JAX

"Goddamn, slow down just a bit! I'm pretty sure you've eaten like three fuckin' cows by now, and everybody's not even here yet!" I exclaimed, eyes widening with disbelief as Corey settled yet another three hamburgers down on the table in front of us. At this point, I was pretty sure the waitress was completely exhausted from running back and forth to our table as my mate ordered more and more food by the second.

"Oh, let the man live. He's gotta sustain those giant muscles somehow."

Benji waved his hand dismissively, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table from his spot on Tank's lap, cramped up in the corner of our little booth. "Personally, I'm a fan of hunky men," He turned his head momentarily to wink back at his mammoth of a mate, "... And I'm pretty sure we're far past you trying to act like you don't like how much bigger Corey is than you. It's not like it's anything to be ashamed of." The pink-haired man winked suggestively, shoving a fry a little too far down his throat before biting it off, "Plus, If he chokes, I'll resuscitate him. Don't worry."

I rolled my eyes at his accusation - a habit I hadn't gotten around to breaking yet - but didn't attempt to deny it.

He was one-hundred percent correct.

Corey was fuckin' huge, and I had to admit that just the thought of the way he could practically crush me beneath his heavily weighted form was enough to make me cream on the spot.

I squirmed a little in an attempt to suppress the rogue thought before creaming my pants became an unfortunate reality, but Corey's semi pressed up against my still-sore ass wasn't helping quell my desire in the slightest.

We were at a tiny diner named Susy's, a hole-in-the-wall place that the Pack liked to frequent. The food was great - the service even better - but the one drawback was the tiny fuckin' booths they had, completely not conducive to a bunch of giant werewolves sitting together all at once.

That's how we found ourselves doubled up, mates sitting on top of mates as we waited on Osias and Berlin to show up.

At first, the thought of sitting on Corey's lap in public gave me a lightning strike of anxiety. I had gotten to the point of comfort with being with him romantically within the reassurance of our own home, but this was different.

Being out and openly affectionate in public was a huge step for not only me, but also our relationship.

However, one look into the depth of Corey's excited gaze had me both weak and confident at the same time, and I'd simply slid onto his firm lap without another word.

"Eating is part of our job as a Warrior," Tank chimed in, arms squeezed so tightly around his beloved that I was surprised the smaller man's eyes weren't popping out of his head. "Osias even put it in our job description." He finished, resting his chin on top of Benji's pink head.

"Speaking of, where is that idiot?" I inquired, pulling my arms in so that Corey could reach around me for like, his fifteenth hamburger.

"Oh, I'm right here."

Tyrus raised a hand that was previously wrapped around Daffodil's waist, pausing mid-chew to chime in. Meanwhile, his mate was just as oblivious as ever as he used two hands to stabilize his milkshake glass; his third one of the past hour judging by the two empty glasses that littered the table beside them.

I was surprised that Tyrus was allowing him to consume that much sugar despite knowing what it does to the Fae, but as long as I wasn't the one dealing with the fallout, I would gladly mind my own damn business.

"Surprisingly, I'm not talking about you this time." I replied, sporting a playful grin in the third triplet's direction to emphasize that I meant no ill intent, "... I'm talking about our bussy-whipped Alpha. He's probably fucking the shit outta Berlin right no-"

(A/N: If you don't already know, bussy is slang for butt pussy XD)

"Sorry, guys! We're here, we're here!" As if on cue, Berlin's squeaky little voice interjected as he limped over the table, Osias' grumpy ass following close behind. Our Luna's uneven gait was a clear indication of what the couple had been up to likely just a few minutes prior. Based on the fresh scent of arousal that clung to them, I'd guess that they had probably banged one out in the car on the way here.

The couple slid into the booth beside us, Osias guiding Ber by his wrecked hips to settle down into his lap.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear." I mumbled, internally wincing at my instinctively rude tone.

Benji shot me a look from across the table, one that read 'I'm your therapist and we talked about this before,' and I suppressed a groan as I realized what he wanted me to do next.

"... Actually... I'm... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that, it was mean." I apologized, turning toward Berlin.

The words felt so foreign on my tongue, but Benji and I had been working on that in our weekly sessions; saying sorry. Beside the fact that I was in desperate need of re-socialization, an intent to apologize was actually why I had asked everyone to meet us at the diner today.

