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jtl-fics · 11 months

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Fluent Freshman - Part 18

Weirdly enough the only thing that FF can think of as they head down the stairs is the first Saw movie.

That one happened IN a bathroom right? He kind of watched all of them in a row to prepare himself for whatever Andrew might decide to do to him. But he’s near positive that one happened in a bathroom. It was derelict and he didn’t think it really had running water (or did it? Didn’t the guy wake up in a half-full tub? His memory is hazy in his bathroom related desperation and may be trying to protect him from thinking about water).

All leading to the main thought going through his head as he slowly headed down the narrow stairway to his death.

Would Andrew let him use the facilities before he’s handcuffed to a pipe?

The worst part about all of this is that he is not sure if he needs to take a dump or if he just needs to fart, he knows he has to take a piss. He’s read that when you die your body will relax and it’ll all just flow out of you and Nicky gave him these pants so he feels bad but he also does not want to face his death without pants. If he needs to take a shit then they’re definitely going to be absolutely ruined, if it’s a fart well…Andrew can’t kill him any further? He can mutilate his corpse a little but FF won’t be around to experience it.

No matter what he’s definitely going to piss himself. He had way too much water at Sweeties trying to consume the spicy ice cream.

You may be wondering why FF has not run away from his predicament and is walking down these steps without protest or comment or plea for his life.

First of all he is pretty sure that if he makes any sudden movements he will ruin these pants that Nicky bought for him. Second of all Andrew had already told him once that he wouldn’t accept any pleading for mercy he still remembers how he asked Andrew, “Please give me back my pen?” and Andrew had shot him a look that had his stomach cramp and his fingers itch for the bottle sweet pink relief in his backpack.

“I don’t like that word, don’t use it around me.” He said.

FF ever the pragmatic sort, “Which one?” He had asked because he had said a few, “I don’t want there to be a misunderstanding.” He followed up with when Andrew glowered at him only for the glare’s intensity to increase 10 fold.

“Don’t use the first word of your first statement or the last word of your second.” Andrew grit out and got up to leave without a word.

Message received loud and clear Andrew did NOT like words ‘Please’ or ‘Misunderstanding’.

So FF knows that any pleading for mercy would ABSOLUTELY result in Andrew not letting him take a bathroom break before him and Captain Neil make destroying him into a couple activity. The fact that Captain Neil is here is a bit of a shock but maybe Captain Neil has finally gotten the other Freshman Dealer up to snuff.

Maybe Kevin really did want to dissect him to figure out how Strikers keep passing straight to him?

They reach the door at the bottom of the stairs.

Ah, time to face the music.

At least he’d texted Gran that he was going to die when they had gotten into the club and the bathroom had not made itself readily apparent. Sure it was about his current ‘gotta piss / gotta shit’ situation but he’d been wise to keep his cause of death vague in that text.

The door opens and…

This is the NICEST torture chamber FF has EVER seen. (And after his desperation watch of all the Saw movies he has seen quite a FEW)

“Minyard, Josten, and Guest. Table 6 is yours.” A voice comes from the side and when he looks over there’s a man in quite a nice uniform standing behind a soft-lit bar polishing a glass looking every bit like a bar tender at those high-end places you see in movies. He looks around a bit more and there are some other people down here. It’s not quiet per se but it is a comfortable level of noise in comparison to the IQ dropping noise upstairs.

“C’mon Smith.” Andrew juts his chin towards a table in the back.

FF follows but continues to try and fit this nice little room into his world view.

Do these people watch other people get tortured to death for fun on a Friday night? Unlikely considering the upholstery on the booths and chairs looked like it’d stain if blood got on it. Was this perhaps a trafficking location where Andrew would sell off his organs to the highest bidder? He looked at the other patrons who seemed a bit higher class than the general club scene upstairs but not like they had the money to buy one of his kidneys. Maybe-

“Do not tell Nicky about this place, ever.” Andrew says as they slide into the booth. FF nods but can’t help but tilt his head slightly in an unspoken question, “He would absolutely tell any and everyone about it. Eden’s wants to keep this place a secret from the general public.” Andrew explains.

“Nicky currently thinks that there’s a straight swingers club down here.” Captain Neil says with a huff of laughter.

“Eden’s is cool, even though there’s some sick shit in the basement.” Floats through his head again.

What the fuck was a swinger?

His fingers itch for his phone but he’s currently talking with Andrew and Captain Neil so that’d be rude but they’re talking to him like he absolutely knows what a swinger is and he DOES NOT.

“It’s quieter down here. Figured you’d prefer it.” Andrew says as he gets up and heads towards the bar down here where the bartender was aggressively cutting ice chunks.

He and Captain Neil sit in silence for a few seconds before Captain Neil offers him a slight smile, “I know you’d rather be with your grandma and you and Andrew prefer not to say things out loud but we’ve really liked hanging out with you.” Captain Neil says.

????????????????????????????????????????????????

That’s such a nice thing to say to someone.

Especially someone like FF.

Especially especially when they’re planning on killing him?

He hopes his confusion stays off his face as he nods once. “It’s been fun.” It’s not even really a lie. Thanksgiving yesterday had been nice and loud and FF had missed the chaos of a Family Dinner more than he had ever realized. The car ride had been…a time but once he’d asked Andrew to either keep his eyes on the road or let him out Andrew’s hands had stayed at 10 and 2 and the ride had been smooth. Aaron and Nicky’s weight against him had been nice too, a warm memory before he developed a possible life long aversion to whipped cream. He’d gotten to go Black Friday shopping and Captain Neil even helped carry it home for him. Baking bad been nice even if the stress of doing it with his life on the line was less so. The subsequent nap and day spent doing normal college guy things had been…it’d all been nice.

It’s starting to feel like….

“Drink this.” Andrew puts a drink down in front of him.

No Andrew definitely wants his bladder to burst.

“What is it?” He asks instead looking at the creamy looking drink with suspicion.

Andrew rolls his eyes as he hands Neil a fruity looking drink as he sits with what is a few fingers of scotch. “It’s virgin.” Andrew says not answering the question at all and must pick up that FF won’t be drinking it until he gets the full answer because he continues after a moment, “It’s like a Pina Colada but with bananas instead.” Andrew answers.

It’s not that FF hates banana but why in the world would Andrew grab him this? Was it just one of the few virgins options on this place’s fancy menu or-

“Bananas will help get your stomach acid back down.” Andrew says, “Since you’re an idiot and ate that mango ice cream just because you wanted to impress that girl.” He rolls his eyes.

“Impress that girl?” There weren’t any girls at the table and how in the world would him eating that god-forsaken spicy ice cream impress anyone other than Betsy. Even Betsy would only be impressed by the depths he was willing to reach just to avoid what he perceives as an awkward social situation.

“The waitress.” Neil reminds him as if that cleared anything up.

“Yeah,” he says as if he has understood the conversation but he has not. “It was spicy mango.” He says because maybe if he keeps the conversation going he’ll get enough context clues to understand what might be his last conversation.

Andrew let out a huff of laughter and pushed FF’s drink closer to him, “Drink your fancy Banana smoothie Casanova.” He says.

No closer to understanding the conversation he accepts that it might be something that only becomes clear after he sheds his mortal coil and is no longer given a -10 INT debuff by his full bladder and revolting stomach.

He takes a sip.

Oh that’s actually pretty good.

It feels like he can feel it sizzling in his stomach and soothing the discomfort there. Maybe he should look into Banana smoothies as a replacement for what Abby has called a ‘concerning co-dependence’ in regards to Pepto Bismol. No one can put him on a medical watch if it’s just banana smoothies he’s chugging down like they’re going out of style.

“Thanks,” he says, “that was good.” He admits before reaching into his jacket and moving past the Megamind toy and grabbing his wallet. “What do I owe you for that?” He asks.

“We’re even.” Andrew waves away the money.

“You bought the stuff for breakfast, those brownies, and the pie tomorrow.” Neil says and FF blinks surprised to hear that they were talking about the pie he didn’t think he was going to get the chance to make.

“You don’t need to buy a spot with us.” Andrew says and FF leans back slightly at the intensity on Andrew’s face as he says it. “I invited you here because I wanted to. The brownies were good but if you don’t feel like making the pie tomorrow? It’s not like I’m going to drive you back to Palmetto and leave you on Abby’s doorstep.” He says.

FF feels gears start to turn in his head.

“It’s good pie.” He hears himself say.

“I didn’t even know about the pie when I invited you.” Andrew says and…

Andrew and FF sit in silence but honestly it’s not like Andrew’s sharpening his knives. The two of them mostly just do their own work or read. FF has been getting his German literacy up to snuff so that he can read the language when he goes there to visit Nicky’s fiance next year. He likes how serious Andrew is about learning it so that he doesn’t have to ask Captain Neil a thousand questions and it’d be nice if Andrew wasn’t obviously planning on murdering him.

Andrew brings dried apples and sends Captain Neil along with probiotic yogurts to their meetings. Both of those things tend to soothe his stomach and the yogurt that had been unflavored before was now vanilla which he liked a fair bit. It would have been a really nice gesture if it wasn’t for the fact that Andrew was making fun of his tummy troubles.

Andrew will put his foot down in practice sometimes when Kevin is getting too demanding wanting to know exactly how FF intercepted his passes to Neil. Kevin always backs off and Andrew will do the same when Jack starts to get a little too personal in his attacks at FF or when Sheena decides she’s going to be a bitch. It’d be nice if it wasn’t Andrew staking his claim that he was the one who was going to make FF’s life miserable.

Andrew drove FF around for an hour after Greg had shown up. He found out later from one of his friends that Andrew had threatened Greg after he had power walked away into the building. Andrew had driven him around and had only started heading towards the tower when FF had relaxed. It would have been nice if Andrew wasn’t trying to lure him into a false sense of security.

Andrew had invited him to his Family’s house over Thanksgiving when the bad storm had ruined his Thanksgiving plans. Andrew had threatened Jack to stop him from eating his Grandma’s pie and complaining about it. Andrew had stopped messing around with Captain Neil when FF had made it clear he was uncomfortable being in a car where the driver wasn’t paying attention to the road. Andrew had twice made him go to bed in the last couple hours.

It’d be nice if…

“We’ve really liked hanging out with you” Captain Neil had said.

Andrew was just trying to be nice.

Embarrassment rolls over him like a wave but FF has many years of pretending like he’s not going to die from embarrassment, “Thanks for inviting me. I’ll still probably make the pie tomorrow.” He offers.

Andrew’s eyes change slightly and FF is under the impression that he’s happy to hear that.

“Just enjoy your drink Smith.” Andrew says.

FF does go back to sipping his drink and letting more and more memories of things Andrew had done come to him and lets his embarrassment grow.

He finishes his drink and only then realizes that he is a code red in terms of bladder capacity. The new knowledge that this is not a torture chamber but in fact yet another overture of friendship from Andrew paired with his desperation finally loosens the question from his mouth, “Where’s the bathroom here?” He asks.

“There isn’t one downstairs but just head up stairs and hug the wall to the left.” Captain Neil answers.

“Bring your phone. If Frank doesn’t recognize you to let you back in.” Andrew reminds him.

FF nods and heads out of the club and up the stairs.

He might be doing a bit of a potty dance so he forces himself to become unnoticeable because he does not need cool people at a cool club to see him about to piss himself. Once he enters into a stealth mode that the United States Military would like to talk to him about he hugs the wall and nearly cries tears of relief when he sees a door labelled MEN.

He doesn’t think about the possibility of letting up on stealth mode because he is sure that he is about to make a face that he does NOT want any human being to see when he unzips his pants and starts to take the world’s most life-affirming piss on the planet.

As his bladder empties his brain is able to process the understanding that he had come to down in the basement he had thought would be his final resting place.

Andrew has been trying to be nice (and succeeding it was all so nice! He feels like an asshole! He is an asshole! Gran always told him that assuming makes an Ass out of U and Me. He had just thought it was funny grandma humor not valuable life advice!)

The night wasn’t going to end with Andrew’s knife in his stomach, it was probably just going to end with Nicky puking on his shoes (which is fine because these are the shoes Nicky was letting him borrow for the club anyways, they’re his shoes to puke onto.)

A secondary relief fills his system. His stomach, soothed by the Banana smoothie and now this, feels like it might actually let him live through the night.

While FF was distracted with a piss that would have made any number of cult leaders jealous with the number of divine revelations he was experiencing he failed to notice a second man enter the bathroom.

There was a reason that FF always ALWAYS became noticeable when he was at a urinal and the man who came to the urinal right next to him was showcasing that VERY reason.

He was trapped here for at least ten more seconds and he could hear the man grumbling distractedly but didn’t really pay it too much attention until…

“Fucking Wesninski Brat.” He grumbled under his breath.

Oh god dammit.

MASTERPOST FOR ALL PARTS OF FLUENT FRESHMAN AU

Per your requests:

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#Fluent Freshman AU #FINALLY CAN PUT DOWN MY TAGS #You have no idea the number of times that I had to sing hollaback girl to myself during this #It was B-A-N-A-N-A-S #We have now closed the 'Andrew is going to crazy murder me' emotional arc #The 'Oh god if Andrew or Neil find out that I know Russian they're going to stop being my friends and hate me' arc begins #He's gotten a confirmed 3 friends today #And he got to go to the bathroom #He's riding a high #Not only is it 3 friends it is 3 friends who like him enough to invite him to spend the holiday break together #That's so nice #Andrew is so nice #FF cannot BELIEVE he thought Andrew 'eat these dried apples' Minyard was going to stab him #Captain Neil is lucky to have him #Also Andrew is lucky to have Captain Neil #Neil and Andrew are definitely down in the Speakeasy right now enjoying FF's bathroom break #Andrew's ordered FF another round of Banana daiquiri #Andrew: I can't believe he ate that ice cream. His stomach must have been killing him.#Neil: Yeah he was really pale and sweaty until he started drinking that banana drink #Neil: I'm a little worried about Smith finding the bathroom. Maybe I should go up?#Andrew hand on Neil's thigh: he'll be fine. We can go look if he's not back in 10.#AFTG AU #AFTG OC #AFTG #AFTG Shitpost #AFTG Fic #My Fic #Andreil #FF - Pt.18

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simonsrosebud · 3 years

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the one where someone doesn’t know who kevin day is, pt. 2

part one three four five

dalton’s apartment becomes a common occurrence over the next month. kevin kisses dalton into the couch cushions, and then the bed. and this one time it’s almost the same, except dalton interrupts. “oh, hey, i’ll be at your game tomorrow- ah,” he breathes as kevin kisses down his neck.

kevin doesn’t like that. no- he likes that, that dalton is willing to see him do what he loves and all, but not that he told him right now. because now he has to stop what he’s doing and explain. explain that he’s pretty fucking famous in the exy world, that his mother is the creator of the sport, that he’s kevin day- what that entails.

but dalton takes it surprisingly easily. he thinks it’s because he’s not invested in the sport in the way almost everyone else kevin knows is and just doesn’t get it, or maybe because he actually likes kevin for kevin and just doesn’t care about his past and the weight of his name.

because after kevin’s done dalton kisses away his frown and climbs onto his lap. “don’t worry, hot shot, you’re still just a history nerd to me.”

kevin upgrades dalton and his friend to his family seats. his friend seems to know exactly who he is when he goes up to them before warm ups, and by the guys face kevin realizes that dalton definitely didn’t tell his friend who they’d come for.

kevin hugs dalton. “i’m not out yet,” he whispers. “otherwise i’d kiss you.”

dalton grins like a child. “later.” he shrugs.

andrew mocks him in the car to fox tower after their win. “invite your boyfriend?” and he freezes. “fuck you for thinking i’m an idiot.”

kevin thanks god that nicky rode with matt. aaron and neil both look at him, though. “you’re dating someone?” neil will never not be oblivious. aaron just sneers.

kevin stays quiet. he should’ve known better from andrew, after all. but he pulls out his phone. come pick me up?

be there in 30, we're walking home from the stadium LOL

it's enough time to go hang out with the rest of the team and the vixens in the lounge, dan would kill him if he didn't show at all. but he must lose track of time because eventually the door opens and instead of another fox it's dalton. it's not enough to pause conversations, even though kevin is sure they all at least notice.

when kevin follows him out dalton knocks shoulders with his and smiles. “are you drunk? i noticed they were drinking.”

“no. i’m um, i’m-i’m four months... sober.”

dalton is a pure angel because he smiles at kevin as he drives. “that’s good, kev, i’m proud of you for that.” and he doesn’t make him explain, or ask questions. he takes it at face and lets it go, and it makes kevin want to bask in the feeling he gets from it. it’s a different kind of trust than he’s used to.

he texts andrew that he’s not coming home for the night. as soon as they get inside dalton’s place he has his lips on kevin’s. “looked really hot tonight,” he mumbles and lets kevin walk him backwards towards his room. “wish you still had your uniform on. so strong,” and squeals when kevin picks him up.

“stop talking, d”

the next morning dalton drops him off at the stadium for training. he doesn’t see anyone else there, so he lets dalton grab his face and kiss him before climbing out with a smile.

it fades when he sees nicky and allison staring at him as they exit the stadium. he forgot it was therapy week for the team.

kevin freezes up. nicky’s grinning, and allison continues walking to her car. “wait!” nicky wiggles his eyebrows when kevin grabs his arm. “for once in your life, nicky, please don’t tell anyone.”

and it’s weird, because nicky kind of loses his smile. “are you gay? or bisexual?”

shrug. “second.”

“are you serious about not telling people? you’re obviously not out yet.” kevin nods, and nicky smiles. “i won’t tell. i can keep secrets, you know, when they matter.”

kevin looks to allison, who looks to nicky. “we’ve all noticed you hanging out with that guy lately. if a bet about you two boning comes up we’re splitting the pot.” nicky nods. “secrets safe with me, then.”

kevin doesn’t tell them that andrew and neil know. allison’s stubborn and he’s lucky he got her to keep her mouth shut on the first try.

he’s still moody during practice, though. on their way back, andrew drives right past fox tower and to dalton’s apartment. kevin doesn’t even realize until the car stops. “what are-“

“get out. you’re not allowed back until your mood is gone.” and kevin could just walk back. it’s only a fifteen minute walk, honestly, but he doesn’t really want to. he wants dalton to wrap his body around him so he can take a nap and he wants to just hug him. he’s realized over time that he’s been incredibly touch starved, and he’s become a fan of bear hugs.

he could feel himself distracted during practice, worrying himself over if he should tell the public that he’s bi to get ahead of it and worrying over what he and dalton are. if it’s going in a direction that would even give him reason to come out.

so when dalton lets him in with a smile at the unexpected visit, kevin kind of falls into his arms and hugs him. “can you hold me.” it’s a different type of vulnerability, but dalton takes it with grace.

and eventually, when dalton’s lying on him with a hand in his hair, he asks, “do you wanna be my boyfriend?”

kevin snaps his head to look at him. he runs his hand up dalton’s bare back. “i’ve never been in a real relationship before. my last one... she was toxic for me.” triggering would be more accurate.

