"I just…I don't wish it upon anyone." Andrew whispered and Luis tightened her grip on him. Then, she let him go and whipped out her phone. Andrew had no idea what she was doing until she raised the phone to her ear and spoke quickly, loudly.
"Are you done with your interview? If you are, come over now. If you aren't, wrap it up quickly. Andrew needs you." Luis didn't wait for a response, just hung up the phone and shoved it back into her pocket. Andrew stared at her, slack jawed.
"H-He's busy! He won't just-" Andrew's phone vibrated in his pocket, and he had a suspicious feeling he knew who was on the other line. He pulled his phone out, and there was Maxwell's name written on the screen. It was surrounded by hearts.
Andrew picked up.
"Are you okay? Are they harassing you? What's going on?" Maxwell's voice washed over him, and just hearing it relaxed something inside of him. Andrew's tension left, and his hands stopped shaking.
"The reporters are actually really nice, I'm just the problem." Andrew heard Maxwell make a growling noise.
"You are never the problem. Even when we argue, I'm the problem. I'm on my way. We were just doing the last little wrap up when Mom called. Do you want me to be on the phone as I come over?" Maxwell's voice was full of kindness and Andrew hesitated.
He didn't want to be a bother, and he also didn't want to worry him. He wanted to be strong. He was strong, but this was Maxwell.
"I would like to be on the phone with you." Andrew admitted softly and there was silence on the other line for a beat too long. Andrew immediately wanted to backtrack and Maxwell wouldn't let him.
"Alright. I can do that. We'll be a little disconnected while I'm in the elevator, but I'm still here." Maxwell told him. "And stop those stupid thoughts that I can feel from here. I wouldn't offer it if I didn't want to do it." Maxwell snapped, and Andrew felt his lips twitch. He sounded worried, and that only made Andrew sigh.
"You don't offer anything you don't want to do." Andrew agreed. "That's something I like about you." Andrew told him. Andrew could feel how intently Luis was watching him, as was the reporter. Both women were softening the longer that Andrew spoke to Maxwell on the phone.
"Stop trying to win points right now. How did you get so worked up? What were those reporters asking you?" Maxwell snarled and Andrew chuckled.
"We were talking about my father. I got really worked up." Andrew admitted. "I even swore." Andrew told him and Maxwell scoffed.
"I hoped you let out a whole list of expletives for that waste of space. Is that what got you worked up? Mom wouldn't call me like that for something simple." Andrew hesitated.
"I…may or may have not let slip that I was kidnapped." There was silence on the other end of the phone. "Maxy?" Andrew asked when it went on for too long.
"Andy, were they asking you about that?" Maxwell's voice was soft and Andrew didn't know what to do with that behaviour. Maxwell speaking softly? Like he was worried about what Andrew would say? Or how he would react?
"I-I said it was okay." Andrew told him, before he heard Maxwell sigh on the other side.
"Baby, you're breaking my heart here. One sec, the elevator just arrived."
Andrew couldn't hear anything on the other side for a moment, so Andrew reached over to grab his drink. Luis was there to make sure he didn't spill, and Andrew couldn't help but smile. She was behaving as if he was fragile, like Amir. Andrew wasn't the pregnant one.
Andrew chuckled, and heard the sound of an elevator opening.
"What are you chuckling about?" Maxwell asked softly, and Andrew chuckled again.
"Your Mom is hovering, which is fine, but I was just thinking that she was treating me the same way that she treats Amir. I'm not pregnant, and then I had a thought about if I could be the pregnant one between the two of us." Andrew chuckled again.
"You would be fine with that?" Maxwell asked, his voice sounding…restrained. Andrew shrugged.
"Yeah. No problem with that." Andrew told him easily and Maxwell let out a sigh. Andrew felt a little bad that he couldn't see his expression, and that he was making the man sigh.
"I feel like if the positions were reversed, I would be the most toxic man to you, Andy." Maxwell admitted. Andrew laughed.
"You think?" He asked, glancing at Luis. "I don't think your Mom would allow it." Andrew told him and Maxwell clicked his tongue.
"I don't know. I mean, she got a Ben as an alpha, but she also got a Will. There's a chance for anything, especially given our family line. We only cut contact with my grandfather because of me, Andy. We could have still had contact with him if I wasn't an omega. You could have been dating, no, engaged to a much more dangerous man." He sounded like he was smiling on the other end of the line and Andrew took a sip of his London fog.
He then had to play it off like he hadn't just burnt his tongue.
