Curate, connect, and discover
Nicky has terrible ADHD and Erik has to leave little colorful sticky notes all over the house to remind him to take care of himself
I know for a fact that Jean CANNOT pronounce the word "throughout" without slithering or having a thick ass French accent cuz that word with hella complicated for French speaker to pronounce correctly.
I’m sure some of the Trojans (Cat, Laila, Jemery, …) love to use certain words to just hear Jean’s accent or Jean having difficulties to pronounce a word correctly, Cat and Laila ofc are giggling to not upset Jean too much but Jemery… HES DYING INSIDE HIS HEART IS RACING SO HARD EVERYTIME CUZ JEAN HAVE THE MF FRENCH EFFECT ON HIM.
(I’m sure Kevin love that little French accent from Jean too but his delusional ass will never admit it)
Laila: I swear, if I see one more pigeon staring at me, I’m moving to the mountains.
Cat: Good luck. Mountain pigeons are tougher. They wear tiny leather jackets.
Jeremy: Yeah, and they demand snacks and rent.
Jean: Honestly, throughout (THICK ASS FRENCH ACCENT) history- pigeons..- hum… is that how you say it..? Throuuuughrhgrgout?
Jeremy: *i found the love of my life, he become more and more perfect every day..*
Laila & cat: *fighting to not laugh*
(I’m French btw so it’s hard asf to pronounce that word too😔)
Daily reminder that there’s other sports teams at fox tower and they co-exist with our exy team
I pity them
Woah. So Neil canonically got waterboarded. That's fucked up. Do yall think he gets nightmares about that particular incident? Cause the incident really stuck with Jean and Neil experienced it. What if one night he gets a reminder of the torture?
What if he dreams about riko laying a cloth over his face, tying his hands to the headboard, ordering him not to move or he'll pay for it in an even worse way. He commands Jean to hold down his legs for him, threatening to hurt HIM if he does.
And then he feels water.
He's drowning. Water's flooding his nose, his mouth, his eyes as he struggles to keep them shut. He's drowning. He can't breathe. Water's up his nostrils now. Jean finding it hard to hold him down due to Neil's constant struggling and getting death glares from Riko himself.
He's drowning. He can't breathe. Neil is going to die.
Nathaniel is going to die.
"NEIL."
That's all it takes for him to realize it was all just a dream. But was it?
"Neil, are you awake?", Andrew's voice is barely a whisper, against the wind jostling from the windows.
"Yeah.", it takes him a while to realize what he was doing. He releases his hand from his throat and sets them on his knees.
"Choking yourself to death seems the most impractical way to die, in my opinion."
Silence.
"Wanna talk?"
i feel like neil is the type to make the most horrendous food combinations known to humanity that actually turn out to be good? like he's used to living off of scraps so he'll find leftovers or random snacks around the dorm and make absolutly monstrous mixtures
andrew and kevin refuse to touch them at first but matt's always there for his buddy, so he'll try it, cry to dan about how good it is, she'll eat it, and then eventually everyone jumps on the bandwagon. one day neil wakes up in the middle of the night and finds andrew and kevin sitting on the kitchen counter scarfing down his newest concoction with way too much gusto for people who claimed they'd never touch his shit food (but they'll deny it if you ask)
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!"
When I first saw your ask prompts out of excitement I was going to ask you to write every single one them .i was like "write every single one them ,I will be your sole reader" then I calmed down
So if you can could you plz write something with 10 and 7 .if it's about andrew and neil it will be much appreciated
KSDFJH no pls this made me laugh so hard i can't-
7: squishing their cheeks
10: lifting someone up out of excitement
~
7.
Andrew could tell it was one of those days.
Normally, he wouldn't say anything if Neil told him "no" or if he didn't want to take his shirt off; Andrew felt the same sometimes. But picking at his scars, scratching his cheeks, fidgeting with his armbands — something was up.
So, he asked.
"What is with you, Josten," Andrew sat down next to him. "Acting more rabbit-y than usual."
Neil rolled his eyes and slumped into the sofa cushions. “Nothing. I’m fine.”
“What did we say about lying?”
Andrew heard a huff from Neil as he shifted to rest his nose in the crook of Andrew’s neck. “It was just — I heard some kids today talking about how I looked so much like my- like Nathan, and that it was insane that they didn’t recognize me,” Neil mumbled. “I don’t want to look like him.”
Andrew of course was fully prepared to cut a bitch when he heard that, but decided that he could commit murder after making sure that Neil was in the right headspace to hear about his stabby plans.
“You are nothing like him,” Andrew told Neil. Hopefully it was somewhat reassuring.
