Work Text:
It’s been two years since Andrew and Neil came out as a couple, resulting in a celebration that almost rivals that of Christmas for the Chicago Blackhawks. With two of their most important players out as queer to the public, it gave them the chance to preach about inclusivity and diversity within the sport as a whole year round.
This, of course, also leads to the couple spearheading their team’s every effort in becoming allies. They attend interviews, post on their respective social media at certain times about events and games–or really, the social media managers that post that type of content in their stead–and, on the occasion that Neil agrees, get to participate in fan interactions with livestreams and short form content.
(Neil only agrees to do livestreams if his old teammates get to join in too. Management grumbles and complains every time, but by some miracle, all of the Foxes arrive at the house, as if they’d been summoned freely rather than by a bribe or three.)
It takes them approximately two hours to get things ready–and that’s not accounting for the four camera malfunctions, the internet crashing on them at least five times, and the sudden arrival of seven other people, not including Nicky–and to be quite honest, Neil is not having a great time.
Neil is hovering awkwardly at the side of the screen, his hands moving in the air as if he were being controlled by a puppeteer's strings. Seven pairs of eyes follow his movements from somewhere behind him, but he can’t really do much about them. Neil doesn’t know what he’s doing. At all.
“Perhaps, you should tell them what you’re doing,” Jonathan-Kirk prompts. His name is Jonathan, Neil knows that his name is Jonathan, but Andrew keeps insisting that it’s Kirk.
“Right, thanks. Um, Renee has been trying to teach me to bake, so today with the help of my old teammates, we are attempting to make a pride cake,” Neil grins, gesturing to Renee and the rest of the old Foxes over his shoulder. They smile and wave at their cue, and even Aaron gives a begrudging nod by way of Katelyn shoving an elbow into his side.
Neil doesn’t know what he’s doing, but it probably wouldn’t hurt to dole out some of the smaller tasks among the literal team of people behind him. He’s just about to open his mouth when their door bursts open in the most dramatic display of lateness Neil has seen all month.
(He doesn’t quite know how that happens. The door is, well, was locked, and Nicky didn’t even have a key? Perhaps they should get to replacing the locks sometime soon, if it was that easy to get in and out.)
“Did you start without me? I’m hurt,” Nicky frowns, feigning disappointment. He’s balancing an irresponsible amount of shopping bags on his arms, all filled to the brim with what can only be described as “doodads.”
He somehow manages to carry it all in one trip and maneuvers himself in the strangest ways to get everything to fit on the already full counter. It doesn’t help that everyone crowds around him, marveling at the sheer amount of glitter and rainbows that spill over the countertop. Aaron looks horrified at the new rainbow banner that Matt pulls out of Nicky’s never-ending-Mary Poppins’ bag.
Nicky goes to steal some push pins from a nearby cork board and recruits Matt to start helping him with the banners. And, well, who is Neil to stop them?
He turns away and swiftly assigns each Fox one layer of cake, with the exception of Kevin and Katelyn, who are put in charge of measuring the dry and wet ingredients respectfully, and Renee, who’s put in charge of making a whole bucketful of icing.
“Get down! The Chicago Blackhawks are not liable for any injuries you may acquire by the actions you are performing!” Jonathan-Kirk disgruntingly shouts over the noise of all ten Foxes working on different tasks, drawing their attention to the two men balancing precariously on the wall.
@/mrsandreil: who is the guy behind the camera?
@/urijoo: loud ass bitch yelling back there
@/neilxandrewily: OMG HI NEIL
@/neilslefttoenail: they’re goin down yall
@/minyardsslave: DOWN WITH THE TOWER
Neil whirls around just in time to spot Nicky nearly falling off of Matt’s shoulders, only to save himself at the very last second by latching onto Matt’s face. Which is a little strange. Nicky could reach just fine, there’s no reason for him to be up there holding onto Matt’s face for dear life, but Neil lets him continue anyway. Whatever fate may befall them is the fate they chose to bring upon themselves.
