#neil only cares about exy

[atlalasassy]

It’s giving “Now, if you two don’t mind, I’m going to bed before either of you come up with another clever idea to get us killed or worse... expelled!”

[cubbyyyy]

we should never ever forget what a simp neil is.

right so i think about this every fucking day

[betterlucknexttime]

everyone talks about the callousness of kevin’s first question being “can you play?” but. he grew up in the Nest, where he and jean were beaten routinely and stitched each other back together. (i also feel like we talk about neil’s first aid skills and never kevin’s, which he surely has, but that’s another post.) and in the Nest, that was the most important question. “can you play?” that’s all we’re good for. that’s all we have.

and it’s not much different with neil. yes, neil is hurt. but he could be dead—he will be dead at the end of the year. and he gave kevin his game, which means kevin is responsible. it’s “all for the game.” exy is neil’s LIFE.

would we rather kevin asked if neil was okay? “how are you?” wouldn’t that be the stupidest question ever? of course he’s not okay. three weeks in the Nest, torture at the hands of his father and his cronies. neil is not “okay” but we all his answer will be “i’m fine” just like we all know it’s the only lie he can’t pull off.

when neil can’t play, kevin is strict about his health. “you’re no use to us if you push yourself and end up needing another week to recover.” (or something like that)

.

“jean, you’re bleeding, stay still, press here, shh, can you play?” tears in he stitches up his best friend and only ally at fourteen. his eyes are dry five years later. this is old hat. there’s eight hours till scrimmage and they must be on the court. if jean can’t play, he needs to think of something. cover for him. take whatever blows riko decides are worthy punish enemy for his absence on his behalf.

“neil, can you play?” have i failed my end of the bargain? will you live? (because being able to play becomes synonymous with neil, kevin, and jean’s survival.) do you still have something worth living for?

[allfortheslay25]

Bestie, your brain 👌👌👌 i love all of your aftg au's, mermaid and omegaverse especially. Any headcanons or other things you wish people would ask but haven't/generally be willing to share? Hope you're doing well 💜

Another au from the secret stash!

All for the Cult

I hid this one cuz I’m afraid it’d be controversial and up until this week, I hadn’t even shared it with my sister

I actually am writing a fic for it but the fic will not be published until it is completed. I don’t want to risk leaving it in the public on a hiatus so it’s safe with me until I can finish all the chapters

Basically instead of exy as the base of AFTG, it’s bastardized religion. Exy technically exists but instead of Tetsuji continuing Kayleigh and his pet project, he turns to forming a cult. Exy ends up being a dying sport no one really cares about unless it’s Kevin Day who still plays on the side of his true passion, communing with God.

Neil was a human sacrifice raised for slaughter until his mom took him and ran. Homeless and with no way out, Neil joins Wymack’s staff at his wayward home/church where junkies and sob stories go for their last second chance. No one actually has to pray to god or believe in the Bible’s teachings to work there as it is not a standard church and more like a theater than anything

The more kids Wymack recruits, the longer he gets to keep his church and program at the school

(Also side note but I was doing the comic of andreil but forgot my house looks like a Catholic Church threw up in it so I got awkward and couldn’t finish it)(oh and my sister renamed it all for the debauchery cuz she got to read the altar scene lol)

Key points and fun facts of this au:

- the Ravens are a cult cult instead of a sports cult

- Riko is obsessed with his holy trinity (perfect court)

- The Moriyamas are still a crime unit but Nathan is sort of a satanist on the side (Would like to say mass majority of satanists are not evil or bad, Nathan just is)

- Neil was born as a sacrifice. Mary took him and ran tho before the ritual

- The Foxes are ppl from broken pasts who work at Wymack’s church for scholarship/community service.

- Wymack’s church isn’t a standard catholic kind. He has his own unique spin on it so even those who aren’t religious can still work there. Campus students attend the services to watch the plays, hear the readings, listen to the choir, and some even use the confession box. Some even go to donate as the Foxes are connected to a bunch of charities

- Andrew is not a real priest. The cousins were apprentices for Luther for a couple years to get him off their backs. Because of his experience and eidetic memory, Wymack has Andrew do scripture readings and other tasks. In return, Andrew gets to be off the meds the entire time of mass

- the Foxes attend classes and work shifts at the church in their free time. If they flunk classes or skip church, their scholarship is revoked

