ Aaron said. ‘You know I got a new job, Mum?’

‘Ooh, yes, how’s it going son?’

‘Yeah, it’s good. It’s better than that last place I was at, and I’ve got a really good boss, she’s great actually…’

‘A woman landlady, that sounds good,’ Charity quipped.

Aaron looked at Robert. ‘Charity and me Mum run a pub,’ he explained.

‘Is it a gay bar you’re working in now?’ Chas asked.

‘Well, not exclusively,’ Aaron said. ‘It’s gay-friendly though, the landlady’s gay’.

‘Aw, that’s nice,’ Chas said. ‘I bet that’s more fun than that horrible laddish place you were at before. We’ll have to come down there some time and check it out, eh Charity?’

Charity didn’t look too interested. ‘So what about you Robert?’ she said instead. ‘What do you do?’

Robert looked at Aaron and Aaron chewed his food, nervously. There was an unnaturally long pause, then Aaron said ‘He’s a chef, aren’t you? Robert works in a café in the city centre.’

‘Oh right,’ Chas smiled. ‘No wonder these bacon sarnies are so good! Well you’ve lucked out there, Aaron, cos you’re a hopeless cook, aren’t you?’ She laughed loudly.

Aaron caught Charity’s eye, and maybe he looked away too quickly, or maybe it was the hesitation before he’d spoken, but she looked suspicious.

‘Which café do you work in Robert?’ She asked. ‘Only I used to go out in the city quite a lot, and I know a lot of the cafes and restaurants there…’

Aaron could see panic in Robert’s eyes, but he hoped Charity couldn’t. Robert cleared his throat. ‘Er, it’s only been open a few months, so you probably won’t know it…’

He stood up. ‘I’m really sorry, but I need to go…’

Aaron leapt to his feet. ‘Yeah, ok…’ he said. He was pissed off now. He didn’t want Robert to go, but the conversation was only going to get more awkward if he stayed.

Robert said goodbye to Chas and Charity, and walked with Aaron to the door. They stepped outside.

‘Sorry…’ Aaron started to say, but Robert interrupted him.

‘Shhh,’ he said. ‘Look, I’ve had a great time. You looked after me last night, I fell asleep and woke up next to you, we had amazing sex…’

Aaron smiled.

‘I’ll cook for you some other time…’ Robert grinned. ‘I do need to get back. You have fun with your Mum and her crazy friend…’

Aaron looked into those beautiful blue eyes and wished he could just spend the day with this handsome, complicated, lovely man.

He leaned forwards and their foreheads pressed together. ‘When can I see you again?’ he asked.

‘I don’t know,’ Robert admitted. ‘I’ll call as soon as I can, I promise.’

They stood like that for a while, until Robert lifted his head up, kissed Aaron softly on the top of his head and left. Aaron blew out a long, steadying breath and rubbed his eyes with his hands. He made sure he was fully composed before he went back in his house to hang out with his Mum and Charity.

Chapter Text

‘Robert! Your phone’s ringing!’

Robert ran out of the bathroom and grabbed his phone from Connor. It was Aaron calling.

‘Hey...’ Robert said, catching his breath.

‘Hiya,’ came Aaron’s warm, smiling voice. ‘How’re you?’

‘Good, how are you?’ Robert smiled back.

‘Yeah, good. I just wanted to check that you’re still on for tonight, and are you coming to mine, or shall I pick you up somewhere…?’

‘Er, … you’re not working are you…’

‘No. Why don’t I come and get you so you don’t have to walk miles or get a taxi?’

‘Yeah ok…’ Robert thought for a second. He had a client this afternoon, who was coming to the flat, but he didn’t want Aaron coming there. Robert wanted to keep Aaron as far removed from anything to do with his work as possible.

‘Could you meet me at the bus stop on Station Road?’

‘Of course. About eight o’clock ok?’

Robert should be easily done with his client by then so he agreed.

‘So is everything ok?’ Aaron went on. ‘How’s your back?’

It was only a few days since Robert had been at Aaron’s and his Mum had turned up, so there wasn’t much change to report.

‘It’s fine.’

‘Pffft. You always say that. I don’t know why I bother asking cos you always say you’re fine…’

Robert chuckled at Aaron’s stroppy tone. ‘That’s because I’m such a tough guy, isn’t it?’

‘Ha! My Nan’s tougher than you…’

‘I bet your Nan’s dead tough.’ Robert had seen a photo of Aaron’s Nan, and she looked hard as nails.

‘Yeah, she is actually,’ Aaron laughed. Then his voice went soft. ‘I’ll see you later then, Robert.’

Robert smiled as he felt all warm inside… ‘I’ll see you later. Bye.’

‘Wow.’

Robert looked up to see Connor grinning at him.

‘What?’ he said.

‘You. Robert, I’ve never seen you like this before…’

‘Like what…?’

Connor laughed delightedly. ‘Like a teenager in love! Like a soppy, drippy boyfriend who’s just melted at the sound of his loved one… oh my God, I never thought I’d see it…’

Robert tried to look annoyed, but as he thought of Aaron, he couldn’t stop himself smiling.

‘You’ve never been with anyone since I’ve known you, have you?’ Connor went on. ‘Well apart from me, of course…’

Robert laughed now. ‘We were hardly a couple, Connor…’

The truth was that for a long time, Connor had been the only good thing in Robert’s life. They were both at a very low point when they started working together and sharing a flat. On a few occasions an evening of holding on to each other for comfort had turned into something more passionate, but that was all it was. Robert was grateful for Connor’s kindness, and he adored him as a friend, but he’d never seen him as more than that.

‘Well, I’m happy for you, Rob. You deserve it, we both do with all the shit we have to put up with…’

Connor pressed a quick kiss to Robert’s cheek, and they hugged each other warmly.

‘Thanks.’ Robert said sincerely. Then he sighed. ‘You need to get out soon, I’ve got some bloke coming round in an hour or so.’

Madsen had arranged an appointment for Robert with a new client. This always made Robert uneasy, but he felt slightly reassured by the fact that the stranger was coming to his flat. At least he was less likely to be killed, attacked or kidnapped in his own home, he reasoned.

_________________

At 3pm, there was a knock on the door of the flat and Robert went to answer it. Standing in front of the door was a biggish man, slightly taller than Robert with a broad build.

‘The door downstairs was open so I just came up,’ he said gruffly.

‘It’s broken,’ Robert explained. ‘Come in…’

The man walked in and stood looking around. He seemed pretty confident, which was unusual. Most clients, especially new ones, tended to be nervous and unsure. Robert felt uneasy, but he couldn’t quite work out why.

‘I’m Robert,’ he said. ‘Er… sit down, and we’ll talk about what you want to do…’

They sat and the man took out his wallet. ‘I spoke to Mr Madsen, he’s your manager, right?’

Robert nodded. ‘Yeah, but he told me that you were paying online…’

‘That’s right, but I wondered if we could make a little deal between us? I’ll give you a cash bonus – a hundred quid – if you let me tie you up…’

Robert’s heart sank. Now he really did feel uneasy. He knew some of the other guys working for Madsen would agree to anything, but Robert was usually a bit more cautious.

‘I don’t really do that…’ he started, but the man interrupted.

‘No, your boss said you didn’t, but he thought you might be persuaded if I offered you some extra cash… so how about it?’

Robert didn’t know what to do. He didn’t really like the idea of this huge man tying him up and having him helpless, but he thought that if he said no, the guy was strong enough to overpower him and do whatever he wanted anyway. So he might as well take the money, which he could really do with. Robert and Connor generally lived from hand to mouth and he hated always letting Aaron pay for everything. He imagined meeting Aaron later with a bag full of cans of beer, or insisting on paying for a takeaway for them both…

‘What exactly did you want to do?’ he asked reluctantly.

______________________

Aaron hummed to himself as he pottered around the house, tidying things up. He was looking forward to seeing Robert. He kept replaying their phone conversation in his head, the way they’d both said goodbye to each other seemed so tender… he couldn’t believe what a wuss he was being about this.

No-one had captured his attention like this for years. Robert was so good-looking, Aaron would have said he was out of Aaron’s league, but it had been Robert who’d approached him first in the pub. Aaron couldn’t have guessed then how completely he’d fall for the cocky, handsome blond…

Aaron was refusing to think further than a day at a time in terms of their relationship. For one thing he didn’t want to frighten Robert off, and for another, he had no idea how they were going to work things out with Robert’s job. Aaron absolutely loathed the thought of Robert sleeping with other people, and apart from that, he couldn’t stand how badly Robert was treated. Aaron knew that Robert didn’t tell him the whole story in terms of what went on between him and his clients, or with Madsen, and he was in a permanent state of worry whenever Robert wasn’t with him.

Aaron would have willingly let Robert move in with him tomorrow and helped him find a proper job if Robert would agree to it. But he knew that Robert believed he was trapped and unable to walk away from Madsen without repercussions. Aaron also knew that Robert was too proud to let Aaron save him.

So for now, he did his best to put all his concerns about their future to the back of his mind, and just focused on their next date. He checked his watch to see that there were still several hours to go before he could go and pick Robert up and bring him home…

__________________________

Robert decided he’d made the right choice as he knelt on the floor of his bedroom. He was naked apart from his boxers, and his hands were tied behind his back with a tie. It was tight enough that he didn’t think he’d be able to free himself, but loose enough that it didn’t hurt.

‘Ok?’ the big man said. He was still fully dressed as he stood in front of Robert, stroking Robert’s head softly.

Robert nodded, but he must have looked uncomfortable as the client said, ‘Just relax… we’re going to have fun together…’

‘Ok,’ Robert said, in a confident voice. This wasn’t so difficult. He put on an act with all his clients, he just needed to do the same now.

The man smiled for the first time. ‘You are beautiful,’ he said. ‘There’s one more thing I’d like to do though…’ he went over to the wardrobe where Robert had got the tie from and looked around, then took out a scarf. He walked back to Robert, and wrapped it around his eyes, tying it so that Robert was completely blindfolded.

‘Alright?’ he checked again.

‘Fine,’ Robert said impatiently, unable to see anything now. How long was this going to take? He wanted to have plenty of time to get ready for his date with Aaron.

He felt a stubby finger push against his lips so he opened his mouth and sucked obediently. As usual, his mind wandered to thoughts of Aaron and what they were going to get up to later. He couldn’t believe how excited he was about one date, but their relationship definitely seemed to have gone up a gear.

Suddenly, he heard knocking. That was odd, no-one ever knocked on the door of their flat, even when the door downstairs was broken. The fingers were removed from his mouth.

‘Don’t worry, it’s all good…’ the man’s voice came, and Robert heard him walk away. To his horror, he heard the flat door open, and the sound of another man’s voice. Then there was the sound of footsteps coming back towards him.

‘What’s going on?’ he said angrily, pulling at the tie round his wrists. ‘Take the blindfold off…’

‘Shh…’ came the voice of the client. ‘It’s fine, I’ve just invited a friend to play…’

‘I didn’t…’ Robert started to protest but before he could say anymore, a hand over his mouth silenced him, and he felt a wave of panic rise up as he tried to free himself…

Chapter Text

A car’s horn beeped as it sped past Aaron, who was stopped illegally opposite the bus stop. Where the hell was Robert? Aaron had been sitting here waiting for twenty minutes and there was no sign of him. He was starting to worry, but he was also angry. Could Robert really not find the time for a quick text? Aaron was fed up with sitting here and he thought it was probably too late to keep waiting. He started the engine, but as he did, his phone rang. Robert’s name was flashing on the screen. Aaron grabbed it.

‘Robert where are you?’ he said, irritably.

‘Is that Aaron?’ came a voice that wasn’t Robert’s.

‘Yeah, who’s that?’

‘Er, you don’t know me, but it’s Connor… I live with Robert…’

Aaron swallowed. This didn’t sound good. ‘Yeah, he’s mentioned you. Is he ok? What’s going on?’

There was a hesitation from the other end.

‘Can you come to ours? I think he needs you, Aaron…’

Connor gave Aaron directions to the flat and Aaron put the phone down and started driving. He had to force himself not to break the speed limit by too much, and not to punch the steering wheel when he got stuck at traffic lights. Eventually he arrived at Robert’s street. It was a pretty dodgy area and he checked twice that he’d locked his car when he parked on the road.

He arrived at the building and pushed the broken door open. As Aaron went up the stairs, he could see why Robert hadn’t wanted him to visit. The stairwell stank of urine and the walls were covered in graffiti. Aaron reached Robert’s door and knocked.

The door opened and a skinny pale man with floppy fair hair stood there.

‘Aaron?’ he said. ‘Hi, I’m Connor. Er, can we have a quick chat before you come in?’

They shook hands and Connor stepped out into the hallway, pulling the door closed behind him.

‘I just want to talk to you before you see Robert,’ he said in a low voice.

‘What happened?’ Aaron asked, feeling nauseous now with worry.

Connor sighed. ‘You know he had a client here this afternoon? Well Rob let the guy tie him up, which is weird because he doesn’t usually, but anyway, he did, and then another bloke turned up… basically the two of them went to town on Rob, which is definitely out of his comfort zone, I mean he never does two guys together unless there’s at least another one of us there too…. Anyway…’ Connor took a couple of breaths. ‘Rob’s really shaken up by it, and he’s drunk most of a bottle of whisky… I’ve never seen him in such a state, he’s really upset…’

Connor ran his fingers through his hair as Aaron struggled to get his head round what had happened. He felt sick at the thought of Robert being treated like this. He had to see him.

‘Right… thanks, can I go in?’ he said.

Connor nodded and they went into the flat. The door opened straight into a living area, and Robert was slumped on the sofa. His eyes were bloodshot, and Aaron saw the almost empty bottle of whisky on the table next to him.

‘Oh God, Robert…’ he said, and went to sit next to him.

‘Aaron?’ Robert said in a confused voice. He looked at Connor. ‘What’s he doing here?’ he asked angrily.

Aaron went to put his arm round Robert, but Robert flinched.

‘Don’t,’ he said coldly. ‘Don’t touch me…’

Aaron looked up at Connor, who shrugged. ‘I’ll give you some privacy,’ he said, and left the room.

The two men sat in silence for a while, neither of them seeming to know what to say. Considering how much Robert had drunk, he was surprisingly lucid. Aaron had often wondered about how much Robert drank and judging by his high tolerance for whisky, it was too much.

After a while, Robert leant forwards and put his head in his hands. ‘I didn’t want you coming here Aaron,’ he mumbled. ‘It’s embarrassing… I didn’t want you to see me like this…’

He stood up suddenly and stalked out of the room, leaving Aaron sitting there on his own.

Aaron wasn’t sure how to approach this cold, unemotional Robert. In a way he’d have preferred it if Robert would break down and cry, that would be a healthier response, and then at least he might let Aaron in. Instead Robert was distancing himself and Aaron couldn’t reach him.

Aaron looked around him. The room was small but quite tidy with cardboard boxes of books and other things in one corner. On the other side was a small kitchen area, and there were two doors apart from the front door. Aaron assumed one of them was a bathroom, but that only left one bedroom…

Connor came back into the room. ‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘I thought he’d talk to you…’

Aaron shook his head. ‘I’m glad you called me though. He wants to shut me out of all this, but I just want to help him, you know? It’s like he’s so ashamed of everything, but I don’t care about that…’

Connor nodded. ‘I was thinking… Rob needs to get away,’ he said. ‘He hasn’t had a break from this since he started, and… I’m worried he’s going to have a breakdown… if he’s not there already…’ he sighed.

Aaron was confused. ‘But how can he get away? Madsen won’t let him, will he?’

‘I don’t know, everyone needs a break from time to time. I go away sometimes when it gets too much… If he tells him where he’s going, I reckon it’d be alright… it’s just when Rob disappears unexpectedly he gets mad…’

Aaron wasn’t convinced. He agreed about Robert needing a break, but he didn’t want him getting into trouble again.

‘You know, if Robert agrees, I could take him to visit my family… they live in a little village away from the city. We could go and stay there for a few days, maybe?’

Connor looked impressed with this suggestion. ‘Yeah, that sounds perfect,’ he said. ‘If we can convince Rob…’

He looked towards the door that Robert had left through.

Aaron was feeling nosy and he said, ‘I have to ask, is there only one bedroom?’

Connor laughed. ‘Yeah, I used to live here on my own, but then Rob moved in. Don’t worry, we don’t sleep together, not like that anyway… Rob usually sleeps on the sofa, or if I’m out he takes the bed… We kind of take it in turns…’

Aaron couldn’t imagine Robert’s long, gangly body curled up on this small, uncomfortable sofa.

The door opened and Robert came back in. ‘You still here?’ he slurred to Aaron, sounding more drunk now. ‘Thought you’d have given up on me by now…’

Connor went over to Robert and grabbed his shoulders. ‘Rob, we’ve had an idea,’ he said firmly. ‘You need to pack some clothes and Aaron’s going to take you away for a few days…’

Robert started to protest, but Connor spoke over him.

‘Shut up and listen… You need to call Madsen and ask him about taking a break, ok? It’ll be alright as long as he knows where you are and when you’re coming back, right?’ He rubbed his hands up and down Robert’s arms. ‘You need a break, Rob… it’s too much. Please, just go with Aaron and get away from all this shit for a few days…’

Aaron thought Robert was about to argue again, but his shoulders dropped and he looked defeated.

‘Ok,’ he said, ‘whatever…’. He looked at Aaron and said emotionlessly, ‘Let’s get out of here, then…’

_________________________

Fifteen minutes later Robert was in the passenger seat of Aaron’s car, and they were heading back to Aaron’s house. Connor had helped Robert get some clothes and things together to last a few days, and they’d decided that Robert would stay with Aaron tonight. Robert tried to focus as Aaron drove through the streets of the city. His head was pounding after drinking all that whisky, and he was having trouble concentrating on what was going on.

Robert was trying to remember why he’d drunk himself into such a state. He’d had a bad experience, yes, but it was hardly the first time something like that had happened, and it wasn’t the worst thing that had happened to him. He couldn’t work out why this particular night had got to him so badly. He looked out of the corner of his eye at Aaron. Beautiful, kind Aaron… how did he get here? Robert hadn’t wanted Aaron to ever come to the flat he shared with Connor… he’d wanted to keep these parts of his life separate… now Aaron had seen how he lived, would it put him off Robert altogether? Or would Aaron just pity him … Robert couldn’t stand the thought of being pitied… Aaron seemed to have such a great life in contrast – a good job, a loving parent, a big family in his home village, and a lovely big house…

And Robert wondered if that was why today’s events had hit him so hard… he’d seen an alternative life now. For the last few years there’d been no hope of anything different, Robert and Connor accepted where they were and what they had, and they made the best of it…but now Robert had glimpsed the idea of a life with Aaron… a stable, proper boyfriend… Robert was beginning to want a normal job, a normal life… today’s experience had been a cruel reminder that he couldn’t just walk away and have those things… ugh, his head was spinning… where were they? He hoped they’d get to Aaron’s soon and he could sleep it off…

__________________

Aaron pulled up on his driveway and looked over at Robert. He hadn’t said a word the whole way back, and Aaron thought he was asleep, but now he could see that Robert’s eyes were just about open.

