Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter One

In which Andrew has to save an idiot

Andrew hated his fucking family. 

“What are you doing with that?” Allison screeched. “You can’t use incantations on something that’s been cursed!” She wrestled the - apparently cursed - medallion out of Nicky’s hands and placed it carefully back on its pedestal. “I cannot believe you, you absolute heathen.” 

Andrew’s gaze burned holes in the backs of their heads. How the fuck was he supposed to finish stitching all of these protective runes into this cloak if they wouldn’t shut up?

“Aw Andrew, don’t look at us like that, you can get back to your matronly tasks after the rest of us are done with the real work.” Nicky cooed at him. 

Andrew glared back at him. He had long ago spelled his needle so he didn’t risk stabbing himself and bleeding all over his stitching. Blood had very strange effects on protective magic, and he didn’t feel like tying himself to whatever lowlife has-been came trudging through the door next, looking for somewhere to call home.  He would put his enchantments over them, like he did everyone who joined the Fox Guild, but that didn’t mean he had to like it - and it certainly didn’t mean he had to tie himself to them.

The thing about using spelled objects however, was the fact that they were spelled to do what you wanted, so when Andrew thought that he might very much like to stab his cousin in the eye with a needle… well, Nicky was lucky the needle was attached to the thread and strung through the fabric that Andrew still had a firm grip on. The needle stopped about six inches from his cousin’s face.

“Right. I’ll- uh- I’m gonna go now,” he threw over his shoulder as he scurried out of the room, with Allison following not far behind, cackling madly. Pity. He’s sure Aaron would have liked to try out that new runeset he’d come across the other day. He sighed and looked back at his fabric. 

If Andrew was being honest with himself, he didn’t know why he’d felt compelled to start this cloak before the owner had even arrived. He certainly hadn’t done Kevin’s before he had arrived. And Kevin’s future had been clanging around Andrew’s head for a solid six months before he’d shown up on their doorstep, hand a fractured mess, and a half-rabid fox conjuration growling at anyone who dared come near. Andrew still wasn’t sure why Kevin had chosen a fox to conjure the first day- or if it was even a conscious decision at all. Either way, none of them could say no to him staying after that display, so, stay he had.

There were others of course, not all of the foxes were fond of staying bound to the guildhall in Palmetto. Some came by every few days for supplies or new assignments, some came for a few weeks then left for months at a time; others left and never came back. It didn’t matter who they were though, or how long they’d been gone, Andrew watched them all. That was his job. That and making these fucking cloaks.

The owner of this one was strange. Usually he could tell when the person who was meant to wear it was going to show up. This person was different. Andrew wasn’t sure if it was a man or a woman for one, though he had a feeling they were a man. He never saw his face, or any discernible features, only the fluttering of an orange cloak and the soft tinkle of laughter on the wind. No amount of scrying could make the vision clearer, and it was infuriating . He didn’t know who this guy was, but he already didn’t like him.

Outside of his self-inflicted prison built of fabric and thread, the rest of the town was getting ready for Beltane. Was he aware that it was an important holiday for the people of the village? One that doubled, or sometimes tripled a witch’s magic output for the night? A holiday that was especially important for people like him, who specialized in protective magics? Yes. Did that mean that Andrew was looking forward to it? Not at all. 

Sure, mass rituals were great for helping a spell take on an entire community, but there was so much that went into the planning and the arrangements - and of course the townspeople turned the entire thing into a big celebration, which he guessed it was, but it was so much . And unlike all of the other holidays where he could stay home and perform the rituals from the comfort of his own home, he was the only one in town that specialized in protective magics, so he had to be there. It was all so dull.

At least these parties always had a lot of drink flowing, so he could get blessedly smashed as soon as the rituals were over. He drew himself out of his wandering thoughts and back to the task at hand. This cloak wasn’t going to finish itself. It turned out to be a futile task however, because he’d only just re-spelled the needle when he was thrown back into another vision.

Normally Andrew could choose when to focus on a vision. He was almost always having one, so he would never get anything done if he didn’t. Occasionally he would get a vision so powerful that he wouldn’t have a choice but to pay attention. The last time he’d had one this strong, he’d been seven years old and discovered he had a brother. 

His sight turned back to his mystery person, and discovered that for once he could actually see him. It was a him. He was short, though not as short as Andrew was; that wasn’t saying much, very few people were as short as Andrew. The only one he knew personally was his twin brother, Aaron, and he hardly counted. The guy’s eye and hair color kept changing, rapidly flickering between colors, but that wasn’t all that unnatural in a vision. And it was certainly more than he’d seen in the last few weeks. 

That tinkling laugh sounded again,  and Andrew heard the man’s voice for once. “You know, I get it -” Andrew let out a string of swear words and threw himself out of the vision, reaching for his own cloak as soon as he could see his concrete surroundings. Now he knew why he had started on the cloak so early; the guy was going to need all the protection he could get if he was going to be antagonizing Riko Moriyama in the near future. 

He pulled his cloak on and climbed the back stairs two at a time to Renee's room. 

“I need to borrow your mirror,” he said as soon as she opened the door. 

“I thought you preferred cards?” she asked, but stepped aside to let him into the room.

“I do, but this is time sensitive,” Andrew said, brushing past her to get to the full length mirror she’d had Dan spell to her wall.

Renee nodded and fell silent to let him work. He took a marker from his jacket pocket and quickly sketched out a series of runes on the mirror. Then he activated it. He had been told by several people (primarily his brother and cousin) that he looked creepy when he scryed, because his eyes would turn white and his hair would start to float. Andrew had never actually seen himself scry, so he couldn’t say if it was true or not. He immediately focused on the shifting face he’d seen in his vision earlier. 

Oh. Well that explained why he’d been so hard to focus on earlier. The man was sitting in what looked like a cell, lifting his shirt to look at what had once been a seal on the left side of his ribs. The seal itself was gone, and all the magic with it, but the man must have had it on for a very long time, as the seal had left behind a mass of scar tissue in the shape of the original.

Andrew ignored the man for the moment in favor of figuring out where he was. He looked out the small barred window in the corner then swore loudly. 

“Oh fuck no.” He left the vision and quickly erased his runes. 

“What’s wrong? I’ve never heard you talk during a scry before,” Renee asked. Andrew swept past her and into the hallway.

“I’m going to save an idiot,” he muttered, “If I’m not back in two days, assume I’m dead.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Two

In which Neil is not good with isolation

Neil was having a very bad week. He’d been minding his own business, picking up some bread from the bakery in town for his mother when he’d been attacked by a group of men, who unceremoniously shoved him in the back of a van and drove off. 

Neil was only a little proud to say that he'd injured at least three of the four men in the struggle. He just wasn’t sure how much damage he’d manage to do. They must have arrived wherever they were going, or Neil had assumed they had; he couldn’t actually see as he had been blindfolded and gagged after he hadn’t stopped shit talking  for the first two hours of the drive. He was only a little proud of that too. 

Out of the van, up four steps, eight strides down a hallway, left through a door, down a set of stairs, fourteen strides, through another door, down another set of stairs. Three strides to the right and he heard a large metal door open and Neil was thrown head first into what he assumed was a cell. 

Fucking excellent. He hadn’t even done anything illegal this time.  Neil spat in the direction of one of the guards; it apparently hit something because the guard made a noise of disgust and hit him over the head, and he slid into the sweet embrace of sleep. 

Neil spent most of the second day in observation. He watched the guards chat and play cards, he watched the ant that stole a tiny piece of the bread they’d thrown him, and he watched the smallest stream of water that leaked from the window in the corner. Eventually he went back to sleep so he wouldn’t have to watch anything else.

The worst part, he thought on the third day of his imprisonment, was the boredom. There was nothing to do in the cell, except count the tiles. Which he’d done. Several times. He would have felt glad that they’d removed the gag and blindfold, except Neil wasn’t feeling grateful for much of anything right then. He especially refused to be grateful for basic human rights. Vision and use of his mouth counted as human rights, he was pretty sure. 

By the time the fourth day came around, he’d started filling the time by mocking the guards. 

The one currently watching him was one of his favorites. He’d nicknamed him Stubby because all of his limbs looked shorter than they were meant to be. Neil had seen him take off his gloves once and noticed with great glee that his arms had been replaced with tentacles - suction cups and all. It was probably a curse or something, and he would have liked to meet whoever had done it. Stubby was his favorite because, unlike the others - who attacked him, knocked him out, or ignored him altogether - Stubby would just hang his head in shame and wince every time Neil said something correct. It was through a series of well timed off the wall questions that he discovered that Stubby had been cheating on his wife with a younger woman. Scandalous.

Today he wanted to figure out if it was the wife or the other woman who had been the one to curse him. 

“Hey, hey Stubby.” Stubby winced, and Neil grinned at the knowledge that the nickname was getting to him. He’d heard one of the other guards use it the night before too - even stuck in a cell, Neil had influence. It was nice to know he still mattered in these dark times.

Speaking of dark: the only light in the cell was the little bit that came through the open window for about two hours every morning. On the plus side, because of this, he always knew exactly what time it was for those two hours. The downside was of course that he had no idea what time it was the rest of the time. Was it morning? Night? Evening? Who knew? Certainly not him.

He would have preferred it to stay that way. Instead he was dragged out of his cell by one of the meaner guards before he had a chance to even begin questioning Stubby, and pulled upstairs. He was dropped in front of a man sitting at a long and very empty table. Neil wondered why he could possibly need that much table, when over half of the chairs had never been touched, if the thick layer of dust on them was any indication. The man patted his lips daintily and Neil wondered what the fuck his problem was. He was like a bad pulp fiction supervillain. 

The man finally turned to look at him and Neil noticed that they had the same eye color. Same original eye color anyway. Neil’s mother was always using magic to change his eye color. And his hair color. And sometimes his skin tone. 

“Oh good. Are you finally going to tell me why I’m here?” Neil asked, not wanting to bother waiting for the supervillain to get to his rant.

“Is that the way you greet your father Nathaniel?” There wasn’t time to unpack all of that, but Neil focused on the biggest bombshell in that sentence.

“Is kidnapping really the best way to greet your estranged son?”

“You’re just like your mother.”

“Thank you?” Personally Neil thought that his mother was the absolute worst person this guy could have compared him to. But he couldn’t expect everyone to know that his mother was a massive bitch - a bitch who loved him and wanted him safe, but a bitch nonetheless. 

“It’s time for you to stop hiding Nathaniel. Activate your power. I want to see my creation for myself.”

“Uhhhh are you alright? I don’t have magic. I couldn’t float a teaspoon.”

“Don’t lie to me boy!” The man that may have been his father was out of his chair and had Neil’s neck in his hands before Neil could even blink. He felt like he should probably be more scared than he was, but he was too tired for fear just then. He’d been locked in a dungeon for four days, where his only entertainment had been goading a dumb guard. This wasn’t really scary enough to phase him. 

