#Andrew held Neil for hours

[foxesscramble]

in honor of the holidays here's some foxes and co going home for the holidays (set sometime in the future)

Somewhere in Wisconsin:

Matt Boyd just won his last game before their winter break officially started.

Dan and Matt make their rounds to say goodbye to everyone as the team dispersed to various cities.

They head out and grab a taxi, making a quick stop by their house to grab their luggage.

They’re headed home for the holidays.

Back to where their family was gathering.

Back to South Carolina.

They were unbelievably excited to see everyone.

They had a secret that they were finally telling the foxes when they got them all together.

Dan cradled her growing belly

Somewhere in Colorado:

Renee compiled a list of care advice for her neighbor who is petsitting for her while she’s in South Carolina.

It’s a hefty list and Renee is once again grateful for her kind, elderly neighbor who had volunteered herself immediately after hearing Renee was going to be traveling.

She made her rounds saying goodbye to all her pets before grabbing her suitcase and keys and heading to the door.

She sent a text to Allison to let her know she was about to hit the road.

Text sent she said one last goodbye at the door before locking up behind her.

South Carolina, here we come.

Somewhere in New York:

Allison carefully packed her clothes into her bag.

Had she possibly packed too much for her two-week trip? Probably, but she hasn’t seen anyone in a while, and she likes to look good.

Allison checked her phone for the time before grabbing her suitcases and putting them by the door.

She did one last walk-through to make sure she didn’t forget anything before turning all her lights off and grabbing her luggage.

She closed the door and locked it before making her way out of her apartment. 

She sent a text to Renee to let her know she was leaving and got in her car.

Somewhere in Germany:

“Nicky, Liebling, if you don’t get your ass down here we’re going to miss our flight!” 

Nicky swears as he collects his bags in a hurry, his feet pounding down the stairs of his and Erik’s apartment.

Germany had done Nicky a lot of good but he was undeniably excited to head back to the States.

Back to his family.

“I’m ready! I swear!” 

Erik laughed and herded him out the door.

They made it through the security check with 15 minutes to get to their boarding area.

They laughed as they ran through the airport, their luggage flipping and bumping into the back of their legs.

They were the last people on the plane, but they made it.

Nicky was going home.

Somewhere in California:

Kevin lugs both suitcases into the trunk of his car before he helps Amalia into the back seat and gets her buckled into her car seat.

They were driving all the way to South Carolina because Amalia had recently become deathly afraid of planes.

Settling in for the two-day drive, they'd barely made it 30 minutes into the trip before Amalia determined it had been a long time and it was time for snacks.

With a deep breath and a silent prayer to all things holy, Kevin pulled into a gas station to get snacks and have a bathroom break.

He knew the drive would be rough but 'Grandpa Coach' and 'Gran Abby', as Amalia had taken to calling her grandparents (maybe Kevin should have stopped calling them by name), would be more than willing to take Amalia when they got home.

Amalia spent the rest of the 36 hour drive rotating between excitably talking about seeing her aunts and uncles, singing the entire Frozen soundtrack at the top of her little 4 year old lungs, and sleeping.

Somewhere between Kansas and South Carolina:

"If you touch the stereo one more time, Josten, you're losing your hand."

Hands held over the console.

Hand kisses.

Smoke breaks.

Lots of snack breaks.

Neil gets fruit cups and Andrew gets candy.

Their cats joined them for the trip.

Sir sits in Neil's lap the entire ride but King gets the zoomies every 30 miles.

Andrew has to repeatedly remove him from his feet so he stops getting close to the pedals.

They call Bee halfway through the drive to make sure she’ll be there when they get there. She and Andrew chat while Neil takes a bathroom break.

When Neil comes back Andrew’s frame has relaxed a bit further. 

They were both excited to see everyone but that didn’t take away the anxiety of having that big of a group together again.

But the foxes were family and they couldn’t wait to see their family.

Somewhere in North Carolina:

"Okay, and you packed the girls' blankets?"

Katelyn and Aaron may resemble headless chickens trying to get their 13 month old twins together and ready.

Katelyn has been tasked with the girls' things and Aaron has been tasked with actually getting the girls in the car.

One of the twins is passed out in their car seat and the other is sobbing and throwing a fit.

Aaron is trying to calm her down and Katelyn is driving.

It took about an hour to get her to stop crying and when she did Aaron took a deep breath and fell back in his seat.

He rested his head back and closed his eyes, letting the quiet sounds of the road soothe him.

That calmness lasts for a good minute before Katelyn lets out a loud, FUCK!

"I forgot our suitcase!"

Somewhere in South Carolina:

Abby fluffs the decorative pillow for the hundredth time in the past ten minutes. 

She’s already vacuumed and swept every room in their house. She’s gotten all the spare bedrooms ready and taken out all of the blowup mattresses. Most of the kids were staying with them with the exception of those that had kids.

They hadn’t all been together in so long and it felt imperative that the house looked good for everyone.

Wymack came up behind her and gently took the pillow from her hands before setting it back on the couch.

“The place looks amazing, Abby.” 

Abby turned around and shot him a doubtful look.

Wymack laughed roughly and leaned forward to place a careful kiss to her forehead. 

“They’re just going to be happy to be here. I don’t think they’d care if it looked like a pigsty in here. Everything is okay, and you know why?” 

Abby leaned her weight against Wymack’s chest. “Why?”

Wymack pulled back slightly so he could send her a fond smile.

“Our kids are coming home."

[film-in-my-soul]

Fandom: The Sandman | Pairing: Dream/Hob

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[bisexualchaosdemon]

His Brother's Real Laugh

(A look at Andrew and Aaron pre 'It runs in the family')

A little over three years after graduating from PSU, Andrew gets a call from Aaron. It isn't one of the scheduled times they usually have calls, but Aaron is calling to see if Andrew can visit soon. Andrew is in the car before he has even hung up, never mind that his twin lives two states away.

Unsure of how to react to Andrew appearing his doorstep mere hours after Aaron asked him to come, Aaron points out that he is meant to be at practice with his fancy Pros Exy team. Andrew flipped him off and didn't bother with a proper greeting either, "What's wrong?"

"What?" Aaron frowned, confused. "Nothing is wrong."

"Something must but up if you couldn't tell me on our normal brotherly bonding call." Andrew insisted.

"It wanted to speak to you in person, but nothing's wrong," Aaron sighed. "Just come in, I'll make coffee."

"If you try to give me decaf again, I'm going to kill myself on your wife's nice white rug." Andrew warned.

Aaron laughed as he led the way to his small kitchen. "I made sure we had regular coffee when you said you were coming and hung up,"

Andrew nods and watches Aaron make their coffee. Katelyn doesn't appear to be home, but it's not unusual for their schedules to shift out of sync with their medical school graduation now less than a year away. And Aaron didn't look upset or hurt at all; just a little nervous.

Andrew allowed his brother a moment to collect himself, just until they sat down with their drinks. "What's going on, Aaron?" He asked again.

"Kate's pregnant," Aaron answered at last.

Oh. Andrew had not been expecting that. He didn't react outwardly, unsure what reaction was appropriate here.

