Chapter Text
Andrew receives the news that the Fall Banquet is going to be hosted this year in Binghamton by the Bearcats while Neil is out on his early morning run.
They were right in the middle of their post-trial month-long summer vacation road trip and Andrew has sworn off any and all Exy-related news. The only reason that he finds this out is that his phone vibrated off the bedside table in the hotel room that he and Neil are staying in and that woke him up.
He grabs his phone and there are already dozens of texts from Nicky alone and dozens more from Boyd. Both are frantically asking Andrew if Neil is with him, if he is okay, and why isn’t he answering their texts or calls.
Andrew couldn’t help but roll his eyes at their dramatics, as if Neil not answering calls and texts is uncommon. Neil only notices one thing about his phone if he is in his little running zone. He confirms the news of the Fall Banquet in the informational group chat that Wymack set up at the beginning of the year and then he calls Neil.
A small part of him preens when Neil picks up for him on the third ring.
“Did you see the news?” he asks without any preamble or greeting because he needs to know if he needs to track Neil down to pick him up.
“Do you mean about the Fall Banquet?” Neil asks, slightly out of breath.
“No, that all denim is back in style.” Andrew rolls his eyes.
“Great, now I know what I am going to wear to the Fall Banquet,” Neil shoots back and in the safety and solitude of the hotel room, Andrew lets out an amused puff of air.
“Reynolds would set your outfit on fire before she let you wear all denim to the Banquet.” Andrew rolls his eyes and doesn’t mention that he would provide her with the matches. “So, you intend to go.” He does not ask.
“Yeah, I’m the Vice-Captain this year,” Neil answers.
Andrew knows there’s more to it than that but he can’t stare Neil down over the phone. “Neil.” He tries to see if his voice is enough to induce the full truth out of his Rabbit.
“I’ll be okay Andrew,” Neil says earnestly and sounding every bit like he believes it when he says it.
Andrew sighs, “Finish your run, Rabbit.” He orders and knows it will take an in-person stare-down for Neil to examine himself.
“I’ll be back in about half an hour!” Neil says and the call disconnects with a click.
Andrew closes his eyes and lets himself doze for a while longer.
At the 32-minute mark Andrew gets a text from Neil saying he’ll just be a little longer. It’s something that Neil does now for Andrew, letting him know if he’s running late if he told Andrew he’d be somewhere at a specific time.
Neil not being where Andrew expects him to be when he expects him to be there tends to set Andrew’s teeth on edge.
Neil arrives 18 minutes after his update text to Andrew dripping in sweat, shirt plastered to his chest, and with an overly complicated frozen sugary coffee drink for Andrew. “I was running in the same direction as this girl for a couple of miles and I asked her for the best spot to get these kinds of drinks.” He smiles offering it to Andrew.
He watches Neil’s hand shakes slightly. Andrew knows that the cold makes his scars ache. Neil’s smile does not waver.
Andrew takes the drink from Neil’s hand.
He takes a sip and it's perfect.
Andrew hates him so fucking much.
Neil doesn’t wait for anything as out of character as a thank you from Andrew, just happy that Andrew has accepted it from him. Neil walks past Andrew, grabbing one of the extra towels as he walks towards the balcony so that he can stop sweating before he showers off.
Andrew takes another sip. The rush of flavor and sweetness is everything that Andrew enjoys in a drink, and he briefly closes his eyes to appreciate it. He opens his eyes again to stare at the man who went out of his way to grab it for him. While he savored his drink Neil has slipped out onto the balcony and taking a seat on one of the chairs, fiddling with his phone.
Andrew grabs a few water bottles and an extra towel as he makes his way out onto the balcony to sit on the other chair. Neil smiles up at his entrance before he even notices the water bottles and the additional towel.
Andrew shoves one of the water bottles into Neil’s hand (still shaking slightly) and Neil thanks him as he downs it in seconds before Andrew hands him a second one along with the towel that Neil drapes around his neck.
A few months ago, Andrew would have been enjoying a cigarette out here. Except for the fact that a few months ago Andrew had lit up near Neil’s face one night on the roof and Neil had flinched so badly that he had almost fallen.
Andrew had dropped the lighter and cigarette off the roof and grabbed Neil.
He hadn’t picked either back up since then.
So now Andrew has gum and he has patches to deal with his nicotine craving and he has a large stash of suckers when he misses having his mouth wrapped around something.
Kevin had been delighted and Neil keeps telling him that he didn’t need to quit, it was just a weird night, it was Lola’s birthday, and his head was in a weird place. Neil had said he didn’t need to give anything up for him.
The same Neil who has given up sleep, privacy, and has cut himself off from using entire commonly used words in multiple languages just so that he wouldn’t trigger Andrew.
Andrew stuck to his decisions and he'd made one that night when he wrapped his arms around Neil and threw them back onto the safety of the roof. Andrew was fine with giving up something that, admittedly, made it harder for him to chase after his Rabbit. Especially if it means that he’ll spend less time needing to chase after said Rabbit.
Neil downs the second water bottle in a matter of seconds.
Andrew shoves a third one into his still-shaking hand. Neil smiles at him, “Thank you.” He says and Andrew just held up his own drink in response.
It was only fair.
They sat in silence for a few minutes. Neil sat sipping his third water bottle as he responds to texts from the Foxes. Andrew sat sipping his own drink and keeping an eye on Neil's other hand which had not been holding his drink to see if it shook.
His own hand shakes as his phone vibrates.
Andrew looks at his own phone to see that Kevin had sent him a text.
Kevin 10:01 AM
Are you going to the banquet?
If you go then Neil will go too.
Andrew feels his lip curl in disgust at Kevin’s comment. He doesn’t answer it, but he does refocus, “If you don't want to go then there’s no way that Wymack would make you.” Andrew says and Neil looks up from the text he was focusing on his tongue sticking out in concentration. Andrew watches with amusement as Neil sucked his tongue back in likely not even realizing it had been sticking out.
“They’re having a Riko Moriyama memorial there,” Neil says.
“And you want to go?” Andrew asks with a brow raised. “What, you wanna spit on the pictures?” he says because it's the only reason he can think of. Neil would sooner have a deep emotionally vulnerable talk with Aaron than mourn the man who was responsible for most of the Fox’s misery the last year and a half.
“No, but Kevin will need the support,” Neil says.
Andrew blinks and looks down at the texts from Kevin again.
Kevin 10:03 AM
Andrew?
Andrew still doesn’t answer but can admit that Kevin will need support.
“Wymack can watch over Kevin,” Andrew argues.
“I really think I’ll be okay.” Neil shrugs. “Nothing that bad really happened on the court other than my anxiety over the countdown,” Neil says as if the months of anxiety could be so easily brushed aside. “I’ll just…stay away from any security guard and the locker rooms...” Neil says and there’s a nervousness there that tells Andrew everything.
Andrew offers his hand.
Neil takes it.
