#kacey jost is wonderful

[tonyspep]

~*~viva las avs~*~

A/N: litterally every hockey rpf idea that pops into my head i share with my wonderful bestie bre aka @fallinallincurls, and this is no exception. i sent it to her months ago, and here i am finally getting around to posting it, lol. basically tyson jost was never traded from the avs and is engaged to jesse compher, jt's youngest sister and nate is dating his younger sister morgan while jt is dating kacey jost, tyson's younger sister. they are all in vegas for jesse's bachelorette party and of course i wouldn't be me if ej wasn't included in this fic, too. his love interest is modeled after the actress connie britton from the shows friday night lights and nashville.

~*~bright light city gonna set my soul~*~

(gonna set my soul on fire)

parings: tyson jost and jesse compher, nathan mackinnon and morgan compher, jt compher and kacey jost and erik johnson/oc

summary: jesse, morgan and kacey are in vegas for jesse's bachlorette party and after ej's string of smart ass comments, nate along with jt and tyson end up in vegas, too and what happens after is anyone's guess

rating: t

oh, there's black jack, poker and roulette wheel

a fortune won and lost on ev'ry deal

all you need's a strong heart and nerves of steel

viva las vegas, viva las vegas

“viva las vegas” - the bruce springsteen version

Nate was determined not to let EJ win.

If there was one thing the older man had been able to do since they met, it was being able to get under Nate's skin. Even when they were separated by a few hundred miles with it being the middle of the off season and Nate was back in Cole Harbour and EJ was in his sprawling Hollywood Hills home.

His jaw ticked as he saw another comment from @bighorny under Morgan's latest post.

@stayincomphy more like stayin' hot hot hot

And of course he tagged him in it, telling him to keep an eye on his girl.

Morgan was in Vegas celebrating Jesse's bachelorette party. This last Christmas the Comphers had rented a cabin in Vermont for the holiday and of course Tyson, Laura and Kacey had been invited along with Nate and his parents and his sister Sarah and her husband, and not even a day into the trip, Tyson got down on one knee and asked Jesse to marry him.

Sometimes Nate still feels like his ears haven't recovered from Morgan and Kacey's squeals and shrieks as they practically tackled the youngest Compher once Tyson had slid the ring on her finger.

He knows EJ is doing this to get a rise out of him, which is his favorite thing to do that doesn't involve horses or wine, but this time it's not going to work.

Morgan would never do anything and he's stupid for even thinking it.

Josty was completely chill about Jesse having her bachelorette there and JT told Kacey to have fun, which is what he told Morgan to do too. Though he did make sure his favorite white bikini stayed behind. No one was allowed to see her wear that but him.

Seeing her laying on a lounger chair at the Aria's pool, classic blue and white striped one piece with cut outs on the sides made him close the app. If he kept looking, he'd miss her more than he already did and she'd barely been gone two days. He needed to take his mind off of all this. Just as he was about to grab Cox's leash, his phone pinged and of course it was a text from EJ.

[horseboy] you dogg you can't seriously be sitting at home in bumfuck canada while your girl's living it up in lost wages for shame nathaniel for shame

[dogg] fuck you johnson. you're just trying to get a rise out of me and it's not going to work this time. go pet a horse or stomp grapes or clean your dentures old man

[horseboy] me? try to get a rise out of you? Impossible

[dogg] i'm taking cox for a run and shutting off my phone. you'll be talking to the ether or whatever

[horseboy] the dogg doth bark too much as the saying goes. give the man of the house some head pats and ear scratches from his favorite hooman would ya? you have fun trying not to think about your girl living it up and looking so good doing it

Taking Cox for runs is how Nate always cleared his head when things were waying on his mind. When Morgan was with him they would meditate or do yoga, which always ended with him grabbing her when she got into more advanced poses and they would become a tangle of various limbs, laughing as he practically smothered her with his bigger frame.

He swore he wouldn't let EJ win, but as he increased his speed while running, he knew he was defeating the purpose of clearing his head, but all he could think about was Morgan in Vegas. Suddenly, he was back home and he was booking a flight. Logically he knew Morgan loved him and would never stray and he tried to think about all the things that sucked about Vegas like the fucking Golden Knights, their stupid castle in their arena, their dumb goal song, glow in the dark jerseys, the sun and how he had to wear SPF30 or he'd turn into a lobster, hangovers and gambling but none of it worked.

All he could think about was how none of the losers who were hanging out at the hotel pool and in the casino would see Morgan with Jesse and Kacey and not know she was taken. Jesse had the cute diamond Josty bought last year and was wearing that bright pink sash that said Bachelorette and a little crown in every post she made.

Guys weren't exactly known for taking no for an answer, but if he was there they wouldn't have a choice.

Of course he booked tickets for Josty and JT, too. He couldn't exactly show up alone. That was creepy.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tyson knew he wasn't supposed to tell Jesse. Nate made that explicitly clear and yeah Nate outweighed him by like forty to fifty pounds and was taller than him, too and was generally scary when he wanted to be, but Nate wasn't scarier than Jesse.

Also, how were they supposed to start their married life together if he was kind of lying to her when they were engaged? Wasn't that bad luck or something? Whether it was or not, he wasn't going to risk it, so he sent her a quick text about Nate buying him and JT tickets to Vegas and how they would be there around six local time.

Jesse texted him a teasing taunt that said does this mean i get to crash your bachelor party? i've always wanted to go to a strip club

Tyson flushed just thinking about it. While Landy's bachelor party had gone completely off the rails, somehow, they had not ended up at a strip club and the truth was he didn't really want to go to one for his, but maybe...

“Earth to Josty. Come in Josty.” Suddenly JT's hadn was right in front of his face and he remembered where he was. O'Hare airport waiting with JT for Nate's flight from Dartmouth to land, os they could board the flight for Vegas together.

“You told Jesse, huh?” There was a knowing smile on his best friend's face. “Duh,” Tyson's tone was unapologetic. “It's bad luck to lie before you get married. It's like breaking a mirror or walking under a ladder or whatever. I'm not risking it.”

“That's such bullshit,” JT laughs, shaking his head. “You figured as soon as she saw us, she'd kick your ass eve if this was all Nate's idea. You are so whipped, man.”

“Don't call me whipped. You're just as whipped!” Tyson insists. “You told Kacey we were coming, too!”

“Because we have an open line of communication like adults. I wasn't afraid she'd kick my ass if I didn't tell her. It's a whole different thing than what happened with you and Jesse.”

“Okay, that is bullshit. An open line of communication? You communicate through memes! I've seen your text thread! Like, adults, too, really Coms? You drink out of Kacey's old Buzz Lightyear glass hwen you stay over at my Mom's and both of you drink milk straight from the carton. If anyone's the adult, it's me! I'm getting married! I'm one step away from a joint bank account and dividing my portfolio or whatever Landy talks about!”

“I can't take the two of you anywhere,” Nate sighs, piniching the bridge of his nose when he finds JT and Tyson shoving at each other and laughing after he picked up his bags. “He started it!” They said at the same time only making themselves laugh harder than they were already.

“I should've brought Landy to keep the two of you in line.” Nate grumbled as they made their way toward the gate.

“Good afternoon everyone,” A beautiful strawberry blonde in the standard flight attendant unifrom is standing at the front of the plane. Her eyes are a warm shade of glittering hazel and her smile is blinding but genuine. “My name is Kylie and I'll be your head flight attendant on our flight from beautiful Chicago, Illinois to exciting Las Vegas, Nevada. Please be seated while I perform the in-flight demonstration and we'll begin serving drinks and food once we take off in about twenty minutes.”

Before the call to switch to airplane mode comes over the speakers, Nate sees a text from Morgan come through.

[Red] you have some explaining to do, nate

The disappointment behind her text is obvious and Nate knows he can't blame JT and Tyson for this, but it doesn't stop him from glaring at his friends and saying, “You two really couldn't keep your mouths shut?”

JT's not about to fight with one of his Alternates but Nate is also the guy who's dating his younger sister, and right now he isn't one of his Alternates, he's the guy who's dating his sister.

“This was your idea,” He reminds him, keeping his voice cool. “We're,” He points to himself and Tyson. “On this plane because EJ got under your skin. Don't forget that, Nate. If Morgan's mad or disappointed, you have to deal with that. Don't take it out on me and Tys.”

Nate knows JT is right. He can feel the tips of his ears go red from being sheepish. He should be better than this.

“Sorry, man. You're right.” He admits and JT nods. “Of course I am.” He says smugly and Nate rolls his eyes, pulling out his eye mask from his carry on bag. He pays for the in-flight WI-Fi and turns on the meditation app Morgan found for him and he lets his mind and body relax before they land.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

With everyone settled and the food and drinks taken care of, Kylie is in the galley laughing at the younger flight attendants giggling over their phones. She checks her messages, breathing the familiar sigh of relief when she finds texts from her son and daughter. Marcus was a sophomore at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville on a lacrosse scholarship while Bethany was taking a gap year and backpacking through Europe with her two best friends. Next year she was going to UC Irvine to study astronomy.

She couldn't help but think her babies had grown up too dam fast.

Being a single mom hadn't been easy, but the three of them had made it through after her marriage with their dad had fallen a part.

“Oh my God Kylie,” Julie was twenty two and pettie with dark black hair and stunning green eyes. “The rich guy in first class was totally checking you out.”

“The silver fox?” Brandy, who had golden blonde hair and had recenlty gotten married was twenty seven as of last May, was the other flight attendant with them and her curiosity was piqued. Julie nodded eagerly, practically licking her lips while Kylie laughed and said, “Settle down now. We're not doing that. This is my job. I'm here to work. Not hook up or whatever you kids call it these days.”

“Is it because you finally gave your number to that super hot hockey player who's always flirting with you?” Julie's tone was hopeful. “The one who doesn't have his three front teeth? And is, like, ginormous? He's got the pretty blue eyes and the dimples, too, right?” Brandy questions. “Yes,” Julie practically gushes, clutching her chest as she swoons while Kylie sighs as she shakes her head.

“You two need to stop it. He is way too young for me. Now get back out there with your carts. We're on the clock and we are not being paid to gossip about something that is never going to happen.”

Erik Johnson, the ginormous hockey player with the pretty blue eyes and missing three fron teeth, was a frequent flier on this specific airline when he wasn't traveling professionally with the Avalanche. He was everything Brandy described and so much more. From the boyish flop of his unstyled blonde hair ot the ever present mischievous glint in his cornflower blue eyes to the way every shirt – button down, polo, sweater (if there was a chill) or t-shirt – stretched snugly over his obviously very firm chest to his flirtatious nature, he was hard to resist.

But Kylie had two college age children and he was in his thirties. Also, given their careers they would hardly ever be in the same place.

Not to mention his teammates could pass for any of Marcus's friends and she did not want to think about team events and games where she would be surrounded by women who were barely older than her own daughter.

Looking never hurt and it was hard not to enjoy the flirting. It was nice to know a man like Erik found her attractive.

Laughing to herself, Kylie put on an easy smile as she went back out to the cabin to see if the passengers needed anything.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

In California, EJ couldn't help but think of a certain gorgeous strawberry blonde flight attendant.

At first he thought Kylie's apprehension had to do with the missing teeth. Even though plenty of women told him they thought he looked better without his fakes, some were unsettled at first.

Especially if they didn't know he played hockey.

But he learned quickly it had more to do with his age. Being one of the older players on the team he never gave his age much thought when it came to dating. He generally wouldn't date a woman who was in her early twenties, but dating someone older had never crossed his mind until he met Kylie on a flight to Del Mar race track in Pasenda a year and a half ago. And honestly he didn't see anything wrong with dating a woman in her forties.

He knew she was at least 45 or 46, but that didn't really mean anything. Age was just a number after all.

Laying out by his pool surrounded by his pack, the affectionate name he gave his four dogs, he couldn't stop his mind from staying on Kylie.

It had been a long time since he had spent so much time thinking of just one woman. He wasn't ashamed of his bachelor status. There wasn't much he was ashamed of, really. The whole shebang of a wife, kids and a white pickett fence wasn't where he wanted to be. He liked living his life; going to Del Mar on a whim, maybe Hawaii, slipping his number to a pretty girl at a bar etc.

Fucking Landy he curses to himself.

The “don't you get lonely” talk was coming on stronger and stronger from his best friend. While EJ took pleasure in getting under Nate's skin (it was just too easy), Gabe was a whole different animal. He would get all concerned and go into full helpful Disney Prince mode with those big stupid crystal blue eyes of his and his big ass forehead would wrinkle in a way that was, somehow, still handsome and EJ hated it because it always worked and next thing he knew, he was spilling his guts.

As he began to scroll through Instagram, his phone pinged. Julie was a flight attendant Kylie always worked with. Way too young for him but pretty in an objective way and she was funny, too. They would text back and forth and if he ended up on a flight it was quite the coincidence.

Apparently she, Brandy and Kylie were laying over in Vegas before flying to Denver. He didn't need to be back in Denver for a few more weeks to start seriously training buuuuuuut Kylie didn't need to know that.

And Vegas was nice this time of year.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

How the girls were drunk already Nate didn't know.

They squealed when they saw them in the lobby at Aria and smelled pretty like they always did but the alcohol was still obvious.

If Morgan wasn't drunk she wouldn't have launched herself at him and started kissing him everywhere. She would've been mad, which is what he expected. Steadying her in his arms, she hiccuped and said, sincerely, “I missed you, Natey. You shouldn't be here, but I'm so happy you are.”

Nate couldn't stop himself from smiling. He had seen Morgan this drunk once. At the Dustin Lynch concert they all went to after winning The Cup last year. She was very clingy, basically, plastered to his back the entire night, her arms around his neck and her legs wrapped around his waist. Her freckles, somehow, stood out more like the copper and gold of her hazel eyes and her skin was flushed the warmest shade of pink and she couldn't stop laughing.

He loved everything about her, but seeing her like this was so rare he belived he liked this Morgan best of all. Then she'd go and something else and that Morgan would become his favorite and so on and so on.

“I missed you, too,” He finally said and she beams back at him and he wonders how he lived so long without her.

“Ugh,” JT groans bringing Nate back into the scene and there's Tyson and Jesse kissing like he just got back from war. Kacey laughs from inside JT's arms that are wrapped around her slim frame and teases her boyfriend, saying, “What, you don't like watching Tys try to see if his tongue can find Jesse's tonsils?”

“I need a drink,” The eldest Compher sighs with a resigning shake of his head. That breaks Tyson and Jesse apart and she giggles, “More drinks! Yes! Tha's what we need! You're so smart Joey!”

More drinks is defintely not what they need but Nate knows stopping them is pointless.

After checking into the suite the girls rented, they're piling out of Aria's front doors and onto Las Vegas Boulevard and none of them have a clue what the hot, sticky Vegas summer night will bring.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Layovers weren't something Kylie looked forward to. Though it was nice to not have to jump back onto another flight after only an hour or so after the passengers had departed and the plane was cleaned.

She let Julie and Brandy run off to cruise The Strip. They were responisble enough not to get into too much trouble with Brandy being married now, but oh to be young again she thought with a wry smile as he let herself indulge in a glass of crisp Pinot Grigio.

As she sipped at the wonderful taste of her favorite wine, an all too familiar voice reached her ears amongst the sounds of the dealers, slots and music thumping through the casino's speakers.

“Now, what's a pretty lady like yourself doing in a place like this all by your lonesome?”

