#andrew just trying his best. kevin is seconds away from sitting in his lap to hold him down. decides to grab his sleeve instead. :')) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

papipopsicle · 5 years ago

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AFTERTASTE PART FIVE

Pairing: Archie Andrews X Reader

Genre: fluff and some angst

Summary: In which two best friends since childhood test whether sex and friendship can co-exist without causing conflict. Including OC's Flick and Cherry, a bisexual and lesbian in a sapphic relationship who are best friends of Y/N.

Song: Candy by Doja Cat

Warnings: swearing, minors consuming alcohol

Words: 3.6K

MASTERLIST

feedback is always appreciated

Y/N lasted two weeks before thoughts of even throwing the bet came to mind. She had been strong so far; making sure to wear her tightest outfits and highest heels, being extra touchy-feely with Archie and not reacting to his moves in the slightest. Her personal favourite moment was sitting on his lap at the Twilight Drive-In and giving him a hard-on whilst Kevin and Betty sat next to them non the wiser.

But now, on day eighteen, she needed reinforcements. The redhead realised his attempts were failing miserably and he couldn't help his reactions to Y/N’s provocative movements. He turned it up a notch, becoming rather possessive of the five foot blonde knowing she enjoyed that side of him. He carefully walked the line of teasing and taunting like a tightrope, always whispering in her ear and letting his hand rest on her inner thigh under the table. And now, Y/N found herself wanting to pounce him whenever he caught her eye. It was getting out of hand, so she called for the only two people who could possibly help.

"Have you tried doing the bend and snap?" Cherry asked out of the blue, her head rested on her girlfriends lap as the three watched Clueless from the comfort of Felicity's bed.

"Babe," the blue haired girl said with a sigh and took a handful of M&Ms, "I love you but I don't think our answer lies in a two-thousand's rom-com."

"Hey, it worked on you, didn't it?" The brunette grinned smugly and leaned up to kiss the girl above her, earning a handful of chocolate to be launched in their direction and a disgruntled groan from the blonde sitting beside them.

Y/N pouted, "Please stop reminding me how single I am."

At this, the two girls pulled away and sent her the same bewildered look, "You wouldn't be if you told that hunky ginger you're in love with him!" Flick barked, a hand playing with the hem of her partner's shirt whilst the other flew up in desperation.

The y/h/c girl sent her friends an incredulous glare, it only growing when their shared 'you know I'm right' smile made an appearance. She took a handful of sweets and irritably shoved them in her mouth, "I am not in love with Archie Andrews... I just want his body on my body... in a variety of ways, and locations... multiple times."

"Right, so let me just get this straight," Cherry sat upright and gathered her hair over one shoulder, she paused the film and sent the petite girl a serious look, "you really think a no-strings-attached relationship can actually work? Have you even seen Friends With Benefits? It doesn't work! Sure it's all fun and games now but it's only a matter of time before one of you catches feelings and shit gets real. Then we'll have to pick sides, obviously you automatically get us, but I really liked Archie, he was promising..."

"What my gorgeous girlfriend means, is that we won't have this relationship ruined because you two can't keep it in your pants. We've put a lot of work and effort into this ship and it isn't going to waste, this isn't some TV teen drama shit, there's no need to wait until season 6 to actually be happy. Don't be Lydia and Stiles." Flick rounded up, taking the remote and pressing play.

Y/N simply sighed and slouched against the pillows, her attention turning back to the TV as she sulked, "I came here for your advice, and honestly now it feels like my moms are telling me I can't have sex with my hot best friend because they ship us too hard romantically. How can sex ruin a friendship? That's like saying extra sprinkles ruin ice cream! Anyways, none of that matters unless I win this stupid bet."

"You know Y/N/N, asking a lesbian and a bisexual whose only ever been with a girl on how to seduce a boy isn't exactly your best move." Cherry commented, snuggling under her blanket with a near-empty bowl of mini-pretzels at her side.

"My advice? Just be yourself, dumbass. Clearly for some weird reason he's into that, so it's only a matter of time until he gives in and this insanity will end. Boys think with their dicks and have a lot less will-power than us. For fucks sake, he's sprung when your name's mentioned in passing conversation, clearly he wants to bone your brains out. Wait it out, you're one stubborn chick when you want to be, you got this."

Two days later, on one rather fateful Friday night, Y/N found herself in the midst of a party thrown by none other than the Blossom twins. It had been a while since she'd spoken to either of them, but since their entire year was currently making out on the couches, the invitation wasn't all that strange. She and Betty had spent the evening getting ready whilst rocking out to the cheesiest music known to their generation. The smaller blonde wore a little red number with lace cutouts, and only managed to convince her taller friend to ditch the mom-jeans for a conservative royal blue knee-length dress. Baby steps, she told herself whilst trying her best not to cut a deeper neckline in the mass of material.

Betty Cooper had absolutely no idea what was going on between two of her three best friends; and although she'd always been silently jealous of their closeness, she was used to it and didn't think twice to question it. Y/N spritzed her neck and wrists with her favourite perfume, Daisy Dream, and gave herself a final once over in the large mirror beside her wardrobe.

With perfect timing, like some magical intuition, Y/N’s phone buzzed, notifying her their ride was outside. She grinned at the taller girl and slipped her black Louis Vuitton's on, "Ready, m'lady?"

"I-I don't know, Y/N/N." Betty panicked, wringing her hands together as a worrisome look etched onto her face, "What if my mom sees us leave? She'll kill me if she finds out we're going to a Blossom party."

"She won't. And even if she does, she'll only see us getting into a car with Cherry and Flick, just tell her they invited us over for a girl's night or something... Stop worrying about the future, and start living in the now! You look smokin', I look hot, we are not wasting my precious work on Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore again, capisce?" Y/N didn't allow even a millisecond to pass before dragging the taller girl downstairs with her where they met Polly and Ren.

The four took a few quick photos together and hightailed it out to the red convertible sitting on the edge of the drive. Polly switched places with Flick and the happy couple sat in the back on each other's lap, leaving Y/N and Betty sat beside them like two spare wheels.

When the group of girls arrived, Cheryl graciously directed them down to the basement. Thoughts of being led down to a torture chamber came to mind as the redhead opened a large squeaky door, but those died down when the smell of liquor and sound of house music hit them like a brick wall.

So now, an hour into the night, it was just Betty and Y/N standing at the side of the room with a red solo cup in hand. Polly ran off to find her beloved boyfriend as soon as she arrived and Y/S/N just so happened to find herself hitting on a nearby houseplant. 'Flicky' were playing beer pong, well cider for them, against Reggie and Moose, and were winning with only one cup standing.

The petite girl, who still stood below her friend even in four inch heels, was about to save her sister from some terrible mugshots, but a strong arm stopped her in her tracks and pulled her back into a muscly chest.

"Where'd you think you're going, gorgeous?" A deep voice breathed in her ear, and a second later she ripped herself away from the boy, instantly recognising him and wishing to be the other side of the building right now. Though her actions were quick, the brunette pinned her to the nearest wall and stared hazily into her wide chartreuse-coloured eyes. Y/N actually laughed at the irony of the location, finding it funny that the last time she was in this position it was rather enjoyable.

"Fuck off, Chuck." The girl took another sip of her drink, not bothering to pay the boy any attention because that's exactly what he wanted. Though, when his arms moved from the wall to around her waist and neck, forcing Y/N to look up at him, she felt like punching the stupid smile off his smug face. But with one hand stuck at her side and the other holding her drink, she simply settled for chucking her remaining vodka-lemonade at the boy.

He chuckled cynically and wiped his face down, eyes darkening as he pushed himself against her with even more force, "Now, now. That's no way to treat the best fuck you've ever had. Why don't we go find somewhere quiet, for old times sake." He commanded, his tone leaving no room for questioning or any form of verbal consent.

But Y/N scoffed and chucked her now empty cup at his face, "Do you really want to be known for rape, as well as leaking a fifteen year old's sex tape, that you were a part of let's not forget?"

He sighed and brought a hand up to cup her face, coarse fingers gripping her jaw achingly tight, "Y/N/N, aren't we past that? I was mad and you embarrassed me in front of the entire football team, what did you expect me to do? Can't we just forget about that?" His other arm aggressively tugged her closer, "C'mon, you know you want me, slut."

Y/N had her eyebrows raised intolerably the entire time he spoke, and when she realised this had no affect on him, she cocked her head ever so slightly. That word felt so good coming from Archie's lips weeks ago. But with Chuck's intoxicated breath panting down on her made up face, she felt completely and utterly violated, physically and mentally.

She hid the look of disgust as best as possible and simply let her best fake alluring smile grace her features; Y/N wrapped her arms around his neck and looked ever so sweetly into his darkened eyes, "Clayton, we were together for what, eight months? And somehow, in that entire time, you never made me orgasm, not even close. I feel sorry for any girl, or whoever else who has to put up with your shitty oral. Don't you ever, ever use that word against me or any other girl. Don't touch me, you do not and shall never have consent to touch my body, remember that." She smoothly spoke, her voice laced with sugar-coated venom.

Using his drunken and shocked state to her advantage, Y/N unhooked his arms and rushed off to find one particular individual. She fought through the endless crowd of teenagers and after ten minutes of searching, Archie was nowhere to be found. A light tapping on one shoulder caused the y/h/c girl to spin on her heels, ready to slap a bitch if it were another jock.

But thankfully it wasn't, and Y/N let out a sigh of relief when her eyes found Betty's figure. She took her taller friend by the arms and asked, "Have you seen Archie at all? There's three fucking gingers at this party and I can only spot two."

"Last time I saw him he was in line for the bathroom, and that was around five minutes ago." The taller blonde said, peering down at her friend in concern as a hand smoothed down her signature ponytail instinctively, "Is there anything I can help with?"

Betty's question almost flew right past her as she searched for the toilet queue, but thankfully she managed to make out a few words, and quickly put two and two together. Y/N shook her head and finally looked at her friend, "It's alright, but one of us is about to lose a bet, I'll tell you who once I find out."

Betty's expression contorted at that, and she began to feel an uneasiness settling in the pit of her stomach. The Cooper girl did her best to hide her jealousy along with her crush on Archie. She'd always viewed Y/N as the unwanted cog in the machine, but as the months went on she couldn't help but feel like a spare part.

With that, the petite girl marched off and soon found herself pushing through throngs of her drunken classmates until a head of fiery-red hair poked up above the crowd. He was joking and laughing with Reggie, both wearing giddy smiles whilst sipping from from their cups every so often.

Y/N was used to being easily knocked, because she was so tiny in relation to the 6 foot something masses of muscle she called her friends, so it came as no surprise when someone practically rammed her right into the middle of the boys' conversation. Luckily, being the gentleman he was, Archie's arm instinctively wrapped around her waist to steady her toppling body. Their chatting ceased and it took Reggie no less than a second to start talking to someone else, leaving the red-haired boy looking down in confusion at his best friend.

"You okay there, Tiger?" He asked, gingerly hooking a few strands of her y/h/c hair behind her ear, making Y/N crane her neck up to watch him intently for a moment. She bit down on her lower lip and let out an intoxicated little giggle, "My knight in shining armour, however will I repay you?"

Archie breathed out a deep chuckle and smirked, "I can think of a few ways..." he all but muttered. Y/N’s thoughts flickered back to just moments ago in the lull of silence, and that was all the boy needed to lead her out of the packed basement. He saw the look confliction in her eyes, not quite understanding it, "has something else happened, Y/N/N?"

"Do you remember last spring, when I finally broke it off with Chuck... and then he, you know?" She tried to clarify, but her words wavered and fell short.

"Released a video of you two without your consent and only got suspended for a week?" Archie almost growled his voice felt so heavy. He hated remembering their relationship. Not only because he wanted Y/N to be only his, but because he was forced to see his best friend humiliated and heartbroken all at the same time and couldn't stop it.

"That's the one." The girl looked down, unable to meet his eyes as her mind raced back to one of the darkest weeks of her life. But she pulled herself away from the horrible memories, "Look, it happened and I can't change that, but I really don't want to be around him right now."

"We'll go back to mine right now, Tiger." Archie affirmed with his hand now cupping her made up face, bringing her gaze back to his own.

"Woah, didn't realise you two were a thing." A slurring Reggie turned back around and winked at the pair with his usual cheeky smile, "Don't worry, I won't tell."

Y/N giggled and hiccuped at the same time, "Fuck off, Reg."

"Hey, if you hurt her, Andrews, I'll knock you into next year." The Asian boy only partly joked with his best friend.

The Robins girl pulled herself away from the wall and wrapped her arms around Reggie, "My hero!"

"Yeah, yeah." He hugged her back, not too hard though as in his drunken state he was scared he might snap her in half with all his muscular might. "I love you too, Y/N/N."

She gave him a sweet peck on the cheek before returning to Archie's side, clasping his hand in her own and leading the both of them away from the raucous party. Nobody seemed to notice in their happy little haze, even if they did, most people assumed the two were sleeping together anyway.

"Does it bother you at all?" Y/N small voice called as they walked down the narrow roads back home. She didn't know whether the answer would be something she wanted to hear, but it had been bothering her for the past minute or so.

Archie's brows furrowed, slightly more sober and completely not understanding his companion's train of thought, "Does what bother me?"

"That people assume so much about us? That we're sleeping together? That we're a couple?" She pondered.

"Not unless it's something that puts you in a negative light, otherwise I really couldn't care less about other people's opinions. Everyone has them, but the only ones that matter to me are my friends and my family's." Archie reassured her.

Y/N giggled at her own joke, "I thought you were going to say they're like assholes?"

The boy looked at her incredulously.

"Everybody has one." She grinned and wrapped her arm around his waist as his own found its way to her shoulders, pulling her into his warmth. The rest of the walk was silent after that, cool summers air bringing an ease to Y/N's tipsy frame. Twenty minutes must have gone by before they saw the Andrews' household finally in view, it was anything but awkward though. Their hands clasped swinging between them, the girl's feet beginning to ache from the regrettable choice of five inch heels.

They shared giggles and passing comments that wouldn't make sense the next morning, gleeful smiles hanging from cheek to cheek. Before Archie had the chance to hunt for his key, the front door opened with Fred sending the two teenagers a short look of annoyance.

"Get in already." He rolled his tired eyes, not wanting to question why his son's best friend was currently looking up at him with hidden adoration as she slipped off her shoes.

Y/N hiccuped and sent the adult an apologetic smile, "Sorry if we woke you, Freddie."

"I couldn't sleep anyway, kid, don't worry about it." Fred gave her a kind smile and felt her small frame hug his own. He returned it as always and after a few moments, let the teenagers carry on upstairs. The girl immediately went into the bathroom and found her small bottle of cleanser under the sink, removing her heavy make up before returning to her best friends room.

Y/N couldn't help but gawk at the sight her eyes were greeted with, the redheads body clad with tight boxers with his warm bedside lamp lighting the room, and his muscular build, perfectly. Her hands lightly traced his back, making Archie jump before leaning into her touch.

"I'm still going to win this bet," She whispered, shutting the bedroom door and pulling the boy down to his bed with her, "but Arch, can I ask you something?"

Y/N's head nearly reached the wall as the redhead towered over her, hot breath tickling her skin while he rest himself against her without putting any weight down. "Of course." The words floated from his lips so easily, knowing his whole life he'd do anything or answer whatever she wanted.

"Do you think we're meant to be more than friends? I think I've finally realised it's not that we were never and will never be romantic in each other's minds, it's always been that way but we've just never really known." The Robins girl seemed so sure of her words, staring up into his amber eyes with so much honest admiration.

He watched her for what felt like forever, not knowing whether it was the alcohol in them both or just that the little game they were playing didn't matter anymore, and decided to throw that away. A short gasp fell from Y/N's lips as Archie caught them, rolling over and pulling her on top of his chest.

"You're right, I've always wanted us to be more than friends Y/N/N, ever since Leonardo went missing when we were in sixth grade and you kissed my cheek when I found him." Archie propped himself up and returned that same gesture. She stole a kiss but he didn't let it end, running his fingers through her curled blonde hair.

"Arch?" Her small voice called out, sitting atop of his torso still in her revealing red dress. He nodded back with the biggest smile, unable to control the pure joy as her next words tumbled into the world, "Will you be my boyfriend?"

"I don't have a choice, since I lost the bet, do I?" He mocked, smile not falling as she hit his chest and rolled her eyes. "Yes, of course, yes, I'll be your boyfriend."

PART SIX

#fanfic #fanfiction #archie andrews smut #archie x reader #archie andrews imagine #archie fluff #archie riverdale #archie imagine #archie andrews fluff #archie andrews fic #archie andrews x reader #imagine #riverdale imagine #riverdale #riverdale fluff #riverdale smut #riverdale fanfiction

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pipedreil · 5 years ago

Note

What’s ur fave non canon ship and what ur ur fave head canons for it?

that would be kandreil, the ship that almost was. i will never forgive nora for taking it away from us so while i plan my battle strategy, here are some headcanons that definitely got away from me and i spent way too long writing

after college, they all went pro, but andrew retired after two years and started writing for a living

best-selling thriller/mystery author andrew minyard??? fuck yeah!

you didn’t hear it from me but kevin is a great dancer

like you’re telling me he danced at edens throughout all of college and didn’t learn some nice moves?

their first christmas together, neil suggests throwing a christmas party for the foxes since he hasn’t seen most of them since he graduated

kevin is pretty easy to convince, but andrew takes a little more work

bc sure, they’d thrown small parties back at psu, but those were the dorms and andrew could leave whenever he wanted

but this? this is different. this is his house, his own space and if things get to be too much he wouldn’t have anywhere to retreat to

but of course neil understands this and with a promise that he’ll kick everyone out immediately if it becomes too much, andrew reluctantly agrees

renee buys them a set of pots and seed packets so that they can grow plants to place on the window sill above the kitchen sink

kevin is an absolute plant nerd and spends the rest of eternity fusing over their ever-growing plant collection like they’re his children

(they are his children, fuck you, neil)

matt and dan buy them a wii

it all goes downhill from there

to the surprise of absolutely no one, the three of them are competitive about literally anything they can turn into a competition

it starts with mario kart

andrew wins the most, kevin gets frustrated the most, and neil cheats the most

[playing rainbow road]

kevin: [runs neil off the road, knocking him from 2nd place and taking it for himself] haha loser

neil: [body chucks kevin halfway across the living, kevin’s remote slides under the couch] eat shit in last place asshole

andrew’s sitting on his phone bc he finished a lap ahead of the other two

then they branch out to wii sports

every single boxing match turns into an actual wwe fight in their living room

it’s usually kevin and neil fighting, but occasionally andrew will help one of them sabotage the other depending on his mood

(he usually goes against whoever it was that had dragged him out of bed that morning)

also pls imagine kandreil playing just dance. neil holds the high score for every single song they’ve played even tho kev is technically the better dancer between the three

after seeing it recommended online, kevin starts baking as a coping mechanism bc even though they’re all getting better, there are some things that will never stop haunting them

It starts one night on a whim when kevin wakes up in the middle of the night from a nightmare, the crunch of his hand breaking under riko’s racket echoing in his mind

the clock on their bedside table tells him that it’s almost 4am and he knows that there’s no point in trying to go back to sleep so he carefully gets out of bed and heads to the kitchen

kevin’s aware of the slight tremors racking his body, the ache shooting through his left hand, and the constant itch of his tattoo, but he ignores them in favor of opening the kitchen cabinets

in the one closest to the fridge, he finds four boxes of easy bake cookies. he stares at them for ten seconds before saying fuck it and grabbing them

andrew and neil wake up three hours later to the smell of cookies filling their apartment and leave their room to find kevin standing in the middle of the kitchen with a “kiss the cook” apron (a gag gift from allison) on and flour on his face, aggressively mixing whatever is in the bowl he’s holding

neil spots the four (now empty) boxes of cookies plus three new ones sitting on the counter and raises an eyebrow, “why are you covered in flour? you don’t need flour to make easy bakes”

kevin replies without pausing his mixing, “i got bored after the third batch and decided to experiment”

turns out, kevin’s a natural at baking like he is most things, perfect bastard

his baking skills slowly grow from there and he starts finding ideas for new recipes lying around their whole apartment (a magazine on the coffee table that’s open to an article on cookies and cream cheesecake, a video on five different ways to make brownies that someone accidentally left open on their desktop computer)

(kevin knows it’s andrew bc of course it is, but neither of them ever mention it)

neil develops an obsession with tlc shows

If he’s watching tv, there’s 99% chance it’s 90 day fiance or my strange addiction. it’s now a saturday night tradition to sit on the couch together and talk shit about the people on the shows while eating junk food

when one of them (or all of them) can’t sleep, more often than not andrew will prop himself up in bed and read his current read out loud until they fall asleep

sometimes he’ll read them snippets from his new book he’s working on

(they’ll never tell him, but neil and kevin have compiled a collection of recordings of andrew reading for them to play when they’re away for games and his absence becomes too much)

when they sleep, kevin is in the middle bc he is Big and Warm and makes a very nice pillow for neil to put his head on and a heater that andrew can put his cold feet on

just. kandreil being domestic and in love

#i am so sorry this is an absolute nightmare #these suck #most of my headcanons i think of randomly and never write down so i've forgotten most of them </3 #ask #anon #kandreil #andrew minyard #neil josten #kevin day #tumblr keeps deleting part of this post and i am anger #so sorry if the formatting is weird

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snarkwrites · 4 years ago

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11 | gangsta; sweetpea

Notes:

SO.. I uhh... Got super into writing this recently. I just really liked where it was heading after part 7. Yes. Yes, I realize that literally no one asked for more of this but.. I wrote it. Might as well share it.

I warn in advance, yet again. There’s not quite as much going on in this chapter as the previous one but there is still A LOT. And Dave kind of makes an indirect appearance. Via text.

This is the final part I have already written and waiting to go. I know, I know.. Literally no one asked for this. But you’re getting it anyway. Catch you guys with more of this fic that literally nobody has asked for in a few days, probs.

Warnings:

loosely canon compliant - this is the biggest warning, so if you’re into things that follow exact canon plot you are… definitely not going to like this. angst & slow burn, heavy sexual tensionstarting now, actually - this is just so everyone who started reading this thinking the smut would transpire in a hurry knows that apparently, it is not. violence / swearing & fighting, possible underage drinking and other shenanigans- look.. it’s high school. shit happens. also apparently, my ofc Alyssa uses the word fuck like all the time?…eventual sexual content / a virgin original character- this one is self explanatory. yes, i plan to write a smutty chapter in this at some point. when? i don’t rightly know. it’s got a while before we get there. revenge porn / grooming behaviors + an older boyfriend that Alyssa had in Chicago and moved to Riverdale to get away from are hinted at here. And this chapter might not be the only one in which we hear about Dave Novak. - I put this here so it doesn’t trigger anybody. I tried to be very very very vague when I wrote out things.. But if you can’t handle it, I understand trust me... This is not going to be a huge part of the fic, no worries. It will have a small arc, but then it’ll be resolved.

Pairing:

Andrews!Sibling OFC, Alyssa x Sweet Pea

Other Parts:

[ one - two - three - four - five - six - seven - eight - nine - ten - soundtrack ]

Other Stuff:

[ faq - tag list doc ]

Tagging:

@brithedemonspawn is the only person on my Riverdale tag list. If you’d like to be tagged for this story by all means.. Please let me know. Please, I beg. It’d make me super duper happy!!!

ELEVEN.

We all seemed to have the same idea. We wound up down at the quarry at the same time. Cheryl and I emerged with Kevin from the path leading away from Riverdale High to find Toni and Sweet Pea were already sitting on the bank, staring out at the water.

Cheryl took a seat beside Toni, leaning against her side with an arm around her. I sat down between Sweet Pea and Kevin. Kevin’s eyes darted around the area. “So this is what the quarry looks like in daylight.”

“Mhm.” I mumbled. Not really caring about any potential awkwardness as I found myself leaning against Sweet Pea’s side. Gazing out at the water. Sweet Pea slipped an arm around my shoulder but I didn’t notice it until a little later when his hand squeezed my upper arm just as I started to cry a little.

People had been somber and quiet all through the day. Weatherbee announced the death on the intercom with morning announcements and while you had some Bulldogs who were a lot less hesitant to openly say good riddance, you had quite a few people who were just saddened that everything played out the way it did and resulted in Fangs death.

“Midge shouldn’t have been with us that night. I can’t stop thinking that whatever the Hood saw that night gave him the impression that Midge was down here doing something she wasn’t.” Kevin sighed, shaking his head sadly. By now, he’d told Cheryl and I the whole story.

Midge had been posing as a date for both Kevin and Fangs. Helping them slip off to be together now and then. It explained why the weeks leading up to Fangs death, we saw a fair bit less.

“You guys meeting didn’t have anything to do with what happened.” Sweet Pea mused aloud, glancing at Kevin.

Kevin eyed him warily. The entire walk down to the quarry, he’d been worried that coming down with us wasn’t a good idea, that Toni and Sweet Pea might not welcome him being there, but we explained that he and Fangs weren’t exactly a deep secret among the four of us. “I tried to tell Dad to let him go out the back of the station entirely, but Minetta intervened. Insisted that he went out the front or the side.”

“Because Minetta’s a fucking prick who only wanted to make sure his stupid half assed attempt at ‘justice’ got put on the news at 8.” Toni muttered. Reaching out to give Kevin’s shoulder a squeeze. Kevin took a shaky breath or two and nodded.

“I just can’t stop feeling like somehow, if one thing happened just a little differently.”

“Me too.” the rest of us muttered in unison before we all fell silent again. The late afternoon sun sank lower in the sky. Toni stood, pulling Cheryl off the ground. “We need to be getting back to the campground… Getting ready for the last practice of the play... Kevin, if you wanna walk with us…”

Kevin nodded, pulling himself off the ground. Glancing back at Sweet Pea and I. I called out to the three of them that I’d see them later.

