Robron week day 3: reunited and it feels so good
We’ll always have... Porto? (AO3)
Robert gets out of prison and comes back to Emmerdale, only Aaron isn’t around anymore. Post-canon fix it.
A/N: yes this is super late... but better late than never right?
A/N 2: it’s a long one, grab a snack and a drink before reading!
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Two and a half years. Two and a half long years.
That’s how long has passed since Robert was a free man. Since he’d seen his family. Since he’d been happy.
He’d been miserable and downright suicidal the first few months, but eventually he’d accepted his fate and focused on the inane jobs they’d made him do, and tried to actually befriend some of the other guys in his wing.
For protection if nothing else.
And now, suddenly, miraculously right before his birthday, it was all over.
“Come on Sugden, you’re getting out today. You don’t want to give anyone time to change their mind.” Ian, one of the guards said, clapping his hands together to move him along.
He was one of the younger guards and Robert had often wondered how he’d ended up as a guard in a prison on the Isle of Wight. A high security one at that. The guys that were in there weren’t there for stealing a packet of gum.
Robert followed him through the gates to the intake area where he’d only been once before. The day he’d arrived. It almost seemed like a lifetime ago.
“We’ve still got your personal belongings in storage, the clothes you came in with and whatever else you had on you.” Ian told him as he took off Robert’s handcuffs and handed him a bag. “You can change in there.” He gestured at a glorified shower meets changing room where the new arrivals could shower and change into their prison uniforms. “No funny business, you know there’s camera’s around here.”
“Yeah… wouldn’t have it any other way.” Robert said in an attempt at a joke. He changed out of his uniform and then realised the clothes he’d worn to court were the clothes he’d arrived in prison in. The suit he bought because Aaron had said he’d liked the way he looked in blue. He closed his eyes and tried not to think about the first time he’d worn it, or the first time Aaron had taken it off of him.
“Come on Sugden.” Ian knocked on the wall since the only door was a ratty old shower curtain. “I do have more to do today.”
“Yeah. Almost done.”
Fifteen minutes later he was standing next to Ian, waiting for the last few gates to open and give him his freedom back.
“You got anyone waiting for you on the other side?” Ian asked while they waited.
“Not really no. I was meant to do 14 years. People move on, you know.”
A buzzer sounded and the large iron gates started to move.
“No girlfriend? Wife? Didn’t you say you had a kid?”
“Yeah. A son. He lives with his mother. Probably doesn’t even remember me. He was only two when I got sent down.”
“That’s rough, man.”
“Yeah…” Robert replied, not sure what to say.
Ian walked him through the now opened gate held out his hand for Robert to shake.
“Well, this is it, man. Good luck to you, I hope I won’t see you back here again.”
“Me too.” Robert agreed and started walking, head down and hands in his pockets, unsure where to go.
“ROBERT!” someone suddenly yelled and Robert’s head snapped up.
“Vic?” Her hair was longer than the last time he’d seen her and she was smiling.
“Robert!” she yelled again, running towards him. “I’m so sorry I’m late. They wouldn’t give me a time when you were getting out and then I wasn’t sure if it was this gate or the one on the other side and the boys were being difficult all morning…” She didn’t finish her sentence, just wrapped her arms around him. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too.” Robert settled on as he made himself hug her back. “I didn’t think you’d be here…”
“Of course I was going to be here! You’ve been inside for over two years for something you didn’t even do! Where else was I going to be?”
“I don’t know… at home?”
She scoffed.
“Like I could just stay at home and go to work knowing my big brother was getting out.” She slapped his arm and then took his bag from him. “Come on, let’s get out of here. David and the boys stayed at the B&B. We got here two days ago and we have a room for you too. You’re going to have to share with Jacob though, they wouldn’t let us rent a room and not stay in it for two days.”
Robert shook his head, trying to make sense of what Vic was saying. He’d talked to her on the phone a few times since his case was reopened and she’d shared some of what was going on in her life, but he still had trouble catching up.
“I parked around the corner, this island is bigger than you think.” She continued. “But we’re leaving on the first ferry out tomorrow morning. I would have booked it for today but they wouldn’t give me a time so I didn’t want to risk it.”
“Tomorrow is fine. I’ve spent two years here… what’s another day.”