‘We’re here,’ Aaron said.

Robert didn’t respond, so Aaron got out of the car, then went round to Robert’s side and opened the door for him. With great effort, Robert hauled himself up out of his seat and got out of the car. Aaron didn’t dare help him after Robert’s earlier reaction to being touched. He went to the house and unlocked the front door and they both went in.

Adam was sitting on the sofa watching TV. He sat up when he saw them… ‘Hi...’ he started, but suddenly Robert turned and bolted up the stairs. Aaron looked at Adam, then followed Robert.

‘Robert… are you ok?’ he called, as he went up the stairs. Then he heard noises from behind the bathroom door. Robert was being violently sick.

Aaron waited for a moment, then slowly pushed the door open. Robert was slumped on the bathroom floor, next to the toilet. His eyes were red and wet, and his skin was pale. He looked up at Aaron helplessly.

‘Sorry,’ he whispered. ‘I’m sorry Aaron…’ and stumbled as he tried to stand up.

Aaron ran forward and grabbed Robert. ‘It’s ok…’ he said, pulling him to his feet. Aaron wrapped his arms around Robert and tried to keep him upright as Robert swayed drunkenly. For a moment, Aaron felt the full weight of Robert, as though he was all that was holding him up emotionally as well as physically…

‘Let’s get you to bed,’ Aaron said quietly, and helped Robert out of the bathroom.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Aaron woke up early and went downstairs, leaving Robert asleep in his bed. He had a cup of tea with Adam, who left after having breakfast to spend the day with his girlfriend.

Aaron was sitting on the sofa, deep in thought about the events of the previous night when Robert appeared on the stairs. He walked into the living room looking sheepish.

‘Morning,’ he said.

‘Morning,’ Aaron replied, ‘How are you feeling?’

Robert rubbed his face with his hands. ‘Hungover,’ he said. ‘Have you got any paracetamol?’

Aaron went and found some in a drawer and got Robert a glass of water to go with them. Robert took the pills and Aaron made them both a cup of tea.

They sat at the kitchen table, and eventually Aaron thought he’d better broach the subject of what happened next.

‘Are you still ok to come away with me for a few days?’ he asked. ‘I mean, you were pretty out of it last night when you agreed, but I think it would be really good for you…’

Robert took a while to answer, and Aaron silently willed him to agree to the idea. He knew Robert would probably be resistant to leaving the city, and no doubt he was afraid of telling Madsen that he was going away. But when Robert answered, Aaron was pleasantly surprised.

‘Yeah, ok,’ he said. ‘I could do with a break.’

Aaron smiled, relieved. ‘Great,’ he said. ‘I just need to get a few things together and give my Mum a call to let her know we’re coming. Oh, and I’ll have to clear it at work, but I reckon Beth will be ok about it. Then we can get on the road this morning, yeah?’

Robert hesitated. ‘Er… Aaron, there’s something I need to do here before we go.’

He paused, and Aaron guessed what Robert was going to say.

‘Yes, of course,’ he agreed. ‘You should go to the police and tell them what happened…’

Robert stared at Aaron as if he’d said something ridiculous.

‘What?’ he asked. ‘Go to the police…. What for?’

‘Robert… what those men did… you didn’t agree to it. That’s rape. You’ve got to report them…’

Robert laughed, a bitter, dismissive laugh.

‘You must be joking,’ he said. ‘The police won’t give a shit about that. I’m a bloody prostitute, for God’s sake, it doesn’t count…’

‘Of course it counts,’ Aaron interrupted angrily, but Robert held his hands up to stop him from continuing.

‘Aaron, listen,’ he said. ‘I agreed to be tied up. I agreed to sex… ok, I didn’t agree to there being two of them, but I got paid. I can’t prove anything, and the police wouldn’t believe me. Even if they did, they probably wouldn’t care…’

Aaron started to protest again, but Robert interrupted, ‘Look, there’s no way I’m going to the police, ok? Just drop it, it’s not happening.’

Aaron was furious, but he could see that Robert had made his mind up. It angered him that Robert didn’t think he would be taken seriously, and saw himself as less valued than anyone else who had been assaulted. He sat fuming in silence for a while, before remembering what Robert had said.

‘So what do you need to do then?’ he asked.

‘Oh yeah… I need to go to the STD clinic. After what happened… I need to…get myself checked out…’

Aaron bit his lip. That hadn’t crossed his mind and he felt stupid for not thinking about it. Of course the men wouldn’t have had safe sex. He felt sick again at the thought of it.

‘Right,’ he said, trying to sound matter of fact. ‘Do you know where to go?’

Robert nodded. ‘Yeah, there’s a clinic I go to regularly to get tested. They have an emergency drop in, so I should be able to go this morning.’

‘Ok,’ Aaron said. ‘Well, I’ll come with you then.’

Robert smiled. ‘That’s sweet of you, but there’s no need,’ he said. ‘I’ve done this kind of thing before, it’s fine…’

Aaron was determined. ‘That doesn’t mean you don’t need a bit of moral support,’ he said. ‘I’m coming.’

Robert’s smile grew a little wider. ‘OK, that would be good,’ He said. ‘Thanks.’

__________________________________________

Three hours later, they sat together in a waiting room. Aaron had cleared his holiday with Beth, who was easily persuaded to agree once he mentioned Robert. He’d also spoken to Chas. Robert was nervous about the idea of meeting the rest of Aaron’s large family, not to mention spending several days with them, but he didn’t mention it to Aaron. He was grateful for the offer of somewhere to go.

Aaron reminded him a couple of times to call Madsen and tell him where they were going, but Robert couldn’t face it. He was sick of everything, sick of having to check in all the time and ask permission. He also felt much less optimistic than Connor and Aaron did about Madsen agreeing to the time off. So in the end, Robert sent Connor a quick text confirming that they were leaving town, then switched his phone off. He knew he was playing with fire by not informing Madsen, but he was tired of it all, and at this moment, he just didn’t care…

‘Robert Sugden?’ called a nurse. Aaron squeezed Robert’s hand reassuringly. He went into the treatment room, leaving Aaron chewing his fingernails outside.

When Robert came back out a few minutes later, Aaron jumped up out of his chair. ‘Ok?’ he asked.

Robert smiled. ‘Yeah, fine,’ he said. ‘I’ve got a prescription for PEP, so I need to take that, and I’ve got to come back for an HIV test in a few weeks.’

Aaron nodded. He knew a bit about how HIV treatment worked from friends, although he’d never had to take it himself.

‘Thanks for coming with me,’ Robert said with a small smile. ‘I appreciate it.’

Aaron smiled back and rubbed Robert’s arm supportively. Then he took hold of Robert’s hand and they walked out of the clinic together.

__________________________

An hour later, they were sitting in Aaron’s car, driving out of the city. Aaron still wasn’t comfortable with Robert’s refusal to report his assault to the police, and he was even less happy with Robert’s apparent inability to see the incident as rape.

‘Did you have to tell the nurse what happened?’ he asked.

Robert shook his head. ‘No, but I told her that I’m a sex worker. It’s better if they know that stuff, and I wanted her to know that I’ve been through this before, and I know how it all works…’

‘So, did you get nasty side effects when you took if before?’

‘Just a bit of tiredness and nausea. No big deal…’

Judging by Robert’s tendency to downplay anything that happened to him, Aaron wasn’t really sure what that meant. They drove on in silence for a while before Robert spoke again.

‘So now I suppose you know why I never invited you round to my place…’ he said, looking annoyed.

Aaron smiled. ‘It’s not that big a deal,’ he said. ‘Your flat isn’t that bad…’

‘I didn’t want you coming round,’ Robert scowled. ‘I could kill Connor for calling you… I mean, I’m glad I’m with you now and we’re going away, but I didn’t want you seeing me like that or seeing the state of where I live.’

Aaron sighed as he slowed down to stop at a red light. ‘Well I’m glad Connor called me,’ he said. ‘I want to be here for you Robert, and I want you to be honest with me about what’s going on in your life.’

The traffic light changed to green and Aaron pulled away. ‘I don’t get what you’re so annoyed about…’ he said.

‘Well that’s easy for you to say, you’ve got a lovely home and a perfect life…’ Robert grumbled.

Aaron frowned. It was unlike Robert to indulge in self-pity, and Aaron wasn’t going to let him get away with that.

‘Er, you don’t know everything about my life,’ he retorted. ‘Yes, I’ve got a nice house now, but I’ve lived in some crappy places in the past… and I’d hardly describe my background as perfect.’

Robert didn’t reply to that, he appeared to be sulking.

‘I told you, I got the money to buy my house when my Dad died, that’s the only reason I could afford such a nice place. And I think I also told you that he was a wanker and I hated him. So don’t tell me I’ve got a perfect life. Things are pretty good now, but you don’t know everything about me…’

Aaron glanced at Robert, who looked suitably chastened. After a few more seconds, Robert spoke.

‘Sorry,’ he mumbled quietly.

Aaron reached a hand over to Robert’s leg and squeezed his thigh gently, to show that he was forgiven.

Robert closed his eyes and started to doze off while Aaron drove them the rest of the way.

Chapter Text

Robert opened his eyes as he felt the car stop and the engine switch off. They were in a car park outside an old-fashioned looking pub.

Aaron rubbed his arm gently. ‘Hey,’ he whispered. ‘We’re here.’

Robert nodded. ‘Have I been asleep?’ he asked.

‘Only for half an hour or so,’ Aaron grinned. ‘So are you ready to meet the rest of my family?’

Robert couldn’t think of many things he’d like less right now than to make polite conversation with a load of strangers, but he couldn’t admit this to Aaron. ‘OK’, he said, and they got out of the car.

As Aaron led them into the back room of the pub, Robert recognised Chas from her visit to Aaron’s house. She was sitting on the sofa with a man who was completely bald and looked like a boiled egg wearing glasses.

Chas jumped up when she saw them. ‘Hiya love,’ she said delightedly, hugging Aaron tightly. Aaron grinned. ‘Hi Mum,’ he said.

Chas turned to Robert. ‘Hello again,’ she smiled.

‘Hi Chas,’ he said, and was relieved that she didn’t attempt to hug him.

The bald man stood and beamed at Aaron. ‘It’s great to see you,’ he said warmly, and punched Aaron lightly on the arm before giving him an even bigger hug than Chas had.

Aaron gestured towards Robert. ‘Paddy, this is Robert. Robert, I told you about Paddy, my step-Dad?’

‘Nice to meet you,’ Paddy said, and held out a hand for Robert to shake.

‘You too,’ Robert replied, shaking Paddy’s podgy hand politely.

‘Shall I put the kettle on, love?’ Chas offered, heading to the kitchen area. ‘Have a seat, boys. How was the drive?’

‘Fine,’ Aaron replied. ‘Sit down,’ he said to Robert, pointing to an armchair as he sat on the sofa next to Paddy.

They chatted for a few minutes about the route Aaron had taken, and then about what various family members had been up to. Robert zoned out and found himself wondering what he was doing here and how he was going to fit in with these nice, normal people. He needed to take a PEP pill soon and he wondered if he should slip away or try to take it discreetly with his mug of tea that was on the table in front of them.

‘…and how’s your job going, Robert?’ Chas’s loud voice suddenly cut through his thoughts and he almost jumped in surprise.

‘Er… sorry?’ he said, feeling panicked. What was she talking about? What did they know about his job?

Aaron was giving him a meaningful stare. ‘Remember you told my Mum about being a chef when you met at my house?’ he said helpfully.

Robert had forgotten about that. ‘Oh… yeah… it’s fine thanks.’ he said. He couldn’t think of anything else to say so he smiled.

‘Whereabouts do you work?’ Paddy asked jovially, dunking a biscuit into his tea.

‘It’s a new café in the city,’ Robert said, desperately trying to remember what he’d said to Chas and Charity before. ‘I haven’t been there long – could I get a glass of water please?’

Chas smiled kindly. ‘Course you can. Help yourself, love.’

Robert went to the sink and got himself some water, praying that someone would change the subject. Perhaps sensing his discomfort, Aaron did, and started telling Chas and Paddy about Adam’s new girlfriend.

Robert paid little attention as he stood in the kitchen area, taking the pills from his pocket and putting one on his tongue. As he swallowed it down, Paddy appeared next to him.

‘Are you alright?’ he asked. ‘All this chatting giving you a headache is it?’

He looked pointedly at the packet of pills in Robert’s hand, and Robert put them back in his pocket, hoping Paddy wouldn’t see what was written on them.

‘I’ve got a bit of a hangover, that’s all.’ Robert said quickly. This was doing his head in. He wasn’t used to being with people like this who were interested in him and full of questions. He had no idea how to answer them without giving away the truth about his work and his life. Robert felt a wave of anxiety and he needed to escape.

‘Actually, would it be ok if I go and have a lie down for a bit?’ he said. ‘I’m not feeling great…’

Aaron jumped up. ‘I’ll show you where my bedroom is,’ he said.

The two of them left Paddy and Chas looking sympathetic towards Robert, and climbed the stairs. Aaron showed Robert into a small room decorated in greys and blacks.

‘It hasn’t been painted since I moved out,’ Aaron smiled. ‘It’s weird being back here now with you.’

Robert wrapped his arms around Aaron’s waist and pulled him close for a cuddle.

‘Are you ok?’ Aaron said softly. ‘Is my nosy family getting to you.’

Robert nodded into Aaron’s neck. ‘Mmm,’ he said.

He lifted his head and looked at Aaron. ‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘I just needed to get out of that room for a bit.’

Aaron kissed him lightly on the lips. ‘Maybe it was a bad idea to come here with all my family…’ he said.

Robert shook his head. ‘No, it’ll be ok. I just need to develop a better story about my job and my background. I’m just not really up to it today, what with one thing and another…’

Aaron kissed him again, this time longer, the two of them opening their mouths and feeling each other with their tongues.

Then Robert pulled away gently. ‘I do feel pretty crap. Do you mind if I have a lie-down?’

Aaron smiled. ‘Do whatever you need to do,’ he said. He rubbed Robert’s arms. ‘I’d better go back down to Mum and Paddy, but you have a rest.’

___________________________________________

As Aaron closed the door and went back downstairs, he was worried about Robert. It was no surprise that Robert was struggling to cope with all this – what Robert had described as ‘one thing and another’, but was actually being raped by two men and possibly infected with HIV, only a day ago. No wonder he didn’t want to make small talk with Aaron’s Mum and Paddy.

He walked into the living room to see the two of them looking up at him.

‘Is everything all right?’ Chas said.

‘Yeah, Robert’s just a bit under the weather,’ Aaron said. ‘I think he’s got a bit of a cold or something…’

‘Ha, well he told me it was a hangover,’ Paddy laughed.

Aaron tried to smile. ‘Oh, maybe a bit of that as well,’ he said awkwardly.

‘Anyway, he seems nice…’ Paddy said.

‘Good-looking too…’ Chas added.

‘Oh yeah, very good-looking,’ Paddy said enthusiastically.

Aaron frowned at him. ‘Since when do you know what a good-looking man looks like?’ he said scornfully.

Paddy looked affronted. ‘I know! I don’t have to fancy blokes to know what good-looking is, and that Robert is definitely good-looking.’

Aaron laughed. ‘Ok, if you say so Paddy…’

‘So…’ Chas started, ‘Is it serious between you or…’

Aaron rolled his eyes. ‘Or…?’ he sighed. ‘Or is it none of your business?’

He stood up and went to put the kettle on again, hoping he’d made it clear that the discussion about his relationship was closed. But as he pottered around the kitchen, he wondered what the answer was. Were they serious? Could he call Robert his boyfriend? He wasn’t really sure…

Chapter Text

Robert woke up with a start. The first thing he saw was Aaron, still asleep next to him. Robert smiled, remembering where they were and slipped quietly out of bed to use the loo.

When he got back under the duvet, Aaron opened his eyes and smiled back at him.

‘Hey…’ he said, stretching.

‘Hi,’ Robert replied. Then he frowned. ‘Is it morning?’

Aaron looked at a small clock next to the bed. ‘Yep. Nearly seven…’

‘Bloody hell,’ Robert said, ‘I must’ve slept for… fourteen hours?’

Aaron grinned. ‘Yeah, you were fast asleep when I came up. Reckon you needed a good rest.’

Robert smiled back, but he was shocked. He didn’t think he’d ever slept for that long before, but he did feel better for it. He moved his face towards Aaron.

‘Good morning then…’ he said kissing Aaron softly.

‘Mmm,’ Aaron moaned with pleasure as the kiss went on, Aaron running his hand up and down Robert’s arm.

Robert put his hand on the back of Aaron’s neck and pulled him even closer, kissing more intensely now, and Aaron’s hand began to travel south… he stroked Robert’s thigh and Robert felt his dick twitch excitedly as Aaron’s hand moved towards it…

Suddenly Robert felt a wave of nausea. He broke off from the kiss mumbling, ‘…sorry…’ and ran to the bathroom where he threw up.

He wiped his mouth. God, this was embarrassing. After everything Aaron had done for him, now Robert was puking up in his mother’s bathroom. He felt stupid and pathetic.

He went back into the bedroom, where Aaron was sitting up in bed, looking concerned.

‘Sorry,’ Robert said miserably, sitting on the side of the bed. ‘I suppose that’s the side effects of the medicine.’

‘As long as it wasn’t a side effect of kissing me…’ Aaron said lightly.

Robert couldn’t quite bring himself to smile.

Aaron rubbed his back gently. ‘Are you ok?’ he asked. ‘Do you feel ill?’

Robert sighed and ran his hands through his hair. ‘I’m fine,’ he said, ‘I just feel… God, I don’t know, I wish we could just be like a normal couple and not have all this shit to deal with all the time. Sorry, I’m being pathetic, I know…’

‘No,’ Aaron interrupted firmly. ‘You’re not pathetic Robert. You’ve had a terrible few days, give yourself a break. We knew the pills might make you sick, it’s no big deal. OK?’

Robert bit his lip. For the millionth time he wondered how he’d got so lucky to find this generous, caring man. He looked up at Aaron’s warm, blue eyes.

