Chapter Text
Jeremy had been obsessed with Kevin Day since he started being interested in Exy. To be fair, so was the entire world. The Sons of Exy were a big thing even when they were still growing up. He used to collect magazines of the two protégés all the time.
When he started at USC and became part of their Exy team, he was excited at the prospect of playing with his celebrity crush. What he never expected was for Kevin Day to hype up the Trojans and Jeremy. He didn’t expect to become friends with Kevin.
It was mostly about Exy because Kevin’s life basically revolved around the sport. Not that Jeremy would ever complain. After all, he got to exchange texts and calls with Kevin and spend some time with him when they were playing against each other. It sadly wasn’t much because Kevin held back for some reason, but it was something.
Kevin stayed with him even though he knew of Jeremy’s freshman banquet. The Trojans were the only team Kevin talked positively about, and he used every opportunity to talk up Jeremy during interviews.
It had always made Jeremy’s heart flutter and heat rise up to his cheeks. Barely anyone got any appreciation from the Sons of Exy. Getting this constant praise and reassurance meant more to him than Kevin could realize, especially after all the hardly disguised insults his family could throw at him.
So when they just lost against the Ravens, Jeremy couldn’t even pretend to be mad because he saw Kevin praise Jeremy and the rest of their team on the TV in their locker room. His teammates were teasing his glowing look and shy smile, in a good mood even after their loss.
Jeremy did a quick job at showering and getting dressed, eager to catch a few minutes with Kevin after the other boy got dressed. He was waiting in the hallway next to the away locker room when Cat and Laila walked past him to get outside.
“Hey, are you coming with us? Or are you waiting for—“
“Yep, waiting for Kevin,” Jeremy interrupted Cat before she had the opportunity to come up with a cheesy, embarrassing nickname for Kevin.
It didn’t keep Cat from laughing as they walked out, though. Laila gave him a little wave before they walked away, and he was left alone again.
A few Ravens walked out and looked at him weirdly, but he was used to that, so he just ignored them until finally Kevin and Riko got out.
Riko only glanced at him and nodded at Kevin before passing him. Kevin, however, stopped upon seeing Jeremy, a grin forming on his face.
“Hey, Jeremy! Great game.”
“Hi!” Jeremy rocked back on his feet, nervous energy bouncing off him. Even though Kevin was his friend, he was still excited to see him. “Yes, it was amazing! God, I can’t even be mad at this, you were amazing!”
He was rambling, he knew that. But he didn’t really mind when he saw Kevin’s cheeks get red and the way his grin changed into a shy smile.
“You were amazing as well. It’s always great to play against you.”
Jeremy’s smile widened. There was a moment of silence, and Jeremy looked at the empty hallway around them. A stupid idea came to his mind, but his mouth has always worked faster than his brain, so it was out before he could stop it.
“You are staying at a hotel, right? Do you want to go there?”
Luckily, Kevin didn’t call him stupid or obvious. Instead he nodded with that beautiful smile of his and got moving. Jeremy knew that he must look like a puppy following Kevin around, but it didn’t stop him from walking eagerly with him.
Opening the door caused a gust of ice-cold air to wash over them. Riko and their coach were standing next to their bus. A shadow went over Kevin’s eyes when he spotted them. It was so dark that it made Jeremy stop in his step. He didn’t even manage to get a question out before Kevin stopped as well and turned to him.
“I have to drive on the bus, but I will send you the address. You will come, right?”
The way he said it, fast and with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, made Jeremy hesitate. However, Kevin only waited for a nod. Then, he just turned around and went to the bus, where he stopped to talk to his partner and his head coach.
Jeremy couldn’t hear them, but it was obvious that the conversation was tense. It struck him as odd. They just won, why weren’t they happy? From being Kevin’s friend, Jeremy knew how the team was always striving to get better. They weren’t raging champions for lazily resting and relying on previous wins, but there was no reason to be so judgmental after winning against them.
Still, Jeremy followed Kevin’s lead and went to his car, where he immediately turned the heat up. While waiting for Kevin’s text, he rifled through the radio. He just found a good song when his phone dinged with a message from Kevin.
