Tag: im crying…….

quexnk:

man sometimes i think we forget that andrew minyard is just a kid. he kisses neil out of sheer impulse – though clearly we were leading up to it, that moment itself was andrew losing control and taking, andrew telling neil to tell him no because he wants this. andrew minyard, traumatized since birth and set to live through and remember every moment, is just a kid who had to tell neil to stop himself because he wanted it too much and he knew that he had to stop so that he could have it. just once, the right way.

battgvrl:

ok just bear with me here we know that neil could literally not care less about keeping his phone on or even charged and i imagine this wouldn’t change when nicky finally convinces him to upgrade to an iphone so just picture our boy leaving his phone all over the damn place and the foxes casually picking it up and taking a couple pictures before returning it to him

  • btw nicky sets a passcode for neil before handing it over (it’s totally 0310 let’s not kid ourselves) but you don’t need to know that to get to the camera so
  • nicky and matt take such goofy pictures like even when they’re trying to look good they exaggerate it so much that it’s funny
  • matt also takes a lot of group pics bc his arm is long enough to include himself in them amazing
  • nicky is the one responsible for most of the pictures of andrew’s group because
  • kevin literally could not care less for this. does it contribute to their exy skills? then get that phone out of his face nicky god damn it
  • he only takes a picture of himself once and its at some historical exhibit
  • aaron also never takes pictures bc he would never do neil the favor(?) of picking up his phone for him but you can bet that katelyn’s snuck in a couple of them when she runs into neil at parties with the vixens
  • in one picture she’s actually caught aaron laughing at some lame science joke the nerd and neil will never admit it but he thinks it’s the perfect example of why they’re right for each other
  • but his favorite is the one of aaron being used as an armrest by katelyn (probs taken by another vixen)
  • allison somehow manages to document anyone’s embarrassment on both her phone and neil’s
  • matt and dan take the most obnoxiously adorable couple pictures and at least a third of them originated on neil’s phone
  • renee pops up in group pics with all the girls but usually she ends up taking a lot of candid shots of the team
  • like she’s just really good at catching that one moment where everyone’s engaged and happy
  • allison and dan eventually talk her into taking a couple pictures of herself too, usually right after she’s redone her hair
  • and basically they all do their best to fill neil’s phone with pictures of themselves so that even when they’re not around in person he’ll remember that they’re family and they’ll always be there for him
  • and they just want to record every happy moment like a tangible wish for these memories to slowly outweigh every one of neil’s bad ones
  • and then there’s andrew

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(bc that court one healed me) Prompt: Imagine how happy Neil is (and Andrew even tho he wouldn’t show it) when they end up on their first team together after the foxes????

badacts:

okay i’m just:

