#they have had jt drilled into their head that things have to be like this. sacrifices must be made to make it in these fields.

[chisatowo]

I wanna talk more abt my pastel*palletes hcs but I'd have to explain my hced dynamics between everyone and hoo boy would that take a while

#rat rambles #band posting #long story short; they all care abt each other a lot but they also have a lot of issues and very different ideas on how to help everyone #chisato and maya especially tend to frustrate the other a lot in that regard #chisato and aya's dynamic is also very complicated because although it is unintentional chisato really feeds into a lot of ayas issues #and like aya rly doesnt do a good job at hiding it but chisato tries very hard to ignore how her words may hurt him or the others #they have had jt drilled into their head that things have to be like this. sacrifices must be made to make it in these fields. #which is why I think they sort of unknowingly hold a grudge against maya #Im not gonna write a whole essay on my hcs for her but basically she very much has her limits and boundaries to what shes willing to change #and/or hide abt herself and that high key freaks chisato out a bit #just... theyve had to sacrifice so much and here maya is doing just fine for himself while not doing that. #thats not to say I think things are going perfectly smootly for maya. because theyre super not. #but shes still managing to have a decently successful career as an idol despite being decently open abt her identities #and that freaks out both chisato and aya quite a bit #aya has been pretty aware of his gender and sexuality for a while now but had long ago accepted that coming out wasnt an option for him #and chisato has basically been dodging thinking abt that shit for years by simply telling themself that they couldnt be not cishet because #thatd ruin their career so even considering it cant be an option #and thats only scratching the surface of just these three not even includinh the other two #is all of this definitely more deep and serious than was ever intended in canon? absolutely. will that stop me? absolutely not.

[toplinetommy]

Kill My Lonely Nights - Tyson Jost

a/n: after plotting and replotting this fic for over a month its finally here. my baby and definitely my most favorite thing ive ever written. hope everyone enjoys it as much as i do.

tagging @bqstqnbruin​ thanks for being my beta and for bouncing ideas around with me and also my fav josty whores 😇 @justjosty​ @hookingminor​ @farbutnevergone

Synopsis: tyson finally meets jt’s neighbor — and he’ll stick by her side through her ‘i’m a single and independent woman’ phase as long as jt doesn’t find out

songs: im so tired - lauv, troye sivan; better than heaven - slander; cherry on top - olmos, kyle reynolds

words: 20k+

warnings: alcohol, smut, unprotected sex​

“Tyson, you know my neighbor right?”

You roll your eyes at JT’s way of introducing the two of you, because, no, you did not know the curly-headed brunette in front of you. You had seen him in passing a few times when he was over at JT’s but you never learned his name. In fact, the only thing you knew about him was that they were teammates and you got that from deductive reasoning since he was always dressed in some sort of Avalanche merch. 

“I’m y/n,” you smile, sticking out your hand for the stranger to shake. 

“Tyson,” the no longer nameless stranger responds, a quirky smile on his lips.

“It’s nice to finally put a name to the face,” you respond, your cheeks heating up as you look over him. He’s cute in that quirky way where his head’s a mess of curls, his eyes full of joy, and his shoulders filling out the grey Avs hoodie quite nicely. 

“Same here,” Tyson agrees, shoving his hands into his sweatpants pockets. You continued to gather the few things in the living room that were yours before finding your phone charger and giving JT a hug. 

“I’ll see you when you get back from Chicago yeah?”

“Yep, have a good birthday!” JT cheers, from his spot on the couch.

With that you bid Tyson and JT a goodbye, choosing to wave at Tyson instead of showing an outright affection towards the stranger. The door shuts behind you as you walk a few feet down the carpeted hallway to your own door. 

“Dude,” Tyson starts, turning his attention back on his buddy from where it was lingering on the now-closed door. 

“No-”

“You don’t even know what I’m gonna say!” Tyson incredulously interrupts.

“You’re gonna tell me she’s hot because, yeah, anyone can see that. She’s going through this thing she’s been calling a ‘guy cleanse’,” JT explains, putting finger quotes around guy cleanse. Tyson brushes the comment aside, not bothering to ask any more questions. If he’d want to get to know you, he knows he’d have to do it without JT’s help. JT always had this thing of being overprotective over the women in his life, especially being a guy that grew up in hockey with three little sisters.

Another week or so passes before Tyson sees you again. It’s when he’s getting into the elevator after getting dinner with his JT, and you’re just getting home from what Tyson presumes is work and maybe even the liquor store with the purse and lunch box hanging in the crease of your elbow as well as the case of Truly’s in your other hand.

“Hey, it’s y/n, right?” Tyson says in lieu of a greeting. He holds the elevator open for you as you step out, thinking of ways to keep the conversation longer than a simple greeting. 

“Yeah,” you smile, warmly at him. He can see that your hands are full as you try to shovel through your bag in search of your keys as you take another step towards your door towards the end of the hallway. “Well, uh, have a good night Tyson.”

Tyson watches as you turn away with a small smile, and suddenly he’s stumbling over his words, trying to make the moment last longer. He’s rarely ever seen you around, most times in passing in this very hallway and the occasional time JT talked to you on the phone when they were on the road. You didn’t go to games, you didn’t hang out with the team, and you were never over at JT’s when Tyson would show up.

But when he had officially met you the other week when you were leaving JT’s apartment, he was transfixed and curious about the girl JT always talked about but never brought around.

“Do you wanna come in for a drink?” You ask, nodding to the case in your hand. You’re asking as more of a common courtesy than anything else, but you can tell that he’s waiting for you to make the next move regarding this run-in with him. The peachiness of his cheeks and his hands shoved into his jacket pockets are proof of that.

“You sure?”

“Any friend of JT is a friend of mine,” you smile, opening your front door and gesturing for Tyson to go in before you.

“Yeah, okay,” Tyson smiles, taking another step towards you and reaching out for the box of Truly’s. “Let me take that for you.”

Tyson graciously takes the case from you and steps through the doorway of your apartment, suddenly losing any train of thought he once had now that he’s in an apartment he’s never been in. He sees the fridge across the way and decides he’ll just stick the drinks in there. There’s thankfully space in the fridge for them and he watches you shred your raincoat and heels by the door. “So, uh, how do you know JT? Like, I know you guys are neighbors but he’s always referring to you as his best friend. I honestly didn’t even know that you lived next to him until the other week.”

You laugh, thinking back to how you even met JT. It was nowhere near being a typical introduction between neighbors, it was honestly pretty far from that. “So, whenever he first moved here like two years ago, I was sitting in my car in the parking garage on the phone with my dad, and this car parks next to me and the driver gets out and completely dings my car. I’m talking a paint scratch that’s starting to rust now.”

“He’s pretty unaware of his space,” Tyson laughs, knowing all too well that his friend did something like that.

“And so, I get out of my car, and I confront him about it, and he apologizes and whatever, not a big deal. But then he gets off the elevator with me and I’m thinking this guy’s gotta be a creep since he’s barely talking to me but then he pulls out his keys and is unlocking the door next to mine, and now he bugs me all the time,” you smile, Tyson making space for you to go into the fridge he’s currently standing in front of. 

“You see that picture frame over there?” you nod your head to the wall your TV is mounted on. Tyson walks over to it, inspecting it and noting that neither of the people in it are you or JT. “There’s paint missing behind it because when he was helping me mount my TV he hit the wall with the drill. He got me the frame to cover it but I still haven’t gotten around to putting a picture there.”

Tyson’s eyebrows quirk up, “and how long has it been there?”

“Uh, maybe a year?” you answer, your tone making it sound more like a question as you blush. Tyson only laughs at you, fully understanding how something like that can slip from your mind. You offer him a Truly at that, him not missing an opportunity to chirp you since your flavor of choice was lime, even though his was black cherry, which in your mind was the most basic flavor there was.

He sits across from you at the island while you stand opposite of him, leaning on the granite in front of you. He can’t get enough of your laughter, finding it’s something you do quite often as the two of you share stories. You, on the other hand, have to stop yourself from blushing since he doesn’t break eye contact with you once. It’s starting to get late and you still haven’t eaten dinner, so with an empty Truly in hand, Tyson is reluctantly getting up to head home to prepare for his early practice and flight tomorrow. He doesn’t want to impose on you any further, considering you were essentially strangers an hour ago.

You wave goodbye at him as he walks down the hallway to the elevator, a smile on your face as he nearly runs into Mr. Harter, the man that lives at the end of the hallway. You laugh as he apologizes profusely, something you amount to his Canadian upbringing.

Tyson curses himself over the next few days for not getting your number, and there’s no way in hell he’s asking JT for it. He doesn’t know how he’ll go about getting it, and the possibility of him running into you to get it is slim, with the fact that the Avs have a nine-day roadie on the upper East Coast. He figures he’ll try to ask JT more about you over the course of the trip, and then hopefully weasel his way into getting it.

It’s three days into the roadie and they’re sitting next to each other on the flight from Ottawa to Toronto. JT is busy on his iPad, and Tyson looks around him, seeing Cale and Gravy reading books, and G is passed out behind him. Tyson nudges JT’s shoulder with his, JT pulls out his AirPod and looks towards his buddy.

“So, y/n, eh?” He jumps right in, watching as JT rolls his eyes and moves to put his AirPod back in. “You said she doesn’t date?”

“Correct.”

“Why’s that? She seems like she wouldn’t have any issue in that department.”

“First off, that’s gross. Secondly, even if she was dating, you aren’t allowed to try anything,” Tyson chooses to ignore that part but continues to listen anyway. “She’s just like focused on herself, I don’t know. She knows her worth and knows what she deserves. She’s been single for as long as I’ve known her. It’s no bullshit with her, in every aspect of her life.” JT shrugs his shoulders as he talks. He’s not an expert on the topic because it’s not one you really talk about with him considering it’s just not really a huge part of your life.

Tyson hums along as he listens to JT talk, trying his best not to show why he’s even asking these questions in the first place. He takes what his friend says in stride, not being one to have gone through a phase like the one you’re going through. In fact, Tyson’s never been someone to say no to a date, fully taking advantage of the pro-athlete lifestyle he’s been living for years now. JT knows this, knows what it’s like to be 22, and all eyes on you. 

He was there once, but he’s been with Sydney for over two years now. JT knows the locker room talk that goes on within hockey teams, he’s been living it his whole life. Yeah, the Denver room has been the best and the calmest when it comes to comments about guys’ dating lives, but the occasional whistle and chirp is made when one of the single guys has a story to share. The last thing he wants is to hear your name in one of those scenarios.

He doesn’t get your number during that road trip, can’t even find you on social media so he puts his efforts on pause. He even went through the list of people JT followed, your name not coming up once. Come to think of it, he doesn’t even know your last name.

Soon January is ending and February is starting, the season kicking into high gear as the all-star breaks ends and the playoff push truly begins. Tyson still hasn’t seen you around other than the occasional run-in, and you honestly haven’t given him much thought since that night in late January. Your life has always been chaotic, but still in the most organized way, and you’ve barely seen JT with the way his game schedule is laid out. But the middle of February brings Sydney to town and brings too many parties while she’s around.

It’s at Andre’s place where you see Tyson again, warm pleasantries shared between the two of you. He’s a little confused as he watches you chat with almost everyone there, the weird feeling coming from the fact that most people filling the apartment are on the Avalanche roster. He wonders if you’ve already met most of them or if you’re just that outgoing.

Tyson finally makes his way over to you, two cans in hand as he offers you the one with green lettering with a smile.

“A lime White Claw? That’s the way to my heart,” you joke, placing your hand over your heart before taking his offering.

“I was asking around to see if there were any Truly’s,” Tyson laughs, waving his hand around. “But I hope the White Claw is okay.”

“A White Claw definitely isn’t as good as a Truly but it’s a close second, thank you.”

“Right!” Tyson agrees, “People think they all taste the same but there’s a clear hierarchy of which seltzers are better than others.” You laugh along with Tyson at his comment in complete agreement. You tell him your own tier list of seltzers, starting with Truly’s and ranking the Bud Light ones as the worst.

“I’ve only had a few of them, but I’ll take your word for it,” The laughter between the two of you dies down before JT finds you, saying he’s been looking for you for a little bit.

“It’s not my fault I’m hidden by all these huge men,” you roll your eyes, pointing around the room that’s filled with men all over six feet tall.

“Did you know your neighbor was a hard seltzer connoisseur?” Tyson asks with a quirk of his eyebrow, causing you to scoff. You were nowhere being a ‘connoisseur’ of sorts.

JT takes a sip of his drink, “She’s an alcohol connoisseur period, bud.” WIth that JT disappears to go find his girlfriend, leaving the two of you alone. Tyson’s face is filled with confusion at JT’s comment, not entirely sure what his comment even meant.

“I used to bartend in college,” you answer his silent question. “Which makes me JT’s personal bartender most nights.”

“Maybe I’ll have to get you to make me a drink sometime then,” Tyson suggests. It’s a little too forward for his liking but it just slips out, and you giggle at his attempt at flirting. His tan cheeks have a pink flush to them, and you’re sure it’s not from the alcohol since most people have only been here for an hour or so.

“C’mon,” you nod your head in the direction of the kitchen. Tyson silently follows you, weaving between the people and the furniture. “I can get you that drink right now.”

Once you make it to the kitchen you look around the counters, taking note of the different types of liquors laid out. Tyson watches you as your hands move around, picking up and setting down various bottles. When you’re satisfied with your concoction, you hand him a shot glass, one in your own hand to match his.

“It’s a shooter,” you inform him. He puts trust in you, clinging your glass with his own and bringing the glass to his lips as he tips his head back. Your eyes stay on him as his tongue pokes out to swipe the extra liquid off his lips before you realize you haven’t even taken yours yet. His eyes stay locked on you as you throw your own shot back, your eyes reconnecting when you set the glass on the counter next to you.

A shiver runs through you as his eyes watch your every move. You hadn’t noticed it with any of your other previous run-ins with him but he’s intimidating in that way where his presence is radiating that good kind of confidence. You watched him, unbeknownst to him, as he made his way around the room before ever making it to you.

“So what was that you just gave me?” He asks, crossing his ankles and leaning further on the counter behind him. You move to stand next to him, your shoulder brushing his cotton-covered bicep.

“It’s called a lemon drop shot, it’s just vodka and lemon juice so nothing too special,” you shrug, turning to look up at him. “Maybe I’ll get around to making you more drinks.”

Tyson smirks lightly at your comment, his hands gripping the counter behind him. He remembers what JT told him not too long ago about you, and how you’re someone that doesn’t put up with bullshit when it comes to relationships and his heart deflates a bit. He’d much rather keep talking to you and eventually kiss you, but he knows deep down that’s not what he wants with you either. He can tell from your brief encounters that this could be way more than just a few dates, so he holds back and instead bites his lip before pulling his phone out of his pocket.