This left Sweet Pea and I down on the bank alone.

And for about ten minutes, neither of us really said anything.

The chill started to take over the air and I hugged myself a little. Wishing I’d worn more than the thin black and white striped long sleeve top I was wearing with my favorite jeans. Sweet Pea must have seen me doing it, because he moved to sit behind me. One of his legs on either side of my body as his arms wrapped around me and he propped his chin on my shoulder. “Better, Cherry?”

I nodded. Keeping quiet. Thinking about everything that had happened lately. I leaned myself back against Sweet Pea before I even realized I’d done it. He gave a quiet growl. His arms squeezing me just a little. Putting me even closer to him.

“None of this feels real. It feels like a nightmare.” I mumbled after a few seconds of heavy silence. Sweet Pea muttered a quiet “Yeah.” in agreement.

I turned around to face him, my legs settling over his upper thighs. He pulled me onto his lap completely. Raising his hands so that they rested on either side of my face. His thumb rolling over my cheeks. I’d apparently started crying a little and hadn’t noticed.

“You need to get home. Hood’s back, remember? C’mon, I’ll walk ya, Cherry.”

I nodded. Pulling myself off his lap and holding out my hand. He grabbed hold and lazily pulled himself up from the grass and nearly fell into me. We started up the trail and through the trees and I reached down, grabbing hold of his hand. Clearing my throat as I gazed up at him.

“Please don’t go after anybody or anything. You saw the huge fight that almost happened in the parking lot this morning. I don’t want anything to happen to you too, okay?” I muttered the words softly, giving him what I hoped was my best begging look.

“I promised I’d wait until Jugs did or didn’t find something. I keep my promises, Cherry.”

I nodded. Giving his hand another squeeze.

My dad’s house was in view again and I raised a brow at the sign in the front yard.

Andrews for Mayor.

“What the hell?” I muttered, nodding to the sign.

Sweet Pea eyed it, shrugging.

“It’d be better than Hermione Lodge.”

“I know, but..” I trailed off, shaking my head. We paused under the street light just as it came on overhead. We stood there awkwardly for a minute or two and then he stepped closer. Pulling me into a hug. Squeezing a little.

“Get inside, Cherry.”

I nodded, swallowing hard. Gazing up at him as the hug broke. “Let me know when you make it back to the camp.”

He gave me the thumbs up and started to walk in the direction of the campground FP had them all staying at for the time being. I wandered up onto the porch, leaning against the front door to pull myself together a little before stepping into the house.

Just in time to find Veronica and Archie sitting at the table with posters and signs spread out all over. And to hear my dad talking to my mom on the phone. My mom, of course, was telling my dad how running for Mayor may not be the best idea. But my dad was insisting that with everything that had happened as of late, somebody had to actually try to do something.

I wandered over to the table, flopping into a seat. Veronica reached out, pulling a dried leaf out of my hair.

“Did you hear the news?” she smiled at me.

“Dad’s running for mayor?” I questioned. My dad smiled. Held out his phone so my mom could say hi to me.

“Are you just getting home?” my mom asked, giving me one of her looks as she did.

“I went to the quarry after school with some friends.” I answered her.

“I heard what happened, sweetie. If you need to talk, you know you can call me, right?” my mom eyed me in concern. I nodded as I pulled myself out of the dining chair and made my way over to the stove to fix myself a plate of spaghetti.

After a few more minutes, my father ended the call, coming to sit down across the table from me. “Well? What do you think, tiny?”

“Honestly? I think this is a good thing. A very good thing. If anybody can fix all the crap that’s wrong with Riverdale, I think it’s you.” I smiled at my dad. Veronica spoke up, voicing her agreement.

After my dad went upstairs to take a shower, my brother spoke up.

“All the stuff with Hiram is behind me. I can’t believe I thought I’d be able to pull off what I was trying.”

Veronica gave his hand a squeeze and spoke up, gazing at me. “Your brother finally realized what I’ve been trying to point out to him about my father all along. And then I found out new things and… I have to do something.”

“Do I want to know?” I asked, twisting spaghetti around my fork and taking a bite. Veronica shook her head and muttered quietly, “I wish I didn’t know. That’s all I want to say right now. I’m still trying to get my head around it all.”

I nodded. Dropping the subject.

“Where’d you get the shiner, Archie?” I nodded to his black eye. He shrugged it off, chuckling. “Chuck ran his mouth at practice. I shut him up.”

“Oh shit.. Tell me he wasn’t stupid enough to try his crap with Veronica again?”

“Nope. He just ran his mouth.”

I laughed quietly, shaking my head. Putting my bowl into the sink and making my way up the stairs, into my room. Flopping across my bed right as my phone went off twice.

[ tall broody and handsome ] I made it, cherry. Jughead thinks he might’ve found something out too. Going to meet him now. I’ll let you know.

I texted back quickly.

[ cherry ] thank you for letting me know.

I hesitated because I wanted to type out that I didn’t know what I’d do if something happened to him too, and after staring at the entered words, I erased them, going with the simple thank you.

Then texting him again.

[ cherry ] that was fast. Be careful. You’ve got your switchblade and another person with you, right?

The next text had my skin crawling and everything I’d eaten that day crawling up my throat.

[773 - 589 - 7956] guess who?

[ 773- 589 - 7956 ] i bet you think it was real cute.. Turning over all that stuff to help them lock me up. i know it was you, scarlet.

[ 773 - 589 - 7956 ] you owe me, scarlet. And i intend to collect.

I threw my phone down and crawled up to the top of my bed. Putting my knees to my chin and my arms around my knees. Taking long deep breaths but that didn’t help me at all.

He wasn’t supposed to get out. How had he gotten out?

My stomach churned. I knew I needed to tell someone, but at the same time, I didn’t want to, either.

I got myself into this mess. I needed to get myself out. One way or another.

Besides, I tried to convince myself, there’s no way he’ll come to Riverdale.

XXX

Sweet Pea got to the place he’d agreed to meet Jughead just in time to see the end result of the fight.

Well, it wasn’t so much a fight as it was a one sided ass kicking. He managed to get his hands on some of the Ghoulies sent by Penny Peabody to find Jughead and get even, but Jughead was laying there on the ground. Badly beaten. Unconscious.

He picked him up and carried him to the hospital. Calling FP on his way there. Explaining what he’d seen and what he thought happened. FP showed up at the hospital with Toni and a few of the other Serpents about fifteen minutes later, just as the doctor was coming out to tell Sweet Pea that Jughead was awake.

FP went in first.

And outside in the waiting room, Sweet Pea found himself thinking about the one thing that Jughead had managed to say before he slipped into unconsciousness. A Bulldog hadn’t fired the shot that killed his best friend.

Midge’s mother had done it. In a fit of grief. The cops weren’t pressing the issue. And Sweet Pea felt conflicted, because on the one hand, he understood that it was grief. On the other hand, he wanted some kind of revenge. Closure.

Because he’d just lost his best friend. The only person he had left that he considered true family. Fangs had been like a brother to him.

His mom had mentioned that he had a half brother once, but that they’d never know each other. Fangs felt more like family to him than any of his blood relations did at this point, because Fangs was always there.

XXX

Inside the hospital room, FP explained what he’d done to keep Fangs safe until the heat was off. Jughead listened and when his father finished, he spoke up quietly. “We have to at least let Sweet Pea know. The guy was his family. Fangs was the only family Pea really had.”

FP mulled it over, nodding. “I’ll talk to him when I go back out into the waiting room. You find anything you were lookin for about who fired the shot?”

“Midge’s mom. She turned herself in this afternoon. They’re not going to do anything to her, I don’t think.”

Betty rushed into the room and FP made his way out, letting the two be together alone. Once he was back in the waiting room, he spotted Sweet Pea sitting sprawled in one of the flimsy chairs. He walked over and sat down beside him.

“Fangs ain’t dead, kid. I had to get him the hell away from here because there were very real threats made.”

Sweet Pea eyed him, a brow raised.

“What the fuck do you mean Fangs isn’t dead?”

“We protect our own, kid. Fangs was being threatened. I got him out of town.”

“Toni and I were mourning our best friend. Does that mean shit to you?” Sweet Pea took a deep breath to keep himself calm. FP nodded. Sighing as he muttered that he understood. And then he explained that as soon as things cooled off between the North and the South side, he’d be sending for him to come back.

“I want to see him. If you’re not full of shit.” Sweet Pea insisted.

“Perfect. You can make the supply run out to where I have him stashed. Better get going, kid. I want you back in time to make class tomorrow. We clear?”

Sweet Pea nodded, standing. FP gave him a key to the RV he was staying in currently, told him where to find the supplies he’d need to give Fangs. He gave him a wad of cash to give to Fangs and then a few smaller bills. Smirking as he mused aloud, “Keep it, kid.”

Sweet Pea nodded, even though he wasn’t entirely sure how he felt taking money from the guy. And then, he set off to run the supplies to Fangs.

#sweetpea fanfiction #sweetpea imagine #sweetpea fanfic #sweetpea imagines #sweetpea fic #my writing ; sweetpea #my fanfiction ; sweetpea #my fics ; sweetpea #// i can't warn you enough. read.all.the.warnings. seriously people.

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mindthekat · 5 years ago

Note

For an Andreil prompt, what about, childhood friends? Or maybe just them going on a date? Oh or Andreil + social media maybe?

okay so neil’s POV is HARD and this is the garbage i came up with? pls be kind

read on a03 | 2132 words | rating: t????

______

The thought doesn’t even cross Neil’s mind until Nicky brings it up. They’re all huddled in the girls’ room for Dan-mandated movie night - something about “team bonding” - and Andrew is in an evening session with Bee which leaves Neil at the center of attention. Aaron won choosing rights this week by betting that the freshman wouldn’t even make it through a week of practice before making a “butcher” comment at Neil, which means they’re watching another stupid superhero movie. Neil is bouncing where he’s sitting on the floor in front of the couch, glancing at the clock every five seconds. Something is exploding on screen when Nicky leans over and nudges Neil.

“What, you got a hot date with Andrew or something?”

It shouldn’t strike Neil as odd. The question. The assumption. It’s not like he doesn’t know what dating looks like for other people. He watches Matt and Dan get dressed up on off-weekends and go to dinner or a movie. Katelyn and Aaron have a standing date on Wednesday evenings after practice. But for Neil and Andrew, everything is different. It’s been months since Baltimore but Andrew still barely lets Neil out of his sight. The longest they spend apart is Andrew’s sessions with Bee or when they’re in class and even those hours are an exercise in self-control. It’s like Andrew can’t bear the thought of Neil disappearing on him again. Not after falling to his knees on shitty carpet in a shitty motel in the middle of Baltimore with Neil’s battered and bruised face tucked between his palms. Not after feeling the evidence of Neil’s stupidity and Lola’s insanity under his own fingertips. Not after waking up to Neil trembling and whimpering no, no, no in his sleep.

No, Andrew and Neil don’t do dates. They’ve traded them for promises, and stay, and yes. They trade kisses over the hood of the Maserati and unfinished cigarettes and keys to a house and a heart. Neil isn’t sure what going out to dinner or going to a movie could give him that he isn’t already getting. Because the thing is, Neil is happy for the first time in his life. He’s allowed to want things now.

“What?” He asks Nicky, confusion written all over his face. He spares another glance at the clock, counting down the minutes until Andrew is settled in beside him again, close enough to touch. Close enough to remind Neil that he’s alive and he’s allowed to have this.

“You. Andrew. Dinner and a movie?” Nicky prods, jamming his finger into Neil’s ribcage.

“We’re not..we’re not like that.” Neil stumbles over his words, trying to find the right ones on his tongue.

Before Nicky can poke and prod any further, the door swings open and Andrew makes his way in. The sight of him alone is enough for Neils heart to stutter. Andrews participation in team movie night is never a given. It’s as tentative as his consent is. A yes one day does not guarantee a yes the next day. But his sessions with Bee lately have been leaving him more unpredictable than usual. There’s days where Andrew comes back and won’t want Neil any closer than five feet away from him. There are days where he curls up into Neils space and finds contact with every inch of his body. Toes tucked under Neils thighs while they lounge on the couch. Pinky fingers wrapped around one another while Neil works on his homework and Andrew reads. Fingers wrapped in Neils overgrown curls, mouth pressed to the curve of his throat.

Today, it seems to be the latter. He shuts the door behind him and settles in on the floor next to Neil, burying his fingers in his hair almost immediately. Neil leans into the touch instinctively, without even meaning to. He tucks himself into Andrew’s side and presses a kiss to his temple, earning him a bite to his earlobe in retaliation.

“Shut up and watch the movie.”

______

The thought doesn’t cross Neil’s mind again until a week later when Andrew is pressed against him, inch for inch. Andrew’s palms are ghosting over his sides, pressing into the curves of his ribcage and hipbones. He’s mouthing at Neils neck and driving his hips forward and Neil feels like a string pulled taut. Every point of connection between him and Andrew feels like a fire sparking.

“Where’s Kevin?” Neil breathes, squirming under Andrew’s hold on his hips.

“Fuck if I know.” Andrew sucks a fresh hickey into the base of Neil’s throat, next to where another is fading. And fuck, Neil might have a fetish for Andrew’s neck but he sure as hell has no complaints about Andrew’s attention to his.

If someone would have told him a year ago that he would have this, that he would have Andrew and the Foxes and a future, he would have laughed. A year ago there were only minutes and hours. He lived in moments between practice and class and games and lies. He couldn’t imagine weeks or even months into the future. He couldn’t dream of a moment beyond the one he was living in.

Andrew is hot and firm where he’s pressed against Neil, making it nearly impossible to focus on anything but Andrew’s breath and the scrape of teeth across his shoulder.

“Wanna blow you. Yes or no?” Andrew pushes up onto his elbows to level a stare at Neils face, searching for something in his expression. Whatever he finds there and in the breathy Yes that Neil lets out must be enough because he mouths his way down Neils bare chest. He pauses to suck another bruise into his ribcage, running his tongue along the lines of Neil’s ribs.

It’s not often that they find time to do this, take time with one another. Now that practice has started again, night practices have resumed as well. If Kevin isn’t up their asses about running drills, he’s coping with Riko’s death with the bottom of a bottle of Jack Daniels.

Andrew bites into the soft flesh of Neil’s inner thigh before tonguing at the tip of Neil’s cock. He’s been rock hard since Andrew undressed him but when Andrew swallows down, he nearly whites out at the feeling. He doesn’t last long. He never does when Andrew works him up first but i when he comes he shakes under Andrew’s hands.

“Can I-“

“Shoulders only and don’t watch.” Andrew says through gritted teeth before Neil can even finish his question.

It’s like this most often, Andrew getting himself off above Neil. There are bad days, days where Andrew kicks Neil out of the room or retreats to the bathroom to take care of his own arousal but most days it’s like this. Andrew holds himself up on one elbow while Neil runs his fingers across Andrew’s shoulders. Andrew’s other hand dips below the waistband of his sweatpants and minutes later, he’s burying his face into Neil’s neck and his entire body goes rigid above Neil.

After they’ve showered, they settle against one another in the bottom bunk, Andrew’s back to the wall and Neil tucked against Andrew’s chest.

“Andrew?” Neil asks sleepily, just on the edge of being awake.

“Unf.” Andrew grunts in response.

“Would you want to go on a date sometime?”

Andrew’s even breath against Neil’s neck is the only sound in the room for what feels like hours until Neil realizes that Andrew has fallen asleep. His hand is still wound tight in the fabric of Neil’s shirt but the small puffs of breath in Neil’s ear is distinctly even, the only evidence that Andrew is capable of relaxing.

______

It’s after Andrew’s next session that Andrew drops onto the couch where Neil is knee deep in calculus homework. He drops two tickets into Neil’s lap and twirls an unlit cigarette between his fingers.

“Friday after practice. I heard you like that shitty band that Matt always plays.” Andrew says unceremoniously, like he hasn’t just dropped two concert tickets into Neil’s lap. To anyone else, concert tickets might not mean much but Neil knows just how much Andrew is giving him with these two small strips of cardstock. It’s more than just acknowledging that he heard Neil’s question between warm sheets and Andrew’s breath against his neck. It’s acknowledging that he cares about what Neil wants, acknowledging that whatever this is between them is something he cares enough about to indulge Neil’s fantasy of normalcy.

“You heard me.” Neil says, eyes shining and jaw slightly agape.

“Of course I did. You never shut up.” Andrew says, though the quirk of the corner of his mouth betrays his smugness at knowing he’s the one to make Neil look like this.

“Andrew..” Neil says, still unbelieving. He stares at Andrew, as if he will disappear if he looks away.

“Stop looking at me like that or I’ll take Kevin.” Andrew replies, the small tilt of his lips saying otherwise.

Neil leans down to where Andrew is trying his best to scowl at him, slowly enough that Andrew could pull away if he needs to, and presses a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Thank you.” He whispers.

If they spend the next thirty minutes making out on the couch, Neil’s calculus homework forgotten, well that’s nobody’s business.

______

Andrew’s fingers grip Neil tightly as they weave through the crowd. The concert is standing room only and Neil already offered to stand at the back of the club so Andrew can press his back against the wall instead of leaving it to strangers. A few tables litter the edges of the standing room but they’re all full and Andrew is pulling Neil through the crowd until they’re close enough to the stage where Neil can see above the heads bobbing in front of them.

“If we’re going to go to a concert you may as well be able to see.” Andrew explains, as if he hasn’t turned the world on its axis with the amount of concessions he’s made for Neil in one week alone.

The evening is an exercise in growth and trust for them both. Andrew stands rigid through the opening act, though he does allow Neil to stand at his back with his hands on his waist. They’re not pressed close together but allowing Neil to touch him outside his direct line of vision is a first.

By the time the main act crosses the stage, Andrew is leaning into Neil’s touch. Whether it’s exhaustion from the week or just giving Neil another permission, Neil isn’t sure but he hooks his chin over Andrew’s shoulder and crosses his arms over Andrew’s stomach. “We don’t have to stay long.” Neil says, instead of I’m here and I see you.

“Shut up.” Andrew says despite curling into Neil’s lithe body. And Neil presses small kisses wherever he can reach: the side of Andrew’s neck, his cheek, the shell of his ear. The music is familiar, some songs Matt has played in the changing room after practice or during team dinners. Neil isn’t familiar with the lyrics by any means but between the sway of bodies around him and the heat of Andrew’s body, the lyrics strike him harder than music usually does.

'Cause somebody hurt me

Somebody hurt me

But I'm staying alive

And I can tell

When you get nervous

You think being yourself means being unworthy

And it's hard to love with a heart that's hurting

“Yes or no Andrew?”

Andrew is turning around in his grip before the question leaves Neil’s mouth, his hands finding Neil’s hair and tugging until Neil’s mouth is sliding against his. For a moment the crowd melts away and it’s just the two of them wrapped up in each other, pressed together at the chest and at the hips. Neil never takes Andrew for granted and anytime he has Andrew’s lips sliding against his, he is acutely aware of how lucky he is but getting to hold Andrew tight against him in a crowd of people is something else entirely. It’s stupid that he should feel possesive after everything they’ve been through. Andrew has shown him in more than words that he chooses Neil but there’s something that unfurls in his chest at knowing that Andrew is his.

“Idiot.” Andrew mumbles when they pull away for a moment, as if he can read Neil’s mind.

Their surroundings come back to them in pieces. They’re hardly aware of the song ending as they push through the crowd to make it out of the club. Neil reaches over the center console of Maserati in silent request. Andrew takes his hand wordlessly as he rolls his eyes.

“It’s just a hand.” He says.

“Its your hand.”

#Andreil prompt #answered #prompts #andreil #Andrew minyard #neil josten #rating: t #this is mostly just fluff #I attempted Neils pov and its HARD #tfc #tfc drabbles #aftg #andreil fic #foxhole court #all for the game

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xlady-saya · 5 years ago

Text

better than a night light [fic]

Relationships: andrew minyard/neil josten

Summary: Neil hasn’t had the chance to examine the feeling of fear in a long time. He’s all too familiar with it though; from the nightmares, to the memories of a cold basement floor, he knows the feeling like the back of his hand.

But this fear is new, loaded with ridiculousness and a complete lack of reason. It’s nothing more than pixels on a screen, far away theories that can’t hurt him like his past can.

Maybe that’s why he’s beginning to not mind it as much. It doesn’t hurt that Andrew is also there to hold him through it.

Tags: neil is a scaredy cat, fluff, fluff and humor, the monsters watch alien movies

Read on ao3!

The movie poster Nicky keeps shoving in Neil's face doesn't exactly do much in terms of persuasion.

Neil stares at the bold graphics, at the text of the title that drips as if it’s oozing blood. It's got an almost static quality to it, not original, but not trying too hard to be. It's an older movie, that much is clear, so not exactly Nicky's usual taste. There's nothing there to tell him about the plot, just a few shadows and a stark silhouette standing in the center. Neil stares at the poster on Nicky's phone, then at Nicky's expectant expression, and then back.

Surely there has to be some kind of clue to tell him what this is all supposed to mean, but he's not seeing it.

Nicky does his best to show Neil a few more posters from the same movie, some restyled and revamped for the modern era, but...

Nothing.

"For fuck's sake," Nicky huffs, putting his phone away. "It's a classic horror movie, Neil, and we're watching it tonight."

Oh. Neil's not sure why he had to know that.

It's never up to him to pick the movies for movie night, mostly because most do nothing for him or bore him to tears altogether. Watching them with Andrew is typically the only time he bothers to pay attention, and that's for the commentary about the stupid characters.

Nicky is the opposite.

He and Allison fight over the films every Friday night like it's a ritual, but on the rare occasions the upperclassman are busy, Nicky takes over and tries his best to drag Neil into it too. A seasoned movie buff, he's made it his mission to find a movie genre Neil actually likes. Neil's attempts to convince him otherwise have fallen on deaf ears.

After weeks of action spy movies and no luck, Nicky's obviously decided to up his game by switching to a new theme altogether.

Neil's not sure what this will do, though. The horror movies Nicky has picked in the past only served to annoy Neil or make him laugh with their horrible effects and impractical plot points. Nicky had still labeled that as progress.

Already, Neil is rolling his eyes. Neil has dealt with real horrors; ghosts and poltergeists aren’t what haunt him. He's only seen one or two slasher films with the team, but those were just nonsensical.

It's not something he enjoys thinking about, but it's hard to be afraid of being sliced open by some fictional asshole in a mask when his childhood already made him numb to the feeling of a blade.

As if sensing the underlying truth behind Neil's annoyance, Andrew makes his presence known with a loud thump of his soda can against the counter.

Nicky jumps, but Neil turns on instinct, a small smile on his face. They have new barstools, and he swears they're a little taller than the other ones. Andrew's legs swing, almost carefree in nature, and Neil averts his eyes at the glare he receives for staring.

"I said no horror movies," Andrew says finally, flicking another page of his novel over. It's for a class, Neil notes, and beams a little brighter. Part of their pact; if Neil has to do better in school, Andrew has to start trying to, too.

With some encouragement...it wasn't a hard compromise to make.

"Technically, you said no slasher movies," Nicky says, smirking at the loophole. Andrew stares, thoroughly unamused, and Neil blinks between them. He hadn't known about that. He glances back over to find Andrew already looking at him, resignation clear on his face. It's a common expression from the beginning of their this—less rare now, but just as endearing in Neil's mind.

It's Andrew's 'you caught me caring about you, and I hate that because it's not hard' look.

Neil hops up to sit on the counter, and Andrew's gaze flicks down to his knee as if debating resting his chin on top of it.

"You don't need to baby me, those movies don't affect me," Neil says with a fond smile. It's the truth; he's not sure why, but the masked villains and their carving knives just seem tacky to him at best. He understands Andrew's reasoning though, and appreciates it more than he can say.

Andrew would never think of him as weak, and Neil can handle most things no matter how painfully they might stir up old memories. Regardless, Andrew will spare him if he can.

The look of acknowledgement passes between them, and Andrew nods.

Then: "Even still, they're bad," Andrew says, aiming the statement at Nicky. "I refuse to suffer through them."

Aaron, who up until this point has been a silent bystander on the couch, grunts an affirmative. Kevin's got his headphones in, not even listening.

"Killjoys," Nicky mutters, clutching his phone tight to his chest. He points an accusatory finger right at Andrew, and keeps it there in challenge. "You might like it too, if you would just give it a chance!"

Andrew, highly unconvinced, raises a brow at Neil. The blond and Nicky are a lot better at having actual conversations without Neil now, to the point where Neil wouldn't even call Nicky afraid of Andrew anymore. Still...looks like this is not a case Andrew has the energy to make.

Neil smiles, all too smug.

"I thought you said horror movies were overrated?" he asks Nicky, grin just the right amount of shit-eating. "And by overrated, you meant you're super scared of them and won't be able to sleep for days."

"First of all, Neil, fuck you," Nicky says without hesitation. Aaron snorts in the background. Unwilling to be defeated, Nicky holds up his hand, counting off the reasons. "Second of all, this one is different! It's an alien movie, and those don't scare me as much. I mean, they're super impractical!"

That's what's super impractical?

Neil rolls his eyes. Their whole lives are impractical. Ha.

But ah, Neil realizes. Maybe that's the reason for the weird poster silhouette. Aliens. He'd almost prefer a slasher film. He crosses his arms, blowing his overgrown bangs out of his eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure Jackson with his goalie mask is just as realistic."

The room goes silent, and Neil isn't too prideful when it comes to pop culture. It's clear he fucked that up. Nicky blinks at him, and even Aaron is confused enough to turn around and lean over the side of the couch.

