III. A DIFFERENT MORNING
While Andy and Ari got you settled on the sofa downstairs, the rest of the mercenaries went up to their makeshift conference room. Everyone had their own bedroom, another luxury they demanded from their year contract, however, the conference room was also available upstairs. It helped them with differentiating work and mental repose. Unfortunately, they haven’t been able to luxuriate in the latter aspect as much as they would like. Their living room is left largely, untouched, their kitchen hardly used for its intended purpose and their conservatory collected webs and dust in their absence.
The year-long contract they signed with the new client was proving to be more challenging than they originally thought. The year deadline was already starting to look incredibly insufficient for the operation they were tasked with. To add to that, their non-negotiable asset for the large cottage as a homely base wasn’t satisfying its intended use for reprieve and was a hard pill to swallow upon realisation. They all looked forward to the stability a home provided and with it, room to live in and rest rather than just work. Alas, their mission was important and needed their full commitment, that was the deal. Having their heart’s desires so close yet unable to partake in was disheartening. And now, they had to house a pitiful intruder too. The bitter reality that someone had been able to indulge in their luxuries was infuriating.
“I want her out of here by sunrise tomorrow!” Lloyd hisses through clenched teeth, his attitude easily ignored by Steve, who doesn’t even flinch at the stench of displeasure radiating from the pacing alpha.
“She won’t be staying long at all, Lloyd. She’ll be gone by tomorrow, at least.” somewhat satisfied with the proposal, Lloyd leans back in his designated seat. Steve was trustworthy in that sense, he kept his word, and that’s why he’s the captain of the team.
Steve focuses his gaze on Curtis, who fixes his gaze back, “Curt, you’ll be escorting her to the nearest village tomorrow. Make sure she settles down at an inn before leaving her be, okay?” Curtis answers with a simple nod but his eyes reflect a muted eagerness for the next day to come.
“Excused from the mission, eh?” Ransom ponders for a moment, “Tomorrow’s operations will largely depend upon me but I still need a guard to keep close and protect my hide; Curtis has always filled that role,”
“Ari can fill in,”
“But the bastards at the society are accustomed to Curtis, they’ll ask questions,” Ransom protests with a frustrated exhale. Even his nervous tick makes an appearance whereby he starts trying to unravel his cable knit sweater at the seam of his sleeves.
“Figure something out.” Steve firmly addresses, “I don’t want her walking to the next village on her own, she doesn’t know where it is and she could get lost,”
Exasperated, Ransom begins to grumble under his breath and would have escalated if Jake hadn’t been at his side to calm him down. Being the only two betas, they understood each other and largely relied on one another for things they couldn’t as easily go to the alphas for. That meant providing a stable foundation to lean on when the other is upset or troubled. “Are we clear, Ransom?”
“...Yes Captain,”
“Good. You’re good with your words anyway, you’ll come up with something convincing,” Steve offers a confident smile that Ransom begrudgingly scoffs at but everyone knows how backwards Ransom’s antics can be — he’s already come to terms with the change. “I don’t think half of us managed to get the things we wanted done today so same thing tomorrow boys. Lights out. I’ll wait here for Ari and Andy so I can tell them what’s up before bed tonight,” everyone nods and finally leave for their rooms, their forms already taking on an exhausted arch. They were ready to call it a day. Full of the hearty meal you had cooked for them, sleep came far more quickly than it usually did.
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
“Are you sure you’re comfortable?” Ari asks as Andy retrieves some more pillows to tuck in around you. The giggle you let out is music to his ears and he can barely contain his smile.
“Very comfortable, thank you,” you turn to Andy as he offers a pillow to tuck by your legs and another for you to cuddle to your chest. Smiling up at him, you whisper another grateful ‘thank you’ and he smiles. He’s more than happy to cater to your needs. Both of the men were, hence why they volunteered to help you get settled for the night. They even willingly offered up their rooms for you to sleep in but you gracefully declined. You mentioned how you didn’t want them getting an achy back for sleeping on the small sofa. Your thoughtful response warmed their hearts — you’re a very precious, little thing, the cutest omega they’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.
