Chapter Text
The last thing that Neil remembered before waking up in a hospital bed was the sound of screeching tires and a sharp pain in his side. Everything had gone black after that and now things were far too bright which is what led him to realize he was in a hospital in the first place. He’d honestly never understand why they felt like they had to keep their lights brighter than the sun.
After the realization of where he was came to him, other things started filtering in slowly like the antiseptic smell of the room and a quiet beeping next to his head but the thing that really drew him out of that hazy half awake state was the hand resting on top of his own. He turned his head and saw Andrew sitting in one of those uncomfortable chairs that always seemed to populate hospital rooms. He was leaned over with his head laying on the edge of the bed and his face turned toward Neil with his eyes closed and his shoulders moving slightly with every breath.
They’d only been apart for two weeks since Andrew had graduated and moved to Atlanta to begin training with his professional team but Neil had missed him anyway. He could have spent the next hour just looking at him but he’d shifted unintentionally and just that small amount of movement was enough to wake Andrew. His eyes snapped open and immediately flew to Neil’s face. Neil smiled softly at him even as he glared.
“Hey Drew.” He said, his voice hoarse from lack of use.
“I can’t leave you alone for two minutes.” Andrew snapped and to anyone else he’d sound angry but Neil heard the worry in his voice.
“I’m fine.” Neil said and knew it was the wrong thing when Andrew just glared harder.
“You got hit by a car because you were out running in the dark.” Andrew ground out.
“It’s not that bad.” Neil insisted. “Nothing even hurts.”
“That’s because you're pumped so full of drugs that you probably couldn’t even feel it if someone chopped off a toe right now.” Andrew said and Neil barely refrained from rolling his eyes at his dramatics.
He knew Andrew was just worried and didn’t know how to show it so he was lashing out. It was something he did because anger was an easier emotion for him than anything else.
“I should probably call Coach and tell him I’m not coming to practice.” Neil said in an attempt to change the subject.
“He already knows.” Andrew said. “He’s the one who called me.”
“Who called him?” Neil asked in confusion. He’d been unconscious for who knew how long so it certainly hadn’t been him.
“The hospital.” Andrew said. “He’s your emergency contact.”
“Since when?” Neil asked, even more confused.
“Since your freshman year.” Andrew told him, the anger finally leaving his voice slightly. “Abby puts him down as everyone’s emergency contact on paperwork unless they specifically ask for it to be someone else.”
“Oh.” Neil said before shaking his head. “Okay. Um, is he here?”
“He was earlier but he went back to Palmetto to run practice with the others.” Andrew answered.
Neil nodded and it fell quiet between them for a few moments before Andrew shifted his weight and turned his body fully toward Neil.
“What?” Neil asked, noticing the intense look on Andrew’s face.
“What happened?” Andrew asked.
“I got hit by a car. You just said that.” Neil said even though he knew that wasn’t what Andrew was actually asking.
“You know that’s not what I meant.” Andrew said. “Coach called me at two in the morning to tell me you’d gotten hurt and he’s hardly the one to delay things. He said that you were out for a run when the car hit you and you only go for a run that late when something is wrong. So, what happened?”
Neil knew that Andrew didn’t like repeating himself but he was concerned enough that he’d done it anyway so Neil answered the question this time.
“I had a nightmare.” He told Andrew honestly. “I couldn’t go back to sleep so I went for a run to put it out of my mind for a while.”
“You could have called.” Andrew said.
“I knew you had practice early in the morning just like I did.” Neil said. “And you’re on an actual professional team with a new coach and new teammates and I didn’t want you to be tired and make a bad impression.”
“You’re more important than fucking stickball, Neil.” Andrew said.
He hadn’t raised his voice, he rarely did, but the tone was enough to convey his feelings anyway. They’d long grown past not acknowledging each other’s importance in their lives but it was still a rare occasion where Andrew would say something about how much Neil meant to him and the fact that he was saying it now made Neil realize the seriousness of the situation.
“I’m sorry.” He said quietly.
“Don’t.” Andrew said, shaking his head. “Just….call me next time. I don’t care how late it is.”
“I will. I promise.” Neil said and he meant it. He knew how serious promises were to Andrew so he’d never make one lightly.
Before either of them could say anything else a woman in a white coat stepped into the room. She had dark skin and her hair was up in a large bun on the back of her head. Neil noted the hospital ID badge clipped to her front pocket but the print was too small to read.
“Oh, you’re awake.” She said, sounding cheerful. “That’s good. I’m Dr. Clara Mayfield, it’s a pleasure to meet you though I am sorry about the circumstances.”
“Yeah, good to meet you too.” Neil said, only because he knew it would be impolite not to say anything.
She flipped open the file she’d entered the room with and glanced over it before she looked up and Neil noticed that her eyes went to Andrew briefly before meeting his.
“Mr. Josten, would you like your friend to step outside while we discuss things?” She asked and Neil’s brow furrowed.
“Why?” He asked. “I’ll just tell him anyway.”
“I am not at liberty to discuss your private medical information with anyone but you unless I am given explicit permission to do so.” She explained. “Which is exactly what I told him when he demanded to know earlier.”
“You could have told him, I wouldn’t have cared.” Neil told her. “Andrew’s my partner.”
“Be that as it may, I still could not discuss things with him at the time.” She responded. “He is not an emergency contact nor does he have a power of attorney over you and since the two of you are not married, he has no legal standing.”
“That’s bullshit.” Neil protested. “We’ve been together for over three years.”
“Those are just the rules, I can’t change them, I just have to follow them." She said with a shrug. "So are you comfortable with me discussing your private medical information with him in the room?”
“Obviously.” Neil said, rolling his eyes. Dr. Mayfield gave him a nod.
“Alright then. So, you were brought in last night at about one in the morning. You were unconscious at the time but one of the paramedics recognized you so we had your name. That wasn’t really important at the time but it did help us find your records and contact your coach.” She explained, flipping through the file in her hands again. “When you first came in, we did x-rays and a cat scan to assess your injuries. Luckily, the car that hit you wasn’t going very fast because they’d been turning at the time but it still did some damage as you’d expect. You have three broken ribs, a fractured wrist and clavicle, and a concussion. Also, some severe bruising on your left side which isn’t a surprise but you were lucky. It could have been a lot worse.”
“How long will it take to heal?” Neil asked immediately. “The season starts in three weeks.”
“Well, it’s going to take a bit longer than that, I’m afraid.” Dr. Mayfield said. “It will take at least six weeks for the ribs and wrist to heal and it can take from eight to twelve weeks for the clavicle to heal.”
