#…have y’all…have y’all ever been to Denver??

[bobthebenevolentpirate]

I NEED everyone in the notes to know that Denver is not cold year round?? They can get up into the 90s and even 100s (fahrenheit) in the summer???

Let's run this Hypothetical Again With 12 new cities

NYC, Boston, DC, Baltimore, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Chicago, Minneapolis,New Orleans, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia were all in the original polla ND therefore aren't eligible for this poll

[goldenseresinretriever]

False Confidence: Chapter 12

Pairing: Javy “Coyote” Machado x Reader

Part of the San Diego Dogfighters universe

Summary: The Athletic named Javy Machado the fifth sluttiest player in the NHL last year. He’s a known playboy who leaves every game with a different girl. As far as he’s concerned he’s living the dream, playing his dream job with the dream lifestyle. Unfortunately his friends and bosses don’t agree. At 33, they think it’s time for him to settle down. You’re a kindergarten teacher at an esteemed private school. You don't expect much when you finally accept your colleague’s invitation to attend her husband’s hockey game but when you accidentally get separated in the post-game rush, you find yourself in a compromising situation with the last person you’d ever expected to meet. When his PR rep suggests a mutually beneficial agreement, your hands are tied. How long will you have to keep up the act? And how long will you be able to?

Series CW: 18+ ONLY, swearing, angst, fluff, fake relationship, suggestive language, anxiety, school system inaccuracies, hockey inaccuracies etc. There will be individual chapter warnings. No use of Y/N.

Word Count: 5.2k

A/N: Happy Friday, y’all!

Previous Chapter // Series Masterlist // Next Chapter

You examine your classroom, straightening the decorations that you’ve hung on the wall. Every square inch of the room is decked out in various shades of pink, red, and white. Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, and while your students are too young to really grasp the concept, the air has been buzzing all week. It has little to do with love and everything to do with the promise of candy and cookies at the class party on Tuesday.

You find your eyes searching for the calendar on the classroom wall and a frown creeps up onto your lips. The Dogfighters are on a road trip right now and you’ve found yourself irritated at the way it feels like life has seemingly returned to the way it was before you met your new friends. You’ve spent the last week going home straight after work, occasionally to the Fitch house where you help Josie with the kids while she attempts to get some work done. She’s stretched thinner than usual with Reuben out of town and you can’t help the way you wonder to yourself if this is your future. And while it makes you nervous, there’s a part of your stomach that flutters giddily.

You and Javy have been official for a little over a week, but the road trip has taken up most of that time. You’re anxious to see Javy again, and you’re seriously starting to doubt the old proverb that promises that absence makes the heart grow fonder. You’ve finally allowed yourself to be upfront about your feelings for him, given that he’s actually your real boyfriend now. He’s your real boyfriend now. You can’t help the way you bounce on the balls of your feet in excitement as a fresh wave of giddy butterflies flutters through your stomach. Another glance at the calendar reminds you that despite this being your first Valentine’s Day with Javy, he’s going to have to meet it, playing a game in Seattle tomorrow night. The two of you have plans for the weekend, however, a belated celebration once he’s back and rested. After the game in Seattle, they have one more game in Denver on Thursday before they get back to San Diego on Friday.

“You’re in a good mood this morning.” A voice from behind you teases and you pause your drawing on the board to look over your shoulder to where Josie’s leaning against the doorframe.

“Josie! Good morning!” You greet her as you cap the marker and wipe your hands off on your overalls as you go over to give her a hug that she returns before handing you a to-go cup that smells delicious.

“We stopped for a little treat this morning since the kids are missing Daddy extra.” She gives you a tired but rueful smile. You know if you miss Javy after barely dating him for a week, Josie must be missing Reuben something fierce after being married for a decade.

“They’ll be home on Friday,” you remind her, trying to sound cheerful but your melancholy must show through your facade because Josie gives you a gentle smile.

“Hey, what are you doing tomorrow night?” She asks, and you see a scheming twinkle in her eyes.

“Tomorrow? Nothing really, I was going to watch the match while I grade papers, and then Javy said he’d call afterward and we could get takeout for Valentine’s Dinner.” You ignore the way your stomach flips at the words Valentine’s Dinner. “Why? Did you need help with the kids tomorrow night?”

“Yeah actually,” Josie says casually, sliding a hand into her pocket. “I thought maybe we could watch the game together?”

“Of course! That would be so much fun, what time should I come over?” You’re secretly excited not to have to spend the night alone with your TV and your thoughts when you’re sure the jitters will be too distracting to get any work done anyway.

“Well we’re going to have to leave right after school if we’re going to make the flight,” Josie says and you blink, confused until you look down and see the tickets that Josie’s holding out to you.

“W-what?” You stammer as your brain struggles to catch up with your eyes.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Roadie,” she says and you look from the tickets back up her and then back down to the tickets before you almost spill the coffee in your hand as you throw your arms around Josie. Josie laughs, fishing the coffee from your hand and depositing it safely on a nearby bookshelf.

“Josie, I can’t, it’s too much,” you blubber uselessly as you sob into her shoulder, all composure lost at your best friend’s kindness.

She just shakes her head as she pats your back comfortingly. “The kids miss their dad, I miss my husband, and you can’t miss your first Valentine’s Day with Javy. He’s still not my favorite person in the world but he makes you happy so I can’t hate him.” You choke out a chuckle at Josie’s words.

“Thank you, Josie.” You whisper and she just shakes her head again.

“Don’t thank me, just enjoy the day.” She pauses before she adds. “I’d originally wanted to surprise you with it tomorrow but I figured I should give you a chance to pack.” She laughs and you join in.

“I think my brain might have exploded,” you point out and she laughs harder.

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning, so we have just one car and we can go straight from work to the airport.” You nod, still breathless over the fact that you’ll get to see Javy tomorrow.

“Wait, do the boys know?” You ask, your brain firing at a mile-a-minute.

Josie shakes her head, a conspiratory grin spreading across her face. “I thought we could surprise them. Zam knows she’s the one that arranged the game tickets.”

“We’re going to the game?!” You grasp the papers Josie’s still holding and you shuffle through them to see the game tickets under the plane tickets. “Josie!” You shriek and she laughs, head tipping back.

“Don’t yell at me, those are complimentary! WAG privileges,” she reminds you and you shake your head in disbelief. Not only do you get to see Javy tomorrow, but you get to go to the game and surprise him. “Alright, I need to get going before my kids start showing up but I’ll see you at lunch,” you wave to Josie before returning to your prep for the day.

Suddenly you feel ridiculous for all the stressing you’ve done over the past week, trying to decide what to get your boyfriend for Valentine’s Day. You know Javy has no qualms about spending ridiculous sums of money on you, but you’re not exactly in a position to do the same. All the same, you’re feeling pretty proud of your Valentine’s Day gift for Javy. You’re also extremely happy that you finished in time for Valentine’s Day despite thinking you wouldn’t be able to give it to him until Saturday. You’re nervous but excited to see his reaction to it. You’re even more excited to see his reaction to your and Josie’s surprise.

***

You’re secretly glad that all you have planned for today is a Valentine’s Day party. You’re not sure you have the focus required to teach your students today since you’ve been bouncing off the walls with nervous excitement since you got out of bed this morning, not that you’d slept much at all. You’re secretly thankful for the parents who volunteered to help with the party because your mind is on this evening, your eyes flitting to the clock constantly, counting down the seconds until you’re done with work.

You know you should calm down and conserve your energy. The next twenty-four hours are going to be a whirlwind. After school ends, you have to rush to the airport to make your direct flight to Seattle, and from there you need to rush to the arena to make it in time for the game. After that, you’ll spend the night in Seattle before catching a red-eye from Seattle back to San Diego with barely enough time to make it back in time to teach Wednesday morning. Josie’s planning to drop off the kids with Penny for the day, since they’ll likely be too exhausted to handle a full day of school after all that travel. You secretly wish you could afford to take tomorrow off, but with so little notice, you know better than to try.

Your eyes move from the clock to the comically large vase currently taking up most of your desk. The flowers had been delivered during first period and you can’t help the giddy smile that stretches your face as you look at the bright orange blossoms. Your students had descended into giggles when you told them it was from Javy and you couldn't help but join in.

***

Your students finally make their way to lunch and you slump across your desk, letting the scent of the tiger lilies above you permeate your nose, and as sweet as they smell, you find yourself missing a different scent, a smokier, spicier one. You let out an exhausted groan as Josie lets herself in, coming to sit across from you.

“He sent you flowers,” she remarks, and you think she sounds a little impressed. You turn your head to squish your cheek against the cool wooden surface as you look at her and nod.

“Aren’t they perfect?” You say, a shy smile tugging at your lips as you follow her gaze to the orange blossoms.

“Tiger lilies? Not roses?” She asks, reaching a hand out to finger the blossoms, curiously.

“They’re my favorite.” You explain. “I don’t know how he knew,” you muse as a thought occurs to you. “Did you tell him?” Josie holds up her hands in surrender.

“It wasn’t me. I didn’t even know you liked tiger lilies.” Your brow furrows in thought.

“Well, technically, I love all lilies,”

“But those are your favorites now since they’re the ones he bought you,” Josie interrupts your thought and you look at her, surprised as you nod, cheeks heating.

“I used to like mums, back in college, they were my favorite and I was super vocal about it. Then I met Reuben and on our first date he bought me dahlias because he’d bought them thinking they were just big mums, and in that moment I realized I never wanted anything but dahlias. They reminded me of him, and how eager he was to make me happy, and now they’re my favorites.” The two of you sit in content silence for a long moment before she speaks up again. “Are you excited for tonight?” Your face brightens instantly and you nod enthusiastically.

“I still can’t believe it’s real, thank you so much again, Josie.” She shakes her head.

“Thank you for coming with me,” she chuckles, “but after you experience flying with two kids, I don’t think you’ll take me up on the offer again.” She teases and you roll your eyes.

“I love your kids,” you remind her and she chuckles.

“You do now, just wait.”

***

You can’t help the nerves that are pacing in your stomach as you worry the edge of the jersey you’re wearing. You try to channel the restless energy into helping Josie wrangle the kids. They are restless too, excited to see their dad, and cranky from their naps on the plane. You can’t find it in you to be irritated with them when you see your own raw emotions on display in them. You glance over your shoulder, anxious for warmups to begin so you can see Javy and the tension in your heart can finally snap.

Skylar bumps into you on accident as she tries to wrangle one of the homemade signs that are jammed into the bag on the floor. They’re incredibly cheesy, but Josie had insisted that they’re a necessary part of the surprise. You help her unfold them and hand her and Jamie the one they’ll hold together. It’s a simple mess of glitter and paint that reads, “Happy Valentine’s Day, Daddy!” Josie gives it a long look like she’s considering hoisting it herself and you roll your eyes as you slide out the sign that Josie made for the two of you. You haven’t seen it yet and you’re a little nervous. Josie is a lot braver than you are and she’s been married for a decade while you’re in your first real relationship that’s barely a week old. You carefully unroll the sign and feel your cheeks heat as you read the words on it. “It’s not just puppy love, Happy Valentine’s Day, Dogfighters!” It’s sweet and playful but your eyes are caught on one particular four-letter word.

Your heartbeat thunders in your ears so loud that you almost miss the rise of cheers that rise through the arena. You look up as Josie grabs your arm in one hand and her side of the sign in the other. You’re yanked back to the present as a familiar blur of green whips down the ice towards you. The team heads down to their end of the ice to start warming up and you remember to lift your edge of the sign as your eyes dart furiously from one player to the next, searching for number 68 and any sign of Javy. You hear the kids screaming for their dad in the corner of your consciousness, followed by the pound of their little hands against the glass as Reuben skates up.

Your eyes turn more frantic even though you know he’s here somewhere, he has to be. Your heart thunders in your chest as the unreasonable doubts start crawling in and making a home in your aching chest. You miss the moment a figure on the ice stops until a full body slams into the glass in front of you making the whole wall shake and then you’re looking at Javy’s full grin and wide eyes and he looks like an excited puppy as he gapes at you. You can’t help the excited grin that bubbles to the surface and matches his. You wave slightly as you place your hands on the glass over his on the other side.

“Hi,” you whisper even though you know he won’t be able to hear you.

“Hi,” he breathes back. His breath clouds the glass and your stomach flips when he draws a lopsided heart and writes “hi” inside it. You giggle as grins at you. Your moment is broken as Jake skates by and grabs Javy by the back of his jersey playfully. He blows you a kiss as he drags Javy back towards warmups. You try not to think too hard about the fact that Javy’s eyes stay on you the entire time before they disappear back down the tunnel.

***

You know you should be focussing on the score. It’s currently tied at 1-1 but instead, you’re still dizzy over the adrenaline of the day and the way Javy’s playing at the top of his game today. He’d assisted Jake’s goal in the second period, and you spent the whole break watching the replays online since it was on the other side of the rink. The score remains tied and the clock is running on the third period. Your lips are gnawed to hell as you watch the clock drop lower and lower. This period the Dogfighters are shooting on your side of the rink and you’ve been glued to the glass since it started. You wince as one of Seattle’s defensemen scuffles with Javy by the boards feet away from you, digging at the puck as it slides between their sticks and skates. Your brow furrows as a stray elbow catches Javy’s shoulder and you shout out in protest, as your hands find the glass where you bang alongside the Seattle fans. When you hear them cheering for the other player, you hear your voice rise, cheering for Javy amidst the louder screams. You’re caught up in the fever, the adrenaline of the game, the excitement of the day, and seeing your boyfriend. You catch his eye briefly as his eyes dart up unconsciously and you swear he winks at you, sending heat up your cheeks and knocking the breath from your lungs. Javy manages to dig the puck out of the corner and you watch as he knocks it backward to where Jake’s waiting to whisk it off towards the goal. Your heart is in your throat as you watch Jake’s approach, the opposing defense coming up to try and block his path to the goal. His linemates are trying to open themselves up for a pass but there are no open paths on the ice.

You watch his stick swing anyway, but you don’t see the puck fly into the fray. Your brow furrows in confusion until you watch Javy shoot out from behind him, the puck dancing along the edge of his stick, completely unmarked. Your stomach flips as you see the look on his face. For a moment it feels like you’re watching the sun come out from behind the clouds as you take in the boyish grin stretched across Javy’s face. His eyes are glinting with mischief you’ve seen plenty of times on your students’ tiny faces, and he’s glowing with confidence as he whips down the ice. Your heart is in your throat as you watch the other players slowly realize where the puck has gone and then you watch the black disk fly off the end of Javy’s stick. The goalie starts to move in his direction, but it’s clear he hasn’t realized Javy’s shot until it’s too late and his glove is still inches away as the puck sails over his shoulder.

You’re sure you’re screaming and then Josie’s screaming and she’s grabbing you and you’re grabbing her, and you can’t take your eyes off him as he roars in triumph and then he’s pointing with both hands and you’re trying to understand what at, it doesn’t make any sense and then he’s laughing and you read his lips as he tries to contain himself. “You.” Your brows furrow and you look down at yourself in confusion before turning around to look behind you as Josie laughs beside you as the other boys start crowding Javy.

Josie grasps your shoulders as your confusion grows. “It’s you, Roadie.”

“W-what’s me?” You ask, glancing back towards the ice where Javy’s getting set up for the next face-off.

You look back in time to see Josie shake her head, a fond look in her eyes. “Everything,” she says before giving you a tight hug and you feel your stomach twist as you watch the jumbotrons replay the goal and you watch Javy point at the stands all over again. Oh. You. You’ve spent your whole adult life expecting not to be chosen, never expecting to be anything but the butt of a joke, that you weren’t worthy of being chosen. People look through you, people look past you, people don’t look at you, people don’t see you. And yet in the last month, you’ve felt more seen than you have in the last thirty years of your life. They look at you, they see you. He sees you.

You don’t hear the whistle, you don’t hear the last of the game, you don’t hear the horn as the clock runs out. You’re overwhelmed, and you’ve been overwhelmed before, but it’s different this time. The usual fear, the pain, the panic, none of that is what you feel now. “Roadie?” You blink and realize belatedly that you’re crying and you turn to her and throw your arms around her neck.

“Thank you, just thank you.” You don’t recognize the sound of your voice as you shake your head and just hold your best friend. She doesn’t question it and holds you back like she already knows, and maybe she does.

***

You place a hand over your knee to try and stop the way it’s restlessly bouncing as you sit on the bench in some hallway, waiting for Javy. You’re not a spouse, so you weren’t allowed into the locker room area with Josie and the kids. A member of the Kraken’s staff had led the four of you to the private section of the stadium and you’ve been waiting for at least an hour. You turn your phone on, glancing at the clock and debating texting Javy but you know he’s probably just finishing up his post-game responsibilities. He knows you’re here. He’ll find you. You stifle a yawn as you stare at the screen, your stomach dropping as you realize how few hours you have until you’ll have to head back to the airport and back to your life.

You close your eyes, trying to ignore the math that your brain insists on doing because it’s not enough and you’re not ready to be back home, exhausted and alone, thrust back into your routine for another three days until Javy gets home. You barely suppress a groan as you lean your head against the wall behind you, trying to reconcile the consequences of your actions as the lull in the business of the day gives you a break from the adrenaline that’s been coursing through you all day. You’re slowly descending into a spiral of your own thoughts when you hear the squeak of hinges in your periphery and you turn your head, your body sitting up, the giddy excitement of seeing Javy beating out the exhaustion settling into your bones as you watch the corner, begging Javy to come around it.

You’ve barely caught enough of his silhouette to confirm it’s him before you’re bouncing off the bench and running for him. Running to him is a blur, but then you’re in his arms, and the scent of sweat mixed with his cologne engulfs your nose and you feel the tension melt out of your body as you settle against him. The two of you stay silent for a long beat, your bodies refamiliarizing themselves with the feeling of holding the other, committing it to memory, to carry the two of you through the rest of the week. When the two of you finally choose to speak, it happens at the same time.

