you can find part 1 here :) you probs need to read that to understand this one!
part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8
neil tries to kiss andrew out of sight of the other foxes, but it's not always easy
matt knows already, of course, about neil's newfound way of saying goodbye
but keeping the others away proves to be slightly... impossible
kevin catches them first
the three of them are at night practice, but andrew was refusing to participate
"this is homophobia, you can't force me to play, kevin"
"what the fu-"
anyway. so neil and kevin are practicing. they do their thing
(andrew is most definitely not staring at neil's shorts, of course not surely he has more self-control than that)
(spoiler alert: he does not, it turns out, have that much self-control)
about an hour in, kevin and neil go on a short water break because hydration
neil jogs up to the bleachers where andrew is sitting and quietly speaks to him, out of kevin's sight
kevin leans against the wall of the court, drinking water and scrolling through his East Asian Studies group chat (no Jackson, the Chinese were not "blazing it" during the Opium Crisis)
he gets so caught up in his rant that he realizes the time is now 10 minutes after their break was supposed to end
and that's certainly unusual isn't it? because neil is just as obsessed with exy as kevin is, and it's really weird that he hasn't come to tell kevin to start practice again, oh god what if something's wrong, what if kevin wasn't paying enough attention and something bad happened shit shit SHIT
so kevin runs over to the bleachers where he remembers andrew and neil usually sit and finds... them in a very heated make-out session
and yes, kevin can admit that he feels some relief that everything's okay. it's mostly just annoyance though. what did he ever do to be cursed to see this much PDA from his roommates?
"ahem. neil. josten. get off of andrew's lap right now, we're supposed to be practicing"
neil quickly twists around at kevin's voice, nearly toppling off of andrew. he regards kevin with a sheepish look
"ah right yes i just got a bit, um, distracted"
"evidently"
so kevin thinks neil will go about disentangling himself and starts to turn away
but of course, neil lives to surprise him
instead of getting off of andrew immediately he leans in once more
kevin is resigning himself to have to physically break the two apart at this point
but instead of going in for another long kiss, neil brushes his lips on andrew's nose and gives him a softer smile than kevin is used to seeing on the striker's face
kevin cannot believe his eyes
but the pink on andrew's cheeks is certainly real. so he couldn't have imagined that
quite frankly, kevin doesn't think he has the brain capacity to come with something like that in the first place
but he doesn't say anything. yet. he and neil practice as usual, and after some cool-down stretches and a quick shower, andrew drives the three of them back to the tower
andrew shoves neil into the their room and emerges again outside to where kevin is waiting
"spit it out day, why are you acting weird?"
"nothing really. you're just... a lot softer these days. with neil at least"
"what, do you want me to start kissing you too? i thought it was easier to remain heterosexual"
kevin rolls his eyes at this
"shut up. ugh. i guess i'm just glad he's making you a bit happier"
andrew gives him an appraising look (it's not as intense as he thinks it is considering the height different but kevin decides not to bring that up)
"and if i told you i'm never happy? that i may never be happy?"
kevin shrugs. "then i'll be glad that he's helping you feel safe enough to tell me that"
andrew is quiet for a moment. then—
"don't go around giving josten all the credit for that. he already has a big enough ego"
andrew turns on his heel and walks into the bedroom, leaving kevin to realize what andrew just implied
kevin lets himself smile for a moment. no matter what he says, he really is happy for his friends. even if what he saw today was horribly sappy
he goes to bed with the knowledge that andrew and neil are in good hands with each other
(but really, he's already drafting plans on banning PDA in the court because he desperately does not want to walk in on neil and andrew again)
05 kissing
I drew this drawing for https://the-chicken-or-the-banana.tumblr.com/post/650598082547990528/andreil-and-goodbye-kisses
You have to read these sweet stories
part 2 here <3
andrew is very loud about being gay.
he doesn't really "flaunt it" that much in college
but it gets to the point where he just wants to prove to kevin that yes, he can be successful and gay
so really, it all starts with a bet
anyway. neil has so many videos of andrew getting drunk in front of him and waxing poetic about boys (one in particular)
"neil. neil. this guy has such nice eyes. and ass"
*sigh* "andrew that's a picture of me"
"woahhhh"
but these are (mostly) all private moments
andrew isn't super open in front of others, considering how reserved he is in public
that all changes four years after going pro.
