Andrew and Neil wear each other’s clothes a lot because Neil is always too hot and Andrew is always cold. Andrew, sticking to his aesthetic, never wears enough layers. Neil, being bad at forethought, wears too many. (It’s also how every blanket on Neil’s bed always seems to migrate to Andrew’s)
Renee is an incredible gymnast, like she can easily do a bunch of those fancy flips without even thinking about it and she’s just super flexible
Since they met, Nicky has been dragging the twins on what he calls ‘cousin dates’ where they go out to coffee or dinner and Nicky pays. Both twins absolutely pretend to hate it, but Aaron likes to just go out and do something and Nicky buys Andrew as much ice cream as he wants
Speaking of Nicky, he has Erik on FaceTime for games and puts his phone propped up in one of the court side seats so Nicky gets to feel like Erik’s there because he can just turn and see his face
Kevin despises cardio and would rather die than have to go on a run with Neil because he physically can’t keep up. His ego just can’t handle it
Dan & Matt have shared Pinterest boards for their wedding, their future house and cute kiddie activities
Wymack gives in and buys a spray bottle for the foxes so anytime one of them misbehaves he just sprays them like a naughty cat
Allison and Matt, because they were little rich kids, absolutely cannot cook. Like neither of them know that spaghetti needs to go in water to be cooked and they should not be left unattended in a kitchen
Every birthday, Andrew buys Nicky a No.1 mug. It can be No.1 anything. Nicky’s got No.1 grandma, No.1 colleague, No.1 Footballer, it literally doesn’t matter. Nicky cries when Andrew finally gets him one that says No.1 guardian
So…Andrew buys Betsy those little glass figurines because it means he has to think about which ones she’s already got and which ones she would like rather than dreading the upcoming flight, right?
It starts with some shitty little fox that Nicky bought him as a joke because he found it in the baby aisle, but Neil fucking loves it.
He drags it around like a toddler with a blanket, taking it to all his games and sleeping with it every night.
Then, the fox starts to fall apart, mainly due to it being taken around the country every week for months (and that one time Aaron threw it out a window)
Neil says he’s “fine about it, it’s just a fox” so Andrew buys him a new one, because Neil just looks so sad when Andrew has to sew the tail back on for the 10th time.
Seeing how happy the new fox made Neil, Andrew buys him another one, a bear this time
Then a frog
Then a lion
Andrew keeps buying them because his bad days mean he can’t always cuddle with Neil, but stuffies don’t have that issue and Neil deserves hugs
(Also Neil does this little grin whenever Andrew hands it over and Andrew would die for that shit)
All of a sudden Neil, who has never been allowed to be soft nor form attachments to something as silly as a stuffed animal because they might need to leave it behind, has a shit ton of them
Like, he has to put them on the floor to physically fit in his bed
They all have names and Neil constantly forgets them because there’s so many, so he has to turn to Andrew because he’ll never forget them
He chooses a different one every night to sleep with so none of them feel left out
There’s always one at each game, in its own court-side seat
And Neil loves all of them, because he never really got to be a kid, never got to fret over something as trivial as the opinion of a stuffed animal and he’s making up for so much lost time
However, Andrew does debate when they move in together whether the smile was truly worth having to give up space in his own bed to an inanimate object
aftg hc of the day: andrew asks neil to pick up sweets for him a lot. it’s usually not a big deal, just some ice cream or gummy worms, but andrew makes the mistake of asking neil to get him jelly beans. neil had never really looked for them before, and he ends up finding some decent ones. unfortunately for andrew right next to them are those fucking bean boozled ones. neil takes one look at them and decides he will risk everything if it means he can fuck with andrew. he carefully mixes them together in the larger bag he got, and just plays it off like he tried a few. andrew obviously doesn’t question it and neil heads off to do something else. about 20 minutes later he hears stomping up the stairs and he just knows he’s about to get murdered
Fanon has it that Sakusa is mysophobic/has OCD, but either way, it’s canon that he is reluctant to get too close to people. So it follows that he probably wouldn’t want people touching him unless he gives them permission. (looking at that panel of him “wiff”-ing Hinata and Bokuto’s high fives.)
