Kevin and Neil HATE lacrosse more than life itself
Once, Andrew calls Exy ‘stickball’ and lacrosse ‘stickball on grass’
Kevin isn’t sure what he’s angrier at: the fact that Andrew called it stickball, or the fact that Andrew insinuated that lacrosse was the same as Exy when it obviously isn’t
Kevin criticizes the new Foxes by telling them they would be B-list lacrosse players. One boy bursts into tears.
In one memorable interview, Neil calls Riko the lead attacker of Edgar Allen’s lax team
Wymack is furious. Nicky is ecstatic
A lacrosse player: “I hope making fun of us makes you freaks feel better about your shitty lives and shitty team”
Neil: “I am sorry that you are stuck playing for a less exciting, less popular wannabe version of Exy. I am also sorry that your daddy wasted lots of money on Exy tutors trying to make you less horrible. It obviously failed, because you’re stuck with this pathetic excuse for a sport, and could never hope to be even a quarter the players we were. Clearly you’re projecting your bitterness on your own lack of talent, but that doesn’t give you an excuse to bad-mouth my team. You can kiss my ass and my championship trophy.”
Neil, on twitter, keeps liking and retweeting articles about why Exy is better than lacrosse. His PR team has given up trying to get him to stop
One brave reporter asks Kevin what will happen if his daughter doesn’t like Exy. Unfortunately, Kevin has had several stressful games and a couple of nightmares about the Nest; he’s too tired to control himself, so he says, “As long as she isn’t a lacrosse fan, we’ll figure something out.”
On some late-night practices, the lacrosse team swears they see a figure watching from the top of the bleachers, a black trench coat fluttering in the wind and a chess piece tattoo on his left cheekbone.
He watches scornfully for a few minutes before turning away.
“Sometimes, when I feel bad about myself as a striker, I like to watch them practice. Then I realize that I could be much, much worse,” he tells Jean in one video call.
so andrew and neil are on one of theyre “this is nothing but we go on weekend trips together to makeout” things
so kevin needs to practice bc he’s Extra™ and…he’s still having a little trouble relaxing without andrew around all the time
andrew gave aaron a look before he left that aaron knows means to watch out for kevin
aaron’s complete disinterest manages to deter kevin from practice for two full days
never underestimate aaron’s ability to be stubborn to spite someone else ok
but finally FINALLy it’s not kevin’s incessant bitching that gets aaron to go to the court with him
it’s aaron getting back from classes and not getting immediately bombarded with requests to go to the court
it’s coming home to a silent kevin staring out the window, rubbing his scars
aaron sighs deep to hide the fact that he’s concerned and changes into light workout clothes and grabs kevin
he also ignores how much kevin lights up when they turn onto the street of the foxhole court
this is an example of aaron “im not allowed to feel anything at all ever” minyard
also an example of aaron “knows where matt keeps a spare key to his truck” minyard
at first aaron refuses to practice with kevin
but he “gets bored” or whatever he likes to tell himself
see, aaron actually likes exy. he likes the way he can channel all his frustrations into it. he spends so much time studying and trying to figure out his brother and trying to figure out what the hell he wants from his life so sometimes he just needs to run around and knock people on their asses, ok?
its also pretty much the only times he can remember connecting with andrew
kevin is, like always, completely immersed, and barely notices aaron getting on the court until he walks by him to block his way to the goal
kevin’s on the courts because he can breathe there. he’s on the court because its where is mother put him. its the only place he mattered after she died, where he felt like a living thing rather than an asset.
he’s there because even though he’s happy for andrew and neil, he really is, he’s still figuring out how to stand on his own. the court’s been the only place he really felt he could do that.
now aaron may be on the court
he may have come to be there for kevin shut kevin up
but you best believe he’s gonna bitch about it
“fine, i’ll go, but i’m gonna complain the whole time” yea that’s aaron
after like one snide comment though Bitchy Kevin comes out to fuckin play and it goes a little something like:
kevin: andrew knows he’s good but does he try? of course not. see, that’d be fucking easy. that’d be simple. nothing is simple with him. *cue kevin taking an unnecessarily forceful shot on goal*
aaron: and don’t even get me started on neil just asking him for things. are you kidding. andrew doesn’t do anything ever at all and neil just??? asks him??? and he does it???
kevin: I KNOW. AS IF I HAVEN’T BEEN MAKING SIMPLE REQUESTS FOREVER.
(both of them are secretly wondering why they don’t bitch to each other more often)
the best part though, is when aaron is at the height of his rant and says, “You know, i don’t even want to do extra practice, but I’d take this over Neil eye fucking the court every goddamn day”
kevin just fucking breaks like he drops his racquet and everything
aaron hasn’t ever seen kevin laugh???? its kind of beautiful surprising??
kevin gets a hold of himself and wow
he doesn’t think he’s ever seen aaron smile he’s surprised how much he likes it
after that kevin’s feeling better
they head back to the dorms and play video games for a while, order food. just kinda hang out
nothings really changed, per se, but….things are definitely different.
