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Kevin had a problem.
Andrew and Neil had been 'Andrew and Neil' for a while now. Neither of them were outright saying that they were in a relationship, and they don’t call each other boyfriends, but everyone could clearly see that that’s what they were.
In the time he had known Andrew, he never imagined him to be able to let down his guard enough to actually pursue someone. However, he is glad that Andrew finally let someone else in and accepted what he wants.
Kevin promised him that first year to give him something to build his life around. He obviously meant Exy and while he is sad that it isn’t Exy, he is not disappointed about the fact that it’s Neil.
Neil is an exceptional Exy player and will be Court. His skill and speed will always fascinate Kevin, and his interest in Exy aligns with Kevin’s. After he left Edgar Allen, he longed for the company of someone who matched his passion and love for the sport. Andrew was undeniably great at it, but he lacked the love for the game.
But even better than Neil’s passion for Exy is his clear passion for Andrew.
The way they both orbit around each other, almost oblivious to the people around them, makes Kevin— well, not jealous. Definitely not jealous because that would be absurd. Kevin doesn’t need a relationship. Not that this matters. It doesn’t.
What does matter though, is the fact that Andrew and Neil are getting comfortable around Kevin with their relationship. And Kevin is happy, he truly is. They both went through so much in the last year, he just wants them to be happy. But he also feels like there is such a thing as being too comfortable around other people.
And this is where his problem started.
He expected hand-holding— okay no, that’s wrong. He didn’t expect hand-holding or any PDA from Andrew. But he knew that being around couples, you could normally expect hand-holding. Maybe some cuddling and kissing as well. But not what those two were doing.
It started with them inviting Kevin to watch Exy games, then it shifted to watching movies and studying together, and recently it got to the point where they seem to invite him to their make-out sessions.
The first time it happened, they were supposed to watch a movie. For some reason Kevin ended up in the middle of the couch with Andrew on his left and Neil on his right. The couch in their dorm was small, and nobody moved to the beanbags on the ground, so they ended up pretty close together. Kevin could feel Andrew’s arm pressing against him. Neil’s fingers were lightly resting on his thigh. He had no idea what they were watching that day, but he remembered how good it felt to be sitting there with the two people he trusted the most with his life. Having them on either of his sides and knowing he was at the safest place he could be made a warm feeling spread throughout his body, and he felt some tingling in his stomach. The feeling was so unfamiliar and new that he had to take a moment to breathe. So he excused himself and went to the toilet to splash some water on his face and calm down.
Kevin couldn’t have been gone longer than a few minutes, but when he came back, Neil was almost completely on Andrew’s lap, and they were in the middle of making out. Neil’s hands were fisting the couch while one of Andrew’s was on his neck, guiding him closer, and the other was on his back, slowly circling up and down.
He stood frozen in the doorway, unsure what to do. After all, they had invited him to stay and watch this movie with them. But now they were obviously preoccupied with something else entirely and probably not expecting him to interrupt them. Maybe he should go back to the bathroom and come out of it louder. Or maybe they were expecting him to leave them to it? They were likely counting on him being smart enough to see that movie time was over.
Whatever they expected of him, he should make a decision soon. Now, preferably. But it was like he was stuck to the ground under his feet. Instead of coming forward or going away, he kept standing there and staring at them.
Andrew’s hand had moved to stay at Neil’s lower back. By then Neil has managed to completely situate himself on Andrew’s lap. They were still kissing each other, but slower now. Neil slightly leaned away from the kiss and Kevin thought one of them finally remembered him, but then Neil’s head moved lower and he started spreading kisses around Andrew’s neck.
It snapped Kevin out of his state, and he finally decided that they did not want to continue the movie. He started to move towards his room when the floorboard creaked under his foot.
Neil immediately stopped and lifted his head only to find Kevin standing there. For some reason a smile spread on his face upon seeing Kevin.
“About time you came back. Was starting to think you fell down the toilet,” Andrew said without even looking at him. “Wanna sit back down?”
It took him a second to move again, but this time he was walking towards the couple. Neil made a move to leave Andrew’s lap and sit back in his original seat, but Kevin quickly plopped onto it. While he liked the feeling of sitting between them, he didn’t want to split them up again and Neil seemed content to sit in the middle this time.
