Once you get this you have to say five things you like about yourself, publicly, then send this to 10 of your favorite followers
oh god i don’t think i’m gonna get to 5 things xD
1. i’d like to think that, in many ways, i’ve come so far with photoshop. i’m not an expert by any means, but if you look at old gifs compared to stuff i’ve put out now it’s MILES better.
Here’s my @aftgexchange gift for @eerielake ! Thanks to @palmettofoxden and @henriettafoxes for helping me out <3
You asked for Andrew and Neil’s first Christmas in their own apartment so this is pure fluff!
also on ao3
The Christmas cookies Renee had baked and sent over a few days ago sat on the counter, spreading a sweet scent through their apartment. How Andrew had managed not to eat them at one go, he had no idea.
Snow was falling, causing chaos on the streets outside, but a cozy atmosphere inside. Neil was sitting at the table, staring outside. It was a mystery for Andrew what was going inside of that crazy mind of his, he’d stopped trying to understand a long time ago. Partly because he liked not knowing, Neil was an enigma wrapped in auburn hair and faded jeans.
It was a quiet, soft day. It was still early but winter weather draped a gray, cloudy atmosphere over the city. They sat in companionable silence and Andrew wasn’t interested in what was happening outside, so he focused all his attention on Neil. Not like he did anything else these days. Neil had pulled the collar of his sweater up over his nose and kept it there with his hands so that only his piercing blue eyes were peeking out. The sweater wasn’t really a Christmas sweater but the dark red certainly gave off festive vibes. Neil’s elbows were resting on the table, he looked relaxed and content as he watched the snow falling outside their window and Andrew got a tight feeling in his chest. A feeling he associated only with Neil and he hated him for it. He hated him so much for it that he wanted to kiss him. He softly tugged on the wool between Neil’s fingers until Neil let it go so Andrew could pull it down to free his lips. Andrew placed a soft kiss on them and felt Neil smile against him. It was short and nonchalant and when he leaned back Andrew met Neil’s soft, lingering gaze with his own. Andrew wasn’t good with words but Neil always seemed to know exactly what he was trying to say anyway.
The Christmas lights Neil had strung all over their apartment were reflected in his eyes. They were glowing, the icy blue softened and warmed and when they looked at him, Andrew suspected the lights weren’t the only reason.
The tree had been Neil’s idea. Of course it had because Andrew’s disinterest in everything didn’t make an exception for the holidays. Neil had shared that opinion for a while, growing up the way he did he never really had a real Christmas. But being with the foxes had made Neil soft, Andrew noted. Neil smiled more and his laughter tended to light up entire rooms these days. Spending the past Christmases with the foxes, they had managed to turn this meaningless, unimportant holiday into something special. And slowly but surely Neil had started to associate Christmas with happiness, calmness, and family. Andrew still wasn’t really used to having a family to celebrate the holidays with but he still found himself anticipating it every year, even he had to admit he didn’t mind it as much as he used to. But he’d never get caught saying that out loud.
They had only moved into their own apartment a few months ago, finally together, finally forever. Andrew had accepted that he would never grow bored of Neil; he was defeated, hopeless, found. Neil finally had a home and Andrew would make damn sure it would feel like it.
That’s why he hadn’t hesitated to buy Neil the prettiest tree they could find. It was a small one but a real one. They had decorated it with tinsel and lights and ornaments from the store, plus a few personal ones that the foxes had sent to them.
They didn’t have a fireplace so their stockings were hanging on the wall by the window on the other side of their tree. One with an A and one with an N. Neil had filled them with candy and fun little knick-knacks he’d found at the store.
The foxes had sent them presents, all wrapped and ready to surprise and Neil had put them all under the tree right next to the ones he and Andrew had gotten for each other. Neil wasn’t materialistic at all but he was excited to see what Andrew got him every year.
Andrew’s train of thought was interrupted when Neil’s laptop on the table in front of them lit up with an incoming conference call. Finally. Andrew had started to get bored. They would meet up with the foxes at Abby’s house in about a week to celebrate a belated but proper Christmas but they still wanted to skype with each other on Christmas Eve.
It took them a while to tell everything they wanted to tell, the foxes were loud and cheerful and annoying as always. But Andrew was getting better at enduring it. Slowly but surely.
Aaron, soon to be a real doctor, was tired but happy with Katelyn. He was working too much, Andrew could see it even through the computer screen. His protective instinct wanted to comment on it but he stopped himself. He would have to trust Katelyn to take care of Aaron.
Dan, 7 months pregnant could not shut up about how incredibly scared she was of having to squeeze Matt’s huge baby out of her. Andrew didn’t blame her but it was obvious how happy she was.
