andrew and neil may not be soft but they do know devotion, and I feel like we’ve got a fair bit to back that up with canon:
it’s in andrew taking neil’s weight time and time again, holding him up.
it’s in neil rushing to cover andrew with the bedsheets after thanksgiving.
it’s in neil asking betsy to put andrew off his drugs, because he was the only one who hated them & what they did to andrew as much as andrew did.
it’s in neil offering himself to riko’s torture for two weeks to protect andrew.
it’s in andrew driving back from the interstate just to get neil from the stadium.
it’s in andrew calling all the hospitals over and over again, because he refused to stop looking for neil.
it’s in neil gently brushing his fingers against andrew’s temple and, “they could’ve blinded you. all this time fighting, and you never learned how to duck?”
it’s in neil framing andrew’s face with his hands instead of touching him.
it’s in andrew refusing to let anyone near neil in his injured state, it’s in his firm “get away from us.”
it’s in neil’s “andrew, they want to take me away. they want to insert me in the witness protection program, I don’t want to—“ no, that wasn’t fair. “if you tell me to go, I’ll go.”
it’s in andrew sitting in on neil’s interrogation with the fbi because, “I don’t trust them to give you back.”
it’s in andrew sleeping in a room full of people just to keep neil in his line of sight after he was kidnapped.
it’s in neil’s quiet “hey” when he noticed andrew hadn’t spoken since they left baltimore.
it’s in andrew covering neil’s injuries with trash bags so that the bandages wouldn’t get wet.
it’s in neil humming encouragement in andrew’s mouth when andrew was getting himself off, knowing how big of a step that was for him.
it’s in andrew showering him & carefully scrubbing away the horrors of baltimore.
it’s in neil saving the towel for andrew afterwards and choosing to air dry.
it’s in andrew buying a pair of matching armbands for neil to cover his scars, after he saw neil having a panic attack over them.
it’s in neil crossing the court in seconds the moment a player launched himself at andrew to knock the breath out of him & it’s in neil grabbing that same player (that was double his size) and throwing him away from andrew.
it’s in andrew dragging himself to neil, crumpled and unresponsive on the court floor, with a broken collarbone and limp hand & it’s in andrew somehow managing to choke his attacker before she could reach him again.
devotion is in both neil and andrew, and they wordlessly taught it to each other without expecting anything back. they found each other, realized that no, they weren’t willing to lose each other, and gave their complete devotion to the other.
and I think that’s far more special than softness or an half-assed “I love you”.
gummygunk
vaporwave
baratheonpilled
2087
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
