Curate, connect, and discover
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 !
parts 1, 2, 3, 4, aaaand 5 you wonderful human beings || part 7, 8
so aaron isn't the biggest fan of neil's relationship with his brother
he has made that very clear. to everyone
is he glad that andrew is a bit less murderous now? yes, of course
is he upset that andrew's dating the guy who brought a mob war upon the foxes? just a smidge
despite all his... reservations, aaron can tell that whatever andrew and neil have, it isn't just "hate sex"
(granted, aaron doesn't want to spend much time considering his brother's sex life in the first place, but that's beside the point)
but no matter how annoying josten may be, he does want to have a decent relationship with his brother by the end of college
and unfortunately, that includes moderately tolerating his brother's loudmouth boyfriend
the very boyfriend who forced andrew and aaron to have joint therapy sessions
and look, aaron isn't as stubborn as he acts, he can acknowledge that the therapy sessions are helping
he would just... never admit it to josten's face. the man has enough of an ego as it is
anyways, dobson had told him weeks ago that in order to start understanding the whole of his brother, he had to be willing to accept all the different parts of andrew
and that entails spending time with the people andrew is close with
aaron likes renee enough. she's a bit too happy for his taste, but she's not too bad
aaron wants to kick kevin in the balls whenever he lays his eyes on him, which he is forced to do far too often in his humble opinion
and then there's neil, who aaron should probably start making amends with
dobson (unfortunately) agrees with that idea
so aaron starts spending more time with neil —walking to classes, studying, teaching neil how to play video games (for someone with such solid reflexes on court, neil is shockingly bad at figuring out game controllers)
(he's also 90% sure andrew told josten why aaron was hanging out with him all of a sudden, considering the slightly limited snark neil speaks to him with now)
and much to his chagrin, aaron actually kinda... enjoys hanging out with neil
he's sarcastic. annoying. moderately threatening. neil would be the ideal bro if he wasn't literally dating aaron's brother
(oh, and the mob war thing. can't forget about the mob war thing)
but maybe aaron is being the slightest bit presumptuous
because that week, dobson has to push back their appointment to thursday evening instead of wednesday afternoon
neil offers to drive aaron and andrew over to Reddin, saying that he was going over to the nearby cafe to work on some project anyways
so neil and andrew have their weird eye-contact conversation thing at every stoplight. aaron sticks to just texting katelyn.
he's so engrossed in his phone he barely realizes when they've stopped, and then wonders why andrew hadn't told him to get out yet
he glances up, ready to scramble out of the car, when he witnesses the single craziest moment of his life
neil and andrew, oblivious to aaron, are staring at each other. very intensely. it's a bit disconcerting how long they can keep their eyes open for
(maybe aaron should go into optometry, for his brother's sake)
anyway.
so aaron slowly holds onto the door handle, about to leave the car, when neil goddamn josten kisses his brother. ON THE NOSE
and his brother is blushing. BLUSHING
aaron's mind comes to a halt. what. is. happening.
he practically leaps out of the car, trying to pull his jaw back up from where it dropped as andrew emerges from the car and walks towards dobson's office, ears pink
(oh god. does aaron look like that when katelyn is around? that's embarrassing as hell)
shit. aaron had betted against andrew and neil on the kiss bet. nicky must have known something he didn't, considering how excited he looked that day...
bastard, he texts nicky with no explanation, hoping it leaves his cousin floundering in confusion
and fine. maybe josten isn't that bad for his brother
but he's also the reason why aaron is going to be in crippling debt soon
but. if he and neil become closer, surely he'd have the insider information on his brother's relationship
hmm. if he plays his cards right, this new, tolerable almost-friendship with josten might actually help him to win some money in the future...