Vic stopped to really look at him.
“How are you? Really.”
“I’m out, that’s what matters.” Robert settled on. “The rest… I’ll figure out along the way.”
“Well I’m here for you. No matter what.” Vic told him, wrapping an arm around his waist and tucking herself under his arm. “Let’s go grab a bite to eat. I think I saw a chippy on the way over here.”
“No I’m ok. I just ate. Let’s just get out of here. I want to meet my nephew.”
Vic’s face lit up.
“I told him about you, you know. I told him his uncle Robert is coming home. I think he understands it’s a big deal. And Seb is excited to see his dad again too.”
Robert stopped dead in his tracks at the mention of his son’s name.
“Seb’s here?”
“Yes… I told you… he lives with me and David.”
“He what? Since when?”
“About six months I think now… I told you this, Robert.”
“No you didn’t. I would have remembered.” Robert vowed. “What happened to Rebecca? And Ross?”
“They broke up. Ross moved to America. I think he lives in LA now… or was it Santa Monica…I don’t remember.” She shrugged. “And Rebecca couldn’t cope and left Seb with us… I’m his guardian… It’s all official. Since I’m his only living next of kin. Or… was. Now you’re out you can be his dad again.”
Robert’s head was spinning. He’d thought about Seb every single day but he’d pretty much accepted Rebecca would never let him see him again. At least not as long as she was able to make decisions for him.
Vic guided him over to her car and put his bag in the back.
“Come on, let’s go. It’s not far.
The drive over to the B&B seemed to take forever but when they were finally there, Robert couldn’t make himself go inside and see his son again.
“Rob? Are you coming?” Vic waited in the doorway.
“I… I’ve dreamed about this for two years, Vic… but… what if he’s scared of me? I’m a stranger. He was so little when I got sent down.”
“You’re his dad. I’ve told him all about you. You’re not a stranger.”
“But… he doesn’t know me… Ross is his dad… Rebecca is his mum… that’s the life he knows.”
“Used to know. He knows his dad is coming home today. He’s excited. David and Jacob took all three of them to this playground down the road this morning to work off some nervous energy.” Vic told him. “Now come on, come say hi to your son.”
Before Robert could make up his mind either way, the door opened and David walked out with Seb holding his hand.
He’d gotten so big, and his hair had brightened to a more blond instead of the ginger it had been when he was little, and he was wearing a shirt with a giraffe on it Robert himself could have picked out for him.
“Look Seb, it’s daddy.” Vic said happily as Robert dropped to his knees in front of his son.
“Hey mate… remember me? I know it’s been a while… but I’m so happy to see you.” He said, blinking away the tears.
“Go on mate, go say hi. Give your dad a hug.” David urged Seb who took a few gingerly steps towards Robert, who in turn couldn’t resist scooping him up in his arms.
“I missed you so much.” He kissed the top of Seb’s head. “So much. I promise I’m going to be the best dad I can to you from now on.” He let the boy go and wiped at his cheeks, unable to stop the tears from flowing.
“Are you sad?” Seb asked, which made Robert cry even harder. He’d only been babbling when Robert went away and now he was speaking full sentences. “No mate, I’m just really happy to see you again.”
They spent the rest of the day relaxing at the B&B, while the kids played in the garden, and Robert got David and Jacob to catch him up on what had been happening back in Emmerdale.
“Diane moved to Portugal, Moira has a brother, Gabby had a baby, and Liv and Vinny got married? I have missed a lot, haven’t I?”
“Don’t worry mate, I’m sure you’ll fit back in right away.” David assured him and Robert just nodded.
There was only one person he was truly interested in, and that person seemed to be missing from all of the stories.
They left the island the next day and drove back to Emmerdale.
They stopped at a McDonalds just outside Birmingham to grab a bite to eat and stretch their legs and let the kids play in the ball pit for a while.
David and Jacob were getting the food in and Robert took the opportunity to ask Vic about the one thing that had been on his mind ever since he’d found out he’d be released.
“So… how’s Aaron?” he asked casually. Like he wasn’t dying to know the answer.
Vic bit her lip.
“What? Did he meet someone? Did he remarry?”
“He… went out with a kayak instructor for a while… I don’t know how serious it was…”
“Ok… Was? Did they break up?”
