#robweek2018

Day 2 - Write and emotional scene between Robert and another character.

Robert let out a breath as he walked through the shop. He had finally gotten a moments rest, not that he could complain, not with all the time he and Aaron are always taking off of work lately. No, there was no way he could really complain about all the work and meetings he had to put up with once they both felt they couldn't skive off any longer. They were happy though, it had been only been two months since they got back together and they couldn't keep away from each other, not with all the time they had to make up for.

He had three meetings today alone, two back in the scrapyard and one in Hotten where he found himself stopping by a shop to pick up some crisps and a drink, he'd finally gotten enough done he could relax for a bit before having to go back for a final meeting in the porta cabin. Part of him wished he'd lost the best and had gotten stuck with making runs for the scrapyard, the thought alone made him chuckle thinking of the look on Aaron's face, even more so when he realized that making the runs wasn't really a loss, not for Aaron. He'd gotten exactly what he wanted, it meant he didn’t have to suffer through meetings and paperwork. Cheeky git. He thought to himself as he pictured the smirk Aaron gave him as he hopped into truck.

Robert had his hands full of junk food by the time he got up to pay, crisps for himself, some of the posh crisps that Liv loves, and a whole lot of sweets. He figured he could treat himself to some chocolate. He deserves it for a job well done. Pulling the wallet from his pocket he noticed the latest issue of NME staring right at him and smile spread across his face as he picks it up, a smile that could only be brought on by one person in particular. A smile that light up any room. A smile that faded as his stomach flipped when he caught sight of someone, someone he never thought he'd see again. He nearly dropped as he tried to sneak out, unfortunately for him the shop keep yelled out to him. 

"Oi! You sure you want to run outta here without yer wallet?" The man shouted forcing Robert to stop dead in his tracks, even worse it made the man look in his direction, the man he hoped to never see again. 

The moment their eyes locked he couldn't help the wave of guilt that went through him, couldn't help but feel responsible for how things turned out for the man. He did feel responsible for his heartbreak after all.

"Robert." Alex had greeted with a curtness to his voice.

"Alex." Robert replied as he sheepishly walked back to the shop keep to retrieve his wallet.

"How's...uh...how's Aaron?"

"Good. Good." He replied trying to find the right answer, trying to make this less uncomfortable. Not that it was possible. "Forgot my wallet." He tried to joke waving his wallet in front of himself. 

Big mistake number one. Alex's eyes zoned in on his hand, no, his finger, no the wedding ring.

"So, I see you two are back together." Even Robert could see the morose look on his face as he asked.

Big mistake number two. "What? This?" He said with a bit of attitude as he ran his thumb along the surface of the ring. The cocky bastard he was deep down was showing, and he regretted it instantly.

Big mistake number three. "It was bound to happen." He joked. Fuck, what is wrong with me? He cursed himself. He couldn't help it. He felt nervous, felt awkward, and uncomfortable, but mostly he felt sorry.

"Fuck you." Alex said before storming off.

"Fuck." Robert let out under his breath. He never expected to see Alex again and he certainly didn't expect to feel as bad as he did for him. He quickly ran up the counter and grabbed the bag of his junk food he had already paid for and nearly ran out without and ran after Alex.

"Alex." He called after him as he caught up. "Listen, mate." He had started only to quickly be cut off.

"I'm not your mate. We are not mates." Alex nearly snarled back, not that Robert could blame him. He pretty much just ridiculed him, even if not on purpose. It's exactly what he dis. "I don't know what he sees in you. You're the biggest, most arrogant prick I have ever met in my life." 

Robert could see the tears building in his eyes and he got it. This was Aaron after all. He remembers what it felt like to lose him. He remembers what it's like not to ha e him.

"Look, about that, back there." He said pointing toward the shop. "I'm...I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. None of that. It's just... it's..."

"What?"

"You were making me feel uncomfortable."

"How incredulous?" Alex replied. "Me, making you uncomfortable?"

"Fuck. I'm sorry. I really am. It's just, I really am sorry you know. About everything." He said before running a hand down his face. He hated feeling so exasperated, so open, but Alex deserved it, he deserved some form of apology.

Alex scoffed at his words, nearly rolling his eyes at him

"Look, I really am. I'm sorry about the way things went down and I'm sorry that you got caught in the middle. Trust me, I know how it feels to be here, I know how it feels to lose him."