I wasn't a lot of people's favorite person, but I was trying my damn hardest to be better.

For my pack, for my friends, for Corey.

But most of all, for myself.

I hadn't noticed it until it was - literally and figuratively - thrusted right in front of my face. But after my bedroom-floor tell-all with Corey, I'd quickly realized how much my mental health challenges had also become a burden for everyone else around me. I wasn't active in my relationships, I was a piss poor excuse for a Beta, and I'd hurt so many people around me throughout the years.

And the first step to recovery - to forgiving myself - was saying sorry.

"I'm ready, Corey." I muttered quietly, and not a second later a folded piece of paper with my pre-prepared thoughts slipped into my hand from where it was being kept; in safekeeping in my mate's pocket.

Lips then brushed against the claiming mark on my neck, the action making my nervous tremors dissipate as if they'd never even been there in the first place.

'I'm so proud of you. Go ahead, my good boy. Show them your strength.' The bass of Corey's voice reverberated through our link, giving me the last little push I needed.

I could do this.

So, I raised my head, making eye contact with everyone at the table just like I'd practiced.

"I... I actually brought you all here for a reason." I began, steadying my fingers as I unfolded the piece of paper that I'd slaved over for the past few days, "Benji has been putting me through my own, personal version of Assholes Anonymous over these past weeks, and I have really learned a lot. So, I have something I'd like to say to each of you," I gulped, suddenly unsure as I lowered my eyes to my chicken scratch that was scrawled across the crumpled page, "... If... If that's okay?"

I chanced upon lifting my eyes once again, pushing through the fear, and what I saw made my heart swell a little bigger.

They were all smiling at me, even Daffodil, even though he was still slurping away at his gigantic milkshake.

Well, all but Corey of course, but I could still feel his happiness and encouragement through our bond as if it were my own.

"Of course it's okay," My head swiveled over at the sound of Osias' husky drawl as he shifted Berlin in his lap so that he could see me better, "Tell us what's on your mind, man."

I nodded with a final gulp, fingers digging into the paper as if it would fly away from me.

"O-okay," I began, blowing out a deep breath in an effort to keep a hold on my famously labile emotions, "Tyrus, I'll start with you," I turned toward him as I read from the paper,

"I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for pushing me to find the truth when I was too afraid to admit to myself that I needed it. I truly value our friendship and I hope that we can continue to be friends into the future?" I finished, glancing up from my paper to gauge his reaction to my uncharacteristic vulnerability.

Tyrus' face was split into a giant grin as he held his mate close, but used one hand to reach out and rest a warm hand on my arm.

"Oh, don't worry about that. You're not getting rid of me, I still need to teach you how to press the elevator button with your toes!" He emphasized, tapping my arm once before drawing back.

I grinned with satisfaction, glad that this was going so well already. One down.

I then shifted my gaze to Daffodil.

"Hey, little alien." I greeted, and the small man let out a squeak, finally popping his lips from his straw as he realized I was addressing him.

"Talk to Daffi?!" He questioned with gigantic eyes widening even more, pointing a finger at himself as if he could not believe his own, pointed ears.

"Yeah, I'm talking to Daffi." I confirmed with a smile, mimicking his speech pattern, "I wanted to say thank you to you as well. I might not even be here without your help. Plus, it looks like I'm a mutant just like you now, so we should probably be mutant besties now, if you want?"

Daffi beamed.

"Okay!" Was all he said before turning his gaze back down to his milkshake to resume his annihilation of the sweet beverage.

I chuckled at his simple response before turning to the next person on my list.

"Benji, I wanted to thank you for all you've done for me. I couldn't have come this far without your help, and one day I want to have the same level of patience that you've had with me. To show you how serious I am about this, I want to increase my therapy to twice a week until you think I am stable enough to drop back down to once."

When I looked up this time, Benji's hand was pressed flat to his chest as he gazed back at me with a trembling lip and watery eyes.

"Oh, Jax, you're gonna make me cry!" He exclaimed wetly, taking a moment to fan his eyes, blow out a breath and center himself before he continued, "You absolutely could - and would - have gotten this far on your own, I'm just here to help speed the process along. I'm so glad that you are setting these goals for yourself, and I'll make sure to update our schedule."

