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lowkeyrobin · 4 months

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JJ MAYBANK ; i remember everything

summary ; after returning home, you & jj get in a fight after you try and ignore the presence of john b and sarah ; a part two to replacement

warnings ; language, physical fighting, 2nd person pov is omniscient and reveals that reader blames themselves / they're in the wrong

disclaimers ; never finished s3 bc it was so boring and idk what's going on w s4, so they're back home safe and without any gold I guess. the story will be that they're all waiting for court dates or smthn lol

track ; i remember everything, zach bryan & kacey musgraves

word count ; 1.6k

masterlist ; part one

You sit on the sand, the water creeping up on your sneakers as you're fully dressed and just out of school. You think in silence, your eyes glazed over as you stare out at the horizon. You'd texted your friends that you were coming down here. You had a rough day, you just needed some alone time for a while to sit with your thoughts.

You think back to your real friends, the ones who didn't like you just because you were a walking yes button.

You remember how Kie and Pope clearly wanted to talk to you, but JJ always needed to step up and be an ass. You wished you could've just tried to speak to them, you didn't realize that they'd be leaving for good, apparently.

It'd been four months, you'd become more worried than ever. Your texts and calls were always left sent and unanswered, any attempt of constact futile. Kie's and Pope's parents were obviously the most worried as their children had run off with no trace.

They'd interrogated you over and over to no avail, as you didn't know anything. They just kinda left without you.

You wished you would've just for a second believed that maybe John B and Sarah were okay, but no, you had to start a fight. It was your fault, who were you kidding?

You remember the beat-down basement couch at JJ's that you all lounged on the few times when his dad wasn't around. You remember the time when you sang love songs to JJ as practice while he'd tell you about how his mom ran off and pawned her ring.

You remember that last smile, he only smiled like that when he was drinking.

Every time you thought of him, though, you smelt CrazyArt crayons, the ones that didn't even draw, you saw the same brown carpet that needed replacing years ago. Vertical wood in the hallway to paint the walls, it was engraved in your mind. You remember the dead flowers resting over the sink in the little windowsill above it, having been dead for months at least. They were completely wilted, most of the petals having fallen off, the glass vase stained with a little brown line across where the water sat still.

He probably didn't feel anything about it now, but you felt like you were driving through a hurricane. You felt like those dead flowers on JJ's kitchen windowsill, dead yet still not thrown away yet.

You lay back on the sand, your limbs sprawled out like a sad starfish. You pull your knees up, solidifying your spot in the sand. The grain knots itself into your hair, which wouldn't come out completely for a solid week since you learned the hard way long ago.

After twenty or so minutes of staring into the afternoon sky, you sit back up, attempt to shake any loose sand out of your hair, and stand up, gathering your thoughts in the process. You walk up the beach, returning to the road where your bike is perched on the curb. You hop on and peddle your way back home, cutting through town to do so.

You hoped a cold shower on this hot day would relieve you of the burning sensation on your skin, or at least help with your overwhelming, guilty thoughts. As you ride, you notice a few people walking down the sidewalk in front of you, thankfully leaving you some room to go past them.

As you grow closer, you notice their faces belong to those of your friends and an extra, for some reason. You smoothly swerve to the right, past Kie, not paying them any mind.

JJ minded, though, having tried to send a smile your way, for whatever reason. Kie did as well, as she opened her mouth to say hello.

"Hey, Y/n!" She defeatedly waves, letting her hand rest at her side as she watches you ride away.

You, out of fear and surprise, hide the sight away in your mind, because they were definitely your friends, or used to be your friends. Either way, they were home.

The next day, you had your headphones on while riding around town on your bike. You decided to enjoy some Zach Bryan and the heat, considering it was Saturday. You didn't end up going to that party with your friends, you just felt too groggy and gross after seeing them again.

You stop for a minute at Twist & Shake, wanting to get some French fries and some of that pineapple Dole Whip ice cream you'd been craving. You pull into the little parking lot and lean your bike against the building's right wall, not wanting to fight with the stand at the moment. You grab your wallet out of your back pocket and pull your headphones down around your neck, walking up to the order window.

You place your order and stand off to the side of the pickup window, hoping that no one was actively stealing your bike since it wasn't in view. You see a group of teens your age walk up to the window, of course, your old friends. You quickly turn your head away after getting a glance of them, tapping your foot on the pavement impatiently as you wait for your food.

"Y/n, oh my God, hi!" Sarah smiles, waving at you.

Her smile falters as you stare down at your feet, arms crossed as you wait. Her blonde hair frames her saddened face as she looks over at John B and Kie with a confused look. She looks hurt, she'd never left anything off on horrible terms with you, even if, lightly bad. She thought you were friends now.

Kie shrugs, pulling a twenty from her pocket as John B turns to JJ and Pope. Kie and Cleo lean against the sill against the ordering window as they order for themselves and their friends.

JJ rolls his eyes. "I told you, they replaced us"

"What do you mean?" Sarah asks, "I- They aren't here with anyone? What happened? Did we do something?-"

"No, they did something," JJ clarifies, "We got in a fight, and now they won't talk to any of us, like I said."

Pope shakes his head, "You got in a fight with them," He corrects, "They had a right to be suspicious about if they were really alive. They've been through enough, JJ. If you even cared, you'd notice that, but you had to put yourself first-"

"I didn't put myself first, I put John B and Sarah first!-"

John B rests a hand on JJ's shoulder, silently telling him to back off and calm down. The blonde stops himself, taking a breath.

"Try speaking up, maybe they didn't hear you" Pope hopefully says to Sarah, seeing her desperation to talk to you again.

"Y/n?" Sarah calls, making sure she's loud enough for you to hear. "Hey, it's me, Sarah?"

You continue to ignore her, feeling guilty as you do so. You just weren't ready to speak to them yet, you already felt awful but you didn't realize you were only making it worse.

JJ, now upset, walks up to you, shoving your shoulder. You look up at him, nearly glaring at him.

