Work Text:
"Minyard - Josten rivals spotted together coming out of US Court training. Is something blooming there?"
After years of the two Exy players being involved in the rivalry that has moved the world of the sport Neil Josten and Andrew Minyard have been spotted together a few times outside the US Court training grounds. The fans wonder what's happening between them.
"I hate the fucking press." Neil huffs, putting down his phone on the table before he can read further. He shouldn’t even be reading articles about himself but after the press grabbed onto the narrative of his rivalry with Andrew becoming something more and the news of both of them making US Court it was becoming impossible to avoid them.
"What?” Andrew asks, his tone is uninterested but he puts his book down and looks at Neil, and that’s enough to understand he’s listening to him.
"It's the third time this week they are writing about our blooming relationship " Neil normally wouldn’t be as angry as he is about the press doing what they know best, which is being insufferable, but this time it bothers him, and greatly, and he can’t exactly pinpoint why.
"And why does it bother you?"
"Because they are annoying! They won't leave us alone!"
"And what do you want to do about that?" Andrew asks sharply, but there’s not really a bite to his words, Neil knows Andrew hates the press as much as he does. "Are you going to give a press conference to prove them wrong?"
Neil considers the possibility for a moment and shudders, he hates the rumours, but he undoubtedly hates press conferences more, giving one would be like feeding an insatiable beast, he can’t really give them the satisfaction to just hand his private affairs to them.
His relationship with Andrew was supposed to be just theirs, ever since they started being together it was no one’s business but their own, they only let the Foxes see some of it, but most of it was still private, and when both of them became pros they decided that they’d prefer to just keep it that way.
That’s part of the reason why he and Andrew let the rivalry rumours go on for so long, no one could snoop around in their lives if they were looking for the wrong things, they controlled what the press saw, they had the upper hand. But now the press was looking for something different and in usual press fashion, they held onto the dumbest things to blow them out of proportion.
They found pictures of them when they were at Palmetto, they interviewed their former teammates, coaches, anyone who could tell them anything, they followed them after games, seeing what kind of car they got into or if there was someone else there that could give an indication that they were together, overanalyzed every single post on their social media to come up with the strangest scenarios of what the hidden meaning was.
It was exhausting.
And it got worse after training for the Olympics got around and they were found on the same team, getting out of the court at the same time and driving the same car. The press knew exactly where to find them and they came up every day with new ways to talk about their relationship.
"Stop it," Andrew speaks, cutting Neil’s train of thought, Neil isn’t sure if he means stop complaining or stop paying attention to the press. Probably both. “You’re sulking”
“I’m not”
“If you are so bothered by them we can just put a stop to them” Neil looks at Andrew after he says that, his expression turning into a frown.
“How? You literally called me your husband and punched one of your teammates and that didn’t stop them”
“We could ask” Andrew shrugs as if that had been the obvious answer that Neil had been missing all along. Neil almost laughs at how simple his answer is.
“That’s not going to work”
“Unless you have a better idea” Andrew picks up his book again, looking away from Neil, Neil sighs, he doesn’t have a better idea, might as well try Andrew’s.
“Fine, just ask”
"Andrew Minyard and Neil Josten: What are the secrets they don’t want to tell?”
During the first press conference with US Court Exy Players, Andrew Minyard refused to answer the questions about his and Neil Josten's relationship, as provided by the knowledge the public has about their pasts the fans start asking questions about what they want to hide from them.
Neil doesn’t even bother to finish reading before he tosses his phone back into his bag with an annoyed huff. He’s alone in the changing room of the US Court training complex after the last session before he needs to pack his bags to leave for the Olympics.
Needless to say, he’s stressed about it, and he’s not helping himself by constantly checking every article that has his, or Andrew’s, name on the title, it’s not that he’s a masochist, but he just seems to not be able to stop. He tries to not let it affect him, but the fact that he needed to wait until everyone was out of the changing room before he could take a shower and change his clothes, even after years of not having to do that, indicates that it is indeed getting to him, and it’s making him have a bad day.