Neil did not look reassured. Damn.
Andrew was sure that Neil was going to say some bullshit about how he’d be “fine,” and well, he would not be responsible for the combination of the roof and gravity that would likely be soon to follow it that occurred.
So instead, Andrew took initiative.
He got up and dragged Neil to the bathroom (and yes, Andrew was very calm about the fact that they were holding hands. This was not the time to have a gay panic). He fully ignored Neil’s sputters and questions until he kicked the bathroom door open.
Andrew whirled Neil around until they were facing the mirror. (He did have to go on his toes to see over Neil’s shoulder properly but thankfully Neil was standing in front and couldn’t see Andrew).
“Andrew,” Neil blinked. “What are you doing?”
“Proving to you that you don’t look like that asshole.”
“In the bathroom— ?”
Andrew proceeded to place his arms above Neil’s shoulder and promptly squished Neil’s cheeks.
”See?” Andrew said monotonously. “I bet Nathan never had his cheeks squished.”
Neil was silent for one moment. Two. Andrew was starting to think there may have been more effective ways of improving Neil’s mood, when he saw Neil bite back a smile.
“What?” Andrew demanded. “You really do not resemble a serial killer right now.”
It was true. Neil, with his rough scars and bunched up cheeks and a reddening face from holding back a laugh, couldn’t look less like his sperm donor father.
He looked like… Neil Josten. And Andrew would be a lying homosexual if he said it wasn’t the nicest sight he’d seen.
10.
Neil's legs were beginning to go numb.
There were very few things that Neil wouldn't do for Andrew, and so when Andrew called him over to the sofa, well, Neil couldn't exactly say no! He happily abandoned his essay (that he wasn’t putting too much effort into writing anyway) and climbed into the little opening Andrew made under his blanket, fully prepared to be used as a personal heater for a few minutes.
What he didn't expect, however, was for Andrew to yank him onto his lap and bury his (cold) nose in Neil's neck. Neil smothered a smile and crossed his legs around Andrew's back, running his fingers through Andrew's hair.
That had been 20 minutes ago.
It was a cozy position, sure, but Neil didn't exactly want to fail his classes (and then get kicked off the Exy team. and then die.), so he lightly nudged Andrew's back with a socked toe.
"Andrew," Neil said, voice a bit muffled in Andrew's sweater. "Can I get off now? I have homework."
Neil received no response other than Andrew squeezing him tighter.
It was another 10 minutes until anything changed, but suddenly there was a loud beeping noise. Startled, Neil nearly fell over, but Andrew grabbed him, lifted him up, and promptly walked over to the kitchen.
"Andrew, what— " Neil sputtered in confusion as he scrambled to hold onto something. He was dropped unceremoniously as Andrew grabbed a pair of oven mitts and yanked open the oven, a sweet smell wafting in the air.
Neil stumbled back as Andrew pulled out a few trays of monster sized cookies, placing them on a rack to cool down. After finishing up, Andrew slowly turned around to face Neil.
"Cookies," he said as way of explanation.
Neil didn't know whether to laugh or groan.
"You were so excited to get your cookies out of the oven that you carried me over to the kitchen instead of just telling me to get off your lap."
"Yes."
"Andrew."
"..."
"You better be this excited to go to tonight's night practice— "
"I cannot hear you over the sound of me eating this cookie. Crunch crunch."
"Andrew!"
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!"
hey i love your page!! can you post some renison hcs? they're just so underrated <3
ok yall know how I said that alvarez and laila were my fav lesbians? i lied, so is renison I CAN'T PICK
so renee and allison seem shockingly different at first glance — where renee is quiet, allison is brash, where renee is demure, allison is obscene
in reality? allison sobs at any animal story while renee can nod and smile through gruesome horror movies
most people outside of the foxes don't really get it, but they don't really care
what they do care about? one-upping each other. constantly.
look, canonically allison is buff as hell, that's the whole reason she was told to stop playing exy
and goalies tend to have really strong and defined arms, so renee has biceps
the two of them are constantly arm wrestling and have full on tallies and bets to keep score
bus stuck in traffic? arm wrestle. waiting for food to arrive in a restaurant? arm wrestle. players not subbing out fast enough in the middle of a game? arm. wrestle.
