#ransom x holster x tater

[coffee-at-annies]

So it's pride month, so here's a list of headcanons about the sexualities of the samwell men's hockey team and occasional others.

Bitty is gay, that's canon

Jack is aromantic and bisexual. Or well technically demiromantic but he doesn't care about specifics

Ransom is pansexual and Holster is biromantic asexual and they are in a loving poly-qpr with each other where Holster dates Ransom and Ransom dates Holster and also occasionally other people. Currently he hasn't dated anyone else bc he has a huge crush on Tater.

Tater doesn't care about identities or the gender of who he dates. He doesn't want to pick a word, mostly bc his English isn't great and he's still unsure of the whole queer as a slur thing. According to Jack Adam and Randy have an open relationship and he definitely wants to be in the middle of that. Unfortunately every time he tries to ask, Adam starts acting weird. Maybe he doesn't like him

Lardo is pansexual with a preference for girls. She's disinterested in romance in most cases but doesn't necessarily identify as aromantic. She's also non-binary

Shitty is the token straight on the team and he wishes he wasn't bc "cis straight white guys suck brah"

Chowder and Farmer are the campus power couple made up of a pair of badass bisexuals and everyone is jealous of them.

Dex is a functional gay and Nursey is a disaster gay who thinks he's a distiguished gay and that's like 80% of their problems. Nursey is also genderqueer but has trouble expressing it.

Whiskey is apothiromantic (romance repulse) and that's 70% of the reason he spends most of his time at the LAX house. When he's there it's mostly sex talk and that's better than hearing all 20 different pet names Bitty has for Jack every time he walks into the kitchen.

Tango is still questioning but he thinks he might be asexual. He uses queer mostly bc he likes that it means he doesn't have to pick something more specific if he doesn't want to.

Ford is a lesbian and is one of the few people on the team with her shit together. She's currently single but that's bc she broke up with her high school gf before college and hasn't felt like dating anyone since. She's kind of got a crush on Lardo and she's doing her best to hide it.

Georgia Martin is a lesbian and also Ford's hero. What a #lesbianicon

Johnson is a true a-spec icon being asexual, aromantic, and agender. If you ask him about it he'll go on a fourth wall breaking discussion that'll leave you more confused than you started

Kent is homoromantic asexual, though experiences have left him with ptsd and sex-repulsion that he's slowly working through with his boyfriend and a lot of therapy. So much therapy.

Swoops/Jeff is gay and loves his damaged bf very much and still can't believe that Kent wants to date him.

[piesforjack]

has this one been done yet lol

[accusedoffeminism]

ships from omgcp and what taylor swift songs they correlate with pt 2

Jack x Bitty- Call it What You Want to

Nobody’s heard from me for months. I’m doing better than I ever was, ‘cause my baby’s fit like a daydream. Walking with his head down, I’m the one he’s walking to. So call it what you want, yeah. Call it what you want to.

Lardo x Shitty- Ours

Elevator buttons and morning air. Strangers silence makes me wanna take the stairs. If you were here, we’d laugh about their vacant stares. But right now, my time is theirs. 

Ransom x Holster- I’m Only Me When I’m With You

Sometimes we don’t say a thing, just listen to the crickets sing. Everything I need is right here by my side. And I know everything about you. I don’t wanna live without you

Nursey x Dex- It's Nice to Have a Friend

Light punk sky up on the roof, sun sinks down, no curfew. Twenty questions, we tell the truth. You've been stressed out lately? Yeah, me too. Something gave you the nerve to touch my hand. It's nice to have a friend

Chowder x Farmer- Jump then Fall

I’ve never been so wrapped up, honey, I like the way you’re everything I’ve ever wanted. I’ve had time to think it all over, and all I can say is come closer. Take a deep breath and jump and fall into me.

Jack x Kent- Holy Ground

We blocked the noise with the sound of, "I need you" and for the first time, I had something to lose. And I guess we fell apart in the usual way, and the story's got dust on every page. But sometimes I wonder how you think about it now and I see your face in every crowd.

Kent x Tater- Gorgeous

You should take it as a compliment that I got drunk and made fun of the way you talk. You should think about the consequence of your magnetic field being a little too strong. And I got a boyfriend, he’s older than us. He’s in the club doing I don’t know what. You’re so cool it makes me hate you so much.

[penshachi]

omgcp hcs based on irl hockeys pt. 3

jack zimmermann after being asked how it felt to score an OT winner in playoffs “i obviously enjoyed scoring it. a lot of people congratulate you at the grocery store.” (x)

bitty once offered advice to an opposing player who kept losing face-offs when they were paired up for them (x)

shitty has a tradition of wearing lardo’s swimsuits on the fourth of july and they invite everyone to vote on who wore it best (x)

nursey has broken his stick and face-planted in the face-off circle (x)

dex has absolutely fallen on his ass while playing two-touch before a game (x)

chowder very excited, and having forgotten that someone (let’s say tango) is mic’d up, as smh piles on top of him after a big win: “let’s get drunk!” (x)

ransom and holster have been involved in a local theatre’s production of ‘the nutcracker’ (x, x) 

tater drunkenly stole a news camera during the falcs cup parade and filmed himself and the crowd (x)

a couple of the aces once got in a fight during training camp (x)

bonus: smh does group cellies after home wins (x)

pt. 1 - pt. 2

[marquisdehockey]

So I can’t stop thinking about the falcs making a video after that press conference and it’s full of intentionally bad acting and starts with one of the falcs pretending to read and then doing that whole “Oh, i didn’t see you there” thing to the camera. He says something like “many people have been asking how Jack Zimmermann fits in the locker room, so we’ve decided to clear a few things up”

He’s holding a measuring tape

“It’s quite a large locker room. Here are a number of other things that fit in it”, and then its a whole series of shots from the same angle showing different things while snowy or someone gives a voice over:

“Zimmboni”, Jack’s standing there, waving awkwardly at the camera

“A zamboni”

“Zimmboni on a zamboni” (Jack, sitting on the zamboni, “how did you guys even get this in here”)

“Two cowboys” it’s Ransom and Holster in cowboy costumes

Ransom: this locker room is big enough for the two of us

Holster: *thumbs up*

“Lord Stanley’s cup”

“Lord Stanley’s ghost”, accompanying a shot of an apparently empty locker room

“At least three of Bitty’s homemade pies”

Jack, Bitty, and Tater are holding a pie each

Tater is rapidly eating his

Tater: “two and a half”

“three hundred pounds of potatoes”: Tater posing with a sack of potatoes

“three hundred kilos of potatoes”: Tater posing with several sacks of potatoes”

“three hundred tonnes-” “no.”

