(BL)Alpha Made-Chapter 345: An arranged marriage? For us?

The next four days flew by.

It was amazing how easily Richard fit into the home. He was still rather awkward, but once he adjusted to the scents by the end of the second day, going into the weekend, everything seemed to smooth out.

That wasn’t to say that everything was super normal. The man would still run away suddenly without letting Andrew or Maxwell know. Maxwell would have this sympathetic look on his face, while Andrew felt like he was completely in the dark.

Andrew didn’t probe since he didn’t want to embarrass the man. Having to tell Michael about his damn penis had been awful, having to have the man measure it more than once was the true cherry on the worst pie he’d ever had.

Given that it was something that Maxwell was sympathetic to, he had a feeling he might have disclosed it to Maxwell, and that was fine. Andrew was able to take care of the man in different ways.

Andrew cooked most of Richard’s favourite foods, with nudges from May. Andrew was glad to see that most of his favourites hadn’t changed, and Richard seemed to appreciate Andrew’s attention to detail. Andrew also noticed that his baked goods, particularly the danishes he had made were disappearing when he woke up in the morning, so he just made more

Everything felt better when Richard came down without prompting and sat at the island with Andrew one afternoon. Hanging out with him, and the two of them just chatted.

They didn’t have to talk about the fact that Richard was an omega now, they didn’t have to talk about how Andrew was an alpha. They were just two friends, practically brothers, who hadn’t seen each other in a long time and hadn’t been able to talk to each other like this in a while.

They couldn’t really have in depth conversations at work, not the way that Andrew wanted to, and this was the perfect time. Andrew caught up on Richard lore, learning about what he had done after Andrew had been out of his life. What he had accomplished, what he had missed.

In turn, Richard did the same. They spent the whole afternoon on that third day just...talking. Maxwell would come by and periodically check up on them, steal his hourly kiss from Andrew and maybe a snack before wandering back to the office to work.

Richard watched them like a hawk, taking in every interaction that the two of them had. He didn’t look envious, but he also wasn’t looking at them like that idea was off the table. He looked contemplative, like he was trying to get a read on them and Andrew just let the man watch them.

Richard had told him he hadn’t had a serious relationship since he started working for Maxwell. It wasn’t something that he intended to happen, but he was the kind of man who got absorbed in his tasks and tended to forget about all other things. He had to have some kind of mental illness, but Andrew wasn’t one to diagnose anyone without training, it was just something he had observed. If he got it from anyone, it was probably Ford.

They were quite similar when it came to that fact.

So, Andrew could tell that Richard was probably getting a little lonely. Now that his life was flipped on his head, and things were going to be different moving forward, it was time that he stopped putting work ahead of his personal life. Andrew wanted to rush ahead, give him a bunch of suggestions about what he could do, and how Andrew could help, but he also knew that he shouldn’t do that.

If he went too fast, he would scare Richard away. He knew it. The man had always been like that since he was a kid. If he got overwhelmed because of someone else, he’d usually drop it. He hadn’t been like that at work, but that was different. That was about work, it wasn’t about Richard personally.

Plus, Richard was more sensitive right now. Andrew would bet that he was more like he was as a teen right now then he was like the adult man he actually was. Andrew knew that because he had been like that when he’d first manifested.

So, Andrew had to take this slow, and he did. The third day turned into the fourth day and the two were still hanging out. Richard wasn’t scared to be around Andrew, just...cautious. It wasn’t due to fear, and probably had to do with the fact that Andrew was an alpha and Richard was now an omega. Despite what either of them wanted, there was a slight difference in their relationship because of that.

Richard’s quiet words on Sunday had surprised Andrew, and Maxwell who was in the kitchen grabbing a ’snack’.

"You know, if this had happened when we were younger there is a high chance that our parents would have tried to put us together." Richard said quietly. It was like the man had dropped a bomb.

He was stirring the hot chocolate before him with his spoon, the whip cream dissolving into the hot liquid. Maxwell nearly dropped the plate he was holding, Andrew catching it so it didn’t shatter. Thank goodness there was nothing on it. Maxwell looked genuinely shocked.

