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Neil hated being at PSU without his friends and Andrew. The new Foxes were alright, most of them at least, but the bond he had with the others was on an entirely different level - which wasn’t really a surprise after all they’ve been through together. But the worst part about being the last of them to graduate was to be without Andrew. In the past years he had gotten so used to sharing the small dorm bed with another person, always feeling Andrew next to himself - his warmth, his breath, his every move - to spending nights on court with him and Kevin for night practice, to escape to the rooftop and smoke when everything became too much, that not having all of this felt like torture. Neil never thought he would get to a point in his life where he was so attached to a person, he didn’t even think he’d live to get older than 20, so he had no idea how to deal with it.
Of course there were texts, phone and skype calls and the occasional visit when Andrew’s team was playing somewhere close to Palmetto or he could get a couple days off, but it wasn’t even remotely enough to stop the ache in Neil’s chest.
But when the day of his graduation rolled by, that moment he yearned for so long, he didn’t feel as euphoric as he thought he would. Because he wasn’t looking on to a future where he got to spend more time with Andrew again. Instead there was an apartment in a completely different state and a team full of strangers waiting for him. Andrew tried but failed to get time off for the day of Neil’s move. There was a little comfort for him in the fact that Matt managed to find time to travel to Neil’s new home and help him get all his stuff sorted.
“It’s a nice apartment,” Matt noted after they unpacked the last box - not that there was much to unpack, but Neil did accumulate more belongings in his time at Palmetto. It certainly didn’t all fit into a duffle bag anymore.
“I guess.” Neil shrugged. Matt sent him a sympathetic look, then pulled him in for a tight hug.
“When are you gonna see Andrew again?” He asked, because of course Matt knew exactly what had Neil so indifferent about his new apartment. They both knew he should be excited. He had his own place, something more or less permanent. Something he never thought he’d ever have just a couple of years ago. But it just felt less like home without Andrew in it - just like the dorm had.
“Not before next month. I’m gonna be pretty busy with practice with the new team and Andrew can’t take any time off at the moment.”
“That’s a shame,” Matt sighed.
They spent the rest of the day together and Matt tried his best to cheer Neil up. Still, that night, Neil had trouble falling asleep in his new bed. He spent most of the night tossing and turning until he got so fed up with it, he just got up, downed two cups of coffee and went on a long run. By the time he returned the sun was slowly rising and everything was swathed in warm morning light.
It wasn’t until three weeks later that Andrew managed to come down to Neil’s place and suddenly, his new bed wasn’t so bad anymore. After their first night together Neil woke up to the sun shining through the curtains and into his face, the spot next to him empty but still warm and the covers smelling of Andrew. He couldn’t help but smush his face into the pillow and just take in the scent, hoping it would linger long enough to soothe his aching heart once Andrew had to leave again. He heard the door open and turned his head enough to throw a one-eyed glance at the entrance, where Andrew was standing, wearing nothing but an old pair of sweatpants, naked feet and chest and his armbands strikingly absent.
“Breakfast,” Andrew said, looking down at Neil. Neil stretched like a cat, getting the sheets tangled between his legs, then didn’t show the slightest inclination to leave the bed.
“Bed,” he responded eventually and lifted the tiniest corner of the tangled sheets for Andrew. Andrew seemed rather unimpressed by this.
“Get your ass out of bed, Josten, or I’ll have breakfast without you.”
Neil pouted and murmured a complaint into the pillow that was too muffled for Andrew to understand, but he still rolled his eyes. It did smell good - he smelled fresh coffee, bacon and even eggs - and he was surprised Andrew put so much effort into it, compared to his usual breakfast of coco pops straight from the box and instant coffee, but still, Neil would much rather stay in bed for a bit longer, preferably with Andrew.
“C’mon, Drew,” Neil murmured sleepily and patted the mattress. Maybe he’d be able to convince Andrew. “Just five more minutes?” For a couple seconds Andrew just stared at Neil in annoyance, but then he actually made the few steps between him and the bed and put one knee on the edge of the mattress to lean over Neil. Neil, surprised but pleased he won their short ‘argument’, rolled onto his back and stretched his arms out to curl them around Andrew’s neck. But before he even managed to do so, his vision suddenly blacked out and it was harder to breathe.
Andrew pushed a fucking pillow in his face. Not that Neil couldn’t easily push it aside again, but he just stopped, lay there quietly for a second and then said, muffled, into the pillow: “Really?”
“You wanted me to get back into bed. I’m in bed.”
“Great,” Neil said, then pushed the pillow aside after all. Andrew was still leaning over him, a small but smug grin on his lips.
“You’re a child,” Neil informed him.
“And you’re lazy,” Andrew retorted. Neil couldn’t really deny that, but he also wouldn’t confirm. Instead he just reached for Andrew and pulled him down by his shoulders, lifting his own head off the pillow to meet him halfway, and captured his lips with his own. Andrew didn’t resist the kiss; instead he followed Neil when his head sank back into the pillow slowly, curled one arm around his waist and sucked his bottom lip between his teeth. Neil wrapped his arms around Andrew’s neck in response and sighed softly. It wasn’t exactly what he had in mind, but this wasn’t bad either. Maybe Andrew would stay in bed for a while after all.