He passes it over to you, and you hesitate taking it as you look between the black phone and his brown eyes, “so we can plan a time for you to make me drinks.”

“Ah, I see, I see,” you quip back, taking the phone from his hands and opening a new message and typing in your phone number. You respond back to him on your phone, showing that you got the text and opening up the contact to save his information. “Should I put in some funny name for your contact or is Tyson good enough?”

Tyson laughs fully at that, his chest rumbling for a moment before he calms down and tells you his name is just fine for now, “but I won’t complain if you find a better name for me.” Tyson scratches the back of his head for a moment as he places his phone onto the counter next to him, trying to find the words to keep the conversation going.

You leave not too long after that, catching an Uber with JT and Sydney back to your place. Tyson stays near your side most of the night, giving you a full hug as you leave and a promise of texting you soon.

You see Tyson the next morning at brunch with JT and Sydney, his strong, muscular thighs touching yours in the small booth. You get some fancy french toast, Sydney eyeing you from where she sits across from you. She’s been a close friend of yours ever since JT introduced the two of you whenever she first visited. Her eyes keep flicking between you and Tyson and you give her a stern look, silently telling her to knock it off.

“So, y/n,” she starts, a smirk forming on her lips. “How’s the dating life?”

You scoff with a laugh at her question. She knows well enough how that aspect of your life is doing considering you text her on a pretty regular basis. You choose not to answer, the scoff you let out being enough. 

“Besides, no guy is good enough for her, right?” JT asks, looking over at you continuing his girlfriend’s train of thought. His eyes glance over at Tyson sitting next to you and Tyson ignores the look his teammate gives him. 

“You mean the idiots you always try to set me up with? The ones that don’t live in Denver?” You quip back with a raise of your eyebrows. It’s more of a joke than anything else, but Tyson doesn’t quite understand your tone and mannerisms yet.

His heartbeat speeds up momentarily, thinking that if you hadn’t had any interest in any of JT’s other friends, you definitely wouldn’t have an interest in him. Besides, he may live in Denver now, but that’s not even the whole year when you account for traveling and the offseason.

You miss it, but Tyson changes the subject anyways, which is something you’re grateful for. Brunch passes by and when the waitress comes back with two checks, you knit your eyebrows.

“Actually, could I have my own check? We aren’t together,” you stumble, cheeks heating up at the misinterpretation of yours and Tyson’s relationship.

Tyson takes the check from your outstretched hand, “it’s fine, I got it.”

He’s talking more to you than to the waitress as he smiles warmly at you. You thank him quickly, but not before saying you have enough cash to take care of the tip. He doesn’t argue, following the three of you out of the restaurant and to your car. The two of you linger a little further back than JT and Sydney, both of you reveling in the comfortable silence. 

“Do you have any plans for the rest of the day?” You ask.

“Not really, I was probably gonna call my mom and maybe do my laundry,” Tyson answers.

“Do you want to come over and hang out instead? I’m just gonna third wheel the two of them but maybe we can find something to do that’s more interesting than laundry.”

Tyson laughs at the third wheeling comment you make, being all too familiar with being the third wheel around most of his friends. “Sure, yeah, I’ll just follow you all then?”

“That sounds good. I’ll see you in a few,” you say goodbye with a smile and a shy wave, hopping into the backseat of JT’s SUV.

Once you get home, Tyson’s knocking on your door a few minutes later with the same warm smile he seems to always have. He sheds his winter coat as he enters your apartment, throwing it over the back of one of the kitchen chairs. He notes the change in clothes, as you’re now wearing an olive green crewneck instead of the wrap top with flowy sleeves you were wearing at the restaurant a few moments prior.

“You a big reader?” He asks, picking up and inspecting the book that’s laid out on the kitchen island. The Power of Now, it reads on the cover. He flips through the first few pages and goes to the back cover to read the reviews.

“Sometimes, it depends on what it is, but I usually just go through phases where I read in all of my free time and then I won’t touch a book again for the next few months,” you admit with a small laugh. “That one’s really good so far though. It’s just about how to live more presently and in the moment.”

Tyson nods his head as he listens, his eyes on you as you speak, “Cale really likes reading this kind of stuff, I should tell him about it.”

“Which one is Cale, again?” You ask, mentally going through the Colorado roster. 

This causes Tyson to laugh, “JT really doesn’t bring you around much, eh.”

You laugh along with him, “not really, but that’s on me sometimes. I go to bed too early for my own liking.”

Tyson’s confused as to why he’s never really seen you before at anything. Guys on the team are always bringing their friends around if they can. At first he thought he just always missed you, but he knows he wouldn’t miss someone as carefree and beautiful as you. Nevertheless, he’s glad he’s sitting in your kitchen right now, and to top it all off, he didn't even have to ask you to hang out first.

“Do you read at all?” You ask curiously. You really knew next to nothing about the man in front of you other than that he was Canadian, played hockey, and preferred Truly’s over White Claws (his favorite flavor was still to be unknown to you).

Tyson chokes out a laugh at your question, “No. When we travel I usually play random games with Sammy and he’s been teaching me French. I still don’t know much so don’t go asking me to say anything.”

“Duly noted,” you nod. You move to the pantry, looking for a few things as you continue to respond. “Like I said, my interest in reading comes in waves and you barely speaking French is better than me only knowing English.”

You continue rifling through your pantry, pulling out everything you know you need. You’ve just finished setting all of the dry ingredients you’d need to make brownies when Tyson asks you what the hell you’re doing.

“I was thinking we could make brownies,” you respond, opening your fridge and pulling out the milk, butter, and eggs. You hear the island chair scratch against the hardwood, indicating Tyson getting up.

“Wait a second,” Tyson says causing you to turn around with a confused look on your face. “Are these the brownies Comph always bringing around that his friend makes?”

“They very much are,” you chuckle. He compliments the baked good one more time before you’re putting him to work. The two of you move seamlessly through your small kitchen, both of you sharing smiles and stories to fill the time. There’s a moment where you see a certain glimmer in his eyes paired with a small smirk and you think he’s about to pull one of his infamous Jost pranks that JT was always telling you about. He doesn’t though, and instead just nudges your hip with his. It seems like you’re looking more at him more than focusing on the flexing of his forearms as he mixes the dry ingredients.

Once it’s time to mix the dry and wet ingredients, Tyson all but misses half the bowl, causing a good chunk of it to land on your crewneck and jeans. The brown powder covered the ‘Disney World’ logo across your chest.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” Tyson rushes out, holding back a laugh, because of course he would embarrass himself in front of you and mess up something as simple as that. You move to the sink, shaking off the loose contents into it to help alleviate any sort of mess.

“You’re fine, I promise,” you reassure, turning around to give him a smile. He smiles nervously back at you, not fully knowing your statement was genuine or if you were trying to spare his feelings. He glanced at your chest, trying to see the damage he had done before realizing he was staring directly at your chest and his cheeks flushed. You walked back over to where he was standing, giving him another smile as you began mixing everything together. 

“Would you, uh, ever wanna grab dinner with me some time?” He asks, voice higher than normal as he speaks, his heart beating nervously for your answer. Your face falls as you hear the question and you slowly turn around to face the curly headed brunette. Tyson is a great guy, it’s obvious to everyone, and you’re not oblivious to the fact that there’s physical attraction between the two of you. It’s that Tyson is best friends with your best friend who also happens to be your neighbor.

You laugh nervously at the question, the question seemingly coming out of nowhere, before you respond, “Sure, it’s not like it’s a date or anything.” 

You brush it off, even though you’re pretty sure he was explicitly asking you out on a date. You turn your focus back to the brownies, popping them in the oven before wandering down your hallway to change into something clean. As Tyson walks over to take a seat on the couch, he sees your retreating figure as you pull your sweatshirt over your head. He stops in his tracks momentarily, seeing your bare back, the skin between your shoulder blades covered by your lacy bralette. He blinks a few too many times as he shakes any thoughts from his head and continues his path to the couch.

Your guys’ friendship quickly develops after that. The two of you starting a snapchat streak and having a long string of text messages involving various TikTok’s and memes alongside the more serious stuff. You seem to be spending more time at JT’s place when Tyson is also there and soon enough Tyson’s leaving JT’s and going the few extra feet to your place instead of home like he says he’s doing.

It’s one of those rare nights where it’s the three of you at JT’s place and you’re all catching up on the latest episode of Hell’s Kitchen. You’re pretty sure JT cheated and watched the new episode already with how quiet he’s being and how absorbed he is in his phone.

“JT, did you already fucking watch this?” You ask, whipping your head to look at the ginger in question. He’s sitting across the room from you in what he claims as ‘his chair’ while you’re sharing the sectional with Tyson, your feet in his lap. “And you wonder why I never watch shows with you. Tyson and I are going to start watching it without you.”

Tyson chuckles at that, his thighs rumbling under your ankles, his hands coming to rest atop of your shins. JT scoffs at you, unaware of your two’s newfound friendship. To him, the only time you ever saw or even talked to Tyson was when he was also around. Besides, he didn’t need to know the ins and outs of every single thing you did in a day, even if Tyson was involved in a good portion of those things.

You let JT’s previous actions of watching your show ahead slide since the episode was finally wrapping up. JT goes back to the Hulu home screen with an exaggerated yawn followed by stretching his arms above his head. It’s then he turns to his two best friends, letting them know he’s going to start heading to bed and that the two of you are more than welcome to hang out for a little while longer. He doesn’t think much of his offering, but it’s one Tyson’s thankful for if it means he gets uninterrupted time with you that isn’t revolving around the team or drinking.

It’s then he remembers how he never found you on social media, something that had bewildered him in the moment but one he forgot about once he got your phone number and snapchat. 

“So, this is gonna sound totally weird but do you have an Instagram?” He asks, infliction in his voice and ears turning pink at the question. He remembers how not too long ago he did some heavy duty deep dives into JT’s social media to see if he could find your name only to come up empty handed. Your stomach tightens and the thought of him looking for you, and you definitely don’t take it the weird way he’s insinuating.

“No, I don’t,” you respond, sitting up further in the corner of the couch, Tyson bravely holding onto your ankles. “Which definitely makes me the outlier of our generation. I had it for a while but then I kinda just got sick of it and how fake it was starting to get, so I deleted my account. I have not missed even once, too.”

He nods his head in understanding, he’s been there, especially with being a professional athlete. “I’ve been there. I deleted my twitter a while ago because every time I got on there some nobody would be in my notifications about how I was playing. I really didn’t need that, ya know? Like, I play hockey for a living and I’m very aware of when I’m underperforming. So, it was hard when I would get on my phone and see other people telling me the same things.”

Tyson’s fingers began to brush comfortably over your shins and ankles as he spoke, causing you to start slouching back into the couch. 

“I’ve gone back and forth with deleting Instagram but I just can’t seem to make a decision. Besides, I only follow my friends and musicians I like.”

“It’s definitely not for everyone,” you agree with a hum. “The biggest plus is that it gets me off my phone and I’m more absorbed with the real world. It’s all in that book I was reading a while ago that you asked about.”

Tyson remembers that conversation, a smile falling on his lips as he hands rub higher and higher on your calf. The movements are causing you to yawn not a minute later, but you try hard to keep your eyes open to continue to hang out with Tyson. “You a big music guy then?”

Tyson scoffs with a small, playful grip on your leg, “I get the aux in the locker room, so I’d say so. Not a big deal.”

You laugh at his joking manner, snuggling deeper into JT’s couch. Tyson notices how sleepy you’re becoming and he gives your leg another squeeze.

“C’mon, I’ll walk you home,” Tyson suggests as he slips from underneath you to his feet.

You chuckle at that, considering you're more than capable to walk the few feet from JT’s door to your own. Before you can respond saying just that, Tyson’s reaching his hand for yours to help you off the couch.

“My mom raised me to be a gentleman, so I’m walking you home even if it is down the hall.”

You accept his offer, the two of you walking in silence until you’re pushing your key into the lock. You turn back to Tyson once you’ve cracked your door open, wanting to take in the silent, all-too-relationship-like feeling this scenario is. Tyson’s eyes drift from where they’re focused on your eyes to your lips, before he’s scratching the back of his head, a sign of nervousness you’ve quickly caught on to.

“Goodnight, Tyson,” you smile softly, leaning up on your sock clad toes to wrap your arms around his neck and give him a hug. His arms wrap around your middle; his back bending over at an awkward angle to properly reach you. You breathe in his musky scent as his hands spread out over the small of your back. The scruffiness of his beard against the side of your face has you giggling as you pull away. 

“Goodnight, y/n,” Tyson reciprocates your smile, walking a few steps backwards before finally turning around and heading to the elevator. Your eyes linger on his toned thighs and maybe even his butt under the cotton of his joggers as he walks the all too familiar way hockey players walk, before finally entering your apartment.

JT’s sitting on your couch this time around, rather than you sitting on his, a too large glass of wine perched in his hand as the two of you catch up. He’s been busy with morning skates and a string of back-to-backs with a road game sprinkled in the middle. It’s getting to be that part of the season where it’s ‘all gas, no breaks’ as he likes to say. They had an earlier than normal game today due to it being a national broadcast on a Sunday, so the two of you ordered take out from one of your usual spots and parked your asses on your couch for the night.

“I feel like we haven’t had best friend time in so long,” JT groans, sipping down the remnants of his wine before standing up for a refill.

“Not all of us can travel the continent on a regular basis,” you chirp with a laugh, one JT matches. The tv show murmurs in the background, it’s one you completely forgot about as JT relates stories and updates on his sisters to you.

“I still can’t believe Jesse graduates soon,” JT starts. “Like, soon when we go to Boston it won’t be the annual family trip since two of the kids are actually in the same city for a change.”

“But that’s so awesome for her, you have to remember that. How’s her season going?”

“They’re doing good, winning games and taking names, she’s really stepped into her captaincy role.” The smile on JT’s face is contagious, causing you to mirror it. You had only met his family a handful of times, only whenever they made the trip out to Denver every now and then. His sister’s, even if you didn’t talk to them regularly, were like your own at this point. JT loved to joke that you were the third sister he never wanted but still somehow ended up with. It was part of the reason he was always trying to set you up with his friends, because to him, if he already knew them, then he knew he trusted them with you. It was more of a joke when it first started over a year ago, but the guy’s he mentioned started to become more serious considerations on your end before you ended up always telling him no.

You were more than okay with being single, being independent, being a woman that never looked for male validation and instead lived life purely for yourself and the people you choose to include with you in that life. JT understood that more than anyone else, that’s why the thoughts you consistently had about Tyson were being shoved deep down inside of you in fear that JT would laugh at the idea and tell you not a chance in hell. It’s why those times you caught each other staring you never did anything about it, or how JT was still unbeknownst to the close friendship you started with him.

