Just got overwhelmed by the thought of Neil helping Aaron study for his MCAT because even though Neil takes shit care of himself he’s surprisingly well educated on the subjects.
It starts off with just them using flash cards and Neil quizzing Aaron at late hours until that somehow transitions into Neil coming up to Aaron at random times throughout the day to list imaginary symptoms and refusing to leave until Aaron gets the correct diagnoses and treatments.
It’s not long before the other Foxes catch on as well and soon enough they’re all screaming things like “Sore throat!” and “Heart palpitations!” in the middle of practices.
Aaron makes a show of rolling his eyes and being vocal about his annoyance but when exam time comes and he passes with flying colors the first thing he does after telling Katelyn is tell the team. They decide to make a night out of it and they’re loud and they’re obnoxious but with Katelyn by his side and his brother and team at the other Aaron finally feels like a part of the family they always say they are.
When he finally thinks about the airport, it’s dawn, and he has been driving around for twelve hours straight. He parks nearby, looks for a long, long time at the ‘departures’ timetable, and on a whim decides to check the observation deck.
And that’s where he finds Neil.
He is standing by the panoramic window, his hands in the pockets of his jacket, and he is staring at the sky, or maybe at the planes currently moving around the airport, preparing to take off. His bag is hanging on his shoulder, his posture absolutely terrible, and his hair hidden underneath a snapback. Still — Andrew has no trouble recognizing him.
you know what I think about a lot? Kevin being a total Big Brother towards Neil.
Kevin rustling Neil’s hair after he does something right
Kevin heartily smacking Neil’s back with a giant grin on his face after Neil shoots an awesome goal
Kevin and Neil shoving each other’s faces lightly on camera with happy smiles after winning yet another game
Kevin calling Neil a loser after Neil does something silly/stupid
Kevin standing in front of Neil with his arms crossed after some dick tries to get in Neil’s face
Kevin throwing the nearest object at Neil after Neil says something offensive to him but purposely missing because he doesn’t want to actually hit him
Kevin pulling Neil in for a giant bearhug after Neil has a breakdown (and Andrew isn’t around to comfort him)
Neil sending Kevin a stupid meme and Kevin replying with “why are you like this”
KEVIN CALLING NEIL “KID”
Kevin drunk-texting Neil saying “i kno i yell at u alot but i still lov u”
Neil texts back “I know, Kevin.”
Neil telling Kevin that he’s going to try something new and Kevin responds with “I know you can do it.”
Kevin calling Neil frequently and Neil jabbering about his adventures with Andrew and Kevin smiling while listening to how happy this boy and being so proud of all and how much he’s accomplished
I want to talk more about Aaron and Neil
developing an accidental friendship
Things are really rocky between them for the
first year. Aaron is still pissed that Neil tried to use Katelyn against him,
Neil just hates Aaron’s attitude.
But it’s the end of Neil’s sophomore year during
Spring Championships, and they’ve just beaten the Ravens again, knocking them
out of the Semi-Finals and keeping the Ravens from advancing to Championships
for the first time
And Andrew is still in the goal on the other
side of the court, too far away when a Raven Backliner swings his racquet at
Neil in anger
But it’s Aaron that charges forward, blocking
the blow with his own racquet before throwing a punch at the Backliner and it
becomes an all-out brawl
The Foxes make it out with minimal bruising and
Neil tries to thank Aaron later from saving him from a broken rib, but Aaron
just glares at him
Aaron and Neil antagonize each other but Aaron
protects Neil on the court because “Neil is too stupid to recognize that he’s
in danger”
What Aaron doesn’t say is he knows Andrew is
happy, Neil makes Andrew happy, and Aaron will do anything to protect that.
As the years progress and more Foxes get added
to the line, Aaron starts helping Abby more
Neil still ends up in the training room too
often and Aaron hates it
Neil is always somehow getting into fights or
accidents
Getting hit by a cyclist while running
Tripping over a crack in the concrete and
falling face first onto gravel
Picking a fight with a drunk at Eden’s and
getting a bottle smashed across his back
It pisses Aaron off
Neil seriously what the fuck how have you lived
this long?
How does Andrew ever leave you alone?
You need a leash
Anyway
Andrew hates running so Aaron starts going with
him in the mornings
And they always end their run at a café where
they get coffee and muffins and Neil brings back a muffin for Andrew
Aaron threatens to push Neil into traffic a lot
but when they’re running at 5am and a drunk driver runs up onto the sidewalk
Aaron jerks Neil out of the way
(Neil stop trying to die please we’re begging
you)
And eventually one of the Foxes mentions it
because “what the fuck since when are Aaron and Neil friends?”
And Aaron and Neil are like “???? We hate each
other.”
And the Foxes just give them a look because okay
boys you look out for each other on the court and you go running together in
the mornings and get coffee and muffins and they DANCED TOGETHER AT EDEN’S ONE
NIGHT
And it’s so weird but that’s just them
They’re constantly arguing and fighting but they
protect each other viciously and if it weren’t for Andrew’s arm bands they
literally wouldn’t be able to tell the twins apart around Neil
Andrew doesn’t mention it either but sometimes
Aaron and Neil will be playing video games in the living room and Andrew will sit
down on the bean bag chair with Neil
And it’s not weird. They don’t say anything to
each other and that’s almost a miracle. Aaron doesn’t glare at the way Neil
leans back into Andrew’s chest.
And Andrew feels comfortable enough that he
presses a kiss to the side of Neil’s head.
It’s all so soft and calm
Neil and Aaron’s friendship is so strong they
just protect each other and hang out and make fun of each other but they’re so
fiercely protective of each other it’s amazing
I have a head canon that after getting an iPhone X Neil only send messages through Animoji like….. telling Andrew to get milk at the store? Animoji. Telling Matt he’s gonna be in town for a few days? Animoji. And the very first time he uses it is in the foxes group chat and it’s just him staring at himself as a dog then very quietly whispering “what the fuck”
Shadow In The Light 