(BL)Alpha Made
Chapter 178: Max isn’t allowed to hold kids until Andy says so

Chapter 178: Max isn’t allowed to hold kids until Andy says so

Maxwell chuckled, watching Maria as she bounced around, trying to soothe her burnt tongue. Andrew laughed awkwardly, playing with his cup.

"We met long before we started dating, but Andy was dating someone else when we first met." Maria, who had been in the middle of cooling down her tongue, paused. Her eyes widened as Andrew cleared his throat awkwardly.

"You were dating someone else?" She whispered, glancing between the two. He could already see where her mind was going, and he had to halt it immediately.

"Max moved in next door, and that’s how we got to know each other. Friends, Maria. We started out as friends first." Andrew told her, aware that everyone was listening in. They weren’t even trying to hide it. Maria nodded, her eyes wide.

"Oh, okay. Why did you move, Max?" It was something that Andrew had actually...never asked. Why had Maxwell moved?

Maxwell sighed, turning his gaze down towards the small boy in his arms. He smiled, pushing a few curls out of his face.

"Well, I was having some problems with stalkers, so my parents suggested I move somewhere they wouldn’t expect. They did find me, but Andy chased them away. From that moment on, we were inseparable, and Andy pretended to be my mate to chase them away." Maxwell chuckled. "It wasn’t quite love at first sight, but I’d say pretty close on my part." Andrew’s face heated.

Maria looked between the two of them, a smile on her lips.

"Y-You never said anything about the stalker being the reason you moved." Andrew protested, ignoring the second half of his words. Maxwell chuckled.

"You never asked. You actually continue to not ask clarifying questions, Andy. Aren’t you curious when I decided I was going to pursue you if you two broke up?" Andrew’s face was so warm he was worried. He nervously adjusted his glasses.

"I-I don’t need to ask that, since it doesn’t matter now. We’re together now, and she’s out of my life." Andrew said, embarrassed to be having this conversation in public. Maxwell, however, looked very proud. He was practically beaming at Andrew.

"You’re right. We are together now, and that’s all that matters." Maxwell said and Andrew felt even more embarrassed. Maria cleared her throat, interrupting the moment. They both turned to her, and she grinned.

"So, how long have you two known each other then?" She asked and Maxwell seemed thoughtful while Andrew answered almost immediately.

"We’re coming up soon to a year." He told her and Maria sighed.

"Andy, I don’t want to be that person, but you do realise that your love story is following mine and Zack’s, right?" Andrew flinched. It wasn’t quite the same, but he could see from the limited information he’d given her that she’d think that way.

He knew that neither of them had been experimented on by their ex-girlfriend, nor that they had to deal with a sudden manifestation and loss of their job at the same time. They had, however, known each other in passing for about 9 months before they slept together, didn’t use protection, and Maria got pregnant.

He truly hoped that they didn’t follow in their footsteps.

"Well, from the outside looking in I can understand what you mean, but there are some...glaring differences that I can’t go into here. Lots of big ears." Andrew told her, holding a finger up to his lips. Maria smiled, before her gaze followed a form behind Andrew’s shoulder and her smile widened.

Andrew heard the door open and Maria waved wildly.

"Zack!" She called and hurried footsteps approached. Andrew got to his feet, Maxwell doing the same. Maria pushed her chair back aggressively, throwing herself at her husband.

Zack laughed, holding onto his wife, burying his face into her hair for a moment, before he released her, wrapping his arm around her waist. Andrew took him in, happy that he looked so well.

Zack had the amber eyes that Hewett had inherited, as well as dusty blond hair slicked back on the top of his head. He was a decent height, towering over his wife, but nowhere near as tall as Andrew. Zack wore a tightfitting suit, but it wasn’t so tight it was unflattering or ill fitting. It was in a deep charcoal grey, and suited him well.

Zack glanced over the two in front of him, his cheeks a little flushed from the outside air, and Andrew watched as his eyes widened as he caught sight of Hewett in Maxwell’s arms. His expression still seemed shocked as he realised Maxwell Beckett was holding his son, and Andrew was behind him.

"Andrew Knox. As I live and breathe. Did you get taller, man?" Zack asked, offering his hand with a smile. Andrew grinned, flashing his new fangs as he took Zack’s offered hand and shook it firmly. Zack seemed even more shocked.

"Yeah, I did. Ended up manifesting recently, and I was warned I was going to get taller. Seems a bit ridiculous to me, but here we are." Andrew joked and Zack laughed.

"I agree. You already tower over everyone else. Now it must just be an inconvenience for you." Zack said, and Andrew found that he agreed with him. No one had really...sympathized with him like this yet. It was a nice feeling.

"Getting clothes, shoes and everything else has been a task, I’ll admit. Especially since this one and his family have been so insistent on helping me." Andrew gestured to Maxwell, and watched as Zack’s eye twitched.

He turned his full attention to Maxwell, clearly nervous, but doing hsi best to be calm and collected. Andrew knew that Maxwell could tell. It was in the way his eyes narrowed slightly, and the smile on his face.

