#robertisbisexual

“Tenlio! Stop running!” Aaron yelled as he tried to push drunken people out of his way but he lost visual contact with his target. He tried looking for Robert’s big blonde head but he couldn’t see him either. He decided to still make a run for it in the same direction and as he was pushing through the crowd, he noticed that Robert was grabbed by a group of very strong built nefarious characters. He stopped for a second, and then he thought that nefarious attracts nefarious and followed the same direction.

It led him out of the bar, somewhere in a street with random people. He went in the middle of the street and saw Tenlio running away, so he followed suit yelling after him and pulling out his gun in nonkill mode. As he was running he saw Robert being punched into a small vehicle. Aaron stopped in his tracks and looked. Robert was hunched down, beaten, not looking around him. He was looking dark and scared which for one second made Aaron dark and scared. But he switched focus back on his target because the warrant is everything.

As he was running after Tenlio he felt his feet slow down, his entire body becoming heavier with each step he took, his breath was unwilling to cooperate and his eyes were curious about what was happening in a corner, rather than following Tenlio.

“Goddamn it. GODDAMN IT!” Aaron shouted to himself as he turned around and made a sprint towards where Robert was being shoved into the vehicle.

“I’m regretting this move already”, Aaron said to himself again as he was running in the opposite direction of his warrant. One of the most prolific killjoys in the galaxy and he was leaving his target to runaway. He knew in that second that he will be mocked for it, but truly the reason why he was so competent at what he was doing was because he had Robert as competition.

Robert’s brother had mysteriously disappeared after having been accused of crimes that weren’t ever truly specified. Robert’s father has poured all his energy and money into trying to find his other kid, leaving Robert to live a life of thieves. He mostly raised himself from his teenage years, wandering through bars, picking fights, ending them on the ground. But mostly he listened. He listened to people and then talked to them back with a charm that cannot be matched and he would obtain absolutely any kind of information he wanted. The day he was approved to become a killjoy, Robert solved 3 warrants. He was smart, on his feet and willing to do whatever it took. It kept Aaron on his toes all the time because he was competition. They would often pick the same target, because they wanted to measure against each other.

Many times they have shook hands and decided to work together on catching a target. Many times they have talked over some drinks, or in the same tight spot while doing surveillance, many times Aaron never felt that snakey charm taking over him. Robert never acted like that with Aaron even though he would have multiple reasons to sneak out information from his rival Killjoy. Surely, there have been one conflict or two. A push and shove against a wall. Hot breath against hot breath, brushed fingers against skin by accident.

This is why Aaron couldn’t leave Robert in the hands of those people, whoever they were. Maybe they were enemies, maybe they were the family of someone he’s turned in for a warrant. However, that decision that Aaron has made was that he was about to save his nemesis, just because having a bit of competition made him better at finding people.

Many hours later, he found the place where Robert was kept. The security was laughable at best, all he had to do was immobilize a guard and steal their coat, nothing more, nothing less. He followed the voices that were coming through a dimly lit hallway.

“So, tell us where he is and you can go free, promise”.

“Look, you tell me where that moron is and I’ll finish the job myself”, Robert jabbed back and Aaron decided to follow his voice. He tried to tune in to his breathing from that line, he had hoped he could pick up inflexions in his voice. However all he did manage to pick up was a groan of pain as the sound of knuckles hitting a jaw bone have reverberated through every fibre of Aaron’s muscles. He tensed up again, but he didn’t lose his cool. He had a plan, and he would stick to that plan, besides Robert can take a punch.

“You, Killjoy, tell me that you cannot find your own brother? How do you still have a job?”

“Well, even my skills aren’t good enough to track down someone with his training. What am I going to do? Look through every snake hole in the universe? Besides, he can die for all I care, he’s not my brother”. Aaron believed him, he knew Robert harboured this deep dislike for Andy, who could not ever be wrong. Even as he was suspected of murder, Andy was still loved by their father. Robert was left alone to mend for himself because the family needed Andy to come back. Robert told this to Aaron some months ago over too many beers. Aaron’s heart broke and that’s when he grabbed Robert and hugged him. And he did it back. Aaron knew when Robert was being honest and this was one of those moments. The bad guys, whoever they were, had a different opinion on the truthfulness of their prisoner.

