Mattias was stupid. Very stupid. Admittedly he had always been horrible at remembering faces and names, but he still couldn't believe he had met Everette twice now and still hadn't remembered him.
Add that to the list of embarrassing things he had done in front of this man. He didn't even know why it was embarrassing, just that he felt self-conscious in front of Everette. At least now he knew his name.
He sighed and followed behind his parents as they began talking to the other members of the Vale and Blackhorn families. Every now and then he would get dragged into the conversation. Especially after receiving that award last night, which his parents couldn't seem to stop themselves from mentioning.
"Oh yes my son has just returned from abroad."
"He has become quite the force in the scientific community."
"Oh yes we are so proud of him."
Funny that he didn't remember his parents giving him so much support when he first wanted to be a scientist.
But that was neither here nor there. Eventually Mattias managed to excuse himself to go and grab some snacks that the Vale family had provided. It's a shame that he was too old to get away with reading in a corner anymore.
He made his way to the table laid with snacks, preparing to fill a plate. Unfortunately his wish to avoid awkward conversations went ungranted, as Everette had also come to the table. He was filling a glass of punch.
Mattias smiled nervously. "Hi, Uncle Everette."
Everette glanced and Mattias' feet, which were nervously shuffling from side to side. "You don't have to call me Uncle. I am not that much older than you." He paused, then continued, "have you ever seen the west garden pond?"
Mattias shook his head, so Everette gestured for Mattias to follow him. Mattias trailed behind as Everette led them through perfectly manicured hedges.
He stopped at a particularly secluded part of the garden, with a large willow tree gently swaying in the spring breeze, the tips of its leaves softly brushing against the surface of a small pond.
"This is a good place to come if you wish to avoid people."
Mattias glanced at Everette, both surprised and shy. It was quite strange. Everette was outwardly intimidating, with an intense stare and stoic face, but he was also quite attentive. Or maybe considerate was a better word?
Either way, Mattias found himself slowly feeling more comfortable. He gave a sweet smile.
"Thank you for leading me here."
Everette looked away. He wasn't quite used to having someone smile at him so openly. He had worked hard for years to come across as intimidating so people would stop underestimating him as an omega.
He cleared his throat. "I haven't seen you since you were a teenager. How have you been these years?"
Mattias fiddled with his long hair. "Oh well I left the country to study physics, and I only just returned a few days ago."
Everette nodded. "A degree in physics is quite impressive," he said, trying to keep the conversation from falling into awkward silence.
Mattias perked up. "Well actually I started by double majoring in physics and computing, and then my master's degree was in astrophysics, and then in my PhD I focused a lot more on technology, particularly instrumentation and robotics. When I first started, I couldn't decide what to study so I wanted to try and explore a few different fields… sorry I'm rambling a bit."
Everette shook his head. "Feel free to talk about it. I quite enjoy listening."
And for some reason he meant it. He didn't know why, but he enjoyed listening to the young man talk. His voice and enthusiasm was soothing.
"Okay then. I…"
Everette listened as Mattias rambled on about the earlier years in his studies. Mattias was clearly passionate about his career and would wave his hands around animatedly as he spoke.
For someone who seemed quite shy at first glance, he would become quite the chatterbox once he was talking about a topic he was comfortable with. He talked about his student days with light and optimism, having a myriad of fun stories to tell.
"And so then my lab coat caught on fire. Not the whole thing though, just a corner of the hem. Anyways… so my supervisor at the time rushed towards me to try and get the coat off, and once it was off we chucked it to the ground and in our panic, tried to stomp the fire out.
"Thankfully one of the lab assistants had the wherewithal to grab the fire blanket and with that the fire was finally extinguished. Still the soles of my shoes were rubber, so when I next took them off, I noticed the soles were slightly melted…"
Mattias and Everette were interrupted by Edaline, Everette's sister, coming through the garden. As soon as she appeared Mattias returned to his shy and well-behaved demeanour, greeting Edaline with "Aunt Edaline" and looking intently at the floor.
For some reason Everette felt slightly displeased at seeing Mattias retreat back into his shell.