Chapter Text
In the end, they lose the championships, but it is a close call. Aaron, of course, doesn’t care either way, but the other foxes, save for the freshmen, don’t seem to be that upset, either. He thinks he sees a flash of disappointment cross Kevin’s face after the final buzzer seals the points 3-2 Trojan’s favour, but it falls off as soon as the turns to congratulate Jeremy Knox, the beam of literal sunshine and Kevin’s not-so-secret celebrity crush. Aaron would find all of this incredibly amusing if only he wasn’t so fucking tired.
He reluctantly lets Dan pull him to a huddle in the middle of the court, only half listening her praise for her foxes as he does his best to stay upright. They have a few more people on their lineup now, but he still ended up playing almost the entirety of the second half and his calves are positively burning. His head is cloudy, probably due to dehydration and the court swims in his vision in flashes of orange and red, orange and red. It’s dizzying.
Dan has to half-carry him to the lounge after the obligatory handshake line because his stupid legs refuse to work.
The whole team gave their all to the final match and even though it wasn’t enough in the end Wymack has nothing but praise to give for his foxes when they pile themselves on the couches.
“Good job, kiddos. Be proud of your asses. For the first time this season, you weren’t completely hopeless out there.”
Abby swats him on the shoulder, but she’s grinning, too. “Anyone in need of a check-up?” She asks after their rowdy crowd has settled down enough to hear her. Nobody comes forward, so Wymack sends them on their way to the showers, the promise of booze making the foxes scramble.
Aaron is the only one who doesn’t immediately get up. He lets his head fall back to the cushions, promising himself he’ll get up after a minute or two. Somehow, it turns to almost five before Wymack jostles his shoulder.
“Get your ass up and head to the shower,” he grunts. Reluctantly, Aaron peals his eyes open.
“Didn’t get sweaty,” he mumbles and tries his best to keep his eyes open. God, his eyelids are heavy.
“Bullshit. You’re not stepping a foot onto the bus smelling like that. Up and away, now. You can sleep once we are on our merry way.”
He knows he can’t. Even though they lost, the foxes are sure to be their loud and peppy selves during the whole journey back to Palmetto. Aaron mourns the loss of his headphones that conveniently sit on his bedroom table back at the dorm.
“Is everything okay?” Abby asks, a hint of worry worming its way to her voice. Aaron takes a deep breath and tries for a smile.
“Yeah. Just tired, I guess.” It’s not like it is a lie. The last few weeks before their last game of the season were full of cramming for finals. Everyone had been on the very end of their rope during practice all week. Aaron’s pretty sure he got maybe eight hours of sleep during last week. Total.
Abby hums in a way that tells him she’s not entirely convinced ,but she doesn’t press the matter. Instead, she shoves a granola bar and a Gatorade at him and watches closely when he slowly works through them.
A few foxes are already filing out of the changing room with still dripping hair and loud conversations when Aaron finally makes his way to the showers. He spots Andrew, who is sitting on the bench beside his locker, fully dressed already and his duffel packed. Aaron rummages through his own bag for his toiletries in silence. Andrew gives him a not-very-subtle once-over that Aaron elects to ignore in favour of struggling out of his gear.
He gets through his shower mechanically without really registering the motions or the feeling of hot water running down his spine. He scrubs his hair, then his torso, arms, legs. He dries himself off in the shower stall before wrapping the towel around his waist and heading back to the lockers.
He startles when he notices Andrew still sitting on the bench, an empty look in his eyes. The locker room is almost empty, too, a few freshmen still packing the last of their things. Aaron stops in his tracks when he gets face to face with Andrew. They stare at each other for an endless minute, both reluctant to break the fragile silence between them.
“Move,” Aaron finally says. Andrew quirks his brow at him but otherwise doesn’t acknowledge him in any way. Aaron steps forward, uninterested in whatever game Andrew is playing with him this time. He stops again just a breath away from his twin. Andrew cocks his head to the side, then the other, considering, before he makes room for Aaron to open his locker. Aaron huffs in annoyance before he starts changing.
It’s strange, feeling Andrew’s heavy gaze on him. He’s all too accustomed to being ignored, glossed over, forgotten. He doesn’t know what to make of this sudden change of hearts.
“You played well today”, he says, because he doesn’t know what else to do. It’s not like it isn’t true, anyway: Andrew didn’t let in a single goal the whole time he was on court. Andrew doesn’t dignify that with a response and Aaron turns his eyes away, suddenly self-conscious. They’ve spent countless hours in Betsy’s office by now, talking about things that require them to rip open old wounds anew, but they still can’t do… This. Small-talk. Whatever brotherly thing normal siblings do.
