Okay, I know I've already sent asks (and made sure to pick the most difficult ones 😂) but this time it's the other way around. 2, 3, 11 and 17? Two of those are literally canon with Andreil 😂.
No pressure, of course!
~ Nem
ayyo these prompts are mad cute i can't thank you enough for picking them
2: interlocking pinkies
3: smiling into a kiss
11: back hugs
17: tugging on the bottom of someone's shirt
~
2.
This was getting out of hand.
The flashing lights and pulsing bass did nothing to take Andrew's eyes off of Neil. Neil, who looked unbearably attractive in a tight black shirt at the bar. Neil, who's hair looked like a beacon in the middle of Eden's.
Neil, who was currently being flirted to death with by a stranger.
Said stranger was a little too Playboy-eque for Andrew's liking. Tall, curly black hair, muscular — he was basically the reverse-Exy version of Kevin (which made the hotness increase from the negatives to embarrassingly high).
Andrew gripped his glass so tightly he thought it might break. Actually, who care if it broke? He'd get glass shards in his hand, they'd have to call an ambulance, the club would clear out, Neil would come back, and Bar Bitch would get the hell away from Neil.
Maybe he was being a tad dramatic.
Taking a deep breath, Andrew tried to relax. This was fine. Neil could handle himself, and he knew Neil wouldn't act on any offers this guy made. Besides, Neil probably didn't even realize he was being flirted with; the man was incredibly oblivious. It would be fine. He was fine.
Andrew was just about calmed down — he was still staring at Neil just to make sure nothing happened, not at all because the lights were reflecting on the glitter on his cheek or anything — when his personal demon from Hell popped up.
"Watcha looking at?" Nicky plopped next to Andrew, his voice slurred from drinks. Andrew wrenched his neck away, but Nicky beamed when he saw the original target of Andrew's gaze. "OMG, so cute! Keeping an eye on your bae. That's so fetch."
"None of those words are in the Bible," Andrew grumbled. "Also, stop trying to make fetch happen, it's not going to happen."
Nicky giggled for long enough that it was weird. "Riiiiight, but currently you're literally too gay to function. So I win."
Andrew rolled his eyes and leaned back in the booth, deciding to ignore his highly drunk cousin. Nicky barely noticed, choosing to hum a random tune as he stared into the crowd. After what felt like hours of this, Andrew finally snapped. "Nicky. Shut the hell up."
"Nooooo," Nicky whined. "I'm like a siren. I'm luring your tiny little boyfriend here."
"He is not my— wait, what?"
"See?" Nicky waved in front of himself and slapped himself in the face. "He's right there!"
Andrew was a bit embarrassed at how fast his head turned.
Sure enough, there was Neil, in all his 5'3" glory. And there — there was Bar Bitch! Following Neil!
Andrew had just about had enough.
When Neil reached close enough to place the tray of drinks on the table, Andrew hooked his fingers in his belt loops and yanked Neil into the booth next to him. Resoutly ignoring Neil's startled intake of breath and Nicky's oddly hard kick to the leg, Andrew linked his pinky with Neil and delicately placed their hands on the table.
Subtle, yet effective.
Neil blinked at him in confusion, but Andrew only had eyes for Bar Bitch. He narrowed his eyes at the tall man, tightening his grip on Neil's finger, until the bitch threw his hands up and stumbled away.
Ha. Take that, asshole.
"What was that all about?" Neil nudged him softly.
"Nothing," Andrew ground out. "Absolutely nothing."
He didn't let go of Neil's pinky the rest of the night.
~
3.
Andrew was a sucker for roof time with Neil; he couldn't deny it. What he wasn't a sucker for was Neil bringing sheets of plays and team stats during said roof time with Neil.
He tried to subtly hint to Neil that he wanted the Exy gone. He laid down on the roof, letting his hair cover the papers (Neil very gently brushed his hair away but continued reading). He placed his head on Neil's legs (Neil rubbed a calloused finger across Andrew's cheek but continued reading). He wiggled up into Neil's lap (Neil wrapped him in a warm embrace but continued reading. Even worse, Neil moved the papers into his line of sight, as if Andrew was interested).
Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. He leaned forward and snatched the papers out of Neil's hand, throwing the sheets behind them. Neil blinked in surprise at his now-empty hand before looking over at Andrew. "What's wrong, Andrew?"
"Nothing," Andrew said, despite looking obviously annoyed. At Neil's unimpressed silence, Andrew sighed. "Stop ignoring me."
Andrew could practically hear Neil's eye roll.
"Yes or no, Drew?"
Just to be contrary, Andrew huffed out, "No. You can go back to your precious Exy."
He decided to ignore Neil's grumbles that suspiciously sounded like 'drama queen.' "I wasn't ignoring you. I wasn't," Neil insisted at Andrew's glare. "I was just... focusing on Exy at the moment."
"Make a choice, Neil. Exy... or me."
Neil looked a little too panicked at that for Andrew's comfort. "Uh... "
"The fact that you actually have to think about this is very telling," Andrew scowled.
"No, wait!" Neil shook his head frantically. "I mean... Exy is what got me to stop running, but you were what got me to stay. If I have Exy, I'll also always have you, and vice versa."
Andrew jammed a very fierce elbow into Neil's gut. He relished in the misery Neil was feeling. "That was more of a love letter to Exy than me."
"Oh, is that the problem?" the junkie annoyingly perked up. "I can definitely write a love letter to you. Where should I start? You have really pretty eyes, your hair is so soft, your arms are crazy strong, you— "
"Shut. Up."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"Fine. But you'll have to make me."
Andrew barely held back a sigh and tried to calm his treacherous heart. "What, did you become the lead in a romcom when I looked away? That was so cheesy."
Neil just shrugged. "Did it work?"
"No," Andrew scowled. "Maybe. Yes or no?"
"Yes, alwa— "
Andrew cut Neil off with a kiss (no matter how bruised his tough-guy reputation was becoming now). He could feel Neil trying to smother a soft smile against his lips, and if Andrew had any shame left in him, he would be a bit embarrassed at how fast his heart starting beating when he realized that.
Because humans unfortunately needed oxygen, Neil pulled back a few moments later but stayed close enough that Andrew could smell the minty gum he had been chewing before they came up on the roof. "See? If you weren't so damn stubborn, we could have been kissing when I first asked you."
Ignoring this logic, Andrew pulled his the junkie back in for another kiss. He wondered in Neil could feel the small upturn on Andrew's lips too.
~
11.
This was just about the worst fucking day of Kevin Day's life, and it all started the day before.
He had been up for hours, starting with Exy at sun-up and ending with Exy at sundown. Except it didn't end with Exy, because he realized humanity was incompetent and then he was forced to catch up on a History essay his groupmates were behind on (5 hours after his detailed schedule!) and then he became too invested in the ruins of Mesopotamia and then he didn't sleep on time and then he missed his pre-alarm for his actual morning alarm and then he wasn't awake enough for his actual morning alarm and then—
Well.
Point was that Kevin was simultaneously cranky, sleepy, and frantically late, which is a shitty combination for anyone but especially for a person named Kevin Day. Which is to say that his perfectionist tendencies were starting to show their negative sides.
And to add company to misery, his fucking roommates had to be the absolute worst.
Kevin stumbled out of the bathroom (and crashed into three walls but that's neither here nor there) with a sock on his arm and one eye shut to make half his face feel rested when he came across the one thing that could possibly make his morning worse. As he sluggishly walked into the kitchen to get at least 3 cups of well-needed, strong-as-shit black coffee, he saw his two roommates directly blocking his access to the coffee pot.
Andrew was fiddling with the pot handle while Neil had his arms wrapped around his back. He was practically leaning all his body weight on Andrew and whenever Andrew murmured something to him quietly, Neil would give him his "Andrew-laugh" and somehow press in even closer. To make matters even sappier, every few seconds he would kiss Andrew — on the shoulder, neck, cheek, even going as far as to bring his hands up and kiss his knuckles!