“Well, we’ll leave you to sleep then, good night,” the two begin to leave.
“Goodnight! And thank you again for lending me your sleep shirt,” Ari turns and smiles, suppressing the heat that threatened to explode across his cheeks at the reminder that you were sleeping in his shirt. You were so small compared to him, that his shirt easily appeared as a dress on you. He’s never seen such a beautiful sight before.
“You’re welcome, goodnight,”
As the two walk up the stairs, Andy turns to his mercenary teammate with pressed lips, “I could have lent her a shirt for the night too, you know…”
“Yeah but, first come first served,” was Ari’s simple reply.
“...at least she gets to sleep cuddling my pillow tonight,” It was a small quarrel that easily blended with playful tones and the two ended the talk with matching smirks. Both were equally eager to follow their alpha instincts and care for a sweet omega like you – between them, it was a weakness, truly. Before calling it a night, they met up with Steve by the conference room door. He informed them of the plans for tomorrow and both easily accepted. Steve made sure to ask if Ari was alright with filling in for Curtis just to be sure but the bearded man didn’t fight the decision. Curtis would take good care of you, Steve made a good choice.
“Lucky Curt,” Ari shakes his head as Andy laughs.
“Yes yes, lucky Curt. Lights out, you two,” Steve pats both of them on the shoulder with a light chuckle and moves to his room.
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
Mornings were a dull, almost robotic occasion. Plans of operation would have been discussed the night before so that mornings weren’t disoriented and some sluggishness was allowed, although quickly curbed. The team went to bed with the mission as their last thought and woke up with it as their first.
But not today.
It was peculiar waking up to such a delicious smell in the air but the bizarre occurrence quickly reminded the hardened mercenaries of what had happened the night before. And, for the first time, in a long time, their morning wasn’t spent prioritising the mission over. Their hunger reigned instead, their heads filled with thoughts of a warm breakfast and a pretty face to greet them at the dining table. What a treat…
Rushing out of his room, Jake comes face to face with Ransom. “Finally warming up to our pretty intruder eh, Ran?” the magi-tech genius teases as Ransom rolls his eyes.
“I’m not admitting to anything. I just want a good breakfast for once,” Ransom combs his fingers through his ruffled, morning hair and begins making his way down the stairs.
“Me too,” Jake agrees through a sleepy yawn, his hand inching up his pyjama shirt to scratch at his belly. Behind the two, Ari, Curtis, Andy and Lloyd also step out of their rooms, all were still in their sleepwear and slightly groggy. If it was any normal day, they would have been alert and wide-eyed already but the smell of a good breakfast was rather tranquilising.
“Smells delicious,” Ari comments, scratching at his beard and heading downstairs.
“There better be bacon and eggs,” Lloyd comments as he does his best to comb back his hair with his fingers and straighten the stray strands of his moustache.
“Regardless, a good breakfast is better than no breakfast,” Andy says, trying to loosen up the kinks in his shoulder and neck as he traverses the stairs. Curtis follows silently behind them all, his usual thick beanie replaced with a nightcap. He silently salivates at the thought of a decent breakfast. But, if your cooking the night before was anything to go by, the breakfast spread would be just as delectable.
When the group entered the dining room and kitchen, they weren’t surprised to see Steve already occupying his space at the table, drinking a mug of coffee and a relaxed posture. If their captain was indulging in breakfast, that gave them the full go-ahead.
“Good morning boys,” you cheerily greet them from your place at the stove. You’re still dressed in Ari’s spare sleep shirt, which comes down to an inch above your knee. And it appears as though Steve had offered you a pair of his home slippers. The footwear looked comically big on you and they couldn’t help but smile at the image. Ari’s smirk is wider than normal but realising that it was his shirt you were wearing, it wasn’t hard to guess why that was the case.
“Good morning, indeed!” Jake cheers and speedily takes his seat while the others follow behind him much more leisurely, “Dinner and breakfast! Thanks so much!”