The movie continued the same as before, but after a few minutes he noticed that Neil’s lips found their way back to Andrew’s neck. Kevin felt out of place, but neither of the other two seemed to mind him, so he stayed put. Andrew looked at Neil and after a nod put his hand on Neil’s chin and pulled him into another kiss.
Neil didn’t end up back on his lap, but the kisses also didn’t stop. Meanwhile, Kevin tried his best and failed to focus on the screen in front of him.
That was the first time it happened but definitely not the last.
At first it started slowly. The next time it was just the three of them, everything was normal, but the time after that it happened again. And it just kept happening. Nobody said anything about it, and they were the ones to invite Kevin, so he stayed, but he couldn’t understand when they started feeling this comfortable around him.
After three weeks of enduring this and almost going crazy, it only got worse.
Well, it wasn’t bad to begin with. The trust they had in Kevin was too meaningful to complain about, and even if he did not want to admit it, he liked seeing them so happy and relaxed. That was, of course, the only thing he appreciated about these sessions.
But three weeks into it, something changed.
The three of them were in the locker room after one of their night practices. Kevin walked back from his shower when he saw Neil pressed into the locker next to his and making out with Andrew again. This time, Neil had his hands in Andrew’s hair, and Andrew’s hands were pushing him into the locker by his waist. Used to their antics by now, he ignored them and got dressed. Afterwards, he sat down on the bench while waiting for the other two to be ready. He was just about to take out his phone when Neil stretched out his hand and softly touched Kevin’s face. He couldn’t stop the gasp escaping him at the unexpected touch.
Neil turned his head towards Kevin and Andrew stopped kissing him in the meantime. With a quiet, low voice, Neil asked, “That okay?”
Kevin had no idea what that meant but nodded his head anyway. A satisfied glint appeared in Neil’s eyes before he turned his head back to Andrew, and they continued making out. Neil’s hand stayed on his cheek. After a while he started slowly caressing his face. Kevin didn’t understand why he was pulled into this, but he couldn’t deny that it felt nice.
There were no warm and soft touches at Edgar Allen. The closest to it was taking care of Jean after a bad day in the nest, putting him back together, and trading quiet French words between them.
Of course that changed when he came to Palmetto. He had Dan putting an encouraging hand on his shoulder or a clap on the back from Matt, but this is different. This wasn’t a short point of contact but a loving gesture. Neil was actively making out with Andrew, but he still wanted Kevin to feel included and appreciated. He made sure Kevin didn’t feel too much out of place in the locker room and while he had a few weeks to get acquainted with the feeling of being the champion at third-wheeling, this inclusion showed him they really wanted him there.
So he stayed put on the bench and let Neil’s hand wander down his neck, onto his shoulder, further down his arms, and finally land at his hands, where Neil intertwined his fingers with Kevin’s.
Kevin appreciated that his friends wanted to make sure he didn’t feel left out, so he didn’t question when the touches appeared again. There was Andrew’s hand on his stomach or on his thigh when he was the one on Neil’s lap on the couch, or Neil’s fingers tangling in his hair during another make-out session in the locker room.
Those little touches happened more often, and Kevin couldn’t complain. He started to expect it. When he walked back into the room, he wasn’t shocked to find them kissing again. Sometimes he even moved closer to them when they were making out. Of course, that was only to show them that he was okay with them reaching out. That they didn’t need to stop and ask him for permission. (They still did.)
There were some confusing moments, though. Sometimes Andrew’s gaze lingered on his lips, or Neil’s fingers grazed his lips before moving on.
The most shocking moment happened while he was alone with Neil. They just ended practice, and their teammates were already gone while Kevin and Neil waited on Andrew, who was still in the shower. Even Aaron left for a date with his girlfriend, and Nicky waited outside while he was on the phone with Erik.
Neil sat down next to Kevin and pressed their shoulders together.
“How do you feel about the game on Friday?”
Kevin only answered with a scoff, which startled a laugh out of Neil. He leaned towards Kevin and asked, “What? So confident in our team?”
“We’ll be fine. The Foxes are a lot better.”
A soft smile spread on Neil’s face, and he placed a hand on Kevin’s chin, who was so used to all these little touches that he didn’t even question it and just leaned into it. Neil softly pressed against the tattoo on his face before he stroked his cheek with his thumb, which in turn startled a hum out of Kevin.
