I Feel Like Whenever Neil Gets A New Hoodie, Andrew's Shoulders Always Stretch It Out So Much. Like,

w h a t. i was literally told like last week that it was only a california thing someone else in the us pls tell us what's going on bc i am CONFUSED 😭

an incomplete list of northern-californian andrew minyard shenanigans

he gets pissed if anyone asks him if he can surf

the beaches are cold and rocky and gross, no one wants to learn surfing up here

he's totally used to weird weather (a 90° day can have a 50° night) but he absolutely cannot stand extreme temperatures

anything above 100° is reason to riot, and anything below a 40-50° is a good excuse to stay under blankets the whole day

hot days are more common in the bay area than hail, and there's never any snow, so moving to south carolina was a slap in the face

"nicky, do i need more warm clothes or more summer clothes?"

"both, andrew. both."

"why do you not have normal weather systems? just pick one"

andrew literally always carries a jacket with him out of habit

in the south, weather can fluctuate every few days, whereas in california, the weather literally changes every hour and there's almost always a breeze in the bay area

it takes him a long time to realize that hot days in the south just... stay hot. no need for a jacket.

(he still usually has one on hand though. never hurts to be prepared)

san francisco is so. goddamn. boring.

he might not have been there very often as a foster kid, but living like 20 minutes away from it in oakland makes the city really lose its novelty

(also the sfo and oakland rivalry can get very passionate at times. he was just always destined to dislike san francisco)

unironically uses the word "hella." he didn't realize it was a californian thing until it accidentally slipped out in front of the foxes and he got some very confused (and gleeful) stares

andrew calls the two main parts of california "norcal" and "socal" (for northern california and southern california). he cannot for the life of him understand why everyone else is so confused

he has a sort of inherent dislike for socal. he may have literally never been there but... the vibes. he just can't stand them

(andrew refers to socal as "fake california" in his head, as many norcal people do)

honestly, he's a pretty environmental person (aside from the smoking). you really can't live in the bay area without being overly conscious about recycling and sustainability

(he'll constantly bully kevin into separating trash, recyclables, and compostables. kevin never had to do that in the nest but andrew? he's very particular about this.

"kevin. how can you say you're healthy when you're making the planet unhealthy?"

"it's really not that big of a deal—" "it is. shut up and recycle.")

andrew absolutely detests the "sunny, warm, beach" stereotype of california, seeing how inaccurate it is for most of the state

neil likes to joke that jeremy and andrew represent the two extremes of california — sunny and bright vs cold and cloudy

andrew does not find this funny

(okay, maybe a little)

the biggest shock he ever faced was that safeway (a grocery store) wasn't a nationwide chain

apparently it's just a california thing

"aaron, if tilda's not going to buy groceries, we will just go to safeway ourselves"

"andrew. there are no safeways here."

"... what"

"i was shocked too"

(it ends up being the first thing the twins bond over when they officially meet)

For the prompts - 16 and/or 23 and/or 19? (Andreil, of course)

you are in luck my friend because i'm sick of college apps so i'll just write a bit of all three !

16: "kissing knuckles"

23: "a hug that some might consider as ~too long~"

19: "peppering their face in kisses"

~

16.

So it turns out that punching a tree hurts a lot.

Neil would argue that it was worth it. Andrew seemed to disagree.

"Why," Andrew said flatly, inspecting Neil's split knuckles and glaring at him.

Neil considered — not lying, just... obscuring the truth — for a moment, but figured Andrew would see through it right away. "Technically, I did it for you."

"I do not recall ever asking you to punch a tree."

Neil huffed. "Well, you didn't but someone told me to, and I had to do it for you."

Andrew blinked slowly. "What."

Neil ran over the day's events. Honestly, it had started off pretty normal. He was walking back from a class, eager to see Andrew again, when he spotted a ball of white hiding in the arms of a student passing by it.

After staring at it for a few moments, he ran over (to a stranger!) and promptly asked if he could take a picture for his boyfriend.