It was disgusting. Kevin had never been more horrified to have these horribly-in-love-even-though-they-won't-admit-it-yes-he's-happy-they're-together-no-he's-not-happy-he-has-to-witness-this roommates.
Andrew and Neil were fully engrossed in their weird back-hug position, fully disregarding Kevin's coffee withdrawal. Irritated that he was being ignored, Kevin let out a highly unattractive noise that was half-groan, half-shriek, causing the two most hypervigilant people he'd known to jump apart. Except that Andrew was facing the counter so his diaphragm got fully smushed against it, causing the blond to let out an "oof" and Neil had open space behind him so he flailed around until he eventually fell onto his butt on the floor with a groan.
Massaging his stomach, Andrew turned a terrifying glare towards Kevin, who was suddenly waking up enough to realize how bad of an idea this was. Kevin slowly backed away, his hands up in a placating manner.
"Don't mind me," Kevin said. "Keep hugging or whatever. I'll just... go to Matt's room and get coffee."
Stumbling out of his dorm, Kevin crashed his way into Matt, Nicky, and Aaron's room, where Nicky was sitting on the couch on his laptop.
He winced when he saw Kevin zombie-walk to the coffee machine. "Andrew and Neil sexile you?"
As the machine whirred, Kevin groaned. "Something like that. Honestly, the two of them are so affectionate in the morning, it makes me sick."
At that, Nicky's eyes widened. "They're what?! Tell me everything."
Kevin sighed. Maybe he should get a second cup of coffee going.
~
17.
Neil didn't notice the cats until Andrew pointed them out.
The two of them were on a walk walking back over the hill in front of the Fox Tower after their classes. Andrew had made it a habit to pick Neil up after his Spanish class and his own Sociology class every Thursday, and the two of them would drop their stuff off at the dorms and go out to lunch together.
It was very nice, to put it lightly.
Andrew's hand was warm where it was threaded with Neil's, swinging lightly between their bodies. The two were so close to each other that Neil could feel their shoulders brush every few steps, could practically count every faint freckle on Andrew's cheeks if he wanted to.
So he did just that.
"Staring," Andrew glared.
"Yeah," Neil said shamelessly. "You like it."
Andrew squeezed Neil's hand. It was probably more out of annoyance than adorance, but he'd take it.
"You know, in class today," Neil started, mainly so he could hear Andrew's voice when he responded. "This absolute bit— ow!"
Unexpectedly, Neil promptly fell down.
"Typical," Andrew grumbled. "He can come back alive after being tortured by a serial killer but can't walk straight."
"To be fair, it's not like you walk any straighter than me."
After an appraising moment, Andrew shrugged.
Neil finally moved himself into a sitting position while Andrew watched with sheer disappointment oozing out of him. He tied his undone shoelace and was just getting up when he felt a sharp tug on his shirt.
Neil looked at Andrew in confusion, but Andrew had his sights set on something in the distance. Naturally, instead of explaining, he began dragging Neil, who was still halfway bent-over from tying his shoe.
"Andrew!" Neil yelped. "Do you want to let me know where we're going?"
"No."
Fair enough. Neil should have expected that.
Finally, after his shoes untied yet again from the stumbling he did over the hill, Neil finally saw what had caught Andrew's attention. There was a sign advertising a nearby cat adoption, with the directions showing it to be only about 5 minutes away.
Andrew tugged on Neil's shirt again. "We're going."
Neil blinked. "We can't have pets in the dorm."
"We'll sneak them in, it's not like we've never broken the law before."
"Kevin is going to lose his shit."
"You just incentivized me even more."
Neil had to bite back a smile at that. "Fine, fine, we'll visit. But we are not adopting any animals until we can figure out the rules."
"Eh," Andrew turned around, twisting his fingers into Neil's shirt so he'd follow the blond. "I can be very convincing."
"Andrew."
"Neil."
"We are not getting a cat."
"Nah."
