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“There’s a party full of people asking after you downstairs, y’know.”
Aaron glances up and smiles at Robert, leaning against the doorframe with a slanted smirk playing on his lips and a hand running back through his unruly hair. It had styled with care and precision this morning, as Robert stood beside Aaron in front of the bathroom mirror. Aaron, meanwhile, had been brushing his teeth, grinning as their eyes met in the reflection, before finally allowing himself to lean into the familiar warmth of his fiancé. There had been a certain calm to it; they had each agreed that they wanted to savour the night, but as they began to dress for the party - it's not just any party, it’s an engagement party Aaron! - they’d been powerless to resist the ever-present desire that pulsed between them.
Safe to say, Robert’s hair never fully recovered from the onslaught of Aaron’s hands.
“I just needed a moment.”
“You okay?” Robert asks, stepping into the room as his brow begins to crease with concern. Aaron holds his response until the mattress dips, and Robert shuffles across the duvet to prop himself up against the headboard. The muffled thrum of party-goers below them drifts up through the floor, relentless and showing no signs of slowing despite their disappearance. Content within the bubble that they have created for themselves, Aaron shifts closer and smiles as Robert’s arm automatically lifts in anticipation. He tries not to overthink how easily he slots into the spot under his arm, as it tends to lead to horrifyingly soft comparisons to jigsaw pieces.
“I'm all right,” Aaron eventually says, “it’s just a lot of people.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
They settle into a stretch of silence afterwards, with Robert appeased and Aaron thankful for the reprieve, but it’s far from awkward. It’s never been awkward, come to think of it. On the hay in a post-coital haze or side by side underneath the sheets, the silence that wraps around them has always been a comfort, stitched together with a feeling of content. He can't remember any of his previous relationships having the same quality; he was always too afraid of the silence, too afraid of being left with his own thoughts. Moments like that are few and far between, now, and when they do happen, he knows he has people to turn to. People like Robert - his first port of call; the one who knows all of Aaron's secrets and still loves him despite it. People like his mum, Paddy, Adam, Victoria... sometimes just knowing he has so many people in his life is enough to bring him back from the edge.
And now those same people are downstairs, waiting for him, wanting to celebrate his happiness.
There's a party full of people asking after you downstairs, y'know.
“They'll be asking after you too,” the words are out before Aaron can even think to mull it over; a kneejerk, albeit belated, reaction to Robert's earlier words, “it’s our party.”
A scoff, “aside from Diane and Vic, they’re all here for you.”
Aaron curls closer, not sure whether he hates the partial truth or the audible insecurities in Robert’s tone, and murmurs into Robert’s chest, “s’not true. They’re happy for both of us. All of ‘em.”
“Hardly,” is the muttered response. Aaron struggles to prevent the frown from forming as he edges back and glances at Robert’s face. He appears mostly unaffected by his own words, eyes settling on Aaron with a raise of his eyebrows as if daring Aaron to argue against him. They both have their insecurities, it’s a common thread that has kept them bound to each other for so long, but it still startles him whenever he is reminded just how much Robert is also plagued.
Catching Robert’s cheek in his palm and tilting it towards him, he dips to steal a gentle kiss, brushing his thumb back and forth against soft skin. Aaron’s never been one for comforting, if anything it’s usually him being comforted, but there’s a startling instinct within him when it comes to Robert. It’s a nice change - to be able to act without thinking and not worry about it causing any destruction.
“Let’s go back, ay?” Aaron murmurs, smiling when Robert nods his head before kissing him again. As they untangle and slide off the bed, standing upright once more, a familiar voice bellows up the stairs. Adam’s. Making an obscene joke that is smothered by Victoria before it reaches the punchline, and instead completed by her frantic apologies.
Robert tuts, but the corners of his mouth are upturned, now, and Aaron rounds the bed to smooth his hands down the front of Robert’s shirt. Robert’s favourite shirt. Maroon, to match the suit that hangs in their wardrobe. Aaron’s is a royal blue, to match the suit that hangs beside it. An inside joke that nobody questioned and neither of them wanted to share. A silent reminder of how far they have come just to reach this point in their lives.
“Ah! Thought we’d lost you both, pet.” Diane gushes, alerting the rest of the pub to their return. Aware of the eyes on him, Aaron ducks his head and mutters an apology to Diane that is quickly waved away. It's at that moment, as he and Robert stand in the doorway to the pub, that it hits him - this will be them at some point in the not-too-distant future. At the front. The centre of attention. Their families’ eyes completely focused on them…
He swallows, tries not to overthink what’s to come. Before the wedding, they need to plan it (the thought of wedding planning itself threatens to break Aaron out in a cold sweat), but before they can do that, they have a party to finish. He can do that. He can drink for the rest of the night, hanging out with his family, friends and fiancé.
Speaking of his fiancé. Aaron glances up just in time to catch Robert being dragged away by two pairs of Dingle hands. The usual suspects – his mum and Cain. Aaron follows, prepared to help save his fiancé, but pauses at the familiar flash of green and struggles to fight against the smile that tugs at his lip. Robert follows their hands, apprehensive but no doubt too wary to fight against it.