“All of these current, past, and honourary members of Samwell Men’s Hockey”

Ransom and Holster are still dressed as cowboys

Jack is looking adoringly at Bitty

Tater, the honourary member, is holding an empty pie dish and using Jack’s distraction to steal some of his

Now all the falcs are standing in front of the camera, and the introduction is, “but there are some things that don’t fit in the locker room” and they each take turns to list an item:

“The Titanic”

“A blue whale”

“The Clyde river”

“Three hundred tonnes of potatoes”

“you never know until you try-”

“No.”

“Zdeno Chara on stilts, unless you... sort of... tilt him sideways”

“Woodstock”

“A goose”

“Actually, I’m pretty sure we could get a goose in here”

“That’s what I thought, but George was adamant that we couldn’t”

“And bigotry”

And then it ends with a graphic of a giant X next to the word “bigotry”, and a giant tick next to the word “pie”

[ao3feed-holsom]

Catch the Light

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2BT8t1E

by YourPalYourBuddy

“It is an emergency,” Shitty says gently. “I’ll put out for a game shirt tonight, okay? And then we can watch your boy wreck some Aces, it’ll be fun.” “Adam Birkholtz isn’t my—” Shitty doesn’t let him finish. “I know I know, you just think he’s a great defenseman, did you see that game where he did x y z, his ass in that suit at that presser, got it. I’m fully versed on your appreciation of Holster’s, uh, technical skills.” ____________________________

Justin and Adam grab the wrong duffel at the airport. This is what happens afterward. Holsom, alternating POV.

Words: 4088, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Check Please! (Webcomic)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Justin "Ransom" Oluransi, Adam "Holster" Birkholtz, Eric "Bitty" Bittle, Jack Zimmermann, Shitty Knight, Larissa "Lardo" Duan, Alexei "Tater" Mashkov

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

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Airports, 'hey wait thats not my bag oh no', NHL Holster, POV Alternating, Snapshots, Fluff, Getting Together, background zimbits, Sharing Clothes, Mutual Pining

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2BT8t1E

[polyamorousparson]

Promoting OMGCP content: A Tagging Guide

As someone who runs a compilation blog for rarepair content, I have realized that content in this fandom is pretty scattered.  It is often very hard to track down content for characters and ships, because everyone has their own way of getting their content out here.  Some are significantly less effective than others.

Tagging posts effectively is the single most useful way of helping people who don’t follow you to find your content.  Using smart and useful tags will go a long way to letting people see your content.  So, as a content creator and a blog runner, I have made a list of tips to help with tagging and promotion under the cut:

Only the first 20 tags show up in a search, so if you have a lot of tags, put key tags first.

Tag both generally and specifically.  Tag the fandom name, the ship(s)’ name(s), and the character(s)’ name(s).  This allows more people to find your content, because different people track/check tags at different levels of specificity.

If you want your content to be widely seen, tag it with a broader fandom tag like “omgcp” or “check please”.  I cannot tell you how important tagging with a broader fandom tag is if you want your content to be seen more widely.  It makes it so, so much easier to find.

If you know of fandom content compilation blogs or networks that encourage everyone to use a tag for relevant content, use it!  Not nearly enough people use the “omgcprarepairs” tag for non-Bitty/Jack and non-Dex/Nursey ship posts.  Using established tags like that are a great way to target your content to the audience you think may be interested (and to get your content a wider audience via content compilation blogs).  

Do not overestimate people’s knowledge of the ship names you use.  There are probably a maximum of six or seven ships in this fandom that have widely known and widely used ship names.  That is not the majority of ships.  

Unique or name smush ship names can be fun, but they are often hard to find.  If you use ship names for ships that aren’t Bitty/Jack or Dex/Nursey, then make sure you include not only your personal ship name, but also a more stranger-friendly ship tag.  For example, if you want to tag a ship that is holster, lardo, and ransom, consider tagging “holsterlardoransom” or “holster x lardo x ransom” as well.

This technique is also useful for ship names that may share a tag with other content.  If you want to tag your Chowder/Nursey content with “nurseshark”, consider also tagging it “nurseychow” or “chowder x nursey” or “chowdernursey”.  If you want to tag your Chowder/Farmer content with “charmer”, consider also tagging it “chowderfarmer” or “chowder x farmer”.

Generally, do not tag ships using slashes (/) or dashes (-).  It doesn’t work well with the tumblr search function.

Tagging names in a ship name alphabetically (”ransom x tater” instead of “tater x ransom”) is helpful, though that is something that is subject to a lot of variation because of older fandom norms

Shardo is a terrible ship name and we should all universally agree to use “lardo x shitty” or “lardoshitty” instead.

Tagging character posts with the characters’ full names can be helpful, since the “chowder” tag also contains plenty of food posts that have nothing to do with omgcp.

Use basic common courtesy.  Don’t tag ship/character hate with that ship name or character name.  Don’t start flame wars by putting anti posts in the broader fandom tags.  If you do, utilize tags that signal it is anti content.

Warning tags are important, but that is another post entirely.  Use common sense and common courtesy for this, too.

On the other hand, if you DON’T want your content to be seen widely:

Do not mention fandom names, ship names, or full character names in the body of your post.  If you include a certain controversial blonde hockey player’s name in a post, for example, your post will come up when people search the character’s name.  This is true whether you tag that character’s name or not - tumblr pulls posts that mention characters or ships and puts them in the search results for those characters/ships.

[justbeccaz]

Ok but who is suit guy in the background of the PONG GOD panel?

[kent-parsons-cowlick]

God Tier Check Please Ships

Jack x Chicken Tenders

Bitty x Betsy

Ransom x Excel

Holster x Betty White

Nursey x Autumn Leaves

Snowy x Eyeliner

Parse x Some Goddamn Therapy

Tater x Bitty’s Baked Goods

Lardo x Baby Ducks

Chowder x The Entirety of the San Jose Sharks Roster

Dex x Some Peace

[jackswimmermann]

You Know I Was Down For You...Chap. 6

Fandom: Check, Please! Pairing: Adam “Holster” Birkholtz/Justin “Ransom” Oluransi Rating: T Note: The second part of chapter five really. Warning for a mention of blood.