“I have reasons to believe you’re a liar, Sugden. You’ve stole, cheated, lied and slept your way through half of the galaxy. How can I believe the words of a renegade Killjoy?”

“You don’t believe anything then.” Aaron marched in there confident. “I’ll take it from here. Would you rather leave or stand back and watch as I make this one talk?”

Aaron didn’t plan further than impersonating a guard. He looked around panicked because he had no idea where to move from this point on, and he could clearly see some relief in Robert’s eyes and at the same time he could see a little bit of anger. Aaron then spotted next to Robert a case of torturing instruments. He moved towards that direction while rolling his sleeves up.

“Well, I reckon words will flow out of your mouth easier if it weren’t for all those teeth acting as a barrier..” Aaron said to Robert while gesturing desperately from his eyebrows. Robert’s expression has turned to full annoyance

“Sure, because that’s how speaking works”.

Aaron didn’t understand what was happening to Robert and he took a second more before pulling out his gun, not set on kill mind, and emptying the room.

“What have you done, you idiot!” Robert yelled from his tiny little chair. He was beaten, bruised, bloodied and even though, it was quite clear that the anger he was spitting out was directed at him, Aaron was fantasizing about dressing his wounds.

“I was working, this moron was giving me everything.”

“He was giving you everything he had in his knuckles, yes. I have noticed and yes, you’re welcome Robert. Now sit still so that I can untie you.”

“I don’t want to be untied, I want that dude awake because I know he knows my brother’s last whereabouts.”

“You know what? Fine.” Aaron dropped the knife he was cutting the rope around Robert’s hands and turned his back and walked away.

“Wait!!! Don’t leave me here!”

Aaron kept walking.

“Fine!! Ok, i’m sorry, I should have had a go at you. Please untie me?”

Aaron stopped, turned around and picked up the knife from the floor. Although he wasn’t looking at Robert he knew that the jerk was smirking. He could feel that smug smirk, Aaron swore that the temperature in any room would go up two degrees whenever Robert does that.

“That’s a phrase I’ve never said before. It’s usually the reverse” Robert said to Aaron as he leaned towards him. Aaron felt it, and moved back up. “Come on, we don’t have a lot of time. Where’s your ship?”

“My what?”

“Your ship? The thing you travelled here on?”

“Oh”, Robert rubbed the back of his head while looking at Aaon and smiling cheekily. “I don’t have a ship anymore. I came to this godforsaken moon with someone. Uhm.. he was kind enough to drop me off on here while he.. Uhm… carried out his journey to another moon. Actually, I was kind of hoping to find you here working this warrant. It’s the only reason I took it. I knew I was being followed, and I knew that you would be here in case I needed help. So I decided to take the same warrant as you, hitch a ride here, and then keep you close enough so we could… do this.”

Aaron couldn’t believe what he just heard. He was manipulated in the worst way possible, not only did Robert know exaclty what he was going to do, he also assumed that he would care enough to go on a dumb rescue mission and neglect the warrant. He was frustrated, angry, hateful and impressed at the same time, but he didn’t want to let Robert know he felt anything, so he kept his cool front and replied with “OK, loverboy, let’s get that warrant. Regardless of your plans, it’s not a good look on either of us to allow a target escape like that.

Robert showed one of his few genuine smiles, filled with sincere joy. He sprung up from the chair where he was held hostage and he felt his bones hurt and let out an involuntary “ow!”. Aaron made a joke about him getting too old for this business and Robert poked his side triggering the lesser known and very well hidden, Aaron’s ticklish side.

As they were chuckling and crossing the hall together more footsteps echoed. Robert put a hand on Aaron’s chest and told him to stay back, putting his much taller, leaner, wider body in front of Aaron as if he was being shielded by this offensively good looking man.

“Wait what?” Aaron shook himself awake.

“I said wait here, behind me. They’re gone now, we can leave this place” Robert replied and Aaron thanked all the moons that he managed to avoid that awkward moment. He entertained for a second the idea that Robert could have a different interest in him rather than just some good old competition. He smiled and he shook his head at himself.

