Chapter Text
Andrew had made the trip to Chicago with little difficulty. He still hated flying, but over time it had gotten better, and the promise of home was enough to make the trip worth it. This particular trip had a purpose aside from visiting Neil, instead he was here to cause a scandal which shouldn’t be that difficult considering that was basically Neil’s specialty and Andrew is never one to miss an opportunity to piss people off.
He’s been parked outside the Rebel’s court for almost fifteen minutes now and if Neil didn’t hurry up and come outside then he could kiss his scandal goodbye because he wasn’t opposed to leaving him to walk home. The press were being annoying anyways, cameras flashing constantly and giving him a headache. How many pictures could they possibly need of him standing against a car and smoking?
It takes five more minutes and Andrew getting halfway through his cigarette before Neil’s team makes an appearance. Thankfully Neil is in the front of the crowd, otherwise Andrew would no doubt have to deal with his annoying teammates pestering him.
Neil comes over to his side quickly and Andrew notes that the rest of the team hangs back, staring at them in poorly concealed shock.
“Fancy seeing you here.” Neil says, reaching up to snatch his cigarette out of his mouth and puts it to his own lips. It was as much of a public display as he was willing to give and one that he was all too used to coming from Neil.
Andrew doesn’t bother responding, glancing pointedly down at his mouth and raises a brow. Neil knows what he wants just as he always does and tips his head towards the car.
He slides into the driver's side and barely waits for Neil to climb in opposite him before peeling out of the parking lot.
The first house they pull up to is a nondescript gray monster at the end of a dead-end street. Already Andrew knows they won’t be buying it; Neil would hate living on a street with so few exits. On top of that is the fact that Andrew can already see nosy neighbors peering at them over the bushes which are much too close to the house they were here to look at.
The realtor stands by the front door, waving and annoyingly cheerful.
“Not this one.” Andrew says, without looking over.
He can still see Neil glance over out of the corner of his eye and if he isn’t mistaken he’s smiling.
“No?”
“No.” He says, leaning back in the driver’s seat.
Neil looks back at the house and nods.
“Okay.” He acquiesces, climbing out of the car and jogging up to the realtor.
Andrew watches him explain to the woman that they weren’t interested and how he seems to be pointing out the exact things that Andrew had noticed when they first pulled in.
The realtor first seems confused, but the longer Neil talks the more her eyes light up with understanding as she nods along and pulls a packet of papers out of her bag. She flips through the pages, pointing out certain things as Neil nods and then gestures back at the car where Andrew resides.
They make their way over to the car, the woman smiling and Neil with his usual deadpan look, although his eyes are alight with excitement as he looks over the pages she’s showing him.
Andrew opens the door when it’s clear that Neil is coming to his side though he stays in his seat.
“Hello,” The woman says. “I’m Ashlyn and I’ll be showing you the houses you were interested in.”
Neil and Andrew both ignore the woman’s introduction as Neil holds out the papers to Andrew.
“She says she thinks this one will be the best to go to next.” He says, pointing out a standard brick house with white shutters and a ridiculous picket fence. It was the house that Andrew had been the most interested in because he knows it’s exactly the kind of place that Neil would love living in. “It’s a quiet neighborhood even though it’s a little further from the city.”
Andrew nods, flicking a single finger at the passenger’s seat.
Neil’s answering smile is bright before he turns back to Ashlyn.
“He wants to go see it now.” He tells her.
She looks wholly confused on how Neil got that answer from Andrew’s wordless interaction, but dutifully hands over the paper with the house details and address to Neil before heading back to her own car.
Neil uses the ride over to flip through the details of the house which Andrew hadn’t bothered to show him before. He can see his excitement growing the more he looks and nearly rolls his eyes at how easy to please he is.
“Why do we need four bedrooms?” He asks finally.
Andrew drums his fingers on the steering wheel, debating on the answer to give him.
“One for us, a separate one for bad days, a guest bedroom, and a room for the cats.”
Neil nods along to his explanation, seeming happy that Andrew had even remembered to leave a room for guests.
“There’s two extra rooms,” Neil says wonderingly. “So, a library in one and a gym in the other?”
Andrew makes a small sound of agreement. “Whatever you want.”
“That’s what I want.” Neil states.
He’d come a long way from the person who didn’t have his own desires, likes or dislikes. Now he openly admits to disliking certain foods and wanting even the most useless things. It was progress, no matter how long it had taken to get to this point.