‘OK.’
_______________________________________

Aaron went downstairs to get some breakfast and after a quick shower, Robert joined him in the kitchen. Aaron was sitting at the table with Chas, eating toast as usual. He turned as he heard Robert come in.

‘Alright? Want something to eat, or a cuppa?’ Aaron asked.

‘Just a cup of tea would be great thanks,’ Robert smiled.

‘Come and sit down, love,’ Chas said. ‘Are you sure you don’t want something to eat? We’ve got cereal or I could probably do a bacon sandwich if you like?’

Robert felt his stomach churn. ‘I’m alright thanks,’ he said quickly.

Chas looked at him sympathetically. ‘Aaron said you were feeling a bit under the weather…’ she started.

Robert glared at Aaron. The last thing he wanted was everyone knowing his business, and he certainly didn’t need any questions about why he was ill.

‘I just don’t fancy breakfast, that’s all,’ he said, trying not to sound annoyed. ‘I’ll grab something later.’

Chas kept her gaze on him. ‘You know, you look like you could do with a bit of feeding up,’ she said kindly. ‘Just let me know, and I’ll cook you something.’

Robert forced himself to smile politely. He wasn’t used to all these people poking their noses in all the time. Just as he thought Chas was going to say something else, to his relief someone new came into the room.

‘Alright Aaron?’ A taciturn man with very dark hair patted Aaron on the shoulder, an unsmiling expression on his face.

Aaron turned to face him. ‘Hi Cain,’ he said, standing up. The two shared a manly hug, then Aaron turned to Robert.

‘Cain, this is Robert… Robert, I told you about my uncle, Cain…?’

The tough-looking man stretched his hand out to Robert, and as they shook hands, Robert got the impression he would have to work hard to win this man over.

Aaron brought Robert a mug of tea, and the four of them sat at the kitchen table. Cain and Aaron talked about Cain’s garage business while Chas commented, and Robert let his mind wander again.

He felt a flutter of fear as his thoughts turned to Madsen. Would he have noticed Robert’s disappearance yet? What would he do when he realised Robert had gone? Robert’s phone was still switched off in the bottom of a bag and he had no intention of looking at it. He tried to shut all thoughts of Madsen out of his mind and make the most of being here with Aaron. If only he could get away from Aaron’s enormous family…

‘So what is it you do?’

Robert realised Cain was talking to him. God, not this question again. Why was everyone in this place obsessed with his work?

‘I’m a chef,’ Robert was finding the lie sounded more believable the more he said it.

Cain looked unimpressed. ‘Funny job for a bloke, isn’t it?’

Aaron screwed his face up in confusion in such an exaggerated way, Robert wanted to laugh.

‘What, like Marlon, you mean?’ Aaron said.

‘Exactly,’ Cain muttered. ‘Well I’ll see you around.’ He stood up and left.

‘Ignore him, love, he’s a grumpy old git in the mornings,’ Chas said to Robert, patting him gently on the shoulder. Robert looked up at her in surprise. For the first time, he felt a rush of affection for Aaron’s Mum, and he smiled back.

‘Right. Shall we go for a walk or something? I can show you round the village – it won’t take long,’ Aaron grinned.

‘Sounds good,’ Robert smiled back. Finally some time on their own together, he thought. He was looking forward to a break from the constant questions.

______________________________________

‘So what do you do, Robert?’

They were sitting in Bob’s café and Brenda had just brought over their coffees. Aaron had taken Robert on a tour of Emmerdale, and they’d walked down to Butler’s farm, meeting Moira for a quick chat, then they’d walked along the path up to village green and the cricket pavilion, where Aaron had shared some memories with Robert.

After that they walked back into the village, stopping in David’s shop for some chewing gum, then ending up here in the caff for a coffee. Now Brenda was politely, if nosily, asking Robert several questions about himself, and Aaron could see Robert’s defences going up again.

‘He’s a chef,’ Aaron said quickly. ‘Thanks Brenda,’ he added pointedly, and turned away from her, towards Robert. She seemed to take the hint and went back to the counter.

‘What’s up?’ Aaron said to Robert. He couldn’t understand what Robert was being so moody about, people were just being friendly, but he could see Robert getting wound up every time someone asked him a question.

‘Nothing,’ Robert muttered, stirring his americano.

‘Come on,’ Aaron persisted. ‘You don’t seem very happy to meet people here…’

Robert sighed heavily. ‘It’s just… everyone’s so nosy. I’m not used to all these people constantly asking about me and my life, and I can’t be honest, can I?’ he looked around to check no-one was nearby before continuing.

‘Everyone keeps asking about my job and I have to keep lying. It’s stressful, and I don’t understand why they’re so interested…’

Aaron frowned. ‘They’re just being friendly, Robert.’

‘I know, but it’s doing my head in.’

‘My Mum and Paddy and the rest of my family, they care about me so they want to know about you…’ Aaron said. ‘I know they seem interfering, but they mean well.’

‘It’s not just your family though, is it Aaron?’ Robert was getting worked up now. ‘It’s the whole village. We went to the farm and there was, what’s her name, Cain’s wife…’

‘Moira’

‘Yeah, then we went in the shop and the bloke in there was asking all about us…’

‘David…’

‘Yeah, and we bumped into that bloke in the street, Pete was it? And the woman outside the vet’s…’

‘Rhona’

‘…not to mention Charity and her girlfriend outside the Woolpack. Everyone here knows you and wants to know all about you. I’m not used to it, the only people I usually hang out with are Connor, and occasionally Beth. I haven’t had any family since I was 18 and I live a pretty isolated life in the city, so this is all a bit… overwhelming.’

He sighed again and sat back in his chair.

Aaron chewed his lip. It hadn’t really occurred to him how different village life was from their lives in the city. His family got on his nerves all the time with their interfering, but it was normal for him by now.

‘Ok,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t realise…’

‘No…’ Robert groaned. ‘Don’t apologise Aaron, it’s not your fault. It just takes a bit of getting used to.’

He reached over and put a hand on Aaron’s knee.

‘Sorry if I’ve been grumpy.’

Aaron smiled and put his hand on Robert’s. ‘You haven’t,’ he lied, happily. ‘Look, why don’t we go somewhere this afternoon, just the two of us. We could go for a drive out of town or something, get away from everyone.’

Robert smiled back. ‘That sounds perfect,’ he said.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Robert woke up feeling better. The feelings of nausea that he’d suffered the previous day had more or less gone. That was the good news, but the bad news was that Aaron wasn’t in bed with him. As Robert got up, and went downstairs he could hear Aaron talking.

‘But you’re sure nothing’s gone?... So they didn’t take anything.... And you’re ok?....’

Aaron was speaking into his phone. He turned and saw Robert and nodded hello, but his frown gave away the fact that he was stressed.

Robert waited until Aaron had finished his conversation. Finally, Aaron put the phone down and sighed.

‘That was Adam. He wasn’t at home last night, but he’s just got back early this morning and found a broken window. It looks like someone was in the house…’

‘Oh God,’ Robert exclaimed. ‘Were you burgled then?’

‘Well, apparently not,’ Aaron said, looking confused. ‘Adam reckons nothing was taken. But the window was smashed and there was loads of papers and mess on the floor, as if someone had been looking through our stuff… weird eh?’

At these words Robert’s blood ran cold. He was suddenly certain that this was the work of Madsen and his goons. Perhaps they had found out where Aaron lived and come looking for Robert, it certainly sounded like them…

‘Yeah, weird…’ he said unconvincingly. ‘Er… has Adam told the police then?’

‘He’s just going to call them now,’ Aaron said. ‘I don’t think there’s much they can do though, seeing as nothing was stolen, it’s hardly going to be a priority.’

He smiled at Robert and stepped closer to him, putting a hand on Robert’s waist. ‘Sorry if I woke you up. Adam wanted to call and let me know straight away.’

‘Yeah, no worries,’ Robert said, smiling back and leaning in to Aaron for a hug. He tried to hide the fear he felt now, knowing that Madsen was probably looking for him. Surely it was only a matter of time before he was found…

‘So are we going out today then?’ Aaron said. ‘We could make a picnic to take with us and drive out into the country, yeah?’

He looked so happy, there was no way Robert could bring down the mood by telling Aaron about Madsen now. He didn’t want Aaron worrying.

Instead Robert chuckled. ‘I didn’t have you down as the picnic sort,’ he grinned. ‘Not very butch – aren’t you more of a meat and two veg kind of guy?’

Aaron rolled his eyes. ‘Ok, ok, I just meant we could get some sausage rolls and crisps and stuff, I wasn’t suggesting cucumber sandwiches or fancy cakes…’

________________

Two hours later they were walking along a footpath in the Yorkshire hills. The sun was shining, there was a cool breeze and the views were stunning. Aaron couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so content. He reached for Robert’s hand, smiling at him. They walked hand-in-hand in silence for a while.

‘It’s beautiful,’ Robert said softly. ‘You’re lucky to have grown up near here.’

‘Yeah,’ Aaron agreed. ‘I know.’

They wandered across the dales for a couple of hours, holding hands, arm in arm, chatting, in silence… It was so peaceful and seemed to Aaron to be a million miles from their lives in the city.

He was starting to feel hungry though, so he suggested stopping to eat. They sat on the grass and took out the food and bottles of water they’d brought and tucked in.

‘Did you come up here much when you were a kid?’ Robert asked.

Aaron shook his head. ‘Not really,’ he said. ‘When my Mum left, my Dad wasn’t really into trips to the countryside. We tended to stay home most of the time.’

Robert polished off the last sausage roll. ‘You said you didn’t get on with him…’

Aaron stopped him. ‘Not exactly…’ he sighed. ‘Some of the time we got on great. I idolised him actually, but…’ He stopped, unsure what to tell Robert.

‘What?’ Robert asked.

Aaron thought for a moment. Part of him didn’t want to spoil this beautiful day by talking about his Dad, but Robert had been so open and honest with him. He wanted Robert to know all about his past too.

‘I need to tell you something,’ he said.

Robert put down his water bottle and looked serious. ‘Go on…’ he said.

‘Ok,’ Aaron took a deep breath. ‘My Dad looked after me on his own after my Mum left. It was hard for him, he had to juggle his work and me, and I was a real handful. I missed Mum, and I acted up, always getting in trouble at school…. Dad used to get really angry with me, and I was out of control, he didn’t know how to handle me….’

He paused, realising that he was making excuses for his Dad.

‘I’m just saying how it was, but it’s no excuse for what he did… he raped me…’

Aaron faltered before he could go on. He didn’t have to speak about this very often – since exposing the truth to his Mum, then again in court, he hadn’t had to tell anyone about what happened.

He glanced at Robert, who was looking horrified.

‘I’m so sorry…’ he whispered.

‘Anyway,’ Aaron went on quickly, trying to get control of his emotions. ‘It started when I was eight, and happened a few more times until I left home. It was usually when I got into trouble or did something really bad… it was his idea of discipline I suppose…’

He paused again and Robert spoke.

‘Did your Mum know? Did you tell her?’ he asked.

‘She had no idea at the time,’ Aaron said. ‘I told her a few years ago, and then I told the police and we got him convicted of child abuse. He went to prison… he died in there.’

Robert shook his head. ‘That’s horrible… but it’s amazing that you were able to tell your family and get him convicted.’

‘I dunno,’ Aaron said uncertainly. ‘It took a lot of convincing for me to do that. Anyway, when he died, he left me a load of money. I refused to take it at first, I didn’t want his dirty money… but eventually my Mum made me see sense and said I deserved something good to come out of it all. So I took the money and bought my house.’

Robert nodded. ‘Your Mum was right,’ he said. ‘You do deserve it.’

He reached over and put his hand on Aaron’s hand, squeezing it lightly. ‘I’m glad you told me,’ he said. ‘And I think you’re incredible…’

Aaron smiled. He felt a weight off his mind that he’d told Robert this unpleasant truth. He leaned over and they started kissing, gently at first, then more passionately. Aaron put his hand on the back of Robert’s head, gripping his hair as he pulled him close, and Robert’s hand moved from the top of Aaron’s back down towards his jeans, then round to his crotch…

Aaron gasped as Robert’s hand fondled his growing cock… ‘We’re in the middle of the Dales!’ he breathed, a little shocked at how public they were being.

‘So?’ Robert mumbled, grabbing Aaron’s belt and undoing it, ‘…there’s no-one around… come on…’

Aaron gasped again as Robert ran his tongue hotly down Aaron’s neck. At the same time, Robert unzipped Aaron’s jeans and pushed his hand into Aaron’s pants, fumbling for his dick. Aaron moaned with pleasure as Robert’s hand took hold of him roughly and started pumping up and down.

‘Fuck’s sake, Robert…’ he groaned helplessly, then suddenly he gripped Robert’s shoulders, pushed him down on his back onto the grass and yanked his zip undone.

They lay on top of each other, tossing each other off as their lips met in a hot mess of kissing, moaning and laughing. It was fast and furious and undignified, but Aaron was so turned on. He came quickly, ejaculating over Robert’s hand.

Aaron quickly changed his position, moved down and wrapped his lips around Robert’s stiff cock. Robert moaned loudly as Aaron sucked aggressively until Robert came, Aaron swallowing him eagerly.

‘Woaaah…’ Aaron exhaled, rolling onto the grass next to Robert.

‘Fuck…’ Robert said. He looked at Aaron. ‘That was hot,’ he said.

Aaron grinned and kissed Robert, softly this time, on his swollen pink lips. ‘Exhibitionist…’ he smirked.

‘You love it…’ Robert replied, kissing Aaron back.

Chapter Text

‘Do you fancy going to the cinema tonight then?’ Aaron asked Robert.

They had spent the last couple of days just hanging around Emmerdale and the surrounding countryside. It had been incredibly relaxing and Aaron was glad to see Robert become more and more comfortable in this environment. He knew that Robert had struggled at first with the village mentality of everyone knowing everyone’s business, but that had calmed down now, and people had moved on to other gossip as they tended to do.

Aaron had noticed that Robert was laughing and smiling more than usual, and he seemed a lot less stressed than when they were in the city. Aaron wondered what was going to happen next. He knew they couldn’t hide away here forever, but Robert hadn’t mentioned anything about going back, and Aaron didn’t want to bring it up. They were having such a great time, and he didn’t want to spoil it by asking how long a break Madsen had let Robert take…

‘Yeah, sure. What’s on?’ Robert replied.

‘Dunno,’ Aaron said, ‘Let me have a look at Hotten cinema…’

He typed something into his phone and was waiting for the website to load when the door to the backroom of the pub burst open. Cain marched into the room and before Robert or Aaron could do anything, he’d grabbed the front of Robert’s jacket, picked him up and shoved him against the wall. The back of Robert’s head bounced off the hard surface.

‘Cain! What the hell…?’ Aaron shouted angrily, jumping to his feet.

‘What have you done with it?’ Cain shouted, his face up close to Robert’s. ‘Where’s me Dad’s money?’

Robert looked blankly at Cain for a moment. The he seemed to snap out of his shock. He gripped Cain’s wrists and freed himself from the older man’s grasp.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Robert yelled. ‘What money? What the fuck are you talking about?’

Cain was breathing heavily and looked furious. He turned to Aaron.

‘You were at the cottage yesterday and Dad told you about that cash he’d won, remember?’

Aaron did remember. He and Robert had spent a couple of hours at Wishing Well cottage having a cup of tea and a chat with Zak and Lisa. Zak was in a very jolly mood as he’d won over five hundred pounds on the horses, which he took great pleasure in telling them about.

‘So?’ Aaron said, still confused.

‘Well it’s gone,’ Cain said. ‘Dad went to get the money out of the biscuit tin this morning and it’s been nicked. He said the only people who knew it was there were him, Lisa and you two. So unless you’ve got something to confess, Aaron, then I’m guessing it was loverboy here…’

He turned and stared at Robert, who glared back.

‘What, that’s it?’ Robert jeered. ‘That’s all you’ve got? And you think I took it?’ He scoffed. ‘I don’t know anything about his stupid money...’

Aaron stood in front of Cain and faced up to him.

‘Get out, Cain,’ he said coldly. ‘We don’t know anything about Zak’s money, and when you figure that out, you’d better come back here and apologise…’

Cain eyeballed Aaron for a few moments, then turned and pointed a finger in Robert’s direction.

‘There’s something dodgy about him, I can tell. He’s lying about something,’ he said angrily.

Then he stormed out of the pub, slamming the door behind him.

Aaron turned back to Robert and laid his hands comfortingly on Robert’s chest.

‘Are you ok?’ he said. ‘I’m sorry, that’s typical Cain, hit out first, think later…’

‘Yeah… I’m OK,’ Robert said, still sounding angry. ‘Your uncle’s an idiot though.’

‘I know,’ Aaron said quietly.

He stood looking at Robert. How dare Cain come round here making accusations, he thought. Cain didn’t know anything about Robert, and had no reason to be suspicious. While Aaron, on the other hand, knew that Robert had a history of criminal behaviour. Including being in prison for theft. He scratched his eyebrow thoughtfully….

‘Zak didn’t even tell us where he kept his money, did he?’ he said. ‘How would you have even known where to find it?’

Robert looked up at Aaron. ‘Well, I saw him put it in the tin actually,’ he said.

‘Oh,’ Aaron said surprised. ‘So you did know where it was?’

Robert frowned. ‘What are you saying?’

‘Nothing,’ Aaron didn’t really know what he was saying. ‘I just didn’t realise you were paying attention to where Zak kept his money…’

Robert was starting to look angry now. ‘What?’

He glared at Aaron. ‘You think I took it don’t you? Jesus, Aaron, of all the people… You’re the one person…. the only person I really trust, and I thought you trusted me too…’

‘Of course I trust you, I just also know you’ve been to prison for stealing money, which Cain doesn’t know by the way…’

‘That was a completely different situation,’ Robert said, clearly upset. ‘I thought you believed in me.’

Aaron couldn’t quite believe this was happening. Of course he didn’t really think Robert would steal from his family, but somehow this conversation had spiralled out of control.

Robert pushed him away. ‘You think I’m a thief,’ He spat. ‘You think I would come here, meet your family and drink tea with them, then just steal their money, you think I’d lie to you and go behind your back…’

‘No!’ Aaron yelled. He was horrified to see tears in Robert’s eyes as Robert became more and more angry and distressed.

‘I thought we had something special, Aaron,’ Robert said. ‘I came here to be with you and I would have done anything for you, but you just think I’m a worthless thief… How could you think like that?’

‘Robert don’t go,’ he shouted, ‘I’m sorry…’

But Robert didn’t say another word as he walked out, slamming the door behind him.

