#soft neil josten/andrew minyard

[indigothemuse]

Promise- Andriel

Hi everyone!! This is a birthday fic written for Archi, who you may know as @moonscarsandstars

Crossposted on ao3.

Fic will be under the cut! <3

Dan wakes up at 7 am to the sound of furious knocking on her door. She groans and rolls out of bed, regretting the loss of her blanket and Matt’s warmth. She still moves quietly. Matt had a late flight, and she doesn’t want to disturb him. A courtesy whoever’s knocking doesn’t seem to share.

She opens the door, and sighs. Neil Josten stands outside her apartment, in a pair of running shorts and a bright green shirt. “Why in the world are you here?”

He bounces on the balls of his feet, shoes the same green as his shirt. “I need to talk to Matt.”

“Matt is sleeping. Which I would like to be.”

“Oh.” He follows her inside (uninvited) and takes off his shoes. Dan wonders idly if Andrew got them. Neil continues to follow her like a lost puppy. He doesn’t look like one anymore at least.

She turns to face him outside her room. “Okay. I am going to go back to sleep. And so are you.” She cuts off his protest with a Captain Stare™ . “Come on. Sleep.”

He slides into the bed, and Matt rolls over, slinging an arm around him. Dan smiles, takes a quick photo and sends it to the group chat that she has with her Foxes, and goes back to sleep.

☽٭٭٭☾

Neil wakes up at 11:30, face to face with Matt. He’s barely awake, blinking blearily.

“Am I dreaming?”

“Unless you suddenly have hyper-realistic dreams, no.” Neil keeps his voice soft, wary of waking Dan.

“Mm. All right, let’s get breakfast.” Matt stands and Neil follows, feeling more alert than he had before. Their kitchen is nice, bright, and clean. There’s a small plant on the windowsill above the sink, and Neil pauses to read the sticky note next to it. Water twice a day—Breakfast/Dinner. The note is in Renee’s careful script, and the i’s are dotted by little stars, and there’s a cluster of them in the corner. He waters the plant, and looks to Matt. He’s rummaging through the cabinets, and emerges with a triumphant grin, brandishing a skillet and shallow bowl.

“Okay! Young grasshopper—” “what” “—I’m going to teach you how to make the best french toast you’ve ever had!”

“Young grasshopper?”

Matt nodded sagely. Neil smiled a little, and jumped up onto the counter, swinging his legs. Matt starts pulling things out of the fridge and cupboards, and mutters to himself under his breath. Neil catches the fork that Matt throws, reaching up easily. (Years of Andrew and Kevin throwing things that he asks for have been helpful for his reflexes, even if Kevin almost broke his nose once.)

“Right! So we need eggs, cinnamon, vanilla and salt mixed together.” Matt brings measuring spoons over with him and Neil pushes himself onto his knees to watch curiously. Matt measures out the ingredients, talking him through the process.

Neil finds that he enjoys it more than he thought. Matt talks animatedly, if quietly, catching him up on all that he’s missed. It’s spring break, two weeks of time off before Neil has to be back for his final few months of school.

Finally, they end with six pieces of French toast. Matt puts powdered sugar on his, and Neil steals half of their fruit for his pieces. Dan laughs when she emerges from the bedroom and sees powdered sugar over Matt and Neil’s mouth stained red from strawberries. She pours herself a cup of coffee, kisses Matt’s forehead, and plucks a blueberry from his plate.

“Morning!” She’s cheerful now, brown eyes bright. “So, Neil, what brings you to our humble abode?”

He sighs, fork beginning to push his bread around. “I, er…I wanted to do something. For Andrew.” Dan's eyebrow twitched. “He just…he’s really important to me, and since I’m probably not going to get signed on his team…” Andrew lived in Boston and played for the Boston Rebels. Neil had been getting offers, but none from Andrew’s team.

“Did you already have something in mind?” Matt leaned forward, breakfast forgotten.

“Yeah. This.” He pulled the ring box out. “It’s not an engagement ring!” he yelped, as Dan and Matt Looked at each other and then back at him. “It’s a promise ring. For ours.”

