The sound of the car door slamming told Andrew that the first person who was going to get torn into was him. Maxwell wasn't one to generally show his emotions, but the one he was known for showing openly was anger. Andrew had no idea who it was directed at, but given the situation, he had a feeling it was him.
"Are you a fucking idiot?" Yup. Andrew was great at this guessing game.
"I'm sorry?" Andrew offered, and was surprised when the internal lights of the car turned on and Maxwell forced him to face him. Maxwell gripped his chin, turning his head from side to side before he growled. Andrew's eyes went wide at the pure fury that was in his expression, his eyes.
"How fucking dare they charge at you? I am so angry. At both of you! He was an alpha! You should have dodged! What the hell am I going to say to your girlfriend?" Andrew blinked, stunned that Maxwell was thinking so far ahead, that he was so angry for his sake. Andrew smiled, but winced when it hurt his lip. Maxwell's eyes narrowed.
"Honestly, I thought he was going to dive for you, so I was braced to pounce, not defend. I'm sorry I worried you. I promise I'm not that hurt. This is mostly superficial." Maxwell didn't seem soothed, and Andrew felt his heart warm. "Maxwell, they almost drugged you. A few hits is nothing compared to what you could have gone through. I promise I'll be fine by tomorrow." Maxwell growled again, and Andrew swore he saw his eyes water.
"I have to go on another business trip tomorrow, and then after that it is my heat so I can't even check on you. Fuck. I am so angry right now." Andrew placed his hand on Maxwell's shoulder, giving it a squeeze.
"I appreciate your concern, but can we please talk about how they nearly drugged you? Please? I am fine. A few bruises won't kill me. Plus, he punched like a beta. I have no broken bones, my nose wasn't even hit, and my glasses aren't broken. So far, I'm doing fine. Those motherfuckers nearly drugged you, Maxwell." Andrew's tone grew serious, and it was Maxwell's turn to stare and blink at him as Andrew grew angry for his sake.
"I'm fine. You prevented me from getting drugged. Who knows? That could have been my family's plan." Andrew's eyes went wide at Maxwell's casual tone.
"What? Are you serious?" Andrew asked, and Maxwell released Andrew to turn, chuckling. He reached for his phone, a bitter smile on his face.
"For someone who spent the night talking as if he knew my family and company, you sure seem surprised." Andrew detected that Maxwell was well and truly pissed. Andrew paled.
"Oh, uh, honestly? I have no idea who or what your family are. I assume they are rich, given the neighbourhood you moved into, and how big your house is. Also, everyone was falling over themselves to treat you well, and knew who you were. I made some assumptions, and rolled with it." Maxwell's glance and Andrew made it clear to him that he didn't believe him, and Andrew sighed. "It's my job to infer things, Maxwell. I'm a scientist. Think of this as me finding a potential theory and putting it to the test. I would say this is a pretty shitty study, since there isn't a control group, and it's a very small test, but it could work if I was a shoddy scientist and only cared about my own results." Maxwell's expression lightened slightly, and Andrew knew he was in the clear.
"What would your control group even look like?" He asked, as he pulled on his seatbelt. Andrew's heart warmed as he pulled on his own, and started the car.
"Hmm, probably some randos off of the street?" Andrew suggested and Maxwell made a face.
"Your plan is to ask some random people off of the street about who I am and who my family is?" Andrew couldn't tell if Maxwell was angry about the people, or asking about his family. He didn't have to wait long for clarification. "Ugh, that's gross. I cannot understand how you could speak to so many people." Andrew chuckled, taking the two of them back to Maxwell's home.
"Well, unlike you, I like people." Maxwell would have gasped if he had been anyone else. Instead, Andrew could feel him burning a hole into the side of his head. He was unrepentant. "What? You can't tell me that you like people. I've never seen a sign of it."
"I like you." Maxwell muttered, and Andrew laughed.
"Why thank you, Maxwell. I like you too."