in their fourth year, allison impulsively asks renee to dye her hair
she dies the tips pink and purple (for the bi flag) and the two of them constantly flaunt their matching colored hair
(allison likes to gloat to andrew and neil that she and renee are the sup-queer-ior couple because they have matching gay heads)
alli and renee love playing laser tag against each other
they forget their "ooey gooey lesbian love" as nicky puts it in favor of fighting to be the first to kill the other
aaron has been trampled multiple times when renee saw allison behind him and ran him over to get her out
their favorite dates are the ones in fun, quirky places
playing pac-man in old arcades, thrift store shopping, outdoor movies
they're not basic, is what i'm getting at
neither of them are exceptional cooks (tbh most of their and dan's food comes from matt), but renee is known in the fox tower for making perfectly shaped pancakes and allison always gets her burrito-to-filling proportion perfect
they both like trying to make new desserts though
renee likes to experiment while allison is wayyy more of a picky eater
sometimes renee will randomly put in vegetables or just plain weird ingredients to trick allison (who ends up loving all these desserts but only before she finds out what they're made of. funny how that works.)
renee loves paper crafts, like paper mache, origami, etc
each year for special occasions (birthday, anniversary, holiday) allison always makes her a craft with a note written within the folds of the paper
(there is a decent amount of complaining to dan about how her nails are getting ruined. renee's smile makes it worth it, though)
on their graduation day, allison gifts renee a massive basket of all the crafts she made and they sit on their dorm floor and look through all the notes and memories they made over the years
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— "
as a former soccer goalie, here are some very specific things andrew minyard does while playing exy
he has crazy good aim. that cone drill kevin and neil keep doing? andrew's an icon at that
he's gotta hit the balls directly at the strikers (or whoever else needs the ball) from a static position so his aim is probably better and stronger than most people on the team
andrew's literally shit at cardio. man literally doesn't run aside from normal conditioning (and chasing after neil) plus he smokes so his lungs do be constantly dying
also, i feel like people really underestimate how boring being in goal can be
like if the ball's not near you, there is nothing. to. do.
honestly, he probably just puts his racquet down or straight up sits on the floor when the action is on the other end of the court
(this is coming from someone who literally left the field for a few minutes because she had nothing to do)
another thing: the man can jump.
like, put him on a trampoline (not that he'd ever do that lol) and he'll fly above everyone else, no matter his fear of heights
especially because he's so short compared to the goal, he's gotta stretch in every direction to be able to reach the ball
he's mad flexible, is what i'm getting at
penalty shots are his worst enemy
idc how good of a goalie he usually is, most of the catches/blocks he makes are pure luck
and like. his height doesn't help with this at all
most of the sweating he does comes from his extra armor rather than the game itself
again. goalies literally don't move most of the time. for the longest time, nicky just thinks that andrew has some kind of magic deodorant he isn't sharing with the rest of them
(there have been more than a few raids into andrew's toiletries looking for it)
i literally used to get those misty fan water bottle things bc everyone else had one and it looked cool, not because i was ever tired after games lol
he likes interlocking his fingers to see how obtrusive the goalie gloves are
idk it's a thing that all goalies i know do, for absolutely no reason. it do be fun though
goalies have to do a lot of agility and reflexive drills. one of these is kinda like quickly running in place and jumping/rolling to the side to catch a ball someone throws at you
i'm just imagining andrew doing this bc it looks so. funny.
like the person doing the drill looks like some spider on drugs with how fast their feet are moving
(also it makes lots of goalies pretty good at dancing/stuff that requires lots of feet coordination. i'm not saying... but i'm kinda saying, if you get what i mean)
this isn't during exy, but sometimes catching things is so reflexive
once i caught a glass full of water before it shattered on a restaurant floor, and i imagine andrew does shit like that too
but the difference is that he gets so annoyed whenever it happens
being unintentionally helpful is andrew's least favorite thing (but neil finds it so goddamn funny)
sometimes neil randomly drops things near andrew just to watch him get annoyed at his reflexes
(also, i'm just imagining the foxes randomly throwing things at andrew. he's stuck between two situations: catch things and have the foxes laugh at him or let things hit him in the face and have the foxes laugh at him)
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
can i just say that neil, having been on the run, would be so good at hiding from the paparazzi.
like, this is why no one finds out that he and andrew are together for so long; he just parkours away from reporters and photographers and leaves andrew to deal with them (aka stare them down)
i feel like whenever neil gets a new hoodie, andrew's shoulders always stretch it out so much. like, neil loves seeing andrew in his clothes at first until he has to keep buying more and more shirts and hoodies because they don't fit him anymore.
they end up having so. many. hoodies just scattered around their house, and it's a constant silent battle over who can stake their claim on the hoodie first
Neil: I have a new hoodie.
