JLB

“Ray, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, man.”

You are a disaster. You’re smug, and you’re arrogant, and you’re cocky. You’ve got terrible taste in music and you dance worse than Paddy, and that’s saying something! But I’ve got nothing to figure out, okay? I know you. I know exactly what I’m getting myself into. And you’ve tried so hard for me, and for the people that you love - and not everybody sees that, but I do!

You got me to talk about Gordon, and then you listened to me, and then you got me through the impossible.

And Liv? Liv. My little sister. You found her, you found my little sister, you! And even though she drove you nuts and that she reported you to the police, you took her in as if she was your own.

You saved my life. You got me out of that car, in that water and you saved my life. And then you planned this mental wedding. You built us a home. And you got me out of prison early.

And then you told me the truth about Rebecca, instead of trying to hide it. And then you stepped up for your son, and you fought for him. And you loved him. And you loved me! You loved me like nobody ever has before.

So please, Robert, will you? Will you just come home with me?”

Their three kids, five grandchildren, a whole life around each other. Most of the family had stayed in the village too which helped. He had his entire family all around him, and Aaron was central to that. Robert played their weddings back in his mind smiling, replayed their first kiss. They’d been so young it was like someone elses life, but he still remembered how fast his heart had been racing. Taking an impulsive risk to kiss Aaron hadn’t felt life altering at the time, but it had been.

“Hey.” Aaron put a mug of tea on the table for him and Robert smiled as Aaron’s hand brushed across his shoulders, a familiar gesture. “You looked far away.”

“I was reminiscing,” Robert said. “About you.”

“Which bit?” Aaron asked. “There’s a lot to choose from.”

“I wouldn’t change a thing,” Robert said quietly. “Because we’re here and happy.”

“I know what you mean,” Aaron said, kicking his feet up on the coffee table. “It always hurts when I think about times we weren’t together.”

“We’ve been together more than apart,” Robert said and Aaron nodded. Aaron shifted to rest his head on Robert’s shoulder and Robert put an arm around him.

“Even if we’d never made it work after prison,” Aaron said. “It would have been… incredible, really. I never believed in soul mates. Not until you came along.” Aaron shrugged, like he was embarrassed he’d said too much, but he didn’t take it back. Robert planted a kiss on Aaron’s hair.