_________________

A couple of hours later, Aaron sat in the bar staring at his phone. He was willing it to show him a message from Robert, but he hadn’t heard anything since their argument. Why had Aaron been such an idiot?

He’d left a couple of messages for Robert, but he wasn’t even sure Robert had had his phone with him. Now he thought about it, he hadn’t seen Robert use his phone at all since they arrived in Emmerdale…

This thought was interrupted by a shadow falling over his table. He looked up to see Cain standing in front of him.

‘Can I sit down?’ Cain asked uncertainly.

‘No,’ Aaron said. Cain pulled a chair out and sat there anyway.

Aaron rolled his eyes. ‘Let me guess,’ he said. ‘You worked out that Robert didn’t take the money…’

Cain shuffled about a bit in his seat. ‘Er… Lisa had taken it to the bank,’ he said gruffly. ‘She says she told Zak but he swears she didn’t… probably wasn’t paying attention…’

Aaron rubbed his face wearily with his hands. ‘What a surprise,’ he said with heavy sarcasm.

Cain sniffed. ‘There’s something dodgy going on with your boyfriend though… I just don’t trust him…. Where is he anyway?’

Aaron glared at him. ‘I’ve got no idea. He disappeared when he thought I didn’t trust him.’

‘So… you weren’t sure yourself?’ Cain asked. ‘You’re a hypocrite...’

‘Yeah, I know,’ Aaron interrupted angrily. ‘I messed up and now he’s gone and I can’t get hold of him and it’s your bloody fault…’

He paused as Zak came hurrying up to them.

‘Cain…’ he said, catching his breath, ‘It’s our Belle… she’s gone missing and I need to you help me find her…’

Chapter Text

It didn’t take long for the Dingles to get mobilised. After Zak came into the pub and announced that Belle hadn’t come back after going out a few hours earlier, they made a quick plan. It was decided that Aaron and Cain would go out looking while Chas went home with Zak and Lisa to call the police. Charity would man the pub.

Aaron got in Cain’s car and they drove off slowly, keeping their eyes peeled as best as they could. They didn’t speak much as Cain was his usual stoic self and Aaron still had his mind on Robert.

It was now over two and a half hours since Robert had stormed out and Aaron had no idea where he could have gone. Robert didn’t have a car, but maybe he could have got a bus back to the city… He hadn’t taken his stuff though, his bag of clothes and things was still at the Woolpack. Would he really have run out on Aaron? Or was he sulking somewhere, still angry? Maybe he’d got lost in the country lanes…

Aaron couldn’t stop running these thoughts around his brain, even as he tried to concentrate on looking for Belle.

________________

Robert was feeling fed up as he trudged along a path through some woods. He’d been walking for a couple of hours now, having stormed out of the pub and started stomping off in any direction. He hadn’t really paid any attention to where he was going, he just needed to burn off his anger and get away from Emmerdale and all those bloody Dingles…

Now he was physically tired as well as emotionally drained. Robert looked up and saw the sky was full of grey cloud, and it looked as though it was about to pour with rain. He looked around and saw only trees – every direction looked the same and he had no idea how to get back the village.

He sat down on the ground. Now that his initial anger had dissipated, he had a bit more understanding of Aaron’s point of view. Robert had been outraged when Aaron seemed to imply that he had taken the money, but now he could see why Aaron had felt the need to confirm that he hadn’t. After all, they really hadn’t known each other that long, and Aaron knew Robert had stolen from his boyfriend before, even though the circumstances were different. Aaron also knew that Robert was always skint, and that he had a flexible approach to obeying the law….

With time to calm down, Robert didn’t feel angry with Aaron. He hadn’t actually accused him of stealing, he’d just been uncertain, and Robert couldn’t blame him for that.

As he felt the first drops of rain begin to fall, he stood up and tried to get his bearings. He thought he could hear an animal or bird calling in the distance, but when he was still he realised it was a voice, calling for help.

Robert looked around him. ‘Is someone there?’ he shouted.

‘Help… down here…’ came the high pitched voice.

Robert walked towards the voice until he came to a steep hill. Looking down the slope, he saw a figure at the bottom of it. He recognised the face, it was one of Aaron’s relatives.

‘Are you ok?’ he called.

‘No,’ she cried. ‘I fell down and twisted my ankle and I can’t get up…’ the girl paused. ‘Aren’t you Aaron’s boyfriend?’ she asked, surprised.

‘Yeah,’ Robert smiled at being described like this. ‘It’s Belle, isn’t it?’

The girl nodded.

‘Hang on, I’m coming down…’ Robert said, and started clambering down the slope.

When he got to the bottom, Belle stared at him ‘What are you doing here?’ she said.

Robert looked at her ankle and started to think about how to get them out of here as he answered. ‘I was just out for a walk. Haven’t you got your phone?’

Belle frowned. ‘Who goes out for a walk in this weather? Yes, of course I’ve got my phone, but there’s no reception down here.’

Robert couldn’t be bothered to explain what had happened with Cain. ‘Right, I’m going to help you up and we’ll try and get somewhere where we can use your phone and call someone to pick you up, ok?’

Belle nodded, and Robert helped her up. She put an arm round his shoulder, and together they started to move.

‘Let’s go that way,’ Robert said, pointing to a less steep, steady slope. ‘Ok?’

Belle grimaced with pain as she tried to put weight on her ankle, but nodded determinedly. They hobbled together across the woods, Robert supporting her weight. After a while they came to a clearing. The rain was falling now.

‘Right, check your phone here.’ Robert said.

Belle took her phone out and looked at the screen. ‘Still no coverage,’ she moaned. ‘Haven’t you got a phone? My battery’s running low as well now…’

‘No,’ Robert said shortly. His phone was still in his bag at the Woolpack, switched off. ‘Come on then, let’s go a bit further.’

They struggled on, eventually getting towards the edge of the forest. Belle looked at her phone again.

‘Yes!’ she said. She looked at the map online and showed Robert. ‘Look, we’re not far from the road. If we can get there, I can call Cain or someone to meet us…?’

‘Great,’ Robert said, relieved. The rain was getting heavier, and by the time they found the roadside, they were both starting to get very wet.

Belle took out her phone again and called Cain. She gave him the name of the road and told him to hurry up as she was cold and wet.

‘…yeah I hurt my ankle… I couldn’t walk… Robert found me… you know, Aaron’s boyfriend, he helped me out of the woods… yes Robert…’

She sighed with frustration at her phone as Cain seemed confused.

Robert wondered whether he should make himself scarce when Cain turned up. He couldn’t be bothered with another fight. He supposed he should make his way back to Emmerdale and try and speak to Aaron.

When Belle got off the phone, Robert took his jacket off and put it round her shoulders.

‘Thanks,’ she said, shivering.

They didn’t have to wait long until a black car pulled up next to them. Robert was surprised to see Aaron in the passenger seat. Robert put his arm round Belle’s waist and helped her to the back of the car. As he got close to Cain, he braced himself for another confrontation.

Cain and Aaron helped Belle into the passenger seat. Then Cain turned to Robert.

‘I owe you an apology,’ he said. ‘I know you didn’t take the money.’

Robert stared at him in disbelief. ‘Oh,’ he said. ‘Ok.’

Aaron was standing next to Robert now. ‘Robert,’ he said. ‘I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you about the money…’

Robert put a hand on Aaron’s arm to stop him. ‘It’s ok,’ he said. ‘I don’t blame you. I would have done the same thing.’

Aaron smiled at him in relief.

‘Well I shouldn’t have questioned you,’ he said. ‘I do trust you and I believe you so I’m sorry. God, you’re soaking wet Robert. Get in the car.’

Aaron and Robert got in the back seat. Cain turned around and looked at Robert.

‘Sorry about shoving you against the wall,’ he said gruffly. He turned to face forward and started the engine. ‘Right, no funny business in the back lads.’

Aaron rolled his eyes and looked at Robert, who grinned back. He reached a hand out and Aaron took it, and they held hands all the way back to Emmerdale.

Chapter Text

Cain drove them all to Wishing Well cottage where Zak and Lisa were waiting for Belle. Aaron and Robert went in to check that she was ok, as Lisa looked at her ankle and decided she didn’t need to go to hospital. They fussed around for a while until Belle asked them to stop, insisting she’d be fine.

‘Right, shall we head off then?’ Aaron looked at Robert, who was still soaking wet from the rain. ‘You need to get out of those clothes.’

Robert winked at Aaron at these words and Aaron tried to suppress a chuckle.

‘Thank you Robert, thank you so much for looking after her,’ Lisa clucked.

‘Oh, it’s nothing...’ Robert protested, looking embarrassed.

‘No, you helped her out of the woods and you gave her your coat, we really are so grateful…’ Lisa went on.

Belle looked round at Robert. ‘Yeah, thanks,’ she said.

‘No problem,’ Robert said.

‘And thank you Aaron for going out with Cain and looking,’ Lisa said.

‘No problem,’ Aaron said. ‘Come on Robert, let’s go. Hope your ankle feels better soon, Belle.’

They left and walked back to the Woolpack. When they went in to the back room, Chas was sitting watching TV.

‘Oh, you’re back,’ she smiled. ‘Flippin heck Robert, you’re soaked! Go and have a hot shower or something. Give me those clothes and I’ll wash them for you…’

‘Er, ok. Thanks,’ Robert said. He looked a bit bemused by the way everyone was speaking to him kindly. Aaron supposed it was odd for Robert to be treated like a hero now by the Dingles. No doubt they would all be extra nice to him now he’d found Belle. Aaron reckoned Robert would prefer that to being suspected of theft, at least.

Robert turned to go upstairs and Aaron followed him.

‘I’ll help you get your clothes off,’ he said, grinning lasciviously at Robert.

‘No you don’t,’ Chas called him back. ‘I want a word, Aaron’.

Aaron looked disappointed as he watched Robert go upstairs without him.

‘What’s up?’ he said to his Mum.

‘Make us a brew will you?’ asked Chas.

Aaron did as he was told and made them a mug of tea each, then sat on the sofa opposite his Mum.

‘Well?’ he asked, expectantly. His Mum was looking serious and Aaron wondered whether he was about to get a telling off.

‘I was back behind the bar just now, I came back after Cain called Zak to say you’d found Belle, and about half an hour ago, a group of men came in,’ Chas said. ‘They came up to the bar and one of them asked me if I knew a Robert Sugden….’

Aaron stared at his Mum. He didn’t know what to think. This wasn’t likely to be friends of Robert, seeing as he didn’t have any apart from Connor, so Aaron could only guess that Madsen was looking for Robert.

‘What did you tell them?’ he said nervously.

‘I said I’d never heard of him,’ Chas replied. ‘I was only going on instinct, but I thought they looked a bit dodgy. Two of them looked like thugs, all thick necks and muscle, and the one who spoke, well he was quite charming and polite, but there was something about him… I didn’t like him.’

Aaron silently thanked God for his Mum’s good instincts.

‘So… was he a short, well-dressed guy with grey hair and a neat little beard?’

Chas nodded. ‘You know who they were then,’ she said. ‘Should I be worried? What’s Robert mixed up with, son?’

Aaron bit his lip. He didn’t want to tell his Mum the truth, but he knew she wouldn’t drop it. She was like a dog with a bone when she wanted to know something.

‘It’s not really any of our business…’ he tried, but Chas cut him off straight away.

‘Oh no, Aaron,’ she said. ‘When these nasty-looking thugs are in my pub asking me questions, I have every right to know what’s going on.’

Aaron hesitated. He couldn’t just break Robert’s trust like this.

‘It’s ok, Aaron, you can tell her,’ came a voice from the doorway.

Robert came in, his face pink and his hair wet from the shower, wearing clean, dry clothes.

Aaron stood and walked over to him. He put a hand on Robert’s waist.

‘Robert, are you sure?’ he whispered. He had no idea how his Mum would react to knowing the truth about what Robert did.

Robert nodded and Aaron looked at his Mum, who was getting increasingly impatient.

‘Ok, Mum,’ he started. ‘The thing is…. Robert doesn’t actually work in a café like we said…’

The door opened and Cain came in. He stopped, realising that they were in the middle of something.

‘Am I interrupting?’ he asked.

Aaron sighed. ‘You might as well stay,’ he said. ‘Mum will tell you soon enough anyway…’

‘Tell him what?’ Chas said impatiently.

Robert shifted from one foot to the other and spoke. ‘That guy who came here asking about me… I work for him,’ he said.

Chas narrowed her eyes. ‘Right,’ she said. ‘Well he was obviously some kind of criminal, so what are you saying? You’re not a drug dealer are you?’

Robert shook his head.

‘...or a hit man?’

Aaron scoffed. ‘No Mum, Robert’s not a hit man. I think you’ve been watching too much TV…’

Chas glared at him. ‘What then?’ she snapped.

Aaron glanced at Robert. ‘He’s… he’s an escort…’ he said at last.

There was a heavy pause, then Chas said, ‘You mean he goes out with rich men for money?’

Robert replied, ‘Yes, sometimes… but usually I sleep with men… or women, for money. And they’re not that rich…’

Chas looked horrified. ‘So you’re telling me you’re a prostitute? You sell your body?’

‘Like Charity used to, you mean?’ Cain said quietly.

Aaron and Robert both looked at him in surprise. Robert knew that Charity had had some bad experiences when she was younger, as Aaron had mentioned it, but he hadn’t expected Cain to bring it up. It almost seemed as though Cain was coming to his defence.

Chas turned on Cain. ‘That was completely different,’ she said furiously. ‘She didn’t have a choice….’

‘And you think I did?’ Robert shouted, suddenly angry. ‘You think I choose to have sex for money? To be controlled by that nasty little man who tells me exactly who I have to sleep with and what I have to do for them? To live in a horrible flat that he owns so there’s nowhere I can go, and to let him take most of the money from clients so he can make sure I never save anything and I can only just barely afford to live? Do you think anyone would choose that?’

There was a pause and no-one seemed to know where to look.

Then Robert spoke more calmly.

‘I was desperate, Chas,’ he said. ‘I had no money, nowhere to live, no job, no family, no friends… He offered me a way to survive, and for some unknown reason, I wanted to survive, despite everything.’

He looked at Aaron. ‘And I’m glad I did because now I’ve got something to live for…’

Aaron felt a sudden lump in his throat and swallowed hard. He gave Robert a small smile at Robert then turned to his Mum.

‘Robert’s a good person, Mum,’ he said. ‘Please don’t judge him… he didn’t have a choice…’

Chas looked at Cain, who shrugged, then she sighed and looked at Robert.

‘So what’s this man doing here looking for you then?’ she asked him.

Robert took a deep breath. ‘Aaron, there’s something I haven’t told you,’ he said. ‘The thing is… I never told Madsen I was coming here. I didn’t call him, I didn’t tell him anything, I just left.’

‘What?’ Aaron was shocked. ‘Why not?’

‘Because I knew he’d never let me go!’ Robert said desperately. ‘He would have said no, and then he would have punished me for asking, and I had to get away, I just had to…’

‘But Connor said…’

‘Connor was wrong! Madsen gives him more freedom because he does what he’s told all the time, and he’s more obedient than me. I’m difficult, I don’t always do what Madsen says and so he treats me differently… He never would have let me have a holiday… Aaron I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I didn’t want to spoil it…’

Aaron sighed. ‘You should have been honest with me,’ he said.

‘I know,’ Robert said. ‘But we were having such a good time, I just tried to shut out all thoughts of life in the city. This has been the best week of my whole life, here with you… I didn’t want to ruin it…’

Aaron crumbled at these words. ‘Oh Robert,’ he said, and threw his arms around him. They clutched each other tightly for a few moments until Cain cleared his throat noisily.

Robert let go of Aaron and they looked at Cain.

‘So what now?’ Cain said.

Chapter Text

Aaron came into the bedroom and closed the door behind him. He looked at the bed, where Robert was lying, already half undressed in t-shirt and pants. Aaron let his eyes run over Robert’s soft, tousled hair, all fluffy after his shower. He looked at his sharp, handsome profile, his luscious pick lips, and his strong, huge hand now splayed across his own chest… Aaron could almost feel those sensitive, long fingers caressing his body and gripping his arms and legs…

Robert turned his head and noticed Aaron looking at him. He grinned lazily.

‘What are you looking at?’ he said.

Aaron kept staring. ‘I really fancy you’ he said, hotly.

Robert’s grin grew bigger and he propped himself up on one arm.

‘Oh yeah?’ he replied. ‘And what are you going to do about that?’

Aaron grinned back. ‘Cocky bastard,’ he said, and he fell on top of Robert, kissing him hard on the lips. Robert grabbed Aaron’s arse and squeezed it firmly as he opened his mouth to let Aaron’s tongue in and the kiss became faster and more urgent.

Aaron slipped a hand under the bottom of Robert’s t-shirt and pulled it up so he could rub his fingertips over Robert’s hard nipples. Robert moaned with pleasure into Aaron’s mouth and Aaron brought his hand down to Robert’s pants and started to pull them down.

Suddenly Robert grabbed Aaron’s fist.

‘Hang on,’ he said breathlessly, ‘I don’t know if… I mean I don’t want to stop… I definitely want to, I just…’

Aaron pulled his hand gently out of Robert’s grip and ran his fingers through Robert’s hair tenderly.

‘It’s ok,’ he said. He was keenly aware that they hadn’t had penetrative sex since Robert was assaulted, and he was prepared for Robert to need more time.

‘Let’s slow down a bit, and if you’re at all uncomfortable or you don’t want to do something, just tell me, ok?’ he said softly.

‘Ok,’ Robert mumbled, unconvincingly.

Aaron didn’t believe him. ‘I mean it, Robert,’ he said more sternly. ‘Promise me you’ll stop me if you feel uncomfortable…’

‘Alright…’

‘Promise me!’

‘I promise,’ Robert grinned. ‘Now get back to kissing me…’

‘Yes sir…’ Aaron kissed Robert more gently now and stroked his hand along Robert’s torso, then moved it gently on top of his boxer shorts and over his crotch. Robert’s cock was already hard, and Aaron grasped it through the material and tugged on it slowly.

‘Can I take them off?’ he breathed.

Robert nodded, and Aaron slowly and carefully pulled the boxers down. He stroked Robert’s naked cock gently as they carried on kissing. Then Aaron moved his mouth down to kiss Robert’s neck, his chest, his stomach… he looked at Robert to check he was ok, then closed his lips around the end of Robert’s cock.

Robert let out a hum of pleasure as Aaron sucked him tenderly, and Aaron started to move his mouth further down his cock. He was holding Robert’s arse with both hands as he sped up the rhythm of the blow job…

Robert moaned again as Aaron got faster and took his cock deeper down his throat with each movement, then he suddenly sat up.