Neil’s hand is still sweaty from his run, but it’s also cold. Andrew, stomach twisting at the other possible reason, hopes that it’s from holding Andrew’s drink.
Strangely, Andrew’s own hands felt cold before Neil handed over the beverage. They’d been cold ever since he had gotten the news about Binghamton.
Betsy had worked hard and diligently with Andrew for the last few months to bring him around on the idea of wanting things. Still, it was much easier for Andrew to think in terms of things that he didn’t want.
For example:
He didn’t want to let go of Neil’s hand even though it was sweaty and kind of cold.
He didn’t want to miss the ghost tour that they were signed up to do tonight.
He didn’t want Neil to find his 3-in-1 body wash, shampoo, and conditioner (that Andrew had thrown out four cities ago) when Andrew was willing to share his individual body wash, shampoo, and conditioner.
He didn’t want Neil to go to Binghamton.
He holds Neil’s hand, confirms their RSVP on his phone for the ghost tour, thinks up a new excuse on why they’re not going into a store where Neil could buy a new 3-in-1, and says nothing about how he doesn’t want Neil to face those demons again so soon.
“Then we can go, we’ll tell the coach that you can’t be in the locker room, and I’ll gut any security guard that gets too close,” Andrew says letting his fingers squeeze Neil’s. “I will keep you safe Neil.” Andrew looks at Neil seriously.
Neil’s phone buzzes before he can say anything back and Andrew watches as Neil sets down the water that he had been drinking so he could continue to hold Andrew’s hand and picks up the phone.
Unlike all the other times, Neil answers, “Hi coach.” Neil greets.
Andrew can hear Wymack’s gruff voice over the shitty microphone on Neil’s phone. “If you don’t want to go to the Fall Banquet then you’re not going to go to the Fall Banquet. The ERC can complain all they want to me, but they can’t do shit if I say you’re out sick and Abby will back me up.” Wymack rants without preamble, “I don’t care what the media will say either; do you understand me, Josten?” Wymack asks and the care is evident despite the gruff delivery.
Neil smiles and Andrew takes a mental snapshot of his dimples.
“I think I’ll be okay Coach. Thanks for worrying about me.” He says and squeezes Andrew’s hand, “Just…don’t’ make me go into the locker room.” He says.
“Done.” Wymack says without a hint of hesitation, “Is Minyard there?” he asks.
“Yeah, Andrew is here,” Neil confirms.
“Pass your phone to him. That shithead isn’t answering my calls or texts.” Wymack demands.
Neil rolls his eyes but passes his phone over to Andrew who looks at it for a long moment before setting his own drink down so he could accept the phone and not release Neil’s hand. He takes a moment to turn down the call volume, a trick that Neil has yet to figure out how to do on his phone, “What?” he asks sharply.
“I’m sure Neil still hasn’t figured out how to lower the volume on his phone, so I assume you heard what I told him.” Wymack says and does not wait for Andrew to confirm, “Same deal for you Minyard, you don’t want to go-“
“What are you saying?” Andrew interrupts having thought that Wymack would just be reminding Andrew to keep an eye on Neil.
“Binghamton wasn’t easy for you either Andrew,” Wymack says and Andrew can almost hear the eye roll.
It floors him a little bit. His heart rate speeds up.
Binghamton had not been easy for Andrew either.
“If Neil goes to the banquet, then I’m going to the banquet.” He says and flips Neil’s phone shut.
He hands Neil’s phone back to him.
Neil doesn’t ask what Wymack wanted to say to him.
They sit in silence as Neil drinks more water answering texts from the concerned Foxes while Andrew sips his slowly melting drink. Their hands remain connected, and Andrew runs his fingers along the burn scars on Neil’s knuckles. Andrew stares into the distance and doesn’t think about a world where he held this hand properly in Binghamton, held it like he was holding it now.
Eventually, the repeated calls and texts become too much so Neil shuts off his phone and joins Andrew in staring off into the distance. They spend too long out there lost in their own thoughts with only one another’s hand to tether them to earth.
Andrew only comes back because Neil is shivering. His sweat-drenched clothing doing him no favors now that he’s cooled off. “C’mon Junkie, let’s get you clean.” He says rising to his feet and pulling Neil up with him.
Neil can shower by himself and has done it the majority of his life, but the thought of him leaving Andrew’s sight at the moment has Andrew herding Neil into the bathroom. Neil smiles at him but doesn’t say anything about it.
He turns on the water so that it's warm but not hot. He asks, gets permission, strips Neil of his wet running clothes, and takes a moment to appreciate the sight of Neil's nipples covered by bandaids. He knows that it's to stop them from chafing but it's still a great look on Neil. He takes great pleasure in carefully peeling them off of Neil and watching Neil shiver at the sensation.
He strips off his own clothes, checks the water temperature, and pushes Neil under the refreshing spray. He swats Neil's hands away when Neil reaches to grab the hotel-provided soap, shampoo, and conditioner and grabs his own to start lathering Neil up. Neil resigns himself to Andrew's care.
Andrew scrubs his Junkie down thoroughly.
Andrew thinks about blowing Neil as he washes the conditioner out of Neil's hair. He wants to feel the weight of Neil on his tongue and the taste of him in his mouth alongside the overly sweet coffee.
He asks but doesn’t get a response. When he looks up and Neil’s gaze is distant, and Andrew worries that Neil’s thoughts are hundreds of miles north in a stadium.
He grabs Neil’s face with both hands and Neil snaps back to him with rapid blinks. His eyes focus on Andrew again and he smiles but there are no dimples, “Sorry, what did you say?” he asks, and Andrew just brings their foreheads together for a long moment.
He lets his hands trail down and wrap around Neil’s.
They both still feel cold despite the warm water.
Neil will not leave his sight when they’re in Binghamton. If Andrew has to leave his side for any reason, then it will only be after he gives Neil over to Renee’s protection.
He won’t lose Neil.
***
The rest of their month-long trip is mostly smooth.
Andrew marvels at the record-breaking length between his bad days. Neil gets sick off of convenience store food and Andrew nurses him back to health. Andrew insists that they have to go to every roadside attraction they see and take a picture. Neil gets absolutely hammered one night in a fancy hotel room where Andrew promises to watch over him with the payment that Andrew could ask him anything and he'd answer. Andrew fills the Maserati with snacks and keeps pushing them into Neil's hands as they drive. Neil finds a milkshake place that Andrew liked so much that they make an hour detour on the way back to go again.
They come back to Palmetto in time for Summer training. Their room this year is just Andrew, Neil, and Kevin. There are four new freshmen with four new sob stories to deal with. Andrew hates the freshmen, Neil tolerates the freshmen, and they both have to deal with the headache that is Kevin Day.
***
Andrew should have stopped this practice an hour ago.
Should have put Kevin in his place with how the Striker was talking to Neil an hour ago.