He could see a flash of hesitation in Neil’s eyes before it was gone and his face came even closer to Kevin’s. This close, Kevin could feel the warmth of Neil’s breath on his face. Later, he will have no idea what moved him to do it in this moment, but Kevin raised his hand and put it on Neil’s cheek. After all, if Andrew and Neil could give him all these touches, surely he was allowed to reciprocate. He was rewarded with Neil leaning against his hand while his smile widened.
Neil got even closer, and Kevin wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t this. Because a moment later, Neil pressed his lips against Kevin’s with a soft sigh.
Kevin felt the same warmth as always spread through his body and leaned into the kiss.
Wait. Kiss? Neil was kissing him. But he was in a relationship with Andrew.
The thought had Kevin jerking back his head and lifting his hand from Neil’s cheek. “What the fuck?”
“Fuck, Kevin, I’m sorry. I thought you were ready—“
“Ready for what?” Kevin interrupted him, “Ready to help you cheat on your boyfriend?”
“Well, ye— Wait what?” Neil’s brows furrowed as he considered Kevin with a questioning look. “Kevin, what are you talking about?”
Kevin stood up from the bench to put some distance between him and Neil.
“You just kissed me! How do you think Andrew will feel about that?”
“A little disappointed that I wasn’t here to witness it, to be honest,” came the direct reply from Andrew himself. Kevin hadn’t heard the shower stopping or Andrew coming back dressed to the locker room. For some reason he genuinely didn’t seem angry, which was confusing considering Kevin expected a knife to his stomach for kissing his boyfriend.
Neil stood up as well now and looked at Kevin with a frown. “Look, I’m sorry. I thought you wanted to kiss me as well.”
Whether Kevin wanted to kiss him back or not didn’t matter. The important part was that Neil kissed someone who wasn’t his boyfriend. And for some reason it didn’t seem to bother Andrew at all. Kevin knew barely anything truly bothered Andrew, but surely this wasn’t that unimportant to him.
Andrew seemed to realize that Kevin’s gaze was on him, and he leaned against the locker nearest to the door.
“Neil won’t do it again unless you actually want him to. Isn’t that right?”
Neil immediately nodded his head.
How couldn’t they see that the problem wasn’t whether Kevin wanted to or not? Their relationship wasn’t ordinary, but there was no way they were fine with the other person kissing random people.
“Does it not bother you? That he wanted to kiss me?” Kevin asked Andrew. Now it was Andrew’s turn to look at him puzzled.
“Why would it bother me?”
Kevin glanced at Neil and then turned his gaze back to Andrew. Both of them looked at him confused, however, Andrew managed to hide his emotions more. If it weren’t for the fact that Kevin knew Andrew, the other one could have fooled him into thinking he was bored.
With some uncertainty in his voice, Kevin responded, “Come on, you can’t possibly be okay with Neil cheating on you.”
It seemed like the wrong thing to say. The furrow between Neil’s eyebrows deepened and a frown appeared on his face as he looked at Kevin. However, the confusion in Andrew’s eyes disappeared and understanding took its place instead. He looked at Neil, who returned his gaze.
For a moment, it was totally quiet in the locker room while they had a conversation without saying a single thing. Then, realization hit Neil, meaning he finally lost the furrow when he looked back at Kevin. The frown remained, though.
Neil took a tentative step towards him. “Kevin, you do realize that you are a part of… well, a part of us, right?”
Kevin had no idea what Neil meant, which apparently showed on his expression because Neil let out a laugh. He looked at Andrew and said, “Wow, and you call me oblivious.”
“That’s because you are oblivious. Not my fault that I thought someone else on this team was smart enough to be able to pick up on what we were doing.”
“Wait, what were you doing?” Kevin interrupted. He was glad that Andrew didn’t seem mad about the kiss, but he just wished someone would outright tell him why it happened and why it doesn’t bother Andrew.
“We thought that it was obvious that this whole thing isn’t just the two of us anymore. That you are also a part of us.”
A bit of annoyance came up in Kevin at not being outright told what the matter was. “You said that already, but what does that mean? ‘I am a part of—‘“ He stopped when a wave of realization hits him. And oh, isn’t that an interesting thought? “A part of you? Do you mean…” He didn’t call it a relationship because he knew they didn’t use that word, so he tried something different, “You two like me?”