Andrew: Ahem. WE have a new hoodie.
i just really want to know how all the students at psu reacted to finding out about neil's past. like i'm just imagining some poor college freshman working on a project with neil and not pulling their weight and then they find out that their groupmate is actually the son of the mob boss.
and they just... slowly start doing their part so they don't get a murderer sicced on them
look this has no right being so accurate but i— the cucumber thing, i just had to expand on that
it comes to light in an interview with two other teammates
it’s supposed to be one of those chill “get to know about this celebrity” ones, so it’s more personal and less exy-oriented
so these athletes are reading tweets with questions that fans wanted to ask them
and one of them is “andrew, what are your three biggest fears?”
andrew: i fear nothing. you should fear me
his teammate: ok drama queen just answer the damn question
andrew pauses for a moment (for the dramatics of course)
“heights. bugs. cucumbers.”
“cucumbers??”
anyways, andrew doesn’t explain this answer any further and when the video drops, everyone is very confused
fans are tweeting and asking for answers
every comment section on instagram is full of questions
post-game interviews are buzzing with inquires about this very strange fear
and then one day, the internet finally solves the mystery
the video circulates around social media for days, with everyone cooing over it
there's a little kid, maybe 5 or 6 years old, with a Minyard jersey on who meets andrew in the streets and asks for a picture
(andrew, being an absolute kid-lover, complies)
so the kid puts her arms out demanding to be picked up, and while she's in andrew's arms, politely asks "mr. minyard, why are you afraid of cucumbers?"
andrew, very seriously, replies "too many shades of green. they're dark. medium. light. it's very disturbing"
the video ends with andrew ruffling the kid's hair and her running off camera
after the initial cuteness, people realize how absolutely hilarious it is that scary, buff andrew minyard is scared of cucumbers because of how colorful they are
and so it starts
at meet and greets, fans present him with cucumbers
people tweet cucumber pictures and facts to him
edits are made with andrew and cucumbers
his pr box is full of custom shirts with cucumbers on them to "brighten up his wardrobe"
numerous compilations are made about andrew's reactions to these cucumber gifts
one person even writes a multi-chapter andrew x cucumber enemies to lovers slow-burn
(one of the foxes (aka nicky) prints this whole thing out and gifts it to him for his birthday)
finally, finally, a 32 second video entitled "andrew minyard EATS A CUCUMBER ." gets uploaded on youtube on the account "jorts"
it's super grainy, vertical, and the camera is constantly shaking as the person filming laughs
but it appears to show andrew at his kitchen dunking a cucumber into a flute of champagne at 3 am
the video gets millions of views
nobody knows who's behind the account, but every few months it posts an absolutely feral video of andrew that just crashes the internet
(spoiler alert: it's all thanks to neil)
Andrew is like a cat
You can’t back him into a corner
You can’t touch without permission
Must feed him to earn his love/respect
Will fight you at any moment without warning
Stabby bits sticking out from his hands
Will get scared if you surprise him with a cucumber
Can nap anywhere at anytime
Will judge literally everything you do, but say nothing
Small
Would jump out a window to escape a situation
Thinks you’re stupid
Would probably give you a dead animal… for various reasons
Prefers cats over people
reporter: ...right, but what do you do with the racquet?
andrew: hit
reporter: how do you keep the ball out of the goal during games it’s incredible
andrew: racquet
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 (update: maybe a pacific coast thing?? idek)
"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)
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, 5, 6 good lord why have i stretched this one concept out for so long skdflskj || part 8
allison thinks — nay, knows — that neil josten is just the cutest human being alive. certainly a badass. very threatening. will bite when provoked.
but still very cute. adorable. squish, if you will.
(also, have you seen those eyes??)
she likes to believe she is the mother hen of the newborn chick — the startled bambi — that is neil josten
and so, as an experienced, highly intellectual person, she... questions neil's taste in men
allison worries that andrew is just stringing neil along, ready to drop him whenever he pleases
(renee insists this is not the case, but what does renee know?)
anyways, allison concludes that andrew must be put to the test to confirm that he is good enough for her precious (and slightly rude) child
now, allison isn't one to perpetuate stereotypes, but andrew is a well-dressed gay man with plenty of experience in dressing up neil nicely
and, as the self-crowned queen of fashion, she knows that clothes can tell a lot about an individual
(for example, her clothes are wonderful, which means that she is flawless)
so allison decides that going clothes shopping with andreil (she cannot thank nicky enough for coming up with that ship name) is the only way to truly see if andrew is good enough for neil
so she plans. and one thursday evening, she corners andrew and neil and tells them what's going down
"neil. you and your boy— " "he's not my boy" "you and your boy will join me this saturday to go shopping at the mall. any questions?" "yes, actually— " "great, i'll see you then!"