ok because AP tests are upon us and this is my only way of releasing all my stress, here's a short list of andreil study time hcs for your viewing pleasure
our boy andrew doesn't really have to study
neil on the other hand... actually needs to work to keep up his GPA
he's never really cared enough to study but now he has the foxes and exy and a future to lose so he might as well put in the effort to keep them
neil needs caffeine like he needs oxygen. the man cannot focus for shit without it
he'll down like three mugs of black coffee in the morning and be set for the day
andrew hates it but doesn't complain much as long as neil makes him some actually decent coffee too
(once, neil accidentally gave him the wrong mug and andrew didn't talk to him for the rest of the day)
when andrew does study or does homework, he hates studying in the library
he told nicky that it was because he's "allergic to books"
really, he just knows he'd get distracted and start reading william faulkner or jane austen instead of his textbooks
neil, however, loves the library
he can't study at all in the dorms; he needs to keep moving to new environments so he doesn't get bored by his surroundings
so neil and andrew don't study together half the time
which works out well considering the few times that they do, they tend to get more than a little... distracted
but if the library is closed or neil just doesn't have the energy to leave the dorm, he bullies andrew into helping him study instead of playing video games or reading
(neil gets a kiss for every question he gets right. andrew gets to look at a pretty guy for a few hours. it's a win-win situation)
mr. Neil draws-fox-paws-instead-of-doing-his-work Josten struggles with focusing on literally anything but exy and andrew
so he always ropes in one of the foxes as a "study-buddy" to hold him accountable while he's working
andrew and neil both like having noise-cancelling headphones on while they work, but this also means that people hold full-on conversations with them without realizing that they can't be heard
(also, because they're assholes, even when they can hear the other person, they just... don't respond.)
andrew is a pastel highlights guy. also he's weirdly possessive about his pens
neil just grabs the first mechanical pencil he sees (99% of the stationary he has isn't even his, he just found them laying around campus)
neil is also super disorganized. loose papers everywhere, he can never find anything. no matter how clean a place starts, it turns into a mess within 5 minutes of neil studying there
he also has food wrappers and crumbs everywhere because he constantly snacks while studying
andrew is surprisingly clean - he organizes everything by class and then color-codes everything (granted his memory helps so he doesn't have too many notes in the first place)
anyways, they both have their own methods of studying and it works for them
(aka andrew just vibes and neil frantically finishes all his work 3 hours before it's due)
ok yeah that's all i got right now, my brain is fried and i actually have to study now, pray for me 😔
part 1, 2, 3, 4 besties || part 6, 7, 8
dan has never claimed to understand andrew. or neil. especially not andrew and neil together
but she likes to have an eye on any changing behaviors on her team
because she's captain. not at all because she likes the gossip. dan's better than that
(she's really not)
so when matt starts acting jumpy around andrew and neil, she makes it a point to ask him if something's wrong
"i mean... i want to talk to neil about something i saw but there's like a 50/50 chance of murder"
"matt—"
needless to say, dan doesn't want to let neil or andrew out of her sight for a while
but she's dealing with a lot of stress: her last year of college, captaining the Foxes, dealing with rookie freshman, training neil on how to be captain, being a good girlfriend, all while job scouting and looking for housing for next year
so she has to trust that neil and andrew like matt enough to let him live
one fall night, dan is up late figuring out some plays, but there's something about the offensive line that just isn't working out
she quietly steps out of her dorm, noticing that the light is still on in kevin's room, and she heads over there to see if he has any ideas
binders in her hands, dan kicks at the door until kevin yanks it open with a grumble
she walks in and blinks when she realizes that kevin is dressed to go outside, and she realizes he must have been getting ready to go for a night practice
dan asks kevin for a confirmation, to which he lets out a loud groan and collapses on the couch
"we were supposed to go an HOUR ago but someone — ahem NEIL” he shoots a pointed glare to the bedrooms “keeps making out with his boyfriend. what do they even do for that long?! i guess when he's finally done, we'll go”
dan blinks. of course the one thing that could distract neil from exy was andrew
kevin quiets for a moment, and as dan strains her ears, she hears neil’s giggles — giggles! — coming through the door
(dan decides to ignore the more... explicit sounds)
she gives a consoling pat to the top of kevin’s head and drops her binders next to him
kevin rolls over reluctantly and starts flipping through dan's notes, and the two of them immerse themselves in plays and stats
about 30 minutes later, dan gets up for a stretch break and notices that she can't hear any noises coming from the bedroom anymore
she takes a few cautious steps in that direction, but when she's a few feet away, the door slams open and neil stumbles out, dragging andrew forward with a very wet laughing kiss
truly, they look like two lovestruck teenagers. it's very cute. also a little gross
dan coughs
the two of them leap apart (well, neil leaps. andrew steps back calmly, fixing his hair, but dan doesn't miss the glare he sends her)
"uh, neil. kevin's been waiting for you for night practice"
"oh shit. how long's it been?"