“I mean, we won. And I didn’t start the fight. Plus, nobody died, so pretty good.”

“When was the last time someone died playing hockey?”

“1968.”

Justin shook his head. “Of course, you knew that.”

AO3: x

[1][2][3][4][5]

Justin traveled to the arena with the Birkholtz clan, but they were separated in the crowds as Justin kept an eye out for Samwell crew. There was easily another hour before puck drop, but the crowds were thick, the arena deafening between the music, vendors, and the sheer number of people trying to move around in the limited space. The Falconers’s popularity had definitely risen in the last year or so. But as an expansion team making it as far as they did in the playoffs the year before, he supposed he shouldn’t be surprised.

He spotted Lardo first, considering she was perched on Shitty’s shoulders and therefore towering over the crowd. The Frogs, all of them, and Bitty were with them. Nursey and Lardo were deep into a conversation he didn’t bother trying to decipher from that distance. And if the expression on Dex’s face was anything to go by, Tango came equipped with his usual arsenal of questions. Meanwhile, Chowder looked ready to vibrate right out of his skin, though he was the first one to notice Justin as he made his way towards them.

“Rans!” Chowder’s exclamation altered everyone else to his presence and the group welcomed him into the fold with high fives, fist bumps, and slaps on the back.

Lardo slipped off of Shitty’s shoulders when security started eyeing their group, and they seemed to take that as a sign to head in. Walking through the stadium seats was just as amazing as it was the first time. Sure, he had been to NHL games before, and had been playing hockey most of his life-but watching the Falconers play was different. He knew this team; Jack did his best to merge his Samwell life and Falconer life. And now…

“Holster!”

The players weren’t on the ice just yet, but the line-up was playing across the jumbotron above the rink. And there he was. Adam Birkholtz. Rookie Defenseman. #4.

“Do his teeth look even larger in that picture than normal?”

Justin, and a number of the Samwell crew, sputtered out a surprised laugh as Holster’s sister sidled up beside them. Justin looked around to find the rest of the Brikholtz family not far behind.

“Maragret, don’t talk about your brother like that.” Katherine scolded, though it sounded as if she was saying in more because she thought she should, rather than actually caring that Margaret had said it. The sixteen-year-old shrugged off her step-mother’s scolding.

“They totally do.” Justin agreed in a conspiratorial whisper.

“This is why you’re my favorite.” Margaret told him through her giggles.

Holster’s family had met the team when they came down for graduation, but Justin ran through the introductions again, just in case. With the “adults” distracted by names and small talk, it was Holster’s youngest sister, Savannah, that finally noticed the team making their way out onto the ice. If they had thought the stadium itself was loud, nothing quite compared to an eight-year-old screaming “Adam” across the ice rink.

Well, it got his attention.

Grinning, Holster skated towards them. Savannah took off, down the stairs to the ice, pig tails flying behind her.

Justin kind of wished he could do the same thing.

It was different seeing him in the Falconer blue, instead of Samwell red, but he looked good. Like he belonged there on the ice. Justin hadn’t really thought he would go pro after college, med school had been the plan since he was in high school, but it was odd to see Holster strapped up and ready for a game, and not be by his side.

Well, something to overanalyze later. For now,

“Yeah, Birkholtz!”

_X_

The game started with a foul less than three minutes in and two fights. Both teams were playing like they had something to prove and their opponent was the last thing standing in their way. Holster didn’t get much ice time in the first period, just as he predicted, but Jack was out there playing hard, and getting slammed into the boards even harder. If he got checked again, Justin was pretty sure Bitty would do something drastic.

Shitty shouted down insults that, Justin was fairly certain, were only as mild as they were for Savannah’s sake. The rest of the Samwell crew wasn’t far behind him.

Halfway through the second period, neither team was on the board, and then Holster was sent out. Their row cheered as he skated out, earning themselves glares from the surrounding seats, but Justin could feel his pulse sky rocket as he watched his best friend join the brutal game. Margaret grabbed his right hand, eyes trained on Holster. Justin squeezed her hand back, and settled in for one of the most stressful nine minutes and thirty-four seconds he could ever remember.

_X_ 

By the final period, the fact that someone hadn’t drawn blood in the game was a complete miracle. The tension was palpable. The opposing center flew down the ice with the puck, Jack and Robison hot on his tail. Just as they closed in on him, he took a wild shot.

After that, everything seemed to happen at once.

Holster dove to block the shot. Their left-wing dove after him. A helmet hit the ice. Snowy caught the puck.

Snowy caught the puck.

Holster’s helmet hit the ice.

Between the two teams, and their position, they couldn’t see much. But that didn’t stop Justin from jumping to his feet in attempt to know what was happening. By the time the refs pulled the brawling players apart, everyone around him was on their feet as well.

Holster was on his feet, but blood was dripping down the front of his sweater and was smeared across most of his face. Others were in similar shape, but Justin couldn’t take his eyes off Holster as they escorted him off the ice.

As if he could feel the eyes on him, Holster turned towards their row. He waved, throwing them a reassuring smile. It might have been more effective if two of his teeth weren’t missing.

“Oh, what the fuck?” Shitty swore a few seats down.

He couldn’t have said it better himself.

_X_ 

The rest of the game passed in a blur Justin couldn’t follow. Holster never returned to the ice and he couldn’t stop thinking about it. What was happening? Was he alright? Could that have gone differently if Justin had been down there on the ice with him? He knew it was a useless train of thought, but that didn’t seem to stop that particular anxiety from popping up with frustrating frequency.

The only part of the game he seemed to register was when Tater slammed the guy who knocked Holster down like the big guy was trying to flatten him-Thank God for Alexei Mashkov-but when Jack sunk the winning puck into the net, he was on his feet screaming himself hoarse with the rest of them.

An insistent tugging on his hand dragged his attention away from the celebrating team on the ice. Margaret nodded towards her family as Katherine shoved her way through the crowded rows.

“C’mon, we’re gonna go see him.”

_X_ 

“Maybe we should stay longer.”

Justin sat at Holster’s kitchen table, watching Katherine pace around the apartment. The girls all sat on the couch. They had been watching their mother, trying to convince her otherwise, but had since given up. Savannah was asleep on Margaret’s lap. She had wanted to go lie down with Holster, but Katherine had been worried about disturbing him.

Holster’s step-father, Leo, sat beside Justin. He had put forth a valiant effort as well, but was losing steam.