“that’s okay,” he whispers, his hand slides down to kevin’s face and he drags his thumb down his lip. “just want you, kev.”

it’s the first time he thinks he’s ever heard something along those lines, and it hits so deep. he rolls over dalton and kisses him into the mattress.

the foxes have a field day with it.

kevin doesn’t tell them, but he realizes two weeks later that allison was right when she guessed about them starting bets, and it doesn’t help when kevin brings dalton back to the suite only to find the upperclassmen and cousins all spread out on the couches and floor- minus renee and aaron. he freezes and starts to walk backwards but andrew steps in front of him. “stay.”

“why.” but andrew doesn’t answer because he’s already said his piece, and kevin almost ignores him until neil pulls the vice captain card and forces him to stay.

kevin wants to hit him.

“it’s fine, kev,” dalton practically pulls him to the group. dan greets him first and introduces herself. “we’re playing never have i ever, drinking edition, if you wanna play, but you’ve got to drink for kevin, too”

and dalton’s wanted kevin’s friends to like him ever since he first saw them, so he doesn’t really want to say no.

“this is a bad idea. they don’t play nice,” kevin says to dalton. and he’s right. the foxes don’t really play the game right, and all they do is go for each other.

kevin starts.

never have i ever payed a guy to knock me out: neil takes a drink with murder in his eyes. andrew’s behind him and flicks the back of his head. he isn’t playing, but he’s not letting neil get wasted without being close by. and also, he kind of lives there.

never have i ever gone to a peaceful exy banquet: no one drinks, and for some reason it makes them all burst into laughter.

never have i ever done cracker dust: dan says that one with a drunk pointed look. the cousins, neil, and dalton for kevin all drink.

never have i ever had a panic attack over getting a phone: neil

never have i ever kissed the same gender: neil, nicky, allison, dalton takes two swigs.

never have i ever dated someone outside of exy: nicky and dalton for kevin.

never have i ever broken a bone: kevin, matt, aaron

broken a hand: kevin

witnessed kevin having a meltdown: everyone

lived with my dad for two years without telling him he was my dad: kevin shoots daggers at allison. dalton drinks for him.

had to get shitfaced to get a tattoo: kevin

sent neil to west virginia: kevin

seen kevin’s real smile: dalton, neil

dated kevin: dalton. it settles a few bets all at once.

given kevin a blowjob: dalton laughs before taking a drink, but that’s the last straw for kevin. he’s sober as all hell and not letting them take the piss out of him and dalton like this. “we’re leaving.” he pulls dalton up.

dalton has an arm around his shoulders and his head ducked by kevin’s. “s’fun, hm?”

kevin’s not having it. it was not fun and he had reasons he didn’t want dalton meeting the foxes yet and the whole thing was fucked over because neil pulled the VC card and dalton was too nice to decline it.

neil says, in french. “you knew he’d find out at some point”

kevin is furious. “none of you had the right pulling the shit you did tonight. i’ll fucking kill you.” and he grabs dalton by the waist to escort him out.

all posts/updates relating to this au can be found in the “OC: dalton miller” tag!

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leia-imogen · 3 years

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MORE aaron minyard headcanons ( relationship-focused )

okay so skater boy aaron!! i absolutely adore this concept and i can just imagine how freaked kevin would be bcs how tf did you just do that omg. he tries teaching kevin but as talented as our queen is on the court, he is absolute shit at skateboarding

he was class valedictorian! i have no idea how you find that out but you KNOW that aaron screams and nicky screams and tackles him to the ground in what was probably supposed to be a hug and neil just grins and fist bumps him bcs they're now totally ( grudging ) friends. andrew meets his eyes after he's escaped nicky's iron grip and he looks,, proud

aaron's still really good friends with katelyn even if it was a little bit awkward in the weeks following their breakup. he'd fought for her for a reason, after all. she's a lively, wonderful presence and he has no idea what he'd do without her. katelyn goes on to date and marry one of her fellow vixens ( we stan bi katelyn ) and they're super cute together

aaron and dan, weirdly enough, become like best friends. literally none of the foxes saw this coming, least of all them, even tho kevin and dan are basically siblings anyways

they always kinda had mutual respect for each other, like aaron admired dan for just being an all-around kick-ass captain and dan admired aaron for being able to juggle exy and pre-med classes so well. oh, and ofc the extremely grudging mutual respect that all the foxes have for each other for being survivors

so basically they're both animal lovers plus science nerds, which is a good combo. matt's an animal lover but not a science nerd, ya know? he adores them but doesn't really wanna read a billion articles about them

they can spend,, SO long at zoo exhibits. just trading facts about the animals and observing with huge eyes ( kevin and matt are looking so smitten behind them it's adorable )

aaron and renee are pretty good friends too. not renee and andrew close obvi, but aaron has always thought that renee was insanely cool

yeah her constant optimism is a little annoying at times, but it's also very refreshing, and tbh how could you not think renee is insanely cool

aaron and allison bond over their same taste in music. i saw this one post that mentioned both of them having an avril lavigne phase??

and idk why but i can totally see them watching glee together, with nicky too

ooh imagine aaron teaching allison how skateboard! she's the only one who wants to learn and he's like why not. she gets pretty good at it! like she can't do all the fancy tricks but she can go really fast and she totally fits the skater girl aesthetic too!!

aaron and matt also become surprisingly close. like they share a room and everything, and matt's super easy to get along with. aaron tries to learn to box once, but it doesn't go very well. he can't be good at everything after all, and matt's nice about it

also they play video games together and aaron beats him most of the time. ( sometimes matt gets lucky. ) i think we all seem to forget that aaron is a video game nerd

aaron and neil still hate each other's guts with the passion of a thousand suns, but like in a loving way. like i said, neil is constantly getting injured, and aaron michael minyard, future doctor, helps abby patch his dumb ass up way too often. oh and ofc the bonding over shitty moms who they shouldn't care about but still do

not gonna do the rest of the monsters, bcs i wanna make a separate post with cousins' relationship, and another about kevaaron!

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andrew-minyards-bitch · 3 years

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Aftg characters and the languages they speak because I find it so interesting and also I'm bilingual

Kevin and Jean: *done with all the bullshit from the other characters, are french, got therapy and are best buddies again bc fuck the extra content, bitches about the others in french because they're petty like that*

Kevin: *drunk bc aaron won't stop calling him out on practice hours and he's irritated* You know we can benefit so much more if we work together as a duo

Jean: *drinking coffee and spamming Jeremy with yellow hearts bc they remind him of jeremy and yellow means love freak the universal acceptance of red meaning love* Nah I'd rather be in Jeremy's team. He's so much better then you after all.

Kevin *ugly crying at 2:36 am*: ok first of all bitch you stole my childhood crush, the person I look up to an respect so highly you literally just took him from me. Right from my grasp.

Neil: *walks in the kitchen bc ik for a fact this man does not have a stable sleeping pattern also he speaks french yayyy* why are you both so obsessed with Jeremy? Omg marry him or something.

Jean and Kevin: we're trying to! you dumbass

Andrew and Neil: *learn russian together so they could communicate in their own little love language (literally) and to say things to each other without the intrusion of others*

Also Neil when Andrew wakes him up at three because he craves ice-cream: you are such a bitch! I don't even know why my ass puts up with your bullshit. Do you know how lucky you are to even be my boyfriend?? Like I bought you a car but now you think I will do anything you want and buy you fucking ice-cream at three in the dead ass morning??

Also neil two seconds later: *grudgingly walks out the door muttering underneath his breath* stupid andrew can't believe I found the audacity to be in love with an idiot with a sugar addiction.

Nicky: *definetly has tiktok and also he's hispanic* est hora de comer, est hora de comer

Dan: *is a tired captain,took spanish in high school and I think early college* es tiempo de matar una puta

Andrew and Aaron: *got therapy, are in a good relationship with each other now, occasionally talk to each other on the phone*

Other foxes when Andrew and Aaron talk to each other on said phone call: Why are they screaming at each other?? Is there a problem? Are they okay, who's hurt, did someone do something stupid again??

Nicky: oh no they're actually saying words of encouragement and comfort because katelyn's pregnant/adopting a baby with kevin (take your pick based on your ships lol)

Allison: well can they not say it in a nicer tone without all the shouting??

Nicky: oh they can they just choose not to

Matt: at least they're agreeing on something and having some good old siblings quality time

Kevin and Renee: *has a conversation in japanese about food or history, renee is an east asian in my mind or just knows east asian languages*

Kevin: *history nerd, is half japanese* yeah I just think that it's extremely unfair that I'm 100% colonizer blood. Like that's just genuinely offensive to my existence

Renee: yes I agree japan needs to stop being a bussy and start talking about their colonization on other asian countries

#aftg #all for the game #andrew minyard #the foxhole court #tfc #kevin day #neil josten #matt boyd #aaron minyard #renee walker #jerejean #kevaaron #andreil #dan wilds #nicky hemmick #allison reynolds

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jemej3m · 4 years

Note

Right but what if in married to the enemy non of them recognize Neil and just think of him as Andrews husband which leads to increasingly comedic Dramatic Irony(TM) scenes like Neil would be stopping by to drop something and some perp is like “hey isn’t that nath-“ *cue Andrew ‘accidentally’ shoving him* like idk I know you’re done with that fic but I just read it and I can’t stop thinking about how funny that would be

bruh

stop bringing things back from the dead yall

(FINALLY some WRITING and not just asks - im so sorry ive been starving you all)

“Andrew!” Detective Jeremy Knox bounced on the balls of his feet. “I’m so thrilled to have you here. Kevin Day has spoken...” his smile nearly slipped. “Highly! Of you.”

“Here’s the file,” Andrew grunted, dropping the thick yellow slip onto the detective’s desk. “You need to get rid of them before they settle in. Once they’ve grown roots you’ll never get rid of them till they decide to move again.”

“I know,” Jeremy said, voice slightly hushed. “We’ll bring justice to your Baltimore victims. This won’t be swept under the rug.”

Andrew just stared at the file. He’d worked on that ring for three years now, but they’d upped and vanished. When they’d reappeared in Captain Rhenmann’ s New York precinct, Kevin had booted him up there to get a resolution.

It also, coincidently, was the exact week Neil was due up in New York to finalise his ‘retirement’. Andrew may or may not have arranged for him to be in New York for Neil’s support whilst he finally wriggled out of the Moriyama’s grasp.

Finally, after a decade and a half together, Neil would be free. Baltimore would no longer require a Butcher to instil terror. Neil had worked hard to free their city from Ichirou Moriyama’s grasp, buying both himself and his jurisdiction out of internment.

And once Neil was free, they could finally bring down the Moriyamas. Together.

Andrew wasn’t in a rush. Slow and steady always won the race: he would bring down the criminal empire that had trapped his husband for so long and marred his skin and mind with memories of terror and injustice. And he would enjoy it.

“Would you like to have lunch with us?” Knox gestured to the two women, standing close enough to eavesdrop but pretending they weren’t. They were married, Andrew guessed. It was pretty obvious. “We were just about to head out. There’s a hidden bodega near the the station with pastrami that’s to die for.”

Andrew checked his phone. No messages from Neil, as of yet. He’d text when he was on his way back to the hotel, and there was no use in Andrew hanging around and anxious awaiting his arrival. He’d convince himself that the Moriyamas had finally put a bullet through Neil’s forehead and go rampaging.

“Fine,” he grunted, shoving the phone back into his pocket.

Detective Sunshine just beamed.

“Day mentioned you were married,” Alvarez said, swallowing a mouthful of sub. “Who’s the lucky guy?”

Andrew arched his eyebrow, unimpressed. She rolled her eyes.

“You’ve got him as your home screen. It’s not hard to guess. You out at your precinct?” Andrew nodded. “Yeah, so are we.”

“If we didn’t have Captain Rhenmann, I’m sure it’d be a lot more stressful.” Laila added, rubbing her wife’s shoulder. “He speaks very highly of your captain, you know. I think they worked together with the old NYPD commissioner. Kayleigh Day.”

Yes, Kevin’s mother. The one who was murdered twenty years ago. A riveting case. Still unsolved. Neil was pretty sure it was his father who’d been assigned to her removal. Not that Andrew would ever discuss this aloud.

“I heard she was one hell of a woman,” Knox added. “If her son’s anything to go off, I can see why.”

“Stop gushing about Kevin,” Alvarez chided.

“Don’t worry,” Andrew grunted. “Kevin’s undoubtedly worse.”

The three of them laughed. They ate in companionable silence, Knox and Alvarez occasionally jostling each other or gossiping about names Andrew didn’t know. It was nearing 2 o’clock in the afternoon when the detective’s phone buzzed: he leaned over, checked who it was from and immediately scrambled to pick it up.

Knox squinted at the message and shot the three of them an apologetic look. “My bad. I’ve gotta make a call. I’ll meet y’all back at the station?”

He left without an answer, phone raised to his ear.

“He’s a parole officer for a very specific case,” Alvarez explained. Laila was frowning. “A difficult one, at that.”

“Seems a little more involved than a parole officer usually is,” Andrew noted.

“Yes, well,” Laila huffed. “Jeremy likes to care.”

Andrew got a text of his own. Coming back now.

He bid the women goodbye with a salute and bought a sandwich for Neil: he was unlikely to have already fed himself, too stressed and paranoid to bother thinking about food. He always came back from New York weak and underfed.

When Andrew arrived back to their hotel room, Neil was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling. His shirt was untucked and tie loosened, but he hadn’t even bothered to take his shoes off or put away the briefcase of paperwork and knives.

Andrew put the food aside for later and sat by his husband, toeing off his shoes so he could cross his legs on the bed.

When Neil didn’t talk, he leaned over and turned on the television. A random afternoon sitcom filled the room with white noise, bringing Neil out of his glacial stare. Finally, his eyes flit over to Andrew, aware but still hollow.

Andrew reached out to undo Neil’s cuffs but waited for him to deposit his wrist in Andrew’s palm. He got to work, unbuttoning the sleeves, pulling off the tie and throwing the shoes over to the door. The dress shirt was wriggled off, leaving him in just a white undershirt, and draped across the chair to be steam-ironed in the morning. Neil wormed out of his slacks, too, letting Andrew fold them and put them away.

Andrew made him a cup of decaf instant coffee and brought out the sandwich. Neil looked at both of them balefully but sat up anyway, getting through the whole coffee and only half the sandwich.

Andrew waited, sitting behind him. When he was finished he laid back down, putting his head in Andrew’s lap.

“Thank you,” he mumbled.

Andrew just hummed, combing his fingers through Neil’s hair.

The end of the week came quickly. Andrew worked the case with Knox and eventually decided that the case would be in good hands. Every evening he’d come back to find Neil just as exhausted and spaced out and hold him together with soft hands and silent reassurance. Neil soldiered on.

Andrew didn’t know what he was negotiating, why it was taking so long or whether or not this would actually work. All he could hope for was that Neil would be a free man by the end of the week and that they could go home without worrying he’d be called back or killed.

Andrew got his answer on Friday evening. He bid the affectionately named ‘Dyke Detectives’ and their captain goodbye, knowing Knox had briefly left the building for an errand and assuming that they’d pass on his thanks.

He exited the front doors of the precinct and nearly stumbled into his husband, standing in jeans and a hoodie with a blinding grin. Andrew never forgot how gorgeous Neil was, but the ease of his posture and the genuine smile had something go soft inside his chest.

He ignored all the beat cops standing around the doors and pressed a kiss to Neil’s smile, which only had him smile more.

“It’s done,” Neil murmured, holding Andrew’s wrist. “I’m free. We’re free.’’

“Took you long enough.”

Neil shrugged. “Had to barter for Allison, too. I know Renee wants to make it official.”

“Only a decade later,” Andrew agreed. Of course Neil hadn’t been fighting tooth and nail for himself: he’d do anything for those he loved.

“Holy shit,” came an unfamiliar voice. They both turned around, spotting a willowing man standing next to Detective Knox. His pale complexion had turned translucent, all the blood draining out of his cheeks. Neil’s eyes flashed with recognition. “Nathaniel—?”

“It’s Neil,” Neil said, still smiling. “Hello, Jean. Good to see you were cleared. Did they find Riko’s actual killer?”

The man did not look any less uncomfortable. “They ruled it a suicide.”

“Ah, shame. Maybe some more evidence will come to light, later.” He offered his hand to Andrew. “Shall we?”

It would be a long drive to Baltimore but at the other end was home, two cats and freedom.

Andrew, older, wiser, calmer, happier, took Neil’s hand.

“We shall.”

#mobster/cop au #butcher!neil #cop!andrew #aftg #andreil #neil josten #andrew minyard #jeremy knox #sara alvarez #jean moreau #laila dermott #hey look i killed riko again #cw: suicide mention #cw: human trafficking mention #cw: homicide mention #cw: andrew being too good of a husband #tfc #ik its not funny but it worked super well so like #ur welcome? i guess

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nekojitachan · 4 years

Text

Okay, so there was this post, about where I was stuck at a rather miserable wedding. And in the comments, @fuzzballsheltiepants left a comment about imagining being stuck at the wedding with Neil and Andrew at the table.

Well, guess you could say that it inspired this fic.

No real warnings here, other than Neil stirring up trouble. Oh, and drink responsibly.

*******

“Who the hell does a puzzle game at a wedding?”

The left corner of Neil’s mouth twitched upward at the hint of indignation in his husband’s voice; he glanced over to find Andrew, his expression bored (better than murderous), gazing around the room with a half-empty plastic cup held in his left hand. He looked so handsome in his black suit with dark grey dress shirt (sans tie), blond hair freshly trimmed and bangs brushed back from his forehead. Yet for all the enticing picture he made at the moment, Neil would much rather he be dressed in a pair of comfortable sweats – that they both be in sweats and at their townhouse, busy making dinner and spoiling the cats than stuck at Regan’s wedding.

Unfortunately, it seemed that when the captain of your Exy team got married, you were expected to attend the event, especially if you were a married couple yourself and they helped back a transfer that got the two of you on the same team at last.

Dammit.

“I must admit, that’s the first I’ve heard of it – if anything, Nicky would have had it at his wedding.” Neil smiled when Andrew snorted at that, considering the spectacle the event had already been. “Or suggested it for ours.” When his husband grimaced, his smile widened. “Though to be fair, I think seeing who could pick a lock fastest would have been more ‘us’.”

“That or break out of handcuffs,” Andrew suggested while giving him a narrow look for some reason, then finished the last of his whiskey. “But we were smart enough to skip all of this nonsense.” Their ceremony had lasted five minutes, tops, at the courthouse and included only their most ‘necessary pests’ (Andrew’s words).

“True,” Neil murmured as he glanced around the large room crowded with people; some he knew since they were teammates, but most were strangers – Regan’s family and friends, or Sarah’s, he supposed. He’d only known the Dynamite’s captain for a few months, not counting the occasional meet-up when his former team played Andrew’s, and so wasn’t that familiar with the man’s fiancée.

