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Aaron’s walking out of his last class of the day when his phone lights up with Andrew’s caller ID.
It’s not that he and his twin don’t talk regularly - they’ve got a weekly recurring phone call scheduled - but they don’t usually call one another out of the blue. At most, they exchange text messages at random outside of their designated call times.
Aaron picks it up nonetheless. “Hello?”
“I thought we established that I will tolerate your relationship as long as you keep it out of my business.”
Aaron’s not sure how he’s meant to reply to that.
Helpfully, Andrew continues in the wake of his silence. “I just got off the phone with a journalist who wanted to know how long I’d been dating the Queen of Exy because apparently you and Day felt the need to stick your tongues down each other’s throats in broad daylight.”
It’s a good thing most of his classmates have dissipated enough that none of them witness Aaron choke on air.
“What?” he eventually manages.
“I’m not repeating that atrocity of a sentence.”
Aaron’s almost certain he knows what incident has incited this, because while he and Kevin are generally cautious about public displays of affection, sometimes they’re not. Like when Aaron got an email notification about a major research award last week in the middle of lunch. They were in a café that seemed private enough, and Kevin grinned at him with one of his real, lopsided, not-at-all-press-approved smiles, and Aaron really wasn’t thinking too deeply when Kevin proceeded to close the space in between them.
“What did you say?”
Andrew’s condescension drips from hundreds of miles away. “I just told you - ”
“To the journalist,” Aaron replies, cutting him off. “What did you say to the journalist who called you?”
“I hung up on them.”
Aaron rolls his eyes, turning the corner to begin the walk home. It takes about half an hour to get from campus to the apartment he and Kevin have been sharing since his second year, but the longer trek is good for him when the weather cooperates, now that he no longer has exy for his cardio.
He’s about to respond when his phone buzzes with another call, and he presses the button to merge the two.
“Let me guess, you just got a call from your publicist asking for a comment on your budding romantic relationship with my twin?”
Kevin sounds slightly breathless on the other end of the line. “How did you - ”
“Hello, love of my life,” Andrew deadpans.
Aaron actually gags, earning an odd look from a passerby. “Never say that again. You’ve got your own exy-obsessed idiot at home.”
“Have you already given a comment?” Kevin asks Andrew, immediately all business.
“I have no intention of giving one.”
“Did you miss the part where he’s about to run an article claiming that we’re a couple?”
“I did not miss that,” Andrew replies. “I just fail to see how fixing this is my problem, considering I was not the one who caused it.”
Kevin sputters. “That’s not - ”
“I also fail to see a way to refute a very clear, unedited photograph without outing Aaron.”
It’s the weird moments like this where Aaron finds himself confronted with the fact that his twin does in fact care about him, even for whatever fucked up ways he sometimes decides to show it. Aaron himself hadn’t even thought about that part, the fact that correcting the record would result in the very thing he’s spent years trying to avoid.
It’s less about outing himself as dating a man at this point than it is about outing himself as dating the Kevin Day, Queen of Exy and annoyingly constant feature in those “sexiest professional athletes” lists. Aaron has never wanted that level of attention in his life, and Kevin has always respected that. He thinks Kevin actually enjoys it too, having one pocket of his life that isn’t up for public consumption.
But it’s clear his boyfriend also hasn’t considered the consequences, because he answers Andrew with little more than a soft “oh.”
“Whatever,” Aaron mutters, because he and Andrew don’t do gratitude. “It’ll probably go away in a few days anyway, right?”
EXY’S NEWEST IT COUPLE?
Spotted sharing a sweet moment at a local café in Chicago: none other than two of Exy’s biggest players du jour, Kevin Day and Andrew Minyard.
The two attended Palmetto State University together - possibly the start of their romance? - before embarking on their professional careers in Chicago and Nashville respectively, but it appears that Minyard is willing to pay his partner a visit during the offseason.
Day’s stated in previous press junkets that he’s off the market and appeared in Everything Exy’s Pride Month feature draped in a bisexual flag last year.
Minyard, on the other hand, has been notoriously tight-lipped about his personal life, flat-out refusing to entertain any press questions on the topic.
Neither party was available for comment.
1287 comments, 7743 shares
It does not, in fact, go away in a few days.
