marmelade-sky:

I can’t believe I’m doing this, but I just can’t get it out of my head.

@ziegenkind, thanks for blessing us.

sorry.

---

Friday morning, a package arrives in the mail. 

It has a big, elegant logo on the side and Andrew’s name on it. 

“You tried online shopping?!”, Nicky basically shrieks when he spots Andrew carrying it into their dorm. Andrew just shrugs in reply. 

“Going with the times, I see. What did you order?” Nicky curiously cranes his neck, and even Kevin, who’s watching Exy with headphones on his laptop, glances over to them, pulling the headphones away from his ear on one side. 

“Clothes.”, Andrew dryly supplies, making Nicky roll his eyes. 

The door is unlocked, and Neil enters with his hair tousled from the wind outside, his backpack slung over one shoulder. “Oh, hey.”, he says when he spots Nicky, then he nods to Kevin.

“Neil-!, Nicky excitedly reaches out for Neil, but before he can do or say anything else, a sharp ripping noise startles him. Andrew is already sheathing his knift in his armband again when Nicky whirls around to him, clutching at his chest. “Jesus, Andrew.” 

Neil goes around Nicky to look at the package. “Oh, did it come.”

“Obviously.”, Andrew drawls and rips open the plastic that the clothes are wrapped in. There’s an overabundance of black in there. 

Under three pairs of eyes, Andrew starts to meticulously dig through the pile, sorting it into several more, smaller piles. Nicky watches in fascination. Kevin eventually goes back to watching Exy. 

After a while, Neil leans forward. “Oh, is this the one I picked out?”

Andrew hums, nodding, and tosses it to Neil, who unfolds it with a little smile.

Nicky gasps.

What Neil is holding up looks expensive, possibly designer. It’s a black, long-sleeve shirt, simple, typical Andrew…

If it wasn’t for the horizontal slit right across the chest. 

“It looks really nice.”, Neil comments idly, feeling the fabric.

Nicky is about 98% sure he’s going to suffer from an aneurysm any second now. 

“Is… is this a… what even is this?”, he asks, “A boob-free shirt? A titty window?”

“Shut up, Nicky.”, Andrew growls, still bent over, rummaging through the contents on the bottom of the package.

“You ordered this for Andrew, Neil?!” Yup, aneurysm. Or stroke. Or whatever. Any second. He can’t wait until to tell Erik about this later. Holy shit. 

Neil half-turns to Nicky, frowning a little. “Yeah? It looked nice on the side.”

Nicky blinks, once. Yes, of course, Neil Fashion Desaster Josten would think this was a good fashion choice. 

Nicky opens his mouth again but Andrew rights himself and glares at him. “Don’t you have something to do in your own dorm room, Nicky.”, he says, and his voice has that edge to it that never fails to make Nicky uneasy. And so Nicky swallows any further comment (even though it’s probably the hardest thing he’s ever done) and leaves.

He doesn’t go to his own room, though. Instead, he knocks on the girls’ door. “Allison! You won’t believe this!”

---

Nicky almost forgets about the boob shirt.

Almost.

But when they go to Columbia a few weeks later, the memory comes back, hitting Nicky like a freight train.

Because Andrew is actually wearing it. 

Nicky can’t help but shriek when Andrew opens the door to his, Neil’s and Kevin’s dorm room like this. He’s combined the shirt with simple black jeans and boots, and it really doesn’t look half-bad. Andrew has the figure to wear it, definitely. 

It does make him look quite… well, gay. 

“Andrew, I beg you, please let me take a picture!”

Andrew shuts the door in his face.

---

Sweety’s is a little awkward that night. 

The shirt seems to be influencing everyone’s mood.

Aaron looks annoyed. 

Kevin looks like he’s trying to look anywhere but Andrew’s chest.

Neil looks completely in love, even more so than usual (for real, when did Neil and Andrew becomes such a gross, in-love couple?). Nicky catches him staring at Andrew’s chest a LOT. 

Nicky himself is pretty sure he’s looking absolutely delighted. This is exactly his kind of drama. 

They eat their ice cream in silence. 

Until Andrew manages to drop a dollop of whipped cream from his spoon. It lands right on the boob window of the shirt, and Nicky can’t help himself: he starts cracking up. 

Really hard.

Aaron groans, Kevin huffs and Neil… well. 

Neil looks like he really, really wants to lick that whipped cream off Andrew right now. 

“Fuck.”, Andrew mumbles and gets out of the booth, heading towards the bathroom. The whipped cream has stained the shirt a little, and Nicky assumes he’s going to wash it off. 

Neil sits there for a second, looking tight like a bow that’s about to shoot an arrow before he awkwardly stands, too. 

“I… I’m gonna help him get… the…”

He doesn’t even finish the sentence before he goes off after Andrew. 

Nicky is sobbing from laughter by now, head in his hands. 

“What the fuck.”, Aaron growls, and Kevin just watches Neil go, shaking his head. 

Nicky has to send a text to Erik to inform him about this new, hilarious development. Erik texts back: ‘ich glaube, du brauchst auch so ein shirt ;) ’

Right when Nicky has finally calmed down and his laughter has cooled down to a little giggle, Kevin says: “He could have at least shaved his chest.”, sending Nicky into another fit of laughter.

---

An inappropriate amout of time later, Andrew and Neil return from the bathroom. Neil looks flushed and Andrew looks indifferent as ever. 

“We’re going back to the house.”, he announces. “Call a taxi to get to Eden’s.”

“Ooooooooh…”, Nicky cooes and then ducks before Andrew can cuff him in the back of his head.