congrats on the followers zoë!!! i'm terrible with prompts but if you could do something for andreil + dealing with the press (make it as angsty as you want) that would be great :) (sorry this is super vague i know) - kayleighsday
thank you!! this is a great prompt and i spent way too long thinking about it and trying to get it right! i reallyhope you like it!
——
It wasn’t supposed tohappen like this. Neil wasn’t sure exactly howit was supposed to happen but he knew this was all wrong. Perhaps it would havebeen in an interview, him and Andrew sat side by side, or maybe a statement atthe end of a game. It wasn’t a picture of the two of them in a dark corner ofEden’s Twilight plastered against the front cover of every gossip magazine inthe country, their names trending on every social media site. It certainlywasn’t countless reporters and paparazzi camped outside their flat, chantinghis name as though calling him to a sacrifice.
They’d been stupid.They’d thought they’d be safe in Columbia. They’d always been safe in Columbia,the flashing lights and the loud music of Eden’s Twilight hiding a multitude ofsins. Not that they were hiding. Not that they were sin. It was easier though.Simple. He’d once told Nicky “our relationship is ours, not theirs” when he’dasked Neil whether he cared that Andrew displayed nothing other than completeapathy towards him in public the majority of the time. Now though? Well nowtheir relationship was the whole country’s, the whole world’s, and it made him feel sick to pit of his stomach.
He’d called Andrew thesecond he’d seen the first news article. “Don’t leave the flat” was all Andrewhad said before he’d hung up. He’d be back as soon as he could. Neil knew thatbut he also knew he was thirty minutes away and that he had to get through thecrowd which stretched from their front door down to the road and across it,causing a build-up of cars as they blocked the road in their desperation to bethe first to get a statement from either he or Andrew. Thirty minutes was toolong to be left with nothing but his own thoughts for company and so he’d donesomething he rarely did. He’d retrieved the unopened bottle of vodka in thefridge.
He’d always used towonder how Kevin could drink the stuff like it was water. He’d judged thestriker for the way he’d turn to alcohol the first time anything got difficult,drowning his fears rather than facing them head on. Neil has spent hischildhood running. The Foxes had put a stop to that, had given him a reason tostay and a reason to fight even when his fears threatened to swallow him whole.He couldn’t face this fear though because this wasn’t just about him. This wasabout Andrew. He would do anything to keep Andrew safe and he’d failed.
In the end, Andrewsomehow managed to make it home in twenty minutes. It may have been sooner thanexpected but it was enough time for Neil to get through more of the vodka thanhe should have. When Andrew came through the front door, Neil was slumped onthe sofa, the bottle in one hand and his phone in the other. He’d never beengood at leaving wounds to heal. Maybe that’s why he’d found himself searchingtheir names and scrolling through the countless articles, countless comments, countlesstweets about them. Even when Andrew silently crossed the room he couldn’t stophimself from poking at the injury. Every word he read had the knife in his chesttwisting a little more, the hand around his lungs squeezing a little tighter,the sickness in his stomach growing a little stronger. It didn’t matter if thewords were positive or negative, each one elicited the same response. They shouldnever have been written. They should have never known.
The sofa dipped as Andrewsat beside him but he still didn’t speak. The only noise he made was one ofdisgust as he ripped the phone from Neil’s hand and sent it skidding across thefloor away from them before leaning forward to take the bottle. Lifting it tohis lips, he took a swig of it only to then put it on the floor, out of reach.And then he did what Andrew did best. He sat in silence and stared straightahead. His hands were resting on his thighs, fingers slightly curled as theydug into his skin through his jeans. Neil took in every tense line of Andrew’sbody. The hard set to his shoulders, the clenched jaw, the unblinking stare. Itwas a position Neil knew well but it had never been directed at him before.
Seconds ticked by. He countedthem in his head. When he reached sixty-seven Andrew still hadn’t spoken tohim. The silence was killing him.
“I’m sorry. I’m sosorry, I—”
“If you wanted sympathy,you should have phoned Nicky.”
It was a no more bluntstatement than anything Andrew usually said but here, now, on the wrong side ofa bottle of vodka and with the sounds of the reporters outside seeping in totheir home, the harshness had him flinch. Their relationship wasn’t one ofcrying on each other’s shoulders and it wasn’t one of telling each othereverything was going to be okay. They dragged each other up off the ground, putthemselves back on their feet and pushed themselves to keep walking when allthey wanted to do was give up. It was an acknowledgement that no, everythingmight not be okay, but it was better than the alternative and at least theywere together.
Usually it was what hewanted. Today, though, he needed a little softness.
“Andrew…”
For the first time sincearriving home, Andrew turned to look at him. Really look at him. It was as ifAndrew could read his mind just by looking at his face. Perhaps he could; Neildidn’t know what truths his fears and the vodka had painted on his expression.Whatever Andrew saw, it had him reaching out and roughly pulling him forwardinto a hug. Neil kept his hands at his side but he buried his face againstAndrew’s shoulder.
“Do you remember whenthey found out about Nathaniel?”
Neil nodded once.
“Do you remember whenthey found out about Drake?”
Another nod, smallerthis time.
“Do you remember whenthey found out about Seth? Or the ski trip? Or Moreau leaving? Or any of theother shit that happened?”
A third nod.
“They’re vultures. Theypick at the bones until there’s no meat left and then they move on.”
Silence for a fewseconds and then, “I didn’t want them to find out like this.”
“We don’t always getwhat we want, Josten. You know that as well as I do.”
Neil pulled back justenough to look up at Andrew’s face. “What are we going to do?”
“What we always do. We’regoing to keep going.”
——
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