It was a short drive to the hotel, and by the time he arrived, the bus was already there. Luckily, so was Kevin. His friend was waiting for him in the lobby, leaning against a wall and fidgeting with his sleeves. Kevin’s shoulders were drawn up, his lips set in a tense line.
The lobby was empty, so it was easy for Kevin to notice someone approaching him. As if on instinct, his shoulder dropped, a smile replaced that awful look on his face, and he stood up straight.
“Hey.” It was barely a whisper out of Kevin’s mouth, but Jeremy latched on to it. He gave his own greeting back, and then they were walking up to the elevator and riding up to Kevin’s room. The way up and to the room was filled with easy chatter about the game. When Kevin opened the door and let him in, he was glad to see that it was a single room. No Riko then.
Jeremy wasn’t sure why, but Kevin always closed up when he was next to his partner, and he wanted to see Kevin loose.
It was a nice room. Obviously, there would be nothing but the best for the Ravens. The walls were a welcoming dark green, there were plants on the wooden table, and a big bed was right across from a television mounted on the wall. Under the TV was a counter with a mini fridge and a garbage can. There was also a door that probably led to the bathroom.
When Jeremy finished inspecting the room, he turned back to see Kevin put away his bag and tug at the collar of his black shirt.
“It’s okay if you want to change,” Jeremy offered him. Kevin gave him a grateful smile and said, “I’ll be quick.”
Once Kevin disappeared in the bathroom with new clothes, Jeremy looked around the room again before grabbing the remote and sitting down on the bed. He skipped through some channels before landing on a replay of the game.
It was currently showing a clip of Kevin making an impressively difficult shot with ease. Jeremy was fixated on the proud look on Kevin’s face and the way his jersey rode up when he reached up for his shot. Damn the heat rushing to his cheek and other parts of his body. Of course his stupid crush on Kevin didn’t disappear after they became friends. He was trying to ignore that specific part, but it was hard to deny it when he was watching Kevin play.
Kevin was always good-looking, but it was a completely different scenario when Kevin was playing Exy. It was without a doubt when Kevin was most in his element. He had that focused look, his eyes squinting lightly to focus on his goal. When he started running, it seemed like his only aim in life was to strike that goal. It was fascinating as much as it was hot to watch Kevin play.
Apparently it was a segment on Kevin because they didn’t stop showing his goals and specifically clever moves. He was fine with watching Kevin play, but then he heard the lock on the bathroom door open and quickly switched the channel. There was no need for Kevin to know that Jeremy was thirsting after him.
Kevin came out of the bathroom with sweatpants sitting low on his hips and a tight shirt covering him. A sliver of pale skin showed between the two pieces of clothes. It made Jeremy short-circuit for a moment, and he had to force himself to drag his stare up to his friend’s eyes. According to the slight redness in Kevin’s face, he wasn’t as discreet as he would have liked.
Well, it wasn’t like Kevin didn’t know how attractive he was.
Kevin cleared his throat and motioned to the TV. “Do you want to watch something?”
Jeremy shrugged his shoulders and said, “Sure.”
Kevin sat down on the bed and leaned against the headboard, so Jeremy moved up as well and sat down next to him. Considering he didn’t really care about the movie they were watching, he gave the remote to Kevin, who immediately skipped through the channels.
When he landed on one, it had already started, which meant Jeremy didn’t feel too bad when he turned to Kevin and struck up a conversation.
“Shouldn’t your team be celebrating right now?” Jeremy asked him, still hanging on to that tense moment in front of the bus.
Kevin chuckled and repositioned himself so he could look at Jeremy better. Maybe it wasn’t so smart to sit this close to Kevin. This way he could basically count those beautiful, long lashes and see Kevin’s soft and tired smile up close. It almost made him miss Kevin’s response.
“There is no reason to celebrate until we win championships.”
Yeah, that sounded just like the Ravens. Always so serious about Exy and everything revolving around it. Of course they wouldn’t be satisfied until they won the season.