On that note, this was his father? Was this what he was destined for in the future? Were both his parents just two very different strains of nutcase? He just blinked and waited for the man to release him. He thought balefully that even if he did know how to activate this supposed power of his, he certainly wouldn’t do it for this guy. He didn’t think he would even do it for his mother. 

Actually, he might. His mother was far scarier than this man. 

“You really don’t know?” The man gave him a very creepy grin. 

“Nope.”

“Maybe a few more days in the dungeons will jog your memory.” The man dropped him and Neil decided that when he escaped from this shithole he never wanted to see his father again. It was Stubby who threw him back in, and Neil was disgusted to discover that when he was being held by them, the clothes Stubby was wearing did nothing to disguise the gross feeling of his tentacle arms. 

“Gross,” he told the man seriously, once he was safely back on the floor of his cell. Stumpy shot him an unamused look, but once again didn’t respond. Apparently he was still salty about the nickname then. Neil decided he needed a break from weirdos and let himself drift to sleep.

It was on day eight that the seal finally broke. Up until this point, Neil hadn’t actually known what the seal was for. He’d had it on his body for longer than he could remember, and his mother had never said. Since he’d been so rudely kidnapped, Neil had felt the seal slowly start to dissolve. He’d had flashes of white hot energy fill him, and seen the telltale signs of magical sparks flutter across his exposed skin. 

Given the evidence, Neil assumed the seal was to block his magical core. Since there was no way in hell his mother was going to actually show him how to use the magic he had, he would have to go find someone to teach him. He hated when his mother gave him quests without giving him any information. This was almost as bad as the time she’d dropped him off at the beach with instructions to give some guy named Tim a letter. 

Turns out Tim was a flesh eating merman who owed his mother a favor. So yeah, Neil hated his mother’s quests. 

That begged the question of course, why now? The fact that the seal was dissolving at all could have meant one of three things.

1. that his mother had finally released her seal
2. someone else had made her release it, or
3. she was dead. 

His mother was the scariest and most badass person he knew though, so Neil chose to believe that she had just released him. The alternative - that something out there could take out his mother - was just too terrifying.

With that release, came a feeling of wholeness that Neil hadn’t even realized he was missing until he had it back. It apparently also came with a whole lot of built-up magic. 

It started slow, a creeping pressure that began in his fingertips and climbed its way up his arms and down his legs. Neil almost hadn’t even felt it at first, writing the sensation off as his limbs atrophying from the weird position he’d been lying in. By the time the pressure had carved its way into his chest, Neil was panicking. 

He didn’t know how to use his magic. He couldn’t control it if he tried. How was he supposed to contain 18 years worth of pent up magic? Neil wondered if this was somehow part of his mother’s test, or if this was an issue she hadn’t foreseen. Neil had never known his mother to overlook things like this however, so he could only assume this was part of her test. 

It was an hour of Neil literally glowing and sparking with magic before the man appeared. He’d heard the door open of course, but he’d assumed that it was just the guards changing shifts, and he’d been preoccupied with trying to contain his magic. Needless to say, Neil had not been expecting to hear the thud of a body hitting the floor and the jangle of keys in the lock.

“That guy is super gross,” the man commented, as he stepped over the guard and entered the cell. Neil was rendered awestruck as he stared, near feverish from the effort of trying to contain his magic. He wondered vaguely if that was a thing, if you could get sick from overexposure to magic.

The man wasn’t very tall, but he held himself with the air of someone twice his height, and with the light from the hallway glinting off of his blond hair and illuminating the bright orange of his cloak, Neil deliriously wondered if he was a prince. Those existed right? He thought he remembered something about princes rescuing people in need. His prince had a wrench in his hand, and Neil had to blink a couple of times to understand what he was looking at. The buzzing in his ears grew louder and he could swear that he was glowing brighter as well. 

The man gave a disgruntled sigh. “I knew this would happen. Come on idiot. Lets go.” 

“Who are you?” he asked, too exhausted to actually care about the answer. 

“Andrew.”

“Hi. I’m Neil,” he responded, more out of habit than anything else. He stumbled to his feet and promptly pitched sideways, right into Andrew.

Chapter Text

Chapter Three

In which the bois blow some shit up

A couple of things happened when Neil fell into Andrew. The first was that Neil’s natural amplification magic latched onto Andrew’s magic, looking for a release. On anyone else, under any other circumstances, this would not have done much of anything. Most people have to actively try to use their magic, so amplifying their magic does nothing unless it is actually in use. Most people were not Andrew Minyard. Andrew had always had this problem: he could always see things that had not happened yet, always without actually trying.

It was a problem that had gotten him sold off to the highest bidder as a child, and kept him from his brother for four years. It was a problem that he had learned to control, yes, but problems like that don’t just go away. So when Neil’s magic reached out, looking for something to latch onto, Andrew’s magic was waiting eagerly, and Andrew was thrown into a series of visions:

Neil sat next to him on the roof, holding onto a cigarette he wasn’t actually smoking, slowly watching it burn to the filter. He wasn’t saying anything, but he was wrapped in his now well worn orange cloak, and had a small content smile on his face.

Andrew stood behind Neil, kicking his feet into position, before standing back to watch Neil perform a perfectly executed rebound spell on Kevin’s blast, knocking him backwards into the opposite wall. Neil turned to give Andrew a delighted grin.

Neil carded his hands absentmindedly through Andrew’s hair where he lay with his head on Neil’s lap, weaving a new protection spell that he would no doubt be testing on Neil himself. He couldn’t help the smile that played on his own lips. 

Andrew was standing in front of the full length mirror in Aaron’s room with his brother beside him. They were both wearing suits and his fingers pushed and pulled his hair into position, while Aaron prattled on about something or another before turning and fixing him with a look. Andrew couldn’t hear the words, but he could understand the shape of them. ‘You know I love you right?’

Neil was laughing at something as he walked. He turned around to walk backwards as he waved his arms wildly. Andrew didn’t even care about the subject, he just watched Neil with a barely there smile.

They were on the roof again, and Neil was looking at him with that look on his face, like he had hung the stars. “I’m not your answer, and you sure as hell aren’t mine.” It was Andrew's own voice speaking.

Andrew tumbled abruptly out of the visions. He would have assumed the string of visions were Neil’s, were it not for the last one. The only person he could hear in a vision was the subject of the vision. He didn’t have time to consider the implications of his finally seeing visions of his own future for the first time in his life before the world exploded.

The second thing that happened when Neil collided with Andrew, was that the impact acted as a trigger for the magic that was already packed to capacity, and ready to go off at any moment. And go off it did.

The thing about Magic was that it was inherently a tool. Sure, rituals and spells helped, but at its core, magic could do whatever you decided you needed it to do. In the moment that Andrew and Neil’s combined magic had exploded, they’d been wanting two very different - but not unrelated - things. 

Neil wanted to be literally anywhere but inside that godforsaken cell, and he wanted to never have to see his stupid father again. Andrew had wanted to burn the entire place to the ground, with the asshole who owned it inside. Their combined magic settled for a compromise. 

The building exploded. 

The two men at the center of it were launched from the magic blast, and out of the cell, fulfilling Neil’s want. What remained of the house after the blast burned to ashes, fulfilling Andrew’s. Neil was the one to stir first, and he just stared at the flaming house in disbelief. 

“Was that me?”

“Yes. Well, most of it.” Andrew sat up as well, with a long groan. The protections on his cloak may have saved their lives, but it didn’t stop them from getting slammed into the ground. Or rather, it didn’t stop Andrew from getting slammed into the ground, as Neil had fallen on top of him. It was just perfect that the one responsible for this entire mess couldn’t get the repercussions of his existence. That would be too ideal. He groaned again and stood up. 

Aaron liked to mock his need to complain about everything he did, as he was doing it. Andrew ignored him because Aaron was cursed to be straight, so he didn’t understand the need to make everything you did as dramatic as possible. There was a precious sort of comradery you could have with someone else who was born to be ostentatious, where you could just catch their eye and give them an approving nod at their theatrics. It was so satisfying to be having a dramatic fit, look up and know that they understood that you were just being dramatic. 

Usually Renee was Andrew’s partner in theatrical overdramatization. She had cried in the bathroom for a solid hour when the rainbow had washed out of her hair, then spent another two hours making Andrew help her get it back. If Renee was not around, Andrew had to settle for sharing approving drama nods with Nicky or Allison. If he was really desperate, he could share a nod with Matt, but it was hit or miss if he would actually understand. Years of being married to a woman had dulled his gay theatrics.

Neil however, got it immediately. 

He shot Andrew an amused grin before standing up beside him. Now that Andrew could actually see him, he noticed that Neil was definitely under some form of illusion magic. That wouldn’t do. Andrew didn’t like lies, and illusion magic was just another form of lying. It’s why he didn’t get along with Allison very well. He didn’t give Neil time to question him, just held out his hand for Neil’s. Neil complied easily and Andrew flipped his hand over and drew a quick rune on the back with his handy dandy marker.

“Yo. What the fu-”  Neil was cut off by a soft wind swirling around him like a tornado, slowly pulling apart the illusion magic that surrounded the man. Holy Hera. How long had those illusions been there? Andrew stared at them, it looked like there were somewhere between twenty-five and thirty illusions stacked on top of one another. They came off in great clumps, reminding Andrew of the way paint layered on a pallet. Despite the sheer number of charms and spells that were being brushed away, it didn’t take very long to rid Neil of them.

Andrew knew he had made a mistake as soon as he had looked back up at Neil’s face. When Andrew had first seen the charms, he assumed Neil was hiding some sort of birth defect or an injury. It wasn’t the first time Andrew had seen that sort of spellwork after all. It turned out Neil was far prettier without the charms.

Well fuck.

“What the fuck!” Neil shouted. Andrew hadn’t realized he was still holding onto his hand until Neil shook himself out of his grip.

“You were hiding. Any other big secrets you want to tell me before we go?” Andrew responded just as testily. He was not expecting his new guildmate to be hot. That was completely uncalled for. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he remembered the string of visions, but he shoved that to the side. Later. He would have a gay panic later. 

“What the fuck, you can’t just put a spell on me, then expect me to just follow you places! That’s not how this works!” Andrew crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

“One. I didn’t put a spell on you, I was removing one. Two. Did you forget I just rescued you from a cell?”

“I could have rescued myself thanks,” Neil huffed.

“Oh, and I suppose you can teach yourself to use your magic too? It’s only been suppressed for what? Ten Fifteen years? I’m sure it’s not going to literally explode something again.” Andrew didn’t get paid enough to deal with this shit. 

“What, you think you are going to teach me how to use my magic?” 