“Something like that…”
“Something like that? What does that mean? What aren’t you telling me?”
Vic took a deep breath and Robert braced himself for what she was about to say.
“They went out for a while but the guy died. He got murdered. And Aaron left the village not long after and I don’t think anyone knows where he is now.” She said quickly.
“What?”
“I heard Chas say something about him meeting up with Adam but he wouldn’t tell her where. I think he texts her every now and then but she still doesn’t know where he is.”
“I… wow…” Robert trailed off, not sure what to say.
“I didn’t want to upset you by telling you… but I didn’t want you to get your hopes up that he’d be there when you came back.”
Robert shook his head.
“It’s fine. I’m ok. It’s ok.” He forced a smile. “I’m just going to see what the kids are up to.”
The rest of the journey back to Emmerdale, Robert got lost in his own head. In all scenarios he’d thought up about his return to the village, Aaron was always there. Not quite welcoming him back with open arms, but there nonetheless. And knowing he wouldn’t be now and nobody knew where he was, really threw him for a loop.
“Home at last.” David announced as Vic parked the car.
When Robert looked out the window he noticed they’d stopped outside Farrers Barn instead of Keepers Cottage.
“Why are we here?”
“We live here.” Vic told him. “David and I moved in together last year. The boys were always together anyway… and Matty and Amy needed their own space.” She explained. “I told you this last time we talked.”
“Right... yeah… must’ve slipped my mind…”
He hid in the house for the next few days, insisting he didn’t want a fuss for his birthday, and just wanted to settle back in on his own terms.
In reality he didn’t want to know what Emmerdale was like without Aaron down the road.
In the end it was David who convinced him to come out of hiding and help out in the shop for a few hours.
By some miracle nobody he really knew came in and he didn’t have to have any awkward conversations.
Until Liv walked in.
“Robert?!” she said dumbfounded. “Is that you?”
“Yeah… hey…”
“But… when did you get out? How did you get out? Did you escape?”
“And come back to my hometown? That’s the first place they’d look.” He said, amused. “I got out a few days ago. New evidence, case was reopened… and here I am.” He said, giving her the short version of events.
They chatted for a little while, and Robert had to admit to himself it was good to see her again. They hadn’t always seen eye to eye, but he still considered her his sister of sorts.
“I hear congratulations are in order? I can’t believe you got married!”
She smiled brightly and told him how she and Vinny had eloped, and how Mandy and Chas had blown a gasket over it.
And if he enjoyed that part of the story the most, nobody had to know.
“I just wish Aaron would have been there…”
“He wasn’t there?”
She shook her head.
“He left a few weeks before Christmas… and I haven’t talked to him since. Things weren’t going so great between us.”
“Just give him time… I’m sure he’ll reach out to you sooner or later.”
“Yeah… maybe.” She shrugged. “It’s better like this. Us living in each other’s pockets wasn’t doing anyone any good.” She put her card on the machine to pay for her shopping. “I should get back, Vin will be home soon and we’re having dinner with Mandy.”
“Alright. See you around.”
“You too. I’m glad you’re out Rob.”
Robert nodded.
“Yeah. Me too.”
Over the next few weeks Robert slowly settled back into village life as best as he could. He worked the odd shift in David’s shop and spent as much time with Seb as possible to make good on his promise to be the best dad he could be to him.
One day, a few weeks after he’d gotten released, Bernice and Kerry insisted he needed a haircut and a makeover, and by the time he left the salon, he almost felt like his old self again.
Almost.
The most important part of his old life was missing… and he had no way to find it.
“We were thinking of going to see Diane.” Vic said that night during tea. “We stayed with her a bit last year and the boys loved it.”
“Ok. Do you need me to mind the shop?”
“No, I’ve got Amy for that.” David said quickly. “And Jake when he’s not studying for his exams. The shop will be fine.”
“We thought you might want to come along?” Vic suggested. “I’m sure Diane would love to see you.”
“I don’t know… what would I do all day in some retirement village in Portugal?”
“It’s not like that. Diane lives in a flat in downtown Porto and she has plenty of spare rooms for us. And Paul and his partner Gabriel live just down the road and they own a bar.”
“Paul?”