"Is this good news?" He asked.

"I think so?" Aaron shrugged. "I've spent the last week freaking out, in all honesty. We are meant to finally be starting our careers now so the timing isn't ideal, and after everything with Tilda... But, I think it's good, yeah. I think I can do this, if it's Kate I'm doing it with."

"If anyone can pull off becoming a doctor and a mother in the same year, it's Katelyn." Andrew acknowledged. As much as he had hated Katelyn at first, he had come to understand why Aaron loved her over the years. They weren't besties, but Andrew had been Aaron's best man when they got married.

"She is a force of nature," Aaron smiled into his coffee. The twins have never, and would never, admit that they shared a love of fiery redheads.

"And you are more capable than you give yourself credit for," Andrew said. "I know you can do this, irrespective of timing or what happened in the past."

"I–" Aaron blinked at Andrew in surprise. It was a minute before he was able to answer, "Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me for the truth." Andrew gave him a small, rare smile. "Congratulations, Aaron."

Katelyn came home later on while they were chatting, and Andrew extended her that same congratulations. She thanked his brightly as she came to join them, plopping down next to her husband and putting her feet in his lap. Aaron started rubbing them without even pausing their conversation.

Aaron insisted that Andrew at least stay the night once they were done talking. Andrew agreed after texting his own husband to assure the silly rabbit that he was actually alive, if in a different state than when they last spoke. And that he hated him, after Neil had responded with something sappy in Russian.

It was the next morning that Andrew had suggested Aaron and Katelyn move to be in the same city after graduation. He could see the surprise and hesitation on their faces and held up a hand to stop them responding. They had nine months to figure it out, but he wanted to help if he could and he missed living in the same state as his brother. He just wanted them to consider it for now.

They put a pin in the topic there. They talked about other things over the coming weeks instead. Any high or low, Andrew listened to anything Aaron wanted to talk about. He even ordered food to be delivered to Katelyn a couple of times when Aaron was worried she wasn't taking enough breaks from studying but didn't know how to help.

So when Aaron's name popped up on his phone the same afternoon he knew Katelyn's first ultrasound was due to take place, Andrew was on high alert immediately. "Is something wrong?"

"What?" Aaron was just as confused as he had been last time Andrew greeted him in that manner.

"Katelyn had her scan today and you are calling," Andrew explained. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Aaron breathed out the slightest chuckle. "No, not wrong."

"But there is a reason you called," Andrew prompted, not quite a question.

"Yeah, uh," Aaron sounded dazed. "We're having twins."

Things so rarely went well for the Minyard twins, it was a startling relief that Aaron wasn't calling with bad news. He was just calling to freak out about the shock of finding out he was having twins when he only just stopped panicking about having one kid.

"Maybe it runs in the family," Andrew remarked. He thought Aaron having twins was objectively hilarious.

"Maybe the universe is just fucking with us," Aaron suggested with a playful groan.

And Andrew laughed. A real, genuinely happy laugh. Aaron had never heard his brother laugh like that before. "Us? No, this one is all you, brother mine. I've never been so happy to be the gay twin."

And then Aaron was laughing too. "You're the asshole twin, is what you are."

<<Pt.1 Pt.2 Pt.3>>

MASTERPOST

[jtl-fics]

Fluent Freshman - Part 23

PREVIOUS

There were a few reasons that Andrew and Neil could not get past reception to go see FF or get updates on his current condition.

The first reason was that visiting hours were long over by the time they had arrived a little after midnight.

The second reason was that hospitals, in general, don’t just give out information on their patients to any random person that walks in and asks for an update on their condition. They are ESPECIALLY hesitant to give out updates on patients when the people who are asking can’t give you anything other than a first name, general description, and the reason that the patient is in the hospital.

Somehow “Completely average looking guy with the last name Smith who was stabbed in the stomach” is not enough for the receptionist to go off of.

“There are multiple people here that fit that description. I would need at least a first and last name before I could even begin to start seeing if you were someone who we even could give updates to. No, I will not continue to play your fun little game of guess the first name.” She says when Andrew opens his mouth to start listing off names alphabetically again.

So now Andrew and Neil found themselves under the watchful eye of a security guard as they sat in the back corner of the front reception area.

“I can’t believe we still don’t know what Smith’s first name is.” Neil says his face is buried in his hands as he and Andrew sit in the uncomfortable chairs trying to figure out where to go from here.

“I think she knows exactly who we want to see.” Andrew scowls towards the receptionist who, long used to the ire of the public, pays him no mind. Andrew just refused to believe that there were that many brown haired, brown eyed, average height and weight guys who had suffered a stab wound to the stomach that would have been admitted in the last two hours.

“I just hope they actually are looking after him and that no one went and forgot about him in an hallway somewhere.” Neil says hands sliding up into his hair to grip.

“That wouldn’t happen.” Andrew dismisses despite knowing that Wymack had ABSOLUTELY forgotten FF at a stadium once during the period where FF had been low presence to keep his family from bothering him.

The U-turn he had pulled had definitely been illegal when FF called and asked where the bus was when they had been on the road for five minutes. Wymack had felt terrible about it but FF had just seemed relieved that the bus had come back for him.

Wymack.

Andrew pulls out his phone and dials a familiar number. Wymack, reliable as always, picks up on the fourth ring with the sound of cursing as he got the phone up to his ear. “What.” He asks and Andrew can hear the sounds of driving and Kevin’s infamously train-like snoring in the background.

“What’s Smith first name. You know it.” Andrew demands.

“Classified.” Wymack clips back immediately.

“I need to know it so that we can get updates.” Andrew hisses.

“He isn’t interested in people knowing it and you wouldn’t be able to get updates anyways.” Wymack dismisses.

“We want to be able to head back to see him.” Neil tries.

“Visiting hours are long over Josten. You know that I’m not settling that bet that you little fuckers have floating around about this.” Wymack responds back.

Andrew grits his teeth and then forces himself to relax his jaw, “It’s not about the bet.” Andrew shuts his eyes in irritation.

That stupid bet.

The betting culture within the Palmetto State Foxes Exy team that Reynold’s had cultivated held strong even after her graduation with the remaining Foxes. The Bet had started when one of the other freshmen had mentioned that it was funny that FF went around like Cher or Madonna. The realization that none of them knew FF’s first name was one that had them placing bets on a multitude of things. Things like: “Do you wanna bet it’s a super normal boring name?”, “Do you wanna bet that it’s a weird foreign name?”, and “Is FF intentionally not giving it out to people or since he goes by his last name normally he has no idea that anything is amiss?” Had lower pools since you were betting on a spectrum. The bet with the highest pool is: “What is FF’s first name”.

Wymack had categorically refused to answer it and all other attempts to discover FF’s first name had been met with frustration. There was a solemn agreement that no one could just go and outright ask him since that would ruin all of the fun. Andrew had agreed to not ask when the team had collectively filled his freezer with ice cream cake and he was a man of his word.

The general belief (after the revelation of his major and the number of languages FF spoke) was that FF’s name was just not easy to pronounce for English speakers.

