It turned out that Andrew didn't have to go get Maxwell since he was able to hear when his brother and Amir arrived, as well as when Rose, Jordan and Richard arrived. Turns out, they had carpooled together.
Rose had swung by to pick everyone up, and so, here everyone was.
Maxwell came out, looking a little tired from his work, but excited to host everyone. Andrew had wanted to come out of the kitchen, felt like he needed to, but Maxwell had asked if he had more to do in the kitchen first. When Andrew said yes, Maxwell pushed him back into the kitchen and told him that Maxwell had it, he could relax now.
Andrew didn't really think either one of them was relaxing, but when he went to argue with the man, Maxwell had given him a firm look that told Andrew not to push it. Andrew gave up control, and let Maxwell take over as the host.
With the help of May and Jenny. There was no way he was going to be able to tell either of them off, so he was stuck with the two of them glaring at him and making sure everyone who was here to help organise was fed and watered.
It was hilarious to Andrew that they were here to help get everything set up when this was over half of who was supposed to be there for the night, but he decided not to point that out to anyone. If he did, he had a feeling he might get stabbed.
Andrew turned his attention back to the main dishes while everyone else worked around him. It was strange that he didn't feel like he was being more hands on, but at the same time…He was fine with it. While he wanted to be more helpful to Maxwell, he was told, several times, that he was helping.
Maxwell couldn't cook. He wasn't even sure he could boil a pot of water without assistance, so Andrew focusing on this helped him quite a bit. That, and no one made him feel left out in the kitchen.
People kept floating in and out of the kitchen. Amir practically set up home on one of the comfy stools pulled up to the island so that he could chat with the others and steal bites of food. Andrew was glad to see him eating, since he'd had such a hard time when he first got pregnant, and Amir was happy to be included.
Rose and Jordan kept coming in and out, and Ben was obviously circling because Amir was around so many other people.
Richard was the one who was showing up the least, but Andrew had a feeling that had to do with why Maxwell was showing up not as much as he expected. It was sweet, actually, to see how close Richard and Maxwell had gotten over Richard's late manifestation. It was a good thing that Andrew found it cute, because he could feel the part of him that would become suspicious of the closeness rearing its head.
It was like Maxwell had a timer, like he knew that Andrew was going to get jealous because he came around the corner at that time and reached for Andrew. Andrew, about to pull the roast out, turned and didn't even give it a second thought before he bent and met Maxwell's lips with his own.
Andrew could hear May sigh heavily, but he could also hear as she pulled the roast out in his stead. Maxwell's fingers reached up, twirling his fingers in the small hairs at the base of Andrew's neck as they kissed. Andrew's hands slid to Maxwell's waist, holding onto him as Maxwell had his fill.
Maxwell only pulled back after a few minutes, and Andrew felt something hit his shoulder.
"Get a goddamn room." It was May, with a sour tone to her voice. It was only when Andrew glanced over at her that he could tell that she was just poking fun at him. Maxwell laughed.
"We did. This is our house." Maxwell bragged. "You are guests. You're lucky I'm on my best behaviour." Maxwell warned. Amir giggled, while Rose and May groaned. Ben sounded pained as he spoke.
"Are you serious? I don't need to know anything. As far as I know, all you two do is kiss." Ben's disgust felt genuine and Maxwell gave him a middle finger.
"Yeah. And the baby in Amir's tummy happened through invitro, right?" Maxwell shot back and Ben growled.
"Of course." Ben shot back and Andrew wasn't sure where all the tension came from. Richard came around the corner at the moment, looking a little flustered and embarrassed.
"Uh, Andrew, can I have a word?" He asked carefully, ignoring the scene that the rest of the group was playing into. Andrew, who hadn't really had a moment with Richard for a while, looked towards Richard with surprise.
"Sure." Andrew said readily, and glanced at Maxwell. Maxwell had this proud look on his face, but his back was to Richard so Richard couldn't tell. Then, he smoothed his face out and turned, releasing Andrew with a gentle pat. Andrew swallowed, smiled, and glanced at Jenny and May. They motioned for him to go with Richard.