Many sakuatsu shippers hc that despite being a typical asshole personality usually, Atsumu’s conscientious attitude towards his hitters extends outside the court, and while he will provoke, annoy, tease, insult, aggravate, etc. people to no end, he likely respects their boundaries. Hence he would heckle and bother the hell out of Omi-Omi verbally but would never actually touch him or make him purposefully uncomfortable or panicked.
Fast forward a bit, Omi and Atsumu start getting closer, getting to know each other better, and so on and so forth. And one day, Atsumu really wants to kiss him, or at least touch him, so he holds his hands out, makes eye contact, and says, “Yes or no?”
(I think you know where I’m going with this.)
(Eventually, some time later, Omi tells Atsumu, “It’s always yes with you.”)
(And they live happily ever after, playing pro sports, making their national team and playing the Olympics, talking with their successful twin brother (in law) on weekends, etc.)
(And maybe, they’ll even get two cats. Or rather, two dogs, since sakuatsu canonly like dogs.)
I would really want to write an AftG x Haikyuu AU except for a few things:
1. Hesitant to put any of the volleyboys through as much pain and suffering as the Foxes went through.
2. Absolutely no one in HQ is despicable enough to be Riko or Tetsuji Moriyama, who are both mildly essential to the plot of AftG. (No one is even near despicable enough to be Drake either, but he can be worked around, see #1.)
Hello! This is my gift from the @aftgexchangeto@neil-jortson who asked for headcanons on the Foxes reacting to Andreil, and boy oh boy, do I have a lot of those. I hope you enjoy! These will be a mix of my personal thoughts as well as some written out scenes.
01 Dan Wilds
I think that Dan being an upperclassmen and captain gives her a bit of a protective streak over the Foxes, but especially the younger ones. We already see how she cares about her team in the books and I think she finds herself feeling super protective over Neil in a lot of regards. We see how she has an obvious disconnect with Andrew (though I think that does eventually change once Andrew starts letting people closer to him and the upperclassmen start taking the time to understand him better) BUT at first, I think she’s… nervous for Neil.
Neil and Andrew aren’t super public about their affections, but there is no way you can’t feelhow they feel about each other or see it in the way they look at the other. But Dan isn’t good with reading Andrew - Neil, yeah, she can see it in the way Neil’s eyes follow Andrew as he jogs to the goal during practice, or the way he bristles whenever one of the upperclassmen make a comment about Andrew’s icy personality. Sometimes she fears that Neil has fallen farther then Andrew is capable of - sometimes she can’t see past how Andrew used to be and connect it with how Neil must see him. Sometimes she wants to tell Neil to be careful, even though she knows Neil is just as capable of watching himself; she can’t even begin to imagine what he’s been through. But emotions are delicate, and new, and difficult and she knows that well - so she can’t help but feel that Neil is setting himself up for pain. Heartbreak can be fatal, and she fears that Neil is walking directly into it.
This was how Dan used to think anyways but it all changed on one of their movie nights.
The main factor is that Andrew came which is still something Dan is getting used to. These nights were usually just the upperclassmen, and then Neil came into the picture and slowly the nights grew bigger. The other monster’s weren’t as much as a surprise as Andrew was when he stepped through the doorway into Dan, Allison, and Renee’s dorm room. Everyone was already settled into their spots, Neil had claimed the couch that Kevin was also seated on and had kicked out his legs - Dan had wondered briefly if it was for Andrew but it wasn’t rare that Andrew didn’t even show up. But sure enough, the blond man stepped into the room and made a direct beeline for Neil.
Like usual, Neil’s eyes lit up and a smile blossomed across his face at the sight of Andrew. But this time Dan looked over to Andrew - and she realized her mistake.
Before she had been studying only Neil’s own reaction, she hadn’t bothered to watch the way the tension Andrew carried in his face smoothed away at the sight of Neil. The way his shoulders loosened and how he moved like a moth drawn to a flame - the way the mask that she logically knew Andrew had, slips away to let Neil in.
Neil scoots over to give Andrew room and Andrew immediately flops into place, ignoring the way everyone’s attention has turned to him. For a moment, she can’t imagine how uncomfortable it must be to enter a room and have everyone stare, in wait, as if you are some monster about to snap…
Dan is maybe starting to realize why Neil gets so pissed at the careless comments of them.
