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Luke paced in front of his computer, hands behind his head and eyes closed. On the screen a tabloid cover was still flashing behind his eyelids.
Taking a decision, Luke took a deep breath and opened his bedroom’s door, following the sound of his dad’s voice to the kitchen.
“Hey, dad.” Luke said, looking around in search of his old man. “So, you came alone again?”
“Yes, Andrew and Betsy went out to have coffee.” Neil replied, pouring cat food into two bowls. “But, why are you asking? Is everything okay? Did something happen?” Neil looked up to find his son watching him with worried eyes and immediately left the food on the counter, to close the distance between them.
“I should be the one asking you those question.” Luke stated and Neil’s eyes appeared lost. “Am I being a burden in your relationship? Is that why the old man has been coming home later these last couple of days? Are you going to get a divorce?” Luke’s questions came out in a torrent and Neil’s only reaction was to stare at the boy with a gaping mouth.
“What? Why would I and Andrew get a divorce? Where did you get those ideas, Luke?” Neil questioned, completely confused about what brought this on on their kid.
Luke took a deep breath, asked his dad to wait a moment and retrieved his computer from his room. Pointing at the screen, Luke let Neil read what was written in garish letters.
“Is the first out couple in Exy breaking up? An insider tells all!” Neil read out loud and looked at Luke, with a scrunched forehead.
Luke clicked on the mouse and opened on the article about his parents, moving away so Neil could have an unobstructed view of it.
Neil Josten and Andrew Minyard have been the topic of conversation in and out of the courts. As a striker and a goalkeeper, the two players were essential in their team’s last year´s championship, defeating their old college mate, Kevin Day. And since coming out, as the first gay couple, in Exy, they have been the face of many initiatives for sports inclusion and social work in the foster system. As their most prominent action in support to foster kids, the couple adopted a young boy named Luke. But, recent information reached our magazine, and not everything is as it looks like.
Apparently, recently, the relationship between Minyard and Josten has seen more lows than ups, with all the pressure from playing in the same team, and their recent addition to the Olympic team. A close friend of them has confessed that having a kid on top of everything has made their lives more stressful than any of them could shoulder on and they have already talked with lawyers to settle the question.
But, could also the dark past of these two men be considered a reason for their break-up? Neil Josten is the son of notorious criminal Nathan Wesninski and Andrew Minyard has a long history with the criminal system. Could their violent tendencies be the main reason? Could Josten be more like his father than anyone could predict or could he be a victim of Minyard’s violent strike, that years ago sent four men to the hospital? And what is their son Luke going through, right now, seeing his two very famous parents in the middle of this dispute? Will the kid decide if he wants to stay with one of them? What about the cats that somehow ended up being an internet success? Well, according to our source, the child’s future is still uncertain, but Minyard has claimed possess of the animals in what is sure to be a battle of wills.
But one thing is sure, with those hunks on the market, a part of our population can dream of a exier future.
For more follow-up, don’t forget to check our magazine next week!
“What the fuck? How can they say this kind of shit? Luke, none of this is true! We are sure as hell not getting a divorce!” Neil exclaimed.
“Who is getting a divorce?” a voice asked from behind them and before Neil could turn around, Andrew’s hand was already taking position on the back of his neck. He was shaking so hard with barely repressed fury, that only Andrew’s touch and Luke’s worry could calm him down.
“Apparently, us.” Neil spat and nodded at the computer screen, too angry to explain the whole situation.
Andrew quickly read it, while his other hand squeezed Luke’s shoulder.
“Was this garbage that brought up this whole mess of emotions?” Andrew asked. “It’s not the first time that they have written lies about us. I thought you were over it by now.”
Neil turned around to face Andrew fully, and the blonde saw how the blue of Neil’s eyes looked more like a chilling storm brewing than his usual limpid winter sky.
“I don’t care that they say we’re getting a divorce or that we are cheating on each other or whatever, but making you some kind of monster that is hurting me I just can’t… I can’t stand aside and let them write this shit! And they are using Luke as a reason for this nonsense, when nothing could be farther from the truth!”
Andrew nodded slowly, his hands still occupied with the two members of his family.
“Luke, what would you like to do about this?” Andrew asked, suddenly, and Luke observed him with a confused expression. “Your name is mentioned in this crap, so I think you have the right to decide too.”
Luke took a moment to decide, his eyes moving from the screen to his parents and back again.
“Suing them won’t do anything, right? It will take too long, and they can say they were misinformed or they can use the “freedom of speech” card.” Luke replied, biting his lower lip. “Can I think for a bit? I kind of have this idea, but I want to try some things first.”
Andrew and Neil nodded at him, with soft smiles on their faces, that no one outside of their friends and family would ever see. Luke softly touched his parents’ shoulders with his own and, taking his computer, went back to his room.