"You deserved to lose him. That was all on you."

Those words hit home, he was well aware of them. Well aware of the faults. He let his shoulders drop as he looked back at him, he needed to do this. He needed to put this all behind him. "I know." He replied, his tone completely different. Just thinking of all his mistakes, always took him back. Back to a place he would fight tooth and nail to make sure he never went back to. This is what this was about. He needed to make amends, he needed to clear his conscience. "Trust me I know, but..."

"But what?"

"There's just something between us. You know."

"No, I don't actually. I can't imagine why someone like him could possibly want with someone like you."

"I know it hard to understand but there's just so much history between us."

"Well, then why don't you make me understand. Enlighten me, please. Then maybe I could at least get some closure. Fuck. I mean, everything was going so great, it was perfect really. How...how could he..."

"It wasn't about you, Alex." He cut him off. "It really wasn't. It's just Aaron and I, we've been through so much together. So much. He's always been there for me and I've always been there for him. He knows all of my secrets and I know all of his."

"Like that he cuts himself?" Alex replies. "I know his secrets too. That didn't stop him from choosing you."

Robert gulps down hard, he's unsure of how to feel about what Alex just said. Part of him is jealous that he even told him, yet part of him is so fucking proud that he's become so brave about it, that he could confide in others. "I get that, but I know why he did it. Granted everyone knows now, but I'm the one who found out. I'm the one that got him through it, and it's not my story to tell, but it's the sort of thing that breaks you. It's the sort of thing that makes you want to hurt the person responsible for it. Bit through it all I was the for him to lean on. I made sure he was okay, I helped him realize that none of it was on him." He told him. Not that he was bragging, he really wasn't. He just wanted to make Alex understand. "D'you know I saved his life?" He asked.

"No." Alex responded, a look of shock across his face. Clearly there was plenty Aaron hadn't told him.

"It's what led to me finding out about everything. He'd cut himself so bad he got septicemia. Had I not found him and gotten him help, he would've died. After I got him to the hospital, I pressed him, I kept on him until he told me why he did it."

Alex swallowed hard as he listened. Fuck if he didn't hate Robert, but even he could see the utter look of devotion and love in his eyes.

"And that wasn't the only time I saved his life you know. He laughed. "I swear, they should name a wing of the hospital after us with how often we're in there."

Alex nearly chuckled, a bit of hospital humor almost got him. "What was the other time?"

"That's a hell of a story." Robert laughed. " You see, it was on the day I first proposed to him. I'd been trying to make things perfect and kept trying to find the right moment to pop the question and then what does he do? He shows up with Lachlan in the...well that part doesn’t matter." He stops himself from divulging too much. "But we ended up in his car, and we were having an argument, that's when I did it. I pulled out the ring and in my anger I asked him. The idiot took his eyes off the road and we ended up at the bottom of a quarry, trapped in his car."

"Fuck." Alex said. Not just in response to what Robert had said, but also to the realization that he didn't really know Aaron. Not like he thought he did.

"He was pinned down by the steering wheel and we couldn't get him free. He begged me to leave him before we both drowned and I refused. I gave him my last breath before he passed out, and fuck if I know how I managed, but I got him free. I got him out. And then." He says with excitement. "Like an idiot I went back to the car for the ring." He tells him, remembering everything about that day. The excitement, the worry, the fear, everything. "But you know what, none of that compares to how many times he's saved me from myself. I was such a fuck up before him, but he made me see that. He made me want to be a better man, and most of all he made me see that it was okay to be who I was, who I really am."

"Sounds like there's a lot of history there." Alex solemnly replies. It's not white the history between them he expected to hear, and as brokenhearted as he still found himself, it brought him a sense of peace. It was clear to him, really clear, that was Robert and Aaron shared was something he could never compete with. Nor was it anything he would want to compete with. What they had wasn't a simple pinning over an ex, it was beyond that. It was real connection. It was something that was clearly meant to be. He had only been a stopping point on a grander journey, and for the first time in two months he felt weight come off him. "I'm glad you were the for him, glad that you make him happy, I hope you two have a great life, Robert. Please make sure he's happy." He said only waiting for Robert to nod, and he was on his way.