“You’re welcome,” you giggle. “I didn’t know how you liked your eggs so there’s scrambled and sunny-side up. Steve said you’re not fussy but if you want it done a particular way, please say so,”
With an arrogant smirk, Lloyd tests your offer, “I like my yolks very runny, not jammy like these ones,” some occupants at the table glare harshly at him but he isn’t phased until you’re willingly cracking another egg into your pan.
“I’ll make you two,” you happily chirp, unbothered by his demand, “you’re really tall and big though so maybe three?”
“J-just two is fine!” Lloyd stutters with a blush on his face. He didn’t expect you to comply so easily and your innocuous comment about his physique threw him for a loop. For a moment, he believed there was something wrong with the customary regulation earring he wore. All persons with second genders were required to wear one by law to keep their influence minimal, regardless of whether they were a beta, alpha or omega. Questioning the device also meant questioning Jake’s genius and that was profound. Jake meticulously kept all of their tech functioning smoothly; it couldn’t have been that.
“Alright, don’t worry if you want more okay? Just ask,”
“Uh y-yeah…” Lloyd spots Ransom snickering at him from across the table — it was unusual to see their resident executioner and assassin caught off his guard and flustered like this, naturally he couldn’t help laughing. With a harsh kick to his shins, however, Ransom was doubling over in pain and Lloyd was the one smirking instead.
The spread for breakfast was buttered toast with blackcurrent on offer, fried or scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, buttery sauteed mushrooms and tomatoes, and a light avocado salad. For drinks, you made some coffee with their stovetop, stainless steel coffee maker and poured apple and orange juice into jugs. Everyone helped themselves and you were happy to see them enjoying their meal so openly.
They were very kind to let you stay without forcefully prying for your private information, cooking for them was the least you could do. The atmosphere was also very good, having everyone eat together like this reminded you of the times you would eat with the palace staff at the kitchens. Silas, the head chef, made it a point to serve your meals personally, every single day, for every meal. Now you get to honour his good gesture by paying it forward to the people who have treated you kindly.
“This is so good!” Jake expresses through a mouthful of buttered, jammy toast, Ari helpfully handing him a napkin while he sips his morning coffee.
“Thank you,” you chirp with a giggle and continue eating your breakfast too.
“What’s that over there, pet?” Ari speaks up, taking another helping of the sauteed mushrooms and tomatoes to have with his scrambled eggs. The bearded man in gingham pyjamas was nodding to the occupied counter full of wooden tupperware.
“Oh!” you finish your mouthful first, “They’re your lunches,” the entire table falls into silence, shocked and in awe of your thoughtful nature. This is the first time they’ve ever had a homemade packed lunch. It feels like such a privilege, they don’t know what to say. “I didn’t know what you guys liked so I just made some lightly fried chicken sandwiches with lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes, mini cheesy potato croquettes and, for dessert, mini chocolate pancakes.” turning to the table, you smile shyly, “I hope that’s okay. It looks like you guys work long days and the best way of getting through it is having a good lunch… I really can’t express how grateful I am to all of you,”
Nobody knew how to voice their gratitude articulately, they were all so touched and also incredibly pleased to have something delicious to look forward to. It’s hard to work up much of an appetite when they’re knee-deep in their work so they don’t realise how starved they are until they have certain tasks done. The accomplishment helps them relax and they finally realise their level of hunger. By that point, they don’t care what they eat, as long as they have something with substance, they’re fine. It was nice not having to worry about their lunch for a day. Not because they’re so busy with their operations but because they know they have something delicious already prepared for them. It, somehow, made facing the work day much better.
“You’re an angel,” Ari smiles warmly beneath his beard and you look down at your plate, unable to meet his kind blue eyes without getting warm in the cheeks, “thank you for being so thoughtful,”
Steve smiles also and nods in silent appreciation when you finally look up and meet his eyes. Andy can’t help but shake his head in disbelief – you’re a momentary blessing in their lives, it’s such a shame you’ll be leaving so soon. Looking down the table, he spots Lloyd and Ransom with the same slack-jawed expression and almost laughs at their wonder-filled eyes. Just last night they were complaining about you and now they’re tightly wrapped around your little finger. It was rare to see the conquering of such antagonistic characters, the amusement was natural.