Dan had brought a hand up to her mouth, her wedding ring glinting. He smiles nervously, fidgeting with the box. “That’s beautiful, Neil. I’m sure he’ll lo-adore it,” she corrected herself quickly, and smiled at him.”

Matt left his seat and slung an arm around his shoulders. “Neil. He’ll like it. Trust us?”

That wasn’t even a question. He had put his life in their hands before, over and over again, and by now it was second nature to trust them.

“Yeah. Okay. Thanks for breakfast.” Matt pulls him into a tight hug. Dan ruffles his hair after, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“See you, Captain. Have fun with your Foxes!”

Neil grins at her. “Have a good day, Coach.”

Dan beams at him, he’s waving and leaves, and then running back to Andrew’s apartment.

☽٭٭٭☾

Andrew looks up when a key turns in the lock. Neil had visited Dan and Matt the day before and had come home looking much more relaxed. And now, returning from his morning run, he comes inside sweaty, but not gasping for air.

Neil comes over and peers down at Andrew. “What are you working on?”

Andrew frowned at his laptop. “Lacey, the PR manager wants me to ‘have a more active presence on social media.” Hence, his screen displayed a view of their most recent emails, where he ran out of reasons not to post more.

“Mm. You could post a picture of us!” Neil grins at him, crooked, blue eyes shining and auburn hair tousled.

“In your sweaty workout clothes?”

Neil nods seriously, but amusement glints in his eyes. “Of course. They want the authentic versions of us.”

“Which includes you, post-run?”

“Yep! Smile!!” Neil loops an arm around his neck and sits in his lap. He takes the photo quickly and spins his phone to show Andrew. He’s looking at Neil, eyebrow quirked. He’s resolutely not smiling, but that means nothing when his face looks so…soft. “Can I post it?”

“Do you even know how to use social media?”

Neil pouts. “Rude.”

“It’s one of my better qualities.”

He grins at that and presses a butterfly soft kiss to his cheek. “Can I post it though? Or at least send it to the others?”

“Yes. You can post it.”

Neil does so, writing out a caption with the focus he typically reserves for reviewing Exy footage (Junkie, he thinks with something almost like fondness), tongue poking out between his teeth. He glances at his phone when it sounds off the Twitter notification. @jos10exy tagged you in a post!

He looks at it. Neil had posted the picture, and he was grinning at the camera. Andrew doesn’t look at himself again, instead amusing himself with how quickly the people react. Neil has a popular social media presence, probably due to his nonexistent brain-to-mouth filter.

The responses roll in, and people lose their minds.

Lacey messages him, a simple ‘Good.’

☽٭٭٭☾

Neil is, simply put, losing his mind. The ring sits, heavy, in his pocket. The weight of Andrew’s gaze is almost crushing. And he tries, so hard, to act normal. To act as though it does not burn under his skin, as though the secret lies across his tongue, ready to take the fall.

He has two days before his flight back to Palmetto and the Foxes, and then the final game of the season—championships between the PSU Foxes and the USC Trojans. Jeremey, Jean, and most of the original team that he had played in his first year had graduated. This was a new lineup too, led by Captain Olive Brant, a backliner.

But he doesn’t want to have to plan out strategies and deal with Jack and Sheena. He’s just happy to be here, with Andrew, in their little pocket of the world.

“What,” Andrew says, crushing the silence like how he grinds out his cigarettes.

“Huh?”

“Something’s bothering you.”

Warmth unfurls in his chest, blooming, flower petals opening up. “Yes,” he says, simple, sweet, offering up a truth for their game.

Andrew waits. Neil sighs, softly, and pulls the ring box out of his pocket. Andrew stiffens ever so slightly, but still, he waits. “It’s a promise ring. Not—not an engagement ring. Not if you don’t want one. And it’s for us. Our yeses, and our nos. And the promise to be there for each other, to protect each other. But if you don’t want it—”

“Neil.” Andrew had moved during Neil’s rambling, and he gently squeezes the back of his neck. “Yes, I want it.” He takes the box and slides it carefully onto his right ring finger. It’s a simple black band, but there are stars engraved on the outside, a small cluster of three. Inside, ‘Home’ is written. Andrew smiles. “Can I kiss you?” Neil breathes, overcome.

