(BL)Alpha Made
Chapter 117: What do you mean they don’t like each other?

Chapter 117: What do you mean they don’t like each other?

Maxwell knocked on the door, and it was flung open within seconds.

"What took you so long?" Maxwell’s Mother demanded, before ushering the two in. "We worried that you two had gotten lost. The helicopter arrived ages ago." She chastised, and Andrew chuckled.

"I uh, needed a moment." Andrew admitted, and it was clear that she hadn’t taken a second to actually look at Andrew until he had stepped into the room. Gasps filled the air and Andrew felt his face heat in embarrassment.

He directed his attention to the room instead of staring at the shocked expressions of the Beckett family.

It was a huge space, and it felt like he’d stepped into the dressing room of a high class boutique, not the home of his partner. Crown molding, gold leaf, anything you could imagine to make a space look opulent, but without being tacky, was in this room. It was done in brighter, cream shades, but the one thing that stuck out were the giant curtains that divided half of the space. There were several chairs outside of the curtains, and as Andrew got closer, he realised why.

Ben was on one side, and Amir was on the other. They were adhering to the fact that neither of them were supposed to see each other during the wedding day, while not leaving each other’s side. It was quite cute, honestly, and Andrew couldn’t blame Ben. Nor Amir for it. They must have been extra nervous.

"This is a lovely space." Andrew said as both of the Beckett parents stared at Andrew. Mr. Beckett probably because he was looking at Andrew’s outfit, while Mrs. Beckett was staring at him for a completely different reason.

Will was also in the room, and his jaw was on the floor. Andrew wasn’t sure what to make of that.

"It is, isn’t it?" Amir responded, in the middle of getting his makeup done. He didn’t have his glasses on, and therefore couldn’t see Andrew. That, and Andrew was pretty sure he had his eyes closed so that the people helping him could work.

"Andrew, what on...you’ve grown." Mrs. Beckett declared.

"He grew taller?" Ben’s voice called from behind the curtain that Andrew couldn’t see. In fairness to him, he’d barely taken a step into the room. Maxwell’s Mom had him practically pinned against the closed door, her eyes roaming over him with an expression that he couldn’t interpret. It was something between concern, and...anger?

He had no idea why though.

"He has. He hit his second growth spurt. He’s going to tower over everyone in the pictures." Mr. Beckett said and Andrew felt his cheeks warm.

"I can crouch." Andrew muttered, and Mrs. Beckett reached out, squeezing his shoulder tightly.

"No. You don’t need to. We don’t want you to. This is just...the new normal. It’s okay Andrew. We’ll all adjust. Come in. We had coffee delivered recently. Amir seems to be craving a comfort drink, and your...aunt was happy enough to fly some out for him." From her words, she didn’t seem to suspect a thing. But she did put a weird emphasis on aunt. Did she not like Kim?

Andrew noticed the logo for the coffee shop on several of the cups on a small side table, and that Will was holding one. When he glanced into Amir’s side, he noticed several, and couldn’t stop the smile from touching his lips, nor the chuckle.

"Are you sure you should be drinking that much?" Andrew teased, and watched as Amir’s brow furrowed.

"It’s caffeine free." He protested, and Andrew’s chuckle continued. Maxwell smacked his shoulder lightly.

"Don’t tease him when he’s already stressed. We’re supposed to be support." Maxwell protested and Andrew smiled at him.

"I am being supportive." Andrew replied, and Maxwell narrowed his eyes at him. Andrew gave his hand a squeeze, the one he still held.

"Hmm. Well, I think I’m quite happy with the selections I’ve made." Mr. Beckett declared, and Andrew turned his attention to him. Maxwell huffed.

"You should have consulted with me. Andrew doesn’t like bright colours, Father." Maxwell told him, and Andrew appreciated the support, even if it was...not quite what he desired. He hadn’t wanted either of them to purchase clothing for him, but at least Maxwell understood his preferences.

"Why? He looks good in brighter clothing." Mr. Beckett replied, clearly flabbergasted at Andrew’s preferences. "I understand that when wearing dark clothes it makes Andrew’s blonde hair pop, but with lighter clothes it brings out the colour in Andrew’s complexion." His Father was relaxing on a couch next to where Will sat by himself. Maxwell’s Mother joined him on the couch after giving Andrew another squeeze on his shoulder.

Maxwell stood over his Father, frowning while Andrew felt like his head was on a swivel. He was busy trying to take everything in.

"You can’t just ignore his preferences for your own. This is why you and Mother always argue." Maxwell said, and Will nearly spat out the sip of whatever he was drinking.

"Max, that’s unfair. That’s not the only reason." Ben offered from his side of the curtain. Mr. Beckett glowered at his son, while Mrs. Beckett covered her mouth with her hand. Her sparkling eyes gave her away, which was why she turned away from her husband.

"Maxwell Beckett." His Father’s voice held a note of warning. "I won’t yell at you since it’s your wedding day, Benjamin, but that’s not the point. I just want your partner to look and feel like he fits in today. People are going to say he’s washed out if he’s in all black, and that’s not the dress code of today’s event. I didn’t put him in white. Or even cream today." His Father protested, and Andrew wondered if that truly was something to praise him for.

He certainly liked to see Andrew in white, didn’t he? It was a tragedy for him then that white was his father’s favourite colour for suits.