A shiver only Erik could inspire races up her spine and Kylie's breath catches at the sight of the handsome, bulit hockey player. His hair's soft, falling just so across his forehead, those cornflower blue eyes twinkle with mischief and the promise of a good time. His dimples make her knees weak and if she wasn't sitting the sight of his unbuttoned pink linen shirt would have had them buckling underneath her. The sleeves are rolled up, of course, to reveal the tan skin of his thick vein covered forearms. His cologne is crisp and woodsy, a deep warm smell that makes her want to bury her face in his neck to breathe it in even deeper.

Taking another sip of her wine, she can't help the smile that crosses her lips. “You just happened to be in the neighborhood or something?”

Erik's eyes move shamelessly over her figure, leaving nothing but heat in their wake and Kylie is going to need something stronger than white wine if she's going to keep him at arm's length like she should.

He leans in, his lips hovering just above her ear, his breath warm as he says, his voice low and husky, making heat pool in her belly, “Something like that.”

“Erik...” She sighs, shaking her head, but there's a fondness in her tone, sparking hope for the Minnesotan. “I'm not getting down on one knee,” Erik laughs covering her her slender hand with his larger one. “A drink is hardly a proposal.”

“You flew all the way to Vegas from your house in California because Julie told you we had a layover here. I am a divorced mother of two grown children. One is in college and the other will be starting college next year. I do not have time for games.”

“That's fine because who said I was playing games? A flight from LA to Vegas is nothing. It's barely two hours. One drink and one dance won't hurt.”

The thought of feeling Erik's hard body pressed against her, his strong hands holding her hips as they swayed is almost too much to bear. He's far too good to be true. A handsome thirty something athlete interested in her, making her feel things she hasn't felt in so long, having the walls she built up starting to crumble, she almost doesn't know what to do.

Eyeing him critcally, Kylie huffs and holds up her index finger. “One dance and one drink, and that's it. Don't try to charm your way into antoher drink and another dance. It won't work.”

“We'll see.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

i know your motives and you know mine

the ones that love me, i tend to leave behind

if you know about me and choose to stay

then take this pleasure and take it with the pain

“love me harder” - by ariana grande and the weekend

Alcohol makes things increasingly clearer for Nate.

The three beers plus the copious amount of shots at Drais` in the Cosmo help confirm what he's known since he met Morgan, he can't live without her.

He thinks the DJ is playing that one song between Ariana Grande and The Weekend, but it's hard to be sure when all he's thinking about is Morgan.

She's pressed right up against him, moving her hips to the beat of the song and dancing has never been his forte, but she's always been able to pull him onto the floor without much protest from him. Even before they were together she could get him to dance.

He can feel her hips through the silk of the tiny slip dress she's wearing. It's burgundy and brings out the different shades of carmel and copper in her hazel eyes. One of the straps has fallen off her shoulder, the thin stripped is wrapped around her bicep and he can see the cluster of freckles he memorized after their first night together. Her red hair frames her face perfectly, her cheeks are flushed prettily from the alcohol and the dancing, her alabaster skin the color of a perfectly ripe peach now.

She stops grinding against him and he lets out a strangled groan, because, why??????

Then she drapes her arms around his neck, the chunky heels of her shoes bring her closer to his height and she rests her head on his shoulder and this he can do, sway and hold her close so he can smell the coconut of her shampoo and the peonies of her perfume.

She murmurs the lyrics to the song, “Cause if you want to keep me, you gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta, got to love me harder. And if you really need me, you gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta, go to love me harder.”

Sober nate would not do this. Sober Nate would be mortified. But Nate is not sober.

Nate has had three beers and who knows how many shots because the bartender saw Jesse's Bachelorette sash and crown thing and they wouldn't stop pouring Fireball? Jager? Crown? Nate can't honestly remember. What he does remember is hearing Morgan giggle and seeing her look at him, happy and dopey expression on her beautiful face as she draped herself all over him, which meant he was knocking back the shots as fast as he could.

So again, sober Nate would not do this, but Nate – to reiterate – was not sober.

“Morgan Marie Compher,” He says with all the conviction he can muster as they continue to sway. “I wanna marry you.”

“Natey...” Her voice is soft and hopeful as she touches his cheek. She bites her lip and Nate groans, it's so hot. “You really do?” She looks at him through her velvet lashes and he answers her. “Hell yeah, I really do.”

And that's how they find themselves her; The Little White Wedding Chapel.

Morgan squealed and launched herself at him, Nate somehow having retained enough of his quick reflexes to catch her slim frame. How they broke apart from their steamy makeout, their hands nearly tearing at their clothes, to find JT, Kacey, Jesse and Tyson they don't know.

They don't know how they got to The Little White Wedding Chapel, really. But they're there standing in front of an Elvis impersonator, JT and Tyson standing next to Nate and Jesse and Kacey next to Morgan.

“Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here to join...” Elvis begins and Jesse hiccups and slurs, “Waaaaaait, a second! Mo Mo doesn't have a veil. She needs a veil.”

“Uh-huh,” Kacey agrees nodding eagearly. “Pause,” She hiccups, making the sign for timeout. The girls run off to the bridal shop in the chapel, giggling and stumbling as they grab Morgan and pull her along with them. When they come back five minutes later, Nate's breath catches.

His heart skips a beat and he breathes out, “Wow,” sounding mesmerized as Morgan walks toward him again, this time a soft tulle veil covering her face. It's fastened to a sparkling tiara and even in her burgundy slip dress and chunky heels, an outfit made for clubbing, she looks like a princess.

To Morgan as she stands across from Nate in his tight ftting black polo and matching slacks while the silver Tag Huer watch she got him on his birthday last year gleams on his right wrist, he looks like Prince Charming to her. He looks like the man she's been waiting for her whole life.

Elvis starts again. “Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here to watch this hunk-a-hunk of burnin' love join this little mama in holy matrimony...”

“I do,” Nate murmurs, feeling more certain of this – being with Morgan forever – than he has about anything.

“With the power vested in me by the great state of Nevada, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Nate lifts Morgan's veil and kisses her with all the tenderness and love he ever has. JT and Tyson whistle while Kacey and Jesse yell, “Get it, girl!”

The six of them pour out of the chapel under a flurry of rice and rose petals, laughing and hollering as Nate and Morgan kiss again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

but you're just so cool

run your hands through your hair

absent mindedly makin' me want you

and i don't know how it gets better than this

you take my hand and drag me head first

fearless

and i don't know why

but with you i'd dance in a storm

in my best dress

fearless

“fearless” - by taylor swift (taylor's version)

“I don't want to get married, Joseph,” Kacey says softly and JT blinks, his brain is workign overtime between all the shots and the beer and the champagne they all shared after Nate and Morgan's impromptu wedding. “Okay,” He manages, staring at his girlfriend curiously.

They're walking around Las Vegas Boulevard, not having a particular destination in mind and they let the others walk up ahead.

Kacey had caught him completely by surprise. He never expected to find himself falling for her while Tyson and Nate were falling for his sisters. One day she was Tyson's baby sister who teased and then suddenly she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

She was Jost, then she became Kacey and after that he was calling her Kace and then she had a drawer full of clothes at his place and he was calling her baby before he could blink.

Marriage was a long way away. She was finishing up her degree and he knew how important that was, that she graduate and have a job lined up before she moved to Denver. He admired that about her, how she knew what she wanted and wasn't afraid to go after it.

“I love you,” Her soft voice brings him back and he smiles down at her. “Me too, Kace,” He assures, brushing back a loose curl from her untamed tangle of curls he loves to run his fingers through. “Wanna show you how much I do, JT,” She murmurs into his chest.

He laughs and kisses the crown of her head and a neon sign catches his eye. He's just drunk enough to have the courage to do this. If he were sober, he wouldn't even think of doing this.

He tilts her chin upwards and bends, and they kiss softly, their tongues meeting and after breaking apart, he's pulling her toward the purple neon sighn that says Hart and Huntington Tattoo Company.

Kacey giggles as she unbuttons her tight pleather pants and the tattoo artist eyes her suspcioulsy as she lays down, revealing the skin of her slim hip. She's more or less tipsy now. It's been hours since the margirtas and the endless shots and the two swigs of champagne.

“I'm basically sober. Scout's honor.” Her Girl Guide's salute is clumsy and does not inspire confidence in the severe looking tatted up raven haired female tattoo artist. “I love him,” The young Canadian says, her soft tone radiating honesty and the older woman's blood red lips twitch.

In her green eyes, however, is understanding. “The letters JT with the number 37 hanging from the end of the J, yeah?”

Kacey knows the smile on her face is dreamy as she meets JT's familiar chocolate gaze across from hers and she answers, “Yes,”

While her hip is being tattooed, JT's tight fitting shirt has been discarded revealing his toned chest and six pack. Across his right pec her name and number for volleyball are being inked into his skin. He wrote her name down, so the tattoist could mimic his own handwriting and at the end of the “y” in her name he added, the number 10.

Most tattoo artists tried to talk couples out of doing stuff like this. Especially if they weren't married or they were far from sober. But the husband and wife who were tattooing the young couple that had stumbled in, had a feeling they were the real deal.

“That's forever, baby,” Jenny mused as her husband Ronnie wrapped his burly arm around wher waist as JT and Kacey left the shop, hand in hand, matching besotted smiles on their faces. “Fuck yeah it is,” Ronnie's gruff voice agreed.

i'm not usually this way but

you pull me in and i'm a little more free

it's the first kiss, i'ts falwless, it's really something, it's

fearless

oh, yeah

cause i don't know how it gets better than this

you take my hand and drag me head first

fearless

and i don't know why

but with you i'd dance in a storm

in my best dress

fearless

“fearless” by taylor swift (taylor's version)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

and i know that it must be the woman in you

that brings out the man in me

i know that i can't help myself

you're all that my eyes can see

“feels like the first time” - by foreigner

What in the world have I got myself into Kylie thinks as she and Erik sway to the familiar guitar and keyboards to the classic Foreigner song “Feels Like The First Time.” It may have been only one drink, but it's been several dances to several songs.

Her hips fit perfectly inside his large, broad plams and the crown of her strawberry blonde hair slides right under his chin. Her body fits against his like they're two pieces of a puzzle.

This is too much and she shouldn't dare, but before her rational side can take hold,; she lets him tilt her head toward his and lets his lips draw hers into a kiss.

It's been too long since she's felt like this; completely overwhelmed by someone.

Erik can't remember the last time he's wanted to kiss someone so badly. The chase had always been the best part of the song and dance. He had never really wanted to catch someone until Kylie. Not because she was resisting his advances, but because he wanted to have her in his life, to share more than just his bed for a night or two.

The need to breathe is a curse because all he wants to do is keep kissing her. Their tongues met softly and they break apart, her slender hand clutching at his linen shirt while his large hand is firmly gripping her right ass cheek, keeping her pressed against him as they catch their breath.

“This is so very bad,” Kylie laughs in disbelief.

There are so many reasons why. Number one is being how she's three years shy of being fifty and as she triest to back out of his grip, he tightens his hold. “No way,” His voice is low and deep, making her knees buckle. “You're not running away after kissing me like that,”

“Erik,” She pleads for him to understand this will never work or for him to convince her that it will, she's not sure what she wants more.

“Here's the problem,” Erik murmurs, his other hand tracing the slim curves of her left side before he brings that hand to cup her beautifully formed high cheekbone, so it's impossible to look away from him. “It's been so long since anyone's told you how beautiful you are, how funny. So long since anyone's wanted you, which is a damn shame,” Every velvet word makes Kylie shudder and through the silk of her blouse she can feel her nipples peaking and God he's going to be the death of her.

“Which means all you can think to do is run. Well, I'm telling you that you're beautiful and you're funny and that I want you,” His nose moves up and down the curve of her neck, breathing her in before his stunning cornflower eyes bore into her cinnamon drenched hazel with such honesty and want, she has no choice but to believe him. 'I'll be on the fight back to Denver and you can decide to stop fighting this and take a chance or you can let me down easy. It's up to you, but trust me when I say, Kylie, you're beautiful and you're funny and I've never wanted anyone as badly as I want you.”

The kiss he leaves her with is as soft and tender as it is passionate.

She brings her fingers to her lips, watching Erik go and she knows no man has ever made her feel like this.

Erik is offering her everything. She just has to step up and take it.

and it feels like the first time

like it never did before

feels like the first time

like we've opened up the door

feels like the first time

like it never will again, never again

“feels like the first time” - by foreigner

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

maybe i've just gotta wait

maybe this is a mistake

i'm a fool yeah

maybe i'm just a fool yeah (oh, oh)

girl what would you do, would you wanna

stay

if i were to stay

“last first kiss” - by one direction

This is not, objectively speaking, something “grown ups” who are engaged would do; have four large supreme pizzas, a sick pack of beer and an assortment of candy inside a blanket fort while they're in their underwear, but Tyson and Jesse aren't really concerned about the perception of being grown ups, they're too busy being so in love they can't even see straight.

The deep evergreen lace of her bralette and cheeky underwear against her warm alabaster skin makes Tyson's blood grow hot and thick in his veins.

While Jesse can't stop thinking about how his black boxer briefs hug his thighs.

They both laugh and snort, unaware of the door to the suite opening and how JT and Kacey are stumbling inside. Or it could be Nate and Morgan. It honestly doesn't matter. What matters is they're here together, inside their blanket fort and Jesse has the 3.5 karart diamond ring on her finger.

“Awww man,” Tyson groans, making Jesse blink as she looks at him curiously while he pouts. “Morgan and Nate got married tonight. We're engaged. Elivs was supposed to marry us. They aren't engaged. That's not how it works.”

Jesse giggles and shakes her head as she crawls toward him to sit in his lap. Her amrs wind around his neck and she presses her forhead against his, lovesick smile on her pretty face. “I don't want Elvis to marry us, Tyson,” Her voice is soft and warm, making his heart skip a beat like always. “I want a whole wedding with everyone there. I want my Dad and Joey to walk me down the aisle, to give me away. I want to wear a pretty dress and you to wear a suit.”

Tyson swallows thickly. It's so easy to imagine Jesse on a summer day in a simple white dress with a short veil and Bob – please, tyson i think you can call me bob now and not mr compher – and JT on either side of her walking toward him. Kacey and his Mom are standing with him along with Fab and Barzy and he can't breathe.

Her smile is blinding just like it is right now with only the light from the glittering hotels on the Strip filtering through the sheets of their blanket fort.

He slips her engagement ring off of her finger and she yelps, “Hey!” but he silences her with a heated kiss before she can say anything else. Their tongues tangle together sweetly, her fingers sinking into his curls as his other hand, that's not holding her ring slides up and down her back until they break apart, their lungs burning with the need to breathe.

“Give that back,” Jesse laughs, shoving at his toned chest. “My super hot fiance gave it to me.”

Tyson laughs, loud and unabashed, like always. Flicking an olive from one of the pizzas, Jesse laughs and retaliates by flicking a pepperoni at him. A mini food fight breaks out, Tyson able to catch most of the toppings she flicks at him inside his mouth. They settle and he takes a deep breath, staring deeply inot the familiar warmth of Jesse's soft brown eyes.

He grabs for her hand like he did at the cabin last Christmas and her heart pounds like it did on that crisp winter day. “Tys,” Shaky and soft, falls off her lips and he kisses her quickly before taking another deep breath.

“We're gonna get married just like you want. You're going to wear a pretty dress and I'll wear a suit and your Dad and JT are going to give you away, but I want to promise you stuff right now. Say vows or whatever,” He waves his hand and she nods, feeling her eyes getting misty. “You're my best friend, J. Life is crazy and you never know what's goin g to happen the next day, the next minute or hour, but I know if you're there, it's going to be okay. I know it's not always going to be easy. I don't know a lot, like, having life insurance or buying a house, but I know there's no one else I want to learn all that stuff with execpt you. But what I do know is life will be the most fun because it's with you. I promise, Jesse Chloe Compher, that I will love you forever even if you steal the last of the ketchup chips, forget to buy milk and still can't cook. I promise I will take care of you and won't let you get behind on Grey's Anatomy and I won't watch ahead of you on Ginny and Georgia. I want to be your last first kiss. Will you be mine?”

