“Now, you just have to think about what your future holds,” his omega papa said.
Aiden considered that, slowly nodding as the thought played through his mind. Growing up, Aiden knew he only had one parent. He never questioned it because Rafe was a great father, but in the back of his mind, he did sometimes wonder who had provided the other half of his DNA.
It wasn’t until his junior year of high school that Rafe opened up to him about the dad he didn’t know. The asshole had played Rafe. His papa didn’t realize the man was married when they hooked up, and Aiden was the result of an affair. His alpha dad wanted nothing to do with him, so Rafe had no choice but to raise Aiden on his own.
At first, Aiden had felt abandoned, but eventually, he realized that he didn’t want to be around anyone that didn’t want him, although recently he’d found out that he had siblings. Three brothers, in fact, all from different women and omegas, and none from the woman his dad was married to.
They were now scattered around the US—one of them was even British—and the one thing they had in common was they’d all been raised by their single parents.
Aiden found out right before he’d gotten sick. Apparently, his sperm donor wanted all of them to find each other, and he’d even left a sizable sum of money for them.
Aiden had met his brothers in person once, but the past year… he hadn’t been up for socializing, although he’d already made the decision to reach out once he got the all clear. For now, they kept in contact over the phone and social media, so it was a good start, but having the big C made him want to get to really know them. Life was too short and family was a blessing and something you shouldn’t ignore.
Fuck, he sounded like a Hallmark movie.
“Aiden?” Rafe asked.
“Huh?” Aiden looked up at Rafe, and he frowned.
“Are you alright? I thought I lost you for a minute.”
Aiden smiled. “I’m definitely alright. I was just thinking about my future.”
Rafe picked up his wine glass and took a drink. Aiden hadn’t even noticed that the waiter had brought them their wine.
“And?” he asked as he set the glass back down.
“I want a family.” Okay, so that wasn’t even what he meant to say, but it had been on his mind. “You’ve shown me what it is to be a good father, and I want that. Honestly, I want it more than I think I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.”
Aiden had always been able to talk to Rafe. Maybe it was because his papa had him so young and they kind of had a friendship alongside the whole parent thing, but he’d always been Aiden’s confidant.
His papa lifted the wine glass to his lips, his eyes on Aiden as he sipped. Aiden didn’t react because he knew Rafe was putting his thoughts together in his head.
Rafe finally smiled. “I’m thinking you’ll make the best dad.”
“Well, I have a wonderful role model,” Aiden replied.
Rafe bit his lips like he wanted to say something, but wasn’t sure he should.
“Papa, I know something is on your mind, just spit it out.” Aiden gave Rafe a pointed look.
“Son, just remember there’s more than one way to have a family. You know the doctor said that with the surgery, chemo, and radiation you had to undergo, it’s possible that your chances of having kids naturally has decreased. You might never be able to have children.”
“I know that, but right before the surgery, I had my sperm stored just in case.” Aiden took a sip from his wine, his mind going back to the day the doctor told him that having the surgery to remove the cancer could reduce his sperm count.
That wasn’t something any man wanted to hear, but Aiden considered himself a practical man. The removal of his... Aiden couldn’t even think of the surgery, and he shifted in his seat, but he knew all the treatments had decreased his chance of procreating naturally.
The doctor had suggested he store his sperm for the future, and that had taken Aiden back to another day, years before, which was a road he so rarely visited.
“I know that the doctor said that,” Aiden started. He took another sip. “But, I’m not really talking about that. I mean, I would love to have kids with the man I fall in love with and marry. I absolutely would love that.” That was another thing he hadn’t really focused on before all this because it had always been an abstract possibility. “And when that time comes, we will see how it goes.”
“But…” Aiden swallowed, since the next thing was something he’d never admitted to Rafe. “I donated my sperm six years ago to a fertility clinic, and I don’t know, maybe it’s the whole ‘considering your own mortality,’ but there’s a good possibility that there is already a part of me out there that I don’t know about. I just feel like… I think I want to check into it.”
Their waiter brought their food, so he had to wait and see what his papa’s reaction was to the news he just shared.
When the young man left, Rafe didn’t speak immediately. Instead, his papa lifted his fork and started wrapping his spaghetti around. Aiden waited knowing Rafe was thinking things through. “You know I will always support you in any way I can, right?”
Aiden nodded. “I know, Papa. Do you think this is a bad idea?” He didn’t mean to sound like a five-year-old asking for his fathers approval, but that was what happened.