"Fuck is your problem?" He asks, "John B and Sarah are alive and you're gonna ignore them? You're gonna ignore us?"

"I'm not ignoring you. I don't want anything to do with you" You mumble, "Leave me alone"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" JJ asks, "You're seriously still doing this shit? You really never cared, did you?"

"Shut up, JJ. It's almost like I don't wanna fucking talk to you right now-"

"Yeah, cause you replaced your actual friends, you peace of shit." He spits, "Shows how much you care"

You push him away, not wanting to interact. Kie turns her head as the employee hands her change back, seeing you push the blonde away from you.

"Guys?-"

JJ pushes you back with a snarky comment. You push him back, cursing him out for some blind sighted reason.

He responds with a punch to your face, urging Pope, Kie, and John B to try and pull him away from you as you hit him back. Cleo and Sarah rush to your side, trying to pull you away as well, both parties unsuccessful.

Shouting, gasps, and yells fill the air as you two hit each other over and over, yelling profanities back and forth. You end up tackling him to the ground somehow, the three behind him stepping back as he falls. You straddle him, landing blow after blow on him, like revenge for that fight months ago.

His face is bloodied, and in that moment, you pull yourself away, realizing that look in his eyes. You'd become his father. In some alternate universe, you were the abuser all along. You stand up, falling into Sarah's and Cleo's open arms. Shit, you didn't even know Cleo, but here she was, letting you fall into her.

JJ glares at you, wiping the blood pouring from his nose.

Pope shares a look with John B, then you, an apologetic and slightly scared expression in your eyes. You didn't even know why you did it, you couldn't even feel yourself when you did it.

"What the fuck?" Kie nearly shouts, looking between you and the blonde. "It is never that serious to fight in a parking lot of Twist & Shake"

"Apparently, it is." You spit, walking away to grab your food before you're kicked off the property. "I didn't replace you. I don't wanna die trying to save some gold, that's it. See you later, " you grumble, walking away with a sore eye and knuckles.

The group, minus JJ, share confused and worried looks, watching you glide away on your bicycle.

"Jesus Christ..."

#lowkeyrobin #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank #obx x gn reader #obx x reader #outer banks x reader #rudy pankow x reader #jj maybank angst #gender neutral reader #gn reader #they/them reader #gn! reader

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shellibisshe · 24 hours

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— get to know me + this or that + top five songs + a picrew

tagged by @auricfog @red-nightskies @jamessunderlandgf @scalpelsister @loriane-elmuerto @carrionsflower @roofgeese and @katsigian

there’s a lot going on here so I’m not gonna tag anyone, but if anyone wants to do any of these games then go for it!!

picrew:

get to know:

last song: she calls me back by noah kahan ft kacey musgraves favorite color: greeen currently watching: nothing actually LMAO but all the chicago shows started again so. i guess that last movie: the devil wears prada current obsessions: too many to count by rn i am slipping into a slight days gone obsession relationship status: single last thing I googled: a medication LMAO for work

this or that:

top five songs:

good graces by sabrina carpenter sarah's place by zach bryan ft. noah kahan forever - live from fenway park by noah kahan grand theft autumn/where is your boy live in phoenix by fall out boy please please please by sabrina carpenter

#about me #tag game #hi

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ohwarnette · 3 months

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I was tagged by the lovely sarah🩷🩷 @allamericansbitch ilyyyy

shuffle your ‘on repeat’ playlist and list the first 10 songs that play, then tag 10 people:

tagging: @deadpoets @therealwitch @mrs-venus-beaufort @camiladune @thegirlivealwaysbeen @cosettepontmercys @placeinthisworld @bloodmoonlich @likeclarabow @tommishelby

#tag game

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sarahs-secrets2 · 2 years

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Slow Burn (Phillip Graves x Reader) ࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ

Sarah stop making plots out of song challenge difficulty impossible!!!!!

AHHHH!!! I'm writing outside of my schedule. He is Kacey Musgraves' album Golden Hour coded I don't make the rules sorry. There's like this timeline throughout the story in italics which starts in high school, then like early military era, then early Shadow Company, so I hope it translates well LMAO. Anyways here's some fluff rahhhhhh

Based on Slow Burn by Kacey Musgraves

gn! (no use of Y/N)

Word Count: 1.3k

Warnings: probably a tad OOC oops, pet names, COUNTRY TWANG (just major fluff)

₊°✧︡ ˗ ˏ ˋ ♡ ˎˊ ˗

“Whaddya say, we got a date?”Phillip was holding one of your hands rubbing his thumb up along the lines in your palm as he anxiously awaited your answer.

“Of course Commander, I’d be honored”, smiling back at him as you raised his hands up to your mouth, placing a small kiss on the backs of his fingers.

“Pick ya up at 8 darling”, he winked as he squeezed your hand and jogged off, turning around to smile back at you as he disappeared down the hallway of the Shadow’s base.

You and Phillip grew up together in Texas, following each other to the military, and then helping him establish Shadow Company. The two of you were inseparable. In high school, your crush on Phillip became all-consuming, but you could never tell him, it would risk your friendship.

Timing never worked out for you two. Phillip Graves was a charmer, always with a trail of girls following him around waiting to be next while you sat and watched.

“Must be nice Phil”, you laughed pointing towards the girls who were whispering and giggling towards the handsome blonde stood next to you.

“Which you think I got the best chance with?”, you hated when he did this because the honest answer was with you. Phillip being oblivious to this of course. “I'm thinkin’ the brunette, or the redhead even,”.

“Oh shut up Graves, you’re so full of yourself, c’mon we got class”, attempting to wave him on from his adoring “fans”.

Graves finally realized he had feelings for you a year into both of your military careers. Of course, he had always cared about you but he had found himself going out of his way to be next to you more, and whenever you were talking to someone else a creeping feeling of jealousy took over, which he wasn't proud of.

“C’mon we gotta go”, Graves was tugging your arm pulling you away from the conversation you were having.

“Phil, wait like 5 minutes I’m in the middle of something”, attempting to get him to calm down for the time being.

