microdosing on posting snippets from my raven!neil fic here because nanowrimo is killing me dead 🙃
Fic summary:
Nathaniel has grown up knowing he has two options upon turning 18: stay at Evermore and play for the Ravens through college, or allow the Hatfords to pay off his debts and claim him as one of their own. Nathaniel isn’t interested in leaving Exy (or Jean) for the faceless evil that sent his mom running to the Butcher of Baltimore.
But then Kevin’s stunt with the Foxes upends Nathaniel's world, and a third option opens up.
***
cw: canon-typical violence, references to and brief discussions of abuse/torture (but nothing on-screen)
outtake is from chapter 1, enjoy!
word count: 827
***
November
“Get him out of here,” Nathaniel snarls.
“Nice to see you too, Wesninski.”
Kevin is predictable to a fault and easy to corner after evening drills. The extra, invitation-only practice comprises a smaller group of upperclassmen, and Kevin insists on being the last to leave the court. Nathaniel planted himself on a storage cabinet just out of sight for the rare privilege of seeing Kevin flinch when he rounded the corner.
Fresh from the showers, he has a towel draped around his shoulders. His wet hair is already combed perfectly into place, tattoo gleaming against his flushed cheeks. He does not look happy to see Nathaniel.
He can get over himself – Nathaniel has worked himself into a burning rage while waiting, and he’s ready to light something on fire.
“Do we have to do this right now?” Kevin asks tiredly, dropping his soggy towel on Nathaniel’s sneakers and turning to rummage in his locker.
Nathaniel kicks the towel at Kevin’s back and slams a fist into the nearest locker – a poor substitute for Kevin’s face. “Riko is out of control,” he says fiercely. “Jean is sobbing on the floor of our bathroom because he tried to turn the shower on. Is there a more convenient time that you’d like to pencil this conversation in?”
Kevin turns and catches the towel, leveling Nathaniel with a hard, weary look. “I don’t know what you expect me to do about that. Tell him to take a sponge bath. We’re all just trying to survive the year.” He reaches neatly around Nathaniel to access the laundry chute, withdrawing quickly before Nathaniel can do something feral like bite off a finger.
The only thing that stops Nathaniel from trying is the shifty look in Kevin’s eyes and the way his shoulder jumps up in a half-aborted shrug. He’s hiding something.
“Bullshit. Tell me what’s going on, Kev. Something happened between you and Riko in Atlanta. He’s been escalating ever since, and I can’t– I can’t protect us if I don’t know what it is. Did you say something to him?" Kevin is so tense he looks like he's going to explode, which means if Nathaniel pushes just a bit harder... "Piss in his cereal? Jostle the stick up his–”
“I put my ego above my loyalties,” Kevin says. A shudder runs through him at the admission. “I am his partner and his– his second, and I have betrayed that trust.”
Nathaniel, who was not expecting to get an answer that easily, if at all, stares blankly. What the hell is he talking about?
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I– the drills we’ve been practicing with the team–,” Kevin mutters, as if even he is still trying and failing to piece together the full picture of Riko’s fury, “I guess I picked them up faster, or… I’ve been speaking too much in team meetings, stepping out of line…” he stumbles around the truth at the center of his words like it might burn him.
“Hang on– are you telling me this is about, what, your stats? He’s mad that you’re outperforming him in practice?”
Nathaniel tries to reconcile the uncertain boy in front of him with the man who scored from center court and then chewed out the son of a hedge fund manager until he cried for not being three feet to the left to receive a pass. “Jesus, just take a few nights off, or– or take this shit to Tetsuji, I’m sure he’d love to hear how his nephew is dragging the team down with him for his pride. Why are you just sitting on this?”
Kevin is done explaining though. When he speaks, his voice is steel, and the glint in his eyes puts a pit in Nathaniel’s stomach.
“It is after curfew and Jean is waiting. Go back to your room, Nathaniel.”
Nathaniel’s jaw tightens. “You aren’t just sitting on this, are you? You have a plan.”
Of course he would decide to stand his ground now. Where was this conviction when Riko started spiking their food? When he broke Jean’s fingers, or carved into Nathaniel’s skin for the first time? He’s spent nearly a decade wishing Kevin would grow a spine – now he’s ready to snap it in half.
“I’m through bleeding for you, watching Jean bleed for you,” he threatens, pushing off the counter and taking a step toward Kevin, voice rising. “You promised me more than this. You owe me.”
Kevin makes an irritated shushing noise. “Be quiet. This is not–” he glances impatiently at the clock above the door, “Do not ask this of me right now.”
“Fuck you, I’m asking,” Nathaniel snaps, not bothering to lower his voice. They have bigger problems than getting caught breaking curfew.
“Shut up,” Kevin hisses, jerking a hand towards Nathaniel’s mouth. He freezes awkwardly just before making contact, dropping his gaze briefly to the lingering bruises on Nathaniel’s throat, the pink scars curving up from his shoulder blades to poke out his shirt collar. “Do you have a death wish?” he asks stiffly.
“Yes,” Nathaniel says coldly, “I wish you were dead.” He stares until Kevin drops his hand.
***
(oh, the angst. to be clear I love Kevin dearly. if i missed any cws above, please let me know!)