“I’m going to be here, at least for a few more days.” Justin reminded her. Technically he had a lab on Monday, but not until the afternoon. “And Jack already offered to check up on Adam, or stay with him once we leave if he still doesn’t seem a hundred percent.”

Katherine chewed on her bottom lip uncertainly.

“C’mon, Ma. Justin can take care of him for a couple of days. He’s a med-student isn’t he?” Margaret chimed in. “And if we all leave without you, you’ll have to take the train back and you hate the train.”

“It’s not his first concussion, Kathy. I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Leo added softly. Justin winced.

“That’s not really comforting, Leo.” Elizabeth muttered.

Katherine sat down at the table as well, resting her head in her hands.

“You’ll take care of him, right, Justin?”

“Of course.”

She nodded, though she looked extremely unhappy to be doing so. “We’ll just be in Boston for the night, with Leo’s parents, so if anything happens,”

“You’ll be the first to know.”

It took another hour and half for the whole family to be packed up and ready to go, but in the end they did actually leave. Once the apartment was empty, Justin headed towards Holster’s room. The blond laid spread eagle on his bed, in the dark, but Justin could tell right away that he was still awake.

“They actually left?” He asked.

“It was a little touch and go there for a while with your mom but they wore her down.”

“Mm.”

Justin sat on the side of the bed but after a moment Holster shifted to make space for him and he climbed fully onto the bed.

“You doin’ okay, bro?”

Holster gave a slight nod. “It hurts, but I don’t even think it’s the worse headache I’ve had, honestly.”

“Hangover after freshman year epikegster?”

Holster laughed, though it ended in a grimace. “Holy shit yeah. That was definitely the worst.”

“So, not quite as ‘great’ as we predicted.” Justin mused as they laid in the dark. He felt more than saw Holster’s shrug.

“I mean, we won. And I didn’t start the fight. Plus, nobody died, so pretty good.”

“When was the last time someone died playing hockey?”

“1968.”

Justin shook his head. “Of course, you knew that.”

Holster grinned, showing off the dark gap in his teeth. Despite himself, Justin smiled too. He held up a fist. Holster’s fist knocked soundly against his own.

“Good game, bro.”

[imaginethehaus]

CP 14 Days of Love #4: Love Spells (gone wrong, gone right, gone too right, nothing happens, etc)

Day #4 of @softkent’s Valentine’s Day Fic-A-Thon

Johnson had known - forever, it seems - that he was apart of a two-dimensional narrative construct that would be dominated by hockey and pie. Accepting his own irrelevance to the narrative had, for some time, driven him crazy.

Would he continue to exist without regular presence in the story’s panels?

Would he develop a strong enough personality to find life in the extra-canon creations of their readers? Or would his life end with the final canon work?

Would he be afforded the privilege of family and career that came with charming and rich characterization or…would he fade back into the fathomless ether from which he’d been imagined. 

He’d figured he’d find out the answer to those questions after graduation and his exit from both main and side plots at Samwell. And he did:

He was alive and well!

Somehow his acceptance of his own fictionality and inability to stay quiet about it had, indeed, earned him warm regards in the hearts of the readers.

He hadn’t faded into the ether! He also hadn’t…developed a family or love interest, and the career thing was still vague. He got the general notion that he was doing well, though.

And, while he waited for some sort of generally accepted future to manifest itself, he had been unanimously imbued with a power that made all of the existential crisis worth it: inexplicable plot device! 

Or as he preferred to call it: The Love Spell™.

It was like handing out Dibs all over the place:

After watching Ransom stoically avoid pressuring Holster into moving with him after graduation and watching Holster quietly stress over his inability to find a job near Ransom, Johnson was pleased to send Holster an email connecting him with his “cousin” who knew of x opportunity. The job of course included relocation services that would find him a new apartment and cover the expenses for the first year of his employment. It made no sense. It was too convenient. The boys never questioned it. And Johnson got to watch the stress ease from both of their shoulders as Ransom got to make the necessary and welcome changes to The Spreadsheet.

On a bright spring morning, it’s Johnson who posts the “Class Cancelled” sign that sends Dex back across campus an hour and a half early.It means that as Dex blearily makes his way back up the Haus stairs, he runs smack dab into deliciously dripping Nursey making his way back across the hall from the bathroom. Honey-hued sunlight streams through Nurse’s doorway. It makes his already gorgeous skin glow and his green eyes sparkle.Half naked Nursey is nothing new - but without the distraction of aging plumbing, unwashed socks, and obnoxiously placed jock-straps, Dex finds himself captivated.The smile curling Nursey’s mouth makes it pretty clear that Dex’s fascination is no mean unwelcome.

Johnson switches Kent’s reservation. He doesn’t even give the receptionist an excuse - just a message to give Kent when he arrives to check in.“For your remarkable performance this year, your team has upgraded your reservation to our sister hotel for the duration of your stay for the Charity Game Weekend.”He has a gift card for the hotel restaurant shortly after the Falc’s charity squad gets settled. The blush that rises on Kent’s cheeks when he hears the boisterous “Kent Parson of ze Aces! Zis is a surprise indeed!” is visible from where Johnson is de-materializing through the back wall.

The sudden clang of bar hitting rack catches Johnson by surprise. He spins around, heart pounding.

“What the hell, my man!”

Two heavy brows arch over heavily lined eyes.

“Bro, I’m not the one apparating through walls here.”

Bench-Presser’s eyes are iridescent - seeming to slide between blue and green before Johnson’s eyes.

“I’ve…..I’ve never been caught before.”

“Apparating?”

“Yeah.”

“Huh. So. You a Death Eater?”

“Uh. No. No. I’m less Hogwarts alumn, more Love Potion #9 peddler.”

Bench-Presser licks sweat from his upper lip. Johnson follows the movement. Thoughts of objective attractiveness flit through his mind. “Love Potion #9? Big consent issues there.”

“I, uh, no - not like - there’s no forced sex or anything. Just dropping some plot devices - opportunities for characters to make choices, take risks.”

“Mmm,” Bench-Presser hums, dragging those agate eyes over Johnson, head to toe and back again. “So, your first time being caught. What does that make this?”

Blue-Eyes’ smile is…wicked.

[jackswimmermann]

You Know I Was Down for You...Chap. 5

Fandom: Check, Please! Pairing: Adam “Holster” Birkholtz/Justin “Ransom” Oluransi Rating: T Note: This chapter ended up pretty short because I really wanted to write what happens after in Ransom’s point of view.