“Move faster, Sugden, we don’t have all day to drag your old bones through dodgy hallways.”

Robert smiled at him again, and Aaron swore that the hallway was all of a sudden brighter. And it actually was, because they were outside where this flickering street light was trying to do its best at a corner of an empty street.

“Right, so where’s Eureka Maru?! Let’s go!” Robert started pacing across the street and Aaron stood there until Robert realized he wasn’t followed.

“Erm.. it’s.. Resting. She’s broken and I can’t fix her because she needs this part, that is kind of hard to get so.. I.. I don’t have one, no.”

Robert stood under the flickering light and if one were to choose to see the humour in this situation would be that the flickering light was nothing but a metaphor of Robert’s mind trying to work out the information that they have no means of escape from the compound of these people who they have royally pissed off and who were most likely to come after both of them, to kill them in a few minutes.

“OK, OK, it’s alright, I can fix this” Robert started muttering while walking into circles like a scared animal.

“I know a solution. Mine’s 2hr walk from here, where’s yours?”

“Back, but In the basement.”

They were walking through complete and utter darkness. Aaron couldn’t see an inch in front of him.

“Aaron, I know I usually follow you because warrants and stuff, but please know that this will be the last time I follow you anywhere.”

“Shut up and stop complaining. We need to get out of here. We need a ship, their ship is in here, we’re stealing” Aaron said in a firm tone of voice as he moved his hand around until he found Robert’s.

“Hold on tight. We’re getting out of here” and he held Robert’s hand as tight as he could, with a force that could not be broken by the strongest winds. And Robert squeezed back. They’ve put their confidence of survival into each other. Aaron, the one who was always supposedly one step behind was leading Robert to freedom. Robert, the control freak, the one who needed to have all the cards dealt before he could make a move, he let himself guided by this yelly and grumpy Killjoy.

In the hangar where the ship was parked light came back to them and they stood and watched it. Hand in hand until Aaron got excited and sprinted to the ship. He looked back at a frozen in place Robert who had this warm expression on his face. Aaron marched to the ship and he heard Robert’s footsteps behind him.

They climbed in the ship, Aaron made it start immediately under Robert’s admiring eyes.

“Are you ready to do this?” Aaron asked even though he knew the answer.

“Yeah.” Robert replied softly.

And off they went. Aaron was hoping he would be able to put the ship outside of the atmosphere and outside of the defense sensors. In spite of all the story start to finish, he was having a good day.

“So, are we going to chase Tenlio, or… do you have someplace you might want to check out” Aaron tried to make a suggestion to Robert.

“Tenlio is too stupid to be the one warrant that should claim that they’ve escaped the Sugden - Dingle duo. So after him we go.” Aaron tried to say something, but Robert cut him off “I know what you’re about to say, and no, I don’t want to, and yes I am sure. I don’t know where he is. So we keep ahead of course.”

“Alright. Our job it is then.” Aaron looked at Robert with a softness in his eyes that he didn’t know he had. Robert had this deep stare. Fixed and intense. Determined. “What’s happening?”

“Nothing” Robert shook his head and got up from the seat near the left side panel of controls of this ship. “Do you know the name of this ship?”

“No. Why would I? What does it matter, it’s just a loan”

“Do you really want to go back to that moon?”

“Of course not, but I know these things are worth a lot in scrap value. Spare parts are a good commodity to negotiate with around these moons.” Aaron replied but he wasn’t really in the mood for this conversation.

“Yeah, well, you shouldn’t negotiate with idiots”

“Oh that is long done and dusted since I’ve met you”

“When did you meet me? Where did you see me for the first time?”

Robert started leaning his tall body against the wall that would lead to the sleeping rooms downstairs.

Aaron didn’t even have to think about that moment. He remembered that day as if it were yesterday, the memory of seeing Robert for the first time would be etched into his eyelids forever. He was just getting his badge from the receptionist at the RAC and he was making googly eyes at everything that was moving. They locked eyes for a nanosecond and Aaron’s felt that deep burn inside of him since then. He needed to know things about Robert since then.

How does he go about his day, how long does he sleep, what does he eat, where does he come from.