“Auntie Val’s son! Our cousin!”
“Right…” Robert couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Paul or if he’d ever met the guy at all but he figured a few weeks away from the village wouldn’t be so bad. “When did you want to go?”
Apparently when Vic put her mind to something, she didn’t waste any time, and by the end of the week Robert found himself having lunch with Diane in some café in Porto not far from her house.
“It’s good to have you back, pet.” She said for about the 20th time since they’d arrived and patted his knee. “You look well, despite everything.”
“Yeah, well… That’s down to Bernice. She decided I needed a makeover.”
“He had long hair down to his shoulders.” Vic said laughingly. “And a beard. A full beard, not like he has now.”
“Yeah alright, enough criticising my looks now, thank you.”
Suddenly a guy walked up to their table and for a second Robert assumed he was a waiter until he pulled up a chair and sat down next to Diane.
“Sorry I’m late. We had a bit of a staff crisis at the bar.” He explained. “My manager quit and left for Hungary this morning and half of my staff is either sick or unavailable.”
“Did you get it solved?” Vic asked and the guy shook his head.
“No. I think Gabriel and I will have to man the taps ourselves tonight.” He said and Robert put two and two together and figured out he must be Paul.
He studied the guy for a moment, trying to remember if he’d ever met him, trying to picture what he’d looked like about ten years younger, when Vic snapped her fingers in front of his face.
“What?”
“Diane suggested you might want to help out in the bar tonight. You’ve done bar work, right?”
“Uh… yeah… yeah I have.”
“Do you speak Portuguese by any chance?” Paul asked.
“I speak Spanish…” Robert offered.
“Yeah that’s not the same thing…” Paul trailed off. “But I’m desperate. So if you’re up for it… you’d be doing me a huge favour. I’ll pay you of course.”
“Yeah, alright. Just tell me where and when.” Robert said after a beat, feeling like he’d missed half the conversation and had no idea what he just agreed to.
Paul’s bar turned out to be one of the most popular gay bars in the city, and Robert quickly found out a lot of his customers liked blond men with a ‘cute’ English accent.
In the three hours he’d been there, he’d gotten more free drinks, proposals (mostly indecent) and phone numbers than ever before.
Paul seemed happy and Robert himself had to admit he was enjoying himself. Even if he wasn’t interested in taking any of the guys up on their offer, the attention was a nice ego boost.
“Could you collect some empty glasses?” Paul asked him around midnight. “We have a drag show starting in half an hour and if they have an empty glass in their hand they won’t order anything.”
“Sure.” Robert grabbed a tray and started moving through the crowd and picking up empty glasses and bottles from tables.
“Hey mate do you know if there’s any jobs going – Robert?”
Someone had tapped Robert on the shoulder and when he’d turned around, he’d come face to face with just about the last person he’d expected to see.
“Aaron?” he shook his head. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing. You’re supposed to be in prison for another twelve years.”
“I… I got out.”
“I can see that.” Aaron replied. “How? What did you do? I thought you weren’t going to appeal because it wouldn’t make a difference?”
“I didn’t appeal.”
“Then what happened? Did the English legal system suddenly decide fourteen years were over in two?”
Robert shook his head.
“No. It’s uh… it’s a long story.”
Aaron sighed.
“It always is with you.” He looked Robert up and down, and noticed the bar logo on his shirt. “You work here now?”
“No. Yes. I… I don’t know. I do tonight I guess.” Robert told him. “I sort of got roped into helping out my… cousin I guess. Paul. Val’s son. Diane’s nephew. He owns this place.”
Aaron nodded slowly.
“Right. Does he need an extra pair of hands?”
“You?”
“Why not? I can pull a pint.”
“Right. Yeah. Of course you can.” Robert said and looked around for Paul, but only saw a frustrated Gabriel walking towards him.
“Robert, por favor! I need you to work!”
“Gabriel, this is Aaron, my… uh… I know him from back home. He wants to help out.”
Gabriel turned to look at Aaron.
“Do you have experience working in a bar?”
“My mother owns a pub. I used to help out from time to time.”
“Perfect. You’re hired. Robert will show you where everything is.” Gabriel said and walked away, muttering Paul’s name under his breath along with what Robert was pretty sure were swearwords.