“This is serious, c’mon”, giving into his tugging, you waved sorry to the rookie you were talking to.

“Graves, what the hell?”, he was going to pull your arm off the way he was dragging you through the mess hall.

“You shouldn't be talkin’ to him”, the second the sentence left his lips, you stopped in your tracks causing Phillip to finally drop your arm.

“That’s not your decision Phillip, what has gotten into you lately?”, he hid his eyes from you.

“I'm just tryna protect you doll”, his eyes fully glued to some random tile on the floor.

“I can handle myself, you know that right?” he knew that, he wasn't dumb, it was something he admired you for actually. He wanted to be the one to protect you though.

You and Phillip had become subconsciously aware of each other's feelings over time. Lingering touches and stares became a habit for the two of you as you waited for someone to make the first move.

“Dear, are you and Phillip Graves ever gonna finally get together, me and his mama are getting old, and we need some grandbabies”, your mom had this habit of managing your love life, she was the biggest “Phillip Graves” fan as well, always rooting for the two of you to together.

“Ma, we got Shadow Company, I don't think either of us has time to date or even time for children,”

“Honey, I’m not getting any younger waiting around for the two of you, hurry it up for your mama why don’t you”,

“Okay ma I got it don’t worry, I’ll talk to you later, love ya”, hanging up the phone, you laughed to yourself at how persistent she had gotten over the years about you and Phil, if only he had taken the hint from his mom.

Shadows and Phillip kept you busy, sure you still had a massive crush on him but it could wait, for the time being, your focus was on keeping the Shadows and Graves safe on missions.

“Your mama call you too? I just got an earful, I’ll tell you”, you and Phillip were walking through the base after a mission, trying to wind down.

“Yup heard it all, trust me”, laughing to yourself as you recalled your mom talking your ear off earlier. Phillip was nudging you as the both of you slowly walked down the hall.

“Ya know… I've liked you for a while now”, he had stopped to look at you when he said this.

“What's a while Phil, because I might have you beat”, you were blushing just thinking about how your little high school crush had grown into a man in front of you, and how the both of you were finally admitting the built-up feelings after a push from your moms.

“A while since I tugged you away from that stupid rookie in the mess hallway back in our early military days”, his arms folded across his chest as he smirked back at you.

“I win, I’ve had a thing for you since high school, handsome”, winking at him.

“You’re joking?”, he was laughing as if you were lying to him.

“I wish Graves, trust me, waiting isn't easy”, while you spoke, Phillip grabbed your hand tracing it with his thumb.

“How dare I make someone as special as you wait any longer, whaddya say we got a date?”

At the end of the date, Phillip helped you out of his pickup truck, and the both of you held hands as you walked back into the base.

“Now I hope you don't get the wrong impression of me darling, I don't usually let girls come home with me on the first date”, he laughed at his own joke, earning a small punch on the shoulder from you.

“Think about the grandbabies Phillip, our poor mothers”, laughing along with him. You two walked slower than normal trying to enjoy the time together, Phillip put an arm around your shoulder pulling you into him, fully wrapping you in his scent as you rested your head on his shoulder.

“This is nice darlin’, sorry I’m such an idiot and didn't put it together sooner, been kicking myself all night over it”, you could tell he was genuinely upset about it.

“Phil, I’m sorry I didn't say anything, guess I’ve always been too nervous to ruin our friendship” looking up at him shyly.

“You did ruin it doll, but in the best way possible”, he was smiling back at you, as he placed a small kiss on your forehead. “Now let me get you back to your room, can’t keep you out all night, what kind of gentleman would I be”, placing his hand on your lower back he guided you down the halls.

“This is me”, glancing at the door and back at Phillip.

“I see that," he nodded at the door, "is this the part where I kiss you?”

“Well, I don’t kiss and tell Commander so that one is up to you”, giving him a small smirk. Phillip tilted your chin up to him, leaning down and placing his lips on yours giving a slow, meaningful kiss.

“Don't go kissin’ and tellin’ now” he whispered as you both pulled away for air.

“Wouldn't dream of it Phil,” your hands slid up to rest on his chest as you two stood basking in each other's presence, not worried if someone decided to wander down the hall and catch the pair of you together. “Not to stress you out, but what does this make us?”.

“I'm not sure darlin’, let's just take it slow for now, I want to enjoy every second of it with you”, he smiled at you, raising his hand to cup your face.

“I waited this long, I’m alright with a slow burn”

₊°✧︡ ˗ ˏ ˋ ♡ ˎˊ ˗

Nah cause why is this my best one yet LMFAOOOO

#phillip graves #phillip graves x reader #philip graves x reader #phillip graves cod #warren kole #phillip graves x you

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nwonitro · 3 months

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HAPPY CANADA DAY!

21st Century Fox, Alicia Atout, Allie The Bunny, Angelina Love, Beth Phoenix, Cat Power, Chelsea Green, Delta Dawn, Gail Kim, Jade Chung, Jennifer Blake, Jewels Malone, Kacey Diamond, Lufisto, Luna Vachon, Maryse, Melissa Coates, Monster Ripper, Nattie Neidhart, Nicole Matthews & Portia Perez, Rosemary, Sarah Stock, She Nay Nay, Stefany Sinclair, Taya Valkyrie, Tiana Ringer, Traci Brooks, Trish Stratus, Velvet McIntyre & Desiree Peterson, Taylor Wilde.

Not in gallery: Candice LeRae, Sandy Parker, Vivian Vachon, Vanessa Kraven, Danyah, Rosa Mendes, Jamie D, Krysta Lynn Scott, Jody Threat, Precious, KC Spinelli, Belle Lovitz, Karmen Petrovic, Roni Jonah, Bambi Hall, Kelly Couture, Angela Fong, Kalamity, Arianna Grace, Addy Star, Allison Danger, Deanna Conda, KC Houston, Kaitlin Diemond, Karen Brooks, Josianne, Madison, La Parfaite Caroline, Misty Haven, Silvie Silver and others we've not mentioned.

