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“Oh wow, look! It already snowed!” Nicky exclaimed as soon as they landed in LaGuardia Airport. He gestured excitedly towards the massive windows, as if anyone could possibly miss the view. Neil took in the light dusting of snow and realized that he had missed it these past few years. The winters in South Carolina could be cool, but never enough for a lasting snowfall.
“Hurry up Hemmick, check in is in a half hour. You can stare at the frozen water on the way to the hotel.” Allison said.
Neil felt a hand brush his own and he turned to find Andrew holding out his duffle bag. Neil took it from him with a muttered thanks and slung it over his shoulders.
“Your cousin is going to be overly cheerful all week, isn’t he?” Neil mused.
“Truly insufferable.”
“Perhaps this was a mistake.”
“This is your fault, deal with the consequences.”
Andrew was right, Neil had been the one to set this entire trip in motion. It all started with a simple question about Matt’s plans for the holidays. Somehow, Matt had ended up inviting Neil to New York again, and Neil, feeling guilty for lying to him last year, had agreed. Of course, the moment Dan, Allison and Renee heard about it they immediately decided to tag along. When Neil told Andrew, he was surprised to discover that Andrew would go as well. Andrew’s reasoning was that Neil would inevitably get himself into trouble, so he needed to be watched.
Neil couldn’t really argue.
Nicky, ever the social one, told Matt to make room for one more. When Kevin learned that his entire starting lineup was not staying on campus to practice, he reluctantly agreed to go as well. The only one not making the trip was Aaron, who would instead join Katelyn for a quiet Christmas with her family.
As much as Neil loved his Foxes, he couldn’t help but think Aaron was onto something. It would have been nice to just spend time with Andrew for two weeks. Maybe they could still work something out when they got back.
“Come on you two,” Matt called. “Let’s get you guys settled and start partying!”
Andrew cut Neil a meaningful look. “Your. Fault.”
******************
The first thing everyone wanted to do once they finished checking into the hotel was hit the streets for some last minute shopping. Neil wasn’t opposed to the idea, but he wasn’t making a game plan of which stores to hit in the least amount of time like Allison and Nicky. The mad glint in their eyes when they spoke about sales was frankly unnerving. They ended up splitting into two groups; Allison, Nicky, Matt and Dan, and Neil, Andrew, Renee and Kevin.
It was fairly busy out on the streets, and Neil wondered if it was because of the holidays or if New York city was just always active. Beside him, Andrew looked unbothered by both the people and architecture. He barely glanced at the colourful window displays, or the people dressed as elves at nearly every street corner asking for donations. Renee stopped several times to drop money in their tins. Kevin, the shining celebrity that he was, got recognized often, and so they stopped to wait as groups of exy fans took pictures with him.
After about an hour, Andrew surprised Neil by leading them into a store. It was a clothing outlet, nothing too fancy from what Neil could tell. Neil followed Andrew through the aisles, sometimes pausing to look at plain shirts in various shades of brown and grey, before Andrew noticed and pulled him away.
“If you want to buy something, get real clothes.”
“What does that even mean?” Neil grumbled.
Andrew eventually lost interest in the store, so they made their way outside again. After a few more minutes of walking, Kevin beagan complianing about the lack of Exy related shops, and demanded that they locate the nearest Exites, or at the very least a Nike.
“Kevin Day if you mention Exy to me one more time I will push you into traffic,” Andrew threatened.
Kevin cut himself off mid sentence, mouth hanging open.
“Andrew that's not very nice,” Renee chided. “I’m sure we can spare some time for Kevin’s wishes.”
“I spare time whenever we play. If you're feeling so charitable, you babysit him.”
Renee sighed and shook her head fondly. She smiled at Kevin and laced their arms together like she had all the patience in the world.
“Alright, we'll meet up with you two later. Remember to be back at the hotel for dinner,” she said. Neil watched as she led a slightly awkward Kevin away.
He must have stared for a moment too long because Andrew called him a junkie and told him to go after them if he was going to be yearning after Exy like Kevin.
“I'd rather stay with you,” Neil said seriously.
Andrew walked away without comment. Neil smiled because Andrew couldn't see.
They wandered the streets aimlessly. It was cold enough that Neil kept his hands deep in his pockets, but it didn't bother him overall. A glance at Andrew revealed that the tip of his nose had turned pink, but so far there had been no complaints about the weather.
Before long, Andrew abruptly entered another store, this time one that sold shoes. They loitered for a bit, Neil even trying on a pair of gunmetal grey army boots at Andrew's request.
The next hour passed in the same way. They'd walk for a while, then Andrew would choose a random shop to kill time in. Neil found it a little strange. Normally Andrew didn't do casual shopping. If he wanted something, he would go out and get it, then leave right after. This felt like wasting time. Especially since Andrew hadn’t bought a single item.
When they were about to enter a body jewellery store, Neil gave into his curiosity.
“What could you possibly need in here?” he asked.
Andrew paused with his hand on the door.
“New studs for my piercing.”