The girl — Mara, she informed him — said sure, as long as he punched a tree.

Apparently, Neil explained to an increasingly annoyed Andrew, she was a Psych major doing a project on how far people were willing to go in order to act on their natural emotional response to cute animals. And of course, Neil wanted to show the furball to Andrew.

So he punched a tree. Which hurt.

"I'm fine though," Neil concluded. "I mean, it stings a bit and there's scratches everywhere and I can't really bend my fingers, but I'm fine."

Andrew huffed at him. "No."

"Here," Neil said after Andrew didn't explain further, shoving his phone towards him. "Appreciate the cat."

Andrew sighed as he looked at the picture, giving him an exasperated glance. "Junkie," he muttered, bringing Neil's hand up to plant a featherlight kiss on his injured knuckles.

Neil froze and gaped. His face felt unnaturally red. His fingers were tingling, he made a very squeaky voice, and he was probably staring a bit too much at Andrew.

"142%, idiot."

~

23.

Matthew Donovan Boyd was no fool.

Neil, though? The little guy had so little experience in the normal world, he was practically an infant (no short joke intended).

He knows that Andrew (probably) actually cares about Neil, but Matt's buddy sometimes forgets that not everyone outside of the original Foxes knows this.

This is why, as Matt casually walked with some freshman (Brian? Bradley? whatever) back from the store with bags of movie night snacks, he heard the kid's sharp intake of breath.

Matt's mother-hen instinct kicks in.

"What?" he asked frantically, dropping the bags. "Did you step on something? Did you trip? Did you see someone? Did— "

"Holy shit," Benjamin said emphatically. "Are Minyard and Josten... hugging? On the roof?"

Matt squinted at the striker. "That's what you freaked out about?"

"Look!" Bartholomew waved his hand around. "They've been hugging for at least a minute by now. I thought they hated each other?"

Wondering what he had done to deserve this, Matt ran a hand through his spiky hair. He probably shouldn't out Andrew and Neil, right? "Look kid. Toxic masculinity is not a good look."

"No, of course," Brandon bobbled his head. "Toxic masculinity is the worst. So not in style."

"... right," Matt agreed skeptically. "So, you know we all got pretty close last year—"

"Because of the murder stuff."

"Yes, the murder stuff. Anyways, hugging isn't uncommon between friends!"

"True," Benedict said slowly. "But they've been hugging for so long. More than what I would expect between just friends, if you get what I mean."

Matt ignored the weird eyebrow wiggle the freshman gave him and started picking up the dropped bags again. "That's... not really any of our business," he muttered, no matter how far in agreement he was with this young child.

There were a few moments of peaceful silence before Braxton's head jerked up.

"Oh gee. Hopefully they have socks on at least."

"What?"

"That way it's not gay! If they want it to not be gay, at least. Platonic hugs are valid though. Bad toxic masculinity! But gay people are just as valid— "

Matt let out a long-suffering groan. This was going to be a long year.

~

19.

Andrew was sick of Valentine's Day.

PDA-loving couples kissing everywhere, gooey movies playing on every channel, sappy love songs being blared on repeat by Nicky during weights — there seemed to be no positives.

He had already announced to Neil weeks earlier that he had no intention of celebrating this crass holiday, a proclamation that Neil thankfully agreed to. Instead, they took the relaxed evening after practice to be exceptionally productive: Neil went to the store and bought groceries, caught up on his homework, and took notes on two whole exy games.

Andrew took a three hour nap.

By the time Andrew groggily woke up, it was nearly 2 a.m.. Kevin was God-knows-where and he padded out of the room to find Neil staring unblinkingly at a muted TV, eyes glazed.

"Josten," Andrew grumbled and kicked him in the shin. "Get up, idiot."

Neil jerked awake with an uncharacteristic groan but begrudgingly agreed to be manhandled to the bathroom and finally to the bed so they could sleep.

Infuriatingly, Neil pointed out through a yawn that sleeping was all Andrew had done that whole evening. Andrew shut him up with a kiss and promptly flopped himself halfway on Neil's body.

