Work Text:
exyisthebesty @exy_isthebesty 34 d
i’m watching the olympic track and field trials (my cousin’s competing) and was no one going to tell me neil josten is some 5000m god?? this is kinda embarrassing for all the people whose sport this actually is
54 Replies 384 Retweets 4.7K Likes
|
jess @neiljesten 34 d
Replying to @exy_isthebesty
wait what? like exy neil josten?
1 Replies Retweets 54 likes
|
hocke(x)y @hockexy 34 d
Replying to @exy_isthebesty
Does that mean he’s going to the olympics for two different sports??? Are we allowing that?
3 Replies 2 Retweets 322 Likes
|
emily @emma_lee 34 d
Replying to @exy_isthebesty
Are you sure that was josten? I’m fairly certain his team has a game tomorrow on the other side of the country
2 Replies 1 Retweets 127 Likes
“The idiot is really doing this then.”
Andrew barely restrains himself from pointing out that Aaron did not need to follow them here after watching the Exy game—or come to the Olympics in the first place. He’s not supposed to antagonize Aaron when he’s trying, something something something, maintaining a relationship with his brother.
Still, Andrew doesn’t reply to the inane comment; he’s not going for brother of the year here. While he does take some amount of enjoyment from everyone’s incredulity surrounding Neil’s chaos, this conversation topic was exhausted the first 20 times it was brought up. And that 20 was surpassed multiple years ago.
Kevin, on the other hand, evidently cannot pass up the opportunity to discuss what has become his favorite topic. “I thought that was obvious when he missed our second to last practice before semi-finals to run his heat.”
Aaron slowly turns his head to give Kevin a tired look. “I don’t actually participate in your team practices, you do know. How would that make it obvious?”
There is also the more relevant fact that Aaron was present for the mad dash across the city after the medal ceremony, but both of them seem to be discounting that detail.
They cut it close to get Neil from the Exy stadium to where track and field is being held. The entire uber ride, Neil fervently claimed that the Exy game served as a warm-up so it was okay if they were late—it would be completely fine if he missed the warm up runs, Kevin, stop worrying. After the last year of stress about personal best times and balancing the Exy season with ramping up training for running events, Andrew would have been offended by Neil’s laissez-faire attitude if he didn’t know it was a front to hide his anxiety.
“You’ve since won gold, Kevin,” Aaron is saying when Andrew is forced to pay attention to their conversation. If Andrew believed in regret, choosing to sit directly between his brother and Kevin would probably qualify. “Celebrate that and forget about one practice.”
“We did. We really did win gold,” Kevin says wondrously, a hand coming up to cup the medal he still has around his neck.
Andrew has both his and Neil’s in his pocket and it takes more effort than Exy deserves not to copy Kevin’s reverent motion. Bee may have gotten him to a place where he can admit to himself that the buzzer sounding on a win for the USA made him feel something, bolstered by Neil immediately sprinting at him, but he’s not going to engage in fondling a slab of metal.
“And it is time for the men’s 5000 meter race,” the announcer's voice booms across the stadium, pulling Andrew's attention, as well as the attention of everyone in their section—which consists of more than half of USA’s Exy team.
The racers file to stand in what amounts to clumps on the start line as the large screens in the stadium change to display the list of names, countries, and qualifying times. Neil’s time is seventh fastest out of sixteen, which he maintained was because he was in the slower heat.
Andrew finds that he is uncomfortably not used to being on this side of a sports stadium. He doesn’t make it a habit to go to any more sporting events than he is required to by virtue of being in said event, other than a couple of Neil’s games during the two years they were on different teams. And Neil had insisted that Andrew couldn’t use his qualifying race as an excuse to get out of the aforementioned Exy practice, citing something about them being at the olympics and how Neil shouldn’t be missing it either. Which, fair enough.
It does mean he hasn’t been in this stadium before. The seats they have, courtesy of being rich and having a person competing, are right at the barrier near the finish line. The race is twelve and a half laps, which starts the race on the opposite side of the track. Unfortunately this means that Andrew’s view of Neil is obstructed by the women’s shot put taking place in the grassy area within the oval made by the track.
Luckily, sports arenas provide giant screens. The big screen zooms in on each racer individually as the announcer calls out their name and country. Neil gives a sloppy version of Andrew’s salute when it's his turn for the camera to broadcast his face to the world, a quick two seconds of fame accompanied by on the whole too much screaming from the people around Andrew.
Andrew turns away when the camera moves on to find Kevin frowning.
“They should have mentioned the Exy medal. They’re announcing everyone else’s past achievements.”
“They’re announcing achievements relevant to track running,” Andrew corrects. “Exy isn’t a bronze in the world championship of the 5000m, like this dude.” Andrew nods towards the screen projecting competitor number 11.
“It’s relevant,” Kevin protests. “It’s putting him at a big disadvantage compared to everyone else who would have been properly conserving energy and built up to the race.”
“You heard him earlier. The Exy game was his warm-up.”
Kevin continues to frown, this time directing the expression at Andrew. “You know that’s not how he actually thinks.”