Wymack, Abby, Kevin, and Thea were all together at Abby’s house already. Nicky and Erik called all the way from Germany but would be flying over soon.
Renee and Allison were at Stephanie’s place. Allison just broke up with her boyfriend so Renee dragged her along so she wouldn’t have to spend Christmas alone.
It’s a wonder that Andrew managed not to threaten anyone for the entire two hours the foxes had been talking about their day, their presents and their lives.
When Neil finally hung up he gave Andrew a kiss and murmured against his lips, “You did well. That wasn’t so hard was it?”
Andrew looked at Neil like he’d grown another head and asked, “Were we talking to different sets of foxes?” before kissing Neil’s smile away.
They spent the evening alone with a nice, self-made dinner. Andrew did most of the cooking since Neil’s abilities in the kitchen didn’t surpass the basics. Andrew found him rather useless, more distracting than helpful when Neil was leaning against the kitchen counter with an apron around his hips, strong hands working on the task, bottom lip caught between his teeth, eyes only seeing what was right in front of them. Concentrated and calm.
Arms, warm and save when they wrapped around Andrew from behind, lips soft and wet pressing against his neck. His breath hot against Andrews skin and his teeth tugging on it lightly. And then there was Andrew, bare, raw, and unprotected because Neil had made him shed all his armor, had made him vulnerable, weak and there was no escape from him. Andrew would never be able to finish dinner like this. So he kicked him out of the kitchen.
By the time they curled up on the couch together it had gotten dark outside and with the Christmas lights being the only light in the room it was cozy and relaxing. Neil insisted on watching a cheesy Hallmark Christmas movie they found on tv and because Andrew couldn’t care less he didn’t argue. He held a mug with hot cocoa between his palms, enjoying the warmth that filled him on the outside and the inside. Now and again Neil softly took the mug out of Andrew’s lose grip and took a sip. He still wasn’t overly fond of sweets but he had gotten used to the sweet taste of nearly everything Andrew consumed. It was a part of him and Neil loved every part of him.
It was still snowing outside. The trees and streets and roofs were covered with a blanket of white and Andrew felt a wave of gratefulness for his warm apartment and his warm Neil curling up to him. The time to go back to playing Exy, leaving their home and having to deal with their teammates and the press would come too soon. Andrew tried not to think about it when he had Neil warm and solid pressed against his side.
It was getting late and Andrew felt exhaustion overcome his body. He wanted to get into comfortable clothes and curl up with Neil in their bed. Neil was too invested in the movie though, so Andrew waited patiently until it was over. Then he stood up and gently tugged Neil up by the hand and led him to the bedroom, heavy feet, and tired limbs, fingers intertwined like they belonged nowhere else.
They curled up in bed, facing each other. The temperature had dropped immensely in the last few days and Andrew shivered. Of course Neil noticed, so he pulled the blanket all the way up to Andrew’s chin and asked, “Are you cold?”
He looked too worried for Andrew’s liking so he made sure to reassure, “I’ll be fine in a minute. With you, as an oven next to me, I’ll be warm in no time”
Neil took Andrew’s hand again and pressed it to his chest, “You like it.”
Andrew didn’t argue and they didn’t let go of each other until they fell asleep.
On Christmas Day Andrew was startled awake late in the morning when the cats jumped on the bed. He let them curl up between him and Neil, too lazy to kick them off the bed and secretly grateful for the extra heat. Their purrs lulled him back to sleep for another hour until Neil got up to make breakfast. Andrew followed him to the kitchen to make sure Neil wouldn’t burn his pancakes because Andrew needed pancakes and he needed them edible.
It had snowed even more overnight and when Andrew looked outside everything was white.
Neil followed his gaze and smiled, “Picture perfect Christmas weather.” Andrew leaned in and kissed Neil on the cheek.
After breakfast, they sat on the floor in front of the tree to open their presents and Andrew wasn’t surprised about the abundance of creativity the foxes had put into their gifts. It was mostly dumb stuff so Neil laughed and smiled every time he unwrapped a present. Allison’s was one of the few useful ones, a new jacket that fit Neil perfectly. It would be warm enough to keep out the winter chill but that was most likely not the reason she’d bought it for Neil. They all knew she still didn’t appreciate his fashion sense and would never give up to improve his wardrobe.
When they were done opening the foxes’ gifts, Neil wordlessly handed Andrew a present, the wrapping paper was green with little foxes on it. Of course, there were foxes on it. And Andrew’s name was on it.
Neil got impatient when Andrew didn’t move for a few moments. “Open it.”
Andrew was reluctant but ripped the paper open to reveal his gift. It was stupid. It was so stupid that Andrews lips quirked up which only widened Neil’s smile. “You got me sweaters for the cats?”