“Twelve weeks!” Neil exclaimed. “That’s half the fucking season. I can’t miss that much.”
“Eight to twelve weeks.” She reiterated. “Maybe a bit shorter. It all just depends on how quickly your body can heal itself.”
“But –” He started.
“You’re taking the time off, Abram.” Andrew said. Neil turned to glare at him but Andrew just gave him an impassive expression back.
“I’m the captain.” Neil tried. “I have to be there.”
“Robin is vice captain. She’ll handle it.” Andrew said with a shrug.
“Andrew.” Neil said angrily.
“Junkie.” Andrew countered in a bored tone.
Neil rolled his eyes again, aware that he was acting like a child, and Dr. Mayfield cleared her throat before she continued speaking.
“Now that you’re awake, we’re going to keep you here for observation for a few more hours but you should be able to go home by tonight if everything goes smoothly.” She told them. “When you’re discharged, I’m going to prescribe you some medication to help manage the pain and you should get in with your primary care doctor in the next couple of weeks to check on your healing but other than that, you just have to be patient and allow yourself to heal. Somebody will come by in about an hour to give you another dose of pain medication.”
She smiled and nodded to both of them before closing the file again and leaving the room entirely. Neil was thoroughly annoyed and so, instead of restarting the conversation he and Andrew had been having before the doctor came, he just leaned his head back on the crappy pillow and stared at the ceiling above him.
Neither of them had spoken for the next few hours despite the fact that there was literally nothing else to do since the room he was in didn’t even have a TV. Even with the silence, Andrew didn’t leave his side the entire time. Not even to go for a smoke. Wymack had dipped in briefly to get an update and to drop off a change of clothes for Neil to go home in and he hadn’t listened to Neil’s complaints about missing practice any more than Andrew did.
Neil was still angry about having to miss that much practice but he wasn’t angry at Andrew so he forced himself not to take it out on him. When he was finally being discharged, they left him in his room to get the paperwork which gave him enough time to change before having to go outside. Andrew had to help him because they’d put a brace on his fractured wrist and put his arm in a sling to prevent him from moving it too much because of his fractured clavicle and he absolutely hated the fact that he couldn’t do it himself.
He found his phone in the pocket of the pants that Wymack had dropped off and the moment he turned it on he saw all of the messages that he’d missed from the original foxes in their group chat. He skimmed through them long enough to figure out that his hospitalization had been reported about on almost all of the sports stations but that none of them seemed to know what had actually happened yet so it had all been speculation which was why the foxes were texting him in the first place. They were all asking questions about what had happened and wanting to know if he was okay. Wymack had probably been fielding calls all day, both from the foxes and from reporters.
“Did the others call you?” He asked curiously, finally breaking the silence between them, and Andrew shrugged impassively.
“I haven’t checked my phone since I got here.” He said and Neil looked at him quickly.
“What about your coach?” He asked. “Have you at least talked to him? I know you must have missed practice today.”
“I texted him this morning before I got here.” Andrew said. “I told him I wouldn’t be back for at least a week.”
“But you haven’t actually talked to him or gotten permission to miss that much?” Neil asked seriously.
“You’re more important.” Andrew said and Neil almost wanted to shake him.
“You have a contract, Andrew!” He exclaimed. “You know, a legal agreement that you signed with known expectations. Like going to practice!”
Andrew shrugged again and the urge to shake him intensified.
“They could sue you.” Neil said. “Or kick you off the team.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Andrew said.
“It does!” Neil said. “This is your future. I don’t want to be the reason that it blows up.”
“You are my future. Everything else is relative.” Andrew said and the words stopped the argument in its tracks.
Neil knew that Andrew cared about him, he knew that their relationship was important to him, but Andrew had never said anything so explicit about their future. Andrew was saying that he saw their future beyond this moment, beyond Neil’s graduation, beyond their careers, beyond everything, and it was enough to make him almost breathless. This was Andrew stating clearly that he expected their relationship to be long lasting.
“Oh.” Was all Neil could manage as he stared at the man in front of him. Andrew returned his gaze for a long moment before reaching out and pushing his face to the side.
“Staring.” He commented, his voice holding a softer edge than before.
The familiarity of the gesture made Neil smile because he knew exactly what it meant. It meant that whatever expression was on his face showed just how much he felt for Andrew, so much so that it made looking at it difficult for the man himself. There were some days, Neil knew, that Andrew still felt like he was unworthy of any positive emotion or fondness from anyone.
“You should still call your coach.” Neil said a few minutes later. “You should probably explain what’s going on.”
Neil was aware that the coach and other higher ups knew that Andrew was gay and that they were in a relationship, Andrew had told them before he’d even signed the contract, so telling them that he was taking a week off because Neil was injured would make them less inclined to punish him too harshly.
“I’ll call him when we get back.” Andrew said.
~~~
It took another thirty minutes for them to return with the discharge papers, which Neil didn’t understand because all they had to do was print them out to be signed, but finally he was allowed to leave.
He was forced to use a wheelchair even though he was perfectly capable of walking but once they got to the parking lot he was allowed to stand up and walk to the car on his own. Andrew led Neil to the sleek silver Porsche he’d bought when he signed with the team in Atlanta, he’d left the Maserati in Palmetto for Neil, and he climbed in while being mindful of his injuries and the giant bruise that spread from his shoulder to his hip. He was still left sucking in short shallow breaths from the pain but it passed relatively quickly.
Andrew drove them back to Fox Tower just as it was starting to get dark and parked in the space next to the Maserati. It was at this point that Neil remembered he hadn’t actually messaged any of the others back because he’d gotten distracted by Andrew at the hospital so once they made it to Neil’s dorm room and he’d handed Andrew the keys he pulled his phone out and sent them a short message in the group chat letting them know that he was okay.
His phone started buzzing with incoming messages almost immediately which he really should have expected by now. He sat the phone on the kitchen counter knowing that it was better to wait until they’d all said what they wanted before answering. Most of the time, if they were all texting in the group chat, there were about a billion separate conversations going on at once and you had to read the entire thread to even understand anything. If you only texted once or twice, like he typically did, your texts tended to get a bit lost in the fray.
Neil was still staring at his phone and waiting for it to stop buzzing when Robin came out of the bedroom and her eyes found him immediately.
“Neil, you’re back!” She said, coming over to stand in front of him. “Why didn’t you call? I could have made some dinner or something.”
“Robin, I mean this with absolute respect but you’re a worse cook than I am.” Neil said. “I didn’t want you to burn the building down.”
“Rude!” She exclaimed. Neil shrugged slightly causing her eyes to drop to the sling. “So, how bad is it?”
