hc that andrew’s really good at drawing, and bc of his eidetic memory, he can depict scenes perfectly. he didn’t draw much when he was on his meds, but got back into it when he was sober again. here are some memories i think he would recreate:
the “you know, i get it” speech (this one is a kaleidoscope of colours bc of his drugged state)
neil at ground level, andrew’s cigarette between his lips, giving andrew a mock salute (that scene right after andrew returns from easthaven)
seeing neil’s scars for the first time
aaron and nicky dancing, carefree, at eden’s
bee’s glass figurines (he adds to this drawing every time he gets her a new one)
sparring with renee
neil sitting on the ground at the foxhole court after calling andrew during his panic attack
neil leaning over the bus seat
matt grinning during an exy game
neil at the baltimore reunion (the rest of the foxes are blurs in this one because he only had eyes for neil)
sleepy neil curled up in the beanbag chair
allison and renee curled up beside each other
kevin coming in, drunk, with his new tattoo
nicky and erik hugging when erik came as a surprise
kevin and wymack right before the final match
riko with his racquet raised above neil (he wasn’t going to draw this one, but he couldn’t get the moment out of his head and thought it might help to get it down on paper)
aaron smiling for a split second at a sarcastic comment andrew made
neil, yawning and wearing andrew’s hoodie
matt ruffling neil’s hair
allison painting renee’s nails
neil sitting on the rooftop, the sunset setting his hair ablaze
ice cream at sweetie’s (no cracker packets in this memory)
the first goal robin blocked during a game
neil on facetime, staring at andrew like he could never get enough
the first house that andrew could really call home
sir and king climbing all over neil
neil and kevin wearing olympic medals
neil and andrew’s hands linked together
aaron and his family when they come over for dinner
neil, soaking wet and laughing during a watergun fight in their backyard
neil, smiling and happy and home
i’d like to think that, when andrew feels ready to show neil his drawings, they hang them up around their home. and when the foxes come over, they’re in awe at the memories and the love that is captured in the artwork, but they know not to say anything. dan gives them pictures, though, to hang up alongside the drawings, and they do
hc that andrew smashed all of bee’s glass figurines at one of their first sessions by throwing his hot chocolate mug at them, just to see how she’d react. when she remained calm and pleasant and wasn’t phased, he finally started to warm up to her ever so slightly and he has been building her collection back up ever since
parts 1, 2, 3, 4, aaaand 5 you wonderful human beings || part 7, 8
so aaron isn't the biggest fan of neil's relationship with his brother
he has made that very clear. to everyone
is he glad that andrew is a bit less murderous now? yes, of course
is he upset that andrew's dating the guy who brought a mob war upon the foxes? just a smidge
despite all his... reservations, aaron can tell that whatever andrew and neil have, it isn't just "hate sex"
(granted, aaron doesn't want to spend much time considering his brother's sex life in the first place, but that's beside the point)
but no matter how annoying josten may be, he does want to have a decent relationship with his brother by the end of college
and unfortunately, that includes moderately tolerating his brother's loudmouth boyfriend
the very boyfriend who forced andrew and aaron to have joint therapy sessions
and look, aaron isn't as stubborn as he acts, he can acknowledge that the therapy sessions are helping
he would just... never admit it to josten's face. the man has enough of an ego as it is
anyways, dobson had told him weeks ago that in order to start understanding the whole of his brother, he had to be willing to accept all the different parts of andrew
and that entails spending time with the people andrew is close with
aaron likes renee enough. she's a bit too happy for his taste, but she's not too bad
aaron wants to kick kevin in the balls whenever he lays his eyes on him, which he is forced to do far too often in his humble opinion
and then there's neil, who aaron should probably start making amends with
dobson (unfortunately) agrees with that idea
so aaron starts spending more time with neil —walking to classes, studying, teaching neil how to play video games (for someone with such solid reflexes on court, neil is shockingly bad at figuring out game controllers)
(he's also 90% sure andrew told josten why aaron was hanging out with him all of a sudden, considering the slightly limited snark neil speaks to him with now)
and much to his chagrin, aaron actually kinda... enjoys hanging out with neil
he's sarcastic. annoying. moderately threatening. neil would be the ideal bro if he wasn't literally dating aaron's brother
(oh, and the mob war thing. can't forget about the mob war thing)
but maybe aaron is being the slightest bit presumptuous
because that week, dobson has to push back their appointment to thursday evening instead of wednesday afternoon
neil offers to drive aaron and andrew over to Reddin, saying that he was going over to the nearby cafe to work on some project anyways
so neil and andrew have their weird eye-contact conversation thing at every stoplight. aaron sticks to just texting katelyn.
he's so engrossed in his phone he barely realizes when they've stopped, and then wonders why andrew hadn't told him to get out yet
he glances up, ready to scramble out of the car, when he witnesses the single craziest moment of his life
neil and andrew, oblivious to aaron, are staring at each other. very intensely. it's a bit disconcerting how long they can keep their eyes open for
(maybe aaron should go into optometry, for his brother's sake)
anyway.
so aaron slowly holds onto the door handle, about to leave the car, when neil goddamn josten kisses his brother. ON THE NOSE
and his brother is blushing. BLUSHING
aaron's mind comes to a halt. what. is. happening.
he practically leaps out of the car, trying to pull his jaw back up from where it dropped as andrew emerges from the car and walks towards dobson's office, ears pink
(oh god. does aaron look like that when katelyn is around? that's embarrassing as hell)
shit. aaron had betted against andrew and neil on the kiss bet. nicky must have known something he didn't, considering how excited he looked that day...
bastard, he texts nicky with no explanation, hoping it leaves his cousin floundering in confusion
and fine. maybe josten isn't that bad for his brother
but he's also the reason why aaron is going to be in crippling debt soon
but. if he and neil become closer, surely he'd have the insider information on his brother's relationship
hmm. if he plays his cards right, this new, tolerable almost-friendship with josten might actually help him to win some money in the future...