“Thank you,” Javy whispers into your hair.

“Thank you,” You croak, your voice breaking over the words all over again. The silence that falls between you is comfortable and you can tell he’s waiting for you to go first so you tell him the words that have been on your lips for the last hour. “Thank you for seeing me.” Your chest heaves shakily as you fight the words out, but his arms just tighten around you as he holds you, like he’d physically hold you together if you shattered to pieces.

He pulls back and removes his hands from your waist to cup your cheeks as his dark eyes look into yours and straight through to your soul. “You’re impossible to miss.” He says as he strokes his thumbs over the apples of your cheeks, and when he says it, you find that it’s not so hard to believe it. “Thank you for coming,” he whispers before running his nose against yours, your lips just shy of ghosting over each other.

“There’s nowhere I’d rather be,” you whisper back, and when he kisses you it feels like you’ve let out a breath you’ve been holding for the last week.

“Alright, Meep,” Javy says when he finally pulls away, leaning his forehead against yours, arms returning to your waist to keep you close, “you gonna tell me what you’re doing here, beautiful?” You feel your cheeks heat even though you’re already in his arms, and he’s already kissed you.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Javy.” It sounds so silly as you say the words, but you wonder if that’s because it’s the first time you’ve said them romantically.

He chuckles softly before pressing a simple kiss to your lips “Happy Valentine’s Day, Meep, but I mean what’re you doing in Seattle on a school night.” You shrug slightly because you don’t really have an answer.

“Josie’s the right brand of crazy and she has the budget to back it up?” You both laugh at that.

“I hate to ruin the mood,” Javy says before closing his eyes for a moment, “but when do you leave?” Your stomach drops again. In the joy of being reunited with Javy, you’d forgotten that you’ll have to leave him again in just a few short hours.

“We have a red-eye back to San Diego so we can make it back to work tomorrow,” you explain and you know Javy’s doing his best not to mirror the disappointment you’re feeling. “But you’ll be back in San Diego on Friday, right? That’s not so bad.” One glance at him says that he believes your words about as much as you do. “But at least we have tonight,” you relent.

“At least we have tonight,” he agrees. “Well then, let’s not waste a second.” He leads you out of the stadium. Most fans have since dispersed, returning home since it’s a Tuesday. The area around the stadium is lit with lights as and there are a fair amount of people milling around. Javy takes your hand and leads you through the park surrounding the stadium as you crane your neck back to get a good look at the Space Needle as it closer and closer.

There are a few people milling around and entering the Space Needle as you and Javy approach the ticket desk. The lady at the desk’s eyes widen in recognition as Javy purchases tickets for the two of you. When you enter, you stay close to Javy, feeling nerves bubble like butterflies as the photographer takes your picture and you watch Javy give him him email address for the photos. “My privacy is already nonexistent, there’s no need to compromise yours,” he explains when you offer to give yours instead. You walk up the spiral walkway to the elevator with Javy’s hand in yours. The ride to the top is silent and you’re sure you notice the elevator attendance staring at the two of you. The fact that you’re wearing Javy’s last name on your back doesn’t really help with the subtlety.

When the elevator doors open your breath catches in your throat. There are glass walls separating you from the balcony that wraps around the room the elevator opens onto, but you can already see the lights of Seattle twinkling from here. You find yourself dragging Javy to the balcony. The city of Seattle is alight all around you. From here you can see Climate Pledge Area, the rest of the park, and various museums in the area around you. You can also see the darkness of Elliot Bay. As you make your way around the balcony, you come face to face with the dazzling skyscrapers of downtown as the city itself sprawls out into the distance. It’s gorgeous and your fingers itch to paint the stunning view. You pull out your phone, snapping some inspiration photos. You’re already planning how you’re going to approach the painting when Javy slides his arms around your waist from behind, leaning his chin on your shoulder.

“What’s going on in your pretty little head, Meep?” He asks and you feel embarrassment creep over you for just abandoning him when he brought you up here and came all the way here to see him.

“Sorry, I was just thinking about how much I want to paint this view,” You explain as you gaze out at the city below you.

“Well, I can’t wait to see it,” Javy whispers. “And I hope I have first dibs when it goes on sale,” he murmurs, nuzzling your cheek gently.

“Javy, I’m not making you pay for my art!” You exclaim indignantly, leaning into him as the wind off the bay whips around the two of you. Javy wraps his arms around you from behind, pulling you close.

“Pretty girl, where is your coat?” He asks as he snuggles you.

“We live in San Diego, I don’t have one!” You grumble indignantly. “It doesn’t get this cold there,” he nods against your shoulder.

“Okay, that is true, I’ll give you that.” He rubs your arms. “At least you’re wearing long sleeves,” he points out.

“Do you like it?” You’d been too shy to ask last time. Well, that and last time you hadn’t been wearing his name as his real girlfriend.

“I love it,” he says with a forcefulness that makes your heart flutter.

“Oh! I almost forgot!” You wiggle out of his grip to get the box out of your purse. “I know we’re going to celebrate on Saturday, but I figured since I was going to be here, I could give you your gift today!”

“Meep,” Javy groans. “You came all this way, you didn’t have to get me anything, plus I don’t have your gift here,” he bemoans and you wave him off.

“You didn’t know I was coming, and neither did I until yesterday, so I had already gotten you a gift. Plus, you bought the tickets to come up here,” you remind him. You hand him the narrow box and he arches a curious eyebrow as you draw the sleeves of your jersey over your hands and hug your arms around yourself. Javy notices and gently guides you so that your back is to the building behind you and he’s blocking the wind with his body before he opens the box. You hold your breath anxiously as he unwraps the paper inside before his breath catches.

“Roadie…” he murmurs and you swallow hard, trying to decipher if you’ve hit the nail on the head or missed it entirely. Javy lifts the tie out of the box, examining it in the light that’s filtering out from inside. You’ve covered the originally-white fabric with fabric paint, doing your best to recreate a slice of the cliff painting he bought at your show. And there at the very bottom are the embracing figures that represent him and you. “Roadie, this is beautiful. Did you paint this?” His voice is full of awe as he looks at you and you nod.

“I know it’s not the most faithful recreation but fabric paint is pretty fickle. I thought maybe you could wear it with one of your game day suits.” You admit. While exploring the team’s Instagram account you found the highlight of game day suit posts, and that had inspired you to make the tie.

“I’m getting rid of every other tie I own when I get home,” Javy declares and your eyes widen in horror.

“But this is blue, and it won’t match every suit!” You protest and he chuckles.

“Well then I’ll just get rid of all the blue ones, and every year I can get rid of a different color.” You see the nerves dancing in his eyes at the boldness of his statement, at the assumption that there will be more years. That you’ll be together long enough for a dozen Valentine’s Days and a dozen ties.

“Well I do take requests,” you say and you watch the anxiety leave his shoulders and you kiss your boyfriend at the top of the Space Needle on the night of your very first Valentine’s Day, and everything is perfect.

A/N: The Valentine’s Day festivities aren’t quite done yet, what do we think Javy has planned for Saturday?

[gottalovetumbler]

TF141 Zombie Apocalypse AU pt.2

Info: very gory and decently dark, cussing, slavery-esk, kinda obsessive too

Setting info: so I live in Colorado so this story is widely based on where I live and the Denver airport. To help set the scene I’ve included a picture I took outside of my house to show where the main character and Johnny live.

Anyways I hope y’all enjoy!

————————

“For the last damn time we are not going anywhere near Denver!”

“Come on bonnie! Juist imagine the untouch’d mail thare! It woul’ be like gettin the winnin lotto ticke’ !”

“Yea but instead of walking away with a shit ton of cash we’d be walking into a shit ton of zombies! Also don’t forget the sign saying to stay away from the airport.”

“Ah come on, whan has thon sign iver been richt aboot anything? remember earlier this year whan it says,’best outpost this side o the rockies juist 15 miles south.’ an then the same outpost blew up no e'en 2 months later. Tha’ sign has alway’ been full o lies.”

“No that sign has always been full of false hope, not lies. And it sure as hell has never been used as a warning sign, especially with how far whoever wrote it must have traveled to get up here. Whatever they’re warning people about, it’s serious and we’re gonna heed it. End of discussion.”

With that, you flip and stalk up to your house. Pulling open the door you walk in but don’t hear the door slam shut behind you so you know he’s followed you in. Of course he has, it’s your turn to cook dinner so he’ll be here all night.

“But Bonnie, it’s only aboot an hour drive.”

He whined, shutting the storm door and following you to the kitchen.

“It used to be an hour drive Johnny, 5 fucking years ago before the world went to shit. Do you know how many pileups and walkers there are in that city? Too many.”

You glance up from the pot you were stirring. The soup just about done and the scent wafting around making both your stomach growl. You’ve solemnly seen Johnny so defeated, the last time you saw him this bad was the day he turned up on your door step 2 years ago.

“Listen, I get it I do. It’s hard being in the middle of nowhere, nothing to do or to see. I get it I promise, I grew up here. But the possibility of finding some cool package meant for some chick named Racheal at the FedEx hub is not worth the risk. It just isn’t.”

“Yea you’re richt. The packages aren’t worth the risk o ane o us gettin hurt or worse,’ you turn your gaze back to the oven, glad you’ve finally got through to him. It sucks being stuck here but atleast you’re both safe-,’neither are the animals. They deserve tae stay trappit where they are because they just….. aren’t worth the risk. Right Bonnie?”

The glare you send his way just about lays him on his ass. The cocky smirk he sends you makes you nearly explode with anger. How fucking dare he use the defenseless animals against you.

“You and I both know any animals trapped down there are long gone and sadly there’s nothing I can do about that.”

“Maybe…… but wha’ if they aren’t? Ye gonna let thaim suffer alone a scared while ye sit here eatin chicken noodle soup?”

———

Back before the outbreak, you thought no car rides would ever be worse than the family road trips you used to go on yearly. They were full of anger and arguing, mainly between your parents but what you would give to be back there. Not just because you miss your parents, you do, but because if you hear Johnny sing one more damn Rihanna song, you may just give yourself to the zombies.

“Umbrella-ella-ella-eh-eh-eh, Under my Umbrella-ella-ella-eh-“

“Johnny, shut the fuck up! You don’t need to sing this song 50 times in a row! I promise you’ll live if you stop singing.”

“For all ye know bonnie, ma beautiful voice coud be the one thin’ keepin us safe so hou aboot ye respect it a bit more? hmmm?”

“I highly doubt that if your voice is keeping things away, it’d be because it’s beautiful.”

He turns to you with an eyebrow raised but before he can retort, the large (and frankly, ugly) FedEx logos appears. Sun damaged and looks to have been half plowed down by a minivan, but recognizable non the less. You can’t tell if it’s the tires or Johnny squealing as he veers the car towards the front doors.

———

It’s been 4 hours since you pulled up to this God-forsaken warehouse and you’ve barely glanced through half the packages, let alone open and look at them like Johnnys doing.

“How much longer are you gonna take? I’d like to leave before I begin turning to dust if possible.” You ask/complain as you sit on a Samsung fridge new in box, probably cost more than 2k before but now it’s nothing more than a crappy bench. You guys spend another hour loading all the ‘good’ stuff into the trunk of the car and begin the long trek home.

It was about 4 am when you started the journey down and it’s just about to get to 9:30 pm as you make your way back up. On the drive back you guys stick to the highways instead of the side roads/land. It looks like when shit hit the fan almost everyone started making their way south to try and get out of the city, clogging up the roads while the north bound road had a few straggling cars but no big blocks luckily.

“Grumpy, grumpy. Absolutely na respect for the hunt. Back whan A wis i the military A usit tae have tae sit still i ane spot for hours hopin tae catch a glance at the missions target. Aye could hunt for hours an niver get borit.”

“That’s the first time you’ve mentioned your time in the military in a few months.” You say staring straight ahead at the ‘road’ (it’s a fucking field) processing what he said for a moment. “Do you miss it?”

“Miss wha’ exactly?”

“Ya’know the missions and the ‘doing the greater good.’ Getting the bad guys and putting them down.”

“A dae miss the missions a little bit, ay. But A miss ma fellow soldiers more. We were a family, a found on’ but on’ nonetheless.”

You guys banter and talk for a bit more, effectively killing time till you have to inevitably had back north. Luckily the drive down wasn’t too bad since you were able to cut through fields and avoid any towns with ease.

If there’s one thing zombie movies and shows got wrong, it was the amount of zombies walking the earth. Sure, there used to be about 7 billion living people and that number has now dropped to a measly 400 million. But that doesn’t mean every other body is a current zombie. In the beginning there were loads but as the years went on and more were killed, the hoards became far and few between. On the drive down you guys maybe encountered 10 or 15 zombies, majority once you reached Denver. The drive back you’ll probably only see 5 to 10, if that.

You’d about halfway out when the car starts the slow. Your head had just knocked the door in your attempt to get some shut eye so your heart was already pounding as Johnny hit the breaks. Looking up you expect to see a pile up, a hoard or maybe worse, survivors, but all your met with is an open road. Glancing to your left to see what Johnny’s looking at you follow his gaze to your right and see a giant sign for the airport.

“No Johnny don’t even think about it. We talked about this, whoever wrote that sign was truly scared of whatever’s in that airport so we’re aren’t going anywhere near it.”

He shoots you a quick glance, studying your quirked eyebrow before he mutters a quick, ‘Sorry Bon.’ and veers toward the airport. Stupidly (don’t this at home kids) you reach for the steering wheel while yelling at him to stop. The second you get both hands on the wheel he grabs your wrists with one and holds them to his chest. Still muttering apologies as he reaches 60 mph and weaves through stopped vehicles. One too many close calls cause you to shut your eyes tightly waiting for the inevitable impact. A few minutes later you both come to a stop on the top floor of the DIA parking garage.

As he put the car in park and looks over, he expects you to yell or maybe even slap him. What he didn’t expect were the fat tears rolling down your face and you stared petrified at the entrance.

“Juist a quick in an oot ok? We’ll be back home i na time- oh bonnie i’m sorry ok, I’m so sorry.”

He pulls you in for a hug and strokes a hand down the back of your head and spine a few times.

“Ye don’t have tae gae i gin ye don’t want tae ok? A juist have tae see somethin for ma own piece o mind but ye can stay oot here.”

As if you could have gotten more upset at that moment. Pulling back from him you shoot him the most scandalized look. “And what Johnny, leave you alone to fucking die in there? ‘sniff’ No I’m coming in with you, but don’t think just because I’m going in either you means I forgive you for this.”

You both waited for your tears to stop and your breathing to even out before you steeped out of the car and up to the once working sliding glass doors. Newspaper had been plastered up and covered all the windows, you just hope it’s to keep zombies out and not in. Producing a crow bar from the trunk, Johnny wedges the doors open and you both sneak inside. You’re up on the second floor and begin walking around, passing the small shops and gates as you went. Up ahead you both see one of those floor cut outs with the railings where you can look over the edge to the lower levels.

When you first pulled up, there were no signs of life but as you draw closer to the viewpoint you begin to see faint light and hear voices. Shucking off the little stuff you brought in, you and Johnny lay flat to the ground and begin to army crawl toward the ledge, hoping to catch a glimpse at whoever’s down below.

The sight your met with makes you feel a bit sick, whether that due to the amount of zombies or what’s happening to them your not sure. Down below is a giant wheel, that seems to be hooked up to a generator, being pulled in circles by 20-30 of them. It isn’t unheard of for people to keep zombies and use them for some sort of manual labor but it is looked down upon. Just put the poor bastards out of their misery and let the rest.

Transfixed on the hoard you almost miss the very obviously human man walking up to one of the limping zombies that’s not moving quite as fast as he’d like. He stands there watching the poor thing drag its bum right leg for a good 30 seconds before it crumples to the ground.

Not even a second after the zombies knees hit the ground, the human man unchains it and begins dragging it away. The second he grabs the things shirt it begins to beg? You look to the right and meet Johnnys equally wide eyes, both of you realizing the sickening truth. Those aren’t zombies, those are fucking people.

Seemingly rritated by this, he begins dragging the human mam towards a wall. Clearly this is not a good wall because he begins to fight and yell, trying to get free but is quickly overpowered and chained up onto the wall. A bright light flicks on suddenly, momentarily blinding you as it points towards the man. Your heart skips a beat as you read the words over the top of the man’s head and holy shit you’re gonna be sick.

‘Johnny MacTavish, a traitor’

You look back over at Johnny but he’s transfixed on what’s happening below, unable to pull his wide and terrified eyes away. As the man walks away a new one appears with an all too happy voice.

“Oh Johnny, we finally found you! Do you know how hard it’s been withou' you all these years? I’ve missed you so dearly brother.”

The new man is clearly crazy because judging by the state of the wall this is not the first ‘Johnny’ to be chained up there. He approaches the chained man with a cart of knives and other torture items and from this far you can still see his manic grin. Not wanting to see the way this plays out you turn back to Johnny to say you guys need to leave but as your eyes slide over to his you catch something straight across from you on the opposite side of the opening.

Sitting in the same position as you, is a masked face. Just staring, not moving, just laying there watching you both. You kick Johnny to get him out of whatever trance he was in and before he can question you, your pointer finger directs his gaze to the man across the way. As Johnny makes eye contact with him his body grows frigid and he quickly stand pulling it up with him. The masked man tilts his head and slowly stands as-well, mirroring your movements perfectly.

Johnny grabs your hand and before you can even process the masked man running towards you both, he’s yanking you towards the exit.

———————

[mountain-in-springtime]

i was tagged by my darling @loser-user-noaccuser (thanks for the tag love) so let’s go!