A shiver went down his spine when Andrew pushed his tongue past Neil’s lips and he couldn’t help but moan quietly. When he felt and tasted Andrew’s tongue on his own, Neil’s thighs fell open, almost as if in reflex, inviting Andrew to fit himself between them. Andrew noticed, of course he noticed, because he always noticed everything - how he still did that while Neil’s mind was completely occupied by their kiss he didn’t know - and reached for one of Neil’s legs, placed his hand on his inner thigh and squeezed. Neil knew what would follow now, because he knew Andrew, and he knew what he liked. He knew Andrew liked to touch him, to explore him, even though he knew every inch of Neil’s body by heart. He knew Andrew would let his hand roam along his thigh, all the way down to his knee and back up again, over and over again, until eventually he’d let his fingers brush along his loin, his hip, his stomach, maybe he’d tease Neil’s nipples or maybe he’d take advantage of the fact that, after last night, Neil was still naked and pliant and let his fingers go straight to his--
Cold washed over Neil’s skin, now that he wasn’t covered by the blanket anymore, when Andrew pushed off the bed. Neil blinked his eyes open, confused and mind still fogged, and looked up at Andrew who was standing beside the bed again, in confusion.
“What- Why did you stop?” He asked.
“I told you breakfast is ready. I’m not gonna start my day off with cold bacon and lukewarm coffee.”
It took a second for the meaning of these words to sink in, but when they did, Neil shot up and stared at Andrew.
“Are you serious?!” Andrew, blatantly amused and smug, raised one eyebrow.
“Of course,” he said, “Now put on some pants at least, and get your ass over to the kitchen or I’ll really start breakfast without you.” Without any further words, Andrew turned around and left a stunned Neil sitting on the bed.
“Andrew!” He shouted after him. Andrew turned on the radio in the kitchen in response.
“.....what a dick,” Neil mumbled to himself, shaking his head in disbelief, before reluctantly climbing out of bed and throwing his sweatpants on.
***
“What is this bullshit?” Andrew asked with a look of disgust on his face.
“It’s generally called a ‘breakfast buffet’,” Neil replied, unimpressed, taking a sip of his orange juice.
“Did you let Kevin book this?”
“Kevin had nothing to do with our holiday, Drew.”
“So you are expecting me to have kale smoothies and fruit salad for breakfast? I’m breaking up with you.”
Neil rolled his eyes at Andrew and took another sip of his juice. Granted, he wasn’t too impressed with the healthy breakfast they offered at their hotel either, but it wasn’t as bad as Andrew made it out to be. Maybe he should’ve gotten him a coffee first, so Andrew would’ve been in a better mood to begin with. He wasn’t a morning person after all.
“Look, they have scrambled eggs. You like scrambled eggs,” he tried, pointing the bowl of freshly made scrambled eggs out.
“There’s spinach in it, Neil.”
“Okay. Well, maybe they’ll make you plain eggs if you asked them.”
“Maybe you should’ve checked if they have proper breakfast before booking the hotel.”
“Andrew, if you wanted Cheerios for breakfast our only option would’ve been an eight-bed room at a youth hostel.”
Obviously Andrew didn’t like that answer, because he gave Neil his patented Andrew Minyard Death Stare in response. Neil didn’t even flinch.
“Look. Let’s just grab a coffee and then I’m taking you to a café that serves something sweet for breakfast. And then we’ll just grab something at a shop for tomorrow, okay?” Neil was glad they were only here for two nights. They both managed to get the same weekend off and decided to go somewhere on a short weekend trip. Neil was the one responsible for booking the trip and found this hotel that still had rooms free on such short notice. It had great reviews and was quite expensive, so he figured it would be fine. And it was - the room was great and so was the location, but he hadn’t checked their breakfast choices. And apparently this was a hotel for health enthusiasts - which, honestly, neither Neil nor Andrew were. Neil still hated most vegetables and Andrew refused to eat anything non-sugary for breakfast. Neil once tried to make him eat savory pancakes for breakfast. Andrew threatened to break up with him for besmirching the sanctity of pancakes.
Half an hour later, Neil wanted to kiss the waitress at the little café close to their hotel, who brought out the biggest and sweetest waffle Neil had ever seen. It took 0.2 seconds after Andrew spotted the waffle for his whole attitude to change.
It was the most disgusting thing Neil had ever seen being marketed as breakfast food with its ungodly amount of chocolate syrup, sprinkles and even ice cream - for breakfast! - on top, but as long as it made Andrew happy, Neil would try not to dry heave while Andrew dug into it.
“Enjoy,” Neil said with the most sincerity he could muster while looking at the monstrosity disguised as breakfast in front of his boyfriend. Hopefully they wouldn’t have to pay the nearest ER a visit for hyperglycemia after this.
“Hmh,” Andrew grunted in response, then shovelled the first forkful into his mouth.
As appalling as Neil found Andrew’s choice of breakfast, it got him in a better mood and they spent a nice and relaxing day sightseeing afterwards.
The next morning started a lot more peacefully thanks to the box of Pop-Tarts Neil had bought the day before.
***
Neil had spent the past fifteen minutes lying in the dark, pressed up against Andrew’s side and staring at his face, smiling like someone who just won the lottery. He knew sleep wouldn’t come any time soon for him, but he didn’t mind at all.
“Will you stop the fucking staring?” Andrew asked and cracked one eye open to look at Neil.