“Are you ready?” Andrew finally drawls and Aaron flinches a little, plummeting back to reality. He’s still got his towel and jersey balled up in his fists, so he haphazardly shows them inside his duffel before shouldering it. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
The rest of the team is already piled on the aggressively orange monstrosity of a bus when Aaron and Andrew make their way inside. There is a bunch of booze already being passed on, and he notices Abby and Wymack conversing quietly on the first row. Wymack shoots them a glance when they settle down on their respective seats between the foxes but spares them any of his words.
Finally, the bus jerks forward and Aaron slumps against the leather, ignoring Kevin’s rant about his performance on the court. He’ll be sure to hear it all over again on Monday, anyway.
The first few hours pass by in relative peace. The foxes are happy and loud, sure, but nobody bothers him when there is alcohol to be consumed. Aaron keeps his eyes closed the whole time and even though he’s unable to fall asleep amidst the chaos he can at least relax his exhausted muscles a little.
About halfway through the journey Wymack directs the bus to a murky-looking gas station for a bathroom break and a snack run. Aaron would much rather take advantage of the now blissfully silent bus and nap a little but the Gatorade he chugged earlier is starting to get to him, and he can’t exactly say no to a greasy gas station burger, either. So, although reluctantly, he follows his teammates through the parking lot, trying to stretch his stiff limbs out during the short walk.
The foxes don’t quiet down by much inside the station, either, and work their way through their food with heated discussion and tipsy laughter. Not that it matters, though. The station is almost vacant save for a few truck drivers on the far right corner. They don’t waste time on their business and load the bus with mountains of snacks and even more booze. Before Aaron can get too irritated, they are already back on the road.
Unfortunately, it seems that the days of getting left the fuck alone are over now. Allison insists on a drinking game and doesn’t budge even when faced with multiple groans of protest. Aaron can’t seem to escape it, either, because Dan damn near manhandles him to the back of the bus where the rest of the foxes are gathered.
“I’ll start, since this was my idea,” Allison announces, positively drunk already.
“What are we even playing?” Asks one of the freshmen.
“Oh, oh, I know! Truth or dare!” Nicky exclaims, jumping up and down on his seat like a fucking toddler in a sugar rush.
“Not enough room for that, I think,” Dan objects.
“How about never have I ever?” Nicky continues. This is met with agreeing murmurs and a few nods, and just like that, it’s decided.
“I trust you all know the rules by now,” Allison exclaims while handing drinks to everyone, “but just in case you’re too drunk to remember: make a statement following never have I ever, and whoever has done that, takes a drink. No cheating,” she levels them with a look that rivals Wymack’s.
It's pretty tame for a while and Aaron doesn’t mind sitting on his seat and sipping his beer every once in a while. Never have I ever been skiing — a statement from Kevin that makes all the original foxes burst out in howling laughter; never have I ever made out in a library — only Andrew and Neil abstain from drinking.
After a few rounds of mostly innocent questions, Allison decides to spice things up a little. With a mischievous grin, she says, “Never have I ever received oral from a girl.” She’s looking at Matt and Dan when she says that, and, true enough, both of them take a sip. So do a few of the freshmen while Nicky lets out a sound in mock disgust. Kevin downs his drink, although Aaron isn’t sure if he’s even playing the game. So far, he has drunk on every single statement and Aaron seriously doubts he has ever been to Disneyland.
A nudge against his foot jolts Aaron out of his stupor.
“Dude? Are you even paying attention?” Matt asks with a wink.
“What?” Aaron asks stupidly.
“Hello?” Allison waves her hand in his line of vision. “Ever received oral from a girl?”
He feels everyone’s eyes penetrating his skin. He swallows. “Yeah, I heard.”
“You’re not gonna drink?” Matt asks, confused. Aaron furrows his brow at him.
“What does it look like?” He spits, motioning to his mostly full can, annoyed at the whole discussion. Multiple gasps sound around the bus at that. Even Andrew cocks his eyebrow at him, looking vaguely amused. Aaron can feel his cheeks heat up and immediately wants to die.
“Seriously, dude?” Matt exclaims. “Wow, you must be one hell of a gentleman if you’re only ever been on the giving side.” His grin is wide and friendly, but Aaron still feels the need to punch him in the face to shut him up. A few snickers travel among the foxes. Aaron grits his teeth. He doesn’t feel like correcting them on this, and if they want to assume things about Aaron’s sex life, fine. It’s not like he’s lying if he just keeps quiet.
“Okay, well, moving on,” Allison says at last, shooting one last glance at him. “I believe it’s Neil’s turn. Go ahead.” She motions at Neil who's sitting sideways on Andrew’s lap, arms thrown around his shoulders. There is a dangerous glint in his eyes, too, and Aaron already dreads what’s coming out of his mouth.