Andrew rolls his eyes. “He’s an Exy junkie who cares too much about winning. Of course I know that he doesn’t think the Olympic gold match game is a warm-up.”
"Well, that's what I'm saying…"
The starting gun goes off, drawing Andrew’s eyes back to the track as the racers take off. The pack of runners make quick progress around the track to pass in front of their seats, Neil in the middle of the group. One thing Andrew can appreciate about this competition is that it's full of fit men who have to wear barely-there booty shorts. It hasn’t been a bad look on Neil.
Andrew zones out watching the runners go in circles, forcibly tuning out Kevin’s mutterings of advice to Neil. Beside him, Aaron pulls out his phone.
In Andrew’s opinion, the 3.1 miles should not take only 13 minutes to run. The runners are going excessively fast for a long distance event, even having prolonged exposure to Neil Four-Minute-Mile Josten, Andrew doesn’t think this is how fast humans should be running when there’s still 2 miles left.
It doesn’t take long for the pack to start spreading out. By the time they hit halfway through the race, it’s fairly obvious who the top seven or eight will likely be. Neil is keeping pace with that group, and making it look easy.
Andrew wouldn’t say he’s proud. He doesn’t want to inflate the junkie’s running addiction with his approval any more than he has—it was already difficult enough to convince Neil that he wouldn’t be able to balance competing in the 10000 meter and as well. Andrew knows he's already been eyeing up the Boston Marathon for next year.
But even if he wouldn’t say it out loud, Neil being one of the forerunners of this stupid race isn’t something that Andrew is indifferent to.
Andrew is exhausted after the tough game against Japan, and judging by the look of the team around him, he isn’t alone in the feeling. Neil isn’t one to go easy in an Exy game. Andrew has seen Neil collapse in exhaustion after similar Exy games in the past. What he’s doing right now is no small feat.
Neil loves running. His times may already have been good enough to qualify him for state competitions, but this level is different. Andrew knows that well; he’s been present for most of the preparation.
In 2012, when Andrew and Kevin received invitations for Court in preparation for the Olympics, and Neil, less than a year on a professional team, did not, Neil tried to act like he was taking it well. To anyone with eyes, he had not been taking it well.
He didn’t speak to Andrew for two full days when Andrew rejected his offer, upset that his presence was influencing Andrew’s decisions.
Andrew can fairly confidently say that he had a better time watching the televised games with Neil than he would have competing in them.
It was during those games that Neil watched the long distance races and decided it would be fun to time himself running those distances to compare. He came back inside out of breath but self-satisfied with the knowledge that he would have made the finals.
Andrew is fairly certain the decision to try for the Olympics in running was initially fuelled by spite: if I can’t go to the Olympics for Exy, I’ll go for running. That has changed over the last four years of research into running technique (shockingly, run like your life depends on it isn’t a real athletic technique), shoes, competitors, and an assortment of other things that Andrew tries not to learn too much about.
Neil never had anything to worry about once he was established on a professional team. They both made Court this time.
And then Neil won at the USA Olympic Trials.
“Four laps left,” Kevin mutters. “He’s in a decent place. But he’s going to have to have saved energy for the sprint on the last lap. He’ll be left behind if he doesn’t have that energy in reserve.”
“I’m impressed either way,” Matt says from behind them, leaning forward to brace himself on the back of Kevin’s seat. “But, c’mon, it’s Neil. When has he not been able to run faster?”
The racers speed up as predicted, and the commentator's voice takes on a tone of increasing urgency as the lap counter ticks down.
Neil starts the last lap in fourth place before everyone starts to sprint, then he takes off, overtaking two of the people in front of him.
He’s momentarily in second place as they round the last corner, before someone from the middle of the pack overtakes him. The distance between all of the competitors lengthens as they approach the finish line across from their seats. Andrew finds that he's holding his breath.
“Hold on Neil, hold on,” someone says. Andrew isn’t sure who.
Then suddenly it’s over. Neil crosses the line in third place.
Andrew would have laughed if that was something that he did.
The Exy players around him erupt into raucous cheers, Matt materializing a giant American flag to wave around and almost block Andrew's line of sight.
The thing that makes the most sense to Andrew is that Neil immediately walks off to the side and collapses onto the track in an exhausted heap, breathing heavily. Andrew squeezes the armrests of his chair.
The person who Andrew thinks came in first eventually comes over and offers a hand down to Neil to help him to his feet. It’s too loud in the stadium to hear what they’re saying, but Neil’s happiness is unmistakable as they exchange a perfunctory hug.
Andrew can tell the moment Neil sees where their group is seated, because he freezes in his path towards the silver medalist and immediately runs over, crashing into the short barrier and clinging to the railing. Andrew stands up to meet him.
“Congratulations, idiot.”
Neil’s smile widens. “My legs are jello.”
“That’s what happens when you compete in two Olympic finals on the same day.”
Neil laughs, breathless and incredulous.
“Can I kiss you?”
Andrew pauses. This is definitely going to be televised—it’s hard to miss all the cameras focusing on them—and they’ve never been the type of couple to have dramatic kisses on the sidelines.
