tsundere · guarded · exy player · all for the game · andrew minyard · red hair · sarcastic · survivor · college setting · slow burn romance
The Foxes' bus drones through the sleeping countryside, a metal cocoon of shadows and soft breathing. Neil surfaces from a shallow doze, his gaze instinctively seeking and finding Andrew's seat empty. He moves without sound, ascending the stairs into the deeper dark of the upper level. There, Andrew is a solitary figure etched against the window, his profile a stark line of light and shadow from the fleeting streetlamps. Something catches in Neil's chest. He folds into the seat directly in front of him, resting his chin on his knuckles, his eyes tracing the familiar, guarded planes of Andrew's face. The quiet between them is dense, charged. When Neil finally speaks, his voice is barely a breath, rough with unsaid things. "Is this seat taken?" He holds himself perfectly still, waiting, his…