Jenny was so excited to show them the house. She didn't take them immediately to where the rest of the guests were, even though she said she would. Instead, she got the two of them a glass of something to drink and then took them on a tour of the house.
She didn't show any bedrooms, but was quite proud of the house that she had built with Kim and their children. It was quite sweet, and honestly, Andrew could only imagine that he would be doing the same in 10 years time.
Maxwell was all soft smiles as he watched Jenny explain, and being who Maxwell was, he was able to ask serious questions about who designed what things, and what contractors they went with. Andrew? He was just along for the ride, listening to them chatter until Kim's voice boomed from behind them.
"Here I was, about to call Andy to see if he was running late, only to find my wife in cahoots. Andy, Max! So good to see you two!" Kim beamed, approaching them in an ugly Christmas sweater…thing and a glass of wine in her hand. She hugged Max first, before pulling Andrew in for a tight hug.
"What on earth are you wearing?" Maxwell asked, clear disgust in his voice. If Jenny had been wearing the same thing, Maxwell might have let it slide, but because she was alone…Kim let out another big laugh.
"Oh sweetie, this is tradition. Kim has worn it every year since the kids turned 5. I had to stop wearing mine 4 years ago because it got so messed up there was no way to salvage it." Jenny said, but Andrew had a feeling that it might have been sabotage. It was clear that Kim didn't know, or intentionally didn't think about what happened to her matching sweater situation with Jenny.
"Oh, that's tragic. Well, at least you're able to still keep the tradition alive, Kim." Andrew told her and Kim beamed, patting Andrew's shoulder.
"See? He gets it! You should start a tradition like that with Maxy too." Kim told him, her smile wide.
Andrew glanced down to Maxwell, and the glare he received had him pausing. Andrew could read what the man was saying with his eyes, and that had Andrew grinned. Maxwell, in no uncertain terms, would not be caught dead in an ugly Christmas sweater.
Andrew chuckled.
"Hmm. I'm sure we can figure something out that suits us. Can you honestly see me in a sweater like that? Do they even make them in my size?" Andrew asked with a laugh and Kim gave him a look over, before she sighed.
"That's a fair point. Come on! You should come meet everything. They're so eager to see you." Kim told him, and Andrew went first, holding Maxwell's hand as Maxwell walked with Jenny. Everyone was chatting, laughing, and music filled the air.
Andrew's eyes found Kim and Jenny's kids first. They were dressed similarly to their omega Mom. Andrew had a feeling that they shared the same mind about the Christmas sweaters, and that made Andrew smile.
Their daughter, who was in their teens, was already tall like a damn tree. Her puberty was hitting her hard right now, her lightly red hair curled to perfection as she chatted with someone while holding a drink with a paper umbrella in it. Her back was slightly turned to the door, so Andrew could see she was wearing a fancy, strappy green dress. Jenny had probably picked it out for her, and it suited her willowy frame.
She was speaking to a group of older people, who looked vaguely like Jenny.
Their son, however, wasn't with his sister. He was younger, on the cusp of puberty and manifestation, and he was sitting on the couch, phone in hand. He wasn't actually looking at the phone, and instead using it as a cover as he glanced around. He was clearly nervous, shaking slightly, and had no drink near him.
His hair was around the same colour as his sisters. When Kim blended her more vibrant red with Jenny on a genetic level, it just made both of their children mild redheads instead of blonde or the deeper shade that Kim had. His eyes had taken on Kim's light green eyes, while his sister had their Mom's eyes.
Kim let out a soft sigh.
"He's fine." Andrew whispered, knowing where her gaze was going and she gave a soft chuckle.
"Is he? He looks damn terrified, Andy." Kim whispered quietly, and Andrew gave Maxwell's hand a squeeze.
"Why don't Max and I go greet him first? We'll meet you two where you want us to be in a sec, alright?" Andrew said softly. "Lord knows we know all about the ups and downs of omegas right now." Andrew said with a chuckle. "Ricky is giving us a crash course." Andrew told her and Kim paused, before she glanced behind Andrew towards Maxwell.
"I'm getting the crash course. Andrew refuses to hear about the little details." Maxwell clarified with humour in his voice. Andrew scoffed.
"Hey. That's not fair. I know what I need to know. I don't need to know who or what or when or why. I just need to know he's safe, how I can help, and that's that." Andrew shivered. "It's not like if it was happening to you. It's Ricky. I used to bathe with the guy as kids." Andrew defended himself, turning to face Maxwell who smiled up at him.
"Yeah yeah. Say whatever you want. I am fine taking on the heavier burden when it comes to Richard, as long as you understand you'd have to do the late night pick ups if it comes to that." Maxwell told him and Andrew chuckled.
