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5
Aaron Minyard never expected to make Exy his job. In fact, at one point, he even thought he would never graduate high school, and yet there he was, standing in the long hallway that led to the Orlando Alligators’, in his Exy gear, lined up with all his teammates and ready to go out to play the third match of his season. The third of his professional career, really and perhaps even the one he was the most anxious about and for a good reason: his team was playing against the Denver Hurricanes and, most importantly, their striker, Kevin Day. Realistically, being a brand-new addition to the team, Aaron probably wouldn’t be put against the one who was said to be the best striker in the professional leagues. On the other hand, his coaches might consider that because he played on the same team as him for four years, he’d have an advantage and they wouldn’t be exactly wrong. But really, Aaron couldn’t care less about all the statistics and strategies, what mattered was that for the first time, Kevin and him were on opposing teams.
That implied a lot of different things. First of all, there were the obvious emotional implications that the press had already meticulously displayed for all to see: both of them had been Foxes, won multiple championships together, and of course, the size of their team meant that they were close, friends even, if Aaron dare say. Then, this match would be an obvious display of Aaron’s skills; the public had never seen them pitted against each other before but it had a fair and honestly not that wrong opinion about the situation: the Orlando Gators would lose. Yet, even if Aaron wasn’t passionate about Exy, he still had his pride and wanted to win. And finally, all of the Foxes had a bet riding on this and he had managed to convince Nicky to bet on him and split the eventual winnings.
At last, the commentator began announcing his team’s line-up, and they started to head out into the stadium. The bleachers were mostly filled with green jerseys, the advantage of playing at home, though there were still quite a few red specks sprinkled in the crowd with multiple Kevin Day signs. He exhaled as he sat on the bench, clutching his racket and turned his head towards the Away entrance. And there he was, first in line, stepping out with his press smile, basking in the noise the audience made as soon as he entered the light. He kept up this facade right until he settled on the bench opposite Aaron’s, on the other side of the court. Right after his back was turned away from the crowd, his smile dropped and his gaze hardened, focused and that’s when Aaron knew Kevin would win.
Still, the game started like always, the commentators calling up the starting lineups, all the players clacking sticks and walking in on the court. The buzzer went off and even if the Gators had won possession, the Hurricanes’ offensive dealer directly slammed into the other dealer before he even managed to approach the far-court line. What followed was a blur of painfully precise passes and rebounds that ended up with Kevin inches away from the goal line, slamming the ball against the sensor-covered wall. A glance at the screens above the court indicated that it had been only four minutes since the start of the game and the public was losing its mind.
The rest of this half followed the same pattern of the Hurricanes’ defence line being a solid block the other team’s offence only managed to breach once and their offence line constantly making its way to the goal. By the time the half-time buzzer sounded, Denver was winning four to one.
Aaron knew what was coming as soon as he stepped into the Gator’s lounge. Coach Smith headed towards him, an apologetic look already on his face.
“Hey, Minyard, we need you to play after the break—preferably the whole other half. I know we haven’t practised such playing for such long periods but it seems like you’re the only one who could even have a slight insight into Day’s newest plays,” the coach explained, trying to cajole Aaron into playing but he didn’t need any convincing, he’d been prepared for the past week to play against him.
Aaron simply nodded before grabbing his energy drink and going to find a seat for the fifteen-minute break.
Soon, he was heading out on court to get into place for the second serve. The play started rather slow, with Kevin not playing yet, and for the next ten minutes, both teams were rather balanced, with Orlando managing to score once. But then, the Denver coach pulled out one of his strikers after a foul and replaced him with Kevin. Aaron intently watched him walk through the door with full confidence but unlike what he had assumed, Kevin didn’t go to the previous striker position. Instead, he made a detour to plant himself right in front of Aaron and leaned forward as close as their helmets could allow.
“You’re favouring your left side,” he said, smug, “that’ll be the only gift I’ll give you.”
“Asshole,” Aaron answered as Kevin took off, cackling.
It’d been barely a few minutes since Kevin was on court, but Aaron could already feel the difference. The plays were much faster, and a small group always surrounded Kevin, trying to block him off, to no avail. So he had to crash into him time and time again, attempting to block him off from the goal. At one point, they end up face-to-face, dangerously close to the goal line, Aaron’s heels almost crossing it.
“You know, we should go get dinner together after, and watch the replay of this game,” Kevin suggested, all while angling his body to twist around Aaron.
