#but if you do you can dwell in aaron minyard feels with me

[sunrise-and-death]

Interlude: Twin Paths

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Aaron Minyard & Andrew Minyard, Aaron Minyard/Original Character(s) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Pre-Canon, Magical Realism, Introspection, Brotherly Angst, General Angst, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Aaron has a lot of feelings, and some of them don't even make sense to him Series: Part 5 of Travelers Summary:

Twin noun

1. One of two children or animals born at the same birth

2. Something containing or consisting of two matching or corresponding parts

3. A part of a pair

[jsteneil]

Dan is the closest of the Foxes to Palmetto, working in DC where the others have migrated North or East, with Kevin down in Texas as one sweaty exception. She visits more than the others, hopping in and out of her car on occasions, and always comes in the Foxhole court holding a large to-go cup from the campus’ coffee, looking radiant and focused.

Neil smiles more easily, these days, and he never fights the natural inclination of his mouth when he sees Dan and lets himself be hugged, maybe a bit tighter than someone who doesn’t answer to the name of Dan Wilds would.

“Rookie,” she calls, lobbing her paper cup in the garbage one day. Half of the freshmen turn their tired faces to her, dragging their feet after today’s hard practice.

Neil smiles. “Dan,” he greets, and waves his team away. Robin steals his car keys on her way out, clearly not eager to repeat the time she had to wait half an hour in the cold for Neil and Dan to finish talking.

Dan lifts an eyebrow. She knows Robin from last year, when Andrew, Aaron, and Nicky were still there to share a bedroom that now feels to big for two people, but she’s emboldened over the summer. Neil is quietly proud of her, like warming his hands to the residual heat of a slow-burning fire.

“I’ll run,” Neil says with a shrug. “I haven’t been jogging as I should lately.”

“Yeah,” Dan says, “maybe because there’s actual frost on the ground. Don’t be crazy, I’ll drive you back.”

“Okay,” Neil accepts, because he’s gotten better at acknowledging the casualness of the Foxes’ kindness. “Wanna get out of here?”

Dan’s hand flies to her chest.

“Who are you and what have you done with Neil Josten, local exy court vermin?”

“I don’t actually live here.”

“Then you can explain to me why I’ve found you sleeping on those damn couches more times than I can count,” a gruff voice says from behind them. “Get out of here.”

Wymack emerges from his office with his usual stack of papers and grumpy expression. Neil knows how much Dan means to him and how long they talked on the outer ring during the last half of practice, so he understands the way Dan laughs with her teeth and turns around to hold the door open.

“We’re having dinner at Abby’s tonight,” Dan says as they make their way to Dan’s rental car. “Wanna come?”

Tonight is the Foxes’ movie night. Neil quickly calculates pros and cons: Indian take-out in a room crowded with people he already spends too much time with everyday, or in Abby’s kitchen with some of the people who count the most in his life.

“Sure.”

He sends a message to Robin to tell her not to wait for him to start the movie, then closes the door of the car on the uncharacteristically cold winter.

“So how’s the team?” Neil asks at the same time Dan does, backing out of her parking space. They share a grin: Dan’s enthusiasm for the sport will never be on the same level as Kevin’s or Neil’s, but he likes more detached outlook she brings to the conversation nonetheless. Probably because exy means less to her than to him—although Neil’s had some difficulties wrapping his mind around this truth in the beginning—Dan is particularly soothing to talk to. Andrew suggested once that it may be because she refuses to make herself insane for something as inconsequential as exy, but Neil would rather bet that it was a thinly-veiled insult thrown to Kevin’s obsession.

“We’re getting into the season on a strong foot,” Dan says finally after Neil gestures for her to speak first. “The changes we’ve brought to the starting line are already showing results.”

“Drafting Perez was a risky move,” Neil says, because his interest in pro teams has considerably grown now that it’s a certainty of his future and not a dream sitting just out of his reach.

Dan’s smile grows sharper. To Neil, she’s still the young woman who led them all the way to finals in his freshman year.

“It was,” she agrees, “but it’s going to pay big time—we have a game with the Hawks next week, and I know where the odds are leaning.”

“I don’t bet,” Neil reminds her as they park in front of the Fox’s Paw, the campus coffee.

“Still? Neil, you have no respect for traditions.”

It’s true; mostly because he didn’t get to experience them before he met the Foxes. Dan keeps talking about the Eagles in the line to the counter, prompting questions in Neil’s mind that he never took into consideration before—it’s been three years, but it still feels weird that his captain ended on the other side of the plexiglass wall. Not wrong: Dan was made to mentor, but still.

Dan almost gets another coffee, then reconsiders and orders some kind of chocolate concoction that Andrew likes, provided they add cream and sugar in large quantity, because that’s Andrew’s favorite way to eat anything. A small stitch drills into his chest like he’s gulped too much air while running, like always when the realization comes that Andrew is miles away in a large city, and not smoking, up on the rooftop of their small world.