Andrew hadn’t participated but he know that the Foxes do have a running list of names they know it’s not. (Greg, Will, Smith (again), Matt, Kevin, Neil, Andrew, Aaron, Nathaniel, Jack, Beyonce (Sheena’s drunken guess), Nicholas, John, Fred, Garfield, Frank, Alfred, Augustus, Adam, etc. (Andrew had been trying to guess with the receptionist for a while))

“You’re coming here aren’t you? We can get updates when you get them.” Neil says.

“He’s in emergency surgery right now and will remain there for the next few hours most likely. There’s not going to be any updates hopefully.” Wymack says with a sigh loud enough that they can hear it over Kevin’s snoring.

“Surgery? He needs surgery?” Neil asks sounding surprised s if FF hadn’t been stabbed to the hilt into his stomach with one of Andrew’s knives. He’s about to give Neil some shit for the question before remembering that if there was any person who would think that a stab wound to the stomach wouldn’t necessitate surgery it would be Neil “I’m Fine” Josten.

“Yes Josten, he needs surgery. They have to stitch up his stomach and the surgeons are also going to be dealing with some of the ulcers that were ruptured by the knife.” Wymack explains likely coming to the same conclusion that Andrew had on Neil’s stupid question. “They were a bit worried about him bleeding out but he stabilized before the surgery.” Wymack sighs.

“I’m going the hospital since I’m Smith’s medical proxy. If anything goes wrong with the surgery I want to be there so I can make an informed decision on his care.” Wymack says and… Andrew figured there’d be surgery but to hear it and the possibility that something could go wrong, that the last thing FF had said to him had been something non-sensical about “Gracie Hart wouldn’t have gotten stabbed. I’m Cheryl at best.”as he’d started succumbing to all the blood loss. “If you could stick around long enough for me to drop Kevin off with you I would appreciate it.” Wymack says.

“What if he needs a blood transfusion?” Andrew says.

“Smith is AB-, it’s the second easiest blood type to transfuse into. Go home Andrew.” Wymack repeats.

Andrew works his jaw irritated that there didn’t seem to be a path to getting his way.

“We’ll stay here until you get here.” Andrew agrees, “But you’ll get an update before we leave.” He adds.

Wymack sighs, “Fair enough.” He says before hanging up.

It’s 45 minutes of waiting and tossing a few more name possibilities at the receptionist who seems more amused than anything at their continued attempts to guess their friend’s first name (Neil goes through the entire list of names that he’s gone by and none of them get the thumbs up).

Wymack comes through the doors with a half awake Kevin Day following his steps. “I have another favor to ask you.” Wymack says instead of any form of greeting.

“I’m not going to leave Kevin in the car overnight again. It was just that one time.” Andrew says with a roll of his eyes and honestly he’d been punished enough listening to Kevin bitch, moan, and sneeze for the following week while talking about all the supplements he was taking.

“Not that,” Wymack pauses, “I have two favors to ask you. First don’t do that. Second, would you be able to pick up Smith’s grandma from the airport tomorrow?” He asks.

Andrew blinks.

“She’s coming here?” He asks.

“I updated her on my way here. She booked a flight and will be arriving around noon tomorrow.” Wymack says and Andrew doesn’t know why he’s confused by this. FF’s grandma got him two still warm pies to cheer him up on Thanksgiving.

He’d stabbed that woman’s grandson.

“I’ll pick her up.” He agrees.

Shorter one today

NEXT

MASTERPOST FOR ALL PARTS OF FLUENT FRESHMAN AU

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The requests to be added to the tag list keep being spread out across a few different areas. If I missed you please just ask again in the replies I promise I just missed you.

As stated before if you’re up here and I spelled it right but you didn’t get a notification there might be something switched around in your settings that won’t let me tag you properly?

[coffeeco001]

He woke up alone. It was pretty normal for him so he didn't think much about it. Neil liked to get up at the asscrack of morning to go on runs before work. Andrew had the day off today, and he didn't have any plans. It'd be stupid to admit he was half hoping Neil would sleep in a little bit. Give his addiction a rest and spend some time with him.

Getting himself into the mindset that Neil wasn't just a far off dream had taken alot of time. Letting himself get comfortable sharing his space with a man was an adjustment. LIVING alone with him was a life changer. Andrew wasn't an affectionate person. He didn't let himself care what Neil did with his time. To an extent. When the rabbit spent all day training with Kevin, he'd admit that he tries to bribe Neil into coming home.

Home. Their home. That they shared. Together. It was a mess. Getting himself out of the comfort of their bed was a chore, but there was shit to do. And Neil clearly wasn't going to do it.

Hours passed by and he still wasn't back. His practices for the day should've ended by now but it wasn't suspicious for Neil to be a little late. The dumbass might be trying to run home. If he forgot the Maserati in the parking lot again, Andrew was going to make him sleep on the couch.

More hours. More waiting. Neil should've been back by now. Andrew did his best to ignore the fear creeping into his stomach. The worry. Neil's father was gone. Most of his inner circle had been taken down. His contract with the Moriyamas was solid. But he had no reason to be this late.

Andrew had to actively restrain himself from checking his phone every 10 seconds. There were no new texts. No missed calls. At ten he gave up being patient. He sent one message.

'Where are you'

Nothing.

At eleven, Andrew started planning Neil's funeral. If he wasn't dead already, Andrew was going to kill him. He casually called Kevin, Matt, and Renee and mentioned him, but no one seemed to have been around him recently. At midnight, the worry was so palpable Andrew could almost sink his teeth in it. He was losing his control. His fingers kept twitching for a cigarette, but if he left the house to smoke and Neil slipped inside, he might miss it.

Taking a deep breath, he smothered the worry and let something else fester. Rage. Rage he could feed off of. Where the fuck was he. What had happened that was so big that Neil couldn't leave a text. Not one call. No note. Not one single bit of god damn information. Andrew was going to rip him apart. He was going to bury him 6 feet under. He was going to make an example of him. Everyone would see just how fucking serious Andrew was.

Giving in to his own addiction, Andrew stormed outside, pack in hand. Flinging the door open hard, there was a thump. Neil fucking good as dead Josten. Sitting on their god damn doorstep. Exhaling a sigh of relief, and frustration, he mentally berated himself for not checking outside, Andrew stepped out and closed the door behind him slowly. Almost gently, if not for how hard his hand was shaking.

Neil looked up at him, there was no suprise on his face or phone in his hand. Silently, Andrew held his own phone up. Neil fumbled for his in his pocket and opened it. Dead. Go figure. Andrew was going to staple a fucking charge to Neil's dumb ass piece of shit useless hand.

There was a package by Neil, but Andrew ignored his curiosity for the sake of being mad. Not a word had been spoken. Neil knew better than to give excuses by now, so Andrew did what he did best. He waited. He stared at Andrew for a long time before sighing.

"You're angry."

"No fucking shit, Josten."

Neil looked away, for a moment before turning all the way around in his spot and holding a hand out to Andrew. The temptation to slap his hand was overwhelming. He could slap it, go back inside, lock the door, and leave Neil's sorry ass on the doorstep. If he wanted to sit there all night and feel sorry for himself, that was fine by Andrew. Serves him right for not saying shit.