Hours later, Andrew's eyes fluttered open at the light shining in through a window. He blinked a few times before registering a pair of piercing blue eyes gazing at him.

Andrew hated him. "308%, dumbass," he muttered into Neil's shoulder.

"Drama queen," Neil snorted. They lay in that position for a few minutes, Andrew moments from falling asleep again, before Neil tapped him on the arm.

"Drew, yes or no?" he asked. "Just kisses, though."

Andrew hummed a yes and leaned forward with his eyes still mostly shut, expecting to feel a pair of soft lips on his.

Instead, he felt a hand slap over his face and an oddly strong kick to his gut.

"What the fu—"

His sputtering was interrupted as hard pieces of... foil? began raining down on his face. He swatted them away, ignoring Neil's snickering. Finally, Andrew grabbed hold of one and his felt an exasperated frown cross his face.

"These," he said, waving the tiny cones in front of Neil's face. "are chocolates."

"Yup," Neil agreed proudly. "They're Kisses." At Andrew's blank look, Neil explained slowly, "I just covered your face in kisses."

"I got it."

"Great."

"I thought we agreed to not celebrate Valentine's Day."

"It's February 15 now. Not Valentine's Day."

"Neil Abram Josten."

"That's my name."

"Menace. Now give me an actual kiss, junkie."

BONUS:

"So!" Kevin clapped his hands. "You all need a lot of improvement if you want to be even close to presentable for Spring Championships, and we're already behind. We will not look like flailing monkeys in front of Jerem— USC, understood? Any questions?"

Neil raised his hand.

Kevin sighed. "Yes, Neil?"

"Just one quick thing," Neil said, rummaging his hands through his pockets. "Wanna kiss?"

The Foxes whipped their heads between an innocent Neil, a gaping Kevin, and an unconcerned Andrew.

"Is this like... a threesome thing?" Nicky whispered loudly to Matt.

"Wha— Josten, what the fuck?" Kevin's intolerable screeching promptly came to a halt as Neil chucked a silver projectile through the air, squarely hitting Kevin in the nose. "What is this?!"

"A Kiss."

"What— "

"I asked if you wanted a Kiss."

"No, you asked if I want to kiss. Which— no, by the way."

"Stop hitting on Neil, Day."

"Andrew, I literally wasn't— "

"Anyway. Wanna kiss again, Kevin?"

"NEIL!"

I was just thinking "I have so many things I would like to see written but I can't seem to write fanfics/ headcanons so I should just continue existing in misery with all these things unwritten" and then I read "my asks are always open if y'all have anything specific you want me to write !" at the end of your andreil and goodbye kisses series! That made me so happy!

aww this made my day 🥺i love getting asks from y'all and i hope i can do all your ideas justice!

Sometimes I literally just come on here to scroll and be an emotional gushy mess. Comfort aftg page <3

the way this is the sweetest thing ever 😭 y'all really be out here making me cry at 1 am

what ap exams are you taking! i’m skipping most of mine and just taking physics 2 and apes (-ttyl blog <33)

um well i’ve already done 2 and then i have apcs a and apush next week i’m very much regretting not skipping them

andreil and goodbye kisses (pt. 8) ft. wymack (+ a bonus)

part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 || i'm actually feeling kinda sad that this is the last part but also my brain can't come up with more ideas lmao

wymack stands by the fact that he doesn't get paid enough to deal with andrew and neil's shit (both as separate idiots and together)

but he does care for all his foxes, despite all the... difficulties that surround them

and honestly? one of the biggest struggles he faces is how absolutely thick-headed and oblivious the foxes can be regarding andrew and neil's relationship

truly, the heart-eyes neil constantly gave andrew were so obvious, he's not sure how everyone missed them before

but because he's so observant, he doesn't fail to notice how the older foxes keep giving strange looks to neil whenever he leaves andrew's side now

wymack doesn't get in the way of his foxes' personal lives. but if they start causing disturbances on the court, it's his job as coach to get to the bottom of these issues

