Chapter Text
Neil was cleared for full workouts on July 1st. Abby had gotten the good stuff, and after painfully healing quickly, he was considered full recovered. Spending the entire month of May feeling his bones physically knitting back together had almost killed him, but Andrew got him through it. He made baths for Neil and helped stretch and bend his aching limbs.
Riko’s name was still carved into his chest. He said once they beat the Ravens, he’d get skin grafts to replace it. Like Kevin had done. And like Jean had done. But Neil didn’t want to be out of commission for longer than he needed to be.
In June, he did rigorous, or as rigorous as Abby and Wymack let it be, physical therapy. His fingers were the worst to retrain, but thanks or no thanks to his mothers training, his body remembered the old ways. June was full of long runs, agility training, and rebuilding reflexes and hand eye coordination.
When Neil was cleared to hold a racquet and work with Kevin at the practice gym, Andrew trailed along to lounge on the bench and eat ice cream cookie sandwiches. Kevin didn’t begin by throwing balls at Neil like he’d expected. Instead he ran through various intense drills and told Neil to master them or he’d be on the bench the entire season like the pathetic fuck he was.
Neil just rolled his eyes and pushed himself. Being shit at something irritated him especially when it was his body had been put through the meat grinder. He was on the team to be something.
He was on the team to rise above everything and take hold of his life the best he could.
He was there to shit all over Riko.
But his accuracy was shit and his aim was off and his stamina was terrible. His saving grace was that he was fast, but once checking was added, Kevin said Neil would for sure end up a pancake.
Neil threw down his equipment to fight Kevin, but Andrew showed up to grab his collar and drag him away.
Summer inched along with just Neil, Kevin, and Andrew to chaperone. Progress was slow, but Neil welcomed the ache and burn. He relished in the sweating and the blisters. Ice baths were his new home. The gym was his playground. The court was his sanctuary.
The other Foxes gave Neil a wide berth at Wymack’s request. He said for as much as Andrew could vouch for Neil, he was still a stranger and could pose a threat. The Lower Level was off limits for the entire team until further notice and Wymack said if Neil so much as looked at the black market, he’d write Neil’s name on the bench and make it his permanent home.
Neil felt both caged and free. He felt stuck between two worlds. He didn’t like being told he couldn’t go somewhere, but he was glad to be free of the Lower Level. He told himself he was rising from the ashes of shitville and it made Andrew roll his eyes.
Neil slept in Andrew’s room in Andrew’s bed with Andrew. It was a treat Neil looked forward to each night even though the moment he was in bed he could barely keep his eyes open. If it bothered Andrew that Neil basically slept and trained, he didn’t show it. When Neil tried to apologize Andrew told him all that matter was that Neil was safe.
“Let me practice with the others,” Neil said again as he aimed for the goal. For saying he was a poor goalie, Kevin blocked more shots then Neil expected. It made him angry. He told himself it was because Kevin was better than he said he was.
Kevin said Neil was just easy to read. His moves were slow, sloppy, and predictable. When Neil tried to go after him, Kevin threw balls at his knees until Neil was on the ground yelling that injuring him wasn’t a proper form of training.
Kevin asked Neil if he looked like the fucking coach.
“No,” Kevin said smacking the ball away from the goal. Neil grit his teeth.
“I’m ready!” he snapped, shooting another ball. Kevin ignored him and swatted it away.
“Tell them to at least let Jean practice,” Neil said. There were a lot of conditions regarding Jean. His contract was for one season and then he’d use the Foxes as a stepping stone to the Trojans who were trading draft picks for Jean in the season after. Andrew had it all explained in detail by Wymack after threats to single handedly break every bone in Jean Moreau’s body.
So far, Andrew’s conditions were he stayed away from Neil until the regular season started and they were forced to be on the same court every day. Neil said it wasn’t necessary and that he trusted Jean since he helped save him. Neil could understand the following orders part.
Andrew wasn’t so easily convinced. Everything with Jean smelled like an elaborate trap to him and he told Neil that Jean was probably going to choke Neil with the trust he gave.
Neil wanted anyone to help him train though and another Raven sounded like the perfect fit.
Kevin went on a rant about how Neil wasn’t worthy enough to practice with him let alone Jean.
That time Kevin body checked Neil hard when he went for him. As Neil lay wheezing, Andrew walked onto the court to tell Neil to stop being an idiot and that Neil annoyed him more than ever.
But that didn’t stop steamy makeouts in the showers after. Neil bare and aching and Andrew fully clothed and taking everything Neil had to give.
“I still can’t really believe it. That I’m here. That I’m alive,” Neil said staring at the dark ceiling. Andrew grunted at him. Neil folded his hands on his chest. “I don’t like the ban on the lower level though,” he said. “I have things to buy. I hate buying the expensive mods,” he grumbled. Andrew grunted again.
Neil had slowly been rebuilding his laptop. He wasn’t working, but Andrew’s sensor was still up and running and set to receive a digital upgrade the next day after his violent outburst at the finals in May. AKA the night Neil was taken.
Neil didn’t get full details, but there were lots of threats and punches thrown until Wymack physically handcuffed Andrew to himself in order to escort him out of the arena and get him into a car. None of it surprised Neil. Andrew said he hadn’t even wanted to go out on the court until he saw Neil. News articles said they’d never seen Andrew so animated.
But the violence draw the eye of the court board and Andrew’s doctors who immediately recommended an upgrade and a dosage increase. Andrew remained silent at the meeting. Silent and unmoving and ignoring everything they had to say.
Neil told him it was nothing he couldn’t take care of before Andrew ripped his arm off with his own hands. Andrew would never say the articles bothered him, but Neil was sure the ones that painted him as a vicious animal that needed to be sedated, got to him in their own way.
Neil turned his head, trying to focus on Andrew’s face in the soft light. “I love you,” Neil whispered. He felt Andrew’s eyes boring into his face after he said it. Neil waited.
Andrew reached across Neil to take a scarred hand. He uncurled Neil’s stiff fingers and ran his thumb over Neil’s palm. Neil held his breath. Andrew pulled Neil’s hand to his lips and gently kissed the delicate skin on the inside of Neil’s wrist.
Neil felt his entire being light up and he sighed happily. When he was healing, Andrew had discovered the trick. It was a way to soothe Neil while he was suffering. A soft caress of lips and sometimes tongue that drove Neil wild. He loved it.
Andrew repeated his actions with Neil’s other wrist. “Shut up you’ve been annoying all day,” Andrew said, giving Neil’s wrist one last tiny kiss before he let go of Neil. Neil smiled into the dark, trying to see Andrew’s face in the dark. “And shut your damn eyes and go to sleep,” Andrew grumbled.
Neil grinned wider, but shut his eyes and listened to his heartbeat. Every moment felt like his wildest dreams come to life and honestly? Neil loved every minute of it.