Chapter Text
“Come on, mon amour.” Kevin whines shamelessly.
“No. I just pulled two all nighters in a row studying for finals. I’m not attending the last practice we have before summer break.”
Kevin frowns deeply, “You pulled two all-nighters?”
Aaron’s eyes snap open and he looks at Kevin sheepishly, “Um…no?”
“So you’re all good for practice then?” Aaron groans and buries his face in Kevin’s chest.
“Can I sit on the bench?”
“No.” Kevin answers dryly, snickering at his even more dramatic groan.
“But what good is having your boyfriend practically captain of the Exy team, if I don’t get special treatment?”
“You get plenty of special treatment.” Kevin tucks a lock of hair behind his ear, and no he is not blushing, fuck off.
“Like what?”
Kevin gives him a look and pulls him close. “ Like I let you not follow our athletes diet at all. In fact, I actively enable your behavior and give you chocolate when you’re sad or literally whenever you ask for it . I let you skip weight sessions because I know you hate them, I let you take breaks during practice so you can catch your breath, I never actively pick on you during drills or when you aren’t doing something right, in fact I defend you most of the time-”
“You pick on me in private! How many of our conversations have been about Exy?”
“How many of our conversations have been about biology?”
“That doesn’t even make any sense! And how many of our conversations have been about history?”
“...fair. I’m not letting you skip the last practice though. It’s mandatory for everyone.”
Aaron gives him a curious look, “why?”
Kevin just grins at him. “You’ll see.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They hold hands on the way to the car. Andrew, Neil, and Nicky are already there waiting for them. The most interesting part of this domestic and familiar scene though, isn’t the fact that Nicky babbles on and on to Neil about Erik, or even that Neil and Andrew are holding hands just like them.
No, the most interesting part of the scene is the open, vulnerable, and unguarded expression on Andrew’s face.
All the love in the universe twinkles behind those eyes when Andrew looks at Neil, but now, it’s open for the world to see.
A notion that feels distinctly like pride is directed at his brother. He thinks Andrew notices by the way his shoulders relax when he sees the shine in Aaron’s eyes.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Practice isn’t hell like he expects. In fact, it is much nicer than burning alive.
He would know, the burn scar still settles over his skin like an angular beast. It eats at him.
But not today, today he won the practice match against Neil’s team when he blocked the striker from getting too close to their goal. Today, Kevin came over and kissed him so hard the other Foxes wolf whistled and cat called at them. Today, David Wymack proposed to Abigail Winfeild.
Judging by the light in Kevin’s eyes, he’s the only one who knew. Aaron tackles Abby in a hug, practically singing his congratulations.
“Congratulations, Abby.” He says again, as loud as he can. Loud enough for the whole world to hear, he’s too ecstatic to be silent and invisible like always, so he lets himself be loud.
“I love you,” He says into her ear, as loud as he dares.
Abby sobs into his shoulder, “I love you too, sweetheart.”
He goes up to Coach and clamps a hand on his shoulder, “Treat her right.”
Coach rolls his eyes at him but he says he will anyway.
“Group picture! Group picture!” Nicky shrieks, running around to kidnap a random college student to take it.
They all huddle in close together. Andrew’s on his left, Kevin’s behind Aaron, wrapping his arms around his waist and settling his head on his, Abby’s on his right. Neil puts an arm around Andrew’s shoulders and Nicky poses dramatically in the front until Dan kicks him to the back.
“Umm…ok, I’m taking the picture now!” The poor college student says. The smile practically lights up his face, and it isn’t as hard as it normally is to keep it there with Kevin pressing kisses to the top of his head.
For the first time in a long time, he feels beautiful in a picture. The fact is reinforced when he finally gets to see it, and his eyes trace over the scars on his face, the scars that tell you exactly who he is. He feels nothing when he sees them, all he sees is Neil smiling at Andrew, Wymack’s arm around Abby’s waist, Nicky’s eyes lighting up with joy, the girl's silly faces, and Matt’s smile.
He sees his smile, a warm smile he has never spotted before in his life, no anger or fear or sadness hiding behind his walls. Warm contentment floods his chest.
He looks pretty.
Shock floods his body, because he does. He looks radiant, carefree, maybe even beautiful. He looks like a man deserving of life, of happiness, of a family.
He looks like a man deserving of love.
And maybe he does. Maybe he deserves all of those things, because he fucking made it. He made it, and life tried to tell him no, and he didn’t listen. Life heard of his storm, the storm of Aaron Minyard, and it didn’t take him out.
It wore him down, life pushed and punched and isolated and hurt.
But he’s still here.
He lets out a breath and gazes at the photo again. His heart continues beating, his bones don’t quake, and the blood stays in his veins. Nothing changes for anyone else.
Everything changes for him.
Aaron thinks he could grow used to being this new version of himself, a version who doesn’t flinch at his reflection, a version who takes the bruises and scars in stride, a version who isn’t completely healed yet, but a version who won’t give up.
The image doesn’t flicker like a lightbulb in a thunderstorm. It stays true and strong. He grabs Kevin’s hand and doesn’t flinch at his face reflected in his boyfriend’s beautiful emerald eyes.
He feels pretty again.