But Andrew took it. Because Andrew is stupid. And Andrew needed something to hold on to to steady himself for when he was going to fucking gut him. He let Neil pull him down into a crouch next to him. They were close, close enough he could feel Neil's breath on his nose. He stared at the circles under Neil's eyes, his face was really pale. Andrew did not let himself give one shit. Let him be miserable. He deserved it.

Neil held Andrew's wrist and turned his hand so it was palm up and dropped the bag into Andrew's waiting hand. That was it? No explanation. Just whatever shit Neil picked up when he was out ignoring him. Andrew shredded the bag and found a small box in it. And then he knew.

"Is that a fucking ring, Josten?"Neil let out a long sigh and nodded.

"That was a bullshit proposal." Andrew grounded the words out around clenched teeth. Where were the feelings of joy? He'd read about proposals and had seen them. He wasn't overcome with the urge to cry. Or hug Neil, he didn't care what the ring looked like. He was pissed off, he was tired, it was cold as hell outside, and it was 12:30 in the fucking morning.

"I had to drive pretty far out to find the ring shop I wanted." Neil's voice was soft and hesitant. He was waiting for Andrew to tell him to go to hell as much as Andrew was.

"I'm not marrying you, Josten. Weddings are an expensive waste of time."

"So you don't want it?"

"Fuck off. I'm keeping it."

Neil's smile was way too happy for Andrew to stomach. Yanking his wrist out of his grasp, he stood up. Going back inside, he could feel more than hear Neil following him. After making sure the door was closed and locked, Andrew put the ring on his bedside table. He didn't open the box to see what disgusting shiny waste of money and promises Neil bought. And he didn't let himself hope.

He got changed and climbed into bed silently while Neil was in the shower. When he felt Neil fall into bed next to him he was tempted still to tell him to fuck off. He was always tempted to. Josten didn't deserve to be in bed with him after that bullshit. But he couldn't stop himself from rolling over and moving closer to Neil, reaching out an arm to pull him up against Andrew's cold body.

He hated Neil. One day, he was going to kill him. But for now? He was cold. He pressed a light kiss on Neil's shoulder and fell asleep to dreams of strangling the man next to him.

One day. But not tonight.

[andreilscat]

Vampire Andrew

'What's wrong, Drew?'

Even without hearing an answer, Neil could tell that Andrew was not doing okay.

'Is it time?' Neil continued, not taking his eyes off Andrew, patiently waiting for a reaction. And soon enough, there it was.

Andrew's fingers twitched, dropping the book he had been reading for the past hour. His eyes turned red, for only a second, but enough for Neil to get his answer.

He came close to Andrew, who was sitting on the floor, supposedly determined to ignore Neil for as long as possible, keeping a bored expression on his face.

'You have to, Drew.' Neil said, as he sat right in front of him, leaning in so that their faces were mere centimeters apart.

He knew how hard it was for him, not wanting to feed on the human blood. He would go on for days without it, no matter how tormenting it was for him.

'Drew,' Neil whispered, once again, and this time Andrew was on the move, he reached for Neil's hand but froze in place the second 'No' left Neil's mouth.

He started to move away but was stopped by Neil who was now crawling onto his lap, exposing his neck to him.

'Do it properly.' Neil murmured, letting his eyes fall shut.

Andrew dropped a small kiss on Neil's neck before sinking his teeth deep into it.

A sigh left Neil's lips, his fingers trailing to rest on Andrew's back. Until, eventually, they found their way into Andrew's hair and started pulling on the soft, blond strands.

Andrew was desperate, holding onto the front of Neil's shirt tightly with one hand, as his other one held Neil's jaw in place, keeping his head turned. He continued to drink, and the pain started to subside.

From time to time he would stop to give Neil's neck a long, slow lick, ghosting a kiss over the bruised skin here and there.

His head was spinning when he finally pulled away to look up at Neil's glistering eyes.

Neil bit down on his lip harshly, until he could feel blood dripping down his neck. Andrew followed each drop with hungry eyes before Neil leaned in, capturing his lips in a slow kiss.

This time Andrew's hands found their place on Neil's waist, squeezing his sides as he pulled him even closer. Small gasps leaving their mouths as the kiss became harsher, all teeth, blood, and bruised lips.

When they pulled away, they were both covered in red, their heavy breaths filling the room. Neil closed his eyes as he brought their foreheads together, wrapping his arms tightly around Andrew.

''That was amazing,'' Neil mumbled, planting his chin on top of Andrew's head.

Andrew let out a sound of disapproval, which did not fool Neil for a second, given that he was already nuzzling his face into Neil's neck.

''Shut the fuck up, Neil. Go to sleep.''

[thornilee013]

Chapter One of 101 Ways Not to Say I Do is officially up on ao3!

Summary: As it turns out, people get a little pissed off if you don’t tell them you got married. Even more so when they find out that you don’t even have wedding bands. Hopefully Nicky can explain this in a way that will get through Andrew and Neil’s thick skulls.

Andrew Minyard was not a morning person. That was Neil's role, with his morning runs every day, regardless of the weather. The only mornings Andrew tolerated being awake to witness were when Neil would return from his run, rinse off in the shower, and crawl back into bed with his hair still damp. Or when Sir and King had settled down in a perfect spot on the bed, where they weren't quite touching him, but close enough for him to enjoy their extra warmth, especially as the seasons started to change and the weather started to get colder. Of course, he would never admit such things, even if he was being held at gunpoint. 

One of the situations that made mornings bearable for Andrew Minyard was certainly not the one he found himself in that morning: on the phone with his very loud cousin.

"Andrew, I need you to get your ass to the airport right now."

Andrew cast a glance at the clock on his bedside table. It spelled out 4:42 in its obnoxious, square font.

"Care to tell me why?" Andrew asked, his voice rough from the handful of hours of disuse.

"Because you're going to pick me up and have a nice, long chat with me on the way back," Nicky said.

Andrew paused and tapped his finger against the back of his phone. "You didn't tell me you were going to be visiting."

"Well, you didn't tell me that you and Neil got married," Nicky shouted back, prompting Andrew to hold the phone a bit further from his ear.

Read more here!!!