It’s why now there’s a silence between the two of you as you take a too-long sip of your wine, a way to stall before opening your mouth and getting JT’s opinion on all of this. You set your glass down on your thigh, your spare hand running along the stem of the glass as you start to speak, avoiding looking over at JT as you do so,

“You know how I don’t date or whatever,” you start, your lip caught between your teeth. You glance over at the redhead on the other couch, seeing him knit his eyebrows as he sets his phone down next to him.

“Yeah,” he draws out, confusion laced in his tone

“Well, I was thinking of maybe getting back out there or something,” you shrug your shoulders, unsure of how to really continue this conversation so you end up on the topic of Tyson being that someone you get back out there with.

“Did someone ask you out?” JT immediately asks with a shake of his head, wondering where all of this is coming from. His full attention is on you now and there’s no way to avoid his eyes as you respond.

“No, I was just thinking about it, I don’t know.”

“Did you, like, have someone in mind?” JT asks, the definitive knit in his forehead still there.

You purse your lips in thought. This would be the time to drop his teammate’s name you think to yourself. His name is heavy on your tongue as you take one more sip of your drink, “Tyson’s kinda cute.”

You say it simply, with a shrug in your shoulders, hoping the ease of your posture radiates towards JT. It doesn’t, just as you expect, a choked out cackle leaving his lips, before he says a harsh ‘no’. The comment deflates you, the knot in your stomach only tightening, mainly because you weren’t really asking him a question and just trying to get that thought out into the open for the first time. JT doesn’t read that as you respond back, telling him was just a thought anyways.

You drop it at that, thoughts running through your head of your close friendship with his teammate, one that’s very close to blurring that line between just friends and something more. It's a problem for another day you think, shoving the thought to the back of your mind as Tyson’s name flashes across your phone screen.

A few more weeks pass of Tyson and you hanging out at JT’s apartment, only for Tyson to follow you to your own apartment before he’d leave for the rink for his game. He slowly began going through his pre-game routine at your place, only to leave with JT under the guise that they would carpool together since his apartment building was on his way to Ball Arena.

Tyson’s cooking his pregame meal in your kitchen, something he had yet to do but when you had told him you had never eaten squash the other day, he made a point to make it his favorite way, even if it meant eating dinner at 4:30. His game day suit was hanging by his coat in your coat closet, you wouldn’t tell him but it was your favorite suit of his. The navy cashmere made the highlights in his dark brown hair pop out and was a nice contrast to his tan skin. He was taking the squash out of the oven, laughing as you made yet another comment on not knowing that was how a squash was cooked.

“What does a squash even taste like?” You ask, peering over the kitchen table to watch him as he places the pan onto the oven to cool down. The bright yellow and oranges of the fruit freak you out a bit, but the smell of garlic and parmesan cheese brings a smile to your face.

“It’s like earthy and nutty, I don’t know. I’m not a Food Network chef.”

The comment has you rolling your eyes with a laugh as you stand up from your chair to retrieve plates and silverware. 

“What are you doing?” Tyson asks with a whip of his head as his eyes follow your movements.

You look at him quizzically, pausing your movements on your tippy toes as you reach for the dinner plates, “setting the table?”

“I can do that,” Tyson starts, reaching out for the plates in your hand and setting them on the counter in front of you. “I’m the one cooking.”

“Exactly,” you reason, “And this is my apartment so I know where everything is.”

“I’m wining and dining you, well minus the wine since I have a game.” Tyson shrugs, tending to the squash on the pan and the veggies surrounding it. “That reminds me, the guys are going out after the game, you should come.”

You move around the kitchen as he speaks, filling up two glasses of water to set on the table. He plates the food as he finishes speaking and sets them on the table. It looks colorful and delicious and you’re shocked he can cook something that seems so complicated, especially since you know JT can only cook a burger and some random pasta dish.

“Well, I am going to the game so I don’t see why not,” you finally answer. You hadn’t gone out in weeks it seemed like, mainly due to your earlier than normal mornings and that you were the only single one out of most of your friends. All of your coworkers lived with their partners and were usually the type to bail on a night out so they could stay home. The few single friends you did have lived on completely different schedules than you, so they were either getting home late from work which was around the same time you’d need to call it a night, or were like you and too worried about early mornings to do anything.

But it was a Thursday, and you had taken the weekend off so it was a perfect time to catch your first Avs game of the season, even if it was already a few days into March and the season was halfway over. The both of you eat your dinner with a few laughs, Tyson telling you about how he forced himself to learn to cook over the past two years of living by himself. He even shared a few horror stories of when he lived with JT and Kerf, giving you plenty of dirt to use as blackmail if necessary. 

“Dinner was really good, thank you,” you acknowledge standing up and grabbing his plate from him.

“You liked the squash, eh?”

“It wasn’t too bad,” you reply playfully. He knew you liked it with how quickly you scarfed it down and the profuse compliments you offered him. As you clear off the dishes and load the dishwasher, Tyson disappears down the hall only to reappear dressed in his suit, save for the jacket and tie. 

“Who are you sitting with tonight? I never asked.” Tyson speaks, making the job of tying his tie look easy as he’s not even looking in the mirror to do so.

“Oh, my coworker, Amelia, and her girlfriend, Gabby,” you respond, leaning back against the counter as you watch Tyson finish up with the details of his suit like putting his cufflinks on and checking his hair in the mirror by your front door.

For a reason Tyson knows too well but ignores, a weight falling off his shoulders as he hears you saying you’re not going with a potential date. But then again, he knows you’re not dating and you more than likely would’ve declined his offer to go out afterward if that were the case. Tyson checks his watch for the time, seeing it’s about time to knock on JT’s door to grab him.

“So, I’ll see you after the game, yeah?”

“Yep, I’ll meet you and JT down by the locker rooms so we can all head out together. Maybe I’ll finally get to meet the infamous Cale.”

The Avs scoot by with a tough division win, one that’s needed to put them in first place in the Central by two points. You’re standing in the hallway of the locker rooms among the other WAG’s that you don’t really recognize due to your lack of knowledge on who’s who. Your nose is buried deep in your phone as you shoot off a text to Amelia telling her to let you know when she gets home safely when you recognize Tyson’s familiar Canadian accent followed by JT’s booming laughter. The two of them reach you, both of them giving you quick hugs before walking to the parking garage.

“Who’s jersey you got on there?” Tyson asks with a nudge of his shoulder into yours. You look down at the 19 stitched into your shoulder with a smirk.

“Only the best Av to ever play the game,” you respond, to which JT rolls his eyes. Tyson’s look of confusion doesn’t change as you answer, still pretty keen to the fact that you’ve never really talked hockey with him besides the stories about practices he’d share with you. “Never told you I didn’t like hockey, just said I never went to games.”

“I’ve tried to get her one of my jerseys and she literally told me she’d return it,” JT interrupts before Tyson can respond. You open your mouth to chirp him back but before you can, JT is calling shotgun once Tyson’s car is in view.

The bar isn’t as packed as you thought it would be, given half of the Avalanche roster was occupying more than a few booths. Andre takes a seat across from where you’re sandwiched between JT and Tyson - a seating arrangement you’re not sure how you got in.

The first round of drinks slowly turns into the third, and you’re no longer squished between two bruly hockey players since JT has found a home at the pool table with Nate and Naz. You had finally met Cale, the blush on cheeks matching Tyson’s description of them. You shared book recommendations with one another while Tyson had wandered off to the bar. It’s then you learn that Tyson’s kind of taken him under his wing, despite the very small age gap and that they live in the same building. Your eyes catch him as he chats with the bartender and a dirty blonde that’s close to his height that you very much did not recognize.

She’s all legs and has an award winning smile from what you see from fifteen away. Tyson’s turned away from you, his back facing you, and if you could see his face filled with that smile that’s showing he’s just trying to be polite to the stranger.

It’s then that you start to fully allow yourself to notice not only the physical attraction you feel towards your new friend, but the emotional one as well. It’s not overwhelming by any means, but the pit in your stomach can only be described as jealousy — a feeling you don’t have much experience with. 

You see two new glasses being set in front of them at the same time, assuming that Tyson had bought the stranger a drink. That pit in your stomach only tightens, the smile on your face from Cale’s story falling as you continue to watch them interact. 

The pair only talk for a few minutes before the girl walks away, a defeated look on her face. With he departure, you make your way across the hardwood floor to meet him at the bar, nudging his side lightly as you mirrored his stance. He smiled as you greeted him, noting that this was the first time in hours he got you all to himself. You were just as outgoing as he and JT were, always butting into conversations when you had something to say. 

“I never asked if you had fun at the game,” he asks, voice somehow still soft even in the loudness of the bar. His voice raises goosebumps on your arms, as you hum before responding.

“It was fun, definitely a good game, just a little too much third wheeling for my liking but I’ll take what I can get.”

The comment is a nod to the feeling Tyson knows all too well, one the two of you seem to always share funny stories about with a dramatic use of eye rolls. You ignore the fact that not even a few minutes prior you were plotting that girl’s death, too busy and entranced with Tyson’s presence.

The night continues to pass with just the two of you in your own little world. You find yourself up on your tiptoes, an arm resting on his muscular bicep as you lean up to speak into his ear. His lips move alongside your temple as he speaks, the scruff of his beard against your forehead causing you to giggle. You’re not even sure if JT or any of the other guys are even still around, but your bubble pops as JT calls your name. You turn your body towards the ginger, your hand on Tyson’s bicep not moving as he says that you two should find an Uber soon.

“Okay, yeah, sure. I’ll be out in a sec, Tyson was just telling me a story,” you let him know. JT knits his eyebrows at the comment but walks outside with a few of the other guys all heading home.

“How are you getting home?” You ask Tyson once you’re face to face with him again.

“Cale and I are gonna Uber back, too,” Tyson answers, his tongue swiping over his lips slowly. Your eyes watch his movement as time seems to slow down as the two of you keep your eyes focused on the others. His eyes are squintier than normal from the alcohol and you’re yours match his in that regard. You’re pretty sure he’s about to kiss you and for once, you’re actually going to let that person kiss you.

Tyson’s eyes flick behind you momentarily before you see his body semi-deflate. He steps away, your hand falling off his bicep for the first time in at least an hour as he picks up his blazer that’s draped over the stool next to him and nods towards the door.

“I think JT’s looking for you.”

Sure enough when you turn around, JT is in the doorway waving his phone in the air and pointing at it, silently telling you that the Uber is almost here. Your shoulders fall as the moment you were sure was about to happen is ruined. Tyson walks you out of the bar, into the brisk start of Spring air. You’re too busy thinking about how you most definitely would’ve let Tyson kiss you and next thing you know, your foot is slipping on the ice and you’re yelping in surprise.

Tyson catches your waist before you can even hit the cold pavement, and again, you’ve found yourself in a compromising position as Tyson’s face is mere inches from yours. You blink away the embarrassment as JT’s comment about your almost accident goes unnoticed by the both of you. You regather your stance, muttering a quiet thank you to the brunette before hugging him and waving goodbye with a soft smile.

“Dude,” Cale chastises, “You like her don’t you?”

The comment made by his building-mate has him stuttering over his words, trying to figure out an answer that’s not a straight up lie. Cale takes that as his answer, though, rolling his eyes with a heavy sigh as the two find their Uber.

“Does JT know?”

“No, because nothing’s going to happen,” Tyson answers curtly as he slumps his shoulders in his seat. “JT told me I couldn't try anything and I’m going to try and respect that. Besides, she doesn’t date so it’s not like I have a real shot or anything.”

“I don’t know, man. She seemed to jump out of her seat and end our conversation when she saw you talking to that girl.”

Cale’s comment silences the two of them for the remainder of the ride back to their building. Tyson hadn’t really paid mind to the fact that the second that girl left, you had appeared and stayed by his side for the remainder of the night. He brushes it off, blaming his inebriated mind for the overthinking before asking Cale how they’ll get his car in the morning.

Tyson wakes up to his phone dinging with a string of texts from you, a smile on his face when sees your name across his screen.

y/n: not sure what you did to me last night but this is the most hungover ive been in forever y/n: thank god i dont have work y/n: jt is still sleeping so im thinking of ditching him to go get breakfast y/n: you in? Tyson: im down Tyson: do you think we could swing by to get my car from the bar too? was gonna have cale drive me but if you can that’d be great

Getting ready for breakfast feels all too real as you do your hair and pick out an outfit before finally brushing your teeth. You tap your fingers an obnoxious amount of times against your steering wheel as you drive to Tyson’s apartment, your lip stuck between your teeth as you softly sing along to the songs flowing through your speakers.

Sitting across from him in the diner feels a little bit suffocating, the events of last night replaying in your mind. The path your eyes follow tends to keep going to his lips before you realize what you’re doing and snapping them right back up to his eyes or to the coffee in your hand. Those lips you sure you were close to kissing last night. He orders some obnoxiously healthy omelette bowl with enough eggs and potatoes on it to feed a house of four, while you get classic french toast.

You don’t miss that opportunity to chirp him, the weight finally off your shoulders as you lighten the mood. Tyson never really caught onto your weirdness, thinking it was some side effect of your hangover. 

“Is french toast your favorite food or something?” Tyson asks, mouth a little full as he finishes chewing. You knit your eyebrows in confusion, partly because yes, it is your favorite breakfast food, but why would he think that if he’s only ever seen you eat it right now in this very moment? He sees your confusion, answering your question before you can even ask it.

“You got french toast that one time we went out with JT and Sydney.”

“Oh, it is, actually,” it dawns on you then, even though that morning was over a month ago at this point. It’s sweet that he remembers that, your neck warming at his comment.

“It’s not a big deal,” Tyson shrugs, shoving another forkful of egg into his mouth. And shit, did you actually say that out loud to him? That misstep has your neck heating up even further as you take a large swig of your coffee, mainly so the large mug blocks your face from him.

“Besides,” Tyson starts with a heavy laugh. “You just about inhaled that from what I remember, so it has to be your favorite.”

You drop your jaw in shock from his very true accusation, a slight laugh coming out, “You’re a dick.”

“Hey, at least I’m a dick that paid for your meal,” Tyson acknowledges in a lighthearted tone. You smile at him at that, him sending you one right back. “And before you say you can pay for this one, this is that meal I promised you a while back when we made brownies.”

It dawns on you then, was this a date? Did you accidentally on purpose ask Tyson out on a date? Tyson can sense the wheels turning in your head and drops that topic, instead telling you all about this new artist he’s found on Spotify.

