Work Text:
1
Neil jogged down the Denver streets, not paying attention to who was around him, just trying to get to the restaurant on time. He reached the doors almost at the same time as Matt and Dan, and he let his expression change into an easy smile. Matt grinned back and swept him up into his arms.
"Neil, buddy! It's been too long, I missed you!" Neil laughed and wrapped his arms around his massive friend.
"Matt, my love, I missed you too, but I just saw you earlier for the game. You gotta put me down before people start staring," he said, patting Matt's back.
"Too late," Dan laughed, moving in to ruffle Neil’s hair as Matt set him down on his feet. He stepped back and took a good look at what Neil was wearing before bursting out in laughter.
"I don't think they were staring because I picked you up. I think they were staring because of your outfit." Neil narrowed his eyes and glanced down at what he was wearing.
"I'll have you know that this is an Andrew-approved outfit. He likes this outfit, says it looks good on me," Neil said, turning and making his way inside the restaurant with his friends following behind him. Dan snickered and waved a careless hand at a few people who were still staring.
"I'm sure he does, considering that's his name and number plastered across your back." Neil took another glance down at himself and shrugged. He didn't really care what he wore, and he knew Andrew would be amused by him wandering around Denver Hawks territory in his Boston Bulls jersey.
"Whatever. Who's really gonna care? What, do you think there's gonna be a headline in the morning like 'Neil Josten wears rival's jersey to dinner with friends'? No, that'd be ridiculous."
The next morning Neil was sat in bed, staring at the headline of the article Dan had texted him with no fewer than ten laughing emojis. 'Neil Josten Wears Rival's Jersey To Dinner With Friends.' The article was full of speculation as to why Neil would wear the jersey of a man who claims to hate him. He exhaled heavily through his nose before an idea struck him. He forwarded the article to Andrew with a kissy face and got up to feed his screaming cat.
"Yes, King, I know. It's been so long since I fed you last. It's been almost 9 whole hours, I know. Sweet girl. Sweet little monster," he murmured to the tiny cat munching on her food. He stroked her softly once, twice, three times, feeling contentment flow through him as he looked at his cat. He glanced up, startled, when his phone started ringing. He picked it up, noticed that it was Andrew, and answered the call.
"Hey Drew," he said, leaning his hip against the counter.
"I hate you," Andrew muttered sleepily.
"Mmm, no, you love me," Neil says, smiling at Andrew’s morning voice.
"Unfortunately. What is this?" There was rustling on the other end of the phone as Andrew presumably sat up in bed.
"It's an article, my love, or did you not look? Some paparazzi got pictures of me yesterday when I went out to dinner with Matt and Dan after the game," Neil said, pulling out a bowl for cereal.
"Why were you wearing my jersey, junkie? You know how people get about us," Andrew said. There were chirruping sounds from his end of the phone and Neil smiled softly.
"Hello, Sir. Good morning to you, too. Anyways, am I not allowed to wear my husband's jersey? I like my husband very much and it makes me sad when I don't get to see him as often as I'd like. I miss him. So I wear his jersey to make me feel better." Neil punctuated his rambling by shoving a spoonful of cereal into his mouth and crunching on it loudly. Andrew grumbled softly, going about his morning routine.
"I miss you too, häschen," he murmured after a while.
"I know, my love," Neil whispered back. They sat in comfortable silence together for a while, both going about their mornings together, but separately. After Neil brushed his teeth, he dropped his toothbrush in the cup and started speaking.
"Besides, I think it's fun to mess with reporters. And don't even try to argue, you think it's fun too, that's what started this whole rivalry mess. You said 'I hate him-'"
"I do."
"-And 'he can't score on me-'"
"You can't."
"-And 'I'd like to see him try-'"
"I would. Because then I'd get to see you." Neil had no words for that. He was teasing Andrew, but now he felt a sharp stab of want .
"Neil?" Andrew sounded worried.
"I love you, Drew. I miss you," he said, no longer teasing.
"I know, Neil. I'll see you soon, okay? Just a few more weeks and we'll see each other at our game." Neil nodded, dejected, forgetting that Andrew couldn't see him. "I love you, Neil. We'll talk again soon, okay?"
"Okay, I love you too." Neil hung up the phone and let his head flop down onto the table. Just a few more weeks .
2
Neil sat in front of the reporters, still sweaty and in his gear. He couldn't believe he was forced to do press tonight, when Andrew was right there. Andrew would wait for him, of course, would have dinner waiting for him when Neil got to the apartment. Neil’s phone buzzed on the table where he'd placed it after snagging it so he could text Andrew about having to do press. He picked it up and glanced at the screen. Andrew.