“Yeah, Ma. I’m happy.”

Katherine sighed, but she sounded relived this time, rather than worried. “Good. Well we’ll see you soon.”

Adam froze, key shoved halfway into the lock. “You’re coming to the game?”

AO3: x

[1][2][3][4]

“Yes, Ma, of course I’ve been eating well.” Adam reassured his mother, for the fourth time in their twenty minute call. “It would be really hard to keep up with NHL players on Doritos and Red Bull.” Adam sighed, throwing open his car door when that sent his mother on another tangent. “Of course that’s not all I ate at college. You know Eric was feeding us.”

“I’m just worried about you.” Katherine finally admitted. “I know you’re an adult, Adam, but this is the first time you’ve really been on your own. Even Lizzie spent more time alone than you have, between your different teams.”

“I’m not really alone,” Adam insisted, grabbing his duffle from the backseat. “Jack’s here, and everyone on the team is really great. It’s only about an hour to The Haus or to Boston to see Justin and Shi-Knight.” Adam smiled to himself when he thought of the little stuffed giraffe tucked into his blankets upstairs. “And I’ve got Buble taking care of me when they’re not available.”

His mother was quiet for a moment while he went through the lobby. “I wondered what Savannah had done with him. I couldn’t believe it when I saw her napping on the couch without him.”

“Guess she was worried about me too. But I’m fine.”

“You’re happy too, right? Not just okay?”

Adam quickly discovered that practice with the Falconers was both similar and very different from Samwell. By day two, Tater had dubbed him Holtzy and it was quickly catching on with the rest of the team. Not unfamiliar with being called by the nickname, Adam had no problem responding to it. Jack still called him Holster.

On ice, the team clicked well. Lost in the frantic energy of exercises and mock games, assisting Jack with winning goals or listening to his captain speeches at the end of practice, it was easy for Adam to forget exactly what had changed.

But then, a pass missed or a new play didn’t work. Almost instinctually he looked for Ransom across the ice and then he remembered.

After a hard practice, Adam would prepare for Jack’s usual dry, but motivational speeches. Instead, Thirdy commemorates their effort, reminds them of their upcoming schedule, and makes a crack about going to see his real kids before releasing them.

Lardo’s sarcastic quips about practice or the state of their locker room every afternoon are replaced by George checking in on them once in a while with motivational, but slightly threatening, reminders of the upcoming season.

It was new, but it was good. He didn’t click with the Falconers quite like he did with his Samwell team, but he didn’t have any problems with them. And even as a new player without potential for much ice time, there was something unbelievably thrilling about playing with a NHL team.

“Yeah, Ma. I’m happy.”

Katherine sighed, but she sounded relived this time, rather than worried. “Good. Well we’ll see you soon.”

Adam froze, key shoved halfway into the lock. “You’re coming to the game?”

“Excuse me, young man, who do you think I am? Miss my baby’s first NHL game? You must be joking.”

Adam laughed, despite himself. “Of course, don’t know what I was thinking.” He let himself into his apartment. Music was playing softly in the background. He had no memory of leaving music on when he left for practice, but he ignored it in favor of toeing off his shoes and finally dropping his duffle bag to the ground. “You’re gonna stay here again? Yeah of course its fine, I just have to make sure I make up the rooms again. Mags can’t already be that used to having her own room, I think she’ll be fine.”

Adam made it to his living room before he realized he definitely did not leave music on in the morning. Ransom lounged on the couch, engrossed in a textbook that looked easily five pounds on its own.

“Adam? Are you alright?”

“Yeah, sorry.”

Ransom looked up when Adam spoke, greeting him with a sheepish grin and a wave.

His mother tsked, as if she knew what was going on. “We’ll be there Thursday; the girls have a half-day. Love you.”

“Love you too, Ma. Tell everyone I said hi.”

Adam ended the call, tossing his phone onto the coffee table and dropping onto the empty space on the couch. He couldn’t stop staring at Ransom, sitting perfectly at home in his apartment.

“Welcome home, dude. How was practice?” Ransom said, placing a post-it inside his textbook and closing it.

“Uh…good.” Adam pursed his lips. “Not that it’s not completely ‘swaesome to see you, but don’t you have a hugely important lecture hall on Thursdays that you swore you would not skip all semester?”

Ransom grinned. “My professor had a family emergency out of town and canceled. And my last class ended early today because we’re supposed to be doing research on a paper that’s due next week, but I already knew my subject, so I had a free afternoon.” He took a deep breath. “When I came back from class, Lardo was also over and it kinda seemed like her and Shits needed some privacy.”

“No shit? Well damn, it took ‘em long enough.”

Ransom laughed. “What four years? That’s nothing.”

“Well sure when you’re as gone as Shits, no probably not. But still.” Adam hopped up from the couch again. “Bitty sent some pie, want a piece?”

He actually did want some pie, but he also needed a moment in the kitchen, alone, away from where Ransom could see him freaking out. Being welcomed home by his best friend should not mean that much to him, even if it had been a while since they were together last, but he could not stop thinking how nice it would be to always come home to Ransom.

Of course it’d be nice. After three years that’s just what he was used to. Right?

“Um, hell yes, what kind of question is that? But should you really be eating some? What about your meal plan and your nutritionist?”

Adam made a sound of agreement, as if truly considering Ransom’s point, while cutting them both generously sized pieces.

Handing one off to Ransom a moment later, he grinned. “What Nate doesn’t know won’t kill him.”

_X_

“So, are you staying for the game on Friday?” They made it through two episodes of The Office before Adam finally asked. Or he made it through two episodes. Ransom was still pretending to read his textbook.

“Bro, of course. Lardo and Shitty are planning on coming too. And Bits and the frogs. I haven’t heard about the taddies, but c’mon. Of course we’re all gonna come support you.”

It shouldn’t surprise him. The whole team pooled together to go to Jack’s first game. And yet, it didn’t seem real.

Something about his silence must have worried Ransom. Leaning off the couch for the remote, he paused the television and turned his full attention to Adam.

“Holtzy, is something wrong?”

How he ever managed to keep the NHL scouts from Ransom he’ll never know, because there was next to nothing they didn’t know about to each other, even down to their tells.

Adam shook his head. “I still keep waiting for this to all be a dream. Me? About to play my first NHL game? It doesn’t seem possible.”

“Well you better not have been slacking during practice, because it’s for real.” Ransom said with a grin.