(i’m also gonna tag @takenbythelightfantastic @shutupdevvie and @myfriendtheghost but if you see this and i didn’t tag you, feel free to participate anyway!)

what book are you currently reading? i just started shady hollow: a murder mystery by juneau black. i’ve been meaning to read it for ages, so i’m excited to finally get around to it. 

what’s your favorite movie you saw in theatres this year? this is really hard to pick because i did see a lot of films this year, most of them screenings of older movies. my top three are probably labyrinth, goodfellas, and rear window. i do feel that elvis deserves an honorable mention as well because i did really enjoy that and it made me cry multiple times. 

what do you usually wear? it depends on the day. if i’m at home i just wear athletic tights and a t shirt, but if i’m going to class i’ll throw on a cardigan as well and sometimes wear jeans instead of tights.

how tall are you? i’m 5′3″ 

what’s your star sign? do you share a birthday with a celebrity or historical event? i’m a pisces! i also share a birthday with johnny cash and victor hugo (and i’m one day away from sharing one with george harrison)

do you go by your name or nickname? they’re pretty interchangeable tbh. some people call me mallorie, but just as many call me mal. 

did you grow up to be what you wanted to be as a kid? yes and no. i think that who i am as a person is the type of individual that i’ve always been and wanted to be, but in the tangible sense of a career, lifestyle, etc., i’m still in a transitional period of my life and can’t say yet if i’ll reach the more material goals set by my childhood self. 

are you in a relationship? if not who is your crush if you have one? i’m not in a relationship, and i don’t really have any crushes aside from my multiple famous/fictional/tumblr mutual babygirls. 

what’s something you are good at vs something you are bad at? ever since i was a child, i’ve been pretty talented in the arts (singing, acting, visual art, etc.) and i did really well in school, but i am absolutely terrible at sports or really anything atheltic. 

dogs or cats? both! although i don’t know if i could live without a dog.

if you draw/write or create in anyway what’s your favorite picture/favorite line/favorite etc. from something you have created this year? it’s definitely this (technically unfinished) painting that i did of george harrison at the beginning of the year. i consider it one of my best works to date, and it was done at a time when i was really deep into a beatles phase so i think my love of the band and george really manifested into the work. 

what’s something you’d like to create content for? oh my gosh there’s so many things. i’m really big into any kind of pop culture/media so i draw a lot of celebrities that i love and things like that. i’d really like to continue to make art that shows my love of the beatles, but i would like to branch out into making art for some of my other loves like john denver, gvf, and the muppets. i’d also love to give writing fanfic for any of the fandoms i’m in a try.

what’s something you are currently obsessed with? well i’m obviously obsessed with the beatles and gvf, but i also adore john denver, the solo works of all the beatles, the muppets, the simpsons, film (particularly old hollywood and 80s films), and a million other things. i’ve also been hyperfixating on seinfeld a bit lately bc that’s the show i’m currently watching. 

what’s something you were excited about that turned out to be disappointing this year? i think every year i convince myself that i’ll make new irl friends and finally have a full friend group or even get into a relationship, but that never really happens much. (although i am thankful for all of the darling friends i have made on tumblr. y’all mean so much to me.) i also went see paul mccartney in concert this year and while it was amazing and by no means disappointing, it didn’t hold the life-changing gravity that i thought it would, and it almost made me a bit sad because it reminded me how much time has passed since the beatles and that the people that i really care about won’t be around forever. 

what’s a hidden talent of yours? i’m pretty good at impressions! i can do a lot of them, but some of my favorites are miss piggy, cher, bob dylan, chubby checker (specifically singing the twist), a ton of simpsons characters, jerry seinfeld and jimmy stewart. (the last two aren’t always great but they really make me laugh.)

are you religious? yes, but it’s a bit complicated. i was raised catholic, but i find that i don’t agree with all of the teachings of the catholic church, so now i’m trying to find where i stand in the religious community and where my beliefs and morals fit. it’s something i’m working on and figuring out as i go along. 

what’s something that you wish to have at this moment? happiness, love, and peace

[nickihiraoka]

This was easily one of the BEST weeks of my life. Granted, JANBA is ALWAYS one of my favorite weeks ever. But.. this one was different. Coming into the week knowing my brother wouldn’t be there and I had the opportunity to go back-to-back in the first 3 events of the week, there were a lot of nerves and a ton of pressure.. • It’s safe to say that maybe a lot of things fell my way this week, and maybe a couple things didn’t. But I wouldn’t trade this week for anything in the world. I ended up going back-to-back in the 4 Game Classic, Chad and I defended our title in Mixed Doubles, and our team fought hard to go back-to-back during Team Event. Mom and I lost Doubles by 6 and I fell short during Singles by 3. I did end up taking home All Events and Overall Events for the week, and 5/7 ain’t too shabby. I threw my GB2, Black Widow Hybrid 2.0, and The One all week. I felt like I threw the ball well majority of the week, and I’m slowly learning that you “can’t win ‘em all”. 😝 • Lastly.. I’m grateful to have such beautiful humans constantly supporting me, lifting me up, and being the best support system I could ever ask for. I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by folks who inspire me to be the best me possible in all ways, on and off the lanes. • Thank you to the Denver committee, Holiday Lanes, and everyone involved for doing such an amazing job in running this tournament. Lord knows it ain’t easy, and y’all absolutely killed it! Here’s to #COJANBA2023, can’t wait for Portland next year! ❤️ • • • #backtoback #JANBACRANES #blessed #onedayatatime #Denver2023 #friendswhoarefamily #blessedwiththebest #foe #janba2023 #brandsofbrunswick https://www.instagram.com/p/CpyHOVByOSt/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[hookingminor]

baby, you make me crazy (bonus epilogue) - tyson jost

a/n: fluffy little bonus for y’all! not super long but just something cute to wrap it all up :) thank you all for your support and patience during this series, I love you all so much and hope you enjoyed!

word count: 1.8k

-

7. The End

After a year of bliss and discovering your new dynamic as a couple, everything was finally perfect. There had been bumps in the road and obstacles to overcome and arguments to settle, but you had eventually gotten to a place where you were both happy.

Tyson was the ideal loving and doting boyfriend, and all your worries about transitioning into a new role as a girlfriend instead of just a best friend went a lot smoother than you anticipated. Tyson didn’t rush you to catch up to him and where he was with his feelings, and he let you dictate the pace at which things progressed. He never pressured you to give more than you were ready for.

It only took you two months of dating before you had told Tyson you were in love with him.

You came home after a particularly rough day, mentally battered and bruised and exhausted from all the bullshit you had to deal with. Without a word, Tyson picked up on your mood the second you arrived at his apartment, taking you into his arms in a comforting hug before telling you to rest on the couch while he drew a bath.

It was scented with your favorite oil and candles, and when he joined you in the tub and held you against your chest and opened your favorite book to read to you while you rested your head back on his shoulder, you knew you loved him.

Tyson simply broke into a smile that could’ve put the sun to shame when the words fell from your lips then kissed you sweetly before picking up where he left off in the book, all the while stroking soft circles into your skin.

Flash forward a year, just shortly after Tyson asked you to officially move in with him, he was traded to Minnesota.

You got the news immediately after the trade happened. Tyson’s first call was to you so he could break the news and that he would be shipped to Minnesota without being able to come back to Denver first and that he’d call you again as soon as he landed. The information sent your head into a tailspin, leaving you reeling on the other end of the line, but you knew he had to call other people and make other arrangements before he could explain everything to you. But it didn’t stop you from spending hours worrying until he called you from a hotel in St. Paul.

An impulsive decision led you to purchasing the earliest flight to Minneapolis for the next day, packed with a small duffel for yourself and a large suitcase containing all the essentials you knew Tyson would need until he could settle down in his new city: suits, toiletries, momentos, your favorite stuffed animal, his favorite snack…

The trip was short-lived since you had other obligations back in Denver, but you couldn’t let Tyson deal with everything alone.

He crushed you in a hug when you arrived at the hotel he was temporarily staying at, muttering words of thanks and appreciation and apologies that he was putting you through all of this, subsequently making your heart break at the same time because you knew it wasn’t his fault. If Tyson could have his way, he would’ve spent the rest of his career in Denver with the family and friends he’d made there.

“Don’t worry about me right now.” You brushed off his worries with a shake of your head. “We’ll figure it out.”

And you did.

You were able to make one more trip out during the first round of playoffs to support Tyson before they were eliminated, and if Tyson was being completely honest, he was glad to be done for the season.

Ever since the trade he’d been running at a hundred miles an hour traveling for every road trip and getting accustomed to the new team and city, and he hadn’t felt like he’d had a moment to truly breathe until now.

Now it was his summer, and he could finally get his affairs in order. He could officially get everything moved and settled and he could go back home to see his family. You still resided at Tyson’s old apartment back in Denver, but you’d both come to the decision that you’d make the move to Minnesota at the start of the next season.

It wasn’t one you made lightly, and people had concerns you were making the decision too soon in your relationship, but you disagreed. Sure, you’d only been dating Tyson for just about a year and half, but you’d known him for much longer than that. Wherever Tyson was where you belonged. Simple as that.

You took off an entire week to apartment hunt with Tyson in Minnesota, though you didn’t really understand your purpose in helping to choose one because Tyson would need the most convenient location anyway. Still, he valued your opinion and wanted you to be included in the process because it was ‘our home,’ as he put it. It wasn’t just you moving into his place like you did in Denver. This was your shared space now. Your home.

After a few days of touring, you came to choose a spacious two bedroom downtown, one that was close to where Tyson needed to practice everyday but also wasn’t so expensive you’d feel like a burden for allowing Tyson to pay for since you insisted on contributing at least something to the household.

“This is the one?” Tyson asked one more final time before signing his name on the lease.

You nodded enthusiastically, too overwhelmed by the city view out of the windows to pay too much attention to the realtor’s words. “It’s perfect,” you mused happily. Tall skyscraper buildings glittered in the distance along with Xcel Arena, the clear blue sky showcasing the perfect summer day outside. The streets were busy with pedestrians running around, and the nostalgia reminded you of downtown Denver.

St. Paul was nowhere near as bustling as your old home, but it was still active enough that you knew it’d take a long time before you got bored with the city. It was perfect.

A few more minutes of dotting the i’s and crossing t’s went on before the realtor left you alone to revel in the space with instructions of returning the keys to the front desk after you were finished.

“Well?” You wondered with a bright smile. “Are you happy?”

“If you’re happy, I’m happy.” Tyson smiled back, pulling you into his chest by your wrist. “I could live in a dumpster with you and be happy.”

“I’d say this is an upgrade from a dumpster,” you said, wrapping your arms around his neck and leaning in to peck his lips.

With renewed energy, you separated from his embrace and started gesturing with your arms. “I can already see it,” you began. “We’ll put the couch right here in the middle facing the wall where we’ll hang the television. A nice plush rug underneath with some side tables and lamps.”

You crossed the empty space to the opposite wall. “A large bookshelf along this wall where I can put all my favorites that make you seem cultured when people come to visit. Oh! And then we can make another shelf right here next to the window where I can put all my plans so they can get all the sunlight they need.”

Tyson watched you in amusement as you strutted around the apartment talking about ideas of decor and color schemes. He remained in the same spot mostly while you ran from end to end and into the bedrooms, shouting out what you wanted to do with those spaces.

“You don’t seem as excited as I am,” you teased when you finally settled back down, joining Tyson in the kitchen area that overlooked the living space.

“I am excited,” he replied halfheartedly, fiddling with his pockets as he averted his eyes to the floor.

“What’s wrong?” Concern washed over you at his sudden unease, and you crossed the floor to where he anxiously stood and ran your hands over his arms.

A silence fell over you when Tyson didn’t respond, only worrying you more. “You okay?” You tried again.

Tyson took a deep breath and a step back to lower himself to one knee.

“Oh, Tys.” You breathed in sharply. “What are you doing?”

“Please save your questions until the end,” he joked, shakily bringing out a small box from his pocket. “I’ve rehearsed this about a million times and if you distract me right now I’m going to forget it all.”

“Sorry, sorry,” you apologized quickly with a laugh. “Please continue.”

Tyson took another deep breath. “Y/N, you’re the love of my life. I know my life isn’t the easiest to deal with or the most fun, but you’ve been nothing but patient and understanding since I’ve known you. You’re my favorite person in the world, and above everything else, you’re my best friend. I’ve been waiting my whole life for you, and I’d wait a thousand more lifetimes for you. You’re it for me. Forever.” He paused to open the box, displaying a gorgeous ring that had a lump rising in your throat. “Y/N, will you marry me?”

Tears welled up in your eyes at his declaration, and your head was nodding emphatically before you could even get the words out.

“Yeah?” Tyson asked.

“Yes!” You exclaimed, launching yourself at him even though he was still knelt on the ground. “Of course it’s yes. You’re it for me too, Tys.”

Tyson couldn’t get up fast enough and let you tackle him to the ground until you were both rolling on the hardwood floors and pulling Tyson’s mouth down to yours in a hurried kiss.

“I love you,” Tyson whispered against your lips, his own mouth cracked open in a wide smile.

“I love you too,” you repeated. “So much.”

“I’m going to make you so happy, I promise,” he vowed, and you knew he meant it.

“You already make me happy.” You ran your hands over his scruff.

About a foot away rested the ring box you knocked loose from Tyson’s hand when you mauled him to the floor, and he reached over to pick the ring from its pocket to slip it on your finger. Tailored perfectly to your tastes and size, it fit like a glove.

Bringing your hand to his lips, Tyson pressed a soft kiss to your knuckles, a teary gleam in his eyes.

“Should we hit up IKEA in the next couple of days before you leave? Get some ideas of what we want for furniture?” He suggested, eyes never straying from the ring.

You nodded your agreement and dusted off after picking yourselves up off the floor, making sure to snap a few pictures together for your friends and family.

“Ready?” Tyson asked, gathering his keys and lease papers off the counter while he waited for you to finish soaking in the apartment and post-proposal bliss.

“Ready,” you said.

You couldn’t wait to be back here in just a few months to start your new life with the man of your dreams. You were ready for anything as long as Tyson was there with you.

[mindninjax]

Sleep on the Floor (3)

Pairing: Bakugo x Reader (Quirkless Au)

Rating: Explicit (18+ minors do not interact)

Warnings: none yet

Word Count: 3.6K

a/n: Sup I’m back. This weekend is going to be an extremely EXTREMELY rough time for me and I’ve been thinking about it all week. So here I am with another part. I sincerely appreciate everyone who’s like really into this even though I have no fucking clue where this is headed. I have seen y’all’s kind words and they literally have made some days genuinely worth it to like… keep going and living haha. Anywhoo thanks for being amazing people. I hope you enjoy this part.

Masterlist

It’s been a few days on the road now, seven to be exact, and Katsuki hasn’t thought about having a drink once. Which is a really good thing, considering he was walking the dangerously thin line of becoming a full on alcoholic seven days ago. The car ride isn’t as bad as he thought, and neither is driving. It’s relaxing watching the flashing landscapes go by. You sit in the passenger seat, feet sticking out the window, or your head lying on the door of the car, wind ripping through your hair with your eyes squeezed shut.

Despite being excitable and “eccentric”, you’re a quiet passenger. You just stare out the window, deep in thought with a serious look on your face. The only time it changes is when he asks you which direction to go or where you want to stop for dinner. He’s extremely thankful that it’s easy to just exist and zone out with you. It also helps that when he needs to stop thinking, you seem to know it without him mentioning it. You just strike up a conversation that he instantly falls into. It’s like you have a fucking superpower or something.

“What if I got my nose pierced?”

“Do you think aliens exist?”

“Have you ever heard of the Fountain of Youth?"

Your one flaw, however—well not one but you're most annoying by far—is that you have the absolute worst taste in music.

When you drive, it’s all indie/folk bull shit. Full of banjos, fiddles, ukuleles, acoustic guitars, and tambourines. It all sounds the same and Katsuki is ready to pull his hair out whenever any John Denver song comes up on your playlist, which is frequently. He’s your fucking favorite. Katsuki has heard you sing Rocky Mountain High at least five times in the last four hours.

“For fucks sake Airhead, please not this goddamn song again,” he groans as he switches lanes to drive past a car moving way too slow.

“What? It’s great! How can you be tired of it? It's like the epitome of a good driving song!” You look genuinely shocked that he doesn't want to listen to this fucking song a sixth time.

“Not the sixth time you hear it!” he yells, giving the person driving the other car the stink eye as he passes them. He hands you his phone to change the song.

“Fine fine, it can be your turn to play music,” you say, rolling your eyes and clicking his music app.

Katsuki sighs in relief and the throbbing in his head instantly soothes with the thought of stopping the ceaseless thrum of banjos on his frontal lobe. “Finally some good music,” he breathes when he hears the familiar electric guitar and heavy drums of his favorite band.

“My music’s good!” you say frowning down at his phone as you scroll through his playlists and artists.

“Frilly and repetitive,” he says dismissively.

“And this is good? It’s loud and obnoxious. How can you even think?” you whine, gesturing to the radio.

“I thought you didn’t want to think about everything going on,” he challenges and he sees your face drop.

He winces when he recognizes the quick flash of sadness passing your features, the grief you're trying desperately to swallow down. He's been doing that a lot this trip. Saying things he knows will be a grim reminder of your reality. And every time, he realizes what his words will do to you a second too late before it's already tumbling out of his mouth. He tries to avoid eye contact with you, guilt making him bite at his own cheek

“…touché. “ you say, quickly smiling and choosing another song on his playlist.

You sit quietly after that, bobbing your head to the music and gazing mindlessly out of the window. Katsuki tightens his grip on the steering wheel in frustration.

Katsuki wakes up to a slamming door and the car shaking. He has a bit of drool flowing down his face and he quickly wipes it away and maneuvers to sit up. He looks around, searching for you and taking in his surroundings. It looks like you’ve pulled off the road and parked the car facing toward the open area before him. He doesn't even remember falling asleep.