“Sorry,” Neil mumbled and pushed his face into the crook of Andrew’s neck instead. A little shudder went through Andrew’s form when Neil’s breath ghosted over the sensitive skin on his neck and he pulled that shoulder up, pushing Neil’s face away again, and Neil couldn’t help but chuckle. Andrew groaned and rubbed a hand through his face.
“Will you ever sleep?”
“I can’t. I’m too happy,” Neil said and elicited a defeated sigh from Andrew, “I had to wait too long until ‘home’ meant ‘with you’ again.” And now they finally had their first shared apartment. It was their bed they were lying in, their bedroom, their flat, their first night here.
Andrew mumbled something Neil couldn’t understand, then pulled him closer with the arm he was lying on to kiss him silent.
Neil knew Andrew was tired, he had done most of the heavy carrying while Neil built their furniture and unpacked the first boxes. There were still a lot of unpacked boxes standing around, but the most important things were already in their places and they had furniture, so they had called it a day when the clock hit 6pm. By nine they were so tired, they had started to get ready for bed. It was almost ten now, and despite how tired he must have been, Andrew still kissed Neil so soft and with the same contentment Neil felt. Fingers brushed gently along Andrew’s collarbone and neck until they rested on his jaw, cupping his face in their palm. It felt like hours and minutes passed at the same time when their lips brushed and parted and met again, two strong hands pressing into Neil’s back, grounding him.
Too early they broke the kiss, but knowing he got to have this every day again now soothed Neil’s longing. Their breath was still mingling, foreheads leaning against one another, lips not even an inch apart and eyes closed.
“You’re getting soft,” Andrew said quietly.
“Says the man who just kissed me like that,” Neil answered.
“Shut up.” Andrew pushed his hands into Neil’s back a bit firmer, pulling him further into his arms.
“I love you,” Neil mumbled against the corner of Andrew’s mouth.
“I love you, too,” Andrew whispered into a new kiss.
The next morning was lazy and slow. Andrew and Neil spent longer than usually in bed after waking up and only slowly made their way to the kitchen when the hunger was getting too prominent.
Neil made his way over to the kitchen cabinet, yawning and only wearing one of Andrew’s old shirts and his boxer briefs, to get the coffee from there. In the meantime, Andrew opened the fridge - he promised Neil a proper breakfast instead of eating cereals from the bowl with their fingers. But when he opened the door he suddenly stopped, staring into it with a frozen expression. Neil stopped on his way and watched Andrew, frowning.
“Are you alright?” He asked eventually. Andrew stared a couple seconds longer, then said:
“We forgot to go shopping yesterday.”
Neil blinked. They forgot to...Fuck.
Andrew groaned and let his head fall against the fridge door with a dull thud. How could they have forgotten to go grocery shopping?
“So we have no food?” Neil asked.
“Obviously,” Andrew said.
“Shit.” Neil looked down at his naked legs and feet, then at Andrew in his worn-out shirt and sweatpants. Well, they had no other choice than to get dressed and go to the store, did they? So much for their lazy morning.
Target had no business being this busy at 10am on a thursday, but to Neil’s and Andrew’s dismay it was. And to make matters worse, it was full of families with children. Andrew looked like he was going to murder someone three seconds after stepping foot in the store. Neil’s stomach rumbled.
“Let’s just get some stuff for the next couple days and do a proper shop another day,” Neil suggested as he grabbed a cart and pushed it in the direction of the breakfast food aisle. Throughout their whole shop, Andrew kept close to Neil, their shoulders almost touching. He looked around the aisles gloomily and Neil pushed the cart a bit faster. He should really get a coffee and some breakfast into Andrew’s system soon or he wouldn’t be able to guarantee the other customers’ safety anymore.
“Okay. That should be enough to last us a few days,” Neil said, looking into the cart, then at Andrew. Andrew just gave him a dark look. Uh oh.
As quickly as possible they made their way to the registers and Neil thanked God for the fact that the queues weren’t too long. The cashier was friendly, yet slightly intimidated by the face Andrew made and worked fast. Neil prayed they hadn’t forgotten anything.
He was pretty sure they hadn’t when he unpacked their groceries later. Andrew took everything he needed to make their breakfast - Neil was impressed he was still making proper breakfast instead of just grabbing the Cheerios they bought earlier - as Neil put everything else into the cupboards and fridge. Now they’d finally have their breakfast.
“Fucking piece of shit!” Or maybe not.
He threw a wary glance over at Andrew, who seemed to be in a fight with the toaster.
“What’s wrong?”
“Fucking piece of trash toaster won’t work,” he cursed angrily.
“Is it plugged in?” Neil regretted that question a second later. Luckily there were no knives in Andrew’s arm reach.
“Of course it’s fucking plugged in,” he hissed, “What do you think I am? A fucking idiot?”
“No, I just thought- Doesn’t matter. Okay. How about you do the coffee and I try to get the toaster to work?”
Well, seemed like they needed to get a new toaster. Neil examined it when it didn’t work after several tries and realised it didn’t survive the move. The cord was broken. Okay, untoasted bread it was, then.
At least the coffee maker was working and the smell of freshly brewed coffee started to fill the kitchen. Although… It smelled different than usually.
“Does the coffee smell weird to you?” He asked, carefully. Andrew was eyeing the machine warily already and nodded at Neil’s question.