Adam laughed. “Jack really would kill me then.”

“No, he’d just…require some extra drills?”

“Yeah, until I dropped dead from exhaustion. Then he might let up.”

Ransom laughed at his exaggeration, and Adam couldn’t help but join in.

“I’m really excited.” He admitted once they calmed down again.

Ransom punched his shoulder. “Of course you are. It’s gonna be great.”

[jackswimmermann]

You Know I Was Down For You...Chap. 2

Fandom: Check, Please! Pairing: Adam “Holster” Birkholtz/Justin “Ransom” Oluransi Rating: T Note: This might be my favorite chapter :’^)

When she finally reached center ice, Lardo kneeled in-between Justin and Holster. The three shared a look before bending down together. Justin kept his eyes closed, letting the cold wash over him. For just a moment time felt at a stand-still. He wasn’t sure about life flashing before your eyes right before death but it felt as if it was passing over him just then. There were so many memories ingrained into this ice, so many friendships forged because of it.

AO3: x 

[1][Chapter 3][4]

Hours later, Justin was still awake. Holster fell asleep first and curled himself around Justin, resting his head against Justin’s chest. Justin had been absentmindedly running his fingers through Holster’s overgrown hair and staring at the bottom of the top bunk, where he should be, ever since.

Justin had been ecstatic for Holster, of course he was. And Holster’s tidbit about the distance had calmed a lot of the immediate anxieties that popped up whenever he thought too deeply about the future. But something…something didn’t feel right. Holster was his best friend and somehow Justin didn’t know he had been trying to decide on a NHL Team this whole time? He wanted to be mad at Holster for keeping this huge-fucking-deal a secret from him but instead he just felt wrong. It wasn’t quite guilt but it wasn’t quite not-guilt. “I wanted you to make your decision first, about med school, before worrying about anything else. This has been your dream Rans.” He couldn’t seem to stop hearing Holster’s words bounce around in his head. Even after they had settled back down to watch whatever show Holster had fixated on that month, it was a mantra in his head. He closed his eyes and Holster’s lists came back in perfect clarity, the distance between the team’s home city and each of Justin’s Top Five listed at the top of the page, before anything else, outside of a column altogether. His brain wouldn’t even let him dwell on all that that could mean. It was too much to work through on his own, all at once. However, halfway through another episode Justin couldn’t keep quiet about all of it. “When did you first get approached by a scout, Holtzy?” “Huh? The first time? I think it was right after our first game of the year, technically. Nothing was official then though.” The first game. Nearly their entire senior year Holster had this secret, this decision weighing on him, and somehow Justin had no idea. Justin wanted to uncurl himself from around Holster and try to put the pieces together but every time he shifted Holster wrapped himself tighter around him. Justin wasn’t sure if he should take quite so much comfort in it. “You’re thinking too much.” Justin froze as the slurred words broke through the silence of the attic. Holster looked asleep; eyes closed, cheeks flushed slightly from the warmth of the room, limbs secure around Justin’s torso. “Relax Rans, we’ll figure it out together.” Justin closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, still not sure if Holster was actually awake or just so in-tune to Justin that he knew when he needed comfort, even while asleep. It wasn’t quite guilt but it wasn’t quite not-guilt. _X_