Andrew snorted. “Hell no. That’s Kevin’s job.” Kevin didn’t know this yet, but Andrew was sure he wouldn’t mind if it meant he had someone else to inflict his exacting standards on. It would keep him from terrorizing the rest of them, as he was always looking for someone to berate for incompetence. The man was far too obnoxious for someone who still hadn’t regained complete control of his own magic. 

 Neil narrowed his eyes at him, taking in his now dirty and soot covered orange cloak, and the crest of the Fox Guild sitting on his left breast. Neil obviously recognized it, as his eyes widened and he took a step back. 

“Kevin. As in Kevin Day, the most powerful magic user in the world? That Kevin Day?” 

“Mmm... He’s not that great.” Andrew found it interesting that Neil said Kevin was the greatest, as it was Riko who technically sat in the top spot. 

“Wait. That would make you… You’re Andrew Minyard.”

“Well spotted.”

“You. How did you know how to find me?” 

“You didn’t make it easy, I’ll tell you that much.” Andrew responded dryly, then he started walking. With the opportunity to meet Kevin hanging between them, he knew Neil would follow. “I actually couldn’t find you until that seal of yours broke. I’ve been trying for weeks. Whoever put that seal on you did a good job.”

“How did you know to even look for me? Why were you looking for me?” Andrew could hear the mistrust in his words and rolled his eyes. Neil could distrust him all he liked, but he would be a Fox and that put him under Andrew’s protection. 

“I wasn’t looking for you. You dropped yourself into my visions by being a cryptic dumbass.”

“So it’s true then. You do have the sight.”

“Mmm. Most rumors have a glimmer of truth in them somewhere. For instance you are rumored to have inherited your mother’s ability to multiply other people’s magic.” It had taken Andrew removing the illusion spells to figure out who Neil really was, but he really did look uncannily like his father. 

Neil blinked at him.“That’s not true at all,” he argued. 

Thinking back on the visions he’d seen of himself, Andrew disagreed. “Oh, it’s true alright. I wouldn’t go about sharing that little factoid with anyone else though, little rabbit. You’re already going to be making my job harder than it needs to be. If I didn’t already know it would make no difference, I would leave you behind. You’re not worth the extra effort,” he lied

“You’re the one who told me to come with you.” Neil pointed out. Andrew stopped walking, and he could feel Neil stop short behind him as well, thankfully not touching him. He spun around.

“Do you enjoy making everything difficult? You’re awfully confrontational for someone who has spent his entire life running away. You might consider actually thinking about your words before you decided to antagonize everyone,” Andrew suggested blandly.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve this!” Neil protested.

Andrew raised a knowing eyebrow at him.“It’s not what you did, but what you will do.”

“How is that fair! I haven’t done it yet, it could never actually happen”

“But it will. First magic lesson for you little rabbit. Unlike other sects of magic, seers don’t get to turn off our magic. We can always see what’s happening, what’s going to happen. Now, ten minutes from now, six years from now. It’s all jumbled together up here.” Andrew tapped lightly on the side of his temple. “And what we see always comes true.”

Neil stared at him curiously, head tilted to the side like he was thinking, and damn if that wasn’t adorable. Andrew hated himself a little bit more for being attracted to pretty boys covered in soot and dirt. Especially ones that liked to run their mouths.

“So you saw me?” Neil asked with an unidentifiable look in his eye.

Andrew turned back around so he didn’t have to see Neil’s stupid beautiful face anymore. “Yes.” The images he’d seen in his vision earlier flashed across his memory again. Why couldn’t he stop thinking about them? They were all fairly inconsequential scenes. Andrew had seen some pretty terrible things, and none of those scenes had been bad. That in itself was weird, it was rare for him to see a happy future. Almost as rare as seeing his own future. 

His mind kept circling back around to the phrase he’d hear himself say. I’m not your answer, and you sure as hell aren’t mine. He couldn’t figure out what it could possibly mean. He would have to try and scry when he got back to the guild. He already knew that it would do no good though. It may have been his future, but all of the scenes were tied to Neil. Neil was the key to everything. If only Andrew could figure out the lock.

“So. What do I do in the future that pissed you off so much?” Apparently Neil couldn’t handle long stretches of silence. It figured really, Neil’s mouth would be getting them all in a great deal of trouble. He might as well start running it now. 

“I’m not going to tell you. It would only encourage you.”

“Do I steal something of yours?” Neil asked. Andrew’s first response was only my heart, which he shut down very fast. He had no feelings. He had no heart. Neil was grinning at him. He could just tell. Andrew thought he would very much like to wipe the look off of his face. He couldn’t even see his face and he already hated that look. 

“Not yet. They day’s young though.” Andrew responded dryly

Neil jogged to keep up with Andrew’s speedwalk “Did I break something of yours?” 

“I will kill you.” Andrew could not kill him.

“You can’t.”

“I can certainly try.” 

“Oh please. You know you find me charming.” Neil had passed him, and was now walking backwards in front of him with a shit-eating grin on his face. Andrew just gave him a dead eyed look that Nicky told him repeatedly was ‘very creepy.’ It didn’t work, Neil just grinned brighter. 

The problem was of course that he did find Neil charming. In a weird, homeless sort of way. Andrew thought he would rather die than actually admit that to Neil though.

“Come on Andrew, admit it. You like me.” Neil teased him. Honestly, Neil was lucky he was hot, because he was starting to reconsider his stance on fucking with the timeline.

“I hate you.”

If anything, Neil grinned wider. “Do you ‘save the lives’ of everyone you hate then?”

“No, you would be the exception. Though that could still change.” 

Neil just laughed.

Chapter Text

Chapter Four

In which Neil makes some new friends and learns some magic

Neil had never met so many people at once in his life. His mother had always been a bit weird about crowds and went out of her way to avoid them whenever possible. Which meant she also avoided museums, busy grocery stores, and the DMV. Neil had only ever met one person at a time, and most of them, he was never actually introduced to at all, and he suspected that even if he were, they would not be real names. 

Not that such a thing would have been surprising, considering that Neil wasn’t his real name either. But well, that was besides the point. 

Now Neil found himself eating breakfast at a table that he assumed must be an all-purpose table, as there were at least six half finished spells and talismans sitting on it, and the entire left side was covered in books and papers. At least everyone else at the table was also eating breakfast, and some tall blonde lady was doing her makeup in a compact over her bowl of oatmeal. 

He and Andrew had gotten back to the guild the previous evening, and Andrew hadn’t explained a thing before showing him to the room that had been cleared out for him and vanishing into the night. Neil hadn’t really been offended; he had a feeling that Andrew didn’t really talk to people a lot, so he was probably tired. However, it did mean that Neil had to find his own way to breakfast the next morning.

“What do you mean you’ve never been to a Beltane festival?” The tall one he already knew was named Matt demanded. Matt was, until Kevin had joined the Fox guild, the only competitive magic user in Palmetto. He was particularly strong with defensive magic, which made sense considering his affinity for earth magics.

“I- uh- I didn’t get out much?” He glanced at Andrew for help, but Andrew was already walking away with a wave over his shoulder that clearly meant that he was on his own. Neil scowled at his back, but turned back to the group around him anyway. 

The other tall one - Nicky - gasped. “Baby’s first Beltane! I remember the twins’ first Beltane, Aaron set the end of his cloak on fire, and Andrew didn’t know what a kebab was. Good times!” 

That just brought a whole new set of questions to Neil’s mind. If the Beltane celebrations were such a big deal, why would Andrew have never gone to one before? Why was Beltane such a big deal to these people? What did the rainbow lady mean by ‘assessment’ and why did she need his blood for it?

The third question was answered quickly enough, as the rainbow lady hurried back through the door, spellbook in one hand, and the vial of Neil’s blood she had presumably used for the spell in the other. The rest of the group moved out of her way as she sat down at the table across from him. 

Had Neil been any more awake when he came downstairs that morning, he may have fought her on it. There was a lot of terrible magic one could do with blood, but Andrew had sent him a look that Neil had interpreted as don’t be dumb and give the rainbow lady your blood . As annoying as he was, Neil sort of trusted Andrew so he had shoved down his qualms, and let her prick his finger before she used some rare form of witchery to siphon a small vial of blood.

“So I did the normal assortment of spells, which we do on everyone who joins the guild. Most of them are basic; spells to tell your true intentions, make sure you’re healthy, et cetera. Then we move onto other spells. One of these spells is to make sure there are no contaminants in your magic.” 

“What does that even mean?” Neil asked.

“It looks for magic that isn’t yours that may have latched onto you, whether intentionally or otherwise.”

“Okay…” Neil gazed at her uneasily.

“That spell did find something on you. Are you aware there is a tracking spell tied to your blood?” Renee asked gently

Neil remembered the sound of cackling laughter, the reflection of fluorescent lights off of a set of sharpened knives, and the smell of a gathering thunderstorm.“No. But it doesn’t surprise me.” He responded, voice deceptively calm.

“Renee-” One of the others tried to interject. Neil didn't look up to see who, but the rainb- eh, Renee - ignored them in favor of staring at Neil with interest. Neil had a feeling she wasn’t just seeing his ratty t-shirt and jeans encrusted with soot and dirt. 

“It’s a strong spell. It will take a bit to get it off. Maybe a week? Maybe more. We’ll see. Dan and I will work on it. In the meantime, stay here where it’s safe.” 

A glance over at Dan told Neil she was looking forward to the challenge. “But that would put you guys in danger. I couldn’t possib-”

“Do what you’re told rabbit.” Andrew’s voice came from behind him, and Neil had to resist the urge to crane his neck to look. He scowled. How did Andrew manage to always be there at the most pivotal moment?

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Neil retorted grumpily, but he knew he would be following Andrew’s instructions anyway. Renee smiled at him knowingly, but changed the subject.

“From the look I got at that seal, it looks like it’s nearly completely disintegrated, so your magic should have evened itself out in a few days - once it has we can do some magic tests to check your strength and affinity.” Neil nodded to her and she smiled serenely again before leaving the room, taking her book and Neil’s blood with her. 

“So.” Nicky slid into the seat that Renee had vacated, and stared at Neil from across the table. Neil stared back. “Where did Andrew find a cutie like you?” Neil could almost feel Andrew’s glare, and it wasn’t even directed at him.

“I-” Neil faltered. He didn’t actually know where he’d been imprisoned.

“The Butcher’s Shack,” Andrew intoned. Neil’s eyes went wide and he spun around to look at Andrew. 

“Wait. Seriously?” The Butcher was notorious for killing everyone who got in the way of whatever task he’d been assigned. Neil’s mother had avoided him whenever possible. More so than any other person or group she avoided. That explained a lot, actually.

Andrew shot him an annoyed look. “Neil here managed to blow the entire thing up.” He dropped the statement like a bomb into the room, then turned and walked out. Neil momentarily wondered why, but then the shocked silence broke and suddenly he couldn’t hear anything at all over the loud clamor of voices all talking over one another. 

