#except jack and bitty oops

[lutzgocelly]

Sneak peek of my piece for @omgzineplease (which will be out on June 5th!) 🎤

[nurseanddex]

Friendship Week Day 1: First Impressions

This was supposed to be Dex & Bitty and then it kinda turned into Dex & Frogs & Bitty & Samwell in general, oops 

for @birlcholtz‘s friendship week

William Poindexter’s first impression of Samwell University can be summed up in one word, preppy. The little he’d seen of campus so far seemed to have much more in common with what one would expect to find at an Ivy League school than what he’d seen of the state schools he’d toured so far. The rink tour was almost enough to sway him, playing in Faber would be incredible, but the other prospective recruits had his guard up. The goalie recruit, Chow, was as excitable as a puppy, gushing over every detail of the rink like he’d never seen one before. The kid seemed harmless enough, but it had rubbed Will the wrong way when he’d accidentally dubbed him with a new nickname, unable to remember any part of their introduction except for a single syllable of his last name. 

Then, there was Derek Nurse. The guy oozed privilege, speaking with the ease of someone who’d never had to worry about a single thing in his life. From their first introduction, Will could tell he was the kind of person who’d been tailor made to get on every last one of his nerves. When a member of the current team showed up, roped in by the small hyper boy that Will assumed was the assistant manager to carry armfuls of honest to god goodie bags, Nurse practically flew over to pull him into a bro hug. They knew each other from Andover, of course. Because of course Nurse went to a pretentious prep school like Andover. 

Will sorted through the contents of his goodie bag. There were the expected items, Samwell Hockey gear and a university map, but he was surprised to find not one, but two varieties of baked goods nestled carefully in the bottom. He had tuned out most of the goodie bag maker’s explanation of the bags, but then he overheard the player tell Nurse that Mr. Hyper was not in fact, a manager, but actually a member of the team as well. In shock, Will blurted out the first thing that popped into his head.

“That guy? Wow. I thought since Jack Zimmerman played here, guys would be … less good at baking. If you know what I mean.”

A blush rose from his cheeks to the tips of his ears as he observed the guy in question. He was small, enthusiastic, and currently regaling one of the other prospective recruits with the tale of how the mini-pies included in the goodie bags had won the Tri-County Fair not once, but twice. He definitely did not fit into the image Will had of a hockey team led by the son of Bad Bob Zimmermann. Will had assumed that the whole team would be filled with hyper serious hockey robots, like Jack himself. Years in hockey locker rooms had taught him not to expect someone so open, or who liked baking, or who was so, well, obviously gay. The tiny part of his heart that was growing tired with living in denial whispered, if they accept him, maybe they would accept me.

Four years later, Dex stared in disbelief at the plaque in his hands that declares that he has been named Captain for the upcoming season while crushed in a hug by his two best friends, Chowder and Nursey. He had been surprised to learn that his initial impressions of them had been so wrong as he’d gotten over himself and gotten to know them better. The biggest lesson he’d learned in his time at Samwell had been that his first impressions had fallen hopelessly short of the story beneath the surface. He never thought that he would ever feel so at home at a school that had more in common with Harvard than with the University of Maine. Hell, he’d even surprised himself by becoming the one on the team to follow in Bitty’s footsteps and take up the baking mantle. Dex had grown so much more comfortable with himself because of the love and acceptance he’d been shown, to the point that he was no longer in denial. Well, maybe not about everything, his heart whispered as he flushed red at the way Nursey leaned in closer than strictly necessary to say, “You’re the most brainwashed of all, Dex, of course I voted for you.”

“I love this stupid team.”

[zimmerhomme]

Check, Please is chock-full of incredible bookends, when things somehow end exactly where they started, so here’s a crazy, coincidental bookend of my own:

I discovered Check, Please in the summer of 2016, the longest summer ever—I had five months of free time before I started college. Naturally, I went and got myself a new obsession. Today, as Check, Please closes its final chapter, I’m facing yet another seemingly endless summer, this time at the end of my college career.

