Robert Week Day 1
Write a scene you felt was missing, from your favourite Robert era
the Robert and Vic conversation about Matty we need and deserve
A/N: This is kind of a mash up of the week of Robert’s Mystery Suit and Vic outing Matty in the pub. creative liberty very much taken with timelines.
Robert Sugden, relationship expert (AO3)
“Vic can you take him for an hour or two?”
Victoria looked at her brother, standing on the other side of the bar, holding her nephew and just snapped.
“No Robert I can’t, I’m working and I’m not your personal babysitter. I do have a life without constantly looking after your son!”
“Wha-what?”
At least he had the decency to look shocked. Both of them did. Seb’s lip even started to tremble and it made her feel bad for scaring the little boy.
“I thought you liked spending time with him.”
“I do. But I’m working now. I had to cover at the last minute and I can’t look after Seb while I’m pulling pints.” She reached over and tickled Seb to cheer him up.
“Everything alright?” Aaron joined Robert at the bar and looked back and forth between the two of them.
“Vic can’t take him. We’ll have to bring him.”
Aaron made a face.
“A registry office is no place for a baby. He’ll get bored and scream the place down. I’ll ask my mum.” He took Seb from Robert and disappeared through to the back.
“Registry office?” Vic asked and took a better look at her brother who was dressed in a suit. A nicer suit than he usually wore. “Why are you dressed like that? You’re not eloping are yous?”
“Like you and Adam you mean?” Robert asked and instantly regretted it when Vic’s face fell. “Shit, sorry. I should learn how to keep my mouth shut.”
She shook her head and took a few seconds to compose herself.
“No, no, it’s alright. It’s been eight months, I should move on, shouldn’t I?”
“Vic… you don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for.”
“I know. Now tell me, why are you all dressed up?”
That put a smile back on Robert’s face.
“Well… we’re not getting married yet but we’re going down to the registry office to give notice and then we have a meeting with my solicitor to discuss our options of Aaron adopting Seb.”
“Oh wow you’re really going for it aren’t you?”
“We just want everything to be official. Aaron already is his other dad, but we want that in writing, you know. Just in case something happens.”
“Right Seb’s being spoiled rotten by my mum and gran, hopefully they’ll tire him out and he’ll actually sleep tonight.” Aaron said as he came back out to the bar.
“He’s teething.” Robert explained.
“And a bit of a drama queen. Like his dad.” Aaron joked. “Come on, we have to get going or we’ll miss our appointment. See ya Vic.”
“Yeah, alright. Let’s go. Bye Vic.”
“Bye lads.” Vic sighed and tried to ignore Matty and that girl at the other side of the bar. Maybe she should have taken Seb for the afternoon after all.
---
“Mum? Where’s Seb?” Aaron asked when they walked back into the pub a few hours later and saw Chas behind the bar. “Is he asleep upstairs? Is gran with him?”
“No love, Victoria took him. She said she was taking him for a walk and then back to hers. I did text you.”
Aaron frowned and checked his phone.
“Damn. It died on me again. I think I need a new battery.”
“Let’s go get Seb from Vic’s and then head home, eh?” Robert suggested. “We have all this legal stuff to read through.”
“Yeah alright.” Aaron agreed and turned to follow his husband out the door.
“Oi! Wait a minute. What legal stuff?” Chas asked. “You said you had to run some errands in town.”
“We had an appointment at the registry office.” Robert explained. “Giving notice of marriage.”
“Ooh does that mean you’ve set a date?”
Aaron sighed.
“No mum we haven’t. Not yet. But do you see this?” He said and grabbed a binder from underneath Robert’s arm. “This is full of all kinds of legal documents on me officially adopting Seb. It’s been a long afternoon and I’m tired. I just want to get home and have a cuddle with Seb for a bit.”
Chas gave him a smile.
“Alright love. Come by tomorrow to catch me up?”
“Sure.”
They walked to Keepers together, not really saying a word until they reached the path leading to Victoria’s front door.