He, instead, minds his own business and turns to Kevin, who seems to be the only one who remembers what exactly they’re all gathered up for. The comments on the tablet screen fly by at a rate much too quick to be caught by Neil, so he leaves it to Kevin to read some out loud.
@/The.real.lea: Are they okay???
@/Kevsbbygirl: they look like the fucking leaning tower LMAO
@/oraangepaws: can you say hi to new jersey
@/neililil: omg matt is buff…
@/spkrlalli: THEY’RE GOING DOWN LOLOL
“Huh?” Kevin and Neil look over in time to see Nicky fall from his precarious perch. He lands in an unsightly sprawl of limbs over the hardwood floor, with Matt soon following right at his side.
Jonathan-kirk looks up to the ceiling, his hand covering his face as if he is expecting a message from the gods and sighs.
@/exycrownking: who fucking sighed back there omg
@/alli: he sounds like he’s gone through war LMFAO
@/llandriel: SOEMONE CLIP THAT PLZZZZ
@/neilsteponme: LMFAOO IS NICKY OK
@/sircattyfatcat: WHAT DID I MISS??!?
“I’m good!” Nicky shouts, throwing up a thumbs-up into the camera frame in an attempt to reassure the masses. The only thing he ends up getting, however, is a violent upheaval of laughter from Aaron, with the rest of the Foxes soon to follow. Even Andrew breaks into the smallest of smiles, even if it is a smirk rather than something of actual amusement.
Nicky finally gets up off the floor whilst Jonathan-kirk mutters something about reckless children, not seemingly bothered by the fact that he is younger than some of them. The thought makes Neil feel just a little bad for their newly hired social media manager–the last one had quit after Andrew had tried to post pictures of their cats onto their official social media rather than their private accounts.
Nicky dusts himself off and reaches into his bag when everyone else turns back to their work. This time, he pulls out some party hats that he passes around. “I love the tassels,” Matt grins, placing the gaudy hat onto his head.
@/andrewminyardsbadussy: fugly ass hat
@/jostenminyardalliance: dude have some taste…
@/rainbowreneeee: AWW ITS CUTE
@/fandomobsessed: @andrewminyardsbadussy oh, so you hate us? so you want us to unalive? if ur boring, just say that….
@/txrotea: those tassels are gonna end up in the batter LOLOL
Andrew holds the hat out in front of him, staring holes into the cardboard as if it holds the secrets of the universe, but quickly puts it on when he catches sight of Neil giving him the look through its white tassels.
Aaron, on the other hand, refuses to put it on and glares at it as if he could set it on fire with his mind. Katelyn whispers something in his ear that makes him go abruptly pink and he puts on the stupid hat. Neil decides that it’s none of his business.
Kevin, on the other hand, simply makes a face at it and moves to set it down on the counter.
Nicky holds a hand up in front of his mouth, though his voice is loud enough to carry through the room. “That’s kinda homophobic, bro.”
@/strbrybaozi: not the fucking glare 💀 💀
@/reneexalli: stop he literally HATES IT LOL
@/nickydickydawn: i need him so bad
@/bleh_veeraaa: uh, Kevin Day Only Fans when?????
@/aaron4lyfe: @nickydickdawn in the chat? out in the open?
@/nickydickydawn: stfu loser
Kevin rolls his eyes, staring holes into the side of Nicky’s head as he pulls the thin elastic cord past his chin, locking the hat over his hair with a very, very disgruntled look on his face. “Not homophobic now, right?”
Nicky watches as Neil puts his hat on and immediately rips it off of his head. “That’s not for you. Hold on.”
He pats Neil on the shoulder in a way that seems more suspicious than reassuring, and skips over to his bag, rummaging and throwing things as he comes across them, much to Jonathan-Kirk’s dismay.
Neil can see the endearment in Jonathan-Kirk’s eyes as he stares down at Nicky, and can’t help but feel a little sorry for him. If it weren’t for Erik’s existence, maybe Neil would possibly even try to forcibly set them up.
It takes him a minute, but eventually Nicky does resurface from the depths of his bag, holding up his find as if it were treasure bruised deep beneath layers and layers of random junk. Which, to be fair, is exactly what emerges from Nicky’s bag: junk.