Neil blinks back, combing his brain for the revision. Nothing.

Andrew sighs below him, long and suffering, and this time he really does put his chin on Neil's knee. He glares a hole into Neil's abdomen, but Neil suspects it's mostly self directed.

"I think he means Jason," Andrew says, closing his eyes to ground himself. Neil's always been quite impressed with his self-control. "He's just trying to provoke me."

Oh, yeah. That prick.

A small chorus of realization goes through the room as Neil smirks down at his boyfriend.

Nicky squints. "Huh? Provoke you how?"

"Don't ask about their weird flirting," Aaron interrupts, making a slicing motion over his throat. Then, after a beat, he shoots a glare at his brother, who actually meets it for once. "Though for the record, you deserve to have a thing for morons."

Hey.

"That time, I really thought his name was Jackson," Neil defends, not caring that he just exposed how sometimes he will say the wrong shit on purpose just to get Andrew...in a mood. Aaron gags, and Neil is quite done with the conversation.

He squeezes Andrew's earlobe because, well...it's right there.

Nicky throws his hands up. "Oh my god, who cares! Neil, the point is that yes, a serial killer terrorizing a summer camp? Unlikely. But if someone were inclined, they could. And at minimum, slasher movies are scary because I could actually be stabbed on any given day."

"The chances of you running into a slasher are still pretty low," Neil tries, and Nicky gives him one of those looks like he's missed the point entirely.

"I'm talking about Andrew."

Ah.

"That's fair," Andrew says, eyes closing once more as Neil kneads his ear gently.

Done with the lot of them, Nicky shows Neil the button to rent the movie on his account, and rebelliously presses it. As if that somehow traps Neil in this apartment. Like he can't just leave.

The sad thing is that he won't.

Even without the upperclassman to join them tonight, this is his family—despite all their shitty taste.

"Your point?" Neil asks, though he's fully resigned at this point.

"So, alien movies are way cooler than anything else. Plus, the effects in this one are practical," Nicky says, and Neil tilts his head. Instead of bewildered, Nicky's excitement only grows. "You know, none of that cheap computer crap. You'll see, you'll love it."

Nicky squeals lightly as he goes to make snacks, dropping a few dishes in the process. It's a chorus of curses and clanging that Neil is all too used to, and Andrew barely flinches from it. It's hard to mind anything with Andrew's head in his lap and Neil's hands moving into his hair.

Neil stares over at the television, and sees his own annoyed expression staring back from the void.

Love it, will he?

Yeah, whatever you say.

They're about thirty minutes into the movie when Neil realizes there's a problem.

Nicky, for effect, has turned out all the lights, and the television illuminates the whole room despite its dark ambience. Neil's perfectly prepared to not pay attention, especially when the movie starts off slow and without any of the promised aliens. Nicky scolds him for his impatience, and things gradually start to get more suspicious between the characters on screen.

Neil's not bored out of his mind, but he's yet to see the full appeal. Because it's his spot, he curls up into Andrew’s side, sharing the bag of plain gummy worms between them since Neil hates the sour ones. Neil's more fixated on that at first; sometimes if they grab the same one on accident, they'll start the contest of pulling the poor worm and stretching the gelatin until it snaps. So far, Neil has won the longest piece two out of three times.

Then, in a shocking twist, the alien shows up.

Nicky was right about the practical effects. It's a grotesque creature, animatronic and padded with a fleshy substance that looks like bile. Its limbs are coated in it, sticky and disproportionate to its thin, skeletal body. Neil can see every disgusting ridge, and grimaces at the bubbles of flesh and pus that the effects team coated it with. After a while, he stops viewing it as a product of humans, as a robot. He starts seeing it as just the creature, in all its vileness. Random limbs and appendages shoot out from it, impaling some of the unlucky side characters, and the squelching sounds make Neil want to vomit.

Neil's throat begins to feel tight, and he's not sure why.

Throughout the next fifteen minutes, the creature starts its ruthless hunt after the team of scientists which make up the main cast. Only when it disappears does the audience realize the creature can shapeshift—that it's among them, somewhere on the base.

At first, Neil thinks he might have to go to the hospital. His pulse is fast, and he's sweating a little. It's weird, and he finds himself trying to calm down his own breathing. His muscles aren't usually this tense, and there's a nausea-inducing lump in his stomach, swimming around like the goop on screen. Maybe he's sick, maybe he ate some undercooked meat for dinner. That has to be it. He tries his best to stretch out, but his ankle hits Kevin's fancy metal flask, and Neil nearly jumps out of his skin from the cold when it coincides with a character being ripped in half on screen.

"Damn, that was pretty cool," Aaron concedes from his beanbag, watching the characters rush to safety from the gore they just witnessed. Even Kevin is invested, though he's still occasionally checking Exy stats on his phone. The creature is gone again all too soon, blending in, and the scientists begin to arm themselves against one another. Nicky looks over at Aaron gleefully, triumphant for his good choice.

At this point, Neil hates to admit he's fully invested. The characters in the movie have started to suspect one another, and the focus has shifted from the gore and the alien’s origin over to pure paranoia. It does a remarkably good job of capturing that feeling—one Neil knows all too well. Neil begins to suspect some of the characters too, even the main protagonist. The theories run through his head, but the film leaves everything as vague as can be.

There's a blanket of dread over him he's never felt before, because it's not real. There's no imminent danger to his person or his family, but he wonders what he'd be feeling if he were in this situation. The idea of imposters, walking around and having no way of telling them apart from your friends, from a human...

It takes Neil awhile, perhaps a little too long given his acquaintance with the emotion, to understand the tension in his body is fear.

He's afraid.

And isn't fear a strange thing?

He tries to remember fear, and it's not hard. It's always cold, piercing. It narrows down the world so that the fear is all that exists, along with the impending doom of the consequences that come with it. For him, fear has always eventually had a result. His fear was always well-founded. But this is nothing like that fear. Real, genuine, valid fear. This is not being threatened by his mom's scowl from across the room, or being on the basement floor, seconds from death. This is a queasy, unrealistic fear. One he can't get rid of, as much as he knows it shouldn't exist. There's nothing on the horizon, nothing coming to get them.

It's a lot of what-ifs and how-comes.

Neil hates it.

He can't look away as the characters all perish, eaten alive in part by the alien, but mostly by their own suspicion. In the end, the discord between them kills them all, and the ending hints heavily at the creature's survival and spread into the outside world.

Maybe here.

Neil scoffs at his own ridiculousness, rolling his eyes. That would never happen. He knows that, it's just—

"So?" Nicky says right in his face, and Neil jumps. Luckily, no one notices, and Andrew has already moved to switch the television off. Good. He surely would've felt the jump of Neil's body.

"So?" Neil parrots, unable to keep up. He keeps looking out the dorm windows, watching the darkness for any sign of life beyond it.

"Did you like it, Neil?" Kevin asks, turning around from his perch on the floor. He's also been weirdly committed to finding things for them to enjoy outside of Exy. Neil has a feeling that's mostly Thea's and therapy's doing, an attempt to get them some distance from the harsh Raven routines of old.

Kevin's attempt at getting them into trivia had been a disaster, and he'd abandoned it quickly.

Neil swallows the lump in his throat, eyes tracking Andrew to keep himself grounded. Aliens or no aliens, the sight of Andrew is a relaxant that's fifty times stronger.

Still, all he manages is a small: "It was okay."

It's a compliment coming from him, since his standard response is to shrug whenever any credits roll, and Nicky heads off to shower for bed with an extra lightness in his step.

Neil is not so fortunate.

An hour later, they're all turning in. Kevin has already passed out while Nicky takes his time in the bathroom with his twenty minute skincare routine. Neil had done everything in his power to not be alone once the lights began to go out. He's lucky his proximity to Andrew isn't unusual, but he keeps a few steps of distance just to throw off any suspicion the blond might have about why his boyfriend’s clinginess is off the charts.

The night sky is still pitch black through the windows, and any passing noise has Neil turning around and checking on his family critically. No, no—if Kevin were a creature, he wouldn't be snoring so loud.

Right?

He feels like a child, and does his best to go about his business without reading into everything so much. Even still, he hops onto the bed so he doesn't have to stand in front of the bottom of the bunk for too long. Something could grab his feet.

Andrew, per routine, wraps his arm around Neil's midsection to pull him closer, not yet aware of what's happening. Neil usually delights in this each time it happens, though he's certainly used to it by now. The path to sharing a bed had been a cautious one, and spooning even more so, but now he can't imagine sleeping without being cocooned like this.

Tonight, however, there's a problem.

Neil stiffens when Andrew moves to scoot him closer, a stark contrast to how he usually relaxes all his muscles. It's kinda fun when Andrew drags him. Andrew pauses, regarding Neil curiously, and Neil's dry throat seems to close up even more. The dread in his veins obviously isn't apparent, but it feels that way. Paling internally, Neil says, "I want a glass of water."

He really wants a glass of water. Fuck.

But is it worth it? Is he willing to die for a glass of water? He can make it until morning. If he were smart, he would've thought about this when everyone was still in the living room and he had access to knives to defend himself.

Andrew, calm as ever, concedes with a short nod. He removes his hand and waits for Neil to get up, and that's when Neil can't hide it anymore.

See, he doesn't move. Neil just lies there, staring up at the ceiling, and feels Andrew's eyes grow more and more critical with each passing second. Neil is torn. Does he get up despite his fear to preserve his dignity? Andrew of all people deserves to know when Neil has none to spare. Neil doesn't hide anything from Andrew, no matter how ridiculous.

The truth is, he'd love nothing more than to stay here on this bed with Andrew, where it's at least kind of safe. But, if he thinks more critically, he'll never get over this fear if he doesn't venture out into the dark common area to get his goddamn water.

Also, he's thirsty.

What to do, what to do.

At this point Neil begins to squirm, his gaze flicking over to the open bedroom door. It's black on the other side, inviting him and his imagination to wreak havoc.

Humans can survive a few days without water.

The whole time, Andrew doesn't stop staring at him, and Neil winces when he feels a gentle tap against his collarbone.

He's hesitated too long to keep the secret now. Better get it over with.

"Neil."

"Uh. Y-yes?"

"Look at me," Andrew says, and Neil can't disobey a request like that. Andrew's sleepy voice is gravely and soothing, like enticing smoke from a cigarette, and Neil follows it with all his senses. He turns over, then tenses up. Now his back is to the door. Can't have that.

He goes back to lying flat, and turns his head to send Andrew a desperate look.

It's stupid, it's pathetic. But...

"It's dark." That’s all he says.

Andrew's brows knit together, searching for the truth under that statement. "It's one in the morning."

Oh, but I'm the smart mouth.

Neil glares, and jumps when Nicky drops something in the bathroom. Neil waits for a sign of movement, and breathes a sigh of relief when Nicky's routine resumes.

Andrew sends him another look, no doubt already piecing it all together, and Neil huffs to himself.

"Asshole," he says, and picks at the thread of their blanket with his finger. He tries not to think of the aliens splitting open. Quietly, he admits: "The creature in the movie could see better in the dark."

It should be helpful to say it aloud, but it's not. It should convince Neil he's being truly unreasonable, that the odds of something otherworldly coming to target him are slim. He should be more worried about real killers coming for him on any given day.

But here he is, still afraid.

Andrew, in his own Andrew way, actually looks surprised. Something swims across his features that Neil has seen before, but can't pinpoint in the moment due to his own shame. He groans, turning away.

"Shut up, I know, forget it, I'm—"

A hand comes out to grab his chin, and Andrew turns Neil's face back towards him in one firm motion. Okay, now Neil definitely knows there's something in that look, and it renders him speechless for a moment.

"You're afraid." He swears he sees the corner of Andrew's mouth twitch, and he's so fixated on it that the truth comes easily.

"Yes."

"Of the...aliens. From the movie?"

Ah, but when put that way...

Neil groans again, pouting slightly. It's hard for Andrew to ruin anything for Neil, but it's difficult to stare fondly at one's boyfriend when he's trying to wring the embarrassing truth out of you. "Yes! I don't know why, okay?"

Andrew just nods, not judging. Not yet. Taking that into account, he taps Neil's chin a few times, maybe to the beat of invisible cogs moving in his head. Then he pauses, and gives Neil's earlobe a tug. Because...it's there. "Nicky said aliens are impractical. They aren't real. You know this, I assume."

Neil glares, but doesn't refute the statement. He's familiar with Andrew's process of retracing their steps, hypothetically. Trying to understand where the fear came from, how to best help Neil push it aside.

"Neil, confirm these things for me," Andrew says, and Neil nods, counting the freckles that dance over Andrew's nose. "You have dealt with members of a deadly mafia family."

Neil, because he's a shit, takes time to think about it. It's worth it when Andrew huffs.

Neil nods. "That is true."

"You are arguably more capable than me when it comes to killing someone," Andrew points out, and Neil does his best to ignore the spark of heat in Andrew's voice from that knowledge. "In fact, you've probably killed many people without remorse."

Hm. Okay.

"Mhm." Neil hums, and while he sees where this is going...

"You could potentially be Jackson, minus the hockey mask," Andrew finishes, and Neil is only somewhat insulted. What does he want with a summer camp?

Feigning stupidity this time, Neil squints. "Wasn't he immortal?"

"Neil."

Neil's laughter dissolves into a desperate whine, and he throws his hands behind him, hitting the headboard. Dammit. "Just—I know it makes no sense," he huffs. He scrambles up to a sitting position, an explanation on the tip of his tongue, and Andrew follows him calmly. "I know they're not real but...I think that's the problem. It's an unknown. I'm familiar with killers, with knives on my skin."

Neil almost feels guilty when he mentions it; Andrew accepts all his scars and experiences, but it doesn't mean he likes that they happened. They can't change the past, but the idea of either of them being hurt never fails to put a little pit of anger in their guts. He sees it bloom in Andrew's right then, and Neil smiles gently to quell it. It's not about that right now.

"But this is so removed from any of that," Neil explains, laughing at himself. It's sort of amusing if he thinks about it—that he’s made it to the point where he has the luxury of being afraid of such things, but he still doesn't feel relief. "I know it should be stupid and ridiculous. But that's probably why it bothers me. I mean, okay, what do we really know about aliens anyways? Nothing! No road map, no weapons. We're completely unprepared."

And...his explanation goes off the rails just like that.

Neil thinks he has a good point though. Like...who is really to say aliens don't exist? And if they do, they're all pretty much fucked. Who wouldn't be afraid?

Andrew only stares at him.

At the expression of disbelief, Neil whines and does his best to backtrack, but Andrew is having no more of it. Andrew just lays back down, hands covering his face.

It's a novel reaction, considering this is Andrew. He looks so beside himself, unable to process whatever is going on in his head, but not in the bad, overwhelmed way he might be used to. Neil leans over him, and artfully pokes Andrew between the eyebrows.

"Andrew?"

His boyfriend sighs. "I don't ever know what to do with you," he concedes, removing his hands so Neil can see his pissy expression. "Alien movies. It's goddamn alien movies."

Neil's not sure what to make of that, but even in the dimness of their room he can see the reluctant fondness in Andrew's face, poorly concealed behind a facade of neutral indifference. That, and the tips of his ears look a little red.

Neil's confused as hell before he realizes what it must be. He perks up, fear momentarily put on pause. "Oh...oh, you like this," he observes, not smug, just factual. Andrew glares. "You think it's—uh..."

Not hot, at least Neil doesn't think so. But—

"The word you're probably looking for is cute." Andrew grimaces when he says it, like it's a crime for the word to come out of his mouth. If Neil's being honest, he's surprised too. Not that Andrew thinks it, but that he actually said it. Hm. That's new. Neil likes it. He always insisted to Andrew that he didn't have to try harder at verbal affection just for Neil's sake, not if he didn't want to.

Clearly, part of him does.

Andrew glares at Neil's small smile, pushing his face away. "And you're wrong, so don't read into it."

Neil ignores that advice completely. "Oh, okay. So you think it's cute," he repeats, and mulls that over in his head.

"I just said—"

"Wait, why?" Neil asks, suddenly offended. Here he is trying to tell Andrew his alien attack plan, and the blond thinks the severity of the situation is cute. "Does my terror mean nothing to you?"

"Not in this case," Andrew admits, and this time there's clearly a small smile threatening to break the mask. Neil tries (pettily and unsuccessfully) to not let it affect him. "Now quit it, and go get your water."

Shit.

The fucking water.

The source of his woes comes back as a painful reminder in the form of his parched throat, scratchier now from all the discussion.

Noticing Neil's stricken face, Andrew wordlessly gets up with him, pulling him along to the edge of the bedroom so Neil can't talk himself out of it. Flicking on the light for the living area, Andrew pushes Neil out in front of him, a silent nudge to hurry up.

The room definitely looks a lot less sinister like this, but Neil's brain is reluctant to let him relax. He walks quickly and stiffly into the kitchen, turning back halfway to make sure that yes, Andrew is watching him.

"I'm here," the blond says, despite the roll of his eyes.

Neil practically runs to get his water, moving back to Andrew faster than the speed of light. As absurd as Andrew finds it, he dutifully waits for Neil to step fully back into the light of the bedroom before turning off the living room light again, and offers to take Neil's glass back when he finishes. Unwilling to lose Andrew by making him go alone, Neil takes his turn watching from the door.

Andrew looks back—not out of fear, but just to see the way Neil tracks his every move, wary of the surroundings. Something soft escapes Andrew's mouth, a vulnerable sound Neil swallows when he gets back into their bed.

He still can't fall asleep, but at least Andrew holds him a little tighter that night, a silent reminder that Neil's not alone in the darkness.

Neil's entire being burns with embarrassment, and he can't wait for a few days to pass so his brain will forget the movie entirely.

At least then the fear in his veins will be but a lingering memory, teasing fuel for Andrew at most.

Except, per routine, Andrew is a giant bastard.

"We're watching this tonight," he says a week later, throwing a library DVD into Nicky's lap.

Neil doesn't think much of it as he finishes the last of his math problems at his desk, kicking his legs happily since this means he'll be done with homework and his kissing ban will be lifted.

Nicky's voice has all his expectations shriveling up and exploding like alien guts. "Aliens again?"

Neil's head snaps up to meet Andrew's gaze across the room, betrayal lining his face. The DVD cover Nicky is looking at is old school again, another classic Neil assumes. It's less detailed than the first one, with nothing but a green, glowing egg on the front.

Hell no, Neil thinks, and glances back at Andrew with a desperate look in his eyes. Maybe it's a joke.

But Andrew's sense of humor is cruel.

"It wasn't awful," Andrew answers Nicky while looking right at Neil. There's nothing amused or challenging in his features, but Neil still senses it. Andrew has weighed Neil's fear, has no doubt picked it apart and tried to decide whether or not that fear should be quelled, or if it's fair game to prod.

The conclusion is clear.

"Awesome!" Nicky shouts, unaware of the turmoil between the two of them. "Finally, we found something you don't tune out completely."

"I'll make the snacks," Aaron says, and Kevin actually seems okay with the selection. He shoots them both a weird look—which, given the intensity of Neil's stare, is appropriate. However, living with them has given Kevin enough insight to know when and when not to intervene. He walks past them, as he should.

When they're actually getting settled in to watch the damn film, Neil has switched tactics. He's refusing to meet Andrew's gaze, foot tapping impatiently against their stained carpet. As peeved as he is, the fear is starting to outweigh it. What if this movie is worse? Is he ready for another night wondering if aliens are going to come absorb him into some hybrid monster?

What the fuck does the egg mean? Aliens lay eggs?!

Neil refuses to sit by Andrew at first, and Andrew's legs are spread in such a way that his lap is wide open and inviting.

It's difficult to resist.

Eventually, Andrew sighs, and slouches into the couch a little more, leaving a perfect Neil-sized spot next to him.

"You're going to sit over there by yourself?" Andrew asks. With the rest of the group out of earshot, he adds lowly: "Aliens pick off the stragglers first."

Neil's glare would melt flesh from bone if it wasn’t directed at Andrew. The blond is unaffected by Neil's threats, though there's definitely power behind them. Just...never towards him.

An unfortunate fact, but one Neil would never betray.

Sulking, he climbs up onto the couch and fits himself snuggly into Andrew's side, head on his chest. Completing the dance, Andrew manhandles Neil to rest more comfortably against him, and Neil ignores the smugness radiating off the blond.

When Aaron walks in, he regards them suspiciously. Neil hates him for smiling that knowing, shit eating little grin once the realization hits him.

Fuck Aaron. Neil knows he's afraid of possession movies. He better be ready.

"This one is especially gross," Aaron says, offhand, but aimed at Neil entirely. "I've seen it."

Neil stares into the television again, done with all of them, and hopes his brain is over it. He hopes this movie is as boring as it can be. "Let's get this shit over with."

And they do. But no, the movie is not boring.

This film is arguably worse than the one they watched last weekend. The aliens are somehow grosser, with tar-like skin and oozing orifices. Even worse, they're more parasitic than the other aliens, and extremely hard for these idiot characters to kill. Neil sees one of the alien babies jump down someone's throat and has to look away.

He supposes it's too late to ask how he got here, to wonder why he can't get over it and understand none of it is real.

But then again, what does he know about the universe?

Neil's glad everyone else is too into the film to notice him burying himself further into Andrew's chest, eyes glued to the screen reluctantly. That's the problem with fear—it takes hold of him. He's not one of those people who can look away or close their eyes, so he just wrings Andrew's shirt between his hands into a wrinkly mess.

At a certain point, the alien from earlier bursts through the character's chest and makes Neil jump away from Andrew's, but the blond grabs Neil's head gently in anticipation of this (which means he's seen this shit already, the asshole) and guides it to rest over his heart. It should make it worse, the rhythmic beating, pumping in time with the chest burster's onslaught. Instead, it's grounding, as it always is, and he sighs.

He wonders if this was Andrew's plan all along, but would that make sense? Having to comfort a scared Neil can't be anything but annoying.

Later, when he's having a mug of hot chocolate with Andrew and Aaron before bed, and steadily getting grumpier with the thought of the sleepless night to come, he says as much.

Aaron just looks at him, as if he can't believe Neil exists. "You really are a moron."

And with that, he goes back to his own dorm.

Neil tries to get clarification, but Andrew only takes the mug from his hands. He avoids Neil's questioning gaze and laces their fingers together, pulling Neil into the room before the lights go out.

It's hard to look serious when he's lying on top of Andrew's chest, glare peaking out, but he tries.

It's weekend three of Andrew's onslaught of alien movie sequels, and luckily he's promised to back off from now on.

Still. Neil's gonna pout all he wants.

A sound from outside makes him jump, but it's just an extra hard downpour knocking against the windows. If Neil closes his eyes, he almost sees the alien claws tapping on the glass, trying to get in.

"Poor, frightened little bunny," Andrew states without any inflection or tone, but Neil can sense the teasing underneath.

"Fuck you," he says, but it's dampened by the way he leans over to close the window blinds.

It helps. A little.

"And risk the alien contamination?" Andrew adds, tugging on Neil's bangs for his attention. Like he has to; he somehow always has it, even when Neil is less than pleased. "Tell me, just what do you think is going to happen? Nothing's going to burst out of you just from watching that movie."

Neil feels his stomach flip flop from the thought of it, his heart taking the tower of terror through his body. He makes a disgruntled noise in the back of his throat, and Andrew pulls him up by the scruff of his neck to get a better look at him.

"I still feel queasy," Neil says, a poor attempt at revenge. Andrew doesn't move away, isn't even remotely grossed out.

The blond just sighs, and rolls Neil over to the other side of the bed in a display of vulnerability. Instead of being pressed to the wall, Andrew's back is open to their room, to the world. Neil balks for a moment before he gets himself under control. They've done this a few times, so he closes his jaw. He knows he should be happy for these moments, not surprised by them. Because he knows they're not small. It's Andrew telling him something, it's Andrew giving. And that's nothing new.

Still, Andrew never has his back to the door, and it probably won't last long. Eventually they'll go back to their normal positions, but for now Andrew shields Neil from the world.

It's a silent emphasis, a promise.

Despite the dimness and the new tension in his shoulders, Andrew's gaze is like a spark to the gasoline pooling in Neil's body. "Neil, you're safe."

Yes. Deep down, that's the biggest truth of them all.

Neil sighs, and gently rolls them back over. It's his own affirmative, his own way of protecting Andrew—whether it be from real threats, or fictional ones. He slides over Andrew until he's on the edge of the bed, and is happy when the bits of tension bleed back out of Andrew. Much better.

"I know that." Neil curls up, and though his back is to the door, he doesn't turn away. It's another silent response. He's afraid, but he knows if an alien were to suddenly bust through the door...

Well, Andrew would let him know. "But I'm still...mph," he grunts, glaring at the blinds above Andrew, and this time, the edges of the blond's lips lift easily. Just for Neil to see.

"Scared?"

Neil rolls his eyes for the billionth time, mostly at himself. "Yes, Andrew, the stupid alien movies scare me. I'm glad you're enjoying it so much."

He won't lie; he expects a silent response, maybe the old 'I don't enjoy anything' just to make him laugh, because they both know it's not true.

Instead, Andrew grabs his wrist, tracing the veins there with his thumb.

"You're right," he admits, slow, as if he's considering taking it back. Neil waits with bated breath, and Andrew must ultimately decide that it's impossible to. "I am."

The blatant admission catches him off guard, and well...Andrew can be pretty cute too, when he avoids Neil's gaze like this. The blond fixates on where they're connected, tracing the scars farther up Neil's arm.

Neil hums. "Because you're a cruel otherworldly imposter, or because you know I secretly have a thing for when I amuse you?"

The master plan, all along.