The scenery is quite different from the dark shadowy trees of the forest you were previously driving through a few days ago. Now, there’s nothing but open land, and mountains on the horizon with the sun starting to peek its way over their tops. The ground is covered in little green shrubs and grass, wild flowers of varying colors paint the landscape. There’s still a chilly night breeze flowing through the cracked window but when Katsuki steps out of the car and stretches his limbs he can feel the beginnings of the warmth from the sun as it slowly makes its way high up in the sky. He wonders how long you drove after you two switched driving shifts.

“Well good morning Sleeping Grumpy. I thought you were gonna miss the sunrise but it looks like you made it just in time,” you say in a bright chipper voice.

“Ugh how can you be so goddamn loud and happy this early?” he grumbles and you chuckle on cue.

You’re sitting on the hood of the car, legs folded, and watching the horizon. Your hair drifts a little in the wind and your eyes look dreamy and far away.

“It’s not early if you haven’t been to sleep yet.”

Well shit. You've been driving for way longer than you were supposed to, and you hadn't woken him up. He feels guilty again and it's annoying.

“Oh uhh.. sorry,” he fumbles over his words.

“Pft it’s fine. You needed to rest. Now you’re all ready to drive and you can pick where we’re going! But first…” you hold out your hand for him to grasp it. “Come watch the sun rise.”

Again Katsuki looks at your hand, everything in him tells him to take it, but he refrains. But he does walk over to lean against the hood of the car next to you and watch the sun ease it’s way up into the sky.

Lines of dark blue fade into pinks and oranges and golden yellows as the sun peaks into the sky. Katsuki is momentarily taken aback at how beautiful it is. The way it illuminates the darkest parts of the sky, it creeps up on it, brightening and bringing to light all the beautiful flowers and tiny little dead bushes in front of them.

He huffs a little as he remembers, he used to love seeing shit like this. It’s why he’d go hiking up mountains, camp in the wilderness and watch the sunset from the very top. It’s quiet, save for the few cars that pass them on the road and the birds waking up and chirping.

Katsuki glances over to you out of the corner of his eye and sees that your head is back, your eyes are closed and a calm smile is on your face. Again he’s mesmerized by the simple beauty that is you. You’re this perfect stranger he can’t seem to understand. Why is he so drawn to you? He’s no longer watching the sunrise but gazing at you, trying to figure you out.

You must feel him staring because without looking at him you say “What?”

He blinks in confusion and you open your eyes to turn to look at him.

"Staring is rude, you know," you say, raising an eyebrow.

"I wasn't staring," he grumbles back, turning away as the tips of his ears grow hot.

"Yeah well you were facing the wrong way. The sun is rising over there, Grumps," you say pointing and laughing.

The sun slowly makes its way up into the sky, stretching sun rays across the sky and illuminating what Katsuki can now see looks like desert and a bunch of mountains in the background. The jagged edges of the rocks look especially inviting and kickstarts a pump of adrenaline in his body that he forgot ever existed. It's been a while since his body was ready to be this active again.

He loses himself in the daydream of climbing up those mountains, remembering the way the sweat would drip down his forehead, and down his back, the burn of his muscles and the fresh clean air that filled his lungs as he puffed up the trail. His favorite times were when he got to rock climb, strong fingers grasping the pointed edges of the rocks and digging into his skin as his palms hardened into well deserved callouses.

A shriek, loud, shrill, and mildly terrifying pistons Katsuki out of his own daydream. His eyes scan the area quickly, the scream echoing across the wilderness as he tries to pinpoint the source of the sound. His eyes fall on you, standing in the middle of the wild flowers and tiny bushes, your face looking up to the sky. You take a deep breath in, reeling back with your eyes closed and the sun shining down on your face. And then you hunch over and scream at the top of your lungs and Katsuki is running to you, almost tripping over his own feet, eyes wide with anger...and worry.

He grabs your shoulders and clamps a large hand over your mouth. “What the hell is your problem?” He yells angrily as your eyes shoot open and you look up at him in confusion.

“Haven’t you ever needed to just...scream?” you ask genuinely, removing his hand from your face.

He glares at you. Of course he needed to scream. Screaming is solely how he expresses himself. Or at least it used to be back before the accident. And then he gets an idea. He squeezes your shoulders as he looks around and then digs in his pocket for his phone. You don’t pull out of his grasp as he types with one hand, figuring out where the two of you are and then looking up hiking trails for the mountains you’re near. When he finally finds the entrance to the trails, he plugs the location into the Maps app on his phone and looks at you.

“Not here. I got a better idea.”

Katsuki drives to where the mountain trail starts and is very lucky to find there’s a ranger station with supplies available to buy. You’re surprisingly very pumped for this, despite never hiking up a mountain before. He keeps trying to warn you it’s not as easy as it sounds but you reassure him, you’re up to the challenge. He’ll admit he’s excited too. It was always soothing getting to the top and looking out over the land below him. He guesses this will be good for you too and he doesn’t want to be in your debt anymore for letting him sleep through his driving shift.

When you’re donned in shorts, a tank top, new hiking boots, a fancy new backpack with water bottles, and a hat, Katsuki is ready to take you up the mountain. When he spoke to the Ranger he mentioned it wasn’t a difficult hike but he gave Katsuki his number just in case they needed some help. Scowling at the lack of faith the ranger had in the two of you, he took the number anyway.

The hike is long. You’re clumsy as fuck, and easily distracted by everything. You trip over shrubs hidden behind rocks and you slip and slide down the slopes despite having boots with great traction. Multiple times while hiking up the rough terrain, Katsuki has to retrace his steps to find you, off the path crouching down to look at some creature you’ve found fascinating.

“Airhead, how many goddamn times do I have to tell you to stay on the path!” he yells, tapping his foot impatiently in front of you. You’re crouched down in a bush looking at something stupid, Katsuki has no clue.

“Shhh! Grumpy you’ll scare him away!” you say looking up at him and pouting.

He holds the bridge of his nose in frustration, closing his eyes and sighing. “It’s gonna take all day to get to the top at this rate and it’ll be too dark to see. We have to fucking keep going!”

He’s telling the truth, but he’s also anxious to see the view from the top, though he wouldn’t mention that to you. It’s his favorite part.

Somehow—your fucking superpower— you understand he’s anxious to get to the top, so you stand and brush the dust from your ass and smile big at him.

“You really wanna get to the top dontcha? I won’t hold you back anymore!” you chirp, drawing an imaginary “X” over your heart.

Katsuki rolls his eyes and starts back on the trail but turns quickly to catch you when he hears you trip again, this time over your own shoelaces. His strong arms are scooped underneath your armpits and he’s holding you up and bolstering the rest of your weight against his chest. He can feel you breathing hard, your mouth turned up into a surprised “O” as you grasp his shirt tightly. There’s sweat dripping down your face, plastering little tendrils of your hair to your forehead.

Katsuki blinks at you, cheeks growing hot again. He doesn’t know why he has an overwhelming sense to pull you into his arms and tell you everything will be ok, but he ignores it. He stands you up right and grunts.

“If you aren’t gonna hold me back anymore, then at least take a sec to tie your damn shoes dummy,” he says, turning his face away from you quickly to try and hide the blush on his cheeks.

“Right!” you say, dropping to your feet. When you’ve finished and you bounce back up and flash him a thumbs up, you both continue up the mountain.

You and Katsuki make it to the top right as the sun is starting to set. The view is just as breathtaking as he hoped and he’s momentarily speechless. He can see rivers carving through the citrine and crimson landscape below. The wind is blowing cooler air up here instead of the dry scorching air of the desert below. Farther on the horizon, Katsuki can see the outskirts of a city, buildings sifting through the lazy pink clouds floating through the sky. It’s so open and free and he feels like he’s on top of the world.

The invigorating feeling pumps recklessly through his veins and both you and him are huffing heavily as you try to catch your breath and take in all the mountain has to offer. He takes the chance to look over at you, your chest heaving up and down, a wide toothed grin on your face. Your dimples are showing and Katsuki thinks this is the first time he’s seen you smile this much. He can’t help but smirk.

He nudges you with his elbow and grunts simply, “Here,” while nodding toward the open portrait in front of you.

You look confused for a second before it hits you and your eyes light up excitedly.

Again, you reel back, take a deep breath, muster all of the sound you can inside one big breath and then release it in a large relieving yell out toward the sunset. It echoes, bouncing around the rocks and floating away in the breeze. It’s a long aching sound that sounds like a mixture of a wail, a scream of terror, and laughter and Katsuki can feel each changing emotion.

When you stop, there are tears running down your face, you’re breathing hard, chest rising and falling deeply. Your fists are tightened at your side as you revel in the freeness and Katsuki watches you without saying a word. When you’re calmed down, you plop down onto the hard ground, pull your knees up to your chest, and wrap your arms around your legs, silently watching the sun move across the sky.

Katsuki walks over to sit next to you. He sees you shiver, and he pulls out the sweater he stuffed into his backpack and drapes it sloppily over your head before he sits down next to you quietly. You wipe the tears from your face and thank him quietly, pulling the sweater around you. You both sit like that, as the sun leaves, and the sky grows increasingly dark. Stars start to dance their way into the sky, twinkling like little diamonds across a black and blue canvas.

“You ever feel like you’re searching for something you know will never exist?” you finally say and you sound like your normal quirky self again. Katsuki’s thankful, but he’s more so grateful that whatever this is the two of you did today, seemed to work for you. It was something you needed and he won't admit it to you, but he’s happy to hear one of your weird ass questions again.

“What, like those idiots who went on a lifelong journey looking for stupid shit like a magic fountain that will make them young again?” he teases, snickering under his breath.

“I knew I shouldn’t have told you the Ponce de Leon story. Yes, actually. Just like that,” you say pouting again. You look at him now, curious to hear his actual answer so he knows you’re being serious.

Katsuki frowns and looks away, deciding on his answer. “No. I wouldn’t waste my time on something stupid like that.”

“Really? Even if it meant the journey would be the best time of your life?” You’re genuinely shocked and he finds it interesting to say the least.

He thinks about your statement, contemplating what you could mean by “the journey”, before he gets irritated by all the deep thinking. The journey doesn’t matter if you never reach your end goal. If you don’t reach it, you’re a failure and all the shit you did to get there is meaningless.

“Even then,” he concludes.

“Hmm… so the end goal is the most important to you,” you say, putting a finger to your chin as you look up to the sky.

“I guess.”

There’s a long pause before you reply. “Not to me.”

“How come?”

You sigh a bit before you answer. Your eyes are dreamy looking again and you’re gazing out at the now dark landscape before you. Fireflies are starting to blink and flutter around the two of you.

“Because I already know the end goal for this trip is impossible. But…right here, right now with you? It doesn’t feel that hopeless. I feel…ok,” you whisper.

There’s a weird feeling in Katsuki’s stomach when he hears you say that. Something feels like it’s pulling him towards you but making him nauseous the more he feels drawn to you. And something also clenches like it’s in pain inside him but it doesn’t feel like a bad pain, just a ghost of something he knows could be worse but isn’t. He ignores it again, swallowing the urge to wrap an arm around you and pull you closer to him.

“What end goal are ya talkin’ about?” he asks in a low voice.

Katsuki stares at you under the moonlight. The moon is behind your head, illuminating you again, like you’re some angelic extraterrestrial being. He lifts a large hand to brush away a firefly that landed on your shoulder. He holds the firefly tight in his fist and as he’s about to toss it away, you stop him.

Your skin is soft and warm despite the chill in the night air atop the mountain and as you grasp his hand lightly and unpeel his fingers back to show the small creature in his fist, he can’t help thinking about how warm of a person you are. Its light is blinking sporadically and you let it walk onto your finger before looking at it and smiling tenderly.

Life’s fucking unfair. He used to think that all the time the first few weeks while he healed in the hospital. But it was always in reference to him. He did everything correctly, trained, studied, did everything the managers and coaches said and he still ended up on the sidelines, cast aside like garbage once he was deemed “broken.”

But now, he thinks it’s unfair for you.

You’re…in pain and he hates it. It’s where the constant guilt comes from when your smile disappears from your face after he says something to upset you or remind you of the pain. And what he hates even more, is that he can’t seem to take the pain away from you. It’s all out of his control, and he clenches his fist in frustration.

Yet here you sit, healing him bit by bit with every new day that passes, with every mile the two of you drive together. Every day you show him he’s less of a failure than he thought he was. Every day you help him see that the world isn’t as dark and depressing and unfair as he thought it was after his injury. The only unfair thing is knowing you’ll never be whole again.

Katsuki is blown away, and if he’s being completely honest a little pissed that you, a complete and total stranger, has brought him to his knees.

You never answer his question but he doesn’t push you. He notices that your hand is still sitting in his from when you released the firefly. He sighs and closes his fingers around it, and his heart skips a beat when he feels you squeeze it happily. He leans back and you both quietly look up at the stars, hand in hand and lost in thought. He knows you’re starting to feel better— and is secretly relieved—when you close your eyes and hum what he assumes is another John Denver song.

[rosesvioletshardy]

lover - erik johnson

okay i’ve been working on this for nearly a month and hopefully y’all like it + there’s isn’t a specific time line in this fic and it’s sort scattered (i’m really sorry) also i’m sorry if it’s so 🥴🥴🥴

masterlist

ej masterlist

warnings: mentions of drinking, mentions of a not so healthy relationship, a couple of dirty jokes

# of words: 3120

We could leave the Christmas lights up 'til January

And this is our place, we make the rules

And there's a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you, dear

Have I known you twenty seconds or twenty years?

It was already mid January. The Christmas decorations inside the house have been taken down and put away except for the lights. You knew that you should’ve taken down the lights as soon as Christmas was over, but Erik insisted that the two of you should instead leave them up until you got sick of them or Christmas rolled around again. Neither one of you minded about how late you’d keep them up, because either way it was your house which meant they were your rules. At one point he joked that you should just leave them up all year so injuries wouldn’t happen while putting them up or taking them down. Especially with him being injury prone and saying that he could do everything himself and wouldn’t let you touch anything. The most you did was put away the stuff inside the house besides the tree excluding the ornaments.

“Why don’t we just keep the outside lights out? I mean this our house, no one else makes the rules besides us.” he suggested pulling you in for a hug as he held your waist and looked down at you

“Plus, it means I won’t end up hurting myself trying to take them down like I did putting it up” he added as you laughed at the memory of him knocking the ladder over and having to push himself to sit on the roof until you came home

“That doesn’t sound too bad, until we’ll get complaints from the neighbors” you mentioned making him roll his eyes

“So what?”

“So? I can’t deal with Mrs. Harris always yelling at me. It’s like she drinks a cup of hate everyday and puts her problems onto everyone else! It’s not our fault her children don’t visit, she shouldn’t have to take it out on everyone else!”

There was something about Erik that made you drawn to him and his ways. His jokes, the way he’ll go all the way to protect his team mates in fights, even if it does mean he might get a fine or suspension.

“That’ll make it even more funny! C’mon, you don’t think that would be funny?” he asked with a serious look on his face knowing how much he loves messing with people sometimes

“You’re quite the something Erik Johnson” you laughed out

“I try to be” he smiled making you chuckle

“Fine, we’ll leave them up, but you’re going to be taking the blame if she yells at me and you’re going to be the one apologizing all the time” you finished walking away from him and into the kitchen

Times like these make you wonder as to how long you’ve known him. At times it feels like you’re meeting for the first time all over again but other times it feels like you’ve known each other for twenty years. One thing you did know was that you didn’t want to waste a single second without him. You always thought if you would’ve found each other if he hadn’t bumped his shopping cart into yours while texting.

Can I go where you go?

Can we always be this close?

Forever and ever

Take me out and take me home

You’re my, my, my, my lover

Before even the two of you started to date and were still in the beginning of your relationship, you knew that Erik had a demanding job that would take him all over the US and some parts of Canada and you also having your own career making it tough for the two of you. You always made it your job to try and at least make the home games in Denver if you managed to get off work early. He always appreciated when you did and tried his best to make sure to impress you. Even now after a few years of dating, it felt like your first game all over again and you still got butterflies every time you think about it.

One game landed on your anniversary and it was an away game. He didn’t know that you had flown out with the help of Gabe and because they were going to be there a few days before the game, they had made sure that you and Erik got a room to yourselves. No matter how far apart the two of you were, you always found a way to be close.

After the game in Washington, Erik had convinced the team to let him stay for a couple of days so the two of you could celebrate your anniversary there rather than be a little jet lag and tired by the time you got home. He took you out to places that were the team's favorites and showed places that were his favorites that no one else knew. He always took you out to so many places no matter where they were and he always felt like a piece of home away from home.

We could let our friends crash in the living room

This is our place, we make the call

The beginning of the season meant that there was going to be a kick off party before they started the preseason. This year it was yours and Erik’s turn to host it. You loved that the team did this, especially with all the new players after being traded so you got to know them better.

Even though it was still August and there were still deals being made until the preseason and regular season started, it was still nice to have a party before they have to go back to training camp to prepare for them.

The two of you have been running around all day to make sure that you had everything for the night and that no one had to do last minute shopping, more you than him. He was always trying to calm you down whenever there were get-togethers that the two of you were hosting.

Almost everyone had a little too much to drink that night when all of you were sitting around the fire pit in the background nursing your preferred drinks. All the younger players who still weren't of age in the states had left a little earlier seeing that none of their older teammates wanted to get in trouble. When the fire had died out, everyone managed to get back inside the house and back into the living room.

“Cale, we love you and we need you, but at the same time, I also don’t trust you, so you’re going to stay here tonight, alright? Same goes with you Nate” Erik told them as he tried sitting them down on the couches as you brought in the rest of the dishes, nearly tripping over Tyson

“Oh yeah, sorry, I forgot he was there and he just laid down there” EJ said as he walked over to take some of glasses from your hand to set them down on the coffee table

“Guess I have to go get the extra blankets and pillows from the closet?” you asked looking at the three drunk hockey players “Yeah, it’s better for them to stay here. I don’t trust them being in their houses in a state like this. Especially this late too.”

