Chapter Text
You would think that after all these years I would have learned my lesson by now. I‘ll let you in on a little secret I haven’t… Everything is a mess, I’ve dug myself so deep that I can’t get myself out of it. Aaron, he knows somethings up, I can’t… I can’t keep lying to him or them, it’s just not fair. I have to tell them… I have to.
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April 3th, 2031
“Maddie, Olly, come on tea’s ready,” Aaron called out from the kitchen as he placed the plates on the table. “Kids!” Aaron called out again.
“Jeez, Aaron, wake up the dead why don’t ya” Robert jokingly stated as he made his way into the kitchen, “They’re coming, they’re just washing up.” Robert continued as he picked a piece of food off one of the plates and quickly shoved it into his mouth. “Oi, wait for the kids.” Aaron responded slapping Robert’s hand away from the plate. “what’s with you anyways? This morning you were biting my head off.” He added. Robert pulled out the chair before him and took a seat, “Was I?”
“Yeah, you were in a right mood.” He explained. “I asked you if you were going to be home for dinner and you lost it.”
“I’m sorry… I guess I’m stressed out about work…” he lied.
“Are you sure, that’s all?”
“Yeah, you would think after 12 years of me working with Kevin at Home Farm, I would be over all this stress. …”
“Well, you might want to explain that to our youngest,” Aaron stated, “he overheard us fighting, this morning.”
“I’ll talk to him after dinner, ”Robert responded before Aaron went to go to call out once more for the kids when the two kids made their way into the kitchen. “There you two are,” Robert stated. “ I thought your dad was going to have a heart attack, “ Robert stated with a smirk. “Very funny,” He responded to Robert. “Come on sit, your food is getting cold,” he told the kids placing their plates on the table before taking a seat himself. As they began to eat Robert’s phone went off, he sighed placing is fork back on the table, then quickly dug his phone from his pocket. “Sorry I thought I switch it off,” he stated before reading the message that he just received.
From: Suzie
Robert, we need to talk. You’re lies are going to catch up with you, just tell Aaron the truth.
“Who is it?” Aaron asked as he took a sip of his drink.
“What?”
“On the phone?”
“Oh… just Suzie… she wants to know if we’re up for drinks on Friday with her and Kevin.” He responded.
“If you want to, sure, but we need to find a babysitter,” Aaron stated.
“Why do I need a babysitter?” Maddie questioned. “I’ll be thirteen in a month.”
“The babysitter is mainly for Olly, Sweetheart,” Aaron replied taking a bite of his food before turning to Robert. “I mean if we don’t find one the kids could just sit in back at the pub and watch tv or something.”
To: Suzie
Now’s not a good time.
He pushed send and quickly shut off his phone shoving it back into his pocket. “Earth to Robert?”
“Hmm?”
“Babysitter for Friday?”
“Why can’t I watch Olly?” Maddie asked.
“Because you’re only 12,” Robert stated turning his attention back to his food
“But I walk with Olly to the bus stop all the time.” Madison pointed out
“That’s in broad daylight, love,” Aaron responded.
Maddie sighed, “I hate you guys sometimes.”
“That just means that we’re doing our jobs right then,” Aaron said with a smirk.
“So how was school today?” Robert asked as he shoveled food into his mouth.
“I hate it,” Oliver stated as he took a bite of food.
“What happened, yesterday you were in love with it,” Aaron stated.
“Well, I hate it now. I have no friends.”
“What about your best mate Seth?” Robert questioned.
“Seth and I aren’t mates anymore.”
“Why?”Robert asked.
“He has a girlfriend now and she's mean. She says cause I don’t want to have a girlfriend, that I’m weird” Olly stated.
“You guys are six why do you need girlfriends?” Robert responded shoving more food into his mouth.
Aaron chuckled at Robert’s comment, “What?” Robert questioned.
“You two have been mates for years now, I won’t worry too much, yeah,” He told his son.
“How about you, Sweetheart?” Robert asked Maddie who had been quiet during the conversation.
“Schools good, I guess.” She responded.
“What’s wrong?” Aaron asked.
“It's just…. I have to write this paper for English about the family and draw out a family tree …”
“And?” Aaron asked once more.
“If its help you need, you have a wide variety of family members to help you out with it,” Robert added.
“I’m embarrassed.”
“Of what?” The boy asked as he played with the food on his plate.
“Oliver, stop playing with your food and eat.” Aaron stated before turning his attention back to Maddie, “You’re embarrassed of the family?”
“Not the whole family… just… your side.” she finally stated answering Aaron.
“You what?” Aaron asked defensively.
Robert choked on the water he was drinking and began to laugh and cough at the same time. “Stop it,” Aaron stated to Robert who was finding this conversation very amusing. “Why are you embarrassed by my side of the family?”
“Because Auntie Vic, Uncle Andy, and Nana never have publicly embarrassed me.”
“What has anyone from my side done to embarrass you?”
“Last week when I was walking home with Nathan. Uncle Cain practically threatened him for being near me.”
“You’re only 12 you shouldn’t be hanging around boys anyways,”
“I told you Nathan is just a mate, Dad!” Maddie exclaimed.
