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1
It was a secret that Andrew was a dedicated student. He delivered his work before any deadline and his grades were always above average, however, his dedication should be considered something more natural than a true dedication.
And the only person who knew about it was Neil, which is why when a note fell from the middle of one of his books, he already knew who it belonged to. Despite being obvious, since Neil was the only one who was free to mess with Andrew's things.
He looked at the little piece of paper, with Neil's running calligraphy.
"We're out of ice cream, so I think you'd better go out and buy it." There was a smiling face in the corner of the note.
It was ridiculous that Neil had put the note in Andrew's book as if he knew he would read later, it was a place with little chance of being found by Kevin, but not by Andrew. But it wasn't surprising that he opted for a note instead of a message. Neil knew that Kevin didn't care about ice cream, it was very likely that he would ignore the note to force Andrew to take his disgusting shakes. He was already obliged to live with the two and hear them talk about his precious exy, as if it were a damn sect, no one had the right to take their candy. So that could only mean one thing, Neil had planned it and done it purposely.
Neil was acting like a little shit and he was fully aware of it. It was amazing that he could actually act like a mob fugitive, watching everyone.
Initially, Andrew wouldn't leave a note in response, but he felt challenged by Neil's little game, as if he was aware of all of Andrew's steps, so this couldn't stay that way.
Later, as he prepared for a run, Neil found a note inside one of his running shoes saying, "Next time you buy the ice cream." With the drawing of a stick figure showing the middle finger.
He certainly didn't smile at it.
2
Neil needed to find his cell phone charger because he was now responsible and kept others alert ed about his whereabouts, and this had nothing to do with the threats of many of his teammates, including his coach. He promised he wouldn't let his phone die or leave his cell phone away from him, well the phone was out of charge, but it was still with him, Neil regarded it as a breakthrough.
He walked directly to his desk opening the small drawer. And as predicted, there was the charger. Neil pulled it out of the drawer, but before closing he saw a small piece of paper that sure wasn't there before. He frowned for the paper.
It was Andrew's handwriting.
"What a surprise, someone forgot to charge the phone." There was a little face looking disappointed under neath the letters.
Neil snorted for that. Of course Andrew was aware that he would forget to recharge his cell phone.
After charging his cell phone, he left the dorm and bought a pot of ice cream, when he returned looking for a pen and a small piece of paper, quickly Neil wrote a message: "My mistake, accept my apology." He drew two little faces, one smiling and the other looking embarrassed, just because he knew it would make Andrew angry. He put the ice cream in the freezer and finally went out for his run.
After a while, when Neil returned from his run, he entered the dormitory leaving his shoes near the door and walked to the kitchen to drink water. When he arrived at the kitchen, the first thing he found was the empty pot on the counter, he approached and took the note that was glued on the lid.
"Your mistakes can't be compensated with ice cream, improve Josten."
He laughed at that.
For the rest of the day there were no more notes, they didn't even touch on this subject, following their routine of sleeping together, and being pushed out of bed by Andrew, as by six o'clock in the morning, because it was a perfect time for a morning run.
After running and overcoming Andrew's bad mood with the sweetest things he could buy in the coffee shops he found on the way, Neil rested and waited until their time left for practice.
Soon everyone was inside the Maserati, waiting for Andrew. He got into the car and froze looking at the steering wheel, Neil observed his reaction.
"Maybe a new car?" There was a heart with an arrow crossed. That was the note he had left earlier.
"113%" Andrew spoke, pulling the note and keeping it in his pocket, deciding to ignore Neil's victorious smile, as well as the confused face of the other passengers. He just started the car and pretended that the note didn't affect him at all.
Neil had considered it a victory, but he didn't lose by waiting.
3
It was Andrew's last year in Palmetto. And he certainly wasn't stressed about it, wasn't stressed by the fact that everyone would stay away from his watchful eye, and no doubt wasn't worried about a certain red-haired boy with blue eyes who was the embodiment of the problem. Andrew trusted Neil, he knew Neil could manage on his own, he had done it for years. But there was still an itch on his skin that predicted Neil would disappear as soon as he walked out that door.
Deep down Andrew still expected Neil to be a dream, and that at some point he would just disappear. It sounded like a curse to him, years passed and Neil didn't disappear, there was no sense for it to happen right now. But his mind was noisy, full of questions and nervousness, he knew Neil noticed.