Jesse can't stop the smile from crossing her face. Seh can't believe she gets to spend the rest of her life with the incredibly sweet and funny and cute boy that's in front of her. He slips her ring back onto her finger and she takes a deep breath, glancing at the diamond before meeting his beautiful, big chocolate eyes.

“Tys, I promise to love you forever. I won't ever let you get down on yourself after a bad game. I will always be your biggest fan, through the ups and the downs. No matter where hockey takes you, I'll be right by your side ready to cheer you on. I can't wait to see you grow and become the best version of yourself on and off the ice. I know you'll never let me down, that if I need you, you'll be there giving me all the support and strength. We can do anything together, so bring on buying a house and figuring out life insurance. I promise,” She laughs, touching his face before leaning into kiss him quickly. “To always make you smile and laugh, to never let you stay sad for too long. I promise to learn how to make Laura's famous Nanaimo bars so you'll always have a tatse of home around. I promise to wear something cute to bed every night. Yes, Tyson Jost, I will be your last first kiss.”

The next kiss they share is longer and as passionate as ever.

When Tyson lays Jesse down amongst all the pillows and blankets, she couldn't say, but all she knows is the warmth of his body against hers. Seh arches against him and he fumbles slightly with the front clasp of her baralette and then his lips are on her skin, making her thighs rub together as his tongue circles one of her nipples. He's so good at this she wonders how she lived so long without him.

They're a tangle of limbs; panting and sweaty, their skin sticking together after they both reach their highs, foreheads pressed together and dopey smiles on their faces.

“We're married now,” Tyson says huskily and Jesse giggles. “Yeah, we are. I'm Mrs. Tyson Jost,” She murmurs. “I'm Mr. Jesse Compher.”

And that's how they fall asleep in the blanket fort in the middle of the sprawling and expensive suite at the Aria hotel. Still a little drunk but as in love as they ever have been.

i wanna be last, yeah

baby, let me be your, let me be your last first

kiss

i wanna be first, yeah

wanna be the first to take it all the way like this

“last first kiss” - by one direction

soundtrack “viva las vegas,” bruce springsteen, “feels like the first time” foreigner “love me harder” ariana grande and the weekend and “fearless” (taylor's version) taylor swift

[typical-simplelove]

You Belong With Me -> Tyson Jost

Summary: Part Two to Babe (Taylor's Version)

Author's Note: After many comments asking for a part two, here it is! Although you don't have to read Babe (Taylor's Version), I highly recommend it. Much thanks to @2manytabsopen because they contributed to much of the outline of this fic. I hope you enjoy this, and let me know what you think!

Word Count: 3.4k

Warnings: explicit!female reader; divorce; break-ups; mentions of sex; kind of proofread

“When a wedding invite says there’s a wedding registry, what does that mean?”

“You purchase something from the wedding registry for the couple,” Tyson’s mother explains, incredulously.

“Yeah, that’s what Kacey said, but I wasn’t sure.”

“Who’s getting married?” she questions.

“Mat,” Tyson answers, scrolling through the list. Tyson is 100% sure that Mat doesn’t want a single one of the gifts on the wedding registry, and you probably had to force Mat to even sit and aid in setting up the registry. He squints at the items and wonders why anyone would need any of the items. Like four sets of towels? Towels are towels. Why does someone need so many? Tyson gathers, though, that if he were engaged or married, then he’d understand why your wedding registry had four sets of towels on it.

“Oh, he’s settling down?” Tyson’s mother says, shocked. Tyson had the same response when he saw the Instagram announcement on your account—not Mat’s. “I always thought he’d be a bachelor until well into his thirties. I’m surprised he’s getting married before you.”

“Well, he’s getting married,” Tyson murmurs. “Even though she can do better than him.”

“Did you say something?”

“Nope,” Tyson answers, popping the p. Tyson liked you. He met you a few years back when you traveled to Vancouver for a summer. You were happy, bubbly, and light. You were a ray of sunshine, and the fact that someone like you was with someone like Mat, someone who could care less about your good nature, made Tyson’s blood boil. Tyson loved Mat, but anyone who knew you and Mat’s bachelor tendencies would be shocked as to why you were in a long-term relationship with Mat. “I have to go, but I’ll talk in a few days, yeah?”

Once Tyson and his mother get off the phone with his mother, he places a set of towels and teacups into his cart before sighing and closing his computer.

If you weren’t already with Mat, then Tyson could easily have fallen in love with you. He could fall in love with your smile, your laugh, your kindness, and your personality. He could shower you with flowers and chocolates and gifts. Tyson could so easily fall in love with you, but you were with Mat, so Tyson stopped himself. He knew better and knew that even an ounce of romantic emotion towards you would be terrible. That doesn’t mean, though, that doesn’t Tyson doesn’t hold you in the highest regard. You were one of the most amazing people Tyson has ever met, and you ending up with Mat seemed to be the universe being evil just for fun (and it’s not because he’s jealous of Mat, no).

Tyson sighs again. He guesses that the wedding really was happening.

. . .

"We're all shocked he did this, right?" Dante discreetly proclaims as he and Tyson join a group of Oliver, Noah, Anthony, and a few other friends. The entire group nods and murmurs in agreement.

"Poor girl," Anthony murmurs. They're all watching as you talk with other NHL wags as they shower you in compliments. You deserved all those compliments. You looked beautiful in your perfectly styled dress, hair, and makeup. You were stunning, and as the sunlight shone around you, you were just glowing. You deserved to be loved and treated like an absolute queen by a husband who would always put your first.

"Her sister came in all the way from London," Noah adds.

"All the way from London? Damn," Dante responds.

"Should we have said something to her?" Tyson asks. They all know the type of person Mat is, and they all know that you deserve so much better than Mat could give you.

"She wouldn't believe us, or Mat would go on a bullshit rant about how he's 'better' now," Anthony contradicts. "If this were anyone else, I'd say we should take bets on how long their marriage would last, but not her."

All the men nod in agreement.

"His poor wife," Tyson mutters.

As if sensing they were talking about him, Mat's eyes land on his friends. They don't notice him, though. They're too busy watching how happy and radiant you look. You should be having a wedding with someone who would always love you. They're thinking about how, just maybe, they could have stopped this and you'd have committed the rest of your life to someone who truly loved you.

. . .

Adjusting his hold on the bag, Tyson puts on his sunglasses and begins to walk to his car. Tyson’s mom has been hounding him to buy new suits, and after a long time of putting it off, Tyson finally went to purchase some new suits. He’s not really paying attention to anyone around him, but when he sees a familiar head of hair sitting at a table outside a coffee shop, he stops dead in his tracks. He calls out your name to this person.

“It is you,” Tyson says with a smile. You nod and smile. “Can I sit here?”

“Yeah, of course,” you respond.

“Is Mat around?” Tyson asks, oblivious to the end of your marriage.

You nearly choke on your meal as you give Tyson a curious look. “What?”

“Mat, your husband? Where is he?” Tyson clarifies, confused.

You furrow your eyebrows but say, “he didn’t fly in with me.” You’re confused. As close friends that Tyson and Mat were, you were shocked that Tyson didn’t know that you and Mat had been officially separated for the past eight months and were on route to getting a divorce. “No, he’s still on the island.”

“It’s funny seeing you here. Why didn’t you call that you were in town?”

“Um, I’ve been busy with a few things,” you lie. “My bad for forgetting to call you.”

Tyson was going to make a comment about how Mat could have told him you were in town, but he got a feeling that you didn’t want to talk about Mat which was so weird. As far as Tyson knew, you loved Mat, even if he didn’t deserve your love.

“How long are you in town for?”

You stifled a huge sigh as you said, “it’s up in the air right now, but we’ll see.” What you wanted to say was that you moved to Denver to get away from Mat and didn’t plan on returning to New York for a really long time. Why didn’t Tyson know about the end of your marriage? If Tyson wanted to be nice and not address the failure of your marriage, then wouldn’t he have not mentioned Mat at all?

“We should get together and hang out or something,” Tyson suggests.

“Yeah, definitely,” you agree, a stiff look on your face. “I, um, actually have to go, but I’ll definitely see you around.”

“Definitely,” Tyson agrees and watches you walk away from the coffee shop, dropping a full cup of coffee in the trash.

Why were you so quick to get out of there? Why were you so apprehensive to talk about Mat? Was everything okay between the two of you? Tyson should have known, considering Mat’s rap sheet, something could have gone awry. Now that Tyson thinks about it, he didn’t recall seeing your very shiny wedding rings reflected the very bright sunlight. Tyson’s face pales as he wonders, did Mat finally screw things up with you?

. . .

Once he got home from seeing you, Tyson immediately called Mat. It was beyond ridiculous the conversation that you and Tyson had, so he had to get to the bottom of it. Mat didn’t pick up his phone the first few times Tyson called, but Tyson was persistent. Mat wasn’t going to get away with it.

“What’s up, Tyson?” Mat says when he finally picks up the phone.

“I saw your wife today,” Tyson remarks, bitterly.

“Who?”

“Your wife, the person you married.”

“I’m not married,” Mat says, dryly. “At least not anymore.”

“What do you mean ‘not anymore’?”

“Wait, where did you see her? Are you in New York?”

“No, she’s in Denver.”

Mat snorts. “That must be where she went after the divorce.”

“You guys got a divorce?”

“Officially, no,” Mat clarifies. “We’re legally separated and are on our way to a legal divorce in a few months.”

“What happened?” Tyson asks.

“She left,” is all Mat says. “Look, I’ve gotta go, but we’ll talk soon and get dinner the next time you’re in New York.”

“Mat, wait,” Tyson attempts, but Mat already hung up the phone.

As far as Tyson was concerned, you were crazy in love with Mat. Your eyes lit up whenever you saw or talked to him, so when Mat said you left, Tyson knew that it couldn’t be the case. Tyson also knows the way that Mat is and is more than pretty sure that Mat has cheated on you since the moment your first started dating.

Tyson always trusted his friend; he had no reason not to trust Mat. For some reason, though, Tyson is pretty sure that Mat’s version of events of how his marriage ended isn’t really what happened.

. . .

After getting off the phone with Mat, Tyson is pacing around his apartment, trying to figure out who to call. He needs to know what really happened so he can (a) take care of you and (b) apologize for his words previously in the day. Tyson pulls at his curls as he groans in frustration. You didn’t need protection or someone to protect you. You were strong enough to handle it on your own, but Tyson still wanted to be there for you. Tyson had to be there and step in to help you.

Anthony. That’s who Tyson could call. If anything, you would have told Anthony the truth, or he’d know the full extent of the truth. Immediately, Tyson picks up the phone and dials his other New York friend.

“Hey, Tys,” Anthony says from the other side of the phone. “What’s up?”

“Mat’s marriage. What happened?” Tyson immediately asks, jumping right to the chase.

“What do you mean ‘what happened’? Their marriage ended like a year after the wedding ceremony ended.”

“Yeah, but what happened?”

“She left him,” Anthony states, blatantly. “There isn’t anything left for me to say.”

“Beau, come on. We both know she loved him to pieces, so something had to cause her to leave.”

“Tys,” Anthony sighs. “You know the way Mat is and how he was even before he met her. Mat was cheating on her since day one. Either, she didn’t know about it when they got engaged, or she chose to ignore it. Regardless, he cheated a lot, and I guess she couldn’t take it anymore.”

“That —” Tyson angrily breathes out. “I have to go, but thanks for letting me know.”

“Yeah, sure. Have you seen her? She told me she was planning on moving to Denver.”

“This morning, and I didn’t know they got divorced until I called Mat and asked about her.”

“She didn’t tell you? I can’t tell if that means she’s taking it well or hard.”

“I don’t know, but I have a few more phone calls to make.”

“Tyson, don’t do anything stupid,” Anthony warns.

“No promises,” Tyson states and hangs off the phone. He immediately dials Mat’s number and prays that Mat picks up.

“Hello again,” Mat says. “What can I do for you?”

“You cheated on her! That’s why she left you. She didn’t just leave you because she didn’t want to be married to you; she left because you cheated on her and have been cheating on her. What’s the matter with you? Why would you hurt someone so great and amazing as her?”

“Tyson, I’m not in the mood,” Mat sighs.

“She loved you with every fiber of her being, yet you ruined her life! She was absolutely in love with you. Why couldn’t you just love her and treat her the way she deserved? She’s one of the most amazing people on this planet, and you ruined her and hurt her.”

“Dude, why do you care so much?” Mat asks. Tyson despised Mat’s tone. It was almost as if Mat didn’t care. Mat’s voice was laced with annoyance but not at Tyson. No, he was annoyed at you. “She’s my ex, not yours.”

“You make me sick,” Tyson accuses and hangs up the phone. How could someone ever treat you like that? Tyson hates himself. He should have had the guts to tell you how Mat was and who he was as a person and partner.

Tyson only wishes he could go back and fix the way things were because maybe then he could be with you, and you wouldn’t have wasted your time on Mat.

. . .

Knocking on your door, Tyson really hoped you were home. He’s not sure what he could possibly say to you. Yeah, I’m sorry my best friend cheated on you, and we all knew that Mat didn’t deserve you and that your marriage would end this way, but I’m sorry. Tyson had to better figure out what to say to you because his job right now was to make yourself feel better.

“Hey, Tys,” you greet when you open the door. Tyson’s eyes go wide and blink a few times at the nickname. You rarely call him that, and when you do, the warm feeling deep in Tyson’s chest always erupts.

“Hey, I brought wine,” Tyson answers, holding up the bottle.

You laugh. “Ah, the way to my heart.”

Tyson’s face turns a deep crimson as you take the wine and welcome him into your apartment. “So, you live in Denver now?”

“Obviously,” you say and gesture to the apartment you live in. You’re reaching for wine glasses when Tyson notices that all your furniture is new. Mat must not have given you any of the furniture when you left.

“What brought you to Denver?”

“I got a job,” you reply and pour the wine into glasses.

“And I thought you moved for me,” Tyson teases as he graciously accepts the glass.

Your eyes look up at Tyson’s flirtatiously and say, “maybe you were a bit of an incentive.”

Tyson hides the blush behind a sip of wine. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” you question.

He shrugs. “Everything.”

You snort. “You’re sorry for Mat cheating and the demise of my marriage?”

“Yes, no, I don’t know,” Tyson grumbles. “I should have told you about his ways and who he was. I could have stopped it all from happening.”

“Tyson, come on, that’s ridiculous. I was blinded by what I thought was love and should have known better.”

“Yeah, but—”

“No, stop, don’t even, okay?” you push. From there, you and Tyson sip your glasses of wine in comfortable silence. You can’t help but ponder what if Tyson warned you? What would have happened then?

“I always thought you could do better than Mat,” Tyson admits as he finishes off his glass of wine and many moments of silence.

You snort. “Yeah? And who did you imagine me with?”

“Me,” Tyson murmurs.

“Tys,” you whisper, and with that one nickname, you tore down every wall that Tyson ever built up. Although he tried not to fall for you, he fell for you the moment you walked into the summer lake house with Mat. The minute his eyes landed on your form and saw the glow of the sun around you, Tyson prayed that you were just a friend, but when Mat introduced you as his girlfriend, Tyson built up those walls to protect him and his friend (although said didn’t deserve that). When he saw you a few days ago, Tyson was shocked. He hasn’t seen you since the wedding. Tyson knew he couldn’t see you with a wedding ring on your finger that was from someone else and not him. And when Tyson heard about what Mat did? He went feral.