"I can agree to those terms." Andrew told him and Jenny chuckled.
"Well, I'm glad you two are able to get along as well as you do. Kim, let's introduce them to my parents first, alright? We'll meet you where Alyssa is right now." Jenny told them, and Andrew and Maxwell nodded. Andrew tugged on Maxwell's hand, moving towards the younger, smaller man a little ways away from everyone else.
"Sounds good." He told them with a smile as he felt the youngest of the Proctors look up as if able to sense him. He probably was able to sense him since he was going through manifestation at a normal rate. Andrew watched as his face warmed, before it paled. He almost looked like he was in trouble.
"Leo!" Andrew called warmly, his eyes crinkling at the corners with his smile. He liked the softer of the two siblings. He was shy, and sweet, but a little like Kim in the way that he had a hard time holding his tongue when he got too nervous.
Andrew wondered if he'd get a taste of that today.
"M-Mr. Beckett and Mr. Knox?" Leo, short for Leonardo, stuttered. He fiddled with his phone, trying to shove it into his pocket. He was so nervous, so anxious, that it was sweet.
"You know you don't have to call us by our last names, right? Just Andy and Max work." It was Maxwell who told him that, his tone soft. Leo looked positively ill.
"Uh, well, I-" Andrew laughed, settling down on the couch next to him. Leo, being as light as he was, fell into Andrew, and then blushed and looked horrified as he gripped onto Andrew's bicep.
"I-I am so sorry!" He sputtered. He was a flustered mess, and that only made Andrew laugh more.
"Leo, it's okay. We're practically family, and by blood, we are. I'm like your…third cousin or something? I don't really know how that works, since I didn't have relationships with either side of my extended family outside of your parents." Andrew spoke easily, amused at this fumbling, bumbling little boy omega.
Leo was flushed, his pale skin red as Maxwell sat on the edge of the coffee table, making the moment feel more intimate.
"Is it just because Andy feels too big sometimes?" Maxwell asked softly and Leo froze, before he turned big, round green eyes towards Maxwell.
"H-How did you-" Maxwell's smile was knowing as he took a sip of his drink before he spoke.
"I've been in your shoes before. Does your omega Mom know, Leo? That you might be sensitive?" Ah.
At Maxwell's words, it clicked. If he was close to manifesting, and he was having a hard time…there were a couple of reasons why that could be happening. Why he would be distancing himself. Leo looked ashamed as he dropped his head and shook it.
"I thought she would be disappointed if I said there was something wrong." Leo's words broke Andrew's heart.
"Leo, there is no way they would be disappointed with you, and if someone said that they would be, you tell me who it was and we'll beat them up for you. Or, I can hold them, and you can beat them up with your own hands. Your parents are not so shallow. They would actually be more worried that they haven't been supporting you properly." Andrew told Leo and watched as the younger man gulped.
"Y-You think?" He asked and Andrew nodded when Leo raised his gaze to meet his.
"I know from experience, Leo. They would never think you had let them down. They would think that they had let you down. Complete opposite. Is that why you're over here? Are the scents too much?" Andrew asked quietly and Leo made a face, swallowed, and then nodded. Maxwell pulled out his phone between one heartbeat and the next.
"I'm not going to make a big deal about it, but I'm going to call over one of our guards to go pick something up for me. From my stuff. It's going to be a lighter dose, something you can spray on your neck. Once he comes back from grabbing it, we'll go to the bathroom together and I'll show you how to use it. It's over the counter, so it won't harm you. We'll speak to your parents after the party, alright? I know you don't want to cause a big scene, so we won't." Maxwell told Leo, typing with his one hand.
Leo looked like he wanted to argue, but Maxwell was shooting down all of the reasons that he could. That he should.
"Are you sure? This isn't-" Leo tried to ask if this was too much for them, and Andrew and Maxwell gave him a look at the same time. Andrew reached out, taking Leo's hand in his own, giving it a squeeze.
"Leo, I know that we haven't known each other for long, but I promise you, this isn't a burden for us. Max works with omegas and omega issues allll day long. I'm only in the alpha department because, well, I'm the company guinea pig. They use me for all the tests other true alphas don't want to do." Andrew told him with a warm smile and Leo nodded, his lips turning up slightly. "So it's okay. You're not doing anything wrong. We're used to these kinds of things, okay? Now, why don't you have a fun drink? I know Max just brought a bunch of secret drinks. Shall we go pick one out while we wait for the secret mission to be completed?" Andrew asked, and Leo let Andrew tug him to his feet.
Maxwell followed after them, listening to Andrew pull the shy Leo out of his shell like it was as easy as breathing. Slipping away, raising the phone up to his ear when he needed to. They were a great team, like always.