Neil thought that Kevin needed this practice tonight. It was Riko’s birthday and Neil wanted to be a good friend to Kevin even if Neil hated Riko and didn't understand why Kevin mourned him.
The only thing that stayed his hand and had him controlling his growing ire with how Kevin was acting and talking to Neil was that Neil wasn’t taking it personally. He accepted the critiques on what he could improve and got back up to try again like the energizer bunny he is.
Still, Andrew did not like how Kevin kept pushing Neil or how he was talking to Neil.
Then Kevin crossed a boundary with Neil that Andrew wouldn’t let slide.
“You still can’t do this drill perfectly even though it’s been a whole year! How in the world do you think you’re going to have anyone recruit you when you’re like this Neil?!” Kevin shouts and Neil flinches back and that’s the end for Andrew.
“That’s enough.” Andrew hisses from his spot in the goal. “Pack up, we’re going back.” He orders walking towards Kevin.
“No! Neil needs to get this perfect!” Kevin shouts back.
“Kevin, we’re done tonight.” Andrew hisses before he looks over to Neil, “I’m done.” He says and Neil nods and turns to go grab his and Andrew’s bags that they’d left off to the side.
“Neil, we’re not done! You gave me your game!” Kevin yells and Neil flinches again because Neil took his gift to Kevin very seriously. Neil always followed Kevin’s lead on Exy. Took all of Kevin’s insane extra practices seriously and followed the diet plan diligently.
Neil had told Andrew how much it meant to him that Kevin thought he could make court and how it’d devastated Kevin when Neil had thought his life had an expiration date. That Kevin still taking his training as seriously as he did, promising that they’d still train every night, was one of the few comforts Neil had in the lead-up to what he thought would be his death.
So, Andrew knows it takes a lot from Neil when he keeps his back turned on Kevin, “Kevin, I’m done tonight. We can pick this up tomorrow when we’re rested and you’re in a better head space.” Neil says taking off his helmet and Andrew feels pride swirl in his chest as Neil makes a boundary.
Pride cometh before the fall had never been quite so literal as it was in the next few moments.
“Don’t you dare walk away from me!” Kevin’s shout has Neil turn around and Andrew had been too focused on watching Neil to see the danger that was next to him.
He only realizes what’s happening when he sees Kevin’s Exy racket move and watches as Neil turns around at the sound of Kevin’s shout.
All he can do is watch.
Watch as the ball slams into Neil’s unprotected cheek. Watch as Neil loses his balance. Watch as Neil falls and cracks his head against the unforgiving court floor.
Watch as Neil lays there on the ground and does not get up.
There’s no sound but the sound of the ball bouncing twice on the court before rolling away and the blood rushing through Andrew’s ears.
“…Neil?” Kevin’s voice is like a hard reset on his brain and he finally starts to run.
“Neil!” Andrew shouts but Neil doesn’t move from his spot on the ground.
Andrew goes to kneel but it's more accurate to say he collapses next to Neil as he takes in the sight of his Junkie. Blood is pooling on the ground around his head, his eyes are closed, his nose has blood running from both nostrils and one of the scars from Baltimore has reopened on his cheek, but it isn’t where the pooling blood is coming from.
Andrew doesn’t know what to do first, doesn’t know if he should even touch Neil when he’s in a state like this.
Then Neil’s eyes crack open, “Ow.” He says as if he isn’t bleeding on the ground. Andrew watches as Neil brings a hand up to try and touch his cheek. Andrew catches his hand before he can prod at the wound, Neil doesn’t need to have a panic attack when he has a head wound.
“Neil, can you look at me?” he asks and Neil’s eyes drift over to him sluggishly.
“Andrew?” he asks dazedly.
“I don’t think that Aaron would hold your hand.” He retorts which makes Neil laugh and it's a beautiful noise, “I’m calling you an ambulance.” Andrew says pulling his phone out of his pocket with the hand that isn’t holding Neil’s and hopes that Neil’s too out of it to notice how his hand is shaking as he dials three digits.
“No…I don’t like hospitals.” Neil pleads but Andrew squeezes his hand to quiet him. “Andrew, c’mon anything but a hospital.” Neil tries. “Can’t I go to Abby?” he asks.
“Abby is on vacation for four more days. We’re not waiting four days to get your head looked at Junkie. You have a bleeding head wound Neil.” He dismisses Neil’s pleas and the unease in his stomach that Neil didn’t remember Abby’s much-discussed end-of-summer trip.
Andrew briefly turns his attention away from Neil’s pleas to give all the important information to the dispatcher. When the ambulance is on its way Andrew turns his full attention back onto Neil who is making the pouty face that Andrew shouldn’t find so damn endearing.
Andrew pulls off his own shirt and carefully leverages Neil up so that his white jersey can start stemming the flow of blood. He doesn’t like how naked he feels outside of the privacy of his and Neil’s bed, but he has the clothes he brought to change into in his duffel bag that he’ll slide on before he climbs into the ambulance and his discomfort is meaningless in the face of stemming the flow of blood from Neil’s poor battered head.
“How’d I fall?” Neil asks after a moment eyes taking in Andrew’s bared chest, “Did I trip?” He asks.
Andrew feels ice in his veins.
“You don’t remember?” He asks because if Neil is missing memories, then it’s a much bigger problem.
Neil drags his eyes up from Andrew's chest to his face, “I think only like the immediate before? I remember Kevin was mad, I took my helmet off and now my cheek and the back of my head hurt.” He says and that’s far less of a problem. It’s more like Neil didn’t even realize that Kevin had hit him.
Didn’t even consider it as a possibility in his rattled brain.
“Neil?” Kevin’s voice sounds from behind him and Andrew keeps his eyes on Neil.
He has Neil's blood staining his hands right now. If Andrew sees Kevin Day before Neil gets a medical all-clear then Andrew will end the night with more than Neil's blood staining his hands.
Neil looks past Andrew, likely at where Kevin is standing, and offers an awkward smile, “I’m fine Kev.” Neil tries to reassure him, perhaps seeing Kevin standing there nervously.
It boils Andrew’s blood when he hears a sigh of relief, that Kevin thinks he’s allowed to be comforted by Neil when Kevin did this to him.
“I can see now that you and Riko really were raised as brothers,” Andrew says and Neil startles blinking back at Andrew in confusion. Andrew dismisses the unspoken question at the moment. Andrew's anger feels too all-consuming for him to answer Neil right now.
He hears a choked sound from behind him.
“I-I-!” Kevin tries.
Andrew reaches out and firmly wraps his hands around Neil’s ears to block out what he wants to say to Kevin next. Andrew will not let his anger be something that leaves Neil as collateral, but he needs to make some things clear to Kevin right now. He needs to let the Queen of Exy know that this will never happen again.
Neil blinks but accepts the hands around his ears, his eyes going to the ceiling so that he doesn’t read Andrew’s lips. Andrew is glad he does not close them because Andrew would probably panic if he thought Neil was slipping into unconsciousness.