“So how’re you doing?” Dan asks, twirling the cream in her cup.

Neil hums in response. “I’m fine.”

“Uh huh. And without the bullshit?” She’s not fooled by his confused look. “Neil, I know how it is—”

He knows she does. In hindsight, he’s grateful for the reprieve she accorded him by talking so extensively about her team first.

“The first weeks are the worst,” Dan says, which Neil doesn’t believe because it’s already mid-November and Neil’s been feeling down since August, when Andrew moved to Boston for good.

Andrew flew down to Columbia two weekends ago, which means that Neil will fly north in ten days for Thanksgiving and spend the beginning of the week holed up in Andrew’s apartment with only each other, ice cream, alcohol, and cigarettes for company. The perspective brightens Neil’s immediate future, but it doesn’t relieve the constant ache of not having Andrew right next to him to exchange truths and stories with.

“Andrew came to our game against the Ravens two weeks ago,” Neil says instead of dwelling on the feeling.

“I saw on TV. The journalists had a field day.”

Neil nods slowly. He feels miserable, and he’s sure that Dan read it on every inch of his face. He longs briefly for the days when lying to the Foxes was as easy as breathing, when the reality of his feelings concerned him only.

“I find it easier to bear long distance if you talk about it,” Dan says finally, done with being subtle. “Nicky would agree.”

“You just want the gossip. How many bets?”

“There’s a consequential one on where you’ll spend Thanksgiving break. Renee says you’ll have a quiet week in Columbia, visit Bee. Nicky has quite a few bucks on you meeting in Boston and boning the entire time.” She winces. “Sorry, his words.”

Neil waves if it off. “I gathered.”

Dan huffs a laugh and drumrolls on the table, phone in hand. “Do I get to settle anything, or are you just going to send us a pic from Vietnam or something?”

“We wouldn’t fly anywhere this far,” Neil says, then relents: “Robin invited us to her parents’ for the day. I’m not sure Andrew will take her up on that offer, but we’ll see. We’ll spend the rest of the week in Boston, so I guess Nicky wins, for one.”

“Nicky only wins if you spend the whole time in bed,” Dan says delightfully as her fingers fly over her screen. “I don’t think I have to ask you how likely it is to happen.”

Neil snorts. “You’d think he’d have learned by now.”

“Renee’s happy you won’t be alone for the holidays,” Dan reads after her phone beeps a few times. “Allison is mad—she would’ve made three hundred bucks. Don’t look so pleased.”

“Don’t bet on my life.”

“Never gonna happen.”

They sip their drinks in silence for a while, basking in the warmth of the crowded coffee shop. Having Dan by his side in Palmetto is familiar, like the feeling of watching his shots land true. If Robin is his best friend, the quiet extension of himself, then Dan is his sister, warm, teasing, and proud.

“I miss him,” he admits, because he suddenly wants to. Andrew has always been a point of friction between them, but he can acknowledge the olive branch Dan has been offering him. He doesn’t mind taking it; the riverbanks are slippery enough as it is. “We talk a lot, but it’s not the same.”

They’re good at communication, because they can’t afford not to be, but most of their conversations are silent, exchanged through looks and actions. Neil knows Andrew enough by now to read his tone, what he leaves unsaid, but he misses the touches, the certainty of Andrew, there besides him.

Dan’s hand curls around her cup like she wants to grab for him but is restraining herself.

“Have you discussed the situation?”

“Of course. I thought long-distance was all about communication?”

“And Skype sex,” Dan adds with a grin curling her mouth.

Neil frowns. In a rare bout of sharing, he says: “Not likely.”

“Really.”

“I’m not discussing sex with you.” That’s a conversation for another day, possibly imaginary, definitely involving alcohol. Neil has managed to escape it so far by sticking close to Nicky, who, despite his own interest in the situation, is always prompt to deroute on his own sexual adventures and attract Aaron’s ire.

“Fine. Keep your gossip to yourself, ungrateful child.”

“I will.” He waits a beat then says: “He’s not happy there. He never says anything but I don’t think the team is right for him.”

“Problems with his teammates?”

Dan’s frown his sympathetic. Twice captain of her exy teams and now assistant coach, she knows exactly how much inside tensions can affect a player’s game—and their lives beyond.

“Whitney is outwardly homophobic and an asshole,” Neil says. Five years ago, he would never have thought he’d ever get so worked up about something not directly linked to his survival; five years ago, he also didn’t have Andrew Minyard in his life, to love and protect fiercely where Andrew himself doesn’t necessarily. “Andrew won’t stand for it forever.”