there are some days where queer people just feel exceptionally us and we just want to tell everyone we know
(but being closeted kinda... makes that hard. ahem.)
andrew isn't exempt from these feelings
and one day, the morning of a major interview, he's just hit with the sudden urge to tell someone that he's gay
it's bursting inside him, a physical feeling he can't push down behind the apathy
he tries to ignore it as best as he can and goes to the interview with his team
it's pretty chill. the team is playing a game called "Truth or Drink", where if you don't say truth... you drink?
so everyone's getting tipsy while andrew sits quietly in the corner of the sofa
eventually, one of his teammates realizes that no one had asked andrew anything yet, so when it's her turn, she turns to andrew
"andrew! truth or drink?"
andrew blinks slowly, a bit surprised that the question was directed to him
he considers his options. that weird feeling is still bubbling up inside his stomach and he figures alcohol will probably make things feel worse
so after a moment, he glances up at her and says quietly "truth"
she looks gleeful
after a bit of drunk conferring with some other teammates, she faces andrew with a glint in her eyes
"so," his teammates lean forward. "do you have a girlfriend?"
andrew groaned internally. of course this is the one thing they'd ask their most private, closed-off teammate
"no," he scowled. he was going to leave it at that, really, but his mouth moved faster than his mind and before he could stop himself, he blurted out "i do have a boyfriend though"
there was a moment of silence
then everyone started talking over each other, asking questions and demanding to learn more. andrew slumped in his seat, mentally preparing for the next 30 minutes
a few days later, the interview drops
predictably, the internet goes wild
fans speculate wildly about which guy andrew minyard could possibly be dating
it ranges to other exy players to celebrities to random students from PSU
neil and andrew don't come out for a while though
but in that gap, between andrew being out as gay and actually revealing that he's dating neil abram josten, andrew is pretty vocal about his sexuality
it starts with donations to LGBTQ+ groups and messages of support on social media
lots of sports fans (and people in general) understand how revolutionary it is to have an out athlete of this caliber
so they're constantly putting out encouraging messages
and after all this support, andrew eventually becomes a bit more... lax about what he posts
it starts with this on twitter:
yeah... andrew breaks the internet again
nicky tweets out an unholy amount of keyboard smashes
and andrew just... keeps posting gay memes
you can't go a single interview without andrew randomly interjecting the fact that he's gay
there are compilations on youtube like "andrew minyard being a gay icon for 17 minutes" or "20 minutes of andrew minyard being fruity af"
(andrew finds these far too funny — every time he comes across one of these, he just has to share it on social media)
andrew ends up on the face of so many queer magazines and pride events and such
of course, there are some shitty homophobic people
but every time a kid comes up to him and tells him how he inspired them to come out, those people become easier and easier to forget about
needless to say, by the time he and neil come out, andrew's already pretty comfortable with sharing his sexuality on the internet
being out as a couple, though? well, that's just a whole other story
LOOK OUT FOR PART 2 IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS it's abt andrew and neil coming out istg it's a mess but a very fun one lmao
i would give money to learn how andrew and kevin would react to finding out that neil's first thought upon being told that andrew was gay was that those two were dating. i just-
andrew: what a preposterous idea. i would never date someone who enjoys eating celery
kevin: and i would never date someone that tiny
andrew: day i swear to god-
look this has no right being so accurate but i— the cucumber thing, i just had to expand on that
it comes to light in an interview with two other teammates
it’s supposed to be one of those chill “get to know about this celebrity” ones, so it’s more personal and less exy-oriented
so these athletes are reading tweets with questions that fans wanted to ask them
and one of them is “andrew, what are your three biggest fears?”
andrew: i fear nothing. you should fear me
his teammate: ok drama queen just answer the damn question
andrew pauses for a moment (for the dramatics of course)
“heights. bugs. cucumbers.”