more often than not now kevin will just go to the library to watch his taped games with headphones on while aaron studies, occasionally getting kicked in the shin when he gets too excited
when neither of them want to sleep because they know its one of those days they’ll have nightmares they go to the library’s 24 hr lounge and eat shitty microwave ramen (aaron is sworn to secrecy…no one can know kevin loves creamy chicken ramen) and try to teach each other bio or history
aaron only had a mother who hurt him growing up, and kevin only had the memory of his mother and people who hurt him growing up . without saying anything, they just understand.
in conclusion because aaron is accidentally really funny, kevin and him get a lot closer, which is good, cause they both kinda needed it
they wouldnt say they were friends, or are friends, but…maybe its a little “nothing” of their own
“Thea is watching from South tonight,” Kevin said, looking
to the elevated VIP box. It was too far away and too high up for Neil to make
out any faces, but there was a small crowd gathered at the windowed walls
already. Knowing the Court was here to watch them play sent a chill through
Neil’s veins. Kevin dragged his stare back to Wymack’s face and said, “and my
father comes to all of my games. That is enough.”
On Wymack’s other side, Abby’s gaze softened. Wymack’s jaw worked for a moment
before he could say in an even tone, “Your mother would be proud of you.”
“Not just of me,” Kevin said in a rare bout of humanity.
OH MY FUCKING GOD MY GUY,,, DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED i wrote a whole fucking essay on neil and kevin trying to get into the extra josten squad i’m never ok. anyway even tho i said don’t get me started,,,, im getting started
OK. LIKE. their relationship is so fucky to start with. neil looks at kevin and sees everything he could have had. he’s just… jealous in a lot of ways. but it takes him like 0 time to realise that actually, kevin’s life has been pretty shit, and he’s IMMEDIATELY protective of kevin. like,, he’s so pissed off at kevin for pressuring him into being on kathy’s show but he totally gets where he’s coming from and as soon as riko starts being an asshat he’s just like “you know what? my life isn’t worth anything. i’ll give it up for kevin. no question.” no doubt, he’s a ride or die motherfucker and he gives it all up for kevin
LOOK AT THIS!!! THIS ISN’T BC OF A DEAL OR SOMETHING!! NEIL’S JUST LIKE. NO. WE’RE ON THE SAME TEAM. #FUCKRIKO2K17
he doesn’t even last two pages and then he’s just. so fucking pissed he literally can’t even let riko talk anymore. what kind of a gem
oh my god and this is just like… the start. this is the first book. this is pretty much the first time neil shows any type of care for anything except surviving this year. he was gonna run away before he even saw riko, and here riko’s not looking at him and he paints a target on his back for kevin??? i love him
alright and that’s not all. it’s not just neil adopting kevin. kevin straight up adopts that boy too. he loves neil for his exy, and he’s certain he’ll make court, but do you see him inviting anyone else to practice at night? nope. AND AS SOON AS KEVIN FINDS OUT THAT NEIL IS NATHANIEL HE DOES THE SAME THING he doesn’t defy riko or smth not yet but
HE STRAIGHT UP ADOPTS NEIL RIGHT BACK!!! and i dont even have to show u guys this quote its the fucking apex of their relationship-
OH MY GODDDDD he believes so much in neil!!!! he’s so fucking upset that neil can’t have a future. he wants that for our boy as much as we do; like nothing else that has happened has hurt kevin that much.
and they see themselves in each other. they SEE that they’re basically just alternate timelines of each other – that one small difference could have made either one of them into the other
a BUNCH of their compassion for each other comes because they know what they’re looking at. they’re looking at themselves, if there had been one small change in their lives. and both of them know that it wouldn’t have been good either way – both routes were torture in different ways. kevin has a future, but the moriyamas will always be hanging over them; neil was free for a while, but it won’t last. they KNOW that for each other and that fuels them. there’s a bond there that just can’t be ignored ok??
ALSO. LETS NOT FORGET. KEVIN OFFERED TO NOT DRINK FOR NEIL! JUST IF NEIL WANTED TO DRINK!!
even nicky comments like “kevin has CLEARLY just done something nice for neil but kevin’s a BRAT” like. kevin cares so fucking much,, he’s like “you know what? if i were in neil’s shoes i would already be fucking wasted. idk if it will help but if he wants to he should be able to. i got u, bro.” what a BOY. i love him they’re the best friends
and okay if anyone needs more- i swear i’m wrapping this post up – when neil thinks about his future, he sees andrew. obviously. BUT HE ALSO SEES KEVIN THERE.
they’re straight up best friends and brothers and i fucking love them
and as a last point, this is extra content instead of book-canon, but
NEIL IS AS IMPORTANT TO KEVIN AS THEA IS. MIKE DROPPED. MY BOYS.
is nobody going to talk about this?? like, andrew’s pettiness has always been obvious, especially in scenes like when he threw neil’s keys off the roof, but this one is gold imo. he forgoes the chance to make out and share a moment of privacy with neil because he’s full of spite and doesn’t want to accept any “help” from nicky, especially not in matters of his not-relationship. like. andrew. my boy
deadass one of my fav moments in TKM is when neil shoves kevin against the door because kevin won’t stop bitching about neil’s attitude and his hobby of antagonizing riko and andrew cleanly side-steps outta the way like andrew had attacked matt for hitting kevin but neil is more than welcome to take a go at day lmao
Nothing but My Aching Soul 