Tyson knows you don’t need a knight in shining armor to save you. You’re strong enough to carry your battles, but damn, Tyson wants nothing more than to protect you. He wants to hold you close and tell you everything was going to be okay.

“I’ve spent years telling myself that I never felt anything for you, but that was what I told myself because you were with Mat,” Tyson admits. “You’re all I’ve ever wanted.”

“Tyson,” you say, not sure how to respond. As much as you didn’t want to admit it, you and Tyson had something. Your relationship was far too familiar for it to be “Mat’s girlfriend” and “Mat’s best friend.” Assuming Tyson was innocently flirting with you, you returned the sentiment. The feeling it erupted in your stomach and heart, though, was a feeling that Mat could never give you and never gave you. His eyes, his smile, his laugh. Sometimes, in the quiet moments of the past few years, they’d play through your mind.

Tyson looks at you expectantly. He wasn’t expecting anything from you, but he had to tell you.

Your eyes met his, and suddenly, everything made sense. Your lips met halfway as they crashed on each other. Your hands went to his hair, and man, it’s so much softer than you ever imagined it could be. The last person you kissed was Mat, and at one point, you thought he would be the last one you’d ever kiss, but with Tyson’s lips on yours and his hands on your body, it feels right.

Almost instinctively, Tyson stands and lets you lead him to your bedroom. His lips never leave yours as if he could die if your lips separated. As he lowers you onto the bed, you can’t help but think everything felt right. Being with Tyson felt right. It all felt right with Tyson.

. . .

Tyson woke up the next morning in your empty bed. Your phone was still sitting on the nightstand, so Tyson was pretty sure that you didn’t leave him. That didn’t bring the disappointment Tyson felt, though, when the felt the cold of your pillow.

He runs his hands over his face as he tries to wake up. He still couldn’t believe that the previous night happened. Of all the times he thought about being with you, Tyson never imagined that it would actually happen.

Tyson only hoped that last night would be the start of something instead of the end.

Once Tyson is sufficiently awake and is ready to see you, he heads out into your kitchen. He looked for his shirt on your bedroom floor but couldn’t find it. You saw a lot more than his bare chest last night, so he doubted you’d mind if he wasn’t wearing a shirt.

“Good morning,” you say when you hear Tyson’s footsteps. You turn around and hand him a cup of coffee.

“Good morning,” he murmurs as he graciously accepts the cup and notices you’re wearing his shirt. “Is my shirt comfy? I’m kind of cold.”

You smirk and rest your hand on Tyson’s heart. “Is that so? You feel warm, and your heart rate is stupid fast.”

“Oh, is it?” Tyson replies, a smirk overcoming his face as he rests the coffee cup on the counter. His hand goes on top of your hand on his heart. “Do you want to know what the cause of my heartbeat is?”

“Mm, what’s the cause?”

Tyson smiles as he rests his hands on your waist. His forehead goes on yours as he whispers, “you.”

“Me?” you say with enthusiasm.

“You, always you,” Tyson murmurs. “Since the moment I first saw you, you were the one who made my heart race. You’re still the one who makes my heart race. Even when you were with Mat, you—”

“Don’t say his name,” you instantly interrupt. “I don’t want anything to do with him.”

Tyson smiles. “Well, you belong with me, so whatever you want, I’ll do. As long as you’ll have me, I’ll be right here by your side.”

“You’ll wait for me?” you question, nervously.

“Forever,” he promises. “Because it’s you and me.”

“You and me,” you agree and seal the deal with a kiss. “Because you belong with me, too.”

Taglist: @sorryjustafangirl, @ilyasorokinn, @laurenairay, @joelsfarabees, @rosesvioletshardy, @shinyfalcon4, @jostystyles, @besthockeyfics, @fallinallincurls, @sunshinegirouxmakar, @ch-ristiane, @owenpowerstapejob, @barzyblogbabe, @2manytabsopen, @plds2000, @stars-canucks, @barzysandhughesbaby (Join the taglist here!)

[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. 

[burkymakar]

Tyson Jost Imagine: Collide (Part Four)

Summary: Tyson invites you on the family trip to a lake house, and you’re forced to confront some very uncertain truths. 

Rating: T (language)

Word Count: ~6.8k

Parts: Prologue, Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall

BLM Resources

(gif credit: @samgirard​)

The first month of summer, after the Avs unfortunately don’t win the Cup, you spend it alone in Vancouver. Tyson Jost went back home to St. Albert with his mom and Kacey. And he didn’t need a nanny since he was going back to being a dad full time. 

He offered to let you stay at his apartment in Denver but all the friends you made on the team were going to places all over the world.

So you go back to Vancouver, even though Denver feels more home than Vancouver ever did.

You hang out with friends at some of their apartments. Your college roommate, one of the best people in your life, lets you stay at her place since she started dating her roommate and they now share the other bedroom. You can finally pay her rent, which is nice. You also get some money babysitting for your old professors and some of their friends. It’s chill. It’s calm. But you miss the hectic frenzy of hockey. You miss the Avs. You miss LJ. 

You miss Tyson.

As you’re sitting alone eating takeout pizza for the billionth time, you get a text from Tyson, asking if he can FaceTime.

You frantically wipe your face and change into a presentable shirt. You’re halfway through putting on makeup when you wonder, wait... why are you doing this?

For professionalism, you decide, even though there’s a niggling feeling underneath of wanting to impress him after having gone so long without seeing him. 

Swiping on some mascara, you text back “sure, I’m free now.” And he immediately calls you. 

“Hey,” He says as soon as it connects. You can see his bare shoulders, and you know he’s Facetiming you shirtless. You’d seen him fully shirtless before, but it’s been so long that the hint hits a bit harder.

“Hi,” You say, trying to focus. “How are you? How’s LJ?”

“She’s doing well, liking the outdoors,” Tyson says. He’s grinning at you. “My mom and Kace like having her back. Lots of family time now.” 

“That’s so good,” You smile. “How does LJ like Canada? Is she excited to be back?”

“I don’t think she remembered it much, to be honest with you,” He laughs. “So it’s kind of like she’s seeing it all again for the first time. Fun to see it through her eyes.” 

“I bet.”

“What have you been doing?”

The answer nothing seems to not be the best choice. “I’ve been hanging out with friends, been babysitting for some professors,” You say. “Finding things to keep busy.” 

“Oh, I was gonna ask... I mean, if you’re busy-”

“I’m not busy,” You’re quick to say. Too quick. “I mean, it’s just gigs, nothing permanent. What were you going to ask?” 

He perks up a little, “I was wondering if you wanted to join me and the family in St. Albert. We’re getting a cottage on a lake for three weeks, and I thought you’d like to come.”

You take a moment, touched at the invite. You’d love nothing more than to go, but something holds you back. You don’t know what that thing is though. 

You smile but you hesitate, but Kacey jumps into frame, knocking into Tyson. “Y/N please you have to come! It’s been too long since I’ve seen you!” 

“I’d love to see you, Kace,” You say.

“Not me, eh?” Tyson laughs.

“No, you too. And LJ, it’s just-”

“No ‘buts’ or ‘justs’. You have two days to get yourself to St. Albert or I’m flying to get you myself,” Kacey says. 

“She’ll do it,” Tyson confirms.

“Well, I’m outnumbered by the Jost siblings.”

“Our mom’s making dinner and LJ is napping, but you’d get the entire Jost fam voting ‘yes’,” He says. “Wait, our grandparents are in Europe but they’d probably want you to come. So that’s six against one.”

“I can’t beat those odds,” You say, relenting. “I’d love to. If you want to have me.”

“We do,” Tyson says. “Send me your flight info, I’ll pick you up.”

“Will do.”

Kacey grins and jumps up and down, “Yay! Girls trip!”

“Hey! I’m still here.”

“And you’ll have fun on our girls trip,” Kacey sticks her tongue out at her brother and dodges his elbow. “Talk to you later, Y/N!”  

You immediately get a ticket, you’ve never spent the summer just relaxing. Ever since you were fourteen, you worked each summer, trying to find some way to save up money for savings and for necessities. And now you have savings and can relax. Breathe. 

And spend more time with Tyson, LJ and his family. 

You pack up the basics, thank your friend for letting you crash, and then fly to Edmonton International Airport.

It’s not as creepy as Denver International Airport, and you’re grateful for that. You text Tyson to let you know your flight got in and that you need his address for the Uber but he texts back “don’t bother”.

Confused, you step out into baggage claim and hear your name be shouted. You see Tyson, holding LJ, Laura, and Kacey all standing together.

Kacey runs to you first, and you hug her tight. She’s so affectionate, it’s so life-affirming. “So good to see you!” She says. “I’m so glad you decided to come.”

“I wasn’t aware I had much choice in the matter,” You joke. 

“You didn’t, I’m just being nice,” She says as Tyson and Laura come up, keeping close behind LJ who enthusiastically waddles up to you. 

“Y/N!” She cries out. “Up, Y/N! Up!”

You gasp, “You said my name!” You scoop her up and hug her close. 

“She’s been practicing,” Tyson says, beaming at you, bringing you in for a quick hug. It’s good that it’s quick, he smells so good that you could almost dive into it. Luckily, LJ provides enough of a barrier as well so you’re not entirely enveloped.

“So nice to see you again,” Laura says, reaching over to squeeze your shoulder. “I’m so glad you could join us.” 

“Thank you for having me,” You say. “It’s really sweet of you.” 

“C’mon, we’ll get your bags. You okay to keep traveling? If we leave now, we can hit the cottage by nightfall,” Tyson says as he effortlessly pulls out your blue bag, a ratty thing that’s gotten you through years of college and houses in the care system.

“Works for me,” You say. “Let’s go.”

The drive is passed by singing songs and playing trivia games when you still have cell data. Laura knows a lot about old school hockey, but Kacey kills it on TV trivia, but you rock the basic school subjects from all your years of studying. Tyson pretends the reason he loses is because he’s focused on driving, but you all know the truth.

You weren’t sure what to expect at the cottage, but it’s simple but still much larger. Maybe you were expecting a log cabin? Instead, it’s a full house. Three-bedrooms, two baths, a huge kitchen, and lakefront access.

“This is stunning,” You say, taking a moment to look at it. 

“I call first bedsies!” Kacey says, running towards the house. 

“You can’t do that without bringing a bag!” Tyson shouts, sprinting after her but carrying LJ’s duffel bag. 

“They’re still such kids,” Laura says, rolling her eyes, bouncing her granddaughter on her hip. “Is he at least an adult with you?”

“He’s... himself,” You decide to settle on, hoping it doesn’t come across like an insult. There’s something so exuberant about Tyson. He has a luminescent joy, on the ice, with LJ, talking to you. And it’s not naïve but it is sweet. “He’s responsible but I’d never say he’s serious.” 

“Sounds like him,” She says. “You’ve been good for him. I don’t get as many frantic calls in the middle of the night anymore.”

“He had a lot to learn really quickly,” You try to tamper down your defensiveness. You know his mother would never say a bad thing, but it irks you deeply if people imply Tyson wasn’t a good father. You almost snapped at a reporter (non-Avalanche affiliated thankfully) who tried to trick Tyson into revealing things but luckily he kept a better head than you. “So, understandable.”

“I’m both jealous and relieved the internet wasn’t around much when Tys and Kace were babies,” She says as you help take bags in. You can hear bickering upstairs. At first, you flinch instinctively at the banter, but then hear the laughter. “There’s so much going on, both life-saving and utter nonsense, I think I’d go nuts.”

“I’m not saying Tyson doesn’t go nuts,” You say with a smile to take the potential sting out of it. “But he tries so it’s sweet and doesn’t drive me nuts. He tries so hard to do everything right.”

“Oh, he’s a try hard, he’s tried so hard at everything,” Laura smiles as LJ mumbles, “Da-da.” She was buzzing all through the car ride but now she’s sleepy, resting against her grandmother’s shoulder. “He wouldn’t be in the NHL if he wasn’t.”

“Must be crazy, seeing him live his dream,” You say, helping put away the groceries you five managed to stop and get. Half of it is insanely healthy stuff, like salmon and sweet potatoes, to help Tyson during the offseason and then more casual foods like chips and cookies. 

“Here, I know where things go, you sit with LJ,” Laura hands off the toddler, who thankfully still loves being held, especially when she’s sleepy.

“She’s gonna become such an adventurer,” You say, propping LJ into your lap. “I’m probably going to have to find more museums for her, I think she’s getting bored of the Denver Art Museum, they won’t have a new exhibit for a bit.”

“I like that you take her exploring,” Laura says, putting things in the fridge and in the cupboards. “Tyson told me you took him to Boulder after they lost the Cup.”

You turn your focus to LJ, who’s concerned with the hoodie string on your jacket. It was so hard to see Tyson like that, utterly devastated and depressed. 

“I was afraid I was out of line,” You admit. “But I’m glad we went, we had so much fun.”

“I’m glad too, he’s so hard on himself,” Laura sighs. “It’s good to know he’s taken care of.”

“Thanks,” You say, a blush scorching your cheeks. You’re saved from more praise as Tyson and Kacey bound down the stairs.

“Y/N, I got us the best room,” She brags. 

“You cheated,” Tyson says. “First bedsies only counts if you have your bag to claim it.”

“You used LJ’s so it doesn’t count.”

“Children,” Laura interjects. “Don’t make Y/N regret coming with us.”

Not likely, this is already the best vacation you’ve had in years. Plus, any time spent with Tyson, Kacey, and LJ is a good time.

Neither Jost sibling looks unrepentant as they apologize. “C’mon, I’ll show you around.”

You follow Kacey up the stairs. “You guys have stayed here before?”

“Two summers ago,” She explains. “Last summer, Tys was too busy with LJ to come up. But this is one of our favorite places. I’m so glad you made it!” She hugs you again. 

You hug her and squeeze back. “I’m so excited. Thanks for thinking of me.”

“This was all Tyson’s idea,” She says. “Not that I’m not glad, but he’s the one that was like ‘would it be too weird?’ and I had to talk him into it.”

Interesting, and flattering on all counts. 

“There’s Mom’s room, she gets the master. Tyson and LJ will be in the middle room. We’re sharing this one,” Kacey leads the way to the room at the very end. There are two full size beds, with dressers. “They come fully furnished and freshly cleaned by a staff that owns the row of houses. So we don’t have to do a damn thing,” She explains as you touch the covers on the bed. “But the best part is the view.” 

She tugs you to the window and you stare agape at lake at sunset. It looks like something out of a movie. The way the setting sun hits the waves while being encompassed by the trees. 

“Stunning,” You say. “It’s so cool you get to share this with LJ.”

“Being an aunt is weird,” She says. “But I’m so glad too. I get to be the coolest aunt ever.”

“You certainly are,” You nudge her. “C’mon, we should help your mom get the rest of the bags.”

“Ugh, you’re such a goodie,” Your friend playfully gripes, but follows you back down the stairs.

+

It’s an amazing first week with Tyson Jost’s family at the lake house. He’s really glad he thought to invite Y/N, because it’s so nice to see you having fun. You get along great with his mom and sister, and you still take care of LJ like you want to and not like it’s a job. 

The feelings he’s been battling with keep ebbing and flowing like the waves of the lake, but he keeps them at bay (water puns, he’ll have to text these to JT later). It’s more important that Y/N gets a fun vacation than he gets off.  

But the week’s mostly been spent at the house. He’s too afraid to let LJ on the boat, so most of the activities have been stuck inside or right on the water so he’s getting some cabin fever. 

He looks up some fun places nearby and sees a mini-golf course with great reviews. LJ might be a bit young but she’ll have fun with the putter and with all the cool courses. 