Nicky affixes the rainbow watercolor chef’s hat onto Neil’s head with the same amount of delicacy one would use with a crown, and earns himself a surprised smile from Jonathan-Kirk.
@/wopeyreni: AWW NICKY AND NEIL R SO CUTEEE! I lowkey ship it…..
@/txrotea: rainbows for pride? omg?
@/nickydickydawn: @wopeyreni brother in christ, I think Nicky is taken…
@/aaron4lyfe: I hear his boyfriend is a dick, he’s probably better off with that dumpster child, tbh……..
@/hearteyedneil: OHHH DAYUM, ITS ABOUT 2 GO DOWWWWNNNNN!
@/nickydickydawn: it is actually his husband. who loves him, and if you ever got laid you would know the difference.
@/nickydickydawn: @aaron4lyfe if you crave physical affection that badly all you have to do is ask.
His smile, of course, is quickly replaced with sheer surprise when Nicky flies at him with Neil’s discarded party hat in hand. Allison follows not far behind, carefully reaching for the camera and turning it around in just enough time for people to see him try his best to avoid Nicky’s outstretched hands.
The hat snaps over his head with a loud slapping noise and despite the scowl on his face, Jonathan-Kirk makes no move to take the cardboard cone off.
@/wopeyreni: Actually, I ship them even more <3<3<3<3
@/aliixdexr: ALLISON OMG HIIII
@/txrotea: are they even baking a cake anymore TT
@/fandomobsessed: Renee and Dan are, idk abt the others lol
@/aaron4lyfe: @/txrotea can confirm, at least one cake is in the oven
Johnathan-Kirk sighs, not too loudly this time, and simply redirects the two runaways back to the center of the kitchen. “Get back to baking, you two. The cake won’t be finished at a decent time at this rate.”
“As long as you keep the hat on!” Nicky sing-songs, shooting a finger gun at Jonathan-Kirk as he returns to his former place at Neil’s side. Allison also returns, with the phone still in hand.
@/cxsexy: what are we even looking at—
@/andreilsexyraquet: ARE WE FACING THE WALL TT
@/ginghamred: free us! free us!
@/txrotea: ah, allison our savior! spin us around!
@/strbrybaozi: ALLISON RAHHHH 🦅🦅🦅🦅
@/0verHEat: she’s so fine omg 🔥😍🔥😍🔥😍
@/sirfatcatty: LMFAOO WHY IS NEIL COVERED IN YELLOW
Not that Neil was doing anything worth watching, anyway. In fact, his section of the kitchen island is quite messy, coating Neil and the counter alike in splatters of yellow food dye. The batter in his bowl is tilted precariously to the side as he mixes, almost spilling over the edge of his mixing bowl with every movement of his whisk.
“Neil! Stop leaning your bowl to the side!” Renee warns, rushing over to Neil’s side and forcing the bowl to its proper position. “Look at you, all covered in yellow. That stuff stains, you know?”
“Yeah, I’ll be heartbroken if you ruin the apron I gave you,” Nicky complains, kicking Neil’s shin. Neil’s apron was a gift from Nicky complete with a rainbow and embroidered lettering that says, ‘Sounds gay, I’m in’.
@/kevindayslefttit: kevin and aaron took it literally when CupcakKe said “I’m rolling with the lgbt” 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈
@/kenshi098: It’s so sweet to see them together againn!
@/aaronsbbygirl: seeing aaron live gives me life omggg
@/crackedexyscores: are we sure these are the same people pulling crazy plays on the exy court???
@/minyardtwins_gay: @crackedexyscores thats what makes it even better lmao
@/prideandpredussy: “sounds gay, i’m in” apron is so real
“Neil, are you nearly done with the yellow batter? We have enough room for one more pan in here if you are.” Katelyn asks, gesturing to the oven. There’s already a handful of circular pans sitting on the racks–Neil can spot purple, blue, and green batter on the top and a singular pan of red on the bottom one–so he has no trouble relinquishing his bowl over to Renee.