“I’ll go get the stuff so they’re comfortable. I don’t think Tyson’s going to be happy that we just left him on the ground without anything” you mentioned as you two walked to the hallway closet

“I mean I would’ve taken him to the guest room but he was passed out by the time I managed to get Cale and Nate to settle on the couches. Want me to use the salts on him?”

“Do not do that. He won’t be able to sleep later if you do that”

And I'm highly suspicious that everyone who sees you wants you.

I've loved you three summers now, honey, but I want 'em all

You could feel everyone who was single burning holes into you as you and Erik danced. The two of you were at a family friend's wedding and no one thought that you’d show up with someone like Erik. Due to not seeing them for a while, they all thought you were single, despite adding a plus one. Now, they were all looking at the two of you. Especially the ones who were single.

“You okay?” you heard Erik ask you, snapping you out of your thoughts

“Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking” you told him smiling but he didn’t believe you for a second. He took you off the dance floor and to the hall outside the reception

“Okay, tell me what going on in that head of yours” he asked you concerned about the way you’ve been acting

“Everyone’s just staring at us.”

“So?”

“So, it’s like they haven’t seen me with someone before and it’s annoying that they’d all think I wouldn’t show up and thought when I put down a plus one, that I was lying. And I know everyone who’s single in there wants you because they don’t believe that I was able to get someone like you.” you told him frustrated and began to walk back and forth. He smiled at you before he grabbed your hands again and pulled you into him, hoping it’ll calm you down

“Who cares what they think? You came here, you’re hot, you have a boyfriend who loves you. Just know that if it’s really bothering you, we can leave. We don’t have to stay.” he told you as you took a deep breath

“No, no I'm being dramatic. I’m sorry”

“Don’t apologize, you know that we’ve been together for nearly three summers and that you’re allowed to be frustrated about things like this and don’t need to apologize for them. It’s not your fault. It’s not my fault.” he started

“I’ve loved you for those three summers and I want to love you for more. C’mon let’s go home.” he finished, kissing the top of your head

Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand?

With every guitar string scar on my hand

I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover

It was an off day for the team and all Erik wanted to was relax. Despite having already working out on the said day off it was nice to have a weekend off where he wasn’t going to spend the night on the ice and rather spend in your guys house. The entire day was just spent with the two of you cleaning and spending quality time with each other before he went on another road trip.

The two of you were currently watching a movie and there was a wedding scene that made you start to dream. You wondered what it would be like on the day of your wedding and how everything would go. With Erik standing at the end waiting for you with a smile stretching across his face, ignoring everyone who was standing and only focused on you. You were soon snapped out of your thoughts when he grabbed your hand. His calloused hands from hockey with small scars from trying to learn how to play the guitar during quarantine with your soft ones.

“Whatcha you thinking about?” he asked wondering why you were so focused

“Nothing, just us” you tell him smiling as he kissed your hand

Little did you know that he had a small velvet box hidden deep within his sock drawer, waiting for the right moment to ask the question he wanted to ask since the first year.

My heart's been borrowed and yours has been blue

All's well that ends well to end up with you

Swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover

You knew wedding traditions were a thing and even though it may have looked like you wanted to do them because of superstition, everything was just calm with each of you. You didn’t need something blue from a relative to make sure that everything went the way you wanted it to go. The only blue you needed was with Erik. He always had a calm presence when it came to his personality and being around others. One of his favorite things that you joked about was that when it came to your wedding day, you wouldn’t take anything blue, because of his eyes. The thing he never misses was having a light blue detailing on your ring that you were able to see, unless you were up close to it.

Being with Erik felt like an emotional toll had been taken off you when you first met. He wasn’t like the other boyfriends or dates you had in the past. The two of you understood each other and understood that you weren’t going to be with each other every single second of the day. After you two had your first fight, you had both decided that you needed to be honest with each other and promised that you’d both would talk in a calm manner to understand why you both were mad and offered solutions to make sure that if there were a next one, it wouldn’t involve a screaming match between you two.

Something you weren’t expecting on your wedding day was drama. Someone had managed to let one of your exes know when it was, what time the ceremony was, and the location. You’ve always joked that you were never the one to start drama, but it somehow always managed to attract you.

“I don’t mean to alarm you, but they’re here.” Ashlyn had told you, walking into the room as your eyes got wide

“How?!” you asked, getting up from your seat and began to pace around

“I’m not sure. There’s something else you should know. He brought her.”

By this point you left the room, ignoring every call that was made for you. Ashlyn soon called Erik to tell him what happened and that you’d left the room. He knew everything that happened in your last relationship and would do anything to make sure he didn’t turn out the same. Giving his groomsmen the look, they nodded understanding and left the room.

He searched nearly every room in the venue for you that the two of you had rented for the occasion. Taking one last sigh and rubbing his head, he quickly looked up and remembered exactly where you’d be.

During the time of the planning, you and ej would be visiting different banquet halls and they all felt nice and looked nice but they didn’t have the views that the two of you wanted. During the visit to this particular one, you found a room where there was a balcony that overlooked a lake and you instantly felt like that was the one. That was the view you wanted to see when looking back at the pictures.

“There you are” you heard a voice say making you quickly turn your head as he walked towards you

“I know”

“You know?”

“Yeah, Ashlynn called me after you left the room” he said as you let out a sigh, leaning over with your head in your hands

“I was doing alright and having a drama free day and how did he get in here?” you yelled in frustration but not loud enough for others to hear and on the verge of tears

“Hey, hey hey. Listen to me. We are not going to let him ruin this day for the two of us. If you want, we can ask the guys and make him leave”

“No, no it’s okay. I don’t want to cause a scene

“You never cause a scene. If i’m honest i want him to leave too. Don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself and understand you can be selfish sometimes” he whispered the last part while taking you one of your hands and the other under your chin as your eyes met each other

“We probably broke a ton of rules and superstitions” you laughed, trying not to let the tears escape and making him grin

“Well, if anything bad happens it’ll be worth it if it’s with you” he smiled kissing you head

“As long as they don’t know about how we hung out together for the last time last night” he finished as the two of you left the room and finished preparing for your big day.

And you’ll save all your dirtiest jokes for me

And at every table, I’ll save you a seat, lover

It wasn’t uncommon for everyone on the team and their significant other to get together for team dinners. At this point they were considered normal. The Landeskog household was filled with chatter throughout the house as everyone was arriving and getting ready for the night. Erik being Erik was making everyone laugh. You couldn’t tell what he was saying but you knew that it would’ve made you laugh as well. Excusing yourself from talking to the others, you entered the kitchen where you were back met with Erik as he threw away some garbage.

“What are you doing here?” he asked curiously

“Thirsty. I think it’s the wine, it’s good but it’s making me want water more” you say grabbing a cup from one of the cabinets

“Does that make you an H2hoe?” he grinned as you looked at him with a shocked expression before letting out a laugh

“Where did you think of that”

“I’ve had it for a while but that isn’t even the worst one” he said grinning while walking away and back to the dining room and saving a spot for you

---

“The season has been tough so far, and we’ve had our ups and downs but we always have gotten it in the end. So here’s to an amazing year” Gabe finished as everyone clinked their glasses together

“Here’s to love, and here’s to honor. If you can’t come in her, come on her” Erik whispered in your ear making you choke on your drink, turning your head to look at him

“Told you I had something worse” he said as everyone looked over at the two of you worried as you waved it off

Can I go where you go?

Can we always be this close?

Forever and ever, ah

Take me out, and take me home (Forever and ever)

You're my, my, my, my

Oh, you're my, my, my, my

Darling, you're my, my, my, my lover

[blueskrugs]

Mary’s Song | Tyson Jost

happy friday! we’ve got josty this week! even better, this one’s longer and has minimal angst. I hope y’all like it, thanks again to @broadstbroskis​ for being my beta, and I’ll see you next week with the first song from Fearless!

length: 2.7k words

I looked at you like the stars that shined in the sky, the pretty lights And our daddies used to joke about the the two of us, growing up and falling in love

You’d known Tyson Jost for as long as you could remember . You had been neighbors when you were little, had gone to the same preschool and everything. Your moms said you’d been inseparable from the start. 

Well, really, Tyson had offered you some of his snack, and you’d declared that you were best friends. It had kinda just stuck.

You heard your moms laughing sometimes, and they would say that you looked at Tyson like he’d hung the stars in the sky, though you didn’t understand what it meant at the time. You just knew that Tyson was your favorite person, and that you wanted to be friends with him forever.

Take me back when our world was one block wide I dared you to kiss me, and ran when you tried

Tyson got into hockey when you were still little. He was head over heels from the start, though from the one time you had tagged along with Laura and a toddling Kacey to practice, it seemed like there was more falling than playing hockey.

“I bet I could teach you how to ice skate,” Tyson said one day after school. 

You laughed, because he knew that you were scared of falling, but Tyson was looking at you earnestly, all messy hair and bright brown eyes. You were seven, and Tyson was starting to show some talent on the ice, you knew he loved it, but you would like to keep your feet on solid ground, thank you very much.

“Aw, come on,” Tyson begged. 

“No way, Tys,” you said, but Tyson kept pushing, literally, shoving up into your space and leaning on you.

“It’ll be fun!” he tried. You just shook your head at him. “Alright, fine. Tyson’s eyes turned mischievous, and you knew then that this wasn’t going to end well for you. “What about a bet? If I win, I get to teach you how to ice skate.”

He had you there. You were nothing if not competitive, and Tyson knew that better than anyone. And when Tyson with you and competition, you would stop at nothing to win. 

“Ugh, fine,” you said, crossing your arms. “But a bet’s cheating, and you know it.” 

Tyson just grinned at you. You thought for a minute. Tyson was bigger than you, just a little, but still enough that he wasn’t above tackling you into a snowbank to get the upper hand. You knew because he had done it just last week. 

You had an idea.

“Bet you can’t catch me,” you said, and Tyson opened his mouth to complain. But you pressed a kiss to his cheek before scrambling off the steps you were sitting on, and Tyson was left staring after you, mouth still open.

You’d overheard the other boys in your class talking about cooties and teasing Tyson about being best friends with you just the other day. He’d been blushy and weird about it for a couple days before deciding that he could, in fact, be best friends with a girl, cooties or not.

You laughed, loud in the quiet of your neighborhood, as you heard Tyson shout, “Hey!” and collect himself enough to race after you. 

He did end up catching you, because you were too busy laughing to keep running. You’d never admit it to Tyson, either, but letting him teach you how to skate was fun.

Well, I was 16 when suddenly I wasn’t that little girl you used to see They never believed we’d really fall in love

In another few years, hockey went from something for Tyson to everything, and he was heading off to B.C. You didn’t let Tyson see you cry when he left you behind, but it was hard, only 12 years old and watching your best friend get on a plane for 800 miles away. You didn’t want him to forget about you.

Tyson always came home, though, and when he was too far away, he would always call, always answer the phone for you. Before you knew it, you weren’t kids anymore, and Tyson was getting drafted. You were there with his mom and Kacey when Colorado called his name. You were so happy for him, but as you watched him pull that jersey over his head, you couldn’t help but feel like you were losing your best friend again. You weren’t sure you’d get him back this time.

Except in the middle of the madness that was the draft party back home later that week, Tyson grabbed you by the arm and dragged you outside. He was still wearing an Avs hat, but it was crooked, and his cheeks were flushed.

“I’m proud of you,” you told him. You felt like you’d been saying that a lot lately, but you still meant it every time. Tyson just shrugged at you, ducking his head. 

“I wanna talk to you about something,” he said. Up close like this, Tyson seemed nervous.

“Tys. What’s wrong?”

“I’m gonna miss you,” he admitted, but there was still something he wasn’t saying. He’d left you before, that wasn’t anything new.

“I’m gonna miss you, too, Tys, but-”

“I think I’m in love with you,” Tyson blurted, cutting you off.

You froze. Tyson looked unsure, curls askew under that stupid hat, and, yeah, he was just your best friend, but you’d probably been a little bit in love with him for years, too.

You didn’t quite know how to say that, so you stood up on your toes and pressed a kiss to Tyson’s lips. When you pulled back, hands still on Tyson’s shoulders, he was grinning down at you.

“So.” Tyson’s hands found your hips. “Guess you love me, too?”

“I take it back.” Tyson was going to be annoying about this, you could already.

“Nope,” Tyson said. He kissed you again, because he could. “Too late.”

Not much changed after that. You and Tyson still spent all of your time together, except there was a lot more kissing. Tyson had always been a tactile person, always looking for an excuse to be close to you, to be touching you in some way, and now he didn’t need an excuse. You couldn’t turn around without Tyson being there, a kiss pressed to your cheek, your temple, your lips. 

You rolled your eyes at him every time, but you didn’t really mind. 

You saw your moms smiling knowingly at you two sometimes, when they saw you curled up on the couch watching a movie, and you remembered the way they used to say you looked at Tyson like he’d hung the stars. You knew what that meant now, and they might’ve been on to something all those years ago. 

You asked Tyson about it one night late that first summer together, underneath those very stars, on your backs in the grass. 

“How’d you know?” Tyson turned his head to look at you. “That you were in love with me?” You were still young, but with Tyson it just seemed right.

Tyson laughed, rolling to his side and propping himself up on one elbow.

“I think I’ve always been in love with you,” he admitted. He was blushing a little. 

You leaned up to kiss him, and when you pulled back, he was blushing harder. “Me too.” 

You weren’t able to be there the night Tyson made his debut, but he called you after the game, all bright eyes and flushed cheeks and messy curls that you loved so much. 

“I love you,” he said quietly, like he still didn’t quite believe any of this was happening.

You wished you could be there to hug him, tell him again how proud you were of him. 

Take me back to the time we had our very first fight, the slamming of doors instead of kissing goodnight You stayed outside ‘til the morning light

The distance never did get easier, especially on the days Tyson struggled with his hockey, and you wondered if there would ever come a day where Tyson would have to decide which he loved more: you or hockey.

But there were always summers together, and long weekends and spring break. You made it work. Or, you thought you did. 

“Have you ever thought about transferring schools?” Tyson asked one day out of the blue. He’d only been home a couple of weeks after the Avs had been knocked out by San Jose.  You were sitting on the front porch swing after dinner, Tyson’s arm around your shoulders, but you tensed and pulled away from him.

“Why would I switch schools?” You had stayed close to home, and you were on pace to graduate early. Most importantly, you were happy.

Tyson shrugged, but his nonchalance seemed fake. “You could come down to Denver,” he said. He was looking over your shoulder at the sunset.

You raised your eyebrows at him. You hadn’t followed Tyson to UND, and you weren’t about to uproot your life to follow him to Denver. He’d been okay with that. You’d thought he’d been, at least.

“I’m not switching schools, Tys,” you said. You couldn’t decide if you were really angry or just hurt. This wasn’t Tyson asking you to move to Denver with him; it was him asking you to give up the life you were building and planning to be his girlfriend.

You stopped yourself from reminding Tyson that he couldn’t even stay in the lineup again this season, because he knew that already.

“Why not?” Tyson looked like he really didn’t get it. “You do want to come to Denver, one day, right?”

And, yeah, of course you did. There wasn’t a future in your head that didn’t have Tyson by your side. But you were supposed to graduate first, be able to start a life of your own out in Colorado, not just follow Tyson there.

“What if I don’t?” came out of your mouth instead. Tyson's face fell. He’d hurt you, and now you’d hurt him, too. “Tyson, my friends and family are all here, how am I just supposed to leave everyone behind?” You would, one day. You just weren’t ready yet.

“I did it.” Tyson’s voice was small. 

He had, and you’d been one of the ones he’d left behind, over and over.

“And what if you change your mind about me, about us?” 

Tyson recoiled as if you had slapped him. You supposed you had, in a way.

“I won’t,” Tyson said lowly. He looked like he wanted to grab your hand. “I would never.”

You believed him, but you couldn’t do this anymore tonight.

“Good night, Tyson,” you said, standing up and heading inside. You didn’t look over your shoulder to see Tyson’s face as the screen door shut behind you. 

You woke up the next morning to find Tyson passed out on your living room couch. He was still wearing yesterday’s clothes. 

“Sweetheart,” your mom said carefully as you walked into the kitchen. “Why did I find Tyson asleep on the porch swing when I went out for the paper this morning?”

You giggled a little in spite of yourself. Like a lot of things, last night’s fight felt a little stupid in the daylight. That also explained how Tyson was currently drooling on one of your mom’s throw pillows.

“We got in a little bit of a fight last night,” you told her. “I should probably wake him, eh?” He didn’t look very comfortable, but you didn’t imagine he’d slept very well outside, either.

Your mom just smiled into her coffee.

You watched Tyson sleep for a moment before poking him to wake up. He pressed his face deeper into the pillow for a second before blinking disgruntledly up at you.

“Hey.”

“You’re an idiot,” you told him, but it just came out fond. Tyson grinned up at you. He had pillow creases on his face.

You ended up going out for breakfast, after taking Tyson home to change into not-stale clothes. You both apologized over waffles, but you didn’t talk about it. It was fine, you were fine. The future was scary. 

Tyson didn’t bring it up again that summer. Not until you were on FaceTime one late night after the season started, when you were both tired and defenses were down. It was easier to talk about the future that way, for some reason, making plans while you were both half asleep. You dreamed of mountains that night.

Denver could wait, and Tyson would always be there waiting for you, too. 

A few years had gone and come around, we were sitting at our favorite spot in town And you looked at me, got down on one knee

Years passed. You graduated college. Moved to Denver, moved in with Tyson. You loved Denver, and you loved Tyson. And on late nights when you couldn’t sleep, you could just reach across the bed instead of reaching for the phone.