“cucumbers??”
anyways, andrew doesn’t explain this answer any further and when the video drops, everyone is very confused
fans are tweeting and asking for answers
every comment section on instagram is full of questions
post-game interviews are buzzing with inquires about this very strange fear
and then one day, the internet finally solves the mystery
the video circulates around social media for days, with everyone cooing over it
there's a little kid, maybe 5 or 6 years old, with a Minyard jersey on who meets andrew in the streets and asks for a picture
(andrew, being an absolute kid-lover, complies)
so the kid puts her arms out demanding to be picked up, and while she's in andrew's arms, politely asks "mr. minyard, why are you afraid of cucumbers?"
andrew, very seriously, replies "too many shades of green. they're dark. medium. light. it's very disturbing"
the video ends with andrew ruffling the kid's hair and her running off camera
after the initial cuteness, people realize how absolutely hilarious it is that scary, buff andrew minyard is scared of cucumbers because of how colorful they are
and so it starts
at meet and greets, fans present him with cucumbers
people tweet cucumber pictures and facts to him
edits are made with andrew and cucumbers
his pr box is full of custom shirts with cucumbers on them to "brighten up his wardrobe"
numerous compilations are made about andrew's reactions to these cucumber gifts
one person even writes a multi-chapter andrew x cucumber enemies to lovers slow-burn
(one of the foxes (aka nicky) prints this whole thing out and gifts it to him for his birthday)
finally, finally, a 32 second video entitled "andrew minyard EATS A CUCUMBER ." gets uploaded on youtube on the account "jorts"
it's super grainy, vertical, and the camera is constantly shaking as the person filming laughs
but it appears to show andrew at his kitchen dunking a cucumber into a flute of champagne at 3 am
the video gets millions of views
nobody knows who's behind the account, but every few months it posts an absolutely feral video of andrew that just crashes the internet
(spoiler alert: it's all thanks to neil)
Andrew is like a cat
You can’t back him into a corner
You can’t touch without permission
Must feed him to earn his love/respect
Will fight you at any moment without warning
Stabby bits sticking out from his hands
Will get scared if you surprise him with a cucumber
Can nap anywhere at anytime
Will judge literally everything you do, but say nothing
Small
Would jump out a window to escape a situation
Thinks you’re stupid
Would probably give you a dead animal… for various reasons
Prefers cats over people
hii i literally love your headcannons... can you please write Laila and Alvarez hcs? they're so underrated!!
ok yes as it is now pride and these two are my fav lesbians i MUST
so they met their freshman year at USC, when laila tripped over her foot after seeing a hot girl (alvarez) and spilled a coffee all over said hot girl's new white shirt
alvarez proceeded to hate her. even if she was nice to look out. she definitely did not notice that
and because laila does not like to be bested, she decided that alvarez's pretty face would not distract from her annoying personality
their rivalry was the only major point of contention within the trojans — they would constantly bicker in and out of practice
(jeremy, bless his heart, could never figure out when laila and alvarez were flirting or fighting though)
but despite this, they worked wonders on the court
laila was a powerhouse in the goal and alvarez was a relentless backliner
everyone was extremely confused about the nature of their relationship
this on-and-off behavior continued well into their second year
that is, until they got their spring semester classes and laila and alvarez were in the same calculus class
now they actually had to deal with each other, even off the court
they managed to stay out of each other's hair mostly, but one day, alvarez was absolutely stuck on a concept and jeremy was shit at math and office hours were closed and this really wasn't good—
she did the first thing she could and texted laila for help
so laila came over and after some initial awkwardness, they actually started working
and it turns out, laila is really good at explaining math
it turns into a bit of a norm. every wednesday afternoon, they would meet in a café and study together
(and maybe, just maybe, if each week, they began sitting closer and closer to one another, that's really no one's business)
this just slowly happens over the next few months, and one day, it hits the two of them that hey, maybe i actually like her more than a friend?
naturally, laila and alvarez both freak the fuck out at this
so they go to jeremy separately, who is now dealing with two flustered, emotionally-constipated lesbians
laila: jeremy i think i like alvarez. "like" as in i want to date her
jeremy: hmm. maybe you should just tell her?
laila: fucking shit knox are you dumb—
alvarez: jeremy HELP i think i have a crush on laila
jeremy: well, maybe she feels the same way! just tell her that :)
alvarez: you're so goddamn stupid why would i do that—
needless to say, jeremy is extremely overwhelmed.
eventually, he wrangles the two of them together on new year's day at a party
it's minutes to midnight and nearly everyone has a partner, romantic or platonic
laila and alvarez end up pushed up next to each other, surrounded by a bunch of loud, sweaty college kids
but none of that mattered. because with three seconds on the clock, laila and alvarez both felt a surge of courage from jeremy's words
they rushed towards each other just as midnight struck and promptly smashed their noses together
neither of them really expected their first date to be at the ER with swollen, bleeding noses
but hey! there's nothing more romantic than matching ice packs and nose splits, right?
