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On New Year's Eve, it's customary to make wishes for the coming year, open presents, spend time with loved ones, or gorge on salads until you turn blue. Neil caught the jackpot, sitting in the circle of Foxes, who had long since graduated from Palmetto State University and built their careers in various fields.
Somewhere in the background, Nicky ran by with Bengal lights in his hands, followed by Erik with a lighter and a smile on his face. Near the Christmas tree, Katelyn was struggling to make the kids stand still so Aaron could finally take a damn family photo. Alison, wrapped in a soft blanket on the sofa, held two champagne glasses — one for herself, the other for Renee, who had briefly gone to the kitchen. Matt and Dan were fussing around the TV, trying to find something appropriate to watch with kids around. Kevin also was standing nearby, trying to chip in with his two cents to just choose "Frozen" for the hundredth time, because it was the one and only decent movie in the whole world he'd ever heard of.
But this whole evening Neil couldn't take his eyes off just one person. Even if the world had decided to stop right at that moment, Josten wouldn't have blinked even once. There was no need, though. After all, Andrew was his whole world.
Noticing his gaze, Minyard slightly turned his head with a glass of champagne near his lips. Neil could only give him a faint smile in response to the silent question, earning a slightly annoyed snort in return. The next second, Andrew was already engaged in a new conversation with Renee, who had brought a whole basket of fruit to the table.
Still smiling to himself, Neil set his glass on the table and habitually started twirling a metal ring on his index finger. It was a matching pair. But it definitely stood out more on his hand, because Andrew never went without jewelry. On both pinkies Minyard preferred to wear two identical thin silver rings. Others varied, according to his mood or circumstances. Right now, for example, Neil could see two rings connected by a thin chain on Andrew's right's hand ring finger, jingling every time it brushed against the thin stem of the glass. On his middle finger of his left hand rested a whole array of thin rings, while on his index finger sat just one metal one. Andrew never took it off.
Neil suddenly blinked with a little frown. Lately, he'd started noticing that Andrew had been completely ignoring his ring finger on the left hand. Before, at least one thin silver ring had been there, so now Neil particularly felt that void.
A very, very stupid idea suddenly popped into his head.
New Year's Eve is always full of surprises, isn't it?
For years, social media had been filled with theories about whether Neil Josten and Andrew Minyard, one of the most popular figures in the whole damn National League, had partners. Some even dared to conduct investigations, which were quickly shut down by managers and official statements from their team. The only difference was that Neil and Andrew didn't hide anything — they just simply refused to confirm or deny any rumors. Which was probably a hundred times worse, but we won’t talk about it right now.
Would Neil get a scolding from his manager for his next actions? Most definitely. Would he then be faced to write a whole damn mountain of explanations to his coach? Yep, of course. Would Neil be the happiest man in this fucking world after what he had planned? Without a doubt.
So it was definitely worth it.
Still smiling softly, Neil reached for his phone on the nightstand next to the sofa. The screen immediately lit up with a new notification, probably from his teammates, but he ignored them, opening that one app instead. To be honest, this stupid plan had been in his head for a very long time by now, but he just hadn't found the right moment. It's not that they were in a hurry, but the sight of Andrew's empty ring finger today clearly helped some gears start turning much faster.
The first five minutes, Neil spent blocking all the Foxes and his manager so that they wouldn't suspect anything prematurely. Of course, he struggled the most with the numerous accounts belonging to Nicky. He even blocked a couple of suspicious ones. Just in case.
Next, all that remained was to add the three precious photos to the post and watch the chaos unfold. Neil managed to do this the fastest.
@neil.josten_official
I'm asking him something on this New Year's Eve. My profile pictures, if:
*First attachment: a photo of Sir, who scattered her food all over kitchen floor. Nicky once edited this photo, attaching a couple of sad emojis to her face. The caption said, "He told me to fuck off.*
*Second attachment: a photo of King, who elegantly put her left paw forward. She was trying to reach for the toy, but Nicky, of course, added a huge diamond ring to the photo. There was no caption on the photo itself. Neil thought that even an idiot could get it.*
*Third attachment: a joint photo of Sir and King, cuddling on the couch. Here, Neil himself added a couple of hearts in the editor, because, well, he couldn’t just ask Nicky to do so. His ass would ask a lot ton of questions afterwards(someone was just jealous to give this photo away). The caption in the middle of the photo read, "He beat me to it”.*
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Neil didn't bother to explain who this mysterious "he" was and what exactly he was going to ask this person. The smart ones will guess it right away, so the stupid ones will have to wait a couple of days. Neil will simply forget about this post for the entire weekend.
As the clock struck midnight, Nicky was the loudest to shout congratulations, as usual. Thank God, this time he hadn't thought about devouring all the grapes from the fridge under the table like he did last year. Neil still didn't understand why, but he at least tried to connect the dots after Erik finally proposed on Valentine's Day. Josten only remembered it because Nicky posted about damn grapes almost a hundred times after that.
And of course, Nicky was the one who insisted on opening all the presents the second the New Year has began. Anticipating this, Neil decided to sneak out to the balcony for a few minutes to take a little break. The New Year's Eve wasn't over yet. There was plenty of time, so he tried not to worry about anything. He just enjoyed the moment, watching Andrew cradle his nieces on the couch, who had received their gifts first.