“I’ll heal.” Neil said. He glanced over when Andrew started opening cabinets and pulling out ingredients but he didn’t let it distract him. “I’m going to be out for a while though so I need you to step up until I’m better.”
“A while? How long is a while?” She asked anxiously.
“The doctor said eight to twelve weeks.” Andrew answered, probably assuming that Neil would try to shorten the time down.
Neil knew that Andrew was telling Robin because she would absolutely fight to keep him off the court for at least the recommended time or until he was fully healed even if he managed to convince Wymack that he was fine. Robin was around him more than anyone else so she’d be the first to notice if he was faking it. Neil turned to glare at the back of Andrew’s head for a moment before letting out a long sigh.
“It’s really this,” He motioned to his clavicle with his uninjured hand. “that will take the longest to heal. Everything else will heal much quicker.”
“Well, I can take care of the team while you heal.” She said, nodding firmly. “It’ll be good practice for next year when I’m captain.”
“Exactly.” Neil said, reaching out to squeeze her shoulder. “You’ll do great.”
“I know.” She said, sounding a lot more confident than she had a moment ago. She tilted her head at the phone that had finally gone silent again. “You might want to get that before they all decide to hop on a plane and come to check on you themselves.”
He grabbed his phone and started texting back immediately knowing that she wasn’t exactly exaggerating with that statement. He subsequently spent the next ten minutes assuring them once again that he was fine and, when that didn’t work, informing them that Andrew was with him so they didn’t need to worry.
Still, he saw them all start planning a trip to Palmetto that weekend even after he told them they didn’t need to. Even Nicky was looking into cheap flights from Germany, which Neil nixed immediately considering that he’d literally just moved and started working for the same company as Erik. He wasn’t going to let him spend a ridiculous amount of money just to come visit for a couple of days when it was entirely unnecessary in the first place.
The others jumped in to support Neil, telling Nicky that they’d all be there and promising to keep him updated. Finally, Neil had to promise to Facetime him the next day so Nicky could see him in person before he agreed to stay home.
While Neil had been texting their family, Andrew had been making dinner for the three of them and the dorm was beginning to smell very nice which made Neil realize that he hadn’t eaten since the shitty lunch the hospital had served and he was starving. He stood up and made his way over to see what Andrew was making, passing by Robin who was drinking a glass of orange juice while standing directly in front of the fridge.
Andrew was making spicy curry, which Neil hadn’t even known they had the ingredients for, along with some roasted vegetables. The curry was simmering together and Andrew was stirring it occasionally but he took his attention off of it as Neil leaned against the counter next to him.
“Thanks for making dinner.” He said, smiling softly at Andrew.
It had literally only been two weeks since they’d last seen each other but looking at him now felt like they’d been apart for years. Neil couldn’t take his eyes off of him and when Andrew looked up at him, with the bright kitchen lights reflecting and making his eyes shine gold, the feeling grew even stronger. He never wanted to look at anything else. Andrew, in a move that surprised Neil, reached up to brush his hair from his forehead rather than pushing his face away again.
“Yes or no?” Andrew asked, his voice as soft as Neil’s had been.
Oh. Maybe he’d missed Neil as much as Neil had missed him.
“It’s always yes.” He said.
“Except when it’s no.” Andrew finished before leaning up to press a kiss to his lips.
The kiss didn’t last long. It was just a brush of lips really, a reconnection after being apart, but it was enough. Whatever Andrew wanted to give him would always be enough.
“Gross.” Robin commented, startling both of them despite the fact that Neil had literally just walked past her to get to this side of the kitchen. “That was like watching my brothers kiss.”
Neil flipped her off and she grinned at him. He didn’t have any siblings but he thought this might actually be what having a little sister felt like. She always teased them about their relationship, especially when they did something couplely in front of her, but she was also one of their biggest supporters if one of the younger foxes said something about it.
Andrew went back to stirring the curry and Neil grabbed three plates out of the dishwasher to put on the table. As he went back for silverware, he had the sudden thought that he was glad he’d been injured on his non-dominant side because it would be hell to do anything with his left hand. He’d gained a new respect for Kevin for learning to play with his non-dominant hand and it had only been a few hours. Thankfully his injuries were nowhere near as severe as Kevin’s had been was all he could say.
Andrew divided the food up evenly onto the three plates and Neil wrinkled his nose slightly at the vegetables, much preferring fruit, but one look from Andrew had him sighing and putting a piece of broccoli in his mouth. Neil and Andrew let Robin prattle on about her classes for most of the meal, giving input when prompted, and he was more than ready for bed by the time he was finished.
It wasn’t even that late and he’d stayed up far longer than this many times before but for some reason he could barely keep his eyes open. He blamed the pain medication the doctor had given him which he’d taken right before eating like he’d been instructed. Andrew noticed immediately because of course he did and he steered Neil to the bedroom even as he protested that he wanted to take a shower after spending a whole day in the hospital.
“You can take a shower in the morning.” Andrew said. “If you try to take one now, you’ll probably pass out in the tub, smack your head, and end up right back in the hospital. You already have a concussion, you don’t need to make it worse.”
“But Andrew.” He whined, fully aware that he was acting like a child.
“Abram, lay down.” Andrew said, pushing lightly at Neil’s shoulders.
The tone of his voice was one that Neil had practically been trained to respond to. It was stern and commanding and something that Neil wasn’t used to hearing outside of sex. He raised a brow at Andrew.
“That wasn't fair.” He commented.
Andrew ignored him as he propped pillows around his body in a way that would make it comfortable for him to sleep. Neil would have argued more just because he could but his eyes slipped closed before he managed a single word and didn’t reopen until Robin’s alarm went off at five the next morning.
Neil, despite the fact that he couldn’t actually participate in practice, went to the stadium with Robin anyway with the intention of at least watching but was promptly told by Wymack that he didn’t want to see him back for at least a week. When Neil came back to the dorm, Andrew was already waiting with a bag packed and told him that they were going to Columbia for the week which let him know that Andrew definitely had something to do with Coach kicking him out in the first place. He wasn’t that bothered by it though because that meant he got to spend more time with Andrew.
The first two days in Columbia were spent mostly watching crime dramas that Andrew pretended to hate but that Neil knew were secretly his favorites, Facetiming with Nicky and the other foxes who were still planning to come for the weekend, and making out on the couch like horny teenagers. They hadn’t had sex or anything close to it though because anytime they got too heated in their make outs Andrew would pull back. When Neil finally asked why Andrew just gave him an unimpressed look and motioned to his injuries which Neil took to mean that Andrew didn’t want to accidentally hurt him. It was annoying and frustrating but Neil had to admit that he had a point.