ok! so now that we have the official green light for PJO casting, i really hope that the show will integrate ADHD and dyslexia into the characters’ everyday lives and that the directors/people involved in the show will help neurotypical actors to properly portray what it’s like to have ADHD and dyslexia (or you know. just have neurodivergent actors)
I want Percy fidgeting with Riptide and accidentally taking the pen cap off and randomly ending with a sword in his hand. i want Annabeth zoning out in the middle of conversations. i want Luke giving a huge villainous speech and forgetting what he’s saying in the middle of it. I want these characters to have headaches from reading for too long, have trouble understanding maps, taking a few seconds to understand words when people speak to them
PJO has always been so advanced in including representation especially to a younger audience (even if sometimes the execution is... questionable), but I really hope that these small snippets of reality with ADHD and dyslexia in such mainstream media can help normalize neurodiversity in the common world
i am CACKLING imagining this
can i just say that neil, having been on the run, would be so good at hiding from the paparazzi.
like, this is why no one finds out that he and andrew are together for so long; he just parkours away from reporters and photographers and leaves andrew to deal with them (aka stare them down)
this is. yes. fuck. 100%. (also can i just say, those tags were brilliant, sad college student content is exactly what this fandom is lacking ty for blessing us with some friend)
i just really want to know how all the students at psu reacted to finding out about neil's past. like i'm just imagining some poor college freshman working on a project with neil and not pulling their weight and then they find out that their groupmate is actually the son of the mob boss.
and they just... slowly start doing their part so they don't get a murderer sicced on them
me: spends all my time immersing myself in the foxes' found family so i don't have to deal with my own dysfunctional family
also me: wonders why i don't have a good relationship with anyone in my house
ok because AP tests are upon us and this is my only way of releasing all my stress, here's a short list of andreil study time hcs for your viewing pleasure
our boy andrew doesn't really have to study
neil on the other hand... actually needs to work to keep up his GPA
he's never really cared enough to study but now he has the foxes and exy and a future to lose so he might as well put in the effort to keep them
neil needs caffeine like he needs oxygen. the man cannot focus for shit without it
he'll down like three mugs of black coffee in the morning and be set for the day
andrew hates it but doesn't complain much as long as neil makes him some actually decent coffee too
(once, neil accidentally gave him the wrong mug and andrew didn't talk to him for the rest of the day)
when andrew does study or does homework, he hates studying in the library
he told nicky that it was because he's "allergic to books"
really, he just knows he'd get distracted and start reading william faulkner or jane austen instead of his textbooks
neil, however, loves the library
he can't study at all in the dorms; he needs to keep moving to new environments so he doesn't get bored by his surroundings
so neil and andrew don't study together half the time
which works out well considering the few times that they do, they tend to get more than a little... distracted
but if the library is closed or neil just doesn't have the energy to leave the dorm, he bullies andrew into helping him study instead of playing video games or reading
(neil gets a kiss for every question he gets right. andrew gets to look at a pretty guy for a few hours. it's a win-win situation)
mr. Neil draws-fox-paws-instead-of-doing-his-work Josten struggles with focusing on literally anything but exy and andrew
so he always ropes in one of the foxes as a "study-buddy" to hold him accountable while he's working
andrew and neil both like having noise-cancelling headphones on while they work, but this also means that people hold full-on conversations with them without realizing that they can't be heard
(also, because they're assholes, even when they can hear the other person, they just... don't respond.)
andrew is a pastel highlights guy. also he's weirdly possessive about his pens
neil just grabs the first mechanical pencil he sees (99% of the stationary he has isn't even his, he just found them laying around campus)
neil is also super disorganized. loose papers everywhere, he can never find anything. no matter how clean a place starts, it turns into a mess within 5 minutes of neil studying there
he also has food wrappers and crumbs everywhere because he constantly snacks while studying
andrew is surprisingly clean - he organizes everything by class and then color-codes everything (granted his memory helps so he doesn't have too many notes in the first place)
anyways, they both have their own methods of studying and it works for them
(aka andrew just vibes and neil frantically finishes all his work 3 hours before it's due)
ok yeah that's all i got right now, my brain is fried and i actually have to study now, pray for me 😔
she/her, perpetually sleepy, coffee lover ~ currently an andrew minyard stan account ~
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