That day’s a turning point for your relationship with Tyson. You end up following him back to his place then, a strange sense of deja vu coming through. The rest of the day is spent shaking your respected hangovers on his couch, your feet perched on his lap, his body naturally leaning towards yours.

Your head’s full of what ifs as you drive the short way back to your apartment, thoughts surrounding the feelings you’ve been ignoring when it comes to why Tyson looks at you the way he does or why he’s always sending you Tik Tok’s about your newfound inside jokes. Your friendship with him is easy, he’s an easy guy to catch feelings for and an even easier guy to fully allow yourself to do that with.

The thought of your friendship with JT clouds your thoughts, though. Unsure of what you should even do considering how quickly he shot you down when all you said was that his friend was cute. You don’t think much of it, knowing that the feelings that are starting to show need to be reciprocated for you to even face that next set of problems.

Soon you’re catching yourself focusing on the number 17 jersey skating around the ice instead of 37 when you have the time to watch their games. Tyson’s eyes are the ones you’re always finding in a room and he’s the one always refilling your drink without a thought. He’s the one you text after a particularly rough day, and he does the same when the Avs snap their eight game winning record. He’s slowly taking that spot as your best friend over from his teammate, a spot you’re sure is slowly turning into more.

It’s another one of those nights where he’s the one you're constantly looking for. This time back at Andre’s apartment with the guys and few significant others as you celebrate yet another Avalanche playoff berth.

You’re drinking far less than the crowd surrounding you, fully buzzed on the atmosphere that is clinching the number one seed in the division with still so much time left in the season. Unlike the group of people that have the day off the next day, you have work, but the thought of missing this night for your two best friend’s wasn’t an option when Tyson texted you as soon as he made it to the locker room after the game was won. Tyson’s hand seems to never be empty, but you soon learn he’s been nursing the same beer since he got to Andre’s. There’s a heavy feeling of contentment washing over him as he celebrates his fourth straight playoff appearance, alongside setting a Central Division record for the fastest team to clinch.

The air between you two has that same fuzzy feeling it’s had for a few weeks now, ever since you had gone out to breakfast with him hungover. The high from the win still filling his veins, that same high radiating towards you as you continually find your way back to his side throughout the night.

Tyson catches you slipping out the door as the sun is just about finished setting and follows you a moment later. You’re leaning against the railing with your arms folded atop of it. It’s the easiest thing in the world for Tyson to step in behind you and place his hands on either side of yours, bracketing you against the cool metal. 

The wind blows through your hair, causing you to push some strands back behind your ears as you breathe heavily with Tyson’s new presence.

“You doing alright out here?”’ Tyson asks, one of his laying to rest on top of yours, you fingers interlocking with his.

“Yeah, just wanted to take advantage of Andre’s view,” you respond. Andre’s place had everything, the view of downtown Denver, the suburbs stretching outside of the skyscrapers, but he also had the best view of the mountains you had seen from a complex downtown.

The silence continues between the two of you, the sound of the Denver traffic beneath you filling it out. Tyson’s chest moves behind you with a heavy breath before breaking that silence,

“I talked to my mom this morning.”

“Yeah? How is she?”

“She’s good, but, uh, I called her to tell her about this girl,” he trails off, his chest inflating behind you again as the nerves start to tighten in his stomach. You remain silent, there’s an unspoken understanding that this is something he’s been wanting to get off his chest, something that you too feel the weight of.

“I wanted to tell her about this girl and ask her for advice because it’s complicated since she’s best friends with my best friend who’s also my teammate and I didn’t know if I should put my feelings aside for the sake of my friendship or if I shouldn’t let my friend telling me I couldn’t ask her out stand in the way of my feelings for her.”

Your breath hitches in your throat, the sudden knowledge of the weight his words have. His grip around you had tightened as he spoke, causing you to turn around in his arms slower than you would’ve liked to as your eyes find his. His hands move from the railing to rest on your hips, his grip a little tight yet still soft. Your fingers toy with the hem of his cotton t-shirt, one that accentuates his arms more than you’d like to admit.

You’re not naive, you know that this is that tipping point in your friendship that you’ve been avoiding, yet at the same time anxiously waiting for. He’s right there in front of you, all wide eyed with that playful little glimmer in his eyes and that smile that’s always plastered on his face when he’s with you. It’s the confidence in his smile as he speaks that contradicts the doubt in his eyes and the understanding he has where he knows he needs to take this all slow. He’s not just trying to win you over or get you to bed, he’s trying to show you that he’s what you deserve, that the feelings brewing inside your stomach are two sided.

All of those things are conveyed in the little things and how he hasn’t made any unwarranted moves on you and how he’s always reading the situation before trying anything.

It makes you truly let the feelings you have bubble to the surface as you open your mouth to finally respond, “I don’t think you should ignore your feelings.”

It comes out as a whisper, one where the breaths of air hit Tyson in the chin from how close you two are standing. Nothing else needs to be said, your heart racing in your chest at that first admittance of feelings. Tyson searches your eyes for any sense of doubt, making sure he’s interpreting your words correctly. His hand moves to the junction of your neck, his thumb brushing against the hollow of your cheek. Your hands trail up his sides, brushing the stray curl that’s fallen onto his forehead back in place. He leans into your touch, his nose softly brushing against yours as you close your eyes. His breath fans over your mouth and the hair on his upper lip tickles you before his lips are landing on yours. It’s slow and soft and full of fire as you kiss him back.

You pull apart breathless a few moments later, a smile on your face as you bite your lip. His smile is wider than yours, a sense of smugness behind it. His lips find their way to your forehead, placing a soft, lingering kiss there as he wraps his arms around your body and pulls you tightly to him. A few more heavy breaths are shared before his fingers trail back to your jaw, his thumb running over your bottom lip before pulling you in for another kiss.

His touches are welcome and the chill you felt earlier is gone with his presence, your stomach tightening in a million knots at the man standing before you. Everything he feels is portrayed in his soft eyes and those several moments over the past couple of months where it was just the two of you, getting to know one another much more than you thought you ever would with one of JT’s teammates. The space he gave you as he let you explain your fascination with living the life you did, one with no obsession with social media or what other people thought and one where you carefully curated the people you choose to surround yourself with.

Tyson had slowly worked his way into your heart, one that now had his name written all over it. You smile at the thought, still lost in chocolatey, brown eyes and the way he’s looking at you like the gorgeous view of the Smoky Mountains isn’t right behind you.

“We should go back inside,” you say, breaking the little bubble the two of you had just created. Tyson understands, knowing where the two of you were, knowing who’s just on the other side of the door. Neither of you make any moves to go back inside, and you bask in the cool weather, enjoying the other’s warmth before finally opening the door to the rowdiness that is a bunch of professional hockey players.

JT beckons for you when he sees you come back inside, too drunk to ask where you’ve been for the past fifteen minutes. He’s dragging you to the kitchen, begging you with his eyes to make the room a round of drinks. Tyson smiles at you from a few feet away, silently telling you he’ll find you eventually. He does, making his way to you when everyone’s drink needs are met, his presence causing your stomach to tighten even if he is standing a few feet away from you. 

Both of you lay off the drinks for the rest of the night, already tipsy enough from your drinks earlier and in a silent agreement that there’s more to talk about between the two of you once the crowd thins and everyone's on their way home. JT disappears into thin air it seems like until he’s practically yelling that he’s called an Uber for you two.

“I think I’m actually gonna stay for a little longer,” you answer, eyes drifting over to where Tyson is talking with Cale and Andre. He sees you glance over at him, sending a smile right back your way causing you to blush before telling JT he’s fine to head home and that you’ll text him when you get home.

The room starts to clear out after that, Andre’s front door opening and closing every few minutes as Uber’s are called and before you know it you’re in the back of a Kia Sorento, laughing at the lie Tyson told Cale that led to him getting an Uber by himself and your hands tightly intertwined on your lap.

You find out a few months later that he didn’t lie, he just told him that he had finally gotten the nerve to kiss you.

The elevator ride up to his apartment is full of giggles, those giggles only continuing as he fumbles through unlocking his front door. He tells you to stop making fun of him under his breath, a blush spreading from the tips of his ears to his nose.

He’s pulling you inside once the door is unlocked, causing you to lose your balance from the pull. Your laughs quiet down as he stares down at you, that smile you're familiar with nowhere to be found as he licks his lips. He’s pulling you in with those big, brown eyes of his and then you’re kissing him wildly, barely a few feet into his home.

“We should talk about this,” you mutter against his lips, not fully wanting to break away from him. He’s connecting your lips before you can continue, too addicted to the feeling of finally having his lips on yours.

“What is there to talk about?”

“Us, what this is,” you respond between kisses.

Tyson pulls away this time, resting his forehead against yours. He knows the logistics of all of this needs to be worked out, but right now he doesn’t want to think about how he’s making out with JT’s neighbor or his inevitable murder if JT finds out before one of you can tell him.

“Let’s worry about the consequences tomorrow, because right now I can’t keep my hands off of you,” he reasons, dipping his head down to place his lips right below your jaw. “And if the way you’re kissing me is any sign, then I’d say we’re on the same page about how we feel.”

You moan as Tyson’s teeth nip at the skin, his tongue poking past his lips out onto your neck and goosebumps are popping up all along your skin.

You give into him then, too intoxicated in his warmth and the taste of Bud Light on his mouth. It’s a conversation for you in the morning when you’re both nursing your hangovers over a cup of coffee. Your lips move along his hungrily, his hands gripping your face before sliding down your sides and squeezing your ass through your jeans. You tug your fingers through the long curls behind his ears, him pushing you against the nearest wall with a thud and a rattle of a picture frame.

Your lips move along his softly, the passion and fire laced in it enough to cause a wave of electricity through your veins and down to in between your thighs. He’s towering over you with his big personality and his wide shoulders and you feel like you need to get impossibly closer to him as you pull him in by the fabric of his t-shirt. His hands fall to the wall on either side of your head.

“God, I’m never gonna stop kissing you,” Tyson huffs out, causing a quick chuckle to run through your body. It’s quick because as soon as the words are out of Tyson’s mouth, his lips are already back on yours.

“You’re gonna have to stop kissing me if you want to fuck me,” you mutter out, a sly smirk on your lips as you watch Tyson’s eyes grow darker at the insuination. The hands that were bracketing you against the wall slide down to your jaw, his thumb running over your bottom lip again before pushing past your lips. You keep your eyes on his as you suck on the digit, your tongue swirling around it. His resolve slips away from you for a moment, before his other hand drags down your side until his fingers push under your top, the warm fingers ghosting over the skin of your ribs.

His breath is heavy against you, the growing bulge causing his jeans to tighten around him. You’re feeling bold then, as you feel him against your stomach with his thumb still in your mouth and his hand tight around your jaw. He’s frozen in front of you as he watches your eyes, that stupid smirk finally wiped off his face as your hands move under his shirt, your nails scraping against the tight muscles. You hold back both a comment about his abs and a moan at the feeling, all the hard work he’s put into his body clearly paying off as you push his shirt up his chest and over his head.

Your nails drag back down his chest and torso before looping in the waistband of the boxers peeking out from his jeans. His thumb falls from your mouth, the wet digit leaving a trail of your saliva on your chin as you work on pulling his jeans down. His head tips back with a low groan as his member springs free and you sink down to your knees, his hand finding purchase on the back of your head while the other is used to brace himself against the wall.

Tyson sucks in a breath as your hand reaches out to grip the base of his cock, tugging softly a few times as you lick the tip. His mouth waters at the sight of your lips wrapping around the head, your eyes looking right back up at him. You hum around him as you swallow him down, the vibrations causing a groan to escape from Tyson’s mouth. He feels euphoric, even if you haven’t had your mouth on him for more than 60 seconds. His hips involuntarily thrust forward at the wet feeling your mouth gives as you hollow your cheeks around him. 

Tyson continued to moan above you as you moved your mouth along him, both of your hands digging into the flesh of his thighs. Tyson’s hand is heavy on the back of your head, not using it to push you deeper onto him, but to ground him as he starts to see stars embarrassingly fast in his eyes.

He pulls you off him then, pulling you up to your feet to stand in front of him once again. There’s a dribble of saliva mixed with his pre-cum on your chin and he wipes it away with his thumb before pulling you in for another harsh kiss. He pushes the two of them to his bedroom, never breaking the kiss as he sheds your shirt and pushes you down onto his bed. You giggle again, the hunger in his eyes all too real as he crawls over your body until he’s hovering over you.

“You’re so fucking beautfiul,” he whispers into your ear, causing shivers to shoot down your body. He runs his hands along your bare sides up to your breasts as he kisses down your neck. His hands brush along your lace covered nipples, making you sharply inhale a breath and arch your back against him. He pulls the fabric down to expose your breasts, his lips still nipping at the skin on your collarbone. He looks down at you again, a sensual look in his eyes that you mirror. His lips attach to one of your nipples, the other being tended to by his fingers as twists and pulls the bud between his thumb and forefinger.

Your hands find purchase in the curls atop his head, pulling at the strands as he breathes a huff of cool air onto your npple before switching to the other one. He makes his way down your body painfully slow, a trail of kisses being left down your stomach until he reaches the waistband of your jeans. He tugs them off just as quickly as he stripped you from your shirt, his eyes locking on the sage green thong you’re wearing and the very obvious wet patch between your legs. He’s impatient from the brief blowjob you gave him and the fact that he’s been imaging this exact moment for far too long now. His fingers dip into the strap of your underwear, his eyes finding yours and asking if this is okay. You respond with a resounding yes as he pulls the underwear off of you.

His lips leave kisses along your thighs, throwing them over his shoulders as his mouth finally makes his way to your center. His beard is rough against the skin of your thighs, a sensation only causing you to whine as he breathes over your clit.

“Tyson,” you whine, causing him to smirk before pressing his tongue to your entrance. The cool, wetness of his tongue has you catching your breath and fisting the sheets underneath you. Tyson moaned against you at the taste as he licked over you a few more times. His lips wrap around your clit, this time causing a full, throaty moan to release from your mouth. One of your hands found its way to his head, holding him impossibly closer to you, the other finding his hand as he interlocks your fingers together.

His tongue dives into your opening, fucking into you as his other arm wraps around your thigh so he can rub his thumb at your clit. His tongue licked around you entrance, alternating between that and fucking into you. His thumb stayed on your clit, rubbing circles hoping to get you to that tipping point, the one you felt nearing with every pass of his tongue over you. Your back arched off the bed, your hips pushing further into Tyson’s face as you felt your high near. Tyson continued at the same pace, pushing you over the edge as you moaned out his name.

He continued to lick softly at you, his thumb slowing down on your clit as he lifted his head up to kiss at your collarbone. The kisses he leaves along your inner thighs gives you time to catch your breathing, your chest still heaving from your orgasm. It’s short lived as his thumb on your clit slides down to your entrance, spreading your wetness around before pushing a finger into you. 