to her surprise, andrew actually shows up with neil on saturday, twirling his car keys with a bored expression
"minyard. you are not driving"
"alright then. neil, let's go back to to bed"
"okay okay fine you can drive"
allison, with great dignity, regales herself to backseat passenger. at least this way she has a perfect view of the heart eyes transpiring between andrew and neil
(and if she sneaks in a couple of pictures of them — well, no one needs to know)
they finally reach the mall and allison is ready to start her sneaky observations
first: she spots a cute pink sweater in an egregiously bright shop window and drags neil inside, checking conspicuously if andrew follows him
he does
pleased, allison browses through the store, plucking the sweater she originally saw to try on later
after a little more looking, she emerges from the dressing room to show off the sweater to neil
"well neil? how do i look?"
"oh uh. pretty? andrew, how does she look?"
andrew sweeps an impassive gaze over her and promptly turns around without a word
allison is outraged. how dare he simply ignore neil! does he not think neil is important enough to respond to? does he not care at all? how can he just— oh
andrew returns with a pale blue sweater she had seemingly missed and throws it at her face
she goes back in to try it with a huff. surprisingly (and annoyingly), this one looks even better than the pink one did
she buys the blue one. but andrew's still on thin fucking ice
second: after the sweater fiasco, she leads andreil over to a shoe store. allison * very deliberately * walks through the men's footwear, hoping andrew will take notice of something he likes there for neil, before making her way to the women's section
she tries on a few sandals, showing them off to neil, and andrew wanders off in the middle of her runway strut
(she can't understand why. he might be gay, but surely he can still appreciate her legs, right?)
her questions are answered after andrew emerges from an aisle carrying a navy blue box, placing it in front of neil
neil stares at it. andrew kicks him in the shin
"oh am i supposed to wear it?"
andrew rolls his eyes and bends down, switching neil's old sneakers for a new pair of running shoes he found
allison nearly coos at the sight of the terrifying andrew minyard tying his boyfriend's shoelaces with such a focused look
neil loves the shoes. allison buys them for him. and maybe she approves of andrew just a little bit more
third: after a few more stores, allison is at the final stop of her experiment — clothes shopping for neil
she spends an agonizingly long hour searching for clothes neil might actually wear, but when she goes to give it to him, he's nowhere to be found
frantically, she combs through the store again, already thinking of private investigators to hire to find him
suddenly, allison spots his bright hair against the wall in the far corner of the store
she races over there, ready to give neil a piece of her mind for worrying her, until she sees what he's up to
he's kissing andrew. but it's not heavy making-out, it's not anything too explicit. it's just very adorable kissing
(allison has to bite back a laugh when she notices that andrew has to go on his toes to reach neil)
she goes to pull out her phone, but the clothes in her hand rustle, causing neil to glance her way
he winces at the massive pile of clothes, but presses a kiss to andrew's lips, then nose, before gingerly taking the clothes to try on
allison squints at andrew upon seeing the nose kiss. he scowls at her and promptly walks away in the direction neil left to
allison considers the sight she just saw. surely andrew wouldn't be willing to be so openly soft if he was just playing neil, right? right.
(damn, maybe renee did know some things after all)
allison gives a pleased smile — maybe andrew really is okay for neil — before suddenly remembering the bet that she's probably going to lose soon
but she doesn't mind losing some money anymore; she has plenty of it
all allison wants is for neil to be happy. and if andrew brings him happiness— well, she doesn't really understand neil's taste, but she supports it anyway
fuck. when did she get so soft?
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...
Headcanon, Neil josten hates flies. When I say hate I mean he hates them with ever inch of his being and would personally create a torture device for the disgusting buggers. One time Andrew caught Neil banging on a trash bin systematically, watching as a fly goes in circles until it slowly descends to the ground twitching, and then it stops moving. Then when Neil removes the trash bin he takes a book and squishes it till it’s nothing.
Headcanon Neil josten will never run out of insults to spit at someone. He knows like 5 different languages, so if he runs out of curse words in one language he’ll switch to another and start all over when he’s chewing someone out. For any particular reason.
Headcanon Renee definitely knows how to knit/crochet . One night Renee is siting on the couch with her knitting needles and yarn cause she couldn’t sleep and thought why not make smt. Around 3am Neil comes around cause he also couldn’t sleep cause of nightmares and stood there with a glass of water just watching Renee. A couple minutes later Renee looks up and pats the space next to her in an invitation for Neil to come join , She teaches Neil how to knit . Know whenever Neil is bored, can’t sleep, he knits. Andrew always has some spare needles and yarn stashed away in his room also cause Renee did the same thing to him when he had nightmares.