After getting everyone corralled, they all go to Alberta Wild Mini Golf. Tyson picks Avalanche blue for his team, you pick your favorite color, LJ grabs green, Laura grabs pink and Kacey grabs orange. 

Kacey has no patience for golf, but she does have the athleticism. Laura has always been pretty athletic, but she’s more focused on LJ, who wants to climb on all the structures and play with all the colorful golf balls. Tyson is pretty good, but none of you are really taking score.

Y/N, though, is utterly terrible. 

“I think I can cross pro-golfer off my potential career list,” You say after you knock another ball into the windmill’s blades.

Kacey laughs at you, “Good, I’ll win.” 

“Hey, no fair, you got good instincts, you just need practice,” He defends. “Here, can I show you?”

“I doubt it’ll help,” You mutter but nod. 

Tyson steps up behind you and gently takes your elbow, “You’re too tense here,” He says. “The putter is like another limb, you gotta just move with it not use it to move.”

“Okay,” You say. 

As he wraps an hand around your fingers to ease your grip, he hears MacKinnon’s voice reverberating in his head, show me your golf swing, back when he was on his fucking bullshit from the party.

The thing that sucks is he wasn’t wrong then and he isn’t wrong now.

Ignoring Nate’s mocking words, he focuses on the present. “Just breathe, and you’ll do it.”

“That’s the best you got?” Kacey chirps him from up ahead.

He flips her off so their mom doesn’t see and goes back to Y/N. “You can do this.” 

You take a deep breath and you putt the ball.

The two of you watch as the bright gold orb slides between the fans of the windmill. He nearly laughs as it saddles right up to the hole but doesn’t go in.

But you’re so excited, you jump up and down. “That’s the closest I’ve been all game!”

The joy you emanate is infectious, so Tyson cheers like he won a home game and scoops you up in a victory hug. 

“Go putt it in,” He says, when he feels his hand slip to the curve of where your back meets your ass on accident and uses it to push you forward gently. 

You don’t seem to notice, gently knocking the putt into the hole. “Finally, we can move on,” You say. 

“I dunno, I like the windmill, classic,” He says.

You scrunch your nose at his attempt to make you feel better, and they play through the rest of the course.

Laura insists on taking pictures of the five of you, and Tyson really likes one where he’s flanked by you and his sister with LJ around his shoulders and holding up his hair. He posts the picture to his Instagram. There are some questions demanding if Y/N is his girlfriend, but he focuses on the chirps from his teammates.

6erikjohnson6: what’s your handicap for this???? Pls respond

landeskog92: maybe this will help your golf game 🙏

mackinnon29: @landeskog92 might be too late... 

jtcompher: hope KC kicked your ass 

She did, so he lets his sister respond to that comment as they all grabbed food afterwards, and treated LJ to ice cream. She loved the stuff, but more importantly she loved smearing it all over her face. 

It made him feel useful to clean her up and take care of her, and it was nice to do it with his family there.

At lunch, he noticed Y/N start to get quiet, but then LJ had a tantrum because they delayed her nap, so they had to rush back home.

The day got away from him, and it’s late. Kacey and Laura are watching some ridiculous TV show on Netflix and he can’t find Y/N, so Tyson goes to put LJ to bed.

LJ is having a tough time falling asleep, so Tyson just strums melodic nonsense until she falls asleep. He should go to bed himself but he feels restless, so he keeps strumming the guitar hoping he’ll fall asleep in the rocking chair. 

He gets up and stretches, making sure LJ really is asleep. Ever since Y/N came back, she’s been sleeping better, and he’s grateful, but he wonders if this makes him a bad father. That he needs your help, and can’t do this as well without you.

Then he remembers his mom, and the fact that she did the lion’s share of the parenting but always could lean on her father. And he loved his grandfather. Maybe there’s asking for help is nothing to be ashamed of.

He sets aside his ukulele against the windowsill and goes to look at the moon above the water. With a deep sigh, he goes to turn to his bed but then sees someone sitting on the deck. From the back, the silhouette looks like Y/N.

Confused, he sneaks out of his room and down the stairs with the baby monitor. The air is humid but cold, thick with the lake water, and he’s glad he’s wearing a long sleeve Avs shirt.

“Hey,” He says as he steps onto the dock. 

You don’t turn around but you don’t tell him to fuck off either, so he sits besides you.

You’re wearing a sweatshirt with UBC on it, and your feet dangle above the water. 

“Hi,” You say, but your voice sounds off.

He looks at your face and he sees you wipe away tears.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” He wants so badly to reach out to comfort you but something holds him back. 

“I-” Your voice catches, and he watches as you try to center yourself. “Today- today was just a bit overwhelming, is all.”

“How so?” He asks. “I’m sorry if we did anything, I know we’re annoying-”

“No, that’s not it all,” You finally turn to him. “Today was amazing, and your family- you’re all so good, thank you.”

He’s so confused as to why you’re crying then, but he remembers advice his mother gave. If a girl is crying and you don’t know why, say nothing. She’ll tell you.

You shiver, or shudder, and he can’t help it, he wraps an arm around you and pulls you close as more tears fall down your face.

“I- I lost my parents ten years ago,” You say. “Drunk driving accident. They didn’t have other family, so I went into the care system.”

“Oh, shit, Y/N,” He starts to say, but has no idea what to offer to that. He’s never met his dad, nor is he that interested, but he can’t imagine life without his mom and he does not want to. So he just rubs your shoulder.

“I’m fine,” You say, but you both know it’s a lie. The tears are a good indicator of that. “It was hard, but I helped with all the younger kids. Older kids don’t really get adopted, you know. So... I bounced around. But I didn’t really have a family.”

He stays silent, and he doesn’t say anything when you sniffle into his shirt. Anything to get you to stop crying. 

“And then I met Kacey, and she introduced me to you and LJ, and your mom. You have such an amazing family, Tys. And you just let me visit.” 

He wants to say you’re a part of the family, but the feels off. All words feel wrong. He wishes Landy or someone was here, they’d know the words to say. 

“And it reminds me of my family trips, and I-” You choke and stop talking for twenty long seconds. 

“I’m sorry” is all he can think to say. 

You shake your head, pulling away now. “No, I’m so glad I’m here.” He bites back a response, you look absolutely shattered. “But I just need to feel it, you know? The mourning. Then I’ll be okay.”

“We’ll always be here for you, Y/N,” He says. “Do you want to be alone?”

“Can you stay here?” You ask, voice small. “Please?” 

Tyson nods, and rubs your shoulder again, adjusting slightly so it’s more comfortable for you. You thankfully don’t cry again, just lean against him and breathe.

You both stay there for a while. So long the sun disappears and the moon rises. You’re so still against him that he wonders if you’ve fallen asleep. And he’s not sure how he’d carry you into the house and up the stairs when you finally stir and sniffle.

“God, this is mortifying,” You say as you pull away. 

“If it helps, we could consider us even,” He offers. “I’m not exactly proud of the way I handled myself when we didn’t win the Cup.”

You stare at him. The light of the moon reflecting off the lake is just enough for him to see the sparkle in your eyes. There’s not as much pain there now. 

“Thank you, Tys,” is all you say.

He pushes down an urge to kiss your forehead. He’s always hated in the dumb romcoms his sister made him watch where the girl would be sad and the guy would kiss her, so he resists. 

“Anytime,” He says. “I should probably check on LJ, wanna come in?”

You shake your head, “I’ll think I’ll stay out here for a bit more. But thanks.”

He nods and leaves you. When he’s at the door, he turns back to check on you. Your hands are now behind you, propping you up on the pier, staring up at the sky. In his hands, he hears LJ give a sleepy little cry, so he turns his back once more and heads upstairs.

+

Two weeks into the trip, you find some colored pencils and an old sketchbook so you decide to sketch the water as you watch LJ at the beach. She’s playing in the sand, safe from the water, and focused on getting her Kit to find treasure. There’s apparently a legend about a pirate (On a lake? in interior Canada? Yeah okay) but she loves it so you let her look. 

You decided to break out your bikini, figuring it’s a great chance to get some tanning in. It’s bright against your skin, and LJ says “princess!” at you, which you all think is how she says “pretty” since Tyson always calls her “pretty as a princess.” 

The sketch is mostly done by the time Kacey and Tyson come back from doing a run together, both of them covered in sweat and flushed from the exercise. 

It’s genuinely unfair how amazing Tyson looks post-workout. Just the right amount of filthy. 

Irritated with yourself and your sex drive, you focus on LJ, and set the book aside. 

“Dad’s back!”

“Daddy!” LJ pushes out of the hole she’s dug and runs over to him, tripping into the sand.

“Oh babe!” Tyson immediately panics when she faceplants and dives to her side.

You barely flinch as LJ erupts in a distraught wail. What did Tyson expect? 

“Christ,” Kacey says as Tyson’s eyeballs go wide in panic, immediately picking her up. 

“Are you okay, baby?”

LJ, a much better communicator since you joined them, can’t articulate a thing since she’s crying so hard and so sharply.

You push off your towel and go to where Tyson and LJ are. You’ve seen this before. 

“Oh, Ellie,” You say, pouting. “What hurts?”

She whimpers and points to her nose. 

“Do we need to chop it off?” You cock your head. 

“Jesus, Y/N-”

You send him a look and he audibly clasps his mouth shut.

“Is it that bad?” 

LJ sniffles and shakes her head.

“Are you sure?” 

She nods. 

“Scary to hit the ground, but you’re okay. And you still got your nose.” You tap her nose gently. She blinks at you. “Wanna show Dad where the treasure is?” 

LJ nods and tugs Tyson to the hole. 

“Wow, you’re like a baby bomb squad,” Kacey says, kicking off her sneakers. “I’m going for a swim. Wanna join me?”

“Let me finish this sketch then yeah,” You nod and head back to the towel and your sketchbook.

“Very nice work, you could be an archaeologist,” Tyson is saying as you head back, squatting by LJ’s hole. He turns up to you, and for a moment you watch as his eyes flick over your body. “Is archaeologist the right word?”

“It is,” You reassure. 

“I get it confused with ‘architect’ sometimes. Why do so many words sound similar?” He asks, almost like he’s babbling.

You smile, “To trip us up.” 

“It’s unfair,” He sits next to LJ and digs his fingers through the sand. “What’s that drawing?”

“Oh, it’s the lake,” You turn to show it to him.

“Wow, that’s amazing.”

You try and fail to tamp down your blush, “It’s just a sketch.”

It’s weird but also... no reason to not to show him your art. There’s the undeniable and mortifying ordeal of being known by showing your art to someone, but you didn’t even hesitate to show him your sketchbook. 

“And it’s awesome. LJ, look,” He points it out to her.

“Meesem!” She shouts, clapping.

“See, it’s good. It should be in a museum.” 

“The most discerning art critic,” You tease.

“And archaeologist,” Tyson says.

“Y/N! I’m bored and I wanna race,” Kacey calls from the water.

“Coming. You got her?”

“I got her, have fun,” Tyson says, and you take off for the water.

Let’s hope it cools you off.

After lunch, you decide to go for a walk, since the temperature’s finally down after a long heat wave. The trees also provide amazing shade, and you notice a missed call from Mel Landeskog.

Ooh, nice reception. You give her a call back.

“Hey Mel! Sorry I missed your call,” You greet. “Is this is a bad time?”

“Nope, it’s perfect, Lin just went down for a nap.”

“How’s she doing?”

“We think she’s gonna start walking soon. Athletic, just like her father,” She gushes for a bit. 

“Adorable,” You say. “How are you?”

You both chat about your days and your summers for a bit, since you hadn’t called her since before the trip to the lake house on the phone. 

“Where are you? Are you still in Vancouver?”

“No, actually, um, I’m with Tyson and his family at a lake house,” You explain. 

“How is it?”

“It’s a lot of fun,” You say then trail off, thinking of how amazing Tyson looked this morning. But then you remembered how he handled you during your mourning breakdown, and how he was so hesitant but he didn’t run away. He stayed with you and comforted you, and made you feel. There was such a duality to him, and it made things so much more confusing. Because if really was a douche, he would have run at the first sign of tears. But no, he stayed. 

“Y/N?”

“Sorry?” You bring yourself back to the present.

“I just asked how is it?” 

You wince, “Mel, I think I’m screwed.”

“How so? Is it awful up there?” That seems genuinely baffling to her.

You laugh but it’s humorless at your own shit luck. “No, it’s amazing. I just- it’s Tyson.”

“Ohhhh.”

“‘Ohhhh’?” You repeat.

“I knew it,” Her cockiness practically spills over through the phone line. “You like him.”

Tyson, Laura and Kacey were too busy getting lunch settled back at the house and there’s no one around you but you recoil like you’re on display. “Mel!” You berate.

“I knew it!” She laughs. “Oh my god, this is amazing!”

“No, this is awful!” You cover your face with your free hand. “Does everyone know that I like him?”

“I don’t think Tyson does,” She offers. “But Gabe had a feeling, and so did JT. And Nate said something. And Ryan-”

“Oh god,” You sink down to the ground of a trail. “I’m so fucked.”

“You could be,” She says.

You can’t help it, you laugh. “This is serious!”

“So am I! You’re both consenting adults, have fun with him.”

“I’m his nanny,” You point out. “He’s my boss. There are ethical-”

“Okay, then quit.” 

“I love this job.”

“Hmm,” She says. “I get it, that’s got to be frustrating. But I guess... what do you want?”

You debate hitting your head into a nearby tree. You instead force yourself to answer the question. “I want to be with him. But what if it goes wrong?”

“That’s the risk you have to take then,” Mel says. “But if it helps? I think he likes you too.”

That is unfathomable to you but she wouldn’t lie to you. But she could be well-meaning but wrong. You sigh.

“Look, I can’t tell you the answer,” She continues. “But you’re smart, you’ll figure it out.”

But you’ve never been smart with the stuff like this. 

You thankfully manage to steer the conversation back to Linnea and LJ, something you’re much better about discussing, and then you hang up and promise to call more.

You decide to wait. You’re probably just lonely, and sad. No use rushing into something potentially catastrophic with your boss.

But that night, Tyson builds a big bonfire, and you all roast smores. Laura holds LJ in her lap as she plays with the melted marshmallows between her fingers. Kacey is telling a story about a wild volleyball game, and you pay attention, but your eyes flit over to Tyson.

He looks so beautiful in the fire’s glow as he listens to his sister and laughs, your heart feels like it might beat out of your chest.

And you think you definitely are screwed. 

+

Tyson is so fucked.

The last weekend before you all leave, Kacey and Laura decide to take LJ for a girls’ trip to a nearby hotel with an amazing spa attached. 

Tyson wasn’t invited, but he wouldn’t go anyway because he only trusts the Avalanche trainers to take care of him at this point. 

But he has very conflicting feelings for the Y/N decides to demure the invitation, letting it be “a Jost girls trip.” 

He’s really glad to spend time more with Y/N.

But all alone?

For so long, one of the main things holding him back from making a move was LJ, and now that’s gone for this weekend.

He forces himself to keep the perspective in mind. He’s your boss. You’re probably not interested, you could have any guy.

But you haven’t dated a single person since you’ve been working for him. Has he not been giving you enough time off? Shit. 

He gets back from a run and finds you scrambling eggs in the kitchen. You’re wearing an old Avs shirt of his, since the laundry machine broke and you didn’t bring a ton of clothes. You look really good in it, but not as good as you looked wearing an Avs jersey for the game.  

“Do you want some?” You ask.

Tyson so starving, so he nods, “Yeah, thanks.”

He sits at the kitchen island on one of the stools and thinks about his realization on the run.

“Do I give you enough time off?” 

You look up, “Hmm? What?”