Drew <3: Chinese or Indian takeout? I don't feel like cooking.
Neil: Chinese sounds good to me. Make sure you get that one dish I like?
Drew <3: What am I, an amateur? Of course I'm getting that dish you like.
Neil: Thank you. Hopefully I'll be there soon, if these reporters ever start talking.
There was a nudge to his side from his captain, and Neil glanced at him before glancing out at the reporters. They were all staring at him texting on his phone.
Neil: gtg they're waiting for me .
He put his phone face down on the table again and stared blank-faced at the people in front of him. Neil’s captain leaned forward with a practiced smile and put his elbows on the table.
"Now that we're all ready, why don't we get started so we can head home?" At that, the reporters began asking questions, and Neil was bored out of his mind, trying to find different ways to say "It was a tough game, but we came out on top, and we did it as a team," until one reporter stood with a question for him.
"Neil Josten: is that a Boston Bulls phone case on your phone? The team you just played, which your biggest rival Andrew Minyard plays for?" Neil glanced down at his phone on the table, surprised, as though he'd never seen it before.
"Huh. I guess it is." He looked at the reporter and refused to say anything else until prompted again.
"Why would you have a Boston Bulls phone case when they're your rivals? Why not a phone case for your own team, the Denver Hawks?" Neil narrowed his eyes at the reporter and stared in silence until the man shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.
"A… a friend bought it for me. I didn't have a case on my phone and they were annoyed with my tendency to break phones, so they bought me one themself. They thought it was funny, I guess. I don't really care that much about it, the only reason I have a phone at all is because otherwise, Kevin Day would have to come criticize me in person, and nobody wants that tall weirdo around here." He smirked, tapping his phone case with one finger. "He's probably gonna call me tonight to complain that I called him a tall weirdo." His phone buzzed with a text and he flipped it over to check it. Kevin.
"Is….is that Kevin?" Neil nodded and smiled sharply.
"He always watches my games and interviews live when he can. He's a good friend. He's harsh with his criticism but he's always right, it's infuriating. Right now, though, he's swearing at me for calling him a tall weirdo in a live interview." Neil looked up and directly into the camera. "Kevin, now that I know you're watching this live: you're a bitch." Coach Roberts stepped forward hurriedly.
"I think that's enough questions for tonight. Have a good night everyone, get home safe." Roberts turned a glare on Neil as he stood to leave as well. "Really, Josten? You had to sit there and insult Kevin Day, the son of exy?" Neil shrugged and moved toward the locker room.
"He's a son of something, alright. Plus, he deserves it, he's gonna tear the whole team apart when he reviews the game with me later."
By the time Neil made it out to his car so he could meet Andrew at his apartment, there were only a few straggling fans left. He glanced over at them and his eye caught on something one of them was holding. It looked like… a teddy bear? He shook his head, hurrying to see Andrew.
3
After cleaning up dinner, Neil walked into the living room looking for King and found her immediately. Neil snapped a picture and uploaded it to Twitter almost immediately.
Neil Josten @njos10
I guess she likes her new teddy bear <3
[image attached]
The image in question was of King Fluffkins, fully wrapped around a teddy bear, claws out. It was downright adorable, if Neil said so himself - and he did. The only thing was, this teddy bear was wearing a Boston Bulls jersey - Andrew’s jersey. Neil knew King had been missing Andrew while the little family had been separated. He got her the teddy bear as a gift to tide her over until she sees her other dad again and can play with his feet like he always lets her.
Twitter fans, however, got different ideas of the picture of Neil’s cat brutally attacking the teddy bear version of what they all believed to be Neil’s mortal enemy. His fans laughed, talking about how Neil is trying to provoke Minyard, how he hates him so much he even trained his cat to attack him. Andrew’s fans replied with criticisms of him, saying things like “if you spent less time bothering Minyard, maybe you’d be half as good.” Neil scoffed at those particular replies. One person, @neiljosfan, replied with pictures of their own cat, attacking a similar bear, but with Neil’s jersey on it. Neil ignored all of it in favor of what Andrew himself had replied.
Andrew Minyard @aminyard03
Obsessed with me much?
Neil laughed lightly and liked the tweet. He didn't reply there, but opened his text thread with Andrew
Neil: Yes
Drew <3: You're a menace. Call?
Instead of texting back, Neil just pressed the call button and put his phone up to his ear, listening to it ring and waiting for Andrew to pick up.
"Junkie. Why is my cat attacking teddy bear-me," Andrew drawled through the phone. Neil laughed again and tugged on the bear's arm, triggering another attack from King.