"i've been here for 30 minutes. kevin says he'd been waiting for an hour before i showed up"
"... oops"
dan steps back and opens her mouth to call for kevin when neil leans in towards andrew again
she lets out an exasperated sigh. "neil— "
neil cups andrew's face in his palms and presses a peck to his nose, giving him a fleeting, but bright, smile before noisily pushing past dan and yelling at kevin to hurry up, he's so behind schedule, what's been keeping him up for so long?
dan decides to ignore the crash and screech behind her as kevin shoves neil out the dorm
instead, she focuses on andrew
he gives her a cool, impassive glance, completely at odds with the bright red tips his ears were sporting and his blown-out pupils
"hey"
"..."
"so uh. you're not going to night practice with them?"
"paper"
"ah i see, i see"
they were silent for a moment
"why are you still here?"
"yep good point, going right now"
"wilds." dan turns around to see andrew's glare. "if you mention this to anyone i'll kill you"
ah. so this was the murder that matt was talking about
nevertheless, dan rolls her eyes at that. "andrew. i just saw neil kiss you on the nose. your threats are no longer effective on me"
"... fucking josten"
"yes, i imagine that's what you were doing— "
"wilds."
"leaving leaving, BYE ANDREW!"
part 1, part 2, part 3 ~ this is your daily reminder to go drink some water ~ part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8
renee tends to be perceptive about any changes with any of her foxes
but she's especially known for having the insider information on andrew (and by extent, his relationship with neil)
she doesn't do anything too special though. she just treats andrew with kindness and recognizes that they are both hurt people trying to heal, even if that healing looks different on both of them
but one of the best methods they can agree on is sparring
renee knows she's strategically a better fighter than andrew, considering her training and specific past
andrew is more... emotions-based — he acts with his heart rather than his head (although she's sure everyone would laugh in disbelief if she told them that)
andrew's aggression and ferocity is largely dependent on his current state of mind, which makes him a rather formidable opponent
he has a lot of pent-up anger. renee knows this. so imagine her surprise when after getting off his drugs, andrew starts throwing slightly weaker punches, moving just a hair slower than usual
(she thought it was the apathy. of course, it later came out that this was the work of one neil josten and his many kisses)
renee is certainly getting used to this newer, calmer andrew
and she's immensely happy that her friend is becoming more comfortable in his skin
but it still takes her by surprise to see how much he lets his guard down around neil, how much softer he is
andrew's certainly no romantic chick-flick lead, but renee sees how his eyes constantly flick over to neil, how andrew seems to lean into him, how it's not "andrew" and "neil" but rather "andrew and neil"
(or as nicky calls them, "andreil." renee would never tell andrew, but she thinks the ship name is extremely cute)
no matter what, though, renee can count on andrew not stopping their sparring sessions
it's less of an outlet for him now, but she likes to think that he enjoys her company, even if he would never admit it
so. it's a Wednesday evening, when andrew and renee usually spar
she's at the door of the gym, texting allison on her phone as she waits for andrew
(no allison, i don't think the twins would appreciate Prada sunglasses for their birthdays. and do you really want to spend hundreds of dollars on a gag gift?)
a few minutes later, the maserati pulls up, with neil in the driver's seat
andrew gets out of the car, walking around the hood to reach renee
but as he passes the driver's seat, renee sees the door open and neil gets out, grabbing andrew's fingers lightly as he pulls him around so andrew's back is touching the car
renee knows she should look away. really, she does
but what kind of a fox would she be if she didn't have something to tease her friend about?
(and besides, she justifies, it happened so quick she didn't even get a chance to look away)
neil and andrew have their eyes on each other and neil gently brings up his hands to caress andrew's check
he leans down and kisses him on the nose, and renee doesn't miss the way andrew's shoulders relax
nor does she miss the faint blush on andrew's cheek that he seems to be desperately keeping at bay
a few moments later, neil gets in the car and drives off as andrew walks to renee, a fake nonchalance in his step
she just smiles at him
andrew scowls
later that evening, nicky unexpectedly opens a new bet, stating that he thinks andreil are "totally the type to give each other cute kisses"
surprisingly, matt and kevin join in on that bet
after a moment of consideration, renee quietly adds that she's betting on nicky's side
there's a moment of surprised silence, before allison scoffs
"when have you turned into such an optimist? i won't ever believe that those two are anything but two tiny assholes"
renee wants to believe there's some affection lacing her words
"okay," nicky claps. "if they do a cute kiss in front of 3 or more of us in the next 2 months, we win the bet"
allison narrows her eyes. "deal"
they shake on it. renee can't wait to win some money
part 1, part 2 <3 ||| part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8
contrary to popular belief, nicky is actually a relatively observant guy, especially when it comes to his cousins
andrew is a bit more closed off than aaron, but even before nicky found out about andrew and neil, he noticed that andrew was a bit... lighter. happier, almost
so it comes as no surprise that he would be the next one to catch neil and andrew
the cousins, kevin, and neil all head over to Columbia one weekend after a stressful few weeks at school
and it's nice. relaxing. minimal chaos occurs
(ok sure, nicky realized that he forgot about a Marketing project and maybe kevin kept muttering about a "PDA draft" of some sort and yes, aaron nearly flushed his anatomy flashcards down the toilet but that's beside the point)
the five of them had originally planned to come back to PSU on sunday morning so everyone could catch up on their work
but kevin and aaron had gotten weirdly competitive over dance dance revolution the previous night
so everyone was severely lacking in the sleep department
(there was a collective decision to forget about school and instead stay in bed until 1 pm)
nicky ends up waking up around noon though, feeling more rested than usual
and of course, being the oldest person there, nicky decides to check in on everyone, make sure all his "children" were doing okay
he peeps into aaron's room. he finds aaron half off the bed and goes in to quietly fix his cousin's blanket
he peeps into kevin's room. he finds kevin sleeping perfectly straight and wrinkles his nose at the sheer strangeness of sleeping like a literal rod
he peeps into andreil's room. he find them... not there?