I know it’s a comic and decidedly not a collection of music, but this story has become the soundtrack to my entire college life. Unlike a regular comic, which you would pick up, spend a day or two reading, and then put down, Check, Please was an ongoing story, and even though I found it when Bitty was already halfway through his college life, I knew I still had two more chapters of this webcomic to look forward to. It would turn out to take four years to get through Bitty’s junior and senior years at Samwell University, and for a while, it was literally my lifeblood, even if it only updated every few months. I had some good laffs at all the dumb jokes, cried at all the sweet and sad parts, analyzed every panel, every errant streak of light (because it still amazes me how intentional Ngozi’s art and storytelling are), and, in the meantime, read millions of words worth of fanfiction. It’s weird, because I had very few friends who shared the same interest in this comic and these characters as I did, but that made it even more special, somehow. Here’s one thing that felt like it was really just mine. (Here’s a shout out to all my friends who put up with my random screeching about this comic that none of you care about—god bless you and your families and your cows!!!)

It’s surreal, how quickly these past four years have gone, and it’s surreal getting to watch Bitty go through almost all the same things as I was, almost in real time—dumb shenanigans with friends, finding a home and a family away from home, struggling with confidence and self-esteem issues, getting a leadership position, even down to procrastinating my thesis. Hell, seeing Bitty graduate is probably the closest thing I’ll get to graduation this year, the way things are going. And then there’s seeing Jack, who is my absolute favorite character ever in this world, who struggles with anxiety and crippling self-inflicted pressure, allow himself to be happy and build relationships with people instead of shutting them out—I’ve learned so much about myself through these characters, which is insane because they are drawings of hockey players that are decidedly not real, but that just goes to show the power of a beautifully written story. I’ve also learned so much about hockey, and I know this is a truly important story to be telling at a crucial time like this, because it’s a story about a gay baker-slash-figure skater from the South who plays through a debilitating checking phobia on a D-1 college hockey team and, against all odds, he wins. It’s a pipe dream for now, because the NHL is the whitest, straightest, most conservative major sports league there is, but hopefully someday (soon!), Jack and Bitty’s story can be mirrored in reality.

Check, Please is a lovingly told tale about hockey, pies, and romance—things I barely know anything about (well, except hockey, now). But it’s also a story about college, about learning new things about the world and about yourself, about friendship and finding people that help you be your best, and about growing and thriving in the most unexpected places, and these are things that I’ve become intimately familiar with in my past four years in the Ateneo. I’m having trouble saying goodbye to this comic, because it feels like saying goodbye to my own college life, but as Bitty says to his batchmates in one of the last few updates, “We are our four years of Samwell.” So maybe it turns out I don’t have to say goodbye after all. This story has become an irrevocable part of my college experience, and an irrevocable part of my life, and I’m a better artist (waking up early to watch Ngozi draw and color has definitely PAID OFF, though I’ve still got a ways to go), sports fan (waking up early to watch hockey games has also PAID OFF if seeing the Pens win back to back Cups counts for anything), and person (catch me regulating my own destructive behaviors like HAHAHAHA pushing people away when I need help oops) for it.

I’m not a Wellie by any stretch of the imagination (not that Samwell exists LMAO), but I think after four years in college anywhere, it still applies: May the rivers of friendship never die, and may we always drink deeply from knowledge’s well!

[likeshipsonthesea]

okay so legit one of my first-ever nurseydex posts was this one right here and while i still agree with/hc parts of it i have to admit it’s a bit outdated for how i see nurseydex’s relationship now so i thought why not make a new “why i ship nurseydex” post three years later to explain my own rambling understanding of them??

so, anywho. imagine a dex-- back when he was just will-- growing up with this huge weight of expectation around him, about every aspect of his life-- expectation of what a man ought to be, expectation of what a student ought to be, a worker, a son, etc-- and despite what he wants and feels, striving to meet/exceed this expectation to satisfy his parents and make them proud and be who they want him to be. like, following his ma around when she does chores might be fun and helpful, but a man is supposed to be doing the dirty, heavy work, no baking or doing laundry (at least that’s what his brother says) and from the time he’s little he knows that college means money and they don’t have that, but education is also very important and college is how he gets a better life for him and his family, and so from elementary school he’s studying his spelling words and times tables and striving to be the best student he can be because scholarships and respect and expectation. and yeah, maybe there’s other expectations, around who he can and cannot like, and maybe that doesn’t always fit the way he thinks it’s supposed to, and he allows himself little indulgences knowing one day that he will do what is expected of him and make his parents happy, and the crushing weight of that-- of knowing what the future will force him into-- has him frozen between the need to be what he’s supposed to be and the want to be free, and these warring ideals within his own mind leave him grasping and uncertain and--and angry at everything (family, town, society, himself) for putting him there to begin with and then-- and then-- he goes to samwell