This probably wasn’t good for his anxiety right now, but Richard didn’t know that. Andrew was speechless. He didn’t even know what to say.

"Why do you think that?" Andrew asked carefully and Richard’s lips turned up slightly, twisting. It wasn’t a happy smile, that was for sure.

"You’re so good at taking care of people and what am I? Unable to do shit for myself. Plus, from my understanding, they probably would have viewed it as a good match. Despite our own feelings." Andrew froze, before a big warning sound filled his ears, and head. He needed to nip this in the bud.

Not because it was hurting Maxwell, which it was, but because it was hurting Richard, and his Mom never would have agreed to something that did that.

"You don’t like me that way, Ricky." Andrew told him and Richard jerked his gaze up. The truth lay there. The man didn’t view Andrew as anything more than a sibling. It was obvious to him, and Richard’s cheeks warmed. It was clear he was embarrassed.

"Yeah, but would that have mattered?" Andrew could see the swirl of anger and confusion practically in the air around the man. He wasn’t doing well, and now all of the toxic thoughts were coming out. At least he was better than Andrew in that way. Andrew had bottled it up until it became poison to his system.

"Now, forget your parents for a second, " Andrew started, putting down the plate he’d caught on the counter and pulling Maxwell close as he listened, "let’s speak about my Mom first. Do you think, a woman who started a company just to be able to exclude my father from it would force a man who didn’t like me like that to become my husband?" Andrew asked carefully. He wasn’t trying to upset him, just make him see the truth.

Richard’s whole face went red. Maxwell was right, he did look a little blotchy, but Andrew wasn’t going to tell the man that. Not right now at least. Richard shifted in his seat, stirring his hot chocolate a little too aggressively. Some spilled down the side of the mug, but he didn’t notice.

"Well, probably not, but it would have been different, don’t you think? We would have thought that we were ’meant to be together’. Things would have changed after you met Maxwell." Richard said and Andrew felt his eyes widen. He was talking about mates, and the bonds between them. frёewebηovel.cѳm

Richard was essentially saying that Maxwell and Andrew were meant to be together, and he was speaking about a hypothetical where they had gotten married, maybe even mated and then Andrew met Maxwell and everything flipped.

It was so melodramatic, and so unlike Richard that Andrew laughed.

"What is this? A soap opera? I didn’t realise you watched them with my Mom as well." Andrew accused and Richard’s face got even redder.

"Could you not make fun of me? I’m being serious right now." Richard told him, glaring at him and Andrew grinned.

"So am I. I’m taking your words very seriously. My Mom simply would have looked at the way that we interacted and wouldn’t have said anything. Also, we could have been married as betas too, but you didn’t see either side suggesting it. Or I could have married Rose as well. I had options, you two only had me." Andrew told him and Richard’s expression turned down slightly. It was clear that in his mind he hadn’t even considered that.

Andrew grinned.

"See? Our parents watched us a lot more than you thought, so don’t worry about something like that. You wouldn’t have been caught in the middle of the greatest love story of all time, so don’t worry." Andrew said, smiling at Richard first before he smiled down at Maxwell.

Maxwell looked a little ill, but relaxed when he heard Andrew’s words. He nodded slowly, before he felt Andrew’s gaze on him. When he met it, Andrew winked at him.

"Right, Maxy?" Andrew asked and a slow, sweet smile crossed the other man’s face.

"Yeah." Maxwell agreed softly. There was silence from Richard for a moment before he grumbled.

"Okay. Just defeat my worries with facts and logic." He muttered and Andrew let out a loud laugh.

"Of course I’m going to do that if I can. It’s not good to let them fester inside of you, ask Maxwell. I was terrible at being open, so I’m glad that you’re telling us about them. Now, drink your damn hot chocolate instead of playing with it." Andrew told him and Richard got a look in his eyes before he raised the cup up.

"Yes Mom." He fired back and Andrew grinned, while Maxwell laughed.