From there, it’s only a matter of time before the cake is complete. Renee distributes each bowl of batter equally between the leftover baking pans, and leaves them to rise in the oven while the rest of the Foxes find different ways to wait out the time.
They play Rock, Paper, Scissors for dish duty and quickly abandon Nicky at the sink when he loses every single round. They even rope Jonanthan-Kirk into playing cards, which turns out to be a very bad decision as he wipes the floor with every single one of them in mere seconds.
The pans are pulled out of the oven and are set to cool on a drying rack when Nicky finally joins the game. The colors have darkened on the outside to a muddy brown much to Neil’s displeasure, but he leaves it be at Renee’s reassurance.
After five rounds of rigged card games, the cakes have cooled and Nicky is yelling about espionage whilst trying to steal Jonathan-Kirk’s cards. Each cake layer is lifted off the cooling rack with gentle hands and careful maneuvering, layering them up on a less than steady cake stand at the very center of the kitchen island.
@/maci_playz_exy14: I am officially on team Joey. who knew he was so good at cards?
@/sadiesstarz: I’m pretty sure he has taken up dark magic.
@/sadiesstarz: @maci_playz_exy i thought his name was kirk?
@/nickydickydawn: His name is Jonathan ffs
@/aaron4lyfe: @nickydickydawn his name is definitely Jonathan-Kirk
“What color goes on the bottom?” Allison asks, holding up her purple layer with a confused look on her face. “Should we put the purple first so it looks like a proper rainbow?”
“Wait! Put some icing on the stand to make sure the cake layer doesn’t move around before you do that, Allison!” Renee jumps in, carrying her bucket of icing along with one single offset spatula.
Allison steps back as Renee approaches, letting her place down a generous smear of icing on the cake stand before setting down her purple layer. The rest of the cake layers swiftly follow, stacking blue, then green, then yellow, then orange, and finally, after several near misses, red.
The cake leans slightly to the left, which is fitting, really. Nothing straight about it.
@/fandomobsessed: lmaooo that cake is as straight as they are 💀
@/txrotea: that’s what i’m saying LMAO literally made themselves
@/bleh_veeraaa: XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD
@/therealjohnny_kirk: wait, it’s actually soo cuteeeee!
They finally finish the cake when Nicky pulls one final surprise out of his bag of wonders and tops the cake off with edible glitter.
Neil squeezes his way to the counter to add one final touch with an edible fondant charm of some sort. He takes the cake and displays it to their viewers, displaying his addition of an asexual pride flag because, “I can do what I want,” Neil shrugs and tilts the cake a little more so they can get a better look–
–and promptly drops it on the floor.
@/golcharaquet: Damnnnn, Andrew looks lowkey murderous
@/reneene: lmaoooo, thats pretty iconic of him tbhhhh 💅
@/neilovebot3000: He’s so real for that lololol
@/andrewminyardsphatass: 😞 RIP beautiful cake you will be missed. Fly high. 🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️
@/aaron4lyfe: Who else saw that coming? 🙋🏻
@/nickydickydawn: How could you have seen that coming?
@/aaron4lyfe: I just did, Erik
@/nickydickydawn: How did you even…
@/aaron4lyfe: I have my resources.
“I admittingly, did not think that through.” Neil states, staring down at the mess of icing on the floor.
Andrew appears at his side in an instant. “You never do, for fuck’s sake. I actually wanted to eat that.”
The phone whirls around, putting the rest of the Foxes in frame with Andrew’s voice shouting in the background. A harried looking Jonathan-Kirk sits at the side, running a hand through his hair as Allison adjusts the phone to sit level.
“Well, that’s all from us this year!” She says, pulling as many people into the frame as physically possible. Andrew and Neil are last to join, but are quickly shoved to the very center of the shot, stuck together like peas in a pod. “Have a Happy Pride! From the former Palmetto State Foxes to you!”
(The screen blacks out, but in the background, Neil and Andrew’s voices raise high.
“Next time, let’s make the cake shorter.”
“You’re just upset you didn’t get any.”
“None of us did, dipshit!”
“Oh shit, it’s still on…” )