"You can't just— Andrew!"
okay uhh i'm probs gonna post the last part of the "andreil and goodbye kisses" series today or tomorrow (most likely tmrw) BUT if y'all have any specific prompts/things you want me to write, send me an ask and i shall try to get back to you soon :)
hey uh— never done something like this before but send me a number and i'll... do something with it? (lmao there's a 99% chance that this will all be andreil but that's fineeee)
pats on the head
interlocking pinkies
smiling into a kiss
a hug after not seeing someone for a long time
giggly cuddles
chasing someone’s lips after they pull away
squishing their cheeks
brushing hands by accident
wiping away someone’s tears
lifting someone up out of excitement
back hugs
an incredibly loud and painful high-five
kissing someone’s forehead
play wrestling
the biggest, warmest hugs
kissing knuckles
tugging on the bottom of someone’s shirt
wiping away food from someone’s lips
peppering their face in kisses
chest bump
accidentally knocking your head into someone’s chin
kissing someone’s cuts/bruises/scratches
a hug that some might consider as ~too long~
confusing a handshake for a fist bump
playfully biting someone
bonus: touching feet and immediately screaming and recoiling
sjfdhlwk i saw a little kid today and she was copying everything i was doing so i did the two-fingered salute thing at her and she did it back to me! it was the single cutest thing ever
now i can't get the image of andrew doing these salutes with aaron's young kids out of my head. and like. aaron wants to be annoyed because what the hell are you teaching my children, andrew but at the same time their chubby fingers trying to do a salute back to a full grown man is just adorable
hii i literally love your headcannons... can you please write Laila and Alvarez hcs? they're so underrated!!
ok yes as it is now pride and these two are my fav lesbians i MUST
so they met their freshman year at USC, when laila tripped over her foot after seeing a hot girl (alvarez) and spilled a coffee all over said hot girl's new white shirt
alvarez proceeded to hate her. even if she was nice to look out. she definitely did not notice that
and because laila does not like to be bested, she decided that alvarez's pretty face would not distract from her annoying personality
their rivalry was the only major point of contention within the trojans — they would constantly bicker in and out of practice
(jeremy, bless his heart, could never figure out when laila and alvarez were flirting or fighting though)
but despite this, they worked wonders on the court
laila was a powerhouse in the goal and alvarez was a relentless backliner
everyone was extremely confused about the nature of their relationship
this on-and-off behavior continued well into their second year
that is, until they got their spring semester classes and laila and alvarez were in the same calculus class
now they actually had to deal with each other, even off the court
they managed to stay out of each other's hair mostly, but one day, alvarez was absolutely stuck on a concept and jeremy was shit at math and office hours were closed and this really wasn't good—
she did the first thing she could and texted laila for help
so laila came over and after some initial awkwardness, they actually started working
and it turns out, laila is really good at explaining math
it turns into a bit of a norm. every wednesday afternoon, they would meet in a café and study together
(and maybe, just maybe, if each week, they began sitting closer and closer to one another, that's really no one's business)
this just slowly happens over the next few months, and one day, it hits the two of them that hey, maybe i actually like her more than a friend?
naturally, laila and alvarez both freak the fuck out at this
so they go to jeremy separately, who is now dealing with two flustered, emotionally-constipated lesbians
laila: jeremy i think i like alvarez. "like" as in i want to date her
jeremy: hmm. maybe you should just tell her?
laila: fucking shit knox are you dumb—
alvarez: jeremy HELP i think i have a crush on laila
jeremy: well, maybe she feels the same way! just tell her that :)
alvarez: you're so goddamn stupid why would i do that—
needless to say, jeremy is extremely overwhelmed.
eventually, he wrangles the two of them together on new year's day at a party
it's minutes to midnight and nearly everyone has a partner, romantic or platonic
laila and alvarez end up pushed up next to each other, surrounded by a bunch of loud, sweaty college kids
but none of that mattered. because with three seconds on the clock, laila and alvarez both felt a surge of courage from jeremy's words
they rushed towards each other just as midnight struck and promptly smashed their noses together
neither of them really expected their first date to be at the ER with swollen, bleeding noses
but hey! there's nothing more romantic than matching ice packs and nose splits, right?