At Neil's cheeky grin, Andrew rolls onto his back, questioning his existence. He slides Neil's hand over his chest, draping it across him. "You're a nuisance," he mutters, and Neil's grin softens at the edges. He still doesn't understand it all, but when Andrew's being so open like this he can't help but dive in. He slides his hand lower, resting it over Andrew's heart.

"Your heart's beating fast," he says quietly, nearly a whisper. "Could be a chest burster."

"Mourn me," Andrew responds, and Neil smothers his laugh in his pillow. It's got that fresh lavender scent, and reminds him that there's no way he's going to do laundry by himself this week. That room is dark.

For whatever reason, that makes him laugh more. He hears Andrew move closer, hears the stuttering breath of words kept back, and peeks an eye out. Andrew tends to look kind of constipated when he's trying to say something especially revealing, and Neil has long since stopped telling him he doesn't have to.

Because...Andrew told him it wasn't necessary.

'If I want to say something, I'll say it.'

Neil smiles; he remembers thinking it was such an Andrew answer. So now he waits patiently, letting his giggles fade into staggered huffs.

Moments pass, and then, quietly: "I like it," Andrew says, voice barely above a whisper. It hasn't lost its firmness, its inability to be argued with. "I like that you're scared of something that actually can't ever hurt you."

Neil's smile falls, but he's not upset, not in the slightest.

Andrew's statement from weeks ago feels wrong now. It's Neil that doesn't know what to do with him sometimes.

There's plenty of things Neil is scared of—things that have actually hurt him, ruined and scarred him. Those fears are more deeply ingrained and clawing, impossible to erase completely with a few nights of sleep. He doesn't have to wonder if they're real, how they'd hurt him or how painful it would be.

He knows. He can feel the ghost of a blade often, the searing scent of burning flesh whenever he's near a bonfire or when he touches his scars. He sometimes still wakes up from nightmares of being held down, except this time he's not able to get back up. He's never able to run again.

And as much as Andrew would like to, he can't go and reach into the past to stop those things from happening. The realities are so much more frightening, and that terror has no remedy. Andrew knows that better than anyone.

So maybe it's nice, maybe it's just a little rewarding, to see Neil so scared of fictional aliens and monsters instead. Those are the things that can't hurt him, that can't reach him. Perhaps it's better that they occupy his mind instead so that the other demons do not.

And that's the consideration that has Neil so at a loss; he can't do much more than echo Andrew's name in his head over and over, and scoot closer to him until he's all he can make sense of.

It's quiet, aside from the rain, but now it actually sounds like itself, calm and cleansing.

"Well, yeah," Neil whispers into Andrew's chest, then sits up. He wants to say it more firmly, with no room for doubt. This way even if Andrew doesn't believe him...he knows how Neil feels. "You protected me from all that other stuff, so those fears...they're easier now."

He's never put it into words before, but it's the truth. He'll always have nightmares about knives and guns, about fires and cold, blue eyes. But he knows any new threats that come crawling back from the mafia underworld won't have just him to deal with. He'll have Andrew by his side, fighting.

So he's not as afraid of that.

Andrew's grip around him tightens, a promise that never has to be renewed. Neil knows it's forever in place.

On the other hand...

Neil nudges Andrew sheepishly, tapping his finger right between Andrew's pecs. "I just don't know if you stand a chance against an alien hivemind," Neil admits. Though to be fair, no one does. They're all fucked.

Andrew, after a beat of silence, concedes. "For once, I think you're right."

Neil nearly feels better from that, light and warm, but then Nicky comes back into the room and turns off the lights abruptly, plunging them into darkness.

And suddenly, nothing is okay.

He scoots as far away from the edge as possible, practically pinning Andrew to the wall, but the blond takes everything with a sigh.

He deserves it anyways.

Neil still jumps from any little sound the next few nights, and yes, Andrew has to walk him to the laundry room, but that's alright. The teasing he eventually gets from the rest of the Foxes is more than worth it if he gets to make Andrew hold him extra tight.

The fear eventually fades, diluted, but if he pretends to cling to it a bit longer…no one has to know.

If Andrew catches onto Neil's dramatic, fake flinches and continued unwillingness to go anywhere by himself, well...

He certainly doesn't point it out.

#aftg #all for the game #andreil #andrew minyard #neil josten

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kar3npage · 5 years ago

Text

Next to You

Neil Josten works as a math professor and lives a comfortable life in a neighborhood that happens to house all of his closest friends. He meets Andrew Minyard, the owner of the quaint bookstore down the street, at a barbeque and makes the mistake of agreeing to go to his book club. Lots of Andrew being an obviously lovesick fool, Neil being oblivious, and their friends loving them unconditionally.

Read it on ao3 here

Neil Josten made his way down the quaint street that he somehow managed to get an apartment in. His wheelchair clicked loudly on the pavement, and he got a few sympathetic looks as he rolled past. He does his best to ignore it, though some days that’s easier said than done.

It’s been years since his father died at the hands of Stuart, and a bit more than a year since the rest of his father’s circle was finally caught and imprisoned. No matter how much time passes though, Nathan Wesninski left a lasting impact. The scars on his arms and face make sure that everyone knows that something horrific happened to the young man with red hair, and the wheelchair ensures that he is noticed in every situation.

“Hey buddy!” Matt is easy to find in the cafe they always meet at. To begin with, they always sit at the same table so that Neil can get there comfortably. Also, he is freakishly tall compared to most people, and the spiked hair adds to his height. “Dan sends her apologies. Emergency at work,” Matt says with a grimace and pushes forward the coffee that he ordered for Neil.

Matt and Neil have been best friends since they met in physical therapy when Matt got an injury while he was playing Exy in university. Neil was the first person Matt introduced Dan to when they started dating, and Neil was the one that Matt ran his business plan through when he first decided that he wanted to start a veterinary clinic. Matt was the one that Neil called when he got lonely in his empty apartment, and Matt was the one who forced Neil to get a cat. Neil couldn’t imagine a life without their weekly coffees or Christmas dinner with the Boyd-Wilds.

Matt is describing in minute detail the reason why Dan was not able to come to coffee today - something about one of the high school students she taught struggling with something and going to her for help. The pride Matt felt for his wife was undeniable, and Neil nodded along and let him ramble.

“Anyway, I almost forgot! Allison is putting together a party on Sunday and you have to come,” Matt says after a few minutes.

Neil gives Matt an unimpressed look. “First of all, what is the party even for? Second of all, you know I don’t like parties.”

“I know, I know, but Kevin’s back in town! Plus you got your PhD, we need to celebrate that!”

“I got my PhD two years ago, you’ve got to stop using that as an excuse to have a party.”

Matt grins unapologetically and stares at Neil until he finally says “Fine. But I’m leaving early.”

Before he knew it, Sunday evening was there and Neil was reluctantly making his way to the Boyd-Wilds house. On his lap was a loaf of sourdough bread that he stress baked that afternoon, and a list of conversation topics that he printed off the internet.

While waiting for someone to answer the doorbell, he stuffed the list of questions in his pocket and inspected the cars on the street. There were more people here than normal. Quite a few more. He could recognize Wymacks beat up old truck and Allison's pink convertible, and he was assuming that the rental car across the street was Kevins. There was also a red SUV that he hasn’t seen before, and a very fancy, very shining black car in the driveway.

Allison opened the door like she owned the place, and threw herself on Neils lap for a hug before he could protest.

“I know you were dawdling, your apartment is, like, a block away.”

“Well I can’t walk very fast,” Neil says to Allison while half-heartedly shoving her away. She flicks his nose.

“You can get everywhere faster than me, stop trying to make me feel bad for you,” she sings, then grabs the loaf of bread out of his hand and walks inside without a backwards glance. “Literally everyone got here before you did. Even the monsters.”

Neil comes in hesitantly. There is a great deal of noise coming out of the kitchen, and Neil can see even more people in the backyard through the hallway.

“So… who all came?” Neil says as he emerges into the tight kitchen where Allison disappeared to. There are a multitude of new faces in the kitchen who turn to face him, and he immediately regrets not coming up with an excuse to stay home. Not like any of them would have believed him, but an attempt could have been made.

“Allison, you didn’t say he was that attractive!” a tall man says from the corner. His arms are wrapped around an even taller blond man who smiles genially at Neil and coming forward to offer a hand.

“I’m Erik, and this is my husband Nicky,” the blond man says in a thick German accent.

Allison beams at Neil. “I told you he was cute. And he looks even better when he wears the clothes that I choose for him,” she says to Nicky, giving Neil a pointed look.

“Nicky’s the one doing Matt’s marketing for him now.” Renee’s calm voice comes from the corner, somewhere behind Nicky and Erik. “And he helped Allison with her branding when she started designing.”

Neil hums so they know he heard, then backs out of the kitchen to go to the back. He thinks that he should probably say something polite while he leaves, but Allison and Renee know how he is, and he feels like he’s getting in the way of all the people actually cooking in the kitchen.

The backyard has even more people in it, but it has more space so he doesn’t feel as claustrophobic.

“Neil!” Matt says from where he’s standing at the barbeque with Wymack, sounding like he had no idea that he was coming. Dan and Abby wave at him from their lawn chairs. Another woman is chatting with them, her arm around a short blond man. Kevin is standing near Wymack talking at another small blond man. Neil catalogs the two, checking for differences without thinking about it.

Now he really regrets being here. There isn’t a single group of people that he can talk to that he knows entirely, and everyone else seems to be so comfortable chatting. He briefly considers using Sir as an excuse, but he knows that Matt would insist on going home with him if he thought that there was something wrong with Sir.

“No ones going to bite,” Allison says from behind him, making him jump. He realizes that he is directly in front of the door.

“I should go,” Neil mumbles as Allison walks past him carrying a bowl of salad to the table near the grill. “Nope! You can’t, it's your PhD party!” Allison sings.

Kevin turns around and notices Neil in the doorway. He looks intense, which is just his version of excited.

Allison's announcement has caught everyone's attention and Neil can feel the weight of their eyes. He accidentally makes eye contact with the man who Kevin was talking with, and he shifts his attention quickly.

“It’s not a PhD party, that happened years ago.”

Dan grins. “You know that we’re going to call everything that so you feel obligated to come, right?”

“We just like having you here, Neil,” Renee says sweetly from beside him. Neil can feel his face heating up. “Have you met everyone yet?”

At the shake of his head, Renee introduces the new ones in the backyard. “Andrew is the one with Kevin, he owns the bookshop down the street from the cafe, and then over there is his twin Aaron, and Aaron's wife Katelyn. They work at the hospital together as surgeons.”

“The bookstore you go to all the time?” Neil asks. Andrew is wearing all black despite the summer heat, and his gaze is blank as he watches Kevin get worked up over whatever he’s talking about. Most likely Exy, since he’s been making an Exy podcast since he stopped playing in university.

Renee hums a confirmation. “Andrew and I have tea and cake at the bakery every Saturday. I supply treats to the book club he hosts,” Renee says with a smile. Her bakery is famous around the neighborhood for having the prettiest and most luxurious treats in the city. The woman who helps her run it, Betsy, makes Neil just as uncomfortable as Renee does. That combined with his dislike for sweets means that he very rarely ends up in the shop.

“He hosts a book club?” Neil says, staring hard at Andrew. He doesn’t know why his brain has latched onto the man like this, but he can’t help but be fascinated with how contradictory he seems to be. A man with bigger biceps than Matt who likes Renee's cake (and company) and runs a book club.

Renee smiles, a hint of mischief in her eyes. “Oh yes, you should join us sometime. We’re reading Emma at the moment, in honour of the movie coming out.”

Neil narrows his eyes at Renee, but she doesn’t seem to be joking. He’s saved from the need to answer by Erik and Nicky coming out with more food and Wymack announcing that the burgers are done.

Andrews eyes keep sliding over to the redhead with a deer-in-headlights look as he completely blocks the door. Kevin has not shut up about Andrews' missed chance at going pro, and Andrew started blocking him out ages ago. Nearly as soon as Kevin started talking, actually.

Renee winks at him when she notices where his gaze is fixed and he glares at her. Her smile just grows as she finds a lawn chair near Allison. Wymack interrupts the staring contest by putting out the burgers and Andrew bullies his way into line at the table by the grill to fill his plate. Kevin has moved to the back of the line to talk to the redhead, who takes the attack surprisingly well. He makes eye contact with Andrew and gives him a ‘what can you do’ kind of shrug and smile while he nods along to Kevins rant. Andrew pretends he was never looking at them and loads his plate up with bread and potato salad.

“I invited Neil to book club, I hope you don’t mind,” Renee says to Andrew when he sits down in the empty chair beside her.

Allison leans forward to point her fork at Andrew. “I hope you know that I saw you ogling him.”

Andrew glares at her and Renee kicks her foot gently. “I think you and Neil would get along well,” Renee says.

“Who said I wanted to get to know him,” Andrew says while staring at a smirking Neil arguing with Kevin. Kevin’s face has gone an alarming shade of red and Wymack is watching them with a faintly fond expression on his face.

Allison snorts and turns to Katelyn to chat. Renee wisely changes the subject to her thoughts so far on Emma.

Opening the bookstore first thing in the morning is one of Andrews less hated chores. He likes the way the store smells, and the awed silence that it has before customers come in. Robin, his only employee, always takes the evening shift, so he has the whole morning to himself. He starts by setting up a new display in the front window, losing himself to the satisfying feeling of creating something.

The mornings are usually pretty quiet, since the neighborhood has a habit of waking up late whenever possible. The only other shop open is Renee’s bakery down the street, and Boyd’s vet clinic, which he walked past on his way from his place.

Bee drops by at lunch like she often does, with a mocha and a croissant. Bee is Renee’s business partner in the bakery, and responsible for the pastries. The two of them adopted Andrew into their social circle as soon as he became a regular at the bakery when he first opened the bookstore.

“Renee mentioned that we might have a new member of book club this month,” Bee says as she admires the new display. Andrew does not miss the sparkle in her eye, or the pleased smile that she tries to hide by taking another sip of her hot chocolate.

Andrew doesn’t answer.

“It will be nice to hear new opinions,” Bee muses. He can tell that she’s fishing for a reaction, so he places all of his attention on stacking the newly arrived copies of The Glass Hotel. When he turns around, Bee is watching his carefully.

“You know,” she says slowly, “it’s always a good thing to add to your social circle. Neil sounds nice. Matt always has good things to say about him.”

Andrew gives her a dirty look, which she easily ignores. “And he sounds like someone you would get along with. Allison told me that he has his PhD in some sort of math. And he has a cat.”

Andrew snorts. “So having a cat is supposed to make me overlook the fact that he’s interested in math.”

Bee laughs and gives Andrew a knowing look.

A week later, and Neil is starting to get restless at home. He appreciates that the university allows him to teach online classes, but sometimes too much time with only Sir as company makes Neil think weird thoughts. He decides to get a sandwich from the cafe, after dismissing the thought of bothering Matt at work. He knows that he could always call Allison, since she is the boss and can do whatever she wants (or so she says), but he’s in a melancholy mood and he knows that she would force him out of it. For some reason, he wants to just wallow for a minute.

The day is crisper than Neil thought that it would be, but it’s a good kick to his system. He peaks in the window of the clinic when he goes past, and he’s suddenly glad that he didn’t text Matt earlier. It would just make him worry, and it looks like he’ll be busy today.

At times like these, Neil can’t help but feel just a little bit like a chore for his friends. He can always hear the busyness behind Allison when he calls her during the day, and he knows that Matt drops nearly everything to make sure he’s okay. He could always call Wymack, but Wymack is busy trying to save every kid that he comes across at the clubs he runs. Abby is constantly telling him that he’s no bother, but she is also busy at her work as a physical therapist.

The melancholy back as strong as ever, Neil makes his way listlessly down the street. It’s a quiet day today, and all he has to do when he gets home is mark some tests, so he takes his time eating his sad looking sandwich.

It seemed like fate that the bookstore was directly across the street from the cafe. How had Neil never payed attention to that before now?

It’s as quaint as the rest of the stores on the street, but with a darker colour palette than the rest. The window boasts various beautiful copies of Jane Austen books with a poster with information about the book club. The clean design of the poster reminds him of Allisons, and he wonders if Nicky does the marketing for Andrew too.

Neil sits in the cafe for 45 minutes before working up with courage to check out the bookstore.

A small bell rings as he struggles over the cracked concrete at the entrance to get into the store. By the time he actually looks around, Andrew’s flat gaze is heavy on him. He can feel a flush rise up the back of his neck.

Neil clears his throat a few times and tries to pretend that he’s not fazed by the staring. “Renee mentioned that you had a book club?” he says, because he can’t think of anything else to say.

Andrew keeps staring at him. “I think she said the book was Emma, but she didn’t say what day it was.”

“Next Tuesday.”

“Oh.”

Andrew raises an eyebrow. “You’ve got something else to do that day?”

“No, I just won’t be able to read the book by then,” Neil says, and to his horror, he feels the flush move onto his cheeks. He looks at a random book in an attempt to hide it.

When he looks back at Andrew, he’s relaxed back into the chair behind the counter. “Most members don’t read the whole thing before the club gets together. Some of them haven’t even started it, they just come for the conversation.”

“Really?” Neil says. The shame at not being a fast reader is starting to fade. He can’t imagine Andrew lying just to make someone feel better, and he has a strange trust for the near stranger.

Andrew tosses a small paperback book to Neil, and Neil fumbles to catch it. It’s the edition of Emma with the movie cover. Andrew waves away Neils offer to pay when he gets to the counter.

“Book club discount,” Andrew says while fidgeting with his sleeves.

“That’s not a great business practice, giving away books for that many people every month.”

Andrew just shrugs.

Neil’s at home and has read the first chapter of the book before he remembers that he was sad.

“Was that Neil that I just saw leaving the bookstore?” Nicky asked far too enthusiastically as he came barreling into the store not two minutes after Andrews bizarre interaction with Neil finished.

“Nope,” Andrew says and puts his book in front of his face to block out Nicky.

“I love Neil! Is he going to hang out with us now?”

“Why would him coming to the store mean that he was going to hang out with us?”

“So it was him! Ha!”

Andrew rolled his eyes and turned the page despite not having read a single word on that page. When Nicky is silent for a few seconds, he puts the book down to look into his thrilled cousins face.

“I think it would be nice if he joined us for family dinner next month,” Nicky says brightly when he notices that he’s caught Andrews attention again.

“Why would he be invited to family dinner,” Andrew says flatly. He spends a moment putting all of his energy into ignoring the daydream of Neil being a part of the family. Andrew feels like a creep, having this weird little fascination with someone who he barely knows.

“Allison said that he doesn’t have any family. Isn’t that sad?” A hint of true sadness pokes through Nicky’s facade and Andrew is abruptly reminded that Nicky’s family is just him, Aaron, and Erik now. “Plus, he’s funny! Did you hear him sass Kevin at the barbeque? Even Aaron laughed!”

“Aaron didn’t laugh, he was coughing. But fine, I’ll invite him,” Andrew says with absolutely no plan to invite Neil.

“No, I don’t trust you to invite him. I will,” Nicky says firmly.

Andrew doesn’t sleep that night. After knowing that Neil will be at book club, and then at family dinner next month (now that Nicky has taken that into his own hands, Neil won’t have a choice but to come), Andrew is starting to feel the stress that usually only pops up after a particularly bad nightmare.

After much introspection, he realizes that it’s not seeing Neil that's causing the stress, but the way that everyone has been watching their interactions.

As soon as 4am hits, Andrew gets up and walks to the bakery. Sure enough, the light is on in the back and Bee’s yellow Mini Cooper is parked in the employee lot. Andrew knocks on the back door and tries not to make eye contact with Bee, who is wearing a knowing, empathetic look on her face.

Andrew settles at the table in the back and watches Bee work. The silence is soothing, and his muscles relax for the first time all night. After a while, she brings over some hot chocolate and sits down across from him.

“If you want me to get the others to lay off of you about Neil, Renee and I will tell them to stop,” Bee says gently.

“That’s not the problem,” Andrew says, his voice gravelly from disuse. They look at each other for a long moment, both waiting for Andrew to figure out what he means to say.

“Neil doesn’t know, and I feel dirty,” Andrew finally says dully.

Bee hums and takes a sip of her hot chocolate. “Do you want to tell him?”

Andrew snorts. “I barely know him.”

“Well, I don’t think that you should feel dirty. And I’m sure he’s been teased by Allison by now, so you don’t have to worry about him not knowing what the others are saying.”

Andrew lets her words sink in, then nods. “Okay,” he says. “Okay.”

Bee smiles, and brings over a hot chocolate croissant after taking the batch from the oven.

“I don’t think that’s very good business practice,” Andrew tells her, as he takes a burning bite.

He doesn’t feel so conflicted when he opens the bookstore, and it ends up being a better day than he thought that it would be.

Neil is enjoying the book more than he thought he would, but he has had much less time to work on it than he planned. After spending most of his days marking, and helping a student over video conference, he was exhausted. And worried.

He could picture himself making a fool of himself at book club, and all of them realizing that he’s not nearly as smart as they all make him out to be.

“I’m sure it’s going to go great! Renee and Bee both love it, and Abby goes! Erik goes when he can, too,” Matt assures him over the phone while Neil tries to come up with an excuse just in case someone confronts him for not going.

“I’ve only read a few pages,” Neil says slowly.

“That's a few pages more than me! Plus, we both know you have a lot of thoughts about it,” Matt says with a grin in his voice. Neil wishes he hadn’t told Matt about the characters over coffee the other day.

Sir is purring delightedly on Neils chest. “I can’t go, Sir is on my lap,” he tries again.

Matt pauses, but Neil hears Dan in the background. “No! That’s not an excuse! Sir cuddles you all the time.”

Matt sighs into the phone. “She’s right, buddy. I think you’ll have fun. And they have free coffee and stuff. That’s always fun.”

20 minutes later, Neil is miserably locking his apartment door and officially on his way to book club.

The atmosphere is surprisingly warm and cozy in the book shop at 7pm. There’s soft music playing, and people are chatting in little groups. There are only a few people that Neil doesn’t recognize, and the circle of chairs taking up most of the floor looks comfortable. For some reason Neil was expecting this to feel more like a test.

Abby beams when she sees him hovering by the door and waves him over. Neil recognizes the woman she’s talking to as Katelyn.

“We were wondering if you would come,” Abby says warmly, knowing his history of wiggling his way out of social situations.

Katelyn smiles at him and sits on the closest chair so he doesn’t have to look up at her. Neil feels a bit grateful at that, and even more so when she offers him a cheese scone and a cup of coffee from the center table.

Katelyn launches into a story about a patient, and Erik works his way to their group.

“Neil,” he says quietly as a greeting, and Neil gives him a shy smile. “Nicky was wondering if you wanted to come to dinner in a few weeks. He’s promising to make enchiladas.”

Neil swears that his brain short circuits for a moment. “You want me over… for dinner?”

“Here, I’ll get your number and Nicky can text you the time and place,” Erik says, ignoring his shock.

Andrew comes out from the backroom with more coffee, and that seems to be a symbol of some kind for everyone to take their places.

“Okay, what did you think?” Andrew says bluntly, and that’s it. Everyone has opinions, some of them silly and some serious. Half of the group hasn’t finished the book, and Katelyn admits to not even starting it.

Andrew is having a light argument with Bee about whether Emma is a likeable main character with others popping in their two cents when Neil first says something.

“I thought she was kind of fun,” Neil mumbled. When he looks up, Andrew has an unreadable expression on his face.

“See, Bee? She’s fun,” he says in a monotone. Neil has to fight the smile threatening to show.

The meeting is chaotic and warm, and Neil learns a great deal about the people in the room. He learns that Erik is a huge fan of the worst Austen movies, and that Katelyn barely reads but always shows up to book club. He also learns that Andrew is incredibly passionate about the books, but that doesn’t surprise him as much as it probably should.

The only awkward moment is at the end when everyone starts to help put their chairs back in place. When Neil offers to help, the room goes quiet.

“Take this,” Andrew says gruffly and shoves the tray of mostly finished treats at him. Andrew takes the coffee cups and walks to the back, so Neil follows him.

The back room is nearly as cozy as the front of the shop, and a girl that Neil didn’t even know was there is grabbing her bag to leave. Her name tag says ‘Robin’, and Andrew says bye to her almost fondly.

Neil puts the tray on the table in the middle of the room and watches Andrew move efficiently through the cramped space. He has a million questions to ask Andrew, but he’s not sure how to, so he contents himself with analyzing the room.

“You have a question,” Andrew says without turning around.

“I have lots of questions,” Neil says.

Andrew finally turns around and leans on the counter. “I’ll answer if you let me ask you something.”

Neil winces. “If it’s about the scars, you don’t need to bribe me to answer them.”

“It was something else, actually.”

Neil fidgets with the wheels for a moment. “Fine, I’ll answer your questions if you answer mine.”

Andrew tosses his phone to Neil, and Neil feels a little thrill as he enters his number in. He texts himself so he can program the number into his phone. Matt’s going to be so proud to hear that he got two numbers today.

Andrew doesn’t say anything when he gets his phone back, just puts a tupperware container on the table so that Neil can pack up the leftover treats.

Before Neil leaves, Andrew says “Next months book is Atonement.”

Neil wakes up to four text messages. One is from Matt asking how the night went, one is from Erik warning him that he gave Nicky his number, one is emoji filled from Nicky, and the last one is from Andrew. It just says ‘You go first’.

Neil spends his whole morning messing up his marking because he’s thinking too hard about what his first question will be for Andrew. He gives up trying to work when Sir knocks over his coffee and nearly breaks his laptop.

Neil: What made you want to own a bookstore?