Now, Andrew has settled into the couch, handing something to Neil from his pocket that looks to be a protein bar. Neil’s mouth falls open in surprise and Andrew scoffs.
“You didn’t eat dinner again.”
Neil sends him a sheepish grin, “Sorry, finals are stressing me out and I forgot.”
Andrew lightly hits Neil in the chest with the bar before dropping it into his lap. “ I know. Eat.”
For the rest of the night, Dan can’t help but glance over. Watching the way the two slowly meld into each other, and finally Andrew slips an arm around Neil’s shoulders and presses him closer to his chest.
Afterwards, she watches, not only for Neil’s reaction but for Andrew’s - and for the way that she can confidently say that Neil’s heart is in the safest hands they could be in.
02 Kevin Day
Kevin knew before Neil did.
He knew from the dance he watched Neil and Andrew perform nightly, the way they circled each other and Neil’s inability to turn away. Kevin knew it was the same for Andrew, knew that whatever was between them was pulling them closer and closer.
And besides, did Neil really think he was sneaky enough after night practices when he pretended to go to his dorm and then proceeded to follow Andrew to the roof?
Either way, when everything blew up around them and the world tilted upside down - Kevin wasn’t surprised to find Neil and Andrew together once the dust settled.
During the time after the Raven’s game, Kevin had his own pieces to put back together. He wasn’t focused on what his friends were doing, but they were there. Andrew still kept a strong hand on Kevin’s back - and even if their friendship had its own mending to do, Andrew was there when Kevin slipped and Neil was there with something akin to understanding but also the ability to light the fire under Kevin’s feet to keep him going.
The next year came, and the fog lessened and then Kevin suddenly became more aware of what was happening around him.
At the way Neil and Andrew always sat together on the couch, legs and arms pressed together. The way Andrew grabbed two mugs in the morning or how sometimes Kevin would walk into a room and Neil and Andrew would jump away from each other with flushed cheeks and messier hair.
It was nighttime though, when Kevin really saw it.
Neil was slipping, and no one was surprised. After everything Neil had been through and with his hatred of therapy - it was no surprise that his mental health was ending up in the gutter. Hell - even Kevin tried to convince Neil to go see Bee after he had heard a particularly loud argument between him and Andrew. But Neil had pushed him off, saying that just because Kevin benefited from it, doesn’t mean that he will.
So the nightmares got worse, and now Kevin sees them too.
With three traumatized men sharing a room, it isn’t rare that one of them wakes the others because of the nightmares that haunt them all. But it was never this bad.
Neil screams.
He screams like he’s being burned again, like his father is holding him down with the axe to his throat and Neil finally drops the brave act.
When it happens for the first time Kevin is flying out of bed - he’s lucky he’s been given the single without the bunk or else he might’ve knocked himself out but he’s clattering to the floor at the same time that Neil is.
His voice is torn, ragged, terrified and Kevin doesn’t even want to imagine what Neil actually sounded like when he was being tortured - hates to think that Neil probably didn’t even make a sound. But this was what wantedto come out - what neededtoo.
“Neil! Neil! Abram.” A new voice, Andrew’s voice, joins them as Kevin fumbles for the light. It washes the room in muted yellow, and Kevin already knows that Neil has fallen to the ground from the top bunk. Andrew is there, standing over Neil’s crumpled body with his hands outstretched to reach him but frozen. Unsure. His eyes are wild as he stares down, helplessly, at Neil, who curls into himself and sobs.
“My legs! He took them, he took them, he cut them, he cut off my fucking legs.” Neil gasps and it clearly snaps Andrew out of whatever shock he’d fallen into and he’s on the ground.
He’s pulling Neil into his chest and Neil is moving despearly to him, hands clasping onto his knees like he’s too afraid to touch further.
“Abram, stop. Your father is dead, you are at Palmetto and your name is Neil Josten. You are safe. No one is going to hurt you, not again.” Andrew reaches down and wraps a hand around Neil’s lower leg. “You escaped, you survived and you are safe. It was just a nightmare.”
Andrew’s voice is low, but still panicked. Neil’s eyes clear but Kevin doesn’t see them for long because Neil buries his face into Andrew’s neck. Andrew clasps onto the back of Neil’s auburn hair and holds him there, rocking them, whether unknowingly or not.