#women's wrestling #happy canada day #wwe #wcw #aew #nwa #wrestling

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theweirdkidinside03 · 6 months

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TEXAS HOLD 'EM rose to the top of Countdown Top 40 this week

TEXAS HOLD ‘EM - Beyonce’

Beautiful Things - Benson Boone

Lose Control - Teddy Swims

we can’t be friends (wait for your love) - Ariana Grande

Doctor (Work It Out) - Pharrell Williams & Miley Cyrus

Popular - The Weeknd, Madonna & Playboi Carti

Training Season - Dua Lipa

I LUV IT (feat. Playboi Carti) - Camila Cabello

overcompensate - twenty one pilots

Never Be The One - Olivia O'Brien

MY MIND - Sarah Geronimo & Billy Crawford

obsessed - Olivia Rodrigo

yes, and? - Ariana Grande

Love On - Selena Gomez

Like What (Freestyle) - Cardi B

Hands On Me (feat. Meghan Trainor) - Jason Derulo

Selfish - Justin Timberlake

Whatever - Kygo & Ava Max

I WANT YOU - SB19

Love wins all - IU

HISS -Megan Thee Stallion

Ruin - Usher & Pheelz

Don’t Let Me Go - mgk

Deeper Well - Kacey Musgrave

No Angels - Justin Timberlake

Back To You - B1A4

MASC (feat. Teezo Touchdown) - Doja Cat

B.A.D. (feat. P-Lo) - Denise Julia

Truth or Dare - Tyla

Friendly Fire - Linkin Park

In Your Hands - Halle

greedy - Tate McRae

Been Like This - Megan Trainor & T-Pain

Enough (Miami) - Cardi B

Karma - JoJo Siwa

Not My Fault - Megan Thee Stallion & Renee’ Rap

ART - Tyla

exes - Tate McRae

My Love Mine All Mine - Mitski

Lovin’ On Me - Jack Harlow

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taylorswiftstylequestions · 8 months

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omg SARAH -

new Kacey Musgraves album on 3/15

new Maggie Rogers album on 4/12

new Taylor Swift album on 4/19

WHAT!? I cannnnnot wait, I am so excited! thoughts on the new KM and MR singles if you've had a chance to listen to them yet?

THE GIRLIES ARE GOING CRAZY

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tonyspep · 7 months

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~*~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

#nathan mackinnon #erik johnson #tyson jost #jt compher #colorado avalanche #hockey rpf #fanficton

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grantmentis · 1 year

Text

PWHL player eligibility for the draft.

“All 268 eligible players officially declared for the draft prior to the Sept. 3 deadline. The group consists of 146 forwards, 78 defenders, and 44 goaltenders representing a total of 17 different countries. 237 of the players competed during the 2022-23 season including 98 players in the PHF, 63 players with the PWHPA, and 49 players at the NCAA and U SPORTS level.”

Some notable names not on the list who have not signed elsewhere this year: Rebecca Johnston, Amanda Kessel, Laura Fortino, Kacey Bellamy, Brigette Lacquette, Meghan Mikkelson, Jennifer Wakefield, Amanda Conway, Cassidy MacPherson, Anjelica Diffendal, Whitney Dove, Michaela Boyle, Katie Burt, Sarah Forster, Emilie Harley, Jenna Rheault (stated retirement), Lovisa Selander, Lauren Kelly, Kayla Friesen, Christina Putigna, Abbie Ives, Melissa Samoskevich, Hannah Bates (CORRECTION: she is playing in Germany), Mallory Souliotis, Emma Vlasic, Janine Weber, Sydney Baldwin, Emma Stauber, Maddie Rowe, Stephanie Anderson, Kristina Shanahan, Emily Fluke, Audra Richards, Reagan Rust (stated retirement), Lindsay Eastwood (stated retirement), Breanne Wilson-Bennett

Draft will be Monday the 18th at 1EST, steaming on CBC’s official app or webpage in Canada for free or for on CBC’s YouTube for international viewers. More information on the draft itself here

#PWHL #women’s hockey #I wish the draft was at night instead of the day especially when it’s not a holiday or anything?#sorry for sucking at posting work is at its craziest rn and I’m starting part time grad school #anyway soooo bummed about no Brigette Lacquette

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jennamacaroni · 3 months

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rules: list your top 5 albums from 5 different artists on a poll, so your followers can vote which album they think captures your vibe best

thanks for the tag @dkc2017!

tagging @orangeyouglad8 @sarahstreep7 @dratij @gleerant @sarah-crewe

#music #top 5 is a stretch there are too many albums i love #a portrait of the blogger in 2024 #this is fun tho #babys first poll

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st-ev-ie · 2 years

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Being Harry’s best friend would include…pt. ii

| headcanon |

Please please comment I really appreciate feedback 🙏

female reader • grew up with Harry • latinabsf!

masterlist🪐

pt. i, pt. ii, pt. iii (tbd…)

Requests: open !

Please note this is all from MY imagination. Imagine the character as anyone you want. I picture someone that’s Hispanic but it’s up to you. The events are not correct at all.

Enjoy ! 🫶🏽

TW: bad eating habits if you squint, modest! Management, salmon cowbell, drinking, consumption of drugs (🍃)

During One Direction…

Photos of you and Harry being featured in the ‘Story of My Life’ MV

Sadly getting mobbed whenever you hung out with the boys

Helping zayn deal with the hate and biases against him

Simon reprimanding Harry for spending too much time with you

Midnight swims with H when he had a day off at his hotel on tour

Blackout drunk one night in the hotel with H

⬑ Assuming you and Harry did something but Niall showing a video of you guys sleeping separately after passing out

Brining empanadas and sweets from Colombian candy shops for the boys on tour

Harry begging for you to make him his favorite Hispanic dishes and desserts

After the band…

Helping H write his album in Jamaica

Forcing Harry to play volleyball with Mitch and Sarah at the beaches on Jamaica

Placing a bet with Harry on when Mitch and Sarah would get together (you obviously win)

Teaching Harry Spanish while high together (🍃)

H loving when you speak Spanish

Music/food festivals at least twice a week when in Jamaica

Late night swims >>>

Throwing him an album release part at Anne’s home for Harry Styles the album

Many…many appearances in the behind the album documentary if not in every minute

Live On Tour…

Reading with each other before he goes on stage

Having a crush on Kacey and H teasing you about it

Cooking with the Sarah’s !!