“Right… I uh… follow me I guess.” He told Aaron and took him to the back where Paul had given him a shirt with the bar logo earlier that night. “I uh don’t exactly know where everything is… I only started here a few hours ago.”
“I guess we’ll just have to figure it out together. We’ve always been good at that.” Aaron said and the two of them walked back into the bar.
After a short while of figuring out where to find everything, it was like they were back in their kitchen back in Emmerdale or helping out behind the bar in the Woolpack together. They moved around each other like they’d worked together for years.
Robert supposed in a way they had.
“Thanks for helping out guys.” Paul said after the last guests had left, a few hours later. He took some cash from the till and handed them both their share. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
“No problem.” Robert replied. “You’re family right? We help each other.”
“And this place is great. I don’t suppose you need anyone full time, do you?” Aaron asked.
“I suppose I could use some extra hands for now at least… Can you be here tonight at 8?”
“Absolutely.”
“You too Robert?”
“Uh… sure.”
“Great. You guys are life savers.” Paul said patting both of them on the shoulder. “How do you know each other again?”
“Robert and I go way back.” Aaron said, more to Robert than Paul.
They left Paul and Gabriel to close up the club and just as Robert was trying to figure out how to get back to Diane’s, Aaron stepped in front of him.
“So… want to explain now how you’re out twelve years before you’re supposed to without appealing?” he asked. “Did you escape and are you hiding out here now?”
Robert looked at him and saw the hint of amusement in his eyes.
“Why does everyone assume I escaped? Liv said the same thing!” he said in mock exasperation.
“You’ve seen Liv?”
“Yeah. I’ve been out a few weeks. Just before my birthday. Vic picked me up and took me back to Emmerdale.”
Aaron nodded.
“How is she? Liv I mean.”
“She’s… alright. Sober. And Vinny is looking out for her.” Robert told him, leaving out the detail of them getting married. Liv could tell him that herself.
“Right. Good. That’s good.” Aaron cleared his throat. “Things weren’t going too well between us when I left…”
“She told me. Maybe you should text her sometime… to catch up.”
Aaron nodded again and Robert could tell exactly when he decided to change the subject again.
“Speaking of catching up… if you didn’t escape and didn’t appeal… what happened?”
“Do you want the long story or the short story?”
“The full story.”
“Ok.”
They started walking through the city and ended up in the harbour, walking along the empty quay.
“Well…” Aaron pushed when Robert didn’t say anything.
“I’m just… trying to figure out where to begin.”
“When did you know you were getting out?”
“Not long ago… a few weeks before I actually got out. That happened pretty quickly actually.”
“Right.”
“I… I… It was sometime last summer. I think. My solicitor suddenly showed up saying my case had been reopened because of new evidence.”
“What kind of evidence?”
“Luke Posner growing a conscience.”
“What?”
“He made a statement saying he’d fought with his brother the same day I hit him and that he’d hit his head and lost consciousness for a while.”
“Ok… but we knew that already. And Vic said that wouldn’t make a difference… because you’d plead guilty.”
“Yeah… that’s what I thought too… but Wendy apparently signed off on his body being exhumed and re-examined… and the results were inconclusive.”
“Right. What does that mean?”
“That they couldn’t be sure it was me that delivered the fatal blow or if he’d been a ticking time bomb and would have ended up in hospital any way.” Robert told him. “My sentence was reduced from murder to GBH with intend, but then my lawyer argued they couldn’t prove that either and in the end it was dropped down to common assault. Because I admitted to hitting him. But that’s only six months or a fine… so I got out on time served.”
“I… wow. That’s… a lot.”
“Yeah. You’re telling me.”
“And how did you end up here then? Family reunion?”
“Something like that. Vic wanted to come here to see Diane… and dragged me and David and the kids along.”
“Diane lives here?”
“Yeah. She moved here a few months ago.”
They chatted for a while, Robert filling Aaron in on life in the village and Aaron telling him about some of the things he and Adam had gotten up to since they’d met up.
Robert felt himself get tired and sat down on a wall by the water, legs dangling over the edge.
“So… I heard you went out with a kayak instructor.” He started when Aaron sat down next to him. “I heard what happened. Poor guy. There is a picture of him up at the Hide as a memorial. He seemed nice.”