"He was only being protective…"
“Well, then last year when Becky was giving me a hard time at school, Nana Chas kicked her mum out of the pub.”
“Again just being protective.”
“I was the laughingstock of the school for a week.”
“Maddie, that isn't a reason to be embarrassed. What your grandma and uncle did was out of love. You should count yourself lucky you’re growing up with them in your life. I was in my late teens when I came to live with Grandma Chas. Plus what Cain and Grandma did is nothing. Ask your father,” Aaron replied pointing to Robert. “Dingles aren’t ones to mess with.” He explained as he rose from the table and place his plate in the kitchen sink. The smirk that was painted on Robert’s face disappeared at Aaron’s comment, “Ugh, please don’t remind me.” Robert stated at the memory as he too rose from the table and placed his plate in the sink.
“What happened to you?” Maddie asked Robert.
“... Let’s just say your Grandma, Cain, and your Grandpa weren’t exactly my biggest fans when your dad and I got together…” Robert stated. “but that’s in the past. So enough about the family, you two have homework to get done.” Robert stated as he took their plates. The two kids got up from the table and made their way out of the kitchen.
“Dinner was great,” Robert replied as he placed the two plates on the counter, leaning over kissing Aaron on the shoulder.
“It was your recipe,” Aaron remarked.
“So all these years of living with me has paid off as it?”
“Do you have to be so arrogant?”
“You love it,” he replied as he leaned up against the counter
“Muppet,” Aaron replied leaning over to kiss his husband. The kiss lasted a couple of seconds before Aaron pulled away, returning to the dishwasher.
“So Madison is embarrassed by the Dingles.” Robert chuckled after a couple of minutes.
“Well, she shouldn’t be,” Aaron responded defensively.
“You’re not seriously upset. Aaron, she’s 12, she’s bound to be embarrassed by someone in her family… It just so happens it’s your side.” He explained with a huge grin.
“You’re loving every moment of this aren’t ya?”
“Just a little bit,” Robert responded.
“You're an idiot you know that.”
“But you love me.”
“Do I?” he questioned as he put the last of the dishes in the dishwasher.
“Admit it,” Robert stated pulling Aaron away from the dishes and closer to him, wrapping his arms around Aaron’s waist.
“Stop it.”
“Not until you admit that you love me,” Robert stated with a big smile on his face.
“Fine… I love you.” Aaron stated wrapping his arms around Robert’s neck with a smirk.
“I don’t believe you.”
“Then how can I prove it?”
“Another kiss may do the trick.”
Aaron leaned in for a kiss, Robert quickly deepening it, and a moan escaped from Aaron as Robert pinned him up against the kitchen counter. Before anything could go any further the two were interrupted, “Maddie! They’re kissing!” Oliver yelled out as he ran out the room. The pair broke apart, “Later?” Robert asked with a smile.
“Yeah, but don’t think you can smooth talk your way out of homework duty, it’s your night.”
“Ugh, I’ve already gone to school why do I have to do it all over again.”
“Because you want to be a good dad and help your kids get good grades,” Aaron replied as Robert left the kitchen.
After cleaning up the kitchen, Aaron made his way into the family room to find Maddie sitting to the side on one of the chairs on her laptop and Robert and Olly on the sofa working on his math. He made his way over to Madison and kneeled next to her, “How’s everything going, over here?” he asked looking at the screen.
“Good, I just finished the Family tree, Ms. Johnson said we only had to go back three generation so.”
Aaron looked through the diagram and saw how large it was and chuckled, “Definitely an interesting family that we have, huh?”
“Yeah… Dad, you know, I don’t think everyone on your side is embarrassing.”
“ Is that so?”
“You’re okay and Auntie Liv is pretty cool, too”
Aaron laughed giving Maddie a kiss on her forehead, “I’ll be sure to tell her that next time I talk to her.” he said rising to his feet.
“I’m going up to my room,” Maddie stated closing her laptop and grabbed her schoolbag.
“Alright, we should be up in a bit.” He said as Maddie made her way up the stairs. He then made his way over to the other two and took a seat next to Robert.
“Hey,” Aaron stated as Robert turned his attention over to him as Oliver finished the problem that he was on.
“Hey yourself, everything good in the kitchen,” Robert asked
“Yeah, how’s homework going?” He asked leaning over to see the sheet they were working on.
“It’s going, we’re on 10 of 20 problems, though I mean that seems like a lot for a 6-year-old. I don’t remember Madison having this much.”
“Well for starters, when Maddie was his age you were always out of town on business and me, mum, and Diane were on homework duty.”
“True, but it still seems like a lot.”
“It is a lot, but that would be because our lovely son here has been hiding his homework. The past couple of days that you were gone mum and Paddy have been picking Maddie and him up from school and according to them, Oliver would say that he either finished it at school or he didn't have any. So what you’re working on is about four days worth of math homework”
“And they didn’t think to double check him?” Robert asked laughingly.
“That’s not their job to. Anyways I found out this morning after dropping him off Mr. McDonald was waiting outside when I pulled up and told me what was going on.”
