John's POV

He wrote that letter before bed and had a chance to pass it to James three days letter. Four days later James responds, asking him to dinner on February twenty-first. That makes him curious what the twenty-first is, but he's not sure he wants to ask. They spend the time between writing letters again, and things seem fairly decent.

Originally he thinks they'll have to have a late dinner, but when he tells Autumn and Misty he needs to get off as soon as the shop closes because he's having dinner with James, they give him the night off.

He was almost hesitant about giving James Greg's address, even though that's where he lives.

Jim, of course had offered to have James pick up there or drop him off where James wants to have dinner. As that seems scarier than the alpha knowing his address, he gives his date his home address instead. He doesn't ask how his brother knows about his dilemma. He figures it's just one of those Jim things.

So now it's the twenty-first and he is ready to go to dinner with an alpha that is courting him, or is considering courting him, and he doesn't know what he thinks of that. He's equally excited and terrified.

"Breath John, nice even breaths," Greg suggests helpfully, pitching his voice to be soothing.

He jumps when he hears the door open, spinning around with wide eyes to find himself face to face with his brother.

"Jim?" he's embarrassed by how high pitched his voice comes out.

"Johnny-boy, relax," his half-brother suggests with the hints of a smile. "I figured it was time to meet your other brother, offer moral support, smile creepily at your date."

He slaps a hand across his face then winces as he accidently pokes himself in the eye. Why today of all days did Jim decide he wants to meet Greg? He's pretty sure his half-brother has the creepy expressions down to an art. They're both alphas, what if-

He finds himself pulled into slender arms, and a familiar scent surrounding him, drawing him out of his mind and into the present.

"Better?" Jim murmurs against his ear.

"Yeah," he answers, feeling his skin heat up.

"Good." The alpha smirks at him, "Now to answer your question, because I can."

"How'd you get past the lock?" Greg asks, drawing his attention and making him snicker.

"I'm really good at locks," Jim sasses, turning to face the other alpha with an ease that'd surprise him if he hadn't seen his brother force an alpha to his knees six months after meeting him. "Jim, John's half brother, we've managed to miss each other up to this point."

"That was intentional," he mutters ducking his head and throwing himself on the sofa.

"He's mentioned you, though John's never been sure exactly what to say about you." Greg replies, arching a dark brow in question.

"Yes, well, my job is somewhat," there is a brief pause, "indescribable."

A sharp knock at the door, has him jumping to his feet. "I'll get that!" he exclaims, not sure he really wants James meeting his brothers. That seems like too many alphas in one room.

He catches the shared glance and smirk between his brothers.

Crossing the room, he opens the door, both relieved and nervous when he spots James standing on the other side holding a book.

"Good evening," his date greets him softly, offering him the book. "Tradition is flowers but I thought you'd appreciate a book more."

"I do, thank you," he answers, feeling his skin heat up, "Come in, I'll go put this in my room."

That's a terrifying concept, James being alone in a room with Jim and Greg, but he's pretty sure Marge would tell him that James isn't worth his time if the alpha can't deal with his alpha siblings.

"James, my brothers Jim and Greg," he does a quick introduction before bolting to his room and putting the book up and quickly moving back to the living room. He's almost surprised that the three seem to be relaxed.

"Ready?" James asks politely.

He nods, still feeling nervous.

"Have fun," Greg tells him, giving him a quick hug, nose brushing against the side of his jaw familiarly.

He gives the older man a quick nudge with his nose in return.

"I'd say don't do anything I wouldn't do, but we both know you have far more boundaries than I do." His half-brother states, lips quirking upwards again, dark eyes warm and affectionate.

He snickers, stepping closer to Jim but not sure if he should scent his brother or not since he mostly does it when upset.

Jim closes the space between them, head dipping slightly to murmur, "You need anything, and I mean anything, call."

"Thanks," he whispers, having a sneaking suspicion his brother doesn't just mean call on a phone.

Turning, he walks towards the door and where James is patiently waiting, watching with curious gray eyes but not saying anything.

"Ready?" he queries.

"Yes," his date agrees.

With that, they leave, heading to James car and he feels a moment of panic as they slip in before it fades away. He feels safe, even if he couldn't definite why he feels that way.

He doesn't even know where they heading because he is having a hard time focusing.

"John?" there is concern in James voice.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry," he responds, skin heating up in embarrassment.

"We don't have to do this," the alpha offers.

He swallows, "But I want to."

"Okay," there is relief in James voice.

"Sorry," he mumbles, skin getting hotter.

