Title: sugar, spice, and something nice
Pairing: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Rating: T (for language)
Warnings: None
Summary:
Andrew appears by his side seconds later, takes one look at the charred disaster, and says, “At least you did not burn the Tower down.”
Neil sighs. Happy birthday, he thinks mockingly as he chucks the brownie into the garbage bin.
(or: Neil finds a new hobby and indulges his family with sweets, Andrew indulges Neil, and they both can’t stop staring at each other)
Kevin, yelling out a pep talk: You either go big or go home!
Andrew: *goes home*
i think one of the parts that fucks me up the most in tfc is when neil says “you’re not a sociopath, are you?” and andrew replies “i never said i was.” because for the past two years, that’s how the foxes have treated andrew. they call him monster, soulless, a sociopath, and he just lets them. andrew stopped caring about himself a long time ago, but honestly he feels so damn much. there are a lot of responses andrew could have chosen here. he could have said “of course not.” he could have just said “no.” but instead he says “i never said i was.” and i think a lot of what fucks me up about that is andrew doesn’t really talk to anyone that isn’t renee, kevin, or neil. because andrew learned a long time ago that no one listens when he speaks, so why should he bother? he could huff and puff all day long and the upperclassmen would still call him monster and sneer and spit in his face so he doesn’t even care enough to defend himself. so yeah, i share neil’s sentiment that the next time someone calls andrew soulless i might have to fight them, because andrew’s been fighting a long damn time and no one ever gives him a break.
Andrew looked as he always had, and Neil knew his face as well as he knew every iteration of his own.
Despite that, something seemed different.
Maybe it was the sunlight streaming through the window, making Andrew’s pale hair shine brighter and his hazel eyes seem almost gold.
headcanons!!!!
– neil fashion is a mish mash of allison’s clothes (both for her and bought for neil) and andrew’s clothes.
-ITS SOFT AND CUTE OK DONT JUDGE THE SINNAMON ROLL
– andrew is like a snake. no cold. no no. cold bad.
-NEIL IN A SUIT
-neil gets a tiny replica of the key to the house on his fourth finger.
-the 2 most important things to him: his partnership with andrew and the keys
– andrew gets his junkie tattoos above his heart.
– neil is a computer science nerd and andrew loves his boyf nerdiness but will never admit to it
-so in true nerd fashion andrew the symbol of his boyf on his heart in binary code
-(aint gonna tell you what it means that’ll be too easy ;))
-a symbol for the first person to listen to it, the first to hold it with the love it deserves
-neil is the only one that has the privilege to have his heart
-NEIL IN A SUIT
SELF-DESTRUCTIVE; NOT STUPID | Maybe I’m not as smart as I thought I was.
A playlist for Andrew, for being lost, for being found.
How Andrew views himself playing Exy:
“You don’t think,” Andrew said. “I told you, didn’t I? I don’t like Exy. I don’t like teams; I don’t like teamwork. I was not born and raised to be a team player. You want me to do them any good you have to narrow the playing field. When I crash the only thing I feel is me, and I will do what comes naturally.”
“Which is?”
Andrew’s smile was wide. “Fight everyone who thinks he can best me.” (x)
How Neil views Andrew playing Exy:
“They thought you’d hurt someone if you were loose on the court?“ Neil asked. Andrew didn’t answer; Neil took his silence as confirmation. He tried imagining Andrew in any other position but couldn’t see it. “I think it’s better this way, with you as the last line of defense. You let us run ourselves into the ground and clean up behind us. You play the game like you play life. That’s why you’re so good at it.” (The King’s Men, Nora Sakavic)
It’s all about perception. I think it is beautiful how Neil sees Andrew, especially given in contrast to how little Andrew sees in himself.
I fucking really love the parallels Nora presents with Andrew and Neil’s positions though. It’s so straightforward that you almost don’t give it thought until after you finish the books but it’s such a nice expression of their characters.
Neil, a striker, fastest little shit on the court. He’s darting around, getting on player’s nerves, fighting to the last breath. He’s running, just like in life, he’s always running, always desperate.
Then you have Andrew, sitting in the back of the court, watching everything from behind, overseeing this whole conglomeration of two forces butting heads. Like Neil says, he’s the last line of defense. He’s reactionary. He doesn’t engage, doesn’t fight, just shuts down any attack on his charge with blunt precision.
And then at the end, after Neil has taken all this time to develop his sense of self and his purpose in life, standing at Andrew’s side, having Andrew’s back, having his team’s back. When he needs it, he takes the position of defenseman. He shuts down Riko. He could run, but instead he uses his strengths to defend his goal beside Andrew. And sure, after the Edgar Allen game, he goes back to being a striker, but the point is, is if he needs to, he can be that shield, he can be Andrew’s defense.
Bless Nora honestly, because this was such a glaringly obvious thing that I didn’t even question it when I was reading. It was such a natural course of events. And afterwards, I’m just left breathless because GOD IT’S SO CLEVERLY WRITTEN JUST BLESS NORA MAN SHIT
Yes! And I think if you look at it that way it shows how well Neil is able to adapt. How versatile he is. How he is willing to fill roles. It is hard to peg him down. Both on the court and in life.
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p>Where Andrew is Andrew and he stands his ground. Either the ball scores or it doesn’t. Things are very black and white for him.
i find it hilarious the amount of energy that andrew put into denying his feelings for neil to himself. once he comes back sober and realises it wasn’t the drugs he’s still like ‘this is nothing’ over and over and over and it’s like… andrew is way too self aware not to know that he’s in love or at least if he doesn’t believe in ‘love’ exactly, that neil is important to him and there’s something real between them but he’s either too petty or too scared to admit it to himself so instead he throws neil’s keys off the roof
broad beefy shouldery goalie andrew with a soft squishy tummy reblog if u agree
andrew minyard x neil josten
Nothing but My Aching Soul 