Chapter Thirty-Five

Rocky

A phone ringing woke Rocky from a light doze. After their victory celebration Aiden and he had taken a bit of a nap. Neither of them wanted to focus on what was happening outside of their relationship. They'd opted to stay home and remain in their personal bubble while the club's plan was being implemented.

Now though, someone was intruding on that time. Rocky rose quickly to try and silence the ringing before Aiden woke. As he went to press ignore on the phone he noted it was Blade calling. Seeing the time at the top of the phone's screen Rocky knew it was a call about the outcome of their trap. He quickly accepted the call and before he even finished his greeting he wished he hadn't answered at all.

"He's in the wind." Blade's words were a bit monotone, seeming emotionless. Blade worked overly hard to hide anger. Rocky knew it was a deliberate thing because of Blade's past, so he wasn't fooled by the lack of inflection. Blade was pissed .

"Shit." Rocky whispered. "Fuck!" His raised voice on the second word caused Aiden to stir in their bed. As much as he hadn't wanted to face any of this until tomorrow, it seemed his boy was going to be needed if they were to find this fucker.

Rocky fucking hated this. He'd just managed to get his boy into a calmer, more functional state. He didn't want Aiden to get overwhelmed again. He needed to talk to his boy about the things he needed to know in order to best take care of him. There didn't seem to be time for an in-depth discussion right then, but he would make time to at least get the basics before they jumped into this manhunt.

"Agreed, brother. But we need Pup. Drake never showed up at the restaurant, and no one knows where he is. We're supposed to be going for Cynthia in a few days. I want this shit-stain found before then."

"Yeah, okay. Give us a bit. He'll get back to you as soon as he has something."

"I don't know if he knows we know, or if he just vanished. We might keep Pup's office as is and see what happens. That might still be a valid option."

"Not likely, but it can't hurt to try." Rocky rubbed the back of his neck as he said goodbye and wondered how best to tell Aiden what was happening. Normally he'd be fine just dropping the news on him but his boy had already been through hell that day and he wasn't sure if this might be too much right then.

Aiden

Rocky's shouting stirred Aiden from his deep sleep. He continued to doze as Daddy talked to whoever was on the phone. He wasn't paying much attention to the conversation, just hovering somewhere in the realm of half-consciousness.

He hadn't even registered the silence yet when he felt the mattress dip as Daddy sat on the edge of the bed. He felt a warm gentle hand stroke over his hair and a sense of peace stole over him. Somehow, in the short time they'd been together, Daddy had become Aiden's refuge, his safe harbor.

"Time to wake up, baby." Rocky's words had Aiden wondering if he'd slept through the entire night, since they didn't plan to do anything but rest until the next day. But looking at the window facing west showed that the dimmer light outside was sunset, not sunrise.

"What's wrong?" If Daddy was waking him, that could only mean trouble.

"I just got off the phone with Blade. Drake didn't show up and he's missing. No one knows where he's at."

Fuck. That meant he needed to see if Drake had been leaving any kind of electronic trail. Aiden threw the covers off himself and got ready to climb out of the bed but Daddy stopped him.

"Before we jump into this, there are a few things I need to know to make sure I'm taking care of you properly. I was going to wait and ask tomorrow when things were more settled but if you're going to do this, then I need to know now."

Shit. Aiden had a funny feeling he knew where this was going. He liked to think he was a different person than he was even just a few weeks ago. He liked to think that he'd grown to trust Rocky and his brothers in the MC. The initial panic at the thought of telling Rocky what Aiden suspected he wanted to know was still a very real thing though.

"Okay." That was all he could bring himself to say. If he was wrong he didn't want to steer the conversation that way.

"Are you autistic, baby?" There was no judgment, just curiosity. That didn't keep Aiden's heart from skipping a beat, or make it not start racing after. It didn't make his hands less clammy, or his breathing more steady.

Aiden had always tried especially hard to hide his diagnosis, to act like those around him, to be normal. The only thing the diagnosis had brought him was pain and rejection from the one mother figure in his life he'd ever chanced to actually care for.

Logically, Aiden now knew that Patrice had been doing what she thought best for him. He knew she'd recently been discovered to be sick herself with breast cancer. She'd explained he'd need more than she could give him with her own illness looming. But before then, they'd been talking about her adopting him. She'd been trying to be good to him when she sent him away. Still, she had sent him away and he couldn't help but blame the doctor and that damned diagnosis for the rejection.

Right then, he was back with Patrice in his head, having to explain to someone he'd come to love about just how different he was and his fight or flight responses were warring with each other. He hadn't expected to have forever with Rocky before telling him, but he'd hoped for just a bit more time. He couldn't help wondering if this was the moment Rocky would reject him or when he'd prove beyond a doubt that Aiden really wasn't too much for him.

Aiden wasn't sure how long he'd been lost in his musings; all he really knew was that once he'd made a decision in his head, he had looked up to find Rocky still sitting calmly. He didn't push for an answer or show any hint of being impatient.

He took a deep breath and decided to just lay it out there. He wouldn't lie. Not being asked was one thing but lying was something else entirely. "They said I have Asperger's."

"Okay, we'll need to talk about what that means, as far as what you need from me, soon. But in the meantime, you need to get a shower, then go to work." With that very matter of fact statement, Rocky leaned down and devoured Aiden's mouth in a kiss that was as hot as it was quick. Clearly, he wasn't bothered by Aiden's autism one bit if that kiss was anything to go by.