“Tell me Kevin, is this how you’re choosing to honor Riko’s memory? Is this how you’re going to grieve for him?” he asks letting his thumbs stroke Neil’s cheek, careful to avoid the reopened wound.
“N-N-” he hears a strangled breath from behind him.
He keeps his eyes on Neil. Neil doesn’t react at all to what is being said so Andrew continues.
“Can I even trust you alone with him? What will you do to the man who defended you to his own detriment, believed in you, and kept up with all of your insane demands? What will you do to him in memory of the man who wanted to make you less? Are you going to call Jean over from the Trojans so that he can hold down his legs? Where will you get the handcuffs for his hands?” He asks keeping his voice light but knows that each question and each comparison is hitting like a knife when he hears the strangled noises coming from Kevin after each of them.
He decides to go in for the kill, “I don’t know how well his burned skin will take the ink if you want to put a pawn on his cheek.” He strokes the burnt skin on Neil’s cheek. “I certainly won’t let you take him on a ski trip.” He finishes.
“No!” Kevin screams and at that Neil startles, the volume drawing him out of whatever ‘not listening’ daze he had put himself in.
“Kevin?” Neil questions and Andrew hates that Neil still sounds worried for the asshole who hurt him. Hates that Neil tries to get up from his spot on the ground to look at Kevin.
Andrew tightens his grip on Neil’s head and keeps him on the ground with his head pressed against Andrew’s bloodstained jersey. Neil looks at him in concern but when Andrew shakes his head, he returns his gaze to the ceiling.
“No! I’m not-! I never meant to-! Andrew, I-I-I’m not him and I’d never hurt-!”
“You already did,” Andrew says. He can hear the sound of the ambulance, “Get out of here Day. I can’t stand to look at you right now. Neil shouldn’t need to worry about you when his head’s cracked open.” He hisses and waits until he hears the sound of rapid footsteps running away and the door slamming shut.
Always a coward.
He lets his hands come off of Neil’s ears.
Neil blinks, coming back to himself from wherever he had gone, “Where’d Kevin go? Is he okay?” Neil asks looking at Andrew worriedly.
“Focus on yourself right now. You’ve done enough for Kevin today.” He says instead and wishes he had something to wipe the blood off of Neil’s face. He can hear the EMTs coming in and maybe he should have sent Kevin to at least lead them in because it will take them longer to get on the court.
“How do you feel?” he asks looking at Neil.
Neil looks at him woozily, “I feel dizzy.” Neil says and Andrew can’t help but feel like there's ice in his stomach whenever Neil actually admits to not feeling ‘fine’.
Andrew wonders if Neil is going into shock and carefully undoes the neck guard hoping Neil will breathe easier but has nothing to elevate Neil’s legs with. He strokes Neil’s cheek, “You’re going to be okay. The EMTs will be here soon.” He promises.
The EMTs almost make a liar out of him with how long it takes them to arrive and for a terrible minute, Andrew considers the real possibility that he’ll have to leave Neil alone to get them.
They show up before he’s forced to make that decision and Neil is quickly secured on a transport board once they confirm that Neil’s neck was fine. “I’m coming with you; I’m just going to grab our bags.” He promises Neil before he gives a firm look to the EMTs.
He runs and grabs their bags and sees that Kevin’s is still there. Kevin, even in his worst panic, would never leave behind his gear.
So, Kevin hasn’t left the stadium and is still lingering around probably having a panic attack over what Andrew had said.
“Drew?” Came a nervous voice and Andrew leaves thoughts of Kevin Day behind as he runs back to Neil’s side pulling on his spare shirt before grabbing Neil’s hand.
Neil is Andrew’s priority.
“I’m right here Neil.” He says and Andrew won’t leave his side again tonight if he can help it.
***
Andrew sits with Neil as they wait for a doctor to come and put four staples into Neil’s head to close the wound Kevin had put there. “At least I somehow don’t have a concussion,” Neil says with a yawn. His early morning run made this 1 AM hospital visit very tiring.
Neil had, in fact, been going into a mild state of shock when the EMTs got to him. It was remedied as they wrapped Neil in a shock blanket, elevated his legs, and let Andrew spend the entire ride to the hospital saying soft assurances in German as the EMTs stopped the bleeding.
Neil’s blood pressure returned to normal, and Andrew let his own heart relax an inch. Then the nurse who had come into the room to clean up Neil’s hair before his head was stapled back together had merely given him the comb and left to deal with some other patient's crisis and he’d relaxed an inch further. Getting Neil wrapped in Andrew’s warmup jacket bought him an additional inch.
Taking care of Neil was always a balm for his frayed nerves.
“Only four staples too. It isn’t even that bad.” Neil adds when Andrew didn’t respond to his first comment. He’s staying still as Andrew combs out the dried blood in his hair.
“Don’t minimize what he did.” He reprimands and he shouldn’t have told Neil how exactly he’d ended up on the ground with a bleeding cheek and a cracked head. Ever since Neil had found out that it was Kevin who cracked his head open Neil had been masking his own discomfort and pain.
Andrew can only see it for what it is: Neil trying to soothe Andrew’s burning anger towards Kevin.
Neil was still trying to help Kevin even though it was Kevin’s action that resulted in Neil being in the hospital. It’s a place where Neil can never relax; he's too conditioned by his mother to view the sterile walls as a real threat to his life and freedom.
“It’s really not that bad.” Neil tries again despite Andrew’s order, but Andrew isn’t angry at him. Somewhere along the way in their ‘something’ he’d lost the ability to get angry at Neil when he’s hurt and it’s not his fault.
“Stop pretending like this is nothing.” He says and throws a clump of dried blood into the hazmat waste bin the nurse had left. He takes one of the wipes that the nurse left and returns to Neil’s bloodied hair. He keeps his attention gentle as he works on removing the remnants of blood clinging to Neil’s hair and can feel Neil relaxing further into his care.
A few minutes later Neil’s hair is mostly red by genetics instead of blood loss. He finishes wiping the blood out of Neil’s hair. He grabs more of the wipes and comes to sit next to Neil so he can clean the blood from his face.
Neil closes his eyes and lets Andrew take care of him. Andrew feels a further balm on his nerves, another inch regained.
“I’ve really had way worse.” He promises; as if Andrew doesn't know about his 'worse'. As if Andrew isn’t cleaning blood away from a reopened worse. Andrew has been there in the aftermaths of way worse.
Andrew didn’t like it when Neil got a scrape on his knee or a papercut.
Neil had a head wound that would need staples and a reopened face wound that could trigger his memories from Baltimore if he looked into a mirror. Neil had never deserved any of the ‘worse’ that happened to him, but this one ate at Andrew even more.
Neil had said no, had set a boundary, and then he had been punished.
