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Kevin unlocked the apartment with swift fingers before pushing the door open. He reached behind him to grab his dufflebag, he'd dropped it in order to fish his keys out of his pocket, and stepped inside.
"Oh no, you don't," Kevin said as he spotted a furry white ball coming towards him. He kicked the door shut with his foot before the cat could dart out of it. The cat stopped shortly before him. His blue eyes seemed to narrow into a glare. "Andrew would kill me if I let you out this late at night."
"I thought you were too good to talk to the cats."
Kevin looked up to find Neil leaning against the doorway at the end of the hallway with his arms crossed over his chest. It was pretty clear to Kevin that he'd just woken up. He wasn't wearing anything but a pair of obnoxiously orange sleep pants with small white paw prints on them and his auburn hair was a mess. His lips were turned up in an amused, but sleepy smile.
"I thought Andrew shredded those pants," Kevin answered.
Neil's lips quirked further up. "Wymack got me another pair."
"What did I do to deserve this kind of punishment?" Kevin asked. "You're the problem child."
Neil just gave a small snort.
He dropped his dufflebag down in front of the door and reached for the closet doorknob. The closet already held Neil and Andrew's exy gear, so it was pretty full. There was just enough room for him to pull his bag from over his shoulder and set it in with theirs.
When he closed the door, he found Neil's expression had softened. The amusement had smoothed out, leaving a look of affection that made Kevin's stomach flip. Kevin forced himself to look away, turning to grab his duffle back off the floor.
"We missed you," Neil said. His voice was soft, but the apartment was quiet and his whisper carried.
"Missed you too," Kevin said, his own voice painted with fondness and honesty. He hefted his bag over his shoulder, letting the strap rest where his exy bag had been before. It was far enough behind him that it wouldn't get in the way, but not so far that it would choke him. "Anything happen while I was gone?"
"I sent Andrew out for cigarettes and he came back with fifty dollars worth of chocolate." Kevin couldn't help the grimace that fluttered across his face. He and Andrew weren't playing for the same team anymore, so he tried not to be too obsessive over the blonde's diet but.... Neil must have sensed his cringe because he added, "That's how I felt."
Kevin gave a small hum as he turned back towards Neil.
He found that Neil was leaning over further, letting his head rest on the doorframe as he watched Kevin. That same tiny, fond smile still played on his lips.
"Hey," Kevin murmured as he walked towards him.
"Hey," Neil answered.
When Kevin made to stop in front of him, Neil hooked his fingers through the strap of his dufflebag and pulled him closer. He used the hold to reel Kevin down to him and press their lips together.
It was barely a kiss, just a brush of lips against each other, but Kevin let out a soft sigh and some of the tension eased from his shoulders.
Kevin stayed slumped over after, straightening just enough to rest his forehead on top of Neil's head. He smelled like apple shampoo and the cigarettes he shared with Andrew.
"Trade," Kevin said. His words were light, not a serious plea. "The team would be so much better with you and Andrew."
"We can't all be on the same team or there wouldn't be a competition," Neil answered. Kevin felt one of Neil's hands slip under his tee-shirt and rest against his hip, skin to skin. "Wouldn't mind you being around more often though."
There was a familiar chuckle, just a little dry and dark, from behind Neil somewhere. "That would require him to care less about Exy."
Kevin shifted so he had his chin resting on Neil's head instead. He could see Andrew approaching them, dressed in loose red and black shorts and a black tee-shirt. His hair didn't look quite as messy as Neil's, but there was a distinctly sleepy quality to it.
"Was I that loud coming in?" Kevin questioned. "I didn't mean to wake you guys up."
"The cats were on the bed," Neil said. "I woke up when they jumped off and Andrew woke up when I moved."
"He wanted to make sure you weren't dead," Andrew remarked. "Your head hit that wall pretty hard."
As he stepped close, Kevin took a step back so Neil wouldn't feel boxed between the two of them. Andrew hooked his chin over Neil's shoulder. Neil reached up, scratching his nails against Andrew's scalp. Andrew tipped his head into the touch, looking as close to relaxed and content as he got.
Seeing the two of them together was enough to fill Kevin's chest with warmth.
It still surprised him that he was allowed to have this - to have /them/ and all the happiness and comfort that they instilled in him - without being reprimanded for it.
"I would have called if it was anything serious," Kevin said.
Andrew's eyes had shut as Neil ran his fingers through his hair, but he peeked one open now. "You'd better."
They were all quiet for a moment before Neil spoke, "Come on. Let's go to bed. I'm sure Kev wants to sleep in our bed after a week in a hotel."
Kevin didn't mention how it was only in partly because the hotel didn't have a bed quite big enough for a guy of Kevin's height or that the pillows weren't soft enough, but also because a hotel bed didn't have Neil and Andrew in it. He didn't mention either how it was hard to sleep through the night without the feeling of safety that came with knowing Andrew was sleeping against the wall, a knife within reach so he could vault over Kevin and Neil if something spooked him, and Neil pressed against Kevin, his weight reminding Kevin that he wasn't alone with Riko anymore.
He didn't need to say it anymore then they needed to hear it.
Andrew gave a soft sigh, barely audible, as Neil pulled his hand from his hair and took a step back. "Alright."
They didn't talk about how the cats wouldn't be joining them in bed this time, because the cats were only allowed to sleep on the bed when Kevin was gone and the bed was too empty.
"We're still going for a run in the morning, Neil," Kevin said, following the other two towards the bedroom.
"Obviously," Andrew said and Kevin could practically see him rolling his eyes. "I wouldn't expect anything else from you two exy freaks."