#pls forgive me for how short this is but OMFG I WANNA EXPAND THIS

[jingerhead]

it's time for take your pick ✨part 2✨

6, 8, 20, 23

NEVER LET ME PICK SJSJSJ I was so stuck between 20 and 23 but I decided to do 23 in the end, I hope you like it PF. This is so short because I suddenly had the idea that I wanted to expand it so now this is probably going to be added to the wip list (of course it's another fake marriage one URG)

23 - pretending to be married for this high stakes heist is kind of distracting not gonna lie

Needing to work with other people to pull of this heist would've been bad enough, but the fact that Neil had been volunteered to be part of the married couple...he was not happy about it. He'd made that known the moment their assignments had been handed out, because not only did he have to be married, he had to be married to Andrew Minyard.

Why did he join the Foxes, again? Oh yeah, to avoid his father and pull off a few more heists before he was inevitably killed.

"I'm not pretending to be married to Andrew," Neil hissed to Kevin, a last attempt to avoid the inevitable.

"You're the only one that can sneak into the vault, and the only people invited to this party are married couples," Kevin said for the fifth time that day. "You have to be."

Neil glared at this duffle bag. "Why Andrew?"

"He was the one that got connected to the hit first," Kevin said, clearly tired. The car they were in slowed to a stop in front of the large house Neil would be staying in with Andrew for the months leading up to the actual heist. "Andrew will protect you, don't worry."

"I don't need protection," Neil snapped, getting out of the car as quickly as he could.

He and Andrew had clashed ever since Neil had first joined the Foxes, mostly because they were both assholes that couldn't resist trying to get a rise out of each other every chance they got. Neil's original plan when he joined was to lay low, but that had been impossible the longer he spent time around them all. All their past heists had led to this one: their biggest and longest one yet, needing time to gain the trust of their hit before stealing everything he had in his vault and the gigantic diamond chandelier.

This much would set Neil up for the rest of his life, allowing him to finally go underground for good, out of sight of his father. He needed this mission to go perfectly, and if that meant he had to pretend to be Andrew's husband...urg, he didn't like it, but everyone knew he was going to do it anyway.

The door to the house was opened the moment Neil walked up to it, revealing Andrew on the other side. He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, his signature armbands on and an amused glint in his eyes. "Welcome home, dear," he greeted.

Neil smiled a bit too widely. "Glad to be back."

It was going to be a long few months.

~*~

Contrary to what Neil had originally thought, the months seemed to fly by. He also wasn't expecting Andrew to be such a...good husband, as weird as it was to think. He still couldn't believe that he was technically Neil Minyard-Josten for the time being, and that he was slowly getting more comfortable with it.

Maybe it had something to do with having to get to know Andrew. Or the practice dinner parties they had to attend now that they were getting more solidified in their hit's inner circle. Or the fact that despite the size of the house they were living in, they never seemed able to avoid each other. Neil had planned to stick to the room he'd been given and avoid Andrew as much as he could, but it was impossible.

The more they talked, the more Neil realized they had just a bit more in common than he'd originally thought. They spent more nights together, trading truths and talking about random things, or sometimes just in silence. Neil felt content when they did that, finding some semblance of safety he was sure he'd never had before.

Tonight, they had finally started talking about their plans following the heist. Andrew said he planned to use his share to finish getting his brother through school, then use the rest to settle down somewhere, to find a genuine home of his own. Maybe get a cat. Neil liked the idea of it, and then decided to tell Andrew the truth: he would go underground.

Andrew's eyes flashed when he said that, something dangerous. Neil held his breath as Andrew hummed, processing what had been said. "What would it take to make you stay?" he suddenly asked, gaze firm, trapping Neil in place against the couch.

"What?" Neil asked.

"Name it, and it's yours."

Neil wasn't sure what to say. He wasn't sure if there was anything attainable for him to have that Andrew could offer. He thought for a moment, mouth opening and closing as he tried to lock down something that wouldn't be too outrageous of an ask.

"I don't know," he finally said.

"You do," Andrew argued. "Anything, Neil."

"I can't ask for it."

"Because you convinced yourself that?" Andrew asked. He waited for another moment, then grabbed his glass and stood up, starting to walk away. "I don't say things I don't mean."

Neil felt like he'd been run over as he processed Andrew's words, but by the time he finally understood their meaning, Andrew was gone.