Neil sunk into his seat further and wished Andrew had taken him with him. 

-

Andrew wasn’t avoiding Neil. He wasn’t. He was just sitting on the guildhall roof, smoking, by himself. That’s what he did. He was still decidedly not brooding when Neil found him. The lights of the city always seemed to be brighter right before a festival, and they cast a soft glow over Neil’s face when he sat down beside Andrew. Neil’s knee was only a couple of inches from Andrews own leg, and he hated himself a little bit more for wishing that Neil would close that gap. Neil was respecting his boundaries. That was a good thing, damnit.  

“So everyone else has told me what they do around here. What’s your job?” Neil asked.

“Truth for a truth,” Andrew parried.

Neil shrugged, unbothered by the demand. 

“Why were you running?” Andrew asked him.

 “I don’t know.”

“Liar,”Andrew bit out.

Neil thought about it a moment.“Because my mom was running. Because I didn’t know any different.”

Andrew cocked his head. “And now you do?” 

“Now I do. I like it here. Everyone is really nice. And you’re not as bad as you seem either.” Neil gave him a bright smile, like he was sharing a secret. 

Andrew hated him. “I hate you,” he said. 

Neil hummed in agreement.

“So, what do you do around here?” Neil asked again

“Barriers. Protections.”

Neil considered him. "You haven't put any protections on me." 

"Yes I have. You're just shit at detecting magic." Andrew blew out a long breath of smoke

"When?" Neil asked, surprised.

"Your cloak." 

Neil stared at the cloak. "I don't see it." 

"Because you're looking with your eyes, dipshit. Look with your magic." 

Neil stared at it for longer and Andrew appreciated the chance to observe the soft gold of the cigarette reflecting on his blue eyes.  He was obviously still missing it. Andrew sighed and put out his cigarette.

"Here. Put your hand here." Andrew guided his hand to rest on the soft wool of the cloak, right over the runes he'd finished that morning. "You feel that buzzing? Now close your eyes and imagine what that thrum looks like. It's kind of like a florescent light bulb, it only buzzes when it's active."

"And when it's not active?" 

"Light Bulbs don't stop existing when they're turned off do they? The electric current is still there, and you can still feel it, it's just not as bright as the actual lightbulb. Now look again." Neil hummed and closed his eyes. He let a bit of his own magic out when he did so, and Andrew's breath hitched as Neil's power doubled the strength of the enchantments. Neil opened his eyes. 

"I think I've got it," Neil breathed in wonder.

Andrew nodded. He let go of Neil’s hand and the power in his runes went back to normal. Andrew tried not to feel upset about either thing. He turned away and re-lit his cigarette. Neil Josten was going to kill him one day, he could feel it.

Chapter Text

Chapter Five

In which Andrew gets a new roommate

Neil couldn't stop staring at his cloak. He'd been practicing looking for enchantments like Andrew had taught him, and he was surprised to find that nearly everything in the city had at least a small blessing over it. Renee explained that this was because of group rituals such as Beltane. The more Neil looked though, the more he could start to distinguish whose magic was whose. 

Matt's magic was all over the fields and the stonemasons' tools. Dan hand her hand in quite a few wedding rings and even some herds of cattle (he later discovered that this was because she would tie the cattle to their owner, so they would be easier to find if they were to run off). Aaron and Abby both had their magic all over the medical supplies, and even Allison had spelled some of the baker's decorating tools. 

But the magic he saw the most was Andrew's - it was everywhere. He had protections on all of the guild buildings - some even as far as the foundations (Neil had no idea how he managed that) - and woven into all of the guild’s cloaks. All of the townspeople had wisps of Andrew's magic wrapped around them too.

The cloaks fascinated him though. He asked Kevin why the protection on the cloak felt different from the protection on the crest that held the cloak closed at his neck. 

"Did Andrew not tell you?” Kevin asked, surprised. “The crest is spelled. No one but you can take the cloak off without explicit consent. I'll show you how to tell exactly what enchantments are on something later. Right now, you need to work on your blasts." 

Neil shot him a dark look. He personally didn’t think that learning offensive spells was all that useful or interesting outside of the magic battles that were televised for sport. Instead, he wanted to learn the magic Dan used to bind people and things together. He wanted to learn the illusion magic Allison used to create the beautiful Beltane decorations. He wanted to learn how Nicky was able to completely change the chemical makeup of an object. He wanted to learn how Andrew had become so confident in his protections. He wanted Kevin to show him how he was able to create such realistic creatures and objects from nothing at all. Conjuration was not an easy magic to learn, and Neil wanted to know how Kevin was so good at it when he never actually used it. 

“Come on Neil! Again!” Kevin ordered, startling him out of his thoughts.

Neil picked himself up off the ground, where he had been thrown backwards trying to block the latest blast. Kevin’s pestering had stopped being amusing after the third demand to “Get up and try again!” If Neil didn’t think it would end terribly, and probably with one of them dead, he would throw one of the very lopsided - but no less functional - knives he’d made (under Nicky’s wary supervision) at him. Damn Andrew’s cloaks, honestly. Neil was done with being thrown across the room. He was tired, he was hungry, and the sound of explosions was making him nauseous. His head pounded so loudly he couldn’t even hear Kevin’s derogatory remarks any longer.

“No. I’m done,” he announced.

“You can’t just quit,” Kevin retorted. He was closer now. When did he get closer? Neil’s head spun.

“Yes. I can.” Neil was struck with the sudden uncontrollable urge to run and run and just keep running. The nausea was still there too.

“You’re never going to be able to make a team without prac-”

“Will you shut the fuck up?” Neil cut him off. “Has it ever in your life occurred to you that I don’t want to be a professional magic champion or whatever the fuck?”

“But you have so much potential to-”

“I don’t care Kevin . Unlike you, I actually like my magic and don’t feel like trying to whittle it down to fit into some stupid box . Fuck, you talk about untapped potential but you don’t even use conjurations that often and that’s your specialization. Fuck off and leave me alone.” Neil shoved Kevin away from him, and ran from the room. 

The blasts were too much. The sounds were too much. The angry shower of sparks on his skin were too much, and fuck. Everything was too much.

Neil didn’t make it three feet out of the doors of the guild before he heard the telltale scream of fireworks rocketing into the sky. Oh no. Oh no no no. It wasn’t like Neil was afraid of fireworks or anything, he’d seen them all across the country during his time moving around with his mom. In fact, watching the fireworks from the roof of the little cottage they’d had outside of Millport was one of the best memories he had of his mom. It was just- they were so loud. His head was still clanging with the echo of remembered pain. The glint of a knife illuminated by a flash of lightning. The metallic taste of a storm on the horizon.  The smell of blood in the air.

Neil froze, fighting the urge to run, run, run. He didn’t want to run. Not anymore. 

The celebrations had gotten more and more elaborate the closer they got to Beltane. And each new celebration made Andrew more certain that he was going to lose his goddamn mind. He watched the fireworks go off with practiced disinterest. They hadn’t had fireworks where he and Aaron were from. There wasn’t a large enough magic population in Oakland to put up enchantments so they didn’t burn any of the buildings on accident. It was one of the reasons Andrew had been sold in the first place. It hadn’t mattered that he was only three years old, and could barely see through all of the convoluted visions he couldn’t understand. He was magic. He didn’t even know how much his mother had sold him for, but he’s sure it wasn’t the amount Aaron had paid to get him back after their mother had died when they were twelve.

The first real Beltane celebration they’d had was the year they moved to Palmetto to live with Nicky, the summer after they’d turned thirteen. That Beltane marked the day that everything had changed for the twins. Andrew had finally been able to see his brother for more than a few stolen minutes at a time, sleep in a real bed, and choose the magic he got to practice. He’d chosen protective magics. Everyone had thought that he would choose divination because he was a seer, but knowing the future was boring for Andrew. Where was the adventure if you knew everything that was going to happen? 

No, Andrew wanted more for himself. And he wanted more for his family. So he set himself as a shield. An impenetrable barrier between the only people he had ever given a shit about, and the rest of the world. He’d promised Aaron that he would protect him when they were twelve, and he didn’t plan on backing down now. 

The first wave of fireworks died out and Andrew pulled out a cigarette as he walked. He normally waited until he got to the roof to smoke, mostly because everyone seemed to think that if you had a cigarette it was an open invitation to socialize. 

He spotted the unmistakable sign of Neil’s hair from the corner of his eye and wondered if Neil was following him again. Aaron had thought it was hilarious and compared him to a lost puppy multiple times when Neil had first arrived. He wasn’t wrong though. Despite the many hours he spent following the other Foxes around too, Neil always seemed to gravitate back towards Andrew. If it were anyone else, it would bother the hell out of him. 

As it was, he just stopped and stared, waiting for Neil to tell him why he was standing in the middle of the deserted street, looking like he’d seen a ghost. He jolted when he saw Andrew and visibly tensed like he was ready to take off sprinting at any second. Andrew strode towards him and clasped his hand around the back of Neil’s neck.

“Breathe idiot.” 

Neil drew in a long breath and then exploded into words. “I don’t- I can’t- Andrew, I can’t do this! How did I ever think I could stay here? My mom is going to kill me, she’s going to- oh my gods I need-” 

Andrew wasn’t sure if it would make it better or worse to tell Neil that his mother was almost certainly dead. The seal on his magic had faded far too fast for it to have come off intentionally.

“Neil. Breathe. Do you want to stay? Yes or no.” Andrew knew what he saw in his visions, even if he didn’t want to admit it. Neil belonged here, with the Foxes. Neil belonged with him. Now he just needed Neil to see it too.

“I- I can’t,” he stuttered.

“Yes or No,” Andrew asked doggedly.

“I- yes. Yes. I want to stay, I want to be a Fox and learn magic, it’s all I’ve ever wanted but-”

“So stay,” Andrew said.

“It’s not that easy!” he protested.

“Come on.” Andrew used his hand on the back of Neil’s neck to guide him down the street. Neil followed obediently, even leaning into Andrew’s hand, and wasn’t that new? Not many people trusted Andrew at all, let alone trusted him enough to lean into his touch. He led Neil around the corner and down some stairs, then along the winding path that led towards the east side of town. Neil’s breathing started to even out as they walked, but as soon as the second wave of fireworks started, he regained his skittish air. 

“What’s your deal?” Andrew questioned. The fireworks weren’t exactly new, they’d been going off every so often for the last three nights, and Neil had never reacted to them before.

“I- It’s just- Kevin. It was loud. And then the fireworks and-” Neil drifted into silence, but Andrew didn’t push him further. With a father like the Butcher, it wasn’t surprising that Neil had a few skeletons in his closet.