- all of the Foxes live in the upstairs rooms above the church

- When Andrew first met Luther, Luther promised to take care of the Cass situation as long as Andrew gave God a try. Andrew only agreed to read the Bible and took Nicky’s since the Hemmicks were worried he’d vandalize a new one. Andrew thought it was a good read but mostly was humored by all of Nicky’s annotations

- Andrew doesn’t care about religion enough to hate it so he’s fine chilling around and hearing the preaching

- When Neil goes to the nest, he agrees to spend those weeks in Riko’s church where he’s ofc tortured. Riko no longer has the desire to sacrifice Neil as long as Neil joins his cult

- Renee holds a Bible study on Sunday evenings and Saturdays so weekends are Andrews days off

- Lots of their readings are done performatively with music, spoken word poetry, or with their own unique spins/translations of the text. (Every mass always starts with a disclaimer that what is being said/shown is their interpretation and not to be taken as the honest god given truth)

- whenever they raise enough money or supplies, the foxes celebrate by getting wasted; Wymack’s treat

- Betsy is still there for mandatory therapy sessions since the point of the scholarship is to rehabilitate troubled youth

- Abby is Wymack’s assistant but she also is a part time nurse

[crazy-fangirl2524]

Guys I have a new revelation. Kandrew was doomed even before Andrew choked Kevin. Kandrew was doomed when Kevin put Exy over Andrew’s wellbeing whilst Neil put Andrew above Exy even before he figured out his feelings.

(This is in trk after thanksgiving and Kevin didn’t want Andrew to be put in rehab because they might be disqualified but Neil was adamant about it)

Kandrew is doomed as soon as Andrew choked Kevin the same way Kevjean is doomed as soon as Kevin left Jean behind

[feelingthedisaster]

The King's Men's plot structure is genius.

TKM has been critized a lot for not following the conventional plot structure, because it doesnt end inmediatly at the resolution of the climax, like they taught us in class. But it actually has a reason behind it and it think that is what makes AFTG unique and Nora Sakavic an amazing writer. I'll explain.

So, we all know AFTG has a lot of chess metaphors, however i think it doesnt contain the metaphors, it is the metaphor. Each character represents a piece of the board (Riko king, Kevin queen, Neil pawn, Andrew knight, etc) and exy is the chess, but but but, a chess game not only involves the pieces, the game cannot exist without someone playing, the chess masters (which would be Kengo, Ichiriu, Nathan and all the mafia stuff).

So, AFTG is divided into two plots happening at the same time: what happens on the chess board (exy season) and what happens outside it (the mafia mess).

Of couse, the climax has to be about the outside out, because who cares which one of pieces move in which way if the players are pointing guns at eachother under the board? The guns are more more important. So who cares? The pieces on the board care, the ones that are being played with. And who is the narrator? The character that represents the pawn, the less important figure of the entire room.

Yeah, the 'outside of the board' plot is over half way into the book, but it doesnt matter because that happens outside the board, the chess game has not ended yet. The pawn cannot go back to rest in the box until the game is over, until the king dies. The book cannot be over until the chess game our protagonist is a piece of ends. The books have to end with the king's (Riko) death and that is exactly what happens.

If this isnt excellent writing and one of the best examples of know the rules so you can break them, i dont what is.

[odetojupiter]

my favourite thing about the perfect court is how they are all parallels of each other - each person could have ended up like one of the others, but they didn’t.

neil could’ve ended up like jean, if his mother hadn’t taken him and run. neil could’ve ended up like riko, if he’d internalised his father’s abuse and tried to earn his affection instead of fearing it. if he’d tried to become someone his father would be proud of - like riko does - he would’ve become heartlessly violent. but he doesn’t.

jean could’ve been like neil, if he’d had just one family member care about him enough to run. he could’ve ended up like kevin, if he’d gone with him when kevin ran. he could’ve been like riko, if he’d taken everything that had been done to him and inflicted it on the world/people around him, but he doesn’t.

kevin could’ve ended up like riko, if he’d twisted tetsuji’s abuse enough to believe that the things he deserved were taken from him. he could’ve ended up like jean, if he’d refused to run after his hand was broken.

riko could’ve ended up like any of them. if an adult had cared about him enough to save him, he could’ve ended up like neil. if he’d hated his father instead of fighting for his attention, or if he internalised the abuse he faced instead of inflicting the same abuse on others, he’d have been more like jean or neil. if he’d accepted his place and decided to fight for the things he did have - exy, kevin - he’d have been more like kevin. but he doesn’t.

yes, their situations are largely shaped by the people around them - riko, jean, and kevin (until he learns about wymack) do not have an adult in their lives that cares about them enough to change their situation. but it’s also their individual responses to their abuse that shapes how they act. i’m not trying to say that people get to choose their trauma response, but it’s important that riko and neil parallel each other because we’re shown the could have beens. it shows you that it really only takes one person to change everything - mary taking neil and running is so so so important for how neil’s character and personality and trauma response turns out.

neil could’ve ended up like riko, but he doesn’t. riko could’ve ended up like neil, but he doesn’t.