Over Neil’s shoulder, Andrew meets Kevin’s eyes. Kevin has only see the frantic look few times before in Andrew’s gaze, but Kevin clambers to his feet.
“I’ll get water,” Kevin says.
Andrew nods, wordlessly, before he turns his face to bury it into Neil’s head.
“It’s okay,” Kevin thinks he hears Andrew’s murmur, as he walks out of the bedroom “It’s gonna be okay.”
The next day, Kevin thinks he’s as relieved as Andrew is when Neil finally agrees to go talk to Bee. Or someone.Andrew keeps their hands entangled and doesn’t let go - they don’t usually pull away from each other now when Kevin’s around.
It feels a lot like trust.
04 Matt Boyd
-Matt likes to think he’s Neil’s best friend.
-Like sure, Neil’s close with Kevin and obviously Andrew doesn’t count… at least not really because they are… together? ish?
-In fact that was one of the main things that Matt wants to know. Because he and Neil are best friends, and best friends talk about their relationships right? God knows, Matt talks about Dan all the time and about the things they do together.
-But Neil just… doesn’t talk about Andrew.
At first, Matt thought it was because Neil wasn’t sure where he and Andrew stood. That things were new, fragile, maybe Neil didn’t want to get his hopes up?
-Eventually, Matt just accepted it… but slowly, things started to change.
-Like the time Matt picked Neil up from his new dormroom (he’s still a bit upset he lost Neil as a roommate but it was whatever) and Neil came out in a shockingly put together outfit.
He was wearing black jeans, with chunky black boots and a black tee-shirt, thrown over that was a blue flannel that made his auburn hair stand out even more.
Matt lets out a low whistle when he sees Neil, making Neil’s head jump up in surprise.
“What?”
“You look good dude! Since when did you know how to dress yourself?”
“Oh! Um, Andrew picked it out for me.” Neil does an awkward jimmy on his feet, as if showing off the outfit on instinct but then deciding against it.
Matt smiles at that, a sudden warmth flooding his chest as he sees the small colour growing in Neil’s cheek at the mention of Andrew.
Interesting.
-It starts becoming more common after that. Neil mentioning small things that Andrew may have gotten him if Matt asks - or the one time Matt tried to take Neil to the arcade for ‘his first time’ only to have Neil sheepishly tell him that he’s already been with Andrew.
- Or the time when Neil couldn’t hang out for ‘not date night with Andrew’ even though it was totally a date night with Andrew
- Or how sometimes Neil ducks down to kiss Andrew goodbye before running out the door to meet Matt
-Slowly Neil is opening up and whenever he does, he gets this distant, hazy that boardlines on dreamy, look, when he talks about Andrew. It’s honestly getting to the point that Matt might be a little in love with Andrew too.
05 Aaron Minyard
- Alright so we know that Aaron does not like Neil Josten.
- It probably has to do with a bit of jealousy and the fact that Andrew can grab so much of Neil’s attention effortlessly when Aaron has spent so long fighting for it.
- So I think their relationship takes a bit of time to develop, sort of a ‘forced proximity’ situation because they are still forced to be around each other.
- Maybe it isn’t until they are older and Aaron is going through med school and Andrew is in the pros and Aaron finally finds time to visit even if he plays it off like he ‘just happened to be in the city’. He goes and watches one of Andrew’s home games and finds himself jumping to his feet and yelling when Andrew saves a particular nasty goal.
- He manages to catch Andrew after the game, immediately noticing the dark circles underlining his eyes and gaunt look to his brother’s features.
- Aaron is worried, he’s seen what his brother looks like when he’s hit rock bottom. Is now more aware of the daily fight Andrew has with his own mental health.
- Andrew even lets the surprise show on his face when he sees Aaron
- Still, Andrew agrees to letting Aaron come over. Maybe he missed his brother a bit too.
- They catch up, and it doesn’t take Aaron a lot to recognize that Andrew is getting burnt out
- Andrew’s team and him don’t get along, and while Andrew is pretending to not care; Aaron can tell that it’s bothering him. He has no one here with him, and yeah, Aaron can relate to being burnt out but he has Katelyn with him in the very least.
- It isn’t until Andrew’s phone starts ringing that Aaron see’s a shift in his mood. It’s subtle but his face softens, his lips press together and he moves for the phone faster then Aaron thinks he’s seen his brother move for anything not driven out of anger.