“He was so worried, Andrew. He thought he was responsible for that stuff. I really don’t want to imagine how long he spent in his room without knowing what to say.” Neil let his head fall on Andrew’s shoulder, feeling the other man’s arms encroach him in his warm jacket. “And I thought people were over thinking you were some kind of monster, it’s been years since anyone tried to pull that shit up.”
“Neil, I’m a big boy, I can take those kind of things and deflect them.”
“But you shouldn’t have to! We have each other’s backs, remember? No more playing the martyr card as you so gladly made me promise that night. It was a two way street, never forget.”
Andrew took a deep breath. He could remember that night clearly, not only thanks to his eidetic memory, but because in only a few weeks he almost lost Neil for the second time.
-
The two of them were alone in their hotel room, after the Foxes vs Ravens championship game, getting ready to meet the rest of their friends on the lobby to have a well deserved dinner. Neil was laying on the bed, while Andrew played with his hair, trying to make it look like he didn’t play with it.
Riko is dead, Neil had say and Andrew thought, for a moment, that somehow the bastard was able of injuring him, hence the mental confusion. That’s what I was witnessing when they called me up, after the game. I didn’t know if they were going to kill me or not, but I didn’t want to have you on the line of fire. It ended better than I was expecting. Andrew could remember the dread and the cold that filled his stomach at his words. He could have lost him and not known it until much later. It was the riot and the kidnapping all over again. Andrew decided then and there that he would make a last bargain with Neil, and it would have to benefit the health of his heart and nervous system.
-
“I remember that it took a while to persuade you.” Andrew replied.
“So, that’s what you were trying to do! And there I was, thinking you were trying to suck my d… Oh, hey, Luke!” Neil quickly recovered from his almost lapse, when his son once again crossed the threshold into the living room.
Luke looked between his parents, suspicious of Neil’s coy smile and Andrew’s rosy ears. He shrugged his suspicions away and brought up a notepad, where his scratches of handwriting looked more like an ancient language than proper English.
“They used the media to spread those lies, right? So, we should use it right back at them to show them they can't mess with the Minyard-Jostens.” Luke said. “So, this is what we are going to do!”
Neil and Andrew were not sure of how their comeback would be received, but as soon as they entered their team’s lounge, the next day, they were met with their team laughing over Emily’s phone.
“Play it again, play it again!” Peter was demanding, too loud for any of them to notice Neil and Andrew’s approach.
On the screen, the Instagram app was open and a video was playing. Luke’s face suddenly appeared.
“So, if you don’t know who I am, my name is Luke Minyard-Josten. Yup, I’m those guys’ son, the short and broody exy players that are apparently going to divorce. And I really want to clear some stuff about that whole ordeal. First, my old man is definitely super violent.” The video cut to a living room, where Andrew was playing with King and a feather toy. “See how he doesn’t give that toy to King?! Heartless! And my dad is definitely suffering with all those violent tendencies.” Neil entered the frame, and Andrew tripped him, so he would fall into the couch, right next to Andrew. “It’s really ruthless behavior, we are suffering so much, we can barely stand it.”
“Luke, did you make your geography homework?” Neil asked from where he was sitting with Andrew, with King and Sir joining efforts to overpower Andrew with their climbing all over him. Neil was merely smirking at his husband.
“See? Homework? How can those men hurt me like this, a mere innocent child!” Luke had adopted a mournful tone, and with his hand over his heart looked like a character in a Shakespeare’s play.
“Andrew, did you know we are getting a divorce?” Neil said behind Luke and the video turned to show them again.
“Really?”
“Our violent tendencies are taking over our marriage.”
“I told you, your kinks were going to come haunt you.” Andrew’s expressionless face when saying those words made Neil break character for a moment, but he quickly recovered.
“Or it could be me being a victim, I’m still not sure about what to blame…” Neil kept going. “And worst of all! You are taking the cats away from me! How can you be this heartless?” on the back, Luke’s chuckles could be heard and the video shook a little.
“That’s me, heartless hunk.”
It was too much for Neil, and he started laughing merrily.
The video cut off and the exy players started laughing too.
“Oh, man, I didn’t know they could be this comical.” James was cleaning tears and turning around, when he noticed the two of them, standing behind them, with smug expressions on their faces.
“Hey, guys!” Peter said. “Have you ever considered stand-up comedy? You would be a blast.”
“I broke my funny bone in my first year of playing exy.” Andrew replied and everyone pause for a second, not sure about his blank expression and the joke. Until Neil chuckled.
“Andrew’s humor is way too dark for everyday consumption.” Neil said, walking towards the locker room door.
“But look, guys, what you did was awesome. That magazine had no right exploiting your past, or Luke, to sell. You did right.” Anderson clapped Neil on the back and nodded at Andrew in a companionship way.
“It was Luke’s idea, actually. I just wanted to punch them in the face.” Neil replied, making Andrew’s lips turn up in amusement.
“Idiot.” The blonde whispered, before following his husband into the locker room.