‘Fuuuuck… Aaron, can I fuck you?’ he said.

Aaron grinned and nodded, and Robert grabbed Aaron’s face, kissed him, then pushed him down onto the bed on his front.

He hesitated for a moment, and Aaron quickly said ‘…drawer in the bedside table…’ Robert opened it and found a packet of condoms. He took one out and rolled it down his cock in a hurry.

Aaron was already turned on from sucking Robert’s cock when he felt Robert’s finger inside him. He groaned, ‘More Robert… more…’ and felt another finger, then a third. Just as he thought he couldn’t wait any longer for Robert’s cock, he felt a sharp sting, and then the push of Robert stretching him open.

Robert grunted with passion as he seemed to lose control of himself and thrust into Aaron again and again. It was hard and fast and furious, and Aaron gripped the duvet with both hands, only barely managing to stop himself from shouting out loud. He wanted more but he couldn’t take much more…

He felt himself getting close to orgasm and he panted, ‘Robert…. I’m going to come…’

As he spoke, Robert gasped and pushed forward once more, before shuddering and moaning as he came. Robert’s orgasm was enough to provoke Aaron’s, and he came onto the sheets.

They lay there breathing loudly for several seconds before Robert spoke, sounding anxious.

‘Are you ok? Was that too hard?’

Aaron chuckled. ‘No I’m not ok, I’m bloody amazing…’ he said. He turned and looked at Robert. ‘That was amazing, you’re amazing…’ and he put his hand on the back of Robert’s neck and pulled him in for a kiss.

As they broke apart and lay on the bed, Aaron noticed Robert’s expression of happiness fade gradually, and he began to furrow his brow and look stressed.

‘OK?’ Aaron asked lightly.

‘Mmm,’ Robert said distractedly. ‘I was just thinking, maybe I should check my phone and see if there’s any messages…’ he turned and looked at Aaron. ‘I haven’t switched it on since we got here,’ he confessed.

Aaron was shocked to hear this. Although he’d noticed that Robert hadn’t been using his phone, he hadn’t realised that the thing had been switched off all this time.

Robert got up and started rooting around in his bag. Eventually he pulled out his phone and turned it on. Aaron watched as he stared at the screen, clicking buttons and scrolling up and down. Then he listened as a voicemail message played and the voice of a distressed sounding Connor filled the room:

‘Rob… Have you turned off your phone, you idiot? I’ve texted you loads… look, Madsen’s been round looking for you… I’m sorry but I ended up telling him you’d gone to some village with Aaron… I couldn’t remember the name of it though so he might not find you for a while, but if you’re still there, you need to leave Rob… why didn’t you tell him you were going? God, I hope you get this… I’m sorry Rob… take care…’

Aaron sat up on the bed. ‘He told Madsen where you were?’ he said angrily. ‘Why would he do that?’

Robert sighed and threw the phone into his bag. He climbed back onto the bed next to Aaron.

‘He won’t have told him willingly,’ he said. ‘Madsen must have threatened him. Or maybe hurt him… fuck, I hope he didn’t…’

He looked worried, and Aaron put a calming hand on Robert’s arm.

‘It’s not your fault,’ he said. ‘I’m sure Connor can look after himself. You need to think about what we’re going to do…’

He rubbed his hand up and down Robert’s arm soothingly. ‘I don’t think we can stay here,’ Aaron suggested. ‘Madsen’s been here, he knows where we are. So do we move on?’

Robert gazed at him sadly. ‘Where?’ he said. ‘Where else can we go? I don’t know, maybe we should go back to the city and I should hand myself in…’

‘But he’ll hurt you,’ Aaron interrupted. ‘It’s too dangerous to go back...’

‘Yeah, but if we keep running away, he’ll find us eventually,’ Robert replied. ‘Maybe if I go willingly and say I’m sorry and I made a mistake… I don’t know…’

He sighed heavily, his brow furrowed in a deep frown. ‘I fucking hate him,’ he muttered. ‘I wish he was dead…’

He looked guiltily at Aaron. ‘Sorry…’

Aaron looked at him. ‘It’s ok, I get it,’ he said. ‘I just wish you could be free…’

He leaned over and kissed the top of Robert’s head.

‘Why don’t we sleep on it?’ he said. ‘We can talk about it again in the morning and decide what you want to do. Ok?’

Robert smiled. ‘Yeah, ok,’ he said. They both lay back on the bed and Aaron threw an arm over Robert as they tried to go to sleep.

Chapter Text

‘So boys, what are you going to do?’ Chas asked. Aaron bit his lip and looked at Robert, not sure how to answer.

The night before, he had finally fallen asleep without them having come to a decision about whether to go back to the city or run away for a while. Aaron was pretty sure that Robert had hardly slept, as he was tossing and turning all night, and now there were dark bags under his eyes.

Aaron caught Robert’s eye and he shrugged, apparently not ready to give Chas a decision yet.

‘Do you want a brew, Mum?’ Aaron asked, to change the subject. It was almost eight o’clock and Chas had only just come down to the kitchen.

He turned to the kettle and as he filled it with water, there was a sudden bang and the sound of rushing footsteps. Aaron, Chas and Robert all turned to look towards the door as it burst open, and two tough looking men strode through it.

Chas gasped as both men rushed over to her and grabbed hold of her arms, stopping her from moving.

Robert and Aaron were too shocked to respond for a moment, as Madsen walked into the room.

‘What the fuck…’ Aaron said incredulously, and he moved towards the men holding his Mum. As he did so, one of them moved his arm up towards Chas’s face, and Aaron saw with horror that there was a knife in his hand.

Aaron froze in terror. Chas let out a wail as the knife was pushed towards her cheek.

‘Hi Robert,’ Madsen said smoothly. He was smiling. ‘Good to see you again. We’ve missed you.’

Robert stared at him, apparently unable to move or speak.

‘I hope you’ve enjoyed your little holiday, but I think it’s time you came back with us now, don’t you?’ Madsen went on. He turned to Aaron, who was breathing hard, trying to come up with an idea of a way to get the knife from the men. They were both utterly intimidating, with huge muscles and strong, stocky bodies.

Madsen looked at Aaron. ‘I wouldn’t try anything if I were you, Aaron,’ he said. ‘My friends here won’t hesitate to hurt – your mother I presume? – if necessary…’

Aaron felt tears of fear prick his eyes. He looked at Robert and their eyes met. Robert looked every bit as terrified as Aaron and he hated to see it.

Robert swallowed hard. ‘Please don’t hurt her,’ he said to Madsen. ‘I’ll come with you ok? Just don’t let your thugs hurt anyone…’

Aaron stifled a sob as he heard Robert’s words. He couldn’t stand to think of Robert being taken away now. He looked at his Mum. She had her eyes closed as if she was trying to block everything out, but there was terror all over her face.

‘Let’s go,’ Madsen barked, and one of the men moved over to Robert and grabbed his arms. The thug with the knife stayed with Chas.

As Madsen’s man pushed Robert towards the door, Robert and Aaron’s eyes locked together again. Aaron was sobbing freely now, he couldn’t stop himself.

‘No…’ he cried. ‘Robert, no…’

Robert’s lips turned up at the sides in a proud kind of smile. There were tears rolling down Aaron’s cheeks as Robert was shoved across the room but Robert’s eyes were dry, and Aaron thought he looked strong and defiant.

‘I love you Aaron,’ he burst out suddenly, ‘I love you…’

Aaron’s crying got louder as Robert was pushed through the door and out of the room, followed by Madsen.

‘I love you too,’ he yelled, composing himself enough to get the words out – but Robert had left the room.

Aaron looked at his Mum, who was still being held by one of the men. There was silence for a few moments, and eventually the man let go of Chas and ran out behind the others.

Aaron rushed over to his Mum. ‘Are you ok?’ he cried, pulling her into a tight hug. She nodded as she sobbed onto his shoulder.

Aaron squeezed her again, then ran out through the door and onto the street. He saw Madsen’s thug jump into the back of a white van, then it pulled away and sped off before Aaron could do anything.

Robert was gone.

---------------------

‘How about another brew, love?’ asked Faith. Chas shook her head. She was looking a lot better, Aaron thought. It had been almost an hour since Madsen had left with Robert, and now the Dingles were holding a meeting in the back room to decide what to do.

Aaron was grateful for the response from his family. His Mum, Cain, Faith, Charity and Paddy were all here to comfort him and to try to help him get Robert back. But it was frustrating that it was taking so long. Aaron couldn’t stop wondering what would be happening to Robert right now, and with every minute that passed, he felt the urge to drive to the city and start searching, even though he didn’t know where to begin.

He rubbed his eyes again, sore from crying. ‘What are you thinking, Cain?’ he asked his uncle.

Cain had come round as soon as Chas had called him, furious about his sister being threatened. Aaron had told him everything he knew about Madsen and then Cain had spent the last 15 minutes silently thinking, occasionally looking at something on his phone.

Cain looked at Aaron with determination in his eyes.

‘I might have a contact who can help us out,’ he said. ‘But I’m going to need a few days to sort it….’

‘We can’t wait that long…’ Aaron interrupted. ‘Robert could be dead by then, we don’t know…’

He stopped as he felt the tears coming again and wiped his face angrily with his sleeve.

‘Aaron,’ Cain said softly. ‘These things take time. You can’t just go driving round looking for them straight away, it’d be a waste of time and we’d never find them. A few days and I’ll be able to sort something out properly, I hope.’ He sighed. ‘It’s the best I can do…’

Charity stood behind Aaron and squeezed his shoulders. ‘Cain’s right,’ she said. ‘Something like this needs to be handled carefully, and you know you can trust Cain to get things done…’

Chas interrupted, ‘I don’t see why we don’t just call the police,’ she said for about the fourth time.

Cain threw his hands in the air in exasperation and Faith spoke, ‘We’ve told you, Chas, that’s not going to work with someone like him,’ she said. ‘They’ll interview that man and he’ll just deny all knowledge. People like that always get away with it...’

Aaron sniffed. ‘She’s right, Mum,’ he said quietly. ‘And if they come after him and don’t find anything, he might take it out on Robert… We have to take him down ourselves.’

Cain stood up. ‘Right,’ he said, ‘I’m going to call a few people. I’ll let you know as soon as I get things arranged, ok Aaron?’

Aaron nodded gratefully and Cain left.

Aaron couldn’t stop thinking about the last thing Robert had said to him. It was the first time either of them had said ‘I love you,’ although they had probably both been thinking it for a while. Aaron prayed he’d have the chance to say it to Robert properly soon.

_______________

Robert listened to retreating footsteps and opened his eyes. He was in a dark room and he squinted to try and see what was around him. It was a small room without much in it. There was one window which had been boarded up, and the only light was coming from a small window up by the ceiling.

He was lying on a mattress on the floor, and there was a metal bucket near the end of the mattress. He became aware of something around his right arm, and looked up and to see a handcuff on his wrist, attached to a chain that lead to a post by the wall.

Robert tried to sit up and pulled at his arm a few times, but the chain was firmly attached. He slumped back down onto the mattress.

Every part of his body hurt. After he’d been dragged from the Woolpack, he’d been thrown in the back of a van and driven for about an hour, he assumed back to the city. The van had stopped eventually and when the doors were opened, he’d been pulled out and taken into a grey building. Madsen had lead them all into a room on the ground floor and closed the door behind them.

The two thugs took it in turns to hit Robert about a bit, until he was too weak and dazed to try to fight back or attempt to escape. Then they’d shoved him down on to the mattress and left.

He managed to get as comfortable as he could on the mattress with the chain attached to his wrist. Robert wondered what was going to happen to him. How long would he be left here? What would Madsen do to punish him? And would he ever see Aaron again?

He didn’t have the energy to think about anything. Instead, he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

Chapter Text

‘Get out of the way, moron!’ Aaron yelled at the car in front of him, which was moving way too slowly for his liking. He was full of frustration and impatience as he headed to the city.

It had been more than twenty-four hours since Robert had been taken, and Aaron was struggling to cope. Cain kept assuring him that his contacts would get back to him soon, but it wasn’t soon enough for Aaron. Anything could have happened by now.

So instead of stomping around Emmerdale taking his anger out on his family, Aaron decided he just had to at least do something. He was going to start looking for Robert himself.

He arrived at the flat Robert shared with Connor, ran up the stairs and pounded on the front door.

‘Connor’, he shouted. ‘Connor are you there? It’s about Robert, it’s important…’

The door opened and Connor stood there wearing a tatty looking dressing gown. He was frowning with annoyance.

‘For Christ’s sake,’ he said as Aaron barged into the flat. ‘I could’ve had a client here, will you stop shouting?’

Aaron looked around the flat as Connor closed the door. There was no sign of anyone else being there, and Connor’s wet hair and dressing gown indicated that he’d just got out of the shower.

‘Robert’s gone…’ Aaron said breathlessly. ‘Your mate Madsen came to Emmerdale and he’s taken him and I don’t know where he is. He hasn’t got anything, no phone, no clothes, all his stuff’s back at my Mum’s…’

‘Oh God,’ Connor breathed, and he ran a hand through his hair. ‘Shit… Didn’t Rob get my messages? I told him to get out of…’

‘Yeah, thanks for that,’ Aaron snarled bitterly. ‘You left him a message after you’d gone running to your mate and told him where we were… What the fuck is wrong with you?’

‘Madsen is not my mate,’ Connor spat back. ‘And I didn’t go running to anyone… who do you think I am? I love Rob, he’s my best friend and I’d never want to put him in danger…’

‘So why did you tell Madsen where we were then? Eh?’ Aaron sensed he was probably being unfair, but he couldn’t stop himself, he was furious.

Connor stood up, rolled his sleeve up and held his arm out in front of Aaron. ‘Look,’ he said angrily. ‘That was Madsen’s men…’

Aaron looked down and inhaled sharply in shock as he saw a nasty looking red mark on Connor’s forearm. The skin was blistered and it looked like a painful burn.

‘Shit… have you er, have you seen a doctor about that?’ Aaron asked. The wind had all been taken out of his anger now, and he was starting to feel ashamed for having a go at Connor.

Connor pulled his sleeve back down over his arm and sighed. ‘No, I don’t really do doctors…’ he said vaguely. ‘Look, Aaron, I didn’t want to tell them, I swear, I kept telling Madsen that I didn’t know anything…’ he explained. ‘But he didn’t believe me. I wish I could have been braver, but they held my arm over the gas hob and there was only so much I could take…’

He slumped down on the sofa, looking miserable.

Aaron felt terrible. ‘It’s ok, it’s not your fault,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t blame you. I’m not in a very sane place right now…’

Connor nodded. ‘I called Rob straight away and left a ton of messages,’ he said. ‘I wanted to call you, but I didn’t have your number… How long has he been missing?’

Aaron sat down and told Connor exactly what had happened.

‘You’re right not to call the police,’ Connor said when Aaron had finished. ‘Madsen always finds a way to wriggle out of everything. He’s squeaky clean as far as they can tell…’

Aaron nodded. ‘Look Connor, have you got any idea where they might be? Do you know where Madsen lives, where he hangs out? Anything at all could help us find him…’

Connor thought for a moment. ‘He lives in some posh apartment in the West end,’ he said. ‘I don’t know the exact address, but it wouldn’t necessarily help you find Rob. Madsen won’t tell you where he is… you need to find where they’re keeping Rob...’

He looked up suddenly.

‘What?’ Aaron said.

‘I dunno if it’s important…’ Connor hesitated. ‘I just remember a long time ago… there was a rumour going around amongst the boys…’

‘What?’ Aaron said again impatiently.

‘Someone said that he had an old warehouse building somewhere… I think it was in the suburbs maybe…’ Connor scratched his head, trying to remember. ‘There was a story that one of the boys was taken there and beaten up… that was about a year ago, but it sounds like the sort of place he might take Rob if he didn’t want him found…’

He looked at Aaron hopefully. Aaron sighed. It wasn’t much to go on, but it was something.

‘Ok,’ he said. ‘Thanks. Can you ask around, try and find out more about it?’

Connor nodded.

‘I’ll tell Cain and he can check it out.’ Aaron went on. He took his phone out and tried to call Cain, but it went straight to voicemail.

‘Shit, where the fuck is he?’ Aaron muttered angrily. He looked at Connor and paused. ‘Connor, you need to do something about that burn. Let me take you to a chemist and get some cream or something…’

Connor looked surprised. ‘Are you sure?’ he said.

‘You can’t just leave it like that, it looks terrible…’

Connor looked at a clock on the wall. ‘Ok, but I need to be back here for a client in an hour,’ he said. ‘I’ll just get dressed. Thanks Aaron.’

_______________

Aaron drove Connor to a nearby chemist and someone there advised them on what to do with his burn. They drove back to the flat and Aaron helped Connor apply the cream and a dressing he’d bought. Then he had to leave quickly before Connor’s client turned up.

Sitting in his car outside, Aaron took his phone out and called Cain again, but there was still no answer.

‘Cain, can you just call me please?’ he said to the voicemail. ‘I’ve spoken to Connor, Robert’s friend and I’ve got something that might be useful… just call me as soon as you can… it’s been more than twenty-four hours now… please Cain…’

He hung up and took a couple of deep breaths to try to calm down. As he sat there, he saw a nervy-looking man go into Connor’s building. Aaron presumed this was the client. God, what a shitty way of life, he thought for the billionth time. He wondered for a moment whether he should wait and check that Connor was ok, but then he reasoned that Connor did this everyday, and there wasn’t much Aaron could do about it.

He started the car and drove to the Tavern.

As soon as he walked in the back room, Beth saw him.

‘Hey Aaron, how was your break?’ she asked, smiling. ‘How’s Robert?’

Aaron’s expression must have given him away as Beth’s face fell.

‘What’s happened?’ she asked.

Aaron chewed his lip. He hated having to break the news. He took a deep breath and told Beth what had happened…

Chapter Text

Robert grunted and rubbed his eyes with his free hand as he woke up. He kept dozing off and waking up again, and he had no idea how long he’d been there now. He had no watch and the light coming through the window wasn’t enough to tell what time of day it was. It felt like about three days, but he didn’t really know. He was hungry and thirsty, having not eaten or drunk anything since he’d arrived. At some point, he’d managed to get up and pee in the bucket by the mattress, pulling the chain round his arm to its limit.

His mind returned as it often did, to Aaron. What would he be doing now? Robert felt himself smiling as he envisioned Aaron eating toast, drinking tea, sprawled happily in front of the TV. But would Aaron be looking for him? Part of him hoped so, but at the same time, he didn’t want to think of a stressed and worried Aaron…

Robert’s thoughts were interrupted by a noise outside, and then the door opened. He felt his heart beat faster as Madsen and one of his thugs came in. It was the first time they’d been back since bringing Robert there and leaving a few days ago, and Robert wondered what would happen now.

