Chapter Text
Neil Josten watched the cigarette burn to the filter without taking a drag. The cigarettes did nothing, but the scent was one of the few positive reminders from his past life.
The exy court was being reverted to a soccer field, marking the end of his year at Millport. It was a bitter moment, to see something that meant so much to him go away in just an hour. Neil didn’t know why he kept doing this, but he couldn’t give this up.
Coach Hernandez took a seat beside him on the bench and silently took the cigarette from Neil. He let it go willingly, watching the end get snubbed out on the concrete and tossed away.
“I thought your parents were going to try to make it tonight,” Hernandez said mildly. Neil knew it for what it was, a question or an invitation, but he shouldn’t be surprised by now.
“They did, they couldn’t,” Neil said.
He heard Hernandez sigh at his side, but didn’t look.
“I thought they’d make an exception tonight.” Neil shrugged. “No one knew it would be the last game. They didn’t miss anything.” Neil turned to Hernandez and felt tired just from the look Hernandez was giving him.
“Not yet,” Hernandez said, smiling. “Someone is here to see you.”
Neil froze for a moment and stood, but didn’t get far before a tall man entered the room. It was instinctive to run, but the man stood between him and everything he owned. He could always run and come back later, but that would lead to too many questions that he couldn’t answer.
“Neil Josten.” The man said, sounding familiar. He trailed his eyes over the tribal tattooed arms, the tight polo shirt, and the broad shoulders. The name came to mind before he even had to look farther.
“David Wymack.” Neil whispered, and he poised to bolt. It didn’t matter if he had to break in later for his things. He couldn’t be here. “Why are you here?”
Hernandez admonished him for his rudeness softly, but Neil ignored him. Wymack seemed entirely unfazed.
“Your coach sent me your file. He told me you haven’t picked a school, and I need a new striker. It works out perfectly. All you have to do is sign the dotted line and you’re mine for five years.” Wymack held out his stack of papers, likely the contract, but Neil didn’t make any move to reach out.
“You can’t be serious.” Neil whispered. He tensed up and looked back to the exit, blocked by the new equipment being used. His only option was through the locker room. He could easily make it past them if he had to.
“Very serious, and out of time. I’m sure you saw the news. Our last striker is out for this season, so we have to find a new one soon.”
It sounded so perfect, so right. It was too good to be true. Kevin Day left the Ravens just months before. Even if Kevin didn’t know who he was, he didn’t think he could stand to be around Kevin. And Kevin wasn’t even the main reason he needed to stay as far away as possible…
“Not me.” Neil shook his head, both in response to Wymack as well as to shake his mind clear. “Please go away.”
“I know it's sudden, but I do need these signed tonight.” Wymack stepped forward with the papers held out, as if offering food to a feral animal. “Just sign on the line, and you are mine until graduation.”
“I’m not signing with you.” Neil said firmly. “You signed him .”
“Who?” Wymack asked curiously.
“Kevin.” Neil said, because he couldn’t really say who he was actually concerned about.
“Is that a problem?”
“I won’t play with Kevin.”
“Look, Neil. If I paid to fly three people all the way out here to meet you, I think you should at least hear me out.” Neil’s blood went cold, a phantom feeling that never went away. Even dead, the anxiety coursed through his veins like blood, leaving him cold all over.
“You didn’t.” He choked out, panic building at once and before he knew it, he was running. He was past Wymack and Hernandez before either could call for him to stop and went straight for the exit. He didn’t know where the others were, but he would take his chances. There was only one available exit; he had to hope he could get out.
He wasn’t fast enough.
Neil caught sight of the racquet in the same instant the smell hit his nose. Even after years, nothing could hide it. He spent years trying to find an association, but the closest was amber, tobacco, and home . Neil only halted for a split second, but it was enough of an opening for the racquet to swing directly into his ribs.
If Neil wasn’t a vampire, he’d probably be curled up on the floor with broken ribs. Maybe even coughing up blood, if he were unlucky. But it seemed that he was recognized, because that swing was enough that even he was on his knees. The racquet let out a crack, splitting a few inches down the wood. A fierce anger flared inside him, but it became an afterthought when he finally glanced up.
It had been centuries since they had seen one another, and even after all this time, Neil felt his shoulders relax, his cold heart stutter in his chest, and all fight bleed out.
“Andreas.” Neil whispered softly, too softly for the situation. Too softly for anyone but Andrew to hear. But even with a quickly fading ache from the racquet to his ribs, he couldn’t ignore the effect that Andrew had on him every time they were in the same room. No amount of time could dampen that.
“Andrew.” Andrew corrected pointedly, subtly glancing back in the direction where the coaches were following. He propped the racquet against the floor and leaned on it, staring back into Neil’s eyes. “It is Andrew.”
“Goddammit, Minyard. This is why we can’t have nice things.” Neil flinched at the fury in the older man’s voice as Wymack stomped towards them. He moved on instinct and was standing, partially in front of Andrew out of habit. The last man who had used that tone when they were together was when…
“Neil.” Andrew waved a hand in his face to catch his attention, pulling him quickly out of his memories. It was only a moment, surely too short a time for the others to notice, but he still prepared himself to come up with an excuse.
“Are you alright, kid?” Hernandez asked, stepping closer and reaching like he’d want to check his ribs. Neil waved him off.