Robert may be slightly fearful of Cain, but a few weeks ago Robert had quietly admitted that he's even more frightened of Chas. The future mother-in-law.
“We’ve got a little present for you.” Chas grins, winking at Aaron when she manages to catch his eye.
The action doesn't go unnoticed by Robert and causes him to narrow his eyes suspiciously as he hesitantly asks, "why do I feel like this is just for me?”
“Because it is, in a way. Aaron got the same thing a while back, and now it’s your turn.”
“Oh no,” while slightly sympathetic, Aaron can’t help but chuckle as he watches realisation flood Robert’s face. Eyes widening, mouth dropping, and retreating all of two steps before his back collides with the bar, “no, no, no. I am not drinking out of a welly.”
There’s a grin on Cain’s face, a grin that widens as Robert’s panicked protests continue to fall. The more Robert panics, the more it grows; the more it grows, the sharper it becomes. As Cain finally draws his arm from behind his back, brandishing the welly, his grin is almost feral, “oh but you are, Sugden. Call it an initiation. You do this, and we’ll let you marry our Aaron.”
Robert scoffs quietly, “as if you could stop us anyway.”
“You wanna test that, do you?”
Aaron waits, watching with a quirked brow as his fiancé hesitates. He looks to be gearing up for a rebuttal of some form but seems to falter when his eyes flicker to Aaron, then Liv. They’ve been together, on and off, officially and unofficially, for almost two years. Over that time, Aaron’s discovered each little flicker and falter that makes Robert relatively easy to read, but there are still occasions, like now, where it isn’t enough. He wants to know what thoughts trigger such changes in his expression.
Robert sighs, shifting his eyes back to Cain, “just one.”
The pub explodes with a loud cheer, hands slapping at Robert’s back and reaching for their phones in anticipation. Robert is all smiles but glances over to Aaron once more. When their eyes meet, his smile softens, melts into something gentle and thoughtful. Aaron smiles back.
As the Dingles form a line, passing the boot now filled with beer down it, Aaron thinks back to the words Robert spoke only minutes ago. They’re all here for you. In a way, Aaron knows he’s right – most of them are his family, so were it not him getting married, they wouldn’t be here. But at the same time, if they didn’t approve then they would’ve staged some form of intervention or family crisis meeting, or would've just avoided it all together. Zak and Joanie’s wedding was a testament to that mindset; it was only through force that he and the others attended. So the fact they’re here, smiling, enjoying themselves and willingly socialising with Robert speaks volumes.
Everyone here is here for Robert, as much as Diane and Victoria are here for Aaron.
“Don’t go backin’ out on us now, Sugden.” Cain’s voice, sharp but laced with amusement, drags Aaron from his thoughts. He directs his attention back to Robert, joining in with the calls of encouragement as he lifts the boot to his mouth. Aaron remembers his own initiation, mere months that feel like a lifetime ago, back when his relatively fledgeling relationship with Robert often felt like it was built on thin ice. They’d regularly fought, from bickering to break-up threats. For a while, Aaron had wondered if his hopes of a future with Robert had been a ridiculous pipedream. Now, he struggles to remember when his future had ever looked brighter.
Suddenly, Adam darts forward and smacks the bottom of the boot, cackling as Robert chokes and beer cascades down his shirt. The one that's his favourite. Aaron remembers the way Robert's eyes had gleamed at the sight of it in the shop, rattling on about the fabric and subtle patterns with such excitement that Aaron ignored the insanity of the price. That same shirt is now soaked in beer, but Robert is still grinning as he meets Aaron’s eyes once more through the crowd.
“You have fun tonight?” Aaron asks later, propped up against the headboard and mildly distracted as he watches Robert strip down to a pair of tight black boxers. Robert’s favourite shirt is in the wash basket, resting on top of Aaron’s own blue shirt. There’s a certain sentimentality brewing within him at the thought, but it’s quelled by Robert sliding into bed beside him.
“It was mad, but yeah, I did. Did you?”
“Yeah, it were alright.”
“Just alright?” Robert queries, looking up at him from where he has settled under the covers. He shifts his head on the pillow and offers Aaron a frown. It shouldn’t be endearing, but that doesn’t stop it from being so, “you'd better be more enthusiastic at the wedding.”
“More enthusiastic how? You want me to do cartwheels or something?” He means for it to be a joke, but Robert’s frown deepens and Aaron has learnt when to back-peddle. Sliding down to join Robert under the covers, he turns on his side, seeks out his fiancé’s hand and sighs, “I’m sorry, that were a shit joke. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it loads, I just... I don’t know. It was weird. A good weird, don’t get me wrong, but you’ve done this before, and I’m... I’m still getting my head around the fact I’m engaged in the first place. Been a bit of a whirlwind year for us, ‘annit?”
“I guess it has... You’re happy, though, right? You still want to get married? Cos if you don’t–”
“I do!” Smiles begin to pull at each of their mouths as the words settle around them, a brief glimpse into the future, “I do want to marry you.”
“And take me as your lawfully wedded husband?”
“Yeah,” he whispers, leaning in to brush a kiss against Robert’s lips, “I do.”