“Kevin is right though. You do need to learn all of it. You have to build your foundation if you want to ever choose a specialization.” Kevin was, for his part, still in the guild, simmering in righteous fury at his protege. Andrew had not been impressed.

“Yeah but he doesn’t have to be a dick about it,” Neil muttered, eyes downcast. 

Andrew found himself having to actually fight a smile at Neil’s petulence. “This is Kevin we’re talking about here.”

Andrew stopped in front of the house he had spent all of his best years in, fondly nicknamed the Columbia House. No one really lived there full-time anymore, since Nicky’s fiance Erik was studying abroad, and they had found that it was easier for them to just stay at the guild. But this was where they spent holidays, and birthdays, and nights when they needed to be alone. The Foxhole may have been their homebase, but this was home. 

“Make a decision. Do you want to stay and learn magic? Do you want to be a Fox? You’re trusting Kevin with your magic. Trust me with your back. If you promise not to run, I’ll protect you, same as anyone else who lives here.” Neil stared at him, a little awestruck, and Andrew could tell he was running the words over in his head, examining the implications.

“I-” Another firework went off, and he winced, but when he looked back up at Andrew, it was with eyes of steel. “I- Yes. I want to stay. I want to be a Fox.”

Andrew dug around in his pocket for the key he’d had Nicky make him the day before, and handed it to Neil, pressing it into his palm until he was sure that Neil could feel every edge. “Remember this moment. This is the moment you make Neil Josten real. This is the moment you stop running. Welcome to the Foxes.” 

Neil looked up at him, eyes wide, and Andrew wanted nothing more than to kiss him. He took a step back instead.

“Come on, we can go back to the guild in the morning,” Andrew beckoned him inside and closed the door against the new round of fireworks lighting up the sky.

Chapter Text

Chapter Six

In which Andrew remembers he is gay

Neil LOVED magic. He had always loved magic, really. He had grown up watching the news for any information about Kevin and Riko, the rising stars of the magical world. He’d tried desperately to call forth his own magic when he was a child, wanting nothing more than to be able to do the things he’d seen other people do on TV. What would it be like to know that no one could touch you, that your magic could keep you safe? 

At the same time, he’d spent his entire life in fear of witches - because witches would be able to see through his lies in an instant. Magic was a dream he couldn’t really hope to fulfill. It would be too dangerous. Or so he’d thought. He’d never thought that it would be a good thing when the world finally caught up to him. 

He would never have even guessed that he would one day proudly call himself a witch, or have a guild of his own, or be taught by Kevin Day. 

He would also never have guessed that Kevin Day was such a massive dick.

“Again!” Kevin yelled from across the practice room. Neil scowled at him, but stood back up. They were working on shield charms. Not unlike the runes that Andrew put on everything he touched. Neil had wondered why he did that. Or he had, until he found himself pressing his own magic into everything he touched, just to see them alight with color. Unlike Andrew's magic though, Neil’s just came bouncing back. 

Kevin sent another blast towards him and Neil instinctually dove out of the way. Again.

“Stop fucking running away you idiot! Again!” Kevin yelled. It wasn’t like Neil was doing it on purpose. He just saw something coming at him and dodged. He could preform the spell just fine, he just couldn’t do it when Kevin fucking Day was throwing things at him.  

Andrew chose that moment to wander into the room, his hand in a bag of cookies and Neil’s eyes immediately turned to watch him. Which was why he was thrown into the wall by Kevin’s blast. 

“Ow! What the fuck!” Neil stood back up. Despite the distraction though, he was glad of Andrew’s presence.

“Pay attention! What-” Kevin blinked, having just noticed Andrew standing there. “Why are you here?” he demanded. 

“Carry on, Day. I’m just here to make sure you don’t murder the new kid.” 

Kevin eyed him critically for a moment before narrowing his lazer focus back on Neil. “Again!” 

Andrew was watching him, but his expression hadn’t changed. He just sat on the ground against the wall and ate cookies as he watched Kevin throw Neil into the back wall. Despite his practiced impassivity, Neil was glad of Andrew’s presence. He was thrown into the wall a few more times before Andrew finally spoke up. “Plant your feet rabbit.” 

It wasn’t even real advice, but Neil planted his feet anyway, and felt Kevin’s blast go ricocheting off of his shield. It would have hit Andrew, but he put up a shield of his own and the blast exploded in a shower of blue sparks. Andrew hadn’t even moved. 

“How did you do that?” Kevin demanded. Andrew just shrugged. Neil smiled at his apathy. One day, he would learn to do that too. One day.

He just had to not kill Kevin before that day.

“You really shouldn’t do that,” Andrew commented as he scribbled runes onto the fourth protection charm of the evening. As usual, everyone ignored him. Who was the one who could see the future? Andrew. Who would be blamed for it when everything inevitably went to hell in a handbasket? Also Andrew. 

If he didn’t owe the Foxes so much, he would leave. Actually, scratch that, he didn’t owe the Foxes shit anymore. If he didn’t want his brother happy and safe, he would leave. Once again his connections to other people was making his life miserable. 

Bee would tell him that he’s catastrophizing, but Bee wasn’t there at the moment. Instead it was Dan and the rest of the current guard sitting around the big table in his workroom, talking about whether or not they would be able to rent a large enough van for all of them to go to the banquet, as Neil’s presence put them above the ten person cap on the current van. 

“Even if we don’t have one, surely the next town over should have one?” Renee was saying. Andrew felt the sting of her betrayal the most. Neil sent him an amused look, and Andrew was mad that he knew exactly what the idiot would say if he let him open his mouth. 

“Alright, I’ll handle the van. Nicky, fix that will you?” Dan pointed to Neil’s clothes, and Andrew had to agree with her. Neil had been with them for three weeks, and still only owned the same faded t-shirt and jeans he’d started with. He definitely didn’t own anything fancy enough to wear to the biggest witching event of the year. 

“What’s wrong with my clothes?” Neil asked, glancing down at them, as if he’d never seen them before. Andrew thought he was infuriating. He grit his teeth when he realized he’d been distracted watching Neil, and put a little too much force in his last rune. He carefully started undoing it, pulling apart the woven magics little by little. Normally, Andrew liked making talismans; it was comforting in a way, to just lose himself in the work. Some people knit. Andrew made impenetrable barrier magics. Everyone had their thing. 

Neil was pouting now, and Andrew had to stop himself from banging his head on the table. He wondered if there was a spell to banish gay thoughts. Straight people did it all the time, it couldn’t be that hard could it?

Neil laughed at something Matt said, and Andrew had to physically turn away. Yes, apparently it could be quite hard.

Neil wasn’t sure why everyone had such a problem with his clothes. Sure they were a little faded from wear, but he cleaned them every day so it wasn’t that big a deal. Nicky kept pulling clothes off the rack to hold up to Neil. Andrew kept pulling clothes off the rack to drop on the floor. Neil wasn’t actually sure why Andrew was there, it wasn’t as if he was actually helping or anything. All he seemed to do was make disgusted noises at everything Nicky pulled off the racks, and make a nuisance of himself. Finally Nicky had had it. 

“Fine. You find him something to wear,” he snapped. 

Andrew shrugged and wandered off, only to return five minutes later with a three piece suit in hand. He threw it at Neil. “Try that.” 

Neil looked down at it. It was a dark grey, and the vest had small blue roses that were nearly the same color as the fabric embroidered onto it. Neil almost hadn’t noticed them at first. Andrew had also found a light blue shirt and a blue tie the same color as the roses to go with it.

“How did you find that in five minutes?” Nicky stared at Andrew, and Neil was kind of wondering the same thing. Andrew only shooed him towards the fitting rooms, and Neil knew he wasn’t going to be getting anything out of Andrew. At least not then. Maybe he would use one of his questions in the truth game for it. Somehow the idea of wasting a truth on that didn’t appeal to him, though.

Neil pulled on the suit, grateful that Andrew had at least found one that was comfortable. He opened the door when he was done and stood there a bit helplessly while Nicky gasped and cooed over him. “Andrew! That shirt matches his eyes perfectly.” 

Andrew ignored his cousin again and just gave Neil an approving nod. 

“Now we just need to find you some shoes!” Nicky said brightly. That was where Neil drew the line. There was no way in hell he was going to be wearing any form of dress shoes. The suit was bad enough. It would make him too noticeable. He could almost hear Andrew’s voice in the back of his head. What are you running from, little rabbit?

“No,” Neil said. He didn’t wait for Nicky to respond before turning around to go change back into his own clothes. His imaginary Andrew was right though. What did he have to run from anymore? His father was gone, and his mother MIA. No one was coming for him. He’d told Andrew he’d wanted to stay, so why was it so hard? 

He found Andrew on the roof a few hours later, smoking as usual. Neil sat down beside him, careful to fold the edges of his cloak so they didn’t pull when he sat down. Andrew handed him a cigarette without a word. 

“Have you ever had a familiar?” Neil asked him. Kevin had been talking about it the day before. None of the Foxes had one, though Matt had said that he’d had a dog when he was a kid. Kevin seemed to think that having a familiar was cheating somehow. Neil thought it was weird that he thought of magic as a game. Magic didn’t have rules, there weren’t regulations saying that you were less of a witch if you used a focus or a familiar. 

Personally, Neil thought Andrew was a pretty damn powerful seer, and he had to use a focus.

“No,” Andrew answered. Neil had kind of expected as much.

“I think I would like to have a familiar one day,” Neil said, swinging his legs back and forth over the edge of the roof. 

Andrew was watching him do so with a sort of nauseated look on his face, but he responded anyway. “What’s stopping you?” 

Neil opened his mouth to instinctually respond something about moving too much. It was an automatic response, one he had used more times than he could count over the years. He stopped himself though. It wasn’t true now, was it? He’d told Andrew that he wasn’t going anywhere, that he liked it here. That he would stay.

“Nothing,” was what he finally said, and it was like a weight was lifted from his shoulders all at once. There was nothing stopping him from getting a familiar. There was nothing stopping him from learning about his magic, and finding his own specialization, and finding a family. There was nothing stopping him from calling this place home.

Andrew shoved him lightly, knocking him out of his thoughts. “Stop thinking so hard junkie.”

“Why are you here Andrew?” Neil asked

“I was banned from smoking in the building.”

“No. Here in Palmetto. With the Foxes,” Neil clarified

Andrew let out another breath of smoke before he answered. “Because this is where Aaron is. I promised I’d protect him, and I always keep my promises.” 

Neil hummed. Neil had always liked math, he liked being able to slot the world in easy to break down boxes, but Andrew’s numbers weren’t adding up. “If you’re only here for Aaron, why do you have so many protections on everyone else? I know you watch out for all of the people who leave the guildhall too. You don’t have to do that.” 

Andrew glared at him. “I hate you.” 

Neil just grinned at him. “I think you like it here. I think you like these people, and you like being able to protect them.”