“Wouldn’t that be lovely,” Aaron replied, sarcasm dripping off his words so thickly it was surprising he didn’t choke on it.
“It really would, actually. All jokes aside, we should catch up, it’s been hard seeing you since you graduated,” Kevin explained as if they weren’t in the middle of a professional Exy match, and to be honest, it didn’t feel like it. For a second, it really was just the two of them, catching up since the last time they saw each other.
“Yeah, text me after the game, we’ll figure something out,” Aaron finally replied, a bit too late. Kevin had already scored. “That was a low blow, Day!” he called out, a smile already making its way onto his lips, mirroring Kevin’s.
The rest of the game went by similarly, the two of them often facing off, trading quips and planning their post-game dinner. In the end, Denver won, to no one’s surprise though only by two points, which was the closest any team had gotten to beating them since the start of this season.
After the customary shaking of hands, Aaron went to get changed and shower. As soon as he was finished, he stepped out into the parking lot, phone in hand, waiting for Kevin. Almost twenty minutes went by before the phone buzzed in his hand.
Kevin: Hey, I’m sorry, something came up with Jean.
Kevin: I have to fly back
Aaron sighed and closed his eyes. It wasn’t a problem, it was fine, they would have other opportunities to spend time together.
Aaron: It’s fine. Don’t worry
Aaron: Text me when you land
Kevin: Will do
Kevin: Sorry again.
4
By some sort of miracle, Kevin and Aaron were both in New York at the same time, that miracle being some kind of promotion photoshoot for the spring championships. The two of them had planned to meet up in a small coffee shop, and Aaron was currently walking in the bitter December cold, making his way up the street of the shop Andrew had recommended for its hot chocolate.
Aaron relaxed as soon as he entered it, the warmth embracing him, a break from the freezing winter air. He looked around for the six feet tall man that he called his friend, finding him huddled at one of the tables in the corner, pressed against the heater. He went up to the counter to place his order before walking up to Kevin's table.
He sat down and Kevin looked up, tearing his gaze from his phone to meet Aaron's eyes.
"Hey," he greeted.
"Hi. How are you?" Aaron answered, not looking away.
"Great, you?"
"Fine," he said mentally face-palming at the awkwardness of his answer.
"Are you though? I saw your last game, that one pass in the third quarter was sloppy," Kevin shot back, cutting through the tension with his Exy-obsessed talk.
"God, Kevin, I swear I will throttle you if you try to talk about your stupid sport the first time we see each other in three months," Aaron threatened, all while knowing it was a bald-faced lie.
Kevin opened his mouth to answer but before he could talk a voice calls.
"A coffee for Kevin Minyard!"
At that, Aaron choked on his saliva, looking up a blushing Kevin hurrying out of his seat, mouthing I'll explain later.
As soon as Kevin was back in his seat, Aaron questioned him.
"What was that? You didn't get married to Andrew last I heard. Or me for that matters."
Kevin opened and closed his mouth a few times, looking for a way to answer, still furiously red.
"Well, they asked me my name and I gave it to them, they said there was already another Kevin waiting for his drink. And here's the thing, they hadn't recognised me so naturally, I didn't want to give my name in case it made them realise who I was. So, uh, I gave them the first last name that came to my mind," he explained.
"So you gave them the name of the number one goalkeeper in professional Exy?" Aaron replied, trying to fight back his laugh.
"I, um, wasn't exactly thinking about Andrew," Kevin admitted, somehow managing to become redder.
"Oh, were you thinking about me Day?" Aaron asked, finally dissolving in laughter, close to tears.
"Why is it so funny? We were going to get coffee together, of course I was thinking about you," Kevin tried to justify himself.
Aaron slowly but surely started to recover from his hysteria, wiping his eyes. Kevin was still staring at him, green eyes intent and something shifted in the air. All at once, the situation hit Aaron. He was sitting at a coffee shop table with Kevin, face-to-face, who just used his name to order his drink and he was gradually realising he didn't mind that much.
But once again, a voice calling his name cut off what he was about to say, maybe for the best. When Aaron came back to the table, the moment had passed, and the conversation picked up again naturally, falling back into its practised rhythm. Eventually, they ended up talking about their love lives.
“Yeah, no, Thea isn’t really a thing anymore,” Kevin admitted. “She said something about the whole Exy stuff making it hard to see each other, and honestly, she was right. I’m just glad she broke things off herself, I didn’t want to do it.”
“Coward,” Aaron scoffed even though there was no real heat behind the word. Kevin chuckled bitterly.