“It seems to work fine,” he said, “Did we get a different brand?”
“No, I’m sure we got the usual brand,” Neil said. He vividly remembered them roaming the aisle for their usual brand of coffee and reaching for it on the shelf. He threw a glance at the package standing next to the coffee maker and, yes, that was the right brand. But something about the design was off.
Andrew reached for it and threw one look at it, froze, looked at Neil with a defeated expression… And threw the whole package of coffee they just bought in the bin.
“What are you doing?!” Neil asked, confused.
“It’s decaffeinated. We bought decaffeinated coffee.” Neil stared at Andrew. This couldn’t be real. Could their morning get any worse?
“Okay, that’s it. I give up,” Neil sighed and buried his face in his hands. He was hungry. And he needed a coffee right now.
“I’ll be back in ten minutes.” The coffee maker stopped making its noises and when Neil looked out from behind his hands he saw how Andrew made his way to the door and put his shoes back on.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting breakfast.”
Ten minutes later, Andrew really was back - with Starbucks. He kicked his shoes off and went straight for the living room, where he plopped down on the sofa with two large cups of coffee and a paper bag of food in his hands.
“Get your ass over here, Josten,” he called for Neil as he threw his feet onto the coffee table, “And turn on the TV when you’re here.”
Their lazy morning was everything but lazy and they had breakfast from Starbucks in front of the TV, watching cartoons, at 11.30am. But at least there was coffee.
***
Some of the many great things about being on the same team as Andrew, and about living together, was that they got to get up together, have breakfast together and leave the house together. They only needed one car because they had the same commute and most of the times they got home at the same time as well. It was just like back when they were playing for the Foxes. Except no one on their team knew they were a thing. Neil wasn’t sure whether their coach suspected something because they were living together or if she just thought they were flatmates, but she had just accepted the fact that they were moving into the same apartment back when Neil was taken onto the team.
But this also meant when one of them was late for whatever reason, like when their car broke down, both of them were late.
This morning, however, they were making good time. Andrew was already sitting at the kitchen table and pouring milk on his Froot Loops when Neil made his way in. Two mugs with steaming hot coffee were ready on the table and Neil’s bread was sitting on the counter, waiting to be prepared.
“Good morning,” Neil said as he walked past the table and only saw in the corner of his eyes how Andrew lifted his head to look at him. There was a short pause before Andrew returned his greeting. Neil didn’t pay it any mind when he heard the soft scratch of Andrew’s chair on the floor as he got up. He just got up on to his tiptoes and stretched his arm to reach the cabinet with the plates in it - why did they hang the cabinets so high when both of them could barely reach them? But suddenly, when he was just about to reach the plates, an unexpected, sharp pain went through his right asscheek, accompanied by a loud smack.
Neil gasped and all but fell onto the counter.
“Andrew!” He exclaimed.
Andrew grinned and opened the fridge to put the milk back. Since he didn’t seem to have to say anything about this, Neil just shook his head about Andrew and tried for the plates again, but before he even got to stretch his arm he felt two hands on his hips, was turned around and then face-to-face with Andrew. They stayed like that for a couple of seconds, neither of them saying anything, and Neil watched as Andrew’s eyes slowly wandered down his body and rested on his legs before making their way up and meeting Neil’s eyes again. Silence. Until, eventually, Andrew smacked his lips in a disapproving way.
“You’re wearing those leggings I hate,” he said. His thumbs drew distracting circles into Neil’s hips.
“That’s not true,” Neil responded, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, “You love them.”
“I hate them,” Andrew repeated and made a step closer. Their bodies were merely an inch apart now. “They’re too distracting.”
Neil couldn’t help the small, smug smile that spread on his lips. Hearing how attractive Andrew found him made his body tingle all over every time without fail.
“You want me to change into something else?” He asked, knowing the answer to that question perfectly well.
“No,” Andrew said. Neil grinned.
Suddenly Andrew lifted Neil up onto the counter, making him yelp in surprise. Neil’s hand flew to the back of Andrew’s head as his lips met with the skin on Neil’s neck and a shudder wrecked his form.
“Andrew… There’s no time,” Neil mumbled but strained his neck at the same time.
“There’s plenty time,” Andrew said into his neck and a look at the clock told Neil they had some time left indeed. When a wave of pain mixed with arousal went straight from where Andrew’s teeth dug into his skin to his crotch, the last of Neil’s doubts were washed away and he let his head fall back with a soft moan. Fingers curled around strands of blond hair in the nape of Andrew’s neck, pulling on them gently, when his mouth started to work on Neil’s neck in earnest. Neil’s breath hitched as Andrew sucked the skin between his teeth and he was too distracted to care whether he’d leave a hickey or not. Neil knew what effect these particular leggings had on Andrew when he put them on earlier. It wasn’t so much of a deliberate choice, though, than the fact that all his other sweatpants were in the laundry basket. Not that he minded Andrew’s liking towards them.