“Neil.”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up.” 

Neil grinned at him again, but didn’t say anything else.

Chapter Text

Chapter Seven

In which Neil starts a fight and nearly gives Dan a heart attack

“Damn Neil, you clean up well!” Matt wolf-whistled as Neil climbed onto the bus. Neil didn’t know why it was such a big deal - he had some new clothes, so what?

“Good job Nicky,” Dan said, ignoring Neil completely.

“Don’t thank me, this was all Andrew,” Nicky responded with a grin. He looked like he was going to try and hug his cousin, but changed his mind at the last minute. Neil thought that was probably for the best. He’d gotten better at deciphering what magic did what, and he was pretty sure that Andrew had woven some pretty nasty curses into his cloak for anyone who tried to touch him without permission. Neil wondered idly if he would get to learn how to make such weirdly specific magicks. 

“I still say you should leave the junkie at home,” Andrew drawled.The word ‘home’ still sent a shiver up his spine every time he heard it. He had a home. Andrew shot him a look like he knew exactly what Neil was thinking about, but he continued anyway. “Who knows what trouble he could get into with all of those other guilds who don’t like us?” Neil knew he was hinting at that future he’d seen, but he still for the life of him couldn’t figure out what he could do in the next six hours that would make Andrew so mad at him.

“I don’t know why you hate Neil so much Andrew, he’s great,” Nicky said. Neil could see the set of Andrew’s mouth that said that would be the last they would hear about this future from him. It was the look of someone who had been ignored over and over again. Neil was going to say something in Andrew’s defense, but he caught Aaron’s eye from across the room. Aaron just shook his head, a sure signal for  you’re wasting your breath, it won’t do any good . 

What was it like, Neil wondered, to have someone in your corner all the time the way the twins did. He wondered if the Foxes would be that for him one day - if he’d ever have someone fighting in his corner like that.

They hadn’t even gotten off the bus before Andrew claimed a place at Neil’s side. Neil gave him a look, but didn’t argue for once. Andrew noted that the orange cloak clashed with the blue suit, and decided to bring the unfortunate color complaint back to Wymack again as soon as possible. It had been a few months since the last time, so he was probably due for another strongly worded letter. Maybe he could send in a picture of Neil’s suit clashing with his cloak as evidence. Though actually, that might be counterproductive, as Neil still looked really fucking good. 

The banquet was supposed to be a fairly casual event; an excuse to dress up in fancy clothes and get to know the rest of the nearby guilds. What it ended up being instead was a stressful dick-measuring contest between a bunch of hotheaded magic users that were all shoved in one place. The Foxes were one of the smallest guilds to begin with, and over half of their people were spread out on their own individual jobs and missions. Which meant that the Foxes were outnumbered by every other guild there, some by nearly ten-to-one. 

That being said, it was fairly easy for the Ravens to surround them within minutes of walking in the door. Andrew’s fingers itched to pull out his knives, but, weapons - magical and otherwise - had been banned from the event, so Dan had confiscated them on the bus. He clutched tighter at the hold he had on his idio-  uh , on Neil’s arm. Neil leaned more into him, and Andrew wished simultaneously  that Neil’d stop trusting him so much, and that he would never stop leaning on Andrew in equal measure. 

“Look who came crawling out of their little foxhole! How does it feel to be surrounded by people who will always be better than you?” Riko sneered at them.

Andrew leveled his gaze on Riko. He was nearly as short as Andrew himself, and shorter than Neil, Andrew noted smugly. Despite the - granted cool - aesthetic the Ravens were following with their matching all-black ensembles, black really wasn’t Riko’s color.Andrew was even more smug about the fact that at least all of the Foxes actually looked nice, barring their outrageous cloaks.

“What do you want Riko?” Allison snapped. She always had had the shortest temper of all of the core guild members. A maniacal grin spread across Riko’s face, and Andrew clutched tighter at his idiot’s arm. Nothing good could come from this confrontation.

“You took something that doesn’t belong to you,” Riko spat.

“Kevin came to us. He’s a person, not an asset,” Dan responded mildly. Neil could see the agitation in her magic though, boiling just beneath her skin.

“You don’t really believe that do you? Kevin came to you because he needed to go somewhere to lick his wounds, and your ragtag team of useless misfits could make him feel better about himself, even handicapped as he is,” one of the Ravens mocked. “We know Kevin better than you ever will. We know how your incompetence must grate on him.”

“So do we. It’s not like he’s shy with his opinion,” Aaron commented dryly.

“They’re not great yet , but that’s why they need my help,” Kevin said, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. In Neil's opinion, the only one that actually needed help with magic was him. Everyone else had already reached as far as they cared to go. Unlike Kevin, they weren’t aiming for the magic charts. Neil had been watching magic tournaments and following Kevin’s career for as long as he could remember, and he had always thought that Kevin would also be better off if he stopped trying to copy Riko’s magic and actually focused on his natural specialization. His conjurations were phenomenal, but he never used them unless he had no other choice. There was no way he was going to say that to Kevin’s face though, not after the last time. Kevin wasn’t ready to listen to him yet.

“You won’t stay.” Jean made it sound like a prediction. Andrew snorted somewhere to his left, and Neil imagined that statement would be pretty amusing to someone who could see the future. “You should reconsider our offer while you can. Your pet there is nothing but a dead weight.” 

Andrew cut in. “You have a pet? And after all of those long rants about how familiars are a subpar magic enhancer. Kevin, why didn’t you say something? Where do you keep it?” 

Jean looked annoyed at the interruption. “Don’t interrupt me Doe.” 

Aaron looked near murderous, but Andrew let go of Neil’s arm and waved off the jab as if it were nothing. And maybe it was. “Points for trying,”Andrew smirked back at him, “but here’s a tip for you Jean Valjean. You can’t cut down someone who is already in the gutter. You just waste your time and mine.”

“Enough. This is supposed to be a friendly event. If you can’t be nice to one another, go find someone else to talk to,” Dan interrupted

“Is that why your new child is being so quiet? You don’t have anything nice to say Nathaniel? What, are you just going to ignore me?” Riko taunted, ignoring Dan. 

Neil was unsurprised that Riko knew his apparent real name, but he was a bit alarmed that he was willing to show all of his cards so early. Nicky was holding onto the back of Neil’s cloak now, and he could feel Andrew tugging at his sleeve again. He slowly counted down from ten. Riko was a nobody, he didn’t even matter. Neil didn’t know why he was getting so upset.

He didn’t even make it to three before Riko scoffed. “You’re a coward. Just like your mother.”

Ah yep, that was it. Neil took a breath. “You know, I get it. Being raised as a superstar must have been really hard for you. Always a commodity, never a human being, not a single person in your family thinking you’re worth a damn of the court - yeah, sounds rough. Kevin and I talk about your intricate and endless daddy issues all the time.” 

That wasn’t even close to true actually. Kevin didn’t talk about Riko unless absolutely necessary. He shot Neil a murderous glance for dragging him into it. “Neil-” 

Neil ignored him. “I know it’s not your fault that you’re mentally unbalanced and infected with these delusions of grandeur, and I know you’re physically incapable of holding a decent conversation like every other human being can, but I don’t think any of us should have to put up with this much of your bullshit. Pity only gets you so many concessions and you used yours up about six insults ago. So please, please shut the fuck up and leave us alone.” He turned to look at Dan. “Dan. I said please. I tried to be nice.” 

“Matt. Matt, get him out of here,” Dan said, but she was staring at Andrew as if coming to a realization. Andrew let go of his arm, and Matt pulled him away. 

“You know Riko is like, the most powerful magic user in the world right?” Matt asked as soon as they were away from the crowd of Ravens. 

Neil hummed in affirmation, still reeling a bit from the fact that he just did that. 

“You know you just put yourself on his hit list right? Look what he did to Kevin!” 

Neil hummed again, but he wasn’t worried. Magic was banned from the banquet, and Andrew had so many protections over Palmetto that Riko wouldn’t dare try to come for him there. “I’m not worried about it Matt. He’d have to be a hell of a lot better than he is to get past Andrew. Come on, I think that’s Jeremy Knox. I want to ask him about how he does those rebound counter curses of his.” 

Matt sighed in acceptance and allowed himself to be tugged along behind Neil, swiping two drinks from a nearby tray as it passed. It was going to be a long night.

Chapter Text

Chapter Eight

In which Andrew has to save another idiot

In retrospect, Andrew should have at least acted surprised that Neil started a guild war with the largest and most powerful guild in the world. It might have saved him the lecture he received from Dan the next day.

“Why didn’t you do anything to stop him?” she demanded.

Andrew just shrugged. “It wouldn’t have done any good. The idiot ignores everyone when he’s set his mind on doing something idiotic.”

“But you still knew it was going to happen!”

“Yeah. And what of it? I told you that taking him with us would be a bad idea. It’s not my fault that you didn’t listen. And it’s not my fault that Neil has no filter, or that Riko is a massive bag of dicks. Do not try to pin this on me. Besides, you know how the sight works as much as I do. If I saw it was going to happen, we wouldn’t have been able to stop it if we tried.” Andrew shrugged again and took his plate of cookies with him as he turned around to go back to his work room. Dan spluttered a bit behind him, but didn’t try to stop him.

The repercussions of Neil’s minor act of war didn’t become obvious until the next morning, when they walked outside to find a dead fox on their doorstep. From there it only escalated. Foxes from all across the country began sending in messages about attacks and vandalism against them and -  more worryingly - their families. 

It got so bad that Wymack, the previous guild head, came out of retirement in order to take over the duties of one of the Foxes that worked at one of their outposts because he decided it would be safer for him to take his family and go back to Palmetto, where they had better protections in place. (In other words, they had Andrew.)Andrew couldn’t say he blamed the man; it was a lot harder to protect your family than it was to just protect yourself. Wymack did leave Abby in Palmetto, as she was the head healer, which meant she was always either sighing sadly, or snapping at Aaron and his girlfriend Katelyn, who were her apprentices. This in turn left Aaron in a fouler mood than usual, and Andrew’s life far more difficult than he would have liked. He did not appreciate it. 

Andrew was already doubling the fortifications and adding fireproof spells to everything because of the upcoming Beltane celebrations; he did not need to be adding any other issues to his already substantially heavier workload. However, Neil ended up being far more help than anticipated in this regard. For once, his penchant for following Andrew around became useful, because he could make use of Neil’s amplification powers. It didn’t make the number of spells he had to cast any less numerous, but it certainly helped strengthen the ones he was casting.

It all came to a head when Andrew got the vision. He’d been keeping a closer eye on all of the Foxes lately, looking for anything amiss, so he was already prepared when he saw one of their travelling Foxes get attacked. Seth was one of the Foxes that Andrew liked even less than the others, as he was a bit brutish and prone to attacking everyone for any supposed slight, both with his hands and with his words. It had been a relief to all of them - except maybe Allison - when he had decided that his strength-enhancing specialization would be more useful elsewhere. 

