Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

 ‘So I need another favour, but this one’s legit this time. I need you to work behind the bar at my step mum’s pub. You’ve got time on your hands at the moment and you’ll get paid and board.’

‘I don’t know, Robert. I’m all out of favours at the moment, since last time.’

‘Don’t be like that. I need your help. And you should be grateful to have something to do that doesn’t involve giving it out to strangers for a change.’

‘Yes, but what about Lawrence, remember, the ex-father in law that we scammed for five thousand pounds? He’ll recognize me and that will be Christmas in incarceration for me.’

‘No, I’ve sorted it. I have something on him. Some photographs. You don’t need to know more.’

‘So, will you be showing me some of the famous Robert Sugden gratitude then?’

‘No. That’s strictly off limits and also steer clear of Aaron; he lives in the pub too.’

‘Aaron, was he … of course, the lover.’ There was a pause. Robert waited.

‘OK. When do I start?’

‘So, are you going to show me to my room, or what?’ Connor stood at the bottom of the stairs in the Woolpack, looking across at Robert who looked back at him sternly.

‘Well go on then, go up.’ He said. ‘I’m behind you.’

‘Where I like you best.’  Connor quipped and then pursed his lips.

‘But seriously, it is a bit weird don’t you think?’

‘What?’

‘Well, you and me, under the same roof, after all this time.’

‘Just don’t get used to it. It’s only temporary.’

Connor stopped walking so that Robert bumped into him from behind.

‘Oops. I just remembered Harrogate. Perhaps we could visit again while I’m here? ’ He said.

Robert showed him into a guest room with an en suite bathroom.

‘Nice! Let me try the bed.’ He sat and bounced for a moment. ‘Nice and firm.’ he looked up at Robert with a poker face.  ‘So … which is your room and which is Aaron’s. I would hate to get confused.’

Robert chose to ignore him. He stood with his hands on his waist. ‘The bar opens at eleven so you’ll need to be in the pub around ten forty five. After tomorrow, we’ll draw up a rota so you’ll know which are your shifts and you can organize your time. You can help yourself to breakfast.’

Connor pulled down his mouth. ‘Aw! And I thought you were going to cook me breakfast like the old days.’

‘Don’t push it, Connor.’ Robert countered. ‘You never used to eat it anyway as I recall.’ He looked down at him for a fraction of moment too long. ‘I’ll leave you now.’

Connor looked back up at him noticing the hesitation always there with Robert. Robert, always so needy, always so conflicted. It was one of the things that made him so attractive, having to win the battle every single time, over and over again. One of the things. Other things were well, rather more obvious, you might even say in-your-face from the point of view of their current relative positions.

So Connor narrowed his eyes with a half-smile. ‘You don’t have to go.’ he said quietly.

He stood up slowly, stepping closer to Robert, so he could hear him release his breath through his nose and feel the heat emanating from his torso, with a smell of mingled sweat, aftershave and malt whiskey after a long night behind the bar.

 ‘Look’ He murmured ‘You, me and a bed. It’s a winning formula.’

Connor shuffled slightly from foot to foot. He was close enough to Robert’s mouth to feel his breath now on his face. He looked at his plump lips, and back to his eyes.

And then there was a noise in the corridor from the half open door behind them. Aaron and Doug, both coming up to bed.

‘So I’ve locked the doors, Robert, in case you wondered’ Doug said as Robert appeared out of the room. ‘And if you go back down, can you be sure to close the kitchen door properly because the noise comes up from there straight to my room. Is that Connor lad sorted then?

Connor showed himself holding onto the door frame. ‘Yep. Thanks very much. I’m all fine.’

‘Well,‘ Doug said. ‘I hope you have a good night then.’

Aaron, waiting next to Doug, looked at Robert with a neutral stare. ‘Yeah. I’m turning in myself, too. Goodnight.’ He took a last glance at Connor and then back to Robert. There was definitely something conspiratorial about the two of them. But did he care? He wasn’t quite sure. Robert walked to his room and said good night, too, and Connor closed his door.