now, for all of nicky's good qualities, it cannot be said that he's always the most rational person
so he races over to aaron's room, ready to break down the door screaming that his favorite couple has gone missing
just as he's about to fling open the bedroom door, he hears a quiet laugh coming from downstairs
he freezes
"right. there's another half to the house. i remembered that"
nicky quietly drops his hand and moves away from aaron's room, tiptoeing down the stairs
he moves around the house, unable to find the source of the laugh until he finally reaches the kitchen
there, he finds andrew sitting atop the counter, his legs wrapped around neil, their noses nearly touching
nicky can't see neil's face, but he does notice neil playing with his and andrew's hands, occasionally bringing them up to press a kiss to andrew's knuckles in the middle of conversation
andrew says something quietly to neil, causing him to laugh again and lean up to kiss andrew
(it does not escape nicky's notice that this is the first time andrew has been taller than neil, but really, the adorableness of his two stabby children takes greater precedence over that)
nicky wants to keep looking, wants the reassurance that his cousin is safe and happy and loved
but he also knows that andrew is a private person and nicky should respect his wishes
nicky trusts his cousin. really, he does. it's just— andrew has been through so much, and getting like 5 more seconds of confirmation that andrew's doing okay wouldn't hurt anyone, right?
the beeping of the coffee pot jerks nicky out from his thoughts
he decides to leave, that andreil will be going fine and strong even without his intervention
but in the few seconds it takes to make his decision, something so adorable happens that nicky's poor heart stops functioning for a moment
andrew pouts — pouts! — and tightens his grip on neil, not uncrossing his legs
neil rolls his eyes and brings his hands up to andrew’s face, caressing his cheeks
neil kisses andrew on the nose
andrew hums and begrudgingly lets go of neil
nicky is internally hyperventilating
he’s frozen to the spot as neil pours the coffee into mugs and brings them back to the counter
andrew takes his mug and promptly wraps his legs around neil’s waist again, burying a hand in neil’s hair
he runs a hand through it slowly, bringing it down until his hand is resting on the back of neil’s neck, their foreheads nearly touching
nicky suddenly turns away, feeling raw and surprised by the amount of intimacy he just saw
he lets out a breath. they’ll be okay. andrew’s going to be okay.
he goes back up to his room and lies in his bed, mind running a million miles an hour
after a few seconds of staring up at the ceiling, he turns over, burying his face in his pillow, and screams a muffled proclamation that andreil is the cutest ship to have ever sailed
(a few hours later when they’re on the road back to PSU, aaron turns and asks nicky why he heard screaming coming from his room. nicky shrugs.
“i was just really hoping that the titanic situation doesn’t occur again. wouldn’t want my favorite ship to sink, you know?”)
you can find part 1 here :) you probs need to read that to understand this one!
