Work Text:
Neil sometimes found himself questioning all the choices that led him to become the middle school PE teacher at Palmetto State Elementary School. The constant hustle and bustle of the students and the hubbub among the teachers as soon as he arrived for his first day of work was something he had experienced at the other schools he had been through, but the constant attempts by his colleagues to establish rapport with him and students' inquiries about their scars showed that Palmetto was not like other schools.
Neil was used to professors who were more interested in receiving their salaries at the end of the month than actually practicing their profession. Relationships between colleagues were scarce, everyone tired of long workdays and competing with students to see who hated being in that room the most. So imagine your surprise when arriving at Palmetto and being greeted by smiling faces, welcoming handshakes and people trying to get to know you and accustom you to the place. None of it made sense to him, but more than that, Andrew didn't make sense to him.
The pedagogical coordinator responsible for helping students but who limited his social contact only to Renee, his co-worker, was a puzzle for Neil, at least if you didn't know what that puzzle looked like.
Neil used to plan his lessons in the staff room and he often watched the students who came into Andrew's office tearful and left happy and determined. It didn't make sense, Andrew didn't seem to belong there, he didn't fit in with Renee's gentle smiles or Matt's attempt at friendship with the other gym teacher. It was like a penguin in the desert, no one has any idea how it got there.
It wasn't until after a few months of working there that Neil found himself beginning to understand the blonde.
There was this athlete on the foxes - the school team -, his name was Jack and despite being an excellent backliner on exy the boy had serious difficulties in the classroom. Privately, Neil thought it might have something to do with him breaking in and sleeping in the locker room at times and the shrug he gave when Neil changed his voice in practice.
If you asked, Neil would never admit it, but he saw himself in the kid. When he was younger Neil used to have practices similar to Jack's, the result of a lifetime running from his father. Today, even though the situation is different, Neil still has scars to remind him of what happened when he stopped running.
Maybe that's why when Neil heard Jack sobbing from crying in despair to Andrew behind the gym, pleading for help because he knew what parents would do when they found out the kid was doing really badly in math, his mouth moved in disobedience. his brain and next thing he knew he was offering to tutor the boy.
And that was it, from then on Neil spent all his spare time trying to help Jack and maybe fend off his adoptive father's fury from him. Neil would never admit that the fact that Andrew was part of this dynamic, appearing in study sessions either as a silent presence or as a second teacher, made him even more motivated for all that.
To be honest, Neil didn't understand why he felt that way, it didn't make sense that his heart raced when Andrew addressed him, or that he felt tenderness every time Andrew gently calmed a desperate Jack for not being able to understand the equations that were studying. Neil didn't understand why he felt embarrassed every time Andrew caught him watching him and said "looking" or why he even started to watch him more closely than he watched anything even when he was still running away from his father. He didn't understand why he found himself trying to know everything about Andrew and listening to every little thing the other told about himself, he didn't understand why knowing that Andrew loved sweets or that he was afraid of heights seemed like sacred information.
His best-accepted hypothesis was that it was all his psyche still affected by the years on the run, Andrew was an unknown quantity and if you're on the run and you meet someone who doesn't fit in, you better turn around and pick up the pace.
He took these thoughts to Allison, one of the school's secretaries who was probably the closest Neil ever had to a friend.
"It means you like him" she replied simply as she finished eating her salad. They were having lunch together like they always had since Allison had decreed that they were friends and that if Neil wasn't going to join the other teachers on breaks then she would join him for lunch.
Neil frowned and crossed his arms.
"I don't swing," he reminded her.
"Well" she pauses to take a sip of her iced tea "Apparently it does."
Neil decided to ignore her statement and changed the subject in an attempt to forget Allison's words, unfortunately for him, his head had other plans. Lunch with the blonde had taken place on Tuesday, the end of the semester would take place on Friday of that same week and his brain spent the interval between those days divided between nervousness to see Jack's parents who would come to pick up his report card and denial for what Allison said.
As promised, on Friday Jack's parents were there to pick up his report card and barely looked at the boy for 5 seconds once they saw that his grades were excellent, they just dropped the report card on the floor and let Jack know what time he should be in House. Once the couple was gone Neil watched Jack break down in tears of relief but also of disappointment, Neil felt his blood boil at the sight of the scene.
Jack had turned from every angle to please his parents, doing everything required of him and more and the only reaction from the two had been a 5 second stare. Neil knew the feeling of being treated like nothing and he couldn't bear to see such a young boy go through that situation.
Neil's mind was racing through a thousand possible solutions when Andrew's voice brought him back to reality.
"We're going to get you out of there" he said looking at Jack and although he wasn't consulted on this Neil didn't object to Andrew's statement.
"No" was Jack's reply.
"Why not?" Neil snapped.
Neil and Andrew watched as the boy squeezed his eyes shut and fought an internal battle, torn between trying and succeeding and trying and dealing with the consequences of failing.
"They're practically my legal guardians" Jack replied as he opened his eyes.
"Not yet," Andrew replied.
"But they will, besides, next year I'll be in high school, soon I'll graduate, I'll be of age and then I'll be free of them, I can handle it."
Neil was ready to fight if necessary, he wouldn't sit there and watch as a boy was mistreated by those who were supposed to love him unconditionally, not if he could help it.
"You're scared of them" Andrew spoke after a while "I can protect you" he added.
"As?" Neil saw that Jack didn't believe him despite wanting to.
"Make a deal with me" Andrew replied "I keep you safe".
"Why would you do that? What would you gain by protecting me?" Jack asked the question that was on Neil's mind.
"You can't protect yourself, so someone needs to do it for you."
Jack thought for a minute before uttering.
"You still haven't answered me, what would you get out of it?" Andrew was so silent that for a minute Neil thought he wasn't going to answer.
"I would get the chance to do for someone else what I needed them to do for me" To anyone else Andrew probably seemed unaffected by what he said, but to Neil who spent far too much time watching him whenever he could, you could see the tension that settled on his shoulders as he said that.
Jack shook his head and Neil found himself starting to get nervous.
"One call and I'll get you out of there, just say yes"
"He's chief of police, you can't get me out of him." Jack said his voice full of disappointment.
"Yes, we can" Neil said seriously.
"You have no idea who you're up against, he'll tear you apart if you tarnish his reputation" Jack says with a wince.
Neil felt his lips curl into a cold smile, not a Neil smile, but a Nathaniel smile. "I want to see him try" was what he replied.
Andrew and Jack were looking at him intently and from the expression on Jack's face Neil's smile must have startled him.
Neil dropped his smile and scratched his palm feeling guilty for scaring an already nervous child.
"There's no way out" Jack said after recovering "The police protect themselves, I've tried to report him before" Neil didn't miss the shudder that seemed to go through Jack's body "It didn't work".
Neil suppressed the anger he felt when he understood what happened and responded.
"We're not going to report him to the police" he paused, aware of the information he would be revealing "I know someone at the FBI."
A spark of hope seems to run through Jack's body and Andrew arched an eyebrow at him in silent question.
Neil and Andrew were silent waiting for Jack's answer and the boy closed his eyes trying to decide.
It seemed like an eternity had passed when Jack opened his eyes and answered "Yes"
Neil waved at him before taking his cell phone and leaving the room where they were. He didn't hesitate for a second as he punched in the number and pressed the green call button.
"Browning" he said without giving the agent a chance to speak "I need something"