I nodded, flashing one more smile before turning to my next victim.

"Osias..." I took another deep breath, knowing that this one was gonna be a lot harder than all the others. "You are more than just my best friend, you are my brother. I mean, we practically fight like siblings too, but none of that could ever change the love I have for you. We've grown apart more than I'd like these past few years, but I'd really like to work on our friendship." I breathed, hesitating a bit longer before looking up this time.

A shit-eating grin was pasted across the Alpha's face, and he reached around his mate to land a heavy hand on my shoulder.

"I feel exactly the same. I know I can be a grump, but I really do love you, man. Next week, I'm taking you out on a date." He winked playfully, but quickly corrected himself as Ber shot him an electrifying glare, "... A best friend date, since apparently I have to specify that I don't have any desire to bone you." He added, his typically confident tone wavering from getting scolded from his tiny mate.

"Pick me up at seven." I winked back, unable to hold back my laugh as Berlin rolled his eyes with another, playful glare.

"... Seriously though, I really appreciate every single one of you, and I owe you all a fuckin' huge apology for my behavior over the past few years. I can't promise I won't be sarcastic anymore or anything like that, but I promise I'm going to step up more, be more active in the pack and in our relationships. And... I'm still new to all this lovey dovey stuff, so if I'm ever too much of an asshole, let me know. I'm done with hurting people I care about."

I finally finished in one, giant breath.

And then... and then they started fuckin' clapping.

"Ahh, shit..." I mumbled, hiding my face a bit as I was completely not used to being the center of attention, "See, this is why we can't have nice things, you're all so damn dramatic! Acting like I just solved world peace or sumthin'!"

"Oh, hush," Benji chided with a roll of his eyes, "Let us be proud of you for once, you deserve love, remember?"

"Yeah, this doesn't happen often, we need to savor it! Now, I feel like I need to tell you all about how much I love you, too!" Berlin interjected, and I groaned again as Tyrus nodded his head enthusiastically across the table.

"Oh, this conversation is gonna be a blast." I gave the most sarcastic jazz hands I could manage, leaning back into Corey's firm embrace as I sensed a chuckle work its way up through his chest.

"I think that I like this idea. I'm tired of not being able to tell everyone how much I love Jax." Suddenly came his deep voice, and I slowly turned in his lap with a wide-open jaw as I stared at him with incredulity "... If everyone missed the memo, I am taking this as an opportunity to assert that I - and Dashiell - find ourselves a little too obsessed with Jax on a daily basis." Trying - and failing - to ignore the way my heart felt like it was gonna fall right out and shatter into pieces in front of all of our friends in its effort to contain my love for this man, I stuttered out a response.

"You're... you're... you're obsessed with me?" I breathed.

"Shamelessly." He immediately retorted with not even a millisecond of hesitation, and I swear my dick shot to attention right there.

Oh, this man was getting laid when we got back.

"My turn!"

I thanked the God/dess for Tyrus' interjection, because I think that both my brain and dick would have spontaneously combusted if left to idle on Corey's declaration of love for even a second longer.

"... I love all of you so much! Well, actually, I love just Daffodil a little bit more, but I'm sure you all can understand that." he stated matter-of-factly, grinning wide a moment before his eyes followed suit, as if the man had suddenly remembered something, "Oh, but most of all, I really, really, really love Daffi and I's baby."

The entire table quieted, everyone's head immediately swiveling to stare at the dominant wolf with a slack jaw.

"What?!" Berlin finally screamed, eyes wide as saucers as his head pivoted back and forth between Daffodil and his brother over and over again, "Did you... Did you get Daffodil pregnant?!"

"Oh, yeah, I did. I guess we forgot to tell you." Tyrus just shrugged, and all of a sudden the graveyard of milkshake glasses around Daffodil made complete sense.

The larger man's eyes nonchalantly shifted around the stunned table and he shrugged once more, as if completely indifferent to somehow forgetting that absolutely gigantic chunk of insight. "In our defense, we were left unsupervised."

_

I'm surprised Daffi is still walking after that Tyrus D, with his tiny ass 🤣

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