Guitar lessons with Adam

Forcing Harry to watch marvel when traveling in his tour bus

When one of the boys FaceTime him you end up stealing the phone to catch up

Wine and tea with Anne and Gemma 🫶🏽🫶🏽

Helping Harry feel comfortable in painting his nails for tour for the first time

Trying to get Harry to grow his hair out but him cutting it either way

Trying to be at most of his concerts when you weren’t working on cases

More cuddles !!!

Late night talking…during FaceTime

Drunk conversations >>

During his break on tour H takes care of you when you were overworked on a specific criminal case at work

⬑ H stocking your embarrassingly empty fridge - getting you to eat more than just a protein bar at work

Even after being stubborn about your eating habits he convinced you to have two meals and a snack every day

Friend dates at libraries

Showing H all the thirst traps of him and teasing him for it

Brushing up on your drum skills with Sarah when they were recording ‘Fine Line’

Helping Harry make decisions regarding his stalker

Having to run when he was held at knifepoint day of valentines

—————————————————————————

pt. II ig?? Please comment anything 😭🫶🏽 I would appreciate it !! Part iii ?? Reblog and lmk !

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max--phillips · 1 year

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Genesis - Chapter 3

*Shows up 2 years and 3 months late with Starbucks* lmao

(Please follow @butchmandalorian-writes and turn on notifications to be alerted to new fic uploads!)

Pairing: Ezra & gn!reader (I'll update this if it changes, I'm not 100% positive where their relationship is going to go at the moment)

Warnings: In line with the previous chapters, Dragonfly is processing a lot. Angst, loss, grief, self-doubt.

Summary: You assist Ezra in his search for cinder violet. A surprise storm rolls in. Ezra asks you some questions.

Words: 4.5k

Prologue / Chapter 1 / Chapter 2

You closed your eyes and focused on the sound of the waves crashing on the beach. You focused on the smell of the salt water and sea air. The feeling of the sand beneath your knees. You wanted to cry, but your body wouldn’t let you. You clutched the plaque to your chest. Words couldn’t describe the mixture of feelings overwhelming you.

You made it.

You heard sand crunching as Ezra approached you. It then stopped.

“I personally knew every last person on board that ship,” you said, quietly, eyes still closed. “All 79 of them. I knew their hopes and dreams for the future, their damn favorite color.”

“Sounds to me like you were a good leader, then,” Ezra said.

There was a moment of quiet. You chose not to respond to his comment. “Anthony. Susanna. Blair. Desmond.” You took a deep breath, and opened your eyes, looking over at Ezra. “Chiara. Stacey. Lily-Grace. Kristina. Marlene. Ariella. Mohammod. Harlow. Cheyanne.” You pulled the plaque away from your chest and looked at it. “Lleyton. Ayisha. Tahmina. Connah. Abida. Missy. Danielle. Safah. Poppie. Beverley.” You began to stand, slowly, still recounting names. “Luka. Zahid. Alejandro. Prince. Jena. Salahuddin. Harris. Brent. Milo. Neve.” You turned slightly towards the ocean, and began walking. “Lexi-Mae. Humzah. Rebecca. Waseem. Raisa. Tania. Mina. Cillian. Rick. Reya.” You approached where the sand was wet as the waves rolled in. “Kaydee. Fenton. Isabella. Rachel. Olaf. August. Kacey. Tahlia. Reanne. Andrew.” Ezra followed you, stopping next to you as you stood there, shoes getting wet. “Amy. Alex. Micheal. Matt. Sarah. Dale. Shyam. Adela. Catrin. Aviana. Mallory. Ronnie. Hashir. Felix. Zishan. Kobie. Brenden. Kelsea. Wiktor. Lula. Tyrese. Ayyan. Ricky. Akeel. Zakk. Zahia.”

You looked out at the horizon, dotted distantly with rocks and other islands. You looked at the plaque. Then, in one fluid motion punctuated with a grunt of effort, you threw the plaque as hard as you could into the ocean. It plunged into the water several yards away.

“I don’t know if you believe in such things, but if you do, I’m sure your team is looking to you from beyond with pride, knowing at least one of you got here,” Ezra offered.

“I don’t know, either,” you mumbled in response. “But I hope you’re right.”

You stood there for a few more long moments before Ezra turned and began walking towards the tree line behind you. You took a few more seconds to turn and follow suit. It felt like your consciousness stayed standing at the water, though, your movements almost not your own. Nothing felt real. Perhaps you, too, died on that ship and this was all some bizarre cryostasis dream your brain was having in a fit of activity before the end. Logically, you knew that wasn’t the case, but the grief and anxiety and confusion you were feeling were more than enough to override logical thought.

Your attention came back into focus as Ezra began speaking.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I’d like to get to work and not push our chances of getting caught in a storm. We’re looking for a bright purple flower, and where there’s one, there’s plenty more,” he said. “Let’s go look, shall we? Do mind any roots and vines across the ground, with all the ways this planet could kill you, I’d wager tripping does more prospectors in than anything.”

“Is that… a common profession? Prospector?” you asked, more than happy to momentarily change the subject.

“That depends on your origin,” Ezra answered. “If you’re originally from Central, or any of the core planets, really, no, it’s not common at all. Those folks tend to go into more well-educated fields and keep their feet planted firmly on a safe, habitable planet with a functioning government.”

You both reached the tree line, and Ezra began leading you into the brush, pushing some vegetation out of the way to begin clearing something of a path.

