Work Text:
Riko is dead. A bad person is gone. Should be a good thing, even something to celebrate, but all Neil can think of is Kevin. He didn’t completely understand the relationship between Riko and Kevin, only that Kevin would not react well to his death. Neil walked towards the locker room with thoughts floating around his head. He barely registered his legs moving or the cheers coming from the parking lot. Only Kevin filled his mind. The way he fought with a passion on the court of someone who has nothing else to lose. His voice grounded Neil whenever the instinct to run came. The aggressive kisses in the Exy court late at night. The way his hands would shake at the mention of Riko. Running his fingers along Neil’s scars with a gentleness never seen anywhere else but in their bedroom.
Neil nearly runs into the locker room door, his thoughts jarring to a halt. He doesn’t hear anyone inside but he pushes the door open. Neil steps in walking a couple of steps before seeing them. Kevin and Andrew are sitting on a bench, hands interlaced. Andrew looks up from his phone as soon as Neil comes into his sight giving him a cold stair but Neil notices the white-knuckle grip around his phone relaxes. Shit. Neil realizes that they probably thought something bad had happened when he disappeared. That realization doesn’t last long as Kevin rises and walks towards Neil.
“Where the hell were you?” Kevin yells his tiredness reflected in his voice.
“Kevin, sit down,” Neil says.
“Fuck you not until you tell us what the hell is going on-”
“Riko’s dead”.
Shock crosses Kevin’s face before his knees buckle sending him tumbling to the floor. Neil catches his arms and gently lowers him to the ground and slowly follows him letting the taller man leaned back against his chest. Kevin curls into a ball resting his head on his knees and wraps his arms around himself. After a minute of listening to Kevin’s shaky breathing slowly turn into sobs, Andrew sturs leaving his spot on the bench, and comes to squat in front of Kevin.
“I’m going to touch your hair yes or no,” Andrew says quietly interrupting the silence. Kevin nods his head against his knees burying his face deeper. Andrew reached out running his fingers through the other boy's dark hair. “I’m going to get us a hotel room for tonight” Andrew stated, placing a gentle kiss on the top of Kevin’s head before standing up to leave.
“Can you tell the coach” Andrew silently nods and walks away.
—--
The quiet sobs filled the minutes since Andrew left. Neil watched how Kevin’s shoulders just slightly shook, his breathing becoming more and more rapid, his fingers digging into the fabric of his shirt. He couldn’t stand seeing him hurt yet what can he do, Andrew was usually the one that dealt with emotional breakdowns whether it was Kevin or him. Neil knew how to help Andrew, how to draw his back from memories, where and when to touch him, and how deep pressure helped him grounded. This side of Kevin is newer, it only started to show when their romantic relationship started a couple of months back, even then Andrew knew how to handle it with his slow movements, gentle touch, and quiet words. Yes or no there’s a place to start or at least how Andrew started.
“Can I touch you? Yes or no.” Neil says softly as if worried the slightest move will make Kevin break more. He nods his head up and down against his knees. Neil wraps his arms around Kevin pulling him closer to his chest and resting his head on Kevin's shoulder. Neil’s shaky fingers gently pull one of Kevin’s hands into his own, Kevin grips his hand so strong the bones feel like they're bending but the heat the pressure is grounding. Bringing Neil’s anxious thoughts and oncoming panic attacks to a halt. He squeezes his arms around the other man in response trying to bring Kevin back to him.
—-
With a creak, the heavy wooden locker room door is pushed open and Andrew walks in carrying a bag that presumably Abby gave him. Neil looks up, locking eyes with him. Andrew doesn’t think he’ll ever get over how bright blue his eyes are, they like looking at ice dripping down from the ceiling of a cave reflecting the bright water below, and now they look up at him full of questions and worry. He stood there caught in Neil’s gaze, asking so many questions he didn’t have the energy for.
After the game, then having to explain everything to the team and arranging a hotel while worrying about his boyfriends was draining. Andrew shifted his gaze and focused on the man in his arms instead. He crouched down in front of him, keeping a small distance. Kevin seemed to have stopped crying but still hadn’t lifted his head to look at him.
“Is he talking?” Andrew asked Neil his attention still on Kevin.
“No,” Neil’s rough voice replied. He noted that he would need to check on Neil later but Kevin is his primary concern at the moment.
“Look at me,” Andrew said quietly yet firmly. Kevin raised his red-rimmed eyes to him, pleading for him to do something to make it better. “I got us a hotel room and there’s a car waiting” he stated then moved to get up and grab their bags when a hand tugged at his shirt. Kevin looked up at him, his eye’s asking him to stay. “Fine Neil, get our stuff together”, Neil nodded, standing up and moving towards the lockers. “Hands and arms only I can’t tonight” Kevin nods slowly bringing hands to Andrews and squeezing them tightly.
Andrew starts to rub his thumb along the scars on Kevin’s left hand, panic started to form in Kevin’s eyes as he looked down at the scars. Fuck. It was something he was so used to doing. Kevin’s breaths started to speed up and his hands started to shake.
“Hey come back to me,” Andrew said harshly, bringing his hand up to cup Kevin’s cheek and turning his face up, forcing him to look him in the eyes. “Look at me”, he had tears forming again in his eyes. “I love you” Andrew whispered barely audible. Something broke, and tears spilled onto Andrew’s hand, all he wanted to do was pull Kevin into his arms and hold but he knew that he was too tired mentally and he couldn’t risk falling backward into memories.