[palmettoshenanigans]

I know Biblically Accurate Andreil social media is just empty icons and zero (0) posts but my favorite Andreil social media is when Neil's insta is just exy, cats, and Andrew and Andrew's insta is just cats and Neil. You only see the other's face on the opposite page, they just don't care about their own faces.

[knox-knocks]

Maybe exy is a little boring to him — but andrew doesn’t just not care about exy, neil notes in the beginning of tfc that he seems to outright resent it. boredom doesn’t bring about resentment. but do you know what does? the idea that a sport you barely give a shit about is the only reason anyone gives a shit about you

[nothatsmi]

Andrew doesn't care about exy.

And Neil doesn't care about Andrew.

Hehe

Posted this a few days ago on Instagram but forgot to put it here-

I'm still reading the third book, I'm now post Lola's encounter so in the next one I do Neil will have all his scars :)

I LOVE how the relationship between them is evolving, it's absolutely fitting - like within their fucked-upness they're so caring... In a way where it just seem like they're the only ones who could handle each other the way they do. I love it.

[foxstens]

never not thinking about how kevin day is david wymack's son

imagine you're kevin, practically born with a racquet in your hand, you grow up with your mother for a while and maybe you ask about your father and she tells you not to worry about it, or maybe you just never ask because she doesn't mention it and you don't know how important it is, yet. then she dies, you're moved to evermore, it's so different from what you've seen previously but you have no choice so you just bow your head and do your best to survive, clinging onto your mother's sport, clinging onto the idea that you'll become a star.

you're there for so long you eventually forget you've ever been outside of it, but you see how desperate riko is for his father's attention so you start wondering, however briefly, about the concept of a father.

then you're in high school, you find the letter and suddenly it's not just a vague concept you have to wonder about, suddenly it's something real and tangible. you've heard of david wymack, it would've been impossible not to since he was a friend of your mother's and considering the kind of team he's taken up to creating, maybe you've even met him extremely briefly at some point. you know enough about the industry to think his team isn't just a publicity stunt, and somehow you know that if he finds out he'll do everything in his power to get you out.

you're not stupid enough to tell riko this, but you do tell jean and he laughs at you. of course he does. but you've been there for too long, you've seen too much, and you're old enough to understand what the master would do if he deemed david wymack to be a threat. you can't leave riko's side therefore you can't tell him any time soon, possibly ever, so you resolve to reading the letter over and over instead. (riko reads it almost as often as you)

then you're 19 and the erc thinks riko is holding you back. you're 19 and you're watching riko stomp on everything you've built up through the years. you're 19 and the letter is the only reason you have the strength to leave.

you tell wymack and the team as much as you dare because they deserve to know the risks of having you here, and wymack takes it in stride, he puts himself and his team at risk and even takes out loans to keep you here, like you knew he would. he signs you and he deserves to know about the letter, the more time passes the worse it'll be when you do tell him, but you can't yet because it's too soon and you don't trust yourself to tell riko no when the time comes.

then neil is asking for your help

now imagine you're wymack. your childhood was shit and you didn't have the support you needed at the time, but you believe you can be better than the hands that shaped you. kayleigh taught you everything you know about exy, and you loved her so it stung when she died and you couldn't be there for her only son. but, no matter what you might think of tetsuji moriyama, you don't think kayleigh would send her son to an unsafe place. you just go on with your days, maybe tune in on the news to see that kevin's doing well. you have no reason to think otherwise.

when you have the opportunity to start an exy team from scratch, you dedicate it to the kids that need another chance, the kids the world has given up on. you'll never give up on them.

