Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Matt hadn’t been this excited for a game in years. Once the schedule was released, he marked the date in his calendar and has been counting the days since. Matt gave one last tug on his laces, stuffed his gloves in his helmet, and raced for the court. 

The excited chatter of thousands of fans buzzed through the air. Usually, the roar of the crowd, the dazzling lights, and the bright colors would steal Matt’s attention, but tonight he had only one goal. Matt beat the rest of his teammates onto the court and scanned his opponents, watching them run drills on the far end. It only took Matt a moment before he spotted his mark.

Matt strode over to the shortest member of the team, shouting an excited, “Neil!” Neil Josten turned his head at the sound. Matt’s excitement got the better of him once he saw his face. Matt scooped Neil up into a bone-crushing squeeze, briefly lifting Neil's feet from the ground. Neil returned to the court a little unsteady from the sudden affection but donned a pleased smile nonetheless. 

“I think you’re on the wrong side of the court,” Neil said through a laugh.

“Figured I had to come scope out the competition,” Matt responded with a fierce grin. “You’ve had a helluva season so far.” 

“It hasn’t been too bad. It’ll feel a lot better with another win tonight. I’ve been told I’m known for turning on the "Josten jets". Think you can keep up?”

“I’ve been working on my sprints,” Matt answered with an exaggerated shrug. 

“Boyd,” someone called from behind Matt’s shoulder. The rest of Matt’s team filed onto the court ready for warm-ups. 

Neil nodded in their direction. “Sounds like your team needs you. Good luck tonight, you’ll need it.”

Matt felt a hungry smile stretch across his face. “Bring it, Josten.” Matt and Neil gave each other a firm clasp on the forearm before Matt jogged over to the other side of the court. 

It had been two years since he’d played with Neil at Palmetto. Matt could not wait to be back on the court with him, even if they were adversaries. No! Because they were adversaries. Matt was deeply familiar with Neil’s strengths as a striker. Neil was on track to be named rookie of the year by the ERC. The task of marking Neil was sure to be a delightful challenge. 

The warning buzzer sounded, indicating five minutes to serve. The teams shuffled off the court for the coin toss. Neil’s team won the first serve, so Matt’s team took home court. Matt found his place on the first court line and locked eyes with Neil. The final seconds ticked down as Matt tightened his grip on his stick and planted his feet on the floor. Every nerve in his body was buzzing in anticipation. The starting buzzer sounded, and Matt raced up the court. 

At Palmetto, Matt had grown so accustomed to playing full games that it took him the better part of his rookie season to unlearn the instinct to conserve his energy. Apparently, Neil did not need to learn this lesson. Or perhaps he only has one speed: fast as fuck. Neil met Matt halfway, and the two clashed trying to force the other further up the court. Neil pulled out his fast footwork and quickly maneuvered around Matt. 

Matt trailed three steps behind him and watched as the ball bounced off the backcourt wall and ricocheted in their direction. Neil got to the ball first and turned to take a shot on goal. But Matt wasn’t stopping. Matt checked Neil hard enough to make Neil stumble and sent the ball soaring up out of his net. Matt had well over a foot on Neil, his reach the perfect counter to Neil’s speed, and scooped the ball from over Neil’s shoulder. Without taking a step, Matt passed the ball to his dealer. 

Neil brushed past Matt’s hip, chasing the ball down the court. Neil shot Matt a glance over his shoulder, and his wicked smile only drove Matt to push harder. 

After forty-five minutes, the teams were tied four to four. Matt had never been more grateful to sit out a half. Neil had him running all over the court and Neil didn’t even have the decency to look tired while doing so. Around the twenty-minute mark, the second wave of Matt’s team had pulled away with a two-point lead. By the five-minute mark, Neil’s team had shrunk the gap to one. Tension ran high, and a fight broke out on the court. The refs ran on before more players could be pulled into the mix, dealing each team a yellow card.

Neil’s coach took the opportunity to switch out some of his players. He subbed in Neil, much to his veteran striker’s chagrin. Matt watched the last five minutes mystified. Neil dominated the court, holding possession of the ball more often than not. Matt had watched Neil play for years. He’d faced him in countless scrimmages. Only with that knowledge and experience was he able to keep up with Neil. Matt’s fellow defensive linemen didn’t stand a chance. 

The final buzzer sounded with a score of seven to six in Neil’s favor. Matt stood up and cheered with the rest of the visiting fans. Sure, Matt lost but his friend just won, and doesn’t that mean just as much? Matt joined the line of handshakes and added to the chorus of “good game,” but stopped once he got to Neil. 

“Think you have time for a drink later?”

Neil shook his head. “Team flight is taking off just after this.”

“Alright, but next time you’re in town, come find me. Damn, it’s good to see you, man!” 

“It’s good to see you too.” Neil wrapped an arm around Matt in a quick hug, much to Matt’s surprise, before continuing down the line. Oh yeah, Matt can’t wait for a rematch.

Chapter Text

Neil gave a soft rap on the door as he entered the hospital room. He promptly put his hands in his jacket pockets once Matt waved him in. Neil made himself as small as possible and gave all the medical equipment wary glances as he walked by. 

Matt quietly rose from his chair, trying not to wake Dan. He wrapped Neil in a brief but fierce hug. Matt was absolutely beaming. The happiness that flooded from his chest made the sting of his exhausted eyes inconsequential. 