His legs wrapped around Andrew’s hips and he pulled his head away from his neck by his hair to press his own lips to his instead. Their kiss was hot and hungry, biting lips, sucking on tongues and breathing hard into each others’ mouths. Neil cursed against Andrew’s lips when a hand reached between his thighs and squeezed his loins, sending a rush of arousal through him. His whole body felt hot under Andrew’s hands and all worries about time were completely forgotten. How could he think of anything else when Andrew’s skilled hands and mouth were on him anyway? Every touch and every kiss came from Andrew’s profound familiarity with Neil’s body. Every spot that would make Neil gasp and squirm and moan was filed in his head and exploited relentlessly, until Neil was clinging to his body, babbling incoherent strings of words and Andrew's name. His cock was achingly hard and pressing against its restraints, though the thin fabric of his leggings did nothing to hide Neil's obvious erection. Another thing Andrew appreciated about them. His fingers, quick and nimble, found their way up his thigh, from his knee all the way to where his leg met his hips, and then traced the outline of his cock. Neil stumbled over his breath and tightened his grip in Andrew's shirt. His whole upper body fell forwards, his head hitting Andrew's shoulder, when he curled his fingers around Neil's clothed cock and squeezed. Neil moaned, his hips bucking up into his palm, arms wrapping tightly around Andrew's shoulders.
Andrew took his sweet time stroking him through his leggings, dragging his hand up and down as slowly as he possibly could. Even when Neil spread his legs as far as he could and shuffled closer to the edge of the counter, and therefore closer to Andrew, he didn't give him more.
“Andrew...” It took Neil's whiny voice for Andrew to finally hurry up. In a matter of seconds, Neil had his leggings and boxer briefs pulled down all the way to his ankles and Andrew's mouth back on his own in a kiss so hungry, it felt like Andrew really wanted to eat him up. But to his great disappointment it only lasted for mere seconds, then Neil almost fell off the counter in an attempt to chase Andrew's lips.
“Where're you going?” Neil asked with a fogged mind and a needy voice.
“To the bathroom, except you stored lube in one of the kitchen drawers?”
It took Neil a second to understand the irony in Andrew's voice, then he shook his head. Of course he didn't store lube in the kitchen. It wasn't like he expected to be fucked on the kitchen counter. But maybe he should consider it for the future.
With the instruction to stay exactly where he was, Neil was left alone in the kitchen, sitting on the counter with his bare butt and an erection that was leaving a wet trail of pre-cum on his hips. They should probably thoroughly clean this counter afterwards.
When it took Andrew more than three seconds to come back, Neil squirmed as if he had been waiting for minutes. Maybe people weren't wrong when they called him impatient.
He bit his bottom lip and loosened his grip on the edge of the counter. Fine, if Andrew took so long, he'd have to pass the time somehow. Somehow, in this case, being wrapping his hand around his own cock and giving it a couple testing strokes. The rush of arousal that went through him immediately made him continue, just slow strokes, a rhythmic up and down that had him curl his toes and breath heavily through his mouth. His own hand wasn't nearly as good as having Andrew's hand or mouth on him, but right now it was doing the trick perfectly fine.
“I've never met anyone as impatient as you.” Andrew's voice startled Neil and he whipped his head up to look at the door, and took his hand off his dick at the same time. Andrew tutted, amused, leaning in the door frame.
“No, no. Do go on.” They looked at each other for a second, Andrew still as amused as before and Neil estimating Andrew's reaction if he'd really continue, before Neil's hand went back to what it was doing before. Andrew licked his lips, then pushed off the door frame and slowly made his way over. He held a bottle of lube in one and a condom in the other hand and placed the latter on the counter next to Neil's ass, then opened the bottle and held his hand out. Neil looked at him questioningly. Andrew tapped his wrist with two fingers.
A little bit of lube was squirted into his palm when he offered his hand to Andrew, and then he understood. It was a lot easier to stroke himself like this and Neil hummed quietly in appreciation. Andrew just watched him for a bit, his free hand stroking Neil's thigh and his eyes bouncing up and down with Neil's hand on his cock. It felt like being on display and Neil remembered being embarrassed about things like this early on in their relationship, but these days he just reveled in Andrew's attention and the way it aroused Andrew to watch Neil. He put on a bit of a show for him, arching his back and giving the smallest, whiniest moans, spreading his thighs further and mumbling filthy things, until Andrew growled quietly and pulled him so close to the edge of the counter, Neil had to balance himself out by leaning back and bracing himself on his free hand, or he'd fall down. The cap of the lube clicked again and Neil watched as Andrew spread some on his hand. A second later, cold, wet fingers pushed between his ass cheeks and Neil took in a sharp breath, then stuttered it back out. Andrew's fingers circled around his hole and Neil's eyes fluttered shut. But, still, it wasn't enough, Neil wanted to feel Andrew's fingers inside him, wanted them to open him up until he could take his cock and then he wanted Andrew to fuck him until he'd see stars. Luckily Andrew knew Neil too well, and even though he usually wouldn't let his impatience bother him, this morning he humored him and soon pushed the first finger inside. Neil moaned and pushed his ass towards Andrew's hand. First his finger was slow, but the noises Neil made seemed to encourage him, and soon he was three fingers deep inside his ass, thrusting them inside him in a relentless rhythm. At this point, Neil was moaning shamelessly, his head thrown back, his hips pushing back onto Andrew's fingers and his hand working fast on his cock. A feeling he knew too well started to build at the base of his spine but Neil ignored it, until suddenly Andrew hit that spot inside him that made his head go dizzy and a burst of arousal explode in him. And suddenly that feeling was so imminent, Neil let go of his cock, moaning and panting desperately, and wrapped his fingers around Andrew's wrist, squeezing it firmly.