Andrews reply comes faster than Neil was expecting. He feels a little thrill when he hears the ping of his phone.

Andrew: Everything you could ask me, and that was your question?

Neil: You never said that there were topics that weren’t allowed.

Andrew: ...exactly

Neil startles when his phone starts ringing on the sofa beside him. Sir gives him a wide eyed look until he picks it up.

“I thought you were at work,” he says to Andrew.

“I would say the same thing about you, but I’m starting to doubt whether you actually have a job.”

“I do have a job,” Neil says smugly. “I’m a university professor. I teach online classes. And you’re avoiding my question.”

“There aren’t any customers in here, smartass,” Andrew says not unkindly. Neil smothers a smile. “So do you still persist in asking me why I wanted to own a bookstore?”

“Yep.”

“I didn’t want to do anything,” Andrew says.

Neil stays quiet and waits for him to give him the rest of the answer.

“I like reading, and I don’t like libraries.”

“Okay,” Neil says. He feels strangely content on the phone. Normally he sucks on the phone, and forgets to answer. “Your turn.”

Andrew is quiet for a moment. “Why did you come to book club?”

“Matt told me I needed more friends, and he wouldn’t let me use Sir as an excuse not to go,” Neil says honestly. He’s found that ever since he became a real boy all those years ago, he has a hard time lying. It always leaves him feeling gross and wrong.

Andrew huffs on the other end of the phone. “You seem to have lots of friends.”

“That’s what I said. The argument wasn’t accepted.”

Sir meows at Neil until he arranges himself so she can sit on his lap.

“Is that your cat?” Andrew says, breaking a comfortable silence.

“You already asked your question,” Neil teases, tangling his hand in Sir’s fur. She starts her wheezing, loud purr and he can hear Andrew huff again.

“Tell your broken cat that she won’t make me look over your interest in math,” Andrew says.

“What?” Neil laughs. “Who told you I taught math?”

“You’ve caught everyone's attention. I can’t walk down the street without hearing a new fact about you,” Andrew says dryly. “Anyway, math is awful and a terrible subject to choose to study.”

“Math is interesting! It’s the only universal language!” Neil says, not nearly as upset about Andrews accusation as he normally would be. He’s halfway through a tangent on the wonders of math before he catches himself.

“Sorry,” Neil says sheepishly. “You’re probably not interested.”

“More than you would think,” Andrew says, sounding perturbed. “There’s a customer.”

Neil is surprised by the amount of disappointment he feels when the call stops.

It becomes a habit during the slow times in the day. Andrew calls Neil when he’s bored and finished putting away any new merchandise, or Neil will call Andrew when he’s tired of trying to understand his students confused writing. So far, Neil has learnt that Andrew was in juvie as a teen, and grew up in the foster care system. He learns that Nicky is their cousin and that he took surprisingly good care of Andrew and Aaron when they were angsty teens, and he learns that Andrew has always struggled with touch. He learns lighter things too, like how Andrews favourite movie is Baby Driver (but he will never admit that to anyone else because he has a reputation to uphold), and his favourite colour is blue.

Neil returns the favour but giving away as much information as he’s getting. During their eighth phone call he has a panic attack when he tells Andrew about his father, and how he came to be in a wheelchair. Andrew talks him through it calmly, and doesn’t give him any weird looks when he visits the bookstore two days later.

The month runs by much faster than Neil is used to, and he hasn’t called Matt in a lonely depression a single time. He feels oddly proud of himself for it.

When Nicky texts to remind him of the dinner that him and Erik are hosting, Neil is almost looking forward to it. He has heard from Nicky almost as much as Matt, and the texts have been just as enthusiastic.

He spends the afternoon before baking bread while he chats with Andrew. Andrew had practically forced him into accepting a ride in his ridiculous, fancy car, and has spent the entire afternoon giving him various warnings about Nicky and Aaron.

“Nicky will hug you,” Andrew says with a voice that sounds like he’s informing Neil of a death. “More than once. Erik’s not bad, but Nicky’s a hugger.”

Neil laughs while he kneads the bread. “It’s okay, Allison sits on my lap every time she sees me. People keep thinking we’re dating.”

Andrew hums in acknowledgement and continues with his warnings. “Aaron is judgy.”

“And you aren’t?” Neil says, thinking back to all of the customers that Andrew has thoroughly made fun of.

“He’s a different brand of judgy. Katelyn keeps it down for the most part, but he’s very rude,” Andrew says, like he doesn’t have any similar traits.

“How often do you all have dinner together?”

“A few times a year. Nicky insists on our family dinners.”

Neil pauses. “It’s a family dinner?”

The line goes quiet.

“Andrew? I can’t crash a family dinner,” Neil is starting to feel the root of panic in his chest.

“You wouldn’t be crashing it. Nicky and Erik invited you.”

“But he didn’t say it was for family,” Neil says nervously. Sir meows at him and jumps in his lap. He attempts to shove her off with his elbows so he doesn’t get flour on her.

“Neil,” Andrew says calmly. “I’m coming to get you in three hours. Sir is not an excuse to not come.”

“Fine.”

As promised, Andrew shows up at Neils door three hours later. His mouth goes dry when Neil opens the door. Neil has never put much effort into his appearance, so Andrew is definitely not ready for the button up shirt and styled hair. Neil's apartment smells like freshly baked bread, and the cat that he hears on the phone all the time is sitting comfortably on Neils lap, unconcerned with the fact that Neil is moving around the apartment and fidgeting while she does so.

The apartment is spare, with lots of space between furniture for Neil to move around. The kitchen counters a lower as well, and Neil navigates the room efficiently and quickly. He pushes off Sir with some reluctance, then grabs a loaf of bread and shoves it into Andrews hands so he can put on his jacket.

“You look nice,” Neil says nervously.

Andrew can feel his ears heat up. “You do too,” he says, though it comes out flat and uncaring. Neil beams anyway and leads the way out.

“You don’t have to be nervous,” Andrew finally says when they are both in the car and on their way. “Nicky would die for you.”

“Nicky barely knows me,” Neil says, looking baffled.

“It only takes him a few minutes to latch on to people. Look at me and Aaron. One glance and now he won’t let go.”

Neil smiles gently at him and goes back to fidgeting with his cuffs.

Andrew had never payed attention to the accessibility of places until he met Neil. He is extremely aware of how cracked and uneven the pavement is in front of Nicky’s, and all he can think about is how cramped the living room is.

Neil is looking at the pavement with trepidation. “Would you be able to help me, maybe…” Neil says quietly.

“Yes.”

Neil nods and pops open his wheelchair, moving into it with practiced ease. Andrew waits for him to get comfortable before standing behind him give the chair a push.

They make it safely to the front door, and as Nicky welcomes them in, Andrew notices that the furniture in the living room has been moved so there is more space. Erik notices him looking and smiles, offering a hand to Neil as they come inside.

Aaron and Katelyn are already there, sitting in the dining room. Katelyn greets Neil just like she had a book club and starts a conversation with him about their next book. He can see the relief written all over Neils expression.

When Andrew looks over at Aaron, he’s watching him and Neil with an inscrutable expression. Andrew offers the bread to Nicky, not bothering to say it was from Neil. They all know that Andrew has very little patience in the kitchen.

Dinner goes better than Andrew had hoped. No one questions Neil's place there, and he seems to have a good time talking to Erik in German. Andrew interjects every once in a while, and Nicky looks like he’s going to cry when Erik lights up when he realizes that Neil speaks his language fluently.

It’s not until dessert that Aaron opens his mouth to Neil.

“So what makes you so special?” Aaron says, fixing Neil a suspicious look.

Neil blinks, and pushes his plate of dessert to Andrew to finish.

“Umm…”

Katelyn elbows Aaron and gives him a significant look, and Nicky just looks tired.

“Normally only family gets invited to family dinner. And Andrew won’t even take the time out of his day to phone his own twin, so it’s kind of funny that you made your way in so easily.”

Neils expression shutters and Andrew pushes away the dessert.

“I’m sorry,” Neil says in his professional voice. “If I would have known that this was just for family, I would not have intruded.”

“Aaron, Erik and I invited him,” Nicky says with a look that Andrew hasn’t seen since they were teens and Erik was still in Germany.

“Neil, the bread you made was incredible. Do you bake often?” Katelyn says sweetly. Aaron catches her eye and they have a bit of a silent conversation while Neil stares at his plate.

“I just think it’s unusual that everyone loved him so quickly, that’s all,” Aaron says. The room, except Neil, seems to collectively understand what's happening at the same time. Aaron is upset that they took Neil in so quickly when he had to fight for Katelyn, and when Nicky had to fight for Erik.

“I think we’re done here,” Andrew says when he realizes that Neil isn’t going to say anything else. Neil knows the rocky history between Aaron and Andrew, and he didn’t seem to get in between the two of them.

“Would you like to take home some of the pudding, Andrew?” Erik says sadly. Nicky looks like he’s valiantly fighting off tears, and Katelyn's face is nearly as stoney as Neils.

“No, we’re going to go,” Andrew says, and Neil follows him out of the house. Andrew waits at the door so he can help him over the pavement, and no one says a word until they are both settled in the car.

“I told you I shouldn’t have come to a family dinner,” Neil says quietly. Not in a blaming way, just sadly.

“That’s bullshit,” Andrew says. His hands are gripping the steering wheel with more force than completely necessary.

“It’s okay Andrew. I didn’t want to cause a fight.”

“You didn’t cause one.” Andrew stops at a stop sign and turns to look at Neil. “You didn’t cause one, it was already there.”

He waits for Neil to nod before he goes again. The rest of the trip is quiet.

The excitement doesn’t catch up with Andrew until a few days later. He thought that he was dealing fine with Aaron until he woke up and couldn’t get the energy to get out of bed.

It would be easy to be mad at himself. He has a habit of doing that. Bee and Renee always tell him that healing is just like that, two steps forward and one step back, but it’s easy to forget how devastating it is when the step back comes.

He closes his eyes for a few minutes and it’s already 9:30.

The minutes drag by slowly and too fast all at the same time. He’s too hot but there isn’t any energy to push off the blankets or open a window. He stares blankly at the ceiling and fights desperately for the memories not to overwhelm.

He isn’t sure what time it is when his phone rings. He lets it go, but it starts ringing again after.

He finally reaches over to answer, not saying anything once the call connects.

“Andrew?” Neil’s tentative voice says through the speakers. “I’m at the store and it’s still closed. I was worried.”

Andrew can hear the concern. He sighs and closes his eyes again.

“Do you want me to hang up?”

“No.” Andrews voice is gravelly.

“Okay,” Andrew can hear Neil's wheels against the pavement. “Do you want me to come over? You can say no.”

Andrew barely has to think it over. He doesn’t want Neil to see him like this, but he can’t get out of bed and he needs someone to open the window for him. He gives Neil his address and holds the phone to his ear while he waits. Neil doesn’t hang up.

When Neil gets there, he tells him where the spare key is, and the front door clicks open not long after.

“Andrew?” Neil's voice echoes through the quiet house.

“Hey,” Neil says when he gets to Andrews bedroom door. He doesn’t come inside, just talks from the hallway. “Have you eaten anything yet?”

Andrew turns to look blearily at him, and Neil leaves to look around in the kitchen. He comes back some time later with toast and a glass of water, and waits for permission to come into the room. He sits beside Andrews bed and starts reading Atonement out loud while Andrew eats, stopping every once in a while to make sure he stays hydrated.

Andrew doesn’t know how long they sit like that before his brain stop cycling and he’s able to look at the room clearly.

“You can stop,” Andrew says when he realizes that Neil’s voice is starting to go from talking so much. “Here,” he says, handing Neil a blanket from his bed. The room is getting cold with the window open, but he doesn’t want it closed yet.

Neil leaves much later, once it’s already dark outside, and Andrew manages to get some real sleep that night.

“Seriously buddy, I can’t believe you didn’t just chew him out,” Matt is still going on over the phone about the failed dinner party from a week ago. Neil is updating one of his courses while Matt rants. “What a dick move. Although, now that I think about it…”

After the silence goes on for longer than necessary, Neil says “Go on.”

“It’s notoriously difficult to get an invite to a Minyard family dinner.”

“You’re acting like it’s the Met Gala.”

“Hey, you remember what the Met Gala is! And I’m serious. It took Katelyn, like, two years of dating Aaron before she was allowed to go. Andrew refuses to have extra people there.”

“I know, that’s why Aaron was mad. And stop talking about Andrew like he’s not being reasonable.”

Matt is quiet for a bit. “I just think that Andrew should have been more open minded to Katelyn, and I wish that Aaron hadn’t been rude to you.” “You don’t know the whole story.”

“I know,” Matt sighs. “Out of everyone in the whole world, why did you choose Andrew Minyard?” The question doesn’t sound judging, just genuinely curious.

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve never looked twice at anyone else. What is it about Andrew that caught your attention?”

“Andrew and I aren’t dating,” Neil says for the millionth time. Although, the more he thinks about it, the more Neil decides that maybe he would like that.

The usual suspects are at book club that Tuesday, all clutching their versions of Atonement. Some are filled with post-it notes and written all over, and others are in impeccable condition. Neil’s is somewhere in between. He didn’t manage to finish this one yet either, but he was pretty proud of himself for getting almost three quarters of the way through.

Erik and Katelyn come over to talk to him before anyone else. Neil can tell that it’s an apology of sorts, but he’s just glad that they don’t mention anything outright. He would rather pretend that nothing happened.

He waves at Andrew when he comes in, and Andrew gives him his coffee before putting the rest of the mugs down on the table. Katelyn winks at him for some reason at that.

The conversation is more somber for this book, but Neil enjoys it just as much, and he has much more to say now that he’s more comfortable with everyone. He also notices that there are more savoury options on the sweats tray.

Neil stays back to help clean the dishes in the back, and then stays after they’re all done. Bee smiles at Andrew before she leaves, and Erik promises to organize a movie night or something with them all, and then the shop is empty except for Neil and Andrew.

“I have a question,” Neil says before he can lose his nerve.

Andrew nods once and watches him intensely, like he always does.

“Are you… Would you-,” Neil tries to line up his thoughts into a sentence that doesn’t sound weird or embarrassing.

Andrew doesn’t say anything, just watches him fluster his way through his words.

“I would like to kiss you,” Neil finally says.

“That’s not a question,” Andrew says, and for the first time in months, Neil can’t quite read his expression.

“The question was implied,” Neil says nervously.

“If this is some sort of sexuality crisis, I don’t want to be your experiment.”

“This isn’t a sexuality crisis. I’ve never been interested in anyone like I am in you.”

Neil’s pretty sure that the shop has never been this silent before. “I’ll leave,” Neil finally says. He can feel a rock in his throat that makes him want to be in bed with Sir’s comforting warmth on his chest. He tries to not think of the fact that Andrew probably won’t call him tomorrow like he usually does.

“Don’t be stupid,” Andrew says before Neil can get to the door. He raises an eyebrow after Neil turns around. “I didn’t say no.”

“You didn’t say yes either.” Andrew's face does something complicated. “Yes.”

Neil goes to Andrew, where he’s still sitting in the one armchair that he always chooses for book club.

“Yes?” Neil says when he’s right beside Andrew.

Andrew’s eyes are dark when he says, “yes.”

Andrew kisses as passionately as he argues about books, and Neils mind stops for a blissful moment. He can feel every inch of Andrews hand pulling him in by the back of his neck, feel the heat of Andrews body being so close.

He feels dazed when Andrew pulls away, and is pleased to see that Andrew looks nearly as ruffled as Neil feels.

“Would you like to go on a date?” Neil says.

“I thought you already asked your question,” Andrew says, eyes dancing with mirth.

“Technically the first one wasn’t actually a question.”

Andrew's mouth quirks up on one side.

Their date turns out to be a nice dinner at a park that Neil later admits was suggested by Allison. Andrew doesn’t mind, because he’s pretty sure that it would have been at the cafe if it was just up to Neil.

Andrew wishes everything was as easy as it was to start seeing Neil. Neil was practically incapable of keeping his emotions in around Andrew, and his bluntness made sure that miscommunication was avoided.

Aaron was a different story. All that Andrew wanted to do was ignore everyone else and let them figure out that Neil and Andrew were… something. Dating, he supposed. Unfortunately, Bee nearly forced him to talk it out with Aaron.

So here he is, holding his phone on a Saturday morning, waiting for his brother to pick it up.

He sighs when Aaron picks up, and is briefly tempted to just hang up and continue their relationship as it’s been for the past few years.

“Andrew?” Aaron says groggily. He sounds worried.

“Aaron.”

“Are you… dying or something?”

Andrew sighs again. “No. I wanted to talk.”

There’s a stunned silence, and then the sound of Aaron getting up and moving around.

“Okay,” he says hesitantly. “That’s… nice. Good. How is the store?”

“Good.”

“Okay.”

Andrew resists the urge to sigh again. “How is your job.”

“The hospital has been good. Busy, like always, but it’s been really good. Katelyn is working today, actually, so it’s just me home right now.”

The silence stretches like an elastic. Andrew wishes that he was talking to Neil, then blinks in surprise at his thoughts. He didn’t realize how much he actually enjoyed just talking to Neil.

“Is there something that you wanted to talk about in particular?” Aaron asks.

“I,” Andrew starts. It’s more difficult to get the words out than he thought it would be, but he squares his shoulders. “I am sorry that I didn’t like Katelyn. And Neil and I are together.”

“Oh. I mean, I knew you guys were dating.”

“No, you didn’t,” Andrew says, not bothering to explain that they didn’t start until recently. Aaron just huffs.

“Well, thank you,” Aaron says. “And… I’m sorry. About what I said to Josten.”

Andrew nods once, even though he knows that Aaron can’t see him.

“Erik invited us to that movie night. Are you going to come?”

“Yes,” Andrew says, already exhausted by this conversation.

“Okay. Well, see you then.”

“Yep,” Andrew says, then waits for Aaron to hang up.

Neil is stuck in that moment between sleep and waking, the feverish version of everyday life. He can see the soft grey of his bedroom wall, and the brick of the basement in Baltimore at the same time. Hear the whir of the ceiling fan and the giggles of Lola, smell the citrusy scent of his cleaning supplies and the metallic tang of blood.His legs ache in both realities.

As his mind clears, he realizes that the pain in his legs is likely what brought the past back so clearly. He stares hard at the white ceiling in an attempt to stop the thoughts spinning around his mind.

Tonight is movie night, he remembers.

It’s raining outside, the first rain for most of the summer and probably the reason for the constant discomfort in his tendons. He was hoping that he was past this, even though Abby was always warning him that there would always be times that this would happen. Long term pain couldn’t be avoided with that much damage, he would just have to have plans in place for when it hit.

Neil spends most of the morning trying very hard not to move, and not to think about his legs. It’s harder to distract himself when he doesn’t have anything to entertain himself. Sir seems thrilled with their extended lie-in, and he contents himself with watching her little belly move while she breathes.

The abrupt ringing of his phone startles him, sending sharp pains down to his feet. It takes eons for Neil to move enough that he can reach the phone. It’s already gone to voicemail by the time he’s caught his breath enough to look at who called. He calls Andrew back immediately.

“Nicky wants us to come by at 4 so we can have dinner and talk first,” Andrew says with vague disgust in his voice. It’s almost enough to make Neil smile. Unfortunately, he feels to guilty about the fact that he isn’t sure whether he’ll even make it to Nicky’s tonight.

“Hi,” he says to Andrew. “That’s usually how people start their conversations. With a greeting.”

Andrew snorts quietly. “Because you always follow societal conventions.”

Neils stifles a groan as he tries to sit up. He gives up in an awkward, half slumped position.

“Neil?” Andrew’s tone has changed and Neil realizes that Andrew had said something.

“Sorry, what were you saying?” he says, strain evident in his voice.

“What's wrong?”

“Nothing, I’m fine.” Neil can hear how pathetic it sounds, and desperately hopes that Andrew doesn’t. He doesn’t want Andrew to see how high maintenance he is when they’ve only been dating for a little bit.

“Where are you?” Andrew sounds concerned, and Neils gut clenches a bit.

“I’m at home, I’m fine.” “I’m coming over.”

“No, you don’t need to. You’ll see me tonight, anyway.”

Neil can hear a murmured conversation, muffled by a hand. “Robins taking the desk, and I’m coming over.”

“Wait, Robin is there? What time is it?” Neil can feel the first sparks of anxiety.

“It’s almost 2,” Andrew says, panting slightly as he walks.

Neil thinks of all the things he was supposed to do today. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to come to movie night,” Neil says, trying to quash the panicked note in his voice. “I have a lot to do today, I was supposed to have an online meeting at 10 and I totally forgot. And I need to record a few audio recordings to go with the notes for the last unit. And-”

“Neil,” Andrew waits until Neil stops rambling. “I’m at your door and I’m coming in, okay?”

Neil makes a noise of assent and clutches the phone to his ear until he hears Andrew walk in.

Andrews silhouette fills the doorway to Neils bedroom seconds later, and he becomes overly aware of how he looks, sagging on the bed with blankets strewn around him. Sir sits up sleepily and blinks at the intruder, then starts to have a very noisy bath. Neil gives Andrew a guilty look.

“What's wrong?” Andrew says, and his voice is so gentle that Neil has to blink away tears.

“I just slept in, thats all,” Neil says, like his bedroom doesn’t look like a murder scene. He thinks of the wheelchair, walker and other equipment sitting around his room. He’s trying to remember whether he put away all of the physical therapy equipment when Andrew sits down slowly on the edge of his bed.

“Are you sick?”

Neil sighs. “No, it’s the rain.”

A small wrinkle forms in between Andrews brows.

“My legs. The change in weather makes them hurt sometimes. Which is stupid, because the weather is always changing around here.” Neil tries to smile and fails miserably.

“What can I do?”

Neil blinks rapidly at the ceiling. He can hear Sir leave the room and feels irrationally abandoned by her.

“Have you eaten yet?” Andrew says, changing tactics. He leaves too when Neil shakes his head, and the lonely feeling reappears.

Both the cat and his boyfriend come back minutes later, the latter carrying a plate of food and a mug of tea with him. He also has pain pills in his hand.

“I was assuming that these would help, though I’m not sure how they were going to do that from the kitchen,” Andrew says.

“I have to have them with food.”

Andrew has managed to find one of the fancy trays that Allison bought him years ago and helps him prop himself up against the pillows before placing it down on his lap. There are fresh cut strawberries and bread with honey on his plate, and Neil stares at Andrew while he bustles around the room. He’s so focused on how his hair shines in the sunlight now streaming from his window that he almost doesn’t notice that Andrew’s cleaning the floor so that his wheelchair can move around easier.

“Stop looking at me like that,” Andrew says, but the blush rising in his ears betrays his feelings.

“You didn’t have to come here,” Neil says.

“What do you do when you’re by yourself and this happens?”

Neil shrugs. “I lie in bed until I think that I can manage moving, and then I take the pills with crackers or something. And then I end up sleeping on the couch most of the day because the pills make me feel weird.”

Andrew thinks for a moment. “Do you need ice? Or a heating pad?”

“Ice would be nice,” Neil mumbles into his tea.

Andrew pauses in the doorway, looking oddly hesitant. He nods to himself before opening his mouth. “Do you ever resent being in the wheelchair?”

Neil considers the question for long enough that Andrew almost leaves without an answer. “I used to. I was really angry after it all, and it felt like I couldn’t do anything by myself. But once all of the bandages were off and Abby had taught me how to do everything, I was really glad for the wheelchair. It means that I can be independent and move around without as much pain as the walker. And there are some benefits,” Neil grins. “I can move around the apartment and still let Sir sit on my lap.”

Andrew turns around, but Neil catches the small smile on his face before he goes.

Half an hour later and Neil is swaddled in blankets, comfortably full, and sandwiched between Andrew and Sir while they watch a baking show that Andrew made him swear that he would never tell Nicky that he liked.

Matt and Dan have always tried to get Neil to call them over when this happened, and now he is starting to see why. He feels safe and almost comfortable, the pain down to a manageable level with the care that he has been given. He wonders what it would have been like if he had admitted to needing help years ago.

“How would you feel about inviting everyone here instead,” Andrew says suddenly, pushing Neil out of his head. “You don’t have to. We could reschedule movie night, Nicky would understand.”

“Aaron wouldn’t,” Neil says with something close to a pout.

Andrew’s lips twitch upward before he gets control of his expression. “Aaron would understand too.”

“I couldn’t feed them, though,” Neil says morosely. He had been looking forward to this, strangely. Maybe because this time his friends were invited too. It was sure to be loud and chaotic, but Neil thought that it would be nice for all of his favourite people to be in one room.

“Idiot,” Andrew says with too much fondness for it to be insulting. “Nicky and Matt will bring food. And Renee’s doing dessert.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah, okay.”

Andrew watches their friends and family get comfortable in Neil’s tiny living room. All of them are holding mismatched plates filled with food and have managed to move enough things around that they could all fit in front of the TV.

Neil is sitting beside him in the corner of the sectional, legs stretched out in front of him and a plate of fruit in his hands. He still looks pale and tired, but he keeps giving Andrew a brilliant smile and he belly laughed at a joke that Matt made, so Andrew has decided that offering to bring everyone to him was a good idea after all.

Matt and Dan have somehow contorted themselves so that they can fit on the armchair beside the couch, and Aaron and Katelyn are snuggled up on the other side of the couch. Aaron had even given Neil a respectful nod and a booklet of well-meaning advice on how to care for his legs when they arrived.

(Andrew had seen the way Neil tried not to laugh when he looked through the booklet, and how his muscles seemed to relax at the lack of a rude greeting from his brother)

Erik and Nicky were cuddled on Neil’s comforter on the floor, with Renee and Allison beside them. Kevin was leaned up against the armchair and cheerfully arguing with Aaron about what a proper diet looks like.

