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Andrew hated basically everyone on his team. There were very few he tolerated meaning he didn’t reach for his armbands when they approached. So, when Renee comes and sits next to him one day on the bleachers when the others are training (listening to Kevin yell at them) he doesn’t move much. For a moment she just sat there and Andrew waited for her to bring up whatever she was obviously going to.
“I heard this song” she says, almost wearily, as if not knowing if it’s going to offend Andrew.
Andrew doesn’t reply and instead waits for her to muster up the courage to get the point.
“I think you’ll like it. I think it will remind you of some people” she says once again, obviously attempting to see if she crossed a line.
Andrew gets bored of her repeatedly pausing after every sentence and hurries her along to the point. “Well. I need the name if I’m going to listen to it” he says dryly, not imagining he will ever listen to a song the Christian girl recommends.
Andrew can see her smile to herself while making sure she doesn’t look in Andrew’s direction, as if trying not to spook him away. He waits for a moment and decides to turn his head from the ceiling to the court which is full of that obnoxious orange colour he detests. His eyes automatically land on a certain number 10 running around the huge court that didn’t seem possible, especially to someone of his size. Yet Neil did it. He exceeds what should be humanly possible just to play that stupid stick ball he’s addicted to. Andrew only barely held in the urge to yell out to Neil that he was a junkie.
“I’ll send it to you later” Renee answered before getting back up and heading back out onto the court to play as goalkeeper before Wymack shortly yelled that he had to do something at these practices and swapped him for Renee, forcing him to play the game he didn’t care about again.
****
Renee had messaged him the name of the song later that evening when the monsters had sat down to watch a movie Nicky had picked (he’d blocked it out as soon as he heard Nicky was picking it). The phone in his pocket vibrated, so he pulled it out to see the words “We’ll Never Have Sex” displayed on his screen.
He was slightly impressed to see that it wasn’t some boring get better song to match all the self help books she reads. He quietly put the phone back down while making a note to listen to it at some point, and looked back up to see a certain junkie looking at him like he’s never seen anything as amazing before.
“Staring” was all Andrew said to make Neil aware that he wasn't subtle.
“I know” was all Neil replied with a slight smile on his face before turning back to the television to pretend to watch, even though Andrew knew Neil didn’t understand it.
Once it ended, everyone but Andrew and Neil decided they would go to bed, leaving the two of them alone together. Andrew considered going to the roof but he was met with a yawn from Neil so decided they would be following the others shortly.
Andrew asked Neil a quick “yes or no” and was met with a small “yes” before they began to kiss. They hadn’t been close to each other much all day, having classes, practice and then Kevin talking to Neil for hours about the upcoming game they had. It meant that they were both a bit desperate with their kisses but cut it short when Neil yawned again. They both finished shutting down the apartment before finally heading to bed, being met with 3 sleeping men.
****
The next day when the foxes decided to meet for lunch, Andrew was ready to ditch them for the roof but Neil said he wanted to talk to Matt about something, so ended in a loud cafeteria with people he didn’t want to talk to.
Instead of sitting through the torture, Andrew decided to put his headphones in and listen to some music. He was about to listen to his usual stuff when he remembered that new song Renee had recommended and decided to search it up. When he turned it on he was met with a soft tune rather than a loud one.
He listened to the entire song and didn’t hate it, so decided to play it again. This time he decided to actually listen to the lyrics instead of just using the noise to drown out the people around him. The gentle voice and guitar of the song filled him with a sense of calm. Each lyric reminded him more and more of the rabbit sitting beside him and whatever they had together.
He didn’t realise he had listened to it for that long until Neil tapped him on the shoulder and told him lunch had ended. He went through the rest of his classes and the whole of practice thinking about the song and the lyrics in them. Every line equated into what Neil was to Andrew and why he trusted Neil. About how much Neil respected Andrew boundaries and wishes, never pushing or asking for more.
Andrew told Renee at the end of practice that he had listened to the song she had suggested to him.
“Good. Did you enjoy it” she asked, seeming pleased Andrew had listened to the song.
“It was fine” was all Andrew replied, not willing to let on that he hadn’t been able to think of anything but the song the entire day.
“Hmm” was all she replied to him. “Did it end up reminding you of anyone” she asked, obviously trying to drop hints about it being about him and Neil.
Andrew decided he was done with the conversation then and walked off into the changing rooms. He showered and changed before any of the others were ready so went out to the GS to wait, putting his headphones in and listening to the song once again.
He drove home without a word, willing to let Nicky fill the silence of the car and start conversations with the others. Neil stayed silent too, casting looks at him, obviously curious about what Andrew was thinking about, but never pushing for the answer, making Andrew dive deeper into thought of the song.
It was late when they got home so they all made their own meals and went to separate corners of the apartment, too tired to socialise with one another any longer. Andrew sat in the kitchen, content with eating his pint of ice cream for dinner while listening to the song once again. He watched Neil while he listened, watched his back finish making a bowl of cereal. Andrew has listened to it about 4 times before Neil turned around and he could no longer resist the need to go up to Neil.
Andrew all but lept out of the stool and strides the few steps before he was just a few centimetres away from Neil. He said a quick “yes or no” and when met with a quick “yes” Andrew pulled Neil down for a deep kiss. Nothing about the kiss was leading into anything more, but it was desperate and full of passion, Andrew attempting to convey the thoughts he’d been having through the action. Neil reciprocated until Andrew pulled back and returned to his ice cream, leaving Neil intent and glowing from the action. They remained in a comfortable silence until they were both done eating and decided they were ready for bed.
However, before Neil could reach their bedroom Andrew grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back. Neil spun around and gave Andrew a confused look waiting for Andrew to give a reason for the sudden action.
“Sleep in my bunk tonight” was all Andrew answered before letting Neil go and heading to the bathroom.
The both used it one after the other and retreated to Andrew’s top bunk. The others were all asleep by the time they were settled so could speak a little more freely. Andrew was against the wall and Neil the frame, but they faced each other, close enough to smell the mint of the toothpaste they share. Andrew interlocked their hands before speaking.
“I heard a song today” was all he said, letting Neil wait for what Andrew was going to say next.
“It reminded me of us” he went on to say and saw the slight twitch of Neil’s lips. He got out his phone and headphones from under his pillow and plugged them in before handing one over to Neil. “Listen” was all he said before pressing play.
He let the song lull him to sleep, the last thing he saw before his eyes closed was Neil looking at him, smiling, with admiration in his eyes, while listening to the song that made Neil go from 113% to 150% without him knowing.