It hurt to even take too deep of a breath because of his broken ribs and the bruise on his side had darkened until it was almost black. Also, moving his left arm hurt a lot. It wasn’t even his wrist that was bothering him, in fact he hardly even noticed it, but his clavicle being fractured meant that any movement, no matter how small, sent a sharp pain through it.
Still, he’d prefer it if he could have sex with his boyfriend. At the end of the week, Andrew would be going back to Atlanta and he didn’t know when they’d be able to see each other in person again. Sex wasn’t the most important thing in their relationship, in fact it was only a very small part of it, but it would be nice if they could right now just for the connection. It was still nice just to have Andrew around though.
The third morning in Columbia though was when things changed a bit. When Neil woke up, Andrew was already sitting up in the bed next to him and he peeked up at him in the soft morning light filtering through the window. Andrew’s eyes were already on him but he seemed distant, like he was thinking hard about something.
“Morning.” Neil murmured quietly, not wanting to break the calm atmosphere. “Were you watching me sleep?”
The distance in Andrew’s eyes faded almost immediately and he met Neil’s eyes with an intense look.
“Marry me.” Andrew said.
Neil’s brain short circuited for a minute because surely Andrew hadn’t actually said what he thought he had. Neil pushed himself up into a sitting position with his good arm and studied Andrew’s face closely. The other man still had that intense look in his eyes and his head was tilted slightly to the side like he was genuinely waiting for an answer.
“What?” Neil asked, needing to hear it again just to make sure.
“Marry me.” Andrew repeated. Okay, so he had heard it correctly then.
“Why?” He asked without thinking. Andrew’s expression shuddered and went blank and Neil knew he’d said exactly the wrong thing so he rushed to correct it. “That’s not….I’m not saying no, Andrew. I just, I don’t understand why you’re asking. I kind of thought it wasn’t something you wanted, is all.”
“They wouldn’t tell me anything.” Andrew said after a long pause, his face still blank, though his shoulders weren’t as tense as they had been.
“What do you mean?” Neil asked. His mind was still stuck on Andrew’s question and he wasn’t quite following.
“At the hospital. Coach called me when you got hurt and I came to the hospital and they wouldn’t tell me anything. I didn’t know if you were okay or not for hours because no one would speak to me. You were fine this time but it made me start thinking about the next time you’re in the hospital, and don’t try to tell me there won’t be a next time because we both know you’re a danger magnet. What if you were really hurt?” Andrew said with more emotion in his voice than Neil had ever heard from him. “You could be dying and I wouldn’t know because to them, I’m not family. So, I’m asking you to make me family.”
Neil didn’t even have to think about it. “Okay.”
“Okay?” Andrew asked like he’d expected a different answer.
“Okay.” Neil agreed. “I’ll marry you. You’re already family and you have been for years but we can make it official so that no one can ever say you’re not. I do have one condition though.”
“What?” Andrew asked, clearly cautious.
“You’re telling Nicky.” Neil said immediately.
Andrew wasn’t pleased by that but he agreed anyway.
~~~
So, getting engaged wasn’t a huge affair or anything but Neil honestly preferred it that way. Andrew, after getting a yes from Neil, suggested that they just take a trip down to the courthouse and get married before he had to go back to Atlanta. Neil knew that Andrew didn’t want to plan some huge ceremony because he wanted to be married before either of them ended up in the hospital again which, considering the violent nature of exy and their general lives, could very well happen before they had time to actually get married if they did it traditionally. That, paired with the fact that neither of them cared much for tradition anyway, made it easy for Neil to agree.
When they went to the courthouse to get their marriage certificate, they realized that they’d have to wait at least a day after applying for it to actually get married and considering that it was a Thursday, Neil had suggested they wait until the weekend.
Everyone apart from Nicky would be in town, even Aaron, and they could come to the courthouse with them for the marriage which felt like something important to Neil. They were his family and having them there would make marrying Andrew that much more special. Not having Nicky there felt kind of bad but he hadn’t known he’d be getting married when he told him to stay in Germany so he tried not to feel too guilty about it. He figured that they could Facetime him when they got ready to get married and someone could hold the phone for him to watch along with everyone else.
They were sent home from the courthouse with a stack of paperwork to fill out that would need to be filed after they got married along with the marriage certificate and Neil spread it all out on the kitchen table when they got back to the house. He looked it over and separated it into piles before shoving half of the stacks at Andrew to fill out and keeping the other half himself.
Most of it was just giving information like their full legal names, birth dates, and social security numbers along with birthplaces and other seemingly irrelevant crap but one paper in particular caught Neil’s attention and that was the paper that pertained to what they’d be called after getting married, including what last name they’d be using or if they were just going to keep their own.
Neil picked it up and read over it twice as he thought about it. His last name wasn’t the one he’d been born with but it was still significant to him and he wasn’t sure he wanted to give it up but he also kind of wanted something that connected him to Andrew in an undeniable way. He chewed on his lip for a moment before he turned to look at Andrew, who was still filling out his own stack of papers.
“Andrew.” He said his name to get his attention and Andrew looked up at him immediately. Neil saw his gaze go to the paper in his hand for a moment before Andrew met his eyes.
“What?” Andrew asked.
“I want to hyphenate our last names.” He said, holding Andrew’s gaze. “Josten is the only last name that I chose for myself and it’s the last name I had when I was made into a real person so it’s important to me and I wouldn’t want to just give it up but I want to have your last name too.”
“Why?” Andrew asked.
Neil stared at him for a moment as he thought about it a bit more and then tried to figure out how to phrase his next statement.
“I’ve never had the last name of someone who loved me.” Neil said finally. “My whole life, I had a last name that came from a person who hated me or last names that didn’t mean much at all but, even though we rarely say it, I know you love me just like I love you so it feels important to have your last name even though I don’t want to erase my own.”
Andrew studied him and Neil wasn’t quite sure what he was looking for but after a few moments of silence he answered.
“Okay.”
Andrew took the paper out of his hand and filled it out efficiently and where it required them to put in their post marital names he wrote out the last name Minyard-Josten for both of them.
“Why does your name come first?” He asked and Andrew raised a brow at him.
“It sounds better that way.” He said simply and, after saying it both ways in his head, Neil had to agree. Minyard-Josten had a nice ring to it.
They hadn’t told anyone they were getting married and they hadn’t planned anything special for it either. All they’d done was set up an appointment with the court justice who would be performing the ceremony and gone out to pick wedding rings at a small jewelry store in Columbia the same day they’d filed for the marriage certificate.
