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“Can I ask you something?” Dan asks as Neil follows her into her dorm room. It was the last few weeks of Dan and the other upperclassmen’s last year at Palmetto, and Dan had promised to give Neil some pointers on how to handle an entire team of rejects and fuck-ups.
“Uh... sure?” Neil replies cautiously. Dan never feels the need to ask before questioning him anymore, especially if it has anything to do with Neil’s own safety or for the good of the team.
Dan doesn’t ask her question and continues to stare at Neil while chewing on her lip. “Dan?” Neil asks, getting concerned now. “What’s going on?”
“I just -- don’t get angry with me, ok?” Dan finally replies before sitting down on the couch and looking at Neil worriedly.
“Ok,” Neil replies as he sits down next to her. What is going on?
“I know this is none of my business, but I just-- you mean a lot to me and I want to make sure you’re ok. If you say you’re fine I’ll kill you.”
“Ok?” Neil asks, still confused at where this is going.
“Are you happy? With Andrew?”
“Uh- I- uh- huh?” Neil stutters, turning to look at Dan with a shocked expression.
“I know you guys don’t have a normal relationship or whatever but I just wanted to make sure that everything is... good? It’s just, you never act like a couple around us -- which is totally fine, we all get it -- but I couldn’t leave without making sure.”
Neil laughs, “Yeah, Dan. It’s good.”
-----
Neil is still thinking about his conversation with Dan when he heads back to his own dorm. She had thankfully moved on from the relationship talk pretty quickly after Neil replied that he’s happy, and the rest of their time had been spent going over how Dan handles the team.
“You just going to stand there all day?” Andrew asks, snapping Neil out of his thoughts. Neil realizes that he was awkwardly standing just inside the door, so he quickly gives Andrew a little shrug and turns to close the door.
“Are we ok?” Neil asks suddenly while taking off his shoes to avoid looking at Andrew.
“You’re never ok,” comes Andrew’s blunt reply from his position lounging on the couch with a book.
“Not what I meant.”
Neil walks over to Andrew, who moves his legs slightly so that Neil can sit at the other end of the couch.
“I can’t read your mind, dumb-ass,” is how Andrew breaks the tension after several minutes of silence.
“I- never mind, it’s stupid.”
“Most things are with you.”
Neil gives Andrew a half-hearted smirk before turning straight ahead and attempting to form coherent sentences.
“I mean-- uh, fuck,” Neil pauses, shutting his eyes tightly. “I can’t be in love with you!” Neil finally blurts.
Andrew’s reply comes after a moment of silence. “What the fuck are you talking about Neil?”
“I mean that I can’t fucking be in love with you or I’ll piss you off or whatever! And it’s so fucking frustrating because you just -- I do anyway! I’m sorry if that pisses you off or makes you hate me even more or whatever but I can’t sit here and stare at you and not tell you that you’re the best fucking thing thats ever happened to me and I’m fucking sorry for saying anything in the first place,” Neil finishes, out of breath, before re-running his outburst in his mind and internally cringing at his own stupidity.
“Don’t be so dramatic,” Andrew replies while scooting closer to Neil.
Andrew looks at Neil with a question in his eyes and Neil gives a small nod in return, still unsure of Andrew’s reaction, and is surprised to see Andrew leaning in for a bruising kiss, which Neil happily returns.
“I’m sorry,” Neil breathes against Andrew’s lips once they part from each other.
“You’re an idiot, Neil.”
Neil chuckles and leans down to give Andrew a chaste kiss on the neck. “I love you.”
“346%” Andrew replies, and Neil chuckles against Andrew’s neck as he begins to place more kisses around Andrew’s pulse point. A few seconds later, then Andrew breathes “Junkie” into Neil’s hair.
Neil parts from Andrew’s neck with a grin on his face, “Yeah.”