MEANWHILE there’s a little nursey, small and surrounded by smiling parents and nannies and love, and somehow, despite it all, he’s anxious. it’s his brain, probably, but at four, nursey doesn’t know anything about brains, all he knows is that his parents aren’t home and maybe that’s his fault and before he can understand how jobs work and how their importance doesn’t outweigh his parents’ love for him, he’s sitting at home wondering how to be better, how to be enough to keep them there, how to be good. and he excels in all his classes, gets bored sitting there with all his fancy private school kindergarten work finished on his desk, and his parents bring him to the doctor’s thinking it’s an attention disorder and he gets diagnosed with anxiety. at eight. and his parents-- mama gets mad (and nursey hasn’t yet learned to distinguish anger at the world and anger at him) and mom becomes focused, ready to fix it (not realizing, really, how nursey sees it as a need to fix him) and dad is maybe the best, he just buys some puzzles and makes hot cocoa and sits with nursey when the world gets too tough, and still nursey leaves thinking i’m a burden, he has to take the time to do this, i’m a burden, and he grows up with the idea that he has to be good, can’t be broken, has to pretend to be perfect even if he isn’t otherwise his parents will be sad and it will be his fault, and it works (until it doesn’t) and he thrives (until he doesn’t) and everything is happy and perfect and wonderful (until it isn’t) and things break apart and nursey decides perfection is impossible to fabricate but pretending to be chill, pretending to at least be okay is enough, and so he moves on with this veneer of okayness and this mess of anxiety and apprehension and worry underneath and it’s such a delicate balance he somehow manages to handle until samwell

(under the cut bc, well. it got a little long. oops?)

and there it’s like-- they’re both at the perfect point to just completely explode one another. nursey sees this walking ball of seemingly together person and pokes at it, this kind of self-projection thing really, trying to break the outside and see the mess within, and meanwhile dex looks at nursey and sees someone perfectly content with everything in life and turns on every probing question like it’s an attack, and maybe it takes a few terms-- maybe all of their frog year-- to start seeing past the cracks. maybe a few of nursey’s questions poke at places more sensitive than he’d meant to see, and maybe dex calls nursey out on things his anxiety has whipped out of control, and maybe after they lose the playoffs and dex is angry and violent and not enough and nursey sees that-- feels the ache of imperfection, too-- and somehow the knowledge that he’s not alone makes it better? and suddenly he wants to make it better for dex, too? and so they go into the summer after frog year with the beginnings of an understanding and things are-- tentative, but they know how to deal with fragility better than most, and it survives the break, survives the infrequent texts and tangential group chat conversations

and sophomore year they have rooms across the hall from one another, randomly. they walk together to practices, because why not, and tag along on team breakfasts (dex is a morning person, nursey is not, dex likes being helpful, nursey likes making it to bfast before holster eats all the waffles) and maybe they start talking-- actually talking, not barbs and banter and chirps just a bit too sharp to laugh at. it’s like an actual conversation for the first time since they’ve known each other, and c’s ecstatic and their hockey’s great and things are going wonderful.

until one of them catches feelings.

it doesn’t quite matter which one of them-- maybe dex falls in love with the way nursey gestures with his hands too much as he talks and how he waxes poetic about everything, but mostly nature and books and how it feels to smile without knowing it, and maybe dex falls in love with the way he feels around nursey, like he could say anything and nursey wouldn’t- he’d judge, maybe, because nursey likes doing that, but it would never be maliciously, it would always be out of a want for dex to grow, learn, be himself more. and seriously, that wouldn’t be hard to fall in love with

or maybe nursey falls in love with the weird bits of knowledge dex drops about any and everything, always attributed to an aunt or uncle, of which he likely has an unlimited stock, and the way that dex catches him when he trips on the sidewalk and the strong, sure way his hands curl around nursey’s body, and how when he gets flustered or embarrassed or angry or happy, his flush is a different shade depending on the emotion, and how nursey-- when he’s around dex-- doesn’t wonder if dex thinks what he’s saying is dumb-- he probably does-- because dex cares anyway and isn’t that just completely and wholly unavoidably wonderful?