Still, Jeremy couldn’t allow himself to give him the satisfaction, so he just joked, “Until? Don’t you mean if you win championships?”
“Well, we just beat your team, so I’m sure we will be fine.”
It was such a usual response from Kevin that it startled a laugh out of Jeremy. He knew people were easily shocked by how brutally honest he was, but Jeremy appreciated the fact that there was no guessing with Kevin. After all, he was used to people praising their way of playing to him and talking shit behind their back about how stupid they were being by not using force. Kevin, however, was always honest.
It made him brave enough to ask a specific question because he didn’t even have to worry about Kevin lying when he asked, “Is this the part where you tell me that we need to start being more aggressive?”
It was a universal opinion in Exy. Aside from their fans, and even they sometimes urged their favorite team to act more.
So Jeremy was shocked when Kevin replied, “No, I think it’s good that you aren’t aggressive. You are taking a stand, and you’re upholding it. This kindness matters.”
It was the reaffirmation Jeremy needed, and Kevin said it so easily that he almost didn’t even notice the weight behind it. Kevin might have tried to say it like it didn’t hold any meaning, but his tone told another story. It was quiet but heavy, his voice trembling over the word kindness.
Jeremy didn’t really understand what just happened in Kevin’s head, but he didn’t like how a frown appeared on his lips. He put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it to get Kevin’s attention.
“Thank you. This means a lot, especially from you.”
As quickly as it appeared, the frown was gone and replaced by one of Jeremy’s favorite smiles. It was a shy upturn of his lips, barely counting as a smile, but it wasn’t often someone was able to make the Kevin Day bashful. Jeremy took pride in being one of the people that got to see that smile.
Apparently Kevin wasn’t done praising the Trojans and Jeremy, though. He put a hand on Jeremy’s wrist and squeezed it as well before responding, “You can be proud of your team. There is a reason why you are my favorite. You are a good captain, Jeremy.”
Heat rose up to his cheeks. Jeremy had to look away before Kevin could see what he caused. It was stupid to get flustered over a simple compliment, but it was different coming from Kevin. It always would be.
A squeeze on his wrist brought his gaze back to Kevin, who now had a furrow between his eyebrows. It caused an ugly feeling in Jeremy’s chest. He hated seeing his friend worried or just generally unhappy. Unfortunately, it was kind of inevitable considering the team he was playing for. But right now there were no Ravens, no practices, or games. It was just the two of them, so there shouldn’t be a reason for Kevin to look at him that way.
He couldn’t tell Kevin that he just got flustered, but he wanted to get rid of that furrow. The only logical conclusion was to put his fingers on the spot between his eyebrows and smooth it out. This close, he could see the worry shift to confusion and then to amusement.
“What are you doing?” Kevin asked him.
“You just won, there is no need for you to be this concerned already. That frown can wait until tomorrow.” Jeremy accompanied this by pulling up the corner of Kevin’s mouth to make him smile. It looked absurd, but it made both of them laugh, so he counted it as a win.
“Jeremy,” Kevin started when Jeremy’s fingers remained where they were. Jeremy went to lift them, but then Kevin moved his head a bit, and the moonlight coming in through the window hit his tattoo and shifted Jeremy’s gaze to it.
One hand had his fingers still touching the corner of his mouth, this time not pulling, just resting. He lifted the other up to the tattoo and gently stroked over it. Kevin’s reaction came in an instant. He leaned his head against Jeremy’s open hand and closed his eyes. A shaky breath escaped his lips. Testingly, Jeremy cupped Kevin’s jaw with his other hand.
Kevin opened his eyes, and Jeremy was shocked to find tears in them. Not out of sadness or anger but more so out of gratitude? Almost as if he’s not used to being touched this gently. But that couldn’t be correct, could it?
Kevin, along with Riko, was the best-known Exy player there was. It was already clear to everyone that he would be going pro and then go on to be Court. He and Riko were inseparable, they were best friends. Sure, Kevin was always a bit different around Riko, and the Ravens really put the ‘toxic’ in toxic masculinity, but this shouldn’t have caused that much of a reaction in Kevin.
