Chapter Text
The trio returned to practice and classes the following day, and for a while, everything was normal. Or as normal as things could be with the foxes. The twins fought every step of the way, making Neil and Nicky and Wymack’s lives living hells. The twins did their therapy with Bee, and some days were better than others. On the bad days, Neil didn’t ask them to participate because he didn’t want to see blood being spilled or kneecaps breaking on his court. If Kevin knew this, he would have been screaming at Neil and Wymack for allowing them some slack.
On those days when he would come home to pizza in the kitchen, Andrew chain smoking on the desk, and Aaron nowhere to be found until later when he would come home smelling faintly like Katelyn’s perfume and with lipstick stains on his neck.
And then there were days when they would return to court and jump right into practice. Andrew would shut down the goal with the promise of kisses and a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue on the roof afterwards. Neil was happy—something he hadn’t ever thought he would be.
" Achoo! " Neil sneezed, breaking the quiet of the library section he was currently occupying, reading up on mathematical science for his midterm in a couple of weeks. The twins were doing well in their therapy sessions, so he buried himself in mathematical equations. He also had to pick up his suit from the cleaners, or he wouldn't hear the end of it from Nicky, and he really wasn't in the mood for Nicky’s whining today. So, he packed up his books, coughed into his sleeve, and headed out. He only made it past the coffee shop near the library when he had to stop to sneeze four times in a row.
"Jesus," he groaned, then coughed. He didn't have to be sick now. Not with the banquet coming up tomorrow after classes.
He was crossing the parking lot when he noticed Andrew’s car parked at the far end of the lot. He jogged over, seeing Andrew leaning against the Maserati, playing snake on his phone while having a cigarette dangling from his lips.
"Hey," Neil said once he was close enough for his boyfriend to hear him. Andrew looked up, ended his game, and put his phone in his pocket.
"You're late," he said, and took a drag from his cigarette before handing it to Neil. Neil took it and took a quick drag of it, but it only ended with him almost coughing his lungs up in a desperate attempt to exhale the smoke. Andrew took the cigarette back, put it between his lips, and reached for Neil’s bag. Neil happily let Andrew take his bag while he tried to regain his breathing.
"I got your suit," he said, pointing around the butt of the cigarette.
"Thanks," Neil wheezed, but he finally got his breathing under control.
"You don’t sound too good," Andrew pointed out, and Neil wanted to punch him for stating the obvious. "Don’t say I’m fine , or I might return your suit and let you pick it up by yourself."
Neil rolled his eyes and sniffled. "I’m coming down with something. I’ll be fine. "
Andrew raised an eyebrow and shook his head. He took one last drag of the cigarette and then dropped it onto the ground before crushing it underneath his boot. Neil put his bag into the backseat and climbed into the passenger seat while Andrew sat in the driver's seat and took them to the court.
Practice was uneventful. Jack and Sheena were trying to get a reaction out of the new recruits. Andrew was showing Robin how to block shots from the stickers, and Neil was overseeing the drills the new recruits were trying to complete, but with Jack and Sheena interrupting, it was hard to hear. Neil felt worse than he felt earlier when he was in the library—his nose felt stuffy and his head felt heavy.
"Neil!" Wymack’s voice boomed through the court, effectively making Neil jump in surprise.
"Yes, Coach?"
"You look like you’re about to pass out," he said. Neil also felt like it. Wymack walked up to Neil, and Neil wasn’t sure if he was swaying on his feet or if Wymack had grown a couple of inches. "If you’re sick, get off my court."
"But--"
"No buts, Neil. I can’t have you sick on my court. Get in the shower and go home. "
Neil pouted, but he didn’t put up a fight. He went off the court and went to the locker room. He took a quick shower, and when he got out, Andrew was sitting on the bench.
"Drew," he said, followed by a sneeze.
"Get dressed. "We're going home," Andrew said, and gathered his own clothes from his locker and went to take a quick shower. Neil was dressed in his spare sweatpants, t-shirt, and hoodie. He dried his hair the best he could before Andrew got out, dressed in his clothes. They packed their bags and went out to the car. On their way home, Andrew stopped by the grocery store and bought some Tylenol, soup, bread, a pint of vanilla ice cream, and Coca-Cola.
"I don’t think I’m going to be okay to go to the banquet tomorrow," Neil mumbled.
"What makes you think that?" Andrew said once he was back in the driver's seat. Neil stared at him with a dead look in his eyes.
"Does it sound like I’m fit to scream at the Ravens?"
"Point taken," Andrew said, and he began the drive back to Fox Tower. Once they were in their dorm room, Neil climbed into bed and curled up under his blankets, not bothering to take his clothes off. Andrew handed him a glass of coke and two Tylenol before he went to warm some soup and bread for Neil. Andrew had set up Kevin’s old computer with an old exy game, but he didn’t know when he fell asleep. He only knew he had fallen asleep because it was dark when he woke up, his forehead was cold, and Andrew was lying next to him, playing snake on his phone.
"I fell asleep," he mumbled. Andrew hummed and put his phone down.
