#i drew a little neil doodle a few days ago and then i was so upset at myself for wasting some hours instead of doing actual work

[bayrut]

have u started a trc reread bc of st mark's eve or are you just trcposting.....🤨🤨🤨

hehhehe hiii no haven't started but i want to!!! but i have to read some science papers first and then I'll be allowed (<- acting like my own mom so i can be productive)

if you do a reread with me ill do it 🙏

[foxpaws10]

Just a little Andreil Drabble ! X

**********

Neil’s head lolled against Andrew’s knee, bone knocking bone hard enough he felt his eyeballs rattle in their sockets. For somebody who had considered himself an excellent liar, it had become increasingly difficult to make up excuses to avoid Dan’s mandatory team-bonding movie nights. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy spending time with the team; over the past year he had grown closer and more intertwined with their lives to the point he ached when separated from them for too long. It wasn’t a hummingbird beat of anxiety, or the burn of grief, more of an acute tightness in his stomach. They were his family and he would do anything for any one of them… with the occasional exception of Aaron. But movie nights were when he truly regretted that closeness. For a high-strung runner and a paranoid renegade with a short attention span, sitting for hours watching films was not Neil’s idea of a good time. His legs itched with restless energy, his butt was numb from sitting for so long, and he was becoming increasingly irritable at the foxes stolen glances.

One of Andrew’s hands absently ran through Neil’s hair, tugging out stubborn knots and twirling lazy auburn curls which had recently began to develop sun streaks - much to the other foxes delight. The first time Allison noticed the lighter strands she had squealed so loud Neil had thought his stomach was going to drop right out of his ass. It was just another thing the foxes were adding to a bemusing list of his traits. The sun had also brought out a scattering of freckles across the bridge of his nose, interrupted only by scar tissue. The foxes had been slightly obsessed, to the point where Neil had to snap at them when Nicky tried to trace the dots. He had found more than one of the team with a stray piece of paper covered in his doodles, but chose not to confront them. He would never admit it out loud, but it felt..nice to have so many people intent on learning little bits of Neil, and keeping the stray castaway moments. He was beginning to feel like a real person; he felt known.

“Refreshments?” Matt queried as the end credits rolled onto the TV screen.

“I think we’ll need to go to the store,” Dan answered, standing stiffly and stretching her arms above her head, laughing and jerking away as Matt slid cold hands up the back of her shirt.

“I’ll come with, you guys never get the right popcorn.” Allison said, pulling Renee up with her and grabbing her purse from the table beside the door.

“What film do you guys want on next?” Nicky asked, throwing pretzels at a dozing Kevin. “We have some back in our dorm.” he offered.

Neil let his cheek rest against the inside of Andrew’s knee, one hand curled around Andrew’s ankle, thumb smoothing circles on the inside cuff of his sweatpants. The entire exchange went in one ear and out the other, eyes drooping at the soothing feeling of Andrew’s hand on his scalp. It was worth a numb bum from sitting on the floor between Andrew’s legs, and the only thing stopping him from drifting into sleep was the sudden slam of the dorm door as everybody emptied out leaving just Andrew, Neil and a sleeping Kevin Day.

“If you fall asleep before they get back I’ll skin you.” Andrew threatened, tugging sharply on Neil’s hair.

“M’sleepy,” Neil mumbled back, turning to curl against one of Andrew’s legs.

“I let you drag me here, I’m not watching this shit while you get out of it.”

“I’ll make it up to you.” Neil smirked, nuzzling his face into the crook of Andrew’s knee. A moment later he was face down on the carpet, a dull throb between his shoulderblades from where Andrew had kneed him away.

“You’re such a child,” Neil grunted, rolling onto his back and bracing himself on his elbows to meet Andrew’s bored gaze. The other man stretched his arms out on the back of the couch, an almost imperceptible twitch of his eyebrow the only evidence of his thoughts on that statement. “Would you rather be playing Exy? Because I could wake Kevin up and we can do down to the court.” Neil said, suddenly a bit more awake.

“I’d rather snort golf balls.” Andrew retorted after a moment’s silence.

