54 54- Being Careful

"Jack's nephew is late again." Michael announced, irritated.

Ryan finished putting on his safety gear. "Brent has a name, you know. Besides, he's just a seasonal temp. We need the help."

The holiday rush was just gearing up to full swing at FedEx. The number of packages they were processing had easily doubled, and would double once again before it was all over with. Ryan and Michael were given the promised extra member of their team, and things were going about as well as could be expected. Simply put, they were constantly behind schedule.

"I don't trust him." Michael grumbled. "He's just as bad as his uncle. I can feel it."

"He's not that bad," Ryan reasoned. "He might move a little slow, but he's allowed to operate a forklift, so that's better than nothing."

"I don't like his face. He doesn't talk enough. This kid gives me some bad vibes."

They gathered their supplies and made their way to their assigned loading bay to get started. The air was extra chilly this time of year with all the bay doors open, and Ryan had taken to wearing Scott's jacket to work. It was just heavy enough to cut the wind, but didn't get too hot once he started working. He just had to roll the sleeves up a little.

A quick check of the manifest, after they found it of course, and they were ready to start unloading and checking in boxes from their first truck of the night. Having to hunt for things had become commonplace. Their paperwork was never where it should be, and if they left anything unattended for too long, it was guaranteed they'd have to go look for it later.

They even had to stop using the workplace fridge. Three separate incidents of finding half eaten food, or finding cigarette butts in their food was a good deterrent. It was only ever food they brought that was being hit, and when they took the matter to HR, they were told nothing could be done. Michael wanted to retaliate, but without knowing who was doing the hazing, that was a hard thing to do. The last thing they needed to do was get more of their co-workers to turn against them. It wouldn't be a stretch to say things got worse after Ryan started wearing the engagement ring.

Ryan had debated telling Scott what was going on, but ultimately decided it would do more harm than good. Ryan needed this income to pay rent. He didn't want to rely on Scott any more than absolutely necessary. And even if Scott knew, what could he do? If he stepped in, it could make the harassment worse. Not only that, he didn't want to give Scott that kind of stress right now. After the name calling incident over a month ago, he'd been trying very hard to handle this place himself.

Brent ended up rolling in half an hour late, no explanation, same perpetually irritated scowl on his face his uncle had. He didn't talk much. Never did. Both Michael and Ryan had to repeat requests several times before he'd do them. It wasn't hard to tell that he didn't want to be here. Ryan once went to one of the higher ups to inform them of the situation, and to very gently beg Brent be transferred off their team, but it didn't do any good.

The only saving grace that allowed Ryan to put up with it was the knowledge that in a few days time he would be mated, and after the New Year he'd finally be able to quit. Michael was also looking for a new job, but promised to stay on as long as Ryan was still here.

As they unloaded the truck, Ryan's upcoming mating was actually their topic of conversation tonight, kept as PG as possible. This was Ryan's last shift before the big event, and Michael was almost as excited as Ryan was. Unfortunately, Brent seemed to have taken an interest in the topic as well.

"So, you just get straight up plowed for a week?" Brent asked. He'd been picking at them for details since it became obvious what Ryan and Michael were trying to politely discuss.

"That's not quite-" Ryan began.

"That's not it at all!" Michael interrupted, bristling. He knew they were being made fun of. He was done trying to tolerate it.

"Mick, it's alright." Ryan tried to soothe his friend's ego. "It doesn't quite work like that," Ryan explained to Brent, hoping maybe to find some kind of common ground. "Supposedly the worst of it's over in a day, and then the symptoms ease up. That's the point of going through with it. It's almost like... getting married? But biologically?"

"You're wasting your time," Mick grumbled under his breath.

"Actually I find it quite fascinating." Brent replied.

If you listened very close, you may have caught the hint of sarcasm he hid behind his slightly crooked smile. Michael did. Ryan, not so much.

Later on at lunch, it was just Ryan and Michael as usual sitting with their feet hanging off an empty loading bay. The night was clear, but it was COLD. They tried not to eat in the break room anymore, even if it was raining, if they could help it. Their meals now we're things that wouldn't spoil if left out, and things that didn't need to be heated. Ryan had been talking a piece of his share of the beach candy every time he had to work here to boost his spirits, but he'd eaten his last one on the last shift.

"That Brent guy gives me bad vibes." Michael mumbled as he sipped from his steaming thermos. It was full of hot chocolate, and he'd already poured some in the lid to share with Ryan.

"He's no more rude to us than the rest of the guys here," Ryan countered.

He wanted to believe everyone could get along. Or if not that, then at least be tolerable. It's not like everyone here seemed to actively hate them, but no one was standing up for them either. Maybe, just maybe, with some proper information flowing around from the discussion earlier, things might get better? Maybe?

Michael pulled his jacket tighter against the wind. "I just don't trust him. He keeps looking at us weird. More than just 'not liking us' weird."

"We've already talked to HR and the managers. You know they won't do anything..." Ryan sighed.

"You ever think about quitting here early? Just telling your man candy you can't take it anymore? I bet he'd help with your rent. It's only another month."

Ryan fiddled with his half empty plastic cup of hot chocolate. "I won't say it didn't cross my mind, it's just that... If I'm capable of paying my own way, then that's what I want to do. Mated or married, I can't just rely on Scott for everything, you know?"

"As soon as I get an alpha to fall for me, I swear I'm never working ever again!" Michael said resolutely. "What's the point of being stuck with these crappy genetics if they never pay out?!"

Ryan could sympathize. Any omega could sympathize. When he was younger, before he ever had to start wearing a collar, Ryan used to daydream about finally meeting "his" alpha and living forever in luxury. The world had turned out a little more cruel than that.

Lunch breaks never seemed to last long enough. Trucks kept coming and pallets kept being dropped off for loading. The place was a hive of pre-holiday activity. Brent was driving one of the forklifts around, while Michael and Ryan were finishing up loading another truck.

"Hey uh, Ryan!" Brent called from the forklift cab, stopping on his way to wherever he was taking a rather unwieldly stacked pallet of boxes to, "You almost done, right? Spot for me on this, I gotta get it lined up on the rack! Everyone else is busy!"

"Ryan, be careful!" Michael warned.

Ryan didn't really want to go help. Something was in his head was throwing all kinds of danger flags. It's not like he could say no. He just had to help Brent line up the forklift visually, it's something he'd done hundreds of times before...

With a promise to Michael to be careful, he followed alongside the machine to the other end of the warehouse.

--------------------

What time was it? Scott's phone kept going off... The sun wasn't even up... Who could possibly need him at this hour...?

He rolled over to silence the ringer and check the screen. Ryan's nickname and picture flashed brightly as the phone continued to vibrate in his hand. That woke him up a little more. Ryan wouldn't call this early unless something was wrong.

"Hello? Hot Stuff...?" Scott answered, still groggy.

It was not Ryan's voice that answered him. There was a loud siren. Scott was very much awake now.

"This is Michael!" The voice trembled frantically through the receiver. "There was an accident! Ryan's hurt bad! We're on our way to the hospital!"