“Hey,” Matt whispered. “I’m so happy you could make it.” 

Neil offered a, “Congratulations.” It sounded a little forced, but Matt appreciated the attempt. “How’s Dan?”

“She’s good! We’re all good! She’s resting now, obviously. But the doctors said everything’s great!” Matt had to work to control his volume through his excitement. “You want to see him?”

Neil nodded, and Matt led him over to the little bassinet. They peered down at a tiny bundle of blue. A squishy little face was barely visible from under the hat and blanket. Matt stared down at his adorable nose and bright eyes and felt the comforting weight of a full life ahead of him. 

Matt tore his gaze away to find Neil watching Matt, a soft smile curved around his scarred cheeks. Matt wasn’t sure what Neil saw on his face or what was going through Neil’s head. Matt did know that his own cheeks hurt from smiling so much. 

“You want to hold him?” Matt asked, already picking up the baby.

Neil hesitated before giving a shaky, “Yeah.” 

The baby made a few soft cooing sounds as Matt transferred him to Neil’s arms. Neil looked very awkward. His shoulders were tight, his arms were rigid, and Matt was fairly certain Neil had stopped breathing. 

Matt let out a low laugh, “He’s not dangerous. You can relax, you know.”

Neil finally inhaled and stared down at the baby in his arms. Matt watched his son’s tiny fingers stretch out, investigating the new man before him. Neil was starting to relax when his stare fixated on the child’s arm. It had been some time since Matt had seen this expression on Neil’s face. It is the same starstruck look when anyone offers him a modicum of kindness. Matt followed Neil’s gaze and saw the identification bracelet wrapped around his son’s wrist. 

“What do you think?” Matt asked.

Neil did not shift his gaze and in a barely audible whisper said, “Neil.”

“David Neil Boyd-Wilds,” Matt confirmed.

“Why?” Neil finally brought his face up to Matt’s.

Matt shrugged. “Why not? I don’t know, it just felt right. Dan and I tried out other names, but nothing else stuck.” Matt had always known their first son would be David even before Dan did. Coach meant too much to her not to. And Matt liked the name. Neil was also his suggestion. He was only 70% serious when he said it out loud the first time, but after hearing it, there was never another option. 

Neil still looked like he had gotten the wind knocked out of his lungs, so Matt continued on. “Man, you’re our friend. You mean a lot to us. To me. And I’m honored to have a kid share a piece of your name. I hope you don’t mind. It’s kinda too late to change it.”

“No,” Neil responded a bit too quickly. “No, I don’t mind. Thank you.”

Matt rolled his eyes at the unnecessary ‘thank you’. He wasn’t sure Neil would ever be fully comfortable with their friendship. Matt didn’t mind, though. He’d assure Neil a million times over if that’s what it took. “Yeah, we’ll see how long that gratitude lasts when Dan and I are calling on you for babysitting duties.” 

Matt took his place next to Dan and held her hand as she slept. He watched Neil gently cradle David in his arms. Matt beamed again, knowing his whole world was safe and sound in this room.

Chapter Text

“Why is the rat back in the kitchen?” 

“Because he has a dream, Neil.” 

“The old lady already chased him with a shotgun. Why would he try to cook again?”

“You’re right. He should choose to play exy while the mafia chase him. Because that would make total sense.”

Neil glared at Matt in response. 

Matt and Neil lounged on Matt’s sofa. When Matt heard that Neil and Andrew were in town, he suggested they all hang out. He knew it was wishful thinking for Andrew to accept the invitation. But it was all the same, Matt liked spending time with Neil. Dan was away for a coaching conference, meaning Matt was home with the kids, so Neil came over with the promise of watching a movie. 

Matt hadn’t intended the movie to be a children’s film, but Karley, Matt’s youngest, insisted on watching with them. Karley selected her favorite movie and immediately fell asleep, curled in Matt’s lap, just as Matt suspected. But he didn’t mind, Ratatouille is a classic, and he couldn’t believe Neil hadn’t seen it. Actually, he absolutely believed Neil hadn’t seen it, and Matt wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to show him.
From down the hall, a big crash sounded from the room where David and Mason were playing. Matt let out a big sigh. 

“I should probably go see what that was.” He said, starting to shift Karley as lightly as possible to not wake her.

“I can go check it out.” Neil offered with a pointed look at Karley resting soundly on Matt’s lap.

“Uh, yeah. If you don’t mind.”

Neil got up without another word and padded down the hallway. Matt kept an ear out for any shouts or tears. He caught the faint murmurs of voices, but nothing distinct enough to decipher words. Matt idly stroked Karley’s hair as minutes dragged on. Matt was about to get up and investigate if Neil had gotten kidnapped again when Neil returned to sight.

Neil flopped down on the couch before saying, “I have been sworn to secrecy about the events transpiring over there, but I can assure you it’s nothing you need to concern yourself with.”

Another crash came from down the hall, and Matt sent Neil an exasperated look.

“It’s fine. I promise.”

Matt kept a side-eye trained on Neil and strained to listen to the voices down the hall. Since he heard laughter and not cries of pain, he decided to leave it for now. Matt turned his attention back towards Neil. “For the record, I’m still skeptical of your definition of ‘fine’.”

Neil gave a noncommittal shrug, and they returned to watching the movie.