"She loves it. She misses you and wants to play with you. I thought this could be the next best thing. You should get a matching one for Sir." Neil could hear Andrew sigh on the other end of the phone.
"Sir is a cat. She doesn't know enough to miss you."
"Maybe not, but you do, Drew," Neil said, dropping the bear. Clattering was heard from Andrew’s end.
"I do. Maybe I'll get one for myself. It could be the ‘next best thing’ to having you here with me." Neil smiled softly, sadly.
"Who knew you were so mushy, Minyard?"
"Nobody. And nobody will ever know. I'll deny it until the day I die, nobody will believe you," Andrew deadpanned, making Neil cackle.
“I don’t know, I think Nicky would believe me,” Neil said thoughtfully, stroking King as she stepped onto his lap.
“No he wouldn’t. He’s literally seen me take candy from a baby, Neil.”
“Well what did the baby do to provoke you?” Andrew huffed and Neil smiled.
“Neil, only you would ask that. Only you would hear I stole from a baby and think I had a reason.” Andrew sounded soft and Neil felt a pang in his chest.
“That’s because I know you, Drew,” he murmured, and Andrew made a noise of agreement. They talked for an hour or so more, as Andrew cleaned up after his dinner. When they finally said their I love yous and hung up, Neil was left staring at his phone, wishing Andrew was still there. Sighing, he picked up the teddy bear, abandoned by King, held it against his chest, and squeezed. If he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine Drew would come through the door to replace the bear in his arms.
4
Julia opened up the list of custom orders on their etsy shop, briefly glancing down the list of names and requests. They started to turn away to get started, but their eye caught on one specific customer name: Neil Josten.
What the fuck. What the fuck? Neil Josten? Is this The Neil Josten? Julia took another look at the order and relaxed minutely. No, there's no way. There's no way Neil Josten, famous exy player, would place an order for a custom necklace with his rival's jersey number. That would be ridiculous, he had an incredibly famous feud with Andrew Minyard. Julia shook their head, determined to put the incident out of their mind, but as they worked on orders, they couldn't help but think - what if...?
Neil opened his latest package, a gleeful expression on his face. It was a small silver chain with a simple pendant: just Andrew’s jersey number. He quickly clasped the chain around his neck and took a selfie for Andrew on Snapchat. He got a notification that Andrew screenshotted his picture and Andrew replied in seconds.
Drew <3: Junkie
Neil: Your junkie <3
Drew <3: Shut up
Drew <3: Yeah
Neil: Love you Drew
Drew <3: You too, junkie. Call later?
Neil: Definitely
Later, when Neil was on the phone with Andrew, he noticed the packaging that he never tossed out and went to do so. Picking up the packaging, he heard a crinkle of paper and quickly glanced inside to see what else was in there. He upended the package and a small slip of paper fell out. He picked it up and let out a little gasp, to which Andrew responded with a small noise of curiosity.
“Drew. There’s a note,” Neil said, scanning it quickly. “And it’s about the necklace.”
“Oh? What’s it say?” Andrew’s tone didn’t change, but Neil knew he was interested.
“‘Thanks for your order! Also, are you actually Neil Josten?? Send me some kind of sign?’ And then they left their Twitter handle. What should I do, should I dm them?” Neil heard a huff from the other end of the phone.
“Send me some kind of sign? What are you, a ghost?” Neil smiled ruefully.
“I probably should be, by now. I was never supposed to live this long. You know what. I’m gonna dm them. Because why not? Yolo, right?”
“Never say yolo again. I swear I will gut you.” Neil let out a loud laugh as he navigated to Twitter on his phone.
“Okay, Drew. Whatever you say, my love. Okay here’s what I’m saying: ‘thanks for the necklace. Have a good one.’” Neil narrated. Andrew let out another huff.
“You’re a menace. And stop calling me the same thing you call Matt. It’s insulting. Who am I, your friend or your husband? Stop calling us the same thing.” Neil could hardly speak for how hard he was laughing. He glanced down at his dms once more before closing the app, seeing a flurry of incredulous messages coming in from the shop owner.
“You know you’re my best friend and my husband, right, zeeskeit?” Neil giggled at the annoyed sound Andrew let out.
“That one too! What does it even mean?”
“I’m never going to tell you. Hey, it’s late, and it’s even later for you. I can hear you falling asleep as we speak.” As if to prove Neil’s point, Andrew yawned loudly.