When they pull up to the house Andrew already knows this is where they’ll be living. The neighbors are far enough away that he has to squint to make out the color of their door and the street is just as quiet and secluded as Ashlyn had promised.
“I like it.” Neil says immediately.
Andrew does roll his eyes then, coming to a stop in the large driveway and climbing out.
Ashlyn seems relieved when she spots Andrew getting out and hurries up to the front door which is painted a deep orange that he already knows Neil loves.
“The house has a more open floor plan in the living room and kitchen, but the rest of the house has a cozier feeling with moderately sized rooms.” Ashlyn explains, pushing into the house.
Andrew and Neil take in the bare beige walls and the wood floors of the entryway and move straight into a kitchen-living area which is nicer than either of them has ever had in their lives. It’s the kind of kitchen that Andrew is almost afraid to let Neil into for fear of him destroying it.
“The appliances are brand new, and they even retiled the backsplash before listing it.” She drones on. Andrew had stopped listening to her the second she opened her mouth.
Andrew wanders through the house, mentally deciding on where to put furniture and which rooms would be which. The room that has been designated as the gym will need to be soundproofed before they move in, Andrew is not a fan of listening to Neil’s feet pounding on the treadmill at five in the morning.
The room for the cats will need to be renovated too, they’ll need shelves and pathways along the walls so they can get wherever they want and not bug Andrew with their incessant whining.
“Drew?” Neil’s voice is small and wondering as he comes up behind Andrew, a hand resting lightly on his shoulder. “What do you think?”
Andrew looks back at him, assessing what the nervous energy Neil is brimming with means.
“I don’t hate it.” He says shortly. “Do you like it?”
Neil seems relieved, relaxing the tension in his shoulders and nodding happily.
“I like it alot.”
“Then we’ll get it.”
He looks over at the doorway where Ashlyn stands with a soft smile on her face.
“Decided?” She asks hopefully.
Neil nods. “We’ll take it.”
She claps excitedly. “Wonderful! Did you want to offer the full amount?”
“We’ll pay in cash if we can move in the next two weeks.” Neil says.
Ashlyn seems surprised but makes a note in her papers.
“Perfect. Since that’s the case then I don’t see them refusing so I’ll get the process started as soon as we leave if you can just sign the representation agreement here.” She says hurriedly. “Are the two of you newlyweds?”
Neil raises a brow. “No, we’ve been together for a while.”
“Were you renting somewhere before this?”
“Two places.” Neil says as he signs and hands the papers over to Andrew to do the same. “Andrew lives in Atlanta and I live here in Chicago.”
“That’s quite a long distance relationship.” She says in shock.
Neil shrugs. “It was only for a year.”
“Well congratulations.” She says pleasantly. “I hope you enjoy your new home and the rest of your lives together.”
“Thank you?” The way Neil manages to make it sound like a question makes Andrew huff in amusement.
They make their way out of the house, through the rest of Ashlyn’s ridiculous small talk and back to the car before Neil whirls on Andrew with a bright smile and soft eyes.
“You really like it?” He asks. “You’re not just saying it for my sake?”
Andrew doesn’t roll his eyes, but it’s a near thing.
“I have to live there too.” Andrew responds, letting him take that however he wants.
It seems to placate Neil as he settles back in his seat, though his leg is shaking with barely repressed excitement. It nearly makes Andrew smile as he pulls away from their new home and heads back to Neil’s shitty apartment.
Andrew is wasting away the time while Neil showers, scrolling through his socials and bashing on Kevin and Neil in every post he can find. Eventually he tires of that form of mocking and takes to his own feed to start a fight.
Minyard3: He’s a loser and a thief
{1 Image}
Andrew attaches a picture of Neil he had taken earlier in the car. He was looking out the window with Andrew’s stolen cigarette hanging from his fingers. If he was being nice then he would admit that he looks gorgeous, the light framing his face perfectly and making his eyes look brighter. It’s a little annoying that he can look that good without even trying, but Andrew has sadly gotten used to that by this point.
That still doesn’t feel like enough so he decides to post one more just because he can.
Minyard3: The sound of @NeilJos10 crunching his ramen makes me miss juvie
He has no doubt it will make Neil laugh when he sees it, which is just fuel for the fire that was burning in his veins.
