the foxes at the olympics part 2 (part 1)
in his last olympics before retirement, kevin is offered the role of flag bearer during the opening ceremony
he had a second wrist injury a few years prior and doesn’t want to risk irritating it, so he recommends both neil and andrew, assuming one of them will reject it outright
(kevin, andrew, and neil are now commonly referred to as “the big three” of the US)
neil says no right away because he just frankly isn’t interested, but surprisingly andrew feels impartial
he casually mentions it to renee and betsy over the phone, both of whom flip out, and then he talks about it with some of his younger/rookie exy teammates (all of whom he has a somewhat Wymack-esque relationship with, even if he acts like he can’t stand them)
eventually andrew decides you know what. our first match isn’t for two days after, i haven’t skipped arm day in decades, and it’ll make the walking in a circle slightly more interesting. why not.
the other american athletes wholeheartedly support this decision, and it’s officially announced andrew will be the flag bearer in his last olympics
during the opening ceremony, the other foxes and their families get to cry and yell in the stands as they watch andrew minyard of all people lead team USA into the stadium
he holds the flag steadily, with kevin and neil on either side of him, and almost smiles when he catches sight of their friends
one of aaron and katelyn’s twin girls, filming on instagram live: “look at uncle andrew go!!!!” *pans over to aaron* “and what have you accomplished, dad?”
aaron, a literal doctor: “i should’ve left you at home”
kevin has a super sweet moment doing press where he’s surprised by a group of kayleigh’s good friends (who were some of the first exy players EVER)
he’s spent a lot of time in ireland after graduating from psu and it’s absolutely delightful to observe how he naturally picks up the accent when surrounded by it
afterward he takes them all out to dinner and gets a bunch of really sweet pictures
“god, you really are the striking image of her” “i am?” “well in your face of course, but when you’re playing sometimes i think i’m watching her”
kevin might’ve cried a little when he got back to the hotel
in between training and matches, neil and andrew go on short little excursions around the city exploring and occasionally running into fans
they get recognized fairly often by passerby in general because their faces are plastered all over posters and stuff, but both of them are genuinely so unbothered by the attention at this point in their careers
at one point they stop at a little cafe for some coffee and there is most definitely a photographer hiding in the bushes
“andrew there’s a camera guy” “what’s he gonna do? catch me eating cake in the middle of the olympics?”
all fun aside, there’s a lot of pressure on them this time around after a disappointing performance at the world cup the year before (the team made some mistakes and got bronze)
kevin, neil, and andrew all deal with that kind of stress in different ways
for neil it’s carefully training more, and building up specific routines that help him feel both mentally and physically present on the court
for kevin it’s similar, but he tends to subtly seek out the company of other people because if he’s left alone for too long then he’ll start overthinking
for andrew he does whatever he usually does, and makes time for himself so he can clear his head and just breathe for a second
one thing they never have to worry about is a lack of support, because foxes and fans aside, their US teammates always have their back
they aren’t called the big three for no reason, all of them have had incredible careers and are irreplaceable pillars of the national team
their first few games are a little wobbly, but they scrape by and their confidence grows, which results in the news outlets claiming this is some of the US’ best playing ever
the match over the gold medal eventually comes down to a penalty shoot out so naturally kevin and neil, the captain and vice-captain, volunteer to take it
this one little moment goes viral of kevin standing off to the side, adjusting his helmet, stretching his arms a little, mentally prepping himself, looking very serious
while neil, standing right next to him, has one hand on his hip and the other twirling his racket around: “this is fine.”
andrew prepares to block the other team’s penalties by giving a very calm thumbs-up to his team and coach and nothing else
he mercilessly shuts down the goal and allows in only 2, and when it comes down to neil and kevin’s turn, he does this little hand flapping motion that’s basically “i did my job, now don’t fuck up”
neil ends up scoring the winning point, and as the whole stadium and team erupts, he points his racket at the foxes
their victory is celebrated as an inspiring comeback, and a fitting end to the careers of the big three
neil, kevin, and andrew officially announce their retirement at a press conference the day after
the rumors have been going around for so long it was basically already confirmed, but they stayed quiet because they didn’t want to go into the olympics with the media narrative being “do or die”
the other US players aren’t surprised, but they’re still emotional and a bit nervous because what are they supposed to do without them??
kevin has this moment where he says, in his obnoxiously matter of fact way: “i have no worries about the future, as long as you guys are in it”
and then the rest of the team tackle hugs him to the ground
at the closing ceremony, the three of them walk side by side, taking pictures and just having a good time in general
a photographer gets this emotional photo of the three of them from the back, walking with their arms around each other and their medals around their necks
when they get to the end of the stadium, neil motions for them to step aside to let other people pass
“i just want to see it all. one last time”
on the flight home, kevin passes right out from sheer exhaustion, and neil starts nodding off pretty quickly
he isn’t sure if he’s imagining it or not, but he’s fairly certain he hears andrew say something along the lines of “i’m glad i got to do this with you”
he falls asleep with a smile
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