The movie had started half an hour ago, but most of them were talking over it while Nicky shushed everyone.

Andrew’s chest is holding an expanding warm feeling while he watches the mayhem, and when he turns to look at Neil, Neil’s expression mirrors the warmth.

When Neil falls asleep on his shoulder later while Sir kneads his lap, and his brother nods acceptance at him, he knows that this will be his future.

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nureyevapologist · 6 years ago

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with every christmas card i write

a little late because of who i am as a person but here is my @aftgexchange gift for @foxeshaveclaws !! they asked for andreil, the foxes as adults and Allison, so i hope i delivered!!

Snow crunches soft beneath the wheels of Neil’s rental car and he thinks, not for the first time, that Allison’s house is the loveliest thing he’s ever seen. He had never considered himself the kind of person to have architectural preferences, especially as someone who had lived in more abandoned buildings than he could count on two hands, but Allison and Renee’s quaint little cottage made him feel warm every time he saw it. It was all one level, three bedrooms and a big open space connecting the lounge and the kitchen. The garden stretched out for what seemed to be miles, little vegetable patches that were tucked up for the winter and a scattering of vintage furniture, a homey chicken coop in the far corner. A far cry from Neil and Andrew’s modern, cosy apartment, but the perfect setting for their yearly Christmas rendezvous.

Judging by the crowd of cars outside, Neil is the last of the Foxes to arrive; he sees Matt’s truck, and Aaron’s practical family car, a rental that must belong to Nicky and Erik and another that he can only assume is Kevin’s. Andrew, Neil knows, is halfway through a flight at this very moment – scheduling conflicts had meant they’d been apart for a good few weeks, with Andrew’s professional team on a convoluted press tour while Neil’s season had finished for the year, and Neil would be lying if he said he wasn’t missing his boyfriend sorely. Still, a few more hours and Neil’s heart would be back where it belonged.

The familiar silhouettes of his Foxes, his family, flitting around beyond the curved bay window fills Neil with warmth, as he ambles up the cobblestone path with an armful of gift bags and a smile he’s settled into like a comfy sweater. Neil of seven years ago could never have envisioned this kind of Hallmark card life, the pretty green wreath on the front door of the Reynolds-Walker cottage and the welcome mat he knows almost as well as his own.

Allison flings the door open before Neil has even really grazed his knuckles against the wood, wrapping him in a hug that smells like mulled wine and feels like family. “Look who finally showed!”

“Sorry,” Neil says against her shoulder, “I’m late because of who I am as a person”

It startles a laugh out of her, softer and more free than anything Neil remembers from their college days, and she herds him into the lounge where he’s bundled into more hugs than he even really knows what to do with.

“We’re not doing gifts until Andrew is here,” Aaron says, once Neil is settled into the sofa with a cup of coffee. “So we need you to settle the vote”

“We’re split four-for-four,” Matt adds, from beside Neil. “Renee is refusing to weigh in on diplomatic grounds, but half of us wanna watch bad Christmas movies and the other half want to watch the Vipers’ game”

Neil shoots a sidelong glance at Kevin, who raises one brow from where he’s been scrolling through his phone. “I voted Christmas movies, so shut up”

Neil hides a grin behind his mug. “I didn’t say a word”

“Your face did”

He kicks out at Kevin’s hip where he’s sitting cross-legged by the fire, and Kevin yanks at his ankle in protest. It feels familiar, when Dan huffs out a laugh and Aaron rolls his eyes, when Nicky throws a mini marshmallow from his cocoa into the mix. Neil hadn’t realised how much he’d missed this; it was rare for them to all be in the same place at once, these days. Neither Aaron nor Katelyn got much time out of medical school; Matt, Dan, Allison and Kevin were all alongside Neil in the hectic world of professional Exy; Nicky and Erik were in Germany, and Renee was in the process of forming her own not-for-profit charity. It felt like something integral clicked into place when they were all together, and Neil couldn’t stop smiling even if he wanted to.

“Christmas movies,” he says, folding his legs beneath himself. “I see enough Exy as it is”

“Thank you,” Allison says, as Matt, Dan, Aaron and Erik all make noises of complaint. “Honey, do your very worst”

Renee makes a face. “They’re not bad movies, Allison”

Affecting a snobbish voice, Allison lifts her wine glass in the air; “Oh, I’m a very busy businesswoman, and I hate Christmas, and I’m so very single. But what’s this? I’m visiting my hometown? And my childhood best friend works at the Christmas tree farm? And he has a six pack now?”

Renee is trying very, very hard not to smile at Allison’s impression, and Katelyn is laughing freely where she’s tucked against Aaron’s side.

“Don’t forget he’s a single dad, too. That’s a crucial plot point”

“Et tu, Erik?” asks Renee, popping the disc into the player, and the room dissolves into giggles. It reminds Neil of away games back in college, all of them crammed into one motel room at one in the morning, trying not to wake Wymack with their antics.

Neil’s Christmas movie knowledge is pretty limited, but Allison’s impression had been pretty spot on, he decides, only fifteen minutes in. As the uptight businesswoman tears down a strip of tinsel someone had tacked to her office wall, Neil’s eyes begin to slip closed. It isn’t boring, per se, but he had driven all the way here, and he’s sandwiched comfortably between Matt and Nicky, a crocheted blanket draped over his lap while the fireplace burned away on the far wall. All of the main lights had been switched off in favour of the glow from the Christmas tree, and Matt’s shoulder was a warm, welcome presence beneath Neil’s cheek.

If he just closes his eyes, for a little moment…

Laughter is what finally wakes him.

Soft, rumbling, shaking the pillow beneath him.

No, not a pillow, he remembers. Matt’s shoulder.

“This is what I have to live with,” says a voice, familiar, warm, home.

“What you choose to live with,” Aaron corrects, smile dancing around his voice, and the sleep evaporates from Neil in an instant as his brain catches up with itself.

Andrew is standing a few feet from the sofa, arms folded across his chest, a tiny smile playing at his mouth. His hair is ridiculously mussed from where it’s clearly been hidden by a woollen hat and he’s wearing a chunky sweater, the kind Renee often knits for him and one she’d likely thrust upon him the second he entered.

“Andrew,” Neil says, scrambling to stand and nearly braining himself on the coffee table when his legs don’t quite get the message in time. Matt makes a soft, fond noise beside him and Allison laughs, but Neil can only focus on Andrew, Andrew, Andrew.

“Oh,” says Andrew, warm beneath Neil’s fingers as he’s folded into a long-awaited embrace, “decided to join us, have you?”

“Shut up,” Neil tells him, face tucked safely into the crook of Andrew’s neck. Then, quieter, “I missed you”

“Seems like it, sleeping beauty”

Neil grumbles. Andrew’s arms come around his back and he ghosts a secretive kiss to the bend of Neil’s jaw. They stay like that, frozen in time, a perfect Christmas cliché, until Andrew whispers, “I missed you, too”

In just a minute, someone will gasp in faux-surprise and point out the sprig of mistletoe tacked to the ceiling right above their heads. Andrew will tell the room at large to fuck off, but he’ll kiss Neil, anyway, mouth familiar and gentle, and Neil’s heart will beat in double-time. They’ll squeeze themselves into the same spot on the sofa, nestled beneath the kitschy blanket to finish the Christmas movie Renee had put in – a completely different movie to the one Neil had fallen asleep to, not that he particularly notices, with Andrew’s hand tucked safely against his own.

They’ll drink mulled wine and eat sugar cookies, sit in a circle by the fire to trade gifts, little pieces of sentiment that will travel back home to their own little corners of the earth. Kevin will get ahold of Wymack on Skype, a system he’s still getting to grips with, and he’ll tell them they’re all little shits despite his warm, watery eyes.

Neil will stay there, nestled between Andrew and Matt, watching the sun go down through the frosted bay windows, reminiscing with his family until his eyes begin to droop again. They will, all of them, the Foxes, get the Christmas they deserve, with a family they never thought they’d have, and a peace they’d fought tooth and nail for.

#my fic #aftg exchange #foxeshaveclaws #aftg #andreil #sorry this is late hfbfb i have a had a Day

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reneewalkersbiceps · 6 years ago

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the foxes play mario kart

okay i have more thoughts about the foxes playing mario kart that i can’t let go of so here you are yeet:

the foxes have game night every week (as is well established in hc’s by this point who are we really kidding)

and one week nicky finds a battered old wii at a yard sale and the original mario kart wii game to bring to game night

most of the foxes have never played but most of them (bar neil) have heard of it

nicky, dan, matt and renee play first

dan and matt are mario and luigi and pretty much work together for the entire race as much as they can. they avoid shooting shells at each other and high five when they finish

they place 3rd and 4th respectively

renee plays as yoshi and nicky as koopa troopa (who the hell knows why just go with it)

renee’s pretty good but doesn’t use any offensive powers to avoid hitting the others

she finishes 5th

nicky is so bad but he has fun anyway

he finishes last

kevin pretends to be disinterested but his competitive nature extends past exy so he quickly gives up and starts shouting at the screen with the others

aaron is legitimately disinterested

allison cheers renee on and tried to grab the controller more than once when renee refuses to use her shells

neil watches intently, transfixed by the colours and lights and sounds

andrew watches neil but pretends to be bored anytime anyone looks their way

when the first race is over kevin grabs a controller from nicky straight away

neil turns to andrew and does his best puppy dog eyes

andrew rolls his eyes but takes renee’s offered controller anyway and mutters ‘104% josten’ under his breath

neil is delighted, he takes matt’s controller and allison switches with dan

allison sticks with her brand and picks princess peach, andrew sticks with his brand and plays as dry bones, neil picks koopa troopa bc he wants to match with andrew (to andrew’s delight annoyance)

kevin spends forever trying to choose a character

in the end he settles for bowser bc he thinks it’ll be easier to shove people out of the way as bowser

they randomise the races and of course rainbow road comes up

allison groans bc she knows what this means

nicky who was practically hyperventilating at the image of andrew minyard playing mario kart squeals and starts giggling like a maniac

neil’s confused

the race starts and straight away kevin falls off the track and shouts in frustration

neil and allison are about midway in the field but are struggling to stay on course

but andrew

andrew is in first and it doesn’t look like that’s going to be changing anytime soon

they get to the final lap, kevin is pretty much about to throw his controller at the screen as he falls off again and is so far behind that he’s been lapped by andrew already

allison is just in front of him and has taken to getting as many shells as possible and firing them his way to her amusement

neil is second having got the hang of the controls and andrew’s still winning

in fact, andrew has already finished, thrown the controller at nicky who sits dumbfounded at what he just witnessed and walked back to the beanbag he and neil were sat on

renee is still cheering for allison as neil finishes

kevin gets timed out before he can finish the last lap, throws the controller on the floor and walks out muttering something about broken hands and unfair advantages and how he can’t believe he got the same position as hemmick

neil never doubted andrew, i mean, for god’s sake people he drives a maserati, has a photographic memory and plays goalkeeper. if anyone’s going to be good with his hands it’s going to be andrew

as neil knows

anyway from then on the wii becomes a regular installment at game night to kevin’s absolute horror

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unspokenfaith · 6 years ago

Text

I Love You Most

Chapter One: The Spirit That Dwells

Pairings: Archie Andrews/Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge/Reggie Mantle, Cheryl Blossom/Toni Topaz, Kevin Keller/Fangs Fogarty, Sweet Pea/OC Rating: T (potentially M later on) Word Count: 3239 Prompt: Horror (Camp Riverdale) Summary: Veronica was hoping to have a relaxing weekend with her friends the summer before senior year. But with Betty and Jughead’s recent break-up, as well as the tension between Jughead and the other Serpents, she begins to think that it wasn’t the best idea, especially when there seems to be an unexpected visitor in the Lodges’ lake house.

AO3

A piercing scream echoes across the lake as the girl’s body hit the water. Her head resurfaces not a moment later and she squeals in delight. Loud. Innocent. Euphonic. The rush of the first jump. She waves her arms around, secured in pink floaties, to catch someone’s attention—the woman on the dock wearing sunglasses, a large sun hat, and an amused smile. She temporarily puts down her magazine to clap, much to the young girl’s satisfaction.

The girl beams, flashing her tiny teeth, before searching the shoreline anxiously. Waiting. Soon a man in a suit appeared, cell phone glued to his ear and eyes on his watch. He makes his way over to the woman in the hat, still chattering away. A work call, presumably. Even with her sunglasses on, it isn’t hard to decipher the woman’s annoyance. The way she crosses her arms, looking up at him like this isn’t the first time this has happened. Nor would it be the last. The girl’s eyes are wide, sad, as she waits impatiently for him to notice her victory.

After a while, the man disappears back into the house without so much as a word to either, and the girl hoists herself back up on to the dock, defeated. She wraps a towel around herself, clinging to it like it would protect her from embarrassment and neglect.

And as she combs her hands through her raven hair, glancing back at the house, it becomes abundantly clear that she is a girl—a special girl⁠—who craves love.

I hope I can give that to her someday.

**********

Veronica

“Remind me to check the app to see what your ghost’s name is,” Gwen said, her acrylic nails tapping on the screen of her phone. “If it’s friendly.”

Veronica smiled at Betty and Kevin in the rearview mirror. You only had to talk to Gwen for less than five minutes to know she was a paranormal fanatic. The Conjuring, Buzzfeed Unsolved, ghost stories or possession encounters of any kind—you name it. Veronica found it rather off-putting at first. It wasn’t exactly what she was expecting, working with a girl from school at Pop’s—let alone from Pop’s granddaughter—when they were serving burgers and milkshakes. But it soon became a welcome distraction from, well, anything else going on in Riverdale that wasn’t paranormal activity.

That’s why she knew when she invited Gwen to the lake house for the weekend, she wouldn’t refuse. Gwen couldn’t have said “yes” any faster.

Even though Veronica was Gwen’s only connection to the group attending, aside from maybe Betty and Kevin now, she had faith her co-worker would quickly get along with everyone else. She was easier to like than most.

“I don’t want to get your hopes up. There might not be any ghosts there at all,” Veronica said.

Gwen dropped her phone on her lap, giving her a look. “Uh, a lake house in the deep, dark woods in the middle of nowhere? There’s a ghost, okay?”

“I’d believe it,” Betty said. “Do you know who lived there before, V?”

“No idea, actually. Mom said something about a young couple once, but I don’t know how long ago that was,” Veronica explained. “I don’t want to shut down all the speculation, but I was kind of hoping this would just be a normal, relaxing weekend. You know, demonic-spirit-free and all.”

Betty leaned forward with her chin on Veronica’s seat, and whispered, “But what if it’s a nice spirit?”

“Thank you!” Gwen said, and Kevin laughed.

Veronica rolled her eyes, smiling, as she made the final turn and the lake house came into view. Two cars—Archie’s and Cheryl’s—and Jughead’s motorcycle were already parked in front. Apparently they were the last to arrive.

Gwen gasped loudly, rolling the window down to get a better look. “Holy shit, girl! You call that a cabin? There’s definitely a ghost in there.”

“Did I say it was a cabin?” Veronica teased.

“I don’t think her parents even know what a cabin is,” Kevin said.

She parked next to Archie’s truck just as he and Reggie emerged. Veronica smiled at the sight of her boyfriend, barely turning the car off before hopping out and running over and jumping on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around his neck.

“Hey, you.” Reggie smiled, pecking her on the lips.

“Hi,” she said. “How was the drive? How’d you guys get here first, anyway?” She looked between Reggie and Archie, who was already hauling bags out of the back of the truck.

“Wow, someone’s in a hurry,” Veronica said.

Archie paused, wiping his forehead. “Hey, I’ll get yours too if you want.”

She smiled. “What a gentleman.”

Veronica could not have been more grateful that she and Archie were able to move past the awkward post-break-up-now-I’m-dating-your-friend-phase, if they even had one at all. They seemed to be on the same page—moving on, rekindling a friendship, being amicable about the whole thing. She wished the same could be said about others on the trip.

Jughead wandered over, noticeably eyeing Betty, who was helping Archie take bags out of Veronica’s car. She was Betty’s best friend, and even she didn’t know all the details that led to the break-up. Definitely having something to do with their mutual brother, Charles. Also definitely having something to do with the all the peace they’ve enjoyed over the past few months giving Betty a new perspective. What she did know was that it was a long time coming, and she never would’ve told Betty when they were still together, but she was never too fond of the pair anyway.

But Betty was fine, happy in fact, and that’s all Veronica really cared about.

“Need a hand there, guys?” Jughead asked.

Betty and Archie turned around, Archie glancing at her, trying to get a read on the situation. If Veronica thought she knew little, he must’ve really felt like he was in the dark.

“We’re fine, Jughead. Thanks,” Betty said, hauling out the last of the suitcases.

Kevin already found Fangs by Cheryl’s car, the pair sitting on the hood and holding hands. Sweet Pea scanned the woods, arms crossed, as though he were expecting something to jump out and attack. With everything that happened over the past couple of years, Veronica couldn’t really blame him.

Cheryl sighed, pushing her sunglasses to the top of her head. “I’m baking out here. Can we please go inside before I get skin cancer?”

“Did you forget to put sunscreen on, babe?” Toni asked.

“I didn’t forget. It was a conscious decision,” Cheryl replied. “My skin needs to breathe.” She folded her arms, looking at Veronica expectantly.

“What?” Veronica asked.

“Aren’t you going to let us in?”

“I told you there was a key under one of the pots.”

“Yeah, and we didn’t find one,” Cheryl said.

“Really? That’s weird. I thought my mom left one last time we were here.” Veronica lifted each of the pots by the front steps, finding Cheryl to be right—no key. She must’ve forgotten to put one there.

“Well, I brought one anyway.” She pulled the key out of her pocket and unlocked the door, pushing it open. “Okay, so make yourselves at home. There are four bedrooms upstairs, and the couch down here is a pull out, so there should be plenty of room for everyone.” She turned around to find Kevin and Gwen gaping, while Betty, Archie, and Jughead were already sitting down in the living room.

Cheryl came in, with a passive, “Kevin, Gwen,” as she walked between them. For whatever reason, that seemed to catch Sweet Pea’s attention.

“Sorry, I don’t think we’ve met,” he said to Gwen. “Gwen, right?”

Toni and Fangs looked at each other, smirking.

“Yeah…” Gwen studied him for a second. “Have I seen you somewhere? Like at Pop’s or something?”

Sweet Pea laughed. Laughed. “Yeah, I’ve been in a few times.”

Gwen raised an eyebrow at him. “And...your name?”

“Oh...right, yeah, I’m Sweet Pea.”

“Cool name.” She smiled.

“Okay, well, I’m bringing my stuff upstairs. I’ll be right back,” Veronica said, grabbing her bags.

Reggie started to follow her. “I’ll come with you.”

With Sweet Pea striking up a conversation with Gwen, Jughead casually whipping out his typewriter—the same one Betty got him, which seemed in poor taste—and everyone else either unpacking or deciding on sleeping arrangements, Veronica had a feeling it didn’t matter if they took their time.

“Was this a bad idea?” she asked, once they were at the top of the stairs.

Reggie frowned. “What happened to ‘this will be a nice break?’”

Veronica sighed, sitting down on her bed. “I know, but….Betty….Jughead...the Serpents...You can’t tell me you don’t think something could go wrong there.”

“So? Not our problem.” He sat down next to her, and she laid her head on his shoulder. “It’s not your fault Betty and Jughead broke up. And the Serpents can figure their own shit out. I’d say the only thing you did wrong was inviting Jughead. He seems to be the source of both problems.”

“Hey!” She hit his arm lightly. “I didn’t think he would actually come.”

“Yeah, why did he come?”

Veronica shrugged. “Beats me. So are you sleeping in here?”

“Depends. Am I invited?” Reggie smirked.

“Always,” she said. “You can put your stuff in that closet there if you want. Sorry it’s kind of a mess.”

She fell back on the bed, as Reggie got up to open the closet. He shuffled some things around to make room for his bag, then paused, laughing.

“What is so funny?” she demanded.

He poked his head out from the closet, grinning and holding two pink floaties. “These yours?”

“Yes…and? You never had those when you were learning how to swim?”

“Oh, sure, pretend like you don’t still use these.”

“Shut up!” Veronica grabbed a pillow and threw it at his head, but he was still laughing.

Reggie ceremoniously held out his arm, sliding one floaty on his arm, and then the other. “How do I look?”

“Like you’re finally ready to go swimming. Aww, Reggie, I’m so proud of you.”

“You are….”

“I am what?” She smiled teasingly.

He tackled her on to her back, and she screamed louder than she meant to, then fell into a fit of laughter as she tried to push Reggie off, but couldn’t seem to fight off the pink floaty arms. When he kissed her, she gave up completely, allowing him to move down to her neck.

As she closed her eyes, she heard the words, “I love you” come out of her mouth. She didn’t think she said it out loud, but she must’ve, because Reggie stopped and looked into her eyes.

“What did you just—”

The window closed with a loud thud, and they both jumped up. She took Reggie’s hand instinctively, and maybe because she was a tiny bit afraid.

Veronica didn’t remember opening the window in the first place.

**********

Betty

“What was that?” Betty asked, looking up at the stairs.

“Are you really asking that question, Betty?” Cheryl draped her legs across Toni’s lap. “If you want to go up there and interrupt them, then be my guest.”

“Gladly,” Jughead interjected, rolling his eyes. He was still clicking on his typewriter, and Betty still couldn’t decide if she was bothered that he brought it here, but it did make her wonder why he came at all.

Ever since they broke up, it became increasingly clear that Betty was Jughead’s only tie to everyone else. Even his friendship with Archie had fallen apart over the past couple of years. As he proclaimed almost every day, Jughead was a loner, and he seemed to like it that way. Maybe it was the constant thought of college, life after high school—the future—or maybe it was a simple matter of a difference in perspective—maybe both—but it only took Betty a month of solitude to realize he just wasn’t what she needed. Or wanted.

Betty thought she made a big mistake that night when he came over to her house—when Jughead stormed out and she couldn’t sleep when she spent hours crying into her pillow. She couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe she was throwing away something good.

Then a text from Archie popped up on her phone.

Hey, you ok? Your light is still on.

When she glanced over at the window, she realized it was still open. He heard her crying. Who knows what else he heard before that.

I’m fine.

Go to the window.

She did her best to wipe the tears off her face, but she was sure her eyes were still red. When she walked over to the window, she saw Archie holding a stuffed bear—the one she made for him in fifth grade. At the time she thought it was her proudest moment, but looking at it now, the button eyes lopsided on its face, and the fabric barely holding together, it looked more like something out of a horror film. She couldn’t believe he still had it.

Betty laughed, and even though she felt like a complete wreck, she slept soundly after that. She held onto that ever since.

“Can you turn that thing off?” Sweet Pea asked, referring to the loud clicking of the typewriter. He said what Betty was thinking.

“Sweet Pea, I’m trying to write a novel here. If it’s bothering you, just go somewhere else,” Jughead said, his eyes glued to the piece of paper slowly emerging.

“Why the hell did you even come if you’re just going to be all Edgar Allan Poe in the corner there?”

Jughead scoffed. “Poe was a poet, Sweet Pea. I’m a novelist.”

“Actually, not that this really matters, but he wrote stories, too,” Toni said. Next to her, Fangs laughed to himself.

Betty looked at Archie, who seemed to be just as amused as everyone else, and then he caught her eye. She couldn’t help but smile too.

“Okay!” Kevin stood up, clapping his hands together. “Why don’t we all play a game or something?”

“Ooh, good idea! Is there a Oujia board in here?” Gwen scanned the room eagerly.

“Uh, is that really a good idea?” Archie asked.

“Are you kidding? This is the perfect setting for it,” Kevin said, helping Gwen look in all the drawers and cabinets.

“Actually…” For the first time since arriving, Jughead stopped clicking and turned to face everyone. “This is probably the worst possible place you could play it. We’re pretty much in the middle of nowhere.”

“Who gives a fu—” But Sweet Pea was interrupted by Gwen.

“Look...Jughead, right? I don’t know what your deal is, but we’re just trying to have fun. If you don’t want to play, that’s fine. No one’s stopping you.”

Everyone stared at her. Sweet Pea’s eyes were especially wide. It was oddly refreshing to see someone—particularly someone who barely knew Jughead—put him in his place.

Jughead frowned, but said nothing as he resumed typing.

“Found it!” Kevin shouted, holding up the Ouija box.

“Yes! I’ll go get Veronica and Reggie,” Gwen said, running upstairs. She returned with the pair a minute later, both of them visibly disheveled. Veronica was fixing her hair while Reggie straightened his shirt. Betty gave Veronica a knowing smile.

“Is everyone playing?” Archie asked.

“Yeah, what’s wrong? Scared, Andrews?” Sweet Pea smirked.

“I mean, kind of. I’ve heard a lot of stories.”

“Your girlfriend can protect you,” Gwen said, eyeing Betty. Jughead stopped, shooting a look in Betty and Archie’s direction.

“Um, Gwen, we’re not…” Betty gestured between her and Archie.

“Yeah, it’s not…” Archie laughed nervously.

“Chill. It was a joke.” Gwen sat down on the floor and opened the game box. “Does someone want to turn the lights off?”

“Got it,” Fangs said, flipping the switch.

Betty hated the growing unease in her stomach.

“If we die, I’m killing all of you,” Cheryl said.

Gwen brushed the board off. “Damn this thing is old.”

“That adds to the vibe,” Kevin said, setting down the white planchette on the board. “Who wants to do the honors?”

“I will!” Gwen was a little too excited to talk to spirits. She placed her hand on the planchette, waiting.