“Yes.”

Andrew leans in first, and Neil meets him, in a soft, sweet kiss. He’s smiling against Andrew’s lips, but Andrew just tangles his fingers in Neil’s hair. When they pull away, Neil is beaming. Andrew has a tiny smile pulling at his mouth.

“Is this why you’ve been running all over the place?”

Neil laughs. “Yeah. I was worried you wouldn’t like it.”

“I do. …Thank you.”

“Of course. I’m glad you do.”

Andrew reaches into his own pocket and pulls out a similar ring box. “It looks like we had similar ideas.”

The ring is black, and simple, but there’s a moon inscribed on the top. He checks under the band, and smiles at what he sees. ‘Junkie’.

“Thank you, Andrew.” He slips it on, and looks at it. “We match, see?” Neil holds out his right hand, and he obligingly holds out his.

“Yes.” Andrew studies him. “Something’s still wrong though.”

Neil frowns. “I just…miss you. Yeah, you’re here, but I’m going back soon. And then I probably won’t be able to sign with your team, but I’ll be pro, and—”

Andrew leans forward and again, gently squeezes the back of his neck. “Neil. Breathe. Our relationship is not dependent on being close by. You could live in Europe, and I would still be with you. Our promises are not just the result of being in the same area. I will protect you, no matter what.”

Neil looks at him. Hazel eyes steady, maybe not warm, but caring. Protective. “Yes,” he says, slowly. “I know. It’s just…difficult, not being by you anymore, especially once I go pro.”

“I know.” Then, Andrew moves his hand to rest it against Neil’s cheek, ring cool against his burn scar. “I’ll be here. I promise.”

Neil is overcome. “I will be here too.” He brings his hand up to squeeze his hand. Andrew smiles.

Maybe it isn’t perfect. Not now, maybe not ever. But Neil knows, with Andrew, he’ll be okay. Able to thrive and not just survive.

He’s happy. And he’s going to do his best to stay that way.

----------------

Thank you so much for reading!! Please, if you enjoyed, leave a like and reblog it, so it gets spread.

I sincerely hope that you had as much reading it as I did writing it <3

happy birthday, love. i hope that you had a wonderful day, and I'm so excited to seeing what this year brings you. i love you dearly, and you're one of my absolute best friends.

love,

indigo (the muse)

[taktitty]

Staring problem

[emry-stars-art]

I still need practice, but digital coloring is getting a little easier 💕

[dawnatlas]

andreil wip

[jtl-fics]

Thinking about Neil and Andrew's house again and getting emo. Like they had their own places when they were on different teams. I think they'd be the type to take one another shopping for those apartments wanting to make sure they're good for one another. Andrew's apartment was near a running trail, Neil made sure that there was roof access on his. Stuff like that.

Then they finally get on the same team and they're getting a place together. Neil wanting a fenced in backyard, Andrew wanting something with a porch, Neil wanting a walkout basement, Andrew wanting a lot of natural light, and they both want at least a 2-car garage.

They never intentionally decorate but they've just accumulated stuff. Gifts from friends, things they saw and grabbed on road trips, gifts to one another, and now it is all in one place. Rearranging their furniture over and over again until they like it. Doing DIY on a lot to make it exactly how they like it.

Kevin keeps mentioning how their backyard would be perfect for a vegetable garden and they both make faces and never do that. Getting a couch that's perfect for sitting close or far apart depending on the day. Guest rooms for when friends visit that they decorate utterly annoyingly just because Aaron said something one time about it being so boring so now there's a cross stitch hung above the guest bed that Andrew did himself that says 'Home is where the heart is' with two little knives underneath.

Just space to do with what they want that is completely theirs.

