Maxwell wasn't normally a nervous man.
He didn't get anxious about things because he liked them to be cut and dry. Neat. Organised.
Like their proposal plan. That was the reason he liked the week plan, with a party planned at the end. They had even planned out outfits, picked out rings, everything. He liked having everything organised.
That was why all of his new behaviours as an omega were so disrupting and annoying. Making a nest didn't fit into his plans, and it was often spur of the moment. Getting overwhelmed by the pheromones of others could disrail his plans. It was why he had started his company, so that he could have control.
So, with all of this in mind, he thought he was going to be fine when Andrew approached him, surprising him with a moved up deadline for the engagement week, but he already had arrangements in place. He wasn't too worried.
Andrew agreed to his Friday request easily, agreed with everything else, and then it was up to Maxwell to make sure that everything else fell into place exactly as he wanted it. He tried to strip the emotions from the situation because it wasn't like Andrew was going to say no. Not at this point.
They had a house together, had discussed this several times, hell, Maxwell had even marked Andrew. He knew what the answer was.
So when Friday came around, and Maxwell was getting ready for the day after he'd called in a few favours, he wondered why his heart was racing, and he felt like he couldn't breathe. He already knew the answer, the ring box was safely in his pocket, the flowers were already at the restaurant.
There was no need to feel this way.
Maxwell had a bit of a plan. He had thought that maybe because Andrew was a more emotional man compared to Maxwell that he would want to check up on him throughout the day. So he wore his engagement suit all day. Even made sure to change after he got to work, as a nice little surprise.
He didn't see Andrew at all.
He was almost worried about it. Had checked in with the lower level cameras to make sure that he was there, he was at work. He knew it was a bit of a weird use of his power, but he needed to know where the man was if he wasn't coming to see him.
They didn't even have lunch together. While that was partially on Maxwell since he had to work through lunch to get off at a reasonable hour, he didn't come up to see him. That made Maxwell a little cross, a little annoyed. He was fine though. He was fine!
He wasn't upset, or angry, or anything like that, so why was he shaking his leg like he was?
"Are you nervous?" Mr. Newman asked at one point, and Maxwell had scowled at him.
"Why would I be nervous?" He knew, of course. He was his assistant. Of course he knew. Who had done most of the calling, heavily monitored by Maxwell? Mr. Newman. He knew Andrew wouldn't delegate his tasks, but that was Andrew.
Maxwell had other things he needed to do. Even if he had personally done a follow up after.
Now, he tried not to strangle the other man as he chuckled, scanning all of Maxwell's posture and shaking his head.
"Uh huh. Of course. You have no reason to be nervous. My great lord and master would never be nervous when today is the day that he proposes to his big, lovable boyfriend." Maxwell practically snarled at Mr. Newman.
"Do not call him lovable." Maxwell shot back, on edge, and Mr. Newman laughed harder. He only got away with it because Maxwell knew the man wouldn't betray him, or leave his side. Not only was he a reliable income, he also had Richard, Mr. Newman's kind of boyfriend. If things went well, Richard would be part of Maxwell's extended family. He had to play nice.
"Oh, I apologise, but what else am I supposed to call a man who wins over everyone else's hearts through his good nature and baking? Lovable is one of the easier words to come up with." Mr. Newman was poking the bear, and it was clear from the twinkle in his eyes that he knew it too.
"Shut the fuck up. When's my next meeting?" Maxwell growled, getting up and pacing in his office. Mr. Newman was all smiles as he went back to being professional, but the time couldn't tick on faster.
Maxwell practically rushed down to the lobby when it came time for him to meet up with Andrew and the photographer. A woman that had been recommended to him by Amir and Ben through a friend. They couldn't use who Amir and Ben had since they were a team and far out of the price range that Andrew felt comfortable spending.
Maxwell let the man have it, since the woman appeared to do good work.
Maxwell was still in a foul mood until the elevator doors opened and he caught sight of the man he hadn't seen in person since this morning. Like Maxwell, Andrew had gone to work in his normal clothes, which made sense for him. He worked in a lab, it made no sense for him to be in a suit downstairs.
The colour on him made his hair pop, his amber eyes glowing, and his whole face lit up when he laid eyes on Maxwell. Maxwell's sour mood faded in between one blink and the next. His shoulders dropped, and all annoyance left him.
This was the man he was going to marry. He was going to be his soon. That thought made everything okay.
~
Maxwell was glad to see that Andrew was so nervous. Glad to see he was anxious. It was cute, sweet, and made all the more enjoyable when Andrew nearly burst out into tears in the restaurant before they had even sat down.
Maxwell watched the man, his heart racing in his chest. He found himself looking out at the city below them to try and calm his heart down. It didn't make sense that he was like this, his hands sweating. There was no need for it.
Who would say no to him?
Andrew would not say no to him.
Not after what he'd done for him.
This restaurant was a big deal, he'd called in several favours for, with Mr. Dalton being a major part of that. Mr. Dalton had asked for several things in return, with Andrew and Maxwell coming over for dinner as the cover that Maxwell was fine revealing to Andrew.
The other stuff? Didn't matter. Really. Andrew didn't need to know, and it wasn't like he was asking for a lot. Just a meeting with Maxwell, going over his business. Maxwell wasn't asking him to invest in his company, and he didn't mind going over his projection. It was actually just two perks for one favour.
Maxwell tried to focus on how happy Andrew was instead of thinking about what he had to do to get here. That was more important than anything else. Andrew held onto his hand like a lifeline, his eyes watery as he continued to eat.
He was sniffing constantly, his handsome face two seconds from sobs. Maxwell worried a bit about how turned on his face made him, and what that said about him, but he tried not to look too deeply into it. It was just nice to see that the man was enjoying himself. How he was practically in euphoria as he ate, and gushed about the flavours he was tasting, what techniques they were using, all of it.
Maxwell wasn't sure if Andrew knew it, but he loved when the man explained things to him. It wasn't ever demeaning, or made Maxwell feel excluded. Instead, he made Maxwell feel excited to hear what Andrew was going to say and explain, and actually make him interested in it too. Did Maxwell give a fuck about cooking? Not at all.
He did care about whether Andrew liked what was cooked.
He actually liked when Andrew did that little excited wiggle and glanced at Maxwell to see if it was okay for him to speak, and then launched into a detailed explanation about what was in front of them. He did it when he spoke about flowers too. It was sweet, cute, and made Maxwell want to suck the soul out of him.
He needed to get a ring on this man's finger as soon as possible so no one else caught on to how cute the big, lovable oaf was.
There. He admitted it. He was lovable, but no one else was allowed to call him that. That was Maxwell's word, no one else was allowed to say it out loud. He also didn't want anyone else to think it, but he couldn't police that. He just needed everyone else to know that Andrew belonged to Maxwell Beckett, and that there would be consequences if anyone tried to interfere.
Maxwell couldn't hold it in for much longer, and finally tore the band aid off. He needed to make sure that Andrew knew what he meant to him, what he wanted going forward, and to make sure that he couldn't slip out from between his fingers.
Andrew sobbed like a baby, and Maxwell was proud of that. Andrew held Maxwell, kissing him softly and all Maxwell could think was that he did a good job, he'd succeeded. The beating in his chest faded, and he could feel himself relax.
The biggest hurdle was jumped, now he could just enjoy Andrew's proposal the next day.