“Guess that’s still what I am. Maybe Neil was right after all,” he mused with no real humour to back it up.
“Please, as if that one knew anything. He’s a master manipulator and all that comes out of his mouth are lies,” Aaron declared. “I don’t know why my brother’s dating him. But I guess I’ve always known he had bad tastes if he didn’t like Katelyn.”
“Oh yeah, Katelyn. How are things going with her?” Kevin asked, the words coming out stilted.
“Great. I mean, we’re not dating anymore, but being friends is great,” he answered, and Kevin felt a breath he didn’t know he was holding rush out of his lungs.
And Kevin came back to those words we’re not dating anymore. Aaron wasn’t with Katelyn and he wasn’t with Thea and here they were, together on what was essentially a date. He felt a confession burning at the back of his throat, even if the words themselves weren’t very clear yet, even if they were as fragile as crystal maybe, maybe-
Aaron’s phone began ringing interrupting the imminent trainwreck that were Kevin’s thoughts.
“Speaking of Katelyn,” Aaron said, picking up and Kevin wanted to wrench this phone out of his hand and crush it beneath his shoe, if only to have hazel eyes looking at him again but no, no.
He restrained himself by digging his fingernails in his palms and looking far, far away. When he finally zoned back in, it was to Aaron tapping his shoulder and explaining that he had to go, that Katelyn something, something needed his help. He simply nodded, accepted the apologies and let his gaze follow Aaron out of the shop the way he couldn’t. Coward.
3
Kevin wasn’t used to going to these types of events alone. In fact, most of the time, if he was alone, he wouldn’t go out, preferring the company of his books and documentaries on whatever period he was interested in. But it was the spring Exy banquet and his team had just won the championship, so he was obliged to go, at least for the first two hours. The only comfort he could find was he would be able to catch up with a few friends and colleagues.
So there he was, preparing to enter the gigantic venue that was hosting the banquet, stiff in his suit, knowing that when he stepped in, he’d be immediately swarmed by too many people to remember their names or faces. He took a deep breath and got out of his car, handed his keys to a valet and entered the mansion.
When he was in, he knew he had a grand total of four seconds to scan the room and figure out where his friends were before a dense crowd formed around him, blocking his view. He didn’t bother looking for Andrew and Neil, knowing that they wouldn’t come: they had already warned him in their group chat. However, he saw Matt with Dan, busy introducing his wife to anyone who had the misfortune of meeting his eyes for more than two seconds. Yeah, Kevin wouldn’t interrupt that. Finally, he managed to spot Aaron, leaning against a wall near the bar, drink already in his hand and alone, just like Kevin. Perfect.
Unfortunately, just as he began making his way towards him, a woman he recognised as Alice Brown, a recent addition to Seattle’s offensive line, greeted him. Somehow, he managed to end the conversation quickly without being too rude and when he looked up, he saw Aaron was already coming towards him, saving him the hassle of cutting through the rapidly forming crowd.
“If it isn’t the Kevin Day,” Aaron said, blending in seamlessly with all the other people that had gathered around him.
“Come on, I need a little help here,” pleaded Kevin, trying to avoid all the attempts at conversation people launched at him.
Wordlessly, Aaron grabbed Kevin’s wrist and pulled him out of the whirlpool that had formed around him. He didn’t release Kevin until they were out of the crowded room and in the expansive garden. They stood there in silence, catching their breath from speed-walking out of the mansion.
“Why did you come?” asked Aaron after a while. “I thought you didn’t want to.”
“I still don’t but I’m expected to make an appearance. We won you know,” Kevin answered.
“I know. Congratulations,” Aaron dutifully said. “You know while you’re here, we might as well make use of the open bar.”
“Good idea,” Kevin agreed.
So that’s what they did, they sat at the bar and threw back shot after shot. At some point, the tables were pushed away to make some space for a dancefloor, though neither could tell when. When both were sufficiently drunk, they stumbled away from the bar and onto the dancefloor, their hands clutching at whatever they could catch to keep themselves from falling over. Whatever they could catch happened to be each other so that’s how they ended up swaying in the middle of the room, Kevin’s arms around Aaron’s shoulders and Aaron holding Kevin’s waist, in some semblance of dance, both intoxicated from something else than alcohol.