[otdiaftg]

The King's Men - Chapter Eleven

Day: Thursday, February 15th Time: 9:00 PM EST

Neil was on the last one when there was a single rap at his door. It wasn't Kevin's imperious knock or Nicky's enthusiastic rat-tat-tat, but the upperclassmen wouldn't drop by when Matt and Dan were both out. Neil pushed his schoolwork aside and went to investigate. Andrew stood in the hallway, hands stuffed inside the front pocket of a dark hoodie. Neil opened the door wider and stepped out of the way. Andrew glanced past him before entering the room. Neil guessed he was looking for an audience, so explained, "Matt went out with Dan for a couple hours. Are you coming with us to the court?" "Entertain yourself tonight." Andrew invited himself the kitchen and opened the fridge. "Kevin is too drunk to curse your name, much less stand up and hold a racquet." "He what?" Neil asked, but Andrew didn't waste his breath repeating it. Neil looked down the hall like he could somehow see Kevin in his wretched state. "Coward." "Don't sound surprised," Andrew said. "It is nothing new." "I thought I'd gotten through to him last time," Neil admitted. He closed the door and propped his shoulder against the kitchen doorframe. "On a scale of one to ten, how bad do you think this will get?" "How bad can it?" Andrew returned. "Riko can't kill you yet, and Moriyama already told the Raven fans to stay out of it." "They could still disqualify us somehow," Neil said. "They got their showdown last October. Since they don't think we can make it to finals there's no reason for them to tolerate us any longer." "They don't have a choice anymore. If the Ravens don't let us run our course there will always be room for doubt and speculations. The Ravens can't share their throne with what-ifs. They have to be supreme victors." Andrew gave that a moment to sink in before saying, "I'm undecided." "About our chances this spring?" Neil asked. Andrew held his hands palm-up between them. "The thought that you've unintentionally conned them into this corner is intolerable, as it means you're stupider than even I gave you credit for. If you did it knowingly, however, you're cleverer than you've led me to believe. That means the Ravens aren't the only ones you're playing with. One of these is the lesser evil." "Not everything's a con," Neil said. Andrew didn't answer, but Neil read his calm expression as disbelief. Neil considered defending himself and decided it a waste of energy. Andrew wouldn't believe him anyway. "Which one is the lesser evil?" "I'm undecided," Andrew said again. "That's helpful," Neil muttered. "You could just ask." "Why bother?" Andrew asked with a slight shrug. "I'll figure it out eventually."

Art used with permission by Emry-stars-art. Thank you @emry-stars-art!

[merceyca]

Driving lesson

Neil takes Robin for a drive on one of her bad days

Campus was dead. The street lights were holding a glowing orange-and-white vigil around the empty parking lot while a single car idled in one of the parking spaces. The engine was warm, steam visibly escaping the gaps around the hood until the driver removed the keys from the ignition and held them out in offering to the passenger.

Only the lack of an audience made Robin feel comfortable enough to take the car keys off of Neil and manoeuvre herself into the driver’s seat. They could have easily gotten out of the car and swapped seats the sensible way, instead of performing their complicated over-under move atop the console, but Neil got the sense that Robin didn’t want the car doors unlocked tonight. It was a bad day.

Even though the cheery canary-yellow car was Robin’s, it was hers in name alone. Neil had been the only person to drive it in months. He didn’t mind driving it around, but Neil wasn’t going to be at Palmetto next year, so Robin desperately needed this practice behind the wheel.

‘That’s it,’ Neil encouraged as Robin eased off the brake. ‘You remember the way to the court?’

Robin nodded. ‘Left at the intersection.’

‘Blinker on?’

‘There’s no one behind me.’

‘Robin.’

Robin smirked and flicked the blinker on. ‘Sorry, Cap.’

The jokes were a good sign. On Robin’s really bad days Neil struggled to get more than a few words out of her. She had come a long way.

With her dwindling driving confidence, Robin wasn’t going to be drag racing any time soon, but Neil would feel better leaving her if she could—at the very least—make it to the court on her own.

Robin drove carefully; eyes alert, hands in the ten-and-two o’clock position, red speedometer needle hovering right at the speed limit. Neil only ever saw this kind of intensity from her on the court, but after her day of languishing in bed, it was a relief to see her slowly coming back to herself.

‘Is it left here or the next one?’ Robin asked.

‘Next one,’ Neil told her. ‘After the—’

‘After the sushi train. Yeah, I remember now.’

They were silent as Robin made the turn—blinker on—before Neil decided to push his luck. ‘Are you still not hungry?’

‘I ate that apple you gave me earlier,’ Robin replied, a little defensive.

‘Maybe we could get something from the convenience store on ring road? If I don’t pick up Andrew’s ice cream he might never visit again on principle.’

Robin frowned. ‘I thought Andrew wasn’t coming until Thursday?’

‘It is Thursday,’ Neil said gently. ‘His flight got in two hours ago. Aaron’s dropping him back at the tower later.’

‘Oh, okay,’ Robin murmured. ‘We can make a stop, I guess.’

‘Thank you,’ Neil said. As usual, Andrew had been the magic word. Robin put up with Neil looking after her most of the time, but only Andrew could motivate her to look after herself.

—

Robin and Neil returned to their dorm to find the door unlocked. Keeping Robin behind him, Neil entered first, on high alert until he spotted Andrew’s black-clad figure reclining on the couch.

‘Hey,’ Neil said, aware that he was failing to restrain his smile.

Andrew’s look was unimpressed. ‘Have neither of you ever heard of a hamper?’

Out of the corner of Neil’s eye, he saw Robin glance over at the mound of denim Andrew indicated with a wave. Neil was too busy drinking Andrew in with his eyes.

‘Oh, you mean the jeans corner,’ Robin said.

‘I give up on both of you,’ Andrew informed them.

Neil held up the bag in his hand. ‘Even if there’s a pint of chocolate fudge brownie in here?’

Andrew’s stare turned heated, making Robin giggle into the next bite of her sandwich. ‘Should I retreat to the bedroom with an action movie and The Good Headphones?’ she asked, dodging the kick Neil aimed at her ankle.

‘Children,’ Andrew scoffed, but Neil caught the pleased undertone beneath the scorn. He took that to mean that things had gone well with Aaron.

Neil tossed the tub of ice cream at Andrew and watched him snatch it from the air with ease. Robin took another bite of her sandwich as she joined Andrew on the couch.

Andrew said, ‘Staring.’

Robin said, ‘Get the man a spoon.’

Neil felt warm all over.

[stabbyfoxandrew]

Mer roadtrip please!!!

- @aftgphoenix

WIP Wednesday (2/5) | Mer Roadtrip AU (Part 109)

They drive silently while the night and near death experience sit heavy on them both. It's well past one in the morning when they hit Utah. Neil directs Andrew to a small, out of the way town with the atlas. But otherwise, neither of them speaks much.

When Andrew pulls up to a hotel, Neil doesn't argue over the price or try to talk him down into a shittier place. He just looks up at the building before wearily climbing out of the car with his bag held against his chest. He leads the way inside, goes to the front desk. He has an ID now and the receptionist doesn't give him shit when he asks for a room with a couple beds. She just smiles and slides a key card across the counter top, tells him to have a good stay.

Their room is on the second floor and Neil didn't argue about that either. Usually he prefers to stay on the ground level, but he couldn't be bothered to ask. He barely had the give-a-fuck to remember he's got Andrew trailing behind him, barely remembered they needed a double room. He thought he was trapped. He was planning Andrew's death in that office. Well, not really. But... He was planning to get away by any meaning necessary.

He would've let Andrew take the heat, take a bullet, take whatever the fuck Lola had planned for him. And Andrew's the one who got them both out of there alive, with no bullet holes or fatal wounds. Not so much as a scratch on them. 