After all, there was no way beloved Exy player Kevin Day was touch-starved, was there?
Jeremy couldn’t believe it, but there was no other explanation for the way he leaned into Jeremy’s touch as if it was the first gentle one he had in years and teared up like that.
When Jeremy hadn’t moved in a while, Kevin seemed to become aware of how weird his reaction was, and Jeremy could see the walls being pulled up in him. Now, that wouldn’t do.
Before Kevin was able to pull back and act as if nothing happened, Jeremy sat in Kevin’s lap. It worked to distract his friend from the walls he was about to put up, but now he looked confused, the tears still shining in his eyes. Jeremy’s hands didn’t leave Kevin’s face, continuously caressing him. The tears in his eyes made his green eyes shine lightly, and it hurt Jeremy to see his friend distraught, so he put his arms around him and pulled him in for a hug, being sure to keep his hands moving, touching, and grounding him as much as possible.
He heard a sharp gasp, and Kevin stood still. A moment later he moved his arms and wrapped them tightly around Jeremy’s waist, pulling him close. One of Jeremy’s hands went up to Kevin’s hair, and he lightly scratched it. When a pleased hum escaped him, Jeremy kept doing that. Realizing that Jeremy wasn’t going to make fun of him or judge him, Kevin buried his nose deep in Jeremy’s neck, and a second later he heard quiet sniffles.
He didn’t comment on Kevin crying or on the tight grip he had on Jeremy. No, Jeremy just sat in his friend’s lap and held him until he stopped shaking.
At some point Jeremy started whispering in his ears. It wasn’t anything concrete, just some soothing sounds and a gentle ‘You are okay, I’ve got you, Kevin.’ For a moment the reaffirmations made Kevin tense up, and Jeremy considered shutting up, but then he completely melted against Jeremy and started calming down.
It only took a few more minutes until the sniffles subsided and his grip got loose. Still, Jeremy didn’t move away from Kevin’s lap. For one, the grounding touch seemed to help Kevin. And it’s not like Jeremy didn’t like this. Obviously not the part where Kevin cried, but he didn’t have a problem with getting comfortable in Kevin’s lap, having his shirt in a tight grip, and Kevin’s mouth close to his throat.
The thought appeared unprompted, and now that he didn’t have to focus on calming Kevin down, it was kind of hard to let go of it.
As always, Kevin was able to get him back to the present with a softly murmured, “Jeremy?”
“Hey, baby.” The nickname slipped out, but Kevin just buried his face deeper into Jeremy’s neck and let out a content sigh, so Jeremy continued, “Are you okay now?”
“Yes. I’m sorry. God, this is so embarrassing.”
“No,” Jeremy immediately objected. “Look, I don’t know what warranted this reaction, but it’s okay to need this, Kevin. And I’m always happy to touch you.” He cringed at the way that sounded. “Wait, no, that came out wrong. I mean, not that I wouldn’t—”
“I understand. Thank you, Jeremy.”
Then Kevin drew away from Jeremy’s neck. This whole mini-breakdown couldn’t have lasted more than a few minutes, but Jeremy had already missed being able to look into Kevin’s beautiful, green eyes. Right now, they were red-rimmed and still shiny from his tears. Jeremy placed his hands back on Kevin’s face and gently wiped away the tear tracks on his cheeks. The whole time Kevin watched him from under his lashes, his grip still light around Jeremy’s hips.
Now that Kevin was feeling better, Jeremy could focus more on what caused that reaction. Apparently his dearly loved friend wasn’t so loved at home. He never imagined that Kevin wasn’t admired around the Ravens. He never would have guessed this from Kevin’s behavior. But then, he understood putting up a front for others.
Jeremy didn’t like that Kevin had to go back to Edgar Allen tomorrow with nobody who would hug or comfort him. So, he took it upon himself to give Kevin something to remember and look forward to.