But, he was still a Fox, so Andrew wasted no time in calling his brother.

“You’re going to need to be ready. Three large lacerations and potential poisoning. One of the cuts is very deep, but seems to have missed any organs.” Aaron wasn’t the only twin that had picked up bits and pieces of the other’s habits and knowledge. He could already hear Aaron moving to do as he was bid. 

“Who is it?” he asked in between shuffling sounds.

“Seth,” Andrew grunted out.

“ Seth? You mean the same Seth who could outbox even Matt? How’d he get hurt that badly?”

“This was no accident. I’ll keep you posted.” Andrew hung up the phone and pulled his cloak on before going to find Dan. She would need to know about this, and they didn’t have much time. 

Dan paced the room while Andrew used his runestones to scry. Renee was sitting in the opposite corner, out of his way, being her usual serene self. Andrew was grateful for her presence, if only for how capable she was of calming even Dan's explosive temper.

“Why can’t you just do the mirror thing like you did with Neil?” she demanded for the fourth time.

“Because that takes a lot of energy, and I’ll need that energy for the transportation spell,” Andrew explained as close to patiently as he ever got.

She swung around again. “Neil amplifies powers, why don’t you take him with you?”

“Ah yes, let’s just take the idiot we know for a fact they want dead, with us to a place where we know for a fact there will be Moriyama men. That sounds like a great idea, Captain.” And with that the little patience he had evaporated. Did he understand that Dan was worried and stressed and under a lot of pressure? Yes. Did Andrew appreciate being yelled at? No.

“I don’t like the idea of you going alone into-,” Dan started. 

“Oh, I won’t be alone. I’m taking Reynolds with me,” Andrew cut her off. 

Dan stopped pacing and blinked. “Why Allison?” 

“Because I happen to know about her top secret rendezvous with a certain necromancer, and that she uses a fairly sophisticated transportation spell to transport herself to and from said necromancer’s room.” Andrew's eyes flicked to meet Renee's from behind Dan. She gave him a small shrug, like what could you do?

“And how exactly do you know about that?” Dan eyed him suspiciously again. He knew because Renee had told him. But even if he told Dan so, she wouldn’t believe him. 

“Wouldn’t you like to know, weather boy?” Andrew deadpanned.

Renee gave him a questioning glance, but didn't try to defend his honor the way his brother - and now apparently Neil - might have. He was grateful.

“Did you just- oh nevermind . Have you found him yet?” Dan sighed.

“Yes. Two hours. Lucky for you, it’s only a few miles north of here.”

“If it’s not for two hours, why can you not just drive?”

“Because we’d never get out of there fast enough with a car, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel like leaving my car there for the Moriyamas to destroy.” Andrew was so very done with this conversation.

Renee apparently sensed his bullshit meter peaking because she gave him a soft smile and stood up. "Well then, I will go get Allison. I take it Aaron has been warned?" 

Andrew nodded and gave her a two fingered salute before pulling his own cloak back over his shoulder and hooking the clasp across his chest. He never grew tired of feeling the soft click as the magic protections slid into place around him. 

It went better than he expected if he was being honest. Sure there was an ambush, but he'd known that already, and short of an actual Moriyama or maybe Kevin, nothing could get through one of Andrew's wards. (Even a half-formed travel ward that was hastily thrown up as he left a portal.) If anything, Andrew thought that his travel wards might be stronger than the wards around Palmetto itself, since there were less people they had to try and protect. 

No, the trouble arrived when they reached their home turf, injured Fox in tow.

If Riko’s goal had been to start an internal dispute, he had certainly succeeded. Upon seeing the state of her ex-boyfriend, Allison was ready to bash in the doors of Castle Evermore herself, and the usually passive Matt was not far behind her. Renee tried her best to calm down her girlfriend, but Dan’s agitation, along with varying degrees of worry, guilt, and impassiveness from the other Foxes  combined to create a tense aura in the guildhall that Andrew felt was nothing short of hellish. 

“So we all agree that this was an act of war then?” Dan finally stated, once everyone had finally calmed down enough to actually sit around the breakfast table. 

“Yes. Neil’s insult could have been written off as an impulsive act made by a single person who was unfamiliar with our rules. This was a deliberate attack on one of our members, with intent to kill. If this were done by anyone other than the Ravens, they would have already been tried and disbanded,” Renee confirmed.

“But they are the Ravens,” Matt said wearily. “They’re the largest and strongest, and probably have some sort of blackmail on every other guild out there, ensuring that no one will be able to come to our aid. How in the hell are we supposed to fight back?”

“We can’t,” Andrew stated, once he was sure that everyone else had been shocked into dismayed silence.

“What!” Came the predictable chorus of yells. 

“What are you saying Andrew?” Dan demanded.

“I’m saying that we can’t take on a guild as big and powerful as the Ravens, not as we are.”

“So what? We just sit here and wait for them to decide to leave us alone?”

“No, you wait for the right time to strike. If you go barreling in there without a plan, they’re going to eat you alive.”

“How will we know when it’s time?” Dan asked, frustrated. 

Andrew wasn’t too clear on that himself yet actually, but he had been seeing the future for long enough that he knew how to bluff. He let out a sly smile, that was more bite than happiness. 

“Oh we’ll know.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Nine

In which the squad gets some unsolicited advice

    “Alright, everyone shut up.” Dan stood at the head of the table, a position of power that was only slightly undermined by the chaotic stack of books that were probably Renee’s, piles of doodles that were most definitely Nicky’s, and a collection of half drunk mugs of tea that Neil had watched Matt add to the stack near daily for the past month teetering dangerously in front of her. 

    “It’s brainstorming time people, we seem to be under attack from the largest guild in the world. I will take any suggestions I can get to deal with this, because quite frankly, I’m at a loss.”

    “Should we be canceling the Beltane celebrations?” Matt questioned, looking around the table nervously. 

    “We can’t. That would leave us even more defenseless than we are right now,” Andrew snapped in response. He sounded exhausted, and Neil had a feeling that he had been shoring up defenses by himself while everyone else was sleeping. He wasn’t very good at pretending he hated everyone, actually. 

    “What, so we should just have a party and forget that we’re at war with the biggest guild out there?” Allison asked. Neil was surprised she had torn herself away from Seth’s side long enough to join the meeting. In fact, the only one missing was Aaron, who was still trying to piece the injured man back together.

    “We’re not at war, ” Dan spluttered out. 

    “Dan is right. We can’t afford a guild war. It will cost too much, not just for us, but for our people,” Renee cut in. 

    Kevin nodded along. “It’s true. Take Jean for instance, he was taken in by the Moriyamas after his parents were killed in a guild war. His family were never magic users before. He didn’t get a choice.” 

    “War or not, we can’t afford to skip Beltane. The defenses rely on the upsurge of magic from the festivities. If we try to skip, Palmetto will be crushed in a matter of months anyway,” Andrew spoke to the rest of the group as if he were speaking to a group of children, but Neil could hear the exhausted and somewhat desperate tone in his voice. He didn’t understand why no one but him and Aaron could see just how much Andrew did for everyone, and how much he cared. He was so tired of watching these people he considered friends, almost family, treat Andrew like he was the scum of the earth when Aaron wasn’t around to fight them on his behalf. Neil decided that he would just have to do it in Aaron’s stead. 

    “I still don’t think—” Matt started

    Neil cut him off, “Who here is the expert on protective spells? If we’re voting, I’m throwing my lot in with the one who has been actually setting the wards around here and knows what happens when they fail.”

    Andrew looked a bit taken aback for some reason, but Renee had a small smile on her face, and even Dan looked a little bit sheepish at his announcement. 

    “Right, so we carry on with Beltane, what else can we do to protect ourselves?” 

    “Call in anyone outside of the walls. Or at least their families. We’re better defended here, and we can’t go wrong with more manpower.” Allison shrugged and tossed her hair over her shoulder. 

    “Sure, and where do you propose we keep all these people? We don’t have room in the guildhall for everyone, and the only ones who have a place outside of the hall are the monsters,” Dan responded, tired. 

    “Maybe we can ask around town if people would be willing to host for a while?”

    “But for how long? No one is going to want a group of strangers in their home for what could be months until we resolve this,” Kevin pointed out, leaning back in his chair imperiously. 

    “Well, what else do you propose we do, Kevin?” Allison snapped in response.

    Kevin opened his mouth to respond but evidently Andrew was done listening to everyone squabble, as he stood up and walked out.

    “Let us know what you decide!” Neil told them cheerily as he followed after. 

    As per usual, he found Andrew sitting on the roof with a cigarette between his fingers. 

    “What do you think we should do?”

    “What does it matter what I think? I’m pretty sure we’ve established that my thoughts are not worth taking into consideration.” Neil looked at him, hair glowing in a golden halo in the twilight. 

    “Maybe they think so, but I think you should share them anyway.”

    Andrew paused to collect his thoughts. “We need to take them head on. Stop hiding.” 

    “Do we have the power to take them head on?” Neil wondered aloud. 

    Andrew shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. But we’re nothing but sitting ducks here.”

    “You haven’t had any visions of this?” Neil was not expecting an answer, as thus far Andrew had been fairly tight lipped about his visions, and what happened in them. So he was surprised when the response was nearly immediate.

    “Nothing concrete.” 

    Neil nodded in understanding and looked back out at the horizon. There was a figure standing outside the city gates, black clothing barely discernible in the evening light. 

    “Andrew…”

    “I know. He’s not dangerous at the moment.”

    “Do you know who it is?”

    “Jean Moreau.”

    “Why is he here?” 

    Andrew turned to look at him, cigarette nearly at the bud. “Curious thing, aren’t you. Fine, let's go find out.” He put out what was left of his cigarette, and stood up. 

    “Come along little rabbit, let's see what the crows dragged in.”

    Jean was taller than Neil had expected. Sure he knew intellectually that he was taller than Kevin, but he had always struck such a small presence next to Riko and Kevin, that it was easy to forget that the man’s height was not the same size as his countenance. He was so unassuming in fact, that Neil would never have even recognized him at all, had Andrew not told him who it was in advance. It was strange enough to see a raven without their cloak, it was even stranger to see a raven on their own doorstep without their cloak.

    “Why are you here, birdy?” Andrew asked coldly as he let the gate open a sliver. Neil didn’t think the bite in his voice was really necessary — the man looked like he was about to pass out as it was — but he didn’t say anything. 

    “I-” Jean shuddered as if he were caught by a cold breeze. He looked directly at Neil. “I want to help. I can’t do much, and every second I go without my cloak, Riko will get more suspicious, but I can tell you this. For all of his posturing, Riko has never been able to do so much as a levitation charm. If you get him somewhere high, he’s helpless.”

