(BL)Alpha Made-Chapter 289: A man too good for fast food

"Are you sure this is what they want?" Maxwell asked, hesitant. Andrew almost laughed as Maxwell kept glancing at the bags in the backseat of the car. Andrew’s grip on the steering wheel tightened as he smiled.

"Why would I lie to you about this?" Andrew asked, smirking as he glanced at Maxwell’s uncertain expression. They were driving back to the company after picking up dinner for not just Ford and May, but for the whole team. Andrew had even gotten something for him and Maxwell, but he could tell that Maxwell was extremely hesitant about it.

Maxwell, as Andrew remembered, hadn’t had a lot of fast food in his time. It made perfect sense. Knowing how Thomas and Luis were, there was no way they were letting their precious children have fast food. Andrew chuckled.

He could see Ben and Will refusing to eat fast food, but he kind of thought that Maxwell would have rebelled against his parents and eaten it out of spite. Especially when he considered how Maxwell’s relationship had been with them when Andrew had first met him. It was only a little bit surprising that Maxwell hadn’t, and he looked so anxious about the bags of food they were going to bring into his company.

Andrew pulled into the parking spot that was reserved for Maxwell and turned his grin to Maxwell in the passenger seat.

"Shall we carry everything in, Maxy?"

~

Maxwell didn’t settle even after they had brought all the food in and everyone had given them praises for bringing in food. Andrew let Maxwell manage the others as he went over to Ford and May, a special, smaller bag for them in his hand. He’d gotten what he remembered as their favourites, and Ford looked up, grateful when he saw that Andrew approached, his other hand dragging their suitcase behind him.

"Ah. Andy. Thank you for going out of your way." Ford greeted, taking the suitcase first and tucking it near their side. They had gotten chairs, probably at Ford’s suggestion, and now May was sat in a chair, staring at Richard in the other room.

"Is she any better?" Andrew asked, hoping to get a reaction out of May. He watched as her lips twitched and her brow furrowed.

"She can hear you." May said, annoyed, and Andrew grinned. Ford shared a look with him, and Andrew watched as she spoke, but didn’t take her eyes off of Richard.

"Oh, can she? I had no idea. I stopped by earlier and you wouldn’t even acknowledge me." Andrew let out a dramatic sigh. "It’s alright. I understand who the favourites are." He teased, not meaning it, even as he watched May pale slightly. Andrew moved, leaning down to hug her side, taking the bite out of his words. "I brought some food, so make sure to eat. He’d hate it if you collapsed. I also had Rosie’s help getting some of your clothes, so if they suck, blame her." May’s lips twitched again, but this time it was a smile.

"Already throwing her under the bus?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Andrew didn’t take it personally that she wouldn’t take her gaze off of Richard. Andrew understood to some degree. It was a horrifying situation, to be unable to be in the room with the people you cared about while they went through some of the worst times of their lives.

"Of course! With great ease." Andrew told her, before shoving the food into her lap. "Maxwell’s never eaten fast food before, so I half decided on this to make a point, while also knowing that this would be easy to eat." May crinkled the bag, while Ford let out a snort.

"I had a feeling his lips had never touched a burger like this before." Ford said. It wasn’t malicious, more amused than anything else. Andrew chuckled.

"Sometimes I wonder about how we even got together, but then I’m reminded about how cute he is, and decide we’ll just make everything work." A sharp jab to his back had Andrew gasping, before he started laughing.

"Is that it, huh?" Maxwell’s voice was tart, annoyed, but when Andrew turned his gaze towards him, he could tell that Maxwell was joking, mostly. Andrew reached for him, wrapping him in his arms and inhaling his scent.

"Oh right. There’s also his scent. To die for." Andrew’s voice took on a false, hypnotic tone and Ford laughed.

"You know, I smelled one of those little satchels you made to mimic his scent when you two weren’t talking and I do have to admit, if that’s what he smells like, that’s pretty nice." Ford said, turning so that Richard was in his peripheral vision, but he was facing May, Maxwell and Andrew. Maxwell huffed.

"I’m sure May doesn’t like hearing that." He muttered and May laughed lightly.