Neil almost slipped on the sidewalk. “Your what ?”
“I'm joking, Josten.”
“O-oh, right. Of course.”
Neil was so flustered he almost missed the tremor in Andrew’s fingers as he pulled the door open.
The man behind the counter greeted them and Neil tried not the stare at the amount of metal shoved through his ears. Andrew glanced at the various rings and bars on display with obvious boredom.
Neil’s suspicions about Andrew’s actions grew.
“I want to cover more ground before we go back to the hotel,” Neil said. On a normal day Andrew would just shrug and follow, but instead Andrew stopped to look out the window.
That all but confirmed Neil’s suspicions. He couldn't hide his snort of amusement. Andrew's eyes snapped to Neil and they narrowed upon seeing him laugh.
“Have you been entering stores at random because you’re cold?”
Andrew’s glare was answer enough.
“You could have said something you know.”
“Shut up or I’ll stab you.”
Neil rolled his eyes. Andrew could be so stubborn sometimes.
“Come on, let’s head back before the temperature drops even more,” Neil said. He kept his voice even, but Andrew, used to reading Neil by now, wasn’t fooled.
“I hate you,” he said, before marching out the door.
This time there were no stops as they made their way back to the hotel. Neil tired to tell Andrew that it was fine if he needed to break from the cold, but Andrew ignored him. By the time they arrived in the lobby, Andrew’s ears had turned bright red and his face was flushed from the icy wind. Andrew made a beeline for the elevator, barely sparing a glance at Neil when he motioned that he was going to the cafe first.
Neil quickly bought a hot chocolate for Andrew and a tea for himself. When he tried to pick out a pastry, they all looked unfamiliar and strange so he just pointed to the one with the most chocolate and hoped it was good. Purchases in hand, Neil made his way to the suite.
He had to bite his lip to keep from smiling when he saw Andrew had buried himself under the heavy duvet of their bed. Even his face was covered, with only a few strands of blonde hair peeking out from the fold.
“Do you want some company under there? Sharing body heat helps to regulate your temperature quicker,” Neil said. He didn’t say that he knew that from experience.
“No, fuck you.”
Neil didn’t take the rejection personally. “I brought you hot chocolate. It’s on the nightstand if you want it.”
Andrew made no move to grab the cup, so Neil shrugged and began to take off his coat and shoes. He turned up the thermostat a few degrees then plopped into a chair to wait for Andrew to re-emerge from the blankets. He sent a short message to Matt, asking for a favour, before he set his phone aside. He sipped his tea in silence.
After five minutes, Andrew peeled back the covers enough to glance at the cup of cocoa. After a second of debate, he got up and, with an impressive flex of his arms, ripped the blankets off the bed and wrapped them around his shoulders. He grabbed his drink and pastry and joined Neil at the small table.
Neil hid his smile in his cup, but Andrew caught the mirth in his eyes anyway.
***********
Later that evening, after the Foxes had congregated for dinner, Matt took Neil out shopping per his request. It was nice to spend time with Matt, and together they made quick work of finding what Neil was looking for.
It was pushing ten o’clock by the time Neil got back to the room. Andrew was sitting in bed, reading something on his phone.
“Hey,” Neil greeted.
Andrew looked up and noticed the change in his appearance.
“What the fuck are you wearing?”
Neil grinned and moved closer so Andrew could get a better look. Neil was dressed in a matching hat/glove/scarf set. The items were made of soft wool and were extremely warm. Neil picked out this particular set because not only was it orange, but it had tiny little paw print accents on the scarf and hat. Best of all were the gloves, which had paw pads on the palm and fingers.
“Do you like it?” Neil asked, “I decided it was a good idea to buy some winter attire, just in case.”
“You look stupid. Are you supposed to be a fox?”
“No, Andrew, these are cat paws. Obviously.”
“Obviously,” Andrew repeated sarcastically.
Andrew could call Neil stupid all he wanted, but the fact that he grabbed Neil’s hand to examine the paw pads gave away his interest. Neil had seen Andrew watch enough cat videos that he knew Andrew would like the clothes.
“It’s not the worst thing you could have bought,” Andrew relented.
Neil grinned victoriously and went to pick up the bag he had dropped by the door. He tossed it to Andrew, who caught it effortlessly.
“Good,” Neil said, as Andrew opened the bag, “because I bought you a matching set. In black of course.”
Neil watched Andrew unfold the scarf. He was a little nervous that Andrew would reject the gift. Just because he liked it on Neil didn’t mean he would wear it himself. The silence stretched on and Neil was sure he had made a mistake.
“You don’t have to keep it Andrew, I can return it.”
Andrew met Neil’s gaze and, without breaking eye contact, wrapped the scarf around his neck. It was a thick weave, and so it covered up to Andrew’s nose.
“It’s warm,” Andrew said, voice slightly muffled by the wool over his mouth. What he meant was ‘it can stay’.
Andrew wore his gift whenever they went outside, much to Neil’s surprise and the Foxes' delight. That gesture, more than anything, kept Neil feeling warm despite the snow.