Neil hadn’t really been all that concerned about what the rings looked like, he was just happy to be marrying Andrew, so he let him pick them out. Andrew had chosen gold bands with a thin silver band running through the middle. They were simple but Neil didn’t mind because they were something that both of them would actually wear. Neither of them cared much for flashy jewelry.
Aaron, Katelyn, and Kevin all arrived at ten on Friday night and Kevin took over Nicky’s room at the house when they arrived. Kevin looked Neil over almost immediately and asked about a million questions about his recovery and Neil answered all of them patiently because he could see the strain in Kevin’s body. He knew that Kevin was probably having flashbacks to his own injury, especially considering that Neil had been injured on his left side just like Kevin had, so he allowed the worried stream of concern without complaining. Aaron and Katelyn, once they’d been told what the doctor had said, hadn’t asked anything else because they agreed with her assessment.
After they’d had a late dinner together and Kevin had been satisfied by Neil’s answers, they all helped set up the living room with air mattresses and blankets for the others. Matt, Dan, Allison, and Renee had gotten later flights so they didn’t get in until two in the morning on Saturday so by the time they got back to the house everyone was ready for bed.
Neil and Andrew had planned for the late arrivals and had booked their appointment at the courthouse for four in the afternoon on Saturday, which had been the last available time for the day, to give everyone time to rest before they dropped the bombshell of their marriage on them.
Neil woke up at eight the next morning and, despite the fact that they probably hadn’t gotten to sleep until at least three, he could already hear the others moving around the house. The smell of bacon and pancakes was flowing up from the kitchen which meant that at least one of them had to have gone to the store already because they didn’t have the ingredients for that in the house. When they’d come to the house earlier in the week they’d stopped at a store for basic ingredients to keep them fed but he knew for a fact that they hadn’t bought bacon or maple syrup.
The warmth all around him and the body pressed against his side meant that Andrew was still in bed with him and that made him smile. He turned his head and found Andrew with his cheek pressed into his pillow and soft puffs of breath coming through his nose. His face was smoothed out in sleep and it made him look younger and less burdened. The sun fell across his pillow and lit the strands of his hair until it almost looked like he was glowing. He was beautiful, Neil thought.
As if he could feel the gaze on him, Andrew’s eyes fluttered open and landed on Neil who was just scan inches from him. He squinted slightly in the light but he didn’t lash out like he might have years ago at finding someone else in his bed. Instead, he met Neil’s eyes calmly and spoke.
“Yes or no?”
They didn’t always have to ask the question now, the years of being together had taught them to read each other's body language well enough that they didn’t always need the words to understand the other person’s answer, but they still brought them out sometimes. Neil’s answer to that question was always going to be the same though.
“Yes.”
Andrew shifted closer and brought their lips together in a soft kiss before he pulled back and Neil saw his eyes go to the large envelope on the bedside table that contained all of their paperwork for the marriage. Neil twisted his neck to look at it as well before turning back to meet Andrew’s eyes.
“Ready?” Neil asked quietly. Andrew paused for only a moment.
“Ready.” He agreed.
They got up a few minutes later, after sharing a few more kisses, and brushed their teeth side by side in the bathroom. When they got downstairs, Neil had to endure another round of questions and being checked over since the others hadn’t had a chance to fuss over him last night on account of their late arrival which took considerably less time than it had with Kevin.
Finally he was allowed to sit and eat breakfast that was, in typical fox fashion, very rowdy and very loud. Everyone was sharing stories and catching up like they hadn’t seen each other in years, when in fact they’d all been here a few weeks ago when the twins and Nicky were graduating, but Neil was happy to have his family all together again anyway.
While they were all distracted Neil sent off a text to Wymack, Abby, and Robin that he wanted them to meet him and Andrew at the house in Columbia at two without mentioning why and then stole Andrew’s phone to text Bee. He wanted them at the ceremony along with everyone else and he knew that Andrew would want Bee there even if he never said it out loud.
He and Andrew had agreed that they weren’t going to tell anyone about the marriage ceremony until then when they could tell them all together. It also had the added bonus that no one, read Allison, could force them to go shopping for suits. They were both planning on just wearing nice jeans and button up shirts instead of anything too formal. Neither of them really cared all that much about what they’d be wearing.
By the time breakfast was over, he had gotten texts back from all of them with varying levels of concerned questioning and so he had to assure them that nothing was wrong but still convince them to come without saying anything too incriminating which took a little bit of time. He got it sorted after about ten minutes and it was at that precise moment that Allison finally seemed to notice he wasn’t actually paying attention anymore.
“Who are you texting, Neil?” She asked. “Everyone you actually talk to is in this house.”
“I was texting Robin.” Neil answered immediately, which wasn’t a lie. His next words were though. “I was checking in with her since I left her in charge of the team while I’m out.”
“How are the foxes doing this year?” Dan asked inquisitively and Neil shrugged.
“I mean, the season hasn’t really started yet and we haven’t been training with the new freshmen for very long but they’ve got potential I think.” Neil told her honestly. “It might be a bit soon to be saying it but I honestly think we can make it to championships this year.”
“Well, we’ll all be cheering you on.” She said with a grin. “And if you do make it to championships, we’ll all be there in the stands.”
“I know.” Neil grinned back.
“How long are you going to be out of practice for?” Matt asked.
“Eight to twelve weeks.” Neil told him. “But the doctor said I might heal faster. It all just depends.”
“Oof.” Allison commented. “That’s half the season.”
“That’s exactly what I said!” Neil exclaimed.
“If you are out that long, you’re going to have to make the second part of the season the most impressive playing you’ve ever done.” Kevin said, his voice serious. “You have to get a pro contract or Ichirou is going to do something.”
Andrew tensed in the seat next to Neil and he took his hand under the table, both to reassure him and to keep him from going for a knife, and he was about to answer when Renee started speaking.
“He’s already got people looking at him.” She reminded them all calmly. “He’s had professional teams watching him since his sophomore year, remember? He’ll get a contract.”
“Exactly.” Allison said with a firm nod. “Nothing to worry about.”
“Still.” Kevin put in. “It’s important to make an impression.”
“I know, Kev.” Neil said, cutting through the obvious tension around the table. “I’ve got it. I’ll heal, get back on the court, and get a contract. I know how important it is.”
“Good.” Kevin said firmly.
“Alright, this is boring.” Allison said while putting on her bitchiest voice, which they all knew she defaulted to when she wanted to get out of awkward situations. “What are we going to do today now that we know Neil’s fine? Shopping?”
