Chapter Eleven

Rocky

Rocky was eager to know more about Aiden. They'd been friends for so long, but Aiden wasn't really one to talk about himself or his past. It hadn't really bothered Rocky. Honestly, it still didn't. The past had made Aiden who he was and Rocky liked who Aiden was now. Now, he understood that knowing more about Aiden's past would help him know what triggers he should avoid, and might even allow him to help Aiden learn more about himself.

Rocky knew Aiden wasn't much of a conversationalist, so he wasn't at all surprised when Aiden asked, "What do you want to know?"

"Everything," Rock started, but he knew he'd need to lead the conversation, so he added, "but let's start with where you're from."

"Oh, um." It seemed like Aiden didn't know how to answer that question. It confused Rocky since he'd thought it would be an easy one to ease them into the conversation. When Aiden spoke again, however, Rocky understood his hesitation. "My birth certificate says Austin, but I moved around a lot. I don't know if I am actually from anywhere as I never stayed anywhere long enough to become attached or consider it home. Not until I came to Lilton."

"Why did you move around? Was one of your parents in the military?"

A flash of pain crossed Aiden's face and Rocky's stomach sank. Had his parents died?

"I wouldn't know. I was given up for adoption at birth. None of my foster homes ever worked out so I ended up jumping from home to home until I turned eighteen."

Rocky's heart broke for Aiden. It had to be hard to constantly be sent away, to never have a place of your own or people who truly loved you. Now Rocky understood better why Aiden was so scared to share his secrets. He feared losing his Devil's Wrath family the way he'd lost so many before. Rocky just hoped he could show Aiden that he didn't need to hide who he was to have the family he wanted.

"Where did you go after you turned eighteen?"

"Here and there. I moved around a lot even after I got out of the system. I'd just get settled and..." When Aiden's face became a mask of hurt, Rocky decided to forego pushing for what happened, "Anyway, eventually I ended up here. I love it here. I don't want to do anything that causes me to have to leave." As he said the words, Aiden's eyes pleaded with Rocky.

"I'm not going to push you into telling anyone about us before you're ready, baby. I don't want to do anything to hurt you. That doesn't mean I won't be working my ass off to prove to you that you don't need to hide."

Aiden took a deep breath and let it out slowly before nodding his head once and looking down at the menu. Since they'd both eaten at Ralf's enough times to know the menu by heart, Rocky took his cue to resist asking any further questions right then. It seemed he was going to have to learn about his boy one little snippet at a time.

The rest of the lunch was spent in either companionable silence or discussing trivial topics and club business. Rocky was happy just to be in Aiden's company. It had shocked him to find himself developing feelings for the other man a few months ago, and he was beginning to believe that there could possibly be two true loves in a person's life. If there was anyone that Rocky could see himself loving as much as he had loved Seth, it would be Aiden. He knew Aiden didn't believe him yet, but that was okay. It might be a challenge to prove his devotion, but Rocky had never backed down from a challenge before and he sure as fuck wasn't going to start now.

"No, this room doesn't need decorating beyond making it look nice. We'll handle that part for this room." Rocky was irritated that this was the fourth time he'd told the contractor that. Part of him just wanted to tell the guys to hand him the nail gun and he'd do it himself. He'd probably fuck it up, though, and this was the last room where they needed some nail sticking out or a baseboard falling off. "Look, just make it look as nice as you can without decorating it, and make sure it's done first. If we fuck it up after that, it's on us, but we'll be handling it. Got it?"

"Sure thing," the man replied, rolling his eyes and turning away.

Rocky checked his watch as the man scurried back into the room in question. He wanted to go see Aiden but knew if he visited too often throughout the day it would look strange, even if they were supposed to be working on the project together. He hated having to hide the fact that Aiden was his but Rocky knew that for the moment at least, it was the best thing for Aiden himself.

Rocky made his way outside and checked things over as the very last of the outdoor work was completed. It was amazing what the contractors had managed to accomplish already. The outside of the place had gone from looking like a dump of a warehouse to an inviting bar that would likely draw a good crowd if it was advertised. Rocky had no idea if Blade planned to advertise it, but he hoped not. It was going to attract some attention anyway with its new look, but Rocky liked the lack of a crowd and how at home he felt there. He didn't want that to change.