They stayed like that, staring at each other the way only two drunk fools repressing feelings for each other could. It meant Kevin’s gaze lingered on Aaron’s lips for too long. It meant Aaron lost himself in eyes he wished he could wake up to every day and had to settle for daily texts. It meant that they got dangerously close in this public place but that neither of them cared. In the end, they both tried to close the gap at the same time, bumping noses before they even managed to touch lips.
But when they did, it felt like jumping off the edge of a cliff in the unknown. And while at first, their kiss was slow and unsure, like a frail baby lamb standing on its legs for the first time, it quickly turned frantic and desperate. So desperate that they separated only to run out of the venue as fast as possible, grabbing the car keys from a poor half-asleep valet.
Soon, they were pushing the door of Kevin’s hotel room, never letting the other out of their reach. They collapsed on the bed, and what did it matter that this, being with a man, was a first for Aaron? What did it matter that they probably both deserved more than an inebriated hook-up? Both gladly fed handfuls of themselves to the wolves, to the other.
They fell asleep together, skin against skin, breathes mingling and both think that perhaps, perhaps, this is okay.
Aaron woke up alone, the other side of the bed cold. He practically ran out of the room, holding a broken heart to his chest.
Kevin came back to an empty room. He sat down on the bed, clutching a pillow to his spilled-out guts.
2
Aaron was cursing himself for allowing his domineering brother to drag him to Abby’s house for the annual ‘OG Foxes’ reunion. He had a very valid reason for not wanting to go that immediately left his mind as soon as his brother showed up at his apartment, pointing at the car parked at the entrance of the building and saying that he had fifteen minutes to pack.
Now that he was standing right in front of the door with Andrew and Neil, waiting for Abby to come and open the door, the reason came back very clearly and took the shape of a certain green eyed striker. Aaron and Kevin hadn’t talked since that night at the spring banquet and it wasn’t for lack of trying. Aaron had since long lost count of all the time he’d tried to wrrite a text to Kevin and failed.
Aaron only realises how long he’d been standing still despite the opened door when his brother shoved his shoulder and sent him an unimpressed look at his hesitation. He sighed and entered the house.
All of the other Foxes were already there, Kevin included. And of course, Aaron treacherous heart sped up at the sight of the man sitting on the couch, retreated from all the others who met his eyes as soon as Aaron entered the room. And of course, the only seat left was next to him, how the universe was predictable. So he went to sit down next to him thighs brushing, hands clutching in passing, touches that meant we have to talk later. So they bid their time, going through all the obligatory mundanities, the lively dinner and finally managing to escape once the alcohol was brought out, later than usual, after all, they were all getting older.
They locked themselves in Abby’s guest room and sat on the bed, next to each other yet eyes turned away from the other. Finally, it was Aaron who broke the silence.
“Why did you leave?” Aaron asked.
And oh, how it hurt Kevin to hear this voice so brittle, so diminished, so far removed from the person he knew.
“I didn’t,” he replied, hating the way his tone almost came out as defensive.
“I woke up alone,” Aaron continued.
“I went at the hotel gym and when I came back you weren’t there,” Kevin answered.
Aaron stayed silent, processing Kevin’s words. Slowly, he reached for Kevin’s hand, tangling their fingers together.
“You didn’t leave? You don’t regret?”
Kevin could only shake his head. I regret nothing he wanted to say, but his voice wouldn’t come out. Luckily, Aaron understood and tightened his grip on Kevin’s hand, tracing his scars. When Kevin found his voice, it was to ask,
“Do you think it could work?”
What he meant was, do you think love is made for people like us? What he meant was, do you think they would accept us? What he meant was, I want it to work so bad it hurts. But he let the silence speak for itself, the unsaid floating in between them.
“I want to hope,” admitted Aaron.
“I want to hope too,” echoed Kevin.
So there they were, faces a breath away, professing their love in their own, convoluted way. But something was niggling at Kevin and he couldn’t let himself get any closer to Aaron without saying it.
“I’ll be joining your team in Orlando next season. It’s not public yet but I thought you should know it first,” he blurted.
Right then, somebody knocked at the door.
“Hey Aaron, Andrew told me to tell you we’re leaving and that if you’re not out in two minutes you’ll stay here,” Neil’s voice sounded.
And for a moment, Aaron wanted to ask what was so wrong with staying here. But remembered Andrew, waiting for him and he stood up.
“I have to go. See you in two months,” he said.
As Aaron left the room, Kevin thought that those confessions in the dark would have to be enough.