When he used his RAC accredited search prowess, Aaron couldn’t find any information on Robert. There were loads of stuff about his family, his hero brother, his hero father, his beloved and late mother. But nothing about Robert specifically as a person. Just some silly paperwork, but it was as if he had nothing special about him, as if he had only existed inside his little norms. On paper, Robert was unremarkable. In person, Robert was a volcano.

“I know how I met you”. I was drinking at the bar on the furthest moon and you walked in, waved your credentials and gun and caught this guy and you got money. I wanted to be like you. Walk in anywhere, free of the stigma, free of the family name. So i went and gave it up when I signed on. I had hoped that we could become partners but then I learnt that the majority of the Killjoys were going about it alone. But I didn’t want to do that, so I had to find you.”

Aaron froze on the spot as Robert was being more honest than ever with his words, his voice changed, his entire body language was trying to be silenced by the brain. “Well, you should have said something”.

“I’m saying it now.” And Robert just moved in and he grabbed his face and he kissed Aaron so hard that Aaron almost melted in a puddle at Robert’s feet. But he caught up fast as the shock of the first two seconds had washed off and he started pulling at Robert’s jacket. Robert started pulling at his hoodie’s zipper and immediately jammed his hands underneath Aaron’s tshirt. Aaron felt his hands like something his skin didn’t know it needed. Aaron felt Robert’s touch with every second passing the more intense, the more sure, like his hands were made to touch him.

His tshirt flies away and a hand is taken away from his skin, only to be met with his belt buckle as it was dragging it downstairs towards the sleeping chambers.

They stumbled on each other, Robert’s head got stuck in his shirt, Aaron has hit his elbow as he was trying to shove off his trousers. They were clumsy but they were doing it together. Each second when Aaron didn’t have Robert’s lips and tongue on his, those were wasted seconds. If only he could have accepted to himself earlier that the reason why he was so infatuated with Robert and his loud and obnoxious stories was because he thought that he was painfully unavailable. Robert on the other hand was just trying to be obviously available. They only needed the better part of a year, light kidnapping and theft of a spaceship in order to give in to the attraction.

That hunger they both felt as they were undressing and the state of contempt and calm Aaron was experiencing in the moments when Robert was in between his legs. No one else has fit that way, no one else has felt that way and no one else has touched him that way. He needed it so bad, he grabbed Robert’s shoulders and dug his fingers into his skin, receiving an approving moan back from Robert.

Neither of them realize how long it has been, or what was happening on the screens because they have been intelligent enough to disable the ship’s AI.

As they sat in bed super satisfied, peaceful and calm, Robert was holding Aaron who was facing the opposite way. Every inch of his skin was covered by every inch of Robert’s skin. They were tangled with legs, arms, fingers and purpose.

“You know, I heard that Killjoys that are couples have a better success rate in closing warrants”.

“Did ya really?” Laughter came out with that reply from Aaron’s mouth. Truth is he was feeling happy. He didn’t quite understand why this feeling was so closely tied to Robert. He’s had a plethora of men suitors, but none of them has ever felt like Robert did then.

He was laying on his side, fingers tangled with Robert’s. He was peaceful and he closed his eyes and fell asleep against an already sleeping Robert.

Nothing to wake him up like a good healthy jog of the ship. Robert however was having none of that and he looked just as calm and perfectly asleep as before.

“Robert, wake up!” Aaron shook him with his entire body, and he jolted a bit.

“Yeah I’m awake, what happened where’s the rush?” Robert attempted to make an effort as he was clearly only half conscious.

“We’re being boarded you idiot, quick, wake up, please wake up and grab your gun”

“We’re being wh.. OH!” and that was the exact moment when Robert’s brain decided to produce some cooperation. They both simultaneously jump from the bed and look for their guns in the pile of clothes on the floor and Aaron can’t find his. “Well, where did you put it?!!” Robert looked at him with giant panicking eyes.

“Well, I don’t know Robert, I was so careful and meticulous with how I undressed before my slumber last night.” Aaron mocked him and he saw that Robert enjoyed it.