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 !
me: spends all my time immersing myself in the foxes' found family so i don't have to deal with my own dysfunctional family
also me: wonders why i don't have a good relationship with anyone in my house
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)
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)
for the requests: 24 but like,, the opposite?? do whatever you want but also have this embarrassing story of mine for free because i have LIVED this and it is HORRIBLE!! I don’t know what was going through my mind but it was my friends bday and she went to give me a fist bump but instead of returning it I just grabbed her fist with my hand (scissors beats rock style) and we both stood there in silence for a moment staring at our hands until I turned it into a sort of handshake when I just started to shake where I had her fist gripped in my own hand up and down for a solid 10 seconds
24. "confusing a handshake for a fist bump" - but the opposite lmao
minyard-josten rivalry, y'all know where it's at
so these two dumbasses keep their relationship a secret from everyone, including their managers and PR team
anyways, i imagine that there's some sort of pre-game interview happening, to create some hype for the shitshow that's going to be a minyard v josten game
the problem is... no one knows how to predict their moves
andrew's PR team tells him to be professional — maybe shake neil's hand instead of ignoring it like how he always does
neil's PR team tells him to do something more casual, to reduce the animosity he's such a natural at creating
you can probably see where this is going...
so. andrew, neil, and few people from each of their teams come out in front of the cameras
the teammates + managers on the sides are just staring very intently at andrew and neil
neil sighs and shoves out his hand for a first bump with his boyfriend of very many years
andrew however. look, he hasn't seen neil in weeks and he the cats miss him and give andrew lots of sad meows and really seeing neil is a relief so his children not his children, his CATS, can stop being so upset
basically, he has a bit of a gay panic while looking at neil — the shape of his face, his eyes, his hair (good lord, that needed to be cut three years ago)
and so when neil puts out his hand in greeting, andrew really can't be blamed for being distracted!
he slams his fingers into neil's fist.
they stare at each other for a few moments as the only sound is cameras flashing. slowly, andrew curls his fingers just as neil straightens out his fist bump.
neil's hand now gets stuck in andrew's fist.
andrew blinks at their joined hands, promptly lets go of neil's fingers, and turns around to walk away. his teammates try to grab onto him to bring him back but like honestly most of them are laughing too hard to do anything
so the game continues as usual (with a little bit of teasing towards neil and andrew by their teammates)
and at the end of the game during the handshakes, one of the announcers says "minyard! josten! maybe figure out if it's handshake or fist bump beforehand this time!"
andrew internally flips off the cameras
(it's only not external because he knows aaron's kids are watching the game tonight and he is determined to be the more mature uncle out of him and neil)
so instead of making a fool of himself again, andrew decides to just nod at neil and walk away
no sooner than a second later though, he feels a bonk on his head. neil just bonked him. on the head. in front of millions of people.
he has to salvage his reputation so he puts his hands up in a threatening gesture and says something menacingly, but no one in the audience can hear what he says
all they see is andrew looking scary and neil... doubled over laughing
instantly, there are whispers going around the stadium about what happened, so neil's coach is like 'nah we aren't letting this kid do the pre and post-game interviews' — andrew had accounted for this in his attempt to rebuild his persona
so they try to sneak neil out the back, but what andrew hadn't accounted for was a sneaky reporter who catches sight of neil and asks loudly "what was andrew minyard saying to you on the court?"
neil smirks and draws up to his full height (which frankly, is still tiny enough for andrew to give kisses without too much strain. it was the ideal height gap, if anyone asked him. not that anyone was asking him this)
"well," neil said. "he said rock" — neil makes a fist bump — "paper" — he extends an arm out for a handshake — "and then... " — neil makes a scissor symbol — "snip snip motherfucker. we're cutting your hair when we get home."
"wait, you two live together— "
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!"
she/her, perpetually sleepy, coffee lover ~ currently an andrew minyard stan account ~
56 posts