"I think I'm already engaged to a rather dangerous man, but sure, it could be worse if our roles were reversed. If I was the omega, and you were the alpha." Andrew chuckled. "It probably would be worse if I started out as a beta, wouldn't it?" Andrew joked and Maxwell let out a dangerous laugh.
"I probably would have bitten you just for fun. To 'test the waters'. Just as friends." He joked and Andrew laughed. Luis and the reporter were close enough that they could probably hear Maxwell on the other line. Given the way that the two were looking at him like they were relieved, and a little worried, told him as much.
"Just for fun? I'm oblivious, but I'd understand that, Maxy." Andrew warned and Maxwell laughed. A car door opened before closing as Maxwell got into the car.
"Sure. I'm sure you'd understand that." Andrew could hear the smile in his tone as he attempted to placate Andrew. Andrew made a face.
"You're teasing me, aren't you? Or are you making fun of me?" Andrew asked and Maxwell chuckled. The sound changed slightly as Maxwell switched him over to the car console.
"Tease you? Make fun of you? I would never do that. I would probably warn you never to present your neck to me though. I have self control, but not enough." Andrew felt the mark on him burn at that comment.
"I am aware." Andrew said, nearly choking on the words. Maxwell's laughter filled his ear.
"Oh? Are you? I had no idea that omega Andrew could see the future." Maxwell's voice was full of laughter. "But seriously, if the same situation had happened? Where you had come crawling into my lap after such a traumatic time for both of us? I probably wouldn't be able to control myself. We'd be mated that night after I made sure that Michael checked on you." Andrew's face flushed.
"That's-"
"I'd obviously be groveling, telling you that you never would have to forgive me for what I'd done. There was no way that it was an okay thing to do. I didn't get your consent. We were not together. I would hate myself, but at the same time…there would be a part of me that would be satisfied. Satiated. I could wait. Even if you kicked me out of your life after that, you couldn't get rid of me completely. You would have to explain to others that you were mated, and you'd have to introduce any alpha or beta you'd want to start a family with to me. Your mate." Maxwell let out a shaky exhale while Andrew sat there, wide eyed.
"You've…really thought this through." Andrew said carefully and Maxwell laughed.
"Well, I've had plenty of time to fantasize about if things were different. Especially in the earlier days. I've decided that it's for the best that I'm the omega in our relationship. I would take full advantage if you were the omega, Andy. I mean it. Some bigger power looked down at us and went 'that's a dangerous situation' and switched it. Sorry. I'm probably the reason you aren't like your Mom." Maxwell apologised, and sounded like he meant it.
Andrew was speechless for a moment. He scrambled to speak, to think past that point.
"M-Maxy, uh, that's not something you can apologise for? That's all genetics, and modification on my side. Look at Richard. He was the same size as me, and he manifested as an omega." Andrew said and Maxwell made a thoughtful noise in his throat.
"True, that's true. I never said I imagined you as a smaller man, Andy. I meant that you would be the omega in our relationship. We could be the same size for all I care, I'm just saying I would be a danger to you. I wouldn't be able to fight off my urges as much as I do as an omega." Andrew reflected on some of the urges he got as a true alpha and sighed.
"Okay. So maybe it's a good thing that we are the way we are. But…what if we were both omegas?" Andrew asked and Maxwell let out such a low, dangerous laugh that Andrew's hair stood on end.
"There is no way you wouldn't be carrying my baby already. We'd be having a shotgun wedding." Andrew felt his face turn bright red.
"Maxwell!" He chastised and Maxwell laughed.
"What? You wouldn't like it? I'm sure Mom would be thrilled to have more grandkids." Maxwell clearly made the comment knowing that his Mom was listening in. Luis' face flushed and she turned away. She cleared her throat and Maxwell laughed harder. "My point exactly. They probably want to know when we're actually going to try for kids outside of our little fantasy. She's already tried to broach the topic, but I've shut her down." Maxwell told Andrew and Andrew slid his gaze to the back of Luis.
That sounded like something she would do.
"It'll happen when we're ready." Andrew said, to both him, Maxwell and Luis. Luis turned, catching his words and nodding, and Maxwell let out a soft sound.
"Of course. When we're ready." His emphasis on 'we're' warmed Andrew's heart. The man was making Andrew feel calm, collected, and had talked him down from the spiral he had felt coming. He was so sweet, so kind, and Andrew had a feeling that if what he had suggested had happened, Andrew would have forgiven him.
Even given his history, Maxwell would have shown such a deep level of regret that Andrew would have known it was a different situation. Plus, Maxwell wouldn't have been a true alpha. He wouldn't be able to mate with anyone else either.
But that was just a fantasy world, not the one that they lived in now.