Chapter Twenty-Two

Rocky

It was amazing how much more talkative Little Aiden was. It was like he was able to let go in a way so much stronger than Rocky had ever seen before. He no longer worried that what he said might be the wrong thing, he did occasionally glance over when he did something, as if he was checking to be sure Rocky didn't find it weird, but those times Rocky simply smiled at him and Aiden went back to playing.

Every so often Aiden would come over and take Rocky's hand, leading him to one spot or another in the room to see something he was proud of. Rocky never resisted. He loved the fact that Aiden was fully including him in this special time. Trusting Rocky to care for his Little in all ways. It was a show of trust from Aiden. One that Rocky hadn't even been aware that he'd needed as badly as he did.

Aiden's doubts were normal, and Rocky was doing his best to understand and be patient. Rocky, however, had absolutely no doubts left. Aiden was it for him. Somehow, the universe had seen fit to give Rocky a special once-in-a-lifetime love twice. He wasn't questioning his blessing, but he also didn't know if his certainty would help Aiden or scare him. Rocky thought it might be best to give Aiden a bit more time before Rocky bared his heart to him.

A quiet rumble filled the air just as vibrations started in Rocky's pants pocket. Pulling his phone out he checked the caller ID, fully intending to let the call go to voicemail. He didn't want anything interrupting this time. His boy was so much lighter, smiling brightly, and the tension in his shoulders had completely dissipated. Rocky didn't want that to end but when he saw the call was from Blade, Rocky knew he couldn't ignore it. Cursing silently, he accepted the call and stepped right outside the door to the playroom as he brought the phone to his ear.

"Hey, man. What's up?" Rocky wanted to get right to the point. Even though he was right outside the door there were any number of things that could go wrong while he was on this call. Not the least of which was the possibility of Aiden accidentally outing himself. Rocky didn't want to take that chance if he didn't have to.

"You seen Pup?" Blade's question froze Rocky's thoughts. What should he tell Blade? They hadn't discussed how to handle things like this. Before he got a chance to think too hard on it though, Blade continued and saved him from answering. "We've been trying to call him but he isn't answering his phone. Since he's been with you so much since he conked his head, I figured I'd see if you might be able to get him to call me."

"Um, yeah, I can probably do that. What's going on?"

"Glad you asked. Saves me from calling you about it later. We're calling a meeting. We're doing it at Stone's house since Sapphire and the kids will be gone at her mom's house. Just gotta get the man of the hour in on the plan so we can set a trap for this son of a bitch."

And reality comes crashing back. Rocky had to take a deep breath to calm his heart. He knew before he started this with Aiden that he was part of the club and would be involved in every dangerous thing they'd do. That didn't mean his protective instincts didn't kick in and demand he keep Aiden far away from all of it. He'd find a way to work through that. He wasn't about to make his boy give up a huge part of who he was just because it made Rocky twitchy.

"I'll have him call you or you can just give me the details and I'll pass them along. He's still staying with me." Before Blade could question him further Rocky offered a reasonable reason that was at least partially true, "Since the bugs were found in his office neither of us were sure how secure his rooms are at the clubhouse so he's staying here until we're sure his place isn't compromised."

Rocky barely heard Blade say it made sense, as he was busy trying to convince himself he hadn't really lied. It was true that Aiden's place could be compromised. It didn't matter if that wasn't the only reason Aiden was there, it played a factor, so it was good enough. It still felt like a lie, especially when Rocky was so sure of his feelings and wanted to tell the world that Aiden belonged to him. It wasn't what his boy needed though, so he'd deal with lying to his brothers if it meant keeping his boy safe both physically and mentally.

Aiden looked up from what he was doing, as if trying to find him, so Rocky quickly ended the call promising to give Aiden the details about the meet. He quickly shoved his phone in his pocket and headed to see what his boy needed. There'd be time to tell Aiden what was going on later.

It had been the best day Rocky'd had in years. Spending time with Little Aiden had been amazing. Now they were seated for dinner, and Rocky was dreading bringing Aiden out of Little space. He did need to tell him about the meeting the next day though. He couldn't wait and spring it on Aiden at the last minute.

As Rocky cut Aiden's food he took a deep breath, then metaphorically ripped the band aid off. "Baby boy, can Daddy have a big boy conversation with you?"

Aiden's pout was fucking adorable and Rocky had to bite back a smile before Aiden replied, "I guess so, Daddy."

"Good boy, I'll do my best not to take too long, so you can still be Little after if you want."

"Otay."

Without any more preamble, Rocky launched into the explanation of the meeting the next day at Stone's and how they'd be discussing a trap for the traitor. Aiden was quiet until Rocky finished talking, then he simply accepted his now cut up food and said, "That's good. I have a plan I want to talk about. I can spend the morning getting the details worked out in it before we go."

Rocky didn't ask what the plan was, he could tell Aiden wanted to go back to Little space and he didn't want to delay that anymore than he had to. When Aiden seemed to get lost in his head instead of eating, Rocky grabbed up his fork and speared a piece of chicken.

Aiden didn't hesitate when the food was lifted to his lips, he simply accepted and chewed before saying, "thank you, Daddy," in a decidedly Little voice. Seeing that it was a welcome gesture Rocky continued to feed Aiden between his own bites.

Slowly the tense look on his face disappeared again and his Little headspace took over again. Rocky was more relieved than he really wanted to admit that Aiden was able to regress once more. He needed it. Badly. Rocky wasn't sure how long it had been since Aiden had fully slipped into Little space, but he would almost be willing to bet it was an ungodly amount of time.

By the time the last bite was eaten, Aiden was no longer distracted while consuming the food; he was fully focused on the man feeding it to him. Aiden's eyes were filled with such admiration and joy that it physically hurt Rocky's heart. In a good way.