“The more you try and pretend that you’re fine, the angrier I’m getting with Kevin,” Andrew says and watches as Neil frowns (pouts) as Andrew washes blood from under his nose. His anger at Kevin is 70% that he hurt Neil, 10% that Kevin may have set back Andrew's efforts to positively reinforce Neil setting boundaries, and 20% that Neil seems to believe that Kevin’s attack was only because Kevin wanted what was best for him.
Andrew knew that Neil equated violence done to him by people he cared about as something done for his own good.
Andrew wouldn’t let Kevin become another Mary Hatford in Neil’s life.
Andrew finishes cleaning up Neil’s face and the two sit in mostly comfortable silence. He can see Neil trying to find a way to not lie and say that he’s perfectly fine being in a hospital.
Thankfully the doctor comes in before Andrew has to hear whatever Neil was thinking up.
The doctor gives a brief rundown on what he’s going to do, mentions that the nurse had done a good job cleaning the cuts and Andrew doesn’t take the credit but does let himself feel pleased. He holds Neil still as the doctor touches his face for a final check to make sure nothing else was damaged.
Neil doesn’t move, his Junkie was long used to holding still for prodding hands.
The doctor offers Neil an option of a painful numbing shot or a topical gel. The doctor has the good sense to say that the shot will likely hurt more than getting the staples themselves, so Neil goes for the topical gel.
The doctor leaves to get the topical gel and the wait must finally be too much for Neil because he breaks. Neil turns to Andrew and asks a weak ‘Yes or No?’ as he looks at Andrew’s neck and Andrew barely finishes saying yes before Neil is burying his face into it.
He’s tense and nervous.
It could be for any number of traumas that Neil has gone through, but he knows that older men holding something that will hurt will always make Neil nervous.
The doctor comes back in and notices Neil’s new position and tries to ease the tension with a quick joke “I’ll try and make sure I don’t staple you two together.” But it falls flat with Neil’s nerves and Andrew being Andrew.
The doctor applies the topical and says he’ll be back in 10 minutes when it’s fully absorbed.
Andrew’s hand comes up to rub at the back of Neil’s neck. He can feel all the tension that Neil had been holding there in his attempt to seem unafraid and unaffected. Neil doesn’t fully relax under Andrew’s hand, but his shoulders loosen fractionally.
The doctor reappears 15 minutes later but despite the five-minute delay, he is swift and professional as he puts the staples into Neil’s head. Neil holds himself perfectly still for the procedure. Andrew can almost physically feel how Neil’s brain has locked itself away somewhere else, Neil was always talented at running away and he could even do it from his own body.
The doctor takes one final look at the cut on Neil’s face before putting some butterfly bandages on it and covering the mess with gauze. “You said this is a scar reopening due to blunt force? Scar tissue is always going to be a little weaker than normal healthy tissue, it was a breaking point for the blunt force.” He says.
“Like what bakers do to bread,” Neil says voice small from his spot against Andrew’s neck. Andrew squeezes the back of his neck to coax Neil to come back into his body and out of the slight catatonia he'd been in.
“Well, it’s not like someone put those on you intentionally like bakers do.” The doctor laughs but goes pale when Andrew shoots a murderous look at him as he feels Neil flinch and retreat again.
The doctor hurries out of the room promising he’ll be back in 5 minutes with the care instructions and a tool for Andrew to take the staples out of Neil’s head in a week or two depending on how it’s healing.
It takes him 20 minutes to have the balls to come back and during that time Neil did manage to come back to himself with Andrew’s firm grip and hushed words. Andrew also took the time to change Neil into his own prepared change of clothes and zipped back into Andrew's warmup jacket.
The doctor hands over everything to Andrew without looking either of them in the eye but he does have the balls to guide them directly to the discharge desk before taking off at a brisk walk.
They deal with the medical bill and insurance questions. At Andrew’s insistence after everything that had happened last year, he and Neil had gotten excellent health insurance that the Hatford family stubbornly paid for despite Neil’s insistence that he could pay for it on his own.
They catch a cab back to Fox’s tower and Neil is nodding off against Andrew’s shoulder the entire trip but keeps startling awake when his bruised cheek touches Andrew’s shoulder and when his head tilts back and his staples touch the seat.
They reach the tower, and no one is waiting up. He texts Wymack that neither he nor Neil will be at practice later today seeing as it was now 3 AM. Andrew opens the door to their room and Kevin is not there.
Kevin did always have excellent survival instincts.
Neil was still slightly chilled from the shock and the blood he’d lost so Andrew changes Neil for a second time and makes sure to put him in one of Andrew's own sweatshirts and sweatpants. Andrew drags Neil in front of the mirror to brush his teeth but can see how Neil's hand stills as he keeps dropping off as he sits on the toilet. Andrew finally has pity for his exhausted Junkie and has him spit out the toothpaste and rinse.
Neil made an agonized noise when they got to the room. Andrew blinks wondering if Neil had somehow hurt himself again but when he turns he sees Neil looking at the ladder to his own lofted bed as if it were the enemy.
“Neil,” he says looking at his own bed pointedly, but Neil just shook his head tiredly.
“It won’t work, I’m going to have to sleep on my stomach, so it’d be too tight to sleep together,” Neil says and it’s not good for Andrew’s heart for Neil to be so considerate, especially when he looks so tired and vulnerable.
Before Andrew could think of a way for them to make it work Neil has taken a deep breath and climbed his way up into his lofted bed. Neil lets out a long sigh and is out like a light.
Andrew looks at the slow rise and fall of his Junkie's back, carefully climbs up the ladder, and manages to wrestle the blanket Neil had neglected over Neil's back. With nothing left to do for Neil at the moment, Andrew crawls into his own bed by himself and wishes Neil was a little less considerate.
***
When Andrew gets up the next morning Neil was not in his bed.
He has a hard time believing that Neil managed to clamber out of his lofted bed without waking Andrew, but the empty mattress says everything. He hears the TV when he strains to listen for it and when he walks out of their room into the living room, he finds Neil with deep bags under his eyes watching House Hunters.
Neil’s gaze slides tiredly over to Andrew, “Morning.” He says and has the audacity to smile.
“Why are you up?” Andrew asks hand reaching out and tracing the bags under Neil’s eyes.
“I kept turning over in my sleep. I don’t like sleeping on my stomach.” Neil says. “I feel way too exposed.” He adds after a moment.
“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Andrew asks fingers tracing Neil’s cheek where he’d removed the bandage. The bruise looks even worse this morning with Neil’s pale and tired face.
“You hate House Hunters,” Neil says and Andrew does but still would have preferred to spend the whole night with Neil in his arms and disagreeing with everything the stupid couple decided on. “We missed morning practice,” Neil says gaze drifting back to the TV.
“I already texted Wymack,” Andrew says and pulls his phone out of his pocket. Wymack had texted back late last night.
Sent: 3:42 AM
Wymack: Call me when you wake up. I’ll get you excused from your summer class today and I won’t expect either of you at practice.