“You’re worried it’ll fall back on Andrew?”

Neil raises his hands in front of him, palms up. “Exy golden boy from an Ivy league college and three years of seniority. Andrew.” He tips his hands like scales. “You know what people are going to see, and you know that it won’t be the truth.”

“It might if someone can attest of Whitney’s slurs,” Dan says. “He doesn’t have a good reputation in the division. People talk. And I think Andrew knows better than pulling a knife under another coach than Wymack.”

“He doesn’t carry knives anymore. And that’s not the problem, is it?”

“No it’s not,” Dan sighs. “I’m sorry.”

She asks about the team to distract him after that, and it works—Neil will never miss a chance to talk exy, especially not when it’s his team, a responsibility he never thought he’d have. He remembers the sick feeling of fear and want when Wymack first told him about his future captaincy; some days, Neil can still feel it, curled tight in his stomach to make room for pride and affection, and all those other feelings that he’s learned along the way. He doesn’t need to ask Dan if it ever goes away. He’s not sure he wants it to.

They clear out their table a while later, when night has already fallen around the bright yellow streetlights, and head back to Dan’s car, jogging slightly to fight the cold. Neil leans his head on the window and staring outside past the fog of his breath on the glass, and only straightens when he sees the shape of Abby’s house, shadow pierced by large rectangles of light. Dan winds her arm over his shoulders when they get out the car and drags him to the door.

“We’re here!” she announces, opening the door left unlocked, as usual.

Neil sheds his coat and removes his shoes, padding in the kitchen to find Wymack and Abby prepping chicken around the table. A small pot is already simmering on the stove and filling the entire room with the smell of tomato and thyme. Abby gives them each a knife and different vegetables to peel; the celeri makes a cheerful crunching sound every time Neil lowers the blade.

“You’re a terrible cook,” Dan observes good-naturedly after Abby corrects him three times on how to best mince garlic. Neil doesn’t mind: he’s usually the first to admit that he doesn’t care all that much about cooking.

“I know,” he says, and thinks, Andrew prefers to do it anyway.

[vikingpoteto]

Summary: Matt likes to think Neil is done saying things that will get himself killed. Andrew disagrees.

Relationships: Matt & Neil, established Andrew/Neil

Warning: This is very pointless and the proof that I can write fluff and crack of anything. 

Word Count: 1474

Read on AO3

“You know what? I’m really proud of Neil,” Matt says, breaking the silence.

Everyone else in the room rolls their eyes. Nicky groans. It’s common knowledge that all of the foxes like Neil very much (though Aaron is still a work in progress) but none of them can stand Matt bragging about Neil anymore. There are two bottles of vodka, one of them empty and another halfway there (he isn't sure he suggested taking a shot every time something exploded on the screen, but boy, does that move have explosions) and drunk  Matt can and will use every moment of prolonged silence to remind them how fast Neil improved on court, how Neil is doing great this weak, how Neil, unlike other people (cue a pointed look at Nicky), is a good roommate that doesn’t leave wet socks in the bathroom.

It’s movie night, which means all of the foxes are huddled together in Matt’s room in front of the TV. Neil has left the room to pick up a call from Wymack and they paused the movie to wait for him, even though Neil had told them there is no need. Everyone was quietly waiting for him to come back when Matt decided it was a perfect time to discuss how great Neil is.

“What?” He asks.

Dan and Allison ignore him pointedly. Aaron looks a little disgusted. Nicky and Kevin give him identical condescending looks that makes him think that Kevin is spending way too much time with the cousins. Andrew, however, stares at Matt from the corner of his eye and, though he doesn’t say anything, that’s the biggest interaction they had in weeks. Renee is too nice to be upset at Matt for saying something positive about his best friend, so she asks:

“What for, Matt?”

Matt grins at her, ignoring everyone’s groans now that he has the permission to explain: “He’s been taking better care of himself lately! I’m pretty sure he hasn't said anything that will get him in trouble in weeks.”

“Are we supposed to be impressed?” Allison raises a perfect eyebrow.

“Yes!” Matt insists. “I think he’s actually growing a sense of self-preservation!”

Now Andrew is staring directly at him. Kevin snorts sarcastically.

“Are you kidding me? Neil has still zero sense of self-preservation,” Kevin says, sounding like he’s actually distressed by Neil’s recklessness. “He’s just as stupidly suicidal as before.”

Matt pouts again. “No, he isn’t.”

“Wanna bet?”

There is a beat before Matt even realizes who has just spoken. He didn’t see Andrew’s mouth moving and he hasn’t heard his voice in so long he barely forgot what he sounds like – a little like Aaron, but lower. The only reason Matt doesn’t assume he’s just imagined the proposition is that every other fox in the room turns to face Andrew.