so. one of them falls in love. there’s a dib flip. dex goes a little overboard. so does nursey. neither of them reacts accordingly and it’s nearly impossible to say which one reacts to the other’s overreaction. one person has their heart beat up (he still doesn’t like me, he still thinks i’m just someone to annoy) and then they lose before they even make the playoffs and then jack and bitty come out on live tv and dex’s parents infer things that break expectations and nursey’s parents start fighting (unrelated) and nursey wonders if it’s his fault (it isn’t) and they come back to samwell in the fall poised to break one another apart.

if in frog year it was an explosion, in junior year it’s a careful disassembly. they poke at the soft spots they’ve learned in the past year until the whole living situation comes crumbling down and, in the rumble, everything is silent and so much clearer. nursey is alone in a top bunk with a broken wrist, isolated from the team and his parents, scattered across the globe for work in an effort to get away from one another. dex is tucked away in the basement, sucking at hockey as his body refuses to get used to a different d-partner and his conversations with his parents consist of short sentences and loaded silences, and he has no idea what to do with either.

spring comes early that year. flowers poking up amongst frost-bitten blades of grass, birds chirping in the early hours of practices. nursey is back on the ice. he and dex don’t speak, except to work through plays. it begins to come back-- their understanding-- if only on the ice.

bitty starts visiting jack more on the weekends and chowder is off with caitlin and doing compsci homework and talking to recruiters. whiskey usually isn’t there anyway and tango is off doing everything and the waffles are cool but suddenly they seem so young.

on saturday nights, dex cooks and nursey sits at the table with him and complains, mostly to himself at first, about his writing prof. as the weeks wear on, dex adds his own complaints, too. sometimes nursey will throw in something good that happened. sometimes dex will tell a joke (usually a pun, usually horrible, usually inducing belly-aches in nursey regardless). afterwards they do the dishes. dex mentions how he used to love doing the dishes, how it calmed him. how his brother used to comment on it disparagingly. nursey mentions, another time, how his roommate at andover would hate the impromptu headphone dance parties he’d put on-- how it was something he’d do with his dad, when he was young. how it made things better, for a while.

(they never really talk about when happened, dex’s parents or nursey’s, the ache of loneliness that fall term, not until very later, after samwell, after-- well. it takes a while, but when they finally do talk about it, it hurts less if only because of the delicateness with which they’ve learned how to handle such things, by then)

 by the time the end of the year arrives-- when they win  the fucking playoffs and hoist bitty onto their shoulders with a burning pride in their chests-- nursey and dex would call one another friends. to their faces and everything. and then there’s a banquet and dex gets the c and-- as a twist-- nursey gets the a (maybe coach and hall approached dex before the banquet, explained how close the votes were, asked him if he’d mind, and dex gave the most honest answer maybe he’d ever given in his life-- it would be an honor)

they go into the summer with one another at the top of their messages. they call nearly every week, snapchat daily, about nursey’s internship at a publishing house, dex’s at a tech company in boston. maybe nursey panic-calls dex at three in the morning going on about the publishing process and how crazy it is and how i’m never going to be published and dex calms him down with some seriously misinformed words about the literary business that make nursey breathe easy anyway, and maybe dex goes home one weekend and there’s radio silence until dex calls him on the way back home and asks nursey to just talk and so from maine until massachussetts it’s nursey’s voice rambling about pears and children’s books and cooking equipment until dex gets back to the apartment his internship is paying for and simply says thank you

and they go into senior year this unquestionable team with a legacy to uphold. dex works through plays without hesitation, showing the baby frogs (juniors, they call them) the ropes and silently making the team a warm space, while nursey inspires and comforts and corrects the little things, and they run the haus in the same way-- nursey planning movie nights and board game nights (now that holster and jack are gone and there are strict rules in place) and dex is usually there in the kitchen, cooking and baking and willing to listen to anything the players have to say, and if you asked any of the baby frogs what they thought of dex and nursey’s relationship, they would’ve said that their captains had been friends for years (and maybe, in the right light, that would be true)

how they get together at this point is not important. whichever one didn’t catch feelings sophomore year found them, sometime afterwards, behind a box of forgotten things, forgotten only because they’d been there quietly for so long that no one had every thought to question their presence, and so, in senior year, when they are both in places where things are no longer fragile, where “broken” is a word easily thrown away, they come together with little fanfare.