After he'd approved all the changes and sent the outdoor crew on their way, Rocky made his way back to the side entrance. It was closest to the room the crew was working on first and would make checking in on the work easier before he checked in with Aiden. Rocky was surprised to find Aiden accepting some shipments delivered to the entrance he was headed for. His breath caught as that sweep of dark hair fell over Aiden's eyes as he signed his name and directed the delivery person on where to set the boxes. Blade came out just as the postal worker headed in with the first box and exchanged a few words with Aiden, most of which Rocky missed, only catching the tail end as he got close enough to the two.

"...they finish with the back. I don't want them to get too curious." Blade was saying.

"You got it." Aiden replied before Blade clapped him on the shoulder and thanked him, heading inside.

Most people wouldn't have caught Aiden's slight wince at the contact but Rocky was no longer most people. If Aiden wasn't so determined to keep things from their brothers, Rocky would say something. As it was, he had to resist the urge to chase Blade down and insist he keep his hands to himself.

It wasn't even that Rocky believed Blade held any interest in Aiden or any ill will, but physical touch made Aiden uncomfortable and Rocky wanted to keep Aiden from having to face anything difficult. He'd had enough difficulties in his life, and his boy deserved a life filled with peace and happiness. Rocky wanted to give him that.

He knew it was irrational, but he couldn't help wanting to try and he couldn't curb the instinct to do everything that was in his power. Protecting him from physical touch was in Rocky's power. Or it would be if Aiden would let him do it. Maybe when he was ready to tell the guys about them, Aiden would let Rocky protect him from the little things. In the meantime, Rocky would respect Aiden's wishes.

After what seemed like forever, it was finally time to head out for the day. Rocky headed to Aiden's office. He walked in to find Aiden tapping away at his computer and paying no attention to who had come through his door. Rocky leaned against the door frame and waited to see how long it would take Aiden to figure out he was being watched. One minute turned to five, five minutes turned to ten and when the time had lapsed into fifteen minutes without Aiden apparently even noticing that someone was there, Rocky became concerned for his boy's attention to the area surrounding him.

Clearing his throat, Rocky waited a moment for Aiden to acknowledge him. When no reply came after a short time, he cleared his throat again. Still there was no response, so Rocky made his way into the room. He didn't want to just touch Aiden without any warning now that he was aware of how it affected him, so he tried using his name in a louder voice but there was still no reply. Once he got closer to Aiden, he saw the reason for the lack of response. There were tiny earbuds in Aiden's ears. It must have been playing something so Rocky found himself with one of two options. Choosing the one least likely to cause Aiden discomfort, Rocky waved his hand in the center of Aiden's line of vision.

Aiden let out a short scream and leaped from his chair. Rocky caught the fist headed for his face, thanking god that his boy at least knew how to defend himself if someone came in with ill intentions. He couldn't do anything, however, if he didn't even know the person was there until too late.

"Jesus! You scared the shit out of me!"

"I waited..." Rocky realized after the second word that Aiden still had the earbuds in and motioned to his ear.

"Oh, right." Aiden pulled one headphone free and smiled sheepishly at Rocky. "I guess you probably tried to get my attention, huh?"

"I did." Rocky figured keeping his answer short was probably the best approach. This was not the place to voice what he wanted to. Yet. The look on his face must have been enough to convey his thoughts, however, as Aiden blushed a beautiful shade of pink that had Rocky imagining his ass in that same shade.

"White noise." Aiden offered an explanation as he held up the bud in his hand. "The sound of drills and pounding were too much. This helps drown it out."

"Not music?" Rocky reached for the pod and held it to his ear, hearing a sound almost like static on a tv.

"No, you have to get the music too loud to cover the other noise and at that point, I might as well just not use the headphones at all. It's the loud pounding mixed with all the other loud noises that's the problem. Replacing it with loud bass mixed with all those other instruments does absolutely no good." That made sense. Rocky hadn't thought about that.

"What's your favorite white noise?" Rocky asked.

"Well, there is only one sound that is really white noise and that's what you heard. But I do like to use rain or waves sometimes, if the noises I'm blocking out aren't as loud, but they don't work as well, so they wouldn't have helped today." That was interesting. Rocky hadn't known that.

Rather than continue debating the benefits of white noise, Rocky asked, "Are you at a point where you can break and head out?"

Aiden bent to look at his computer before exclaiming, "Man, time flies!" Speak for yourself, Rocky thought but he didn't voice it. "Let me get things gathered up. I'll be ready in five."

Rocky made his way to Aiden's couch and sat. Bouncing a bit to test its comfort, Rocky made a mental note to replace the sofa at the first opportunity as a spring poked him in the ass.