“You are doing it again.” Andrew’s presence makes itself known, he’s standing in the doorway, coming back after he had left Neil alone as he needed, Andrew understood that better than anyone, but Andrew also knew that it was never good to leave Neil alone for too long.
“What am I doing again?” Neil asks despite being sure he knows the answer, Andrew gestures to Neil’s phone in his bag, with the screen still showing the article’s title.
“You need to stop doing that.”
“I’m not doing anything, I was just reading an article.”
Andrew stares at him for a second, as if considering if it’s worth it to call his bullshit out. In the end, he just keeps going.
“Why does this bother you so much?” It’s almost the same question Andrew asked weeks ago, it Neil wants to scream.
“It doesn’t, it’s just annoying. I’m fine.” He says instead, glaring away from Andrew and focusing on a faraway point in the locker room.
“Don’t pull that bullshit with me, you know better”
And Neil did know better than to say that to Andrew, but it wasn’t as simple.
Neil had always hated the press, it was old news, Wymack had known it, and all of the coaches and PR teams from every team he’s been in knew too, if you wanted Neil on press duty there was little you could do to get him to be friendly, the best you could hope for is that he didn’t cause a scandal.
Neil had spent most of his life hiding even the most basic aspects about him, anyone trying to know more would have been dangerous when he was on the run, he could not let anything slip, if that happened it meant being found, and being found meant getting killed.
It was not as if that mattered anymore, the truth about his identity had been known for a long time, his father was dead, the Moriyamas had a deal with him, he was Neil Josten now (Neil Minyard-Josten actually, but very few people knew that, including the FBI) and he had nothing else to hide.
Except for his relationship with Andrew.
It’s not that he had any reason to hide their relationship, they didn’t care about what people’s opinions were about them, but in this case, people weren’t even meant to have an opinion about them. It was not only about the press following them, or talking about what they’ve seen, it was the conspiracy aspect of it, it was how everyone felt entitled to have an opinion on whether they were together or not, and with the assumption that they were people wanted to talk about why, for how long, if they would last, if they would get married, what they liked to do in bed.
And Neil was bothered because none of those questions deserved an answer, they would lead to more and more questions, and he could not control it anymore. People were always going to have opinions, and he didn’t want that, he just wanted Andrew, as it had been during his college years when no one was paying attention to their private lives and during his first years as a pro where people were convinced they hated each other.
Neil knew, objectively, that there was no way he could go back to any of that, there was no back button here, but he at least wanted to feel as if he had any say on what the public was saying, even if he didn’t want to tell them anything outright.
“So?” Andrew spoke after a while, an indication that Neil had spent too long lost in his own thoughts, and Neil knew Andrew’s tone was concerned, even if it could only be noticed by him.
He wondered for a moment how to explain what he felt to Andrew, he was sure he’d understand, and even if he didn’t he’d ask what he needed and do exactly as asked, Andrew was always ready to give Neil what he needed, even if he faked reluctancy and annoyance as he was doing it, if it was in the realms of Andrew's Yeses then it was done.
Neil opted on saying it in the least amount of words possible, hoping Andrew would understand.
“I hate the press making up stuff about us.” Neil’s shoulders slumped as he spoke, as if he was deflating slowly.
“That’s their job, Junkie, they’ve always been making shit up about us.”
“It’s not the same, we were trying to make them do that.”
“And what’s the difference?”
Neil sighs, what's the difference?
“We don’t have control” Neil’s voice gets small as he speaks, it’s an affirmation but it’s also a confession, one that lets Andrew fill in the blanks of what it means.
Andrew’s brows furrow, considering Neil’s words for a second as he shrinks in his place on the bench, and it’s almost funny to Neil how he was able to deal with the mafia but he’s terrified of the press. Neil doesn’t notice when Andrew sits down next to him, looking directly at him, a hand between them waiting for a question that Neil’s ready to answer when Andrew is ready to ask.
“If we win gold at the Olympics I’ll kiss you in front of the whole court” Neil could have never expected those words to come out of Andrew’s lips
“What?”