over a pie, one softly raining afternoon, or in a slipped-into-snowbank on the way back from practice, or in the library over an open textbook or between laughter or in the moments before sleep embraces them on a roadie, or any number of other things.

that is not the most important part-- it’s important, of course, but not the most-- the most important part is that they were, are, together long before any moment like that occurs. because they both learned, grew from the volatile, fragile people they arrived as. grew because they forced each other, became better, stronger, with the guidance and comfort and assurance the other offered. because that is what makes a partnership, a bond of the souls, a love like theirs. it is not being perfect, not even being perfect for one another, but being there and willing to grow.

maybe it’s samwell-- got your back-- that puts them in a place where this kind of process can work. maybe it’s the nature of college itself. maybe it would’ve happened regardless of where they were. but it happened, and it’s wonderful, and that’s what matters.

[artlesscomedic]

so this got out of hand

thanks, @shadeoflossantos

Geoff keeps sending Gavin and Jeremy on jobs together. It wouldn't be so bad- certainly not as embarrassing- if Geoff didn't say things like "Treat him well," or "Take good care of him," before Jeremy left. Accompanied by a wink and a slap on the back, it goes from oddly phrased advice to "Oh my God he wants me to hook up with Gavin."

That also wouldn't be so bad, Gavin is gorgeous after all, and confident and so fucking funny, if it weren't for one itty bitty little detail.

Gavin is into Michael.

Well, okay, two details. Gavin is into Michael, and Jeremy is hooking up with the big bad Vagabond.

All the time apart is making him...antsy. He and Ryan are sort of together, getting closer as they spend more time in each other's company.

Thankfully, Gavin seems totally oblivious to Geoff's plan or this would be even more embarrassing. He's been playing on his phone the entire stakeout.

Everything is silent and boring and then- and then there's a wasp in the car. And it's like, come on, it's a bug, chill out- except that Jeremy is very, very allergic to bees and wasps and he's eyeing the one on the steering wheel when another lands on his aviators- and he panics, because this is a brand new car and he hasn't stashed an EpiPen in it yet, and he flings them off with a tough, manly sounding shriek and tries to climb over Gavin to get out of the vehicle, just about crushing poor Gavin's throat underneath his elbow as he struggles with the door.

Gavin squawks and chokes, helping Jeremy open the door and immediately falling out onto his ass, Jeremy following to land on top of him. Gavin groans, pushing Jeremy off his chest and scooting away from the car so he can sit up.

Jeremy is apologising and helping Gavin to his feet, and- oops, it looks like their target spotted them and booked it. Yikes.

They get home and Gavin is still whining, draping himself across Michael's lap on the couch with an exaggerated expression of pain.

"Jeremy bruised me up, boi!"

"That so?"

"Nearly choked me out! I'm going to be sore for days!"

"That is a pretty good looking bruise." Michael comments, pulling back Gavin's collar so he can see the blue-ish purple mark on Gavin's throat. "Jeez, Lil J! What happened?!"

"I, uh." Jeremy clears his throat, relieved that Geoff isn't with them in the living room. "There was a wasp, and I panicked."

Ryan laughs from his seat on the recliner, polishing his knife collection. "You're such an idiot."

Jeremy nods his agreement, and glances aside to hang up his coat, and freezes when he sees Geoff in the doorway to the kitchen, staring at him with cold blue eyes.

"Wanna come visit me in my office, Jer?" He asks quietly.

Jeremy knows better than to treat this as a multiple choice question.

Thankfully, Gavin provides a distraction, moaning loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Take that shit to a different room!" Ryan cries, and Michael's laughter rings out through the penthouse.

Geoff goes white, and then red, and then an interesting shade of green. Before he can step out, Jack steps in next to him, a hand around his waist.

"He's dating Michael, dumbass." Oh, Jack. So eloquent.

"He's- what?" Geoff chokes out.

Jeremy nods quickly. "Yeah, he- they're a thing."