“Nice visual threat,” Neil smirked, pushing himself up onto his knees. “I could make it worth your time.” he coaxed, resting his hands on the edge of the couch either side Andrew’s knees and leaning forward with a challenge in his eyes.

Andrew’s fingers itched for a cigarette, his eyes were tired and his contacts were becoming uncomfortable, his muscles were tight and he needed to walk out a bad case of pins and needles… but seeing Neil between his knees with heat in those damn blue eyes pushed all those concerns to the back of his mind. He still wasn’t sure how this runaway with a duffel bag of secrets and a body mapped with hard ridges of scars had gotten under his skin. He was the sharp blade of a knife, lethal enough to slice through armour and slip almost unnoticed under flesh. Some days Neil was an open wound; left untreated it could be fatal. Other times he was the needle and thread sewing Andrew back together. He was a skydive without a parachute, the more time he was around the higher the plane was going and the more deadly the fall was becoming.

“I’ll get you a family pack of Oreos, ten Reese’s and a tub of Double Chocolate Fudge… and marshmallows?” Neil offered, and Andrew regretted not leaping when they were only a few feet off the ground.

“Two tubs, and I want Lucky Charms as well.” Andrew agreed, pushing Neil’s face away as that stupid shit-eating grin split his face.

Neil caught Andrew’s hand as he went to bat at him again, linking their fingers together and leaning forward between his thighs. “Kevin will kill me if he finds out.” he murmured.

“He can try, but you’re noticeably difficult to murder.”

“Maybe I’m a cat - nine lives and all that?”

“You used up all nine about five lives ago.” Andrew said, watching as Neil turned their hands over and brushed his lips along Andrew’s healing knuckles.

“Come up here,” he said, tugging Neil up from the ground and nodding at Neil’s unspoken question. Neil clambered up into Andrew’s lap, knees on either side of the other man’s hips and hands resting on the back of the couch.

“Where can I-?”

“Head and shoulders,” Andrew cut in.

“Knees and toes?”

“Get out,”

“Couldn’t resist,” Neil admitted with a self-deprecating smirk, hands moving to cup Andrew’s jaw as their lips met. The kiss was slow and languid, wet and increasing in deepness as Neil’s thumbs slid along the arch of Andrew’s cheekbones and he fought against the urge to grind in Andrew’s lap. It was only when Andrew’s hands moved to cup the back of his thighs that he allowed his hips a startled snap.

“‘Drew, yes or no?” Neil panted, pulling back to press sloppy kisses along the underside of Andrew’s jaw, one hand bunching the soft fabric stretched taut across Andrew’s shoulders, the other tracing the strong line of Andrew’s jaw.

“Yes,” Andrew answered, hands gripping Neil’s thighs tight enough to leave bruises as he pulled the other man closer.

“No! No, no, no!” Kevin’s voice exclaimed, startling the two men. Neil was unceremoniously dumped on the floor, disorientated and panting, grasping for leverage. “For fuck’s sake!” Kevin stood, stumbling a bit under the influence of a half bottle of vodka. “You couldn’t have done that somewhere else?!”

“Kevin,” Andrew warned, watching as the larger man gestured wildly.

“Did you just forget I was in the fucking room?”

“You looked dead, we thought we’d celebrate your life rather than mourn.” Neil said as he finally managed to regain his balance and climb to his feet. In all the time he had spent with Kevin, sharing a dorm and long bus rides, it was possible he had never seen the other man wake up and become so alert in such a little amount of time. He would be trying to get video footage as evidence if the current exchange wasn’t happening.

“By fucking next me?!”

“If you think that was fucking, I feel bad for Thea.” Andrew said, watching as Kevin made an unintelligible noise and stormed from the room, shaking his head and muttering, too focused on putting one foot in front of the other to notice the dorm door swinging open. He hit it with a satisfying thud, followed by a dictionary of swears and Nicky’s surprised shouting.

Neil grinned as he heard Andrew exhale through his nose in what could have very easily been a laugh.

“Shut up,”

“Make me.” Neil countered, a noise slipping from him that he didn’t think he had ever made before as Andrew made a grab for him. It was possible there was going to have to be another tub of ice cream added to that list.