“But, if you’re from the Frontier, the Fringe, hell, even some of the tourist planets, it’s damn near your only option to get off whatever rock you were born on,” he continued. “Extremely high risk, no such thing as a safe job. So… my apologies for dragging you out of your nap and right into harm’s way,” he said, looking over his shoulder to you with an apologetic expression.

You weren’t yet sure how to respond to that, given how that “nap” ended up. You continued to follow Ezra, stepping over twisting roots, vines, and other growth.

“But, with high risk comes high reward,” Ezra said. “If you live long enough to turn in your bounty, it can be well worth the risk. ‘Course, so many succumb to the environments they prospect in, or other prospectors, not too terribly many actually make a return. Can’t tell you how many woefully unprepared kips I’ve seen get themselves killed on their first go because they thought they were stronger than nature, or couldn’t make a deal, even on the wrong end of a thrower.”

You both made it to a small clearing, and Ezra stopped for a moment to survey the surrounding trees. The canopy was thick, shading you from the sun, though not doing much to curb the oppressive humidity in the air. On top of that, every step you took seemed harder than the last. Maybe pushing yourself so soon after you woke up wasn’t a good idea. You knew that the planet was significantly denser than Earth, but you weren’t expecting the increased gravity to affect you this much. You wiped some sweat from your brow, looking around as well, taking in the alien plants. If dropped here with no other context, one might be forgiven for thinking this was the middle of a rainforest, but there was an… uncanny valley sort of feeling to it. It was definitely not familiar biology, though clearly not entirely dissimilar from what had evolved on Earth.

“Ah! That way. There’s a tree species this flower particularly likes, I’m willing to wager we’ll find a patch nearby,” Ezra said, pointing out of the clearing and beginning to walk that direction.

You continued to follow him. “So, I take it you’re one of the more successful ones,” you said, continuing your conversation.

Ezra chuckled a little. “I’d like to think so,” he responded. “Not without my fair share of challenges and loss, of course, but I’ve done alright for myself. Well enough I have a home of sorts on Central, nothing too fancy, but it’s enough.”

“You said most people from Central don’t prospect,” you pointed out.

“I am not from Central, Captain,” he said. “Depending on how you look at it, I simply got lucky.”

You wondered what he meant by “depending on how you look at it,” but chose not to pursue that. “If Central has safer jobs, why keep doing this?” you asked.

Ezra sighed. “You can take the man out of prospecting, but you can’t take prospecting out of the man, Dragonfly,” he answered. “Besides, those safe jobs lack the excitement this profession freely supplies. I’d get bored.”

You could certainly understand that. You could’ve much more easily taken a job with mission control, or stopped at test flights for the Genesis program, but no. That wasn’t enough. You had to be the face of it.

You two continued to walk for a while, you imagine having passed the tree Ezra had pointed out earlier some time ago. Thankfully, walking through the forest was requiring enough of your focus that your mind didn’t begin spiraling despite the quiet. It was hot and exhausting. After some time, though, you came to a large clearing with a pond of sorts in the middle, with some rock formations on the far side. Towards the other edge of the clearing, there was a patch of flowers.

“There! Perfect,” Ezra said, walking over towards the flowers with purpose. You followed. He began digging in his pockets, producing two bags, one that appeared to be empty, and another full of small tools. From the tool bag, he grabbed two pairs of tweezers.

“Now, this is delicate work,” Ezra started, handing one of the pair of tweezers to you. “As should be obvious, we have plenty of chances to get this right, but keep in mind these cinder violets are very valuable.”

You nodded. “Got it.”

“Good. So, to start, be careful picking them. That’s why you need work gloves. The stem on these flowers have sharp thorns,” Ezra explained, motioning for you to sit on the ground near him. You did so, letting out a sigh of relief as you did, thankful for any rest. You watched his movements closely as he reached forward and carefully picked one. You could see the thin, sharp thorns protruding seemingly randomly from its stem.

“Once they’re picked, you need to work quickly to get the stamen. There’s a reason we harvest them here rather than picking the flowers and taking them back to the ship,” he continued. He used the tweezers he was holding to point towards the center of the flower, where the sturdy purple petals were curled around what you assumed to be the stamen in question. “You gotta peel these back, but be careful of the stamen inside. If you accidentally break the stamen, or either of the individual parts, it’s worthless. Couldn’t tell you why, the folks this is valuable to end up burning them most of the time, but I’m not one to argue with a paying customer.”

You watched as he demonstrated what he just explained, carefully rolling back the petals to reveal the stamen inside. You immediately made the connection that it looked a lot like saffron threads, except they were a light purple color rather than red or orange. Ezra used the tweezers firmly at the base of the stamen, pinching the entire structure and removing it from the flower before carefully placing the piece in the empty bag he’d opened earlier.

“Just like that. Think you can handle it?” he asked.

“Yeah, I think so,” you responded.

So you got to work. You messed up the first flower you attempted, breaking one of the threads when you tried to roll back the petals, but you tried again and successfully extracted the stamen whole. Once you got a few under your belt, you seemed to get the hang of it, only accidentally breaking a few threads the entire time. As you worked, Ezra filled the air with chatter, thankfully not seeming to care if you responded or not.

“The petals curl inward like that to protect the stamen from the weather here,” he said. “The winds from the storms can be brutal, but the trees around are rooted deep enough they can usually withstand them, and break up the wind the further inland you go. Of course, there’s still some wind, and these flowers adapted to protect their reproduction in a fascinating way. The petals are stiff enough that only certain pollinators can get inside.”

“Pretty textbook evolution,” you commented.

Ezra made a noise of agreement. “There have been attempts to start permanent logging colonies on the planet because of how strong the wood in some of the tree species is,” he explained. “The incredible winds combined with the strong gravitational force pushed their evolution that way. Of course, all of them have failed.”

Ezra continued to talk about the planet, how lumber and these flowers were really the only things of value here, though some other plants are propagated off-world to be sold as house plants. He began telling some tangent story about said house plants, but you were happy to listen nonetheless. There would be moments of quiet, still, in which occasionally either you or Ezra would curse as one of you destroyed another stamen by accident. Ezra occasionally mumbled something about joints in his hand, or something about servos, though you didn’t think anything of it. Doing this sort of detailed work was starting to make your hand sore as well.