“I’m not tired, you’re tired,” Andrew grumbled. Shuffling sounds made their way through the phone and Neil felt a burst of fondness at the thought of Andrew surrounded by blankets and pillows in his bed. It was almost immediately followed by a pang of longing to be there with him.
“I miss you, Drew.” Neil could hear Andrew sighing.
“I miss you too, Neil. Get some sleep. We can talk again tomorrow.” Neil made his way to his own bedroom, his own bed.
“I love you, zeeskeit,” Neil whispered through the phone.
“And I love you, häschen,” Andrew rumbled back. They fell asleep like that, call still running, time ticking upward until both of their phones died.
5
Neil sat in the conference room, staring blankly at his PR agent, phone held loosely in his hand. For the life of him, he could not remember her name. Was it Alice? That sounds kind of familiar. Alice? looked at him over the frame of her glasses, and the glare she was sending his way would be frightening were he almost anyone else.
"Do you have any idea how much work you've been making for us? For me?" Elise? smacked a hand down on the table as Neil scrolled on his phone. He glanced up at the noise and raised a brow at the enraged woman, flicking his gaze between her and Coach Roberts, who was seated next to her.
"What could I possibly have done? I haven't spoken to any reporters in weeks." Eliza? leaned over the table toward him, practically snarling, while Neil's coach held out a hand, blocking her from reaching for him.
"What have you done? You deliberately provoked one of the best players in the game on Twitter. You posted a picture of your cat attacking a bear with Minyard's jersey number on it!"
"No, I posted a picture of my cat cuddling with a bear with Minyard's jersey number on it. King is just violent in her affections." Elizabeth? rolled her eyes and clenched her hands into fists on top of the table.
"Half of Twitter is up in arms about you supposedly having some custom ordered necklace from Etsy with his jersey number, Neil. Why the fuck would you buy a necklace with Minyard's jersey number?" Neil pressed "order" on his phone screen and turned it facedown on the table before glancing up at his PR agent.
"Look, Lisa-"
"That's not my name-"
"I don't care. I'm not actually doing anything. I can't control what people say, and I also don't really care." Neil looked at his coach. "Am I underperforming? Am I doing badly? Are we still doing okay?" The man shifted in his seat.
"You're doing just fine. Better than fine, you're playing really well. I don't have any problems on my end. But that's not why we're here-"
"Then I don't care. If that's all, I'm gonna leave." Neil stood, tucking his phone into his pocket after glancing at the order confirmation screen and nodding at the two. "Coach. Laila." He moved quickly out of the room, door closing on whatever Linnea? was shouting at his back.
"That's still not my n-"
Two weeks later, Neil signed for a package before carrying it up to his apartment and eagerly tearing into it. He pulled out his prize and rubbed it against his face happily, carrying it out to his balcony. He sat down on one of the chairs out there, putting his feet up and letting King hop onto his lap before calling Andrew. He picked up on the second ring.
"Hey."
"What do you want, junkie, I'm eating dinner."
"Oh? What did you make?"
"...."
"Andrew."
"Yes?"
"Are you eating ice cream for dinner?"
"I'm not not eating ice cream for dinner," Andrew mumbled around a mouthful of what was definitely ice cream.
"What happened to your meal plan? The one you said you were definitely going to follow?"
"There was quinoa on it." Neil smirked, looking down at the street below and seeing a photographer staring back up at him.
"I see. Well, I'm sitting on my balcony right now. Looking directly at a guy trying to get a good picture of me sitting in my chair with my new purchase." All sounds from the other end of the phone ceased.
"Your new purchase? What, pray tell, is your new purchase?"
"I'm sure you'll see soon enough. I'm about to wave it in front of this guy's face. Well, I'll talk to you later after I've eaten my own dinner. Love you, Drew." Andrew grunted a response as Neil hung up the phone and stood, displacing his grumbling cat so that he could shake out and fold his purchase in clear view of the photographer on the street below.
Neil woke up the next morning to a text message from Drew <3 saying, simply, "Menace" and a phone call from his PR agent (contact name Alia? PR). He answered the call and sat there in silence waiting for her to speak.
"Neil? Did you pick up? Why didn't you say anything?" Neil sat up in bed, groaning.
"What do you want, Anna?"
"That's not my- whatever. That's not important. What's important is this headline I'm staring at right now. 'Neil Josten relaxes on balcony with Minyard blanket.’ Which - really? His face? On a fucking blanket? Neil. Neil! When did you buy that blanket? Was it before or after I told you to stop causing problems for me?" Annalise? sounded close to tears, and Neil almost felt bad. Almost.
"During."
"...What?"
"I bought it during. You were talking at me and I was placing the order."
"Neil. Neil, why?"