His lips make their way back to your clit with the same smirk he had on his face a few minutes ago, wrapping his lips around the bud as he moves he added another finger. You clench down him at the feeling, moans and heavy breaths of air escaping your mouth as Tyson worked his fingers against your g-spot and his mouth worked over your clit. Your hand squeezes his, the pressure becoming too much so soon after your first orgasm. It doesn’t take long for you to groan out his name again as you clench down on his fingers, your second orgasm rushing through you.

He stays down there a moment longer, but you pull him up by his hair, just wanting his lips on yours and his body hovering over you. His beard is wet from both his spit and your juices, and it has you licking your lips and craning your neck upwards. You pull him in with both of your hands, licking into his mouth and tasting yourself on him.

The kiss is heavy, his hands running along your body trying to memorize every dip and curve, the heavy weight of his member on your hip. His curls tickled your forehead, the kiss turning soft as he splayed a hand on your cheek to pull you in tighter. The head of his dick brushed over your mound, a shiver running through you at the feelings, your hips bucking up towards his with a small whine.

You reach your hand down between your bodies to tug on him softly, a whine leaving Tyson’s lips, one that’s swallowed by your kisses. It’s unspoken between the two of you as pulls away from you, only to push your hand away from him and give himself a few tugs as he settles heavily between your thighs.

You share a look, one that’s gleeful and full of smiles as he licks his lips and slowly pushes into you. You moan and whimper at the feeling of him inside of you, your hands clawing at his shoulder blades to pull his body flush against your own.

“You good?” He asks, referring to if you’re ready for him to start moving.

“Yeah,” you whine, looking into his eyes smiling, “I’m good.”

There’s a pause as you answer, both of you understanding the double-meaning behind your answer. It’s more than just telling him you feel good physically, but that you feel more than that when he’s with you.

He leans in to kiss you again, starting a slow pace as he thrusts into you. He moaned out at how tight you were, how well you were taking him as he kissed you. He picked up his pace, thrusting into you harder and faster, with more purpose as he rested on his elbows above you, looking into your eyes. You always got lost in those eyes of his, as he hit your g-spot you tilted your head back, your eyes fluttering closed. They weren’t closed for long as Tyson grabbed your chin, forcing you to look at him once again.

“I wanna look at you,” he muttered as he leaned back down to kiss you. Your moans filled the room as the layer of sweat started to thicken on your bodies, his chest rubbing against yours. He lifted your thigh and pushed it against your chest, the new angle causing the knots to tighten in your stomach as you felt you high nearing. Your lips found their way to his neck and down to the dips of his collarbone. Biting down into the flesh as you moan out again, Tyson’s pace quickening as he feels you clenching around him.

“I’m so close,” you moan out, Tyson hitting you deeply. He could feel himself getting close too, his hips starting to stutter as he moved inside of you. Your breasts bouncing as he pounds into you, your eyes screwing shut as your orgasm starts to wash over you. Tyson swallows your moans as he kisses you through your third orgasm.

His breaths are heavy as his orgasm comes soon after yours, spilling into you as he slows his pace down and gently lowers his body weight onto yours. You two stay like that for a few moments, catching your breaths and basking in that post-sex afterglow. He removes himself once you’ve both settled, a whimper leaving your mouth at the newfound emptiness. He disappears to his bathroom, coming right back with a washcloth as he cleans you up. You thank him as he runs the cool, wet cloth over the insides of your thighs, pulling him back for another quick kiss before he disappears into the bathroom once more.

When he gets back, he lays down next to you, pulling your body snug against his. His chest is warm and still a little sticky from the sweat. Your fingers draw aimless patterns along his bare chest, his lips leaving a soft kiss on your forehead and you feel the upturn of his lips when he pulls away. You smile up at him then, leaning up and puckering your lips, asking for a kiss. He obliges with a soft hum and rubs your arm gently before you’re falling asleep against him, a few drops of drool falling onto his chest.

The morning rolls around too quickly for your liking, the curls on Tyson’s head ticking the back of your neck. Neither of you are in a rush to move as he smiles against the bare skin of your back, a few kisses being placed there as you hum and hold his arms tighter to your torso. He’s up from bed moments later, a sweet kiss lingering on your lips as you watch his naked form emerge from bed and pull on a pair of sweats. Your eyes watch over the ripples of muscles between his shoulder blades, down his back and over his ass before he’s running around his apartment in search of your thong.

He remerges with it draped over his finger, a smirk on his lips before he flings it at you, causing a giggle to erupt from your stomach. You pull them on, a large t-shirt being tossed your way to drape over your shoulders. You follow him out to his kitchen then, a small pit in your stomach at the realization of the conversation that needs to be had, the small bubble you’re in at its popping point.

You jump onto his island counter, the coolness of the granite sending shivers down your bare legs, his back to you as he starts the coffee pot. He’s just in a pair of sweats, bright red lines on display on his back. You squeeze your legs together as you cross them, the actions of your late night antics running vividly through your mind.

He presses the warm mug into your hands, his now free hand pushing open your legs to step between them. He’s so close then, probably the closest you’ve really been to him with a sober brain. The heat from his torso radiates towards you, warming not only your skin but your insides as well as you smile at him. He’s still got that wide, goofy smile plastered on his face, the one you’ve grown to love and to look forward to seeing.

Tyson’s hands move to rest on the counter on either side of you, the close proximity between your faces causes you to set your mug down and move your hands to his shoulders.

“What’s going through your mind, pretty girl?” The new pet name has you mentally squealing, your chest tightening as your cheeks heat up.

“Just how last night I was so adamant to talk about everything, but now I’m not so sure I want to break our little bubble,” you start, the huff of breath air coming out softly as you avoid his eye contact, even if he is a few inches away from your face.

It’s hard to concentrate on relaying your feelings to him and fully opening up to a man for the first time in a long time with him standing right there in front of you, in all his shirtless glory — the defined lines of his pecs and abs, the veins protruding from his arms, and the few purple bruises you’d left on the dips of his collarbones. It’s always been hard to think straight around him, you realize, with the way his presence gives you a comforting buzz and that warm, fuzzy feeling in your stomach.

Tyson’s quiet as he watches over you, he licks his lips in thought, a silent hum of agreement coming out. He’s in the exact same boat, the outcome of this conversation not one he’s too scared of, knowing that the way he feels is reciprocated, but rather what the next step is with the best friend you two share. He’s leaning closer into you, a small smile as he places another soft kiss on your lips. It’s one you get lost in, gentle and blissful as your lips move slowly against his. He pulls away first, something he wasn’t able to do last night, before finally being able to put his thoughts into words.

“I just want to make sure we’re on the same page with this. We’re taking a big risk doing this behind JT’s back and I want you to know, no matter what, the risk is worth it with you,” he starts, voice soft and still scratchy from the morning. “And I know you don’t date because you put yourself first and if that’s what you want to do then I’m okay with that, too.”

Your heart melts at the words, your hands cradling his face. Tyson’s always been better with words and feelings than you have over your short friendship with him. The metaphorical door is already wide open in front of you, it’s just a matter of taking that one more small step through it with Tyson, or shutting it and never turning back.

“I don’t date because most people don’t like having independent girls as their girlfriend’s. I put time into myself to be the best person I can be, not only for myself but for others and they don’t like that stuff,” you start to explain, your hands falling from his face to hold both of his hands. “I like you, a lot, Tys, and I want to be with you.”

He smiles wildly at that, the doubt draining from his eyes as he opens his mouth to respond.

You interrupt him though, with a huff of air as you continue speaking, “But JT’s my best friend and I don’t want to hurt him either.”

And Tyson fully understands where you’re coming from, because he’s been struggling with that for the past few months ever since he met you. He thinks back to that conversation on the plane all that time ago and how JT firmly told him to not try anything, but now as he really thinks about it, he’s not sure he meant it because of him and that it was more so because he cared for you and didn’t want to see you get hurt in general.

You can see in his eyes that same wide open door you’re thinking about, the one where you get to explore a relationship with the quirky, optimistic, competitive guy in front of you. The guy that matches your level of confidence as you, the guy that lets you be stubborn and lets you live out that stubbornness because he’s the most patient person you’ve ever met.

The decision’s easy as he stands in front of you, putting the ball in your court, your lip caught between your teeth. He’s waiting for you then, waiting for you to walk through that door or close it and walk out of his apartment. He’s hopeful, knowing that last night wasn’t a fluke and that all the kisses you’ve already shared are real and full of passion and those feelings you’ve been dancing around.

That’s when you give in, wrapping your legs around his torso and pulling him into you with that toothy smile of yours as you place your lips on his hungrily. It’s a kiss full of teeth as he smiles against you, his hands coming to cradle your face as you kiss. It’s much more addicting now that you’re sober and you fully agree with Tyson’s comment from last night about how he’s never going to want to stop kissing you.

You decide later that day that there’s no rush in telling JT, instead opting to see how things go between the two of you for a few weeks. Those two weeks are full of plenty of quality time, a coincidental home stand falling during that time meaning you get him to yourself before facing the reality that is how much he travels. You’re sure you can handle everything the new relationship can throw at you, the honeymoon phase lasting long as the two of you skirt around how you’ll tell JT whenever that time comes.

“I need to leave now if I want to leave for the rink and not see JT,” Tyson warns, prying away from your warm body in bed. You whined in response, wanting to have his warmth for just a little while longer. You let him escape from your grasp, only after asking for one too many kisses. You follow him out into your kitchen, watching him as he pulls on his shoes and finds his keys.

“You sure I can’t get you to stay for at least a cup of coffee?” You muse, giving it one more shot to spend time with him before your work week starts. You make your way to where he’s lingering in your entryway, looking extra cozy with his hood over his messy head of curls. You wrap your arms around his middle, slipping your hands under the cotton of his hoodie to feel his skin against yours. 

He leans down to place a soft kiss on your lips, giggling when you follow him as he pulls away, “I really need to get going.”

“Fine,” you hum. “I’ll see you when you get back from Dallas?”

Tyson nods his head with a hum in answer, finally pulling open your front door to get to his car downstairs in the garage without running into JT. But luck isn’t on his side this morning and he gives you one more goodbye hug and kiss in the doorway before shutting the door behind him and coming face to face with a certain redheaded teammate a few feet down.

JT’s eyebrows are knitted as he takes his key out of the lock. His mouth opens a few times in confusion before any words come out. “What was that?”

Tyson doesn’t think he’s ever been at such a loss for words as he is right now. He looks between the door he just shut and his friend a few times, trying to wrap his brain around what this scene looks like. It’s not even 8:30 in the morning on Sunday, and to anyone, this looks like the start of a walk of shame.

“Uh, y/n and I were hanging out and we fell asleep so she let me sleep in her guest room,” Tyson lies. He hopes it’s convincing, his voice didn’t waver but his hands flailed around a little more than normal when he talks and he scratched his beard, something he always does when he’s nervous.

“I’m pretty sure I just saw you kiss her,” JT explains, voice stern as he completely turns to look at Tyson. “And you don’t just kiss people goodbye.”

Tyson stumbles over an explanation for that, no logical reason coming to mind.

“You were just kissing y/n!” JT exclaims, a rise in his voice as he starts to fill in the blanks. Now he’s starting to connect the dots of your tendency to bail on him on the nights you’d normally hang out and Tyson’s lack of interest in guys’ night or after game celebrations with the team. The giggling he would hear through the wall late at night, the girly squeals, and the few times he remembered hearing the bedpost hit against your shared wall a little too hard for his liking. “You just fucking kissed my best friend after I told you to not get involved with her!”

Tyson moves to close the distance between him and his best friend, but JT takes one back, effectively cancelling it out. Tyson’s opening and closing his mouth, trying to figure out the best course of action for this premature conversation. The two of you had just figured everything out in the past few days, telling JT about your newfound relationship hadn’t even come up in conversation yet.

“How long has this been going on for?”

“Barely two weeks,” Tyson stutters out, watching as JT’s face fills with more anger. “Comph, just let me explain,” he tries again, but JT just shakes his head and heads for the doorway for the stairwell instead of the elevator. It’s a huge flight of stairs given that he lives on the 11th floor of the building. He wants to follow his friend, but knows that space is what he needs and instead presses the button for the elevator and gets in, leaving him alone in his thoughts.

When he meets up with him at the rink, JT’s still avoiding him which is hard considering their stalls are only separated by one other in the locker room. Cale hadn’t even made it to the rink yet, so someone wasn’t even there to put up a wall between the two. Gabe takes notice as he walks around the room after taping his ankles, his eyebrows knitting at the fact that Tyson, who’s normally cheery even this early in the morning and bugging JT, is putting on his pads and skates with his mouth shut. 

It’s something Gabe puts in the back of his mind, just thinking that Tyson had a rough night or morning. It’s during morning skate that Gabe, and almost everyone else, notices something is off between the pair. JT doesn’t chirp him like normal when they take face-offs against one another, he’s not by his side in between drills, and JT sticks his stick out a little too far during a one-on-one, sending Tyson to the ice during a drill that no one should be falling during. Bednar thinks nothing of it, just telling Tyson to stay on his two feet. 

Practice eventually ends but the silent treatment between the two continues. JT’s uncharacteristically quiet to everyone that talks to him, something clearly on his mind. Meanwhile Tyson’s nerves are causing him to not shut up as Cale shares a story about his rough commute this morning.

As Tyson and Cale quiet down, Gabe steps in, pointing between the two of them, “What’s up with you two today?”

“Nothing,” Tyson lies quickly, not wanting anyone else to get involved in this. Even if their captain is just trying to help, Tyson’s not sure there’s anything Gabe can say to help. 

JT scoffs, tying his shoes before standing up, “He’s fucking my best friend.” Cale, who was taking him leisurely time with getting dressed suddenly stands up and crosses the room to where Gravy was, avoiding any possible conflict.

Gabe’s eyes pop out of his head as Tyson responds, “we’re not fucking.”

“So the banging into my wall last night wasn’t you?” JT asks in an accusatory tone.

“Well, we’re not like,” Tyson starts, gesturing his hands in front of his body in a way to finish that sentence, soon realizing he doesn’t want to add fuel to fire by saying he was in fact fucking his best friend last night. “It’s not just that, we’re together.”

Gabe, who thought this was probably a misunderstanding of one of Tyson’s pranks or even just JT not winning a stupid bet, is just as shocked as JT was a few hours agao when he saw two of his best friends kissing. The captain isn’t entirely sure of how to navigate this situation, one that hasn’t really happened in any of his locker rooms. He doesn’t have much else to say to the two of them other than to figure it out and that a girl shouldn’t get between two friends that are as close as they are.