"I can't believe that you brought someone home into this. I'm disappointed in you on that alone." Andrew said and watched as Richard flinched more. Andrew stared at the hunched shoulders, the way that he was carrying himself, and the fact that when they were leaving May had given him a strange look.
Andrew glanced at Richard, really taking him in before he let out a deep sigh. He made sure the door was closed behind them before he grabbed the chair at the desk and slid it out. He sat down, the chair creaking under his weight and Richard glanced back at him. He gestured for the messy bed.
"Sit down so that we can have a proper talk. I don't think this is going to be something quick, right?" Andrew said, giving a little half smile. Richard smiled in return, before sitting down. The silence dragged on.
"I…I slept with Mr. Newman." Richard blurted out. Andrew already knew this, and Richard knew that as well.
"I am aware." Andrew said carefully. Richard gulped.
"He…He wants to date with the intention of marriage." Richard blurted out, his face red and blotchy. "But I haven't even been in a relationship before, especially not one as weird as a double omega relationship." Richard weaved his hands together, looking awkward and unsure. "And…he's forceful. I barely knew what was happening with my body when we slept together. It was so smelly and I…" Richard trailed off and a sick knot formed in Andrew's gut.
"Did he force you?" Andrew asked and watched as Richard didn't speak right away. Andrew felt every muscle in his body tense, about ready to get up and bounce out of the house to strangle the man he normally liked when Richard sighed.
He looked nervous, but he seemed to have made his mind up about this.
"I…no, I'm sure that wasn't the case. I was just overwhelmed. I told him that too after, and he looked ill. He wouldn't stop apologising." Richard looked upset a bit. "It was why he wasn't there when you two got home." Richard told him and Andrew settled back down.
If he didn't want Andrew to beat up someone, why was he talking to him about this? He was fairly certain that given his level of experience, Maxwell was probably going to have experience that was going to be more relatable compared to Andrew.
"Okay. I'm glad that's the case. What was the reason that you wanted to speak to me specifically, Richard?" Andrew asked and watched as he grew even more twisty and uncertain.
"I…I don't know if I like him." Richard told him softly. "I have no clue. I've never considered it. Maxy isn't any help because he took one look at you and just knew you were his, and speaking to others…they were the same. Given that you've dated the most, I felt that it was finally time to speak to you about it." Richard said. Andrew felt his lips twitch.
"Oh, finally coming to me, huh?" He teased and watched as Richard's shoulders hunched more.
"Look, I didn't want to come ask you about it either. I know that now that I'm an omega things are different-" Andrew blinked, shocked. Richard thought that things were different between them now? What?
"Where the hell did you get that impression? I have no problems with you, Richard. None at all. No problem with your scent, nothing. My biggest concern was that you were going to have problems with me. I view you even more as part of my family, but in a completely platonic way. Does that make sense?" Andrew said and Richard looked genuinely relieved.
"You do?" Richard asked softly and Andrew wondered who the hell had been in his ear telling him falsehoods. He needed to keep his cool though, since he could feel his anger feeding into his own pheromones.
"I'm going to step out to calm down so that I don't overwhelm you with my pheromones, but then we're discussing who or what gave you that impression. I'm not like the others. I don't think just because you're an omega in my home that I think you owe me anything, or that you belong to me, am I clear? I've never been like that, and that's at my core. You know that." Andrew insisted and watched as Richard let out a few shaky breaths.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I do understand, I do know that, but with everything shifting…" He trailed off, looking just as upset and pained as Andrew felt. Maybe it had been too early for Richard to go to that damn party. He had a feeling that was where it all happened.
First things first, Andrew needed to calm down, and talk to Richard. It was clear that Maxwell had already spoken to him about this, and now it was Andrew's time to straighten him out. He could do this without freaking out more. He was calm, cool.