Andrew calls Wymack as he goes to the kitchen to grab water for himself and Neil. The discussion is brief, he explains what happened, that Neil is out of it, and that Andrew will not be leaving his side for any length of time longer than a bathroom break. Wymack doesn’t fight him on it, just sighs and asks if Andrew hurt Kevin at all the night before.
“I didn’t touch him,” Andrew says. Despite his various fantasies of punching out the Queen of Exy last night he had been focused on Neil and hadn't laid a finger on Day.
“Dammit.” Wymack sighs. “Whatever, take care of Josten. He’s off the court until Monday when Abby gets back, understood?” he asks.
“Yeah.” Andrew agrees easily because he had no intention of letting Neil on the court or near Kevin for the next few days anyways.
“Good.” Is all Wymack says before he hangs up.
Andrew sighs but settles on the far end of the couch stretching out his legs and parting them, “Neil.” He says and Neil’s exhausted eyes drift towards him, “Come here.” He pats his chest and Neil must be tired because he doesn’t double-check with Andrew before he’s crawling across the couch.
He settles on top of Andrew and Andrew likes Neil’s weight on him like this. Neil is tense in his arms like he always is whenever Andrew invites him to lay on him, “Can I touch you?” He asks quietly.
“Yeah, wherever you want, just…” Neil yawns, “…careful with my head. It hurts.” Neil says and Andrew hums in acknowledgment before guiding Neil’s face into his neck making sure Neil rests on his uninjured cheek.
Andrew runs his hands along Neil’s back and finds the muscles there are tense. He takes his time idly listening to the house hunters episode and choosing not to pay attention so that he doesn’t get heated over them consistently picking the worst house.
He can feel Neil relaxing inch by inch until Neil’s breathing is soft against his neck and Andrew reaches for the remote and changes the channel to watch a cooking competition. He has to be quiet and careful for the next 90 minutes but once Neil hits REM nothing will wake his Rabbit up.
Unfortunately, only 20 minutes later the door slams open to their dorm and Neil jolts awake instantly alert and ready to run from years of bad experiences. He’s off of Andrew before Andrew could put a hand to his neck to get him to stay.
“Neil! Oh my gosh! We heard from Coach that you got hurt!” Nicky’s voice carries from the entrance and Andrew will be remedying the inexcusable mistake of allowing his cousin to have a spare key to his dorm. The majority of the remaining foxes filter in. “Wha- oh no…you look terrible Neil. Did you get any sleep?” He asks and Andrew grits his teeth.
Neil blinks sluggishly looking at them all his brain still trying to process if he should be running for his life or fighting for it. “He was getting some sleep until the door slammed open.” He reaches out and wraps his hand around the back of Neil’s neck.
Neil's shoulders drop and he clenches his eyes shut for a long moment seemingly trying to force his exhaustion away by closing his eyes extra hard.
“It’s okay.” Neil says even though it absolutely isn’t, “Yeah, it was a training accident. Just a quick trip to the hospital for some staples in my head. It’s nothing major.” Neil says.
“You poor baby.” Allison comes over and cups his face, “It must be bad if you and Day are both out today. A practice without Day is a dream but no Neil just feels wrong.” She says thumb brushing over the dark bruise on his cheek.
“Kevin wasn’t at practice?” Neil asks surprised.
“Yeah, Wymack says he’s out for at least today, maybe tomorrow too,” Matt says coming over and checking the back of Neil’s head reaching out to prod at the staples.
Andrew catches his wrist before he touches it. “Don’t touch him there. They hurt.” He says voice firm.
Matt retracts his head, “Sorry, weird compulsion. Oh wow, four staples right there. Did it hurt getting them?” Matt asks.
“Not really.” Neil shrugs but the truth is that he probably doesn’t remember considering how far away from his body he’d been when the doctor put them in.
“You look rough Neil, I’m sorry I couldn’t grab this one before he barged in here,” Dan says apologetically gesturing towards a contrite Nicky.
“Sorry, Neil.” Nicky apologizes as if it means anything.
“Don’t be sorry. Think before you act.” Andrew grits out. “Give me your key to this dorm.” He demands extending his hand out to his cousin.
“Aw, but what if I need something from here?” Nicky asks pouting and holding the keys to his chest.
“Then you can wait to ask someone who actually lives in this room for it.” Andrew hisses and Nicky’s shoulders slump before he puts the key in Andrew’s hand.
They give their well wishes to Neil and trudge out of the room. Andrew locks the door behind them all and throws the extra key into the bowl by the door.
Neil is up now, the adrenaline from his fight or flight response too strong for him to go back to sleep any time soon.
Andrew sighs hating the tired way that Neil moves towards the kitchen. “I guess I must have been listening to your stupid cooking show while I was dozing there. I’m kind of hungry.” Neil says with an awkward smile to Andrew.
Andrew huffs but heads into the kitchen. “I’ll make lunch. Sit down, Junkie.” He points towards one of the desk chairs. Neil blinks at him slowly before smiling awkwardly.
“It’s easier if I make it, the diet plan Kev-”
“We’re not following the diet plan today.” Andrew hisses not wanting any part of Kevin touching Neil today.
“But Andrew, I’ve been noticing-”
“You won’t lose your progress if you skip it for one stupid day. I’ll even make something healthy.” He points to the desk chair more insistently. His brain jumps through a list of ingredients that would suit his needs before he pulls out a can of almonds and puts them in front of Neil. “Snack on those.” He orders.
He forces himself to remember all the foods that make people tired. Almonds were an easy one, but Neil needed more than almonds.
He grabs the turkey, avocado, and lettuce to make lettuce wraps. He scowls at the fridge remembering how Neil had, as per usual, plowed through the bountiful amount of fruit that they’d gotten just three days before. No kiwis or tart cherries so he’d just have to hope that the turkey and avocado would pull their weight and get Neil sleepy.
***
Andrew was not overly successful in getting Neil to sleep.
Whenever Neil’s fight or flight instincts were unleashed, it was almost impossible for him to come down from it until he did one of the two or a large amount of time had passed.
Andrew was not letting Neil Josten who was so tired he walked into a door and apologized to it go and run even on a treadmill. Andrew was also not about to let Neil fight someone when his head was barely being held together by four staples.
So, Neil has been unfortunately awake for the whole day despite Andrew’s numerous efforts.
Kevin did not come back to the dorms that evening either.
Andrew did not care but Neil was worried.
“He’s with his dad. Wymack won’t let him do anything stupid.” Andrew says, “Sleep with me tonight.” He says changing the topic.
“You have that test tomorrow in your morning class. You need your sleep.” Neil declines but Neil needs someone to hold him so he can sleep. “I’ll try and sleep sitting up out here. If it doesn’t work, then we can try after you get back from your test. You need to pass it for that class.” Neil adds.