“I don’t think so.” Neil said immediately. “My pain meds make me tired and I kind of just want to spend some time with you guys while you’re here anyway.”
“We could watch movies.” Renee suggested. “Or play some board games.”
“Or we could buy some snacks and alcohol and get drunk.” Allison countered. “We haven’t done that in a while.”
“I’m sober.” Kevin said immediately.
“And Neil can’t really drink while he’s on pain meds.” Katelyn put in quietly.
“Fine.” Allison said. “Bring on the board games then.”
They moved from the kitchen once that had been decided and Aaron pulled out all of the available board games in the house for them to choose from. That was how they ended up playing monopoly which, in hindsight, probably wasn’t the best choice.
The first round of monopoly ended with Kevin and Allison in a shouting match over alleged cheating on Allison’s part, which Neil agreed with Kevin on because he’d definitely seen her stealing money, and Kevin flipping the board.
It had taken a while to get them both calmed down and then, for some reason that Neil couldn’t fathom, they all agreed to play another round which ended much the same only that time, it had been Aaron arguing with Andrew about whether or not he actually owned the property Aaron had landed on. Aaron had refused to pay Andrew so Andrew had taken Aaron’s piece off the board and refused to give it back. Renee had finally had to step in to defuse the situation before she’d calmly suggested that maybe watching movies was better and everyone agreed even though they hadn’t actually been finished with the game.
Neil settled on the couch next to Andrew and propped his left arm up on a pillow before dragging a blanket over both of them. Kevin sat on the other side of Andrew with his feet curled up on the couch and tucked under the very edge of the blanket. Neil knew that his feet had to be pressing against Andrew’s leg but Andrew didn’t seem to mind it so he figured it was fine. Matt and Renee made popcorn for everyone while Aaron and Dan picked out a few movies to watch while they did.
Aaron pulled the curtains shut and turned off the lights while they all settled around the TV and Dan popped the first movie in. Allison sat on the recliner and pulled Renee down onto her lap while Dan and Matt shared one of the air mattresses, leaving the other for Aaron and Katelyn. Each group had their own bowls of popcorn so no one had to wait for someone else to be done to get some.
From then on, it was a quiet afternoon of movies and quiet conversations between all of them and Neil felt content and happy. It had been a while since they’d all just hung out together without having to worry about anything else and he wished Nicky was here too but it was still nice. He’d almost forgotten what it was like to just spend time with all of them together. They usually didn’t have schedules that aligned enough for them all to be in the same place at the same time anymore. Usually, when they got together, it was only a few of them meeting up in different configurations whenever they could. He’d missed this.
~~~
It was about halfway through the third movie and the fourth round of popcorn when the sound of a car pulling into the driveway interrupted. Neil glanced at the clock and saw that it was already one-thirty.
“They’re early.” He said to Andrew and his words drew the attention of everyone else in the room.
“Who’s early?” Dan asked.
“Wymack, Abby, and Robin. Or Betsy.” Neil said, glancing at the closed curtains. “I’m not actually sure who it is.”
Aaron got up to look out the curtains. “Betsy.”
“Why is Betsy here?” Kevin asked while Andrew got up to open the door.
“And why are the others coming?” Matt added.
“Um, I just thought it’d be nice for us all to get together while you guys are here.” Neil lied quickly. “They’re supposed to be here at three.”
“Is something wrong, Neil?” Renee asked.
“No.” Neil shook his head. “Nothing is wrong. Really.”
“Convincing.” Aaron said and Neil flipped him off reflexively.
Their relationship had gotten much better throughout the years and Neil considered Aaron family and he knew it was the same the other way around but they were still antagonistic toward one another at the best of times. It was just how their relationship worked.
Bee came into the house with a smile and greeted each of them in turn before disappearing into the kitchen with Andrew. Neil was sure that they were making hot chocolate for everyone.
“Seriously Neil, what’s going on?” Aaron asked, glancing toward the kitchen. “Why is Betsy here? Did something happen? Is Andrew okay?”
“Everything’s fine.” Neil insisted. “I’m fine, Andrew’s fine, nothing is wrong.”
They didn’t look convinced at all.
“Okay, look.” Neil said with a sigh. “I promise you nothing is wrong. I need you guys to trust me for just a little bit. When Wymack, Abby, and Robin get here, I’ll explain everything but nothing bad is happening, okay?”
“Fine.” Dan said after a moment. “But when they do get here, you’re going to tell us everything because it’s obvious something is going on.”
“I promise.” Neil agreed.
They all settled down again and Dan restarted the movie but Neil could see them all watching him out of the corners of their eyes. When Betsy and Andrew came back with hot chocolates for all of them, Allison and Renee moved to share the mattress with Dan and Matt so she could have the recliner.
It was clear that no one was actually watching the movie anymore but they all kept pretending that they were anyway. Neil watched the minutes tick by on the clock and at exactly five past two he heard another car pull in. Everyone’s eyes snapped immediately to him but he ignored it as he got up to open the door.
Robin was trailing slightly behind Abby and Wymack as they came up the driveway but the moment she saw him in the doorway she sped past them to stand in front of him.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” She asked quickly, her eyes trailing over him as if she was looking for a new injury.
“Nothing.” He said quickly. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t even know what those words mean.” She snapped.
“I mean them this time, Robin. Just come in.” He ushered her into the house just as Wymack and Abby caught up to her.
When Neil turned around, he found everyone on their feet and staring at him which was a little intimidating even though they were all friends. He met Andrew’s eyes quickly and he came over to stand next to him.
“So, you’re probably wondering why you’re all here.” He started nervously. “See, the thing is, we kind of have an appointment at the courthouse at four.”
“For christ sake, Josten, do not tell me that the two of you managed to get in trouble in the last week.” Wymack said, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Um, no?” Neil said but it came out sounding like more of a question which didn’t exactly help the situation.
“What did you do?” Wymack asked, obviously still convinced they had a court date.
“We’re getting married.” Andrew said, his voice and face both blank. Neil saw Aaron’s eyes widen but no one else seemed to believe him.
“Seriously, do I need to call a lawyer?” Wymack asked.
“No.” Neil said, his gaze sweeping over all of them. “He’s being serious, we’re getting married. We filed for the marriage license on Thursday and we have an appointment with a court justice at four. We wanted you all to be there which is why I texted all of you to come.”
The stunned silence lasted for about four seconds before it devolved into shouting. There were congratulations thrown around, complaints about giving them no time to get ready, exclamations of pure surprise, and exactly one comment from Kevin.
“Remember me telling you that it would be better to remain heterosexual? This isn’t going to help.”
