Curate, connect, and discover
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