Alright so I have some Serious Feelings abt this and the majority of this is from a Google Doc comprised of every time I’ve subjected some poor soul to my ramblings. I’m also projecting like crazy from my own experiences and ideas about Certain Topics but Here U Go:
(I’ll try divide this up a bit, bear with me)
Andrew has a very solid idea of good/bad in his mind, if someone hurts his family (eg.Tilda) then that is Bad and so it has to be Fixed so that things are Good. It’s something that Doesn’t Make Sense to the other Foxes but to Andrew it makes sense because There Was A Problem and Now There Isn’t One. Andrew admits in canon that he doesn’t understand why Aaron doesn’t understand how Andrew Fixed The Problem.
There is also his possessiveness over people. Them/Us. He Keeps His People Safe by stopping New and Potentially Bad People getting to them. He makes his deal with Kevin, and with Aaron to keep them Safe. New People are not Us and are Less Predictable and therefore Off-Putting. Personally, when I am in situations with people whom I cannot predict I get thrown off very quickly/easily and it gets Upsetting Real Fast.
He has fixed rituals that Do Not Change. On Fridays, they get in the car and everyone gets in Their Seats and they all go to the Same Diner Every Time and get the Same Thing and then they go to Their Club and get Their Drinks in the same way they always do. A common trait in those on the spectrum is the desire for routine. Again, here I’m drawing off of my own experiences. Admittedly, in the books the Eden trips are not very regular, but they always follow the same order. There are also other things. For example, his sessions with Bee. He goes every Wednesday to Bee and she makes him the chocolate and they Talk. Every night he takes Kevin (and later Neil) to the court to practice while he chills in the stands. Consistent Routine is Important to him.
. Andrew has His Spot on the roof where he goes to be Alone and Quiet when Things get Too Loud. When the upperclassmen get to be Too Much or his family is getting to be A Lot then he goes to the roof. If you are familiar with the idea of Sensory Overload then you might already understand the point I’m making here. If not, I recommend this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2P4Ed6G3gw) but be careful, as I personally found it to be very overwhelming. Basically in the books, when Andrew is getting Overloaded he heads off to the roof to Process. In this sense, allowing Neil to join him is a huge sign of trust because That’s His Safe Space.
So yeah, those are some of my Feelings on this particular headcanon. HMU if you want more but that’s all I have directly from canon. There’s more that’s just personal headcanons for stuff, such as different ways he stims, or how Neil Helps (Nicky and Aaron totally got him a weighted blanket bc they Do Care and he Loves It). I have seen it suggested that Kevin is also on the spectrum, inspired by how quickly he bounces back to Exy, which is conceivably his Special Interest, and while I do support this hc, I haven’t put as much personal thought into it as I have with Andrew.
And another thing, his speech patterns. Something I see forgotten a lot in fanfiction is how Andrew Does Not Often Contract His Words.I cannot speak for anyone else on the spectrum, but I know that when I am getting worked up/upset I feel that I will not be understand so I do the same thing, I try and use full words and focus on that rather than anything else to try in part to calm down and reorientate myself.
the maserati is soaring down the highway. the windows are down. the sky is black. charli xcx’s “boys” is blasting at full volume. people think nicky is the one to put the song on the radio. it’s andrew
I love the idea of Andrew reclaiming control of himself and what he does with Neil by being soft and loving and tender
Andrew and Neil holding hands more and more as Andrew gets used to the feeling of skin against his own but in a good way
Tracing ever single one of Neil’s scars with the gentlest and most reverent fingers, committing them to touch memory so that he will always know that the body next to him is Neil, is safe
Andrew is so fucking careful with how he touches Neil that at first, when they start to go further, Neil has no idea how to deal with it because nobody has ever treated him like he mattered thatmuch before
Andrew softly pressing kisses to Neil’s neck and chin because it’s easy to reach and because he likes the way Neil’s breath hitches
(Andrew asking for Neil to give him a hickey but it takes way to long because Neil keeps stopping and asking if its still a yes)
Andrew letting himself want things with Neil, letting himself like things with Neil
Andrew not being able to sleep next to Neil not because there’s another body in his bed but because he can’t stop watching Neil’s face when he finally relaxes into sleep
Alternatively, Andrew getting so comfortable with Neil that on bad days when he’s just done, all he needs is his back to the wall and Neil beside him and he’s out like a light
Andrew learning Neil’s ‘favourite’ things (e.g colour, fruit, time of day etc) not because he asked for them but because he observed how Neil reacted to and with them
Honestly Andrew ‘Neil Watches’ at a professional level, if he didn’t have a good memory he would definitely have a notebook or something with all of his observations
Andrew is super direct and blunt about asking for things he wants but this is only after months of agonising over this thing and asking Betsy at least one hundred times if it’s an okay thing to want
Blushing when Neil says stupid things like ‘I want to spend time with you’ and ‘Andrew is my favourite’ and ‘I trust you’
Slowly learning to accept that Neil isn’t lying when he says things like that
(Slowly learning to accept that he really likes it when Neil says things like that)
Just, Andrew being soft and allowing himself to be soft
Nothing but My Aching Soul 