"Mr. Beckett. I truly didn’t expect to see you here. I hope our Hewett isn’t causing you any problems, is he?" Maxwell chuckled. He took the offered hand, only shaking for a brief second since he didn’t want to drop the child.

"He’s an angel, beyond trying to steal my boyfriend. I swear, Hewie’s in love with Andy. Look at the way he stares at him." Maxwell protested, and everyone turned to Andrew and Hewett. Andrew held up his hands.

"I’ve done no such thing." Andrew had to defend his honour and Maxwell laughed.

"I never said it was intentional, Andy, and Mr. Johnson, you can call me Max. Your wife already does." Maxwell told him with a wink and Zack seemed stunned before he ducked his head. His shoulders shook before he raised his head, his amber eyes dancing.

"Of course, Max. My Maria has a way with others. She’s far more extroverted than I am." Zack said and Maxwell chuckled.

"I can relate. Andrew makes friends with everyone." Andrew felt offended for himself.

"I don’t make friends with everyone, Maxy. I just like to talk to people." Maxwell snorted, rolling his eyes as he gently started to rock. Andrew was sure he wasn’t even aware of it. It was...Andrew reached out, taking Hewett from him.

Maxwell wasn’t allowed to hold children for a while. Not until he went to the Doctor. Andrew would tell him about it when they weren’t around so many people. He didn’t want to embarrass him, and this was their personal business. No one else needed to know.

Maxwell was clearly confused as Andrew took the baby from his arms, tucking Hewett away in his arms. His eyes were clearly asking why, but Andrew couldn’t answer him without revealing too much. Instead, he bent and pressed a kiss against his cheek.

Maxwell, slightly flustered, turned to face the couple watching them. Maria was grinning madly, while Zack seemed a little shocked still.

"Uh, shall we sit?" Andrew offered and everyone moved. Maria opened the lid of her husband’s drink, warning him it was still quite warm, and Andrew felt his heart warm. Maxwell sucked on his lemonade, staring hard enough that Andrew could feel a hole forming in his face. "Later, alright?" Andrew whispered, reaching for Maxwell’s thigh and giving it a squeeze under the table.

Maxwell made a soft noise of complaint, but nodded, placing his free hand on top of Andrew’s on his thigh.

"So, what brought you to the daycare today you two? I’ve already clarified that you two aren’t expecting, though your actions say otherwise." Maria teased. Andrew’s face turned red. "So why else would two very wealthy, together people visit a daycare?" It was clear she was asking for Zack’s benefit, and behaving as if she didn’t know the answers to the questions. It was cute, and probably made Zack feel included.

Andrew wondered if Maxwell ever did the same thing to him.

Maxwell put down his lemonade and sighed heavily.

"Well, I’m sure I mentioned this when I went off at the manager, but my brother and his husband are expecting. They’re in a delicate stage though, and I just wanted to take a weight off of their shoulders. Add to that, the company is thinking about the future. We, the brothers, are entering into stable relationships, and thinking about the future. We hadn’t up until this point had child care services, so I thought this would be the perfect time to check out a few places." Maxwell sighed. "It was a rather...upsetting visit." Maxwell complained. Maria chuckled.

"What was so bad about it? We had a wonderful experience when we toured to put Trevor in there when we first arrived back in town." Maria said, clearly interested in the tea. Andrew snorted.

"They bring in food." Andrew started, already feeling himself getting worked up again. "The kitchen is just for show." He said, pissed, while the two people across from him stared at him blankly. Maxwell gave Andrew’s hand a squeeze.

"We won’t do the same, don’t worry." Maxwell told him and Andrew grumbled, still angry. Maria seemed confused.

"Is that not a good thing?" She asked and Andrew was pissed.

"Of course it isn’t. From a money standpoint, they are probably charging you extra saying that they make their food in house, which is a lie, but it also means that they could be serving poor quality food to the kids. If they aren’t being transparent about where they are getting their food, how could you trust it? If they were being honest and said that they outsourced the food, they would have to provide nutrition statistics and other things, but they aren’t. Who knows what they are feeding the kids?" Andrew was passionate about this topic. It was probably his Mom who had rubbed off on him.

She had been passionate about children’s nutrition too, which was why she kept trying to cook. Before Andrew had to step up to the plate and take over the duty, with the help of Richard’s Mom.

"Andy, baby, we already know Amir would never send their child there. It’s okay." Andrew’s expression was still bad.

"No, it’s not. I’m pissed." Maxwell’s lips twitched.

"You could...have Kim do an inspection, if you wanted? Or an investigation? There’s enough merit to do so, but you could also basically call it an audit. They’ve been around long enough." Maxwell suggested and Andrew wasn’t quite sold.

"Do I have the right to?" Andrew asked and Maxwell snorted.

"Yes, you do! You’re their landlord, Andy. You could demand to see any of the apartments in the place too."