“Wait wait wait wait!” He said urgently. Andrew stopped his hand immediately and looked at Neil with a knowing, smug grin on his lips. Neil, on the other hand, gulped in air in big breaths, his legs and arms shaking and his chin falling onto his own chest. He was so close to coming he didn't even dare to move. If Andrew wouldn't hold so perfectly still, with his fingers almost all the way pulled out of Neil, he was pretty sure he'd come from just one twitch of Andrew's fingers.
It took him a minute to get his ragged breathing under control, at least somewhat, and he was still clinging to Andrew's wrist when he gave a slow nod.
“Okay,” he breathed, “Okay. I'm- I think we can go on.”
Andrew, being the smug bastard he was, leaned in until his nose was almost touching Neil's and at the same time pushed his fingers back into him in one swift, hard motion.
“You sure you're not just gonna come right away?” He asked slyly.
Neil really wanted to spit something back at him, but all that left his throat was a hoarse, obscene moan and a curse. Andrew caught his lips in a kiss and continued to fuck him with his fingers, so Neil could do little else but take it and moan into his mouth as he tried to return the kiss.
Neil wasn’t sure if it was too early or not early enough when Andrew removed his fingers from Neil’s ass entirely, but what he did know was, that he could hardly wait for what was about to come. The sound of a zipper being opened had his mouth watering and he licked his lips in anticipation. Andrew watched as Neil watched him reach into his jeans and pull out his hard cock, and didn’t miss the way Neil squirmed on his seat when he gave it two, three quick strokes. Neil’s eyes flicked up to Andrew’s for a second, Andrew smirked at him, then Neil looked back down to his hands and watched him unwrap the condom and roll it onto his dick. They barely ever used them anymore, but it was just a lot less messy this way. Which was definitely a point to consider when they were fucking in the kitchen of all places, and Neil was glad Andrew thought of it.
“Ready?” Andrew asked, and despite his cool expression, his voice was a bit rough already, betraying his own arousal. Neil nodded hastily. He was more than ready.
Neil clenched his teeth when Andrew pushed his cock inside him, but a little groan escaped him nevertheless. Andrew put his whole body into it, leaning forward as he slowly pushed his cock further, until eventually he was leaning over Neil, their noses brushing against each other, his cock buried inside him up to the hilt. Neil was breathing hard and ragged. Andrew kissed along his jaw, his heavy breath ghosting over his skin. When he started to move, slow and careful at first, Neil closed his eyes and took long, stuttering breaths through his mouth. A steady trickle of arousal pressed against the base of his spine and sent shudders through him that shook his whole body.
Neil wrapped his legs around Andrew’s waist when he started to speed his thrusts up. He knew it wouldn’t take much to push him over the edge of orgasm, but he tried to hold on as long as he could, he didn’t want this to end so soon, now that he finally had Andrew where he wanted him - but Andrew didn’t really make it easy on him. Just a couple minutes in he shifted on his feet and changed the angle of his hips - and suddenly, Neil was seeing stars. A broken moan was all Neil could get out of his chest before he lost his voice and his breath. Andrew knew immediately that this was the right angle and started to thrust into him in earnest, and Neil searched for something, anything to hold on to, but the empty counter didn’t offer much. His searching hand threw the packaged bread off the counter by accident and the knife block almost followed short, before Neil grabbed the only thing within reach that wouldn’t go down as soon as he pulled on it - Andrew’s neck. He buried his fingernails in his skin and threw his head back, and Andrew took advantage of the exposed skin, biting and kissing and sucking along the collar of Neil’s shirt, his pulse point, his throat.
“Andrew,” Neil moaned breathlessly, “Andrew, I’m- I’m gonna-- come-” His voice broke off again as orgasm washed over Neil like a wave and he felt his muscles contract around Andrew’s cock. Andrew grunted and fucked him through it. Neil was so overwhelmed, he didn’t even realize when Andrew came until he was almost done, his face pressed into the crook of Neil’s neck, making small, strained noises against his skin.
Neil unclenched his fingers from Andrew’s neck. He could already spot little red bruises forming where he had dug his fingernails into the skin and rubbed his fingers over them apologetically. Both of them were breathing hard and needed a while to gather themselves, Neil gently rubbing and squeezing Andrew’s neck, and Andrew running his hands up and down Neil’s spine. Soft kisses were placed into the crook of Neil’s neck, up to his ear and down again, making Neil sigh contently while he strained his neck to give Andrew more room. That was, until Neil’s eyes landed on the clock.
In a second his whole body tensed up and he took a sharp, shocked breath.
“Fuck!”
Andrew lifted his head, looking at Neil alarmed.
“What?”
“It’s 20 past seven!”
They were supposed to be on court at 7.30am.
It took them at least 30 minutes to get there by car.
Neil almost left the flat in a cum stained shirt. He only didn’t thanks to Andrew, who threw a fresh one at him. Despite how much they hurried it took them over an hour to get to work because they got stuck in traffic. Of course. And they didn't even have breakfast.
Their coach was everything but happy, when Andrew and Neil jogged onto court almost 1.5 hours late. She berated them in front of the whole team, telling them they could’ve called at least. Andrew didn’t really seem phased by it, whereas Neil apologised to her. She just shook her head about them, then sent them off to warm up.