It happened back home in Alberta, though, because Tyson was sentimental like that, and home was where it all began.

You were next to Tyson on porch swing after dinner, just like you had so many times before, except tonight Tyson seemed nervous. He was clutching your hand tightly, and he was rambling, some story about JT you were pretty sure you’d heard before. When he paused to take a breath, you nudged him with your clasped hands. 

“What’s up, babe?” you asked. Tyson’s ears turned red the way they always did when you called him “babe.”

Tyson squeezed your hand, then brought it up to his mouth to press a quick kiss to the back of it. 

“Do you remember all the days we used to spend out here when we were kids?”

You did. You’d do your homework out on the porch swing on nice days, and when there wasn’t homework, you’d find some other reason to be outside. It had always been both of yours favorite spot. 

“I always hoped we’d end up back here like this one day, y’know?” 

You did know, but Tyson was letting go of your hand and sliding off the swing, down on one knee next to you, before you could respond.

“Tyson,” you breathed out instead.

There was a ring in Tyson’s hands, and he kept turning it over nervously as he continued talking. You had a half thought to hope he didn’t drop it.

“In my head, I was gonna have this great speech, and it was gonna be all romantic and shit, but now I can’t think of any words to say.”

You giggled and reached out to run your fingers through Tyson’s hair before cupping his cheek. He leaned into the touch. The sun was setting behind him, bright pinks and yellows across the sky, and it was just like every other time you’d sat right here together. 

“I love you,” you said, because it seemed important. 

“You’ve been in my life for as long as I can remember, and I can’t think of anyone else I want to spend the rest of my life with. Because that’s all I want, to be with you forever.” Tyson paused, took a deep breath. “Y/N, will you marry me?” he asked, looking up at you with big brown eyes.

“Yes, Tyson, of course,” you said, laughing. You might’ve been crying, too;  it was a little hard to tell. 

After all this time, you and I…

Alberta was home, but so was Denver. Tyson had been by your side for as long as you could remember, and he’d be there for as long as you could imagine.

You’d been lucky to fall in love with your best friend, but you’d probably always been a little bit in love with him, so maybe luck had nothing to do with it.

When you bought a new home together, Tyson insisted that you had to have a porch swing. Not that you would have objected.

“D’you think our kids will be like us one day?” he asked you once. There was a ring to match yours on his finger, now.

“What?” All those years, and sometimes you still didn’t understand half of what came out of Tyson’s mouth. 

“Like, cute, fall in love with the kid next door stuff,” Tyson said. 

You just laughed. 

[sturdy-nerdy-stitchery]

Post title: Absolutely Glowing!

Ok folks! The sturdy nerdy stitchery has been busy. (www.sturdynerdystitchery.etsy.com) Been printing 3d floss bobbins. Lots of them! The ones on the right were taken with my camera's night sight function so, they turn out a bit more blue...but the actual color is more like the ones on the left. But, I just LOOVED the way the blue turned out...SO!

GIVE-AWAY-TIME! You heard it folks!! 3 lucky winners will proudly be able to find their dropped floss bobbins on the floor in the middle of the night!

1st place: 15 floss bobbins

2nd place: 10 floss bobbins

3rd place: 5 floss bobbins

To draw up interest for these, I am holding the glowiest give-away ever! However, this doesn't come with out a cost. As the trope often is. To enter the give-a-way for these glorious glows, there are going to be some rules to get yourself entry! So, onward we go:

This give away will go on for 1 week only. one week. From now, until 11:59 on 8/7/2021 MST Colorado/Denver time!  

To get one entry into the give-a-way, you must:

Follow my blog, or already follow it.

like this post and reblog it

tag three people who need this in their lives, or heck...just 3 people who would find these awesome! Or even three people who just like glow in the dark things!

I will only accept entries that are following my blog, that reblog, that hit the like, and a tags 3 people, regardless of whether those people like or know what a floss bobbin is LOL

But wait! There's more! TWO ENTRIES!

If you would like to up your chances with TWO entries, then not only do you need to do the aforementioned list, but, go over and follow either (or both):

Instagram: @SturdyNerdyStitchery

Facebook: @ The Sturdy Nerdy Stitchery

To show me that you have completed this endevour, leave a comment here saying “Face book like!” or “Instagram follow! or “Both. Both. Both is good”

I will be making myself a spread sheet  of user names on likes, reblogs, insta, and faccebook. And I WILL be comparing number of insta/FB comments here to the number of new followers I get, so...y’all can’t pull the wool over my eyes! LOL! I don’t get that many followers per week anyway, so...give or take 2-3ish...

When the week is done, I will use a random number generator to randomly select 1st place, 2nd place, and 3rd place!

Once winners have been picked, I will reblog this and Tag the winners!, Winners have 3 days to message me before I move on to the next selected winner!

May the odds be ever in your favor!

In the meantime, you can check out www.sturdynerdustirchery.etsy.com for all your stitching needs. From needle minders to cross stitch patterns.

[uswntfics]

CATastrophe (Becky Sauerbrunn x Reader)

A/N: Hey y’all, hope you enjoyed this one I randomly wrote it a while ago. As always requests are always welcome.

Y/N shoved her hands into her pockets as she slowly walked along the sidewalk, enjoying the cool air and looking at all of the Christmas lights happily lit up on so many of the houses as she passed. It was still surreal to her that she finally got to take her dream road trip around the U.S.

She had a break from her job as an athletic trainer for Stanford University's women's soccer team before preseason started after also helping out a few WPSL teams over the summer as well. However it was still weird for her to be alone for the Holidays. Ever since she had come out things hadn’t been the same with her family.

She sighed and continued up the path toward the hiking trails. It was beautiful here in Denver but she couldn’t help but wish for something more. She was about to turn around and head back to her car when she heard a sound coming from the brush on her left.

“Hello?” she called, unsure, but she made sure to be ready to run if she needed to. She then heard a pitiful sound from a scared or injured animal.

She knew she probably wasn’t being the smartest but she stepped toward the brush slowly, hoping not to alarm the animal.

“I’m not going to hurt you.” she said in a soothing voice, parting the brush to see a dirty and travel worn cat looking up at her with scared eyes, “Aww hi little one, are you lost?” She cooed, slowly putting out her hand for the cat to sniff her hand.

The little cat must have decided she was okay because it wove closer and brushed it’s head against her leg making Y/N chuckle and scratch it's small head. Beneath the dirt and small scratches it looks like the cat was tabby with some white. Y/N took off her hoodie and wrapped the small cat in it, the cat just meowing and snuggling into the sweater.

Y/N smiled and saw that the cat was wearing a collar with a tag. However the tag was pretty cached with dry mud, so it was impossible to read at this point. "Well let's clean you up at the hotel and call your family. I'm sure they miss you." The cat purred as Y/N scratched under its chin.

Luckily it didn't take too long to make it to the car. Y/N rifled through the trunk of her car, doing a mental victory dance when she saw an old box for her boots which should be the perfect size.

She set the cat that was still all wrapped up in her hoodie, into the box. the cat merely meowed, but it seemed to sense it was safe because it curled up in the box and shut its eyes. Y/N couldn’t help but smile as she carefully shut the door to the backseat and crawled into the driver’s seat and started the car.

The 15 minute drive back to the hotel was uneventful. Y/N checked and made sure the cat was still asleep. When she saw that it was, she carefully lifted it up and found a duffle bag in her trunk, carefully setting the box with the sleeping cat in it, not zipping the top, just setting an extra jacket over part of the opening so that nobody could tell she was smuggling in a cat.

Y/N breathed a sigh of relief when nobody stopped her once she got into her room and shut the door. She carefully set the bag down and started to run the bath so that the water would warm up. she got a few towels ready and then went and grabbed the now half awake cat.

‘Meow!” The cat scolded her as she picked her up and walked toward the sound of the water. “I know little one, I know. But we have to get you and your tag all cleaned up so we can find your family. “ Y/N said softly she laughed as she swore the cat rolled it’s eyes at her.

Y/N grabbed one of the flimsy plastic cups that had been left in the room and set the cat down in the back of the tub. She filled up the cup and gently held the cat in place as she poured the warm water over the cat. “REEEEOOOOWW!” The cat screeched, slightly panicked. “Oh I know honey, I know but we need to get you nice and clean." The cat, who Y/N figured out is a girl calmed down as Y/N soothingly rubbed shampoo into her fur and then rinsed her off, making sure to pay special attention to her collar and tag.

“Missy huh, that name fits you baby girl.” Y/N said as she gently wrapped Missy in a towel and gently dried her off. Once Missy was dry enough Y/N set her so that Missy’s head was laying against her leg as she grabbed her phone and typed in the number from Missy’s collar. She hit the call button and hoped for the best, absentmindedly stroking Missy’s fur.

Kelley O’Hara sighed as she watched her roommate Becky Sauerbrunn stare into space again. Becky hadn’t been the same since her cat Missy had accidentally got out of their apartment in Salt Lake City a week before they had to leave for USWNT Camp. It would be 2 weeks ago today and they haven’t heard or seen anything.

Kelley felt terrible. She had been the one to hold the door for a second to grab the water bottle that she had dropped in the doorway as Becky waited for her in the car to leave for training. Missy was too quick for her to catch..

Their whole Royals team had helped them search for the week, as well as Ashlyn, Ali, and Alex since they had the week off before the camp but they weren’t able to find her. Becky had been even more quiet than normal and it made the whole team feel terrible. Kelley was about to try to make a joke to try to cheer Becky up again when there was a knocking at the door. Kelley sighed when Becky didn’t even look up toward the door.

Kelley opened the door and smiled sadly at her teammates. “Team bonding tonight. What would you like to do Broon?” Alex asked.

Becky just shrugged and sighed, “I’m sorry I’m bringing everyone down but Missy is my baby, and now I don’t know..” Becky sighed at the thought.

“Hey, first of all don’t apologize, we all understand, and second of all I have faith Missy is okay. We’ll help you find her,” Christen said, squeezing Becky’s arm. They decided to play a trivia game since that’s one of Becky’s favorites. Sonnet was floundering for her team of herself, Lindsey, Mal and Sam when She was saved by the bell, or the ring of Becky’s phone.

Ali grabbed it off the nightstand to hand to Becky. “It’s an unknown number.” Becky frowned but answered the phone.

“Hello?” Becky said.

“Hey, this is going to sound really weird but are you Missy’s owner? I found a cat with tabby markings and a white belly and this was the number I found on her tag.”

Becky froze. “What really?! Yes this is her! Where did you find her?!” Becky asked,a huge grin forming on her face. It shouldn’t be too far, one of her teammates could maybe pick her up after training.

“I actually found her on a trail in Denver. She’s all clean and ready to come home!”

“What all the way in Denver?!” Becky was shocked, she could barely wake the girl from a nap and she had somehow ended up hundreds of miles away?!

"Yeah, I'm guessing she had a long journey.." Y/N observed as she scratched Missy's head.

"Yeah we live in Salt Lake City. But I'm in Carson right now and I don't know if I have anyone who could get her soon…” Becky worried.

“well I’m on a road trip right now anyway, I can drive her down if that’s okay.” Becky was shocked. Thanksgiving was in a few days and a complete stranger was offering to drive her cat over 16 hours??

"Are you sure? I don't want to put you out at all." Becky said.

"Of course, it's not a problem at all. We'll leave tomorrow. Is it okay if I text you updates?"

"Of course, and I can't thank you enough! I'll text you the hotel address too! Thank you so much.." Becky trailed off.

"Y/N." Y/N finished

"Well Y/N I'm Becky and I can't thank you enough."

Y/N smiled as she could tell how much this Becky cared about Missy.

"No problem I'll see you soon Becky." Y/N said and hung up. She got a text shortly after from this Becky. After getting ready for bed Y/N chuckled as Missy curled up on her chest. Y/N decided to snap a picture so Becky could see Missy was safe and sweet as ever.

"What was that Broon did someone finally find her?!” Kelley squealed

Becky chuckled and nodded excitedly “Yes! You’ll never believe where she was found!”

“Where Becks?” Christen asked.

“Denver! I mean she is literally the laziest cat ever but she travels hundreds of miles?!””

The team cracked up “Wait if she’s in Denver how are you getting her back?” Tobin asked.

“The girl who found her, Y/N offered to drive her down here to return her.” Becky grinned, she couldn’t be more grateful.

“Damn Broon, you haven’t even met the girl and she’s already willing to drive 16hrs for you! I say go for it!” Pinoe yells, causing Kelley, Sonnett and the youngins to laugh and Christen to smack the back of Pinoe’s head as Becky blushes.

Before Becker could say anything her phone dinged with a text. Becky opened the text and nearly swooned. There was simply a picture of Missy perfectly safe snuggled up and asleep on Y’N’s chest.

Becky was so happy to finally see Missy but She couldn’t take her eyes off the most gorgeous woman she has ever seen.

Her dark hair framed her face perfectly, her hazel eyes so amazingly intriguing to Becky.

She was snapped out of it when Ashlyn let out a whistle “Damn Broon she’s hot and seems to love animals as much as you do! I second Pinoe’s idea!” Ashlyn called as Ali smacked her arm and Becky realized that the team had crowded around her phone to look when she had been staring at the picture.

“Okay leave her alone.” Alyssa spoke up, glaring at the team, causing most of them to scatter.

“Thanks.” Becky said quietly to her best friend on the team, trying to will away her blush.

“They’re not wrong though you know, she should get here right around Thanksgiving Day. Why don’t you invite her to the team Thanksgiving party/dinner. If anything you’ll get another good friend.” Alyssa said calmly, just wanting her friend to be happy.

Becky shrugged as she considered her friend’s advice, it couldn’t hurt anything.

Before she could change her mind she texted the new contact in her phone, inviting Y/N to the team’s dinner.

Y/N texted her acceptance after Becky assured her that she wouldn’t be a bother.

Becky smiled at the message, she wouldn’t admit it to anyone except for maybe Alyssa, Christen and Ali but she was excited to meet the gorgeous woman who had saved Missy. Who knows maybe this whole CATastrophe could end well after all.

[brockadoodles]

this is me trying - n. mackinnon

AN: Don’t be fooled by the cute gif, this is ANGST, AGNST, and more ANGST. But y’all asked for this so. Here’s another one of the folklore series. It’s a repost, but definitely let me know what you think!

Word Count: 2190

Warnings: Drinking, angst

I was so ahead of the curve, the curve became a sphere Fell behind all my classmates and I ended up here Pouring out my heart to a stranger But I didn’t pour the whiskey

When you left Denver, you had no plans of coming back. You made peace with your decision to leave Nate because you felt in your heart that it was the right one at the time. Nate was intense but nothing was as impeding as the freight train of emotions that hit your body at once when you fell too hard for him, too fast. You did what any cowardly person would, you followed your fears all the way out of town, hoping for that to be the solution to mend the destruction inflicted on your heart that you were only to blame for. 

You thought Los Angeles would bring back who you were before Nate, instead, it chewed you up and spit you out like so many before you who went there, hoping for a glamorous reality that only existed in fiction. Instead of new dreams, you had an overpriced apartment you hated that felt cold at night, and loneliness in your heart you had accepted would be there forever. You were haunted by regret, the memory of leaving Nate standing alone in his kitchen as you left him, begging you to stay. He tried to tell you it was in your head, that you weren’t feeling too much, that he loved you as much as you loved him, but you wouldn’t listen. Los Angeles gave you one thing you were thankful for, even if it didn’t feel that way in the time you had been there and that was the realization of your mistake. 

“I don’t understand how you can tell me you’re in love with me and then just decide to leave?” Nate sighed, doing everything he could to understand what you were saying to him. He knew things had been hard, the season was long, but you never flinched at any of the trials of his career. He was so in love with you it hurt, his love was a strange feeling in his own heart, he didn’t know if he would ever find someone until he found you and he just knew. 

You wrapped your arms around your body, a physical representation of the pain you were trying to shield yourself from, a heartache that at the time felt necessary. Nate was your entire world, you lost yourself in him and your relationship and it terrified you. It was a love that was too good, where you were pulled off on the side of the road looking at a view, ten seconds away from the drop off that never came. You wanted to get ahead of it, break it off before it broke you. 

“I do love you, Nate, but it’s too much. I don’t even know who I am anymore.” You cried, begging him to understand. 

Nate tentatively took a step toward you, reaching slowly to pull your hand into his. 

“You’re the most amazing person I know. You have a dream that you’ve built on your own, and you do a damn good job of it. You care about the people around you, with your heart that loves people deeply. Everything about you is beautiful. You make me feel like nothing else matters, I would give everything up tomorrow if you asked. Please, don’t do this to us.” 

You sobbed at his words, looking into his eyes that were watery with tears. You squeezed his hand, unlacing your fingers from his. You knew what you had to do, you couldn’t be in Denver anymore. You couldn’t see his face everywhere, you had to figure out who you were. 

“I can’t be that person, Nate. I don’t know who that is. I’m sorry, you have to let me go.” You whispered, smiling sadly at him. 

You didn’t look back when you left his condo, you couldn’t allow yourself the last glimpse of him that you didn’t deserve. You knew if you did, you would have stayed. Instead, you walked to your car, packed full of your belongings. The tears didn’t stop flowing the entire time you drove toward the freeway, away from Denver and love you didn’t know if you’d ever find again. 

---------------------------------

It had been six months, time that should have been enough to get over a breakup that you were the cause of. You were standing on a rooftop, looking out at the pink and orange sky that was settled between the LA skyline. A drink was sitting on the ledge, untouched in front of you, the water droplets on the glass from the ice that was melting. Everyone around you seemed so happy to be there drinks flowing and a steady noise from the constant chatter as they all celebrated your friend’s new engagement. You sighed, opening your phone as you debated slipping out early. You felt like an open wound, your thoughts were still racing over Nate, clouding your judgment and making it so that you couldn’t even be present for an event that deserved your full attention. 