“Why didn’t he call?”
“He said he tried calling you but you never answered.”
“I didn’t get any calls. Isn’t your number on record as well?” Robert asked.
“It is and don’t ask me why he didn't try my cell, I did tell him that we’d stay on top of things from now on.”
“Daddy.” Oliver stated tugging on Robert’s shirt.
“Yeah, Buddy?”
“Can you check my maths?” He asked.
“Yeah, let’s see what you did,” Robert said grabbing the sheet and looked it over. “Looks good, Buddy. You got all of them right.” Robert stated after quickly looking it over. “See you know you’re stuff. At the rate that you’re going, you’ll be a master of addition. Why were you trying to avoid it?”
“Maths is boring.”
“That’s not an excuse for avoiding your homework, Oliver,” Aaron replied. “How many did he finish anyways?” Aaron asked Robert.
“12”
“Okay, he’ll just finish up the other 8 tomorrow night. It’s getting late.”
“Can I have some ice cream?” The little boy asked with a sweet smile.
“No, it’s almost bedtime,” Aaron stated rising from the sofa.
“No, it’s not the little hand is only on the 8.”
“Olly, it’s 8:30. Your bedtime is in a half hour, so no ice cream.” Aaron stated as he gathered the little boy's school work together and placed it into his folder. The six-year-old turned to Robert. “Daddy?” he stated.
Robert smirked knowing where the conversation was going. “Yeah, Buddy?”
“Can I have ice cream?”
“You are joking?” Aaron questioned slightly annoyed.
Robert laughed, “No, like Dad said your bedtime is in 30 minutes get upstairs and get in your pajamas.”
Oliver quickly made his way upstairs and Aaron moved the boy’s school bag by the front door. “I blame you,” Aaron stated reentering the room.
Robert laughed, “What did I do?”
“What did you do? He’s a mini you.”
“Yes, he is,” Robert stated proudly. “It’s kind of cute though, isn’t it?”
“It was cute the first dozen times, now it’s getting old,” Aaron stated sitting back down on the sofa. Robert joined him and wrapped his arms around his shoulders.
“I love you,” Robert stated.
Aaron smiled, “I love you, too.” The two kissed quickly before pulling apart and enjoying the silence for a couple of moments before hearing Maddie screaming, “Dads!”
“Why,” Aaron stated.
“Come on,” Robert stated rising from the sofa.
“Can’t we pretend we’re not here?”
“No, she’ll only just come find us.” Robert said holding his hand out to Aaron.
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“Daddy?” The little boy questioned laying down in bed.
“What’s up?” Robert questioned taking a seat next to his son.
“Do you love Dad?
“Of course I do,” Robert replied with a frown.
“So you’re not mad at him?”
“No, why would I be?”
“Cause I heard you yelling at Dad this morning.”
“Yeah, your Dad was telling me that earlier.”
“Did he do something bad?”
“No, not at all… Daddy... Daddy was just being an idiot is all.”
“So you’re not going to get a divorce?”
“What gave you that idea?”
“Tony’s mommy and daddy are getting one and Tony said that it was because his daddy yells a lot at his mommy.”
Robert was speechless for a second or two, “Dad and I, we’re not getting a divorce. We love each other too much to break up.”
“So Tony’s mommy and daddy don’t love each other?”
“I can’t really answer that, Buddy. That’s something that only Tony’s parents know.”
“Tony is moving away,” Oliver explained sadly.
“It’ll be okay.”
“He doesn’t want to leave though, but his mommy says he has to.”
“He’ll be fine and don’t worry that’s not happening to us. Can I tell you a little secret?”
Oliver nodded his head.
“I’d be lost without your dad. I wouldn't know what to do with myself.”
Olly laughed.
“You think I’m joking, your dad keeps this family going. If I’d was left to take care of you and your sister I truly wouldn’t know what to do.”
“Daddy.”
“Yeah?”
“You shouldn’t be mean to Dad.”
Robert smiled softly. “I know, it wasn’t very nice of me was it?”
“You should make it up to him.”
“Yeah, I’ll have to think of something.”
“Maybe you could cook him dinner.” The little boy suggested.
“I did use to make dinner a lot for your dad,” Robert explained. “what do you think I should make him?”
“A banana split,” Olly replied. “and you can make an extra one for me!”
“Get some sleep and we’ll talk in the morning, yeah,” Robert replied with a laugh before giving Olly a kiss on his forehead. He turned off the side light and made his way out of the room to be met by Aaron.
“You’d be lost without me, would you?” Aaron questioned with a smirk.
“You heard that?”
“I heard everything.”
“Is Maddie asleep?”
“She just went to bed,” Aaron stated.
Robert smiled.
“You mention something about making it up to me for being an idiot.”
“Oliver thinks I should make you dinner.”
“Or… we could go to our room and…” Aaron began suggesting as he slowly backed his way towards their room.
“And?” Robert questioned as he followed.
“We could carry on what we started in the kitchen.” Aaron finally suggested as he backed his way into the door.
“I like the way you think, Mr. Sugden,” Robert stated opening the door pushing himself and Aaron into the room closing the door behind them.