“Kevin, you literally have two boyfriends.” Neil said, glaring at him. He shrugged.
“Yeah, but the public doesn’t know that.” He said.
“Kevin.” Andrew said, twirling a knife in his fingers. “Shut up.”
Kevin gave him an annoyed look but dropped it quickly and moved on to other conversations. Neil spent the next few minutes assuring everyone that he didn’t really care what they wore and telling them that they didn’t have to dress up at all. Allison very firmly disagreed with him and started going through her bag to see if she could find anything she deemed suitable.
Everyone else, after another bit of reassurance, finally took his word that casual clothes were fine. Andrew started up the stairs and Neil was quick to follow so that they could get dressed before they had to leave. The chaos unfolding downstairs was still audible even through the closed door of the bedroom but they both ignored it and instead focused on making sure they had everything ready.
Andrew got dressed much quicker than Neil on account of his injuries so he grabbed the envelope and looked through the papers one more time to make sure everything was there, though Neil was sure that he was fully aware that it was because of his memory, before resealing it.
They went back downstairs and, upon seeing what they were wearing, Neil noticed Allison’s shoulders relax slightly like she’d finally realized he was serious about them not dressing formally.
“You could have warned us.” Robin said while the others flitted back and forth getting ready. “We could have dressed appropriately if we’d known you were getting married.”
Neil looked at the four of them sitting at the kitchen table. Bee was wearing a dark green long sleeved shirt and slacks, Abby had on a purple dress, Wymack was wearing a light blue button up and jeans, and Robin was wearing a black t-shirt and a pink skirt.
“You all look fine.” Neil shrugged.
“I’m wearing a t-shirt, Neil.” She said with an annoyed tone. “You’re getting married and I’m wearing a t-shirt.”
“So?” He shrugged again. “You’ll be there, that’s what matters. No one cares what you’re wearing.”
She rolled her eyes but stopped arguing when Renee came in dressed very similarly to her with the only difference between them being the colors of their skirts and the fact that Renee was wearing a cardigan over hers.
“We’ve divided everyone up so that we can all get to the courthouse without having to pay for a car.” Renee informed them. “Aaron and Katelyn will be going with Neil and Andrew, Robin and Kevin will go with Wymack and Abby, and the rest of us will go with Bee since she has the most room.”
Andrew nodded at her from where he was leaning against the counter and drinking another cup of cocoa in acknowledgement of her words and the others agreed quickly.
It took about thirty minutes after that for all of them to change into something they thought was appropriate and for the girls to do their makeup between having to share the bathroom and bedrooms and then they all separated into the different cars.
Because of traffic it was already half past three when they made it to the courthouse which hadn’t been the plan but they still had time so Neil didn’t let himself stress too much. Andrew slid his arm bands off and put them in the glovebox before they got out of the car and made their way inside. Getting through security took another ten minutes so Neil sent the others on ahead to the area of the courthouse where the marriage ceremonies were performed to save some time.
He and Andrew still had to go and return the papers they’d filled out to the court clerk and get their actual marriage certificate from her that they’d need for the ceremony. They made it up to the correct floor with five minutes to spare before their appointment and Andrew immediately whipped out his phone and dialed Nicky’s number.
Nicky, who always picked up calls from Andrew and Aaron no matter what time it was, answered after only three rings. His face filled the screen and Neil could see that he was on the couch and Erik’s arm was wrapped around him. The shadows on his face let them know that he was watching TV.
“Hey, Andrew.” Nicky greeted cheerily before his eyes flickered to Neil. “And Neil.”
“Hey, Nicky.” Neil returned. “Are you busy right now?”
“It’s literally almost ten pm in Germany.” Nicky answered. “We’re just watching some TV before we go to bed. Why? Is something wrong?”
“Why does everyone keep asking that?” Neil complained.
“Because it’s you.” Nicky suggested and Neil rolled his eyes before he glanced over at Andrew.
“Okay, your turn. Tell him." He said and Andrew flicked him a look. "That was the deal, remember?”
“Tell me what?” Nicky asked, sitting up in his seat. The movement brought Erik’s face into frame behind him and Neil noted that he looked curious as well.
“We’re getting married.” Andrew said.
“Oh my god!” Nicky exploded happily. “That’s so great. I can totally help plan it, it’ll be so much fun. Maybe you’ll get a spread in Vouge or something.”
“Uh, Nicky.” Neil said, breaking through his excitement. He was fully aware that they were short on time to explain all of this. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Why not?” Nicky asked, pouting slightly.
“We’re getting married right now.” Neil said. “At the courthouse. It’s why we Facetimed you because we wanted you to be here.”
“You told me not to come this weekend.” Nicky said, looking hurt now.
“I didn’t know we’d be getting married when I said that and I didn’t want you to waste your money just to come see me when I’m absolutely fine.” Neil told him. “It just sort of happened and we wanted to do it before Andrew had to go back to Atlanta, that’s all.”
“Fine.” Nicky said before pointing a finger at them. “But you owe me so you’re going to have a renewal of vows or something next summer so that I can plan for the time off and actually be there this time and you two can have a proper ceremony.”
“I agree with Nicky.” Allison put in. “You two totally owe us an actual ceremony.”
“Okay.” Neil agreed quickly.
He only agreed because he saw the court justice that was going to perform their ceremony come out into the hall and knew they were out of time but he was definitely going to spend the next few months convincing both of them that it was entirely unnecessary to have another ceremony.
“Alright Nicky, I’m gonna hand the phone to Aaron and he’s going to make sure that you can see the ceremony, okay?” He said.
“Okay, Neil.” Nicky agreed, already sounding a little teary.
Neil handed the phone to Aaron quickly and they all shuffled into the room that the justice had come out of. It took a few minutes for them all to get in their places but finally Andrew and Neil stood in front of the justice facing one another after they’d handed him their marriage certificate. And so it began.
“We are gathered here today to join these two people together in marriage. If anyone has a reason that these two shall not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace.” The justice said, allowing a small pause before continuing. “Marriage is a sacred oath between two souls. It is enduring and beautiful and everlasting. These two people stand before us today ready to promise themselves to one another for as long as they both shall live. They have prepared their own vows for one another.”
They stared at each other for a few long seconds before Andrew began speaking. His words were in Russian because these vows were just for them and no one else, not even their family.