The responses are immediate, with fans demanding to know why Andrew and Neil were together at all. The dedicated Rebels fans are leaning towards a kidnapping while the Hawks fans have decided that they must have lost a bet. It was almost amusing to see them try to justify their relationship as anything other than what it actually was.
“What are you so happy about?” Neil asks, stepping out of the bathroom with hair still dripping wet and only wearing a pair of shorts that are most definitely Andrew’s from the way they seem to be barely staying up.
No one else who looked at Andrew right now would suspect any emotion even close to happiness, but sadly Neil knows him well enough to read him like a book.
“Your fans think I kidnapped you.” He says, waving his phone pointedly.
Neil laughs, grabbing his own phone to check the news.
“You’re trash talking me again?” Neil sighs, flopping onto the bed at Andrew’s side.
“You’re an easy target.” He retorts.
Neil scoffs, rolling over until he is tucked carefully against Andrew’s side.
“At least do it when I can fight back.”
Andrew drops his hand into Neil’s hair, shaking the water out of it and watching as a drop trails down the side of his face and then slides down his smooth neck before getting lost in the myriad of scars on his chest.
“Go ahead.”
Neil shakes his head; Andrew’s shirt is already becoming damp from where he is pressed against him.
“I’m in too good of a mood to be mean to you.”
Andrew doesn’t respond to that.
Once the nerves from moving to a new house had passed, Neil had been on cloud nine for the rest of the day. He knows why, it was the same reason he had chosen that particular house to look at. It was the type of place that neither of them would’ve ever thought they’d buy, but Andrew knew it was the kind of place that Neil had always dreamed of living. A normal house and a normal life, the two things he had been robbed of his entire childhood.
Unlike the upperclassmen who were always dragging Neil out to experience the things he missed out on, Andrew preferred to do his silently. He buys Neil clothes and birthday presents without any fanfare, knowing no one else had done that for him before. He gives him all the experiences he truly feels he missed out on, not just the juvenile and pointless things like movies and games.
Andrew was the one that gave Neil a home, he bought his possessions and showed him what it was to have someone look out for him. He’d always be the person Neil associates with the words care and love, and that’s not something that anyone will be able to take away from him.
“Can I go with you to pick out the furniture?” Neil asks, breaking Andrew out of his reverie.
“Are you going to complain the whole time like last time?”
Neil whines, burrowing into his blankets.
“Not if you don’t take ten years to pick out a single couch.”
Andrew arches a brow. “You’re the one who wouldn’t agree on the one I liked.”
“Leather couches are cold.”
“And cloth couches will stain when you inevitably spill something on it.”
Neil can’t argue with that logic so for once in his life he opts to keep his mouth shut. Andrew counts a total of four minutes of peaceful silence before Neil gets restless.
“Will you let me pick anything out?”
Andrew weighs the pros and cons. On the one hand, Neil would no doubt whine if he doesn’t let him choose anything, but is it really worth ruining their house's decor just to please Neil?
“If it isn’t hideous then I’ll consider it.”
Neil cheers, wiggling happily for a second before pulling back to look up at Andrew.
“Can I pick the flowers for the flowerbed?”
Andrew hadn’t considered that option. He doesn’t want the outside of his house to be ugly either, but he could care less about flowers, and this is just one less thing he’d have to deal with.
“Knock yourself out.”
“You aren’t worried?” He asks curiously. “What if they’re all orange?”
Andrew rolls his eyes at his predictability.
“Not like I spend time outside anyways.”
“You’ve promised.” Neil says seriously. “You can’t take it back now.”
Like he would. If something this small can make Neil happy then he would agree no matter what he did.
“Do what you want.” Andrew says, sliding down the bed until he can actually lie down. His hand finds Neil’s chest, tracing his scars as he so often found himself doing. It was soothing, to feel the proof of Neil’s pain beneath his fingertips and know that the one who caused it couldn’t hurt him anymore. If anyone ever tried to lay a hand on Neil again then they would have to deal with Andrew first. He would burn the whole world down before he let someone touch Neil again.
“I love you, Drew.” Neil says softly.
He always seemed to know when Andrew’s thoughts were taking a dark turn.
“Junkie.”
“Yours.” He whispers. That’s the last thing he hears before he’s slipping into a dreamless sleep.
The nightmares would come later, but for now, he has this.