Andrew hates this. Hates that he hasn’t gotten to a point where he can hold Neil and sleep himself without waking in a panic and striking out. Hates that Neil knows this and knows what’s going on for Andrew academically. Hates that Neil cares more about that than getting the sleep he needs to heal.
If Neil doesn’t get sleep tonight, then Andrew will come back from his class and load them into the Maserati and go to Columbia where no one will bother them.
He tries a few more times to entice Neil into sleeping on him but Neil is resolute until he looks at Andrew and squeezes Andrew’s hands, “Andrew it’s a no tonight.” He says and now Andrew won’t push further because Neil’s made a boundary.
Neil has made a boundary after he'd been punished for the last one and Andrew won't cross it even if it is a boundary that only exists for tonight and for Andrew’s GPA. Andrew would sooner die than toe the line.
So, Andrew goes to bed and Neil watches more House Hunters.
When Andrew wakes the next morning, it is to House Hunters International and Neil looks even worse.
Andrew’s stomach twists and Neil’s too tired to even pretend to be fine. “…can you hold me when you get back from class?” He asks voice pleading.
“Would you prefer here or Columbia?” He asks and his hands itch to touch him.
It looks like Neil swallows down a plea, “…just wanna sleep….’m sorry.” Neil apologizes and clenches his eyes shut, “I…. I’m losing time…I feel like I’m…I’m back at Evermore.” Neil admits and Andrew hates how he sounds like it’s something shameful.
Andrew takes Neil's face into his hands, "Do not apologize." he orders firmly and his thumb runs under Neil's eye. "I am going to see if I can take my test early," he says and the only reason that Andrew even gives a shit about this test for a stupid gen-ed class is that he refuses to make Neil's suffering pointless. "Try to relax, you're safe now. Riko is dead and he can never hurt you again. You'll never be at Evermore for anything longer than a game or a banquet ever again." he promises.
“Okay. I…I’ll try. I’m just so tired it’s hard to remember.” Neil croaks sounding miserable.
Andrew leans in and kisses Neil’s forehead. “I will do my test and then I will come back, and you can sleep.” He promises and hastily gets ready to go to his professor’s early morning office hours. He’s sure if he asks, he can take the test a few hours early and get back to Neil. He leaps down the steps and runs to the office building not willing to waste any time hunting for parking when Neil needed him.
The professor is willing to let him take the test in his office and Andrew blows through it in record time his studying and memory allowing him to breeze through the history questions.
He thanks his professor through gritted teeth and runs all the way back to the tower.
He takes the steps two at a time and is out of breath when he gets to his door. He unlocks the door and enters as quietly as he can so that he doesn’t spook Neil into another flight or fight stretch in case Neil has fallen asleep.
The dorm is quiet.
The TV is off for the first time in over 24 hours.
Kevin Day is on the couch and Neil Josten is asleep in his arms.
Kevin Day is awake but hardly looks any better than Neil. His eyes are bloodshot and there are obvious recent tear tracks down his face. He has a wrap around his left wrist and his right hand is gently stroking Neil’s hair being careful about where the staples are.
Every atom in Andrew wants to rip Neil out of Kevin’s arms but knows that being pulled like that would trigger Neil’s flight or fight again and Neil couldn’t take another guaranteed 12 hours of no sleep. Knows that Neil is teetering on the edge of Evermore flashbacks already.
Kevin had chosen his re-entry into their dorm quite well but if Andrew found out that Neil couldn’t remember asking or accepting Kevin’s offer to sleep like this then he’d kill the Queen of Exy anyways.
Kevin’s gaze drifts up from Neil to Andrew.
He opens his mouth but looks down at Neil and clamps his mouth shut.
Andrew holds up his phone and Kevin hesitantly pulls his out of his own pocket careful not to disturb Neil’s careful positioning. Andrew gestures to the side where the silence switch sat, and Kevin nods before silencing his phone so the text tone wouldn’t disturb Neil.
Sent: 9:32 AM
Andrew: When did you get here and when did Neil go to sleep
Sent: 9:33 AM
Kevin: I got here an hour ago. I thought I would catch both of you before your class.
It’s been about 45 minutes since Neil fell asleep.
Andrew closes his eyes and accepts that it’s too soon for him to join them on the couch. Neil’s sleep is too shallow at this point for the movement not to startle him in his current state. Kevin had probably been taking the elevator while Andrew had been running down the stairs to go talk to his Professor.
He looks down at his phone when he opens his eyes, he sees that Kevin has texted him again.
Sent: 9:35 AM
Kevin: We talked.
I apologized for what I did at our last night practice.
Neil accepted my apology.
He looks up at Kevin and sees the nervous expression on his face as he waits for Andrew’s response and can see how he’s tensing the longer Andrew stares at him. More importantly, he sees Neil’s brows furrow as Kevin’s hold grew stiff.
Sent: 9:38 AM
Andrew: You’re going to wake Neil up.
Kevin looks at the text and Andrew watches as Kevin forces his limbs to loosen.
Sent: 9:39 AM
Andrew: Neil’s so tired right now that he’s having Evermore flashbacks.
He’s not in a state to accept anything
Let alone your shitty apology.
Andrew will kill Kevin if the man flinches.
Kevin proves his unparalleled survival instinct and remains still despite the pained look he gives Neil.
Sent: 9:40 AM
Kevin: Is he having nightmares? Is that why he’s so tired?
Sent: 9:41 AM
Andrew: No.
His staples and bruised cheek are making it hard for him to sleep.
He can't sleep on his back or his sides.
Sent: 9:42 AM
Kevin: That explains why he asked me to just hold him and make sure he didn't roll over.
Andrew scowls at his phone. Neil had asked according to Kevin and Andrew didn't even doubt that Neil had been desperate enough to sleep that any of the foxes (except maybe Aaron and Nicky) would have been asked.
Sent: 9:44 AM
Kevin: I'll apologize again when he's more awake.
I didn't realize he was that tired.
Sent: 9:45 AM
Andrew: Good thing you're not a goalie.
A lot gets past you Day.
Sent: 9:49 AM
Kevin: It was the first time in my entire life I wished I had missed.
I never meant to hurt Neil.
I shouldn't have even been doing night practice.
Neil was only there because he didn't want me to be alone.
Andrew looks up from Kevin's messages to see the look on the Striker's face. The hand around Neil's back is bunched into the fabric of the hoodie Neil was wearing. Kevin's lips are pressed in a thin and miserable line.
Sent: 9:51 AM
Andrew: Regret won't do anything. It won't fix the gash on Neil's head.
Sent: 9:52 AM
Kevin: I know. I still regret that I hurt him.
I want to make a deal with you Andrew.
Andrew over at Kevin and raises his eyebrow but nods at the man's questioning gaze.
He's willing to hear him out.
Sent: 9:55 AM
Kevin: If I ever start acting like Riko again, especially toward Neil
I want you to come after me.
Andrew blinks.
He had not been expecting that.
Sent: 9:57 AM
Andrew: You know what it means when I go after someone.
