His Guardian (MxM)

Chapter 25

Jackson

"And then he ran right into me, and my bread spilled all over the pavement!!" Ben's voice exclaimed in an amused tone that I savored. He, Beth, and Luca burst into laughter that sounded melodic to my ears. Liam blanched beside me.

Liam had brought Luca over to properly meet Ben and I today. Ben hit it off immediately with Luca and they seemed to be getting along almost as well as he and Beth did. I was glad to see this. Ben needed some good friends in his life.

Luca seemed more shy toward me, but I felt I knew the reason. Since becoming Alpha, I've noticed many are intimidated by my very presence. Some more because they watched me tear my father's head off, but Luca hadn't witnessed that. He was hidden away safely at Liam's home when that happened, which I was grateful for.

Liam and Luca showed up today holding hands, which was a first for me to see. I also noticed they both had marks from each other in similar spots to mine and Ben's. This made me smile. I'm glad my best friend has someone to make him happy the way Ben makes me. I wondered to myself how long it would be until they had children. It certainly doesn't take long for that to happen, I knew.

Although Ben's bruises were mostly gone, his cast off, and his open wounds completely closed, I still hadn't made any advances toward him in that way. He would initiate makeout sessions, but I would always pull away when it got too heated. I just didn't want to hurt him. He seemed so fragile. Not to mention the mental load he was carrying. Along with the nightmares, he was having panic attacks and flashbacks. I was learning to help him through these things. It made me grateful for moments like these; when he's happy with not a care in the world. Because when his cares did show up, they were heavy.

I was also glad to see Beth visiting happily with Ben and Luca. I still felt guilty for her life being turned upside down, but I made sure she was well taken care of. Her bump was beginning to show now, and Joseph said it's a healthy baby boy. Ben had insisted she move to a guest room closer to our bedroom in case she needed anything, which I helped her do. I would often find Ben and Beth chatting about names, clothes, and cribs while giggling together. He would regularly feel the baby kicking by placing his hands on Beth's belly when prompted. This always put a wide smile on his face. I had yet to feel the child kicking. Perhaps I was too distant, but I just wasn't sure how to feel about it.

"How's the nursery coming along?" Liam's question pulled me from my thoughts.

"I have the walls painted, I just need to put some furniture together." I thought for a moment. "Why don't you make yourself useful while you're here?"

"Lead the way," he told me while nodding his head. We walked upstairs to the nursery while the trio's laughter downstairs echoed throughout our home. As Liam and I walked into the nursery, it smelled of fresh paint from the blue walls I had just painted the previous day.

"What have we got?" Liam asked.

"Changing table, and crib. Everything else will come assembled," I informed him. He nodded. We began opening the box that contained every part for the crib. Soon, the empty room's floor was covered in crib parts, instructions, bolts, and screws. I began placing wooden pieces together while Liam read instructions and gave me the corrects pegs and bolts. Once we had a wide, side piece assembled, he and I pressed either end piece to it at the same time. Pegs connected the pieces, and bolts would keep them connected after they were put together. I looked over at Liam's side and noticed it didn't look quite right.

"Yours is upside down, jackass," I told him with a chuckle. 

"How can you tell?"

"The bottom is thicker, see?" I pointed to it as I spoke. His eyes widened in realization.

"Well, let's get it apart, then," he said as we stood from our kneeling positions. He grasped his end piece while I had a hold on the side piece, standing opposite to him. He and I tugged at the same time, and it proved more stuck together than I had assumed. As we pulled harder, it suddenly came apart, causing me to stumble backwards and trip over the box it came in, swiftly landing on my ass.

"Dammit Porter, you useless son of a bitch!" I exclaimed from the floor in frustration. Liam's laughter exploded across the room as he doubled over from it, clutching his stomach. His laughter was contagious, and soon had me cracking a smile as well. Through his guffaws, he made his way over to me, holding his hand out to help me up. 

"I'm sorry, Jackson, I-" he couldn't even finish the sentence as his laughter overtook him once more, bringing tears to his eyes. I glared at him before grabbing his outstretched hand and pulling him to the floor. He yelped in surprise at my tug and came tumbling to the floor directly next to me, but his laughter never stopped.

As he and I lie on the floor next to each other in hysterics, eventually our laughter slowly died down. I looked beside me, to my Beta's face. The way the sun shone through the windows made his blue eyes sparkle in a way I had never noticed before. Though they were blue like Ben's, it almost seemed as if Liam's had specks of violet mixed with his blue. His nose was covered in light freckles that the sun made more visible, and his hair color reminded me of honey; though it never had before. The sun made some of his locks turn blonde in the light, which had me absolutely captivated. Why had I never noticed my best friend in this way before? And more importantly, why was I now?

Interrupting our  shared gaze and my thoughts, I heard laughter from the door. I quickly looked up to seen Beth and Luca giggling, with Ben holding in his laughter next to them.

"What happened here?" he asked. I sat up with a grunt.

"This bastard doesn't know how to put together a crib, that's all," I mumbled while Liam and I stood up. Ben finally let his giggles escape, which made me smile once more. Liam and I quickly got the crib assembled once we were composed.

Ben, Beth, and Luca soon walked away giggling together. I grinned at Ben's happiness with his friends.