- Aaron sees the contact photo, it’s Neil. It looks like a photo Neil took himself at an unflattering angle but Aaron can’t see it for long because Andrew is already getting up from the couch and bringing the phone to his ear.
- Aaron tries his hardest to not eavesdrop, but he can catch bits and pieces, something along the lines of “….brother is here…. okay… spoke to Bee… no…. yeah… soon… love you…”
- The last bit makes Aaron sit up right in surprise, but frankly he doesn’t know why. He knows what Neil and Andrew are, it’s infuriated him for countless years, but that doesn’t erase what they are to each other.
- When Andrew walks back into the room, face back to its neutral state but he’s obviously more relaxed then he was before. A quiet glimmer in his eye that wasn’t there before.
- So Aaron asks, “Neil?”
- Andrew shots him a look, but it falters quickly and he nods. Sitting back down, “Yeah, he’s trying to get some time off on his team right now.”
- “Is he… do you think you guys will get on the same team soon?” Aaron can’t help but ask.
- Andrew shrugs, “We’re trying. I’ll leave the league if they don’t figure their shit out soon.”
- Maybe it’s the exhaustion that makes Andrew more open than usual, or maybe it’s just age. Either way, Aaron finds himself… happy to be able to hear it.
- Maybe Josten isn’t bad. Even if logically he’s known that Neil couldn’t be. His brother wouldn’t pick someone ‘bad’ to build his life around - and maybe a part of Aaron always knew that they would end up here still. Maybe watching the stress leak out of Andrew at the idea of having Neil near him again, is just another reminder of what Neil really means to Andrew.
- Maybe Aaron grows to love Neil, for who is, one day.
07 Allison Reynolds
- We know Allison likes gossip. She’s always making bets and wanting to nose into someone else business.
- But I like to think, she… settles down, when it comes to Andrew and Neil’s relationship. If not just for Neil and her own friendship with him.
- I don’t think Neil would like to be poke and prodded about his relationship with Andrew because to him it is self explanatory.
- So Allison learns fairly quickly into Neil’s sophomore year not to pry too much. Not after Neil ignored her for an entire week after she tried to pry into how his summer with Andrew had been and she got a little too pushy with it.
- So now she tries to keep her boundaries, and her opinions, to herself.
- Her and Dan agree in the beginning, they aren’t sure about how they feel about Andrew, especially in regards to his relationship with Neil.
- Neil is more than some hookup, and deserves better. Allison has dealt with her fair share of shitty men, and Neil has already been through too much to have to through it.
- So she tries to place herself as an open book, tries to put herself in the position to help Neil is he were to need it.
- One day Neil does need it
- He’s visibly upset when Allison picks him up for their weekly shopping date and for the first time when Allison asks if he’s okay, Neil doesn’t say, “I’m fine.”
- Instead he frowns and says, “I’m pissed off.”
- He won’t say who he is pissed off at, but Allison can take a guess pretty quickly as she starts asking why he’s pissed off.
- “He keeps insisting that the Dragons are a better pro team then the actual Olympic Exy team. How does that even make sense Allison? The Olympic Exy team is made up of the best athletes!”
“And how did this come up?”
“I was watching some matches with Kevin and he thought it was just a wonderful idea to butt in and start an argument! And for what? Because he thinks he’s sofunny? I so easily disproved him too and he is still disagreeing with me.”
“Wait, Neil,” Allison butts in, who couldn’t help but feel slightly concerned, “Are you actually upset?”
Neil scoffs and rolls his eyes, “No. But he’s on thin fucking ice. It’s the only time he ever talks about Exy even though he knowsit drives me insane.
- Allison, while glad that Neil’s frustration isn’t from a serious argument or fight, can’t help but feel a little amused.
- It feels a little like a petty couple fight that she sees Dan and Matt have over what movie is better and which one they should watch on date night.
- Either way, she entertains Neil’s rambles, agreeing with him in that yes, Andrew clearly knows nothing about Exy.
- It isn’t until later that night, as she dropping Neil off that she spots Andrew waiting in the parking lot, back pressed up against the Maserati.
- “Oh that bastard.” Neil mutters, before he pushes open Allison’s car door, with his shopping bags in hand and begins stomping towards the black silhouette.
