Chapter Text
If there was one thing that put Nathaniel Abram Wesninski on edge, it was the silence of an empty Nest. Gone was the sound of muffled footsteps traveling the hallways or the hushed whispers of the others slipping out of their rooms to sneak conversation or steal affection without the beady eyes of the Master following their every move.
It was overwhelming. The absolute silence that accompanied the empty Nest. It wasn’t just the noise that was sucked out of the building as the last Raven boarded the bus for the winter banquet, but also the light. It was as if the moment the main doors shut, a flip had been switched to vacuum every ounce of illumination out of the area. Not even the soft red glow of the “Exit” sign could be seen.
“No one leaves the lights on for their pets when they travel, Nathaniel.”
He didn’t know what was worse: the deafening silence, the all-encompassing darkness, or the sound of Riko's laughter bouncing around in his head. The only thing that reminded him that he was still alive was the harsh rise and fall of his chest and the feeling of the vibrating walls when the air conditioning clicked on and off.
Nathaniel wasn’t sure how long he sat there, could have been hours or days. All he knew was that suffocating darkness. If there was one thing that he was a master at, it was adjusting and normalizing uncomfortable and horrifying situations. Call it what you want, compartmentalization or advanced survival skills, it doesn’t matter.
The piercing ringing and bright flashing of his cell phone coming to life made his heart turn cold and panic creep up his spine. He could only watch from his crouched position against his bedroom wall as the device lit up the room until it finally stopped. Silence again. Blackness again.
And then, it lit up a second time.
He detangled his hands, which he didn’t even realize were strangling the roots of his auburn hair and reached for his cell phone.
“Hello,” his voice was raw from unuse.
“I- I don’t know what to do” a panicked voice escaped from his earpiece. A shaking voice with a thick French accent. An accent that could only mean one thing.
“Jean, what happened,” Nathaniel’s phone hardly ever got any use and when it did, it was never from the Frenchmen. Especially, not with his accent extra thick due to fear.
“Riko… and Kevin…” his voice was being overtaken by breathless pants.
“Jean. What happened.”
“His hand is broken. Riko smashed his hand.” The silence that wrapped around them was telling. All that Nathaniel could hear was Jean hyperventilating over the phone and once again, the quiet hum of the air conditioning unit.
If Riko could do this to his brother, to number 2, what could he do to them… his property? Nathaniel’s mind started spiraling, splintered thoughts bouncing off the walls of his skull. Riko was a volatile thing. Everyone knew it, but he also knew there were lines that even Riko wouldn’t cross. Or well, he had thought.
“Neil,” Jean uttering out his chosen name shook him from his ever-growing panic. Neil was the name that Nathaniel would whisper to himself after particularly dark days. It was an anchor to ground himself in the here and now. Days where he felt himself losing the last little bit of fight that was stuffed in his body. “I need your help. I don’t know what to do.”
Neil didn’t like sticking his neck out more than necessary. Actually, Neil didn’t like sticking his neck out period. It made it easier for someone to chop it off. But for Jean, the boy he grew up with, the boy who stitched him up, the one who would divert punishments onto himself, Neil wouldn’t just stick his neck out, he would hand the executioner the ax if he had to.
“Is he awake?” Neil switched to French.
“No, I had to drag him off the practice court.”
“Where are you now? I’ll come to you.”
“Neil… there was so much blood,” there was a sharp intake of breath on the other side of the receiver “so much blood… and Riko’s face… Neil… I’ve never seen him smile like that.”
A running catalog of all of Riko’s twisted smiles flashed through his mind, adding to the growing panic, “Jean. Tell me where you are. I need to know.”
Neil put the cell phone on speaker and started to use the screen as a makeshift flashlight. Slowly, he started moving to the bedroom door.
Jean took a deep inhale to try and steady himself, “We are still here, at the winter banquet.”
The winter banquet this year was hosted in Virginia close to the border. The drive to Jean and Kevin would only be a little over two hours, maybe even less if Neil drove like someone was hot on his heels. The stupid winter banquet was the cause for all of Neil's anxiety these past few hours. Although he trained every day for years with the Ravens and had Riko’s stamp of approval on his cheekbone, he wasn’t a Raven. He wouldn’t be a Raven for another two years. Until then he stuck to the shadows.
“I’m coming, find somewhere to hide him.”
Even though the whole Nest was pitch black, after living there for years, Neil didn’t need any light to know where he was going. He swallowed back the terror creeping up his throat at the thought of stepping into Riko and Kevin’s room without having been given permission. He didn’t have time to panic. Compartmentalize.
He packed everything he could in the shortest amount of time possible. He didn’t know how much time he had until Riko found them hiding. Stuffing clothes and court gear into Kevin’s duffle bag, he swung open Kevin’s door and then suddenly stood frozen.