Before Geoff can question him further, Ryan is entering the scene, draping an arm around Jeremy's shoulders.

"Let's get coffee. I don't wanna listen to those two again."

Geoff looks from Ryan to Jeremy, and then back again. And then to Jack.

She grins.

Jeremy and Ryan leave.

"...How long has he been-"

"The whole time, dear."

"And Jeremy-"

"Yes, them too."

"I... Am an idiot?"

Jack kisses his cheek. "Only on the weekdays, darling."

[granteares]

jack “dad” zimmermann

sorry not sorry @kentparseparson and i came up with this ridiculous headcanon that definitely needed to be shared with the world

one of the frogs (probably chowder *war flashbacks to 3.15 blog post*) accidentally calls jack “dad”, oops

inevitably, it becomes a SMH meme so fast, they all start calling jack “dad”

except bitty. bitty is 100% banned from calling jack “dad”.

anyway jack gets??? so used to people calling him “dad” by the time he graduates that when some random kid is talking to their actual father like “hey dad” jack turns around like “yeah???” and the falcs are like ??? you’re not a dad ??? right????

you’ve clearly never met the samwell men’s hockey team

SMH gets out to one of jack’s games and literally all of them are wearing shirts that say “jack zimmermann is my father” and made signs like “go dad!!!!”

falcs: aw look jack ur kids are so supportive that’s beautiful (((:

jack: i have no friends in this world

and you know the falcs join in after a while of course

marty: hey dad can you pass me my water bottle

jack: you are literally older than me

tater: wow dad you playing so great, hoping i’m being big hockey star like you when i’m being grown-up

jack: go away tater i’m trying to eat my pb&j

kent somehow manages to get hold of a “jack zimmermann is my father” shirt

which marks the day that kent is also 100% banned from calling jack “dad”

bitty and kent bond over this and become best friends

it also marks the day that the jack “dad” zimmermann meme continues to spread from samwell to providence to fucking las vegas

everyone on the aces start calling him “dad”, too

aces player when jack checks him: what the fuck dad, i thought we were cool

aces goalie when jack scores: dad is that any way to treat your son

jack: *so dumbfounded he forgets how to play hockey for a minute*

the aces starting buying jack so much “#1 Hockey Dad” shit

when the aces win the cup one of them is like “i want to thank my dad, jack zimmermann, for always supporting me”

bitty is laughing so hard he falls off the couch

meanwhile jack is just like “he did not just.... say that.... on TV. bitty-- bitty stop laughing you’re supposed to love me bitty please”

espn is confused. baby daddy!jack rumors arise. as does the new “Jack Zimmermann Is My Baby Daddy” meme (and shirts).

(bitty buys 3)

(shity has a crop top)

and if you think bob and alicia zimmermann are innocent during this whole strange phenomenon you’re very wrong

both of them totally get in on the baby daddy rumors. bob fuels the flames “well he did bring that one person over here that one time...” alicia starts asking when she’s going to get to meet her grandchildren, jack.

also bob wearing one of the “jack zimmermann is my father” shirts

jack: ok but dad you’re literally my dad ??? stop ??? why are you like this ???

every week there’s a new rumor over which hockey player jack zimmermann has a child with

SMH does their duty and makes sure to report to jack every time they find a new one

"hey jack why didn't you tell us you had a kid with sid crosby bro that's not a secret you keep from your bros"

the week it’s jack + tater, jack gets nearly simultaneous texts from ransom and kent like  "🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪 right in my BACK, zimmermann, i've never been so BETRAYED"

kent and ransom form a Personally Betrayed By Jack Zimmermann For Taking Our Man support group

[dexandderek]

Ransom week day 1

I KNOW I’M LATE BUT I HAD A REALLY SHIT DAY YESTERDAY SO I DIDN”T GET TO FINISH IT ON TIME

today’s theme was:

March 28 (Ransom’s Birthday): Celebration or “Remember that time…”

i chose to do celebration

here is how the team and Ransom spent his birthday

@ransomweek

The whole Haus was up and busy before sunrise. Since this year Ransom’s birthday fell on a Tuesday the team had decided to forego the celebratory kegster and just have a small get together, a fact they might have neglected to tell Ransom. Since his party was supposed to be a surprise the birthday-boy had to be kept away from the Haus until the afternoon and Holster was unanimously volunteered to be the person to do so.

