Dinner for two

After leading Aiden downstairs, Mrs. Hudson told him that everything was on the table already and he could help himself. There was extra food in the kitchen if he wanted more. She then told him to enjoy his meal and that she'd see him tomorrow. She said goodnight and left right after that so it really was just him and Derek remaining.

Walking into the dining room, Aiden saw Derek already sitting at the table. Derek didn't say anything when he walked in, making it more awkward than Aiden thought it would be. He didn't know what to say either so he just sat down at the place Mrs. Hudson had set for him and began putting some food on his plate. It didn't help that his seat just happened to be right next to Derek. Just before he started to eat, Derek cleared his throat.

"Ahem. Are you…feeling alright?"

"Huh?" Aiden looked over at him, clearly confused.

"Well, at lunch yesterday…you didn't look well towards the end so I was concerned. Are you feeling better now?" Derek wasn't looking at Aiden. Instead, he was laser focused on his plate in front of him. At first glance, he still looked calm and collected with his usual fierce and confident appearance but Aiden caught a glimpse of blush on the top of Derek's ear's. He suddenly realized that Derek wasn't asking just because of the lunch.

"Oh! Uhm, yeah. I feel a lot better. I just needed to rest a bit." Aiden lightly blushed and quickly looked away.

"Good. That's good." Awkward silence filled the room. It wasn't until both of them were almost finished eating that Aiden broke the silence.

"So, uh, about the allowance thing you were talking about…the five thousand dollars…"

"Yes? What about it?" Derek asked without looking up.

"I don't need it." After Aiden spoke, Derek finally turned to him with a surprised expression.

"Do you receive money from your aunt?"

"Ha! That greedy old…? Ahem, sorry. Uh, no I don't get any money from her. There's no way she'd give me any."

"There's no need to change what you want to say. Just speak as you normally would. Anyway, do you work?"

"Um, sort of, I guess." Derek stared at him as if waiting for more information. "Well it's not like I have a nine to five job or anything but I get by. It's just some computer stuff."

Aiden was actually a world famous anonymous hacker, as counter intuitive as that sounded. He was given the nickname 'The Reaper' by other hackers and it caught on rather quickly. Aiden thought it was lame and childish but there was nothing he could do about it. As The Reaper, Aiden had done a lot of things with questionable legality and he earned a lot of money from it. Of course he also made sure that all the money he got was taxed and looked legit so he never had any problems. He then used that money for investing and he had a rather sizable sum saved up. Although, he couldn't exactly tell any of that to Derek or anyone else. Aiden simply smiled.

"I see." Derek didn't look convinced but he didn't push for further explanations. "Well, if you say you don't need it then that's that. However, if you change your mind or need something in the future, don't hesitate to ask."

"Okay, thanks."

"By the way, I wasn't given much information on your academics. Lyla insisted that her children be sent to the best school available despite their lack of abilities. I'm assuming they will have difficulties with their studies but how about you? Since she didn't require anything in particular for you, you can attend a different school if you want to. The decision's yours."

"There's no need for that. I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Is that so? Good. The school has strict requirements and you'll need to take a foreign language as well as extracurriculars. Is there anything you are interested in? Hobbies or such? How do you usually spend your time?"

"Well, almost every morning I go for a run. After that, depending on the day, I sometimes go to a martial arts class or the boxing gym. I also have a membership at a rock climbing gym. And I taught myself to play the piano and the violin. But do we have to take a foreign language if we've already learned some?"

"Some? As in more than one?" Derek asked.

"Yeah. I already know Spanish, French, Russian, Italian, Korean, and Japanese."

"Wow. I'm not sure but we can contact the school to find out. There might be a way to get credits for something you already know. Ah." Derek looked like he suddenly remembered something. "Wait here." He stood up and walked to the kitchen. When he came back, he was holding two small plates with a slice of chocolate strawberry cake on each. He set one down in front of Aiden before sitting back down with his own. "You're not allergic to strawberries, right?" He asked.

"Nope. I'm not allergic to anything that I know of." Aiden answered and took a bite of the cake. "Wow! This is amazing!" Aiden smiled and his eyes sparkled in delight like a kid in a candy shop. Derek chuckled seeing his expression.

"I'm sure Mrs. Hudson will be happy to hear it." The both of them ate their dessert in silence but it wasn't awkward anymore. When they finished, the two of them sat there and talked for a long time about all kinds of things and before he had even realized it, Derek had made a mental note of all the things Aiden liked and was interested in. He was already thinking about where to go on vacation at the end of summer and whether it should be local or abroad. Aiden had never been on a plane or gone out of the country so maybe they should do that, Derek thought.

When the grandfather clock by the wall chimed, Aiden and Derek were surprised by the fact that it was already ten o'clock. The two of them were so engrossed in talking with each other that they hadn't realized the time. Derek had work in the morning so the two of them said goodnight and went to their respective rooms. They were on the same floor but at opposite ends of the hall. Derek took a quick shower before changing into sweatpants and flopping down onto the bed.

While he stared up at the ceiling, his mind was going over his conversations with Aiden. The boy was smart, hard-working, funny, and incredibly beautiful. He hadn't been expecting that when Lyla first mentioned that she was looking after her nephew. He assumed the nephew would be like the rest of the family but Derek was glad that wasn't the case. Aiden was nothing like the others.

A small smile spread across his face when he remembered Aiden blushing. It was just too cute. Derek's eyes went wide and he quickly sat up, shaking his head. What was he thinking about a seventeen year old? No, it wasn't anything weird. Lots of things can be cute. Teddy bears, smiling babies, puppies, baby pandas, all very cute. It doesn't mean anything. Derek set his alarm and turned the lights out before getting back into bed.

Meanwhile, Aiden was busy unpacking more of his belongings. He wanted to be done with it as soon as possible. He didn't want the boxes all piled up and in the way. After two hours, he finished up everything, turned off the light and climbed into bed. The mattress was so comfortable. It felt like laying on a cloud. Sighing, he turned over so he was lying on his back and stared blankly up at the ceiling. He hadn't expected things to end up like this.

Originally, Aiden thought he'd never meet Derek again. It was just supposed to be a spur of the moment one night stand with an amazingly sexy stranger. Who would have thought that he'd have such bad luck as to end up accidentally sleeping with his new step-uncle? It was an amazing night too.

Aiden shook his head. He'd have to stop thinking about it. It was pointless. After all, it wasn't going to happen again so he should just move on. He knew he'd never be able to forget but he would at least need to be able to not have those kinds of thoughts roaming around in his head every time he ran into Derek. With that thought in mind, he snuggled up in the blankets, determined to fall asleep quickly and not let his mind wander. It was easier said than done.

He tossed and turned for a while before managing to finally drift off to sleep and even then, his thoughts betrayed him. All of Aiden's dreams that night involved the one person he had told himself not to think about. Little did he know that he wasn't the only one dreaming of someone he shouldn't.