  • them moving in together. neil joins andrew’s team and moves into andrew’s apartment, the one that he helped to choose on a long weekend during the hectic process of andrew’s trade. the one where the agent said, “oh, you brought a friend to look with you?” and neil giving her a glare vicious enough to strip paint
  • neil sells pretty much all the furniture from his old apartment because he doesn’t give a shit about it, but he does bring: a collection of kitchen knives that dan gave him as a ‘welcome-to-graduated-life’ present with the caveat that he didn’t cut himself, a small collection of books given to him by his old neighbour who has a taste for sci-fi and dystopia (he thinks andrew will like them), and a large number of photos from the last several years that he covers half a wall with
  • (he looks at them one by one as he takes them down to pack them, smiling a little with the fondness and nostalgia they evoke)
  • andrew picking him up from the airport, meeting him not inside the terminal but out in the parking lot, where they can stand very close and talk for a little while in something that almost feels like a welcome home to neil
  • andrew doesn’t use all the drawers in his dresser, so neil takes half of them for his stuff. he debates buying a second dresser but writes it off as a waste of time
  • he returns: a pair of sweatpants, a pair of sneakers that andrew left last time he was in town, 2 hoodies with minyard on them, and a shirt that he only theoretically returns, seeing as it goes in with the rest of his own clothes. he’s keeping that one
  • he gets in return: 4 pairs of socks that andrew has somehow stolen from him, and a stretched-out t-shirt that he takes to wearing because andrew’s expression gets intense when it gapes to show his collar bones
  • he likes andrew’s bed, but he brings the sheets he bought himself as spares. the second he’s not looking andrew throws them out because they’re shitty quality and he didn’t live this long to have to sleep with sheets that feel vaguely plastic when you lie on them
  • (neil likes andrew’s bed, and he likes andrew in andrew’s bed, and he likes being with andrew in andrew’s bed. except now it’s their bed. a brief break in unpacking (not a long process anyway) is likely made to take advantage of this fact)
  • andrew hasn’t done anything about the interior paint, which is neutral creams and beiges except for the one bright red wall in the living room. on the day neil moves in, andrew comes into said living room to find neil staring at the red wall with a blank expression. he waits him out until he blinks, breathing just a little too fast, and says, “blue?” 
  • andrew nods (he doesn’t care) (he cares about things that put that expression on neil’s face) (they go paint shopping the next weekend and neil ends up with spatters of it in his hair which stubbornly refuse to wash out)
  • just neil finding room for himself in andrew’s space, which is easy!! because andrew is right there making room for him!!!!
  • neil coming out of the bedroom after putting up all his photos and finding andrew on the couch, on his phone, and just. climbing onto the couch and putting his head in andrew’s lap and saying, “now you’re really going to have to work to get rid of me”
  • and andrew saying, “you know i can’t turn down a challenge”
  • except that his fingers are already in neil’s hair, and neil looks up at him with an expression that says you’re not going to get rid of me, all quirked mouth and eyes like goddamned stars, and fuck him if he isn’t right
  • (renee sends housewarming flowers even though andrew has been living there for a year. neither of them know what to do with flowers but neil is willing to do an internet search to find out)
  • (matt emails a bunch of hideous ‘congratulations on your wedding’ e-cards with flowers and ribbons and wedding rings on that neil never ever shows andrew)
  • their first practice together, the coach introduces neil to the entire team as though he has no idea that neil and andrew are together. he actually does know, but he’s the only one, and he has a bet with the defence coach on how long it’s going to take his players to catch on
  • it’s not like they don’t know who neil josten is. they’ve been speculating about his arrival for weeks, since they heard who their new signing was going to be (andrew hasn’t said a word, only glared at someone who asked what it was like to play with the guy in college. the questions died off after that)
  • neil’s exactly what they expected in practice – fast, cool-eyed and sharp-tongued, shorter in real life than he looks on TV, reckless to the point of self-injury. good. scores on andrew and yells “better luck next time, minyard” like an asshole, and somehow doesn’t get a ball to the helmet
  • he’s not quite like what they expected out of it – sticks close to andrew, smiles more sweetly than someone who talks like that should be able to, defers to the coaches. ‘nice’ isn’t the right word for him, but it’s kind of hard to hate him. except when he opens his mouth
  • their team winning, and neil being the only one to approach andrew (the others have well and truly figured out he doesn’t care for the celebration aspect of winning by now), speaking to him with his head bowed and pulling away with a smile over his face. andrew still looks bored, unless you happen to know him well enough
  • (the others don’t figure it out until neil casually refers to the apartment as ‘ours’, and then doesn’t lie when they ask who he lives with, and also clarifies without pause that they aren’t just roommates in a subtle but unmissable way. they’re insufferable for weeks about it, in a good-natured way)
  • (andrew still considers killing all of them. neil included)
  • a few weeks into cohabitation, round 2: neil looking over his shoulder where he’s standing in front of the open fridge and smiling a little – and then pausing at the expression on andrew’s face. saying, shy, “I like being here”
  • andrew saying, “close the fridge. we have an air conditioner”
  • andrew meaning, i like it too

Oh so that’s the list you’ve been taking prompts from!! Could you maybe write number 36 for andreil, only if you feel like it, thanks for all the amazing prompts!!

ravenvsfox:

36: “I really need a hug.” (thank youuu, sorry this took so long !)

The parking lot is overly busy when they get there, cars and pedestrians following each other around corners, false starts and almost collisions and flaring reverse lights streaking together. Neil watches Andrew drive, one self-assured hand draped over the wheel.

He passes him the cigarette they’re sharing and Andrew closes his eyes as he inhales, ignoring the shriek of a horn when he cuts someone off blind.

“I’ve never trusted airports,” Neil muses, watching Andrew negotiate the Maserati into the middle of two parking spots.

Andrew hums. “You don’t trust anywhere that has security guards.”

“They didn’t trust me,” Neil corrects. He can feel a smile winding his face up. Andrew cuts the engine and opens the door.

“Were your passports government issued?”

“Not at the time.”

Andrew shoots him a look as he hops down onto the asphalt.

“Wait up,” Neil calls, listening to the slick beep of the lock before he’s even shut the passenger door.

He falls into step with Andrew halfway across the stretch of road to the airport’s automatic doors, and he takes lazy pleasure in the way their steps match up. People glance to and away from them, and the doors open like they’re hurrying out of their way.