part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8
neil tries to kiss andrew out of sight of the other foxes, but it's not always easy
matt knows already, of course, about neil's newfound way of saying goodbye
but keeping the others away proves to be slightly... impossible
kevin catches them first
the three of them are at night practice, but andrew was refusing to participate
"this is homophobia, you can't force me to play, kevin"
"what the fu-"
anyway. so neil and kevin are practicing. they do their thing
(andrew is most definitely not staring at neil's shorts, of course not surely he has more self-control than that)
(spoiler alert: he does not, it turns out, have that much self-control)
about an hour in, kevin and neil go on a short water break because hydration
neil jogs up to the bleachers where andrew is sitting and quietly speaks to him, out of kevin's sight
kevin leans against the wall of the court, drinking water and scrolling through his East Asian Studies group chat (no Jackson, the Chinese were not "blazing it" during the Opium Crisis)
he gets so caught up in his rant that he realizes the time is now 10 minutes after their break was supposed to end
and that's certainly unusual isn't it? because neil is just as obsessed with exy as kevin is, and it's really weird that he hasn't come to tell kevin to start practice again, oh god what if something's wrong, what if kevin wasn't paying enough attention and something bad happened shit shit SHIT
so kevin runs over to the bleachers where he remembers andrew and neil usually sit and finds... them in a very heated make-out session
and yes, kevin can admit that he feels some relief that everything's okay. it's mostly just annoyance though. what did he ever do to be cursed to see this much PDA from his roommates?
"ahem. neil. josten. get off of andrew's lap right now, we're supposed to be practicing"
neil quickly twists around at kevin's voice, nearly toppling off of andrew. he regards kevin with a sheepish look
"ah right yes i just got a bit, um, distracted"
"evidently"
so kevin thinks neil will go about disentangling himself and starts to turn away
but of course, neil lives to surprise him
instead of getting off of andrew immediately he leans in once more
kevin is resigning himself to have to physically break the two apart at this point
but instead of going in for another long kiss, neil brushes his lips on andrew's nose and gives him a softer smile than kevin is used to seeing on the striker's face
kevin cannot believe his eyes
but the pink on andrew's cheeks is certainly real. so he couldn't have imagined that
quite frankly, kevin doesn't think he has the brain capacity to come with something like that in the first place
but he doesn't say anything. yet. he and neil practice as usual, and after some cool-down stretches and a quick shower, andrew drives the three of them back to the tower
andrew shoves neil into the their room and emerges again outside to where kevin is waiting
"spit it out day, why are you acting weird?"
"nothing really. you're just... a lot softer these days. with neil at least"
"what, do you want me to start kissing you too? i thought it was easier to remain heterosexual"
kevin rolls his eyes at this
"shut up. ugh. i guess i'm just glad he's making you a bit happier"
andrew gives him an appraising look (it's not as intense as he thinks it is considering the height different but kevin decides not to bring that up)
"and if i told you i'm never happy? that i may never be happy?"
kevin shrugs. "then i'll be glad that he's helping you feel safe enough to tell me that"
andrew is quiet for a moment. then—
"don't go around giving josten all the credit for that. he already has a big enough ego"
andrew turns on his heel and walks into the bedroom, leaving kevin to realize what andrew just implied
kevin lets himself smile for a moment. no matter what he says, he really is happy for his friends. even if what he saw today was horribly sappy
he goes to bed with the knowledge that andrew and neil are in good hands with each other
(but really, he's already drafting plans on banning PDA in the court because he desperately does not want to walk in on neil and andrew again)
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
Story time, bc guys??!?, I don’t think y’all get it. Last night I had a nightmare, but not the kind you think!!
I was at Palmetto State (for some reason) but I WASNT ME I WAS AARON MINYARD. And yeah, fine. I can handle that, I love Aaron, but I was walking up some stairs outside on campus passing Andrew, and he looked weird. Like something was off, and that made me alert and worried (despite me being Aaron) bc Andre’s face is always so stoic, but for SOME REASON, something was off and so as he passed I turned back and was like “Hey, is everything okay?”
Cause ig I have nothing better to say, y’know? And he turns to me- we are both STILL on the stairs- and he RUSHES AT ME BUT NOT TO ATTACK ME?!???!?!
AND HE HUGS ME??????
AND THEN I PULL BACK A BIT AND ANDREW FUCKING MINYARD IS SOBBING HIS EYES OUT
And I woke up in the MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT my heart was FUCKING RACING???? LIKE???? WHAT??? MY HANDS WERE SHAKING AND EVERYTHING????
AND I THINK ITS TOTALLY VALID BC ANDREW MINYARD- THE ONE WE KNOW- DOES. NOT. CRY.
AND WOULD CERTAINLY NEVER INITIATE THAT KIND OF PHYSICAL CONTACT LIKE THAT WITH AARON
So, yeah. That’s how my night went. And then after waking up at like 4 in the morning and finally falling back to sleep, I had to wake up at 6am regardless for work at 7 ✌️😋