47. touching their elbow to get their attention, if you fancy? 💛
thank you my dear! also on ao3 here as once again. it got long.
A gentle touch to his elbow brought Robert back to himself, Robert twisting to find a grinning Aaron standing beside him. The noise of the pub was overwhelming, but Aaron’s headjerk towards the door didn’t need words to be explained. Robert nodded, following his boyfriend out the door, and into the cool April evening.
The weather had been good, lately, spring days stretching long over the rolling hills of the Yorkshire Dales, but the evenings remained chilly. It was Robert’s favourite time of year, that perfect in between of spring, and summer, the best of each season.
“You looked a little overwhelmed,” Aaron hummed, settling on one of the picnic tables in front of the Woolpack. “I thought you might want a breather.”
Robert offered him a grateful smile. Aaron had always been the best, most supportive person he knew, but he had been spectacular these last few months, dealing with Robert’s PTSD diagnosis in a way Robert would be grateful for forever. Aaron graciously dealt with the interrupted sleep, the night terrors, the panic attacks - he stood at the bathroom door each morning, croakily reminding Robert he needed to take his medication with water and not swallow it dry (a bad habit, Robert knew) and he always, always seemed to know when Robert needed a break from something, whether it was work, or the Woolie.
“It’s been really lovely,” Robert offered, thinking of the banner hung over the bar, wishing him a happy 40th birthday, the pub bursting at the seams with their friends, family. A year ago, he celebrated his birthday in prison, alone, praying to a God he didn’t believe him that his appeal would go through, and he’d get out. Now, it was a year later, and he was back living in Emmerdale, and he was with Aaron, and everything wasn’t perfect, not by any stretch of the imagination, but Robert was clawing back that beautiful life he’d lost, six years previous, and he was grateful for it.
He’d never been one for putting much stock in big birthdays, but he couldn’t deny it felt good to be starting off his forties in a much better place.
“That doesn’t mean it's not also overwhelming,” Aaron pointed out, moving so he was sitting astride the bench, facing Robert. “It’s okay to need a minute, sometimes.”
Robert reached out, tangling his fingers with Aaron’s. He could do that now, whenever he wanted to. It was something he’d never take for granted again - the beautiful normalcy of holding his boyfriend's hand outside their local pub. “I definitely needed a minute,” he agreed. “How did you know?”
Aaron grinned, a happy, genuinely carefree expression fixed on his face. “I know you, don’t I? I can read you like a book,” he gave Robert’s hand a squeeze. “Anyway - it’s my job to look after you, and I’d be a pretty shit boyfriend if I didn’t save you from Mandy’s pitch about getting a manzillian.”
Robert snorted, shaking his head. “As if I need Paddy’s wife seeing my arsehole,” he pulled a face, enjoying the way the thought made Aaron faux gag. “That’s a privilege only you get.”
Aaron raised an eyebrow. “Romantic,” he teased. “Only been back together five minutes and you’re telling me exclusive rights to seeing your arsehole is as good as it gets.”