Fucking Kevin, that sentimental asshole. Neil went back to stuff the picture frame of Kayleigh Day and little Kevin into the flap and then rifled through his precious book to find that damned letter. Two years ago, Kevin got horribly drunk, and between vomiting into the toilet, he told Neil all about who his real father was. Ever since that night, which Kevin probably doesn’t even remember, Neil has caught him watching reruns of the Palmetto State Fox’s Exy matches just to catch a glimpse of the team’s coach. Neil swiped Riko’s car keys on the way out the door.
It had been years since Neil could breathe fresh air. Years since he’d seen the stars or heard the crickets chirp. If it was another night, he might’ve taken the time to soak it all in.
-------------
By the time Neil pulled up in front of the banquet, Kevin had decided to join the world of the conscious.
“Jean get him in the car.” Kevin was trying to fight against Jean as he hauled him in. Kevin tumbled into the car, landing on his injured hand and smearing blood all over Riko’s cream leather seats.
“Fuck Kevin, that better not stain,” Neil bit out in French. Neil glanced in the rearview mirror as he shot out of the parking lot to watch Jean try to hold down a thrashing Kevin. He reminded him of a captured wild animal.
“Take me back,” Kevin's wild eyes landed on Neil, “Take. Me. Back.” His voice started growing until it was a twisted sort of scream.
“Shut up Kevin,” Jean spat through his clenched jaw.
“You’re making it worse. When he realizes I’m gone it’ll be worse. Nathaniel, you have to understand he’s going to think I tried to run away.” Even abused animals will return to their owners if that’s all they know.
“Shut. Up. Kevin.” Neil's voice came out colder than he has ever heard escape his throat.
A wounded cry escaped Kevin’s throat, “Take me back take me back takemeback takemeback takemebacktakemeba---”
The car swerved as Neil spun to punch Kevin in between the eyes. His eyes drooped suddenly and then his body wilted like a flower into Jean’s lap.
Looking up, Neil met Jean’s disapproving eyes, “I told him to be quiet.”
---------
“You hold him,” Jean grumbled in his mother tongue as they waited in the elevator.
“Me?” Neil turned to glare at the French backliner who was cradling the second son of Exy in his arms, “He’s like six feet, no way.”
“But—”
“No,” Neil huffed, “you called me, so you get to carry him. Plus, I don’t want his blood on me.”
The elevator doors opened with a soft ding. Neil rapped his knuckles against the hotel room. He waited a few seconds but heard no movement from within. With their time slowly ticking down before Riko realizes Jean and Kevin were missing, Neil started kicking the door repeatedly. It swung open at the same moment he went to strike the door again making his foot collide into David Wymack’s bare shin.
“Fuck,” Wymack hissed while hunching to grab his now throbbing leg. Jean shoved his way through the open door and deposited the unconscious Kevin Day on the bed.
“Oh my god!” A shrill voice sounded from inside the hotel room. Neil shuffled his way inside to see a blonde woman spring out of the bed that Kevin’s slumped form landed on. This must be Abby Winfield, the team’s nurse, and Wymack’s rumored girlfriend. Guess that solves one mystery.
“Who the fuck are you,” Wymack recovered from the kick at the door and rushed to stand in front of a halfway-clothed Abby. She seemed to be wearing one of the Coach’s t-shirts as a sort of dress.
“It doesn’t matter,” Neil said at the same time that David zeroed in on Jean’s number 4 tattoo before whipping his eyes to settle on the prominent 3 perched upon his own cheekbone.
His eyes settled on sleeping beauty on the bed, “That’s Kevin Day.”
“Yes”
“What did you do to him?” There was hostility in his voice as he took a threatening step towards Neil.
At the same moment, Abby moved hesitantly towards Kevin's form gasping out, “His hand!”
“We did nothing,” Neil stared blankly at Wymack, “and there’s no time for this. You need to grab him and go.”
“What,” the man sounded dumbfounded, “what do you mean grab him and go?”
“It seems pretty self-explanatory,” Neil and Jean were running out of time. They had to leave soon if they wanted to make sure Riko didn’t notice Jean’s absence at the hotel the Ravens were staying at.
“Now listen to me kid—” before he could close the gap between himself and Neil, Jean stepped between the two.
“Don’t call me kid and we don’t have time for this,” Neil spoke behind the bulky backliner, “you need to take Kevin and your little foxes,” Wymack sneered at the term, “and leave tonight. Stick Day on your ugly orange bus and leave for Palmetto. Forget about the rest of the banquet.”
“You need to tell me what’s going on,” He pointed his accusatory finger at Neil and then shifted it to Jean, “Moreau, you got anything to say?”
Jean bristled at being called out by name but otherwise stayed silent. Jean was a starting backliner on one of the best teams in college Exy, what did he expect? To be anonymous?