When the car pulled up to your building, you felt like you were on auto-pilot as you thanked the driver, pulling out your keys before entering the lobby. As you opened the door to your apartment, you felt your eyes get heavy. You slipped off your heels, leaving them by the door as you continued inside. You slowly worked through your night routine, each step of it committed to muscle memory. You weren’t fully there, all you could think about was Nate. 

You made yourself a cup of tea in an attempt to wind yourself down, the cup warm in your hands as you crawled into your bed. Everything reminded you of him, the way you carefully got into bed, as if he was still peacefully sleeping on the other side and you didn’t want to wake him, the way you mentally said goodnight to him, even if you were just talking to his ghost, each little inconsequential piece of your life led back to him, no matter how hard you tried to forget. 

You felt so ahead of him at the time, so sure that what you were doing was right for both of you. The fear of a future with him overtook everything, the worries slowly started to replace comfort. You laid in bed that night, watching as time passed slowly while you thought intently about the last year of your life. You mentally berated yourself, trying to pinpoint exactly where it went wrong, combing through your memories for any signs that Nate gave that could have made you so insecure. 

The problem was that those signs were never there because Nate had never done anything wrong. He was an intense person, giving his all into everything he did, including you. Nate may not have been the type to show his feelings with superficial romantic gestures, he rarely surprised you with flowers, he didn’t take you on fancy dates, he took painfully long to say that he loved you. Anyone who didn’t know him probably would write him off as a lost cause, a young guy who didn’t know how to give himself to someone else. They had it all wrong though, Nate may not have been public about his affection, but he showed how much he cared in other ways. You felt his love in the way that he held you close after a tough loss, it was in the way he smiled softly at you when you weren’t looking, it was the way that he was your biggest supporter, always proud of your accomplishments and the person that you were. It was the way he was so sure about you meeting his family and Sid, knowing if you could get along with them, that you were probably the one for him. 

You thought back to that summer in Cole Harbour. Tears silently rolling down your cheeks as you remembered what Sidney had said to you that weekend. 

“He’s better with you, ya know. He’s more tolerable,” Sid jokes, walking up to you with a smile. You turned to look at him before your eyes trailed back to Nate, your heart full of nothing but affection for the man you had the privilege of getting to know. “But actually, not sure I’ll like him as much if you ever leave. You’re everything to him.” You looked at Sid, smiling softly at him. You didn’t respond because at the time you didn’t need to, the way you loved him was evident that weekend, it was unspoken. 

You never considered what Nate wanted. Looking back on it, you completely disregarded any feelings about you leaving, you never even gave him a chance to speak as you walked out his front door. The pressure created in your own mind, conning you into leaving a relationship that you were perfectly happy to be in only to later never let you grieve over what you did to him. You were selfish and you decided that enough was enough, you needed to forget about the failed attempt at moving on, you needed to go home. 

Glancing at the clock, you saw that it was just nearing 4 am, dimly lit reflections from the buildings were sneaking into your windows as the city was still asleep. It was a bad idea, one that came about from six months of never feeling at peace, your mind constantly going in circles. Before you could talk yourself out of it, you packed a small bag and left LA, settling in for a long drive back to a painfully familiar place.     

----------------------------------

As soon as you drove into the city, feelings of nostalgia calmed you. You felt the most at peace than you had in a long time, a false sense of hope filling your heart, not knowing that in a few hours you’d finally break. 

You didn’t have a plan as you drove the familiar route to the place you once shared together, the streets unchanged as you passed by. It was dark, and you had no idea if he was even in town but it didn’t matter, you had to try. When you got close to the house, your heart sank. A beautiful woman was getting into a car in the driveway. Of course, he had moved on, why wouldn’t he when it had been so long? You drove away from the house quickly, the pieces of your heart shattering as you went to the one place in Denver where you knew you’d have a few hours to just forget.  

You sat at a dimly lit bar in downtown Denver, flakes of snow littered in your hair from the winter conditions you couldn’t forget if you tried. Your dark anorak jacket was carefully placed on the stool beside you, the wool scarf that had lost the scent of Nate a long time ago still carefully wrapped around your neck, keeping your body warm and comforted. Whiskey sours were placed in front of you far too frequently for anyone that was supposed to be put together. You poured your heart out to a stranger, details blurring together as you spoke to the man next to you who probably couldn’t care less about your problems. Your words were slurring as you crawled deeper into your own mind, over analyzing each moment of your relationship with Nate and how you got to this point of being in the same town and not knowing each other anymore.  

You shakily pulled out your phone, debatably one whiskey sour too many from any sort of rational decision. You missed him, the kind of longing where your whole body aches. You sat in the nearly empty bar, minutes from the last call, ringing in your heart that was heavy enough to lead to collapse. 

You opened the familiar contact, the red heart still next to his name, taunting you as you remember the childlike crush you had when you put it there. You knew he wouldn’t pick up, not after what you did, but if you couldn’t be with him, you wanted to at least try one more time to rectify the mistakes you made.

“Nate I- god. I miss you, I’m sitting here at this bar, and all I can think about is the potential we had that I fucked up. I feel like I’m the outsider in this crowded party I wasn’t invited to. All I wanted was you and I fucked it up, baby. I-god.” You cried out into his voicemail, not unfamiliar to the desperation in your voice. 

“I guess this is me trying ya know? I want to make it right, to make you happy, to love you like I was so scared to before. I-I’ll be here, waiting.” You set your phone down, shaky hands wiping tears from your cheeks. You waited there until the night grew cold and the bartender had to help you into an Uber home, for a call that would never come.

[comphyjost]

don’t call me that - andre burakovsky

a/n: so y’all know that tik tok trend where you call your significant other by their first name to see their reaction and wives have been doing it to their husbands and they’re all like what did I do? well, that kind of inspired me to write this little one-shot based on that with my favorite hockey <3 

word count: 1021 (i may have gotten carried away) 

warning(s): not many -- one curse word & hints of sex at the end 

special thanks to: @davidpastrsnack for helping me with this idea & @spookymakar for always hyping me up on my writing & @pizzasloot for being so great <3 y’all are great!

anyways hope y’all enjoy my introduction to writing for hockeyblr!

Really it shouldn’t have been that big of a deal to you, but you were already on edge with how much attention your boyfriend of two years was not showing you, it was important to you and should have been to him. He promised it would be a special night to celebrate the big promotion you just got at work but was it? No. He had forgotten about it which left you sitting in your favorite restaurant in the new city you went with him to, in his favorite dress on you, with your makeup and hair done, and no boyfriend. 

The waiter had been sending you sympathetic looks for the hour you spent sipping on a single glass of wine and picking at the bread. Eventually, you paid for the wine and slipped out of the restaurant flushing with embarrassment as other patrons looked at you walk out with tears in your eyes. You made a mental note that you would not be coming back to this restaurant cause it no longer was the romantic gesture he surprised you with during your first week in Denver. Now it was the restaurant that you had loved before he left you sitting and waiting with no call or text for an hour. 

Suddenly the promotion at work hadn’t seemed all that exciting after your mood had been brought down by his lack of remembrance, but you tried to push it off and let it go. He probably got stuck at practice late and it hadn’t been his fault, so when you arrived home to find him just hanging out on the couch with Nate and Gabe, you were steaming. 

“Woah, y/n! You look great.” Gabe said as you stood in the entryway. 

“Thank you, Gabe. I am glad someone noticed.” You slid your coat off as Andre was glued to the couch looking at something on his phone. Nate and Gabe both shared a look as the tension visibly built in the room. Andre’s head snapped up with the comment and his eyes took you in. There you stood in the red dress that hugged your figure perfectly with your hair falling on your shoulders with gentle waves. Andre opened and shut his mouth before jumping off the couch making his way towards you. 

“Baby, I’m so sorry, I forgot…” He started. 

“Yep, that was clear, Andre. Crystal.” You pushed away from him before he could grab you into his arms. He flinched as you used his real name. You never called him that. Ever. It was always “baby”, “my love”, “dre”, “hun”, or even “burky” so he knew that he was in big trouble. Nate and Gabe also knew that this was not good for Andre having never heard you call him by his real name. Usually, they chirped him about how he was your “baby”. 

“We’re gonna head out,” Nate said looking extremely awkward as you walked to the kitchen. 

“You look amazing, y/n,” Gabe whispered hugging you with a kiss to the forehead before pushing Nate forward. 

As you stood in the kitchen, you could hear Nate’s, “oh you fucked up, man.” and Andre’s quiet “I know.” 

As you stepped out of the kitchen to go to bed cause you were exhausted after work and then Andre’s screw up, you saw Landy smack Andre in the back of the head. He whisper-shouted something you couldn’t quite understand in their native tongue, but whatever it was, Andre was looking down at his hands with a sheepish expression. 

You closed the bathroom door as you started your night routine which was another indicator to Andre that you were upset with him if the hallway conversation with you and Landy’s verbal scolding wasn’t clear enough. After taking the extra time to work through your skincare routine, you pulled on one of his old Capitals shirts and slipped from the en suite. He was sitting on the bed ready to apologize when the door had cracked open. He quickly stood up and walked towards you. 

“Andre, can we please just go to bed? I want to sleep.” The look that fell over his face was confusion, hurt, and disappointment, but he nodded nonetheless. 

You crawled underneath the covers in your shared bed. You even let him curl his arms around you with his legs tangling in yours. He whispered “I love you” and you did the same closing your eyes. 

---

The next day at breakfast you sat down and talked with Andre about last night. You outlined how it made you feel and why it was a big deal, which he was adamant he didn’t need to be told. He apologized profusely and promised it would never happen again. 

“I really am sorry babe. You didn’t deserve that.” Andre reached for your hand across the island. 

“No, Andre, I didn’t.” You sighed. 

“Don’t call me that.” He whispered with puppy dog eyes. “Please.” 

“It’s your name, Andre…” You rolled your eyes. 

“But you only use it when you’re mad at me.” He slipped from the barstool and walked over to where you stood leaning against the counter. His big arms engulfed you as he pulled you against his chest. 

He lifted you by your thighs onto the counter and pressed his lips against your forehead. 

“Are we okay?” He whispers against your hairline. 

“Yeah, baby. We’re good.” 

A huge smile spread across his face as he ducked his head to connect his lips against yours. The kiss was sweet, slow as you both molded together. It quickly became heated as his hands ran down your side to toy with his shirt covering the tops of your thighs. He pushed it up to pool at your hips before slipping his fingers underneath the waistband of your underwear and signaling for you to lift your hips. 

“Baby…” You started but were cut off with “Shhh...let me make it up to you. You looked so good last night…” He started before sinking to the floor in front of you. 

By the end of the morning, he had definitely made it up to you. 

---

any feedback is appreciated <3

[carynsilver]

Favorite Fics: Malex Edition

It’s a new year (quite definitively at this point), and a new set of fic recs. Just my small way of saying thank you to the writers who have made the past year, with all its challenges, a little better for me personally. Without the escape of reading, I don’t think I would’ve gotten through the past eleven months, so thank all of y’all for creating (now and in the past) and for sharing your work. You do it for free, and it’s amazing stuff.

If you’re interested, I previously shared my top 10 Stucky, Drarry, Stony, and Darcy Lewis (Wintershock, Shieldshock, and Tasertricks, mostly) fic lists. Today, I’ve finally decided on my top 10 Maxlex fics. So, in no particular order...

my love is a life taker by @jocarthage

If I were making a top 10 fics of all time list, this story would be on it. The breadth and scope of it is truly amazing, as is the writing. There’s world-fixing time travel and an interesting take on our favorite aliens and what could’ve been. Alex as a time agent is both so tragic and also so strong as he begins his journey of self discovery. He’s such an unreliable narrator, and yet also can clearly see so many things. Watching Michael’s growth through the years is just as fascinating as watching Alex travel through time. And it’s juxtaposed with the present so well. This Alex and Michael learn to communicate as they learn about themselves. And the story also taught me a ton about the Middle East and various historical events. I really love this story, and you should definitely read it right now if you haven’t yet.

To Trust Love by @laughsalot3412

This fic is amazing. It takes hurt/comfort to the nth degree. Michael, Isobel, and Max are the only remaining prisoners/subjects in Project Shepherd, and Alex (with the help of Liz, Kyle, and Maria) goes under cover as a guard to get them out. But to do so, first he has to gain their trust--an almost impossible test. The tweaks to the alien abilities and the handprint are interesting. Jesse Manes, as always, is absolutely horrible. But good wins in the end, and the boys are able to figure things out despite the mistakes they make along the way. I mean, trigger warnings for so much in a prison fic with Jesse Manes in it, but it is an awesome story. This author only wrote one RNM fic, but it’s a great one.

From Iraq, with Love by @adiwriting

Alex leaves for basic no way to contact Michael, so he reaches out to him via a YouTube channel. Alex writes years and years’ worth of love songs, hoping maybe Michael will see them and get in touch. The scene when Michael finally sees them is a gut punch in the best way, and the end is so satisfying. A truly excellent story, and I love how music from the heart eases their way into real communication--because, man, that is what these poor boys need.

unexpected tidings by @bestillmyslashyheart

The Vegas fic! Actually, that is not what this fic is about. There is only one scene set in Vegas, and yet that was the one I remembered when I was trying to find the fic again, lol. In this AU, Michael was never reunited with his siblings in Roswell, but he and Alex meet after Alex enlists. They meet three different times in three different states, and eventually fall in love. Then Alex has to come home to Roswell and take care of this little alien problem so his boyfriend can be safe from the horror that is Jesse Manes. One of the best things about this story is the past/present narrative structure. Only a really good writer can tell a successful story out of chronological order, and @bestillmyslashyheart really succeeds. Check out her other work, as well, such as A Simple Life (but with aliens).

Shadow Work by @myrmidryad

This fic has stellar world building. Alex and Michael are shades--people who work banishing hauntings, curses, etc. The scientific way the supernatural elements are approached is so interesting, as well as the different ways humans and aliens perceive them. Alex is a total unreliable narrator just because of how the haunt is affecting him, but he still gets the job done. This is a world you can just sink into. Totally immersive, and yet it works so well with the alien mythology we already have. And the conclusion to the haunt mystery is so satisfying. Such a great story!

Lovin’ you is a gift tonight (Lovin’ you for all of my life) by @bellakitse

Michael turned his cheek when Alex tried to kiss him, and then Alex and Rosa ran off to NYC before anything else could happen. Michael thinks of Alex as the one who got away, and then he runs into him when he’s stuck at the airport in Denver, trying to get home to Roswell for Christmas. Their reunion in the airport is fluffy and amazing, just a pleasure to read. And then they end up back in Roswell and all the other stuff comes into play in a really satisfying, let’s-deal-with-it-as-adults-instead-of-children kind of way. Ah, so good!

scream in there by thepredatorywasp

I’ll be honest, this one starts a little rough emotionally, but man, Alex and Michael really earn their happily ever after here. It is worth it. And then we get River! I enjoy a good kid!fic, and River the little alien found in a pod who gloms onto Alex and never lets go is amazing! River is my favorite kiddo that I’ve ever read in a Malex story.

truth (to the people we love) by @lambourngb

This is probably the shortest fic on my rec list. I am biased toward the long ones, I know. But man this one packs a punch. Alex recorded a goodbye message when he was overseas, and he has to tell it not to auto send every week. Then he is kidnapped for ten days... I don’t want to spoil too much, but just read it. It also plays with the narrative structure. And if you like this one, definitely check out @lambourngb‘s other stories. collect the bad habits and Vows are also great reads!

I Know Nothing Stays the Same by @aewriting

This is one of those stories that sticks in your head. It is awful (emotion-wise, not writing-wise) and wonderful all wrapped up together in the best way. Alex and Michael run away after the shed incident and go into hiding for five years. This is the past storyline. There’s also a present and a future. The ending of this story was so gorgeous, I don’t want to spoil it, but I remember it all the time when I think of Malex. Lovely and poignant. This is another version of this couple that <i>earn</i> their happiness together. And if you want even more in this ‘verse, the very talented @andrea-lyn (who also has a ton of great Malex stories) wrote a coda called There’s More Room in a Broken Heart.

Send Me Home by @litwitlady

I waffled back and forth about which story would fill the final slot. It’s always so hard to choose when there are so many excellent ones out there, but I had to have one of @litwitlady‘s stories on the list. She has quite a few excellent ones, but Send Me Home is my favorite. Michael the baseball player is both compelling and also heartwarming in his softer life. This is another fic where Alex is a musician, this one an actual country music star. So, it’s a sports fic and a celebrity romance, in addition to being a Malex RNM story. it is a WiP, which I sometimes hesitate to rec, but there’s only one more chapter to go, so I feel pretty safe about it. And she has lots of other stories you should check out. I’m fond of the Reunion series, as well.

So, that’s it for this post. Thanks again to all the amazing fanfic authors and their awesome work. I’ve read so many great Malex fics lately. On this list or not, I appreciate you guys!

[hookingminor]

close quarters (2) - andre burakovsky

a/n: here’s part 2! hope y’all enjoy please leave me a message w your thoughts I love hearing what you guys think

word count: 2,735

one / two / three / four / five

-

Despite his sudden aloofness that past few days, Andre knocked on your door the following Thursday.

“Hi, Andre, did you need something?” You asked curiously. He never bothered you in your room.

“Actually, I had something for you. I know you’re still looking for a place, so I talked to some people and got you a showing for tomorrow at five,” he replied.

“You didn’t have to do that,” you thanked him, “Really, I can find my own place.” Though, you weren’t really sure if that last part was true. It had been a couple weeks, and you were still at a loss.

“It’s no problem,” he said with a blush, “I can send you the address and phone number of the agent later today.”

“Wait, you’re not coming with me? You have to come with me, Andre. I can’t just show up somewhere for an appointment I didn’t make,” you said hurriedly before he left.

“I don’t think—,” he began to say, but you cut him off before he got any further.