“I asked you to marry me because I wanted to be able to ask questions and get answers if you end up in the hospital again but the truth is, I would marry you anyway. Even if I could get those answers in another way and even if all I got from this was you, I would still marry you. When we first met, I didn’t know how to let people in because all they did was hurt me but you actually listened when I spoke. You took the time to look past all the things people said about me and you saw the truth of who I was. You never judged me or called me a sociopath like everyone else did. You were the only person who never treated me like a monster. You broke through my walls with every truth you gave me and every moment you showed me respect when I set a boundary. You showed me that I could trust you everyday and you learned how to read me even though no one else had ever tried.” Andrew paused. “I know I don’t say it a lot but it’s important for you to know that I love you and that is something that will never change. You came into my life and you made it better. You gave me something to live for.”
Neil swallowed roughly and took a couple of deep breaths to steady himself before he started on his own vows.
“When we first met, I wasn’t even a real person yet. I was a runaway, a rabbit like you said, just waiting for my cue to go. I didn’t trust anyone and I didn’t want to but then there was you. I gave you more truth than I’d ever given anyone before even when most of me was still an amalgamation of lies. I gave you all of the dark ugly parts of myself and you didn’t flinch, instead you held me up and offered me protection. We weren’t friends, you didn’t owe me anything, but you still agreed to protect me anyway. And somewhere along the line, between trading truths and kisses, I fell in love with you. I don’t know the exact moment it happened but I do know that it’s been there a long time.” Neil pulled in another deep breath. “I didn’t fall in love with you because of what you could do for me, though. I fell in love with you because you were the first person in a very long time who made me feel safe. I fell in love with you because of trust and because you offered me a place to call home and for the first time, I wasn’t alone. I fell in love with you because you gave me everything I needed without even trying. I never thought I’d marry anyone, I never thought I would get to a point in my life where I could, but I am so glad that I was wrong because marrying you is the greatest thing I have ever done.”
The justice waited for a few moments to make sure that they were finished and Neil took that time to glance at their family around them. Some of them were already teary eyed even though Neil knew that none of them understood what they’d just said and he knew in that one moment that they were just glad that they were there. The relationship between the original foxes had always been a bit rocky but everything they’d been through together had forged them into something unbreakable anyway. They might fight and argue and hate each other sometimes but they were family nonetheless. This moment was important to all of them.
The justice cleared his throat. “Do you have rings?”
Andrew drew them out of his pocket and handed one of them over to the justice who placed one in each hand and held them out, palm up, between Neil and Andrew.
“Neil, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, as long as you both shall live?” The justice asked. Neil met Andrew’s eyes and spoke confidently.
“I do.”
“Andrew, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, as long as you both shall live?” The justice repeated.
“I do.”
“Okay, Andrew. You’re going to take the ring and repeat after me.” The justice said. Andrew nodded to show he was listening.
“With this ring, I thee wed.” The justice said.
“With this ring, I thee wed.” Andrew repeated obediently.
“Now put the ring on his finger.” The justice told him.
Andrew slid the cool metal band onto Neil’s left hand and Neil took the second ring eagerly anticipating the moment he could look at it shining on Andrew’s hand.
“Okay, Neil. With this ring, I thee wed.” The justice said.
“With this ring, I thee wed.” Neil repeated.
He didn’t wait for the justice to give him permission before he slid the ring onto Andrew’s finger. It settled at the base of his finger and Neil let out a soft sigh as he admired it.
“I now pronounce you married. You may kiss.” The justice said.
Neil tilted his head in question, they weren’t big on public displays of affection, and Andrew gave a small nod. Neil grinned before leaning in to capture his lips in a short kiss. Cheers exploded around them and their family surrounded them in the next second, shouting congratulations and beaming proudly at them. The justice allowed it for a few minutes before gently reminding them that they still had to sign the marriage certificate.
They quickly signed two different copies, one to be officially filed with the court by the justice and one for them to keep themselves, before they were ushered out of the room. They left the courthouse in a crowd of excited chatter and when they got outside, Allison stopped them.
“Okay, you got married so this calls for a celebration. We’ll stop for alcohol on the way back.” She said, before glancing at Kevin and Renee. “And we’ll get some non-alcoholic drinks too obviously.”
“We can stop for snacks and meet back at the house.” Robin volunteered.
Everyone agreed to the plan which meant that Aaron, Katelyn, Andrew, and Neil were the first ones back at the house and Aaron took one look at them before pulling Katelyn into his room and turning the music up loud enough to thump through the walls. Neil rolled his eyes even though Aaron couldn’t see him. He knew what Aaron was thinking but obviously they weren’t going to have sex when they were literally expecting the others to come back relatively quickly. Not to mention the fact that they weren’t having sex at the moment anyway because of his injuries.
He followed Andrew upstairs intent on changing into something else when he was steered toward the bathroom instead. He glanced at Andrew in question.
“Shower.” Was all Andrew said.
Neil shrugged and started the arduous process of getting his shirt off. Andrew watched him struggle for a few moments before helping him and then he turned away to get the shower going while Neil dealt with his pants on his own. Andrew, after getting the water to the right temperature, started stripping out of his own clothes and Neil paused just to watch him. A look from Andrew got him moving again and soon they were stepping into the shower together.
Without the sling and the wrist brace, Neil had to be even more careful with his movements so he didn’t hurt himself. Andrew solved that dilemma by washing his hair for him and using the washcloth to clean him off. His movements were clinical and efficient but he took care not to press too hard on the bruises or injure Neil further. He took a few more minutes to clean himself after taking care of Neil before flipping the water off and wrapping a towel around both of them.
He led Neil down the hall to the bedroom and, after drying his hair roughly, Andrew pushed him lightly until he was laying flat on the mattress.
“You will tell me immediately if something hurts.” Andrew said firmly.
“What?” Neil asked. Andrew looked up at him pointedly, his hands hovering over Neil’s hips, and it only took a moment for his brain to catch up. “Oh.”
“Do you understand?” Andrew asked.
“Yes.” Neil said immediately, nodding quickly. “I’ll tell you if it hurts.”
Andrew watched his face as he pulled at the knot in the towel and unwrapped it from Neil’s waist like he was opening a present. Neil kept eye contact with him and let Andrew see just how much he wanted this. It had been so long since they’d been this close.
Andrew lowered his head and everything became blurry around the edges for a while, leaving Neil breathless and satiated at the end, and when Andrew moved to kiss him Neil accepted it without hesitation. He could taste himself on Andrew’s tongue but he didn’t really mind, especially not when he could feel Andrew bringing himself to his own conclusion between them and, instead of leaving like he usually would, Andrew stayed.
They laid together for an indeterminable amount of time, even as they heard the others return and start the party without them, and Neil thought that this was how he’d like to feel for the rest of his life. Content and warm and happier than he’d ever known he could be.