Certainly not familiar enough to feel as if he should be stuck at the man’s wedding, but Regan wanted his team there for some reason, so Neil (and Andrew) had to suffer through the thing. Strict orders had been given – they couldn’t leave until after the cake had been cut and handed out.

Dammit.

At least there was an open bar, which they braved yet again so Andrew could have another drink (Neil stuck with juice since he wasn’t comfortable having more than a glass or two of beer or cider with his new teammates), but it seemed by then that the servers were done walking around with appetizers. Andrew stood there radiating indignation while Dave (backliner) introduced Neil to his wife, Laura, then clicked his tongue in disgust once they left. “They said the reception would start at 5:30. That was ten minutes ago.”

“Uhm, these things tend to run late?” Neil winced at the spark of irritation in his husband’s hazel eyes. “Maybe there’s something left at the cheese table.”

That seemed to appease the walking black hole, at least for the moment; they went into the one room where a cheese and vegetable spread had been placed (and a small classical quartet played music), and found that it hadn’t been entirely picked clean just yet.

They also found Mark, the team’s sub goalie, being berated by a guest who appeared determined to convert him to a vegan lifestyle. “-much better for the planet if you stop murdering animals because you ‘like a nice steak now and then’,” the young woman sneered.

Neil was bored, stuck wearing a suit (even if Andrew had picked it out for him and it always led to a quite enjoyable time later when it came to removing it) and would much rather be home, so he decided ‘what the hell’ because when would he see most of these people again? “Actually,” he informed the woman as he cut into her tirade, “there are some downsides to a vegan lifestyle. I mean, unless you’re growing everything yourself with sustainability in mind, you can negatively impact the environment even if you’re not ‘murdering animals’.” He gave her a cold smile as he nodded to her fake leather purse and shoes. “Think plastic is good for the planet? Or when you just have to have your latest fad vegetable or grain to the point you don’t care how it impacts the area around it?” He tried to remember some of the other arguments Allison had made during their last visit together, but it seemed that he’d already annoyed the woman enough as she’d taken to glaring at him (along with her date for the evening) while Mark smiled in relief and Andrew continued to decimate what remained of the cheese.

“You don’t have to be an asshole,” she snapped before she stomped away (with date in tow), and even tossed her long, black hair over her shoulder in emphasis.

“Thanks.” Mark gave him a relieved smile then took a swig of his beer. “All I did was make a joke about if she thought we’d be lucky enough to have steak for dinner and she went off on me. What happened to ‘each their own’, eh?”

“We’re with you there,” Neil agreed; personally, he didn’t care about one’s lifestyle choices as long as they didn’t impact others, and wished that more people felt the same.

He talked with Mark and Jennie (offensive dealer) who joined the discussion while Andrew basically cleared the table, and then it was back to the bar (some people better have a ride home or plan on cutting themselves off soon, because it was clear the long wait for dinner was not a good thing). “You just can’t resist stirring up shit, can you?” Andrew mused as he swirled the whiskey (at least the bar was stocked with semi-decent liquor or Neil suspected they’d have been long gone, ‘cake’ rule or no cake rule).

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.” Neil kept a straight face until Andrew scoffed, then smiled enough that the scar on his left cheek ached from stretching so much.

They snuck outside to smoke (one of their five cigarettes each of the day), uncaring of the cold when they were alone and able to enjoy each other’s company in silence for a little while. Then it was back inside, where they found a quiet corner to wait (well, except for when Andrew bitched and bitched about how Regan had no fucking clue how to tell time) for the reception hall to be ready.

Almost an hour and a half later than it had said on the invite, the doors were opened and they were ‘invited’ to sit at their arranged tables for the reception part of the wedding. Regan and Sarah had set things up so the players were scattered amongst their family and friends.

Somehow, Neil wasn’t surprised (not with his luck) to find himself at the same table as the vegan couple.

She gave him and Andrew a cold look and immediately made it clear that she and her boyfriend were the best of friends with another couple at the table, which left two other couples for Neil and Andrew to talk to for the next hour or two. Except that Andrew had never gotten along very well with Lucas, who helped with the team’s media accounts (which meant that Neil didn’t, either), and the other couple were related to Sarah and had kids, so Neil listened to them ramble on for a couple of minutes about nine-to-five jobs and toddlers and just lost focus around the time they mentioned ‘day-care’.

“We’re going back to the bar, and this time distract the bartender while I grab the bottle of whiskey,” Andrew murmured in German.

Considering that vegan-girl was going on about some amazing quinoa recipe, Neil figured that it was the best thing possible, or else he’d be calling Renee to help him break his husband out of prison for mass homicide.

On second thought, it might be a good idea to text her just in case…..

While the maid of honor rambled on about what a precious saint Sarah was, he smiled at the one bartender (who appeared exhausted and looking forward to a break, now that people were seated and about to be fed), and asked about gin drinks while inching a twenty toward the tip jar, and walked off with a gin and tonic he would sadly have to ignore (especially since it was obvious that he’d be driving home) while a smug Andrew cradled his illicit goods beneath his coat back to the table.

Andrew stared everyone down as he drank straight from the bottle, while Neil had never been so grateful to see a salad appear in front of him in his life.

That and the bread baskets had to last them until it was their table’s turn to go to the buffet for any real food, and of course they were table ten. “Isn’t it odd, how all of a sudden the balls seem attracted to Regan’s head,” Andrew said as he snatched up the last two rolls, much to Lucas’ ire.

“Or his car tires are always deflated.” Neil hadn’t thought that the backliner had disliked them, but he was beginning to revise that opinion. “Good thing we didn’t go with the one bar set he wanted as a gift.”

“No, he deserves that horrid vase.” A slight shiver of distaste ran through Andrew’s stocky body.

“Ah, it’s rude to talk in a language no one else understands,” vegan-girl’s bestie said with evident disapproval, never mind that most of the table had been carrying on a conversation together - without Andrew and Neil.

Andrew gave her a blank look while Neil offered his father’s smile until she blanched. “Not our fault you don’t understand it,” he said before he rolled his eyes and turned back to his husband. “Make sure to throw the balls really, really hard.”

The look he received from his ‘better half’ made it clear that he needn’t have said anything.

While they waited for their turn, Neil exchanged a few texts with Renee (Andrew appeased for the moment, but chance for bloodshed still possible, while she mentioned various flight arrivals, that Allison was excited about her upcoming fashion line and that a care package was on its way to them). For his part, Andrew sipped the whiskey while he recited a German drinking song with rather dubious lyrics in a rote manner in an obvious attempt to annoy their dinner-mates.

(It worked.)

Everyone appeared relieved when it was finally their turn to eat; vegan-besties tried to get there first, but Andrew blocked speeding balls for a living while Neil dealt with people larger than him trying to knock him down all the time, so they had no problems getting to the buffet ahead of everyone else. Neil threw a smile over his shoulder at the couple while Andrew grabbed their plates.

At least the food looked decent; Andrew loaded up on the lasagna, fried chicken sliders and prawns, while Neil had the first two and a bowl of fruit salad; the vegetables were roundly ignored.

When vegan-girl saw their plates at the table, she glared (especially at Andrew, who was busy breaking apart the pieces of lasagna). “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

Could she not see the bowl of fruit? Neil opened his mouth to argue and then thought better of it – Renee would be slightly peeved if she had to break both of them out of jail, after all. “What type of cake do you think it is, hmm? Chocolate? Vanilla? Almond?”

“It better be the best damn cake in the world after putting up with this shit,” Andrew muttered between bites of food.

On that they both agreed.

It was quiet while everyone ate, which Neil put down to everyone being hungry, and then the married couple made noises about it being late (not really) and the babysitter and kids. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised when first the wife left the table and then the husband once their plates were empty, and neither returned after ten minutes.

He was jealous as hell.

Even though there had been a couple of (thankfully short) speeches when the Regan and Sarah had entered the large room, Regan’s best man (Tim, his brother) got up to say a few more words and then the cake was wheeled into the room. Neil and Andrew perked up at that, even though it looked to be covered in that awful fondant icing and lots of gold dust. There was more talking (why?) between Regan and Sarah, and then they finally cut the damn thing.

“Maybe we’ll be out of here soon,” Andrew murmured as he tapped his fingers against the top of the table.

“One can hope.” The next time they got any invitations that weren’t from their fellow Foxes in the mail, Neil was going to come down with a case of food poisoning or something instead of suffer through another wedding.

Andrew got up from the table at one point, so Neil pulled out his phone to text with Renee some more to ask her what she thought might bring on some convincing flu-like symptoms for a couple of days (he’d ask Aaron, but chances were fifty/fifty that the bastard might poison him for real) while he half-expected the fire alarm to go off.

Especially when Andrew didn’t come back in ten minutes.

(He knew his husband hadn’t gone off without him, because then there would be bloodshed.)

Andrew finally returned bearing two plates overloaded with cookies, of all things. “That’s not cake.”

“Nice to see you haven’t taken too many hits to the head yet,” Andrew remarked as he pushed something round, white and covered in powdered sugar toward Neil, who regarded it with some suspicion but bit into it regardless; it was a shortbread cookie with walnuts so not bad. “There’s a cookie table out there.”

“Really?” Neil thought about that while Lucas’ wife (who actually nice) looked on with interest. “Okay, why?”

Andrew shrugged and had another cookie, some rolled thing with filling. “Something about Sarah being from Pennsylvania and it being a tradition there, from what the server told me.” Knowing Andrew, all he cared about was that there were sweets readily available.

Neil leaned against his husband while the glutton ate his way through the cookies, and smiled when a pumpkin spice cookie was nudged his way (it was good). When twenty minutes went by and still no cake but a DJ invited people (more like harassed) onto the dance floor, Andrew made a slight growling noise, had another swig of whiskey and went to fetch more cookies.

It was beginning to feel like they’d never leave the damn wedding, that they were trapped there forever. Neil had survived a life on the run, had lasted through two (three) weeks at Evermore, had been tortured, so refused to be broken by this evening.

But dammit, it was hard.

Especially when the DJ started playing Justin Bieber.

When Andrew began to slide his fingers beneath the cuffs of his sleeves, Neil knew that they had to leave, and they had to leave now. “Go get our coats,” he whispered in his husband’s left ear, followed by a slight nuzzle. When Andrew gave him a curious look, mindful of their instructions for the night, he smiled in a confident (well, Nicky called it his ‘oh shit we’re dead’ grin) manner. “Trust me.”

“I’m not that drunk,” Andrew insisted, yet grabbed the bottle of whiskey which did have a good bit left in it still and left the table.

Neil couldn’t resist giving a chilling smile to the remaining people at the table, which made them cringe back, before he headed to the kitchen. The staff was surprised to see him and tried to politely shoo him away, but all it took was holding up two fifties and explaining how his spouse had a headache so he needed two slices of cake (which was already cut and plated, so what the hell was the hold-up?) to go.

They were only too happy to box those two slices for him.

He made sure to take pictures of the slices, which he’d provide to Coach Denham to prove that he and Andrew had remained at the damn wedding until they’d gotten their cake, per instructions.

Cake in hand, he left the busy staff to their work and headed to the front door, where Andrew should be waiting for him. Andrew and their coats… and a large platter covered with cookies, apparently.

“Uhm….”

“Let’s go,” Andrew said as he shoved Neil’s coat into his arms.

Neil wasn’t going to ask, not when his husband radiated barely contained annoyance and there weren’t any dead bodies (that he knew of, which was all that mattered).

The cake box in the back seat of the Maserati and the cookie platter firmly held on Andrew’s lap, Neil smoothly shifted the car into gear to drive them home. “For any future weddings, we’re out of town,” Andrew declared before he bit into a brownie.

“Agreed.”

It was a peaceful drive home, the only sound the purr of the car’s engine and Andrew munching on cookies. Once they were inside their townhouse, Neil put the cake and the remaining cookies (he smiled when he noticed that Andrew had gotten more of the pumpkin ones for him) away, then fed the cats, who acted as if they were such starved creatures.

When he straightened up, Andrew was next to him. “Hey,” Neil breathed out, his smile strengthening as he was tugged closer by broad hands on his hips. “Renee was ready to fly out here and help me stage a jailbreak in case you snapped tonight.”

“It was close,” Andrew admitted. “Someone tried to get me out on the dance floor, but Terri cut her off before she lost her arm.”

And probably more than that, knowing Andrew, Neil thought with a slight wince; he would have to thank his fellow striker next week. “Well, we’re home now, you still have some sweets left despite everything, and I’ve this suit which I can’t quite remember how to take off.” Neil batted his eyelashes a couple of times. “Won’t you help me?”

“Pathetic as always, Josten,” Andrew sneered, but the heat in his lovely hazel eyes had nothing to do with anger or disgust.

“Josten-Minyard,” Neil reminded him before he was tugged down for a kiss, a pleased hum escaping as warm, strong hands slipped beneath his jacket.

The evening might have been horrible, but he couldn’t complain about the sugar rush from all those cookies Andrew had eaten, oh no.

*******

Ok, I really do need to get back to some in progress fics. But that was mildly amusing (and cathartic).

#aftg #neil josten #andrew minyard #neil stirring up trouble as always #renee ready to ride to the rescue #don't get in the way of andrew and his sweets #andreil #married andreil #is it too much to ask for some friggen cake?#mumbling into the void #as always #nekojitachanfics

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markonasurface · 4 years

Text

20/50 - “It’s 8:30, I have a hangover and you’re annoying me.”

Fandom: All for the Game/The Foxhole Court Characters/pairings: Jean, Jeremy/jerejean Summary: Jean and Jeremy tag along on the Foxes’ spring break trip. A/N: This has taken me too long to finish. I think I started it two years ago. I almost forgot to use the quote prompt.

Warnings: implied past abuse

“Kevin invited you to the Foxes’ spring break trip?” Jean asked, eyebrows high.

Jeremy barely glanced up from the text he was studying. “Mm.”

“Are you going?” Jean pressed.

“Are you?” Jeremy snapped.

Jean flinched and Jeremy’s mouth dropped open. “I’m sorry.” He finally put his studying materials down and turned to face Jean. “I didn’t mean to snap. I just - last semester, you know?”

“Yes,” Jean said, even though he didn’t. He felt the heat in his cheeks and internally cursed himself for not being able to control his reactions. Riko used to love to make him flinch. It was at one point worth the beatings for not giving him the satisfactory.

“So, are you going?” Jeremy asked, back to his normal self if a bit exhausted.

He bit the inside of his cheek and stayed completely still. It was hard being around Kevin but it might be nice. Kevin did whatever Riko told him to do but Kevin wasn’t cruel. He had learned from his therapist that he didn’t miss Evermore; he missed the familiarity of it. Kevin could give him a bit of what he thought to be normalcy.

“Jean?” Jeremy said quietly, patiently.

Jean looked up to meet his eyes. “I - yes.”

“You’ll have to give Kevin my regards,” Jeremy said and turned back to his text.

“You aren’t going?” Jean didn’t know if he was relieved.

“I should really study,” Jeremy sighed.

Their bedroom door opened and Jean jumped.

“Y’all left your door unlocked.” Laila fell onto Jeremy’s bed. “And you’re going to spend your last spring break studying? Come on, Jer.”

“Fuck off, Laila,” he said.

She nudged his chair with her foot. “I bet those Foxes get fucking crazy. I wish I’d been invited.”

“Take my invitation.”

Laila took a loud breath. “Mama Alvarez would have a cow if we bailed on her family trip.”

“If you don’t come they’ll probably stick me in a room with Hemmick,” Jean said.

“You could use the brea-eak,” she sang. “Also, see if they’ve picked up any new moves for finals.”

“Laila.”

She held up her hands in a placating gesture. “I’m kidding. Go. Have fun. Or you’ll burn yourself out and have to come back in the fall.”

Day 1

“An island? Seriously?” Thea stood with her arms crossed over her chest.

Kevin shrugged.

“I thought we were just flying somewhere tropical,” Jeremy added.

“Why are you all looking at me?” Allison demanded. “Neil’s the one who paid for this trip.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Neil said. “I recently came into some money.”

Jeremy sighed. “Right. N.B.D. I just rented an island.”

“Follow me.” A man in khakis and a polo shirt motioned for them. He had introduced himself as Frank as they boarded the small plane that brought them to their rented island.

It was a short walk through some trees and a large house came into view. There were gasps and one of the freshmen from the team said, “No fucking way.”

“Dude, how much did this cost?” Matt asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” Neil said, leading the way through the gate.

They walked past the pool and its fountains, up some stairs and through double doors. As they all stood in the foyer, Frank smiled and said, “Right. Everything’s stocked. I’ll be back at the end of the week. If you need anything, call the number on the refrigerator.”

Neil handed the man a cash tip and thanked him.

Allison looked around at everyone. “There are ten rooms. Neil gets first pick, losers.”

“You mean Andrew,” Jack mocked.

It was quiet for a moment then at once everyone raced to find a room. Jean looked at Jeremy and said, “They’re fucking crazy.”

Jeremy laughed as they heard Dan yell, “I’m your damn captain!”

They followed the shouting and as they turned a corner Jeremy ran into Renee. They both apologized, looking like literal sunshine and Jean bit his lip.

“They’re the guests.” Allison was staring down one of her teammates. “They get the room next to ours.”

Jeremy realized she was talking about them and opened his mouth. Renee shook her head, a warning in her eyes. Someone stomped by and Allison grinned.

“Welcome to the third nicest - who am I kidding? - the fourth nicest room on this island!” She gestured grandly. “And that’s saying something.”

Nicky popped his head in. “Fifth nicest. Andrew and Neil gave up the first nicest so they have the second nicest, Dan and Matt have the third nicest, and you have the fourth nicest.”

Before Allison could demand to know who got the glass room on top if it wasn’t Dan and Matt, Nicky ran off.

Jeremy looked as if he suddenly remembered something. “Did you two wanna share? I can room with Nicky or whoever.”

Allison cackled. She left the room.

“We’re not -” Jean started.

“We were never dating,” Renee said.

Jeremy’s eyes were wide. “Oh, I’m sorry. I just assumed and uh, forget I said anything.”

Renee smiled kindly and backed out of the room. Jeremy looked at Jean who was staring at the one bed in the middle of the room.

“I can still room with Nicky if you’re not comfortable sharing,” he said.

Jean swallowed. “It’s fine.” He managed a small smile and said, “We share every other day of the year.”

After they unpacked, everyone seemed to congregate by the pool. Nicky and Andrew were situated behind the bar and Neil was perched on top, but everyone else was already swimming.

Jean glanced around nervously. Since joining the Trojans, he’d become a lot more self-conscious about the state of his body.

“You can leave your shirt on.” The voice startled him and he looked up at Neil, then glanced to see if Jeremy had heard as well. Then he realized Neil was speaking in his native tongue. “But nobody cares.”

Andrew spoke. “Ignore the freshmen. They’re idiots.”

“Where’s Kevin?” Jeremy asked, coming to sit at the bar.

“Fucking Thea,” a girl said, joining them. “I saw her take his shirt off but then they moved away from the glass.”

Aaron grabbed a tray of drinks from Nicky and sneered, “Do you have to be such a perve, Sheena?”