Sent: 9:57 AM
Kevin: I know, and it scares me.
Sent: 9:58 AM
Andrew: I'll aim for your hands.
Sent: 10:00 AM
Kevin: I know. Keep me in line.
Don't let me become a monster like Riko was.
I don’t want Neil to become like me.
Andrew snorts at the very thought of Neil Josten ever being cowed by Kevin Day the way Kevin had by Riko. His eyes dart to where Neil continues to sleep in Kevin's arms.
Kevin scowls at his snort of derision.
Sent: 10:02 AM
Kevin: If Riko had ever come and apologized I would have forgiven him like Neil forgave me.
Andrew reads that statement over 3 times before he starts to type his reply.
Sent: 10:05 AM
Andrew: Neil has not forgiven you.
Andrew thinks of Neil worrying about Kevin even when he was hiding that he was an anxious mess at the hospital.
Sent: 10:06 AM
Andrew: Neil would never forgive Nathan or Lola for what they did to him.
He's not like you.
Sent: 10:10 AM
Kevin: He forgave his mom.
Andrew holds his phone tightly in his hands again. Neil won't even consider that Mary did something that would even need to be forgiven.
Sent: 10:12 AM
Andrew: Then just know that I will never forgive Mary Hatford, Nathan Wesninski, Lola Malcolm, or Riko Moriyama.
Andrew looked Kevin in the eye before he hit send on his next message.
Sent: 10:14 AM
Andrew: I'm not forgiving you either and next time our deal will be in effect.
Kevin's bad hand clutched at Neil's sweatshirt tighter. He held Neil like a child would with a favored teddy bear.
Sent: 10:17 AM
Kevin: There won't be a next time.
What do you want with our deal?
Andrew pondered that for a moment. He thought about demanding that Kevin cut night practice down to only 3 times a week. Leveraging that Kevin was not allowed to comment on what they did on the weekends.
He looks at Neil with his good cheek against Kevin's chest and how Kevin was holding Neil like the world would end if Neil left his arms.
Sent: 10:25 AM
Andrew: You won't be a coward if Neil needs help.
Kevin blinks at the message even as he moves from the spot he'd been standing since he came in and saw Neil asleep in Kevin's arms. He reaches for the remote and Kevin's leg kicks out toward Andrew to try and bar him from turning it on.
"He's in REM at this point, light noise won't wake him up," Andrew says and Kevin's panicked look down at Neil was enough for Andrew to accept that Kevin was capable of holding up his end of the deal.
Neil continues to sleep against Kevin's chest and Andrew pushes Kevin's other leg so that it's bent and freeing up the end of the couch. He lifts Neil's legs and has them in his lap as he turns on the Food Network. His hands massaging Neil's ankles and feet idly as he leans back and puts his feet up on the coffee table.
"You hurt your wrist," Andrew states.
"I was cleaning up Neil's blood," Kevin responds back. "Wymack found me after you texted him. I'm off practice for a few days but it's fine," he says and doesn't elaborate on how cleaning Neil's blood off the court would hurt his wrist.
Though, if it was Andrew's text to Wymack that alerted the man to go look for his Exy-obsessed son then maybe Kevin lost a few hours between Andrew and Neil leaving and Wymack's arrival trying to clean.
Andrew just hums in response.
Kevin looks at him for a few moments before his gaze moves toward the show. "He's kind of pretentious," Kevin says about a chef that is looking down on the surprise ingredients.
"You would know." Andrew trades back.
Kevin and Andrew talk quietly and casually as they both settle in to watch the Chopped marathon going on. Neil sleeps like the dead throughout the morning.
Neil half wakes up at lunch his body is now too used to being fed at certain times but he's still out of it. Kevin carefully gets up and gives Neil over to Andrew and makes the three of them a healthy lunch and has the good sense to bring Andrew a pudding cup for dessert.
Neil eats mechanically and nearly falls into his meal a few times, but he's relaxed. Andrew guides him into his own chest this time, but Kevin stays on the couch. Andrew doesn't take up as much room as Kevin did.
Neil returns to full unconsciousness and when they can hear the sounds of the Foxes it's Kevin who tells them to be quiet and that their room is off limits today so Neil can sleep.
Kevin dozes on the couch not leaving despite his bed likely being a far more comfortable spot to sleep.
Neil wakes up around dinner time and Andrew watches as Kevin gathers the courage to talk with Neil about what happened again, but Neil just seems confused.
"Didn't we already talk about this, or did I hallucinate it?" He asks looking leagues better than he had that morning.
Kevin blushes, "I... we did but you were out of it from how tired you were so I-"
“I remember Kev,” Neil says and pats Kevin on the shoulder.
“I just…it’s no excuse but I-I’m just so scared that I’ll lose you too,” Kevin says bringing his own hand to rest over the one Neil had on his shoulder. “But I hurt you instead. I could have lost you too and…” Kevin croaks.
“I’m okay Kevin. Just tired and sore. I forgive you for what happened, just don’t do that again.” Neil says.
Kevin looks at Neil his lips are pressed together in a way that lets Andrew know he’s barely containing a sob. “I swear, never again,” Kevin says and manages a watery smile at Neil.
"Cool, did I at least drool on you as vengeance?" Neil asks smiling.
Kevin rolls his eyes and laughs before he wipes away the beginnings of tears that had threatened to spill over and down his cheeks.
They get dinner with the rest of the foxes and it's as normal as it ever is whenever their group of idiots decide to go out somewhere. Andrew keeps a close eye on Neil, but he seems to have fully rallied from having spent the day sleeping.
When they get back to the dorm Kevin doesn't even bring up night practice and they watch some HGTV show about flipping houses in deference to Neil.
When it is time for bed Andrew is surprised when Kevin's grabbed both his and Neil's pillows and pats his chest, "C'mon Neil. We're not practicing tomorrow but we can still go with everyone else." he says propped up on two beds worth of pillows.
Neil blinks and looks at Andrew. He knows that if Andrew doesn't want him to then Neil would spend another night awake.
"Go sleep on your Queen Mattress Neil," Andrew says with a roll of his eyes.
Kevin makes an affronted noise but Neil smiles and squeezes his hand once before he crawls into bed with Kevin. The other Striker's arms wrapped around Neil to hold him in place.
The two strikers were asleep quickly and Andrew takes some time to just watch the two of them from his own bed. He doesn’t like the twist of envy he feels that Kevin can give Neil something that Andrew currently can not but he’s more relieved to see Neil getting the rest he needs to heal properly.
Sleeping in the same bed as Neil is something he can do most of the time but holding him or being held is a bridge that they have only just arrived at. It’s something Andrew wants though. It’s something they’ll work on together once Neil’s healed.
Andrew plugs his phone in to charge it and sees that there was a message from Kevin that he'd not noticed before.
He opens it.
Sent: 12:11 PM
Kevin: I promise.