When Neil took his spot during pass practice his partner grinned at him smugly. Neil responded with a frown.
“Is this why you were late, Josten?” He asked with a vague gesture to his own neck. Neil didn’t understand, so he just looked at him questioningly.
“Your chick left a little souvenir on your neck.”
Neil almost missed the pass and just so caught it in the net of his racquet, then pressed a hand to his neck where Andrew had apparently left a hickey. He felt his cheeks heat up and quickly threw the ball back. His training partner just laughed about it.
***
When Neil entered the apartment one saturday morning after his morning run and immediately heard Andrew shouting bloody murder, he considered turning around and running an extra mile. He didn’t get the chance to, though.
“Neil!” Andrew yelled from the kitchen, and he tensed up immediately, running all possibilities through his head how he could’ve fucked up this bad just two hours after getting up, to make Andrew this angry. “Get your fucking cats out of the kitchen!”
Oh. The cats. Of course.
As if she had been waiting for her cue, King came dashing out of the kitchen as if death was on her heels - and he probably was, in the form of a very angry 5 foot tall blond athlete.
“What have you done?” Neil hissed at her accusingly, even though she was hiding under the sofa, except her wiggling tail still stuck out from beneath. What on earth was she munching on underneath there anyway?
Neil sighed deeply. Well, seemed like he had no other option but to face Andrew’s wrath. He didn’t even know what the cats had done yet, but when Andrew called them Neil’s cats instead of just the cats (or assholes, idiots and other loving nicknames he had for King and Sir) it was a good indication that they had done something really stupid.
“Okay, I’m sure it’s not that ba- Jesus Christ, what happened?!” Alright. Neil had expected anything. But not this.
There was egg stuck to everything including Andrew. And Sir, who was sitting on top of the fridge, his tail wiggling wildly from side to side while he was trying to lick the sticky substance off his fur. There was a pack of bacon on the floor, opened - but not by a human older than three years. Probably by a cat. Most certainly by King. That explained what she was eating under the sofa.
Everything was a mess and Andrew looked like he wanted to murder the cats and Neil, but it was also so fucking funny Neil just couldn’t hold in the laugh. How on earth was he supposed to take Andrew’s death stare seriously when there was egg yolk dripping from his hair onto his forehead?
He really tried, but neither pinching his own arm really hard nor pressing his lips together stopped the loud snort, followed by Neil promptly laughing loudly and openly. He had to hold onto the door frame for support and curled an arm around his stomach when it started to hurt from laughter. This was the hardest he had laughed in a long time.
“I- I’m sorry,” he gasped between laughs, “B-but this-- Pfft this is the funniest shit I ha-ha-have seen in a while.” Sir meowed unhappily and jumped off the fridge, onto the counter and promptly lost his hold on the slippery mess, making him tumble off the counter and onto the floor comically. He barely managed to catch himself on his paws and immediately stormed off. Of course that didn’t help with Neil’s laughing fit at all, and he all but screamed with laughter. To his surprise, he heard someone else snort, too. Neil wiped the tears from his eyes and blinked them open just to find Andrew in the middle of all of this, one hand covering his eyes in a defeated manner but laughing at the same time.
When he felt like he could walk without toppling over from laughing so hard, Neil went over to Andrew and cupped his face in his palms, wiping some egg white off his cheekbone.
“Come on,” Neil giggled, “We’ll clean this up and then we’ll take a shower. I’ll wash your hair for you, okay?”
It turned out to be harder than expected to get egg off the tiles, but they managed. But not without Andrew cracking one of the eggs that survived the whole ordeal over Neil’s head when he made a joke about the situation.
By the time they jumped into the shower they were both covered in egg and still chuckling. Neil, as promised, washed Andrew’s hair - not only to make sure he got every bit of egg shell out of the blond strands, but also because it was one of those things that Andrew liked and that Neil had learned about over the years. Andrew liked feeling Neil’s fingers in his hair, and he liked getting his scalp massaged. Especially when he had a headache. It was a little bit of intimacy they could share in their everyday life, even before Andrew had been comfortable with Neil’s hands on his whole body.
They decided not to have scrambled eggs with bacon for breakfast. Instead they sat down on the sofa, turned on the TV and ate Lucky Charms straight from the box.
***
Andrew had been acting weird for a while now. Not bad weird. Just… weird. This morning didn’t seem to be an exception Neil realised when he woke up, warm and comfortable in Andrew’s arms. He knew Andrew was awake because he was gently running his hands up and down his back, sending a comfortable shiver down his spine.
Usually Andrew would get out of bed soon after waking up, but recently he had been staying under the covers when he woke up before Neil a lot more frequently than he used to. Not that Neil was complaining - he enjoyed waking up in Andrew’s arms. But it was still confusing.
Neil mumbled a greeting into Andrew’s chest and felt the vibration under his cheek when Andrew responded with his sleep rough voice. The air left Neil’s lungs in a quiet sigh when Andrew pressed him against his side for a second in an almost-hug, and he turned onto his stomach, threw a leg over Andrew’s and buried his face against his shoulder. He could certainly get used to this, no matter how unexpected it was.