He was a little disappointed but not deflated, tomorrow was another day. He lay back on the bed with his hands behind his head. He had a feeling he was going to enjoy this.

Chapter Text

‘Aren’t you that journalist, the gay one? You came here before didn’t you, after the helicopter crash?’

Connor closed his eyes momentarily and then sighed and smiled at Kerry, ‘Yeah! That’s right! You remembered!’

‘So what happened? Did you decide to give the writing a break, then, or are you gathering material for a novel, your, what do they call it… magnum opus? That’s what all journalists really want to do, isn’t it, write a book and retire on the royalties?’

‘Oh Wow!’ Connor opened an orange juice for her. ‘You saw straight through me.’

‘Well you’ll find plenty of material here, but don’t worry pet. Your secret’s safe with me.’ And she took her orange juice and moved to a table.

Robert appeared next to Connor and looked at him suspiciously while Connor stared back at him with an inscrutable expression.

‘What secret’s that then?’

‘Really Robert, if I’d wanted you to know, I would have told you.’

Robert served a customer, and then Connor also took an order and moved behind him to fill a shot glass. As he passed he placed a hand lightly on Robert’s hip so as to avoid bumping into him. It was barely a touch but Robert blinked at him warningly. Connor looked back at him mouthing ‘what?’ before returning to his customer with a glimmer of a smile.

 ‘Let me explain food orders.’ Robert said when they had a moment.

He showed him the various menus and took out the food order slips and demonstrated how to fill them in. Connor moved close and, as they bent their heads momentarily, he let his eyes wander over Robert’s cheek and jawline, looking at the freckles below his ear.

‘Don’t.’ Robert met his eyes.

Connor stared back at him.

‘But you really mean do, Robert.’ He answered quietly.

‘How many gays does it take to run a bar?’ Cain asked when he came in. Moira pinched his arm. ‘Shhh! Just behave!’ she said before going to sit with James and Pete while Cain ordered the drinks.

‘Jump over this side and we’ll have a recount.’ Connor replied.

‘You what?’ Cain blinked.

Connor waited, lips pursed, ‘Or You could just order.‘ He said.

 Cain grunted. ‘I’ve got my eye on you.’ He said before giving his order.

‘My lucky day, then.’ Connor muttered too quietly to be overheard as he started to fıll the pint glasses.

In the late afternoon, Aaron got back from the scrapyard. Robert and Connor had both had a break while Doug was behind the bar and then they would start an evening shift with Aaron’s help.

Aaron thought about how Robert knew Connor.

Was it sort of odd that Robert should have such an openly gay acquaintance considering the issues he had with his own sexuality? But then Robert was so self-contradictory. Aaron wondered what Connor knew about Robert? Just how well did they know each other? Did he know things about Robert that Aaron didn’t?

Aaron was in the kitchen making a sandwich while Connor made coffee. Connor leaned against the counter waiting for Aaron to finish not wanting to get in his way.

 He wasn’t really Aaron’s type, but Aaron couldn’t ignore his presence. He was seriously sexy. He only had to lean back against the kitchen counter and fold his arms, and you wanted to look twice, to freeze frame and run your eyes over his body. Aaron wasn’t sure why, it wasn’t as it he had a stereotypical buff physique. But there was something about him, like, if you got to touch him you would want to touch him more.

His fingers were long and slender, spooning coffee grains into the filter. Aaron’s eyes lingered over them, in spite of himself suddenly imagining them on his cock, when he looked up he saw Connor watching him knowingly and he turned away hastily, hiding a blush, sitting down with his sandwich at last.

When Robert entered the kitchen, the tension in the room went up a little higher, adding to the already awkward atmosphere. 

Connor glanced up from pouring the now ready coffee.

‘Did you smell it?’ He asked. ‘Could have guessed you’d appear when there’s fresh coffee brewing. Some things obviously don’t change.’