[wuzeio]

some frosty fun + some misc stuff i never uploaded here OTL

guys free kevin day from his spinach smoothie hell

[koldefingre]

I actually love him, this is not a drill.

[crystalmethsthings]

neil when nicky said girls were too soft for him:

[exy-shmexy]

Something something Neil kissing Andrew’s sleepy forehead before he goes on his early morning run

[skinnylorax]

andrew definitely holds neil’s hand while he drives

[ninyard]

Honestly honestly the most romantic moment of the entire series is when Neil talks about how he'd never gotten to travel for fun before and the Foxes are planning to take him to the mountains, and Kevin starts to protest that they can't go on vacation but stops because Andrew is holding a knife on him 😭🥺😩 like I don't know that's just just a sweet little moment to me, Andrew threatening Kevin if he takes this little chance for happiness from Neil

Uhhhh literally Andrew “I-don’t-care” Minyard is the most romantic of ALL the foxes. My line of work revolves around intimacy and from all my training and studying let me tell you that man is a master at his craft.

Andrew’s touch is beautiful and sacred; this thing he does not take easily, or give out kindly whatsoever. Yet with Neil it’s as if he can’t stop himself. We see it in how gently he tapes the garbage bags around Neil’s injuries, wordlessly, without being asked. THAT’S intimacy. How he holds his neck to inspect his eyes when he removes his contacts, how he hands Neil cigarettes without a request, how he doesn’t say a word while touching Kevin with the point of a blade because Neil deserves a fucking break. Sure, by technicalities, the shower scene from TKM is intimate by definition, but really it’s in the kiss he ghosts across Neil’s hip, in how he pats dry his broken skin afterwards. How can you look at him wordlessly dropping keys into Neil’s palms, and think, yeah there’s no way Andrew could be romantic. Is he soft, is he gentle, as a person? No. But his minuscule actions are, his unmentioned gestures are. You just have to look and find them.

TKM just has some of the most subtly beautiful examples of a different flavour of love and intimacy that is so unusual and heartwarming it’s insane. That shower scene drives me crazy when I think about how caring Andrew is in it. He came in with the tape and bags on his own volition, knowing Neil needed a shower and couldn’t do it unattended. How he didn’t take away Neil’s autonomy by assuming he couldn’t undress himself, instead waiting until he paused and couldn’t go any further before he started to help. How he drapes the blanket over Neil’s shoulders, again giving Neil a chance to struggle before wrapping it around him. They practically don’t speak to each other really in that chapter at all apart from a bit of flirting in the shower. Because they don’t need to, because Andrew knows how to love, how to be caring, how to wrap up the boy he almost lost in bubble wrap because if he loses him again, it won’t be pretty. He washes Neil’s hair! He covers his wounds! He treats him gently when that is possibly the last word that could ever be used to describe Andrew. I feel like that scene was in part of course him just looking after Neil who can use approximately two square inches of his entire body, but in another part proving how serious he is about Neil. Everything changes between the two of them then, suddenly their actions more relaxed than hungry, not yet a given but instead now just a want.

I don’t know. I can’t help but see so much intimacy and romance in subtleties and things you’d barely even notice, regardless of the people/the characters and their circumstances. I wouldn’t use the word sweet to describe Andrew at all, but the things he does for Neil? The way that he loves Neil? The absolutely fucking sweetest.

[coffee-system-uwu]

Nobody is allowed to forget the fact that Andrew threatened to stab Kevin over Neil's vacation plans.

This boy wants nothing to do with the foxes but God dammit if his Neil wants to go play with his friends for a week and experience life like a normal person so help him god Kevin fucking Day will NOT be the person to stop it.

[amityillustration]

Stay.

[emry-stars-art]

Andreil cuddles again oops

And here, in case you missed the first three 💕

[moments-au-crayon22]

Back by popular demand: more Andreil from me 🖤

[knox-knocks]

I love making andrew and neil dangerous and violent in fics cause no matter what they would literally rather break their own hands than hurt each other