She stuck her tongue out at him, snagging a drink and flicking her wet hair at him.

“Like, Andrew said,” Nicky stated. “The freshmen are idiots.”

He mimicked Sheena’s face, nose scrunched and eyes narrowed, then asked, “What can I make for you?”

“Something that’ll make me forget I have my last midterm when we get back,” Jeremy grimaced. “Who gives a midterm after spring break?”

“I got just the drink for you.”

The sound of the blender going again cut off conversation. Sheena left to play chicken with her friends and Renee called Jean over.

“Don’t break anything!” Dan called from where she was laying out with Allison and Renee as Jean joined them.

“Here you go.” Nicky handed him a glass.

Jeremy held the drink up and studied it. “Are those silver stars?”

“Edible silver stars.”

Aaron came back with a tray in one hand and a girl’s hand in the other and said, “Nicky has to make everything gay.”

The girl hit his arm lightly with the back of her hand. She looked at Jeremy and held out a hand. “Katelyn.”

“Jeremy,” Jeremy said and shook.

“I made you both the same,” Nicky said, handing two more glasses over the bar.

“On three?” Katelyn suggested. “One. Two. Three.”

Everyone who had a drink took a large sip and more than one of them sputtered. “What the fuck is this?” Aaron gasped. “Did you just add ice and stars?”

Nicky shrugged. “Make your own damn drinks if you don’t like it.” He hopped over the bar and ran for the pool.

“You’re drinking this?” Aaron asked in disbelief and Jeremy turned to see Neil gulping it down.

After one large sip, Jeremy was already starting to feel warm. He took another sip, squeezing his eyes shut tightly. When he opened them he saw Renee running her hand down Jean’s bare back. How many times had Jeremy wanted to do the same?

He shook his head. He was such a lightweight. He’d never been one to party hard but he knew how to hold his liquor. The last year he’d spent more time studying and less and less time drinking and his tolerance was down. Clearly.

Day 2

By the second night, Jeremy was starting to realize the Foxes weren’t so different from any other college sports team if you took away the tragic backstories. Yeah, Jeremy would stick out if they all sat around and compared histories but - surprise, surprise - there wasn’t much talk about that.

Allison banned any talk of Exy and if she ever saw Neil and Kevin together she’d cock a brow and put her hands on her hips. Kevin would flip her off and she’d leave with a, “Fuck you. There are rules for a reason.”

It was making him miss his own team - the way they all fit together even when they shouldn’t.

Jean was there, but if anything he was part of the Kevin/Thea/Jean Former Ravens group or the Kevin-Neil-Jean-I-Was-Abused-By-Riko-Moriyama-and-Marked-For-His-Perfect-Court group.

He was different from a year ago when he’d first joined the Trojans but he still had his rough edges and hangups. And Jeremy saw it all.

Whether someone tapped his arm lightly without warning, or when he was flinching awake from a nightmare, Jeremy was there, trying to think of a way to calm Jean down without overstepping.

Jeremy had promised Laila he’d enjoy his spring break and be involved in all the fun things the Foxes did. Jeremy didn’t break promises. That’s why it was two in the morning and he was just starting to work on a study guide problem he’d left at five AM yesterday morning.

He groaned. Shots before homework wasn’t working for him.

“Jer,” Jean said, voice hoarse. “Come to bed.”

In his sluggish alcohol influenced state of mind, he almost thought Jean was asking him to come to his bed. His face flushed as he thought, What if Jean could read my mind and saw that?

He cleared his throat. “Soon. I’ll go to bed soon. I just need to finish at least three problems first.” Who was he kidding? He’d be lucky if he finished one.

“Okay,” Jean breathed, turning over and promptly falling back to sleep.

That was something that had surprised Jeremy. The way Jean could just sleep. He had expected his distrust to keep him awake at night. He guessed when you were tortured and worked to the bone, you had to take the sleep where you could get it.

Jean looked so cozy and peaceful, Jeremy wanted to be cozy and peaceful. He made the mistake of putting his head down on the desk.

He bolted awake when tentative fingers touched his arm.

Day 3

Jean flinched and Jeremy took a deep breath. “Sorry, sorry.”

“The others are going for a hike,” Jean said quietly though he offered a smile. “Apparently there’s a waterfall. Do you want to come?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jeremy responded, yawning and stretching. When he looked back at Jean, Jean quickly averted his eyes.

“They’re meeting by the pool.”

Jean hurried out, closing the door behind him.

Jeremy stretched as he stood. There was a crick in his neck that was making him regret last night’s choices.

He picked up a shirt off the floor and sniffed it. What did it matter? They were gonna get sweaty on their hike. He tried to shove away the thought of what would Jean think and changed into the shirt.

“Jer-bear!” Nicky greeted him as he stepped outside.

He squinted at the sun. It was only eight in the morning but it was already too hot. Jeremy couldn’t wait to get to the waterfall.

As they approached the start of the trail, two figures raced down the hill toward them. Thea pushed Kevin and Kevin shouted, “Hey!”

The two of them passed the sign indicating which way to go around roughly the same time and immediately Jean said, “Thea.”

“No one asked,” Kevin said, panting, but he didn’t look upset. “Besides, she cheated.”

“Prove it,” Thea said, hands behind her head as she gulped air.

“Rematch.”

Nicky said, “Neil would beat you both.”

“With those little legs?” Thea looked skeptical.

“Show ‘em, Neil.”

Neil shook his head. “I don’t feel like it.” He paused and looked at Andrew. “I don’t run anymore.”

The way he said it gave the words weight and Jeremy felt like he was missing something. Neil and Andrew’s teammates groaned and Andrew looked unimpressed.

“That was really sweet, Neil,” Matt said.

Neil winked at Matt and Andrew muttered something that had him grinning widely.

“If we’re done with the cheesefest ...” Allison stomped past everyone.

The waterfall was breathtaking. Jeremy couldn’t believe something could be so untouched by man.

“What took you guys so long?” Thea called as she dunked Neil under the water.

Despite what he’d said about not running anymore, Neil couldn’t resist Thea’s challenge and they’d run ahead of the group with Kevin.

As some of the others dived in, Jeremy’s eyes searched for Jean. He was leaning down so Renee could rub some sunscreen on his face. Jeremy tried to stuff down the jealousy bubbling in his chest.

This wasn’t him. He didn’t get jealous. Certainly not of one the nicest humans to ever exist touching his teammate who clearly didn’t mind. He was about to turn away when Jean pulled his shirt over his head.

And how could he have such negative feelings when Jean was so obviously enjoying his spring break? After the first day, Jean didn’t even hesitate in stripping down and letting the others see him shirtless. As his roommate, of course Jeremy had seen him without a shirt, but it had been months before his first reaction wasn’t to cover up his scars. In the locker rooms, he always changed as quickly as possible and usually with his locker open.

Here, with people who had trauma, too, and who didn’t bat an eye when Jean took his shirt off, he was able to stop thinking about it. It made Jeremy sad that he wasn’t able to give Jean that around their team.

Jean turned around and Jeremy tried to pretend he hadn’t been staring. When he stood in front of him, he asked, “You okay, Jer?”

Jeremy swallowed once. He felt his cheeks get hot but hoped his sunburn hid his blush. “Yeah, just, um, enjoying the view.” He inwardly groaned. Jean had seen him staring at him. He scratched his cheek.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Jean said. He clearly meant the trees and the water. Jeremy was both relieved and disappointed. “See you down there?”

“Yeah.”

Day 4

Jeremy put on his noise canceling headphones and opened his textbook. He had to get this reading done. He wouldn’t allow any more distractions until he finished.

Not even a sleepy looking Jean poking his head into their shared room.

He removed his headphones and gave him a questioning look.

“We’re putting on a movie. Wanna join?”

Jeremy sighed. “Can’t. I should have finished this chapter two days ago.” Jean bit his lip, then he closed the door. “What are you -?” He sat on the bed.

“I don’t really like movies that much.”

It was a lie. Jeremy knew it was a lie, but he wasn’t going to argue. He remembered the look of confusion on his face the first time he heard Jeremy ask what movie the rest of the team would like to watch. He gave Jean a small smile before putting his headphones back on.

An hour later, Jeremy was lying beside Jean, who was dozing, his head on an open book. His head lolled to the side and pressed into Jeremy’s arm.

Jeremy froze and tried to keep his breathing even.

His eyes followed the line of Jean’s jaw. He liked this side of Jean’s face best. It wasn’t tattooed and it had less scars. He still liked the other side of Jean’s face - he liked his whole face - it was just easier to not think about the circumstances that brought him to his team when he could only see the right half of Jean’s face.

Day 6

“No studying tonight!” Allison yelled.

“But -”

“Jean told us you study every night after we go to bed,” she said. “It’s your last night. Enjoy it!”

Jeremy shot a look over to Jean at the bar who - was smiling? He shrugged at Jeremy before tipping back a shot.

Allison had made a list and passed it around to anyone who wasn’t a freshman. Any time one of the freshmen said or did something on her list, the others had to do a shot.

From the looks of things, Nicky, Dan, and Matt had gotten an early start on the game. Allison whispered, “Don’t worry if you can’t remember who’s who. Just drink when the rest of us do.”

Jeremy looked around at the team, then into the pool with its night lights on and glowing balls floating on the surface.

Renee came over and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure no one drowns.”

When one of the freshmen girls made a pervy remark about Kevin, Nicky handed out shots. When one of the boys copped a feel off the girl and she pretended to be offended, he handed out two shots to every person. When a couple of the freshmen started making out, he got three shots - one for the act and two for the couple.

Things and time started to blur and Jeremy had no idea how much time had passed. They’d all eventually moved into the large house to get warm. Kevin and Thea had disappeared a while ago as had Aaron, Katelyn, and a few of the freshmen. Now Neil and Andrew were heading upstairs.

The music was loud, the lights looked brighter, and Jean was laughing. It almost made Jeremy smile, but then he realized he was laughing at something Renee had said. He wrapped an arm around her and leaned down so she could whisper something in his ear.

Jeremy left.

It was too difficult to watch and he didn’t want to say or do anything to embarrass himself. Allison grabbed his arm in the hallway and said, “You better not be going off to study!”

“No!” he shouted back. “I just need to lie down for a bit.”

Once he made it to his room and shut the door, it seemed uncomfortably quiet. He flopped down on the bed and stared at the ceiling as his eyes adjusted to the dark.

Jeremy was generally a positive person, but as he lay there, thoughts of Jean and Renee swirled around his mind. They said they weren’t dating. They said they’d never dated, but the whole week it was almost like they were a couple. They went everywhere together and partnered for every game.

He fell asleep, his mind seeped in jealousy and booze.

He woke up when Jean stumbled into the room, holding something in his hand. He vaguely registered music still pounding in the hallway.

“Hey, sorry,” Jean tried to whisper. “Everyone is asleep.”

“Okay?” Jeremy said.

“Renee made cookies.” He offered out his hand.

Jeremy might have sneered. “Of course she did. She’s amazing. She’s an amazing person. She’s an amazing goalie. I bet she’s an amazing girlfriend.” He was still drunk. It probably hadn’t been that long since he fell asleep.

Jean looked confused and timid. “What’s going on?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Jeremy muttered, suddenly aware of how he must’ve come across.

“Are you jealous of Renee?” he asked, lips quirking.

Jeremy sighed and fell back on his pillows. “What? No ...” He looked over at Jean. “Okay, fine.”

Jean stepped closer and sat on the edge of the bed, looking over his shoulder at Jeremy. “Why?”

“Nothing,” he murmured, cheeks feeling hot.

“I’ve not been a good friend,” Jean said. “You’re just so friendly and easy going that I didn’t think you wanted me hanging around the whole week. And I figured Kevin would be taking up at least half your time.”

“That’s not - I mean -” Jeremy was at a loss for words.

“Then what is it?”

He threw an arm over his face, struggling to get a word out.

“You guys are so close,” he finally said. “I guess I just want to be - close with you.”

“We’re roommates,” Jean said. “We are close. There’s no one I trust more.”

Jeremy sat up. “No, I’m gay.”

He shrugged. “Okay ... I figured -”

“I have these ... feelings ... for you ...” He knew his expression was pained and sad but he couldn’t help it. He had probably just ruined things between them.

“Why didn’t you just say that?” Jean asked as Jeremy’s head lowered and he shrugged. “I think I have ... feelings for you, too.”

Jeremy’s mouth fell open. “Really?”

Jean shrugged again, feeling self-conscious. “Yes. It’s why I’ve been hanging out with Renee so much this week - to get her advice about you.”

“I really want to kiss you,” he said in a rush. “I mean, if that’s okay.”

Jean held his breath, then nodded. Jeremy moved closer. Jean blurted, “I just - um, I need to set clear boundaries and I need you to respect them.”

“Of course,” Jeremy breathed. He watched as he bit his lip, looking like there was more he wanted to say. “Hey, it’s okay. You can set all the boundaries you need.”

Jean took a shaky breath. “I need you to take things slow,” he said, voice quiet. “I need you to be patient and not get mad if I can’t do - if I can’t -”

“Hey, Jean, you don’t need to do anything, alright?” Jeremy said. “You don’t need to explain yourself to me.” He reached out to take Jean’s hand but Jean flinched.

“I’m sorry, I -”

Jeremy held up his hand this time and slowly moved to grab Jean’s hand so he had time to move away if he wanted to.

“I’ve never - I don’t mean to flinch. It’s not you.” He lay down next to Jeremy and stared at the ceiling. Their arms were pressed together from their shoulders to their fingertips and after a minute, it started to feel comfortable. “I’ve talked about you in therapy because I wasn’t sure about what my feelings meant.”

He took long pauses between sentences but Jeremy didn’t dare to interject.

“Nothing that ever happened in my life ever was consensual.” Hard swallow. “Until you and the Trojans. I don’t know if I’m gay, honestly. I’m still figuring things out. Feeling anything confuses me. You’re the only person who offers something to me and lets me choose to accept it.”

“You noticed?” Jeremy was shocked.

“Of course I noticed. I was confused - at first - but it’s become everything to me. If this is too complicated I understand ... but I hope - I don’t know.” He sighed, frustrated with himself and everything leading up to this point that was making him unable to trust his own feelings.

Jeremy bit his lip. “I’m here. You’re worth the wait, Jean. I want to be the one you can figure things out with.”

Jean sat up. “What if - what if I’m wrong about this?” His voice was breathy and when Jeremy met his eyes, they were wet.

“Then we’ll stop and we’ll continue being friends.”

“I don’t even know if I can try.” Every fear seemed to be coming to the front of his mind. “What if I’m wasting your time?”

Jeremy sat up. “I don’t care. Can I hold your hand again?” Jean nodded. “If after everything, you decide you’re not gay, or you’re not into me, it will all be fine. I could never hold it against you. I care about you and nothing will ever stop me from caring about you.”

Jean’s gaze on his face was intense but Jeremy tried to keep an open expression. He meant what he said and he needed Jean to know that everything would be okay.

“Can I kiss you?”

Jeremy felt his eyebrows raise in surprise. “Please.”

Day 7

As they sat on the boat that would take them back to the mainland Jeremy couldn’t help the smile on his face. Jean was next to him, arm pressed right against his.

He looked behind him to where Neil and Andrew sat, space between them but hands linked on the seat. Andrew was looking off in the distance.

Jeremy opened his mouth to ask Neil a question when Andrew’s head snapped in his direction. “It’s 8:30, I have a hangover and you’re annoying me.”

“I haven’t done anything.”

“That smile on your face is making my hangover worse.”

Jean turned around. “Get used to it.”

1 Kevin/Thea 2 Neil/Andrew 3 Dan/Matt 4 Allison/Renee 5 Jean/Jeremy 6 Aaron/Katelyn 7 2 freshmen 8 2 freshmen 9 2 freshmen 10 Nicky

#aftg #aftg fic #tfc #tfc fic #jerejean #background andreil #background kevinxthea

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transgenderastarion · 4 years

Text

Renee is a Queen and Nicky Knew it All Along

A (slightly late) fic for @wulfrann !!

(I was ur pinch hitter but I hope u like it!!)

Pairings: Andrew/Neil, mentioned Allison/Renee

Summary: Renee is an arm wrestling champion, and Andrew is Not prepared

————————————

SLAM!!

“Ha! I win again!”

“Aww man!”

“Nicky you suck at this, dude.”

Nicky rubs the wrist that Renee slammed against the table, pouting to match her own smirk.

She flexes, comically kissing her bicep just to show off.

“You should go up against her.”

Andrew raises an eyebrow at his boyfriend, “no.”

“Why?” Neil teases, “think you can’t do it?”

Logically, Andrew knows that Neil’s just trying to goad him into a competition, and he’s kind of mad it’s working.

He gives it a second of thought, scowls, points at the table and says “Renee.”

She gives him a sickly sweet smile and sits down. Andrew joins her on the other side.

Their hands lock in preparation for battle.

Andrew knows just looking at Renee’s muscles that he’s probably going to lose, but he’ll be damned if he gives Neil the satisfaction of letting him think Andrew was actually that weak. Matt calls out the ready mark over Renee’s shoulder, the ever impartial judge.

Andrew almost loses the second Matt says go. Renee comes at him full force, shoving his arm down towards the table, but he manages to catch it right before it hits. His eyebrows quirk up in surprise for a half-second, not expecting that much power. He knew their captain was strong, but the amount of force was unexpexted.

Andrew, however, gave as good as he got, and soon they were locked in a stalemate back where they started in the middle of the table. Neil is watching him with his arms crossed, a massive smirk across his smug, stupid face.

Andrew pushed himself harder, wanting to wipe that dumb smirk right off his face.

His arm’s starting to shake now, and his scowl deepens when he meets Renee’s eyes and when he sees her steady gaze and steady arm and realizes she’s barely even trying. He lets out a low growl and pushes, but to no avail.

SLAM!!

Andrew jumps in his seat as a dull pain radiates through the back of his hand. Losing focus for a split second proved to be his downfall, but now mostly he’s just happy to have his arm back.

He gives it a loose shake, but gives Renee a nod, acknowledging his defeat.

He raises an eyebrow at his unreasonably smug boyfriend, “why don’t you have a go, Josten?”

“Hey, yeah!” Renee agrees, “come over here Neil.”

Neil’s face falls immidiately and he tries to backpedal. “No, I-I’m good, that’s cool—”

“Nonsense, Josten” Andrew replies, physically grabbing his arm, dragging him over to the table and pushes him into the chair. “Arm. Fight.”

Neil gives a sigh, but sets his arm up on the table. Renee grabs his hand, and dutifully Matt gives the go.

SLAM!!

Neil yelps cradling his hand, Renee not even giving him a chance to fight back. It’s not like Neil isn’t strong, it’s just that... Well, he’s built more dexterity than strength.

He turns his pout onto Andrew, blaming him for his sore hand instead of Renee, who was just the tool of Andrew’s madness.

It’s when Kevin pokes his head into the room that they realize they’ve been in the lounge room for over an hour, doing these pointless competitions.