“Dingle, you’re meticulous alright but in other areas of activities” and Aaron felt Robert’s eyes on his body, measuring him up and down. Too bad this flirting was rudely interrupted by the door of the chambers being knocked down, Aaron jumped behind Robert’s back as Robert began to fire his gun and then lunge very naked at the people trying to fight them.

As Robert was trying to keep them at a distance, two other men came storming in and Aaron went on hand-to-hand combat in which he had a slight disadvantage with him being naked and all. Robert paused for a second to admire Aaron’s naked fighting skills.

By some miracle they manage escaping the first wave of attackers. Without thinking twice or even showing a remote to stop to get dressed even a little bit, they advanced in the halls. The ship’s emergency systems weren’t activated either which was an inconvenience, but at least they can put this chapter to the lessons learnt section.

“I hope some other dude comes at you trying to best you in combat. I like to see you fighting” Robert told Aaron and he rolled his eyes in reply. They kept advancing along the halls of the ship, in complete silence. Aaron’s focus isn’t fully on their escape from the stolen ship. He likes to occasionally take a glance at Robert, and once he caught Robert doing the same thing.

“OK, this is serious now. We have to focus and decide how we’re gonna get out of this mess” Aaron tells Robert.

“Well, finding something to wear is high on my list. And I think we can take on these guys. How many can they be? 10-15? We just took out 4 of them with barely any problems. We’ll be fine, Aaron, trust me” Robert said before he gave Aaron a quick kiss on the top of his head and also before a voice came from behind.

“Well, I’ve seen a lot more things than I was planning on seeing today, so let’s cut this short, shall we? You tell me where the other Sugden brother is and then I will kill you quickly, I promise no pain. Never had any complaints so far, so you can trust me.”

It was the same man that was interrogating Robert when Aaron came in and fooled him into taking a step back. They turned around and were facing him.

“I don’t know where he is, and I am not interested in finding him. The further away he is from me, the better. And for the record, he’s not my brother, so you can stop using that word.” Robert spat back. Aaron knew that this attitude would get them in trouble, and he tried to motion with his head and eyes that he should probably stop being like that, considering their present circumstances.

“Right, sure. I believe you. And to show you a token of my belief you will have the privilege of coming with me.” he turned around and gestured to his goons to take them away as well. However, when one of them tried to grab Aaron’s arm, he started fighting back, disarmed the guard and immobilised 4 of them in a few seconds. Before Robert could understand what was happening, Aaron had his gun pointed towards the interrogation man.

“Yeah, I don’t fancy going back to that moon, ta.” and he shot him, neutralising but not killing him. “Alright, so I think these were all. I think they need sending back home, don’t you?”

Robert was standing there stunned, in full admiration and disbelief that Aaron would do anything for him.

“Yeah, let’s send these suckers back to where they came from.” and they started dragging their currently neutralised bodies back to their ship. While Robert was carrying out the last few, Aaron rigged the autopilot to send them to the furthest moon in the Quad system.

“There. Gone.” Aaron said as they watched the small ship pulling away and flying off into the dark void. Robert turned around, crooked smile on his face, and kissed him. Hard and decidedly. “You know, we did all this while naked and basically unarmed. Imagine what we can do when we are armed and clothed.”

“Well, I don’t plan on putting on clothes anytime soon.” Aaron got up and took Robert’s hand into his, leading him back to their chambers. He didn’t look back, he knew Robert would follow with that dumb look on his face, but unexpectedly he felt Robert stop. “What’s wrong?” Aaron turned around to find Robert staring wide eyed and basically frozen at a piece of paper on the ship’s floor. Aaron examined the paper closely, and he saw that it was from an old book. He hasn’t seen one of those in a long time, and next to it, there were some words scribbled by hand. Aaron never learned how to read old human handwriting and he asked Robert what was it.

“That’s 1984. That’s…” he took a small breath and paused a little before finishing what he had to say. “That’s my mother Sarah’s favourite book. She was reading this for the millionth time right before she died. I think this is a message from Andy, to me. This is why they thought that I knew where he was!”

Aaron was stunned and kneeled on the floor next to Robert whose hands were trembling as he was holding onto that piece of paper. Then he looked up at Aaron, eyes shining and shallow and quick breaths. “Will you.. Help me?” he asked as his hand reached for Aaron’s arm.