“They on time?” Neil asks, scanning the arrivals column on the nearest screen. The airport has the strangest smell: floor cleaner and a thousand people’s lingering perfume. It reminds him of heading off to the nest for Christmas, and of his mothers nails slicing the skin of his neck to keep him close and hunched in the bustle.

“Early,” Andrew says, and Neil sees them — just beyond the arrivals gate with their arms flailing. Neil waves back while Andrew surveys the reuniting families with practiced detachment.

“You actually came!” Nicky says in loud German. Erik holds the waist-high gate open for Nicky but he doesn’t seem to notice. “I almost bet against you!”

“He did,” Erik confirms, smiling broadly, leonine. “But I try not to bet.”

“Nice to see you,” Neil says politely, and they’re close enough now that he has a slipping moment of doubt, like grabbing a glass you didn’t know was wet.

Nicky gathers Neil in his arms without hesitation, and Neil goes board-stiff for a second. Or maybe longer, because Andrew tugs him physically out of Nicky’s embrace.

Nicky looks a little stricken, but he makes a heroic effort to overcome it. “Sorry to pounce.”

“It’s fine,” Neil says quickly. “I wasn’t expecting it.”

Nicky smiles warmly at that, and reaches out to squeeze his wrist. His eyes bounce and stick on Andrew, who’s still watching Neil.

“And my favourite cousin,” Nicky says. “Thanks for coming.”

Andrew doesn’t try to appease Nicky, and Nicky doesn’t try to touch Andrew. He looks back at Erik with eye-rolling fondness instead.

“This is like a reenactment of my entire senior year at Palmetto, Erik. Skittish Neil and unresponsive Andrew.”

“It’s like I’m there,” Erik says drily, plucking Nicky’s bags from his waving arms before he can hit someone.

They’re wearing matching jackets, Neil notes. One orange and grey and one blue and grey, the sort of spandex monstrosity you’d wear to go jogging or hiking. They’re always texting the group pictures of themselves doing both of those things and alternately kissing at waterfalls.

“Are you guys coming to Dan and Matt’s tonight?” Neil asks, blocking the way when Andrew tries to physically leave the conversation.

“Okay, obviously, Neil,” Nicky says. “Do you know what a rehearsal dinner is?”

“No,” Andrew answers for him.

“Yes,” Neil says narrowly.

“God help us.” Nicky hoists his carryon back out of Erik’s hand and walks backwards towards baggage claim. “The first fox wedding, though. Bound to be a shitshow.”

“Don’t say that,” Erik chides, following him.

Andrew walks in the opposite direction and Neil stalls, unsure who to follow.

Nicky huffs. “Follow your boy. But I’m still waiting for you to hug me like you mean it.”

“Maybe when you leave again,” Neil says, prickling with affection at Nicky’s overdramatic expression. “See you at the car.”

“I don’t know where you’re parked!” Nicky protests.

“Outside,” Neil calls back.

“Useless! Both of you!”

He catches up with Andrew again and feels fingers come up to his wrist as soon as he falls in beside him. “Do I need to have a conversation with him?”

“Who, Nicky?” Neil says, confused.

Andrew looks pointedly down at Neil’s chest and away.

“The hug? He just caught me off guard. You know he’s not a problem, Andrew, come on.”

“Do I know that,” Andrew asks flatly.

“Yes,” Neil says, firm. “It’s just— sudden contact. Contact is difficult. Nicky isn’t.”

“No,” Andrew agrees.

“And t’s a weekend of partying,” Neil continues. “It won’t be the last time I get hugged.”

Andrew gives him a longer, more focused look that says he wishes it was.

“You don’t hesitate when you’re underneath me,” Andrew says, and even though it’s utterly emotionless, Neil’s ears go hot. “But you can’t hug Nicky.”

“That’s different,” Neil hisses.

“How? For some unfathomable reason, you trust Nicky,” Andrew says.

“Trust only carries me so far,” Neil argues. “You—“ he stalls when they come through the doors of the airport and the air gets quiet. “It’s different. With you.”

Andrew shrugs, crossing the street without looking to see if cars are coming or Neil is following.

Neil huffs and jogs after him again.

It bothers him for the rest of the day, that little piece of confusion. Why is it so easy with Andrew? Why does it feel so much like my skin’s coming away when my own friends hug me?

He’s still getting used to actually wanting affection, even after years sharing the same space and trading truths.

It’s different, he tells himself. And Andrew’s voice, cool and grey as morning air, asks how?

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