"I wanted it. Have a good morning, Annie. Talk to you hopefully never. Bye." Neil was asleep again almost before he hung up the phone.
+1
Neil unlocked and opened the apartment door with one hand, holding the cat carrier in the other and his duffel bag over his shoulder. Stepping inside, he carefully placed King's carrier on the ground and closed the door firmly behind him before unlatching the crate. King shot out and launched herself onto the cat tree in the corner of the room. Neil inhaled deeply, allowing himself to revel in being Home for a few moments before continuing into the apartment.
Neil pulled his phone out to check the time, making sure he'd still be able to have dinner ready for Andrew when he got home after practice. The only good thing about his season ending early was this: being able to come home and surprise Andrew. Satisfied with the amount of time he had, he hitched his duffel higher onto his shoulder and wandered toward the bedroom so he could put it away. It had been years since he lived out of a duffel, and he wasn't going to live like that in his own home. He pushed open the door to the room with his hip, King following silently behind, and smiled at the sight of Sir sleeping soundly on the bed, little snores audible from her chest. He put his bag down quietly on the bed and reached out to stroke her once, head to tail, before his eyes caught on something he hadn't seen before.
There, on Andrew’s bed, was a pillow. It had a pillowcase on it, but it wasn’t one Neil knew of. He stepped closer, eyeing the navy blue pillowcase, out of place among Andrew’s black sheets and grey blankets. In fact, it was the only blue thing in the whole room.
Once Neil was stood at the head of the bed he saw what was really on the pillowcase: his jersey number. Andrew had a pillow encased in Neil’s jersey number. Neil stood there for a few moments in silence, just staring, blinking, processing, before letting loose the biggest smile he had. He knew exactly what to do.
He propped the pillow up so the numbers would be visible and jogged quickly back down to the end of the bed, snapping a picture of it in all its glory, Sir snoozing across the middle of it and King having just jumped up. He opened up a new tweet and attached the picture, tagging Andrew and captioning it before pressing "send tweet."
Neil Josten @njos10
Obsessed with me much? @aminyard03
[image attached]
Twitter lost its collective mind. Sir was, apparently, highly recognizable as Andrew's cat, since most of the pictures on his Instagram were of her. Every fan was trying to figure out how Neil was in Andrew's bedroom, why Neil was in Andrew's bedroom, where that pillow came from, and just what the fuck was going on between these players .
Neil, of course, saw none of this, having turned off his phone immediately after sending the tweet. This also meant he missed the following: 5 calls and 32 texts from his PR agent (Anabelle?), 6 texts from Matt, 3 calls and 10 texts from Kevin, and one reply to his tweet from Andrew saying, simply, "yes."
The door to the apartment opened as Neil put the last plate on the table, and both cats rushed to greet their other father. Neil heard Andrew bend down to pet them, trying to convince King that she did, in fact, know him. He rounded the corner just in time to see King swat at Andrew, claws sheathed, and Andrew recoil with a bitter "Bastard cat! No extra treats for you! Only the regular amount!" Neil chuckled, drawing Andrew’s attention his way.
"This is why the vet keeps telling us Sir needs to go on a diet. You can't keep feeding them like this, Drew, you-" Andrew shut him up with a quick 'yes or no' before kissing him firmly on the mouth at Neil’s murmured 'yes.'
"Neil do you have any idea what you've done on Twitter?" Neil hummed noncommittally against Andrew’s mouth, placing his hands carefully on his husband's shoulders while Andrew wrapped his own around Neil’s waist. “Neil. Focus.” Neil sighed and wrapped his arms fully around Andrew’s shoulders.
“What happened on Twitter, my love?” Andrew rolled his eyes and kissed Neil again, walking him backward toward the kitchen, where the food was still on the stove, growing colder by the minute.
“You’ve laid the groundwork for us coming out, is what happened on Twitter, Neil. We could come out right now if we wanted to.” Andrew’s eyes glittered as Neil’s widened. Neil planted his feet and refused to move.
“Do you want to? Andrew. Drew. My love. Do you want to come out? Because I have a contract from my team for you in my bag, we could come out and you could come back with me. We could make Denver home together. Drew.” Andrew, who had begun burrowing his face into the crook of Neil’s neck, drew back and looked him in the eye.
“Neil, in what fucking world do you think I’d say no to you,” he said, not really asking. Neil smiled and Andrew looked dazed in the face of it. He leaned in once more and captured Neil’s mouth, sliding his hands down to Neil’s ass, tucking them into the pockets there and squeezing . They stood there kissing until dinner had long gotten cold.