After what had to be a few hours, you and Ezra made a sizable dent in the patch of flowers you’d found, filling the bag about halfway with the prize he was after. Just as you were about to reach for another flower, you heard a rumble of thunder. The light that was coming in through the clearing began to dim, and you could hear rain begin to hit the leaves of the canopy, not quite yet filtering through.

“Shit,” Ezra said, looking around as he started to get up off the ground. “Nothing major, sometimes these storms pop up. But we’re too far from the ship to go back in this. Let’s take cover over in those rock formations, shall we?”

You nodded, getting up as well. Ezra grabbed the bag of cinder violet, and as the rain began to fall through the canopy, you both ran towards the pond and the rock formations on the other side of the clearing. Ezra led you under a large overhang, and you two watched as the rain intensified, thunder clapping occasionally overhead. He sighed deeply, shaking his head.

“Fair timing, I suppose. I was starting to think about calling it quits anyway. The amount we have should earn us…” he paused, humming in thought. “Maybe two or three points?”

“Points?” you asked.

“Ah, yes. It’s payment, I’m not sure how you’d value it. It’s enough for a single person to live off for maybe two months or so,” he said.

You balked at that. “Two months?” you asked.

“I told you it was valuable,” Ezra responded, smiling at you.

He turned and sat down again, back resting against the rock at the back of the overhang. You followed suit. It was quiet for a few moments as you watched the rain fall. Ezra, of course, was the one to break the quiet.

“Dragonfly, I’m sure you have a multitude of questions regarding the galaxy you now find yourself in, but I will admit, I have many of my own for you,” he said.

You sighed. “To be honest, I don’t know what to even ask yet, especially given you’re the only one I’ve met, and you’ve been with me the entire time I’ve been conscious,” you said. “Fire away.”

Ezra grinned like he’d just won a prize. “Very well. Do you mind if I start with a question about you, then?” he asked.

“Go for it,” you responded.

“How did you become captain of that handsome craft I encountered you on?” he asked.

“I wanted to save humanity,” you stated plainly. This was a bit of a softball question, one you’d answered many times at press conferences, news interviews, and presentations at various schools. “My entire life the world was crumbling around us. Every day was another record broken for hottest day, or highest sea level, or least polar ice. I never understood why no one was doing anything about it. I did try the activism route for a while, but I got disillusioned fast. It never really accomplished anything. It’s nearly impossible to make people care about something when they have incentive to ignore it. I caught wind of NASA’s Genesis program, went to test pilot school, worked my ass off… and here we are.” There was some bitterness in your tone at the end of your sentence. Here you were, indeed.

“Saving an entire planet is quite the lofty goal,” Ezra said.

You nodded. “It is. But it’s the right thing to do,” you said. “Was the right thing to do, I guess.” Doubt began to creep in. Was it? Knowing what you know now… was all of this worth it?

Ezra seemed to sense your shift in mood, and asked another question. “I must ask, was the cryostasis technology I found you in… pioneered for this mission?” he asked.

“More or less. I mean, people have been working on some form of it since… I think the bunk cryonics industry started in the 1970s,” you said. “Most of the time after that was spent thinking the entire concept would remain science fiction, but some group of scientists made a major breakthrough when I was a kid. NASA spent the next twenty odd years fine-tuning the technology to get us to Kepler-186.”

Ezra was quiet for a beat. “Cryostasis was deemed too dangerous to continue using decades ago,” he finally said. “Too much risk, side effects were too strong. Much more muscle atrophy and other deleterious effects caused by long term use. As far as that is concerned, Captain, you are very lucky.”

You looked over at him, your brow furrowed. “Other deleterious effects?” you asked.

“I’m no expert on the subject, but if I’m remembering correctly there were some concerns about the agents used to prevent harmful ice crystals from forming, nutrition uptake over time, issues with sleep and attentiveness after being taken out of stasis… we have much safer alternatives now,” Ezra explained. “Although use of any suspended animation is less frequent now that we have faster than light travel.”

“What alternatives are there?” you asked, genuine confusion in your voice. As far as you were aware, cryostasis was the only suspended animation technique that was really achievable. Anything else wouldn’t do enough to slow the body’s metabolism, and therefore aging, or required far too much energy to be plausible, or was simply fictional magic.

“Most true suspended animation relies on manipulation of spacetime,” Ezra said casually. The surprised expression on your face in response told Ezra that that statement was not casual at all to you. “It does take a considerable amount of energy, so it is not used frequently.”

“You can just… manipulate spacetime?” you asked

“Well, I’m sure it’s not as simple as that. Like I said, I’m no expert,” he answered. “I’m not entirely sure how they accomplish it. More commonly, though, is a state of induced torpor, which is more conducive to the length of trips we take with FTL.”

You nodded, absorbing this information.

It was quiet for a long moment, other than the rain falling and wind blowing through the trees. Ezra then began speaking, almost carefully choosing his words.

“In my childhood, my peers and I were told the same stories our parents were told of Earth. Toxic skies that would choke you to death in an instant, poison plants that could burn you with one touch, vicious creatures that could eat you whole. I believe that these began as cautionary tales many generations ago, but they morphed into this mythology of a cursed planet that would punish you for even thinking about visiting its surface,” he said. “I would be remiss not to ask you what Earth was truly like, even in your day.”