Oh, he kind of mumbled that. So he repeats the question, even though it’s kinda awkward. “Am I overworking you? You can tell me, we can figure it out.”

“Not at all,” You reassure. 

“I don’t want to overstep, but I haven’t seen you dating.”

A blush hits your cheeks, and you look cute, but why are you blushing? 

“There haven’t been that many people I’ve been interested in,” You admit. “But, um, I’ll let you know.”

A flash of jealousy hits his chest, “Oh, okay. Good.”

Who could you have been interested in? The way you said it meant there was someone, right? Unfortunately (or maybe luckily) he’s distracted from that line of questioning due to the fact you’re nicely handing him a plate for eggs and the conversation shifts. 

Food is more important than his love life... For now.

The first day alone passes by quickly and painlessly. He’s afraid it might be awkward, especially after the breakfast conversation, but you two have amazing fun talks after that, and he works out while you sketch on the beach. No uncomfortable silences or fights.

It’s on the second night that things go to hell.

You both pick up food from a Chinese place nearby, and you both are talking while eating, casual and fun.

“You’ve never gone night swimming?” He looks at you incredulously. 

You nod, mouth full of noodles. “Never.” 

“Did you ever do anything rebellious?” Tyson can’t fathom that, you’re such rule-follower. Not that that’s a bad thing, but just not how he was. 

“Not really,” You shrug. “By the time I was going to hit a phase, I was shoved into the care system, and some of the parents were really strict, and I didn’t want to lose my home.”

“Well, I won’t kick you out, ever,” He’s quick to reassure. “So let’s rebel.”

“It’s not rebelling if you tell me to do it.”

“Don’t pull some reverse-psychology shit on me,” He laughs. “C’mon, let’s go swimming, the moon is out, and it’s fun.”

“It’ll be cold!” 

“That’s the rebellion part. C’mon, you can swim, eh?”

“Yes, but-”

“Let’s go!” He grabs you by the hand and tugs you outside to the shore. You’re both in pajamas, him in an old workout tee and basketball shorts. If he were braver or creepier, he’d suggest this should be a true rebellion and you should go skinny-dipping but he doesn’t want to make this weird or make you uncomfortable. 

You kick off your sneakers and dip your foot in, yelping. “It’s cold!”

“You get used to it,” He assuages, even though it does make him wince as he steps in as well. “You can’t do that if you don’t get in.”

You cross your arms under your shoulders. “I dunno, Tys-”

“I promise it’s fun.”

“I believe you, but it might not be safe.”

“I’ll protect you,” He looks you in the eye. “Promise.”

You hesitate, then repeat, “It’s cold.”

A wicked thought overtakes him, “I know a great way to get over that.”

“What?” 

He takes off for you, and it takes you a split second to react with a shriek and run away. He quickly catches you and picks you up into a traditional bridal hold as he carries you through the water until it hits his knees. 

“Oh my god, Tyson,” You scramble to make sure you don’t touch the water in his arms. “I will kill you-”

“Welcome to rebellion, Y/N,” is all the warning he gives before he tosses you in.

You hit the water with a splat! and immediately pop up, spluttering and looking like a drowned cat. “It’s freezing!” 

“It is,” He agrees and dunks himself. When he emerges, he lets out an invigorated whoop! “Now you’ve gone night swimming.”

“And I’m about to cross ‘homicide’ off the list,” You glare but he tell you’re fighting a smile.

He laughs, “The ultimate rebellion.”

You finally laugh too, and you both start swimming around together, playing a half-assed version of Marco Polo until the cold does really get to be too much and you both leave the lake water.

Dripping wet in the kitchen, Tyson grabs you both towels from the hall closet and you both dry off, still giggling from the adventure.

“That was a lot of fun,” You say. “Thanks for inspiring me to rebel.”

“You’re pretty good at it,” He says, giving you a smile as he studies you. You seem finally relaxed. So often you look tense, or nervous, but you look positively chill. He’s glad he had a hand in it. 

Tyson pauses, noticing a leaf at your hairline.

“Oh, let me get that,” He gently brushes it off, stepping close to do it. Your eyes go to his finger, and you lick at your lips.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.” He says, throat dry.

And the next thing he knows, the two of you are kissing.

The towels drop to the floor as his hands go to your hips to pull you in close, and your hands do the same with his neck, interlinking into his hair.

It feels like a dam just broke, and now he doesn’t want to stop. He finds the closest surface, the couch, and pulls you on top of him as he hits the cushion. 

You’re both wet from the lake, and the clothes are damp but he doesn’t give a shit. You’re on top of him, you’re moaning against his lips, and his hands are on your ass. That’s the important thing. 

But the shirts are chafing so he pulls away to yank his own off, and your hands immediately trail to his chest. Your fingers are soft and gentle, but there’s an urgency to the touch that makes his head spin.

“Can I?” He asks, his hands going to the bottom hem of your shirt.

You nod and pull back so he can help your shirt off. You’re in just a bra and your jean shorts, and you look stunning.

Tyson reaches and cups one of your breasts, causing you to moan, and lean into it. He wants the bra off but you didn’t take it off immediately, so he decides to wait. Even though he’s impatient.

Ever so slightly, your hips grind against him so he grips your waist to pull you in. “Beautiful,” He murmurs before kissing you, needing to taste you again. 

Then, after either a second or an eternity passes, you pull away, breathless but shaking your head.

“We need to stop.”

His hands drop as he tries to control his own panting. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”

Something flashes on your face, and it looks like regret and it makes him sink back into the sofa as you step away to sit on the coffee table. 

“We can’t do this, Tyson.” 

He swallows tightly, and knows he should respond. But he can’t find the words, so he says nothing.

You continue, “I work for you, and I need this job. And I think you need me too. But more importantly, I think LJ might.”

“Yeah,” He says, making sure his eyes don’t drop to your chest. Please, can you put on a shirt it’s so distracting. “I’m sorry.” That seems the best thing to say, which is good because it’s true.

“Don’t be,” You say, and he’s disappointed that you do tug on your shirt. “Really, I was there too. But we just got to chalk it up to... a moment, I guess.”

He nods, “It was a moment. It won’t happen again, Y/N, I promise.”

“Thank you,” You say, but your voice is small and he almost winces. “Um, I might go shower.” 

He nods again, but doesn’t say anything. 

You look at him like you want him to speak, but he can’t think of anything that won’t sound completely pathetic. 

So he lets you escape to the shower, and he just stays on the sofa, head tilted back, and regret coursing through his veins. 

Fuck.

Note: thanks for reading! sorry for a bit of a cliffhanger and i need to edit this but i hope you liked it!

[senditcolton]

would you do “I fucking love you.” “Hang up and tell me this when you’re sober.” with tito?

“I fucking love you.” “Hang up and tell me this when you’re sober” 

This was super fun to write. I did already write this prompt with another player but I knew I could do something completely different with it. This one is a bit more fluffy than the other, but don’t worry, there is still plenty of angst.

Being best friends with Tyson Jost came with its perks. You got tickets to hockey games whenever you wanted. Most of your summer nights were spent at his lake house in British Columbia. And, you got to spend a lot of time surrounded by his insanely attractive friends, one of those being Anthony Beauvillier.

Originally, you didn’t really see the appeal of Tito. Sure, he was gorgeous. But you always hung out with him when he was with Tyson and Mat and a few other friends. And when he was with them, he acted like a typical boy. Your eyes spent more time rolling around in your skull at his antics than they did ogling his looks. It wasn’t until you were up late, reading next to the fireplace when Tito wandered down in nothing but a pair of sweatpants. He noticed the book in your hands and made a comment on the plot. It shocked you, as terrible as that sounded but you continued the conversation and before you knew it, you were laying on the couch, your legs draped over his and the early morning rays of sunlight filtering through the windows.

After that night, you started to pay more attention to Tito. You noticed that he was generous and kind, not only to his friends but to complete strangers. He also had a wickedly sharp sense of humor that had you crying with laughter more often than not. You started to feel a sense of kinship with him and soon found yourself sitting on the couch, or the dock, or the boat deck with just him next to you, talking about everything and nothing at all.

You didn’t realize it, but Tito was paying similar attention to you. He took note of how you were committed to anything you set your mind to, whether that was mastering a new recipe or learning to play spike-ball. You were insanely smart, pulling completely random facts out of thin air and impressing him with the most niche knowledge. But the way you said it made it seem like he should know it too.

The only problem was that neither of you knew how the other felt. It was like there was a wall between the two that you both were too scared to knock down. So, even after the late-night talks, the casual intimacy, the obvious connection, you both never took the next step.

It wasn’t until a completely normal night did things change.

You were laughing as you sat on the soft area rug in one of the bedrooms, surrounded by Kacey and your other friends, having a wonderful girls night in. The facemasks were on, the wine was flowing, and you all were shrieking at the misfortune of Kasey’s last date.

“It was terrible! I swear, I am never dating a business major again! He couldn’t talk about anything but ‘the current state of our economic downfall’. Like dude, I’m trying to enjoy my lobster okay. Don’t kill the vibe.”

You laugh and shake your head. You loved this moment, surrounded by the coolest girls you’ve ever known, being as loud and crazy as you could. You all kicked the boys out of the house earlier that night and they decided to go to the local bar. It takes a few moments to realize that your phone is buzzing on the floor next to you. You don’t even look at the caller id when you answer, holding the phone up to your ear, but only after checking to see that your peel off facemask was completely dry.

“Hello?”

You are greeted with the sound of muffled shouting and music blaring in the background. You pull your phone away, finally registering the name on your screen.

TITO

You lift yourself up from your position on the floor and after gesturing to your phone, you walk off into the kitchen to take the call. When you lifted the cell back to your ear, you heard Tito practically shouting your name.

“Tito, I’m here. Why are you shouting?”

“You weren’t answering me!” you heard him tumble over his words and you shook your head.

“I cannot believe you are drunk calling me Beau,” you laugh, pouring yourself another glass of wine. You hear him fumble with the phone and the background noise quiets.

“Yeah but it’s important.”

“Oh really?” you reply, your voice still light and teasing.

“I’m serious.” There is something in his voice that makes you pause, something that caught you off guard. You didn’t know how to describe it but you knew that even though he was completely wasted, some part of him was thinking clearly.

“Okay. I’m listening. What is it?”

You hear him take a deep breath and the words rush out of him.

“I love you. I fucking love you.”

Something in your chest tightens as you try to process his words. He just told you he loved you. The man that you had been crushing on for the past few months said he loved you. But your brain stopped you before you could sink any deeper into the moment.

“Very funny Beau. Hang up and tell me this when your sober, if you can,” you respond trying to keep your tone light.

“I’m not kidding. I love you. You are so smart and funny and fucking hot and I know you feel the same way about me. And I will totally tell you this in the morning when I am super hungover. And I’ll tell you this tomorrow night, stone cold sober. And I will tell you this every morning and every night after that. Because that’s how much I love you.”

You let his words sink into your skin. Something in you knew that he was telling the truth and as much as you wanted to tell him the same, the words died on your tongue.

“Say something please,” Tito’s voice came through the speaker. You took a few deep breaths and opened your mouth, pushing those three little words to the front of your mouth. But before you could speak, you hear someone yelling Tito’s name from the other end of the line. You hear the shuffle of the phone being removed from Tito’s hands, his cries of protest sounding from the speaker.

“Hey, Y/N,” Tyson’s voice floods your ear, “sorry, we got a little carried away with the drinks. I just called us an Uber and we’ll be back home in a few minutes. Sorry if we ruined your girls night.”

You stay silent and feel your confession slide back down your throat, hiding once again in the recesses of your heart. It isn’t until you hear Tyson calling out your name again do you snap back to the present moment.

“Yeah,” you say, slightly shaking your head. “That’s fine Ty. I understand.”

“Awesome. You are the greatest.” After that, you hear the click of the line disconnecting and you look back to your now black phone screen. You are left standing alone in the kitchen, your thoughts rushing through your head and the dread of seeing Tito the next morning settling into your stomach.

[puckinghell]

Mittens | Tyson Jost

Summary Requests: you never wear mittens so i knit you a pair and leave them for you to find as a gift from an anonymous person because i’m shy

and

your family ditches you for the holiday so i take you home with me, except my family thinks we’re dating now, and i don’t know how to tell them that we’re not Word Count: 3.8k Note: this is dedicated to @thesmutpeasant‘s knitting behaviour

---

When you finished your PR degree, you wouldn’t have said that working for a hockey team was your ultimate dream. You didn’t even know hockey. But working for the Avs has pretty much been the best time of your life, so far.

Where else could you spend an hour of your work day talking about Christmas gifts? 

So far, the boys have decided that for Christmas, Gabe needs to get some hairspray, Z needs a new wardrobe, and Mikko needs a girlfriend.

“What about Tyson?” you ask JT. “Have you gotten him a present yet?”

JT laughs. “No, I haven’t, but I think someone should get him a blanket or something. He’s not good with the cold.” “Hey, fuck you!” Tyson yells from the other side of the room. “It’s freezing here, we can’t all be cold blooded like you!” JT huffs. “He says that, but he’s dressed like he lives in California or something. Never wears a hat, or gloves. And then he complains about the cold all the time. One night he even asked if he could have my duvet.” “That was in Winnipeg, and you know how cold Winnipeg is,” Tyson protests. “Besides, I asked you to cuddle me warm first, but you said no.” It’s teasing, and JT rolls his eyes, but you know Twitter is gonna explode at this. “Thanks boys,” you say, putting down the mic, and the cameras finally leave the room. “What do you want for Christmas, Y/N?” Tyson asks. Out of all the boys - although you would never admit it - you like Tyson the most. He’s always chatting with you when the cameras turn off, and he asks you things like he cares about the answer. You’ve become friends, in the past few months. He’s also really cute. You shrug. “Some sleep would be good,” you say, because it’s been a long road trip, and Tyson laughs. “Same.” --- The next morning Tyson brings you a cup of coffee to the plane. “How is she gonna sleep on the plane now?” Burky teases, and Tyson turns bright red. You make sure to take a picture of Burky from an unflattering angle in retaliation on Tyson’s behalf. Not that it necessarily makes Burky look any worse - that guy doesn’t have bad angles - but it’s the thought that counts. You sleep on the plane and keep yourself busy during the day, but when the evening rolls around, you sit in your quiet apartment and busy your hands as your mind winds down. Knitting may sounds like a grandma hobby, but it calms you down, thank you very much, and it means you’ve always got a personal gift for someone. For Christmas, your grandma has asked for a scarf, your mom wants a hat, and your aunt asked if you can knit a romper for your few months old niece. You have no idea how to do that, but surely you can figure it out. However, today, you don’t really feel like knitting any of those. Knitting those requests feels a little too much like work, right now, and you wanna knit just to knit. You don’t even realize you’re knitting mittens until you’re halfway through the first one. You don’t need mittens; you’ve got a good selection of them, a wide variety of colors. You remember your talk with JT and Tyson, yesterday. There’s someone who needs them. --- It’s weird, that’s something you’re sure of. To just give Tyson a Christmas gift, a handmade Christmas gift, and not have anything for the other guys. They would chirp you to hell and back and you’re not sure you’re ready for everyone to know about your teeny tiny crush on number 17. However, you can’t deny the fact that you knitted these mittens with only one person in mind, and it would feel weird to give them to anyone else. So, one morning, when Pepsi Center is still dark and there’s nobody around, you put them in Tyson’s stall without a note and decide to never think about it again. Which would be easier if you’re not the one having to do pregame interviews that day. “So, the Blues are obviously the reigning Stanley Cup champions...” - EJ pulls a face and you can’t help but agree - “how can you make sure you take the two points here tonight?” “Probably score some goals,” EJ says with a deadpan voice and a wide toothless grin, and you’re about to yell at him for being an awful person to interview when there’s a loud noise on the opposite side of the locker room. “Ah, sick!” The entire room turns to Tyson, who is beaming with excitement and looking at the mittens in his hands. “Someone got me gloves!” “Those aren’t gloves, those are mittens,” Cale says wisely. Tyson stares at him for a few seconds, then obviously decides to ignore him. “There’s no note,” he wonders out loud, and you really, really hope your blush isn’t too noticeable. EJ’s eyes are a little too fixed on your face. “Maybe it’s a secret admirer,” Mikko offers. “Maybe it’s someone who’s just as sick about you complaining about the cold as I am,” JT says. “Where are my mittens?” Z ponders. “You’re not getting any, you don’t deserve them,” says Nate, and Z goes to put him in a headlock. The boys start arguing about why they do or do not deserve mittens and EJ turns back to you. “So,” he says, “any more questions?” --- The boys win in OT and there’s excitement radiating through the locker room. You’re not doing the postgame; Lauren is, but you follow her around anyway, mostly because you love the locker room after a win. The happiness is contagious, and you find yourself smiling all evening. Most of the guys have gone home when Lauren packs up her final stuff. “What a game to end with before Christmas, huh?” she says, giving you a quick hug. “Merry Christmas, Y/N!” “You sure you don’t want to come?” JT’s voice is filled with enough worry that it catches your attention. You pretend to focus on packing your bag, the door slamming shut behind Lauren as she leaves. It’s just you, JT and Tyson, now. “Nah, man, it’s okay.” Tyson sounds a little down, which is not what you would’ve expected, after he scored to put them into OT earlier. “You’re with your girl, and I don’t wanna be a third wheel. I’ll be fine.” “But you can’t be alone on Christmas.” JT is clearly indignant. 

