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Kevin was worried about Neil, more than usual. It had been a long week and with luck, Neil had slept an hour or two each night. He really looked awful and had reached a point he wasn’t even pretending to sleep at night like he usually did. Kevin and Andrew had shared some glances before, Andrew decided that since they had a free day on friday, they would go to Columbia, just the three of them and try to talk to Neil there. Somehow, they had ended in Target because Andrew needed to buy some things and Neil had refused to stay in the house, no matter if he was practically dead on his feet and only moving when Kevin tugged at his hand.
After half an hour of dragging an unresponsive Neil through the halls Kevin couldn’t take it anymore. He turned around so that he could look Neil in the eyes.
“Neil, if you are tired I can give you a piggyback ride.” Neil just looked at him confused. “Come on Neil, so you can rest for a bit.” Neil was ready to start complaining when Andrew chimed in.
“Junkie, you insisted on coming and there are a lot of people here.” Andrew was also aware that while he was trying to make the trip as fast as possible, the fact that half of the city seemed to be in the store would make it difficult. In other cases they may give up and come later, but they really needed the food so there was nothing they could do.
“I’m not gonna sleep in the middle of a crowded store, on Kevin’s back.”
“Neil, do you trust us? You know that Andrew and I will never let anything happen to you. Just admit you can’t keep on like this.”
Neil looked at both of them, he was probably trying to overthink the situation and his options but his sleep deprived brain was not helping. Kevin just turned around and crouched a bit so that Neil could reach. He heard a sigh from Neil and then felt his arms wrap around his neck. He held Neil's thighs to make sure he wouldn’t fall, and continued walking alongside Andrew who was putting things in the cart.
Kevin was scared it was a bad idea since Neil was so tense. But as minutes grew by he felt Neil relax against his back, his head pressing against his shoulder. He could feel Andrew's eyes on them.
“Is he awake?” Kevin asked after fifteen minutes when they were standing in line to pay.
“Barely.” Neil made a sound of protest but didn’t say anything to defend himself meaning that Andrew was probably right.
Kevin tried to help Andrew carry some of the bags, but he just glared at him, took all of them and started walking towards the house. They had come on foot because, while Neil had not said anything, they knew that he did not want to spend any more time in the car. Kevin was pretty sure that whatever was happening to Neil was probably about his mom rather than his dad. They walked in silence so as to not disturb Neil who, judging about how he was lying against his back, had finally fallen asleep.
After entering the house Andrew left the bags in the kitchen, but Kevin didn’t know what to do. Neil really needed to sleep but if he moved him too much he would for sure get up and probably skittish again. It was true that Neil could practically fall asleep anywhere on command, but the smallest sound of movement out of place would wake his running instinct.
“Give him to me.” He suddenly heard Andrew beside him, like he had understood his dilemma. “Come on Junkie, to bed.”
Andrew pulled Neil away from Kevin’s back to carry him bridal style and went to climb up the stairs.
“Don’t let the ice cream melt, Day.”
Kevin went to the kitchen to put away the food and then went upstairs to Andrew’s, their, bedroom. Andrew had taken off Neil's shoes and was sitting right beside him. He saw him lean down to press a gentle kiss on Neil’s forehead and couldn’t help but to smile.
He entered the room to sit on Neil’s other side and run his hand through his hair, making him subconsciously cuddle closer to Kevin. He supposed that a nap would not hurt. After changing he got under the covers and grabbed Neil by the waist to pull him close to him. ANdrew scoffed, but at the same time he sat down on the other side of the bed and grabbed the book he was reading from the nightstand.
They probably had a lot of things to talk about, but they could wait tomorrow.