Chapter Text
The first time it happens, it’s early evening on an otherwise unremarkable Wednesday, Robert working on his laptop at the kitchen table and Aaron on the sofa with a beer, his feet up on the coffee table, channel-surfing as he tries to put off the fact that it’s his turn to load the dishwasher.
The doorbell rings and Aaron answers, surprised to find Noah on the doorstep, still in his school uniform with a backpack slung over his shoulder. If Aaron was puzzled by his presence, he’s even more confused by the words that came out of the young lad next.
“Hiya, is it alright if I come in?” Noah asks casually.
“Uhh, yeah…course.” Aaron says, moving aside to let him pass “Is everything ok?”
“Yeah s’alright. Maths homework is driving me mad though.”
Before Aaron can think of a response, Robert’s voice rings across the flat.
“I’m in the kitchen.”
Noah slopes over to him and tosses his bag down by the floor, before pulling out a chair. As he takes a seat, Robert starts shuffling his papers and folders into piles to make more room, before moving his laptop aside and giving the boy his full attention.
“What is it today, fractions again?” Robert asks, shuffling his chair closer to Noah’s as the latter starts pulling a workbook and pencil case from his school bag.
“Nah, linear equations. Whatever the hell they are.”
Aaron returns to the sofa, but he’s not remotely paying attention to the TV now. Instead his attention is on the two blond heads hunched over Noah’s maths book, sheets of equations and graphs taking precedence over Robert’s profit projections. He wonders how this happened, and how on earth he didn’t know about it.
He hears Liv thundering down the spiral stairs before he sees her, because wherever she goes she sounds like a heard of elephants. Unlike Aaron, Liv doesn’t bat an eyelid at Robert and Noah, instead heading straight for the freezer and digging through it for the cookie dough ice cream stashed in the bottom. Liv has perched herself on the kitchen worktop, digging into the tub with a spoon, before she acknowledges them.
“Maths or Science?” She asks, clearly not at all surprised by the impromptu study session.
“Maths, do you know anything about equations?” Noah replies.
Liv’s only response is to snort into her ice cream.
“You know, you could always join us and get yours done on time for once!” Robert tells Liv.
“Nah, I’m good thanks.” Liv says in her usual dismissive tone, getting to her feet now to move into the living room, nabbing the remote from beside Aaron as she curls up on the other end of the sofa. Aaron decides it’s time for answers.
“Hey, how long’s this been going on” Aaron asks Liv in an undertone, not wanting to disturb Robert who is now mid-flow, explaining something complicated about gradients and perpendicular lines. Aaron must admit that it makes absolutely no sense to him (Liv gets her hatred of maths from him it seems), but Robert is sketching something on a blank sheet as he talks, and Noah is nodding along, following Robert’s every word and soaking it up like a sponge.
Liv’s face is blank, so Aaron jerks his thumb towards the kitchen table, then she seems to get it.
“Dunno, since you were in prison and Chas and Charity went to Prague I ‘spose. He likes Robert for some reason.” Liv shrugs.
“Does Charity know?” Aaron asks, curious. Which makes Liv pull an unimpressed face.
“I’m pretty sure Noah could grow an extra head and Charity wouldn’t notice.” She mumbles quietly, and Aaron thinks he hears empathy in her otherwise sarcastic voice.
Aaron feels a pang of guilt when he realises that it never even occurred to him that Robert would have been left with the responsibility of caring for Noah as well as Liv, in addition to worrying about everything else. He never once complained, or even mentioned it, always more concerned with Aaron, and Aaron’s problems.
It warms his heart, watching the two of them. Robert is incredibly patient with Noah, and seems to have developed a balance between helping, and letting Noah work things out for himself where he can.
Aaron also realises that this is the most he has heard Noah talk in ages, the young blond boy usually quiet and withdrawn. He ponders Liv’s comment about Charity not noticing Noah, and wonders how much his quiet nature is because very few people actually listen to him.
It’s that thought that prompts Aaron to act once Noah’s homework is finished, pulling out crisps and popcorn from the cupboards, and encouraging Noah to stay with them for a four-person Xbox tournament.
Noah is unsure at first, mumbles about getting home before his mum gets annoyed. But Aaron is quick to reassure him, firing off a text to Charity to let her know what’s happening (and he tries not to get angry when it takes her nearly two hours to respond).
By the time they’re three games in, Noah has lost all sense of shyness. Hyped up on coke and popcorn, playfully bantering and laughing with Liv as they battle it out over the game. Aaron had beaten Robert, but then been crushed by Liv, who stayed on as the winner, but Aaron doesn’t mind because it allows him a few minutes to lean back on the sofa, curling into Robert slightly.
“You’re really good with him.” Aaron tells him quietly.
Robert looks surprised, and a little bit embarrassed.
“It’s only homework. He’s a clever kid, he just needs a bit of a confidence boost sometimes.” Robert whispers back.
“Still, it’s obvious that it means a lot to him. And it means a lot to me too, that you take care of my family…” Aaron trails off, didn’t mean to get this emotional.
Robert just smiles, and kisses Aaron’s temple.
“Oi soppy git, you’re up” Liv’s loud voice bursts their little bubble. She tosses her Xbox control into Robert’s lap. He slides down onto the floor to play the victorious Noah while Liv, ever the sore loser, drowns her defeat in a bag of Doritos.
And if it ends up being late when Aaron walks Noah back to the Woolpack that night, the excitable glow in his cheeks makes it more than worth it.