"You don’t have to defend me, Maxy. I’m perfectly fine. Ford can’t smell anyone else’s scent, and we do often make mock ups of the people around us who he can’t smell. He’s gotten to smell everyone, if not directly, then through the mock ups I’ve made for him over the years." Ford’s face flushed as May said it, then she did snicker. "Oops. That was a secret we’ve been keeping for decades. Don’t tell anyone else, would you?"

Ford looked so embarrassed, since he’d clearly just been trying to bond with Maxwell at the moment, and May, just like her children, liked to cause chaos. Even if she’d been on her best behaviour till now.

Maxwell’s jaw was dropped, his expression blank as he was at a loss as to what he was supposed to say. Ford was scrambling, but ended up just covering his bright red face as he smacked his wife’s shoulder.

"May Marie Gates!" Ford exclaimed. Andrew wasn’t sure if he was angry, embarrassed, or both. Andrew had a feeling it was a complex situation as Ford said May’s full name. May’s shoulders shook slightly before her head dropped and her shoulder’s continued to shake but Andrew could tell there was a difference.

The smile fell from Andrew’s face as he realised that May was crying. It took Ford a beat longer than it did Andrew because he was so embarrassed, but both men reached for her. Maxwell stood to the side, watching as May sobbed. The first time she had cried about this in front of Andrew, and Andrew could tell it was the first time she had cried about this at all. freewebnøvel.com

Ford looked like he was in pain as he grabbed his wife, pulling her towards him. To him, it didn’t matter that the people around him were alphas and omegas. He just didn’t want them to hurt so much because of it.

At one point, Andrew had looked at the kind of man that Ford had turned out to be, the kind man, who didn’t ask questions, showed up when needed. Never let Andrew down, was always there. The father figure he’d never had, or he had had, because Ford easily, without question, slid into that position without complaint, without making it a big deal.

Now, Andrew watched the same strong man hold his wife as she cried about the hardships her son was going through. With a sting, Andrew wondered if this scene had repeated for him, and suddenly, Andrew didn’t want to know.

He wasn’t sure if it would be a good or a bad thing if he found out. Either way.

"Let’s give them some privacy." Andrew whispered, reaching for Maxwell’s hand and turning away from the couple, glancing back to check on them even though he knew better, and his heart squeezed at the way that Ford held May’s head against his shoulder, his expression tight, but his eyes full of love as he held his sobbing wife.

"They’ll be fine." Maxwell murmured, squeezing Andrew’s hand. "They’re all strong. They will make it through this." Maxwell was trying to comfort Andrew, and Andrew gave Maxwell a tight smile.

"I know that they are strong, Max, I just..." Andrew trailed off. "Why does it feel like a lot has fallen onto their plate right now? They’ve had to deal with so much, and May and Ford don’t have any other living family members to help out. Just...Rose and...me." Maxwell’s hand tightened to a painful level.

"Don’t say that. They’ve made a new family, haven’t they? They have me, my family, and Kim and Jenny now too. They aren’t alone, and we won’t let them feel that way. I’m sure if we told Amir they needed help, his Grandmother would be over in a heartbeat to help. He’s like that. Plus, they both took such a deep liking to you, they apparently barrage my parents about when our wedding is going to be held." Maxwell’s mouth froze as he said it, and it made Andrew pause as well. Maxwell’s ears turned bright pink. "It’s kind of why Mom asked about it the other day."

Oh, some of Andrew’s worries drifted away knowing the deeper reason as to why Thomas and Luis had ambushed him. If it had been because of Amir’s grandparents...

Andrew felt his lips turn up slightly in a smile and Maxwell looked even more embarrassed. Andrew bent, wrapping Maxwell in his arms, holding the other man for comfort.

"Thank you for saying that. I needed to hear that. It was just...I was just a bit overwhelmed. I haven’t seen May cry like that, maybe ever. They didn’t cry in front of me when my Mom was sick, so I-" Maxwell reached up, pressing his hand against the bottom half of Andrew’s mouth.

"It’s okay. You don’t need to explain it to get hugs from me. You’re the only person who doesn’t need to." Andrew softened more, pressing kisses against the hand against his lips. Maxwell’s face warmed, fully embarrassed while Andrew melted for the other man. He was grateful for his love, and his affection.