“You heard me”
“Andrew, I-” Neil stammers, and regains composure before he says anything else. “Why?”
“You want to be in control of what the press writes, but you’ll never be, at least you can choose exactly what they get to talk about instead of making things up”
Andrew’s idea makes sense to Neil for a second, and he lets himself enjoy the scenario in his head before thinking harder about it, and wondering if that’s even a good idea. What if Andrew doesn’t want to kiss him if when they win? What if it doesn’t solve anything?
“You don’t have to do that…” Neil starts to say, Andrew scoffs cutting him off before he can get further.
“It’s a Yes, Neil, is it a Yes for you?”
Neil wonders about it again, and he decides as he is looking into Andrew’s eyes that he wouldn’t even dare to say no, he wants it, press be dammed if it doesn’t actually solve anything. This is what they can do, at least it’s the most sane thing they can try without ending with at least one reporter in the hospital.
“Yes” Neil speaks firmly after a second, Andrew’s mouth twitches in almost a smile.
“Then it’s done. Consider it a deal”
“And what do I have to do?”
“You can start by stopping to check the news about yourself every morning, it’s annoying” Neil tries to argue, but he doesn’t find the words “And you also have to actually win gold”
Neil nods once, firmly, and then looks at Andrew in the eye before answering.
“It’s a deal”
“It’s a deal”
(Andrew’s hand finally gets closer to Neil’s and their deal becomes more of a pinky promise)
"The top moments of the Olympics that have us thinking about the Minyard- Josten Rivalry”
The games are starting to get intense as fans wonder what this event will bring from the Minyard- Josten duo, we recount here some of our favourite moments so far.
Neil is shaking as the buzzer indicating the end of the game makes its appearance.
He’s standing on the court, his racket lifted up, he was getting ready to try to steal a last goal.
It takes a while to register that the game is over.
It takes even a while longer to register that they won.
They won gold.
They won Olympic gold.
Neil quickly takes his helmet off and leaves his racket on the floor as he turns around and looks at Andrew on the goal, who has also taken his helmet off because he has a promise to fulfil. Neil rushes towards Andrew in a second before the rest of the team can try to get them into any celebration, he stops in front of his husband a few millimetres before their bodies touch, an unspoken question in the air.
Neil doesn’t ask it out loud, and Andrew doesn’t bother to answer before he grabs Neil's face into his hands and kisses him.
The kiss tastes like victory, like happiness, like love .
And suddenly it doesn’t matter what the press will write about them, or what the audience or the other players are thinking, because it’s their moment.
It’s public, it’s loud, it’s bound to cause a scandal, but it’s theirs
It’s their lips and their love, and Neil’s hands tugging the ends of Andrew’s jersey, and Andrew’s hands carefully brushing Neil’s sweaty hair out of his face. It’s their rapid breaths as they pull apart enough to break the kiss and not enough to stop touching each other’s lips, and this is the moment Neil actually thinks he doesn’t need a gold medal because Andrew’s kiss is enough.
Andrew once said to Neil that he wasn’t his answer, but as the years together pass it’s getting harder to believe that, maybe Andrew is not the answer to everything, but he certainly is an answer, one that makes Neil’s fears and insecurities fade away, even if just for a moment.
Neil makes peace in an instant with the fact that no one could ever understand his relationship with Andrew, even if they tried, he makes peace with the talking and the rumours, because even if they won’t stop bothering him altogether, at the end of the day the only thing that matters it’s what’s real, Andrew is real, and so is he.
And so are the rings under their shirts, the signed paper that joined their last names when they got married and the home they share with the cats they’ve adopted.
The realization makes Neil dizzy and he clings onto Andrew, who doesn’t ask and simply holds him and supports him as Neil steadies himself. And that’s enough, and it’s a lot better than an Olympic gold medal.
(Until he receives it and celebrates on the podium, and then Neil can agree that both things can be just as good)
The press has a lot to say the next day, Neil doesn’t even look at it.