Chapter 21
Twenty-One
After breakfast, Carver asked Gideon if he wanted to go back to his room. It wasn’t because he needed the boy to leave. More that he needed to verify his comfort levels. Carver refused to ignore Gideon’s feelings in favor of his own.
If he wanted to do that, then he’d have already pursued Gideon in some type of romantic way. He’d never ask his sweet boy for his opinion, since it wouldn’t have mattered.
But Carver was a better man than that. His conflicting emotions aside, he knew keeping Gideon’s wants first was the proper way to go about things.
When Gideon tapped the desk once, Carver knew the boy wanted to stay with him. It would make for an interesting day. Still, the fact Gideon chose to be out in the open—or as close to open as they were—warmed Carver’s heart.
His sweet boy was making progress.
Carver handed off their empty plates to Hex, who quickly handed them to Knight so he wouldn’t have to leave his spot. “Take these to the kitchen. Bring back waters for the Prez.”
The probie rushed away, damn near leaving skid marks with how quickly he took off. Hex chuckled as Carver rolled his eyes.
“I appreciate you looking out. You don’t have to stay on door duty all day though.”
Hex shook his head. “I know, but it only seems fair. Slayer was watching over the bedroom for y’all. Since he’s not needed there, he offered to come down and take over here.”
“Then where is he?” Carver suspected he knew the answer.
“I sent him off. You asked me to do this, and I intend to fulfill the task. Besides, it’s not like I have anything else to do right now.”
“You could go to work. I’m sure there's someone somewhere who could use an extra set of hands.” With the Angels in a sort of hiatus, their more legit businesses were flourishing. Each update Carver got from his men held an increasing note of enthusiasm.
While their hearts were always in the right place, their more vigilante-based jobs didn’t always pay.
And the few times they did, funds were set to help maintain club business.
Sure, everyone benefited from that as well.
But nothing beats getting your own paycheck or having pocket money for whatever you wanted.
Hex scoffed at the notion. “I’d rather be close to you and little boss. You two are what makes this whole thing work.”
Carver nodded to the other man before closing the door again. The truth in Hex’s words stunned him. He’d not considered what Gideon meant to the club outside of being another mouth to feed. As for his personal connection, he’s probably thought about it far too much.
Since Gideon’s arrival, things within the Angels had changed for the better. Despite the need to accommodate him, though really there wasn’t much to change there, his sweet boy’s presence gave more than it took. His men were getting reprieve to do as they wished. Carver felt less irritable overall.
Gideon eyed Carver as he sank back down in his chair. The sweet boy had likely heard Hex’s words. With how much it shocked him, Carver couldn’t let him think there was anything false about it.
“What Hex said is true,” Carver told him. “We are all better with you here.”
His boy gave him a quick nod before looking around the room. Carver followed his gaze. He noted how empty the office was aside from the paperwork, the cage in the corner, and some basic furniture. Nothing about it screamed Carver.
When he took over as leader of the Angels, Carver hadn’t cared about decorating things. That was for the others to take care of. The old ladies and the men who wanted to have a say in it. Carver’s focus had been on making sure the club business turned in the right direction.
Now though, he saw it as a failure. Because Gideon deserved to be surrounded in love and support. The walls should be covered in happy memories, motivational images, and color.
There needed to be more color.
Keeping his boy in this barren room felt wrong.
“We should paint the office.” Carver’s words shattered the silence.
Gideon turned to him, eyes wide.
“Do you think we should put some color in here? What would you like?”
At his question, Gideon tilted his head. Carver leaned around his boy to tug at the mouse for his computer. The screen lit up, which seemed to startle his boy.
“I’m just going to pull up some options. You can point to which you like best. Maybe we can paint in here and in the bedroom, yeah?”
Gideon didn’t outwardly respond. His eyes were locked on the screen as Carver typed in a website where they could get paint samples. A few quiet minutes of scrolling had Carver questioning if this was the right move. Nothing appeared to draw his boy in.
Not until they got to the greens. That was when Gideon’s entire body shifted forward like he wanted to jump through the screen.
Carver slowed his scrolling to give Gideon time to make his choice. When his trembling hand reached out to the screen, Carver held his breath. The chosen color, a forest green, was actually nice to look at.
“Is this for the office?” Carver asked him.