But when asked if he wants to go around, he just scowls at them and tells them to go the fuck home.

They make their way back from the arena, the walk from the den back to the dorms a welcome breath of fresh air.

They make their separate ways to the dorms, Nicky and Andrew pushing open their door to reveal Aaron curled up on the sofa with a textbook and papers spread everywhere around him.

He leans back to watch them come through the door in greeting, but other than that he doesn’t say a word, and goes back to his textbook.

Andrew dumps his bag by the closet, mentally telling himself he’ll put it away later but also knowing that he definitely will not put it away later. Andrew goes to dig some snacks out of the cupboard, but Nicky goes to lean over the couch to distract Aaron from his studing.

“You missed the epic arm wrestling match after practice,” Nicky says.

Aaron grunts in response, but doesn’t turn away from his book. Andrew cracks open a granola bar and chomps down, watching his brother and cousin.

“You shoulda been there, Renee is our reigning champion, and she beat both Andrew and Neil. And everyone else in the room.”

Aaron perked up at that, twisting around to face his brother.

“Ha,” he said in liu of a laugh, but Andrew scowled anyway, knowing even that much of a reaction meant his brother was cackling on the inside.

“Well, except for Kevin,” Nicky continued, barreling past the brothers’ interaction, “because he’s a butt and refused to participate.”

“Mhm,” Aaron responded, clearly not caring even a little bit.

Andrew takes another bite of his granola bars and tries to not waste the effort of rolling his eyes at his family’s antics.

“Oh, and also? Remind me never to get on Renee’s bad side. She is sca-ry~” Nicky laments, now hanging over the side of the couch. “Her biceps alone are like the size of my head. Allison is lucky as hell. If I wasn’t gay...”

“Shut up, Nicky.”

Nicky didn’t look peturbed in the slightest though, meandering off to his room to drop of his bag before wandering back to the couch, plopping himself down beside Aaron’s feet.

“Oh! Andrew!”

Andrew looks up in response,

“You know who we didn’t see but Renee should totally face off against? Who’s muscles are of legendary status, who could literally face god and out flex him?”

Andrew stares at his cousin. He knows he’s talking about coach Wymack, but he’s so tired. He just wants to go to bed. Or smoke, whichever direction his body desides to go with first.

Andrew sighs, looking up from his granola bar.

“Wymack?”

Nicky gets the biggest grin at Andrew’s confirmation.

“Wymack.”

#aftg #aftgexchange #aftg gift exchange #andreil #gift fic #happy holidays!

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minyardfluff · 5 years

Photo

Here is my gift for Megs @st-draco for the @tfc-net 1 Year Anniversary event! She requested something involving steampunk/dystopian society, so here is a graphic with an accompanying ficlet below the cut! I’m so sorry it took literally almost a year but I hope you like it! <3

Steampunk AU where The Fox is an airship in need of a pilot and Neil is an airship pilot who doesn’t need a crew (or at least that’s what he tells himself).

War has broken out between the upper and lower classes worldwide, leaving no inch of land unscathed and no person unaffected. In this new age, Nathaniel Wesninski has been raised an airship pilot. His father was a famous battalion leader, the right hand man to General Moriyama. Growing up, Nathaniel knew he’d one day have to join his father’s ranks, but he didn’t care too much. Mostly he was just happy he was being taught to fly airships, even if Lola did punish him when he did something wrong - he just learned to do it better next time. At 12 years old, Nathaniel and a few other boys his age were given the chance to fly a ship called The Raven. It was evident that Nathaniel and two of the other boys, Kevin Day and Riko Moriyama, were the best of the lot so they were invited back for an additional chance to fly the next day; however, before that day came, Nathaniel’s mom stole one of his father’s airships and ran away with him in the night.

Fast forward five years and you’ll have found Neil Josten, suddenly alone in the world, pushing his mother’s body out of the airship to fall into the flame-infested landscape. It gutted him, but he didn’t want to risk landing so soon after they were attacked nor could he bear to leave her lying on the floor of the gondola in a pool of her own blood. A few months after that, Neil was in a bad state, both mentally and physically. Having only one person on board meant every responsibility fell to him; keeping stock of food and parts, repairing the ship, navigating the ship, checking the radar for other ships, listening to the radio for insights on war zones, making sure he doesn’t accidentally fly into a wildfire zone so his gas cells don’t blow up. It was hard enough with two people, now that he was the only set of eyes, ears, and hands, it was downright brutal.

It happened when Neil was executing a plan he and his mother had run many times before. He learned from the radio about a skirmish nearby that resulted in three airships crashing to the ground with no survivors detected. It was the perfect opportunity to scavenge for parts.

Neil slowly lowered his ship as close to one of the downed ones as he could, stopping it so it was hovering just above the earth, then lowered his goggles, grabbed his satchel, and pulled his gas mask over his face. Any place with a recently crashed airship, let alone three of them, was sure to be filled with toxic gas. He opened the hatch in the floor and threw down a rope ladder, quickly climbed down, and scurried to the nearest ship.

He made quick work of loading up his satchel with different sized bolts and gears, when he heard a loud crash followed by some muffled swearing.

Neil jumped between the ship and a large piece of metal that had come off it and crouched down. It wasn’t long before the voices got closer, they were still muffled - most likely due to also having to wear masks like himself - but he began to be able to make them out.

“-d’you try to climb that, it was obviously unstable!”

“I was going for a higher vantage point! He has to be around here somewhere.”

All of Neil’s senses, already on high alert, went into overdrive at that statement, but he forced himself to stay calm. Just because they were looking for someone didn’t mean it was him. There were many dead bodies laying around that they could be searching through.

The thing is, though, that when you’re being hunted, you tend to keep track of the people who are hunting you, and it just so happened that there, standing no more than five steps away from Neil, was Kevin Day.

Neil choked on his breath and must have made a sound because Kevin and the man he was with both swung around and stared right at him.

Neil’s heart was rabbiting. The moment drug out and he could almost pretend that they hadn’t seen him, except Kevin took a step forward, “Hey are you a pilo-”

Neil shot up out of his crouched position and used his momentum to angle the piece of metal he was hiding under to fly in the direction of the two men. He took off at a sprint in the opposite direction, but he wasn’t fast enough. He saw the sun glint off the metal pole only moments before that pole was swung into his stomach. He doubled over and fell to his knees, his body trying to dry heave and pull in air at the same time and being unable to do either.

His attacker stood over him with a bored expression on his face, as if he hadn’t just sealed Neil’s fate.

“Dammit, Minyard! We need him alive!” The older man scolded as he and Kevin caught up to them.

The attacker shrugged and lifted the metal pole over his head. Neil glared at him in defiance and Andrew held his gaze. The moment stretched on, then, Andrew’s expression tugged down in a frown and he swung the pole like an ax down towards Neil.

“Andrew!” Kevin yelled and made to lunge at Andrew, but Andrew stopped the pole from hitting Neil just inches above his head.

Neil, through sheer determination, had managed not to flinch and continued to glare at Andrew.

“Oh no, you might actually be interesting,” Andrew appraised him, then threw the pole off to the side.

The older man came around to stand by Andrew and Kevin was a bit off to the side. Neil could make another run for it, but they were now in his path between himself and his ship. Besides, there could be countless others around here. He couldn’t stay here, but he was better off waiting for an opening. He slowly stood up and looked between the three men warily.

“Andrew can be a bit violent,” this was the older man speaking, who Neil guessed was also a pilot based on the cap he wore on his head accompanied by goggles. “My name is David Wymack, I’m captain of the-”

“Fuck you,” Neil cut him off, “I don’t care who you are, I’m not going with you!”

“You’d be an idiot to refuse us.” Neil shot his eyes over to Kevin, “your ship is in shambles. You clearly either don’t have a crew or anyone on it needs to be fired, but going by your own ragtag appearance I’d say it’s the former.”

“Your men killed any crew I ever had,” Neil sneered.

Wymack glanced towards Kevin, who had gone pale, and cautiously replied, “You know who we are?”

“Of course,” Neil glared at them, “Kevin Day, prodigy of The Raven Fleet who was honorably discharged a month ago after an injury.”

Neil noticed Kevin flex his left hand, but it was Wymack who spoke, “Kevin was discharged after he fell off his ship, he was lucky the ship had been grounded at the time. That’s the story you’re talking about, right?” When Neil gave a curt nod he continued, “Kevin didn’t fall. He was pushed.”

___________

so. I’m actually awful and can’t finish a fic (not even a ficlet) to save my life, but this is so overdue and has been weighing on my conscience since it’s a gift for someone and I want to be able to give them something rather than nothing who knows maybe this is worse than nothing so I’m being optimistic and decided to post this, incomplete as it is -- but Neil joins the Fox, ensnares Andrew’s and everyone else’s heart, Andrew gives Neil the adorable little fox figurine from the graphic, Riko and Nathan die in an airship battle, and everyone lives happily ever after~

#the foxhole court #all for the game #tfc #aftg #neil josten #mine

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jtl-fics · 7 months

Text

Fluent Freshman - Part 42

There are things that change a person.

Moments where after they happen they simply cannot un-happen. Things that a person hears that they cannot un-hear. Promises that a person makes that they can’t, and perhaps even wouldn’t, un-make.

Jeremy’s moment came over winter break the previous year. Jeremy heard things that he could never un-hear in the middle of the night. Jeremy made a promise that he would never break while in the guest room of his parent’s house holding one Jean Moreau tight as he talked about the Nest.

Jeremy was different after that night.

Not wildly different. Not to most.

The only ones who knew had also had a moment, had also heard things, and had also made promises that they intended to keep.

Jeremy is on his way back from the bathroom with a freshly washed handkerchief from the Fox’s most promising Freshman when it all happens.

He watches Richard throw a glass on the ground and go for Caleb’s throat which in all honesty he had been anticipating since he’d seen the seating arrangements. Sitting the Jackals with the Terrapins? After Caleb seduced Alyssa during the Fall Banquet? Who thought that was a good idea?

Jeremy sees FF and sees that he is alone and wonders where Michael had gone off to. He’s glad that FF has stayed put, the guys quiet but he’s not bad company. Jeremy thinks he would have gotten along pretty well with Jean if he hadn’t flubbed the recruitment.

“He just got a restraining order against that step-brother of his.” Aaron Minyard says explaining the awkward air after Jeremy had spoken. “He’s a Fox.” he adds and Jeremy had felt foolish in that moment.

It should have been obvious.

He hears a scream and sees that one of the Terrapins has joined in the brawl and he has one of the steak knives.

What was the point of that when they had pre-sliced tenderloin anyways? He looks over and sees Anita Flores watching the evening start to go down in flames and all he can think is that she’ll probably do better next time. It’s the first banquet she’s run on her own since Claire retired in the fall.

His eyes go to Jean when he hears another scream.

He can see Laila with Jean and Kevin. He can see Alvarez making her way to the two of them. The Trojans know better after last Winter Banquet. They come together and don’t make it obvious that Jean is at the center of their formation.

He sees Melissa get punched when she tries to get between Richard and Caleb. He’s sure she probably just doesn’t like having this kind of violence at her stadium but getting directly between Richard and Caleb wasn’t her smartest move.

Oh Jacob took exception to that. Well Jeremy can hardly blame the guy when his girlfriend and Captain gets punched like that. Caleb’s just lucky that she’s not dating Malcolm any-

Oh Malcolm is getting in on it. I guess he does still have feelings for Melissa. They had been real cute until he cheated on her. He thinks Melissa is better off with Jacob but who knows.

He looks to Jean again and sees that Kevin is leaving the Trojan encirclement and can see the other Foxes start to head for the exit as the fighting grows more intense. He sees Andrew holding Neil’s hand in a vice grip and-

Oh, of course they’d be anxious here. Of course the Foxes were on edge.

He looks and FF is still sat at the table seemingly unbothered by the chaos erupting around him. He watches as the Foxes make their way to the table where FF is sat. Sees them gathering their belongings and sees FF remain seated, eyes on them and then on the chaos.

Ah, the rearguard.

He nods and diverts his attention back to the mess at hand. Honestly Caleb shouldn’t bait Richard and Richard should be glad that he didn’t propose to someone who’d cheat on him. They’d talked about it and it wasn’t like he had customized the ring or anything so he got his full deposit back. He thought Richard was feeling better about the whole thing, had even been dating Erika and-

Ohh yeah there’s Erika with a Terrapin’s jacket over her shoulders and a hickey that he’s pretty sure Richard hadn’t left on her neck.

Man Caleb what the hell, what did Richard even do? Caleb you don’t even like girl-

Ohhhh.

Caleb….bro. There are better ways to handle a crush.

Now fully understanding the situation Jeremy can’t help but think that it’s actually a pretty simple solution. Well, not simple. Richard is pretty straight but like a firm talking to with Caleb will probably-

“Hey, back off!” He hears Alvarez and his head whips around back to Jean where it shouldn’t have left.

Ravens.

Those Ravens.

Jeremy made a promise.

Jeremy had taken lessons over the summer and-

God it felt good to slam his fist into Johnson’s stupid awful ugly chin. The only thing that was even sweeter was sinking his fist into Reacher’s gut.

“Knox what the fuck?!” he heard Jasmine exclaim and they’d been buddies at one point but it was hard to feel anything positive for a girl who watched.

“I warned you guys during the Fall Banquet didn’t I?” Jeremy asks with a smile as he shakes out his hand. He looks to the side and sees that the rest of the team has now fully encircled Jean. Nothing was getting through them to-

It’s too late that Jeremy sees a younger Raven meatball in hand. He tries to stop it but his arms are too short and it nails Jean right in the forehead.

He looks at the marinara roll down Jean’s forehead as he blinks in surprise. Laila lets out a scream and has him cradled in her arms and out of sight before Jean even seems to fully understand what is going on.

“Jean, it’s going to be okay.” Jeremy hears Laila assure.

“Laila, what in the world are you freaking out about?” Jean asks. “I’m French, not Italian. I would not bleed marinara sauce.” Jeremy hears him say out of sight and if Jeremy wasn’t so mad he’d laugh.

“That’s it!” Alvarez exclaims and slugs the sophomore who had lobbed the errant meatball and from there it was an all out brawl between the Trojans and the Ravens. They were all defensive over their frenchmen especially against his old team and Jeremy thinks about the investigation he’s been pushing the ERC towards. Thinks about all the little things he has questioned and put into the heads of all of his friends throughout the Division.

He makes his way to Jean as Ned and Jim have taken on the task of handling Reacher and Johnson.

“God, first the sparse wine selection and now this.” Jean says from where Laila was trying to wipe sauce from his face.

“Here, use this.” he offers FF’s handkerchief and thinks about getting a few himself.

Laila takes the handkerchief, “I thought you said there was a lot of wine.” she says.

“No, I said Kevin was doing a lot of whining.” Jean corrects eyes closed as Laila cleans his face off. Jeremy looks towards the Fox table and wonders how he’ll get the handkerchief back to FF and sees FF rising up from the table and quickly put on his jacket before heading out the door after the rest of the Foxes.

What bothers him is the security guards following them. Everyone should know that security guards + the Foxes + Binghamton = Andrew might start stabbing people.

His concern only grows greater when he sees Michael and a few other Ravens follow.

***

There are things that change a person.

Experiences that you never want to experience again. Words that can never be spoken again. Feelings that can never be carefully locked away not that they’re out in the open and known.

Andrew’s experience happened two years ago. Andrew had heard words that he never wished to hear again in his entire life for the last time in Binghamton. Andrew had felt things staring down at a cell phone that he had never let himself feel before.

He looks at Neil safe and sound on the bus after a different fight, a different riot, in Binghamton and it’s hard to be upset. He hadn’t let his Junkie out of his sight the entire night and the moment that he saw security moving in he had grabbed Neil by the hand. His focus had narrowed down at that moment and no amount of Neil insisting that it was fine would stop Andrew’s determined march out of the stadium.

He only felt like he could breathe when he had ushered Neil into the bus and into a seat. He felt his shoulders ease but he didn’t let go of Neil’s hand, he didn’t know if he would until they were back in Palmetto.

The rest of the team filtered out of the stadium quickly and soon enough Wymack was calling out to make sure that everyone was there. “Smith?” Wymack called.

“He’s right here!” a voice calls out and Andrew thinks it’s one of the other Freshmen.

“Let’s get out of here.” Wymack says.

The team gets on the bus and soon enough they’re putting Binghamton in the rearview.

Andrew exhales.

***

He’d heard Michael call out for him and he’d stopped. With all the distraction and the upcoming loading onto the bus he hadn’t felt the need to be exceptionally low presence.

It’d been a mistake as it usually was.

FF looked at the security guard standing in front of him and out the door to the stadium where the Foxes were loading into the bus.

“Will you meet the Master now?” Michael is asking him and FF doesn’t quite get why he’s asking when it’s obvious that FF doesn’t have a choice.

“No.” he says because Michael did ask which means theoretically he could just be misreading the situation.

“You said you’d meet him if the banquet ended.” Michael says.

FF furrows his brow, “I said I’d get up.” he reminds and Michael looks nervous.

“Please?” Michael asks and FF blinks.

“I need to get on the bus.” FF points and the security guard merely steps into his line of sight as if that erased the fact that the bus was there and he was not on it.

“We’ll get you back to where you belong.” Michael promises.

“I belong on the bus that is going back to my campus where I keep all my stuff.” FF says matter of factly.

Michael looks at him utterly bewildered.

“Enough of this.” The guard says and goes to grab him.

FF moves out of the way.

The guard goes to grab him again and FF backs up and out of the way again.

The guard goes to grab him and FF steps back out of his reach again.

This process continues until they are back into the main stadium where the brawl has taken over all of the teams. FF sidesteps the security guard, and he’s near positive this isn’t a real security guard Binghamton really needs to work on their hiring practices. Only this time he side steps out of the way and the guard crashes like an enranged bull into the punch table.

FF’d feel bad about it but there was no way in the world he was going to meet someone named ‘The Master’ when he has spaghetti pants. Absolutely no chance. Whoever it was probably was important enough to deserve dry clean only pants.

“I need to go.” he says to Michael and heads back for the exit, hopeful that maybe just maybe the bus hadn’t left yet. Nicky was pretty drunk though and he knew that the rest of the team would have a singular focus on Captain Neil.

“No, wait!” Michael pleads and FF stops seeing the other player with tears in his eyes. FF stops and unzips his jacket slightly to reach in and grab the handkerchief he had refolded as his pocket square.

“Sorry, I really can’t stay.” he says and offers the handkerchief to Michael, “You can keep that one or hand it to me the next time we play against one another if you remember.” he says. “Tonight isn’t the night for me to talk with your Master.” he says.

Michael looks at him with wide eyes and accepts the handkerchief.

He walks out back into the exiting hallway and there is an older asian man there. He has a cane and he is standing between FF and the door.

He approaches quickly and the man hits his cane against the ground once, “You will join the Ravens.” he says with authority.

Oh great.

“I'd actually rather not.” Smith responds and makes sure to keep a wide berth from the crazy old guy who’s made his way into the Stadium somehow.