Sure enough, Neil settles on: “Never have I ever had sex with my girlfriend.” It’s directed at him, he knows it is. Everyone is already looking at him, their drinks forgotten. Even Matt seems to forget that he is probably supposed to drink, too.
His face is burning. Casting his gaze to the dirty floor he prays for some kind of higher power to end his misery.
He can almost hear the gods laugh at him, too.
“Dude! No way!” Nicky gasps. The others erupt on various protests, shouting disbelieving questions and talking all over each other. The sudden noise even prompts Wymack to shout out a quick “hey!” over his shoulder. Aaron feels a familiar pressure building behind his eyelids and for one horrible moment he thinks he’s actually going to cry.
He won’t. He won’t.
“Shut up!” He shouts, his voice betraying him in the middle of it. God, he doesn’t want to cry. Not in front of his entire team. He doesn’t even understand why they make it sound like such a big deal. He and Katelyn have only actually dated for the better part of a year. It’s not like they are in a hurry. He looks at the freshmen, desperately searching for an understanding look. He cannot be the only one who hasn’t... Can he?
“Why is it such a big deal?” He snaps. “You didn’t give Neil this much shit, either, when he showed up with his ‘I don’t swing’ bullshit last year!”
He turns towards the back of the bus and sees Neil study him with a thoughtful expression. The corners of his mouth are turned slightly downward and there’s a crease between his brows. At least he doesn’t seem to draw as much amusement from his discomfort as he’d expected. It was his question that landed them in this situation, after all.
Allison swats his complaints away. “That’s totally different. He was on the run from the literal mafia, in case you’ve forgotten. Not much time for a quick hookup, right?” She turns her head to look at Neil, who nods slightly.
“Besides,” Neil continues, “you did give me shit about it for half a year. It took Andrew threatening Nicky with a knife to get him to back off.” Nicky winces at that, and Aaron swears he can see Andrew’s eyes shooting daggers at his cousin.
“You, on the other hand,” Allison continues, because when does she ever give up when there's a chance for gossip? “You’re in an established relationship, much like Josten, now. And they seem to have quite a lot of fun, just the two of them.” How she’s not afraid of Andrew’s murderous gaze is a wonder of the modern world.
“So?” Aaron bristles. “Not every relationship is the same.” He has to bite his tongue to prevent himself from saying something he might regret later. He has a feeling it might be worth the regret in this particular situation, though.
“That is true, Aaron. You shouldn’t feel pressured to do anything you don’t yet want to do.” Renee is speaking to Aaron, but her eyes are fixated on Allison’s. Renee shoots him a quick smile and Aaron doesn’t know whether to hate her or thank her.
Yet.
That’s the thing, isn’t it? He’s just not ready yet. Neither is Katelyn, probably. She hasn’t brought it up with him, so that’s what he’s always assumed. They are not in a hurry. All of this will resolve itself along the way. They’ve got time. Still, there’s a nagging feeling in his gut now, a new one. One he can’t quite put a name on yet.
Renee’s gentle meddling directs the attention away from Aaron after a while. They don’t resume playing, content to just converse idly and exchange their individual plans for summer break. Aaron doesn’t move from his spot next to a snoring Kevin, but he doesn’t participate in their conversation, either. He can still feel Andrew’s gaze on him, but he decides to ignore it for now.
***
The night is not exactly young anymore when they finally make their way back to the dorms. Most of the foxes stumble in their haste to collapse in bed but Aaron stops before his door, ushering Nicky and Matt to go in without him. He shoots out a text to Katelyn while wondering why on earth she would still be awake.
Can I spend the night?
To his surprise, he receives a response almost immediately.
Yeah <3
Smiling, Aaron pockets his phone and turns on his heels.
***
He wakes up around noon. His brain tries to catch up with the situation while he scans the unfamiliar room around him. Finally, his gaze settles on the body lying next to him. Katelyn has already showered and changed, hair still wet and sticking to her forehead. Aaron reaches his hand towards her and tucks the stray curls behind her ear. Katelyn giggles and runs her hand through Aaron’s own hair.
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Katelyn greets him and pokes him on the nose. Aaron can’t do anything but smile goofily. He props himself on one elbow and chases Katelyn’s mouth with his own. She happily concedes and lets out a shaky sigh when Aaron nibs her lip. They lose themself in the familiar and comforting motions for a while until Aaron can’t ignore the pang of hunger any longer. Katelyn leads him out of the bedroom by the hand and starts on breakfast slash lunch while Aaron washes up in the bathroom.
They eat their eggs and bacon with slightly burned pieces of toast and jam that tastes more like jelly. They kiss some more, the smell of coffee clinging to their lips.
Yeah. They are okay.