Andrew scoffed and a laugh burst out of Neil as he said, “Wasn’t that obvious? Did you think we include Matt into our kisses?”
Kevin felt a warmth spread to his cheeks and he hoped the slight blush wouldn’t show. With his luck and pale skin, it definitely did. “Well, no. I guess not.”
Neil, now possessed by a new wave of confidence, stepped next to Kevin and put his hand on his arm. Kevin was so used to these little touches that he barely even had to think about it before his hand found Neil’s and intertwined their fingers.
Neil squeezed his hand as Andrew stepped closer as well. However, he only lifted his hand and looked at Kevin with a question in his eyes. Realizing that he was waiting for permission, Kevin nodded quickly, and Andrew placed his hand on the side of Kevin’s neck. It was a hard and grounding touch, the complete opposite of Neil’s soft and warm hand.
“Does this,” Andrew gestured to their hands and continued with a slightly mocking tone, “mean you like us as well?”
He said it like he already knew the answer, and Kevin guessed he did. Because the ’Yes’ he immediately uttered after Andrew asked his question was the truth. As much as it shocked him, he did actually like Andrew and Neil as more than just good friends.
He wasn’t quite sure when exactly it happened, but somewhere between all the night practices, trips to Columbia, and the kissing and touching, he actually started to develop feelings for them. Or maybe it even started before that. Maybe it started at ‘Will you still teach me?’s and ‘I promised, didn’t I?’s. Maybe it was all those times stepping out on the court, feeling the two people he trusted with his life at his back.
Kevin couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment, all he knew was that it was the truth. And apparently Andrew and Neil realized it before he even questioned the quiet longing he felt during their make-out sessions and the satisfaction in being part of it. Even if only through small touches.
“I can’t believe we thought you just didn’t feel ready for kissing,“ Neil laughed, and it brought an important point to Kevin’s forefront. After all, they thought he was in a relationship with them all this time, and never once did he think the touches he received were in any sense romantic.
Now, he can admit he should have noticed that it’s not normal for friends to touch your hair or lips while they were making out. But in his defense, there were no kisses, no clear indicator that anything was meant romantically. And now that Neil put the thought of them kissing him into his head, he wants to.
The last time someone kissed him was Thea, and he can now see that it could have never lasted. This, however, he wants to be different. He wants it to last and mean something.
So he mustered up all his bravery, and asked a little breathless, “Can I? Kiss you now?“
Neil sucked in a gasp and his hand tightened around Kevin’s. “Yes,” he breathed out, and Kevin only spared a glance at Andrew to see him nod his confirmation as well before he closed the distance between him and Neil.
Neil immediately leaned into him and let out a soft gasp. Finally, the warmth and tingling could spread in his body with no hesitation and no confusion. Kevin brought his other hand up and used it to cup Neil’s jaw to bring him closer to him. Meanwhile, Neil tangled his hand in Kevin’s shirt. Kevin could feel Neil straining to lean into the kiss, so he decided to help him out and leaned further down, deepening the kiss while he was at it.
When Neil loosened his hand to grab onto Kevin’s neck, he felt Neil’s and Andrew’s fingers bumping into each other. He stopped the kiss by holding Neil in place and shifting his head enough to look at Andrew. His gaze landed on Andrew’s lips, and he asked, “Yes?”
“Yes. Touch only shoulders and above,” Andrew confirmed, and it was all Kevin needed to lean down again and push his lips against Andrew’s this time. Andrew quickly reciprocated the kiss, and he was harsher, more desperate in his kissing than Neil.
Kevin left one hand on Neil’s jaw and put the other hesitantly on Andrew’s shoulder. When Andrew didn’t pull away or stop, he squeezed it softly before dragging his hand to the back of his neck and holding it there. Andrew’s hand slipped up to his hair as he pushed harder against his lips.
For a second Kevin had to lift his head to take a breath. When he connected back with Andrew, he felt another set of lips on his neck and a little whine slipped past his lips. It seemed to only entice Neil to continue spreading kisses around his neck.
Kevin couldn’t be sure how long they stood in the locker room, trading soft kisses with each other before they pulled back. He was just opening his mouth to say something when the door squeaked open.
The three of them all took a step away from each other, but it was too late. According to Nicky’s shocked look, he had seen enough.
“What the-“