“Don’t talk to him,” Neil stepped in front of him, “we don’t have time for this, so I’ll make it simple and short. You need to take Kevin, tonight, and leave. It’s not safe for him here.”
“David, what’s going on?” Abby’s hushed voice could be heard from the foot of the bed where she was examining Kevin’s hand.
Wymack started to open his mouth, but Neil cut him off, “His hand wasn’t broken on accident--”
“Neil stop speaking,” Jean started hissing at him in French.
He ignored him and kept forcing the words up his throat and through his mouth, “---Riko smashed a racket into his hand.” A horrified gasp escaped its way through Abby's throat, “You need to take him. He isn’t safe anymore.”
“Kid, as much as I wish I could, I can’t just take him. He’s not on my team, he’s a Raven,” Wymack was shaking his head in disbelief but started to gravitate towards Kevin's unconscious form in a protective stance.
“Stop calling me kid.” Neil sneered, “He’s not a Raven anymore, he’s of no use. I don’t care what you do, but you make him part of your team. Hell, make him an assistant coach if you have to, I don’t care just make it happen. Now this is important, so listen to me,” both Abby and Wymack’s eyes settled on Neil
“You need to leave now. You take him on the bus, and you leave now. He probably won’t wake up for another few hours so you have time to figure out what to tell him.” He turned and stared at Abby, “Do not take him to a hospital until you make it to Palmetto.” Neil expected to see Abby shrink under his gaze, but surprisingly he saw the woman square her shoulders. Interesting.
“When he wakes up, he’s going to try and get back to the Ravens. If you have to chain him to the bus then do it, just don’t let him go back,” instead of fighting Neil, Wymack just started nodding. Relief rushed through Neil and Jean’s previously ridged shoulders started to relax. This just might work. It won’t all be for nothing. “People will try to visit him at the hospital. Other Ravens. Maybe even Riko himself. You cannot let them see Kevin. Call security if you have to.”
“Lastly, tell him…” Neil trailed off, he didn’t know what to say.
“Good luck,” Jean finished for him.
--------
“Neil, are you stupid?” Jean’s firm hands were his shoulders, shaking them violently as if he could rattle this insane idea out of Neil’s mind.
“Just listen to me. Kevin did it. Kevin’s out of the Nest, we’ve seen him on the bench with their Coach during the Palmetto games.”
“You’re crazy. Are you trying to get us killed? Just because it worked for Kevin doesn’t mean we have a chance.”
“Stop!” Neil shouted in frustrated French, “It’ll work. It’ll work because it has to.”
Both of their chests were heaving from their shouting match. Neil took a deep breath and with a tremor in his voice, he whispered, “We are leaving Jean. We can’t stay here, I won’t let them hurt you like that again. Riko went too far this time.”
“Neil please just stop,” Jean whispered helplessly into the air between them.
“Do you trust me?”
Jean answered immediately, with absolutely no room for hesitation, “Always.”
“Then it’s settled. We are leaving tonight. You’re going to the Trojans, they need a backliner.”
“What about you Neil? What are you going to do?” Jean started to look more and more hopeless as the minutes passed.
“I’ll get you to Jermey.
--Then I’ll run.”
----------
The morning that Neil and Jean were planning on escaping the Nest was perfectly aligned with when the local news crew was scheduled to visit. “Hang with Harry” was a segment on the local news where Harry Ward would go to interesting places or interview significant people in the local community. Harry came to the Nest at five in the morning to interview Riko and the rest of the team about the “terrible loss” of Kevin Day leaving the team due to his “skiing accident.”
Since Neil was still unknown to the public, he was forbidden from showing his face on the court until the camera crew left. Luckily for him, banishment into the locker room was exactly where he needed to be for this plan to work out. Martin Dawson, another one of the Raven’s backliners, went around last month boasting about his brand-new car that came along with his signature on his contract. Good job Dawson, you sold your individuality and life for a MazdaSpeed MX-5. Great deal!
Neil rifled through Dawson’s locker until he found the keys stuffed in one of the outside pockets of the boy’s duffle bag. Neil sat and watched the rest of the live interview on one of the flatscreens mounted on the locker room walls.
Jean was noticeably shifty on the court. Neil told him the plan ahead of time and now he wishes he never mentioned it to him if he was going to be this obvious on live television. Jean has never been a good liar. He never had to learn how to lie through his teeth while making his eyes look truthful.
“Thank you, Coach Tetsuji, for letting me sit in on your team's morning practice! I know we all can’t wait to see you guys finish out this season strong. Back to you Sarah!” Harry pointed at the screen and the television switched to the anchor woman back in the studio. As Neil slipped out the door, he could hear Sarah start to cue the weatherman.