“You sent me your schedule, I know you don’t have anything going on,” you said with an accusatory finger to emphasize your point, “You have to come with me.”

Andre opened his mouth to reply, but no sound came out. He knew he’d been caught, and you weren’t taking no for an answer. You raised your eyebrows, putting on a hopeful face as your lips slowly quirked into a smile.

“Great!” You said cheerfully when you knew he wasn’t going to argue, “I’ll be ready to leave at three!”

When you closed the door in front of him, a victorious smile on your face, Andre threw his head back to gaze at the ceiling, cursing himself for not being able to tell you no.

-

You and Andre walked to your showing the next day as it was only fifteen minutes away and the parking in Denver was hell. When you arrived at the opulent building, you stopped in your tracks to berate Andre.

“Who the hell did you call? I can’t afford a place like this,” you said in awe, mouth agape as you stared up at the high rise.

“I may or may not have promised the landlord two years worth of season tickets in exchange for a favor,” he said, chuckling at your stunned expression.

“You really should not have done that,” you said, though the bite in your voice wasn’t as harsh as you intended it to be.

“It’s not a problem. I don’t have any family near me anyway, and I have the tickets to give away,” he said with a shrug.

Andre ushered you through the lobby and up to the seventh floor, apparently he’d been given the entrance code already. You didn’t say anything the entire way, too taken aback by the cleanliness and luxury of the building. You read the signs in the elevator that indicated the floors of a few amenities, pausing when you came across the information for a pool. This had to be way over your budget even with Andre pulling a few strings.

A middle-aged woman greeted you when you stepped out the elevator, tapping away on her phone as she stood outside the door you presumed was the apartment.

“Hi, you must be Andre. I’m Ellen, I’ll be showing you around today,” the woman said, using a key to unlock the door.

You followed her into the entryway, your eyes immediately noting the open concept and large kitchen. Granite covered the countertops, a perfect contrast against the white cabinets.

“As you can see, there’s a lot of natural light that comes from the large windows and balcony, high ceilings in all the rooms, new appliances in the kitchen, bathrooms were redone a year ago,” she listed on, but you were already sold the minute you entered.

“There is a gym on the first floor, each unit comes with its own washer and dryer, pool is on the roof, though it’s only open during the summer,” she continued as you wandered through the living room.

It was much bigger than what you needed but beautiful, nonetheless. Ellen led you to the hallway along with the attached bedrooms.

“This is the master bedroom, ample space for a king-sized bed and plenty of room for clothes and shoes in the walk-in closet,” she described with a chuckle.

“Oh, we’re no—” you started to say, shaking your head at the insinuation of you and Andre being a couple.

“We love it, thank you,” Andre said loudly, drowning out your voice, “Would you mind giving us a few minutes alone?”

“Of course, I’ll be out in the kitchen if you need me,” Ellen said with her best saleswoman smile. She left the two of you in the room, and you gave Andre a funny look.

“It’s easier if they just assume we’re a couple. Less awkward,” he explained, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. You gave him a smirk that said “sure, I totally believe you” as you allowed yourself to pace across the bedroom.

“So, what do you think?” He asked after a moment, slipping his hands into his pockets.

“It’s perfect. Way out of my price range but perfect,” you replied.

“Don’t worry about that, it’s all handled. I promise it’s within your budget now,” he said.

You stood at the window, overlooking the city and taking in the view. It was the perfect location: only a few blocks away from your new job but still close to the interstate if you needed to go somewhere. There was a grocery store on the corner across the street, and you could see three coffee shops just from your view from the window.

“I don’t know how to thank you for this,” you said sheepishly. You hated owing people, and this felt like one huge favor no matter what Andre said.

“Think of it as a welcome to Denver present,” he said, “So should we go sign the papers now?”

As much as you wanted to say no, to tell him this was too much, the offer was too good to pass up. You weren’t going to find another place like this that you could afford, and Andre had already promised the landlord tickets. It would just be rude to refuse now. At least that’s what you told yourself when Andre led you back out to the kitchen.

“We’ll take it,” Andre announced when you’d joined Ellen back in the kitchen. She set her phone down on the counter when she heard his voice.

“Perfect!” She said joyfully, removing a packet of papers from her purse and setting them on the table, “I have to make a quick call, but let me know if you have any questions.” She pulled out a pen from her purse, handing it to Andre before moving to a different room.

Andre gave the pen to you as you began rifling through the lease. You scanned the apartment rules and contract appendices, noticing the way the monthly rent had been blacked out and replaced with a new price.

“I don’t even want to know what the real rent is,” you chuckled lowly, signing where it indicated.

“I wasn’t going to tell you anyway,” he replied, leaning his elbows on the counter as he watched you read.

You flipped through the rest of the pages, most of the words were a formality and discussed liabilities, not that you intended to break anything. When you had finished filling out the last signature, Ellen appeared back in the kitchen, the same bright smile on her face.

“All finished?” She asked, putting her phone back into her purse. You nodded your head, handing the stack back which she tucked away with her phone.

“You’re going to love this place. It’s very popular with young couples starting out on their own, so you’ll have a lot of neighbors like you,” she said as she escorted you back out of the apartment.

“The least starts on the first, and there is a service elevator just out back that you will be given a key to,” she added finally, locking the door behind you, “If you have any more questions, you can call me any time, or I’m sure you have the landlord’s number.”

It was clear Ellen had another appointment to get to, so you said your goodbyes quickly and left the same way you came.

When the elevator doors shut, Andre turned to give you a big smile.

“Don’t look so smug,” you said with an eye roll, “I’m going to be surrounded by young couples all the time now.”

“Well, you can always just invite me over if you need a fake boyfriend to show off,” he said without hesitation. You widen your eyes in surprise at his proposition, and Andre is quick to backtrack

“I didn’t mean like— I just meant that… If you ever need company…” he stuttered, cheeks heating furiously. You laughed at his uncomfortable shuffling.

“It’s okay, Andre, I know what you meant. And you’re always welcome here, you’re kind of my only friend in Denver anyway,” you chuckled playfully, trying to ease the tension.

The elevator hit the ground floor, and you exited, eager to leave that awkward conversation behind you.

“Back to the apartment, then?” You asked to change the subject as you both stepped out of the building onto the sidewalk.

Andre glanced down to look at you, entranced by the way your eyes glittered in the sunlight. So, he decided to take a risk.

“Actually, do you want to get dinner? I know a good sushi place,” he asked in a hopeful tone, “You know, to celebrate the new apartment and all?”

You didn’t think your mood could've gotten any better, and Andre didn’t think your smile could get any wider, but both of those things happened when he asked you out for dinner.

“I’d love to,” you replied.

Andre walked you throughout downtown Denver to a fancy sushi restaurant that sat on the corner of the street. Despite not making any reservations, you were lucky to see it wasn’t that busy and you were able to easily get a table for two.

He ordered a bottle of wine for the table when the waiter stopped by as you read over the menu.

“Do you want to get some sample platters and just share? That’s what I usually do when I’m with the guys. It’s also the best way to try everything,” Andre asked, pouring out two glasses of wine. You agreed at his suggestion, placing the order when the waiter came back.

“So,” Andre started, bringing the wine glass to his lips to take a sip, “How do you know Taylor and Tom? In all my years in D.C., they never mentioned you.”

“Taylor and I actually met in college, she was the senior assigned to mentor me freshman year. So, we spent a lot of time together. I moved to D.C. after graduation, and she was currently there with Tom so I reconnected with her and that’s how I know them,” you explained, taking your own sip of wine.

Andre nodded his head along with your story, and then he launched into the story about how he met Tom. You knew it was because of hockey, obviously, but he went into more details about their friendship and living situation with Latta.

“I always wondered why you had three ketchup bottles in your fridge,” you chuckled along with his story. You’d only been to Tom’s apartment a handful of times and it was usually because Taylor had to swing by and pick something up but you always found it odd why one household had three bottles of ketchup and absolutely no other food. You just assumed guys were weird and didn’t know any basic cooking skills; it turned out you were not all that wrong.

“Yeah, the domestic skills of the apartment were not very high,” Andre laughed with you.

He asked about your jobs after school and why you moved to Denver, and you asked about his home back in Sweden. Questions turned into recalling childhood memories and other hobbies and interests you had outside of your careers. The sushi came halfway through an anecdote of how Tom broke a hotel TV in Calgary because he was trying to kill a spider.

You continued into a story of how your sister tricked you into walking on a bee’s nest, which resulted in ten different stings and a trip to the hospital. An hour passed and the sushi between you slowly disappeared as you took turns telling stories and taking bites. Soon, the plates were empty, the bottle of wine was finished, and you could feel the waiter hovering near the wall waiting for your signal to deliver the check.

Exiting the restaurant, you stumbled out on the small ledge that dropped down to the sidewalk, your arm instinctively reaching out to grab Andre’s arm for stability. You chuckled when you made contact, clearly a little more tipsy than you originally thought. His hand slid down to your waist, holding tightly until he felt you were steady enough without the support. And even though he removed his arm from your hip, you kept your arms snaked around his as you began walking. Andre didn’t retract his arm or look uncomfortable with your proximity, so you kept it there.

He steered your bodies towards the direction of his apartment, and you knew you were probably a good thirty minutes away. The bubbly atmosphere from the restaurant followed you the entire way back to the apartment, both of you continuing the banter from earlier. It seemed as if the wall that was between you, the one that had you dancing around each other because of the unusual living situation, had been broken down and you were finally past the stage of awkward acquaintances and into the stage of friendship.

Well, you hoped it was at least at the stage of friendship, though you were silently hoping it had progressed past that. You would’ve been blind to have not found Andre attractive, but with his schedule and odd behavior and the fact that you lived together, you decided not to act on it.

But tonight you were feeling like pushing the envelope a little bit further.

The two of you entered the front door of the apartment, and for the first time in nearly two hours, a silence fell between you. It wasn’t uncomfortable by any means, but it was clear that your night out was over and the bubble that surrounded your date had popped. Now, you were back into the temporary roommate bubble.

Your hand finally released its grip on his arm when you both reached the kitchen counter. Andre stood between you and the marble countertop, his eyes still twinkling as he gazed into your eyes.

“I had a great time today,” you blushed, “Thank you for dinner… and the apartment.”

Still in a blissed out haze from the date, Andre didn’t think twice about lifting his hand to brush aside a strand of your hair. You leaned slightly into his body as his hand paused to rest behind your ear for a second.

Taking a deep breath, you tilted your head up a couple more inches, hopefully communicating that you wanted him to kiss you.

It was this action that seemed to snap Andre out of his stupor because one second he was moving his finger to lift your chin, and the next second he was dropping his hand and stepping away. He blinked away the lustful mist that clouded his eyes before coughing awkwardly.

“Uh, I have to get to bed,” he said, taking a few more steps out of your reach, “Practice in the morning.”

“Oh, okay,” you said dejectedly, your lips turning into a frown. Were you reading the situation wrong? You could’ve sworn he was feeling the same way you were.

“Yeah, uh, goodnight,” Andre mumbled, turning on his heels before speed walking to his room.

The air around you felt awkward for the first time that entire night. You were bouncing off each other the entire night, why was he closing himself off now? Your brows furrowed in confusion as you took a few seconds to process Andre’s suddenly bizarre behavior.

What the hell just happened?

[aces-drew]

a christmas rini hc bc the hsmtmts special revived me <3

just a cute lil christmas rini fim my bros, just some mushy christmas love shit for y’all hehehhe (not proofread sorry, it was just a braindump lmao)

ricky loved mistletoe growing up.

no seriously, he loved it. 

ever since he was little, year after year, mistletoe was associated with everything that made him the happiest - the holidays, winter, ugly sweaters, being snug with someone you love, his parents happy and in love, and the best kind of warmth to overwhelm all the cold

his earliest memory of his parents truly in love was when he held some mistletoe up to their knees and they kissed above him with smiles on their faces and teeth clashing.

it seemed to evolve as sort of a tradition. every year since ricky was 5 years old, he held up the mistletoe for his mom and dad while the entire house smelled of nutmeg while the cinnamon rolls and chocolate chip cookies baked in the oven;

eventually his dad nagging him to do it once he hit double digits while he visibly (fake) gagged at how endearing his parents were for kissing under the mistletoe 

until this year, there was nothing that could ruin the innocence of a kiss under the mistletoe 

but here he was, winter break of junior year, with half a christmas tree up, his parent’s divorce finalised, his mom celebrating christmas with ted in chicago, his dad drunk on his days off work, and him eating microwaved thanksgiving turkey lunches (that are somehow still a thing) alone 

if he wasn’t so fucking angry at all the exhaustion and sadness he was feeling, he might’ve has the emotional availability to cry about it (hint: he didn’t)

so he just resorted to the monotony of waking up every day, doing his homework (yeah it surprised him too dw), facetiming nini, and gaming to keep himself as distracted as he could, actively avoiding the holidays all together

and obviously nini knew the extent to which this all sucked for ricky :( 

in addition to the guilt she was feeling leaving for denver in a few weeks, she hated the way ricky’s festive spirit was non-existent this year 

she remembered them every year growing up, ricky resembling a puppy getting ready for a walk in the park with each day they got closer to christmas

ricky, even before them dating, having 4 christmas movie marathons planned for every saturday of the month for them to watch on nini’s couch

(die hard of course being one of them because YES, it is a christmas movie, and no, he didn’t take criticism) 

her excitedly looking forward to cuddling with him underneath the only non-christmas coloured blanket he didn’t complain about nini keeping on the couch because he knew that it was her favourite blanket that they would inevitably end up cuddled under together

her moms obviously found them passed out on the couch snuggling, nini resting almost on top of ricky, them soundly sleeping with their stomachs full of hot cocoa and their hearts filled with love for each other (and yes the cheesiest and warmest christmas cheer)

god, they fucking loved each before they even knew what love was; if nini wasn’t already the hopelessly hopeless romantic she was, she could scream into a pillow about it

she was so thankful for ricky and the holidays, and ricky during the holidays. she always thought her favourite season was spring but seeing how much ricky loved winter, it was hard for it not to slowly become her’s too

so now as she sat facetiming him and he looked the saddest he’s ever looked, it was impossible for her not to scheme

after a few searches on pinterest and a re-watch of all the new girl christmas and thanksgiving episodes, she got her plan together

===========================================================

two days later, while ej, kourtney and big red took ricky out for a movie and some pizza, unbeknown to ricky, she used the hidden spare key to get in (break in) to his house

she knew that his dad had been working pretty late everyday this winter so she bet that some quality time with ricky was highly likely 

after raiding ricky’s gummy worm stash from the second last drawer beside his kitchen counter, she got everything ready 

===========================================================

‘this really is so nice of you guys, really’ 

ricky was incredibly thankful for his friends. he didn’t even know what he would do without them, but it was hard not to feel the sting of nini foregoing the movies for a workshop that her denver school was hosting

and of course he tried not to be bitter about it, he was so incredibly happy for her, she was the most talented person he knew, but it also sucked that he would have to do the rest of high school without his girlfriend, the person he loved most in the entire world

‘dude, don’t even sweat it... we know it’s been a rough winter’

and again, if two months ago you were going to tell ricky that ej was more an acquaintance to him, let alone a friend, he’d think something was perpetually wrong with the universe

but here he was, even empathetic

they had eaten, watched an overplayed zombie movie at the theatre and spend some good time together. and even though he was incredibly grateful for the quality time he’d spent with his friends, his social battery was low and his tiredness unrelenting.

so within twenty minutes, he was back on his driveway, taking a deep breath before bracing the Utah snow

===========================================================

once he walked through the door, he didn’t really even realise the entire living room re-arranged until the smell of his mom’s cinnamon rolls hit him

and then he processed all of it at once; a fort was set up in the middle of the room, the fully decorated christmas tree gleaming in its designated corner and christmas decor uplifting the entire space. fairy lights hung around the fort and the tv had been moved to level with it as muffled christmas sintra rung through the air

the entire gesture winded ricky. 

‘hi’ nini’s voice piped shyly from the kitchen

‘hi’ 

it was safe to say that rick was indeed short-circuiting right now

‘oh my-’ ‘ricky i-’

he didn’t really wait, ‘no me first. what the actual fuck nini? what the actual he-? oh my- i don’t eve- oh my-’

luckily, nini wasn’t as winded, ‘i know christmas sucks this year, i know that everything seems wrong. but i love you and gina, ej, big red and kourtney love you, we’re here. i’m here. i wanted to something for the holidays, ya know? take some agency and plan the festivities for once.’

ricky was still pretty starstruck, ‘by the looks of it, i should definitely do this more.’

her soft giggles were only matched with tears pooling in ricky’s eyes. tears he was desperately trying to control from sliding down his cheeks. nothing had managed to lift this unnerving pressure he had pressed up on his chest till now. and now? now, he was elated. he felt like a fucking cloud. he was so relieved, and so so fucking thankful.

‘this-nini this? this is everything.’ and he meant it. the earnestness in his voice seemed to surprise nini, her eyes suddenly matching his glossy ones. 

‘i love you.’ was all he managed to say as he rested his forehead on hers after hugging her, breathing in more of the nutmeg candles she’d lit. 

‘one more thing.’

‘what?’

‘look up!’

and surely enough, mistletoe stared right back at ricky, ‘i know this is hard. i know it is,’ she said almost reading his mind, ‘so we make our own traditions y’know, new ones. happy ones. so i thought i’d start with this.’

and that was enough for him to kiss her; he tried to convey all the love and great-fullness and integrity and warmth and honesty he felt, how much she made him feel like he had a home in her, how comfortable she was, how indispensable. most of all, he wanted her to know how lucky he was to be loved by her.

when they finally broke apart, nini raced to the kitchen counter, and when she returned with her favourite non-christmas sunshine yellow blanket and a copy of the die hard dvd, he knew that this winter break was something he could survive.