~
The rest of the drive home was uneventful, and unfortunately, Andrew did need to go back to his apartment and work, so he wasn't able to come in for a drink this time. That also meant that the two of them didn't see each other for almost a month. Between Andrew's intense work schedule, and Maxwell's, it was coming into the fall when they were able to see each other again.
Andrew was exhausted from work. So exhausted that he'd dragged a chair out onto the balcony and sat down, sighing. He took his glasses off, rubbing the bridge of his nose where they dug into his skin to relieve some of the pain there. Opening his eyes, he dangled his glasses in one hand as he stared at the blurry form of the house next to him. He hadn't seen Maxwell in weeks. He was getting low on his Maxwell intake. It was getting to the point that he almost thought about looking him up, but had stopped himself several times.
As much as he had teased Maxwell the last time they had been together, Andrew really didn't know anything about him. Andrew also wasn't the type to pry when the other so clearly didn't want him to know. He had a feeling Maxwell enjoyed the fact that Andrew knew nothing about his personal life, like who his family were, and Andrew liked that Maxwell found comfort in it. After all, it wasn't like Andrew wasn't the same. Everyone had some skeletons in their closet, even Andrew.
He sighed again, staring at the dark building. Work had been kicking his ass. For some reason, everything that could go wrong had gone wrong, and not just for his department. The whole business was having a hard time. Andrew thought that there might have been a data breach of some kind. It wouldn't have been the first time it had happened. Andrew worked in one of the front facing departments, but he knew that there were several that were secretive. His girlfriend worked in one of them.
Speaking of her, she had been hard to see in the last month. Andrew had messaged her, called her, everything, but he hadn't heard from her. He was worried. The two people he cared about in his life he either couldn't get in contact with, or didn't have the ability to do so. He had never exchanged numbers with Maxwell, even after all this time. They were…just neighbours.
He sighed. It would have been really nice to see his little dark haired fairy, but he guessed it wasn't in the stars. Closing his eyes, he leaned his head back against the soft comfort of the chair, and found himself falling asleep.
"-drew. Andrew!" Startled awake by someone calling his name, Andrew opened his eyes and found that he was still out on the balcony. Shivering, he glanced around, trying to find his glasses. Thankfully, they had fallen gently onto the ground and he was able to grab them and put them on, but winced at how cold the metal was.
Now that he could see, he glanced around to try and find where the voice had come from.
"Andrew, I swear to god, do not make me come up there." Blinking, Andrew swore he could hear the voice of an angel. But…he hadn't seen him in ages.
"Maxwell?" Andrew muttered, confused, still waking up from his nap.
"Andrew? Are you finally awake? What the fuck were you doing falling asleep on the balcony when it's supposed to get into the negatives tonight? Were you looking for attention?" Andrew sat up, looking over the edge of the railing to find a bundled up Maxwell down below. He looked pissed, but it was immediately dimmed by the fact that he had rosy cheeks, the tip of his nose was red, and he was wearing a scarf, hat, and thick, winter jacket. He looked adorable.
"Maxwell? When did you get in?" Andrew asked, moving his glasses so he could rub his eyes. Maxwell frowned, even more displeased. Andrew could tell he was because he had his arms crossed, he had his brows furrowed, and if he was right, he had been yelling at him to wake up. Andrew smiled sleepily. "Were you worried about me? That's cute." Maxwell puffed up, and Andrew smiled down at him.
"Oh fine, see if I care if you fucking freeze to death next time." Maxwell spun on his heel, pissed and Andrew watched him go, smiling still.
"Thank you Maxwell! Have sweet dreams!" Even with his gloves on, Maxwell was still able to give Andrew the finger as he disappeared into his house. Andrew chuckled, happy to find that Maxwell was back.
Cursing, he shuffled back into his now ice-cold house, a small smile on his lips. Thankfully, Maxwell appeared well. He didn't look like he had deep bags under his eyes this time, and he cheeks seemed rounder. He hadn't lost a lot of weight from his heat. It was good to see him healthy.
Maxwell, at least, wasn't like his Mother. He was grateful for small miracles.