Gideon gave him a nod. Then his finger trailed across the screen to a softer, pastel green. He tapped it twice.
“And that’s for the bedroom.” This choice wasn’t a question. He knew it’s what his boy wanted. “I’ll put in the order for it. One of the guys will pick it up. We can make the changes as soon as we have it here. The probies can move the furniture to prep for it all.”
Carver rambled the words almost nervously. He didn’t know why he felt unmoored at this change.
Then again, he did know.
What if they did all this and Gideon still decided to leave in the end?
Hell, his sweet boy didn’t even know Carver had learned his name.
There was a lot the pair hadn’t discussed.
As much as he could try to blame it on the fact they didn’t communicate in a traditional way, Carver knew it was a weak excuse.
Gideon could communicate in his own way. He’d let Carver know when he did or did not want something. To keep details from him wasn’t fair.
At the same time, Carver feared what the change might bring. Would the boy he’d grown close to still see him the same way if he knew all of what Carver had found?
After sending some of the men out to get the paint and working a bit on the backed-up paperwork he had, Carver decided the rest of his day should be spent outside. He knew it was a gorgeous day. And since Gideon had been relaxing in his office all day, it was a good idea to get the boy some sun.
They’d switched chairs along the way to make it so Carver could work without reaching over Gideon all day. His sweet boy had curled up in the visitor chair, his eyes firmly planted on Carver to monitor what he did.
The cage in the corner, the secondary one Carver had insisted they get sat empty. He loved knowing his boy didn’t want to be kept tucked away in this space. While it was likely not the end of his battle with the apparatus, it still meant Gideon had made progress.
Or at least, he’d felt like the boy had.
When Carver had Hex make sure the outside was fine enough for them to go out—aka make sure the women weren't out there and that no parties were happening—he noticed a shift in Gideon’s body language. It was slight. Almost imperceptible.
But he saw.
And he watched.
Hex gave them the all clear before escorting them through a side door to the outdoor grill area. There were picnic tables, a large grill for when they did BBQs, and some inflatable pools. A few kids’ toys were in the corner as well, though they rarely were used.
Carver tried to picture what it was like to experience this as a new person on the grounds. Did it seem strange to Gideon? Mordecai’s home was much more extravagant, yet he had a feeling his sweet boy never saw much of it.
Before he could ask Gideon how he felt about anything, the boy stepped away from him. He took off toward the shaded area without looking back. Hex and Carver shared nervous looks before following him.
It was only as he dropped down the ground and crawled forward that it hit him. Gideon was climbing inside the outdoor cage Carver had gotten. His groan was soft enough his sweet boy likely wouldn’t hear. Hex did though.
“Damn,” the other man said. “I thought he was having a good day.”
“Me too. I feel like there's more to this we’re not understanding.”
A scream halted their conversation. Carver rushed over, his arms wrapping around his boy and pulling him from where he’d partially climbed inside the cage. “What’s wrong!?”
Hex made a wounded sort of noise. “Look at his hands, Boss.”
Carver saw exactly what was wrong. Red welts covered Gideon’s skin in the shape of the bars. As Carver checked over the rest of his body, he felt a sense of thanks that his boy’s skin was covered in other places. Who knew how much more damage there could have been?
“We need to get to Doc right fucking now.”
“You take him. I’m right behind you calling him in.” Hex ran over to the door they’d come through and held it open.
Carver took off in a jog through the building. People looked their way, but with Hex shouting at Doc to “get his ass to med bay” they all got a clear picture of what the rush was for.
They ran into Doc in the hall right outside the bay. His eyes widened when he saw the boy’s hands. “Fuck me. How did this happen?”
“Outside. The bars were hot. Didn’t think anything of it before he tried to get inside of it.” Carver’s words were full of self-loathing.
How could he have fucked up so badly? Why did Gideon even trust him? Aside from feeding him and giving him a bed, Carver had failed him in so many ways.
The dark thoughts almost made him leave the room. Gideon would be better off with someone who could be there for him in all ways.
But then his sweet boy reached out in his direction with those badly burned hands. Carver pushed them back to the bed where Gideon laid as he took up a position to watch over him. He ran his hands over the boy’s soft curls.
“It’s ok, sweet boy. I’m here. I’ve got you.” Carver felt the words deep in his bones.
He’d never let Gideon down again.