He gets out the stadium doors and-

The bus left.

He sighs thinks about the crazy guy right behind him and lets his presence fade into something only Jeremy Knox could see (APPARENTLY).

It’s pretty cold out as he gets as far away from the entrance to the building as possible and reaches into his pocket for his phone. He dials Nicky.

***

“COACH, YOU FORGOT SMITHY. AGAIN.” A drunken shout from the back of the bus startles Wymack as he lets out a loud string of curses before getting into a lane to make a U-turn.

MASTERPOST FOR ALL PARTS OF FLUENT FRESHMAN AU

#Fluent Freshman AU #Michael is just staring at this handkerchief #And staring at the back of a guy who didn't even break stride passing Tetsuji Moriyama #And contemplating a lot of things at the moment #Laila: “Wait so what would you bleed?”#Jean: “What? Blood? I bleed blood?”#Laila: “But you said you're french not Italian. What would the french bleed?”#Jean: “Laila..”#Alvarez: “No Jean you've decided that Italians bleed Marinara. Finish the thought.”#Jean: “I don't know probably one of the mother sauces? Maybe Béchamel??”#Laila: “Jean we need to know your blood type if you're ever really hurt. Are you sure it's not Hollandaise?”#Jean: “How dare you imply that I would bleed Hollandaise.”#AFTG #Jean Moreau #Andreil #Jeremy Knox #Implied Jerejean #AFTG OC #FF - 42

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nickireadstfc · 7 years

Text

The Raven King, Chapter 6 – The Return Of Sassmaster McSavage

In which the Foxes and the Ravens meet, no one has any kind of chill, everyone has eaten a healthy dose of Extra and Dramatic for breakfast, and no one can keep their mouths shut – but most importantly, in which shit gets so, so fucking real.

Sounds good? Then it’s time for Nicki to read The Raven King.

You guys.

You GUYS.

Remember how you keep telling me I’m not even ready?

Yeah. ABOUT THAT.

I am writing this immediately after just because I could not wait to comment on the absolute FUCKERY that went down just now.

Fun drinking game: Take a shot every time I swear in this chapter. I have no chill left.

Let’s start at the beginning.

They pulled onto the interstate with thirteen people on board: the Fox team, the two-man staff, and Aaron’s and Nicky’s dates.

Shame. I would have paid to see Andrew and Renee going as wonderful platonic goalie BFF dates.

It quickly becomes obvious that we’re in for a wild fucking ride when Mighty And Stoic Kevin Day already starts having panic attacks while still on the bus.

It wasn’t just Riko Kevin was afraid of. In twenty minutes, he’d be facing his entire former team. (…) Neil didn’t know much about [Tetsuji Moriyama]. The one time Kevin mentioned him he’d slipped and called him “the master”. Neil didn’t need to hear anything else after that.

Oh yeah. THAT SHIT.

Seriously what the FUCK is up with that family. This is 24601 shades of fucked up.

Wymack, sensing Kevin’s panic (not that that’s fucking hard at the moment) resorts to some ah – unorthodox methods to keep his striker calm.

Wymack pulled a bottle of vodka out of the bag and put it down beside Kevin. “You have ten seconds to inhale as much of this as possible. Go.”

It was alarming how much a man could drink when he needed an emotional crutch.

Kevin doesn’t need an emotional crutch, Kevin needs an emotional wheelchair. An emotional prosthesis. Jeez. I’d be drinking, too, if I had to go meet my lifelong abusers face-to-face at a fucking banquet, having to make polite conversation with the people who broke my hand, my self-esteem and probably my will to live.

Also, I’m starting to consider Wymack not the dad of the team, but more the grumpy uncle – not huge on emotional sappiness, getting them hard liquor, constantly calling them out on their bullshit, yet loving them all fiercely. #dicksoutforwymack

Wymack (…) turned to Neil.

“You,” he said, “attempt to behave this time. Don’t pick fights with him today.”

“Yes, Coach.”

Meaning: So, so many fights will be picked today. So many. You are not even ready for all the fight-picking my short-tempered sassy ass is about to do.

With that, the banquet is off!

Thick cushioned mats covered the polished floor to keep table legs and chairs from scraping up the wood. (…) Neil had never seen so many people on an Exy court before. There was still plenty of room to walk around between the tables, but Neil hated seeing a court repurposed like this.

Oh my gooooooood shut the hell up you obsessed knob. It’s not being used right now, so we might as well use it to fit everyone for the banquet. It’s just a wooden floor, for fuck’s sake.

And now – this is where shits starts getting good.

Did I say Neil was Extra™? Did I complain about Kevin being too dramatic?

Forget all that. Meet the true masters of Extra And Dramatic™ – introducing: The Edgar Allan Ravens.

The Ravens hadn’t brought dates. They hadn’t brought any colour along, either. All twenty-two of them were dressed head-to-toe in black. The twenty men wore the same shirts and slacks, and the two women wore identical dresses. They even sat the same way, all with their right elbows on the table, all of them with their chins in their hands.

ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS.

Uniform is one thing, but sitting the same way, like ARE YOU ACTUALLY REAL. HOW IS THIS AN ACTUAL THING ACTUAL PEOPLE FUCKING DO.

Of course, some sly fucker in the organization committee had the hilarious idea to sit the two teams directly across from each other. Of fucking course.

Dan, ever the model captain, introduces herself and her team to Riko, as if he didn’t get completely annihilated on national TV by her striker just a few weeks ago.

That Fucker™, however, isn’t having it.

“I know who you are,” Riko said. “Who here doesn’t? You’re the woman who captains a Class I team. You’ve done admittedly well despite your disadvantages.”

“What disadvantages?”

“Do you really want me to start listing them?” Riko asked. “This is only a two-day event, Hennessey.”

OI SCREW YOU YA BIG FUCKNOODLE. I will not have you insult my treasured lionheart daughter like that.

Also, I thought her name was Wilds? The fuck is a Hennessey.

(Side note: I am sorry you guys, this recap is going to be ridiculously long. Every single line here is gold. Blame Nora for writing the sassiest, shadiest, most shocking and just in general best chapter of this series so far.)

It’s time for a new character introduction, one I’ve heard many of you ramble on about on the interwebs – that French dude.

Neil didn’t recognize the man, but he didn’t need to ask. The black number three tattooed on his left cheekbone meant he could be no one but Jean Moreau.

Lovely. Another one of those dumb ass face tattoo fuckers. I’m filing you as French and pretentious, my dude.

“You look familiar,” Jean said in heavily accented English.

“If you watched Kathy’s show you saw me there,” Neil said.

“Ah, you are right. That must be it. What was your name again? Alex? Stefan? Chris?”

In eight years on the run Neil had been through sixteen countries and twenty-two names. Hearing one name from Jean wouldn’t mean anything. Hearing three wasn’t a coincidence.

Alright, French and pretentious AND TERRIFYING. COOL.

What the hell??? How??

“Blame my mother,” Neil said. “She named me.”

“How is she doing, by the way?” Riko asked.

That Fucker™ knows. He knows.

This was bound to come around at some point. Kevin being too traumatized to recognize Neil was nothing short of amazing, but I guess we can’t always be that lucky.

It was nice knowing you, Neil, because your ass is fucking dead.

Neil might have answered, but Dan beat him to it with an annoyed “Don’t antagonize my team, Riko. This isn’t the place for it.”

“I was being polite,” Riko said. “You haven’t seen me antagonistic yet.”

And I don’t think I fucking want to, hombre.

Excuse me for a second while I nerd out over the most unexpected reference of this entire series:

Neither of them [Kevin and Jean] had anything else to say to each other, but they stared each other down unblinking. Andrew lost interest before long and leaned forward.

“Jean,” he said. “Hey, Jean. Jean Valjean. Hey. Hey. Hello.”

……………………………. did you just.

JEAN VALJEAN. AS IN, BREAD DAD. AS IN, THE PROTAGONIST OF ONE OF MY FAVOURITE MUSICALS/FILMS/FANDOMS OF ALL TIME. Like, I’ve done Les Mis cosplay. Several times. That’s how dedicated I am.

I AM #SHOOK.

However, I am decidedly not liking Jean Valjean – or either of That Fucker™’s posse, actually. They first take a few moments to talk shit about Andrew (“publicity stunt”, can you fuck the fuck off) and then they come for my firstborn daughter Renee.

The woman now on Riko’s right gave a loud snort. “If someone like that replaced you in goal, you must be downright terrible. I can’t wait to watch one of your matches. I think it will be entertaining. We would make a drinking game of it but we don’t want to die of alcohol poisoning.”

“Yeah, that’s be a shame,” Dan said with heavy sarcasm.

DAN <33333

My darling angel, however, doesn’t take the bait.

“Do we have to start off so poorly?”

“Why not? You’re poor at everything else you do,” the woman said. “Is it honestly fun to be so terrible?”

“I imagine we have more fun than you do, yes,” Renee said.

Correction: My darling angel does take the bait – and brings the fucking shade.

“Fun is for children,” Jean said, looking away from Andrew.

If he’d been going to say anything else, he forgot it when he got a good look at Renee.

First of all – “fun is for children”, can you fucking chill, Monsieur Pretentieux Superlatif.

Second of all – what’s that “suddenly stopping talking when he sees Renee” thing about?? Do they have shared history as well? Is he just blinded by her angelic beauty and wants to bone her?

I am absolutely NOT LIKING the latter possibility. Protect my daughter.

The Ravens continue being The Absolute Worst™, talking about how Kevin “belongs” to them (can u fuckin not) and should come to his senses and return to them (as fucking if).

“You should reconsider our offer before we rescind it for good, Kevin. Face the facts. You pet is and always be dead weight. It’s time to –“

“What?” Andrew turned a wide-eyed look on Kevin. “You have a pet and never told us? Where do you keep it, Kevin?”

ANDREW LET ME LOVE YOU. I had to laugh so hard at that, oh my god. That’s the only proper way to respond to something like that, tbh.

That Fucker™, however, has found a new target to harass – ya boi Neil, who has kept admirably quiet so far and has probably bitten off his own tongue at this point trying to avoid bursting out in sass rants.

That is, until That Fucker™ comes for his mom.

“What a coward,” Riko said with exaggerated disappointment. “Just like his mother.”

Cue the moment I stopped breathing.

“You know, I get it,” Neil said. “Being raised as a superstar must be really, really difficult for you. Always a commodity, never a human being, not a single person in your family thinking you’re worth a damn off the court – yeah, sounds rough. Kevin and I talk about your intricate and endless daddy issues all the time.”

HOLY FUCKING –

“I know it’s not entirely your fault that you are mentally unbalanced and infected with these delusions of grandeur, and I know you are physically incapable of holding a decent conversation with anyone like every other normal human being can, but I don’t think any of us should have to put up with this much of your bullshit. Pity only gets you so many concessions, and you used yours up about six insults ago. So please, just shut the fuck up and leave us alone.”

I had to take a moment. I had to put the book down and fucking scream for a moment.

SASSMASTER MCSAVAGE STRIKES AGAIN, Y’ALL.

I AM YELLING AND CLAPPING MY HANDS LIKE AN EXCITED SEAL FFS NEIL I L O V E Y O U.

Neil leaned forward and look down at the table at Dan, who sat with her face buried in her hands.

“Dan, I said please. I tried to be nice.”

Oh my GOD. That is just the cherry on top of the sundae of EPICNESS that just went down.

I SAID PLEASE.

I cannot handle this. I cannot. Holy shit.

Jean turned on Kevin and spoke in quick, furious French. “What the hell is this?”

“His antagonism is a personality flaw we’ve learned to live with,” Kevin said.

Pfftftftftftt. Kevin is entirely done with this situation and I love it.

However, fun times are immediately the fuck over, as Jean Valjean hints at someone having “bought” Neil and assumes Kevin had recruited him because of that.

And just as I was beginning to wonder hat hell he is talking about – he drops this.

“Riko will have a few moments of your time later,” Jean said. “I suggest you speak with him if you do not want everyone to know you are the Butcher’s son.”

WHAT.

OH SHIT T H E Y K N O W I FUCKING SAID IT OH SHIT WHAT.

Kevin, who has skillfully repressed his memories of Neil up until this point, is about as shocked by this development as I am and has to go have some emergency vodka, like, asap.

Neil, on the other hand, shows some wonderful, wonderful signs of character development.

“Neil, if you can’t be here say so,” Wymack said. “Abby can take you elsewhere until it’s time to leave. Get out of here and get some fresh air.”

It was the perfect opening, but Neil couldn’t take it. If he did, he really would go, and he wouldn’t come back. Running wasn’t easy, but it was easier than trusting Andrew. But Neil remembered the weight of a key in his palm, its metal soaked through with another person’s body heat. He remembered Andrew’s promise to see this year through with him.

“No,” Neil said, finally finding his voice. “I knew this was going to happen. I just wasn’t ready for it. I’m fine.”

Ma BOY <3 Neil slowly learning to trust people and deal with his problems is my No 1 kink.

Actually, No 2 kink. No 1 would be Neil absolutely shade-wrecking people.

They leave their mess of a seating arrangement and find some new spots elsewhere, and later go mingling with the other teams. This goes surprisingly well, mostly due to the fact that it gives Neil and Kevin an excuse to talk about Exy and Exy alone – which is, as we all know, the only fucking thing those two morons can talk about.

However, those admirable avoiding tactics only go well for so long.

It took him a few seconds to realize the Ravens were coming. The entire team was crossing the court toward Kevin, walking in V formation like a flock of birds going south.

Are you serious. What level of dramatic holy SHIT.

Did they, like, form this like a dance formation before walking over? Riko instructing everyone where to stand, ‘no, you over there, leave equal amounts of space, come on guys, just form a diagonal line, we need to get going, we need to look intimidating, gUYS’

Or do they do this so often that is has become second nature by now and it’s just how they go everywhere?

I genuinely don’t know which option I find funnier.

But wait – it gets better.

Riko stopped further away than Neil thought he would, but Neil understood a moment later. The rest of the Ravens kept going, flipping their V until they’d trapped the three Foxes between them.

I am crying so much how is this a thing you do, literally what level of Extra and Dramatic™ are you ON, I cannot deal with this.

Please – next time I comment on how extra the Foxes are being, remind me of The V Incident.

Now, just as I was thinking ‘oh shit, this is going to go south again so quickly’… Foxes to the rescue!

Renee appeared out of nowhere at Kevin’s other side. She looped one arm through Kevin’s and held her free hand out to Jean. “Jean, wasn’t it? My name is Renee Walker. We didn’t really get a chance to talk earlier.”

Confusion eased Jean’s stoic mask into something more than a little uncomfortable, be he accepted her handshake. “Jean Moreau.”

For real, I’m so interested in what the fuck is going on with these two. My money is on shared history. This could be my Renee’s-backstory-hungry brain talking, but reading their passages this sounds v v likely.

Did someone say backstory??

[Matt] held out his hand but didn’t look surprised when no one took it. “Guess the pleasure’s all mine.”

“We’re sure it is,” the Raven striker said, “seeing how you’re dating a prostitute.”

“Stripper,” Dan corrected as she showed up and wound an arm around Matt’s waist. (…) “Hopefully you’re smart enough to distinguish between the two professions. If you’re not, I have serious concerns about your academic standings.”

FUCK, YEAH.

DAN, MY GIRL MY DUDE MY DAUGHTER.

She was a stripper! Holy shit! And she’s not ashamed of it, but admits it freely and is even proud of it! Holy! Shit!

Positive depictions of sex workers in pop culture is so, so rare, and I’m so happy we get some here. I did not expect this and I’m v pleasantly surprised right now.

“Hennessey, right?” one of the strikers said. “Such a good name for such a fierce spirit.”

“We were a little disappointed that you didn’t sign up as part of the entertainment tonight,” one of the others said. “We were looking forward to the show.” (…)

The striker grinned at Matt over [Dan’s] shoulder, then tilted forward and sucked a deep breath against her neck.

Dan brought her stilettos between his legs inn a vicious punch.

I repeat myself: FUCK. YEAH.

Also, that’s what a Hennessey is. Noted.

Fun backstory done – That Fucker, Senior™ has arrived. Tetsuji Moriyama is about everything I don’t want near my Foxes, combined into one slimy sack of asshole. The whole “master” thing still both scares and infuriates me.

However, we don’t have to spend long enjoying his absolutely unenjoyable company as Neil is called off to have a little tête-à-tête with That Fucker, Junior™.

“Nathaniel, it has been so long.”

NATHANIEL???????

Did we just discover Neil’s true name, holy shit?????

Nathaniel is a beautiful name, though. I’ve always liked it. Shame.

Apparently, the way That Fucker™ could find Neil so quickly was by getting a glass with Neil’s fingerprints on it from Kathy Ferdinand. Well, fuck.

Riko started across the room on slow steps. “Jean says Kevin did not know who you are. After seeing Kevin’s reaction, I’m inclined to believe him. (…) But you must know who you are, so I am very, very curious to know what you think you are doing.”

Bitch, aren’t we all! Aren’t we fucking all!!

And now- we’ve reached the point where shit gets so, so painfully real.

Did I say earlier I stopped breathing when Neil was dragging Riko?

Fuck that. That was nothing compared to what followed next.

I was not remotely ready.

“You have already cost my family a sizeable fortune and eight years of trouble.”

“How?” Neil asked. “The money I took was my father’s.” (…)

“Nothing your father owned was his!” Riko snapped.

What.

Riko grabbed Neil by the shoulders and slammed him into the wall. Neil’s head hit hard enough to rattle teeth.

“I refuse to believe she never told you. All this time running and you never asked why?”

What.

“You were not running from your father, Nathaniel. You were running from his master.”

WHAT.

WHAT IN THE FUCKING WHAT????

What Riko was suggesting was impossible. The Butcher was one of the biggest names on the eastern seaboard. He made Baltimore his home, but his territory extended from D.C. to outer Newark. He had a fiercely loyal syndicate and a penchant for grotesque executions. (…)

If the Moriyamas really were powerful enough to keep a man like the butcher under lock and key Neil was so far in over his head he might as well be six feet under.

That is amazingly worded, well done. Also, I’m kinda peeing my pants here.

If I’ve looked this up correctly, that’s a territory about twice the size of New York City.

Like. Imagine controlling New York City. And then that – TWICE.

And THEN imagine controlling the guy who controls all of that, and then some more.

Yeah. You dead, bro.

“Learn your place. I will never tolerate this level of disrespect from you again. Do you understand?”

Neil was already in his coffin. He might as well nail it shut. “Yeah, I understand you’re a complete asshole.”

Riko: Neil, no.

The Foxes: Neil, no.

Common sense: Neil, no.

Me: NEIL, FUCK NO.

Neil: Neil, yes.

Thankfully, Matt arrives in order to save Neil from digging his sass-induced grave even deeper, and after some nice threats about ratting his shitty ass behaviour out to the ERC, Riko finally fucks off.

“I don’t think Riko likes me very much. Should I be disappointed?”

Are you fucking serious bruh. Are you serious.