Getting Ransom out of the Haus was the easiest part (“Best Bro Birthday Brunch, bro!”) but then the SMH had to coordinate decorating, preparation of snacks, and all of the classes the individual team members had during that day. The tadpoles were on decoration duty after lunch because they only had a morning class on Tuesday. Nursey was responsible for music because he and Ransom apparently had a pretty similar taste and music (and also because nobody wanted Holsters musical playlist or Nursey getting hurt in the process of decorating). Dex and Chowder were acting as sous chefs for Bitty. Lardo was in charge of picking up Jack, Shitty and a surprise from the train station and wrapping the presents since apparently none of the team members except Bitty and Dex knew how to tie a nice bow.

“I just hope everything works out,” Bitty sighed, “his last birthday at Samwell should be special.”

~~

“This is nice.”

Instead of good old Jerry’s Holster had taken him to a fancy breakfast place. He nearly felt bad for ordering something after he saw the prices but Holster said it was okay. Something about spoiling him senseless today.

“You should take me out more often.”

Holster smiled.

“Maybe I will. There's a bazillion places in Boston I can take you to.”

He took a bite out of his french toast.

“I'll take you out too. Can't have you pay everything for me.”

Holster reached across the table and took Ransom’s hand in his own.

“Listen Ransy-poo you're a broke college student that soon has to survive medical school. I basically have a job. And even if the Bruins decide to drop me I'll still have 3 companies that would hire me in a second. I have the money, now let me spend it on you.”

After he picked up the bill they decided to walk along the river before Ransom had to go to class. They sat down on a bench and Holster reached into his backpack and pulled out one of Bitty’s mini pies and put a candle in it.

“Happy Birthday bro.”

Ransom had tears in his eyes from the sentimental moment and the deliciousness of the pie. Holster always took care of him.

~~

The tadpoles swore in the living room and Tango walked into the kitchen soon after.

“We ripped the banner.”

Dex sighed and went to wash some flour of his hands.

“I'll go take care of it. Lardo has needles and thread in her room right?”

He quickly texted her if it was okay if he went into her room while walking up the stairs and nearly collided with Nursey who was on his way down.

“Careful there. Can't have you getting hurt before the next game.” Nursey chirped.

It was weird hearing that from Nursey but Dex just laughed.

“Thanks man.”

He continued walking up while Nursey went into the kitchen.

“I got a 10 hour playlist of Ransom’s favorite songs up on Spotify. I also hid all embarrassing old pictures Holster has of Ransom and i wrote speeches for everyone because I got bored.”

“Oh sweetheart you're an absolute godsend. If I wasn't elbow deep in cake batter I'd give you a hug.”

“Speaking of cake, how's it coming along?”

He turned around to see the wooden base Dex and Lardo had built. The bottom was painted to look like cake while the middle and top part would actually be cake.

“It's alright. It's different than just making a pie but no major setbacks yet. The first batch just needs to cool before we can cut and stack it. If you're free can you do me a favor and whip up some of the cream filling? Just pour it into the mixer and let it run until it's smooth.”

They had a lot of work to do.

~~

“Professor Miller made the class sing happy birthday for me.”

Ransom was leaning against his D-man on a bench in river quad.

“Because you're her favorite student bro.”

“Yeah maybe. Hey wanna head over to the Haus? Bitty probably has a stack of birthday pie in the kitchen.”

Holster sat up abruptly, forcing Ransom to sit as well.

“No!”

His best friend looked at him questioning so he followed up quickly.

“I wanted to take you out to get ice cream. Best friend Sunday.”

Ransom was thankful that he had a friend like Holster, who knew him so well and cared for him so deeply.

“Aw Holtzy.”

~~

“Everybody go get ready. Holster should be back with Ransom soon. Tango go put on another shirt, go take one out of my closet. Dex you go borrow one from Chowder. Go, go.”

Bitty was just putting the last finishing touches to the cake. The decorations were hung all over the house, the presents were all wrapped, and the table they had set up in the living room was decked.

He just finished putting the candles in the cake when he saw Ransom and Holster walking towards the Haus.

“Everybody get down here!”

~~

“Today was a great birthday Holtzy, thank you so much.”