    “Doesn’t his castle fly?” Andrew wondered aloud. Jean ignored him and turned to leave.

    “Wait. Why are you helping us?” Neil asked. Jean looked over his shoulder. 

    “Starting a guild war is one thing. It’s another to knowingly attack guild members who are not active.” Jean turned and walked back to his car. Neil remembered something Kevin had said before. Take Jean for instance, he was taken in by the Moriyamas after his parents were killed in a guild war. 

    “Whose side do you think his parents were on?” he asked Andrew as he watched Jean walk away. 

    “Does it matter?”

    “No, I suppose not.”

    “Hey Jean!” he called out through the gate. Jean turned back around to stare at him in question. “You know the Foxes aren’t the only ones who will take in anyone. I was talking to Jeremy Knox at the banquet, and he mentioned he was in need of someone to help Dermott and Alvarez shore up their defense. They’ve got a much larger city to protect after all.” Jean’s eyes widened.

    “You mean…” 

    “I’m sure they wouldn’t say no to someone with your talent. I mean you’re no Andrew, but you can never have too much defense.” Jean nodded at Neil in thanks and climbed into the car that he’d had idling behind him since his arrival. Andrew slammed the gate in his wake.

    “Do you think I should call and warn Jeremy?” Neil questioned, somewhat rhetorically. He didn’t have Jeremy’s number anyway.

    Andrew shrugged. “It’ll be fine.” Neil wasn’t sure if Andrew was saying that as a person who gave zero shits about Jean Moreau, or as someone who could literally see the future, but he thought it was probably true either way. 

    “Yeah. He’ll be fine.”

____

    Jean Moreau may have theoretically been fine, but Neil certainly wasn’t. He winced as another crack of thunder rumbled through the Columbia House. If the constant thunderstorms weren’t so nerve wracking, he would be annoyed.

    “This is not natural,” Nicky stated, quite unnecessarily. 

    “No, no it is not,” Neil responded miserably, curling further into the worn armchair he had claimed for himself. He sipped at his tea and tried to ignore the panic spreading through his bones. They were two days into a thunderstorm that had spread to surround the entire city, sky darkening and lightning flashing bright colors at random intervals. Outside the wards, there was a layer of fog that made travel too and from the city virtually impossible, halting any of Allison’s conceived plans of inviting the traveling guild members back into Palmetto. 

    Neil was virtually useless at the guildhall, since he kept jumping with each crash, so he had been banished to the Columbia house instead. He was grateful for the excuse if he was being honest with himself, as the Columbia house felt safer somehow. 

    “What do you think is causing it? Is it Riko’s goons again?” Nicky wondered aloud.

    “No, I know exactly who is responsible for this,” Neil replied miserably. “And I can tell you right now, she’s a massive bitch.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Ten

In which Neil finally gets a clue 

It was three more days before Neil had finally had enough. Beyond his admission that he knew who was controlling the weather. (No, he did not know her name, Dan, please stop asking.) He had kept silent as he watched the rest of the Foxes run around trying to do what they could, but Neil knew that nothing the foxes did would ever help against the enemy they were fighting now. She hadn’t even begun to show them her true power yet, and already the Foxes were stretched to their limits. There was a reason his mother had chosen to run rather than fight after all. The weather witch was sending a message, and Neil was receiving it loud and clear. Surrender or she would kill everyone he had come to care for. Neil had only just found this new family, he didn’t intend to lose them when there was something he could do to stop it. 

So, while Nicky and Andrew slept in the Columbia house – Aaron was still working long hours at the guild house as more and more people were injured in the skirmishes – Neil slid out of the front door and down the street to the gate, his orange cloak pulled tightly around him to fend off the evening chill. 

Neil couldn’t tell you how he knew where he was going. If he had to guess, he would say it was likely the same reason there was now an ever-present fog hanging around Palmetto, but even so, it took him a distressingly short time to reach the source of the fog and thunder. The source turned out to be Castle Evermore. What a fucking plot twist. Neil did not have that on his bingo sheet for the year. He considered going back to Palmetto with a warning that two of the biggest assholes he knew were now collaborating, but then the gates opened before him. 

“Well if it isn’t Junior,” someone drawled from the shadows. Neil stared at her in disgust, arms instinctively rising to cross in front of his chest. Kevin would have a conniption if he could see him abandoning his fighting stance now. 

“You again,” he responded moodily, days of adrenaline high and depression weighing on him until it was all he could do to make the response as scathing as possible.

 “Where’s your mother, darlin’,” the witch asked with a lipsticked smirk that belied her obvious hand in his mother’s vanishing. Neil took this to mean that the woman had finally managed what she had been aiming for since he was a small child, and put his mother out of her misery for good. He fought back a wave of grief mixed with scorn, he had no time to unravel his complicated feelings for his mother at that moment. The witch strode towards him, and Neil stepped back. It would do no real good, she was nothing if not capable of firing on you at a distance, but it made him feel better nonetheless. 

“What do you want? What’s your name, anyway?” Neil tried to cover his unease with bluster, but he could tell it wasn’t actually working. 

“Oh honey, your mother really didn’t tell you anything, did she? The name’s Lola. You should probably know the name of the person who’s going to torture you slowly. Really, you should have stayed with your father. It would have been so much less painful than what I’m about to do to you.” She had a point really, how had it taken this long for him to get her name? What exactly had his mother been trying to protect him from?

“Stay with my father? My father is dead! How would that be better for me,” Neil pointed out, and watched in fascination as Lola’s smile dropped. Evidently, Lola did not appreciate the reminder that his father was dead. Which was honestly far more than he ever wanted to know about both his father and Lola.

“Oh, Junior, by the time I’m done, you’ll only wish you were as dead as your father,” she seethed before launching a lightning bolt at him. Neil dodged and thought that the whole “frying him alive with a bolt of lightning” thing sort of defeated the purpose of her previous statement regarding his will to live, but he appreciated the drama of it anyway. He bet Andrew would do something similar if he were into more aggressive forms of magic. Then, as if the thought of Andrew alone could summon him, Andrew appeared at his side and Neil blinked as he watched Andrew make a shimmering shield of orange light to stop her second bolt of lightning.

“What,” said Andrew through gritted teeth, “The fuck, Neil.” Andrew’s cloak fluttered around him and Neil noticed Andrew hadn’t even gotten dressed, just thrown his cloak over his t-shirt and sweatpants.

“I didn’t need your help!” Neil told him indignantly, even as he subdued the fluttering in his chest at the knowledge that Andrew had cared enough to come after him.

“Aw. Did you make yourself a new friend, Nathaniel?” Lola mocked, still throwing lightning at them. Andrew and Neil both ignored her. 

“Like hell you don’t need my help! What, were you planning on just dodging forever?”

“Maybe. But it’s what I can do to help protect you all!” Neil grabbed Andrew’s cloak, allowing some of his magic to spread across the fabric and reinforce Andrew’s spells. 

“Are you an idiot? I’m the one who does the protecting around here, got it?”

“You have everyone else’s backs, who is going to have yours?” Neil retorted, ignoring the instinct to cross his arms and stomp his foot, if only because he was still helping to power the shield that was currently keeping them from imitating the chicken they’d had for dinner the night before. Andrew scowled at him but didn’t answer. So focused was he on keeping up his protections, that it wasn’t until it was too late that Andrew noticed Lola pull out a knife. Neil only managed to escape a knife to the kidney by virtue of having lots of practice with dodging projectiles. His practice only extended so far however, and he ended up with the knife in his arm instead.  Neil watched Andrew’s eyes darken and he used his shield as a makeshift battering ram – shoving Lola back through the gates of the castle behind her. Andrew then grabbed Neil’s wrist and activated the transportation spell he had taken to carrying at all times. 

“I’m fine,” Neil said as soon as they were back in the living room of the Columbia house. 

“I am going to stab you myself, if you don’t eradicate that word from your vocabulary,” Andrew hissed at him, dragging him to the kitchen, and presumably the first aid kit. Neil wondered how this was his life.

Andrew was going to lose his goddamn mind. Why the hell had he decided to take in an idiot with a death wish? He dragged Neil to the kitchen to remove the knife from his arm, mostly annoyed that of course Neil would have found the one person to antagonize other than Andrew who would think to bring a knife to a magic fight. If Neil continued to stick around, he would have to adjust all of his cloaks to protect against more aggressive physical attacks as well as the magical. 

Neil stared down at him, blue eyes shifting with unknowable thoughts as he watched Andrew sanitize and wrap his arm.

“Thanks,” he finally voiced.

“I hate you,” Andrew responded, still salty about the idiot getting himself damaged in the first place.

“You know, every time you say that, I believe you a little less,” Neil commented, admiring his now wrapped arm. Andrew’s fingers itched with the desire to reach out and touch Neil again. He resisted the urge and wondered silently if Neil was trying to protect his feelings or if he really had no idea about Andrew’s feelings at all. Andrew ignored said feelings boiling in his chest and directed Neil’s attention back to the massive number of problems he was still causing. 

“It’s not your job to go running into danger to protect us.”

“Why not. You gave me a key. You gave me a place to call home.”

“I’m not your answer, and you sure as hell aren’t mine,” Andrew snapped. It was too harsh a reaction, he winced at the desperation — the vulnerability — that shone through in it. He was flung back to the first day he’d met Neil. I ’m not your answer, and you sure as hell aren’t mine. Oh. He hadn’t realized. He hadn’t known what it would mean.

A new vision overtook his sight and he was helpless to stop it. It seemed he was always helpless to stop the inevitability of Neil Josten. It was another one of his own visions. His own impossible future. Part of him wondered if he was only able to see his own future now because he hadn’t had one before Neil. The thought was a bit too on the nose. 

He was holding Neil’s hand. It was warm and comforting. Neil was laughing at something, and he looked at Andrew like he had hung the stars . Like he was doing right now. Andrew pulled himself out of the vision to find that Neil was still staring at him, but he now had a look of recognition on his face that was quickly morphing into surprise.

“You like me.” Andrew wasn’t sure why Neil looked so surprised by this. He hadn’t been subtle. Even Aaron had noticed. He also would have liked to know what on earth had changed in his face during that vision to make Neil come to his senses. Only so he could never do it again of course. 

“Ninety percent of the time I would like to kill you,” he responded grumpily. Neil’s shock morphed into a grin.

“And the other ten?”

“Ninety one percent.” Neil just grinned wider and Andrew was inadvertently reminded of the sassy commentary his brother had bequeathed upon him when he was attempting the flight spell months before. You still can’t do it? Maybe you should try kissing someone. They say it makes you feel like you can fly. He shoved his unwanted mental Aaron away, but was somewhat unsurprised when that didn’t get rid of the thoughts completely. He was so fucking screwed.