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He was never meant to come across the slip of paper. He had the day off from work whilst Robert was out and Seb was at school he took it upon himself to start organising the flat. He had grabbed the slips of paper thay had been accumulating on the coffee table when one of them slipped out from under his grip.
"Shit." He muttered but he left it on the floor as he started organising the other miscellaneous bits of paper. Half of them were bank statements or phone bill. He had just sorted out a pile to be shredded when he remembered the paper on the floor. He grabbed it as he realised it was from one of the fancy solicitor firms.
For a moment he felt his heart racing, until he remembered that they were only engaged and Robert couldn't divorce him.
He realised it was Roberts when he saw his name on it. But curiosity got the better of him as he continued reading.
What, if he didn't want Aaron to read it he wouldn't have left it on the coffee table. In plain sight.
Then he got to the part.
Mr Robert Jacob Sugden has appointed Mr Aaron Dingle to be the legal guardian of his son Sebastian White in the event of his passing. A copy of this has been put in his will.
He sat back on the sofa as he read the letter again, and again. The words were still the same regardless.
Fuck.
Robert had put him in his will.
---
He had grabbed his phone and called Mackenzie. It wasn't too long before there was a knock on the door and went to answer it.
"Thought you might need cheering up." Mack said as he entered with a six pack of beer in his hand. He looked around the living room.
"Did you find an unpaid electricity bill that scared you?" He joked before he noticed Aarons expression. Then he saw the piece of paper in his hand.
"Aaron what is it, you're starting to scare me." He said before Aaron looked up at him.
"He updated his will, appointing me as legal guardian of Seb in case of his death." Aaron said before he placed the piece of paper down. He stared at it like his eyes could burn a hole straight through it.
"Oh, uh I don't know what to say." Mack said awkwardly.
"I don't know what to think." Aaron said as he flopped down on the sofa.
"He is Sebs only living parent. He is well within his rights to do that. I'd say he picked well because you love him like he's your own. Like I do with Moses even though he's not mine." Mack said.
"But he could have picked Ross, he was there for most of Sebs childhood. Or Vic, there's plenty of other people he could have picked before me. I mean have you met me my life is a disaster most of the time." Aaron ran a hand through his hair.
"I think you're too harsh on yourself." Mack said as he patted Aarons shoulder in an attempt to be reassuring.
Then he heard the door unlock, he hardly looked up until he heard his name.
"Hi Mackenzie. Aaron, is everything alright?" He heard Robert ask as he briefly glanced over from where he was stood by the door. He heard Mackenzie clear his throat before standing up.
"I'll give you two space to talk. You know where I am if you need me?" Mackenzie said before he quickly left. The silence in the room grew as Robert walked round to the sofa. Then he heard the sharp intake of breath, his eyes probably looking at the letter that started all of this. It was funny how he didn't even need to read it to know.
"I would have told you eventually, when the time was right." Robert said as he sat down, he glanced over but didn't want to maintain eye contact.
"When was that gonna be, when you were lying on your deathbed or summat." Aaron knew he was being harsh.
"Maybe or I dunno maybe when I knew you needed to hear it." Robert said as they sat in silence.
He tilted his head back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling as he let out a breath. Trying to calm his thoughts he ran his hands down his face. If this was back in 2019 he'd have understood why. It made the most sense back then. But now he hadn't been there. If anything Ross had been the most active. Not that he was much better than Aaron at times.
"Why not Ross?" He voiced the thoughts he'd previously told Mack earlier. He heard a scoff, turning his head to Robert.
"Because last time I checked it was Rebecca who dated him. If she wanted him to look after Seb then she should have updated her will. Before you ask why not Vic, we talked about this and she agreed that it should be you. You were an incredible dad to him—" Robert was then interrupted by Aaron.
"Yeah a long time ago. You know he forgot my name last week. I know it was an accident but lets be real Robert. I'm a stranger to him." Aaron got up off the sofa, making himself busy by making a cup of tea.
"You don't have to be. Anyways it was my decision to make because I'm his only parent." Robert said. He heard the tea container being slammed on the counter, the spoon being stirred extra loud.
"Thats just typical of you. Making decisions without telling anyone else." Aaron said, which he guessed he deserved.
"It's not like when I handed myself in to the police. Or when I came back to the village." Robert said, of course he would bring up one of the most heartbreaking moments in his life.
"Really, cause from where I'm standing its not too far off." Aaron said, slamming the cupboard door shut.
"I thought you would be happy. Its what I wish I'd done last time. Even though I never expected Rebecca to die whilst I was inside." Robert said.
"Happy, you think any world where you're not in it is a happy one. Because believe me Robert I know what it was like to have a world without you in it. It was miserable. Dull. Lonely. As much as I love Seb I don't want your death to be the reason I'm looking after him." Aaron came back to the sofa, the tea abandoned on the counter.