Kevin’s phone is blowing up constantly, and Aaron has run across one too many social media “think pieces” about Kevin and Andrew’s supposed relationship. He counts it a win whenever he sees one and it doesn’t immediately trigger his gag reflex.
It’s not entirely unimaginable that no one remembers Andrew has a twin brother, nor is Aaron particularly upset about it - he’d intentionally taken a step back from NCAA exy in his final two years, asking Wymack to switch him off the starting line-up and into a sub position once the new backliners were sufficiently trained up. He hadn’t even stepped on the court for the Foxes’ second national championship win.
The only attention he garners is from his own study group, most of whom already knew his boyfriend is a professional exy player anyway.
angela study group: Attachment - 1 Link
angela study group: gonna go out on a limb and say this is not your brother randomly at a café near the med school
me: it is not
nick study group: l m a o
nick study group: but really?? making out at carson’s?? that’s supposed to be a dignified establishment
angela study group: i don’t think dignified establishments have $4 wine happy hour specials
nick study group: anything where my feet don’t stick to the floor is a dignified establishment
angela study group: the lowest bar
angela study group: anywho, congrats on making national news under mistaken identity aaron
nick study group: sorry people think your bf’s fucking your brother
me: i had had a whole five minutes of peace not thinking about that part, thanks for bringing it back up
nick study group: anytime!!
Aaron’s doing his readings at the kitchen table when Kevin comes into the apartment, and Aaron smells before he sees that Kevin’s brought back takeout from their favorite Thai place - one of those few goldilocks restaurants that has something to satisfy Kevin’s athlete meal plan-slash-general pickiness and Aaron’s desperate need for something with actual flavor, goddammit.
“The pick-up line took forever,” Kevin complains in lieu of an actual greeting, using the one open spot on the table to unpack food containers.
“I’m sorry, princess,” Aaron says mockingly, looking up just in time to get a half-hearted glare from his boyfriend. The stupid pet name came about as a bit of an accident, a joking dig that had earned him a simultaneous stunned expression and deep blush that meant it simply had to stick around - now, it’s his favorite to pull out when Kevin’s being a bit of a diva. Which is fairly often.
“I’m feeding you,” Kevin retorts, sliding the container of drunken noodles in Aaron’s direction.
Aaron thanks him by immediately digging in, almost burning his tongue on the first bite.
Kevin pulls one of the other chairs right up next to Aaron’s own and brings his dinner with him. His ankle is locked with Aaron’s while he eats because the fucker’s perpetually touch-starved, even four years into their relationship, but Aaron always tolerates it because, well, maybe he’s a little touch-starved too.
They’re only about five minutes into dinner when Kevin’s phone lights up with an incoming call from Andrew.
Kevin picks it up immediately. “Can I help you?”
“No.”
“Then why are you - ”
“Neil did something.”
The speed with which Kevin’s facial expressions go through all five stages of grief should honestly win him a world record. His third, since he’s already got two exy ones under his belt.
“Hey now,” a slightly distant voice comes through the phone. Neil, shouting from the other side of the room. “Andrew told me I could.”
Unsurprisingly, that’s not enough to bleed the tension out of Kevin’s shoulders.
“I’m going to need a little more to work off of with that one,” he eventually manages, knuckles going white with how hard he’s gripping the table.
“Neil decided to shut down the rumors that we’re a couple by very pointedly calling me his partner in the last five seconds of a press conference,” Andrew answers.
“That’s… good, right?” Kevin asks, a tinge of desperation in his tone. For reasons unknown - perhaps Aaron’s default to pessimism - he already knows that somehow it isn’t.
Sure enough, Andrew delivers. “That all depends on how you feel about threesomes.”
Kevin squeaks, sounding just about like he’s been whacked in the stomach with an exy racket without an ounce of protective gear on.
“In my defense, I was not aware that was an option,” Neil yells, still clearly across the room.
In the time it’s taken Andrew to give his proclamation and Kevin to react to it, Aaron’s already plugged “neil josten” into his search bar and pulled up the most recent news article in the results.
