What the fuck just happened?
Jaxon sat frozen at his desk for the longest of moments, just blinking and breathing.
A date?
How the hell did that even happen? Wasn't everything supposed to be returning back to normal?
Even worse, Leon asked him out on a date?? Leon didn't do dates, he had known Leon since they were kids and he had never taken anyone out on a date, much more had a proper and 'healthy' relationship.
And did Jaxon just agree?
He was just stunned, slowly, he reached out to grab another cookie, something was needed to ground him.
Because this all felt surreal, like a dream.
Did he just get asked out on his first date?
And that first date is Leon??
This had to be a prank, he decided, biting into the cookie in his hand.
But what kind of joke would it be? Plus Leon looked really happy when he agreed, he rarely saw him smile.
The rest of the morning passed in a daze to Jaxon, it would be ridiculous to call Leon up to ask if he really meant what he said.
Even worse was that Leon didn't come back after that and Darian didn't show up so it was just him and his wild thoughts.
He tried to busy himself with work but his body which was long used to it just operated on autopilot, his thoughts still running wild.
He was spared from his misery when Ian dropped by, files held in his hand, looking ready to give his report.
Jaxon startled at his presence looking up at him with wide eyes.
"I… umm… Jax? You good?" Ian had to ask after he took in Jaxon's wild-eyed appearance.
Jaxon stared at him for a few seconds longer before blurting out… "Leon asked me out on a date."
He dropped his face on his upturned palms, the words finally sinking in after admitting it to someone else.
The files in Ian's hands fell to the ground in a flurry, his face expressionless as he stared unblinking at Jaxon, like what Jaxie told him had made his brain shut down.
"What?" He finally spluttered out, maybe the Head Beta had misspoken or there was still water in his ears from showering earlier.
"Exactly what I said." Jaxon sighed dramatically, perking up slightly when he remembered that Ian was Leon's twin, he would know what Leon meant by that.
"I'm pretty sure he was just messing with me, right?" He chuckled nervously, something vulnerable in his eyes.
Ian swiftly gathered up the scattered files and walked up to Jaxon's desk to place them. "Leo wouldn't joke about that." He said gravely.
Somehow, he wasn't even surprised, at least not because it was Jaxon but that his twin actually wanted to go on a date.
This was good news.
Jaxon went doe-eyed, his voice failing him.
"So you told him no… expected." Ian had already moved on, getting ready to fill in the Head Beta on new information.
Jaxon choked. "I… um… I actually agreed."
Ian had another moment. "What?"
"I thought it was a joke!" He immediately tried to justify his response.
Ian made a face. "You don't have to cover up anything, I'm just surprised that you'd want to go out with my nutcase of a twin, I'm actually happy you did." He nodded importantly like all of the pieces were falling into place.
"W-what? Really?"
Ian had already moved past that. "Want me to help you tell the Alpha you won't be in tomorrow?"
Jaxon gaped but he recovered fast, there was no way he would be able to tell Virgil himself, plus the Alpha didn't need to know why he would be out.
Virgil was always encouraging him to take the weekends to himself like it should be but as there was nothing better that he wanted to do, he chose to remain back to help out at the Pack House.
Well, until now…
"Yeah, thanks." He muttered distractedly.
"Sure." Ian agreed. "I'll just leave these then, text if you're confused about anything and I'll show up." He added, already making his way out.
Jaxon waved him away distractedly, his thoughts swarming around as he settled down to preview the files.
"Oh and…" Ian spun around when he got to the door. "I just thought you might like to know that Darian is on his way here." He said with a small smile sweeping out.
Jaxon stared after him, stricken. He had absolutely forgotten about Darian.
In a slight panic, he busied himself with stacking up the files.
Why was he so jittery?
Darian always came over to help and had gotten adept at filing and replying to emails, not to talk about making sure he always ate and took his potions.
So what if Leon asked him out on a date, that had nothing to do with Darian, right?
A gentle knock rapped on the door as he battled with his thoughts, making him startle, all of the files that he had managed to put in order flying about again.
Jaxon cursed, dropping to the ground, the knock came again and he realized that he couldn't gather up the files in time.
"Come in." He invited in a strangled voice.
Darian made his way in with a serene smile which faded away to a slight frown when he saw Jaxon down on his knees gathering papers.
"Hey, sorry, did I startle you?" He asked, walking over to help.
Jaxon was a red, stuttering mess. "I...um… n-not… I m-mean…" He trailed off, averting his face as he tucked a stray wisp of hair behind an ear.
Darian wrapped his hands around his wrists and pulled him up to his feet. "Come on, sit for a while, I'll get them."
Jaxon sat timidly, his face still burning, this time from embarrassment and something else, had Darian's eyes always been that exotic shade of dark blue, cool and soothing like the night?
"Thanks." Jaxon muttered, clearing his throat.
Darian was swiftly gathering up the files and stacking them properly, Leon would have just bunched them together, with good intentions of course, they were both so different from each other.
Now, how did he manage to feel something similar for these two different people?... whoa boy! He was absolutely not going there.
"You good?" Darian asked when he was done.
"Yeah." He averted his face again, for some reason looking at Darian was too hard.
Darian didn't believe him much, what with his permanently red face and how much he kept fidgeting but he wasn't about to push. He could easily guess why Jaxon was so flustered anyway.
"Had lunch yet?" Darian asked, although he knew that Jaxon had most definitely not eaten, he still asked every time.
"No." Jaxon replied with a small sigh, this was familiar, he would gather himself together when they went to eat.
"Eat with me?" Darian offered, putting out a hand to help Jaxon up.
Jaxon's eyes were blown wide, the pieces in his brain sliding into place.
Why did that sound like a date offer? Had it always sounded that way? Why would Darian want to eat with him every day anyway? What the fuck, was his brain switched off this entire time?
"Jaxon?" Darian called with a frown, his hand still outstretched.
Jaxon snapped out of it, practically throwing himself at Darian's hand. "Sorry," he chuckled nervously, "... got distracted."
Darian easily caught and supported his weight, a faint twinkle in his dark eyes, he had to admit that a flustered Jaxon was unbearably cute.
"So, lunch?" He repeated when Jaxon went wide-eyed again, just staring at him.
The poor redhead was just a few degrees away from overheating, he straightened up, another nervous chuckle slipping out. "Sure." He said calmly although there was literal screaming in his head.
His plan to act like nothing had changed was failing so badly, he was embarrassed that he had even come up with it.