Shame burns hot in Neil's stomach. Or perhaps it's indigestion from the enormous lunch they had. Either way, he's not a fan. Neil reaches their door and unlocks it, allowing Andrew in first before he shuts the door behind him before and engages both locks.

Andrew sets his bag on the bed furthest from the door and stretches his arms over his head. Neil watches him roll his neck, his shoulders. Then Andrew gives him a look.

"We lived, Neil. Try not to be so down about it."

Neil swallows. "It was a close call. That's all."

"Mm. But we lived. They're still waiting for you to show up in Vegas. They have no idea you've come and gone already. We're almost four hours out and they're clueless. We'll be back to Columbia before those bozos figure it out." Andrew says, looking smug about it. Neil wishes he could believe him.

"The dress was quick thinking, I'll give you that." Neil tells him. Andrew puffs up a bit at the praise. "But where did Joe come from?"

"It's my middle name. Joseph. Only use if when I have to." Andrew drawls, looking pleased with himself. It takes a moment for Neil to remember that's exactly how he'd given up 'Abram' a couple days ago. "I figured any potential criminals shouldn't know my first name, even if it's one of the most common and boring ones in the world."

Neil nods at that, because Angela had announced their names to his stalkers hadn't she? Well, she said Joe and Nellie— which was offensive to him, couldn't she have come up with something better? It was smart of Andrew not to give up his name. Neil sets his bag down and starts towards the bathroom, but Andrew holds a hand up.

"Woah, Nellie. I'm going first," he says with a sharp-toothed grin. Neil sticks his tongue in his cheek.

"Don't call me that."

"It's our fake wedding night, I'll call you whatever I like." Andrew says, jabbing a finger in Neil's direction. He laughs his way into the bathroom and Neil rolls his eyes, maybe he should've let Lola shoot Andrew. Just a little.

[ok555ficideas]

Andrew & Nicky therapy pt.2

“Hello, boys. I’m happy to see you here together again.” Bee said. “The last session got away from us and that’s on me. I’m so sorry for that.” She said and waited, looking if one of them wanted to say something. “Today we will try something different.” She turned her attention to Nicky. “Nicky, you said last time that you felt like Andrew didn’t consider you guys as his family. Would you like to elaborate on that?” She asked. 

Nicky looked startled by that question. “I didn’t mean that. I know it’s hard for him to express his emotions and I get why. I know he is capable of caring about people and he is getting better at showing that. I could see it in the way he protected Kevin and struck a weird friendship with Renee or how he is now with Aaron. Don’t even get me started on Neil.” Nicky said and he sounded proud. 

Andrew hated the way it made him feel, because it felt good. He wanted Nicky to be proud of him and that was infuriating. 

“What about you?” Bee asked Nicky. 

“What about me?” Nicky said, looking down and playing with a hair tie he held in his hands. 

“Do you feel like Andrew cares about you?” Bee elaborated. 

Nicky scoffed at that and his leg started moving up and down. 

“No. I know he doesn’t and that’s okay. Doesn’t change the fact that I care about him.” NIcky said and Andrew felt some kind of pain in his chest. 

It was a weird feeling. One that he wasn’t very familiar with, but one that happened before. He felt it when he sat for hours outside of the bathroom in Columbia with Aaron crying on the other side, begging him to let him out. He felt it when he looked into Kevin’s eyes after almost choking the striker to death. He had his suspicion about what that feeling was, but did not dare to name it. 

“Andrew,” Bee’s gentle voice brought him back to the present. “Would you like to address what Nicky just said?”

Andrew shook his head. 

Bee nodded and looked at her notes. “Okay, then. I know you said last week that what Nicky did to Neil didn’t make you feel anything, but I would like you to try again.” 

Andrew sighed at that. He knew it was coming. It was why they were here after all. 

“I meant it when I said it makes me want to stab him, because I know that if I don’t he’s going to do it again to someone else. He probably already did.” Andrew said and saw Nicky opening his mouth to defend himself, but didn’t let him. “ There were six kids throughout the years in Cass’s home after me. They always do it again.” 

Nicky shut his mouth and it took him a minute to reply. “I get where you're coming from, Andrew.“ Nicky said with great difficulty. “I still don’t think it’s the same.” He added quietly. 

“That’s how it starts.” Andrew replied. “First you make them feel uncomfortable. ‘It’s just a comment, it’s harmless.’ Then you start to grope them, because ‘look at those muscles, how can I not?’. Then you kiss them even though they don’t want it, because you’re in a crowded club, drunk out of your ass and the next thing you know you are r*ping your seven year old foster kid.” Andrew said without thinking. 

“Seven?” Nicky asked, his eyes blown wide. “Weren’t you at the Speers when you were twelve?” Andrew looked away, but could still see Nicky’s face turn into sorrow. 

His cousin was about to open his mouth, but Andrew stopped him again. “Don’t.” He said. “Don’t you dare pity me.” 

Nicky nodded and Andrew decided to just go for it. He was already vulnerable enough, why not just add the final nail to his coffin. “F*ck it.” He said, turning to Nicky and looking him straight in the eyes. “ Your house in Columbia was the first place where I have ever felt safe. You bought me a lock to my bedroom door and it changed everything. You were never a property to me, Nicky. You were my family and you ruined that.” 

Nicky had tears streaming down his face. “I’m so sorry.” Nicky said through a sob. 

“I don’t need your apologies.” Andrew said, looking away again. 

“Then what do you need, Andrew? I’ll do anything. You want me to go to Germany, I’ll be out of here tomorrow. You want to stab me, I’ll let you. Just tell me what to do to fix it and I’ll do it.” 

“Get out.” Andrew said and saw Nicky nodding with so much hurt in his eyes. “I’ll see you here next week.” Andrew added. 

Nicky looked up at him with so much hope, Andrew had to try really hard not to punch him in the face. 

[constelationprize]

ROBIN/ELODIE ??????

if this about to be like my eva josten/adèle moreau scenario i will cry then ask u to please marry me.

i need this more than i need air. u don’t understand. i love u. ur the freaking best. tell me more.

Yeah that one came to me in a vision.

The thing is that like most of my other niche rarepairings I just cannot resist the allure of Narrative Parallels™. Mostly I just realized how similar Elodie and Robin's stories are (in concept) and that they could actually be around the same age (considering Elodie would be around 15-16yo in 2007 and Robin joins the Foxes in 2009 after Kevin graduates, and assuming Robin didn't get held back due to the Horrors, that would put them at around a 1-2 year age difference).

So the basic concept for the AU is that Elodie survives and is rescued by Stuart during TSC and then brought over to the USA to live with Jean and the Trojans. This goes about as well as you would expect, which is to say not at all – she's heavily traumatized, barely speaks English for the first couple years, and is resistant to any kind of help that would result in her having to leave Jean's side. She also at first does not want anything to do with the other Trojans at all because she sees most of them as adults she can't trust and also resents them for monopolizing Jean's time, and none of these college sports players is anywhere near qualified for unpacking All of That.

Elodie and Jean effectively make each other's recovery worse for a long while because they immediately try and fall back to their childhood dynamic, which can no longer work for multiple reasons. But through Betsy Dobson all things are possible and eventually they get to a point where they aren't actively standing in each other's way anymore, though things are still Not Good.