(okay, maybe he and dan catch up on the so-called "drama" in the team every few weeks but it's for completely exy-related business. ahem. of course)

one day, wymack corners neil and lets him know that he and dan were to meet in his office after practice to talk through some logistics for the winter banquet

neil agrees, and practice goes smoothly (or, as smoothly as it can go with the foxes)

but after practice is... interesting

wymack swears he had no ulterior motives planned with the meeting; it really was supposed to be a genuine discussion

but the outcome of it was certainly unexpected

he and dan both know to wait for neil, that he doesn't like changing in front of anyone

so they wait. and wait. and wait.

it gets to the point where it's nearly 45 minutes after practice and surely neil should be done at this point, no?

wymack gets up, fully prepared to break down the door to make sure neil is okay when suddenly it slams open

neil tumbles out hand-in-hand with andrew, with matching flushed faces and ruffled hair

wymack sighs

dan outright snorts, and neil's head jerks up and his eyes widen when he notices dan and wymack

but before he can say anything, dan stands up and grins at andrew

"fucking neil again, huh?"

neil chokes on a cough and wymack turns to dan with a groan when he notices the mischievous glint in her eye, almost like that was an... inside joke?

with minyard?

wymack is very confused

andrew just scowls at dan. "i will knife you and make it look like an accident"

neil is still recovering from his coughing bout, so wymack turns back to the stabby midget ready to reprimand him

"i'm not scared of you anymore, remember andrew?" dan's eyes are still bright as she tries not to laugh

"shut up, both of you" wymack interrupts their weird jokes conversation whatever gruffly. "neil, do you remember why we're here?"

"huh? OH. oh shit. drew, i'm supposed to be talking with them about some winter banquet stuff"

andrew considers this. "how long?" wymack tells him about an hour, and andrew nods and turns to neil. "i'll stay"

neil just rolls his eyes. "you have a paper due tomorrow that you haven't even started yet. go do that, i'll be fine"

wymack sighs. he's been doing a lot of that lately. "minyard, go finish your homework or i swear to god, i'll make you run three marathons next week"

andrew glares but mutters out a "fine." he goes to leave but neil tugs him back by the wrist

neil then proceeds to kiss andrew on the nose and gives him the most bashful smile wymack has ever seen on the kid's face

neil's happy. it's a christmas miracle! and it's not even christmas yet!

and that kiss... really, it was the last thing he expected out of neil and andrew but he's happy at how comfortable they've grown around each other

and okay, it was a little adorable

(not that he'd ever say that to their faces, of course)

andrew ends up stumbling out of the court with the reddest face wymack's seen as neil turns back to him and dan

"right" he says sheepishly. "banquet?"

BONUS:

abby doesn't believe it when david tells her about the nose kiss

she knows that neil has a heart of gold, she knows that andrew has so much capacity to feel

but a nose kiss? she doesn't think andrew would agree to that

so when her older foxes come over one night after a tiring, but successful, game, she decides she needs to see this for herself

after a hearty dinner, all the kids are sitting in the living room, with andrew and neil talking quietly in the back corner of the room.

perfect.

"neil!" abby calls, and everyone in the room quiets to look at her. "sweetheart, could you help me bring out the dessert?"

nicky immediately jumps up from beside her, saying how he could help if she needed it

"no no, it's alright, i was hoping to talk to neil, if that's okay? it might take a little while"

neil looks extremely worried at this and abby almost feels guilty.

almost

he glances at andrew and then he leans down so quickly that abby nearly misses it

neil kisses andrew on the nose.

abby barely notices andrew's bright blush, nor does she register neil moving towards her

she just feels so proud of her foxes for coming so far in a world that keeps trying to beat them down

it's a sentimental moment, which is completely ruined by kevin's woop and nicky's yell of glee

"YES BITCH THEY DID IT THEY DID THE KISS GIVE ME YOUR MONEY ALLISON"

"fuck you hemmick. fuck you"

neil looks at them wildly. "you guys were betting on us? i didn't think you would..."