then, what feels like a lifetime later, kevin day is standing in front of your hotel room and asking you for help. he's saying his 'beloved brother' broke his hand, he's saying the moriyamas are part of the yakuza, he's saying they'll kill him if they find him. throughout the year you get to know him better, you see that he's grown up to be a caged and abused wreck, you see he was raised to care about nothing but exy, you see him having a panic attack at the mere mention of having to face his former team, you see him drinking himself to oblivion to cope. you can't undo the past so you do your best to support him now, but damn if you don't wish you could've been there for him.

then he's telling you he's your son

[joejhang]

once again thinking about how andreil is actually the perfect relationship because of how deeply they both understand each other and how they are the only ones to do so. thinking about the first time neil opens up to anyone and it's to andrew in tfc and the look in andrew's eyes is "perfect understanding". and the same look in his eyes right before he kisses neil for the first time when neil is at the end of his rope, and andrew understands because he's been there too. neil knowing when to push andrew and when to leave him be. neil understanding that andrew is primarily self-destructive and more of a harm to himself than to anyone else and asking him "how have you survived this long when you're so violently self-destructive?". neil being the only one who actually wants andrew off his drugs for his own good, not for exy or out of curiosity. neil never forcing or coercing andrew into doing anything he doesn't want to do, he gets what he wants simply by asking, and that's enough. andrew's interest in neil turning into understanding turning into care turning into love, against his will. their hours-long conversation on the bus in tkm where they literally just yap about their lives without any transactions or deals involved. them learning to talk to each other without the exchange of truths. their first ever proper conversation back in tfc when neil thinks he's talking to aaron, showing how they can actually talk and communicate and have a good conversation. neil always taking andrew at face value rather than making assumptions based on his past or his attitude. the trust they have in each other even before they ever get together. them genuinely enjoying each other's company, the way no one else does. nora sakavic you invented love actually.

[inafieldofstarflowers]

Since my last aftg re-read I’ve been thinking a lot about Kevin Day, and specifically about whether the view we get of him through Neil’s eyes is accurate. Over the course of the series, Neil consistently fails to recognize subtext (relatable), particularly when it comes to emotions (i.e. Andrew being into him and Neil not picking up on it, Matt consistently trying to gently ask about his sexuality and Neil never really picking up on what he means, Neil being utterly confused about what the bets on him could be). Neil is, however, very open about and aware of his love for Exy: beyond being good at it or enjoying it, playing makes Neil feel human—it’s one of the first things we learn about him.

Since Kevin is also obsessed with Exy, this is the side of him that Neil sees most often. Almost all of their interactions are centered around Exy—even their conversations about the literal mafia are inextricable from the sport they play (thanks, Tetsuji), so it makes sense that, in book two, Neil is saying that “The only thing that mattered to Kevin was Exy,” especially when considering that both Andrew and Aaron make similar statements in some of their first interactions with Neil (“Where the court is, Kevin is. He can’t exist without it” and “Exy is the only thing he cares about,” respectively). Given Neil’s obsession with Kevin (the way he’s tracked his success and is fixated on his survival), it’s easy to forget that, at the beginning of the series, Neil doesn’t know Kevin. They played a game of Exy together once, years ago, and then didn’t meet again until Kevin came to recruit Neil for the Foxes. For years, all Kevin has been to Neil is a horrific memory and a set of Exy stats, so of course when they meet again in an environment centered around the sport, that obsession with the sport is all Neil sees. In many ways, I think Neil intertwines who Kevin is with who he is from the beginning: in the same breath as he’s saying Exy is “the only thing that made him feel real,” he’s stating that “Kevin was proof Neil was real.”

I don’t, however, think this is a complete view of Kevin. I think there are hints of this in the way that Andrew’s appraisal of Kevin differs from Neil’s and Aaron’s: not that Kevin only cares about Exy, but that he can’t exist without it—he’s tied to it. Andrew’s not making a sweeping claim about Kevin’s feelings so much as expressing his irritation with Kevin’s obsession with the sport, and he’s not wrong: Kevin is inextricably connected to Exy, not only because Tetsuji raised him to be the future of the sport alongside Riko, but because Exy is Kayleigh Day’s legacy, and so is Kevin’s life, and (at least in the eyes of the world) those two are never going to be fully separate. Even if they were, Kevin would choose Exy because he genuinely loves it (that much is evident in his dedication to practicing until he has his skills down just so, and in the choice of the Trojans, who rely on skill and teamwork and incredible understanding of the game to win, as his favorite team).