Racing declined and Neil's constant presence became even more remarkable. New ice cream pots, stupid new questions and new planning for a future, which even coming out of the mouth of an ex-liar, seemed like the truest words he's heard in years.
The only thing Andrew did was grumble a "fuck, Josten" and look away when Neil's smile became extremely kissable.
Sitting on the edge of the roof, he took his cigarette box and tried to get a cigarette out of it, but was stopped by something, it was a piece of paper. The role was folded several times, he knew it was more of a ticket from Neil and this certainly caught him unprepared, it looked like he was missing the silent game they had started.
"I won't run away unless it's directly for you." The letters were squeezed on paper and the calligraphy was almost illegible.
Andrew felt something burn in his chest, a warm feeling spread through his body, which he decided to ignore for now and go back to what he wanted to do from the beginning, which was simply smoke a cigarette.
He inhaled and exuded the smoke. Looking up at the night sky, the spirals that cigarette smoke produced were very similar to the spirals of cliché feelings Andrew felt. And suddenly he really found himself in a future with Neil and the damn cats he so longed for.
Later the same day, Neil found in the pocket of his team sweatshirt a single ticket with a percentage: "169%." he smiled softly at himself.
Neil had managed to get somewhere by the looks of it.
4
Andrew had spent a few days in Neil's apartment, now that they were playing professionally this had become a routine, they were not yet on the same team, but that was only a matter of time.
The days passed, and Andrew had to go home. After Neil took him to the airport, and after a lengthy farewell, and from Neil's point of view, painful. He watched Andrew board and after a few minutes returned to his apartment. He wouldn't admit out loud that he was a little upset, well, he got used to Andrew wandering around the house and got used to the "home air". And now Neil had to get used to the empty apartment, which made him think about the possibility of adopting a kitten, after all they wouldn't be so different.
Neil threw himself on the couch and stood there for a few minutes, looking at the ceiling in complete silence, after thinking he had suffered enough on the couch, he walked to the kitchen going towards the fridge to grab a soda as a way to overcome the unbelievably empty apartment that made him feel empty, but stopped when he saw the orange post-it glued on the surface of the refrigerator.
"I don't have much money, but, boy, if I did. I'd buy a big house where we both could live."
He felt a mixture of emotions, both good and bad, but smiled and shook his head scattering bad feelings. Neil couldn't answer that note for some time, but one day he would. He left the soda aside, he didn't have to get over anything.
A few months later Neil visited Andrew, after he left and Andrew was getting ready for bed, he found a yellow post-it glued to the bathroom mirror of his apartment, written by the same usual run calligraphy of Neil saying: "I hope you don't mind that I put down in words. How wonderful life is while you're in the world." If Andrew had left the note there for months, no one but the two knew about the tickets anyway.
5
Andrew was sitting on the bed reading a book, with his two cats and his husband next to him. The cats were at the end of the bed purring softly and his husband was at his side lying face down with his eyes closed but clearly awake.
He turned the page of the book and then heard a low sigh as the bed moved gently. Andrew heard the sound of the bedside table drawer being opened and the sound of the paper being torn. Then a folded paper was thrown into his lap, he lowered the book and turned to Neil. Andrew arched one of his eyebrows at him, but Neil just sent him a soft smile.
Andrew snorted, but took the folded little paper and opened it.
"Do you like me?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No"
Andrew turned his attention to Neil, who stretched out his pen smiling.
"Really?" Andrew asked sarcastically. "You know we're married, right?"
The marriage proposal became a challenge between the two, in addition to being an expensive bet made by the foxes, Andrew won that challenge and for the first time Aaron came out richer from a bet. Andrew could not help but boast, he had disarmed Josten and surprised him.
"And what?" Neil asked. “What if you married me just because I'm an Exy star?"
"I don't remember marrying Kevin."
"That would be a waste of therapy, you know." Neil replied.
"You're a waste of therapy, Josten."
"Unfortunately for you, Minyard-Josten." Neil smiled.
"And for Aaron too." He replied by avoiding the warm feeling that spread through his body.
"Absolutely." Neil's smile became bigger.
Andrew rolled his eyes and plucked the pen from his hand, scratched his answer and threw the note and pen at him again, the same opened the paper still smiling, and the smile did not flinch when he read the answer.
"Do you like me?
[ X ] Yes
[ ] No"
"I like you too." Neil whispered.
"Shut up." Andrew muttered.
"Make me." Neil replied.
And well, Andrew wasn't someone who liked to let challenges go. So he logically did to him what was asked.