You considered his question, then sighed. “While exaggerated, the stories you heard weren’t… too far off,” you responded. Ezra looked at you, surprised. “I mean, the whole planet isn’t like that. Toxic skies… occasionally, as pollution got worse or wildfire smoke ruined air quality for days on end, yes. Not so bad you’d die if you had to go outside, though. Poison plants and vicious creatures, absolutely. There are plants that, if you get even a little bit of its sap on you, it gives you chemical burns or makes you itch for days on end. Some plants and fungi have lookalikes, where one is perfectly edible, and the other is so toxic that if you eat it you’ll be dead within a day. There are animals that can and will kill you given the chance, granted there aren’t many that could swallow you whole. Hippos probably could. Maybe blue whales, but they don’t eat prey as large as us.” You smiled sadly. “Still, it’s beautiful. Vast oceans, lush jungles, mountain ranges and rock formations… even the things we built, to some degree, are beautiful. Bridges, castles, skyscrapers. It’s…” You stopped as you realized you were speaking in present tense, and you gulped, willing away the tears that threatened to begin. “It was worth saving.”

Ezra’s surprise morphed into some cross between interest and concern as you spoke. “I… wish I could’ve seen it, as you did.”

“Yeah,” you said, nodding a bit. “Me too.”

As another moment of quiet passed between you, you realized something. Surely humanity by itself couldn’t span an entire galaxy, right? And clearly, life was elsewhere in the galaxy…

“I just thought of a question,” you started.

“Please,” Ezra encouraged.

“Have we made first contact?” you asked.

“Have we made what?”

Well that’s not the response you were expecting.

“First contact,” you repeated. You then put on a bit of a voice, mocking the many documentaries about this topic from your original era. “Is there intelligent life beyond our solar system?”

Ezra looked at you, confused at first, then he seemed to remember how long you’d been asleep. “Yes.”

You weren’t sure whether to be excited or deflated with his response. “With that kind of reaction I imagine it’s commonplace.”

Ezra nodded. “As humanity fled Earth, it happened multiple times with multiple colonies concurrently,” he said. “Enough so that no one’s really sure who was first. Thankfully, other than the one time a group of us managed to establish an empire across the galaxy, everyone gets along relatively well. Well, on an official level, anyway. All bets are off once you’re in the Fringe, or the Frontier, or prospecting.”

You nodded again, and hummed in understanding. “I’m glad to hear it, I suppose. That was another thing that was still very much science fiction when I was on Earth,” you said.

“I have a feeling that will not be the last time you come across something matching that description, Captain,” he said. “You are always welcome to ask questions. I may not have all the answers, but I do a fair share of reading in my free time. I’ve picked up on some things, at least.”

“I appreciate it,” you said.

The rain began to lighten a bit, but not stop. The humidity had broken slightly, and the wind from the storm was making it a bit cooler where you were taking cover under this rock. For the moment, it was kind of nice. You wondered again if you would’ve made it this far if you had known. If you would’ve rather had your team alive for a short time on this planet’s surface, marking the mission’s technical success, or if they were better off having died painlessly in cryo. Part of you wanted to believe that if you had all made it, you would’ve proved Ezra wrong, and there would be a thriving colony on this planet’s surface in just a couple of years. But… like Ezra said earlier: people get themselves killed thinking they’re stronger than nature.

“We were going to name it Eden,” you blurted. “When we got settled, I mean. The colony, the planet, was going to be named Eden.” You looked over at Ezra. “I… suppose I don’t know if that means anything to you.”

“I believe I get the gist,” Ezra responded. “The Garden of Eden where humanity was supposedly started by some capricious deity.”

“In the Book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, God takes six days to create existence, resting on the seventh. Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, and who are tasked with creating humanity, live in this garden God created as a paradise on Earth. It was plentiful, and they were allowed to eat from any tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” you said. “Of course, they eat from it anyway and get kicked out before they can eat from the tree of life, which would have granted them immortality.” You tilted your head back and forth for a moment in consideration. “There’s more to it than that, but that’s the condensed version. Wouldn’t be a story from a religion if the details weren’t hotly debated.”

“That is yet another thing that has not changed since your time,” Ezra responded. “I am sorry that this did not turn out to be the paradise you expected it to be.”

You sighed. “I don’t think anyone truly believed this would be a paradise,” you said. “Livable, yes. But a true paradise wouldn’t require us to work for our survival. We were prepared to start from truly nothing but the supplies we carted across 579 light years.” You paused and furrowed your brow. “We made a lot of assumptions. About the planet, about what would grow here, clearly about how the surface of the planet would be.” You didn’t want to admit that the entire program was done out of desperation. It had taken 25 years from the conception of the program to your launch date, yes, but an undertaking as huge as this… it likely would’ve benefited from more time to plan, to study the target planets, to truly understand what you were getting yourselves into. But the planet was dying, and humanity was dying with it. Someone needed to do something, and the sooner something was done, the sooner humanity could be saved.

You supposed it didn’t matter in the end.

You wondered what McCoy would say. He always balanced your optimism with caution and well-timed cynicism. You remembered what he said that night 10 days before launch, on the boat. I’m sick of worrying about what could go wrong… What if it does go wrong? You’d told him it wouldn’t. That you’d make new constellations.

You realized you were crying again. You forced yourself to take a deep breath. You wiped your cheeks with the back of your hand.

“Sorry,” you offered.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Ezra assured you. “You’ve had an incredible amount of information dumped on you in a very short amount of time. If anyone here should be apologizing for anything, it’s me for waking you up.”

You shook your head. “No. I… given the choice between waking up to this and dying without knowing what went wrong, I would’ve chosen waking up every time.”

Ezra nodded slowly. “While I cannot begin to understand what you’re going through, I do understand that choice, at least,” he said.

Soon, the rain stopped, and the wind died down. Ezra moved to stand up, walking towards the edge of the structure you were under.

“I think now is as good a time as any to get back to the ship and head out,” Ezra said, turning back to where you were still sitting. He approached, and held a hand out to help you up.

You hesitated to reach out. Much like your hesitation at leaving the ship, you almost didn’t want to leave. You made it here. Did you deserve to make it any further? What about your crew? How in the world would you even move on from something like this?

You took Ezra’s hand, and hoisted yourself up off the ground.

“Alright. Where to from here?”

#prospect #ezra prospect #pedro pascal #ezra x reader #ezra (prospect)#tori says things #max says things #ezra #my fic #genesis

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