Like this, Neil was so comfortable he swam in and out of a doze and almost fell asleep again, but just when his mind was at the brink of consciousness and slumber, Andrew carefully pushed him off and Neil blinked his eyes open. He made a tired noise and rubbed his sleepy eyes as Andrew climbed out of the sheets.
“I’ll get breakfast ready,” he said as he stretched his muscles. Neil could see those in his back and shoulders work and enjoyed the view.
“I want orange juice,” he croaked from underneath the covers.
Andrew huffed, then left.
Neil could hear Andrew work in the kitchen and allowed himself a bit more time than usually to wake up. They had the weekend off and nothing planned, so there was no reason to rush, and Neil didn’t want to shake off this content, warm feeling from such a peaceful morning too quickly. Only when the noises from the kitchen died down, the smell of fresh coffee filled his nose and Andrew called out his name, did Neil stretch and kick the sheets off.
It was a nice morning. It was late spring, so it was comfortably warm and the sun was shining through the opened windows. Its light bathed Andrew in a warm hue, his hair almost white and his skin soft and milky. Neil smiled a soft smile. In moments like these, an overwhelming feeling of gratefulness spread in his chest for all the things he never thought he’d have. A home, a love, a future.
Two bowls with cereals sat on the table, so did two cups of coffee and a glass with orange juice by Neil’s place. Some oxeye daisies stood in a vase close by - they were a gift from Renee, she had brought them on her last visit a couple of days ago because she thought they’d look nice in their flat. She was right.
Neil sat down and stirred a spoonful of sugar into his coffee. Just a moment later Andrew sat down opposite of him and took a sip of his own, very milky and very sugary, coffee. They had their breakfast in comfortable silence. Neil had learned quickly that with Andrew, words weren’t a necessity to feel calm and comfortable around someone. They shared a lot of silent moments, whether they were sitting on the couch together, each reading a book, lying in bed, pressed up against each other or walking down the street, no words exchanged but their fingers linked.
Andrew finished his cereals first and put his spoon down, but didn’t get up. Instead, he braced his chin on his palm and watched Neil with a calm expression. Neil looked up from his bowl and smiled at him. Andrew raised one corner of his mouth in a half-smile in return.
“Are you okay?” Neil didn’t know why he asked. Andrew seemed perfectly fine and content, which in itself wasn’t too unusual these days, but combined with the way he had behaved lately, he felt like it was an appropriate question. Andrew looked a bit surprised by the question but nodded. Neil nodded back, satisfied with this answer.
It wasn’t until Neil finished his cereals and his glass of orange juice until Andrew spoke up.
“I have something for you.”
Neil blinked, surprised.
“Oh?” He asked, “What is it?”
Andrew sat up and suddenly Neil saw something in his face shift from calm to, well, not really nervous, but something close to it. He hadn’t expected a gift - there was no reason for one, no birthday or anniversary or anything else that could possibly be a reason for one - and he couldn’t imagine what it could be that would get Andrew in such a weird mood.
Eagerly, he watched as Andrew pushed his hand in the pocket of his sweatpants, then held it out and paused. It took Neil a few moments to realize Andrew was waiting for him to take the present, but when he did, he quickly pushed his open palm beneath Andrew’s hand.
A little box sat in Neil’s palm and he eyed it curiously. His gaze flicked up to Andrew who was just silently staring at him, then he opened it.
And suddenly the world stopped.
His breath hitched and Neil’s eyes darted up again. He stared at Andrew with an open mouth, every word he could say stuck in his throat. Silence. Then:
“Yes or no?”
The ring that was sitting in the little box gleamed in the morning light. It was a delicate silver band with subtle ornaments and a white jewel right in the center. It was gorgeous.
Neil felt a lump build in his throat and tears burn behind his eyes. He always knew Andrew was his future. And this was Andrew telling him Neil was his future, too.
Andrew shifted in his seat and Neil realised how long he had just stared at Andrew without saying anything. Andrew was getting uncomfortable. Afraid of rejection. As if Neil could ever say no to him.
“Yes,” he said, his voice raw and quiet, “Yes. Yes, of course it’s yes.”
Andrew took a deep, shaky breath before holding his hand out again and cupping Neil’s in his palm.
“Let me-” He whispered and reached for the ring box. Slowly, carefully, Andrew slid the ring on Neil’s finger. It felt like a dream. Until he learned to love Andrew Neil never understood the appeal of marriage. But since they had been together he slowly started to get it. This ring was so much more than just a ring. It was a sign that they belonged to each other. It was proof that Andrew loved him enough to go through all the trouble of finding the perfect ring. It was another promise Andrew made Neil.
Andrew pressed his lips against Neil’s fingers, right above the ring, in a soft kiss. It made Neil feel like his chest would explode with emotions. There was hardly any other moment in his life where he felt so much joy in his heart.
He pulled his hand from Andrew’s grip and let his fingers brush gently over his cheek and jaw until they cupped his face.
“I love you,” Neil said quietly.
Andrew closed his eyes and leaned his face into the touch.
“I love you, too,” he said.
“Thank you,” Neil whispered as he brushed his thumb over Andrew’s cheekbone.
“Shut up.” Andrew curled his fingers around Neil’s wrist, holding his hand in place against his jaw, while he leaned across the table and caught Neil’s lips with his own.
This, Neil thought, was the best breakfast of his life.