With that, Tyson’s trying to apologize to JT, tell him that there’s more to the story but JT wants nothing of it, and is throwing his jacket on and running out the door. Everything in Tyson’s being wants to follow him back to his place and beg for him to hear him out, but instead he’s racing back to your place, ignoring the fact that he still has to pack for their quick road trip.

Tyson all about sprints up the 11 flights of stairs to your door, knocking on your door with urgency until the door swings open. You move to the side as you let him in, clearly seeing how frantic he is with his flushed cheeks and the excessive knocking.

“JT saw me leave this morning,” Tyson lets out, a little out of breath from his run up the stairs. Tyson’s waiting for you to respond but you’re still not getting it. “He saw me kiss you goodbye and then didn’t talk to me all practice then when Landy confronted us he was just like ‘Tyson’s fucking my best friend’ and I tried to explain but-”

“Tys,” you interrupt his rambling, taking a step forward to reach out to him. Your hands grab his in an attempt to ground him, your thumbs rubbing back and forth on the back of his hands. “It’ll be okay.”

“He literally tripped me in practice today!”

“That’s because he can be a petty asshole. He doesn’t hate you, he probably just feels betrayed because he didn't know any of this was going on.” You try to console him, pushing all of your anxieties and paranoia aside to deal with the panicking boy in front of you.

“Let me talk to him, you need to go home and pack for your road trip since I know you haven’t yet.”

“But,”

“I’ll come over right after and update you, I promise.”

WIth that, Tyson kisses you goodbye as you push him to the elevator with a promise that everything is going to be okay before giving yourself a pep talk and bursting into JT’s apartment next to yours.

He spots you before you can greet him and you can see quite a few different feelings crossing over his face.

“Oh, God, are you here to also tell me that you’re not just fucking my best friend, too?” JT scoffs, causing your heart to plummet into your ass. “I really don’t want to listen to any excuses you may have about this.”

“Stop being an asshole for just one second and let me explain,” you reprimand him, already over the fact that your so-called best friend won’t even hear you out. “How is this any different from the countless times you tried to set me up with your friends? Is this not the same thing?”

It’s a genuine question that shuts up JT, because really, it’s not much different in your eyes. For over a year now, JT’s been showing you pictures of buddies he has from back home or from college or even friends of friends that he’d think would suit you. You had always turned him down because to you, dating wasn’t something you wanted other people to really interfere with, even if some of his friends were young, successful, bachelor types.

“Because it’s Tyson,” JT answers simply with a shrug of his shoulders. You look at him, hands clenching at your sides with the vague and uninterested tone. He’s barely even looking at you as he tidies up his kitchen, something he always did when trying to fill silence.

“What the fuck is that even supposed to mean?” You ask incredulously. “You’ve told me a million times he’s one of the best people you’ve ever met.” You bite your tongue from adding a comment about how he is one of the best people you’ve also met.

“The other guys weren’t professional athletes, it’s pretty simple from how I see it.”

“But you could set me up with your friends from Chicago and New York and Michigan but I find one of your friends here in Denver then it’s off limits? Because he plays a sport for a living? If that’s the case then I shouldn’t be friends with you either.” It’s a low blow, you know that, but it finally catches his attention as he drops the cloth he’s wiping the counter with. His eyes finally connect with yours and it’s then he finally notices how hurt you are by the lack of emotion in both his words and his body language. There are tears in your eyes as you look up at the ceiling to try and even your breathing.

“It's an honor for anyone to have a place in my life JT and that includes you,” you continue. “Tyson understands that. He understands that I'm my own person before anything else but he’s still there when I'm stubborn. I've been single for so long and I truly know what I want, what I deserve to feel and I get that with him.”

You often don’t get this deep with the red head, but his lack of wanting to understand you has you emotional as you think of all the benefits of being with Tyson. The few months of being his friend were a perfect build up to the past few weeks of it being more, of sharing a life with someone else. 

“You know him better than most people and if you can honestly tell me he’s no good for me right now then I’ll end it,” you suggest, your heart beating fast as you wait for an answer. JT has come to be one of your best friends in your life, even if he is just your neighbor, and at this moment it’s hard to think of putting a guy between you. Even if that guy is the first guy you’ve really felt this way towards.

“I’m not gonna tell you that,” JT admits with a heavy sigh. He makes his way across the room to you before continuing. “He’s my best friend, too, and if there’s anyone that knows everything about both of you, it’s me. I guess I just felt like you were hiding a secret from me and we don’t do that, ya know? I just wish you could’ve told me.”

You laugh snidely at that, “Do you not remember like two months ago when I told you I thought Tyson was cute and you shot that down before I was even done talking?”

The wheels turn and the light bulb goes off in JT’s brain as he remembers that conversation from a while back, “I won’t confirm nor deny that I said that.”

The both of you laugh lightheartedly at that, pulling him in for a much needed hug, both of you apologizing to the other. The weight on your shoulders is liften as he pulls away, thankful for the fact that you have such an understanding person for a best friend.

“You want to watch an episode of Psych? I think we can fit one in before I have to leave.”

You contemplate it, knowing that a few miles away Tyson is in his apartment panicking as he waits for some sort of update from you. You know you need to tell him how your conversation just went, but something inside you is telling you that JT needs you to spend time with him to normalize everything.

“Sure,” you smile, walking over to his couch and laying on it long ways, forcing JT to sit by himself in his chair. You pull out your phone to text Tyson, smiling as you type out an explanation.

y/n: just finished talking to jt y/n: everything’s good but i think i need to just hang out with him to make him feel better about everything tyson: you sure? y/n: yes, ill call you when he leaves for the airport💚

Everything gets sorted out when you call Tyson an hour later, calming his nerves as you give him a detailed play-by-play of everything that was said between you and JT. The comfortable silence before you hang up is almost filled with him telling you he loves you, but he knows he needs to talk to JT first and needs to tell you in person, and not over the phone as he boards a flight.

The flight was filled with awkward air as most of the guys saw what happened with Tyson and JT in the locker room when practice ended that morning, and even if they weren’t there for that, they felt the tension between them. It’s not until a few hours later when Tyson’s doing his hair before the game when he hears a knock on his hotel door.

He swings the door open to see JT, his hands shoved in his short pockets as he stares right back at Tyson.

“Can we talk?”

“Uh, yeah,” he responds nervously, stepping out of the way to let his friend through the door. The two of them awkwardly stand a few feet away, that meme about two straight guys sitting six feet away in a hot tub because they’re not gay going through Tyson’s brain.

“I, uh, wanted to apologize about everything earlier. I’ll admit, I overreacted a bit and I shouldn’t have tripped you in practice. It was just a lot to take in, especially because I didn’t really know that you two were that close. And I feel like a bad friend now for not knowing that.”

JT’s apology is way more than what Tyson thought he would get from his friend. He knew yours and his conversation went well, but that didn’t mean he still wasn’t scared JT was going to punch him or yell at him or literally anything that wasn’t an amicable conversation between two adults.

“It’s fine, man. It’s on us for keeping you in the dark on this one and I’m sorry for that. I think we barely knew what was going on until it was all happening,” Tyson starts to explain. He’s trying not to look at his feet, knowing that JT needs to see the feelings in his face, those feelings that are very much real to him.

“And it’s real for you? It’s not a game? Because I swear to God, Tyson.” JT darts, voice stern.

“God, no, this isn’t a game to me JT,” Tyson answers quickly, head shaking in disgust at the thought. “I’m not just trying to bag her and call it some accomplishment or whatever you think this is. If that was the case I wouldn’t even be having this conversation with you and you’d already hate me,” he shudders at those words, unable to ever think he could do any wrong to you. “You told me a while ago that it’s no bullshit with her and I know that because it isn’t for me either.”

JT takes a seat on the bed in the room as his friend speaks, taking it all in. It’s a lot for him to take in, but Tyson really is one of the best people he’s ever met and he has little to no doubt that he’s telling the truth about how he feels. If the tears brimming your eyes earlier in the day said anything, you feel the exact same way. The room is silent once Tyson is done talking, his nerves causing him to be quiet for once as JT figures out his next move.

“I hear one bad bad thing from y/n, then it’s over,” JT warns, Tyson nodding his head along in agreement. “And if the guys start talking about your sex life I will be cutting your dick off.”

“Got it.”

“Okay, now that that’s out of the way, how’d you get her to go for you? I’ve been trying to get her a guy for forever.”

“Easy, have you seen my charming smile?” Tyson jokes with that crooked smirk of his, happy to see that JT is already moving on from that heavy stuff and onto best friend stuff. JT rolls his eyes heavily at the joke, a light ‘shut up’ coming out as he laughs.

Tyson explains everything then, the same wide smile on his face he had when he scored his first hat trick. He tells JT about how he wined and dined you on more than one occasion, how he learned those little, obscure things about you that you caught you off guard whenever he remembered them, and most importantly, just spent uninterrupted time with you, getting to know the ins and outs of your life. To Tyson, getting you to open up to him was difficult yet still a tranquil thing to do. The latter severely outweighed the former, as the sense of serenity he felt with you would always overpower any of those harder moments.

The team returns to Denver two days later, a quick road trip to Dallas and St Louis in the books with the regular season ending within the week. You can see that it’s that time of the year on both JT and Tyson’s face, their eyes a little more sunken in with the back half push, even if they’ve already clinched the playoffs. There’s only a few more games left to round out March and the beginning of April, the guys’ still waiting on their round one opponent.

Tyson heads straight for your place when the plane touches down late Wednesday night. You’d talked to him every day for the past few days, but not being able to see him much after JT finding out caused a lot of anxiety for the both of you. The problem may be solved with that, but seeing the other would just give you that little extra push that this was the right thing to do.

Tyson enters your apartment quietly, dropping his backpack and suit jacket down onto the nearby couch as he navigates his way through your apartment in the dark. The light of your string lights in your bedroom illuminates the hallway, soft sounds coming from your phone as Tyson walks in on you laying on your side.

“Hey,” he gently greets with a smile, pausing in the doorway to admire you. You set your phone down, turning around to face the man leaning against the door frame.

You smile just as wide as he does, responding with just as gentle of a ‘hey’. That anxiety you felt over the course of the last few days instantly dissolving at the sight of the man in your doorway.

“Why’re you standing all the way over there?” You ask with a pout.

“I can’t just look at you?” Tyson laughs, making his way over to you slowly. He joins you in bed, crawling over you like he’s still not dressed in one of his expensive custom suits.

“Not when I haven’t seen you in a few days,” you complain with a giggle, the same pout still glued to your face. He places a quick kiss on your lips in response, giving into your silent ask while also erasing that puppy dog look from your face. You’d only officially been with Tyson a few weeks now, the butterflies still heavily present in your stomach everytime your lips meet his.

“Do you not have clothes to change into?” You ask, referring to the crisp white button down he’s still wearing. He nods his head no against yours,

“Only what’s dirty from the roadie. Besides, I plan on being naked here pretty soon,” he smirks playfully. The comment has you shoving him off you with a roll of your eyes, only causing him to laugh loudly at your reaction. You know he’s partly kidding, using that as an excuse to get up from bed to go to the bathroom.

When you emerge from the bathroom, he’s finally shed his clothes and is under your covers. He opens his arms for you to snuggle into him. You do, resting your head on his bicep as he wraps both of his arms back around you.

“I missed you,” you let out. “Because I didn’t know what was gonna happen when you got back with everything going on with JT.”

“I missed you, too, but I’ve always missed you when we left for road trips,” he responds, letting you in on a little secret that clues you in once again to how real this is and how long it’s truly been going on for. “He’s fine with everything, he just told me we can’t act too much like a couple around him.”

You chuckle at that because of course that was the part JT focused on when they talked. As you look up at him, your heart is full and your head still has that same fuzzy feeling it always has when you’re around him. With him you’ve never really felt lonely, something you often felt even when you were around people before him. Those love songs you once heard on the radio that annoyed you no longer do, and instead you welcome them when they play spontaneously in the car or at the bar and parties or even at Avalanche games. 

The thoughts swimming around in your head have you swinging your leg over him, straddling his hips with his hands on your waist and yours on his ribs. That doe-eyed smile he has is focused on you, a grin spreading over your face at the way everything’s worked out with him. Your heart flutters as he gently squeezes your side, a small squeak coming out. He leans up on his elbows then, admiring the view he has of you. He slowly yet full-heartedly fell for you over the time he’s known you and you can see it in the way his gaze turns soft and as the quirkiness drops from his expression.

You’ve slowly fallen in love with the man underneath you, too, and you lean down to kiss him one more time. It’s slow like they always seem to be with him in scenarios like this, where it’s just the two of you and the sounds of your breathing.

The playoffs fly by quickly with the pace they’re winning at, a WAG jacket wrapped tightly around your shoulders to every game you make it to. A new one is shoved into your hands at the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs, Mel telling you it’s a special occasion that calls for a new jacket, even if it is just for a series and even though you’ve just barely broken in your first one.

You go into that offseason with your newly crowned Stanley Cup Champion of a boyfriend, flying out to Chicago over the summer for JT’s day with the cup and spending a whole week in St. Albert when its Tyson’s turn with it.

And that picture frame you never found a picture for that’s hanging up on your wall by your TV? It’s been occupied now with a photo of you sandwiched between JT and Tyson on the ice after Game 6 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Cup on the ice in front of the three of you, faces full of glee with confetti falling around you.

Plus One

The pitter patter of small feet running along the hardwood floors of the hallway, followed by a squeal of ‘daddy’ has you setting your glass down and following after her. Your daughter’s giggle is heard through the house, the familiar sound of your husband dropping his bags by the front door following soon after.

“What’re you still doing up, baby girl?” Tyson chastises the four year old as you round the corner to find the two of them still by the door, your daughter in Tyson’s arms as he gives her a kiss.

“Sage said she wouldn’t go to bed until daddy came home for story time,” you answer for Sage. She only giggles in response.

“How about you go get in bed and mommy and daddy will come tell you a story in a minute?” Tyson asks, playing with her little fingers.

“Okay daddy!” She agrees instantly, running all the way up the stairs and down the hall to her bedroom. The brown curls she got from Tyson bounce as she runs, your heart warming at the heavy resemblance she has to her father.

“How are you doing, baby?” Tyson hums as you give him the usual welcome home kiss, his hand coming to rest on your protruding stomach.

“Good, the back pain is much more manageable now, but I’m still going to the bathroom every hour it seems like,” you shrug as you answer. He’d been on the longest road trip of the season so far, one that means the season is almost over. You’d tried extremely hard this time around to get pregnant at the right time so your next child would arrive during the offseason and not in the middle of the conference finals like your first did a few years ago.