“It’s December. It’s cold. They’ll need it.” Andrew’s disbelieving expression made Neil laugh but he was distracted again when Andrew moved to get a present out of the pile and slammed it in front of Neil.
Neil eyed the present, looked up at Andrew and eyed the present again. Andrew watched him in silence, expressionless, patiently and waited until Neil stopped enjoying the moment enough to be able to pick it up and unwrap it. Neil’s face lit up when he saw what it was. Two tiny jerseys, one with ‘Minyard’, one with ‘Josten’ written on the back. It was the cheesiest present Andrew had ever gotten anyone and he planned to stone cold deny it if Neil ever told anyone. It would be hell to put the cats in them but Neil was dead set on getting at least one picture of it. They moved on to the rest of their gifts, they had bought each other a few more things, mostly dumb stuff for the cats Andrew couldn’t wait to annoy them with.
He meant to clean up the wrapping paper once the presents were opened but before he could, the cats jumped on the pile and started to shred it. Neil started to play with them and their new toys for way too long for it to be normal but Andrew had gotten used to that by now. He was content with watching and couldn’t believe that this was his life.
When Andrew got bored he sat on the couch and, just as he expected, it wasn’t long until Neil joined him. Andrew knew Neil was unable to resist the opportunity to cuddle close to him. They spent the rest of the afternoon lazing around the apartment and reading the books the foxes had gotten them. Sitting on the couch with Neil’s legs in Andrews lap, Neil reached for his hand every now and then to absently place kisses on Andrew’s knuckles.
After quite some time, Neil broke the silence and looked at the tree in the back of the living room. “Do you think they’ll break it?” As if on cue there was a loud bang. Andrew answered, “Yes.” without looking up from his book.
Neil laughed and Andrew followed his eyes to the tree, where the cats were half climbing, half destroying it. King had managed to climb up almost to the top but didn’t know how to get back down again, his struggle was obvious. He was still little but heavy enough to make the branches give in under his weight which caused some of the decoration to fall down. This stupid cat would never learn. Sir was smarter and had stayed on the ground, he had managed not to get hit by the falling ornaments and was now interestedly sniffing the broken pieces lying in front of him.
Neil and Andrew watched the chaos unfold. They both didn’t really care about the cats making a mess and destroying their tree, so they let it happen without intervening. The only thing Andrew cared about was the smile it put on Neil’s face.
Night came quicker than Andrew would’ve liked. And because there was nothing better to do they got dressed to take walk outside. Neil wrapped himself in his warmest coat and the new beanie and gloves he’d gotten from Dan. Andrew was wearing the scarf Renee had knitted him and his long, black coat. His hair was messy from lying around all day and his eyes shone golden in the Christmas lights. He looked so handsome it made Neil’s heart beat so fast it was worrisome. He pulled Andrew in by the collar of his coat and kissed him softly. Andrew’s lips were warm and gentle against Neil’s and just as he was about to suggest to stay inside after all Andrew pulled back, “Let’s go, you junkie.”
It was dark and cold outside but the snow was sparkling under the streetlights, turning the street outside their apartment into a winter wonderland. Andrew wordlessly took Neil’s hand in his and they walked together until they reached the park nearby.
The snow crunched under their boots, they were bundled up in the cold and their breaths were soft clouds in the air. The park was small and beautiful, with snow all around them. Andrew faced Neil and took both hands in his. Neil studied his face for a second before leaning in and kissing him again. It caused a feeling that ran down Andrew’s spine and shuddered through his whole body. Just lips on lips, that’s all Neil had to do to shake Andrew to the core. His grip on Neil’s hands tightened and he moved his lips to Neil’s cold nose, his flushed cheeks, his forehead, everything he could reach and whispered, “Merry Christmas.”
Neil let go of Andrew with one hand to put his arm around his neck and nuzzled his face in the space between his shoulder and his neck. Andrew wrapped his free hand around Neil’s middle to press him even closer and he thought to himself, I’ll love him until the day I die. His throat tightened to the point where he couldn’t breathe for a moment.
Neil’s face was pressed into the soft wool of Andrew’s scarf, so his voice was muffled when he replied, “Merry Christmas to you too.”
i absolutely love all of your art, it’s so beautiful and it somehow looks just like how i picture all of the characters. every time you post something new it adds twenty years to my life, thank you keep up the great work
And somehow she wound up with Eliot Waugh for a confidant. Maybe not somehow, maybe it was more of an inevitability from the moment Quentin introduced them and they locked eyes and knew, the way that you just know these things sometimes. Julia felt a rush of familiarity looking at Eliot, and Eliot’s face lit up over the realization that Quentin’s childhood crush was a bonafide dyke.
from an Alice/Julia fic i’ll get around to finishing...... some day.....