matt sighs and slings an arm around his friend. "oh neil, do you still really think that low of us? we bet on everything"

JSKHKKSJ OK IT'S FINALLY DONE i already miss this series but it has been a fun time :) my asks are always open if y'all have anything specific you want me to write !

andreil and goodbye kisses (pt 1)

pls this is so soft i cant 😭(also a lot longer than i anticipated but that's FINE 👀)

part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8

gang we got this ADORABLE art from @super-yellow-paris go give them aaaalll the love

so andrew and neil aren't too big on PDA, but after Baltimore, leaving the other is always followed by a lingering fear

neil notices how andrew always tenses a bit when neil leaves him, even if neil told him he was going somewhere beforehand

it could him going be to the mall, a restaurant, even just lectures

neil really doesn't like seeing andrew so tense but he can't figure out what's wrong

so one night on the roof, neil straight up asks "why do you always look so stressed whenever I go anywhere?"

andrew doesn't answer for a few moments, and neil assumes he's not going to get an answer but then—

"last time you left, you barely made it back. do you really expect me to trust you now?"

oh, neil realizes. oh, he's afraid i won't come back

andrew looks like he wants to drop the subject, so neil doesn't bring it up again, choosing to rant about his Intro to Stats teacher instead

but he doesn't forget. and he starts noticing how other couples leave one another

matt and dan kiss or hug, nicky and erik say "i love you," aaron and katelyn squeeze each other's hands and look into each other's eyes

it's all very... comforting. reassuring. and neil realizes that that's exactly what he needs to do. he needs to make sure that andrew doesn't forget that neil would never leave him again, not on purpose

so he thinks and thinks and thinks

(he quickly learns that paying attention in his Sports Medicine class is a lot less interesting than thinking about andrew)

neil knows that andrew wouldn't want showy affection with lingering kisses and they haven't really gotten to the "i love you" stage yet, so he needs to figure out a compromise

and then on a cloudy monday morning, the perfect solution hits him

he and matt study together almost every thursday, so 3 days later, they have a plan to head over the library to do some homework

so matt comes up to the monsters' room where neil and andrew are to tell neil that it's time to go

neil hops up from his place curled under andrew's arm on the sofa and goes around collecting his stuff — as usual

and andrew's shoulders begin coiling up with near-unnoticeable tension — as usual

this time though, instead of walking out the door directly, neil pauses in front of andrew and sets down his books on the coffee table near the sofa

and before andrew or matt can react, neil does it

he reaches over, gently cups andrew's face in his hands, and kisses him on the nose

it's feather-light and short, but andrew freezes, his face more expressive than he usually shows, eyes wide

neil gives him a small smile shit shit shit andrew's heart is beating so fast, come on andrew get a hold of yourself say something do something and then he picks up the books delicately and leaves with a gobsmacked matt

andrew doesn't really know what to do with himself and just sits there until kevin arrives 5 minutes later and asks why andrew is so red, if he's okay, does he has a fever, can he still play exy?

andrew shakes out of his stupor, stomps over to his room, and flops helplessly on his bed to be very gay

(this is how neil finds him 1.5 hours later. he tries (and fails) not to laugh. andrew gives him a bruising kiss to shut him up)

it becomes habit though. neil treating andrew like he's something precious, holding his face so reverently, kissing his nose softly

and andrew doesn't know what to do with himself. every single time

but it's okay, he thinks. because while goodbyes might sound permanent, kisses are a promise that the other will come back

Every time I read your url I chuckle. I absolutely love it.

sjdhfsjd it's an inside joke with a friend from literal years ago. i literally don't even remember the context of it but it always makes me lol too

imagine if andrew minyard was a flannel gay. the sheer power of that man i-

just thinking about how the foxes were probably studying for midterms while fighting the literal mafia

Classmate: hey Aaron, did you finish the study guide for chemistry?

Aaron: no sorry my teammate was almost tortured to death and I was locked in a room by the FBI