He watched, not moving as the two men came towards him. Madsen was carrying a plastic bag with something in it, which he put on the floor as he pulled up a chair and sat on it, looking down at Robert.

‘Did you really think I wouldn’t find you?’ he said in his quiet, polite voice which Robert found so sinister.

Robert had no reply to this, so he lay there and waited for Madsen to make his point.

‘It wasn’t hard to find you, shacked up with your boyfriend in farming country,’ Madsen sneered. ‘So, I see you managed to use the toilet…’ he glanced at the bucket looking disgusted. He gestured to his thug. ‘Get rid of that, would you?’ he said, and the other man took the bucket out of the room.

‘You’re probably wondering what’s going to happen to you next…’ Madsen said with a horrible smile. ‘Well, you’re going to stay here for a while, so I can make sure you don’t run away again. The chain is there as a precaution, just in case you get any stupid ideas. You can stay on the mattress until I’ve decided you’ve learned your lesson and you’re ready to be let out…’

He broke off as his thug came back in with the emptied bucket, then said ‘You know Robert, that life, living in a village with a bunch of boring people, that’s not for you, is it? You could never fit in somewhere like that with their nice comfortable lives, I bet you always knew that. And living with your boring boyfriend and his family…’ Madsen laughed. ‘How could you think that could happen to you? You’re damaged goods Robert, you don’t belong there. Your place is in the city, doing what you’re best at with other people like you. Soon we’ll have you back to work and you’ll forget all about Emmerdale.’

Robert’s blood ran cold. He couldn’t even think about having clients again. He didn’t want to be with anyone other than Aaron now, even if he was paid for it. Everything had changed.

Robert cleared his throat and spoke for the first time. ‘I need food,’ he croaked. ‘I need water and food… please….’

‘Ah yes,’ Madsen smiled. ‘Of course. We don’t want you starving to death do we?’ he picked up the plastic bag he’d brought in and took out a supermarket sandwich. He opened the packet and handed it to Robert.

Robert couldn’t help himself. He didn’t want to give away to his captor how much he wanted that sandwich, but he was so hungry, and as soon as he saw it he started salivating. He grabbed the sandwich and shoved it in his mouth without stopping to see what kind of sandwich it was. He didn’t really notice the taste as he ate it down quickly.

When he’d eaten half, he realised how dry his mouth was.

‘I need water…’ he said, pleadingly. ‘I’m so thirsty…’

Madsen’s grin was horrible. ‘No water,’ he said, ‘…but you can have a drink.’

He took a bottle of whisky from the bag. Robert felt his stomach churn with nausea and the realisation that he wasn’t getting any water.

‘I can’t…’ he groaned, shaking his head. ‘I need water…’

Madsen took a plastic cup from the bag and filled it with whisky.

‘Up to you,’ he shrugged. ‘It’s that or nothing to drink.’

Robert felt desperate. He knew the alcohol would make him feel sick and even more dehydrated but the sight of liquid was so appealing. The idea of nothing at all to drink until Madsen changed his mind was too awful to contemplate, so he took the cup. As he put it to his lips, he chugged the whisky down far too quickly, then started coughing and spluttering as the alcohol burned his throat. He threw the cup on the floor angrily as he tried to control the coughing.

Madsen picked up the cup and refilled it, offering it to Robert again.

Robert knew he should refuse, but again his wild thirst took over, and he drank the whisky, only a little more slowly this time. He dropped the cup, wiped his mouth with his hand and slumped down, defeated.

‘Ok,’ Madsen said, looking smug. ‘Now if you’re a good boy, and show me some respect, I might let you have some water next time. But Robert, you have to learn to do as you’re told…’

‘Fuck off,’ Robert spat. He didn’t know if the whisky was making him reckless or he just didn’t care anymore, but he certainly didn’t feel like making things easy for Madsen.

Madsen looked grim. ‘Fine,’ he said tightly, and nodded at the other man.

The man stood over Robert, bent down and undid Robert’s jeans, pulling them off along with his boxers. Robert struggled, but he was weak, and with his arm attached to a chain, he was defenceless. The thug picked Robert up by the legs and turned him on to his front.

Robert felt fear in the pit of his stomach as he wondered whether he was going to be raped again. But then he came a sharp pain on the back of legs that made him cry out. He was being beaten with a stick. Robert bit down on his lip hard, as he refused to give away any sign of weakness or emotion. Perhaps it was the alcohol or maybe his exhaustion but after a few strokes, he felt desensitised to the pain.

Eventually the beating stopped. Robert kept his head down on the mattress as he heard Madsen speak again.

‘You’ll learn eventually,’ he snarled. ‘There’s no hurry, we can keep you here like this for as long as it takes.’

Robert closed his eyes and focused his thoughts on his happy memories of the previous week as he felt himself drift away.

Chapter Text

It was a beautiful sunny morning, Aaron noticed, which absolutely didn’t reflect his mood as he hung some washing on the line to dry. He was trying to keep himself busy with jobs around the house, especially when Adam was out at work and he had no-one to talk to. It was now four days since Madsen had turned up in Emmerdale, and although Aaron was still driving round looking for Robert every day, there was only so much time he could spend searching in the same places with no new information.

Connor had called but he didn’t have anymore details, and Aaron was in touch with Cain several times a day, but he didn’t seem to have sorted anything out yet.

Aaron sighed as he went back into the house, then realised his phone was ringing. He grabbed it from the kitchen work top and saw that it was Cain as he answered it.

‘Cain? Have you got some news?’ he asked expectantly.

‘Yeah…’

‘Well? What?’ Aaron interrupted, He’d waited several days and couldn’t wait a second longer.

‘Let me speak then…’ Cain sounded grumpy as ever. ‘I’ve been in touch with a contact. There’s a woman I used to know in the city who basically runs a crime organisation… it’s mostly stealing cars and selling them on, but they get involved in a lot worse when the price is high enough. Anyway, she owes me a favour…’

‘OK…’ Aaron said eagerly.

‘I worked with them years ago and I ended up getting arrested. I nearly went to prison, but I didn’t give the police anything. In the end, there wasn’t enough evidence anyway, but Lou was always grateful to me for keeping me gob shut. So I contacted her to see if I could cash in the favour, and she’s just got back to me. Aaron she’s going to help us…’

Aaron breathed out a huge sigh of relief. ‘Thank God…’ he said, feeling his heart rate start to come back to normal.

‘It’s going to cost though mate,’ Cain went on.

‘Fine, whatever, but what’s she going to do? Can she find Robert?’ Aaron said quickly.

‘Well, Lou knows all the criminals and dodgy types, and she knows this Madsen. She said he’s an absolute bastard, Aaron. She doesn’t have anything to do with him because she doesn’t trust him at all. She said a lot of people are afraid of him because he’s got a cruel streak. Your Robert has got himself mixed up in something really bad here…’

Aaron bit his lip. ‘I know Cain. I’ve met the bloke and I can believe it. But if this Lou can help…’

‘She’s going to send some people off to ask around and try and find where he might be keeping Robert. If they can find him, they’ll get him out of there… but Aaron, she wants…’ Cain paused.

‘What?’ Aaron was getting impatient again.

‘She wants fifty grand…’

‘Fifty thousand pounds…?’ Aaron repeated, shocked. Where the hell would he get that from? ‘When? Can we pay her after she’s found him?’

‘She wants twenty up front, the rest when he’s found,’ Cain went on. ‘Look, I know it’s a lot of money, but it’s a lot less than she would usually ask for. She is doing me a big favour here…’

Aaron thought for a few seconds. ‘OK,’ he said. ‘Tell her I’ll have the money as soon as I can. Tell her to start asking around and looking…’

Cain interrupted, ‘But where are you going to find that kind of money?’

‘My place.’ Aaron said decisively. ‘I’ll remortgage it.’

‘Aaron, are you sure that’s a good…’ Cain started, but Aaron cut him off.

‘I’m sure,’ he said firmly. ‘No way am I leaving Robert with that man to suffer. I need him back, Cain, so do whatever you have to to make this happen.’

______________

Robert pulled at his arm for the millionth time, trying to weaken the chain that was keeping him rooted to the spot. He grimaced as the handcuff bit into his wrist in the same place where it had done so often, leaving a sore red welt on his skin.

He tried to concentrate enough to work out how long he might have been there, but he couldn’t get his brain to focus on anything for long enough. However long Robert had been cooped up in this room, he’d only had two sandwiches to eat, as well as 2 cups of whisky and 1 cup of water. He could feel that his lips were blistered and it was difficult to swallow with such a dry throat. He had a constant headache and whenever he lifted his head up, he got dizzy.

Robert knew he was losing his mind as well, as he spent hours alone, unable to do anything but lie there. He’d tried to do maths puzzles in his head to keep his brain working, but it was getting harder and harder. His mind kept wandering, mainly onto the topic of Aaron, as he imagined what he might be doing now….

The door opened suddenly, and Robert’s heart thumped in anticipation. He hoped he might get food or drink, but he was also terrified that Madsen was coming to teach him another lesson.

One of Madsen’s men came in. He was alone this time, and carrying a bag which Robert prayed had food in it.

The man walked over to Robert and sat on the chair there. Robert looked at him expectantly.

‘I’ve brought you a banana and a cheese roll,’ the man said, and pulled the two things out of the bag. ‘Actually I’m only meant to give you the roll, but I thought you could do with some fruit…’

Robert took the food gratefully and cast his dignity aside as he tucked in greedily.

‘I’ll get you some water,’ the man said, and disappeared through another door before coming back with a cup full of water.

He gave it to Robert, and Robert chugged it down too fast, spilling it over himself and spluttering as it went down the wrong way. As the water splashed over his t-shirt and on his bare legs, Robert realised he was only wearing a t-shirt and pants, and they were both filthy, but he didn’t have the energy to care. He fixed his attention on eating and held the empty cup up.

The man took it and went and got more water. He did this four times as Robert finished the food. Then they sat looking at each other.

‘You’re nicer than the others…’ Robert said suspiciously.

The man sighed. ‘Madsen’s my boss,’ he said. ‘Don’t let him hear you say that.’

There was a long pause, then the man went on. ‘I do a lot of bad things in my work,’ he said. ‘I’ve hurt plenty of people because I was told to, and that’s fine, I don’t ask questions and I don’t want to know… But this?’ He sighed again. ‘This is like torture, and it doesn’t make any sense to me.’

Robert felt a vague feeling of surprise but didn’t react. He didn’t trust the man and thought he might be trying to trick him somehow.

‘He just wants you to do as you’re told,’ the man spoke again. ‘He’s trying to break you, to wear you down enough to know you’ll never try to run off again. He wants to make you scared of him so you obey…’

‘I am scared of him,’ Robert whispered, staring into space. ‘I’ve always been scared of him…’

‘Well good because you should be,’ the man said. ‘He won’t stop. He’ll do whatever it takes to break you down and make you comply and he doesn’t give a shit about what effect it has on your body or your mind…’

He rubbed his face with his hands and looked conflicted.

‘What I’m saying is… you need to show that you can be obedient…’

Robert huffed, a ghost of a chuckle.

‘I fucking hate him,’ he said. ‘If I could kill him I would…’

‘Well he might kill you first,’ the man said angrily. ‘Just do what you’re told willingly before this gets worse…’

They sat in silence for a while, and Robert thought about what the man had said. Could he do as he was told without complaining? And what then – did he really want to go back to his life working for Madsen? It was hard to see any alternative. Robert was losing hope.

Chapter Text

Two more agonising days passed while Aaron tried to get the money together. He knew he didn’t have time to organise a remortgage on his house, so he decided to get a loan for now, which he would pay back with the money from the house. In the end he went to a lender charging a ridiculous amount of interest, but they were willing to give him the money fast, and that was all Aaron cared about.

As soon as he had it, Aaron paid the twenty-five thousand into the bank account Cain had given him, and Cain was in touch with Lou and her people to confirm they had the money. She assured Cain that they were on the case, and he passed that information on to Aaron.

Now Aaron just had to wait. Six days since Madsen had come to the Woolpack and turned everything upside down, and Aaron still felt helpless. There was nothing to suggest that Robert was ok, and no clue as to where he was or when he might be able to come back to Aaron. It was hard to know how to make the time pass as thoughts of what might have happened haunted him. Aaron tried going back to work one evening, but a couple of hours into his shift, he couldn’t concentrate at all and Beth told him to take as much time off as he needed.

So Aaron spent hours driving round the city, looking out for Madsen, sometimes showing people photos of Robert and asking if they’d seen him. Of course, no-one ever had.

The day after paying the money to Lou, he decided to speak to Connor again. He texted him, and they arranged to meet in a café.

When Aaron arrived, Connor was already sitting at a table. He looked wrecked, Aaron thought. Connor always had pale skin but now he looked ghostly, and he seemed skinnier than ever. He was chewing his nails nervously when Aaron came in.

‘Hiya,’ Aaron said, sitting down opposite. ‘How’s it going?’

‘Hi,’ Connor replied. ‘Ok. Any news?’

‘Nope. I’m just waiting to hear, but it’s driving me nuts. I can’t do anything, I just think about Robert all the time and what they might be doing to him… You don’t think Madsen would kill him do you?’

Connor shook his head. ‘I don’t think so. That would be like losing for him, like he couldn’t get Robert to do as he was told. Anyway, I don’t think he’s a killer…’

Aaron’s eyes filled with tears. He couldn’t believe the conversation he was having. The whole situation was crazy.

Connor leaned over and took hold of Aaron’s hand and squeezed it. ‘It’ll be ok,’ he said. ‘Robert’s tough. He’ll get through this and you’ll see him again, I know it.’

Aaron nodded. He appreciated the kindness but he wasn’t as sure as Connor sounded. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve and composed himself.

‘Are you ok?’ he asked. ‘You don’t look well, to be honest…’

Connor paused for a moment, but as he was about to reply, a young waiter appeared and asked what they wanted to drink.

Aaron ordered a coffee and looked at Connor, who blushed.

‘Er… I can’t really… don’t suppose you could lend me some money…?’ he said.

‘Yeah, of course mate, get whatever you want,’ Aaron said quickly.

Connor ordered a milkshake and the waiter went off behind the counter.

‘Sorry,’ Connor said. ‘It’s just… I’m completely skint. I haven’t heard from Madsen, and I think he’s dropped me. Loads of my regulars have stopped coming… I’ve had to go out and find my own clients, and I’m just not making enough money. I’ve hardly eaten the last few days…’

Aaron was shocked. ‘Really?’ he said. ‘Order something to eat then, I’ll get it.’

Connor smiled awkwardly. ‘Are you sure?’ he said. ‘I feel terrible taking your money, but I’m getting desperate…’

Aaron insisted, and when the waiter brought their drinks over, they both ordered sandwiches, and Aaron got a bowl of chips for them to share.

‘What about the flat?’ Aaron asked. ‘It belongs to Madsen, right?’

Connor nodded. ‘I dunno. He hasn’t been in touch, but I’m sure he’s going to kick me out…’

Aaron sighed. He was really warming to Connor now, having seen him as a bad influence on Robert at first. He took some notes out of his wallet. Connor started to protest but Aaron pressed the money into his hand.

‘Take it,’ he said. ‘It’s all I’ve got on me at the moment, but let me know if you need more. I don’t want you not eating… and anyway, Robert would want me to help you out…’

Connor sighed. ‘Ok. Thanks.’

They sat drinking their drinks, then Aaron said. ‘What are you going to do if you lose your flat?’

‘Er… I dunno,’Connor replied. ‘I’m just hoping something will turn up…something usually does…’

_____________________________

Robert didn’t realise anyone was in the room with him until he felt someone hauling him up by the shoulders. He forced his eyes open and squinted at the stoic face of one of Madsen’s men.

Robert grunted. God he was bored of this now. He didn’t know how much more he could take, it was the boredom that was the worst. Lying here in the same place for day after day with only his own thoughts for company… he wondered whether this was what it felt like to go mad. His mind was constantly flitting from one thought to another, he couldn’t concentrate, and he increasingly found himself retreating into his memories and daydreams, disconnecting completely from reality…

Someone was talking and Robert realised they were addressing him. He hadn’t heard what was said though, so he stayed quiet and waited.

Suddenly he felt a dull pain on his left cheek, as if he had been slapped around the face. He presumed he had, and he felt his mind move slowly into focus.

He saw Madsen’s face now, and his boss seemed to be saying something about Robert needing to wake up and learn to follow instructions… Robert found it absurd. It was quite funny that Madsen thought by kidnapping Robert and holding him here he was going to become more loyal. Didn’t he realise that Robert had nothing left to lose? Madsen had taken away his only hope when he removed him from Aaron, and Robert had no family, no home, no-one he cared about… What was the point of anything now?

He heard someone cackling with mad laughter and wondered what was going on. As he tried to concentrate, the laughter stopped, and he realised that the laughter he’d heard was his own. The thought that he’d been laughing without knowing it amused him, and he started chuckling again.

His mind drifted and he suddenly found himself thinking of his mother… it had been so many years since her death and his memory of her was mostly from old photos. She was smiling at him, so young and beautiful… he missed her. Robert felt warm and happy as he imagined seeing her again. At the back of his mind he was only vaguely aware of footsteps leaving the room, and he settled back on the mattress and relaxed into his thoughts.

__________________________________

Aaron was sitting in his living room staring into space. Ten days had passed since Robert had gone and Aaron didn’t feel any closer to getting him back. All he was doing was hanging around the city and waiting for someone else to do something, and Aaron hated feeling so helpless.

Suddenly his phone rang, making him jump up in surprise. He snatched it off the table.

‘Cain?’ he said, full of hope for some news.

‘Aaron… they’ve found him. They know where Robert is…’

Chapter Text

Aaron sat down as he felt a wave of relief wash over him. All he could hear for a moment was blood thumping in his ears as the stress of wondering if he would ever find Robert exploded inside him. He took a couple of deep breaths before he realised that Cain was talking and he hadn’t heard a word of it.

‘Sorry, Cain…’ his own voice sounded croaky and strange. ‘I didn’t hear you… start again.’

‘Lou texted me just now, saying they’ve found him in some warehouse building on the edge of the city. No-one’s actually seen Robert, but they’re sure he’s in there. Aaron you need to transfer the rest of the money now, and Lou’s boys will go in and get him…’

Aaron was breathing too quickly with shallow breaths, and he tried to control himself.

‘Ok. I’ll do it now,’ he said, his heart pounding. ‘When are they going to get him? What are they going to do, Cain? They’ll make sure Robert doesn’t get hurt, won’t they?’