You’re just standing up when Tyson gives JT a playful shove. “Go, Comph. Go have a fun Christmas. I’ll be chill here.” JT rolls his eyes but gives Tyson a quick bro hug. As he’s leaving the locker room, he sends you a smile, a “happy holidays” and then he’s gone. You turn to Tyson. 

“You’re staying here for the holidays?” Tyson shrugs as he puts on his coat. It’s not nearly thick enough to be a winter coat, and he’s not wearing a scarf. He does however, take the mittens and put them on his hands. “My mom is on a cruise and Kacey is celebrating Christmas at her boyfriend’s house. Everyone is leaving me alone this year.” He’s trying to sound light, like he’s joking, but there’s a sharp edge in his voice that tells you it matters more to him than he’s willing to let on.

Something squeezes in your chest. Nobody should be alone on Christmas. “My family is coming to my apartment on Christmas Eve to have dinner, do you want to come?” You blurt it out before really thinking it through; it’s probably gonna be hard to explain to your parents, that you’re suddenly having a guy over for Christmas, and maybe Tyson will think it’s weird that you’re asking him: you just heard him tell JT no, so why would you think he wants to come hang out with you? But when you brave looking up at him, Tyson is smiling widely. “You sure?” he asks. “Is it not too much trouble? I can help you cook if you want. Or, you probably don’t want that, because I suck at cooking, but I can do whatever else you need me to do. I’d bring gifts for all your family, of course, and…” He’s rambling, and it’s cute. “Tys,” you interrupt him, and you can’t help how fond you sound. “They’ll love having you around. My dad is always saying it’s not fair, four girls and one guy, and my sister is bringing her girlfriend, so I could use a partner in crime, too.” “Okay, that’d be awesome,” Tyson says truthfully, “thanks so much, Y/N.” He smiles at you brightly and then puts on his mittens. “Dude, these are so warm, I love them.” You nearly promise to make him a hat and scarf too, but then you figure you might’ve exceeded your maximum amount of weird for the day by inviting him to Christmas dinner, so you quietly follow him out to the parking lot while he excitedly chatters about Christmas movies. --- It’s the morning of Christmas Eve and you’re this close to having a mental breakdown. Your house is a mess; you figured you didn’t need to clean it, your family has seen it all, but now Tyson is coming and you would like him to not think you’re the biggest slob in the world. Also, there’s the fact that an extra mouth to feed means more food necessary, so you have to go to the store and get more groceries. All in all it means that when your doorbell rings, you’re still wearing an old Avs hoodie and leggings, and you’re pretty sure there’s cookie dough in your hair because you decided you needed dessert after all. It’s not like Tyson gets to sin all the time. Christmas is as good an excuse as any. “Hey,” Tyson smiles. He’s looking annoyingly nice, wearing a grey jumper and dark blue slacks. As soon as he sees the state of you, he frowns. “What is that in your hair?” “Cookie dough,” you tell him honestly. “You look nice.” “Thanks,” Tyson grins proudly, “I Facetimed Kacey to pick out the colors.” He walks into your apartment like he’s been there a million times before, pushes a bottle of wine into your hands and starts unpacking the bag with presents he brought, putting them under the tree. “Am I early?” “A little,” you admit. “I, uhm, kinda still need to shower. You know, get the cookie dough out of my hair.” You think about it, for a few seconds, then decide that you can trust Tyson with this one thing. “Can you take the cookies out of the oven in 10 minutes so I can shower?” Tyson nods, throws you a thumbs up and then parks his butt on the couch like that’s where he belongs.

It makes you feel... things.  And, well, you might take a little longer to get ready – putting a little more effort in your make up and hair than you would’ve if it had just been your family -  but the last thing you expect when you come back in is for everything to be ready. Except it is. There’s candles lit on your coffee table and the presents are all under the tree. Your mom has a glass of wine in her hands and greets you with a “honey, there you are!” Your sister and her girlfriend aren’t there yet, but your dad is standing at the dining table with Tyson. The dining table is fully laid and Tyson has a half eaten cookie in his hand. “Sorry,” he grins, when he spots you. “They just looked too good not to touch.” You must’ve been staring at the scene a little sheepishly, cause your mom laughs. “You okay there, honey?” 

“Uh yeah,” you bring out. “I see you met Tyson?” Your mom’s face instantly brightens. “Oh yes, we have, but if you want to do proper introductions…” For a split second, you panic, because you don’t actually know how to introduce Tyson – a friend? A coworker? You can’t really say an unreachable crush – but you’re saved by the door bell. “Y/N!” your sister says, giving you a quick sideways hug. “Amy and I brought some extra wine, in case you didn’t have enough booze and we have to listen to dad talk about baseball all evening while sober…” She stops dead in her tracks as soon as she sees Tyson. “Oh, hello.” “Thanks, Meg,” you mumble. “We uh, have enough, probably, cause Tyson brought some too.” Meg turns to you, wiggling her eyebrows. “A boy that brings wine? Keep him around, will ya.” You’re about to tell her to shut up, when your mom stands up. “Time for dinner!” --- It turns out Tyson fits in with your family right away, and you’re not even halfway through the night when you realize your catastrophically big mistake. Seeing him like this, as if he’s an integral part of your life already, does nothing to help your massive crush on him. Because Tyson is perfect. He talks sports with your dad and interior design with your mom – “My mom used to redecorate our place every year or so, you pick up some stuff” – and falls into a flawless routine of teasing you with Meg. He tops up glasses, passes the salt without being asked, and every now and then he sends you a smile that has your stomach turn in your body. It’s not until after dinner, when you’re standing in the kitchen with your mom, cleaning dishes, that you understand your mistake has been even bigger than you thought. “I’m so happy for you, sweetheart,” your mom coos. She’s looking at you with fond eyes. “I was worried, you know, that you never introduced us to a boy or girl. I don’t want you to be lonely here in Denver. But Tyson is such a lovely guy. You can tell he really loves you.” You can… what? “Oh, no, mom,” you stutter, “he’s not… He doesn’t…” “Oh, but he does,” she interrupts. “I see it in the way he looks at you, you know. When a person really loves someone, it’s in their eyes. And Tyson looks at you with love. You deserve someone who cares about you, babe, and I’m just so happy you’ve got someone here in Denver, when we’re so far away. I just don’t want you to be alone.” And, fuck, your mom clearly thinks you’re dating Tyson, and you realize you still haven’t introduced him properly to your family, of course they think you’re dating, who brings home a guy to Christmas for platonic reasons? You know you should tell her that you’re not dating, you know that, but she looks so genuinely happy, and you know if you tell her now it’ll break her heart. Quietly, you sneak a glance towards the living room. Your dad laughs at something Tyson says while Tyson ruffles through Meg’s hair. She swats at him, and Amy is smiling. Every single one of them would be upset to hear that Tyson is nothing more than a crush that’s way out of your league. 

You know you have to tell them. But maybe just not tonight. Maybe, just for one Christmas, you can let them be happy. “Thanks, mom,” you force out a smile and your mom returns to the dishes. It’s not even a few seconds later that Tyson wanders into the kitchen. “Hey,” he smiles, “can I help?” He leans into you and puts a hand on the small of your back and your heart flutters and it’s innocent, sure it is, he’s just trying to be friendly, but your mom gives you a knowing look as she says: “Sure, you guys finish up here,” and demonstratively closes the kitchen door behind her, leaving the two of you alone. “Your family is awesome,” Tyson grins, as he starts to dry the dishes. “Meg tells me you guys go skiing every February. Me and Kacey usually try to go during bye week, Meg said maybe we can go together!” And something inside of you bursts. “My family thinks we’re dating.” Tyson frowns, puts the plate he was drying down. “Oh, really?” He doesn’t sound upset by the fact, simply curious, and you sigh. You’re gonna have to explain this one. “I guess I just didn’t really think to tell them who you are or like, what we are? And so they just saw that I invited a guy to Christmas and they assumed that we’re together. They absolutely love you, Tys, and they always worry so much about me having a boyfriend, and I just…” You pause; you know you’re turning red and it’s impossible to get out the words. “Hey, it’s okay,” Tyson says gently. He reaches out, his hand landing on your arm in a gesture of comfort. “You don’t have to tell them now. We can just… date.” He flushes. “Fake date, I mean. For tonight. Or, like, however long you need us to.” “Really?” you ask, relieved, and Tyson laughs. “Don’t sound so surprised. As if it’s such a hardship, to pretend to be your boyfriend.” He shoots you a wink, puts the final plate away and wanders back to the living room. Leaving you absolutely stunned, wondering what just happened. --- “Gifts!” Meg says, clasping her hands together. “The true meaning of Christmas!” Your mom gives her a disapproving look, but even your dad is eyeing the presents under the tree with a little too much interest.   “I’ll go first,” Tyson says with shining eyes, “being the new one in the family, and all that.” “Ah, yay, it’s not me anymore,” Amy giggles, and you swear to God you are going to die. Somehow, despite not knowing your family, Tyson nailed his gifts. Your dad is over the moon with his new slippers, your mom keeps sniffing the scented candle he gives her, and Meg smacks Tyson across the head with the Avalanche beanie he got her, until she notices there’s two tickets to a musical that Amy has been wanting to see in there. 

You’re a little jealous, because you love gifts like that, until Tyson hands you an envelope. “I heard you tell Gravy how much you like them,” he says, and he sounds a little off. Nervous, even. “And if you need a plus one…” He wiggles his eyebrows and laughs, but even his giggle comes out a little nervous. In the envelope is two tickets to your favorite band, who are playing in Denver next month. You didn’t end up getting tickets cause they were sold out stupidly quickly and were ridiculously expensive in resale. “Oh my God, Tys, that’s way too much,” you tell him in awe, but Tyson just shrugs. “No use for an NHL salary if you can’t spend it on the people you care about.” It sounds weirdly genuine, a deeper level of something ringing through, but it’s way too much to unpack right now. You feel a little stupid about your gift for him, now – a nice wallet cause his old one looks like it’s been through a lot – although Tyson seems really happy with it, even gives you a hug to say thank you. For the rest of your family, you’ve got a normal gift and something knitted, as extra, and it’s not until you catch sight of the deep frown on Tyson’s face that you realize something. Fuck. You forgot about the fucking mittens. “Isn’t it cute, Tyson?” your mom says, as she wraps the scarf you made her around her neck. “She always knits people gifts. I swear it’s her way of saying how much she loves them. She spends so much time on these.” She pauses. “I mean, you’ve probably been with her while she makes them, you know.” “Yeah,” says Tyson, slowly, although you know he has no clue. After that, it’s like you can’t even really enjoy the rest of the night; you can’t focus on the Christmas movie Meg puts on, can’t focus on how cute it is when she cuddles up with Amy, can’t focus on how fondly your mom is smiling down at you or your dad’s soft snores as he falls asleep halfway through. You can focus on Tyson’s thigh pressed against yours, and how you have no idea how to explain to him why you knitted him those mittens. Finally, your mom stands up, gently kicks your dad’s legs, and smiles at you. “I think it’s time for us to go,” she says. “I’m sure you two wants to enjoy some part of Christmas Eve in privacy, too.” “Mom,” you scold her, feeling your cheeks heat up. Tyson grins at you. By the door, as your mom gives you a hug, she whispers: “He’s a keeper, honey,” and you nearly tell her everything. “Yeah, he’s alright,” Meg says way too loudly, and you hear Tyson giggle in the background and you decide to shut up. The door closes behind them and immediately, Tyson stretches out on the couch. “Ah,” he says. “I’m pretty good at impressing the in laws, no?” You don’t remind him that they’re not actually his in laws. Instead, you fall back onto the couch and groan. “Are you not gonna make fun of me for knitting you mittens and leaving them anonymously in your stall?” you ask, because you might as well get over it. Tyson frowns. “Why would I do that? Those mittens rock, my hands haven’t been cold since.” You blush. “Yeah, but, don’t you think it’s weird that I made those? I didn’t make any for the rest of the team.” For a second, he seems to think about that. Then he moves a little closer, his hand coming to rest on your thigh. Electricity zips through your veins at the contact. “I kinda hoped that meant something,” Tyson says slowly. “Tell me if I’m wrong?” You only had two glasses of wine but you feel like your world is spinning as Tyson moves closer tauntingly slowly. Finally, his lips touch yours, and you understand every cliché ever written into any romantic Christmas movie. When his hand moves to your thigh, settles on the skin right below the hem of your dress, you yelp.

“How are your hands still cold?” 

Tyson chuckles. “I mean, I haven’t been wearing my mittens, so...” 

---

Years later, you’re laying on the couch with your daughter, watching a Christmas movie after having just set up the tree.

“Daddy, what was your favorite Christmas present Santa ever gave you?” your daughter asks. 

Tyson sends you a private look above her head, then focuses on her. 

“A pair of hand knitted mittens.” 

“Like the one mommy made me?” she asks, and he grins.

“Yeah, kinda like that.”

[zackcollins]

you gave me butterflies || tyson jost + carter hart

masterlist

Author’s Note: I was in the mood to write a fic for Tyson. So. I looked at my own request/prompt list and picked one of the options for the premise of this fic. I feel like it turned out really well. (I’ll explain Carter in the Additional section). GIF credits go to anzekopistar and uglygoalie!!

Warnings: There might be a small bit of anxiety so I’ll warn about that just in case. One can never be too careful. Other than that, I think it’s okay.

Word Count: 1.4k+

Title: Butterflies by Kacey Musgraves

Additional: Masculine reader this time! It’s been a hot minute since I’ve done one of those so I decided it was time to go back and write another one. As I said, I’d explain Carter here. He plays a part in this fic because Tyson’s dad mentions him as a way to prove a point. He also plays another role in this fic that you’re going to have to read to find out what it is. I had someone proofread this for me to check if it was alright. I intended this to be a one-shot but they told me it sounded like a set-up for a series. If you guys would like more of this, feel free to tell me because I’m willing to write more if you guys would like to read more. Carter Hart do be bringing out the series writer in me, I swear. Enough rambling. I sincerely hope you enjoy this!!