“Soon enough we’ll have her running and occupying all of Sage’s free time,” Tyson muses, the two of you making your way to your bedroom so he could change into comfier clothes. You smile at the thought of Sage finally having a little sister to play with and hopefully become best friends with.

When you don’t get to Sage’s room fast enough, she’s racing into yours and Tyson’s room and plopping down onto your spacious bed. You join her, Tyson following, knowing that she’d much rather be sandwiched between the two of you than in her tiny bed in her own room. She leans into her dad’s side, something she’s always done, but you don’t mind — you love seeing them get so close.

“Did you bring a book, sweetie?” You ask her, taming some of her curls.

“No, tell me the story of how you met daddy again,” she proposes, causing you and Tyson to share a look. It’s her favorite story, one she asks you to relay to her at least once a week, and the one she asks for the most when Tyson’s been gone.

The two of you tell the story to her anyway, taking turns as you tell her how upset Uncle JT was about the two of you dating, all the way to the jokes he made sure to make when he gave a speech at your wedding six years ago now.

#tyson jost imagine #alex writes #nhl imagine #hockey writing #when i post this i’ll be at work lmao i’m really posting it then dipping

[baconsoupforthesoul]

The Ink Demonth - Day 21 - Money

No Refunds, No Returns!~

A/N: This is a fic idea I have had bouncing around in my head for a long time. And luckily, the theme for the day lets me combine the prompt with celebrating the 2nd anniversary of the amazing Bioshock au! If you haven't had a chance to check out this incredible au, do yourself a favor and go see all the great fanart and fics for it, it’s well worth your time. And as always, in this au Henry belongs to @inkspottie, and Delta belongs to @trashboatprince, and Ross belongs to @doberart. And the song referenced in here is the Circus of Value Song by JT Music which you can find here. Oh, and a big thanks to Mod Dead for helping me get the humor just right for this fic. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy~

“Can’t you hack it any faster, Henry?”

The sweater-clad man shot an annoyed look up at Delta before turning back to the vending machine in front of him.

“I’m going as fast as I can, Delta,” Henry grumbled as he fiddled with the Circus of Values vendor. “This hacking business is harder than it looks, okay?”

“Alright, alright,” the big daddy held up his hands in surrender as he leaned back against the wall.

“Take your time, Henry,” Ross said gently as he sat down next to the machine with a grunt, adjusting his bad leg. “I don’t hear any splicers around so we should be safe for now.”

The older man had a point, as Henry couldn’t hear the normally never-ending chatter of the spliced up Rapture citizens. However, he could hear the growling of his stomach, and his friends’ as well. While they were actually surprisingly well-stocked on ammo, they hadn’t been able to find a vending machine that sold food for ages, and after fighting through hoards of splicers, all three of them were practically starving.

If only they weren't so low on cash, they’d be able to get some snacks from the machine no problem.

“Come back when ya get some money, buddy!” The machine chortled at Henry mockingly.

“Oh shut it,” Henry growled, whacking the machine in the side, causing Delta to chuckle.

As Henry fiddled with it some more, Ross turned to look over at him. “What kind of food does the vending machine have anyway?” He asked, his hand involuntarily going over his empty stomach.

“Hmmm,” Henry glanced at the menu. “Looks like chips, creme-filled cake, and pep bars.”

Ross made a face at that. “Damn, was kinda hoping for some real food. Getting sick of all this junk food.”

“I don’t think it’s so bad,” Delta argued. “I could do with a pep bar right about now.”

“Says you,” Henry huffed. “You’ve just never had anything different.”

“When we make it to the surface, we’ll get you some real food, Delta,” Ross said. “Trust me, anything that Linda makes is better than anything you could find down here.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Delta shot Ross a grin and a thumbs up.

“I wanna try the surface food too! Can I? Can I?” Bendy chirped from Delta’s shoulder.

“Of course you can bud,” Delta reached his hand back and rubbed the little devil between his horns. “All the food you can eat!”

“Woo hoo!” Bendy cheered, hugging his daddy around the neck.

Henry smiled at the two of them before turning back to his work. Hopefully, they could enjoy a nice big meal together up on the surface after this whole nightmare was over. Hopefully, they all survived to see the sun again. It had felt hopeless when he had been stuck down here on his own… but now that he’d found allies… it started to seem just a little more possible.

The sweater-clad man narrowed his eyes at the vending machine. He was so close now. He just had to move this bit here…

Henry’s head suddenly shot up when the lights from the vending machine brightened up, shielding his eyes for a second. Then, the ever-annoying laugh from the vending machine started playing, only it was much louder than before. All three of them covered their ears, Bendy even wincing at the loud noise as a deafening jingle started to play.

“Welcome to the Circus of Values

You’ll find no better vending service around you

We’ve got everything that you’ll ever need

Don’t be shy! Come on by! You’ve got a craving to feed~”

“AHHHH!” Henry fell backward onto his backside, hands conversing the sides of his head as the sheer volume made his ears ring.

“WHAT THE HELL?!” Delta jumped back from the machine. “What in the world did ya do, Henry?!”

“I-I-I don’t know,” he cried, seeing Ross scramble to his feet, almost losing his balance and needing the wall to steady himself. “This has never happened before!”

“You can never be too prepared

We’ve got plenty of supplies to spare~”

“Ohhhh! Music!” Bendy beamed, jumping down off Delta’s shoulder, looking over at the machine with stars in his eyes.

“Shut that damn thing off, Henry!” Delta tried to yell over the song. “Everyone in this whole city is gonna hear that thing! We’re gonna be drowning in splicers!”

“Oh shit!” Henry rushed back to the machine, trying his best to endure the loud music as he fiddled with it some more. “Oh shit, oh shit, ohshitohshit,OHSHIT!”

“Without your wallet it’s gonna cost ya

But if you’ve got the capital

We got the product!~”

“I think we’re too late for that,” Ross paled as he looked up to see a splicer screeching at them from a nearby balcony.

Henry gulped, as even with the blaring music, he could hear the sounds of voices all around them.

“What?”

"I don't like the sound of that!"

"H-hello? Is there someone in the hall?"

“You don't come to my town, kid!"

"A rat! It's a rat!"

Henry spared a single glance behind him, seeing the oncoming hoard approaching. They were in deep shit.

“Damn!” Ross readied his pistol. “They’re coming guys, get ready!”

“This ain’t no charity

Come back when you get some money, buddy~”

The splicers descended upon them. Delta rushed forward, slamming one into the wall with his drill while Ross sent out crows to slow them down.

“Where the hell did they all come from?!” Delta yelled, knocking down splicers left and right. “There was nobody around before, so what gives?!?”

“You think I know that?” Ross retorted, shooting a splicer down before they got too close to Henry.

“Grab snacks and drinks and first aid

For when you get bloody, uh oh!~”

“Dammit! That stupid song is mocking us!” Delta complained, feeling his stomach rumble at the mention of food. “Hey Henry! What’s taking you so damn-”

The big daddy stopped as he turned around to see his little devil just dancing along to the song. Bendy had the biggest grin on his feet as he tapped his feet to the beat, completely lost in the music.

“Bendy,” Delta called out to the little devil, his voice a little strained. “You’re real adorable, but now really isn’t the time, okay buddy?” 

Bendy just looked up at his dad in confusion

“Huh? Why’s that?” He tilted his head up at him.

Just as Bendy asked the question, a splicer came jumping down from a balcony, screaming bloody murder as it charged at Delta. Bendy yelped as he scrambled up Delta’s back, the big daddy sending a blast of Old Man Winter to freeze the splicer in place. He then rushed forward and smashed them to bits.

“That’s why,” Delta pointed out, reaching up to rub Bendy’s head. “Just stick close to me, alright bud?”

“Ain’t life in Rapture grand?

Come on and give us a hand

We’ll build a paradise~”

“There’s no end to them!” Ross cried, sending splicers hurtling into the air with Newton’s Law.

“We just wanted some fucking food,” Henry grumbled under his breath as he worked. “We didn’t ask for this. Didn’t ask to be at the bottom of the goddamn ocean dealing with psychopaths. Didn’t ask for all this BULLSHIT! WHY WON’T YOU SHUT UP YOU DAMN MACHINE?!”

“Henry!” Ross kicked a splicer in the chest before turning to face Henry. “You have to calm down! You’re not thinking straight right now. Now isn’t the time to panic!”

“Calm down, yeah, I’ll get right to that shall I?” Henry grumbled under his breath. “I’m sorry Ross, but now seems like the PERFECT TIME TO PANIC!”

“Don’t tamper with the hardware

Unless you’re a parasite~”

“COME ON!” Delta roared, smashing splicer after splicer in the face with his drill. “I DON’T,” he whacked another one. “HAVE,” Whack! “ANY TIME,” Whack! “FOR THIS!” Whack! “HENRY SHUT THAT DAMN THING OFF ALREADY!”

“I AM T R Y I N G!” Henry screamed back, hitting the machine desperately. “This should go here, and that there, and WHY ISN’T THIS WORKING???” he cried, feeling tears of panic prick at his eyes.

“You’re not a man if you’re demanding handouts

Come back when you get some money, buddy~”

“Any time now, Henry!” Ross yelled, elbowing a splicer in the face, shooting another point blank with his pistol. 

“I know! I knowwwww,” Henry whined, shocking the machine with his shock jockey again and again in the vain hope that it would help. The shocks did nothing though, other than somehow make the music louder. Henry could hardly hear himself think over the noise.

“Our prices are the best

We drive the competition nutty~”

“SHUT UP” Henry screamed at the machine, whacking it as hard as he could. "WHY CAN'T YOU SHUT UPPPPPP PLEASEEEE,” Henry cried desperately, tears streaming down his face. “I’M BEGGING YOU, CIRCUS OF VALUES CLOWN, JUST SHUT UPPPPPPP!"

The sweater-clad man let out a scream of frustration as he stood up and began repeatedly kicking the machine. “SHUT UP! SHUTUP! SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!” He screamed, kicking the machine again with each word.

“Welcome to the Circus of Values

You’ll find no better vending service around you

We’ve got everything that you’ll ever need

Don’t be shy! Come on by! You’ve got a craving to feed~”

“THAT’S IT!” Delta yelled, storming towards the machine. “I’VE HAD IT UP TO HERE WITH THIS DAMN THING!”

The big daddy pushed Henry aside, grabbed the machine by both sides and lifted the whole thing up.

“Go home if you can’t afford to buy it~”

“TAKE THIS YOU STUPID VENDING MACHINE!” He hollered, throwing the thing with all his might and managing to take out the last few splicers with it. The thing burst, raining bullets, snacks and drinks all over the place. Henry even felt a pep bar hit him on the head before tumbling to the ground.

The song stopped, the sound from the machine sputtering. The last noise it made was a feeble “No refunds, no returnssssssss-,” before it went silent. The three of them just stood there for a moment, catching their breath. A second later though, alarms started blaring, the security system alerted that the vending machine had been vandalized.

“Why did you do that, Delta?!” Henry cried, pointing an accusing finger at Delta. “Now we’re going to be swarmed by security bots!”

“If I had to listen to any more of that annoying song, I was gonna lose my mind!” Delta shot back. “There’s no time to argue, grab the food and run!”

The big daddy rushed forward, grabbing as many bags of chips and creme-filled cakes as his arms could carry. Henry and Ross quickly rushed forward too, Ross making sure to grab a coffee thermos as Henry snagged some pep bars.

“Here they come!” Ross yelled as the whirling sound of security bots got closer.

“Run for it!” Delta tried to scream through a mouthful of chips he had cramped in his mouth.

“Shit!” Henry yelped around a pep bar he had hanging out of his mouth, trying his best to run with his arms full of food.

“Save some food for me, Daddy!” Bendy whined as they all booked it out of there, security bots right on their heels. They were certainly having a grand old time in Rapture.

#the ink demonth #ink demonth #bendy and the ink machine #batim #bioshock au #henry stein #bendy #bendy batim #inkspottie #trashboatprince #doberart #spacy writes

[rueren]

haikyuu boys and coffee

purely self indulgent. i have zero reason or evidence for anything 😭😭😭(didn’t do all the characters but i did as many as i could remember)

dont give them caffeine for the love of god don't do it:

HINATA ... self explanatory tbh.  throw him a mini snickers n hes set for another 6 hours

BOKUTO... another self explanatory one.  if he’s getting tired give him like 3 skittles and hell be fine

Terushima ... just don't im begging u please don't give him coffee.  he hallucinates

NOYA  ... he will bounce off of the walls dont do this to yourself him

tanaka ... honestly i think hes fine on his own but if hes with noya, they'll do something stupid like see who can handle more espresso shots before getting heart palpitations 

kogenagawa ... this baby doesnt even like coffee dont let him have any im bEGGING  he’ll hurl

LEV ... oh my god no please he’ll drink straight espresso thinking it’s regular n be like this is light work yall r babies then down like fOUR CUPS then think hes having a heartattack my heart 😭😭

atsumu  ... thinks he can handle alot of coffee, but is def another one who will start to hallucinate

futakuchi  ... i have no explanation for this sorry guys

yamaguchi  ... its too bitter for him.  doesn't even like it.   eventually likes it when he’s older but w lots of sugar

goshiki ... very self explanatory. it’s too bitter. he tried once, bless him, bc he saw tendou constantly drinking jt but he just can’t bring himself to like it

they need an IV drip of coffee in each arm and one in their leg please they are tIRED: 

AKAASHI ... self explanatory

SUGA ... he’s tired let him take a nap im BEGGING. those kids are his life force but they also suck his life force. he loves them to death

asahi ... i feel like i’m highschool he doesn’t really need it but time skip asahi chugs like 3 cups a night during fashion week

oikawa, ... self explanatory again

kenma ... he probably shouldn’t take it as much as he does because 1) he only drinks the insanely sweet ice coffees and 2) he uses it as a substitue for sleep but kuroo is convinced that kenma will one day bite his fingers off if he doesn't let him have coffee so he begrudgingly allows it

ennoshita ... he is also tired 

tsukkishima ... doesn't wanna deal with anyone's shit

suna ... also doesn't wanna deal with anyone's shit. 

osamu ... doesn't wanna deal with atsumu’s shit in particular 

matsuwaka ... have you seen his eye bags? please daddy baby get some sleep 

TENDOU ... this man inhales that shit bro you cant convince me otherwise

hanikami  .. yeah it just fits tbh.  he hears oikawa speak once and just downs a full cup

semi ... he’s tired of everyone’s ..,,,, everything ?? he needs a nap ok he also gets vv grouchy when he’s jetlagged dont @ me. post time skip he downs a cup or two before he gets off a plane so if there’s any fans on route that stop by he isn’t rude n grouchy to them 🥺🥺

somehow doesn't ever need coffee, they're always awake enough to function (if only barely):

daichi... he had to get used to it, dealing with all of their shit for so long.  

kageyama... somehow drinks milk and is then completely fine?  nobody knows how.  milk literally makes you tired i- downed a pack of strawberry milkshake at a training camp and was physically buzzing from all the fructose

kuroo ... pre time skip this man has never drank a single sip of coffee once in his entire life i guarantee you.  but post time skip??? cEO KUROO???? ........ yeah he still barely drinks it, but hes always got a large ass Starbucks cup on him so everyone fears him, thinking he’ll be cranky without it it was a present from kenma awh .  its actually filled with water or tea of protein shake or something im crying.  like can you just imagine everyone in the office scurrying to get the big ass rooster head-ass boss his cup of morning coffee bc they've seen him with this enormous ass titan of a travel mug everyday and he takes it every morning graciously, only to give it to kenma when/if he drops by through the day.  pls im sCREAMING

shirabu ...  thinks its gross dont ask me why.  i have it drilled in my head that tendou got everyone to drink it but they pretended because they didnt wanna hurt his feelings, and nobody actually liked him.   

ushijima  ... the most self explanatory thing ive ever seen in my life oh my god. he read online once that it has addictive qualities and immediately went d r u g s ? ! ? ! ? ! ? tries his best to stop tendou from his “addiction”. “it’s like heroine, satori. you know, like cocaine. irl make you sick” pls my heart can’t take it

aran  ... i also legit dont have a reason for this just lOOK at him

kita  ... he doesnt need it dude hes fine. dont ask how, he gets a good nights sleep.  literally never needs to pull all-nighters. cute baby awh i love him sm 

aone... i physically mentally? can not  see this man drinking coffee it doesnt work

IWAIZUMI ... honestly i dont know how he does it.  he is a tired man how does he nOT DRINK IT.