He heard Cain exhale before he spoke. ‘Aaron… we don’t know what state Robert’s going to be in, do we? I think…. I mean, hopefully he’ll be ok, but I think you need to be prepared… just sort out the payment now, and I’m on my way up there. I’ll come straight to your place so we’re ready to go as soon as we hear anything, ok?’

‘Yeah… thanks Cain,’ Aaron breathed.

‘Just sit tight and wait for me to get there.’ Cain said. ‘Lou or someone will be in touch with me to keep us updated when anything happens, so it’s best if I’m there with you.’
‘OK,’ Aaron said. ‘I’ll get off the phone and transfer the money… Thanks.’

Aaron’s hands were trembling as he put the phone down and went to find the details of the bank account he needed. He wondered how on earth he was going to get through the next few hours…

_______________________

‘Aaron… Aaron…’ Robert ran the name through his mind over and over again, relishing the sound of it and conjuring up images of the man he’d fallen in love with. He was lying face down on the mattress, eyes closed, his mind a million miles away on happier times. He smiled to himself as he saw Aaron’s beautiful smile and remembered the sound of his laugh…

As Robert enjoyed his daydream, he thought he heard a banging noise, but he wasn’t conscious enough to care what it might be. There seemed to be some disturbance going on in the room around him, but he kept firmly focused on Aaron… his beautiful Aaron… and managed to shut everything else out.

_______________________

Before Cain had the chance to ring the doorbell, Aaron was there opening the door for him. He’d been looking out the window, waiting for his uncle to arrive for the last fifteen minutes.

‘Alright?’ Aaron said, trying to sound calm.

‘Yeah,’ Cain said, coming in. ‘It’s going to be ok, Aaron. Have you paid the money?’

‘Yeah of course,’ Aaron said. ‘Have you heard back yet?’

‘Not yet,’ Cain said. Aaron exhaled in frustration and ran a hand through his hair.

‘Just be patient,’ Cain said. ‘They’ll text me as soon as there’s any news, ok? Now stick the kettle on, I need a brew.’

Aaron rolled his eyes impatiently but went to the kitchen and filled the kettle with water.

Five minutes later, he and Cain were sitting on the sofa with a mug of tea each when Cain’s mobile beeped.

Aaron held his breath as Cain picked it up and looked at it.

‘Well?’ Aaron almost shouted.

‘Hang on…’ Cain mumbled, ‘They’re sending something…’

There was another beep and Cain scrolled down on the phone, then looked up at Aaron.

‘They’re going in,’ he said. ‘I’ve got an address – I’ll drive.’

They both stood up and hurried out, Aaron’s heart beating fast in his chest as they went.

Cain drove them to the address on the outskirts of the city, which was just over a ten-minute drive. They followed the Sat Nav directions to a quiet road off of an industrial estate. There was a large grey warehouse, and outside were two black vans.

Cain stopped the car and they both got out and ran towards the building. As they approached, a door flew open and several men came out. Two of them were half-dragging, half-carrying a seemingly unconscious Robert.

Aaron’s heart almost stopped beating as he stood and stared. ‘Robert,’ he whispered in shock. Then he yelled, ‘ROBERT!’ and ran over to the group of men.

Robert looked so terrible, Aaron wondered for a moment whether he was dead. The men laid him on the grass and Aaron sat down and bent over him, stroking his hand.

‘Oh God, Robert,’ he cried, tears streaming down his face. ‘What have they done to you? Robert, can you hear me? It’s me, Aaron. Wake up, Robert…’

But there was no response from Robert. Aaron looked up to see that Cain was speaking to the men. He shook hands with someone as they got in the black vans and drove off.

Cain got down on the ground with Aaron and looked at Robert.

‘Is he conscious?’ Cain asked.

Aaron shook his head. ‘He’s not responding to anything,’ he said desperately, but as he spoke, Robert opened his eyes. He screwed them up almost immediately, apparently not used to the light.

‘Robert? Robert!’ Aaron cried. ‘It’s Aaron, I’m here… we’ve got you…’

But Robert closed his eyes again, his face impassive. He didn’t respond to Aaron at all.

Aaron looked at Cain. ‘He needs to go to hospital,’ he said. ‘I’ve got to call an ambulance.’

Aaron waited for Cain to disagree, but Cain just looked at Robert, taking in his appearance. Robert was filthy, his lips were dry and blistered, there were bruises all over him, his skin was an odd, grey colour, he looked as though he’d lost weight and worst of all, he didn’t seem to know where he was or what was happening.

Cain nodded. ‘I’ll ring one now,’ he said grimly, getting his phone out as he stood up to make the call.

Aaron kept stroking Robert’s hand and talking to him softly, but Robert didn’t open his eyes again. Luckily they didn’t have to wait too long before an ambulance arrived, and two paramedics got out.

‘What’s happened?’ one of them asked as she got down to look at Robert.

‘Er… we don’t really know,’ Aaron didn’t know where to start. ‘He was kidnapped, he’s been held in that building for nearly two weeks… we haven’t been inside, so we don’t really know anything, and, well I think he’s in shock, he can’t seem to tell us anything…’

The paramedic looked shocked, but she didn’t falter as she held Robert’s hand and took his pulse. She focused all her attention on Robert.

‘Alright love? Can you give me a nod or a blink, show me you can hear me?’ she said softly.

Robert stayed as he was, eyes firmly closed, taking shallow breaths.

‘Ok, that’s fine sweetheart,’ the woman went on. ‘It doesn’t matter. We’re going to check you out and make you feel better, ok?’

Aaron looked on as the paramedics moved Robert onto a stretcher and took him to the ambulance. He followed them.

‘Are you a friend?’ the woman asked kindly.

Aaron nodded, trying not to cry. ‘He’s my boyfriend…’ he said.

‘Ah, ok’. The woman rubbed Aaron’s arm comfortingly. ‘Do you want to come in the ambulance? He needs immediate treatment for dehydration at least, so we need to get him to the hospital fast.’

Aaron nodded gratefully and looked at Cain.

‘I’ll follow you in the car,’ he said.

Aaron climbed into the ambulance and sat next to Robert. The paramedic came in and started treating Robert as the doors closed and they drove off.

Chapter Text

‘Aaron, hi…’ Connor appeared in the waiting room where Aaron had been sitting for the last twenty minutes. Robert was being assessed by doctors and Aaron was biting his nails and waiting for news. Cain was outside on his phone, checking in with Lou, apparently.

Aaron jumped up and after a moment’s hesitation, he and Connor hugged awkwardly.

‘How is he?’ Connor asked.

‘Er… dunno really,’ Aaron muttered. ‘He’s being checked over now, but when we found him… he didn’t look too good. He’s all dirty and skinny, and he’s got bruises all over him. Apparently he’s dehydrated too…’

Connor sighed. ‘Poor Rob,’ he said hopelessly. Then he sat down next to Aaron and they waited in silence.

Eventually the door opened again and a doctor came in.

‘Aaron?’ she said. ‘You’re here with Robert Sugden?’

He nodded and stood up, anxious for news.

‘Ok, let’s have a seat,’ she said, sitting on a nearby chair. ‘So we’ve been examining Robert and physically, the biggest concern is that he’s severely dehydrated. He’s obviously been without food or water for a long time, so we’ve got him on a drip to replace liquids and nutrients...’

‘And has that caused any lasting damage?’ Aaron said, scratching his eyebrow anxiously.

‘We hope not,’ the doctor replied. ‘In extreme cases, the organs can begin to shut down, and Robert was getting close to that stage, but with a few days on the drip, we should see a lot of improvement.’

Aaron swallowed hard. It didn’t sound great. ‘He looks like he’s lost a lot of weight too…’

‘Yes, the drip will help with that too, and of course he’ll need a good healthy diet for several weeks to regain the weight. Apart from that, Robert is also suffering from a couple of broken ribs and severe bruising all over his body. So all in all, he’s physically very weak. But his mental health is also a concern…’

‘Has he spoken yet?’ Aaron asked. ‘He wasn’t speaking before…’

The doctor’s voice was calm and soothing as she spoke. ‘Robert isn’t talking yet,’ she said. ‘It’s clear that he’s been through a very traumatic experience, and that’s lead him to disassociate himself from his surroundings. We think he’s experiencing symptoms of PTSD, that’s post-traumatic…’

‘…stress disorder, yeah I know,’ Aaron snapped, then immediately felt guilty for being rude.

‘Sorry,’ he said to the doctor. ‘It’s just all a bit overwhelming…’

‘It’s fine,’ she said kindly. ‘So we think Robert has mentally removed himself from the present to protect himself from what was going on around him. Now that he’s safe, there’s every chance his speech will return, and we’ve got an expert in PTSD, a counsellor coming to see him today.’

‘When do you think he might start talking again?’ Aaron had to ask.

‘There’s really no way of saying at the moment, it could be hours, weeks, months… we just don’t know.’

Aaron sniffed as he tried to stop himself from crying again.

‘Look, um, Aaron,’ the doctor continued, ‘You need to be prepared for the fact that Robert has obviously been through a terrible experience. This is something which could affect him for years to come. He’s not just going to snap out of it and be ok, it’ll take time and a lot of support.’

Aaron felt Connor’s hand on his arm. ‘He’ll have plenty of support, won’t he Aaron?’ Connor said. ‘We’ll look after him.’

The doctor smiled. ‘I need to see another patient, but a nurse should be here soon to let you know when you can go in and see him, ok?’

Aaron nodded. ‘Thank you,’ he said.

The doctor left the room and as she went out, Chas walked in.

‘Mum!’ Aaron said, surprised. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘Cain rang me and I just had to come and see if you were alright,’ she said. ‘Come here, son…’

Aaron stood up and as Chas pulled him into a huge, comforting hug, he let the tears fall freely. He sobbed noisily onto her shoulder and she rubbed his back, making soothing noises.

When Aaron had got some of the stress out of his system, he pulled away and looked at Connor.

‘Er, Mum, this is Connor, a friend of Robert’s,’ he said. ‘Connor, this is my Mum.’

Connor stood up and they shook hands. Just then, the door opened again and a nurse put her head round it. ‘Aaron Dingle?’ she said. ‘You can go in and see Robert now.’

______________________

‘Robert?’ Aaron spoke softly as he sat on the chair next to Robert’s bed. He’d left Connor and Chas in the waiting room as he wanted to tread carefully and not overwhelm Robert with people.

Robert lay on the bed, a blank expression on his face. His eyes were open but he was looking off into the distance and so far he hadn’t responded or reacted to Aaron’s presence in the room. Aaron ached to reach out and hug or even just touch him, but Robert looked so fragile. He thought he might hurt him physically or scare him, so he just sat as close to the bed as he could.

‘Robert… I don’t know if you can hear me or not, but the nurses think you can…’ he said awkwardly. It was strange talking to someone who didn’t respond.

‘I want you to know that I’m here… and Connor’s here too, and we want to help you. We’re ready to do whatever it takes to make you better and get you out of here…’ he wasn’t sure what to say, but it seemed important that he speak and let Robert hear his voice, if he could hear.

‘I know you’ve been through a terrible experience, and I can’t even begin to imagine what’s going on in your head now… but we can get through it together, Robert. You’ve got through so much already, you’re so strong…’ Aaron heard his voice start to tremble with emotion. There was still no reaction from Robert, he was staring blankly at nothing.

‘I need you to know… when you left Emmerdale, you said you loved me… and Robert, I said it back but you were already gone… I don’t know if you heard me, but you need to know… I love you. I love you Robert…’ Aaron couldn’t go on as the tears took over again.

As he sat there sobbing, Robert closed his eyes, but remained still and expressionless.

‘Robert?’ Aaron sobbed. ‘Robert, are you there?’

But there was no response.

__________________

Aaron sat at Robert’s bedside, intermittently talking, crying and just looking at Robert. Robert hadn’t so much as moved position since Aaron had come in. After about half an hour, Cain came in.

‘Aaron?’ he said quietly. ‘Any change?’

Aaron shook his head.

‘I need a word… can you come out here for a moment?’ Cain went on.

Aaron stood up and said to Robert, ‘I’ll be back in a minute,’ he said.

As they went outside, Cain whispered, ‘Can he hear you?’

Aaron shrugged. ‘I don’t know Cain. What do you want?’

Cain paused for a moment then said ‘I’ve got some news. I’ve been speaking to Lou, and er… you’re not going to believe this…’

‘What?’ Aaron was getting really annoyed now. He just wanted to stay with Robert.

‘After they rescued Robert, Madsen obviously found out who it was, and he went after Lou and her gang with a group of his guys… apparently Madsen wanted to threaten Lou and he thought he could tell her what to do after this… but he completely underestimated her.’

‘So? What happened?’ Aaron said, interested now.

‘Well, basically there was some big stand off, then the thugs started fighting each other, and it ended up with Madsen getting stabbed…’

‘Oh my God…’ Aaron said, shocked.

‘Aaron, he died. He got stabbed and he bled to death and… he’s dead…’

Aaron was stunned. Madsen had seemed so powerful, practically immortal, nothing ever seemed to touch him. He stood staring at Cain with his mouth open.

‘So… so… what happened to your mate Lou?’ he stuttered.

‘She got the hell away,’ Cain said. ‘I just spoke to one of her, um… associates, and he said they’ve all scattered for a while and she’s left the country. I guess she’ll be back when everything’s calmed down.’

‘Shit...’ Aaron breathed. This was all a bit too much like a gangster movie. ‘You’re not going to be in trouble, are you?’

‘Nah,’ Cain smiled. ‘Madsen had it coming and Lou won’t hold me responsible. They would have ended up here at some point anyway. And as for the police, there’s nothing to connect us with any of it. Or Robert, so I guess… he’s free?’

Aaron nodded slowly, and exhaled.

‘Yeah…’ he said in a daze. ‘Robert’s free.’

Chapter Text

Aaron had about three seconds of a blissfully stress-free blank mind when he woke up, before his brain kicked into gear and he remembered everything. He’d stayed at hospital as late as he could the previous day, chatting to Robert and holding his hand, willing him to respond. But Robert hadn’t shown any recognition that there was anyone there. Eventually the nurses had told Aaron to leave, so he’d come home to rest. Cain and Chas had gone back to Emmerdale, but Connor had ended up leaving with Aaron, and he’d spent the night on the sofa.

Now as Aaron got up and went into the living room, Connor was awake, lying under a blanket with a naked torso poking out.

‘Morning,’ Aaron said. ‘Was that sofa alright?’

‘Yeah,’ Connor grinned. ‘I’ve slept in a lot worse places…’

He threw the blanket off and sat up, and Aaron was relieved to see that he was wearing pants.

‘Do you want a cuppa?’ Aaron offered. ‘We can’t go in to see Robert yet, but I’m going to drive in as soon as I can, obviously.’

‘Thanks, milk and two sugars,’ Connor said. ‘There’s some stuff I need to do this morning. Now that Madsen’s not around anymore, I need to sort out my future, make a few plans.... But keep in touch, yeah? If there’s any change, if Rob says anything, let me know straight away, ok?’

‘Sure,’ Aaron replied, putting the kettle on.

------------------------------

A couple of hours later he was at the hospital. He spoke to Robert’s doctor again before going in to see him.

‘So has there been any progress?’ Aaron asked hopefully.

The doctor smiled. ‘Well, he’s recovering as well as we could hope after less than twenty-four hours,’ she said. ‘But you’re not going to see any obvious change yet. Robert’s just building up his strength slowly, taking on board liquids and repairing the physical injuries. As I said yesterday, his mental healing is going to take longer.’

Aaron nodded and attempted a weak smile of thanks. He hadn’t really expected more than this, but he’d hoped for some change in Robert’s catatonic state.

He went into Robert’s room and sat down by the bed. ‘Hi,’ he said. ‘I’m back.’

Robert was awake, in the same position as the previous day, with his head turned away from Aaron and his eyes staring into space. He had shown no response to Aaron’s arrival.

Aaron reached out and held Robert’s hand. He started stroking the back of it with his thumb. Aaron had always loved these hands, they were so big and strong. When Robert put his hands on Aaron’s face, Aaron felt safe and loved. No matter what problems Robert had been through, he had always seemed so resilient and unbreakable. It was so hard to see him in this state…

As he felt himself beginning to feel hopeless, Aaron was determined to snap himself out of it.

‘So…’ he said, continuing to stroke Robert’s hand gently. ‘Connor says hi. He stayed on my sofa last night… I’m not sure what he’s up to today but he said he’s got some stuff to do…’

Aaron babbled on for a while, reasoning that talking seemed like a good thing to do. He hoped the sound of his voice might be comforting to Robert, and might help draw him out of his mutism.

Running out of gossip and chit chat, Aaron was quiet for a while, but he didn’t let go of Robert’s hand. He felt an urge to stroke his face, but he didn’t dare get too close in case it startled or frightened Robert, so he just kept rubbing his hand.

‘Er… I don’t know if you can actually hear any of this Robert,’ he began again, looking for any reaction but getting none. ‘I’ve got some big news to tell you, and I suppose I might as well say it now… I hope you can hear and understand me, but if not I’ll just tell you it all again later…’ he gave an awkward chuckle.

‘Anyway, the thing is… it’s about…’ for a second Aaron wasn’t sure whether to say Madsen’s name out loud as he was afraid of upsetting Robert. He settled for whispering the name. ‘It’s about Madsen. He… he got involved in a fight with some of the people working for Cain… the people who rescued you and brought you here… Robert he’s dead. He got stabbed and he died.’

He paused to look for any response but it was again in vain.

‘So… that’s the end of it. That man is gone, and he can’t hurt you anymore, Robert. You’re free…’ Aaron had a lump in his throat and swallowed hard. ‘You can do whatever you want now, you don’t have to do that anymore…’

Aaron stopped and wiped his wet eyes with his sleeve and composed himself. He cleared his throat. ‘Anyway, I just wanted to tell you in case you could hear, but I guess you can’t… I don’t know..’

He ran out of words and looked down at his thumb stroking Robert hand. Suddenly, he heard a sniff. Aaron looked up. To his amazement, Robert had tears running down his cheeks and he was crying quietly. It was the first time Aaron had seen him react to anything…

‘Robert?’ he said carefully, ‘Are you ok? Robert… are you there? It’s me, Aaron…’

Robert turned his head slowly and looked Aaron in the eye. ‘Aaron…’ he said croakily. ‘Aaron…’

Robert started sobbing uncontrollably, and Aaron moved to sit on the bed. As he did so, Robert curled into him, and Aaron put his arms round Robert, cradling his head.