Meanwhile, Jake is rocking back and forth in his seat, probably being held down by Ari so that the overexcited Beta doesn’t jump your bones in his excitement and gratitude. Curtis is as silent as ever but has a much softer look in his eyes when he looks at you. His gratitude is silent but will be paid forward in full soon enough. Andy doesn’t doubt that Curtis would fight off a bear, a wolf and a mountain lion, simultaneously and win for your safety when he goes to escort you later on.
“Have you told her about the plans today, Steve?” Andy voices, immediately catching your attention and perking up from your plate of food.
“Right,” Steve gathers himself, slightly embarrassed that something so important managed to slip his mind despite it being a major factor in their plans. He supposes that he’s just as affected by your sanguine presence as the rest of the team — even Ransom and Lloyd, no matter how much they like to deny it. “Curtis will be escorting you to the next village for today. Unfortunately, the rest of us have important business to attend to in the city and cannot accompany you. Curtis is an exceptional guard though, so you have nothing to worry about.” Steve’s soft expression and kind smile suddenly turn firm as his gaze leaves you to meet the eyes of the other men, “Speaking of, we need to hurry up. We can’t delay much longer this morning.” With a hard nod, everyone (except you and Curtis) finish off the rest of their plates and hurry away.
“Lucky Curtis…he gets to eat breakfast peacefully and escort the pretty lady,” Jake whines, casting a sorrowful glance over his shoulder as Andy chuckles and slings his arm over the Beta’s shoulder.
“Lucky we had breakfast today at all,”
Turning to Curtis, your round questioning eyes prompt him for an explanation. The tall guard silently debates if he should answer immediately or not; he rather enjoys having your gorgeous eyes on him. Cute, pretty thing. He doesn’t think he’s ever had the privilege to be around someone so lovely. He’s rather happy he has the honour of escorting you today.
“We don’t have to rush like they do. It’s, also, not worth asking what we do for a living, that’s confidential information.” his straightforward answer flusters you and your only reprieve is having another spoonful of scrambled eggs. “Let's just enjoy our breakfast,” Curtis chuckles deeply when you don’t meet his eyes but give a shy nod as you stare fiercely down at your plate.
He thinks you’re absolutely precious.
After some time, you start clearing up the table while Curtis makes sure there aren’t any more leftovers. You were surprised at his great appetite but judging by his large frame, you guess it wasn’t too much of a shock; he can easily eat four times the amount your portion for a meal.
“Does everyone just leave?” you ask, looking over your shoulder as you dry your hands with a kitchen towel.
Curtis shrugs, “They have nothing else to do at the house, why not leave right away?” He wonders what you’re thinking of doing as you gather up the boxed lunches and move to their cosy foyer, where their coats are hanging and their primary worn shoes are stored.
It doesn’t take long for the team to come down and look questioningly as you stand by the door. You had set the packed lunches on their slim foyer table and they spot how you’ve carefully labelled each one with a loose slip of paper. Seeing their name in your elegant handwriting affected them more than they’d like to admit. Even though the lunches would be the same, knowing that you took the time to somehow personalise them was heartwarming to see – not that Lloyd or Ransom would freely admit it.
“What’s all this?” Steve asks, collecting his boxed lunch as he approaches you by the door. Everyone else was still putting on their coat and lacing up their shoes. As the Captain, Steve, naturally, was the first one ready. Behind the group, Curtis leanned against the stair bannister, he wanted to see what you planned to do.
“I just wanted to see you off,” Steve thanks you with a kind smile though a lingering, unanswered question gives a slight arch to his brows. Before the blonde captain can reach for the door handle, however, you’re reaching up to hold the lapels of his coat and gently tug him down. It was only a light tug but the action was so surprising, that Steve easily folded for you. On the tips of your toes, kiss his cheek sweetly. “Thank you for letting me stay the night. Have a good day at work and I hope you enjoy the lunch I made you,” astonished at the scene, the team couldn’t fully appreciate the sight of their openly flustered captain as he readjusted his coat and coughed into his hand. To think that someone so demure and innocent could break down the hardened mercenary captain so easily.