Behind Ransom Holster could see Shitty in the window giving him a thumbs up.

“Aw bro. It's about to get even better.”

He leaned forward and half hugged Ransom half opened the door behind him. He didn't see the disappointed face Ransom made because of course his best friend wouldn't admit his feelings for him on his birthday. Before he could say something Holster turned him around.

“Surprise!”

The entire team was in the living room which was generously decorated. Bitty ushered him inside and he could see Jack and Shitty standing there with the team.

“You guys…”

Bitty quickly disappeared into the kitchen only to come out seconds later with a truly gargantuan cake. He had to strain to push it but ultimately managed to get it to the middle of the living room. He lit the candles on top of the cake and brought Ransom forward to blow them out. The team sang happy birthday to him and after he blew the candles out Bitty moved to take away the top layer of cake. He barely made it two steps before the top of the cake opened and HOLY SHIT IS THAT ALEXEI MASHKOV ?!?

Alexei “Tater” Mashkov, professional hockey player for the Providence Falconers, had popped out of his birthday cake in all his shirtless glory like a flapper girl at a 20s party.

“Surprise!”

He carefully stepped out of the cake in shorts that had Ransom concentrate real hard not to faint.

“You're Justin, yes? Ransom? Jack say you friend and that you like Tater. Say you have birthday so I say I come and surprise. Happy Birthday.”

He opened his arms and hugged Ransom who just clung to him like it's the only thing he wanted to do till the end of time.

“Okay, great surprise. Somebody give me shirt?”

The team just stared at him.

“Okay I stay like this. Am very attractive I know.”

The ate the cake and opened presents. Most of the boys had gotten him stuff for hockey, class, or for his and Holsters future apartment in Boston. Tater had gotten him a bunch of Falconers stuff with his signature. Ransom was so glad for his friends.

~~

They would throw a birthday kegster for him on the weekend but for now getting drunk with his friends meant a lot to him. Jack had automatically become his number one friend (except for Holster) a fact that he told Holster while the taller man was walking him up to the attic. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to drunkenly cling to your best friend/crush crying about how much you love another guy.

“His abs are so big.”

“I know Rans.”

“Like a solid eight-pack bro.”

“I know.”

“I want him to have my babies.”

“I know Justin.”

“I want you to have my babies too.”

“I kn… wait what?!”

“My babies Holtzy. I want you to have my adorable black jewish giant babies. Even if they end up half blind like you or anxious messes like me.”

He patted the blonde on his broad chest before turning away and ralphing in the hallway by Chowder’s door.

“Oops.”

“It's okay Ransy-poo,” Holster helped his friend stand straighter and pressed a kiss to his head, “let's get you into bed, okay? We'll talk about it tomorrow.”

It was a swasome birthday though.

[ao3feed-holsom]

Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo

read it on the AO3 at http://unicorn_feeds_back/works/13738650

by imafriendlydalek

buffalo, transitive verb : bewilder, baffle; also : bamboozle

Buffalo, noun : hometown of Adam Birkholtz

In which Holster and Ransom accidentally kinda have sex the day before they drive up north together for Thanksgiving Break. Oops.

Words: 4985, Chapters: 1/2, Language: English

Series: Part 1 of A Holsom Tale of Love and Hockey

Fandoms: Check Please! (Webcomic)

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M, Multi

Characters: Justin "Ransom" Oluransi, Adam "Holster" Birkholtz, Birkholtz Family (Check Please!), Eric "Bitty" Bittle, Shitty Knight, Larissa "Lardo" Duan, Jack Zimmermann, OFC

Relationships: Adam "Holster" Birkholtz/Justin "Ransom" Oluransi

Additional Tags: Hook-Up, Oblivious Holster, Oblivious Ransom, Kegsters have a way of getting these two in trouble, Thanksgiving, this fic is basically an ode to the city of Buffalo, Friends to Lovers, there's a scene in the beginning where they hook up with two girls but it's all Holsom from there, Foursome - F/F/M/M, Mutual Masturbation, Mutual Pining, Jewish Character, Muslim Character, (though their religion is not really relevant to the story), (except Ransom really likes kugel), Justin "Ransom" Oluransi is a Delicate Coral Reef, Sharing a Bed

read it on the AO3 at http://unicorn_feeds_back/works/13738650