FOXES THREE: NEIL JOSTEN SEEMINGLY CONFIRMS RELATIONSHIP WITH COLLEGE TEAMMATES
Nashville Raiders’ starting striker Neil Josten seemed eager to join his fellow Palmetto State alumni in the spotlight at a pre-season press conference today.
As the conversation shifted from season predictions and Court updates to more personal ones, Josten addressed a question about how he felt seeing two of his former teammates developing a relationship.
“Who am I to judge teammate relationships?” Josten answered, grinning. “I’ve been with our starting goalie for years now.”
Nashville Raiders’ starting goalie? Andrew Minyard.
Josten left without answering any further questions, but the apparent implication of his statement is that Josten is also involved in the Minyard/Day relationship we broke the news on two weeks ago.
Interestingly, Josten’s is the first public comment we’ve seen from any of the involved parties - both Minyard and Day have thus refused to comment.
844 comments, 10.2k shares
“This is fucking absurd,” Kevin mumbles, speaking more into the fabric of Aaron’s t-shirt than anything. He’s fully sprawled out on top of Aaron on the couch, his bodyweight working as Aaron’s very own weighted blanket. They end up in this position quite often - Aaron’s often cold and restless, and Kevin gravitates toward the comfort of listening to Aaron’s heartbeat in his chest.
He’s just gotten off the phone with his publicist, who’s once again been asking Kevin for some sort of comment on the whole media frenzy about his supposed relationship - or, perhaps more accurately, relationships, plural.
It’s been relentless, the way things have ballooned in the wake of Neil’s only-halfway-thought-through comment. From what Aaron’s seen, most of the internet seems delighted by the development, and it’s really only been the usual bucket of homophobes that have had anything negative to say about Kevin, Neil, or Andrew, but Aaron still understands why it’s so exhausting.
And yeah, fine, he feels a bit guilty too, alright? They would’ve cleared all of this up weeks ago were it not for the way all three of them - even Neil, which is as annoying as it is heartwarming - have steadfastly stuck it out in this narrative to protect him.
Aaron keeps those thoughts inside for now though, just runs his fingers through Kevin’s hair comfortingly.
“Do you think if I staged some dramatic breakup they’d leave us alone?” Kevin asks, less muffled by fabric this time.
“Hmm, maybe,” Aaron hums. “Or you could be subjected to a never-ending press tour as the jilted lover who got kicked out of his throuple.”
Kevin groans. “I can’t believe people think I’d date Neil or Andrew, much less both of them at the same time.”
“You did third wheel on them for almost two years, though,” Aaron notes.
“And note that I very pointedly made no attempt to join.”
Aaron’s chest shakes with a short laugh at that, and Kevin takes that as his cue to re-burrow the side of his face in Aaron’s shirt.
He falls asleep there in a matter of minutes, his breathing evening out and his body melting even further into Aaron’s. Aaron can hardly tell where his boyfriend’s body ends and his begins, or where his ends and the couch beneath them begins.
Aaron will join him in sleep shortly, but first, he holds his phone up and snaps a picture of the scene.
Aaron wishes he were a more noble person, that he could claim it was just the desire fo save Kevin, Neil, and Andrew from going through the media ringer any longer that got him to do it. It’s a factor, to be sure, but the final straw is actually a godawful cutesy collage of the three of them that for some reason uses multiple pictures of Kevin that Aaron had taken.
Aaron’s never thought of himself as having a particularly possessive streak - he watches people swoon over the Kevin Day on a daily basis, for fuck’s sake - but for some reason, this is the fucking thing that does him in.
He’s considered his potential intervention in this scenario enough that it doesn’t take much thought to put it into motion.
When he clicks into Instagram, his own profile is the first thing that shows. Aaron’s feed isn’t anything all that exciting - just the standard collection of photos, major life events and a few vacations and casual shots. His account has always been private, so there are already a few pictures with Kevin on his feed - nothing glaringly romantic, but enough.
He goes into his account settings and flips the toggle to change his account from private to public.
When he goes to create a new post, he curates his selection of pictures carefully. The first is the most recent, the selfie in which Aaron is lying on the couch and Kevin is asleep on top of him, his cheek turned so that the queen tattoo there is unmistakable.