Everyone leaned forward, staring at the board. Gwen’s hand stayed in the same place, not even budging the slightest.

Sweet Pea groaned. “What, are they asleep? Wake up, whatever your name is!”

“Shh!” Gwen reached back her other hand to Sweet Pea’s leg, which seemed to be enough to shut him up. “You don’t want to make them mad.”

For a split second, the chandelier hanging over the table flickered. Gwen’s hand started to move. Kevin grabbed a piece of paper and pen, watching.

“He….” Gwen began sounding it out.

“Spirit says ‘hello,’” Kevin said.

Cheryl rolled her eyes. “That’s it?”

“It’s moving again!” Fangs pointed at the board, and everyone was silent again.

This word—or sentence—was much longer, too long for Gwen to sound it out on her own. Betty already forgot what the first few letters were.

“Someone will…” Kevin kept scribbling.

“Oh, God….” Gwen’s face fell.

Kevin lowered the piece of paper, staring at the board wide-eyed.

“What did it say?” Archie asked, trying to peak over Kevin’s shoulder.

“Someone will die tonight,” Kevin said, eyes still glued to the board, as though he were waiting for the spirit to take it back.

Cheryl burst into laughter. “Seriously? ‘Someone will die tonight?’ How many times have they used that one?”

“Cheryl…” Toni placed her hand on her girlfriend’s arm.

“What? Toni, you don’t actually believe this thing, do you? It’s a game. A game that’s meant to scare people.”

“Yeah, I don’t know, guys…” Archie said. “‘Hello. Someone will die tonight?’ Sounds kind of automated.”

“Let’s just put the game away,” Betty said, sensing this was going to be blown out of proportion.

“You don’t want to know more?” Gwen asked. “Maybe they’re trying to warn us.”

“Or someone’s going to get killed by a demon tonight,” Kevin pointed out.

“Okay, this is ridiculous! I’m going upstairs.” Cheryl rose from the couch, and went upstairs without another word.

“Cheryl, come on!” Toni shouted, eventually following her.

Gwen said goodbye to the spirit and put the game away, much to her and Kevin’s disappointment.

“Well, that was fun while it lasted,” Sweet Pea said. “Goodnight...if I see you all in the morning.”

“Okay, that’s enough! No one is dying!” Veronica insisted, but judging by the alarm in her eyes, she probably didn’t even believe herself.

“Hey, not that I particularly give a damn, but where’s Jughead?” Fangs asked.

Betty turned around. The typewriter sat by itself on the table. She didn’t even realized the clicking had stopped. Jughead was nowhere in sight.

“He must’ve gone outside,” Archie said. “I’ll go see if he’s okay.”

“Wait!” Betty yelled, and he stopped in his tracks. She met him at the door. “I’ll come with you.”

For a moment Archie looked at her like he was going to protest, but then he nodded. “Okay.”

“We’ll be right back,” Betty informed everyone else.

She wouldn’t have been that concerned about going out to the woods in the middle of the night, but Veronica’s pleading look made her tense.

Betty tried not to think about the possibility that she and Archie could be longer than just a few minutes.

#riverdaleevents #campriverdale #riverdale fic #riverdale #my writing #mine #fic: I love you most #barchie fic #veggie fic #choni fic

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sunchosens · 6 years ago

Text

not expected pt. 2

pairing: andreil word count: 3k-ish rating: explicit read on ao3 first part here bonus: happy birthday part two for my wife lyra @flitwick

“You slept with him,” Dan says, voice suspiciously calm. Neil shifts in his seat and thinks maybe this wasn’t his smartest idea. “In the locker room.” There’s definitely a flush starting to crawl up his cheeks and Neil knows for sure this wasn’t his best idea. “While the rest of us were in the building.” Her voice has grown in pitch, and peeking at her from under his eyelashes, Neil can tell she’s moments away from leaping over the table to throttle him.

“Technically,” Neil says, once he’s retained his resolve, “we only fooled around in the locker room. There was no sleeping.” Dan seems to become even angrier, a feat Neil didn’t think was possible. “Or insertion,” he adds, as an afterthought, but that doesn’t seem to calm her.

Dan slams her hand on the table. They’re sitting in a reasonably crowded restaurant and more than a few heads turn their way at the sound. Neil feels incredibly flustered and isn’t sure what to say to manage this situation. “In what world,” she begins, her voice dangerously low, “did you think it would be a good idea to hook up with the most volatile person on the team. Are you fucking stupid, Neil?”

Neil frowns. “He’s not going to hurt me, if that’s what you’re saying.”

Dan throws her hands in the air at that and begins to laugh. Neil’s frown deepens. He knew Andrew wasn’t very well-liked on the team, but he hadn’t expected this reaction from Dan. “I’m not going to sit here and listen to you badmouth Andrew for thirty minutes, Dan,” Neil says, offended. “I told you as a friend and also as a professional courtesy, seeing as you’re team captain. That doesn’t mean you have the right to judge who I may or may not be starting a thing with.”

She just looks at him, eyes wary. “Does Andrew know you’re here?” Neil gives a short nod. Yes, Andrew did know Neil planned to tell Dan. In fact, he warned Neil of this very reaction and Neil’s sure he’s more than prepared to gloat when he finds out how horribly it went.

“Be careful,” she sighs, finally, and picks up her menu. “Just be careful.” Glad the conversation is over, Neil buries his face in his menu, still riding the anger from before. His phone buzzes in his lap and he glances down to check it, only to see that Andrew’s texted him.

kevin wants me 2 take him 2 the court im coming 2 u

Neil half-smiles, texting back Can’t, I’m at lunch with Dan

i know

They’re halfway through lunch when Andrew drops into the chair next to Neil. His hair is disheveled and his cheeks are pink and Neil thinks he’s never seen anything quite as beautiful. Andrew catches him staring and raises an eyebrow, saying nothing, and Neil turns away feeling slightly flustered. Dan catches his eye and gives him a knowing look and Neil decides the best mode of response is to just stare at his food.

“What are you doing here, Minyard?” Dan asks, cooly. “I don’t remember inviting you anywhere.” Andrew shrugs, unbothered, his leg pressing hotly against Neil’s under the table.

“Avoiding Kevin.” He says shortly, deftly snatching Neil’s fork out of his hand and proceeding to take a bite of pasta off his plate. Neil debates the merits of kicking him under the table, but decides against it. “Plus, Neil practically begged me to,” he continues, bland as ever.

Neil chooses that moment to step on Andrew’s foot as hard as he can without Dan noticing. He’s not sure he’s succeeded, judging on the look of dawning horror and confusion.

As Neil and Andrew walk out of the restaurant together, Neil shakes his head. “That was mean,” he says, not exactly reproachful. After what Dan said about Andrew, he thinks she deserves a small shock. Andrew doesn’t say anything but he grabs Neil’s arm and pulls him against a brick wall of an alley they were passing by.

“Funnily enough,” Andrew says dryly. “I don’t care.” His lips brush Neil’s neck and Neil arches his back slightly, trying to push into Andrew’s hold on him. Andrew puts a hand on Neil’s hip, his hold tight enough to bruise, the way Neil likes it.

He’s not ashamed to admit he whines, low in his throat. “Andrew,” he murmurs. Andrew looks at him with dark eyes, pupils blown wide with lust. He presses Neil harder into the wall and kisses him, tongue hot and insistent.

“Say it again,” he hisses, moving even closer to Neil than he thought was physically possible.

He kisses Neil’s neck again, stopping in a place high enough to be clearly visible to suck a dark mark into the skin. “Andrew,” his voice stutters, but it seems to incense Andrew, because he’s reaching back up to kiss Neil hot and heady.

Of course, because Wilds’ is a fucking snitch, Boyd’s the second one to find out. Andrew thinks maybe he should have threatened her with bodily harm so she would keep her mouth closed, but in the long run he knows they’re going to find out anyway. He just hates Wilds’ eyes following him around the court, like she’s waiting for him to make a wrong move so she can justify to Neil why he should end things with Andrew.

Andrew never thought Boyd was particularly smart and his opinion isn’t challenged much when Boyd comes to confront him in the locker room. “Minyard,” he says, one hand on the locker next to Andrew’s, while he’s got his shirt tangled around his head. “We need to talk.”

Because Boyd’s a fucking pussy and Andrew isn’t, the physical barrier provides no resistance for him. Once Andrew’s wrestled his shirt to where it belongs, he gives Matt a long once-over. “Leave a message,” he suggests, and elbows him in the stomach. Andrew sidles around him and is out of the locker room before Boyd can catch his breath.

The next time he tries to corner Andrew, he’s slightly smarter about it, but not by much. Smarter in that he comes to Neil’s apartment when he knows Andrew’s there so Andrew can’t do anything violent, like stab him, but also he’s trapped himself in a room with Andrew and Neil together.

Boyd comes in without knocking. “What the fuck,” he yelps, hands flying up to cover his eyes. Andrew rolls off Neil, from where he was caging him onto the ground, one hand up his shirt and the other tangled off his hair. He smooths his shirt flat and turns an unimpressed look onto Matt.

“What the fuck, Matt,” Neil groans, pushing himself up into a sitting position. “What do you want?” Andrew already told Neil about their locker room encounter, and so he can tell Neil’s more annoyed at being interrupted than anything else.

Matt splutters, his face turning red. “Oh god,” he says, hand still over his eyes. “Are you two decent?”

“I think you could still catch a glimpse of Neil’s boner if you looked hard enough,” Andrew says, off-hand. Matt yelps and turns around completely, dropping his hand in the process.

Neil gives Andrew a nasty glare and Andrew just smiles lazily at him. He likes riling Neil up in front of his friends, likes the way his cheeks flush pink and his eyes get all shifty. “Way too much info, Minyard,” Matt groans. “Listen, Dan told me what you guys were up to.”

Rolling his eyes, Neil gets to his feet, ignoring the way Andrew tries to grab at him to stay on the floor, much to Andrew’s displeasure. “What we were up to?” Neil asks rhetorically. “What are we, in middle school?”

“I just wanted to make sure, you know, everything was cool. Or whatever.” Boyd is still staring at the wall so Andrew can’t see his face but the tops of his ears are still red. Neil grabs his shoulder and physically turns him around.

“Why wouldn’t everything be cool?” Neil asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

Andrew decides he’s missing out on all the fun. “He means because we’re fucking.” Matt shifts uncomfortably. “Doesn’t he?”

“Well. Yes.” Matt is looking everywhere other than Andrew. “Dan may have mentioned something to that point. And well...” He’s looking at Neil now, sickeningly earnest. “You and Minyard aren’t exactly on the best of terms so I just wanted to make sure everything was... cool. Or whatever,” he finishes lamely.

Andrew’s having a hard time keeping an impassive face. Just what, exactly, do Neil’s friends think he’s going to do to him. Neil seem to be equally displeased, judging by the stony look on his face. “Do you really think Andrew is doing anything I don’t want him to do?”

“Well...” Matt looks at Andrew for the first time, looking a little guilty. Andrew gives him a wave, blank faced, and Matt pales some. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

Neil places a hand on Matt’s shoulder and gently but firmly pushes him towards the door. “Thank you for the concern. Good-bye. Say hi to Dan from me, won’t you?” He slams the door in Matt’s shell shocked face. He slumps against the door, hair still disheveled from where Andrew ran his hands through it and turns to look at Andrew.

“Unbelievable,” he says, dully. “They’re unbelievable. What’s next? Going to Wymack? Going to,” he gives a full-body shudder, “Kevin?”

Andrew pats the ground next to him. “Come back here, Josten.” Neil drags himself away from the door and drops down next to Andrew. “Does what they say have any effect on whether you want to be here or not?”

Neil shakes his head mutely.

“Then it doesn’t matter. Yes or no?” Neil blinks at him, owl-like.

“Yes.” He’s reaching for Andrew at the same time Andrew moves to reposition himself back into their position before Matt had interrupted them. Andrew kisses him, slow and hot, taking his time. He’s pretty sure Neil locked the door and Kevin never takes his keys.

“Do you fucking mind?” Kevin’s voice cuts through the room, full of scorn. Neil can feel a whole body flush come on at the sound, for good reason. He and Andrew are tangled up on the sofa and Andrew’s got one hand down Neil’s pants, around his dick and the other tangled in his hair while he sucks bruises onto Neil’s neck.

Neil is in a similarly compromising position, one of his hands on the back of Andrew’s neck holding his head where he wants it, and the other gripping Andrew’s ass under his sweatpants. Andrew’s head whips around and he bares his teeth at Kevin in a mockery of a smile. “Do you fucking mind? We’re a little busy here.”

“Andrew,” Neil groans, pushing at his chest. Andrew pushes himself up so Neil can arrange himself in a sitting position, and drops down next to him after.

Kevin looks outraged. He’s got an Exy bag slung over his shoulder and his hair is dark with sweat. “This is what you two were doing when you said you couldn’t make it to extra practice tonight?” Neil tries to look abashed but he thinks he’s failing miserably. He glances at Andrew who has an incredibly bored look on his face.

“What can I say?” Andrew’s voice is bland. “Neil’s just a little minx. Can’t keep his hands off me.” Kevin’s glare narrows in on Neil, like shards of glass.

Neil holds his hands up in reproach. “You know I love Exy, Kevin,” he says, still feeling flushed and a little aroused. Andrew rolls his head to look at Neil, a lazy smile touching his mouth. His eyes are still dark and molten and Neil’s dick twitches with interest.

“God,” Kevin spits. “Stop eye-fucking each other in front of me. Have some goddamn decency.”

“Sorry,” Neil says distractedly, eyes focused on the way Andrew’s tongue wets his lips. He catches gazes with Andrew again, and there’s a knowing glint in Andrew’s eyes. Kevin scoffs, not managing to rip Neil’s attention away from Andrew.

“I’m going to Nicky’s. I’ll be back in an hour, you two better be done fucking by then.” Kevin scoffs, storming out. He slams the door behind him. “Fucking disgusting,” Neil thinks he hears Kevin mutter.

The moment the door locks behind him, Andrew is shifting on the sofa, hands going to Neil’s hips as he works to pull his sweatpants off. “Some people,” he murmurs, mouth tantalizingly close to Neil’s dick, “have no tact.”

Neil becomes too busy to formulate a response, his hips straining up against Andrew’s hold as Andrew sinks his mouth onto Neil’s dick, rough and hot and all-consuming.

The fourth time it happens, even Andrew has to admit, it looks pretty bad. He’s got a bottle of lube in hand, neither of them are wearing pants and they’re both shirtless. Neil’s wearing just his boxers which do little to conceal his erection and his hair is ruffled in a “just been fucked” kind of way, while Andrew is sure he’s not much better.

They are also both in the locker room.

“Oh, god,” Nicky squeaks, bumping into a locker door and slamming it shut. “Am I interrupting?” Andrew sees Neil’s eyes close in defeat.

“It’s not what it looks like,” Neil starts, and Andrew feels a flicker of dry amusement. Surely, he doesn’t think that’s actually going to work.

Nicky actually laughs, before he remembers what he’s walked in on. “You can’t think I’m going to believe you? Me, the only other gay member of this team?” His voice is incredulous. “Neil.”

Neil’s head thuds back against the lockers. He pales suddenly, drawing Andrew’s attention. “Dan’s gonna kill me,” he moans. “Technically, we had never slept together in the locker room.”

“Technically,” Andrew feels the need to point out, “we still haven’t.” He looks at Nicky pointedly, feeling distinctly disgruntled. Ever since the first time he and Neil had hooked up, at the start of their relationship, whatever this was, taking things all the way with Neil in the locker room had been a very frequent fantasy of his.

“Dan knows?” Nicky asks. “Before me? Neil, how could you?”

“Who doesn’t know at this point?” Neil asks rhetorically, still sounding upset.

Nicky gives a little choked sort of laugh, cough-like, drawing both of their attention. “Well, the whole team knows now,” he says, laughing again, his hand coming up and showing them his phone screen where he’s sent a message in the group chat along with a very... detailed meme.

“I’m going to fucking kill you, Nicky,” Neil says, throwing himself towards Nicky, rather unsuccessfully seeing as Andrew is in his path. Nicky just laughs, looking back down at his phone. Andrew pets Neil’s hair in a condescending manner, slightly turned on by his failed act of aggression. He honestly couldn’t care less who knew, it would just give him and Neil more leeway with the team.

“Better get dressed, lovebirds,” Nicky says. “Dan’s called a team meeting in the lounge in 15.”

He leaves the locker room, still laughing, and Neil immediately turns on Andrew. “This is all your fault,” he says, the tips of his ears red. “You were the one who wanted to fuck in the locker room!”

Andrew just shrugs, reaching around Neil to grab his shirt from where he’d tossed it into the locker. “I didn’t know Nicky was going to walk in.” Neil just frowns, watching with hooded eyes as Andrew pulls his pants up. “Are you upset people know?”

Neil rolls his eyes, turning around to get his own clothes out of the locker. “Don’t be stupid.” They make their way out of the locker room and join Kevin on the sofa. Dan’s sitting on Matt’s lap in one of the armchairs and Nicky and Aaron are already sitting in the two chairs on either side of the sofa. Allison is laying on her back on the carpet in the middle, but she sits up straight when she sees Neil and Andrew. Renee is sitting cross legged next to her, a serene look on her face.

“I’d like to be the first to say, what the fuck,” Allison says, once everyone is settled. “Who knew you two were a couple?” When no one moves to say anything, she frowns. “I want a raise of hands.” Andrew raises his hand first and Allison rolls her eyes.

Slowly, Dan and Matt join him, along with Kevin and Nicky. Allison throws her hands in the air. “And no one was going to tell me? Do you know how much money I have invested in this?”

“You were betting on us?” Neil asks, surprised. Andrew thinks his surprise is rather naive.

“How much did you win?” Andrew asks instead, leaning forward. Allison grins slyly.

“Enough,” Dan says. “We’re an exy team, not a gossip magazine. It’s no one’s business who’s sleeping with who as long as it doesn’t affect your performance on court.”

Andrew had been expecting Kevin to agree with Dan, but he disappoints. “You don’t have to live with Andrew,” he sneers. “If I walk in on them one more time I’m filing an official complaint with Wymack.”

Neil leans forward and glares at Kevin over Andrew. “And tell him what exactly? What exactly do you hope to achieve by doing that?”

Kevin opens his mouth to answer, but Dan cuts him off. “Enough!” Both Kevin and Neil sink back into the sofa and Andrew rolls his eyes.

“What Neil and I choose to do in our spare time concerns none of you. So, if you would be so kind, please shut the fuck up.” He smiles sharply, fingering the weight in his wristbands. The unsaid threat hangs over the room.

“I’m very happy for you two,” Renee says. She smiles pleasantly. Aaron stands abruptly, having said nothing the entire time. He glances at Andrew, gaze unreadable. Andrew smiles blandly at his twin in response.

“Yes, very happy,” Aaron says. “Can we leave now?” Dan waves her hand and the room scatters almost instantly. Neil stays slumped down on the sofa and watches as everyone leaves.

Andrew stays next to him, giving him a look from the corner of his eye. “Do you want to make it Facebook official?” He asks. “Would that make you feel better?”

Neil elbows him sharply in the side. “Very funny.”

Neil leaps out of the way of another ball, his legs burning with the exertion. Wymack blows on the whistle, halting game play for the moment and Neil makes sure to flip Andrew off. Andrew returns the gesture, spinning his racket in his hand.

Neil can feel the entire team watching them–they have been ever since the news broke–and Neil hates it. “Back to your positions,” Wymack shouts, blowing the whistle again. Neil resumes his spot in front of Andrew, running through his drill of trying to score on Andrew.

Neil finally manages to catch Andrew off-guard, faking him out and catching the very bottom of the net. Andrew slams the bottom of his racket on the floor, but Neil catches the flash of his teeth from through his helmet and can tell Andrew is smiling.

Wymack eventually calls an end to the drills. “Alright, everyone, I want you guys to take the afternoon off and I’ll see you here tonight for the game. Good job today.” They move to break off to the locker rooms. “Neil,” Wymack calls, before Neil can follow after Andrew. “Stay for a minute.”

“What’s up, Coach?” Neil asks, slightly out of breath after the court has cleared.

To his credit, Wymack doesn’t show any discomfort. “Dan told me about you and Minyard.” Neil keeps a straight face, stubbornly. “I just wanted to tell you to be careful and also to make sure you two can still work together on the court.”

Neil wants to fight, but he recognizes the support for what it is. So instead, he just nods and gives Wymack a slightly forced smile. “It won’t be a problem,” he says.

It’s their first game together since the whole team knows, Neil realizes halfway through the first half. Somehow, everything seems different, even though no one in the public can tell the difference. Neil feels hyper aware of action he makes, even though he knows his team is too busy to pay attention to what he’s doing.

Neil misses a goal, having been abruptly knocked out of the way by a backliner, his aim going wild and he can hear Andrew’s angry yell from behind. The crowd goes wild, probably thinking Andrew’s mad at Neil. He can recognize it for what it means, and grins under his helmet.

The ending of the game comes faster than Neil could anticipate and he’s lining up to fire on the goalie. Thinking back to his drill this morning and pulls the same motions he did against Andrew. The ball hits the net moments before the final buzzer goes off and the crowd rises up in a tide of noise. They’ve won and Neil feels heady with triumph. The rest of the team swarms him, shouting incoherently.

Neil spies Andrew, helmet off by the goal. His hair is dark with sweat and he’s flushed with exertion. He catches Neil’s gaze and gives him a lazy salute, face blank. Neil’s moving away from the rest of his team without even realizing what he’s doing. He shoves his helmet and racket into Kevin’s arms.

Andrew must realize what his intent is because he moves towards Neil, leaving his racket leaning up against the goal post. “Yes,” he’s saying as he approaches Neil and Neil cups his face in his hands before kissing him intently.

It’s awkward and uncomfortable, both of their uniforms and gear too bulky to get particularly close, but Neil can feel Andrew’s pride in the way his hands clench in Neil’s hair. They part, and Neil’s smiling victoriously, chest heaving.

Andrew gives him an appraising once-over. “You are incredibly stupid,” he says, and he’s almost inaudible in the din of the stadium.

Neil just laughs. He can’t stop smiling and he doesn’t think he’ll be able to stop anytime soon. “I hate you,” he says cheerily, the rest of the team coming up around them.

Andrew just shakes his head and kisses Neil again.

#aftg fic #tfc fic #andreil fic #andreil #all for the game #the foxhole court #*mw #userlyra #usernuwanda

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milkshake-at-pops · 6 years ago

Text

Tour of the Heart: Chapter 8

chapter 7/masterpost/chapter 9

let us know if you want to be tagged!

As Hollywood-chic as the tour bus was, it only took a day or so for Archie to get sick of it. It was cramped, and besides, he wanted to see the rest of New York City. This was Ronnie’s hometown, not his, and their first concert was tomorrow. Also, he wanted to get to know Jughead.

The reporter seemed like an interesting guy— he’d mostly kept to himself — and Archie’s manager had told him, in no uncertain terms, that the publicity for this tour could make or break his career. On a more personal level, Archie wanted to know what was hiding underneath Jughead’s beanie and his quiet demeanor.

“Hey Veronica,” Archie said, to his friend who was sitting five feet away from him on the other top bunk. “Do you know any good bars around here?”

Veronica giggled a little, for no reason that Archie could see. “Hmm… who are you taking? I hope it’s me, because there’s no way I’m letting you go bar-hopping on your own.”

“Um, actually, I was thinking of taking the reporter. Jughead, I think.” Archie swung his legs over the side of his bunk, looking at Veronica, who was reading a book, glasses on. Despite her offer to go, she didn’t look in the mood. Books and clubbing don’t mix well, at least according to Ronnie. Archie had never actually gone out clubbing before, it’s not like Riverdale had much of a night scene in a town where everyone went to bed before ten o’clock.

Lowering her reading glasses to look over at him, Veronica let her book fall in her lap. “Jughead… well, that changes things! I actually went to high school with him, fun fact, so I think I can give you two a solid recommendation. He actually dated a friend of mine for a time— before he moved on to Kevin Keller. They were cute, high school sweethearts, but it didn’t last. I wish I’d stayed in touch with him to know how it ended, though. It was very Breakfast Club of them— the theatre kid and the recluse. I swear, the two of them fulfilled every single gay stereotype during high school. Which was breaking stereotypes in its own way, although I do think I did that a touch more than they did. Being a feminine and out bi girl was… something.”

Archie was already down from the bed, tugging his shoes on and picking out a shirt from his suitcase. “What was the bar’s name again?” he asked, completely tuning out Veronica’s ramble.

She sighed. “Metropolitan. It’s in Brooklyn, so you should call an uber. And, fortunately for you and Jughead, it’s pretty cheap.”

“Metropolitan. Sweet, let me just grab Jughead from the kitchen and then we can get going,” Archie said, giving Veronica the smile that, unbeknownst to him, had already enraptured Jughead Jones. “Thanks for the spot.”

He found Jughead in the kitchen, eating a bag of sea salt and vinegar chips. “Oh, hey Archie. Didn’t see you there,” Jughead said, quickly shoving his phone into his pocket the second he saw Arch. “Want some chips?”

“Um, no thanks, because I was kind of wondering,” Archie began, wondering why his words were sticking in his throat. “Do you want to go get a drink or two, and um, get to know each other? I mean, I can’t exactly have the star reporter, Jughead Jones, on my tour bus without getting to um, know him some more than just your excellent fashion sense.” Archie’s eyes moved from Jughead’s beanie to his black t-shirt to his equally black ripped jeans, not sure what to do now that he’d stopped talking.