- Allison, while also jumping out of her car and starting to head back to the dorms, can’t help but slow her walk slightly to hear what Neil is going to say.
- “What do you want.”
- “Hello to you too.”
- “Are you done worshipping the Chicago Dragon’s for the day, or am I hiding the last tub of ice cream when I get upstairs.”
- “Calm down junkie,” Andrew’s voice is surprisingly light, “You were right, the Dragon’s do have a weak defence line-“
-“I told you they had poor offence! If anything their redeeming qualities come from their backliners carrying the whole goddamn team!”
- There is a soft scoff and Allison freezes in her footsteps as she watches Andrew reach out and tug Neil’s ear, before sliding a hand behind his head. They know she’s here
-“You are so easy to rile up.”
- “I hate when you do this,” Neil grumbles in response.
-“No. You like it when I talk about exy too much to hate it.”
- There’s a grumbled agreement and then Neil mumbles something else, and with Andrew’s nod, they are both leaning in. Allison, while curious, also appreciates her life and doesn’t want to push anymore boundaries, looks away and quickens her pace.
- That doesn’t stop her from picking up the last dredges of the conversation.
- “Allison had to listen to me complain all day about you, you know.“ Neil says, loud enough she’s sure she’s suppose to hear it.
-“Yeah well I have to listen to Renee complain about Allison not making a move yet all day too.”
That was definitely directed at her and Allison raises her middle finger proud before making a very quick beeline for Renee’s room.
09 Renee Walker
- Renee is Andrew’s best friend.
- So you KNOW she is one of the few foxes who sees the other side of Andreil.
- I like to imagine that Andrew has some place, other than therapy, to talk about his feelings to Neil.
- At first, when Andrew first started feeling something for Neil, Renee was there to listen to him ramble during their sparring sessions. About how annoying he was, how much he hates him, how much he wants him alone and in his bed.
- Renee is happy, for both of them, when she finds out about the status of their relationship.
- She enjoys being the ear for Andrew’s vents that he allows himself to open up too.
- Even after she graduates, whenever they phone to catch up she always asks about Neil, and Andrew always responds.
- It isn’t until they are both graduated that Andrew truly surprises her.
- “I need help with something,” Andrew says over the phone, while they plan her visit. “If you can come down a day early before Neil’s back in town.”
-Of course, Renee comes a day early.
-Andrew shows her the new apartment that he and Neil have purchased together, having finally secured a spot on a pro team together.It’s large, but not too large, it’s modern with a hint of traditional added in. There are already photos of the Foxes hung on the walls and a blinding orange throw blanket across the couch.
- But Andrew doesn’t let them linger, because he’s already dragging her out of the door before she has time to congratulate him. Still, she goes.
- He takes her to jewelry store and a soft smile breaks across her lips before Andrew even says a thing.
- “I need your opinion. Is this stupid?” Andrew asks, point blank.
- “No. Andrew, wanting something like this with Neil could never be stupid.”
- “It isn’t even about…” He cuts himself off, “It’ll make things easier in some regards and… and maybe I just want it too, Neil told me it was my choice.”
- “So you guys talked about it?”
- Andrew flexed his fingers over the steering wheel, and then he nodded. “He said that we didn’t need this, that we didn’t need to prove anything and I agree but…. I want to give him something physical as a reminder.”
- Andrew looks like he wants to say more, but he doesn’t and Renee thinks that’s okay too. Sometimes some things are too personal, and she understands that better than anyone.
- Andrew ends up picking up two gold bands with one word engraved on the inside - stay - she doesn’t ask for the significance but she can guess.
- Andrew doesn’t propose while Renee is in town, but he definitely doesn’t waste time because once Renee is touching down back home. Allison is already shoving her phone into Renee’s face.
- Blinking, Renee stares at the photo of Andrew and Neil at the courthouse with the golden rings around both of their fingers being shown off. In the photo, Neil’s smile is unbreakable and Andrew just rests his chin on Neil’s shoulder with a lazy glean to his eyes. It’s quiet, soft, and completely them.
- The text accompanying the photo that comes in shortly after simply says, “He picked gold cause he knows I wouldn’t settled for silver.”
- Yeah, Renee always knew that they would work out.