You had agreed to drive the rental car from the airport to Tyson’s parents’ house. It was obvious that you were the less nervous out of the two of you and had a lesser chance of having a traffic incident. As you loaded your suitcases into the car, Tyson thanked you for what felt like the twentieth time that day for agreeing to be the driver.

“Tyson, babe,” you said, placing your hand on his shoulder once the trunk was closed. “It’s fine. Seriously. There’s no need to thank me.”

“Are you sure?” He asked, bringing his hand up to cover yours. He ran his fingers along the top of your wrist which made you shiver a little.

“Yes,” you replied, leaning forward and kissing his cheek.

Tyson tensed underneath you, face contorting into a look of fear. That’s when you remembered the situation you were in. You were both men and the airport was an incredibly public place where Tyson could be recognized by the prying eyes of fans.

“Sorry. I forgot where we were for a second,” you said, your face falling with a guilty expression while you rubbed the back of your neck.

Smiling weakly, Tyson grabbed your hand and squeezed it. “I’m not mad, (Y/N). I just want you to be more careful.”

You nodded, squeezing Tyson’s hand in return. You looked at each other nervously for a moment before you dropped hands and walked to your respective sides of the car. You shared a small smile over the roof before you both opened the doors and slid into your seats.

Once your seatbelts were buckled and the doors were closed, Tyson turned the radio to his favourite station. You rolled your eyes, shook your head, and chuckled when you realized it was the country station. All Tyson did was stick his tongue out at you and giggle. You reached across the centre console and ruffled his hair. Tyson giggled some more and smiled at you.

As soon as you were out of the airport parking lot, Tyson placed his hand on top of the centre console. You briefly glanced down to it while still trying to maintain focus with the road. You took one of your hands from the steering wheel and grabbed Tyson’s hand, interlacing your fingers. To show his appreciation, Tyson gently squeezed your hand.

While you drove to his parents’ house, Tyson was singing along to some of the songs on the radio. Country music wasn’t even close to your favourite genre but listening to Tyson sing it made your heart swell. He didn’t have the greatest singing voice by any means but the passion and enthusiasm he was giving to each song were enough to keep you entertained and happy on what otherwise would’ve been a boring drive.

For the entirety of the drive, Tyson held your hand. Some of the songs had him gesturing along to the rhythm and lyrics but he continued to hold your hand through all that. He would squeeze your hand as he gestured his hand along to the music, presumably to thank you for not letting go.

You pulled into his parents’ driveway just as one of Tyson’s favourite songs was ending. When you turned off the car, Tyson turned to you and squeezed your hand. His face was plastered with a look of pure anxiousness. You squeezed his hand and brought your other hand over to his cheek to run your thumb across it soothingly.

“How much have you told them?” You asked, bringing your hand down and placing it on Tyson’s knee.

“I’ve told them that I’m bringing one of my buddies,” Tyson paused, letting out a shaky breath. “They don’t know that I’m bi and that my ‘buddy,’” Tyson made air-quotes around the word, “is actually my boyfriend.”

You rubbed Tyson’s knee soothingly. Tyson glanced down at his knee then up at you. Your facial expression was soft as you looked at Tyson. Tyson smiled weakly and leaned over to kiss you. The angle was awkward because you were in the front seats of a car but you made it work well enough. The kiss was short, sweet, and meaningful. When you pulled apart, Tyson’s anxiousness seemed to have softened a little.

“Ready?” He asked, squeezing your hand.

Nodding, you unbuckled your seatbelt and let go of Tyson’s hand. Tyson heaved a shaky breath while he unbuckled his own seatbelt. When you were out of the car and at front the door, Tyson was just about to reach onto his pocket to pull out his keys when the door swung open. Kacey was standing there, a smile on her face.

“Tyson, I thought you’d never come in,” she said, rolling her eyes.

Scoffing, Tyson stuck his tongue out at his sister. Kacey stuck hers out in return. She leaned against the doorframe, pointing at you.

“Is this the buddy you mentioned?”

“Yeah, I’m (Y/N),” you said, sticking your hand out for Kacey to shake. Kacey accepted, shaking your hand graciously. “You must be Tyson’s sister, Kacey.”

Kacey smiled, motioning behind her. “Come on in. Our parents are in the living room.” She turned heel and walked down the hallway.

You turned to Tyson who only shrugged. You chuckled as you walked into the house. Tyson kicked his shoes off so you followed suit, wanting to be the polite guest. After a moment to gather yourselves, Tyson directed you down the hallway and into the living room.

His parents were sitting on the couch, watching something on the television. It looked to be a Netflix show that you had been meaning to watch with Tyson but hadn’t gotten around to because of his busy season. 

Tyson’s parents both smiled when they saw you. Tyson’s dad grabbed the remote and paused the television so he could focus his attention on you.

“Are you this buddy Tyson was mentioning?” Tyson’s dad asked, leaning on the back of the couch.

You nodded. “Yes, that would be me.”

Tyson cleared his throat which made everyone draw their attention toward him. You noticed that he looked as white as a ghost and scared out of his mind. Knowing what that meant made you want to rush over to comfort him. You resisted because you knew he had to say what he had to say first.

“Tys, honey,” Tyson’s mom started, looking concerned. “Are you alright? You don’t look so good.”

Instead of answering, Tyson walked over to you. He looked at you with a look that said ‘follow my lead.’ You gave your best non-verbal response that told Tyson you accepted his request. After taking a moment to gather himself, Tyson grabbed your face and leaned forward to kiss you. You hesitated for a brief moment before you brought your hands to Tyson’s waist to pull him in closer. The kiss was over much too soon for your liking. You would’ve liked to kiss Tyson until he was red-faced and swollen-lipped. You wanted to make it worth it. Instead, it was just something brief to prove a point.

Tyson stepped to your side and turned around, allowing you to see the expressions of his family. Kacey was grinning so widely you were afraid she was going to split her face open. Tyson’s mom had $20 in her hand which Tyson’s dad took from her with a cocky smile.

“Mom? Dad?” Tyson’s voice rose a couple of octaves as he spoke.

“Tyson,” Tyson’s dad said as he put the $20 in his wallet. “I’m not stupid. I knew you and Carter were more than just friends.”

You noticed that Tyson’s face turned a pretty shade of pink as he ducked his head onto your shoulder. You wrapped your arm around him and rubbed his upper arm gently. He relaxed a little and lifted his head to look at his parents.

“About that…” Tyson trailed off, looking at you nervously.

You opened your mouth to respond but the doorbell interrupted you. Tyson bolted toward the door, nearly tripping over your foot. You chuckled and rolled your eyes at him. Kacey and Tyson’s parents looked down the hallway after Tyson, wondering what was going on. You could only bite your lip nervously, knowing full well what was going to happen.

When Tyson returned a moment later, Carter Hart was following him. Kacey and Tyson’s parents blinked and looked between the three of you. Carter and Tyson walked over to you, each standing on one side. You slung an arm around both of them and they both kissed one of your cheeks. Carter and Tyson then leaned their heads in front of you and kissed each other quickly. Kacey gasped as did Tyson’s parents. Carter smiled as he turned to Tyson’s family.

“Surprise!”

[washingtoncapricorns]

I know I’ve said this a lot lately but Tyson Jost is the second best Jost sibling. Don’t get me wrong. He’s wonderful! Like really wonderful! Kacey is just a little bit more wonderful!

[baevillier]

i always wonder if hockey players or their siblings have tumblr and see the shit people write about them

all im imagining is kacey jost showing tyson all of the shit people say about his thighs sksksk

[miriyos]

HELL YAH JT/TYS howbowt tys pretending to be Sexy and Smooth to ask JT out but he soon discovers how Tys is rly a disaster

okay okay. so I may have gone way off prompt here. here’s to tys being exactly that but also, a bringing the not-boyfriend home to the parents:

**

When Kacey finds out Tys is bringing JT back to Alberta, she can’t keep teasing him about it.

“That’s so sweet of you to bring your boyfriend home with you for Grandpa’s birthday,” she chirps. And really, Tys considered not telling his family at all that he was bringing JT home with him but he figured the teasing he’d get for that would be twice as bad.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Tys hisses into the phone. He’s pretty sure that Alex and JT are in the living room playing Fortnite. There’s yelling so they’re almost definitely playing it. “Don’t make me hang up on you.”

Kacey laughs. “Please, you need someone to help you color coordinate your outfit.”

“Fuck you,” he tells her. Lovingly. He really does need her advice.

*

The day they have to leave from Denver to fly to the Jost’s, JT is dressed in an old t-shirt and around-the-house sweatpants while Tys is dressed more nicely in black jeans and a baseball tee.

“Girls love when guys have sleeves that end at the elbows. It shows off the biceps. I’m sure gay guys are the same,” she had told him with certainty.

JT does a second glance, lingering at Tyson’s arms as he carries out his carry on.

Huh.

“You look nice,” JT compliments. He snorts. “Who’re you trying to impress? The stewardess?”

“I’m just looking nice for my mom,” Tys lies.

“Oh, shit.” JT looks contemplative. “Should I dress up too?”

Tys takes this as a lame opportunity to check JT out. He does it slow and with a little pout of his lip, pretending to think hard about it. “Mm, you could put on some real pants.”

“Shit,” JT says, hands on his hips. “Help me find my jeans?” he asks, looking at his suitcase.

*

“Look at the bright side, bringing him home now means you won’t have to bring him home again when you actually start dating. Doesn’t he only own that one white shirt though? Not that I’m judging. It’s just that, he might need more help in the fashion department than you do.”

*

“Can you sit still?” Tyson asks JT once they’re on the plane. JT just keeps fidgeting.

JT stands up as much as his seat belt will allow before sitting down no more satisfied than he was before. “Jeans are not meant to be worn on planes.”

“You could’ve kept wearing your sweatpants.”

“Yeah, but, it would’ve been weird if you got all nice and I showed up dressed in sweatpants. I wanna make a good impression,” JT says earnestly. Tyson’s heart throbs a little.

“You’ve already met my family,” Tys argues.

“Sure, at Avs events and stuff but never at your house. It’s different this time,” JT says, not noticing how Tyson looks at him with hearts practically in his eyes.

This weekend is going to kill Tyson.

*

The first night back at home is pretty simple, if not awkward by the knowing looks Kacey shoots him all throughout dinner. Grandpa Jim and Laura sit at the heads of the table while Kacey sits on one side and Tys and JT sit on the other. Together. Because Kacey very loudly announced where she was putting JT’s drink at the table.

“You’re awfully helpful tonight,” Laura tells her daughter.

Tyson rolls his eyes. Briefly he wonders how long he could go to jail for sororicide.

Going to jail would probably mess with his Avalanche contract so maybe not.

“This tastes great, Ms. Jost,” JT compliments even though he’s barely touched the food.

Tys’s mom doesn’t notice. “Thank you, JT. It’s nice to get compliments on dinner every once and a while,” she says, directing the last bit at Kacey.

Grandpa Jim laughs as if this is a common occurrence around the house. He looks at Tyson. “No girls distracting you from hockey, is there?” he asks Tys.

Tyson does not choke on his water. Kacey bursts out laughing though.

“No, no, no girls,” Tyson says, eliciting a fake laugh. “No boys either.”

Loudly, JT starts coughing. His face turns the same shade as his hair. (Red, Tyson is told.) Laura reaches over to pat him on the back.

“Are you okay?” Laura asks JT.

There are some tears in his eyes but JT nods. He nods and takes another drink.

Maybe Tyson forgot to officially come out to JT.

*

They’re in town for the weekend but since a birthday is only one day, that leaves two more days of freedom. Laura has to work, Kacey (luckily) has a volleyball camp she promised to volunteer at, and Grandpa Jim has his own agenda to take care of. That leaves JT and Tyson on their own.

“You guys should go to West Edmonton,” Kacey suggests innocently.

“You wanna?” JT asks.

He bought into the act, Tyson realizes. His sister is an evil genius. West Edmonton Mall is a hub for tourists and families but it’s also overrun by couples in the summer.

“Sounds great,” he says through gritted teeth at Kacey.

“Sounds like a date,” she teases, happily stealing the apple her brother had been eating as he bounces off for the front door. “Well, I gotta go. Don’t wanna be late for camp!”

JT looks at the spot Kacey vacated, confused. “We don’t have to go if you don’t want to. I’m cool with just hanging at the house.”

“It’s fine, we can go. It’ll probably be fun –” Tys begins only to be cut off.

“It’s not like it’s actually a date,” JT tries to say at the same time.

“Right, yeah. Kacey was just chirping, you know?” Tyson laughs nervously.

JT laughs, too, not that Tyson can really understand why. “Dude, just ask me.”

“What?”

“Just ask me,” JT repeats.

Tys feels his face heat up. He clears his throat and tries to lean against the kitchen counter, cool-like. “Wanna go to West Ed with me? Like on a date?”

“You’re so lame,” JT says, smiling. He pushes Tyson off balance. “Let’s go.”

*

“I had to tell him! If I had to sit across from you guys one more night, watching you give him moon eyes – Yeah I know that it was only one more day, but listen. I’m the best wing man in the world. Just admit it.”

Tyson doesn’t hang up on her this time either.

send me jt/tyson prompts!

[totalconservative]

New Post has been published on Total Conservative News

New Post has been published on http://totalconservative.com/eyeroll-country-singer-says-voting-trump-is-an-act-of-violence-against-gays/

Eyeroll: Country Singer Says Voting Trump is an “Act of Violence” Against Gays

In what surely came as a surprise to the LGBT voters who love and support this president, country singer Kacey Musgraves polluted Twitter on Friday with a tweet that not only mischaracterized Donald Trump’s position on gay issues but also conflated voting (speech) with violence…the way radical leftists love to do.

We wouldn’t have necessarily taken Musgraves as a “woke” cultural Marxist, but we’re continually surprised by how easily these braindead celebrities fall for the left’s utter nonsense. Is it real? Is it just pandering? Who knows and who cares. If you’re spouting this rhetoric, you’re responsible for it, whether you really believe it or not.

Tweeting an image that showed a rainbow background, Musgraves shared the message: “If you love an LGBTQ+ person and you’re planning on voting for Donald Trump in November, that’s an act of violence against them.”

Cool story, Kacey.

Musgraves’ tweet drew quick condemnation from former Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell, who just happens to be an openly gay man himself.

“Twitter should ban this piece of fake news. This isn’t remotely correct. Stop making gay rights a partisan issue, Kacey! You aren’t helping gay people one bit,” Grenell replied. “We aren’t tokens.”

But that’s how liberals see every group. Every category. Everyone is reduced down to their race. Their sexual orientation. Their gender identity. Their claim to oppression. Today’s critical theory scholars and their (witting and unwitting) supporters have taken the concept of labor unions and blanketed all of politics with the same “you’re either with us or against us” mentality. It is the raised red fist of Communism, only now available in black, rainbow, and every other color imaginable.

Except, of course, white.

In 2016, Colin Jost of Saturday Night Live had a pretty funny joke. On the Weekend Update segment, he shared that Facebook was introducing a whole slate of new genders by which users could identify themselves on the platform. Jost deadpanned: “They’re calling the feature: Why Donald Trump was elected.” It was hilarious because it was so true. The left has become so ridiculous and so removed from real America that it’s a wonder that Biden is doing as well in the polls as he is.

Back to Kacey: Voting for the President is an “act of violence”? Get out of here with that crap. If you want to worry about violence, take a look at Portland and you’ll have all the problems you can handle.

But to do that, you’d have to actually be concerned about human beings and not just trying to make yourself look special on Twitter.