Matt looked skyward as if searching for patience.

Which is, incidentally, the No 1 reaction people have to Neil speaking more than a few polite sentences at a time.

Never talk to me or my short-tempered sassmaster idiot son ever again.

And with that trainwreck of an encounter, the Foxes take their curt leave from the banquet. Some more comments are made – Neil and Kevin will have A Talk™ tomorrow, Andrew got called Doe earlier by Jean Valjean because that was his preliminary surname when he entered the foster system (which probably means the Ravens also know more about Andrew than we should be comfortable with) – but all of that pales in comparison to the absolute FUCKERY we just witnessed.

Holy shit.

I have to go, like, breathe into a bag for five hours.

See you Wednesday.

If you like what I do here and you want to help me continue writing, please consider buying me a coffee! Thank you so much <3

#nicki reads tfc #tfc #trk #aftg #nora sakavic #the foxhole court #the raven king #all for the game #I know this is late but this was also a 3.5k monster so I'm really not sorry at all #enjoy my suffering #I'm still not okay

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c-valentino · 7 years

Text

Lighter Next To Your Coffee Mug V

Chapter 5

People usually saw what they wanted to see. Problem was, Neil couldn’t figure out what Andrew wanted to see in him. He couldn’t read the man like his usual clients. It was problematic, to say the least. It caused him to switch between his made up personalities, always unsure, always guessing and that was dangerous. Chris, Nathaniel, Alex… It was hard to keep track of himself sometimes.

Neil on the other hand, saw too much in Andrew. Most of it was his own wishful thinking, the result of idealizing the Exy player for years. He had never seen a goalkeeper like him. He had to get a grip on himself. This wouldn’t work if he couldn’t leave his own expectations outside of that apartment. This was business.

Who was Andrew Minyard? Neil leaned with his bowl of breakfast oatmeal next to his kitchen window and looked down at the street below. He scratched his ankle below the baggy sweat pants with his bare foot.

He didn't even know what bothered him so about the whole situation with Andrew. The man was a dream of a customer; no special requests, paid more than he had to, was a total turn on up to the point where Neil had to ask himself why Andrew had asked him in the first place… He should just keep his mouth shut and do what Andrew wanted. Right now, he had a text waiting for him to answer.

‘are you really obsessed with exy?’ He looked down at the message and added a mental or just me to it. Both? Definitely both.

‘yes’

That turn had been no better than his own ice cream question, he thought. Still, Andrew texting him meant the man was not too upset about their last meeting. Good.

He had just come home from a run. Exercise helped him to keep his head clear. It also kept him busy and made it easier to ignore the void other people filled with friends. When was the last time he had just gone out to hang out with someone? He couldn't remember. Did those Exy games count? Probably not, he just went there to play, not to enjoy the company of others. Maybe Roland was the closest thing to a friend he had in this city and the man didn't even know his last name. Neither did he, Neil reminded himself. It didn't matter. He wouldn’t stay here. Sooner or later, he would move on.

His childhood memories tried to creep up on him again. They lingered in the back of his mind, scratching at the walls, trying to claw their way through. He swallowed his last mouthful of oatmeal and set the bowl down. His fingers itched for his racquet. Some Exy drills usually helped to keep his demons at bay. Maybe he would go out and get some practice in before tonight. Yeah… maybe he would.

The reporters were already waiting for them, when Andrew and Kevin left the hospital. Both of them were bombarded with questions, both of them kept their mouths shut. Andrew stepped in front of Kevin and used his infamous reputation and most intimidating look on his face to get them away from the cameras and microphones and into the parking lot.

Kevin hissed a little as he managed to get into the Maserati and closed the door. The sudden lack of noise was a relief.

“Is this going to be a problem,” he asked Andrew. The shorter man leaned back and started the car.

“I don’t know, Kevin. Is a busted shoulder and one of your goalkeepers missing going to be the end of your Exy dreams?” He drove them to the stadium.

“That’s not what I meant,” Kevin snarled. His shoulder hurt and he was not in the mood for Andrew’s taunts right now.

“No? What then? Is the guy who’s supposed to watch your back going to jail gonna be a problem? I don’t know, Kevin. You tell me.”

“Andrew,” Kevin gritted out. Andrew said nothing. “Andrew, for god’s sake!” He rubbed his eyes, tired of all the arguments, of all the stuff that was going on right now. “Why did you do it?”

“You know why.” Andrew kept his eyes on the road.

“This isn’t the same,” Kevin said, maybe for the fifth time.

“Yeah, it is.”

“How? It was an accident, Andrew. The guy took me down, okay but that’s the game. I could have dodged him. You know I could have. But I didn’t. I went for the shot.” He got no reaction. “Andrew, talk to me.”

“What’s there to talk about?”

“You shattered that guy’s kneecap,” Kevin managed to grit out, nauseated by the thought.

“And he isn't going to play again.”

“We don’t know that yet. There has been no announcement so far.” There hadn’t. He had checked. There was surprisingly little about the whole thing and Andrew wouldn’t talk about it.

“‘course not. Why crush wonder boy's dreams of ever being able to run again?” Andrew smirked. “You are lucky to have someone like me telling you that your career is over. Spares you the denial.”

“Is this a joke to you?” Kevin could barely keep his anger in check. “Andrew–“

“Just because Riko is gone, doesn't mean I will break our promise,” Andrew interrupted him in a monotone voice.

“Fuck, stop the car!” Kevin ordered. He waited until Andrew had taken them off the road and then turned sideways in his seat, facing the blonde man. “Listen to me, Andrew, for once in your life, listen! This has to stop! I get it, okay? But it’s enough. You’ve done enough. Wasn't the whole point of this for you to find something worth living in return? Wasn't me showing that to you also part of that promise? How is that gonna work out with you in prison? Huh? You think I want that?”

“I think you got better things to worry about now, Kevin. What are you gonna show me if you can’t play anymore? It’s over.” That guy had taken Andrew’s chance away. With his career at an early end, Andrew would quit too, Kevin realized. This wasn't just about him. This was Andrew lashing out because he had lost something.

“And that makes it okay for you to throw your life away? Are you serious?” This was insane.

“Do you see me laughing?” No, I see you screaming ‘I don’t care’ from the top of your lungs since the day I met you.

“I’m not done. You hear me? I’m not going to quit. There is still a chance–“

“Thirty five percent.” Andrew muttered.

“What?”

“That’s the chance of your full recovery. Thirty five percent.” Better than nothing, he told himself. Yet Kevin felt dead inside.

“I will play again,” he gritted out. It was the only option.

He had managed to escape Edgar Allen, Riko was overseas to lead the new national team of Japan. The self-proclaimed number one and prodigy of Exy still lingered in his thoughts almost every day, and his provocations at every press conference, telling the whole world that he was coming for Kevin, that he would get him, didn't help. Still, Andrew had kept his word to protect him from Riko and in return, Kevin had dragged him along every single step of the way until they had joined the US national team.

“Then I won’t go to prison.” The Maserati roared back to life. It was a statement, as if willing it would make it happen. Simple as that. Thirty five percent, Kevin thought again. It didn't matter, he decided. He had switched his dominant hand before, he could do it again. Even if he wouldn't make a full recovery, he would make it work. What else was there after all? His phone rang and he picked up on the second ring.

“Yes coach, we are on our way. –Ten minutes.” He glanced sideways at Andrew. “Okay. Will do.” He hung up. “Coach says you are gonna play today.”

“Will I?”

“Andrew,” Kevin sighed. They would have to go through this again, wouldn't they? Andrew, refusing to play without Kevin on the court. Coach wouldn't have it. Kevin thought Andrew was blaming the team for what had happened as much as himself. If they had done their job, Kevin would have had a clear shot. If they had done their job, the team wouldn't always fall behind when one of them got subbed out. Andrew, Kevin knew, had standards as high as his own –he just didn’t tell people about them like Kevin did. He just acted like their teammates were not there, like he couldn't count on them, like they were useless. As the team’s captain, Kevin couldn't afford that. He still told his players that they were trash if they didn't give it their everything on the court. He never held back criticism. It pissed them off but they listened, because he was still better than them and he didn't mind reminding them. It didn't work with Andrew though. It never had. With Andrew, it was always bargaining, bribing… He was running out of bargaining chips fast, he knew. He also knew things would escalate from there.

It took Andrew two weeks to contact Neil again. ‘can you make it tonight?’ Well, shit, no, he couldn’t. He already had a client tonight.

‘No, sorry. Any other time though.’ There was nothing for a few minutes. Neil noticed how he hadn't let go of his phone, even though he was about to make himself something to eat. He rolled his eyes and put the stupid thing aside. He had just gotten all of the needed ingredients out of the fridge, when it vibrated again. He reached for it immediately.

‘what about right now? can I pick you up?’ Huh? It was only noon, he had enough time until… –what the hell was he thinking? Bending his own rules for this man already? Great. Still… Andrew had never asked him to do something he had to think twice about during their meetings. In fact, with Andrew, it didn't even feel like he was working. Neil hesitated. He wanted to say yes, he realized.

“What the hell, Josten,” he muttered. His thumb hovered over the keypad. Careful now, he told himself. He began to type a response, erased it, typed again.

‘Okay’ And while he was still thinking about a place to meet, Andrew surprised him again.

‘come down when you are ready’

Neil stared at his phone. He went over to the kitchen window and looked down. Sure enough, there was Andrew’s black Maserati waiting. “You gotta be kidding.” He didn't know if he should be pissed off or creeped out. He already knew that Andrew had figured out where he lived. He also realized that Andrew must have thought about him. He couldn't imagine the man driving somewhere, minding his own business, until he suddenly realized that he was coincidentally in this godforsaken neighborhood Neil lived in. Neil didn't know what to make of this.

It had to wait, he decided. He would have to figure it out later. He had already agreed to meeting Andrew now, so what was the point? Absentmindedly, he put his lunch back into the fridge, spared a moment to wash his hands, then changed his shirt, grabbed his jacket and keys and was out the door. Hands in his pockets and with a guarded expression in place, he approached the black car. He opened the passenger door and bent down to look at Andrew. The goalkeeper didn't smile, barely even looked at him. Not sure about the whole situation either, Neil thought. Fair enough. He got into the car and closed the door. Without a word, Andrew shifted the Maserati into gear and drove them down the empty road.

Andrew looked tired, Neil thought, on edge. Bad day, maybe. He remembered the incident after the last game. There had been no news about what had come of the whole thing. Neil thought about asking but something told him, Andrew wouldn't appreciate that. He settled on something innocuous.

“You alright?” Andrew gripped the steering wheel a little harder for a second.

“Sure.” He made an illegal u-turn to get them back in the right direction of Andrew’s apartment. Neil watched an angry driver behind them giving Andrew the finger. The Exy player didn't seem to care.

Music filled the silence that had settled heavily between them and Neil thought about telling Andrew, that he didn't like clients waiting for him in front of his home. He hated the idea, but he couldn't bring himself to tell the man. What the hell, he thought, annoyed with himself. What was wrong with him?

Can you please

Sit the fuck down

Protesting in your

Paper crown

You love to feel offended

Fighting from computer trenches

You got a semi-automatic mouth

Go easy now

And you're so loud

He leaned back and looked out the window. Being angry with oneself accomplished nothing, if you didn't take it as an impulse to change something. He knew it. He’d have to talk with Andrew about this.

Screaming monks

Ears are numb

God can't whisper

When the bass is up

“How much time you got,” Andrew wanted to know.

“I have to be back at six. Are we going to your place?” No reason to assume otherwise. It was the right direction and they had never gone anywhere else but he had to make sure.

“Yeah.”

You got a semi-automatic mouth

Go easy now

And you're so loud

Can you please

Turn yourself down

Ritalin kids

Doing cocaine wipe outs

No need to feel offended

Neil nodded. He leaned his elbow against the door and listened to Andrew’s choice of music. Nothing he would have picked but not bad. The stereo told him, that Andrew preferred his own collection of mp3s over any radio station. Neil thought he would like to go through that list and pick Andrew’s brain apart. Your music collection wasn't as good as your google search history –that one told everything about a person –but it would tell him enough.

Sharing secrets with another world

Rubbing shoulders with some unknown lovers

Making waves through the universe

Starting wars with anonymous brothers

Trip switch trip switch

“I’ll take you back when we are done,” Andrew said suddenly.

“You don't have to. I’ll be fine.” Better to make sure this wouldn't happen again. “I don’t meet clients back there.” The goalkeeper nodded. Seemed like Andrew accepted it without an argument.

Make a wish and I'll count to three

Press the button and we'll both be happy

Sending signals is a dirty trick

I get my love in a digital packet

Trip switch trip switch

What we do when the power's out

Down, down, down, down, down

The car turned smoothly down into the underground parking lot and they got out. Two doors lead into the lobby and to the elevator. Andrew used his fingerprint to open it. Once they were in Andrew’s apartment, the goalkeeper blocked Neil’s way with one hand pressed against the wall, arm outstretched. He looked stiff, agitated, even though his face was as blank as usual. Neil stood next to him and waited.

“Go on,” he told the shorter man. Andrew frowned.

“You don't even know what I want,” he said and Neil could see how much that annoyed him. He could tell Andrew that he didn't care, that he could take it, no matter what he had in mind, that he had worse things done to him, even before he had picked up this line of work. But that wasn't what Andrew needed to hear. In fact, Neil was sure Andrew would throw him out that door right there without another word, if he said something down that line right now.

“Go on, tell me then,” he said instead. There was still anger in those hazel eyes. Bad day indeed. “Or just kiss me.” The other arm trapped Neil with his back against the wall and the goalkeeper’s solid body right in front of him. The moment their lips met, Andrew took both of Neil’s wrists and pushed them up against the wall on either side of Neil’s head. The taller man had no doubt that he wouldn't be able to break that grip, even if he wanted to. He could free himself, of course, but Andrew’s grip was like a vice. He didn't resist. All he did was kiss back and close his eyes. After that, it took only a few moments until the tension left the man in front of him. Andrew’s grip loosened and his hands slid down Neil’s forearms, until he was sure that those hands would stay where they were.

Neil moved them behind his own head, out of the way. Some people liked foreplay, some people needed some aftercare, Andrew needed reassurance.

“Hmm,” Neil purred, as Andrews hands found his nipples through the fabric of his shirt. The kiss deepened and Neil once again thought how much he liked kissing Andrew, when suddenly his stomach growled loudly, remembering him of his missed lunch. Neil didn't get embarrassed easily anymore but when their lips parted and Andrew raised an eyebrow at him, he felt his cheeks burning. He laughed a little and rolled his eyes towards the ceiling.

“Sorry. Ignore that.”

“Don’t I pay you enough?” Andrew’s humor was lost in his flat tone.

“Huh? –Oh, no, I just had no time to eat yet.”

“I told you to come down when you are ready,” Andrew replied. Neil shrugged.

“It’s fine.” He seriously didn't care. He wasn't even that hungry. It could wait. Andrew looked unimpressed and let go of him. “Andrew?” The Exy player ignored him and went into the kitchen. Neil sighed and followed him. “You don't have to. I usually don’t eat with clients.”

“Another rule?” Andrew was facing his fridge and didn't turn around.

“Well, kinda, yeah.” He just didn’t like it. He leaned against the bar between kitchen and living room.

“What if I want to?” Neil frowned at that. He took his jacket off and left it on one of the barstools.

“Hm?” What kind of question was that? What if he wanted to… If he wanted to eat? If he wanted them to eat together? Andrew sighed and turned around halfway.

“Would you eat with me, if I told you to do it?” Neil scratched his head.

“It’s your money, I guess. Depends on the food, though. I won’t eat anything strange, for future reference.” Andrew shook his head, holding a plastic tray of sushi in one hand.

“Just how many kinks do you think I have? –Yeah, no need to answer that. Do you eat fish?” Neil nodded. “Sit down.” Andrew decided against plates, deemed it too much effort, and only grabbed chopsticks for the two of them, before he put the sushi he had gotten this morning, still in it’s container, between them onto the bar.

“My turn,” he asked, when they both had settled down and took a bite. Neil needed a moment, before he realized Andrew was talking about their little game.

“No but go ahead.”

“How many rules did you break for me so far?” Neil sighed. He picked up a piece of sushi and ate it, before he thought about an answer.

“Four.” Andrew nodded. Four, what the hell was he thinking? This was crazy. He had to get a grip, now.

“Why the bad mood today?” He asked it casually but he felt a little bolt for asking. Andrew thought about it. The silence stretched on for a little while.

“I did something I told myself not to,” he answered vaguely.

“Texting me today?” Neil guessed.

“Not your turn,” Andrew shot him down.

“You skipped a round, it’s still my turn.” This was juvenile but maybe he had to take this game a little more seriously, if he wanted to get to know Andrew Minyard.

“Yes,” Andrew admitted, offering the bare minimum of information. Neil put his chin in one hand and studied the man. The goalkeeper opened his mouth to say something, still facing his sushi, when Neil cut him short. “‘Don’t stare at me,’” he guessed. Andrew clucked his tongue in annoyance.

“Shut up,” he said instead and Neil grinned. “Eat.”

In a casual tone Neil replied, “I’d rather eat you.” ‘…out’, he didn't say, suck you off, was another thing he didn't say but Andrew’s eyes widened a little. Was this Alex again, Neil wondered or did he really mean that? Dirty talk didn’t come naturally to him. He had learned it as part of his job.

“Eat,” Andrew repeated but Neil could tell he had gotten to him. Doing as he had been told, Neil ate his remaining sushi.

“If you could have a super power, what would you choose?” He changed the subject. The lingering tension was nice but it was better not to push it.

“That’s a nice way to waste a turn,” Andrew mocked.

“Huh? No, I don't mean it like that. You don't have to tell me.” He didn't want to play this game too often. He’d get too close to this man.

“Then why ask me? If you are not interested in the answer?”

“I am interested.” Neil shrugged. “Being invisible would be nice, don't you think?”

“That’s easy enough. Just be boring and ordinary and people will stop looking at you.” Andrew put his chopsticks aside.

“That’s not the same.” Neil shook his head. They didn't speak for a while and Neil had already moved on, when Andrew came up with his answer.

“Being able to stop thinking.”

“Is that a super power?”

“Can you do it?” Andrew challenged.

“Still, no superpower,” Neil insisted and Andrew didn't feel like replying. “Besides… I could make you,” Neil said then. “stop thinking.” He grinned at Andrew.

“I hate you.” Wow, where had that come from? Neil blinked, the grin slipping from his lips. Had he read the wrong signals into this?

“Sorry to hear that,” he replied, a little shaken by that sudden statement. “I kinda like you.” When Andrew looked at him so furiously at that moment, Neil thought he had messed up for sure. He just sat there for a moment, unsure what to say or do.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang and Neil turned around. Andrew stood up and Neil was about to, when the goalkeeper shook his head, telling him with a hand gesture to stay seated. Neil wasn’t so sure that this was such a great idea. If someone saw him here, it might raise questions.