“Hmm…” Aaron just said, staring out at the water. “You would have hated him.” He said after a pause. “He would have hated you.”
Robert shrugged.
“I seem to have that effect on people.”
Aaron shook his head and Robert saw the smile tugging at his lips.
“He was a good guy really. Nice. Uncomplicated. We used to go to school together actually. Back when I lived with Sandra.”
“Childhood romance?”
“Hardly.” Aaron snorted. “I bullied him for being gay.”
“Wow. Really? And I thought we were a mess.”
“We got past it eventually. He was… nice.” Aaron shrugged. “We were going to move to Newquay together. He got a job there… it was supposed to be our fresh start.”
“But then…”
“Yeah.” Aaron nodded. “I never even went to his funeral or anything. I never went to say goodbye.”
“Did you love him?” Robert asked, not sure he wanted to know the answer.
“I… I thought I did…” Aaron said after a long pause. “I even told him I did… but…” he bit his lip. “I don’t think I ever loved anyone like I love you.” He looked up at Robert. “No-one else comes close.”
Robert smiled.
“That’s my line.”
“It’s true though. I tried to forget you and move on… and maybe if Ben had lived and we’d have moved… I could have been happy with him… but I know what true love feels like… and that wasn’t it. I think I could have been… satisfied. But it would never have been what you and I had.”
“Until I threw it all away.”
“Yeah. I… understand why you did it. I think.”
“I didn’t want you to put your life on hold for me for that long. Or however long. You deserved to live. Still do.”
Aaron nodded.
“I’m trying.”
“Yeah. Me too.”
“Are you going back home?”
“I don’t know.” Robert shrugged. “I guess so. To get full custody of Seb. Vic is his guardian now.”
“He’s here?”
“Yeah. The whole family is.” Robert pulled his phone out of his pocket and Aaron recognised it as the same one he’d had when they were together. “Can you believe this thing still works?” He swiped through his camera roll and pulled up a picture of him and Seb on the swings in the village from about a week ago.
“Wow. He’s gotten so big. I haven’t seen him in so long… Rebecca wouldn’t let him come over.”
They talked about Seb for a while, laughing over things he’d said and done, and looking through pictures on Robert’s phone, until the tiredness started to kick in, just as the city was starting to wake up.
“It’s almost 6am. We pulled an all-nighter.” Robert said as Aaron rubbed his face to wake himself up.
“Been a while since we’ve done that.”
“Before I went away.”
“That video game marathon you insisted on.”
“That you were more than happy to go along with.”
Aaron laughed.
“I seem to remember I beat you though.” He bumped his shoulder against Robert’s. “We had some good times, didn’t we?”
“Best years of my life.” Robert vowed. “You made me happier than I’d ever been. You gave me the courage to be myself… you gave me a family. You loved me for me. I’ll never forget that.”
Aaron looked him in the eye, glanced down at his lips, and met his eyes again.
“Aaron?”
He didn’t say anything but moved his hand up to Robert’s face and stroked his cheek.
“It’s weird seeing you with a beard… but it suits you.” He looked up and ran his hand through Robert’s hair. “The longer hair too.”
“You think so?” Robert asked, afraid to move and break the spell.
“Yeah…” he moved his hand to the back of Robert’s neck and lightly brushed his thumb up and down. “I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you too. More than you’ll ever know.”
Aaron gave him a sleepy smile and pulled him closer until they were practically sharing one breath. They stayed like that for a moment until he leaned forward and pressed a barely there kiss to Robert’s lips.
They pulled back to look at each other and smiled before leaning back in for more.
He’d dreamed of feeling Aaron’s lips on his own for so long, Robert could barely believe it was happening.
“I feel like I’m dreaming.” He said when they broke the kiss.
Aaron smiled at him.
“Me too. But it’s the best dream I’ve had in a long time.”
They kissed and held each other close while they watched the sun rise over the harbour and the city woke up around them.
The quay was getting busier with people going to work and going about their daily routines.
“We should go…” Robert said and got up while Aaron did the same. “How do you feel about a family breakfast? You, me, and Seb?” he asked, not wanting their time together to end.
Aaron smiled and took his hand.
“Sounds perfect.”