1
Aaron wasn’t used to smiling so hard his cheeks hurt but the more you know. It was right after the first match of his second season, against the Arizona Serpents, Jean Moreau’s and Jeremy Knox’s team. It was also the first match he’d played with Kevin since their time at Palmetto and they’d won gloriously, eight to four, mostly because Jean was benched with an injury but still, a win was a win. In fact, it was such a win Kevin was smiling, really smiling, this fierce grin so far from the fake press smile he offered everyone.
The two of them were in front of the reporters, Aaron having been pulled by Kevin in this interview.
“So this was a beautiful game Kevin, and the first one with you on the same team as Aaron Minyard, do you think the two are correlated?” asked a journalist.
“Of course. We were teammates for four years at PSU and that definitely builds a special bond that reflects on the court. That game was the inevitable consequence of putting us both on the same team,” said Kevin, beaming.
To conclude this explanation, Kevin tightened his grip around Aaron’s shoulders, pulling him closer and how it felt good to stand there, basking in this post-win euphoria.
“-and Aaron is a very solid backliner. It’s really easy to play when you know that there’s who has your back no matter what,” Kevin’s voice pulled him out of his happy haze.
What was disconcerting was that the tone Kevin used uncannily ressemble Matt’s when he talk about Dan. Yet, Aaron was the first to know that despite their conversation at Abby’s and the lingering looks and touches, they hadn’t crossed that line. But still riding that high, Aaron felt like it was possible, seeing how ecstatic and proud Kevin was.
After they finished dealing with the press, they retreated back to the locker room. Unexpectedly, Kevin stopped and turned around to face Aaron.
“You were amazing,” he said, cupping Aaron’s face, admiration in his eyes.
“Thank you,” Aaron breathed, eyes lingering on Kevin’s lips.
And then they were close, so close. And-
“Hey Kevin, where are you? We have to go get dinner!” Jeremy Knox called out.
Aaron could see the battle inside going on inside Kevin and the moment he gave up. But it was okay, because they had waited for so long and they still had so much more time and one day, it will happen.
1
It could be the final game of the Exy season for the Orlando Alligators. It was the semi-final of the championships and the tension in the stadium was at an all-time high. Aaron wasn’t playing but Kevin was, running himself ragged on the court, keeping the whole team together. Aaron was standing, nose practically pressed against the plexiglass and that’s how he saw when the opposing team’s backliner crashed into Kevin in a very much illegal body check. Kevin hit the wall, hard. As soon as his head connected with it, he collapsed.
The whole crowd went silent, waiting for him to stand back up. But he stayed down, terrifyingly still. Aaron thumped against the wall, yelling at him to get up, just get up! After a few tense seconds, the medical team rushed onto the court, carrying out Kevin, who was slowly regaining consciousness. Aaron followed them, not caring about his yelling coach.
When they made it out of the stadium, an ambulance was already waiting outside, and Aaron battled with the medical staff until they let him go with Kevin, too tired to deal with him. Aaron held his hand the whole ride, more for his own sake than Kevin’s, who was still more unconscious than awake.
As they arrived at the hospital, Aaron couldn’t go any further with Kevin and this time he didn’t try to fight it. The wait on the hard plastic chairs was agonisingly long. After an hour, a doctor came out and walked towards him, the only person in the waiting room.
“Are you the overprotective boyfriend?” he asked.
“Yes,” Aaron replied without hesitation at the description.
“Well, he’ll be fine, but he got a mild concussion, so you should expect him to be a bit dazed, and his speech might be slurred,” he explained.
Aaron nodded quickly and practically ran to the room the doctor had indicated. Inside, Kevin was struggling to sit up.
“Hey, hey, calm down, you just got a concussion,” he said as he sat down on yet another uncomfortable plastic chair but this one was fine because it was next to Kevin.
“Aaron,” Kevin mumbled.
“Yeah, it’s me,” he answered.
“That’s good. You know, I never got to thank you for protecting me,” the other said.
“Uh, Kevin, that’s nice, but I think you got the wrong brother,” Aaron explained awkwardly.
Kevin frowned, visibly confused.
“But you were the one who got me out of the awful banquet right?” he questioned.
“Yes.”
“And you’re the one who held my hand in the ambulance,” he continued.
“Yeah.”
“Then you’re the right one,” Kevin declared and it felt like falling.
Because it meant that for the first time, Kevin was choosing him. So in exchange, Aaron chose him. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to Kevin’s lips that he gladly returned. It was everything a first kiss should be, soft and slow, both of them knowing that despite it being the first time they chose each other, it wouldn’t be the last.