“Yes.”
Neil leans closer over the barrier, a hand coming up to rest on Andrew’s shoulder. Andrew means for it to be a brief kiss, but Neil is flushed and excited, and as hard to resist as ever. Neil’s lips and the giddiness that bleeds into Andrew through them momentarily outweighs the reality of this being televised.
The kiss drags on for precious seconds, until Aaron interrupts with a loud, “Oi.”
Neil ignores him. Andrew pulls away slightly, the rest of the world existing again.
“We did it,” Neil whispers, fingers slipping from Andrew’s shoulder to trace the outline of the American flag and Olympic rings on his chest. He didn’t have time to change out of the USA team jacket, so he has the dubious privilege of matching with the crowd around him. “We’re olympic champions. And you were so good today, Drew.” If Andrew shivers, it’s just because of Neil’s breath against his cheek. In a louder voice, Neil continues, “Some of those shots you saved…”
“Nope. No Exy talk. Save it for the official debrief when you’re not about to get another medal.”
Neil pouts, in a very obviously put upon way, before brightening. “Do you have my medal?”
“You have to have the medal ceremony first.”
Neil gives Andrew an unimpressed look. “You know what I meant.”
Andrew pulls out the gold medal halfway out his pocket to show Neil. “You want this now?” Andrew asks skeptically.
Neil gazes at the medal like it’s his baby.
“Yes, but no. I just wanted to see it. As you pointed out, I still have to do a medal ceremony here and I’m not so tacky as to bring another medal to it.”
“Could have fooled me. Go away. Go find an American flag or something and celebrate with the winners.”
The silver medalist behind Neil has acquired an Ethiopian flag, and the gold medalist is in the process of unfolding the Great Britain one.
Neil grins again, pressing another quick kiss to Andrew’s mouth and another pat to the Olympic rings on Andrew’s shirt, and then he’s gone, crashing into a hug from Kevin, yelling about how all the games playing without breaks his freshman year paid off. He gets passed down the line, hugging the people from the team that he’s close to and acquiring Matt’s giant flag, before jogging away.
Out of Neil’s orbit, Andrew takes a breath.
Neil wraps the flag around himself and runs a lap around the track with the other medalists, with energy Andrew assumes he fabricated out of sheer excitement and adrenaline.
There’s a boring half an hour where Neil disappears to the athletes’ rooms before the medal ceremony. Other races are running, there's still shot put happening, and people are still cheering, but Andrew is starting to feel his own crash from the day and tunes out as best as he can in the overly loud stadium to conserve what little energy he has left.
It strikes him then, as they wait, that this will likely become his life in the future. Unless something forces Neil to retire earlier, there is a good chance that Andrew will stop playing Exy before him. Not for many years yet, since Exy has reluctantly become one of the pillars that Andrew has built his current life around, but there will be a day where Andrew watches Neil sport and receive praise for those efforts from the sidelines.
It doesn’t sound like an awful future.
Sadie (is at the olympics) @sadiesays 32 m
umm like half the USAmerican exy team just sat a few rows in front of me at the athletics stadium?? I was disappointed to not get tickets to their gold medal game but maybe this makes up for it??
287 Replies 11 Retweets 671 Likes
|
sol <3 @xsoleil22 31 m
Replying to @sadiesays
Didn’t they just win the gold like 2 hours ago, what would they be doing there?
1 Replies Retweets 6 likes
|
Sadie (is at the olympics) @sadiesays 31 m
Replying to @xsoleil22
Neil josten is in the 5000m final!
Replies Retweets 4 Likes
|
Jeremy’s son @JJ33 30 m
Replying to @sadiesays
Omg what? I need a link to this shit. This is what I get for not following the olympics better
Replies Retweets 2 likes
Winter ~ @winter_days 30 m
wtf is josten actually going to medal in this thing
4 Replies Retweets 31 Likes
Sadie (is at the olympics) @sadiesays 2 m
I hope that all those cameras are broadcasting this moment. I want to be able to revisit it in hd so that I can verify I'm not hallucinating
[Attached blurry photo of Neil and Andrew pressed close together; many other members of the Exy team are visible.]
42 Replies 99 Retweets 901 Likes
|
Olympics Neil @neil_zyx 30 m
Replying to @sadiesays
hello?? are we talking about the same notoriously private couple
2 Replies 1 Retweets 42 likes
|
hocke(x)y @hockexy 30 m
Replying to @sadiesays
dw it was being broadcast throughout america. not sure how i’m going to recover.
Replies Retweets 18 likes
Exy USA @ExyUSA 3 h
Gold! Congratulations to our Exy team on winning gold at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics!
[Attached photo of the Exy team posing with their gold medals].
338 Replies 281 Retweets 1.6 Likes
|
Exy USA @ExyUSA 1 m
Replying to @ExyUSA
Extra congratulations to Exy USA athlete Neil Josten on achieving a bronze medal in the men’s 5000m!
483 Replies 198 Retweets 1.9 Likes