I think TSC in particular shines extra light on Kevin by giving us Jean’s view of him. Things as simply as his choice of major become much weightier—history is something Kevin is apparently so passionate about that he convinced Riko to study it with him and convinced Tetsuji to let them do it, even though Kevin’s literal purpose at the Nest was to be the best (or, I guess, second best) Exy player, and the stated purpose of the Ravens all sharing a major was because academics were seen as less important. Jean’s comment about how “Kevin saw nothing but the court, but Jean had stopped hoping for more than that years ago” initially seems to support Neil’s line of thought, but I think that’s a much more personal reflection from Jean, really, because the rest of Jean’s narration shows a much different version of Kevin than we see through Neil’s eyes. Even though Jean has more reason than maybe anyone to feel that Kevin cares only about Exy, given the way he left the Nest, Jean recognizes that this isn’t true. He trusts in Kevin’s care for him, trusts his judgment in sending him to the Trojans.

Kevin’s care for other people doesn’t often come through, and I think that’s a combination of the way that he is as a person and the way that he’s painted in Neil’s narration. He definitely has moments of being incredibly callous (e.g. when Seth dies and when Andrew is being taken off his meds), but he also does truly care about people. He cares about Andrew, even if his “make Andrew care about Exy so he has a will to live” strategy is deeply flawed. He cares about Jean, evidenced by the magnets and postcards he would give him ad the work he put into setting things up so Jean could be on a team where he was safe even giving up some of his own secrets in the process. he cares about Neil, who he encourages to run (even though that would destroy the Foxes’ season) and tries to stop from going to Evermore at Christmas and trains every night by request, even though they both think Neil will die, and stands up to Riko for.

More than anything, I think the biggest evidence that Kevin cares about more than Exy is the faith that he has in people, time and time again, because that faith is in such contrast to his standard disdain for people. He has faith in Wymack taking him in (Jean says that he never doubted it), faith that Andrew will protect him at the Foxhole Court, faith that Jean will help Neil at Evermore, faith that Neil has a bright future. After a childhood spent mired in, at the very least, intense emotional abuse, it’s honestly amazing that he’s able to move forward with that sort of trust in people.

All that to say: I think there’s a lot more to Kevin than we see, and I especially think there’s a lot more to him than Exy. What’s his favorite period of history to study? Did he spend a lot of time picking out the magnets for Jean on his trips? When did he start drinking to try to stop his emotions (something that Neil never deeply addresses but which is a whole different post because this is already FAR too long)? What did he think when he first found out Wymack was his father? When he re-read Kayleigh’s letter over and over again, was it because he was reveling in knowing who his father was or because it was a tangible piece of the mother that he’d lost? Was he even worse about critiquing Andrew & Nicky et al. about their food choices when he first arrived at PSU because of the Ravens’ diet thing? I need to know everything about him that isn’t his love for Exy.

[exyrpf]

Exyblr Dashboard Simulator based on what I personally see on sportsblr:

1/?

👑 girlbossriko follow

how many bro jobs do you think it took before riko moriyama and kevin day realized that uh.....maybe this wasn't just a bro thing

👢exyinaphonebooth follow

how many times do they have to come out and say they're like brothers before you freakos stop shipping them

👑 girlbossriko follow

????? do i know u

#it's a tumblr post about two exy players that you'lll never meet in your life it really isn't that deep

558 notes

💃fox-me-up follow

ngl that newest fox is kinda 👀

#psu lb #exy lb

8 notes

👨🏻‍❤️‍💋‍👨🏻 talk-exy-to-me

The NARRATIVE that kevin day and neil josten have........son of exy! scouting the rookie-est of rookies from fuck knows arizona........no listen you dont GET IT winning is EVERYTHING TO KEVIN and he would risk it on the foxes? And NEIL? who has only played exy for a year! NEIL Gets his attention!!!!! And hes good and he's getting better every game and he keeps bitching about kevin's ex on live tv BUT WAIT!???? NOT QUITE WHAT YOU EXPECT! Bc then neil shows up with a number on his cheek BECAUSE WELL it turns out they've known each other since they were KIDS! how is everyone not insane w me THEY'RE LITERALLY PERFECT

#where r my fellow njkd truthers #how r u all not here with me this isnt even the start #kevneil #210 #psu #njkd

102 notes

☀️ usctrojanny

every smiley blonde striker (jeremy knox) needs a brunette wet cat emotional support backliner (jean moreau)

#jerejean #usc trojans #i'm just saying 🤷‍♀️

58 notes

👸🏻 kevindazed follow

did he just......

