(BL)Alpha Made
Chapter 91: Two battling beasts

Chapter 91: Two battling beasts

"Mrs. Proctor-"

"-It is not Mrs. Proctor to you, Andy, it’s Jenny."

"Alright, Jenny, I can-"

"-There is no way in hell I am letting you pay for anything."

"I am more than capable to do so."

"I know that honey, you’ve been taking care of yourself for so long. Let the adults do it now."

"I am an adult."

"Mmhmm. Tell me that when your teeth grow in again."

Andrew felt like he was losing his mind.

She was so unassuming. So kind, so sweet, and as stubborn as his Mom had been. She was telling him off, putting him in his place, all with a smile on her face. He felt overwhelmed, and the worst of it all? No one was helping him fight her. Especially Mr. Beckett. He stood back with a smile on his face, a little smirk if you would, and was watching the whole thing. Andrew wanted to tear his hair out.

Jenny reached out, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving it a squeeze.

"Andy, I’ve been out of your life for a long, long time. Let me do at least this much, alright? I was supposed to take over after your Mom passed, and that didn’t happen. Did you know? I was your first babysitter. You’re the child that convinced Kim and I to have children. I have as many photos of your childhood as I do of my own. Let me do this." Her big blue eyes reminded him of his Mom so much he could feel himself folding.

She gave him a soft, warm smile, even as a sigh left Andrew’s lips.

"Do you want to get me in trouble with Kim? She told me to hold you down to pay if I needed to." A snort left Andrew as he took in the whole 5’3 height of this woman before him. There was no way she could fight him. She was too light and probably had no training in the slightest.

"There is no way I want you to get into trouble with Kim. I could lie to her and say that you did?" He suggested, and Jenny sighed heavily.

"You can’t lie to your partner, Andy. It breaks the trust." Mr. Beckett coughed behind Andrew, giving him a pointed look and Andrew felt his ears turn pink. No, he had still not told Maxwell about the second scientist. They had been working on some other things. Like Andrew coming to terms with him being an alpha. He was still working on that.

"Ugh. But I just feel uncomfortable about this. I’ve been on my own for so long and-"

"Well, do you want me to step in? We can say we did it under your scholarship if it makes you feel better, and then Mrs. Proctor can pay me for it, like she’s paying into your scholarship and all’s well that ends well." Mr. Beckett said after approaching the pair that had been arguing in circles for about 10 minutes.

Andrew gave Mr. Beckett a betrayed look, which Mr. Beckett ignored, while Jenny’s expression brightened.

"Andy, are you doing another scholarship?" She asked, excited. "Why didn’t you say anything? Is there a reason you’re going with the Beckett’s again?" Andrew groaned. He should not have been surprised that she remembered that he’d gotten one with the Beckett’s last time, even if Andrew had no recollection of it.

"Well, we didn’t get to fulfill our obligation last time, and it wasn’t for anything Andrew did on his part. Family emergencies and losses are not anything anyone can control. Plus, Andrew is such a bright young man that we wanted to make sure that he has all the comfort needed to continue his degree." Mr. Beckett winced. "There is also a slight sense of guilt on my part. I did do something inappropriate right when Andrew was coming back from...manifesting and made Maxwell quite angry. Andrew has been kind and not blamed me for it, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t do something I shouldn’t have." He sighed heavily. "I was a worried Father, but that doesn’t excuse it." Andrew waved it off, while Jenny grew curious.

"It’s alright. I would have done the same if I was in your shoes." Andrew said, and Mr. Beckett gave Andrew a tense, pained look.

"Ah, maybe, but it won me no favours with my son. Maxwell has been giving me a cold shoulder up until our family dinner. He’s actually still angry about that." Andrew’s eyes widened.

"Is he still viewing it as a snub? Was it a snub?" Andrew asked, and Mr. Beckett’s gaze darted away. Andrew laughed heartily, while Jenny took a moment to watch the two interact. Andrew, a young man able to get along with anyone, was laughing with Mr. Beckett, a man notoriously strict, and hard to get along with.

