“Andrew, are you my boyfriend?” Neil asked.
Without actually meaning to, he’d been paying (probably) too
much attention to the way the press referred to Dan and Matt sometimes – the
way “captain Dan Wilds” was sometimes “Matt Boyd’s girlfriend,” or how sometimes
people speculated about “Nicky Hemmick’s boyfriend from Germany.” And when it
came to him and Andrew, Neil didn’t care about labels, not really, or about
what people thought they were to each other. Truthfully, Neil knew that boyfriend wasn’t a sufficient enough
term for their relationship, but it didn’t hurt to tease Andrew once in every
while.“I am your nothing,” Andrew said, as Neil had expected he
would. He was on the couch, legs pulled up close to his chest with a book balanced
on his thighs.From his spot on the other end of the sofa, Neil said, “A
rare occasion when you’re wrong,” and bit back his smile. Twisting Andrew’s own
words against him was one of Neil’s favorite pasttimes. “I am your nothing.”When Andrew said nothing, Neil nudged him with his toes. Andrew
responded with a bored glance before focusing back on his book. Neil crawled
the small space between them and let his head lean against Andrew’s shoulder.“I am you nothing,
and you are my everything,” Neil said,
knowing Andrew was listening. “You are my team, you are my family, you are my
home. And you’re also my boyfriend.”A hand turned Neil’s face towards Andrew’s, and Andrew’s
golden eyes were… steady. Searching. “You,” he said, “are everything.”And Neil knew it was true. It would always be true.