There it was, the honest truth about how he was feeling. How could he live in a world without Robert again. It was painful enough the first time round.
"How about shared custody of him?" Robert suggested and Aaron sighed. Even though it had been in the back of his mind. A bit later down the line.
"You really think that's gonna fix everything." Aaron said.
"When I got sent down I didn't think Rebecca would stop you seeing him. Although it doesn't surprise me looking back on it. I should have expected that and transferred my custody to you. That way you would have been able to push more to see Seb. Had a foot to stand on. So when I got him back I wanted to be more prepared. I don't know what the future will bring, but I want you to be prepared in case anything happens. You both mean too much to me." Robert said as Aaron stood up and walked out.
He needed some fresh air, and he was glad that Robert didn't follow him. He opened the front door to the Mill before his phone went off. He realised it was Sebs primary school.
"Hello." He answered.
"Hello is this Mr Dingle? I've noticed you're on Sebastian Whites approved pick up list. He's just been sick after P.E, would you be able to come and pick him up." He got in his car and drove off, at least it wasn't far to the school.
It also helped it had just gone two and there was none of the school traffic either. He put his phone on silent, not noticing the calls that were coming in.
When he was let in he noticed Seb sat with the receptionist, a cup of water in his hands. He looked up at Aaron as he walked over and sat down by the kid.
"They had to chuck my P.E kit out. Will dad be angry?" Seb asked as he buried himself into Aaron side. He rubbed his shoulder to reassure him.
"No he won't be, it happens to everyone. Its probably happened to your dad when he was your age. Lets get you back home." He said as they stood up before he thanked the receptionist and left.
Seb fell asleep in the car on the way back. As he parked up and got out to open Sebs door he saw Robert walking towards them.
"I thought you left. I called Chas, Paddy, Vinny so now the Dingles think you've gone missing." Robert said before Aaron placed a finger to his lips, then he realised his son was asleep on the front seat.
"School called. He threw up in P.E so I went to pick him up. You have to buy a new P.E kit for next Thursday." Aaron said as Robert scooped his son from the seat before carrying him inside.
He lowered him onto the sofa before Aaron put a blanket over him. He did check his temperature to make sure he didn't have a fever before they sat away from him.
Then he grabbed his phone.
"Search party is over he had to get Seb from school." Robert said, his voice lowered. Aaron could faintly hear his mum on the other end before the call ended.
"I wonder if I'm still her favourite son in law." Robert said, smiling for the first time since he came through the door earlier.
"Thats pushing it a bit." Aaron found himself smiling back, then he held Roberts hand.
"This is why I want you to have legal rights. Because you're already such an important part of his life. I reckon he's just as important to you. I know I am." Robert said.
"I know. I get it and I want it so much. It was just the idea of losing you again. I can't go through that." Aaron said.
"You won't but at least you both have each other. You can be to him what Paddy is to you." Robert said.
"If he turns out anything like me then Paddy will have the time of his life taking the piss out of me." Aaron said.
"Maybe he could end up more like me."
Aaron pretended to shudder at the thought as Robert nudged him. They both looked over at him, hopefully he'd inherit the best parts about them. Like Roberts perseverance, maybe some of his strength.
He never thought he would get something like this, his head on Roberts shoulder as the TV was placed on low. Seb asleep in the corner. It felt like the universe was making up for all the hurt and sadness that he'd experienced. He knew he would never take moments like these for granted. He knew Robert never took these moments for granted either.
"Hang on I have to buy the P.E kit? You said you would buy any replacements." Robert said as Aaron grinned to himself.
"I know I rang up and ordered it. Just thought I'd freak you out." Aaron said.
"You really are something aren't you." He felt a hand softly rubbing his shoulder.
"The love of your life. Your personal bank account—" Aaron teased him.
"Yeah well I was in prison for half a decade and didn't get a penny out of Kev. Not my fault my moneys a little low." Robert said looking a bit down by it.
"You're lucky what's mine is yours." Aaron said, well they were gonna be married at some point. Have the whole joint bank account malarkey. He spent most of his money on these two in anyways.
"Same here." Robert said as they both looked over at Seb.
"If someone came up to you and said you could be a billionaire. But the one catch would be giving up love, what would you pick?" He thought of the question on the spot. He had a hunch he knew the answer but it was always good to be certain.
"I'd pick you Aaron, even if it meant not having a single penny to my name. I'd pick the love we have a hundred times over." Robert said and even after all of this time his answer still surprised Aaron. This time it was the lack of hesitation, in the past he would have probably pretended to decide before choosing Aaron.
He leaned his head up before they shared a quick kiss before he rested his head back on his shoulder.
Despite how much they disagreed or argued at times. They always found their way back to one another.