Andrew, who is sitting alone on the couch, because there is an unspoken agreement that the seat by his side is Neil’s. Andrew, who never talks to anyone outside his makeshift family and Renee. Andrew, who has never, ever had a single friendly interaction with Matt, is sitting there, looking bored, and calmly proposing a bet as if it is something he does everyday. Maybe Andrew is already drunk. Matt is too shocked to answer.

Thankfully, Renee comes to the rescue and asks curiously: “What are the terms of the bet?”

All of the foxes perk in their seats at that. As unusual as Andrew’s participation is, a bet is a bet and it’s just their tradition to take bets very seriously.

“50 bucks Neil still does and says stupid shit without thinking twice and that thoughtless mouth of his is going to get him killed one of these days,” Andrew says simply.

“Fine,” Matt says, “I bet Neil is much more careful now and he won’t say anything too risky easily.”

Everyone else takes sides. Nicky and Kevin agree with Andrew without thinking twice. Allison joins them right after. Dan looks divided for a moment, before she finally says that Neil has been much more tactful lately and it has been a while since he last started drama with anyone (Matt can’t shake the feeling that she’s just trying to support him, though.) Renee gives him a gentle smile and says that she believes Neil is doing much better regards his attitude problem, so she sides with Kevin. Aaron takes a while longer to make up his mind, clearly divided between the urge to bet against Neil and the need to disagree with Andrew. Finally, he seems to decide losing money isn’t worth going against what he actually thinks, and he finally sides with Andrew.

Dan is writing down everyone’s names on her phone and the terms of the bet, but before she can ask how they are going to settle this one – are they going to wait until Neil’s next fight and decide whether or not it was over something worth starting drama for or over some reckless impulse then? Is there a time limit for each of them? – Neil is back still checking something on his phone. His cheeks are flushed and he's obviously a little more than tipsy, judging by how he furrows his brow in an effort to comprehend whatever he's reading.

Despite being found by Andrew in Baltimore, Neil’s dumb flip phone didn’t survive the riot and Neil was forced to by an actual decent smartphone for himself. They needed to bully him into realizing he needed one and he was about to buy another flip phone like he’s some sort of drug dealer when Kevin solved things for them by reminding Neil that he would be able to watch Exy videos on a smartphone. Matt helped him with the transition and tried teaching him how to use it properly, but in the end Neil just downloaded a bunch of Exy related apps. He keeps forgetting to carry his charger with him and his phone is out of battery more often than not, making Matt think the flip phone and its durable battery were a better option, after all.

When Neil comes back to the room, he doesn’t realize all the eyes are on him, too engrossed in something on the phone screen. The fact that he's trying to read even though he's a bit drunk says that whatever he’s looking at has something to do with Exy – probably something the coach has sent him – but it also says how comfortable Neil is around them. Last year, Neil was like a stray cat, fighting to not be noticed and wary of every small interaction. The fact that he can walk into a room calmly without even realizing he’s being stared at proves Matt’s point that Neil is, in fact, much better now.

Kevin waits until Neil is seated by Andrew’s side again before he murmurs: “Do it, Andrew.”

“Neil,” Andrew says, “I’m gonna murder you.”

“Uh huh,” Neil says without batting an eye or asking for a reason, “okay, babe, just let me finish this first.”

Dan lets out a pained groan while Allison and Nicky start laughing hysterically. Aaron makes a disgusted sound and Kevin turns his smug look to Matt, who begrudgingly fishes his wallet from his pocket.

Neil, bless him, finally looks up from his phone and to his teammates, drunkly confused and probably trying to figure out what bet has he just accidentally settled.

(Matt decide not to dwell on the fact that all the foxes collectively agree that calling Andrew Minyard “babe” is a wish for death, especially because Andrew is his best friend’s boyfriend.)

(He does, however, kick aside his reservations towards Andrew after movie night is over. He waits until Kevin pulls Neil aside to discuss whatever Wymack sent him and he approaches Andrew subtly.)

“How did you know?” Matt asks and, when Andrew gives him an empty look in response, he adds: “How did you know Neil was going to say something so stupid?”

Andrew stares at him for the longest moment. Matt is sure that he’s going to be ignored, but apparently Andrew is drunk enough to humor him a little more.

“One time I told him I 90% of the time I wanted to skin him alive,” Andrew says. “He looked at me and asked me about the other 10%.”

Matt blinks once. Twice. Finally he buries his face in his hands and groans, making a mental note to later talk about kinks out of hand and safety with Neil, because holy shit.

Unimpressed with his frustration, Andrew turns around and walks towards Neil and Kevin instead, leaving Matt alone.

He still has best friend privileges, but, as he watches Andrew easily drag Neil away from Kevin, Matt promises himself that he will never, ever bet against Andrew again. Not when the subject of the bet is Neil.