Andrew opened the door and didn’t say anything to invite the person standing there inside. He didn't need to. Allison Reynolds marched in uninvited. She, like Kevin, had been part of the team Andrew had played for before. An illness had cut her Exy career with the Foxes short and now she had stepped off the court and behind the scenes.

“Hello, Andrew. I’m guessing you have no idea what time it is, otherwise I would have to be offended that you skipped our appointment.” Her heels echoed inside the apartment. If Andrew did respond, he did it nonverbally and Allison didn’t seem to care, since she was still talking when she entered the living room. Neil recognized her immediately, of course. Allison was even more strikingly beautiful in person. Neil bet she knew it too.

Right now she was looking at him, as if she couldn't believe what she saw. “Minyard, who is that?” She tilted her head in Andrew’s direction but didn't take her eyes off Neil.

“That’s Neil.” She raised an eyebrow.

“And who is Neil?” Don’t say anything, Neil wanted to tell Andrew but he kept his mouth shut. There was nothing wrong with him being here in the first place. He could be anyone. –Except that by the way Allison was reacting, Andrew didn't have many visitors, which made him interesting.

“My social media manager,” Andrew lied without missing a beat.

“You don’t have social media accounts,” Allison said, unimpressed.

“Exactly,” Andrew replied, as if she had just answered her own question. She rolled her eyes, swallowed the lie and moved on. She had long before given up on trying to get any information out of Andrew Minyard if he refused to share. Almost everyone had.

“Anyway, you owe me a shooting, Minyard. I can’t believe you just left me hanging after knocking me down to just two pictures! –Here!” She pulled a DSLR camera out of its bag and put both on the table. “Yours and Kevin’s are the only ones missing, have a look. I want this done, Andrew. We had a deal.” She pointed a painted nail at him. Neil had to say, he was impressed by how unfazed she was by the man who was Andrew Minyard.

She turned back to Neil. “Alright, Neil, or whatever your name really is, have fun with the little monster’s social media. You might need that.” She pointed at the camera. “And don't get eaten.” He blinked at her and Andrew shot her a look, muttering something Neil didn't quite catch but he understood that Andrew was mostly offended by her calling him little. “Oh, please,” she huffed. “See you tomorrow.” And then she left.

Neil blinked a few times as the door closed behind her, leaving him alone with Andrew.

“Social media manager,” he asked disbelievingly. Andrew just looked at him. “Just so you know, I’m the last person on earth you should ask anything about that,” Neil told him. One look at Andrew though told him, that the goalkeeper’s mind was already on other things. Neil got up and stepped closer, leaving one arm’s length between them. Andrew had crossed his arms in front of his chest and kept looking at him.

“What do you want to do?” The humor was gone from his voice. Neil tilted his head but didn't move closer. Andrew seemed so tense tonight; it made things harder. And Neil hadn’t forgotten that statement earlier. Andrew blinked once, looking Neil up and down. “Andrew?” The goalkeeper frowned, didn't say anything. Neil put his hands in his pockets. “Want me to leave?” He didn't know what to expect right now.

I hate this guy so much, Andrew thought. He had actually said it and the idiot had taken it the wrong way. He hated him for saying all those things Andrew liked to hear, for doing everything right. Of course, Neil also didn't get him.

He reached out and the man in front of him didn't move back, just waited. He looked surprised when Andrew took his wrist and pulled his hand out of his pocket. The goalkeeper held his other hand out and Neil obediently offered his right wrist too.

“Want to tie me up?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” He would have asked, if he had wanted to do that. He pulled a little and Neil came one step closer. “Leave them there,” he told Neil and closed the gap between them, with Neil’s arms around him and his hands touching his hair. He could feel those fingers running through it, almost shyly.

“That okay,” Neil asked quietly.

“Yeah.” Andrew leaned in and kissed him, letting go of Neil’s wrists. The man’s lips were as shy as his hands and Andrew needed to remind him who was kissing him, biting down on his lower lip, not having any of that restraint, when it came to the only part he had not to think about. Neil got it then, pulled him closer and kissed back. This felt right, them kissing with another man’s hands touching him. This was what he wanted and Andrew felt relief wash over him. He almost had to laugh a little, couldn't quite get rid of the grin that kept tugging at his lips. He put his arms around Neil and pushed him backwards until they hit the wall, hard, while keeping one hand in Neil’s hair, so he wouldn't hit his head. The young man didn't protest, only pulled at his blonde stands a little tighter and kept kissing him.

Hate you, hate you… Andrew kept repeating, already knowing it was only half true and ground his hips against Neil’s.

<<Chapter 4 Chapter 6>>

#fanfiction #fanfic #andreil #andrew minyard #neil josten #lntycm #cval madness

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berrysbestbloggityblog · 7 years

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13th February 2017- All for the Game series

Author: Nora Sakavic Genre: Thriller, sports, relationship Rating: This is the only series ever to challenge Harry Potter as my favourite. It is incredible Favourite Quote(s): (You should be lucky I narrowed it down to five) ‘Fight because you don’t know how to die quietly. Win because you don’t know how to lose.’ David Wymack, The King’s Men ‘Is your learning curve a horizontal line?’- Andrew Minyard, The King’s Men ‘I’ve been a problem for nineteen years. I’m too tired to be one tonight.’- Neil Josten, The King’s Men ‘Don’t look at me like that. I am not your answer, and you sure as fuck aren’t mine.’- Andrew Minyard, The King’s Men ‘I won’t be like them. I won’t let you let me be.’- Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, The King’s Men

I’m going to warn you now, this is going to be long, and spoiler-y, and probably make little structural sense.

So I hate sports. Any kind of sport. I just about tolerate swimming, and never just doing lanes.

I would also probably sell a kidney to be able to play Exy.

This series, quite honestly, has changed my life (and not just about sport). It features; diversity, therapy, alcohol, abuse survivors of all kinds, not enough playing the actual sport, torture, the MobTM, extreme character development, my OTP and too many chess references.

I will start, quite appropriately, with Neil Abram Josten, the many named man. I will not lie and pretend that one of the main reasons I love this series is not because Neil is the first canon demisexual character I have ever read. As a demisexual, this representation was something I didn’t even know I had been craving until I got it. His character made me more secure in my identity; he meant that I wasn’t making it up, that I was real and valid and there wasn’t anything wrong with me. I wasn’t picky or just ‘hadn’t had enough alcohol yet’ (thanks mum); what I felt was different but it wasn’t bad. For all the demisexuals out there, Neil was a godsend.

(For clarification on Neil’s sexuality I recommend reading SpangleBangle’s one-shot ‘Swinging Along the Z Axis’ on Ao3.)

More than that, Neil’s character just broke my heart. He’s haunted and hunted and desperate not to let anyone else get caught in the crosshairs. He doesn’t always do the smart thing, but he does generally do the right thing, and never takes the easy way out. He’s scarred and easily triggered and in some ways damaged, at least when he first arrives at Palmetto, but never, ever broken. Not even Baltimore or Evermore could break Neil Josten and while he’s sometimes regarded in the fandom as the soft to Andrew’s sharp, you’ll never find the Foxes thinking that because Neil is sly and underhand and play’s dirty when someone he cares about is on the line. If Andrew had to be the one to cut the deal with Ichirou, he would never have gotten out of that car alive.

He asked Andrew TO HIS FACE why his ex thought Andrew was tying him up, and didn’t clock for a single second until Andrew literally told him he’d blow him. He asked Nicky if they were friends because he’d never had any before. He is about as quick to get a social cue as I am running. He is so respectful of Andrew’s boundaries even before he found out why, even before their deal. He left Andrew, a person whom nobody had ever admired, whom no-one had ever been grateful for despite Andrew giving up EVERYTHING for them, with “thank you, you were amazing” and figured that would be enough to cover the destruction his death would bring. He chose being tortured by Riko on the off-chance it might spare Andrew some pain, and he chose to be taken to quite literally his worst nightmare, giving up his life and his freedom and everything he’d managed to accomplish that year to keep his Foxes safe.

For the first canon demisexual, he’s certainly setting the bar high.

I’ll save Andrew for last, so let’s get on to the rest of the Foxes.

I’m quite sure I could write an essay on each of them (except maybe Seth. Sorry. I just. Hated that guy). For your sake I’m going to keep it short, but feel free to ask me for a full character eval I’ll be happy to do it.

Matt Boyd- Literal sunshine, saw actual homeless child Neil Josten and decided immediately he would die for him, half of the brOTP of the century, you just KNOW he’s so sweet and attentive and respectful of Dan because she’d never go out with him otherwise. He canonically has a white and orange themed wedding… I actually can’t. He didn’t blame the Monsters for forcing him to go full cold turkey even though he knew Andrew didn’t do it for him and he was ready to fight to keep Neil after Baltimore.

Dan Wilds- Absolute BAMF, can and will kick your ass, the only female captain in Class I Exy and she’s had an uphill battle on her shoulders for years before Neil or even Matt arrives at Palmetto. She has short hair and probably wear gym shorts 90% of the time but she’s still allowed to dress up without everyone being like ‘omg wow dan in a dress’ like it would be in any other book. She was a stripper and she owns it because it’s what she did to survive and it was selflessness not ignorance or anything else that’s stereotypically attributed to strippers, that drew her to it.

Renee Walker- Basically a flower, if it was a flower that could also slit you from neck to gut and plaster on a serene smile a second later, she’s an accepting Christian who isn’t gay herself (*cough* EXTREME RENISON SUBTEXT THO *cough*), she’s working her way through her trauma in a way that is healthy, she wants to put her past behind her but she’ll bring it out to protect/help her friends. She’s the only person that stays with Andrew without some kind of deal between them and she doesn’t do it out of pity.

Allison Reynolds- will slay anybody with her look, refuses to let her grief break her, came through being cut off by her family for not being picture perfect and an eating disorder with confidence and grace and sass. She’s brutally honest in a refreshing way and I think that post King’s Men, with all the secrets out of the way, her and Neil can become much closer.

Aaron Minyard- oh he’s an asshat but he still wheedles his way into your heart. He loves Katelyn more than he probably thought possible, and he’s so snarky I love it. He also killed Drake despite training to be a doctor which I think is something everyone always forgets. I think the thing that annoys me the most about him is not that he’s mean to everybody but that he doesn’t even try to understand Andrew; he just immediately blames him and hates him but not enough to let Andrew go.

Nicky Hemmick- ‘let’s get this straight: I’m not’, nobody really talks about how horrific his childhood being raised in such a homophobic household did to him. They sent him to CONVERSION CAMP and only falling in love with Erik managed to save him from that dark place. His parents refuse to love him on account of his sexuality and then they manipulate him in order to set up Andrew for rape. Obviously it’s Andrew who gets hurt the most here (well I mean Drake dies but like that’s a good thing) but Nicky, like Neil, has to live with that guilt for the rest of his life. He’s a constant ray of positivity despite everything, despite his cousins never thanking him for doing this long-distance mess from his home just to be there for them.

Kevin Day- oh Kevin, Kevin, Kevin. Kevin comes perhaps the farthest of all the foxes over the course of the series and it makes me feel so proud. I screamed in delight and had to put the book down to do a little victory dance when he got his Queen tattoo. I worry sincerely about his liver. He’s a sad little history nerd who has made Exy his LifeTM and an actual asshat on the court. Probably about as good as Neil at knowing how to make friends and he shows he cares through Exy references only but I still love my toll bean.

Ok. Deep breaths. We’re onto Andrew.

Sometimes I think about his character and it just makes me tear up slightly? He’s an apathetic shitty midget who hates Neil and sits on tall buildings because he’s scared of heights for the AestheticTM. Basically everyone on this Exy team is some shade of LGBT+ and yet there’s no similarities between how they express their sexualities. Andrew is gay and a sexual abuse survivor and a foster kid and ex-juvie, but he’s not stereotyped into any of the boxes any other series would put him in.

I know too many people who have been sexually abused. Any other time that I’ve read a book where someone was sexually abused it was either liberally ignored/easily overcome or the person was driven to committing suicide. Neither is particularly helpful to survivors in my opinion, not that I am any kind of expert, and therefore Andrew’s story blew my mind. Andrew is never going to ‘go back to normal’. He is always going to have boundaries and yes or nos and triggers. He is never going to smile often or take Neil off on romantic dates or care about more than his minimum. And that, that is ok. There is no checklist for trauma survivors that they have to work through to be counted as better. Even more brilliant than Nora allowing Andrew to be changed permanently by his trauma, is the way he has an active and encouraged approach to his own recovery. His relationship with Bee is something I truly treasure. I am lucky enough to have not ever gone through something similar to Andrew, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be extremely happy that other people have that representation. Recovery is a slow process, with setbacks and bad days, which is also shown in this series, but it’s possible.

I like that Andrew didn’t always somehow magically know to go and get therapy. He survived Drake through self-harm and while he doesn’t encourage it, which is good, he also doesn’t completely demonise it like some people do. I will be the last person to condone harming yourself, but wanting to be able to make choices in an otherwise choice-less situation is completely understandable.

Proust trying to ruin his scars makes me want to vomit.

He was put on meds after he attacked some men for attacking his cousin and everyone thinks he’s dangerous? And manic? And out of control? Neil is perhaps the first person Andrew lets in enough to understand that everything Andrew does has a reason, and while it’s not always a good one it is also never a selfish one. Their relationship was a trust-build for two and a half books and it makes it so much more powerful. By the time they progress to anything physical, they’re already tied by something unbreakable, not that Andrew’s likely to admit it any time soon.

This is already like five pages long oops so I’m going to round off now.

This series made me laugh, and cry, and I quite literally screamed into my pillow when Andrew finally kissed Neil but I think most importantly it opened my eyes to lots of previously not-thought-about topics and I’m a better person for having read it.

z��_�

#the foxhole court #all for the game #the raven king #the king's men #books #my review #nora sakavic

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londontheatre · 7 years

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William Grint as Tommy – Photo Credit Mike Kwasniak

It’s often good when an old classic musical comes on again, particularly if the original writer has been involved in the new production, even contributing a new song to the show. This is particularly true of production company Ramps on the Moon who are currently touring with The Who’s Tommy which I was lucky enough to catch at the Theatre Royal Stratford East this week.

World War II and two people fall in love. Captain Walker (Max Runham) and Nora (Donna Mullings, voiced by Shekinah McFarlane) meet and after a whirlwind romance they marry. As Captain Walker goes off back to war, he leaves his pregnant wife at home waiting for his return. Time passes, and Nora gives birth to a son who she names Tommy (William Grint, voiced by Julian Capolei and Matthew Jacobs-Morgan) who, like his mother is anticipating the day his father returns from the war. Unfortunately, they are both going to be disappointed as Captain Walker is reported to be missing, believed dead. Both mother and son are initially distraught but time is a great healer and eventually, Nora meets and falls in love with Frank (Alim Jones). Frank is a kind man who is willing and eager to take on both Nora and Tommy and everything seems to be heading for a happy ending with the family walking hand in hand towards a setting sun. Then something happens, something bad. So bad in fact that Tommy becomes traumatised to the point where he is unable to see, hear or speak. Can Tommy recover from this or will he be forever stuck in a world totally inside his own head?

Tommy is such a classic show. With Book, Music and Lyrics by pop royalty – Pete Townshend, Des McAnuff, John Entwistle and Keith Moon, the creative team have to be spot on when bringing a new production to the public. Fortunately, Director Kerry Michael and Dramaturg Paul Sirett managed to do everything right with this production. My companion of the night is a massive The Who fan and probably knows every word to Tommy. He is a hard man to please in the theatre but, like everyone else, he joined in the standing ovation, applauding loudly at the end. So, given that write up, where did this show go right?

Let’s start with casting, and more to the point, let’s start with the casting of Tommy himself. William Grint was a marvel to watch. Despite everything that happened to Tommy – and there were plenty of things – William was immune to it all. Never a flick of his eyes giving away the person beneath the character. You may have noticed above I said that the character of Tommy was voiced by Julian Capolei and Matthew Jacobs-Morgan. This is because William is deaf in real life so he signs the songs and the other two sing the lyrics. This makes for not only a heavenly spectacle for the audience to watch but also a lot of additional work for the three actors, ensuring the signing and singing are synced together. The same is true of Donna Mullings playing Nora. She and her ‘voice’ Shekinah McFarlane have to be in perfect harmony with their songs and those moments when Tommy and his mother sing together are just magical. I have to admit, I was very surprised that the Acid Queen was going to be played by a man but, I have to say Peter Straker was fantastic. What a voice and what a stage presence. Two songs and he/she virtually stole the show. Garry Robson and Lukus Alexander were both just creepy and nasty enough as Uncle Ernie and Cousin Kevin respectively and full praise goes out to Max Runham’s Captain Walker, particularly during ‘Pinball Wizard’. A final call out to Amelia Cavello, a blind performer, who really throws herself into the performance and dances with a confidence that was a delight to witness.

[See image gallery at http://ift.tt/1FpwFUw] As you may have guessed from reading above, Tommy is performed by a cast of 22 that includes deaf and disabled actors. The actors sing, dance, play instruments and really bring the show up to date. Although still set in the period 1941 to the mid-60s, the show feels fresh and very contemporary. Neil Irish has done a great job with the very industrial looking set and the costumes – I really loved the white jacket Tommy wore in the second act. This production is accessible theatre at its best with BSL interpreted songs and surtitles above the stage ensuring nobody misses anything. I have seen a couple of BSL interpreted performances before and have always marveled at the skill and emotion that comes out from the interpreter. Seeing the actual actors doing the signing just takes it to a whole new level.

Summing up then. My recommendation is that if you want to see the best version of The Who’s classic Rock Opera that you are ever likely to see, then you need to get to Stratford or catch it on the UK tour. Believe me, you won’t be disappointed.

Review by Terry Eastham

Music and Lyrics Pete Townshend Book Pete Townshend and Des McAnuff Additional Music and Lyrics John Entwistle and Keith Moon Director Kerry Michael Associate Director Nicola Miles-Wildin Dramaturg Paul Sirett Designer Neil Irish Musical Director Robert Hyman Assistant Musical Director Oliver Vibrans Choreographer Mark Smith Lighting and AV Designer Arnim Friess Sound Designer Andrew Johnson for Creative Technology Casting Director Polly Jerrold British Sign Language Creative Consultants Jeni Draper and Daryl Jackson

Cast: Adam Langstaff Alim Jayda as Lover Amelia Cavallo Amy Trigg as Sally Simpson Anthony Snowden Becky Barry Donna Mullings as Mrs Walker Garry Robson as Uncle Ernie Hearns Sebuado Julian Capolei Lukus Alexander as Cousin Kevin Matthew Jacobs-Morgan Max Runham as Captain Walker Natasha Julien Natasha Lewis Peter Straker as Acid Queen Shekinah Mcfarlane Stacey Ghent Steve Simmonds Tony Qunta William Grint as Tommy

Tommy Wed 7 Jun – Sat 17 Jun 2017 http://ift.tt/O5EoIK

http://ift.tt/2rqSxAP LondonTheatre1.com

#IFTTT #LondonTheatre1.com

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