Jean instantly made eye contact with him. He could practically feel the nervous energy radiate out of the man. A small part of Neil was scared that Jean would crack and confess everything to the Master and plead for forgiveness. It wouldn’t have been the first time that Jean confessed in the hopes of mercy. Mercy never came, just the crack of Tetsuji’s cane.
Neil and Jean slid into place with the news crew that were entering and exiting the building packing up all their equipment. Neil made sure that his hoodie obscured his face. If any of these people saw his prominent number 3 tattoo, Jean and Neil wouldn’t be able to escape once attention was drawn to them.
“And this is our beautiful statue in dedication to Kayleigh Day,” Riko’s voice could be heard from Neil's left as he showed off the monument in the front of the building, “and all that she did to help create Exy.”
Neil knew that Riko was going to give a one-on-one tour to Harry after the segment, but he assumed that the tour would have started inside of the Nest, not in the damned parking lot.
Jean suddenly went ridged next to him. The man completely stopped moving. Another thing about Jean, other than him being a terrible liar, the backliner had no idea how to blend into the crowd.
The lack of movement instantly drew Riko’s eyes. Just like that, they were caught. Neil’s plan instantly went up in flames and he was grasping at straws looking for how he could get them out of this mess.
Riko excused himself from Harry with the excuse that he wanted to see where his teammate was going. Neil could hear Jean sending prayers to above in rapid French. Neil saw one of the news crew start to walk in their direction carrying a stack of folders. The jingle of the man’s car keys hooked on his cargo pants was ringing in his ears.
So, Neil did the one thing that made him such a great Exy player. He swiftly pivoted to a new plan of attack.
Neils slightly stuck out his leg to cause the man to stumble sending all the folders scattering to the ground. At the same moment, Niel’s fingers clasped around the keychain and unhooked it from the man’s pants while he was pretending to steady the crewmember.
He instantly handed the keys to Jean, “Go,” he whispered in French.
“What?”
“You have to leave now Jean. You leave right this second or I will kill you myself,” it was the first time that Jean had ever heard Neil’s voice take on that type of ice. It was the first time he understood why he should be scared of Neil’s parentage.
“I can’t leave—”
“Jean!” Neil’s slightly raised voice started to attract slight attention. He burrowed further into his hoodie to obscure his face.
They shared a stare. One that was filled with desperation and sorrowful goodbyes.
As Riko approached, Jean opened the door of the newly acquired news van. “I will make you two wish you were dead,” he spat at Neil's face in violent Japanese.
“You get to choose Riko,” there was a twisted little smile playing on Neil’s face. It was his father's smile, “you can either stop him,” his eyes flickered to Jean who got the van’s engine to kickstart, “or me.” Neil pointedly stared in Harry’s direction who was now turning around to see what the hold-up was.
Neil saw Riko’s eyes flash between the three of them: Jean, then Neil, then Harry, and then Neil again. He knew Riko’s mind was made up.
------
Jean could only watch the rearview mirror in horror as Riko’s hand descended in a death grip on Neil’s shoulder and he was shoved back into the Nest.
Jean knew he was supposed to go to Jermey, to the Trojans. But instead, he found himself driving towards South Carolina. He just needed to make sure it was all worth something in the end.
------
“Nathaniel go bring them back.”
Nathaniel’s eyes wouldn’t open no matter how much he willed them to.
“You tell them that I’ll keep picking players off until they’re back.”
The whispers kept swimming in his mind. He still felt phantom lips pressed to his ears.
“You tell them I can do worse than what happened to Smalls.” Oh yeah, that’s right. Jamie Small’s attempted suicide wasn’t self-inflicted but forced.
“Bring them both back, or I will deliver you to your father myself.”
Nathaniel felt a shudder wrack through his mostly immobile body. Panic started creeping along his bones as he felt hands on his body. Not phantom hands but real fingers gripping his arms and legs.
Adrenaline began coursing through his veins but still, his eyes wouldn’t open. Why did his back feel wet? Was he bleeding again? Why could he barely feel his body? Everything just felt so numb.
The hands instantly left his body. He felt himself go airborne. He ate the cement that he was now kissing. His body was a pitiful heap on the side of the road.
Did he just say that he felt numb? That lack of feeling seeped out of his body just as fast as agony swept through his limbs.
Nathaniel heard the signature sound of car doors slamming shut. For once in his life, instead of fearing the overwhelming darkness, he welcomed the encroaching blackness.
------
Neil felt the sharp pain in his gut before he could open his eyes. When he finally was able to peel his eyelids back, he noticed a few things. One, he had lost time. The sun had just touched the horizon. Two, his body felt like it was put through a blending machine. And three, the stupidly green eyes of Kevin Day staring at his lifeless heap of a body from above.
By some miracle, he was able to crack a grin, “I heard you guys were down a player.”