His date nods, pulling off the side to the road and into a parking garage. "We're here."

They get out of the car and the alpha walks around to his side, shutting the door after he's out of the car. Quietly they walk up to the restaurant.

He's confused when James stops, turning to him, gray eyes searching his face.

"You don't need to apologize to me for feeling uncomfortable." The older man informs him seriously. "If I ever make you uncomfortable, tell me, I will try to fix it immediately."

"Oh, umm, thanks," he replies, eyes widening in shock.

"I'm serious," James states almost urgently, "I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

He just nods.

"Dinner?" The alpha queries, opening the door for them to go in.

"Yeah, please," he agrees, smiling warmly at the older man.

They head inside, and he glances about, quite sure he's not heard of this place. It smells wonderful in here. A hostess shows them to their table after James checks them in. He doesn't pay attention however. Instead he sniffs the air and takes in all the scents, carefully separating them in his mind to figure out what they are.

He should probably try talking, but James seems okay with not talking, as long as he's not filling the air with his scent of distress. Any form of distress seems to get a quick reaction. Mostly one designed to sooth and comfort.

"Mum suggested I reiterate that I understand your preference for a known and safe alpha," James states softly after a waitress gets their order for drinks.

He freezes, waiting for where this is going to go wrong.

"It's the right thing to do," James continues, voice still soft. "I'd be an idiot to be upset that you picked a safe choice over me for your heat as we don't know each other in person all that well. I just," there is a pause, and he watches in fascination as the alpha's skin starts turning splotchy. "I just want you to know that."

He nods slowly. "Okay."

Relief seems to pour off the older man as James smiles at him warmly.

"So, uh, did you pick this place for a reason or?" his voice trails off because he's not actually sure what he's asking.

Snickering, the alpha shakes his head, "Yes and no, I've had a lot of soldiers suggest it to me."

"Ah," he hums, head tipping back for a moment as he takes in the scents again. "It smells great."

"It does," James agrees, gray eyes watching him.

"Here's your drinks," the waitress tells them as she sets them down, "Are you ready to order or need a few?"

Looking at her, he asks, "What am I smelling with cinnamon, sugar, pepper, butter and orange?"

She grins at him, "Today's special is a fruit pie with chicken cooked into it. I think its orange, lemon, strawberries, pineapple, and cherries. I don't know all the spices in it."

"I'll try that please," he states, grinning at her.

She jots it down before turning to James, "For you sir?"

He thinks about it for a long moment before answering, "I'll try the special as well."

"Perfect, those will be done in about half an hour," she tells him, "Okay?"

"Yeah," he agrees, with a small nod, he gets how it can be in the kitchen. He works in the kitchen at the café as often as he works in the front.

"Of course," James concurs with an easy smile.

She grins at them, "Thanks!" A moment later she is being called away by another customer.

"Did today have special mean or just the first day you had free?" he asks curiously since it is something he's been wondering about.

"It's my birthday," James answers, shrugging his left shoulder as if to say it's not important.

"Oh," he mumbles, he hadn't known when the alpha's birthday was. He possibly should have asked before now. "Happy birthday," he declares, smiling widely, "Thanks for sharing it with me."

Blinking at him in confusion, the older man nods slowly, "Uh, thank you, you're welcome?"

They spend several minutes sitting in quiet before decides to start asking about any traditions James' family might have towards birthdays and the alpha's opinion on them. From there the conversation seems to easily flow, bouncing from topic to topic with easy silences while one of them thinks about what they want to say. Dinner ends up being amazing, and he is definitely happy that he decided to ask what that was because it just smelled good.

Afterwards they go for a small walk before heading back to the car and James takes him home. The ride isn't nearly as awkward and he gets sort of a hesitant hug, nose just barely touching his temple as the alpha bids him good night.

Stepping inside, he finds both of his brothers there, and just starts laughing softly, because for all Jim's trying to look innocent, he's quite sure he is getting studied in that people reading manner his brother uses for the hell of it.

"It was a good night," he tells them with a smile, "I'm taking a shower and going to bed."

"I'm happy it was good for you," Greg tells him sincerely, "Night John."

"Good." Jim states softly, a touch of menace in his half-brother's voice, "It should always be good. Sleep well Johnny-boy."

He shakes his head, snickering as he heads to his room to get his night clothes. '

That's the end of this story, but it is not the end of the verse, there are still several more for me to write up sometime in the future, and post as the muse works with me. I look forward to any thoughts or comments you lovely readers chose to share.