👸🏻 kevindazed follow

guys please tell me i'm not insane

👸🏻 kevindazed follow

HE'S NEVER BEEN????? SKIIING???? KEVIN WHAT DOES THAT MEAN ?????? KEVIN PLEASE

#i i'm going insane i will literally die if someone doesn't explain this to me HE'S NEVER BEEN SKIING?!!!!

407 notes

🧚 goalie-stan

oh....i'm feeling so weak......it'd sure be nice to have a big strong goalie (renee walker) hold me up (renee if you're free on tuesday i am also free on tuesday.........on tuesday this tuesday, any tuesday?)

#literally passing out just thinking about her holding me don't call don't text i'm busy

84 notes

🌄 softkevinday follow

do u think if u offered kevin day essential oils to heal his hand he'd beat you to death

#it'd be hard for him bc he only has one hand but he could probably do it #legally this is a joke don't do this

284 notes

🗣️ jeremyknoxes follow

feeling normal

215 notes

📜 realexyblog

actually exy rpf is fine, i asked kayleigh day herself and she told me it was fine

112 notes

🐋 sexyexy

'exy is a stupid name for a sport' have you considered that a) i don't care and b) it's named that solely so i can make sex jokes about it

11 notes

🏳️‍🌈 gay4stickball follow

is he, ya know *mimes jerking off* an ncaa exy player

#i don't believe that straight exy players exist

56 notes

🙈 ittybittyminny follow

Andrew Minyard!!!!!!! 🥰🥰 short king!!!!🤏🤏😋😋 Awwwwwwww the scrunkly!!!!! 🤗🤗🤗 My boinky boy!!!!!🥺🥺 Crinkly doo,,,,shronkle scrimblo......🥺🥺🥺 rb if you'd scrunkle!!!!!!! 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

📖 sapphic-exy follow

he literally killed someone

🙈 ittybittyminny follow

And? God forbid women do anything

#also no proof he did that #yeah there's proof his twin bro killed someone but that's not the same bc theyre different people #almost killing someone doesnt count

807 notes

🐦‍⬛ edgarallenexy

got told i'm problematic for liking the ravens? THAT'S LITERALLY MY SCHOOL OH MY GOD

2 notes

🌸 softexy

Kevin Day - A Study

#kevin day #psu foxes #palmetto foxes #exy #web weave #poetry #psu foxes #palmetto #edgar allen

378 notes

[cubbyyyy]

Neil is there to protect the one who protects them all.

Andrew always knew how to protect. He sure has his own ways that many fail to understand but the bottom line stays the same.

With Neil coming into his life he gets to be something else than just the protector - which I want to talk about here.

The exy obsessed junkie who claims to only care about his own survival is the first one who sees beyond Andrews play - who sees that Andrew doesn’t take care of himself at all. Too busy keeping an eye on everyone to care about what happens to his own self. And Neil hates it furiously.

So Neil puts Andrew first.

Starting with his health. Exy is important to Neil but he knows Andrew needs to get off the drugs first. The foxes found it easier to deal with Andrew while he’s on drugs, so they didn’t put much effort into changing that - Neil though. Neil saw what the drugs did to Andrew. So they had to get rid off it as fast as possible.

So he makes a deal. He gives up a piece of a truth, gives a promise and makes him go take care of himself.

He punches Riko because he couldn’t stop himself.

He agrees to go to Evermore - he agrees to torture just to keep Andrew save.

Afterwards he refuses to back down his care after being explicitly told to. “If it means loosing you then no���.

After being brutally tortured, one of the first things he does is inspecting Andrews bruises. Inspecting Andrews bruises the same way Andrew inspects his. “All that time fighting and you never learned how to duck?”

He told the cops off when they indicated getting Andrew off him “you’ll what, asshole?”

He was there in a heartbeat the second Andrew got pushed in the final game. And only backed off after checking Andrew was really alright.

For the first time Andrew has someone who has his back the same way he had the backs of everyone else for years. Andrew is fiercely protective and for the first time he is fiercely protected too.

“You are a pipe dream.”

[caspiansinclair]

TRK KANDREW QUOTES:

- "Andrew twisted and punched the wall hard enough to split the skin along his knuckles. Kevin took a quick step forward, hand out like he could stop Andrew from landing a second blow"

- "You shouldn't be outside if you're coming down with something," Kevin said. "Such concern." Andrew grinned at Kevin's cool tone. "Don't cry, Kevin. It's nothing a nap and some vitamin C can't fix."