It gets tough again when Jean graduates and they move out of LA, which just uproots what little stability Elodie had again, and he has developed a need to constantly check on her that cannot be good for his now even busier pro player schedule. Also, Elodie is almost 18, and at a point where she should be graduating high school and thinking about her future, which she very much is not doing because until a couple years ago she didn't even HAVE a future so she doesn't really know what to do with it.

They start floating the possibility of getting her into a community college or something in the state Jean's in, but eventually the possibility of having some strings pulled to get her into PSU is brought up, and Elodie latches onto it immediately, mostly because she both feels stifled by Jean's helicopter parenting AND kind of wants to punish him for not actually spending time with her by moving away. Jean doesn't want to let her, but he also doesn't really have a choice, and PSU might be far but at least he knows Elodie will have people there to reach out to if she needs it.

Joke's on Elodie though because going to college to annoy your brother does mean she just conned herself into taking classes and figuring out what to do with her life now and she has to do it while dodging 20 phone calls per hour. Anyway now that she's on PSU she has to learn how to do human person things like making friends. She ends up joining a roller derby team as a combo meeting people-getting exercise-venting anger deal.

Robin, on the other hand, is going through a similar situation where Andrew just graduated, and Neil is in his last year, so she's about to lose her anchors at PSU. Once Neil graduates, she won't have anyone to night practice with anymore, so she also joins the roller derby team to fill in her nights, in a way of trial-running how to maintain some sense of routine and normalcy and maybe make some friends as well.

And that is how the world's saddest most traumatized girls meet. They have no idea who the other really is at first because Elodie doesn't follow exy out of spite and they also don't tell each other their full names because they are very googlable and the team is for both of them a way to finding who they are outside of what happened to them, so they don't want to invite the past in there.

Neil figures it out pretty fast though, since he's been keeping an eye on Elodie, but he tells no one because he thinks it's going to be funny when Andrew and Jean (who absolutely hate each other) discover they're dating (He's right). The basic idea I have is that everyone kind of finds out at the same time when Andrew and Jean play against each other in a nearby city and both Elodie and Robin come to watch and it's a very spiderman pointing meme moment all around.

Getting to truly know each other then is a blessing and a curse because the similarities between their stories are as important as the differences. Elodie would have given everything to have parents that would want her back home and want to protect her and Robin would kill to have her family understand and relate to her trauma the way Jean does. Elodie genuinely cannot understand Robin's guilt over escaping by dooming another girl because she would have actively killed without remorse to break out. Robin doesn't get why Elodie is bitter over having to be rescued when she used to dream about someone finding and saving her. It's a very "grass is always greener on the other side" situation, and they clash a lot, but eventually they work it out.

I'm also thinking of having Robin being conflicted over whether she wants or even is capable of going pro (since as per the EC she technically wasn't good enough to be recruited if not for Andrew's constant endorsement). I'm not sure what Elodie would be majoring in, but that's fine because neither is Elodie. So that's something else they're both dealing with.

That's mostly what I have so far, I'm hoping some day this fic will grow a plot that can hold my attention so I can actually write it.

[paradoxolotl]

OH PARA MY DARLING!!! :))))

For the writer ask can I beg to see a snippet of Neil being banned from another coffee shop (Andrew's maybe 👀) or what led to him being banned from half the coffee shops?? (From Sugar, Spice, and Corporate Espionage)

My beloved PAS ♥️

Unusual Asks for Sugar, Spice, and Corporate Espionage

~

“Sir.”

Neil took a slow sip of his coffee. Only his third cup of the day. Or hour. He couldn’t remember anymore. The beauty of a deadline he had pretended to prepare for rearing it’s ten hours until due highlight covered head? Kevin’s “inhuman level of coffee consumption” ban was lifted.

Not that Neil followed it all that closely anyways. What did Kevin know.

“Sir.”

He flicked his eyes up and to the left, hand still blindly typing away at his keyboard. He had a word count to hit after all. The familiar death glare of a service employee not paid enough to give a proper fuck but forced to anyways waited for him. Usually, Neil continued silence turned most people away, or at least made them uncomfortable enough to spit out whatever they decided was worth interrupting him over. But this one only glowered harder, jaw setting.

“Ma’am.” It turned up at the end like a question, but Neil’s voice held too much faux pleasantry to be recognized as such.

Nostrils flared on her inhale. “Sir-” and honestly the amount of complete disdain and over your bullshit she packed into that single word even impressed him- “you need to leave. Now.”

Oh boy, this was almost worth pausing an essay for. Neil finished his sentence. “I’m actually pretty busy at the moment,” he said, turning back to his work. Was a Freudian mention too much? He tapped the space key twice, not quite hard enough to move his cursor. Probably not.

“Sir.”

“Jesus,” Neil muttered. He needed more coffee. Matching her glare with one of his own, Neil shook his cup, the pitiful remains just enough to splash against the sides. “I’m a paying customer. You can’t just kick me out for no reason.”

“You taped crime scene photos to our windows!” she snapped. And well. Okay yes, that was true. He didn’t need to spare a glance to see the expanse of carnage he had set up.

“It’s for research,” he said.

She jabbed a finger at the cup in his hand. “And that isn’t even from here.”

Neil glanced down. The cup sported the bright orange colours of Fox & Nip Cafe. He looked up to the hat the employee was wearing. It was purple, with The Drip stitched in white across the front. Slowly, he raised the cup to his mouth, tipping the last of it into his mouth.

“I’ve told you guys before. I don’t see what the problem is,” he said. “Your coffee is shit. You know that right? I could order a triple shot and it wouldn’t even hit me. It’s an art, how you’ve taken something so easy and weakened it to the point of threatening extinction.”

Turning in his chair, Neil pointed to the man not even pretending not to be watching. “Your coffee is shit!” he said, making the man jump. He turned back to the employee. “This is literally the worst coffee is town. You have two things going for you: the tables are big enough to work at and your muffins aren’t sweet like fucking cakes. If I have to provide my own passable coffee, I should be allowed to use the space provided to finish my work.”

If looks could kill. “Get the fuck out,” she said.

Neil had three rules he lived by. Number two: when a retail employee drops the word fuck as a promised threat, it’s time to go.

Tossing her a quick salute, Neil shoved his laptop back into his bag and left everything else behind. He didn’t really need the photos anyways.

Two blocks down, he pulled out a small notebook from a side pocket. With a sigh, he crossed out The Drip from his list.

[jtl-fics]

I’m going mad with power! I would love to request more TBD 😂

10/9/24 WIP Wednesday (Closed) | TBD AU

They wrap up shortly after that.

Andrew makes the long drive back to Atlanta, made all the longer by the now uncomfortable silence. He drops Neil off at a truly indecent hour at Smith’s house before he heads back to his own house.

He parks his car, walks up to his own door and goes to go to his house, unlocks the door, and even manages to open it before he went over and starts to pound on Aaron’s door instead. Every hit reminds him of how his brother had encouraged him the night before, his smug expression when he held up his fucking wedding ring.