“You’re very welcome, thank you for everything,” Steve gives you a final nod and opens the door. He already anticipates you giving the same treatment to the rest of his men but he’s still red to his ears at the gesture. None of them saw that coming.
Rushing to get his shoes on, Jake manages to get second place and eagerly awaits his cheek kiss too. Again, you thank him for allowing you to stay and wish him a good day before making him promise he’ll eat all of his lunch, “I won’t leave a single crumb, princess!” you almost stutter at his term of endearment but quickly disguise your shock by pressing a kiss onto his cheek. He almost forgets to bring his lunch as he stumbles out the door with the goofiest smile on his face.
Next was Ari who smiles fondly at your attempt to reach him despite already being on your toes. He doesn’t do you any favours either by stubbornly staying in place. And he stays standing, even when you lightly tug on the lapels of his coat jacket, urging him down.
“Y-you’re too tall, Ari,” the bearded man laughs and finally leans down.
“You really are an angel,” he whispers into your ear as he receives his kiss. Unable to resist, he presses a kiss to your forehead as he straightens up to join Steve and Jake outside the door with his boxed lunch. Admittedly, his action made you hot behind the ears and up your neck. You were still in his sleep shirt too!
Next was surprisingly Ransom, who looked at you with unfriendly eyes but you remained unphased. With a kind smile, you reach up and press a long kiss against his cheek. Your other hand even comes up to press against his opposite cheek, holding him closer for longer.
“Why was that kiss so long?” he asks, avoiding your eyes as he fixes up his hair in the hallway mirror.
“I just wanted to kiss you longer, I guess,” your innocent chirp has the usually put-together man floored. He stumbles out of the front door with his lunch in an almost identical fashion to Jake. Behind him, you smile, happy to have received a more favourable response than his sour scowl. Jake giggles and points at him mockingly but receives a smack upside the head for his audacious impishness.
Andy approaches you next but bends down to kiss your knuckles, “I’ll savour every bite,” his sweet gesture and comment flusters you so much he has to wait for his kiss a little longer than the others while you stand there, fidgeting and forgetting yourself.
“Thank you, Andy,” you whisper against the skin of his cheek and pull away. The clean-cut man momentarily savours your words and the sweet way you say his name before joining the rest of the team outside.
“Finally,” Lloyd huffs, uncrossing his arms as he approaches with a deep-seated frown.
“I’m sorry for keeping you waiting Lloyd,”
“Don’t say my name like that!” he snaps with bared teeth. If you say his name in your cute-ass voice again, he doesn’t know what the full consequences will entail.
You giggle, pulling him into a long kiss, just like Ransom, with one hand pressed against his opposite cheek to keep him in place. “Sorry, Hansen?” you try his surname to see if that was a better way of address but you’re only given a scoff and a cold shoulder as Lloyd stomps out of the door with his heavy, leather boots.
From the front door, you wave the group off sweetly, “Have a good day at work! Stay safe! Take care!” They’ve never had someone so sweet and pretty, and kind wish them well like this. They all engrave your image to memory, hoping to return to the moment every morning after you finally leave.
They really don’t want you to go at this point…
When you can’t see them any longer, you finally close the door and turn to Curtis, who appears to have been staring at you this whole time. His blank expression and steely eyes make you tilt your head curiously.
“What’s wrong, Curtis?”
He’s tempted to say nothing but as the silence draws out, he finally succumbs to his childishness. Because it really was childish of him – he’d never felt like this before. “...I don’t get a kiss…” he grumbles like some toddler who feels he’s received unfair treatment. Which was, technically, the case.
“Who says so?” with a giggle, you approach the giant man with his nightcap still on and gesture for him to bend down. He only does so slightly. It was a silly thing but he loved the image of you going onto your tip-toes to kiss the others’ cheeks and he wanted the same treatment; he only leans down enough for you to barely reach him.
“Thank you for everything, Curtis,” you whisper sweetly before kissing his cheek, “You’re very kind for letting me stay,” you won’t forget how he was the one to stop you from leaving the night before.
Stretched to his full height again, Curtis smiles down at you, “You’re welcome.”