“Ready,” Neil said gently, holding all three of their large duffel bags. Andrew nods standing up and dragging Kevin with him.
—---
The car ride over was uneventful and when they got to the hotel Andrew quickly secured their room key and herded them upstairs. The room had two queen-sized beds and a simple bathroom. Once in the room Neil throw their bags off to one corner and turned to look at his boyfriends in the doorway.
“Shower now” Andrew demanded, stepping through the doorway bringing Kevin with him, and letting the door slam shut. Neil nodded moving towards the bathroom. Kevin stopped him reaching out and wrapping him into a tight hug, leaning into him. Neil looked up at Andrew searching for an answer to what to do. Signing, he walks past both of them to the bathroom “I’ll get the shower ready, you get him ready”. Neil nods, wrapping his arms around Kevin in an attempt to support him.
After a minute the shower started jerking Neil from his thoughts, mostly consisting of the man in front of him. “Kevin,” he said slowly, pulling away a little to look him in the eyes. Kevin’s hands gripped harder at Neil’s shirt. “I’m not going anywhere, we just need to get ready to shower, okay?” Neil says making eye contact and making sure the other man understood. “Okay, can I take your shirt off” Kevin nods, releasing his grip and raising his arms as Neil tugged off his shirt discarding it on the floor. They went on like that, slowly tugging off Kevin’s clothes until he was naked.
Kevin didn’t mind being naked in front of Neil there was a comfort in the gentle way Neil’s eyes traced along his skin. Inspecting, trying to find evidence of Riko’s abuse but Riko had always been careful not to leave scars except when he wasn’t. There was a scar on the back of his left shoulder from Riko craving the number 2 into his skin over and over. He remembers screaming and being pinned down to the cold locker room floor as Riko repeatedly stabbed the number into his flesh reminding him each time how worthless he was. That had come after a near loss that left many of their teammates injured leaving Kevin to take Riko’s anger alone. He started to cry again. Riko had been his torturer but also his brother. At times it felt like Riko was the only one that would truly understand what was happening in his brain. He’s dead. Tears started to fall again laying waste to his face.
Neil’s hand touched his face dragging him back into the moment, concerned blue eyes looked at him trying to decipher him. Andrew peeked out from the bathroom door frame “shower’s ready”. Both of the men in the bedroom nodded and moved towards the door.
Andrew grabbed Neil’s arm as he walked past stopping him from entering. “Can you handle yourself?” he said looking at Kevin who nodded and stepped into the shower. “We need to talk” Andrew whispered into Neil’s ear dragging both of them into the bedroom.
Neil gently shut the door and looked into Andrew’s concerned eyes full of questions. He sighs “do you have to do this right now?”.
“Who killed him?”
“Ichirou”
“You saw it”
“Yeah” Neil sighs. Andrew goes quiet, calculating. He steps towards him bringing his hand up to Andrew’s blond hair. “Yes or No”.
“Yes”
Neill runs his scared hands through Andrew's hair ruffing it up into spikes going in all directions. Andrew relaxed marginally if anyone else watching they wouldn’t see the tension release around his shoulders and how his eyelids flittered. But Neil is the one watching always there to pick up on the intricacies of the man before him. Andrew is still stressed he knew that from the way his face was tensed and the way he leaned into Neil’s touch but he was still there.
“You got a room with two beds” Andrew whispered softly.
“I did,” Neil said.
“I hate you”
“I know”
—-----
Neil woke up on his back with Kevin wrapped around him. An aching sore permeated his body from the game as he stretched his arms and legs out, moving the sleeping man curled around him. Kevin’s arms are wrapped around the middle of his waist leaving his head resting on Neil’s chest, and legs tangled together. Neil looked down at the other man, his black hair ruffled across his forehead, it was short from just being cut before the game but it still had enough length for Neil to run his fingers through. Slowly he strung his fingers through the raven-black hair gently picking knots out.
Something stirred from the other side of the room causing Neil to lift his head looking over Kevin into the eyes of a sleepy Andrew looking up from his sheets.
“Morning Drew” Neil said quietly trying not to wake the still-sleeping man curled around him. Andrew murmured something under his breath and stripped the sheets off of himself leaving just him in shorts and a tank top. Blinking sleepily he gets up and plants himself on Neil’s other side. Quickly shuffling under the covers and bringing his body close to Neil’s touching their legs together.
“You feeling better?” Neil says.
“Clearly idiot,” Andrew says scooting his body closer to Neil’s. Kevin stirs from the other side of Neil.
“Too loud” he murmurs pressing himself further into Neil.
“Sorry” Neil whispered planting a kiss on the top of Kevin’s head. A soft silence permeates the room as the conversation falls, they just lay in each other's presence breathing.
A couple of minutes passed before Kevin whispers into the silence: “Who did it”. Neil’s muscles tense the words bringing him back to last night, the gunshot ringing in his ears.
“Ichirou,” he says “made it look like a suicide”. Andrew moved to look at Kevin who had grief and confusion written all over his face.
“Why?”
“He was a liability,” Neil said.
Kevin started to cry again wet tears dripping onto Neil’s chest. Andrew reached over running his hand through Kevin’s hair leaving it to rest gently against his cheek.
“I love you” Neil whispers into Kevin’s ear and kisses the top of his head.