March was lying upside down on her bed, studying Justin like he was an alien species yet to be identified. “I’m flattered, of course, that you’re telling me about what’s been going on but this really seems like more of a team-topic.” March hummed to herself. “Well I guess this actually feels more like a Holster-topic.” “Exactly! That’s the problem!” Justin threw his hands in the air, defeated. Despite promising each other they would talk about what everything meant for them and the future, things got busy as senior years tend to do and now Holster was out of town. In Providence. Sighing, March rolled over. She leveled Justin with a serious look, making sure he was paying attention to her. “Justin, that boy is more in love with you than I am. Not that that’s a bad thing, your friendship is beautiful, but it’s not very surprising that he made you a priority. The two of you are connected in a way that is very, very rare.” When Justin opened his mouth to argue, March silenced him with a single look. “Holster was with you for our first three dates, Justin. Three of them. Without April. Or any other girl for that matter.” Justin stood up from the chair and laid down on the bed beside her, his expression still conflicted. March continued, regardless. “You’re upset because Holster didn’t tell you what was going on but he probably thought he was doing the right thing. It’s not as if Holster wanting to put you first is a new development in your relationship, hun.” Justin had been on his back, staring at the ceiling but he finally turned to look at her once again. “He said he wanted me to decide before anything else because this was my dream.” Justin muttered. March nodded as if she had expected as much. “I didn’t even know my best friend was considering NHL. I didn’t even know about Holster’s dream.” “Did Holster?” _X_ The first thing Justin did when he returned from March’s was check the 20 some snapchats he had gotten from Holster. Some of the snaps were just of the city, or selfies of Holster with various statues and buildings he thought Justin would appreciate. He took a screenshot of two of them. Then there was the team. Justin knew of the players from (a) being an avid hockey fan, (b) Jack, and (c) Bitty and he knew Holster did too but it was bizarre to see it all through the shaky camera work of his best friend. Justin couldn’t even fully appreciate the awkward close up of Mashkov Holster had secured for him because he was still trying to wrap his head around seeing his best friend interacting with a NHL team, a team he would most likely be joining in a few months. He took a screenshot of it anyways. The next snap was obviously taken on the move, possibly of the floor. The caption read: Got to skate with Jack and the other Falconers!!!!1!!1! Justin smiled at the unbridled enthusiasm Holster had managed to portray in a single, hastily taken snap. The last snap, sent just over twenty minutes ago, was simply of a sign. Outside a realtor’s office. Justin put his phone face down on the bed. He really hoped Bitty had some pie around. A chorus of “hellos” from the frogs greeted Justin when he entered the kitchen. Sure enough, a fresh baked pie sat out on the kitchen table. Cooled down enough to eat but still warm. Dex and Chowder were sitting at the table, and both had a piece of pie on a paper plate. Nursey was both pie and plate free but based on the smug look on his face and the disgruntled one on Dex’s he had just swiped some pie for himself regardless. Bitty was at the sink washing dishes, shaking his head at the frogs’ antics. Slicing a piece for himself Justin leaned against the counter, letting the frogs get back to whatever it was they had been discussing beforehand. If he had to guess it was a movie or a television show of some kind but a lot of the terminology was unfamiliar to him. Bitty caught his eye and shrugged. Alright, well let the frogs have their odd shared interests. It kept them all on friendly terms. When the conversation finally drifted into more familiar territory he chimed in, as did Bitty, when he was paying attention. But something was off with the frogs, who kept giving him looks similar to the ones he got from March earlier. “Is something on my face?” He finally addressed the issue head-on. Something he had, admittedly, been having trouble with otherwise. The three frogs all looked a bit sheepish. “Sorry Ransom it’s just…well it’s still odd to see you without Holster. We know he’s only gone for the weekend but it doesn’t seem quite right. Like he should be returning from the bathroom in a minute or something.” Leave it to Chowder. Justin exhaled heavily through his nose, hoping he didn’t come off sounding short. He knew they didn’t mean anything by it but the truth. Ransom & Holster weren’t often apart. “Yeah, it is but hey, he’s only gone until tomorrow night. Everything will be back to normal before you know it.” Justin elected to ignore the concerned gaze he felt trailing him as he retreated back to the attic. Justin hadn’t been back upstairs all of twenty minutes when he got a Skype call from Holster. For a brief moment his anxiety and conflicting feelings gave way to simple joy because, despite how off he had been feeling about everything relating to Holster, Chowder was right. It was odd to be without Holster for so long. He accepted the call and Holster’s face filled his screen. The angle was odd, and Justin assumed the call had been made from Holster’s phone rather than his computer. A towel was draped around Holster’s neck and his hair was wet, sticking to his pinkened skin in small curls. Holster said something to someone off camera before promptly dropping onto a bed. Once settled he adjusted the phone over his head and grinned up at Justin. “Having fun, Holtzy?” “It's crazy, Rans! And so much fun. The team is great.” Holster sighed dreamily and Justin tried not to laugh. “I get the feeling Jack pulled some strings to get me here but I don't care, I'll take it.” “How is Jack doing?” Holster had a curious look on his face, one Justin couldn't quite place. “He's great honestly. I mean he's still the crazy hockey robot we know and love of course, but he's genuinely happy.” Holster paused, before lowering his voice, not that it did much to actually lessen his volume. Holster was just a loud person, there was no getting around that. “Do you remember when Tater made that joke about Jack having a girlfriend in that Falconer video we watched with Bits?” Justin’s brow furrowed. “Yeah? So what?” “Tater wasn't the only one to joke about it today. The entire team seemed to be in on it. And honestly half of it didn't even seem like chirps but actual questions about his life and his girlfriend.” “Well even Shitty thought Jack was dating someone when he came back for the kegster.” Justin reminded him. “Yeah but Jack straight up denied having a girlfriend when Shitty asked. He just laughed it off when the team asked about a girl today.” Before Justin could come up with a reply to that, there was a knock on the door. Holster sat up on the bed when the door opened, turning his phone as he did. Justin watched Jack peek in. “Hey Holster-oh, hi Ransom.” Jack nodded towards the phone. Justin waved back. “I was about to start dinner. Did you want to eat here or were you still planning to check out those places Marty mentioned?” Justin heard Holster exhale loudly. “Actually I'm way more wiped than I thought I would be. Dinner here would be great. Do you need help with anything?” Jack shook his head. “No don't worry about it. I'll let you know when it's done.” Jack nodded towards Justin again. “See you Ransom, tell everyone ‘hi’ from me.” “Will do.” Justin and Holster chimed back as Jack shut the door. Holster rolled over to lay on his stomach this time, propping his phone up on a pillow. Justin waited until Holster was settled before he leveled him with a look. “Alright so come on Holtzy, enough with the gossip. I want to know everything.” Holster talked for nearly an hour, only stopping when Jack finally summoned him for dinner. And even then Justin had to interrupt a tangent to remind Holster to go eat. Holster finally said goodbye with a cheeky smile, blowing a kiss to the camera as he signed off. Justin fell asleep that night more relaxed than he had been in well over two weeks. He was going to Harvard. Holster was going to be a Falconer, only 53.6 miles away from him. Justin was still Ransom, and Holster was still Holster. Even if Holster had kept this big life decision a secret from him in the beginning he obviously felt no need to keep anything else a secret from him. They were going to be okay, whatever happened, Ransom & Holster were going to be okay. Justin fell asleep that night in Holster’s bed. _X_ Holster and Justin managed to keep the details of their after-Samwell-plans under wraps until a little over a week before graduation. They gathered the team in the living room when they were ready for the big reveal. Bitty and Lardo were the only ones who seemed to have any idea of what might be going on. Justin had a feeling Bitty only knew something was going on because of Jack, though he had been getting really good at reading the team. Justin chalked Lardo’s knowledge up to her just being Lardo. There wasn't much the boys could get past her. The team would be hard-pressed to find another manager as great as Lardo. Still the team gathered without question, or at least very little question. Justin and Holster stood before them, preparing to make the announcement. They had discussed at length how to tell the team. Holster had even suggested a PowerPoint, numerous times, but Justin had worried that would drag out the explanation. Holster made one anyways, but it was a back-up plan. If someone asked for details. “So we realize you all may be wondering why we gathered you here today,” Holster started the speech with his best “Captain voice.” “You're finally going to tell us the big secret of your after-Samwell plans?” Nursey guessed. Lardo laughed from her position, sprawled across Nursey and Chowder’s laps. Alright so they may have underestimated all who knew what was happening. “Why did you keep it a secret for so long?” Tango asked. Holster pushed on as if no one had spoken. “It is time for the big reveal! Samwell Men’s Hockey Team’s own Justin ‘Ransom’ Oluransi, voted number three in Samwell’s 50 Most Beautiful,” A chorus of “boos” interrupted Holster. “Should have been number one!” Holster pointed to Nursey after the outburst. “Thank you, I absolutely agree. Fuck the LAX team.” Justin, and at least most of the team, knew only one LAX team member had made the list over him. Regardless, everyone echoed back faithfully: “Fuck the LAX team.” “Justin Oluransi, number three at Samwell and number one, in our hearts, will be continuing his riveting college education at, drumroll please,” Ollie and Wicks provided their best attempt on the back of the couch. “Harvard Medical School!” A chorus of cheers rang out and the team clamored around Justin with congratulatory hugs and slaps on the back. Harvard was his dream and it was mind-blowing to think in a few short months he would get the chance to pursue medicine there, but having so many people support him wholeheartedly was just as amazing. Justin waited until the team had settled down again before he cleared his throat for his announcement. “And for the resident blond, singing giant, your favorite co-captain, it's okay I know, our own Adam ‘Holster’ Birkholtz,” Ollie and Wicks provided a drum roll again. “Samwell Men’s Hockey Team say hello to the newest Providence Falconer.” A deafening silence fell over the room while the team stared up at them. For a moment, no one moved. “What-” “Are you serious?” “You ass!” Lardo was the first to finally move, hopping off the couch and slugging Holster’s arm. “I can't believe you didn't tell us you were considering NHL! What is wrong with you?” Lardo’s actions seemed to stir everyone else back to life and soon enough the Haus was once again filled with a chorus of cheers and congratulations. _X_ “This still feels sort of weird.” Justin admitted, lying beside March in her bed. “We had a good thing going, I feel like there should be something a little more special for a last hurrah.” March smiled. “I promise you that was very special.” Justin snorted. “I’m glad, but that’s not what I meant.” March propped herself up on one arm, resting her head on her hand. “I know, but where would we have found the time? Tomorrow is your last night at Faber with the team and then…” “Graduation.” Justin finished the thought for her. She was right of course. They had agreed months ago their relationship wasn’t going to continue past graduation and that now loomed days away. Justin sighed. “It just feels like we should honor this with something. March, I do really like you-” “And I, you. And at another time in another place this might be a good idea but you’re off to Boston and April and I are both headed for San Fran.” March leaned down for a kiss, setting a slow and sensual tempo, not unlike the one they had going only moments before. Breaking the kiss March smiled down at him, the same sly smile she had shared the first time they slept together. Realization poured over Justin like ice. It was Holster’s smile. Not exactly but similar enough, with the same quirks around the corner of her mouth, the same flash of pearly whites. He couldn’t believe it had been nearly two years and it wasn’t until now he was seeing the similarity. He pointedly ignored the horrible, nagging part of his brain that suggested it wasn’t  actually the first time he had noticed it. “So you and Holster figured everything out, right?” Justin nodded, moving to sit up. “I didn’t exactly mention my minor freak out at Holster keeping this a secret,” March made a disapproving noise in the back of her throat but didn’t otherwise comment. “But when he was in Providence and he still stopped to call me and tell me every little detail about his day, no secrets, and I realized this was Holster my best friend for four years, of course he was just doing what he thought was right. I would have liked to have been there for him, to help go through all the pros and cons and the excitement of being scouted by numerous teams but in the end I don’t think it would have changed the results.” March smiled, pressing a kiss to his side as she settled against him. “I’m glad things worked out.” Justin was about to agree when he felt March tense. “Everything okay?” March pointed at the alarm clock on her bedside table. “Didn’t Bitty or…Lardo insist on a team dinner tonight?” Justin glanced at the clock too. He was already half an hour late. “Shit.” _X_ Justin and Holster were kneeling on the ice, calling for Lardo. “You are as much a part of this team as we are, get your butt out here!” Lardo had been standing firm but with each passing minute they could see her resolve crumbling. Bitty and the frogs stood near her in the stands, calling out encouragements. Everyone else had left for the year, after the team dinner Justin had been late to. He was chirped endlessly and stuck with dish duty despite being a graduating senior but the food was amazing and Holster helped with the dishes so in all he couldn’t complain. Now it was time for the traditional moment for all hockey seniors, the kissing of center ice. “It doesn’t feel right without you Lards, come on!” Everyone cheered when they watched Lardo take a hesitant first step onto the ice. When she finally reached center ice, Lardo kneeled in-between Justin and Holster. The three shared a look before bending down together. Justin kept his eyes closed, letting the cold wash over him. For just a moment time felt at a stand-still. He wasn’t sure about life flashing before your eyes right before death but it felt as if it was passing over him just then. There were so many memories ingrained into this ice, so many friendships forged because of it. When Justin finally straightened up he looked out at the stands first. Even from his position on the ice he could see Chowder’s teary face and Bitty turning away to wipe his eyes. Finally looking over at the two beside him, Justin was relieved to see he wasn’t the only one on-ice that was moved by the experience. After saying some final goodbyes to Faber the crew of seven made the trek up to the roof. The frogs were carrying most of their supplies while Bitty carried two pies and Holster lugged up a cooler. When they reached the top however, a blanket and small, portable fire pit had already been set up. Jack and Shitty sat facing the door. “What in the world are you guys doing here?” Justin asked while everyone got situated around the fire.