- Kevin had a knee hugged to his chest and his face hidden in the fold of his arm. His knuckles were white where his hand was clenched into a fist. Neil didn't think it was the bus that was making Kevin shake like that. "Look at me," Andrew said. "It'll be fine. You believe me, yes?" "I believe you," Kevin said, muffled but noticeably strained.

- "Andrew has neither purpose nor ambition," Kevin said. "I was the first person who ever looked at Andrew and told him he was worth something. When he comes off these drugs and has nothing else to hold him up I will give him something to build his life around." (my fav quote)

- Kevin had eyes only for Andrew as he crouched in front of the downed goalkeeper. "So," Kevin said, "did you have fun?" Andrew was too tired to put any heat in his words. "You are despicable, Kevin Day. I don't know why I keep you around."

- Kevin only smiled, slow and sure and pleased, and offered Andrew a hand. Andrew looked at it, then at Kevin, and let Kevin haul him to his feet.

- "Why do you have his drugs?" "I hold onto them when he's adjusting his schedule," Kevin answered. "Game nights or nights like tonight when he wants to go into withdrawal, it's better if someone else keeps the bottle. If he has his pills he'll take them. He won't be able to help himself."

- "When I said I wasn't Andrew's type, I meant it. It's not about my looks or faith. It's that I'm a woman." Neil heard her words but was slow to understand them. He blinked at her in confusion, blinked again when it clicked, and said a little too loudly, "Oh. Then Andrew and Kevin—"

- "Andrew won't agree to this," Abby said, a last-ditch effort to change their minds. "Going means leaving Kevin behind. They haven't had more than a campus between them since Andrew took Kevin under his wing."

- "Kevin," Andrew called from out of sight. Kevin nearly knocked the chair over in his hurry to answer. Neil watched from the doorway as Andrew stopped almost right up against Kevin. Andrew pat Kevin down for imaginary injuries and Kevin stood motionless until he was done."

- "Look at that face, Bee. He wants me sober more than almost anyone does, but only if the timing's right. I warned you, didn't I? Who will take care of Kevin if I'm gone? I can't trust him wandering around here by himself, and Coach can't be with him all the time. Kevin's kind of a full-time job."

- "I can't believe you're sending Andrew away," Kevin said, a little sharply.

- "She shouldn't have taken Andrew away," Kevin said in a low voice.

- Kevin is not like us; he is valuable but he is not property in the same sense. He escaped because he had family to run to." "Andrew?" Neil guessed.

- “Kevin had spent the better part of a year trying to get through to Andrew. He wanted Exy to mean something; he wanted Andrew’s best preformance like a dying man wanted one last breath of air. Andrew knew it, and he refused to play along.”

- (this one’s long:) "So you'll try," Kevin said through gritted teeth, "because Coach asked you to."

Andrew folded his arms across his knees, tilted his head back, and smiled up at Kevin.

"Careful, Kevin. Your jealous streak is showing."

"For eight months you've told me no. In eight seconds you told him yes. Why?"

"Oh, that's easy." Andrew stuffed the last of his gear into his bag and zipped it shut. He slung the bag over his shoulders and got to his feet, standing up so close to Kevin he almost knocked Kevin back a step.

"It's just more fun to tell you no. That's what you wanted, right? You wanted me to have fun. I am. Aren't you?"

For someone so small, Andrew made a lot of noise when shoved into the lockers. Andrew was laughing as he crashed into the orange metal. Neil didn't know what amused Andrew more: Kevin's violence or the splash of blood that now stained the front of Kevin's shirt. Neil hadn't even seen Andrew take a knife out, but it was in his hand in the air between them. Kevin retreated from Andrew with a sharp curse.

"Jesus, Andrew!" Matt said. "Kevin, are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Kevin put a hand to his chest as if checking the truth of his words. Neil was at the far end of the lockers from them, so he couldn't see very well, but the relative lack of blood made him think the cut was shallow. It was long, but it wasn't serious. It was going to sting when Kevin put heavy armor overtop it tonight, though.

Andrew stepped away from the lockers and got in Kevin's space again. He put the edge of the blade against Kevin's chest over his heart and peered up into Kevin's face. Kevin looked more angry than intimidated as he stared back. Matt started toward them, maybe thinking he had to break up round two of their fight. Kevin didn't look away from Andrew when he motioned at Matt to back off.”