However, multiple notifications on his phone managed to grab Neil's precious attention for a few moments. Mostly, they were just short congratulations from the team in their chat. But he simply couldn't hide his smile when rare notifications of new comments on his recent post popped up. A full-blown war had broken out in his social media, but Neil just ignored any remarks, fumbling in his pocket for the small velvet box from his "holiday" sweatshirt(a gift from Nicky, this shit glowed in the dark).
Lost in his thoughts, Neil didn't even notice the pair of watchful eyes staring at him. It wasn't until the handle of the balcony door creaked softly that he looked up in surprise. Andrew, without saying a word, simply stepped forward into the freezing night and stood near, facing the city.
There, the New Year's Eve was being celebrated in grand style. Somewhere, club music was blasting from a rooftop party. A crowd of students nearby was setting off fireworks with loud cheers. Closer to the center, people were still recovering from the traditional dropping of the New Year's ball. Neil didn't see the point in any of it — just a bunch of confetti and dirty streets the next day. Thankfully, all the Foxes thought the same way.
Year after year, they gathered together and rented huge apartments to celebrate the passing year and welcome the new one with their closest people in the whole wide world. Year after year, they decorated the Christmas tree and prepared the table all together. Year after year, before the celebrations began, all Foxes gathered in a big pile to curse the passing year for all the hardships it had brought them. And year after year, Nicky cried under the clock's chimes and declared that it was the best day of his life.
Smiling to himself, Neil locked his phone screen and moved a little closer. He suddenly felt a desperate need to feel Andrew's presence, to feel his comforting warmth and light caramel smell.
Shit, so Neil was getting nervous after all.
Not because he might be rejected. No, of course not. But sometimes nerves just didn't make any sense. Apparently, Neil's brain couldn't distinguish a proposal, the best decision of his life, from falling off a fucking cliff in the middle of nowhere.
Shit, no… deep, deep breath and a slow exhale.
Neil watched for a few moments as the puffs of steam from his warm breath disappeared into the night, before he too turned to face the city.
It seemed as if Andrew was trying to burn a hole in him. And, apparently, Neil noticed this only now. Tilting his head in a silent question, he frowned slightly. They hadn't uttered a single word to each other all evening. There was no need for that. They loved being in a comfortable silence and could grasp each other's thoughts without the need to verbalize them. But there were always exceptions, of course. Like now, for example.
Neil literally had no idea what he was up to.
For a few moments he looked very closely at Andrew. He still hadn't even tried to explain himself, by the way.
But suddenly Neil’s whole world froze in place. He even stopped breathing for a few seconds. In his right hand, Andrew was carefully holding a dark velvet box. Exactly the same one that Neil was keeping in the pocket of his sweatshirt. Damn it all to hell. What the fuck?
Finally capturing his attention, Andrew smiled slightly. No words, no explanations, no, God forbid, tears of joy. Just a look. Oh, Neil would never get tired of that look in these gorgeous brown eyes. Happiness, a hint of a smirk, confidence, interest, attraction... Love. Yeah, love. They never said this word out loud, but everyone around could literally feel it in the air.
Neil forgot that he wanted to do this first. Forgot what he wanted to say at that moment. Forgot about the city's hustle and bustle below. Forgot about the celebration behind the balcony door. Forgot about the whole world. Right now, there was only Andrew for him. His careful movements, his soft smile, and that damnably beautiful look.
Oh God, they both are so, so stupid and so, so in love.
No speech was needed, no standing on one knee was necessary, no question was asked. Both knew each others’ answers. Like always.
Neil finally came to his senses when a neat silver ring adorned his ring finger. A bright blue stone glinted in the night city's lights, inlaid into a small star carved in the middle. And as if by rays of light, a scattering of smaller, lighter stones lay beyond it. Just like his eyes. Andrew, right beside him with deep fondness in his eyes, was also examining his ring of almost identical design, but with a stone more suited to his eye color.
Neil still didn't fully grasp how it all happened. One second, and they were trying on each other's rings, trying not to burst into laughter.
No one noticed. No one took a photo. No one shouted congratulations in their ears.
Silence.
Their precious heart-achingly comfortable silence, louder than any words.
“I think, Sir and King will be delighted to become internet stars for a little while,” Andrew says softly into the frosty air.
And suddenly Neil is fighting himself not to start swearing to the whole city to hear. This fucker—
@andrew.minyard_official
He told me to fuck off
*attachment with a photo of their engagement rings*
Post from @neil.josten_official
“Asking him something on this new year’s eve…
5,6k Replies 25k Retweets 69k Likes
@neil.josten_official
He beat me
Post from @andrew.minyard_official
“He told me to fuck off ”
7,5k Replies 35k Retweets 76k Likes
Neil kept a photo of Sir and King as his profile picture on the official account for the whole week. And Andrew, the man he is, just to piss his husband to be set that damn picture of their kitchen floor after Sir made a mess.
Their team manager was so pissed she almost broke Neil’s neck after she saw the news about the fucking engagement on the New Year’s Eve on the fucking national television. Neil did not unblock her yet(and he never will).
What a sweet night it was.