"You did. How are you feeling? "
"Like my body is full of brichs. "I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck," Neil managed to say in between coughs.
"A little dramatic, aren’t you?" Andrew asked and reached over to touch the washcloth on Neil’s forehead.
"Go back to sleep, Neil," he said, and put his hands over Neil’s eyes. It didn’t take long before Neil was back asleep.
When he woke up next, Andrew was sitting on the edge of the bed, putting a new wet washcloth on his forehead. He looked up at him and moved a little on the bed.
"I’m either having a really good dream, or my handsome boyfriend really is sitting on my deathbed," Neil said, attempting to joke, even when he sounded horrible.
"You’re not dying, stop being dramatic," Andrew said and reached up to caress Neil’s cheek. "You’re stupid, you know that?"
"I know," Neil said, and a single cough left him as he leaned against Andrew’s cold hand. They stayed like that for a while, Neil enjoying the gentle caress from Andrew’s thumb and the coolness of Andrew's washcloth and hand.
"Your fever went down," Andrew said.
"That's good," Neil said, and slowly sat up on the bed. Andrew caught the washcloth when it slid from Neil’s forehead. He put it on the nightstand and handed two Tylenol to Neil, watching as he popped them into his mouth and washed them down with a sip of tea Andrew had made.
"I texted Wymack. "Told him we weren't going to the banquet," he said. Neil felt a sense of pride swell in his chest, because he knew Andrew only contacted Wymack in rare emergencies. Andrew handed him a plate with a piece of buttered toast on it.
"Yeah? What did he say? " Neil asked, taking the plate from Andrew’s hands. He lifted the piece of toast to his lips and took a bite, even though he didn’t really feel hungry. He ate about half of the piece before he put it down on the plate.
"Getting healthy was a top priority so you could play next week. So we’re going to Columbia after you’ve showered. "
Neil hummed and handed the plate back to Andrew.
"Then I better get showered. My clothes are sticking to my body, "he sighed and carefully climbed out of bed. He grabbed his towel and went to the bathroom, peeling off his sweaty clothes. He took a lukewarm shower, washing all the sweat off his body, and he honestly felt better after washing up. Andrew had put out fresh clothes on the couch for him, and two packed bags were sitting next to the pile of clothes. He dressed and tossed his towel and clothes into the hamper in the bathroom. He sat on the couch when he was done and waited for Andrew to come out of the bedroom.
"Ready?" Andrew asked.
"Yeah," Neil said, and got up, supporting himself as a wave of dizziness washed over him. He rubbed his forehead and walked to the entryway to get his shoes on. He walked into the hallway, waiting for Andrew outside their dorm.
The drive to Columbia was uneventful. Neil fell asleep almost as soon as they hit the highway and only woke up when Andrew parked the car in the driveway. He looked around, looking mighty confused, because usually the drive felt much longer.
He got out of the car with Andrew’s help and walked inside. Neil took his shoes off and walked over to the couch, where he collapsed on top of it while Andrew got their bags from the car. Andrew put a bag of takeaway food on the coffee table and two cups of something.
"You stopped and bought food?" Neil asked, surprised that he didn't even wake up when they stopped.
"Yes," "Drink your tea," Andrew said before walking up the stairs to get some pillows and blankets.Neil sat up and grabbed the cup with tea written on it and took a sip, a sigh leaving him as the warmth spread through his body. Andrew wrapped a duvet around Neil’s shoulders when he returned to the living room. They sat up camp in the living room, neither of them bothering to move up stairs once they were on the couch.
Neil ate a bit more, but finished his tea while Andrew put their leftovers in the fridge and got comfortable laying down on the couch. Andrew turned on the TV and Xbox and sat by Neil’s head when he came back, and he carefully lifted Neil’s head until it was resting in his lap. Neil smiled a little at the affection Andrew was showing, because Andrew never showed any affection when they were around others. But it also made Neil feel safe.
"Just focus on getting better, Neil," Andrew muttered and grabbed the controller.
Neil smiled, got comfortable on Andrew’s lap, and fell asleep once more.
He felt much more like himself when Sunday rolled around. His fever broke Saturday night, and he ate a full breakfast and managed to take a shower without getting dizzy. He walked up to Andrew and sat next to him on the couch.
"Thanks for taking care of me."
"You did the same for me," Andrew said with a shrug.
"Being sick and having a nightmare are two very different things, Drew. You’ve helped me through countless nightmares. I’ve helped you through nightmares, but I didn’t think you’d help me through a cold. "
"If I hadn’t kept you away from the court, you would have shown up at the banquet and would have spent the night on the bus being sick," Andrew said and turned his head to look at Neil.
"I wouldn’t"
"You would, don’t lie."
"I wasn’t that sick."
"Neil," "You've slept the entire weekend," Andrew said. "You were sick."
"Fine. I was sick, "Neil said. Andrew rolled his eyes and turned his head back to the TV. Neil smiled and leaned back against the couch, feeling lucky to have a boyfriend who would care for him when he was sick.