Shitty shrugged. “Skipping class.”

Lardo elbowed him in the ribs but he stuck with his answer. “We don’t have practice until late tomorrow instead of the morning so I thought it would be a good idea.” Jack replied simply. “It’s great to see you guys.” Holster added, sitting down besides Justin. Wordlessly he passed him a can of beer. Justin smiled his thanks before turning back to Shitty, who was getting to his feet. “A toast to the seniors,” Shitty started, lifting his can in the air. Everyone followed suit. “You guys are some of the best kids I know,” Shitty ignored the round of chirps that interrupted his toast for calling them “kids.” “Some of the best kids I know and I know you are all going to be wildly successful. You’ll do us all proud.” Shitty started to sniffle and Lardo cut him off, knocking his can with her own. “To the seniors.” She finished for him. “To the seniors.” “Law school is really messing with you, isn’t it, Shits?” Nursey asked once Shitty sat down again. Lardo and Jack both nodded before Shitty could reply. “We’ll change that next year though; won’t we Shits?” Justin chimed in, hoping to lighten the mood. He didn’t know what he would do if he or Holster genuinely started crying tonight. Shitty brightened, reaching around Lardo to fist-bump Justin. “That’s right. Those prudes won’t know what hit them with me and Rans on the scene.” _X_

Justin and Holster stood face to face in the attic, adjusting each other’s ties. Holster’s was blue, to match his eyes. Justin couldn’t be bothered to even remember what color tie he had picked out for himself. He thought it might be black but for all he cared it could be red or green. They were graduating today. A few hours away and they were officially done at Samwell. Officially moving on. “It’s crazy to be nervous, right?” Justin asked. Holster’s tie was perfect but he kept fidgeting with it anyways. As if he could somehow make it more perfect. Or maybe less perfect, so that the blue of Holster’s eyes wouldn’t pop quite so much. “Absolutely.” Holster agreed. “I kind of am, anyways.” Holster smiled. He was still fidgeting with Justin’s tie. “Me too.”