It took a few seconds for Jughead to respond, his face flushing slightly as he responded. “Sure, I’d love to become more acquainted with the world-class musician that I’m touring with, especially since I’m just…” A Buzzfeed “reporter” who has never actually written an article for their news section before now. “... so excited for the rest of the tour. Let me get my um…” don’t say condom, don’t say condom “Jacket. Because it might be cold. Then I’ll join you in the uber.”

Jughead bolted out of the room and dove into his suitcase under his bed which, unfortunately, was underneath Arch’s bed because Cheryl had already claimed the one under Veronica’s. Trying and failing to not ponder the sheer embarrassment of having in-the-flesh Archie Andrews walk into the kitchen while he had Archie Andrews’ instagram page up on his phone, he grabbed his old leather jacket (with a snake on it, because Toni had bought it for him as a gag gift) and took a deep breath to steady himself before walking back into the kitchen.

Archie Andrews felt a little awkward with his hand in the bag of chips that Jughead had just been eating, but they were addictively good and he was still waiting for the uber. He took note of how the leather jacket Jughead wore fit him well, like the sort of thing Jughead had worn enough that it had just become a part of him. “The uber’s going to be here in a couple minutes, you ready?”

“Yeah, I’m ready to go. I wasn’t expecting this like, at all, but I mean, getting a drink barely requires a lot of preparation. Unless you’re Cheryl, in which case it’s usually an hour of raiding her closet for the best outfit and four selfies before we even reach the bar,” Jughead said, secretly very glad that his friendship with Cheryl meant that he knew rich people took ubers to clubs, not the bus. Or just walking, honestly. Just because Jughead had never actually been to a bar unless Cheryl dragged him didn’t mean that he didn’t know exactly how he’d do it without her.

“Sounds a lot like Veronica, but add the fourteen calls to the manager of the club so that she can get free drinks,” Archie said, laughing a little. His phone dinged in his pocket. “Oh, our uber’s here.”

They got in the uber, and instead of the awkwardly silent drive that Jughead had expected from someone who was as undoubtedly cool as Arch Andrews, the singer talked his ear off. From exploits with Veronica to ridiculous high school stories in Chicago, Arch had no problem sharing his life with someone that he barely knew.

And Jughead found himself, the guy who barely bothered saying more than four words to anyone unless it was via email, talking just as much. He told Archie about all the shit Cheryl had dragged him into, including when she’d demanded that he, as her best friend, find her a girlfriend, and, since it was four AM on a Friday night, Jughead prank called Toni.

“Wait, they actually got together?” Archie said, shaking his head.

“Cheryl and Toni, or fucking Choni, as Cheryl insisted on calling them, went strong all throughout our sophomore, junior, and senior year of college. I don’t know why I decided to play drunk Cupid in that moment, but I don’t regret it,” Jughead said, smiling at Archie’s attentiveness. Their uber pulled up next to the club, and Archie held the door open like a gentleman for Jughead, who wished that his beanie could become a ski mask so that his blush wouldn’t be so obvious. He could only imagine how much he looked like the cousin of a tomato.

They walked inside, and ordered drinks. Jughead took one look at the vibrantly colored menu full of words he couldn’t pronounce, and said “I’ll have what he’s having.” The bartender shot him a wink as he slid their drinks across the bar. Noting that the bartender was shirtless, Jughead took a sip of his not-half-bad cocktail and focused his attention back to Archie.

“So, Toni Topaz. How do you know her? She’s a Youtuber, and um, that doesn’t exactly seem like your crowd,” Archie said, once again taking in Jughead’s “It’s not a phase, mom” outfit.

“It’s not, really. Actually, we were friends way back in high school, she’s a part of my silly friend group. She actually gave me this jacket, by the way,” Jughead said, spinning around in the bar stool to show the back of it. “Which has a snake on it, because our groupchat name throughout all of high school was the Serpents.”

“No way, that’s so cool. Why the Serpents? Snakes are kind of gross,” Archie said, taking a drink from his glass.

“Like all good stories, this one begins with a Taylor Swift song,” Jughead said, feeling a wave of nostalgia as he remembered how it happened. “Okay, so there’s this guy in our group, goes by Fangs. He, for reasons I will never understand, was obsessed with Taylor Swift. Now, I don’t think she’s half bad, but this was next level. Anyways, you know that one video with all the snakes?”

“Yeah, I know it. Where is this going?” Archie said, resting his elbows on the bar and leaning closer to Jughead. “I’m captivated, you’re a really good storyteller. I can see why you’re a reporter.”

Jughead laughed, because this was an absolute gem of a story. “So, approximately five seconds after the video drops, Fangs decides to change the chat name to ‘Snake Bros’ with like, five snake emojis. Anyways, we were all immediately like, ‘No. Dude, don’t drag me into this. We support you, but for god’s sake the groupchat title can’t be about snakes.’ To which Toni, wise-ass as always, responds with ‘we should make it Snakes On A Plane.’”

That got a laugh out of Archie, and Jughead couldn’t remember enjoying a sound more. “But Fangs is insistent that we need to have a ‘squad,’ because he watched the video again while we were all going ‘Fangs dude, what the fuck.’ And he keeps saying that if we won’t be Swifties with him, that we at least need something that relates to his interests as a groupchat title. So obviously, no more titles with B emojis. Which is a tragedy of epic proportions, but that’s besides the point. Sweet Pea, who wasn’t Fangs’ boyfriend yet, but was getting there, suggested ‘Serpents’ because it sounded badass.”

“Okay, that’s good. And, let me guess, it stuck?”

“No, absolutely not. Betty had a freak out about how much she just hates snakes, Toni changed it to ‘Big Chungus’ at least eight times, I think I turned it into ‘Sad Emo Squad’ before Fangs changed it to fifteen more snake emojis. At a certain point, I believe that Fangs and Joaquin had a shouting match,” Jughead said, taking another drink and wondering if he could get lost in Archie’s deep brown eyes.

“That’s awful. Wait, how did you end up becoming the Serpents, then?” Archie asked, furrowing his brow in confusion.

“Me and Toni bought Fangs a stuffed snake to try and keep the peace, and quietly asked him if we could just call it ‘Serpents,’ if that would be okay with him. Fortunately for everyone’s collective sanity, he said yes.”

Archie smiled and laughed, returning Jughead’s tale with a yarn of his own. It was almost midnight before Veronica texted them to remind them that yes, they had a show tomorrow. As they slouched against each other on the ride back, Archie and Jughead wondered how people could go from being complete strangers, from pixels on a screen to someone captivating in every way.

#riverdale #riverdale fanfiction #jughead jones #archie andrews #cheryl blossom #veronica lodge #jarchie #cheronica #gay #lesbian #bi #ace #celeb au #tour of the heart #this is so Incredibly late but in my defense its mod j posting for mod * and its. hard

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barchiestories · 7 years ago

Text

Kidnapped (PART 4)

*BARCHIE* The search continues for Betty and Archie’s son, we also get a peek at who the kidnapper might be

Betty looked up the stairs seeing Veronica making her way down

"The monitor is pretty quiet," Betty said shaking the baby monitor in her hand

Veronica nodded and took a seat next to Betty "Your little ginger beauties closed their eyes as soon as I put them in their cribs" she pulled out her phone showing Betty a photo of each of the girls fast asleep in their beds

The corner of Betty's lip turned into a small smile "Thanks, I wanted to get a head start on Fenix's posters" she said pulling her laptop closer to her and motioning for Veronica to come closer. "I scanned a couple of photos that weren't already in the computer" she explained

A file was open with at least two dozen photos of the young boy, some from last year when he was 2, some from his past birthday party, Christmas and a few others.

"That one's cute" Veronica pointed to one of the toddler sitting in a tree, his hands up in the air in the middle of a hearty laugh

Betty nodded "Yeah, Polly took that one while she was babysitting them back a few months ago." She explained

Veronica thought back and quickly figured out when she was talking about. She had asked her to watch the kids but she and Reggie had a doctor's appointment that day "That was the day you had to go to the morgue for your dad-wasn't it?" Veronica asked

Betty looked down and nodded "I promised myself after I told him goodbye that last time that I'd never see him again. But- "

Veronica rested a hand on her shoulder "Hey-it's not like you gave him a mournful burial. Besides, you went for your mom. She had to be there to identify his body, it's not like she wanted to be there either"

"Yeah I guess your right" Betty agreed

"I'm just sorry that I couldn't help out. I feel like I was a bad best friend" Veronica added

Betty quickly shook her head "Don't, you and Reggie worked hard to get that doctor for your baby if you had missed that appointment you'd of lost your spot. Besides Juniper and Dagwood love seeing their little cousins"

Veronica nodded they were quiet for a moment before she spoke "As much as I do love this picture, it doesn't show enough of his profile"

Betty nodded in agreement "I like this one" she said enlarging a photo of Fenix from May. He was sitting on a horse while Fred Andrews stood next to him for safety "Arch's mom owns a horse now, this was taken 2 months ago when we visited her and saw it for the first time" Betty explained grabbing the mouse "We can crop the picture and- "she spoke as she did so pressing enter once she was satisfied

Veronica examined the photo before nodding "Yeah I think it's perfect, it has his bright smile and the sun is highlighting his big brown orbs and golden blonde hair excellently'

Betty nodded as she continued to work on the computer pasting the photo into the template she had already designed "That's what I thought"

Veronica rubbed her stomach and watched as Betty continued to type away at her computer

A crackling game from the baby monitor on the coffee table in front of them followed by a faint "Mama" Betty sighed seemingly ignoring the call until a few seconds later when another one came through "Mama" "Mama need you" two high pitched voices now spoke

Betty sighed sliding the laptop off her lap

"Bee I can get them" Veronica assured resting a hand on Betty's

Betty shook her hand "You already put them down for me once, besides even though Archie was just trying to talk me into coming home he was also right. We can't let the girls know something is up otherwise they might start getting scared too"

Veronica nodded 'Is there anything I can do with-this?" she waved toward the laptop

Betty nodded leaning down the girls' voices still coming from the monitor "Go through the photos and pick more that you think we can use on missing posters. The more we have out of Fenix the better"

Veronica nodded "Will do, I think I actually have some on my phone of him that might be of use as well" sheshowed her a photo that she had of the boy on her phone

Betty nodded "That would be awesome, here is a cord where you can import those into the laptop," she said handing the cord to Veronica before heading upstairs to check on the twins

It was now raining as Jughead and Archie lead their team of five through the muddy woods. Jughead watched as Archie slid his phone back into his pocket "Betty says the twins are giving her a hard time" he sighed

Jughead flashed a sad smile "Is it because they can sense what's going on?"

Archie shrugged "Possibly, but part of it may also be because I always sing them to sleep"

Jughead couldn't help the light chuckle that escaped his lips "Leave it to Archie Andrews to be the cliché parent that serenades his kids to bed"

Archie nodded "Yeah I've done it ever since- "he paused "Ever since the night we brought Fenix home from the hospital" he stopped again and fidgeted with his hands "Come on let's keep going" he waved

Jughead nodded and watched Archie walk ahead of him Kevin soon replacing him at his side. Kevin had changed a lot over the years. He discovered the gym and became a lot buffer even growing a slight beard which he kept neatly trimmed at all times. Tonight, though like everyone else he looked rough, drenched in water, covered in mud and exhausted. He had heard through Cheryl during his short talk with her that over the years Kevin and Moose married, adopted a baby girl and were now separated…. temporarily. She swore that they would soon rekindle

"Sucks we reconnect on such circumstances" Jughead spoke first

Kevin nodded "I couldn't agree more, but it's lucky we have you here Jughead I'm sure it eases Betty's mind is a little more at ease knowing that her old detective partner is out here helping find her and Archie's boy"

They stopped talking as they jumped over a large puddle "Unfortunately I'm going to have to go back soon. It's already almost midnight and Moose is bringing Nina-our daughter to me in the morning"

Jughead nodded then did the math in his head Cheryl had left the search party as soon as it began raining, then another volunteer followed in suit soon after, Fred showed up not too long ago telling Archie there was absolutely no way he was going to sit at home and do nothing to help. So, Archie let him join their group. With Kevin leaving soon it would leave him, Archie, Fred, and one other volunteer to continue for the night. He knew if they were going to find Fenix they'd need more package. So, he did something he never thought he'd do. Pulling out his phone he scrolled down through his contacts happy to discover he still had one member in his phone. Jughead Jones called -The Serpents

Fenix Andrews was scared, to say the least. Last he remembered he was watching fireworks with his family. Then someone put their hand over his nose, they had a washcloth that smelt funny. After that, he woke up in this dark room, from what he could tell the room had no toys or furniture, not even a bed.

The door opened Fenix quickly jumped curling into a ball in a corner of the room.

The person walked further into the room the floor creaking as they walked, with each step they got closer and closer until they were right in front of Fenix

The person bent down, Fenix couldn't see his face because he was wearing a full white mask with black netting at the eye holes "I'm not going to hurt you" the deep voice spoke

"Stand up and come with me" the voice ordered

Fenix obeyed out of fear as the kidnapper grabbed the little boy by his arm and pulled him out of the room

He dragged him into a bathroom and turned on the light

"Relax" the voice spoke resting their hands-on Fenix's shoulders "This is the only room with good lighting and I want to get a good look at you"

Fenix remained frozen

"Ahh yes you have your mother's hair," he said stroked Fenix's head "I can't believe I finally found you"

Fenix sniffled holding back tears

"I told you to relax" he shook the boy a little

Fenix nodded doing his best to obey

He watched as the kidnapper looked him over, then cupped the boy's tiny face

"These eyes though" he pressed his thumbs near the crease of Fenix's brown eyes

"They are not" he continued

Fenix didn't know what the bad guy was talking about "I don't know where your eyes are from" he pressed harder against the creases of Fenix's eyes forcing him to close them "But I do not like them" he continued

"Please stop" Fenix pleaded in a fearful whisper

The white masked man immediately stopped taking his hands completely off the boy "Was I hurting you?" he asked

Fenix nodded

The masked man looked at him again "Are your toilet trained?" he asked

Fenix nodded

"Do you have to go to the bathroom?" he asked

Once again, the boy nodded his eyes shifting to the dirty nearby toilet

The man nodded "Okay I'll let you go to the restroom- but then you are going to the room with the other boys and there you must obey do you understand?"

Fenix bit his lip nodding

Keeping his word, the man turned around, allowing Fenix privacy as he used the restroom but not trusting the toddler enough to leave him completely alone.

When he finished he waved leading Fenix further down the hallway past the room he had previously been in. When he stopped and opened the door it was a nicer room than the one he was in before, this one was lined with two bunk beds on each side. Two boys one around 10 the other 6 or 7 occupied the bottom bunks of each one.

"Hello boys," the masked man said flipping the bright light of the room

The boys remained silent

"I brought you a new brother" the man continued shoving Fenix inside

"I expect you to treat him with respect he is-special to me. If I hear that you have not treated him properly there will be consequences" the man ordered, then pointed at the older boy "Now since you're the oldest I expect you to fill him in on how things go around here"

With that, the man closed the door leaving the three boys once again alone. A loud crash of lightning struck outside causing Fenix to jump. If he as home right now he'd crawl in bed with his parents

"You can sleep here if you want little guy" the older boy spoke, Fenix looked up at the Auburn-haired boy with freckles all over his face "I'm Leo and that's Trent" he pointed at the younger boy in the bed across from him who head dark black hair

"I'm Fenix," Fenix said with a shaky voice as he crawled into bed with the older boy.

#barchie #betty x archie #betty cooper #archie andrews #Veronica Lodge #Jughead Jones #riverdale #Riverdale Fanfiction

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wematch · 7 years ago

Text

Only You

In their second year a deal is made. Andrew wants to explore his boundaries and there’s really just one person he trusts around himself.

Set in a universe where everything is the same except that Andrew never kissed Neil on the rooftop that night. Instead, they just got closer and more comfortable around each other.

Read from the start if you haven’t yet! [Part 1]

You can also read it on [AO3]

As always a huge thank you to @velvetnoodle for being an amazing beta <3<3

Part 6

Neil follows Andrew to their usual spot at the end of the bus and sits down in front of him. Kevin had tried to go over what everyone had done wrong during the game as soon as the engine started running but Wymack had told him to shut up. So now, the bus was quiet as everyone settled down to rest during the journey back.

Neil has his forehead resting against the window to watch the blurry landscape as they travel but he finds himself keep coming back to stare at Andrew instead. He keeps thinking about the game they just lost against the Trojans — they’re a fierce team and the Foxes gave it their best against them but tonight it just wasn’t enough. Maybe they’ll play again against them at the finals; if there’s a team Neil would like most to face in the finals, it’s the Trojans.

Halfway into the journey back, Andrew slowly opens his eyes to look at Neil. “Staring,” he comments.

Neil averts his eyes again and takes a deep breath. He can feel the exhaustion setting in after the game but he’s too uncomfortable to try to properly rest the way he is. A few minutes later, Andrew nudges him with his feet so Neil looks curiously at him. To anyone else, Andrew would seem to be only staring back but Neil sees the unspoken question in Andrew’s face about what’s going on in his head.

“I was thinking about the Trojans,” Neil tells him, “and that I want to meet them in the finals this year.” Andrew rolls his eyes at that and Neil can almost hear him in his head calling him a junkie. But then after a moment, Neil continues almost in a whisper, “Jean seemed well with the team.”

Andrew visibly tenses at the mention of Jean and doesn’t say anything about it. “Try to rest,” he tells him instead.

“I can’t; not like this,” Neil explains, understanding that talking about Jean brings back too many memories from last year. He didn’t manage to talk to Jean after the game but in reality, he wouldn’t even know what to say to him after everything they’ve been through. Neil’s just glad that he found a good team to stay with after the Ravens.

Neil looks at Andrew and studies him for a moment. He has a foot resting between Neil and the window, and the other lazily stretched on the floor, looking as comfortable as he can be on the bus. After a moment, Neil decides to stand and sit next to Andrew to stretch his legs on the bench he was previously sitting on.

He tries to find a comfortable position to be in but doesn’t quite manage. He feels annoyed at himself; two years ago he would’ve fallen asleep anywhere he wanted, but now after getting used to sleeping in a decent bed every day that doesn’t happen anymore. He keeps moving around to get a into better position until Andrew speaks again.

“Stop moving,” Andrew tells him with his eyes closed. “Either that or move away.”

Their legs are touching so Neil tries to stay still to let Andrew rest but after a few minutes, he can no longer manage to do it. He shifts slightly again to find a better position to relax.

“Neil,” Andrew says it like a warning and opens his eyes to stare at Neil.

Nei looks sideways at Andrew, and notices the comfortable hoodie that he has on and begins to wonder if Andrew would allow him to lean against him. “Andrew, yes or no?” Neil asks tentatively motioning with his hand towards Andrew’s shoulder.

Andrew turns to stare outside through the window for so long that Neil thinks he’s not going to get an answer. “It’s a yes, as long as you stay still,” Andrew quietly replies.

For a moment Neil doesn’t move, too surprised that Andrew had just agreed to it. He blinks three times before he slowly moves to rest his head on Andrew’s shoulder to try to close his eyes for a few minutes. However, it doesn’t take long for his neck to start to ache from being bent in a weird angle.

Andrew, sensing his discomfort, sighs and shifts to put his arm that was resting on his lap around Neil, pulling him closer to his chest in the process. The hoodie feels soft against Neil’s face and there’s a faint smell of smoke on it from the cigarette Andrew had before they climbed onto the bus. The warmth from Andrew’s body reaches him making his body relax. Neil closes his eyes and grins, feeling safe where he is.

“One hundred and twenty-eight,” Andrew says as he squeezes his side in a warning. Neil tries and fails to stop the grin on his face. “Going on one hundred and twenty-nine.”

***

An hour later, Wymack parks the bus in their parking lot and rushes everyone to get out. Neil quietly exits the bus followed by Andrew, and they make a beeline for the Maserati to make the short drive back to the Fox Tower.

As soon as they park the car in the dorms and exit the vehicle, Kevin storms away into the building without waiting for them and Neil watches Aaron stop in front of Andrew with Nicky trailing behind him. He notices how Nicky is looking at his feet so Neil decides to start walking inside to give them some space to talk as a family. However, he almost curses when he finds himself walking behind Mike and Renee. He doesn’t want to be included in their conversation, so he slows down his pace to create some distance between them.

He’s about to enter the building when he hears Nicky call his name so he looks to the side and sees Nicky jogging to catch up with him.

“Hey,” Nicky says once he stops in front of Neil, “Andrew is asking for you.”

Neil nods slightly confused and wonders what they said to Andrew that made him call Neil back instead of meeting back in their dorm room. He walks back to the end of the parking lot where Andrew always parks and passes Aaron on the way. They glance at each other but neither one says a word. When Neil reaches the Maserati, Andrew is already inside with the engine on.

Andrew spares him a glance when Neil pauses near his open window. “Get in the car," he tells him.

“What about the others?” Neil asks, feeling even more confused after he steps into the car. Neil thought they were all going to Columbia like every other weekend, except Kevin, who had already told them before the game that he wanted to stay with Wymack in order to spend some time with his father. When his question is ignored he insists, “What about Aaron and Nicky?”

“Aaron wants to stay," Andrew explains, “so Nicky is going to stay too. The upperclassmen already invited him to go out.”

Neil stays quiet until they enter the highway as he tries to process this. It was going to be just the two of them going to Columbia this weekend. He didn't mind the idea; between practices, and classes, and sharing the dorm with Kevin they could never spend a lot of time together. The few moments they had alone were mostly on the rooftop.

“Are we going to Eden’s?” Neil asks once they reach their highway exit.

“No, let’s just stay in the house tonight,” Andrew answers him. Neil hums in acknowledgment and glances at Andrew; he feels exhausted and the idea of just going back to the house and not to the packed club sounds pretty good.

Once they're at the house, Neil is about to go to the bathroom after Andrew to get ready for the night when he remembers that he never went upstairs to get his travel bag. “Andrew?”

Andrew sees him hesitating near the bathroom door and comes to stop near his side and glance into the bathroom. When he doesn't see anything wrong he simply stares at Neil, waiting for him to continue.

“Is just that I didn’t go upstairs to get my bag and— ”

“There are some spare toothbrushes in the cabinet,” Andrew tells him and starts to walk towards his bedroom.

Neil nods; he can always go to the mall tomorrow and get a fresh pair of clothes for the weekend. Nicky would be happy to see him in new clothes as he keeps complaining about his old ones, but Neil grimaces at the waste of money that would be. He has a few new clothes already that Allison made him buy; there’s no point in buying more. It’s not like he’s just going to throw away all his old ones; those are still good to go to the gym.

When he steps outside the bathroom, Andrew points to his left at the top of the couch where a small pile of clothes is sitting and doesn’t bother explaining it.

Neil grabs the clothes and glances at Andrew. “Thanks,” he tells him, Andrew doesn’t acknowledge it other than glancing in his direction and returning to look at the TV screen, so Neil returns to the bathroom to put on the clothes. Both the sweatpants and the sweater are black. The sweater feels comfortable and loose on him since Andrew has broader shoulders and the clothes look very similar to the ones Andrew has dressed just now. Once Neil’s done changing he sits on the couch right next to Andrew.

They begin to watch an old movie but Neil is not really focusing on it. He feels exhausted from the day so not even halfway through the movie he makes himself more comfortable on the couch to try to rest by sliding down on the cushions.

Andrew turns his head to the side to study Neil. After a few moments, his hand comes to rest on Neil’s neck, guiding Neil’s head to his lap. Neil gets the idea and follows along, stretching his legs on the couch. Then he feels Andrew’s hand resting on his hair, and one of his fingers starts to make slow patterns on Neil’s scalp, making his eyes feel heavy.

Neil closes his eyes feeling content where he is. He starts to wonder what it would like to sleep next to Andrew. He's expecting Andrew to get up to go to his bedroom at any moment but when it doesn't happen Neil eventually turns his head to look up and finds Andrew with his eyes barely open.

“Are you going to sleep here?” Neil asks quietly. They’ve slept near each other before but not this close, not when they were close enough to be touching.

“No,” Andrew says. “It's not a good idea, you know how I can wake up.”

“I know, and it doesn't matter.”

“Don't be stupid,” Andrew tells him.

“I'm not. All I'm saying is that I don't care.” When Andrew doesn't say anything else Neil continues, “If you lash out you'll stop as soon as you understand what's happening.”

Neil gives Andrew some time to think about it and when the hand in his head starts moving again, he presses on insistently,“ Yes or no?”

Andrew lets out a frustrated breath. “Yes, but not here. I'm not going to sleep on this damn couch,” Andrew finally tells him and removes his hand. “Now, move.”

Neil sits up on the couch and watches Andrew get up and start to walk in the direction of his bedroom. Neil blinks twice, wondering if he had heard right, that Andrew had just agreed to this. “Come on,” Andrew says to Neil once he opens the door and notices that Neil hasn’t moved from his spot on the couch.

When Neil enters the bedroom, Andrew is already on the bed with his back to the wall. “Are you going to just keep staring?” Andrew asks him when Neil doesn’t move from the door.

“No,” Neil answers, closing the door before walking to the bed. He climbs in and leaves as much space as he can between them. ”Tell me if you need me to leave, okay?”

“Yeah, or I can just push you off the bed,” Andrew points out. Neil rolls his eyes and watches curiously as Andrew moves closer to him, holding himself up with his arm. “Yes or no?” Andrew asks him, staring at his lips.

Neil licks his own lips subconsciously. “Yes,” he answers right away; he’s been waiting the whole damn day for this. They kiss until Neil feels his mouth sore and he’s too sleepy to move at all. And eventually, they fall asleep.

[Part 7]

#andreil #aftg #tfc #andrew minyard #neil josten #andreil fic #aftg fic #myandreilfic #part 7 coming soon #only two more parts whoa

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