‘Thanks.’ Robert said, as Connor passed him a mug and he sat at the table opposite Aaron. ‘Aaron? Did you want some?’ He asked.

Aaron felt slightly uncomfortable when he glanced at Connor and saw him roll his eyes for a fraction of a second. What was that about? It was like being back in school.

‘No, ta, I’ll make a cup of tea in a minute.’ He answered.

Connor shrugged then looked about on the kitchen surface.

‘No biscuits? I think you used to like ginger nuts, didn’t you Robert? Though of course your tastes may have changed. ’ He took an innocent sip of coffee, and Robert lowered his eyes and ever so slightly shook his head. ‘I’ll get some from the shop later.’ Connor went on and moved to sit on the sofa, ‘from the lovely David, I think he said his name was.’

Connor pulled out his phone and started texting. Robert asked Aaron about putting together a rota now Connor had arrived. He turned to Connor.

‘Take your coffee and go and tell Doug he can have a rest, eh, Connor. I’ll join you when Aaron and I have put a rota together.’

Connor looked from Robert to Aaron and stood up. Aaron sensed there was some vague hostility towards him.

‘I’ll be there shortly’ Robert added.

When Connor had gone Aaron made his tea.

‘So, you and Connor seem to go way back.’

‘Well we’ve worked together before.’ Robert answered. ‘Let’s get this rota done.’

Connor put his head through the door. ‘The beer barrel needs changing, Doug’s taken over so you can show me,’ he said to Robert.

After they’d gone, Connor’s phone began to ring.

It was on the coffee table by the sofa where he’d forgotten it.

Robert walked down into the cellar with Connor.

'This is cozy' 

‘So you must have changed a barrel before?’ 

‘It was a while ago, you going to need to show me again.’

‘So first thing turn off the gas switch here,’ Robert showed him, Connor watched him and nodded.

‘Then’ Robert stretched his hand out ‘… you pull the lever back and undo the coupling like that.’

‘Now you do it.’

Connor stepped forward so he was slightly in front of Robert. Robert watched him as he leaned over the barrel. He felt his mouth begin to water.

Upstairs Aaron waited but finally it was the noise as much as anything that decided him. He picked up the phone, intending to take it to Connor, but it slipped in his fingers and as he caught it the screen opened so that Aaron was initially surprised that the phone was unlocked.

‘So.’ Connor said in a low voice. ‘…first I pull the lever and then I slide the coupling off just like that,’ he turned to Robert, who was standing too close to him.

‘And on the new barrel, I assume I do the reverse.’ He felt Robert’s breath near his neck ‘… line the lever up and pull it across.’

‘What do you think?’ he turned and Robert's arms held his shoulders, he was looking at his mouth. Connor placed his hands very gently on Robert's waist, barely touching, then very gently pushed his hips forward against Robert's and waited.

Robert’s lips brushed against his, and then all at once their mouths collided. Robert’s tongue pushed against Connor’s while he hummed from his throat. Connor tried not to smile into the kiss.

Then Robert pulled back as quickly as he’d started.

‘We weren’t supposed to do this.’ He said and turned to the stairs.

Aaron felt uncomfortable. He certainly wouldn’t want to pry so he decided to close the phone. But as he looked at the screen his heart suddenly thumped with shock. There was a photo, it was an erotic full frontal photo. It wasn’t just a snap shot either, it looked pretty professional, like a picture from a magazine. And Aaron knew instantly it was Robert, even though it was a Robert who was a lot younger.

Aaron looked at the picture, frowning, trying to work out what it meant, his heart racing. He wanted to scroll through the phone’s other photos and he didn’t want to scroll. His thumb hesitated in the air. He didn’t hear Connor as he came in the kitchen and approached him.

‘I think that’s mine.’ Connor said, holding out his hand.

 ‘Sorry, someone rang you.’ Aaron muttered, hastily handing it over. ‘The phone just opened by itself, I … I wasn’t being nosy or owt.’

‘But you saw the picture.’  Connor held it up for him and Aaron looked away.

‘I saw it.’