The next is one that dates their relationship back to their last year together at Palmetto, a shot probably captured by Nicky while they were all piled into the common area together. Aaron’s sitting on the couch and Kevin’s on the floor in front of him, leaning back into the space between Aaron’s legs with his head tilted fully back to look Aaron in the eye. Aaron’s hand is on Kevin’s jaw and there are soft smiles on both of their faces. They’re kissing in the shot immediately after, but he opts against that one, choosing to keep at least some of their intimacy to himself.
He throws in a few more shots that make it very clear what they are to each other - a Christmas morning at Wymack’s house, their Italy vacation last year, Aaron’s white coat ceremony.
And finally, the dumb paparazzi picture that started it all.
He captions it, tags Kevin, and hits post.
aaronmminyard: this is my boyfriend. i don’t share. @kevinday02
The notifications are slow at first, just his normal interactions, but at about the 15 minute mark, people must start noticing the new addition to Kevin’s tagged photos, because it starts blowing up.
Aaron flings his phone across the room. It’s not his problem now.
He actually manages to avoid looking at it all afternoon, though he does shove it in his pocket when he leaves to walk to the Chicago Wildcats’ practice facilities.
He loiters outside the otherwise nondescript-looking team exit, feeling only a bit like an obnoxious exy groupie. Which is laughably absurd, really, but it does mean that he’s able to intercept Kevin almost as soon as he steps out of the building.
Kevin’s eyes are trained on his phone screen, so it’s not until Aaron speaks that he’s noticed. “Kev.”
Kevin looks up, his brows still furrowed in confusion. “Aaron,” he says, almost breathlessly. “Did you really - ?”
Aaron nods. “It was about time I took responsibility for making out with you in broad daylight.”
“Technically, I did it first.”
“Semantics,” Aaron replies with a shrug. “But as it turns out, I do have a limit for how many times I can watch the internet go on about my boyfriend dating both my twin and the bane of my existence.”
The left corner of Kevin’s mouth quirks up into a grin. “Is Neil really still the bane of your existence? I would’ve thought he’d been displaced by at least one of those gunners in your class.”
“He’s been downgraded to number three, but I will not be telling him that.”
“Knowing Neil, he’d probably take it as a challenge.”
Kevin’s phone rings, and even in the glare Aaron can see that the caller ID is showing Kevin’s publicist’s name.
With an eye roll, he picks it up. “Hi, Rosemarie. I assume you’ve been asked for a comment again?”
There’s a muffled answer on the other side that Aaron takes as confirmation.
“I’ll bite this time,” he says. “Tell them yes, I’ve been with my boyfriend Aaron Minyard for four years, and I declined to comment on previous news stories in order to protect his desire for privacy even whilst dating a professional athlete. I hope that the press and fans will continue to respect his privacy even after he’s made the decision to make our relationship public to clear the air.”
It’s a perfect press response pulled straight out of his ass, as usual, and it’s Aaron’s turn to roll his eyes.
Rosemarie says a few more things to which Kevin hums in agreement, and then he ends the call.
“Want to go grab dinner?” he asks Aaron. “Or was there some other reason you trekked out here?”
“I was mostly trying to make sure you didn’t spiral out when you realized your relationship status was about to be all over the news again, but dinner would be nice.”
“I don’t mind it if it’s right,” Kevin answers with a shrug, reaching for Aaron’s hand. Aaron’s instinct is to look around them, but then he remembers that it really doesn’t matter who’s watching anymore. He has no intention of them suddenly becoming one of those couples who engage in relentless amounts of PDA, but the freedom to do so on occasion without too much thought is admittedly a relief. “Although, actually, wait, before we go, I do need to do one thing.”
In all of a minute, Kevin’s turning his screen to show Aaron his latest post. Despite the perfect press response he just gave to his publicist, it seems Kevin’s not immune to the temptation to cause a little chaos as well.
The picture staring back at him is one of Aaron himself studying at the kitchen table as the sunlight filters in around him, lighting his hair up in a golden halo. Behind him, their Palmetto jerseys are both framed and hung on the apartment wall, a proud 02 and 05 side by side. This shot has been Kevin’s wallpaper for months, which is probably why it took him so little time to make the post.
kevinday02: sorry @ajminyard and @neiljos10, you’re not really my type.