His hands were still on Kevin’s cheek, and he used them to twist his head to the side. Normally, he would be more cautious about being so obvious with his feelings for Kevin, but he clearly needed it. Kevin went along with whatever Jeremy was doing and didn’t complain when Jeremy started peppering kisses around his jaw. Once done with that, he moved on to his cheek and then repeated it on the other side of his face. At last, he placed soft kisses on Kevin’s nose, which got an amused hum out of Kevin.
“Is that okay?” Jeremy asked. Kevin hummed in agreement. However, when Jeremy took that as permission to continue, Kevin lifted one hand up to his hair and lightly pulled on it to get Jeremy to draw away. It pulled a whine out of Jeremy.
He could feel Kevin stop his movements. Jeremy’s face turned bright red, and he couldn’t decide between hiding his face in Kevin’s neck and drawing away completely, so he just sat up straight and buried his face in his hands.
God, of course this would happen. He just wanted to give Kevin some good memories, but his stupid feelings couldn’t let him be nice for one single night. Obviously he was just bound to ruin every good thing that came his way. He shouldn’t have—
Kevin used his other hand to pull Jeremy’s hands away, putting his red face and ashamed eyes on view. But instead of seeing disgust or shame on Kevin’s face, he was grinning up at Jeremy as if he just found a secret recipe he has always wanted to try.
He pulled at Jeremy’s hair again. This time only a soft gasp came out of him, but it was enough for Kevin.
“You like that,” he concluded. Even if he wanted to, there was no way he could deny it. Kevin heard proof of it just a second ago. Therefore, he nodded. The fact that Kevin seemed to take delight in that fact made it easier for him.
“That’s good. I want to make you feel good.” The last part was whispered. The change in volume made him think he hallucinated it, but Kevin’s eyes switched from his eyes to the way Jeremy was sitting on top of him and then to his lips.
Oh. Okay, yeah. That’s good. That’s really good. For some reason it got a bit harder to breathe, but this is good. Apparently Kevin wanted to kiss him and make him feel good, which is exactly what Jeremy has wanted to do for years. If Kevin wanted to do that, who would Jeremy be to say no?
Except Kevin just had a breakdown because of Jeremy’s touch. What if this was just a reaction to that? As much as Jeremy wanted everything Kevin gave, he wouldn’t take it while Kevin wasn’t in his right mind.
Instead of doing what he desperately wanted to, he just placed his hands on Kevin’s shoulders and leaned down to press his lips against Kevin’s cheek. It was a light kiss, not comparable to the kisses he had just peppered over Kevin’s face, but it held more meaning.
The confusion on Kevin’s face when he slightly pulled away made it hard to hold onto his principles, but he wouldn’t go against them. Not even for such a pretty face as Kevin’s.
“I want to,” Jeremy whispered. “I really, really want to, Kevin. But not this way. I don’t know what’s going on at Edgar Allen, but I’m not going to take advantage of this situation.”
Despite the slight frown on his lips, he nodded, showing that he understood what Jeremy meant.
“Also, it’s late, and we both played a rough game. We should get some sleep,” Jeremy added.
Kevin pulled Jeremy closer by his hips and whispered back, “Will you stay here?”
It was so quiet, Jeremy almost couldn’t make out the question, almost as if Kevin was ashamed of asking. There would have been no reason to.
“Of course I will.”
Sadly, he had to leave Kevin’s lap for that. The way Kevin pulled him closer for a second before letting him pull away made it only worse, but he managed it with a heavy heart.
Jeremy lay down on his back, glad that he wasn’t held to Raven’s standards and chose to wear sweatpants after the game. He put himself and Kevin under the blanket and pulled him close until he could put his arms around him. Kevin placed his head on Jeremy’s shoulder and put a leg over Jeremy’s.
This way he could keep Kevin close to him. With a slight turn of his head, he could bury his nose in Kevin’s black hair and take a deep breath. He placed a last firm kiss in his hair before whispering, “Go to sleep, Kevin.”
He waited until Kevin’s breathing evened out before closing his eyes as well and letting sleep take over him.