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His nerves are shot, he can't seem to keep his hands from shaking, and his heart feels like its about to jump out of his chest. This is it, it's now or never. Robert opens the door and walks in before he loses his nerve. "Robert, what are you doing here?" Chrissie asks, confusion spreading across her face. She's stood by the mirror looking at herself. In her wedding gown. "You know it's bad luck to see the bride before..." She's trying to say when Robert let's go of the breath he's been holding on to and everything spills out. "I can't do it Chrissie. I'm sorry, but I can't marry you." He blurts out. "What do you mean you can't marry me? Robert, what's going on?" Her shrilling voice fills the air making Robert wince.
He hates himself for doing things this way, for letting them get this far. He's known for some time how he feels about Chrissie, how he feels about Aaron. He's known since he first laid eyes on him. He tried to fight it, tried to push it away, but hearing Aaron say the words...that changed everything. He can't keep doing this. It's not fair to anyone. Not fair to Chrissie. Not fair to Aaron. Not fair to himself. "I'm sorry Chrissie. I...I thought this was what I wanted, but it's not. Deep down I tried to convince myself that what we had was all real."
Chrissie fights back the tears pooling in her eyes, she's trying to hold back the anger that's sweeping over her. "Robert, you can't do this to me. Don't I mean anything to you?" She cries out making Robert hang his head in shame. "It's because I do care for you that I'm doing this. It wouldnt be fair to you, we'd be getting married for all the wrong reasons. Trust me, you'll be better off without me. You deserve someone who loves you for who you are, not for what you represent." He says before he feels the sting across his face. Chrissie was always for dramatics, she knew how to slap like no one else. "So what, you were only with me for what? My money? My social standing?" Chrissie asks. "It's not all like that Chrissie. I just...I think I was mostly doing this because I feel like this is what my dad would have wanted of me." He laments.
Chrissie takea a breath and tries to wipe her tears as she begins to walk away. "You're done at Home Farm so dont bother coming back around and feel free to tell our guests the wedding is off. I've been embarrassed enough today." She says over her shoulder giving him one final glare before walking away.
There's a small bitter cold hanging in the air as Aaron walks to the church doors, his chest still feeling the ache left behind after Robert rejected his confession, after he rejected him. He shakes his head and wipes at his eyes forcing himself to open the doors, to walk through the doors and watch the man he loves make the biggest mistake of his life. As he walks in he's struck with confusion when he sees there's no one at the altar, when everyone truns back and looks at him. "What's going on?" He quietly mouths to Andy who shrugs his shoulders in response.
He's only taking a seat near Victory when the loud clanking of the doors grabs everyone's attention yet again only this time it's Robert who walks in. There's a red mark on his left cheek and there's an odd look to his face. He almost looks relieved. He takes one quick glance at Aaron before he apologizes. "I'm sorry for keeping you all waiting, but the wedding's off." Gasps erupt all around, Victoria and Diane shoot off their seats and call out to him as he turns and walks out not giving a second glance.
Anguish, despair, worry, he's not even sure what to feel anymore. He feels like ripping out his hair as he paces about the living room, it's been nearly a week since Robert walked into the church and said called off the wedding, newrly a week since anyone had hear from him, nearly a week since Aaron had last seen him. He'd immidiatly texted Robert after asking what happened and texted again an hour later when he got no reply and yet again every other hour when he didnt hear back. He pulled out his phone and tried again.
Aaron: Robert, please talk to me. Where are you? I'm worried.
Again nothing. He takes a deep breath and drops down on the couch as he pinches the bridge of his nose. "You okay, luv?" Chas lovingly asks as she walks through from the pub. Aaron simply looks back at her shaking his head as if confused, trying to play it off. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"I don't know, you tell me. You've been...I dont know, distracted, this past week. What's the matter?" She asks. "Nothing's wrong." He quickly replies, almost to quickly. "Aaron, you can talk to me. You know that right? About anything." She coos him. "Yeah." He replies. "So talk to me...Is it a bloke? Are you seeing someone? Because you've been in such a state all week." Aaron shoots off the couch rolling his eyes. "Nothing's wrong, just leave it." He lets out before his he hears the ping and feels the buzzing in his hand. He looks at the screen of his phone he's been holding this whole time. A message from Robert, and finally he feels like he can breath again. "Is that him?" She asks, catching him off guard, he gives her a quizzical look. "The bloke, the one you're not telling me about." She clarifies and he grumbles in respond as he walks out opening the message.
Robert: Can we meet?
His pulse picks up reading it and he quickly replies.
Aaron: Yeah, where?
Robert: The barn, I'll be waiting.
Aaron: Yeah, be there soon.
The drive down to Wyllie's isn't long at all considering Aaron had nearly floored it all the way, he'd been so desperate, so worried about Robert there was no way he could wait much longer. It was starting to get dark out and the sky was littered with stars. It was quite a beautiful night, but all Aaron could focus on, all he could think about, was Robert.
The moment Aaron walked through barn doors he had been pinned against them. Robert held Aaron's face between his hands and took his lips hard and fast, Aaron melting into the contact. Neither realizing just how much they missed this, how much they missed each other. Aaron's lips quickly parting as Robert's tongue pushed it's way in both tongues fighting for control. They only parted to catch their breath and Aaron took the chance to pull back, hesitation wearing on him. "What happened? I was...I was worried." Aaron lets out between breaths as Robert runs a hand over his face. "I couldn't do it. I just couldn't. I thought...I thought it's what i wanted, but when you said you...on the drive back all I could think of was this." Robert motions between them. "You and me." He finishes, he can feel the next 3 three words hanging on his tongue, but he's terrified of what it means. He's terrified of what comes next. He's terrified of what his dad would think, so he keeps bottles it.
"So?" He hears Aaron say and it's only now that he realizes that he'd been pacing about as he thought things through. He turns his gaze back to Aaron. "So, what now?" Aaron asks. "I'm...I'm not sure. First off, I guess I need to find a place now that I don't have a place and I gueas I'm going to have to figure out how to get my stuff back from Home Farm." Robert's rambling. It's not quite what Aaron was asking, but he lets it slide besides Robert's got a point, he needs to get all that sorted.