"I didn’t think it was a snub. My wife confessed that it was a half snub. The main house wasn’t available that day due to some repairs we’ve been getting done while we’ve been working in town. It is, however, available next week." Ah, it made sense to Andrew how it was a half snub now. Andrew’s eyes sparkled as he laughed, shaking his head as Mr. Beckett exhaled slowly.

"Well, I can’t help with that if Maxwell feels affronted. He’s going to never forget it." Mr. Beckett’s eyes were warm as he looked over the tall man before him who he was sure was just a little bit taller since he’d last seen him. Who might continue to grow and tower over everyone else around him.

"I am glad that you know my son so well, Andrew." Andrew felt his cheeks turn pink, embarrassed at the praise that wasn’t entirely earned. Andrew and Maxwell had been friends first, and then became lovers. There was no way that the two of them wouldn’t have picked up on each other’s habits. "Now, are we in agreement that we’ll go the scholarship route? If so," Andrew took every good thought back, ready and willing to fight Mr. Beckett for being as sneaky as a fox as he slipped past him to pay.

Mr. Beckett, for his part, was calm, collected, and every inch of the businessman that he was as he passed over his card with a wink. The poor dental assistant had been waiting to take payment for who knows how long as the three of them had a standoff. Andrew hated inconveniencing her, but at the same time, this was an honour thing.

Sure, he didn’t have a job right now, but that didn’t mean he’d made little money working the career he had for so long! He could handle a dental bill or two!

Hopeless, he glanced at Michael, who was keeping himself out of it as best as he could. Michael smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up. No help at all, that one was. Andrew glared at him, but Michael merely snorted, smiled, and turned back to his phone screen and typed away rapidly.

"It’s alright, Andrew. Let us take care of it. You’ve done such a good job without a family around, and now you need to let us help you. This is what family is for, right? Speaking of, with Christmas fast approaching, Mr. Beckett, Kim and I would like Andy and Max for the first Christmas." Mr. Beckett froze, halfway between receiving his credit card and turning. He started moving again, taking the card before he spun, his expression cooled.

He was clearly ready to start negotiating.

"Mrs. Proctor, this is the first time Maxwell has even brought a partner for us to meet." He began, and Jenny smiled.

"Yes, and we’ve been denied access to Andy for years, Mr. Beckett. He hasn’t been to our new home, hasn’t met our kids. His Mom was very serious when considering his safety as a child, so he was kept out of the limelight. Now that he has some ways to protect himself, and a loving partner, we really want to make sure that everyone knows that he belongs with us. Andy has and always will be a part of our family. He is our family. Kim is his aunt, and his Godmother."

It clearly wasn’t news to Mr. Beckett, and given who he was and Maxwell’s own tendencies, Andrew had a feeling he’d already done some digging. He might even know who Andrew’s father was.

Mr. Beckett tucked his card away before fluffing his suit jacket.

"And while I appreciate all of that, and take it into consideration, Andrew is also a new member of our family as well. Maxwell has gone to several Christmas parties without a partner. This would be his sixth year, I believe. Would you truly deny Maxwell and Andrew the honour of declaring on a grand stage that they are a couple for the whole world to see?" The two stared at each other, and Andrew swore he could see sparks fly.

Andrew knew he had to step in, or the relationship could be irrevocably damaged.

"Okay, okay. Why on earth are you two fighting so hard? Are these events on the same day? What about our own opinions? Do you honestly think you could get Maxwell to do something he didn’t want to do? Also, Christmas has two days. Christmas eve and Christmas day. We could just...rotate those two events without making it a big deal? I don’t consider it that way, and I would really appreciate it if you two did as well. This isn’t a competition. You can’t out family each other." Andrew stated, and the two spun to stare at him.

Andrew felt like he was staring down two ancient powers for a few moments, before both of them relaxed.

"Well, if Andy himself says it, then I guess we can go with that. Rock paper scissors?" Jenny offered, and Mr. Beckett gave a curt nod.

"Best out of three." He agreed. Andrew watched in disbelief as two powerhouses in their own right did rock paper scissors to see who got Andrew and Maxwell for Christmas eve or Christmas day.

Was this day even real?