“You haven’t changed your mind about adopting Seb, have you?” Robert asked, making Aaron stop walking with a hand on his arm.
“What? No. What makes you think that?”
“You were so short with your mum just now… and you were quiet on the way home.”
“Rob, I was up half the night with Seb, I’m just tired.”
“Are you sure? I know that meeting with the solicitor was a lot to take in.”
“I’m fine. I promise. I mean my head is spinning a little from all that information and I definitely need more sleep to process it all properly, but I haven’t changed my mind.” Aaron said and pressed a small kiss to Robert’s lips before walking up to the door and giving it a knock.
Vic answered with Seb on her hip who instantly reached out for Aaron when he saw him.
“Hey little man, did you have fun with your auntie Vic today?”
Robert smiled at the sight of Aaron bouncing Seb up and down in his arms.
“Chas said you took him for a walk, but I thought you were busy?”
“Yeah, well, it’s my day off. And I didn’t have anything better to do anyway. So I decided to spend it with a boy who actually likes me and doesn’t let me down.” Vic said and tickled Seb to make him laugh.
Robert and Aaron shared a look over the boy’s head.
“Are you alright, Vic?” Aaron asked carefully.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be? I’m fine.”
“You know, I fancy a brew and a catch up with my sister.” Robert started. “Do you have any plans for tonight Vic?”
“Uh… no…”
“Great. Let’s go in then and I’ll make us some tea. Do you have any biscuits? The ones with the chocolate?”
“Yeah I think so…”
“Perfect.” Robert said and turned to Aaron. “Will you be ok with him for a bit?”
“Of course. We’re just going to go home and see if Liv’s mood has improved enough to join us in our pillow fort, right Seb?”
“Alright, I’ll see you at home in an hour or so.”
“No rush. We’ll be fine.” Aaron said and quickly kissed Robert goodbye before making his way back to the mill.
“Rob, you don’t have to babysit me.”
“I’m not. I just want to have a chat with my sister. You’re always there for me and Seb but I barely know what’s going on with you.”
“There’s nothing going on with me.” Vic mumbled as she followed her brother inside.
“So, we just had a meeting with my solicitor.” Robert started while he filled the kettle and grabbed two mugs from the kitchen cabinet. “Lots of information, lots of stuff to figure out and talk about. But I think it’ll work out in the end. We’ll have Aaron Seb’s legal parent soon.”
“Yeah? That’s good.”
“Yeah.” Robert agreed. “And we’re thinking early October for the wedding. It’ll give us enough time to plan everything and get the legal stuff sorted.”
“Early October? Alright.”
“Yeah so get your outfit sorted. And your date.” Robert said and by the look on his sister’s face, he knew he’d hit a nerve.
“I don’t think I’ll have a date.” Vic said, playing with her wedding ring. “Since my husband is on the run from the law and probably won’t ever come back.”
“Do you miss him?”
Vic sighed.
“Yeah. But I should move on, shouldn’t I? No use living in the past.”
“No but you’re allowed to miss him. You’ve barely had time to do that since he left. What with the crash and Rebecca moving in and helping me take care of Seb.”
“I don’t mind helping out with Seb, you know that. Sorry for snapping at you earlier… I was a little stressed out. Stepping in at the last minute.”
“Yeah you didn’t look like you’d planned to work a shift behind the bar.” Robert said, putting two teabags in the mugs and pouring hot water on them.
“I wasn’t. It’s… it’s nothing. It’s Matty’s birthday and we were supposed to hang out. I booked one of those escape experiences for us.”
“And Chas made you work the bar?”
“No. Not exactly.” Vic sighed and took the mug from Robert. “He’d made plans with this girl he met at Ross’ party the other day and he forgot to tell me.”
“Oh. Ouch.”
“Yeah. And then Marlon was in a pinch and I just agreed to work the bar since my plans got cancelled. And Matty and that girl just hung out in the pub.”
“Hey at least you didn’t pull up a chair and joined them and called Matty your husband.” Robert joked but Vic didn’t laugh. “What? Did you?”