“I’m fine, Coach.” Neil said. He tried to sound reassuring, but it was hollow even to his own ears. He wanted to look at him, to make it more believable, but he only had eyes for Andrew.
“Andrew’s a bit raw on manners.” Wymack said, and it sounded like an apology, but Neil didn’t need it.
“It’s fine.” Neil finally tore his gaze away to nod reassuringly at Wymack. Without his focus on Andrew he caught the other smell in the room and he froze again. His eyes flicked to the entertainment center across the locker room. “What the hell?”
Kevin hopped down from where he was sitting with papers spread across the top, probably from Neil’s file. Kevin’s face when he stepped out of the shadow was familiar, but so different at the same time. It was jarring, and that was only half of it.
“Yeah.” Andrew answered, though the others surely wouldn’t understand what Neil was truly asking.
“He looks just like him.” He said it softly enough that no one but Andrew heard him.
“I know.” Andreas said, and the pain in his voice was palpable.
“Why were you leaving?” Kevin asked, and it was like a knife to hear that voice again after all this time.
“I won’t sign with you.” Neil said, as much an answer as it was a dismissal.
“You will.” Kevin insisted. He glared at Neil condescendingly, telling him he didn’t think he was worthy but insistent on him all the same. “I don't care your reason for saying no, you will sign with us.”
“No.”
Kevin acted like he was going to push farther, but Wymack stepped in between them. He subtly pushed Kevin towards the door. “You two, go wait by the car. Hernandez, could I have a moment with Neil?”
“Of course. If you need me, I’ll be in my office.” Hernandez said, and didn’t sound at all like he wanted to leave, but he left all the same after a final pointed look at Kevin and Andrew.
“Go.” Wymack told the two and shooed them out the door. Neil watched them all the way to the door, not wanting to miss a single second of either of them. Andrew gave a two finger salute to him and it only made his chest ache with a sadness he struggled to smother. The moment the door closed, Wymack continued.
“Will your parents be a problem?”
Neil Josten had two absentee parents, neither of which would actually be a problem, but he could fall back on that easily. He nodded mutely and hated the understanding sigh that Wymack let out.
“Look. We can fly you out the day after graduation. Some of the team stays on campus. We could say that you’re there for early practice. Not everyone will believe it, but those who don't won’t ask.” Wymack said. He was offering him so much. A few years of Exy, stability in one place where he is expected to be, and Andrew.
No, he couldn’t.
“Wymack.” Neil tried to deny it, tried to tell himself that turning away wouldn’t break everything in his soul. Like this wasn’t everything he wanted, but knew he couldn’t have. “I can’t—“
“You can.” Wymack stared at him, the look of someone who understood. He must have seen the confliction–the want warring with what he shouldn’t do. “I can give the contract to Hernandez. You can sign it and have him send it over to me.”
Wymack said it like he already knew Neil was saying yes, and he hated himself for the fact it was true. He was going to sign, and he just had to hope that Andrew would forgive him. For centuries he managed to give Andrew space, and somehow he fell into a possible five years of being around each other.
If Andrew decided that he should go, he would. There was no way he would stay if Andrew didn't want him to. He couldn’t do that to him. But he was tired of drifting, so against his better judgment, he nodded. Wymack returned his nod and walked away to talk to Hernandez.
“We can give you a ride.” Wymack offered, but Neil shook his head.
“It’s fine, I like to walk home.” He unlocked his locker and took out his duffle bag, waiting for Wymack to acknowledge the dismissal. It was a long moment where Neil thought he would throw up, though that was not something he has been capable of in centuries. The anxiety was enough to bring back that awful reminder of his humanity, and he couldn’t think on that without thinking of everything that led here.
Neil left through the exit and caught sight of a rental car, where Kevin was sitting in the front seat with the door closed. Andrew leaned against the car, a lit cigarette between his middle and ring fingers.
“Neil Josten.” Andrew called out. He sounded out every syllable, acknowledging the lie that the name was in the subtlest way he could. “You signing with us?”
“Is that a problem?” Neil asked,both a taunt and a genuine question. If Andrew said it wasn’t okay with him, he really wouldn’t sign. He would tell Coach Hernandez no and finish the year in peace.
“I don’t have a problem, but it sure seems like you have one.” Andrew raised his eyebrows. Neil stopped walking in front of him, and it felt a little like dying to look into his hazel eyes. The smoke from the cigarette didn’t do much to hide the smell of home that clung to him.
“I thought I was a problem.” Neil said. It was the best offer for Andrew to tell him to go away, to fuck off out of his life again. But he didn’t deny him. Pushing away from the car, he reached forward to nudge Neil’s shoulder back a step, and the touch burned like a fire against him.
“You have always been a problem, no more now than when we first met.” Andrew whispered, soft enough so that Kevin couldn’t hear from inside the car. “Why should now be any different?”
Neil didn’t have an answer for that, so he stayed silent.
“Maybe with you here, someone can keep Kevin from trying to force me to play. All his focus will be on whipping you into shape.” Andrew raised an eyebrow in challenge. “You riding with us?”
Neil was all out of words, it seemed. All he could manage was a short shake of his head, but Andrew understood that for what it was.
“See you in May, Neil .” Andrew said and jerked the door open, dropping into the seat without a word.
Neil was running before the door was fully closed between them.