Maxwell opened his mouth to respond, but Andrew spoke first.

"While I appreciate your gifts, as they are quite generous, it would be a waste if you gave them to me and I never wore them, wouldn’t it?" Andrew said with a smile, and watched as Mr. Beckett’s face twisted in the same way Maxwell’s did when something unpleasant happened. He grumbled, drinking from the cup in his hand before he sighed. He met Andrew’s gaze and gave him a slight smile.

"I see the reason that you and Max were arguing so intently." He said, and Maxwell snorted.

"That was only the beginning. I have a feeling it was about to get more serious before you entered." He sounded...not as upset as Andrew expected him to sound discussing an argument they were having. Or were about to have.

"It was." Andrew agreed, slightly confused and Maxwell glanced back at him. His eyes were warm.

"Andrew does not look it, but he can be quite stubborn when he wants to be." He said, and for some reason, Andrew felt his cheeks warm. "I was busy trying to think of ways to convince him to let me do what I wanted when you came in. Saved us a huge argument, but also prevented us from making up as well." Will gagged, while Amir laughed.

"Max, I had no idea you were just like Ben." Amir teased, and Ben protested from the other side of the curtain.

"Hey! Don’t besmirch my honour. I am in no way like Max. I am not conniving like he is." Andrew chuckled.

"I can’t agree. I believe it is a Beckett family trait." Andrew said, and Amir made a noise of agreement.

"As someone marrying in, I would like to agree with Andrew on this." Amir said, mirth in his tone, and Mrs. Beckett chuckled.

"Well, I’m not sure what side they both got it from, but I can’t deny that my boys are all quite...clever." She stated carefully, and Andrew grinned at her words. Clever, indeed.

"Even you can’t say that Maxwell isn’t a fox in sheep’s clothing." Ben called. Maxwell huffed.

"A fox? Why can’t I be a wolf?" He protested, and Andrew wondered if that was what he should take offense to.

"Be honest with yourself, Maxwell. Wolves are at least somewhat honest with their intentions, while foxes are even sneakier. And known as...well, you don’t need me to tell you." Ben’s tone left little to the imagination and Andrew watched as Maxwell’s ears turned pink.

"You’re lucky it’s your wedding day, otherwise..." Maxwell growled, and it was clear that it was a threat. Ben laughed.

"Wow. The little fox brat is so considerate and forgiving. I will never forget this moment." Andrew watched as Ben worked up Maxwell with just a few words. It was actually quite impressive, if he was honest.

Even Andrew didn’t have this ability. Was it a sibling thing?

"Boys. Enough. This is supposed to be a happy and exciting day. Amir, have your grandparents contacted you yet? When are they arriving?" Mrs. Beckett asked, and Amir sighed from where he was.

Andrew watched as he shifted, reaching for his phone. When he responded, he seemed surprised, pleasantly so.

"Oh. It appears that they’re almost here. I thought they were going to be a while still." Mr. Beckett got to his feet, dusting off his jacket.

No one was quite dressed to impress yet, but that didn’t mean anyone in this room was lacking. They all seemed to breathe wealth with every step, and Andrew was only slightly glad that he’d grown out of his older clothes. He was sure that his basic store brand clothing would be laughed at here.

Not by the Becketts, but by others in their circle.

"Then I shall go and greet them. Since Max and Andrew arrived by helipad 1, they must be arriving at helipad 2." He nodded, gave everyone a nod, and disappeared from the room. Mrs. Beckett sighed, before leveling Andrew with an apologetic look.

"I’m sorry he was so forceful with the clothing. Had I known, I would have stopped him." She apologised, and Andrew laughed it off.

"It’s...alright now. I realised I was being a little bit silly, and I would have felt...out of place if I had shown up in what I normally like to wear." Maxwell made a face.

"No one would have said anything." He muttered, and Andrew’s smile grew.

"Yes. To my face." Andrew said, and Maxwell’s grip on his hand tightened.

"No. Not at all. I plan to be your guard all day today." Maxwell declared, and Amir awed from his side of the dressing room.

"That’s so sweet of you, Max. Make sure to take pictures of it for me, Luis. I would love to see it." Amir asked. Through context clues, Andrew gathered that was Mrs. Beckett’s first name. It was a pretty name.

"Don’t worry. The photographers already know that half of them are focused on you two at all time, a quarter are on the rest of the guests, and the last quarter are on Andrew and Max." Andrew laughed at her words, while Maxwell grew upset.

"Mom! You’re going to scare him away!" Maxwell protested, while his Mother smiled at her son.

"I don’t think Andrew is going to be scared of a few photographers, do you?" She asked, turning her gaze towards Andrew. Andrew winked, before he wrapped arm around Maxwell’s shoulder.

"Oh Max, I’m going to be so scared. Are you going to protect me?" Andrew asked, pretending to bat his eyes at the smaller man. Maxwell’s whole face flushed at Andrew’s behaviour, while drawing laughter from those watching.

"I’ve never seen Max so red before!" Amir declared, laughing. Ben even poked his head out from behind his curtain to witness it, his eyes sparkling.

"Wow. What a reaction!" He teased, and that only made Maxwell even more flustered.

"You are going to pay for that later, Mister." Maxwell warned between clenched teeth, and Andrew laughed.

He was soo scared.