"Who else would it be?" Maria said.
There wasn't much of an age gap between them; Lucas was the older of the two. As part of a mixed family, she was the one who carried a different phenotype, though with some restrictions.
At first, Andrea kept quiet, unable to understand the language, but Maria didn't take long to lock her eyes on him. Not only that, she also asked Lucas the reason for his visit to the omega area.
Maria was genuinely surprised. When Andrea shook her hand, she felt a spark of electricity flare in her chest and, instinctively, stepped back.
Pheromones. Heavy, unmistakable, and, above all, sweet.
Lucas didn't fully understand what was happening at first, but he quickly guessed it had something to do with the pheromones. He hadn't visited his sister in weeks, and even less had he told her about Andrea.
"So, what are you two doing here?" Maria asked.
Andrea answered before Lucas could even speak.
"A routine checkup," he said.
Lucas just smiled and added nothing to Andrea's explanation.
"It's been a pleasure… Lucas, call our mothers. I'm sure they'll want to meet Andrea."
Once Maria left, Lucas suggested they head to his shop. He needed to open up; sales were down, and he couldn't afford to skip a day.
"Nooo, just for today, please? I want to go home and watch a movie with you," Andrea said, pouting.
Lucas could never say no to Andrea's faces. At first, he felt like he was forgetting something, but when Andrea hugged him from behind, his thoughts shifted quickly, leaving only happiness.
The day went by normally; they watched movies all afternoon, made love once more, and when it was almost six in the evening, Lucas received a call.
*"Smith here, good afternoon. I've been waiting for thirty minutes for the brake package I ordered, but I see no one has opened the shop or even contacted me."
He had completely forgotten. Lucas hadn't remembered that he had a delivery scheduled for that day. Embarrassment flooded him and, while apologizing over the phone, he told the client he was on his way to the store.
The client refused, raising his voice and saying how disappointed he was. He was a loyal customer, but his greatest discomfort was that no one had warned him out of courtesy. In the end, Lucas offered to send the parts by mail.
That feeling of stress invaded him again; a slight stab pulsed in his stomach as a consequence of what had happened.
"Darling, relax, these things happen," Andrea said, rubbing his back.
Lucas wanted to argue. He told Andrea that this kind of thing had never happened to him before, that he wasn't like this. But Andrea interrupted him with a kiss, sliding his hands across Lucas's chest, up to his neck, and licking his ear.
"Relax, there's a first time for everything. Want to play again?" Andrea whispered, biting Lucas's ear.
Lucas let himself go the entire night and, between pauses, Andrea prepared the vitamins he had brought with him from Italy. Always so punctual, always a fan of the rules. Sometimes it seemed as if he were the real Swiss one.
________________________________________________
The following week arrived, bringing complaints, surprises, and above all the pressure to do the right thing despite not being ready.
Lucas's mothers had made a fuss: they couldn't understand how their son hadn't trusted them enough to tell them he was seeing someone. They might have understood if it were just a fling, but this was not the case.
A meeting was arranged at their house in the city of Bern. Upon arrival, Andrea was reminded a little of his own home. The air itself felt welcoming: the relaxing scent of incense, flowers in every corner, photos everywhere.
But most of all, it was the warmth of Lucas's mothers as they greeted him with their brightest smiles.
They looked so much like Lucas. The eyes, the poise; it was as if he had inherited the best of each of them, but above all, that sincere, warm aura.
A barbecue was prepared in his honor; it was the first time Andrea had ever felt so welcomed. They showed him every corner of the house, and every chance they got, they hugged him as if he were already part of the family.
After lunch, they decided to take a typical walk through the forest behind the house, "to help the food settle," as they said. For a moment, Andrea felt a pang of envy: the love, the trust, the easy complicity between Lucas's mothers was impossible to miss.
He thought about how he wanted something like that when he reached their age. He never let go of Lucas's hand, rubbing his fingers over it, squeezing it at times, and bumping his body playfully against his to tease him.
"Well then, you're staying the night, aren't you?" one of Lucas's moms asked.
They couldn't say no; after all, Lucas had already been scolded repeatedly for not keeping in touch. And his sister would arrive the next morning for breakfast.
Breakfast was equally pleasant; the table overflowed with cheeses, fruit, homemade bread, cold cuts, and more, all to make Andrea feel at home.
Any tension that might have lingered in the air quickly disappeared. Lucas was completely ignored. Both his mothers and his sister were enchanted by Andrea, and whenever they remembered something, they dug out old photos to show him.
"Andrea, everything okay with the doctor?" Maria asked, touching Andrea's hands.
"Has anyone ever told you how nosy you are? Spill it," Lucas said, tugging Maria's hair.
According to Lucas's mothers, those two argued whenever they had the chance. They were like cats and dogs.
Andrea grew nervous, unsure how to react; he worried he might have done something wrong. Meanwhile, Lucas's constant leg movement only made him more tense.
"Stop moving your legs like that. Does your ass itch or what?" Maria said, giving Lucas a playful smack on the legs.
Lucas's mothers burst out laughing, then took Andrea to their garden to show him everything they were growing and told him to relax. In thanks for their kindness, Andrea offered to cook for them the next time they visited.
It was curious: of the two mothers, Lucas's alpha mom was the most outgoing, the one who shared the most anecdotes and answered all of Andrea's questions. His beta mom, though also kind, was a bit more reserved.
Before they left, the alpha mom decided to prepare a cake for them to take along with leftovers from the previous day. They had cooked so much that they hadn't measured anything, so the beta mom suggested:
"Lucas, why don't you take some to Valentina? By the way, how is she?"
It had been a while since he'd heard any news about Valentina. Remembering that the last time they spoke was the night of the party sent a sudden shiver down his spine, making him jump like a reflex.
At that moment, Andrea interrupted the conversation, mentioning that it had been a couple of weeks since they last saw her, but surely it was because she had a new job and was probably very busy.
Both of Lucas's mothers smiled brightly, delighted to know that Andrea and Valentina had already met.
Lucas's sister offered to drive them, since they were a bit far from the train station. On the way, she apologized for not being able to introduce her partner; she wanted Andrea to meet him, because, as she said, Andrea was now part of the family.
__________________________________
Taking the train back was the best way to avoid Zürich's night traffic. Both were visibly tired; when they reached the building, the new concierge opened the door for them, and Lucas, absentmindedly, walked straight past.
Once inside the apartment, they collapsed on the couch and quickly fell asleep.
Maybe two hours passed before a phone began to ring. Andrea jolted awake, thinking it was an alarm, and when he found it, he realized it was a call.
"Hello? Sorry, Lucas fell asleep," Andrea said, apologizing.
"Oh, dear, I just called because you forgot Valentina's Tupperware," said Lucas's beta mom