‘It’s ok...’ he soothed, sniffing back tears himself. ‘It’s all going to be ok now…’

Aaron held Robert like that for several minutes, listening to him cry violently. He’d never seen Robert show such emotion, and Aaron was sure it must be doing him good.

When Robert’s sobs eventually subsided, Aaron pulled back and looked at him. He wiped the tears from Robert’s cheeks and cupped his face gently.

‘Did you hear what I said?’ he asked quietly. ‘Madsen’s dead…’

Robert nodded.

Aaron ran his fingers through Robert’s hair.

‘You don’t have to work for him anymore,’ he went on. ‘Everything’s going to be good now, and you can do whatever you want…’

‘I want to be with you…’ Robert said softly. ‘I love you and I want to be with you…’

‘I love you, Robert,’ Aaron said in a rush, hugging him close again. ‘I love you too.’

Chapter Text

‘So you don’t have any idea what happened to Mr Madsen then?’

‘No,’ Robert said truthfully to the two police officers sitting next to his bed.

They had been asking him questions for about fifteen minutes now but Robert hadn’t been able to tell them very much. Having had a visit from Cain the previous day, he was clear on what he should and shouldn’t say. Cain had given strict instructions not to mention Lou, and Robert wasn’t about to disobey Cain. As well as finding him quite intimidating, Robert wouldn’t risk getting Aaron or his family in any trouble.

‘Let’s go back to the people who took you hostage,’ one of the police officers said. He was a grey-haired man in his fifties who seemed annoyed by Robert’s lack of information.

‘Can you tell us any more about who was with you in that room?’

Robert sighed. Going back over the experience was bringing it all into focus again, which he was finding hard to cope with. He looked at Aaron, who was sitting on the other side of the bed. Aaron rubbed Robert’s arm lightly and smiled encouragingly.

‘A lot of the time I was on my own,’ Robert began. ‘But the men came in every day, I think… Madsen came a few times, but some days it was one or two of his, er bodyguards I suppose you could call them… there were two men who did his dirty work for him…’

‘And did you learn either of their names at all?’ the other police officer interrupted. She was a middle-aged woman with a much warmer manner than her younger colleague.

Robert shook his head. ‘Sorry,’ he replied.

‘Can you describe them?’

‘They were both muscular… well-built… about six foot tall I suppose…’ Robert closed his eyes as he tried to recall the men he’d rather forget. ‘Er… one of them had really short hair and the other one was bald. The bald one had a tattoo of some writing on his neck… I think it was a name and a date but I never really made it out properly, and the other one had tattoos all over his arms… women, a wolf... I can’t remember, there were loads of them…’

He shuddered as he remembered the man’s brawny arm holding him down, shoving him onto the mattress, gripping him round the neck… the fear he’d felt trapped in that room, wondering what was going to happen…

‘Robert? Robert…’

Aaron’s soft voice prompted him out of his thoughts. Robert looked at Aaron and focused on his face, breathing in and out deeply to calm himself down.

‘You ok?’ Aaron asked, looking concerned and squeezing Robert’s bicep.

Robert nodded and decided he ought to pull himself together. He looked back at the police officers.

‘Well that’s useful, thanks,’ the woman said. ‘Now, we need more detail about what exactly happened in that room? Can you talk through it for us?’

Robert swallowed as he looked at Aaron. Aaron took his hand and held it firmly. Robert gave him a small, grateful smile and started to talk.

______________

Aaron stayed with Robert while he spoke to the police about his ordeal, which took about forty-five minutes. They held onto each other’s hands tightly as Robert talked about how he was starved and beaten, and how he thought he was going to die. It was all Aaron could do to stay calm as Robert described all this.

Once the police officers had left, Aaron got out of his seat and sat up on the bed with Robert. He wanted to be as close to him as he could. He stroked Robert’s hair and kissed him gently on the forehead.

‘Well done. That can’t have been easy talking about that,’ he said.

Robert was pale and he looked shattered.

‘Thanks for staying with me,’ he said quietly. ‘I couldn’t have got through that without you here.’

Aaron smiled. ‘I’ll always be here, as long as you want me, Robert.’

Robert tried to smile back, but his lip trembled and suddenly his eyes filled with tears. He blinked them away, furiously.

‘Sorry…’ he croaked. ‘I just… I’m so lucky I met you, Aaron. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I don’t deserve you…’

‘Ssshh…’ Aaron soothed Robert, running his fingers through his hair. ‘You deserve to be happy… I love you and I’m lucky I met you…’

He leaned forwards and held Robert gently as Robert sobbed quietly into Aaron’s shoulder.

_____________

Three days later, Robert was ready to leave the hospital. The doctors were pleased with his weight gain and general recovery, so they gave him the go ahead to go home, to Robert’s relief. He hated being stuck in that bed.

When Aaron arrived, Robert was ready to go, sitting on top of the bedcovers, fully dressed and impatient to leave.

‘Ready to go, are you?’ Aaron grinned.

‘Just get me out of here,’ Robert said grumpily.

‘Cheer up, we’re going,’ Aaron laughed. ‘I’m going to look after you all weekend. You’ll be sick of me by Monday…’

‘Unlikely…’ Robert smiled. They kissed each other lightly and the door opened.

‘Oops, sorry to interrupt,’ said the doctor. ‘I just wanted to remind you to take it easy, Robert. Plenty of healthy food, you’re still very underweight. And not too much activity. Let this one run around after you while you get lots of rest, ok?’

Robert just about managed not to roll his eyes in frustration as he nodded obediently.

‘Don’t worry Doctor,’ Aaron said. ‘I’ll be very strict with him.’

He caught Robert’s eye and they grinned at each other.

____________

The next couple of days were spent in Aaron’s house. Beth had been very generous with letting Aaron take as much time off work as he needed, but he knew he’d have to get back soon. He had to pay back the money he’d borrowed against his house, for a start.

But for now he focused on taking care of his boyfriend. They spent most of their time on the sofa, watching films, listening to music, cuddling up on the sofa. Robert slept a lot and had very little energy at first, but he was gradually getting his strength back. Adam had more or less moved out and was staying with his girlfriend, so they had the place to themselves, although Chas & Paddy had been to visit already.

On Sunday night, Aaron cooked spaghetti bolognaise while Robert shouted instructions from the living room.

‘Will you just let me get on with it?’ Aaron groaned. ‘You’re like a backseat driver with all your comments. I can cook a few things you know…’

‘Alright alright…’ Robert said, raising his hands in defeat. ‘Makes a nice change from toast, anyway.’

They sat at the table to eat.

‘You know, I’m going to have to go back to work,’ Aaron said carefully. ‘I wish I could stay here with you for a few more days, but I’ve had so much time off, and I need to start making some money…’

Robert’s face fell. ‘It’s fine,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry you had to remortgage the house because of me… I’ll pay it back as soon as I can…’

‘Don’t be stupid,’ Aaron said softly. ‘I’d pay ten times that to get you back if I had to. Bargain.’

They smiled at each other.

‘Well, I will need to find a job. I don’t know what I’m going to do…’ Robert continued. ‘I mean, it’s amazing to have this freedom, but it’s a bit scary too…’

‘I know,’ Aaron said, patting Robert on the arm. ‘There’s no rush. Let’s get you better first.’

A couple of hours later they were in bed. Like the last two nights, Robert fell asleep with his arm around Aaron and their legs tangled together. Aaron supposed he wanted to feel secure and know for certain that he was not alone.

Aaron took a while to fall asleep, but he was just dozing off when Robert started mumbling.

‘Robert?’ he whispered, but Robert was still asleep. He was frowning, and as his moans got louder, he started rolling over.

‘No… no, leave me alone…’ he said, his voice full of pain.

‘Robert,’ Aaron said more loudly, ‘Wake up… Robert you’re dreaming…’

‘Get off… NO!’ Robert yelled suddenly, his arm flailing out to one side and catching Aaron on the cheekbone.

‘Unf,’ Aaron said, as Robert sat up, wide awake. He looked around at Aaron, confusion all over his face.

‘What… Aaron…?’ he stuttered.

‘It’s ok,’ Aaron said, rubbing his sore cheek. ‘You were having a nightmare. You’re safe, Robert, you’re here with me at home…’

Robert blinked and took a few seconds to wake up properly and understand what was going on. He stared at Aaron.

‘What happened to your face? It’s all red,’ he asked, pulling Aaron’s hand away so he could see.

‘It’s fine, you just caught me with your elbow,’ Aaron said. ‘It doesn’t hurt, honestly.’

‘Oh God, I’m so sorry…’ Robert said, upset. ‘I was dreaming about… I was back there with Madsen… I couldn’t get them off me…’

‘It’s ok, like I said, I’m fine. Come on, lie down again and we’ll go back to sleep…’ Aaron pulled Robert into him and they snuggled together once more.

After a while Robert spoke again. ‘Are you sure you’re ok? Do you need some ice or something?’

Aaron ran his fingers lightly over Robert’s back.

‘Stop feeling guilty and go back to sleep,’ he said, although his cheek was throbbing. ‘It’s really nothing.’

Robert was quiet after that and the two men lay still in the silence, but Aaron could tell that Robert wasn’t going back to sleep. The atmosphere in the room has changed, and he seemed tense.

‘Are you ok?’ Aaron asked after a while.

‘Can’t sleep,’ Robert mumbled. ‘Sorry. I can’t close my eyes without thinking I’m back there again…’

Aaron rolled over and turned on a lamp by the bed.

‘Let’s stay awake for a bit then,’ he said. He looked into Robert’s eyes and stroked his face slowly.

‘Robert…’ he said carefully. ‘Is it ok if… er, can I kiss you?’

Although he’d kissed Robert several times on the head, hand or cheek since his ordeal, Aaron had refrained from anything more passionate. He sensed that Robert needed some time to be comfortable with intimacy again, and Aaron wasn’t sure how far he could go, so he was being careful.

Robert’s smile was sad and happy at the same time. ‘You’re so thoughtful,’ he said. ‘I don’t think I’m ready for much more, but… yeah, I’d love you to kiss me…’

He leaned forwards and softly put his lips on Aaron’s. Aaron opened his lips slightly and let Robert take the lead as they tasted each other for the first time in so long. Robert pulled Aaron closer as he pushed their lips together. After a while, Aaron buried his head in Robert’s chest, and soon they were both asleep.

Chapter Text

Two months later.

*Beep* went Aaron’s phone as it vibrated in his back pocket. He sighed as he dragged it out – he didn’t really have time to be checking his phone as the bar was really busy and there were several customers waiting. He couldn’t resist a quick look though, and he saw a message from Robert:

Come straight home after your shift. I’ll see you there.

It was Sunday afternoon and Aaron was due to finish at 6pm. This was unusual, as he’d been taking on as many extra shifts as he could recently, desperate for money to cover the cost of remortgaging his house. He’d been working long hours, but this meant he’d hardly spent any time with Robert in the last few weeks, so they’d decided to arrange a night off together for once. Now Robert had a job as a chef in Sue’s café, he tended to work in the evenings too, so they only saw each other in the mornings.

Ok x

Aaron texted back quickly. He smiled as he put the phone away and turned to serve customers. He was looking forward to a night in with his man…

____________

Robert grinned as he put his phone in his pocket after reading Aaron’s message. He knew Aaron would be busy now, the pub was doing really well.

‘Ok if I get off now Sue?’ he called to his boss.

He’d been working with Aaron’s friend for three weeks now, and he was absolutely loving it. While recovering at home, Robert had started thinking about what he wanted to do, and he’d wondered about getting back into chef work. Then Aaron had come home one day and said he’d been speaking to Sue and Vikki, his friends Robert had met months ago. Vikki had been picking up more and more work as a graphic artist, and she’d finally decided to quit the day job and do the work she loved full-time.

When Sue said she would need to find a new cook, Aaron immediately suggested his boyfriend, and Robert started working there a few days later. Robert loved his new job. Sue was a good boss and fun to work with, and he loved planning and creating dishes.

Sue looked up from the chalkboard she was writing tonight’s menu on.

‘Is everything ready to go?’ she asked.

Robert nodded. ‘The casserole’s in the pot and can just be heated up, all the salad is prepared, the veg is chopped and the pasta’s in the fridge ready to be cooked when you need it,’ he said. He had been careful to make sure he’d done as much as he could before taking the evening off. ‘The desserts are all done and they’re in the fridge too.’

Sue smiled. ‘That’s great, Robert, thanks. You go then. Have a great evening and say hi to Aaron for me.’

‘Thanks, I will,’ Robert grinned, and he took off his apron and left.

___________

Aaron suppressed a yawn as he put his key in the front door and turned it. He was tired, having worked so many long hours in the last couple of weeks, so he was looking forward to this night off with Robert. He walked into the living room and smiled. The lights were dimmed, there were lit candles on the dining table, and he recognised a song by Adele playing on the speakers.

‘Oh good, you’re here,’ Robert leaned round the corner from the kitchen.

Aaron felt his stomach flip as Robert smiled at him. His boyfriend’s blonde hair was cutely tufted up, his eyes sparkled with happiness and his jeans fitted snugly around his perfect arse. Robert looked so much healthier and fitter than he had a few weeks ago, and Aaron fancied him so much…

‘You look… so happy,’ he breathed. ‘And hot. Really hot…’

Robert’s grin grew wider as he walked up to Aaron and pulled him into a kiss. Aaron grunted with pleasure at the taste of his beautiful man.

When they eventually parted, Robert grabbed a beer from the table and held it out.

‘Drink?’ he offered.

Aaron took the can, opened it and took a sip.

‘Cheers,’ he said. He looked again at Robert’s appearance – he’d clearly had a shower and put on one of his floral shirts. Aaron felt a bit skanky in the t-shirt and jeans he’d worn at work all day.

‘Shall I go and get changed?’ he said.

‘Nah, you’re good,’ Robert said, going into the kitchen. ‘Food’s nearly ready, so sit down.’

Aaron sat at the table with the candles on it, and five minutes later, Robert brought out two plates piled high with food.

‘Steak, sautéed potatoes and a load of veg..’ he said, putting the plates on the table.

Aaron watched in amazement as Robert sat down and picked up his knife and fork. Before he’d eaten anything he suddenly looked nervously at Aaron.

‘Is… is this ok?’ he said.

The uncertainty in his voice made Aaron want to reassure him. He grabbed Robert’s hand.

‘Yes, God, Robert this is amazing…’ he said. ‘I just can’t believe you’ve done all this for me. It’s… well, it’s lovely.’

Robert visibly relaxed and smiled with relief. ‘I wanted to show you… how much I appreciate you Aaron,’ he said, earnestly. ‘I wanted to do something to thank you for everything, and I couldn’t afford to buy you a gift…’ he smiled bashfully.

Aaron smiled back and squeezed Robert’s hand.

‘But Sue had the steak left over at work, and I thought I could treat you with a nice meal,’ Robert went on. ‘You know, Aaron… you genuinely saved my life. I don’t know where I’d be if I hadn’t met you, but it wouldn’t be anywhere good…’

‘I’m so glad we met too,’ Aaron said. ‘I can’t imagine being without you, Robert. And you don’t need to thank me. I’m with you for entirely selfish reasons…’

They grinned at each other.

‘Eat up before it gets cold then,’ Robert said.

Aaron took a forkful of food. It was delicious. ‘Mmm…wow Robert, this is so good…’ he moaned, piling more onto his fork.

They ate their meals, chatting about their work, Aaron’s family and other mundane topics. Then Robert said, ‘Oh, I’ve got to show you something.’ He got his phone and searched the screen.

‘Look,’ he said, handing it to Aaron. ‘I got a message from Connor.’

Aaron looked to see a photo of Robert’s friend in expensive-looking sunglasses, holding a glass of what looked like champagne or prosecco. Connor was beaming, and Aaron could see the sea in the background.

‘He’s gone to Italy,’ Robert said, laughing. ‘Did I ever tell you about his sugar daddy? There’s this old guy called Luca who’s obsessed with him, I mean, he was a client, but he always wanted Connor to stay with him for longer… anyway, he’s taken Connor off with him to his place in Italy, and Connor’s having a great time apparently, living a life of luxury as Luca’s toyboy…’

Aaron laughed and handed the phone back to Robert. ‘I’m pleased for him,’ he said. ‘He deserves to have some fun.’

‘Yeah, I know,’ Robert smiled. ‘I don’t know how long it’ll last, but I reckon Connor will make the most of it while he can.’

Aaron finished his food and put his knife and fork down.

‘Speaking of making the most of it…’ he said, grinning. He stood up and pulled Robert to his feet, then cradled his man’s gorgeous freckled face and kissed him passionately. Aaron felt Robert’s huge, strong hands run along his arms and onto his waist… he felt so secure and loved when those hands were on him. Aaron moved his own hands down Robert’s back and towards his hot, pert backside. He grabbed a handful of each buttock and squeezed, unable to stop a moan escaping his lips as he did. He loved this arse…

‘Aaron…’ Robert moaned into Aaron’s mouth. ‘Mmm…’

Robert took a small step back from Aaron and rubbed his hand on the front of Aaron’s trousers. Aaron’s erection was already throbbing, and Robert grinned wickedly.

‘Wow,’ he said. ‘I guess I should take that as a compliment…’

‘Shut up, you idiot,’ Aaron moaned as Robert rubbed his hand up and down Aaron’s hard cock.

Robert huffed a small laugh, then his expression changed to one of concern.

‘Hey…’ Aaron said softly, ‘What’s up?’

It looked as though Robert was blushing slightly. He scratched his nose and spoke nervously. ‘I…er… we haven’t done this for a while…’

Aaron kissed Robert’s forehead. Since Robert had come out of hospital they had been taking things slowly in the bedroom. At first they’d just cuddled in bed for a couple of weeks, but gradually they were beginning to rekindle the passion in their relationship with heated embraces and long, steamy kisses. But so far they hadn’t actually had sex, and Aaron knew it had to be Robert who initiated it first.

‘I know,’ he whispered, holding Robert’s hands and leaning his forehead on Robert’s. ‘Whatever you want, Robert. If it’s too much we’ll stop, you just say what you want.’

Robert swallowed hard and stared at Aaron, His eyes were full of lust. ‘I want you, Aaron,’ he said.

Aaron felt a strong hand caress the back of his neck and suddenly Robert was pulling him in for a kiss. Aaron thought his knees actually went weak as Robert held him tightly and kissed him deeply. Aaron moaned as their lips crashed together and they merged into one another, their movements becoming more and more urgent.

Suddenly Robert pulled back. Aaron looked at his boyfriend’s swollen pink lips, both men panting heavily.

Robert’s mouth curled into a smirk. ‘I’m ready,’ he said. He grabbed Aaron’s hand and lead him to the bedroom.