As if things work out like that for Andrew of all people.

Aaron rips the door open and Andrew almost slams his fist into his face.

“Andrew? What the hell?!” Aaron demands and Andrew doesn’t slam his fist into Aaron’s face but he does grab him by the front of his shirt.

“Why the fuck didn’t you set me straight?!” Andrew demands.

“Andrew?” 

Andrew feels like he’s drowning. Feels like the world is crashing down around him. Feels like he should have fucking known better than to do something like hope.

“He said no!” Andrew shouts and he sees Aaron start to look around nervously, likely concerned that the neighbors might call the cops. Then he sees Aaron register what he’s actually saying.

“He said no?!” Aaron asks, absolutely stupefied.

Andrew’s anger is all consuming, “Of course he said no! He was always going to say no!”

Aaron looks around again. He pushes Andrew away from him and closes his own front door before dragging Andrew over to his own house, closing the door behind the two of them.

[simonsrosebud]

brussels??? <3

The weekend paced by slowly.  Neil did what he always did on weekends in new countries- practice the language, continue to map out their next escape route for the next time they had to run, and kept an eye out for his mother while she slept off the hours she’d burned while he was at school.

On Monday, he started the weekly routine again.  He got to school in the same rush of students that he could easily get lost in, head down and feet forward, and took his seat in his first class.  There were enough students in the room that his entrance did nothing to affect the atmosphere, just like he intended every morning.  Stay low and hidden, his mother would repeat every week like a mantra.

Neil set his notebook on his desk and peered up at his teacher, distracted at her desk while he slid his burner phone from his pocket.  He texted his mother two short letters, C.B..  Cigarette Butts.  It had been one of their codes from the day they’d left.  When Neil was four years younger he once giggled at the word- butts.  He thought it was funny, he didn’t understand why cigarettes had them or what it meant that they did.  In other words, it was a beacon signaling his safety inside the school.

Books smacking onto the desk beside him had him jumping out of his skin.  He dropped his phone and scrambled out of his seat to grab it, a hair too late to Andrew, who straightened out with it between his fingers.  “Cheap phone,” he said.  “Why not upgrade?”

Neil huffed.  “Not everyone can afford fancy shit,” he said, and held his hand out.

prev / next

[a0wz]

The White Fox Stalks in the Blackest of Shadows

Spoilers for the TSC

I mentioned before that I think it would be better if Andrew was sent out to kill Grayson instead of Neil asking his uncle so here's Andrew's POV while Neil went to deal with the FBI.

Content warning : staging suicide, mention of hanging, murder, implied masturbation.

Andrew was already annoyed and Neil of course made things even less bearable. For hours he stared out the window, working over his plan again and again. Ironing out plans C, D, and E incase A or B weren't good enough. For over five hours straight, Andrew had to sit in an aisle seat listening to the ramblings of someone a part of him still believed was a hallucination. Being in a death tube held up by invisible forces across miles and miles of land was worse enough.

It all started with a call from Neil's uncle, Stuart, but quickly fell into the category of 'no one's getting sleep tonight' after Kevin got a frantic call from Captain Sunshine Rainbow Shits. Weirdly enough, Jeremy's call and Stuart's creepy ass message ended up having nothing to do with each other.

Stuart refused to explain until they landed in LAX, but all Andrew cared about was the part that required Neil talking to the feds using more words than 'fuck you'. Jean was involved somehow but Andrew didn't care enough to listen when that part was explained. Something about his family being a loose thread. It wasn't until Kevin texted asking Andrew for a favor that his attention was earned.

Kevin was distraught with guilt after talking to Jeremy. Even with what little the Trojan conveyed in their brief conversation, Kevin was able to put the pieces together the moment he mentioned Grayson's name.

Day: He needs to be gone, tonight. Can you do it?

You: I can make it work if Neil could get someone to cover the mess it'll make.

It was as simple as tapping Neil before he got of the phone with his uncle. The service for print and struggle signs clean up would cost him but Neil agreed to cut a check when they met in person. Stuart also got the Raven's location as a token of Neil and his' blood relation.

"What a saint," Andrew laughed dryly.

"If we only have tonight, might as well not go through the trouble of tracking him down on our own."

"Yeah, yeah. Just pick me up on time." The pair of Foxes went their separate ways after Andrew was dropped off a few blocks from the warehouse Stuart tracked Grayson to. An alert was put out to local units of a mentally unstable individual in need of capture but Neil's uncle got the pigs' radio frequencies distorted and unintelligible for the next hour or so. Thankfully, the FBI and local PD practically hate each other, so it would be a cold day in hell when local PD admit their comms were out for an unacceptable amount of time.

It had been a while since Andrew was able to let loose. Someone deserved to be dead and he didn't even have to deal with the aftermath.

The shadows of the night gave the White Fox more than enough cover to find a broken window and slip through. The familiar sound of a beer bottle crashing on concrete led Andrew to an upstairs office. Graffiti decorated the wall and water damage left the spray paint distorted and bleeding multicolor.

"I'am the perfic cort muthr fuker!" Grayson slurred as he knocked over another Heineken bottle for a full one. The backliner was sitting with his back to the door, slouching and wide-legged. Andrew stepped lightly into the decrepit room. Looking up, there was a support beam perfectly placed across the ceiling in the center of the room. Grayson's head swiveled against the backrest of the beach chair as his arm jerked frantically in his lap, soft wet slapping accompanied his low grunts.

"fuk that pathetic ass 'till i'm dun cuming insid it," Grayson panted, his pace quickening.

He was too drunk and pleasure dazed to struggle well as Andrew wrapped the rope around his neck. He thrashed around the room, wheezing and spitting in frustration. Andrew grounded himself and held the rope tight until the pathetic mass went still and unbreathing. The goalkeeper was surprised that he felt so indifferent to killing again. The first time, he was young and caught up with emotion to protect his twin brother. Now, there was the slight satisfaction that he had accomplished what Kevin asked for.

Next was the hard part of Andrew's night. He didn't have to worry about leaving prints thanks to Stuart, but getting the damn guy in the air and tied up took more energy than guarding against Kevin's endless swings during night practice or keeping pace with Neil during a mid-day jog. Gloves kept him from ripping the skin off his hands but nothing kept his back from aching by the time the body was strung by a noose. He sat in an alley a few blocks away catching his breath while an unmarked van drove up and confirmed they were good to go in and tidy up the scene.

Neil picked him up a while after not bothering to ask how it went, instead gathering that it went smoothly by Andrew's unbothered deminer. Though, since it was only to Neil, Andrew was fine to admit he was quiet from exhaustion. Killing someone was a lot harder when he had to do the work himself. Killing his mom was swift, simply jerking the wheel when she wasn't paying too much attention to the road. He probably wouldn't do it again if the amount of energy it took wasn't worth who he was doing it for. Kevin was more than worth it, even more so if Neil was alright screwing a two-time murderer. The freak might even like it.

Andrew fell asleep before the two Foxes were in the air back to South Carolina, thinking about all the ways he could tease Neil about having the hots for a killer.