“No, not that. But well… you know Matty is trans right?” Vic asked and Robert nodded. He hadn’t actually met the guy yet but Emmerdale was a small village and word got around. “Well… I outed him. To that girl.”
“Vic.”
“I know, I know. I didn’t mean to! She was crying in the toilets and I thought he’d told her.”
“But he hadn’t?”
“No. She’d gotten some bad news about her job… but she didn’t take Matty being trans well either. At all. She basically broke up with him. Because of me. And then I had this massive row with him… I tried to apologise but he’s so angry.”
“You outed him Vic. That’s…scary. Having someone know this very personal thing about you, and you didn’t even get to tell them yourself. Someone else made that decision for you and now your biggest secret is out in the open.” Robert said, thinking back to his own experience of being outed against his will. It had all worked out in the end for him, but he definitely remembered how scared and ashamed he’d felt.
“I know. I feel awful” Vic said softly and put her mug down to wipe her eyes. “I thought he’d told her and that’s why she was crying… and I got angry at her. Matty is a great guy and doesn’t deserve someone getting upset over who he is. Especially not some bimbo he met at a party!”
Robert raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything and just followed his sister through to the living room with his mug of tea in one hand and a packet of chocolate biscuits in the other.
“I wanted to help. Be a good mate. But I ruined it all.” Vic sighed.
“Just give him time to cool off. Get over the first shock and disappointment.”
Vic shook her head.
“I ruined it and I don’t know how to fix it.” She took a bite from the biscuit Robert offered her. “He thinks I did it on purpose. To ruin his date.”
“And? Did you?”
“No! Of course not! But he won’t even talk to me so I can’t explain!”
“Do you remember what you told me last summer after Aaron broke up with me?” Robert asked. “You told me to give him space and let him come to me.”
“Matty didn’t break up with me. We’re just mates. He’s Adam’s brother!” Vic said and looked down at her wedding ring again. “Do you think I should take my ring off?”
“Only if you want to. It took me until January to take mine off… and it felt… awful. Like we’d broken up all over again. I kept both of them in my wallet just so I’d still have that reminder of what we had close to me, you know. ”
Vic nodded.
“But at least you had hope it might work out one day.”
“Back in January I didn’t. I was convinced Aaron was happy with Alex and that him and me were over for good.” Robert looked down at his own wedding ring and smiled. “Sometimes I still can’t believe this is actually my life now. That we’re together, happier than ever, and making our marriage official when we started out as an affair.”
“Did you ever think you and Aaron would be…”
“Getting married?”
“A couple? Properly?”
“Back then? Absolutely not. I was way too scared about what everyone would say and think. I was so deep in the closet I almost came out the other end.”
That comment got him a small smile.
“But you made it work in the end. Look at you now. You’re the most solid couple I know. How did you do it?”
“I just… couldn’t imagine my life without him in it. Even back when I was still with Chrissie. He was all I could think about. I tried to tell myself it was just sex and that it meant nothing, but then I’d see something on tv or online and I wanted to tell him about it. I wanted to do all the couple-y things with him that I told myself I wanted with Chrissie.” He paused and took a good look at his sister. “Vic, have you met someone?”
Vic shrugged.
“I don’t know. Matty put this dating app on my phone and I got some matches but… I’m… I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know if I’m ready. I don’t know if I want to go out with some stranger and have to tell him everything about me. I don’t know if the person I want to go on a date with is someone on the internet. I… I’m confused.”
Robert put his mug on the table and pulled his sister in for a hug.
“You’ll figure it out. Maybe not today or tomorrow but you will. You will know when it’s the right time to take off your ring, or if it’s Matty you want to go out with or some bloke you met via that app.”
“But he’s Adam’s brother…”
“So? Adam isn’t here anymore. He wouldn’t want you to be unhappy waiting for him.”
“I don’t even know if he feels the same. And he probably hates me now.”
“Just… give him some time to cool off, apologise again, and just take it from there. He’d be lucky to go out with someone as amazing as you.” Robert said and kissed the top of her head.