#💕.k chan.hc #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu #this was completely self indulgent #inspired by the coffe on my desk i have yet to drink e #my fav hobby is making coffee #and forgetting i made it #then i go oh right my coffe #and i take a sip and its cOLD #my microwave and my coffee mug have a love hate relationship sorry guys #n e ways enjoy this while i try and work on my tendou smau

[twins2994]

AL Rallies In 10th To Beat NL!

American League 8 National League 6 W-Diaz L-Stripling SV-Happ

The All-Star Game rolled into Washington D.C. tonight and it showed how the game has progressed into 2018. The game featured lots of home runs and lots of strikeouts as pitching and power reigned supreme at Nationals Park. It all got started in the second inning as Aaron Judge belted a Max Scherzer fastball out to left for a solo blast. This put the AL up 1-0 after two innings. In the third, Mike Trout drilled a Jacob DeGrom slider out to left-center for a solo homer. The American League extended their lead to two, but the National League would answer. Willson Contreras took Blake Snell deep and the NL was within a run after three frames. Pitching would dominated until the seventh inning as the National League would rally from behind. Trevor Story smoked a Charlie Morton fastball out to left for a solo shot and the game was tied at two after seven innings of play. The AL would answer in the eighth as Shin-Soo Choo singled and George Springer lined a single to left. Jean Segura then smacked a Josh Hader fastball out to left for a three-run shot and it looked like the American League had it won at 5-2. The National League chipped away with a Christian Yelich solo shot in the eighth. Edwin Diaz came on for the save in the ninth and things got interesting. JT Realmuto walked with one out and Scooter Gennett walked up to the plate. He drilled a Diaz fastball out to right for a two-run homer. This tied the game at five and we headed to extra innings. Two Houston Astros would respond in a big way. Alex Bregman and George Springer each took Ross Stripling deep to start the tenth and the AL was up 7-5. Jean Segura and Mitch Moreland singled to keep the inning going. Michael Brantley hit a sac fly to score a run and the American League had a three-run lead. JA Happ came on and Joey Votto took him deep. This pulled the NL within two runs. Happ then retired the next three batters and the American League won the All-Star Game again.

-Final Thoughts- Jose Berrios had a solid inning in relief. He threw a clean fifth with a walk and faced fellow countrymen Javier Baez and Yadier Molina. If you like the new way of baseball then you would have like the game tonight. There were 25 strikeouts and ten home runs in tonight’s game. The home runs were an All-Star Game record. It looked like this was going to be a low-scoring game until the last few innings. Each team traded punches and homers late in the night. I thought Jean Segura’s home run would have ended the game. The National League answered back and tied things up. I’m happy it ended in ten innings because I didn’t want to this game to end in a tie. Next year, the All-Star Game will be in Cleveland. The second half of the season starts on Friday for most clubs and enjoy the next two days off folks. I know I will enjoy it!

-Chris Kreibich-

#MLB #ASG

[aknazer]

Plagg’s Day Out 6: A Tale of 12 Souls

Also on Ao3

Day 5 << Day 6 >> Day 7

The akuma had eight hands.

Eight.

“What the fresh hell is this?” Queen Bee screamed. “Seriously! What is this?”

“A spider?” Ladybug looked distinctly uncomfortable. “A lady spider riding a tiger. Holding...things? I’m confused.”

The akuma was indeed holding things. And was also riding a tiger. And her powers were seemingly completely random.

“I am Karma!” The woman screamed. “And I will show you divinity!”

“If that is seriously a lady spider riding a tiger, I’m just gonna go ahead and nope on outta here.” Rena Rouge muttered from next to Chat.

“Karma?” Chat frowned. Eight hands...riding a tiger… He felt like he should know this, but he was completely distracted by the effects of this akuma. Some people fell to their knees, or prostrated themselves, and started fervently praying. some dropped and started meditating. Some people simply acted happy. Others started babbling. The rest just dropped. In fact, the tiger seemed to be the only normal thing - it’s claws were tearing things to shreds as the akuma rampaged.

“This is not ‘karma’,” Chat muttered, “this is chaos.”

Nodding, Rena lifted her flute. A few notes produced copied of the group, including the missing Jade Turtle. The copies leapt into the fray, distracting the akuma while trying not to get hit.

“Bee, Chat, start relocating casualties.” Ladybug ordered. “Especially the wanderers - they’re completely oblivious to the danger. Rena, keep up the diversions - see if you can lure her away from Chat and Bee. Help me look for the item, it has to be-”

Chat didn’t stick around to listen to more: he knew the drill. Grounding his baton, he dropped in, grabbing a man who was wandering too close to the tiger’s slashing claws.

“Hello friend!” The man beamed as Chat landed next to him. “What a lovely day! Are you well? I hope you’re doing well!”

“I’m great. Could you do me a favor and head that way?” Chat smiled at him as he pointed away from the akuma’s current path. “And maybe take a few others with you?”

“I would love to help you.” The man beamed. “And make some new friends! Oh yes, friends are wonderful.”

As the man turned to leave, Chat reached down, hauling up one of the people and leapt away.

“Hey!” The lady squawked indignantly. “You interrupted me!”

“Do you really think this is the time for that?” Chat asked her.

“Nothing should interrupt your daily devotions.” The woman frowned at him severely. “How dare you ignore the tenants of the faith?”

Chat set her down in a side alley. “Well then, continue here, where it’s safer.”

The woman fell to her knees, hands clasped in front of her.

Rinse, repeat. People praying had to be forcibly moved, cheerful ones were happy enough to leave on their own (though they could get distracted when they met new “friends” and got to chatting). The unconscious ones Chat simply moved to a safer location, and arranged them as comfortably as he quickly could.

“My Lady!” Chat called, landing at her flank as her yo-yo spun. Ladybug didn’t even spare him a glance, though her lips quirked at the sound of his voice. “Have you found the item?”

“We think so.” Ladybug said. “Necklace.”

Chat studied the akuma, who was wearing a myriad of jewelry. “I see it: thin chain, gold, small pendant?”

“Yes.” Ladybug moved, stepping in front of him to block an arrow that came shooting towards them. “Rena’s got distractions running, but she seems to have caught onto us and mostly ignores them.”

“Where is Rena?” Chat frowned. Rena was relatively new - only a few months in, and had a tendency to try to jump into the middle of the fray, despite only having a flute as a weapon.

“She went high.” Ladybug said. “She’s calling out casualties to Bee while we wait for JT to show up.”

“His shield would be rather useful.” Chat said ruefully, baton snapping out to knock aside another arrow. “Do we know what her powers are?”

“Not really.” Ladybug shook her head. “The general idea is ‘don’t let her touch you.’”

“Sound advice.” Chat laughed. “So, good old Plan T, then?”

“Plan T it is.” Ladybug grinned at him fiercely, automatically switching her yo-yo to the other side as he stepped up next to her. Returning her grin, he leapt forward.

And this was where he belonged. Beside his Lady was where Chat felt the most peace, no matter the situation. It may have been because it had only been the two of them for so long, but Chat never worked as seamlessly with the other heroes as he did Ladybug.

It had actually been quite the learning curve for both of them, back when Queen Bee had joined the team. He’d thought the lack of dynamic was because Bee was naturally bossy and assertive, almost short-tempered in a lot of cases. They just hadn’t clicked: the teamwork took honest effort and there had been a lot more talking (and arguing) than there had ever been between him and Ladybug. Chat had thought it just a matter of different personalities, but even after Bee had integrated into their team and they’d reestablished their equilibrium, working with her was never as smooth as working with Ladybug.

Then Jade Turtle had appeared. Jade was an easy-going man, and after having been forced to referee more than a few catfights between Ladybug and Queen Bee (watching two beautiful women wearing spandex claw and hiss at each other - sometimes literally - was not as sexy as the internet had led him to believe) Chat had been grateful for JT’s laid-back demeanor. Jade had been easy to get along with from the start: he listened, took orders, was slow to anger and quick to defend. His shield was a massive boon, and he had a terrific sense of humor. But even though Chat liked and respected Jade Turtle, and even though he was absurdly grateful to have another guy on the team, they’d never managed to move with that unthinking confidence as he and Ladybug did.

Still, they were a well-oiled machine. Once all the kinks were worked out, they all worked well together and knew their places. Patrols could be broken up, and Chat didn’t have to stress to get to an inconvenient akuma as quickly as possible - they now had backup. When Rena Rouge had shown up, it was almost second nature to make a space for her. And even though Chat enjoyed their patrols together, and appreciated her sly intelligence and edgy humor, there was still something missing.

He and Ladybug gravitated towards each other, almost extensions of each other. The moved together and fought together with an unthinking ease: he knew what she was thinking almost before she spoke, and she knew what he would do almost before he did it. Two halves of the same whole, or so he thought when he was waxing particularly romantic.

That’s because you are, now head in the game! Plagg snapped, directing his baton hand to knock aside a thrown javelin.

Yep. Sorry. Thanks. A whistling noise had Chat ducking, and grimacing as the javelin zipped past and back into Karma’s hand.

“Divine justice will be mine.” Karma’s voice was as angry as every other akuma’s but her face maintained the serene expression it had held since her appearance. Beneath her, the tiger roared.

“I don’t think this is the way to go about it.” Ladybug scolded, yo-yo deflecting a trident jab. “Chat, can you-”

“On it!” Chat used his baton to vult upwards, flipping over Ladybug’s yo-yo to land on the light post above and behind the akuma. He waited as Ladybug continued her verbal assault, letting the akuma forget about him as his partner herded her his way.

Grinning as she lined up underneath him, Chat let go, dropping down slightly behind the akuma, bouncing up and reaching for the glimmer of gold he could see between the strands of other jewelry decorating her neck.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chat saw her upper hand reaching back, one glowing finger coming towards him. He saw it, but it was too late - he had already committed to the move. Just as his fingertips brushed the glimmer of gold, her finger touched him, and everything went black.

Know thyself.

He’s on a beach. A pitiful excuse for a beach, it’s nothing like the sun kissed sands of his home. This shore is hard and rocky, sparse grasses giving way to thin and twisted trees. Idly, Theseus rubs his finger over the black ring on his thumb, now lit with it’s glowing green feline paw.

The ring had been a gift from a stranger. Theseus had thought a servant had left it on his table, or perhaps that an enemy had planted it as evidence against him. Yet, when he had opened the box, the strange creature that had presented itself to him had spoken of a quest, and a great destiny.

His outfit, form-fitting and pitch black, felt painfully out of place on arid plain. Sparse trees break up the landscape, but the trees are scraggly and twisted, and aren’t plentiful enough to be called a forest. A cold wind blew off of the ocean, ruffling his hair and sending loose brown locks tumbling into his face. Irritably, he shoved it back, wishing for a headband to contain them. His fingers scraped over the edge of his black mask.

“Are you sure we need to be here?” He asked nobody in particular.

It’s here. The creature, Plagg, answered. Theseus was decidedly not used to people speaking inside his head. Close. Keep a sharp eye.

Theseus rolled his eyes, not sure how anything could be hiding, unless it was in the sand or under a rock. Behind him, his crew muttered rebelliously - they were in Scythian territory, and the men were nervous.

“Could it be with the tribes?” One of them asked.

“Where are the tribes?” Another murmured.

“Well, if it’s ‘the queen’s golden girdle’” a third voice piped up irritably, “then it’s probably with the queen.”

“But which one? There’s hundreds of tribes! They’re nomads! How do we even know we’re in the right place?”

Danger tingled down his spine and Theseus spun, staff in hand and lashing out to knock aside the arrow that was headed for his comrade’s head.

Everyone gasped, scrambling for weapons and cover as people appeared, shimmering into existence like a mirage. A whistling noise had Theseus diving to the side, but he was too slow - something lashed out, wrapping around his ankles and sending him crashing to the ground.

They were surrounded: warriors sat astride the scruffy ponies the plains boasted, or were on foot, wrapped in heavy leathers and sand-colored furs. Stoic expressions on beardless faces, swords and bows were all drawn and pointed their way.

Theseus had eyes for none of them. A figure stood aloft in one of the scraggly trees, and he wondered how he hadn’t noticed them. Scarlet leather blazed in the thin light, mottled with black furs and gleaming with touches of gold. Laughing, they stepped backwards off of the tree branch, and the rope around his ankles drug him forwards, continuing to reel him in long after his captor had landed on the ground, not stopping until Theseus was suspended upside down before her.

These were not beardless men, Theseus realized with a start - they were women. Long black braids hung down her shoulders and back, and blue eyes studied him with laughter and contempt.

“I am Hippolyta.” She said in carefully accented Greek. “And you are my prisoner.”

Cleopatra leans back into her chaise and smirks at him, "If it be love indeed, tell me how much."

The barren beach and biting wind have been replaced. No longer outside, he is in. Humid air, ripe with excotic scents, teases the back of his neck as his lover beckons him forward.

She's wheedling and he loves it, the cat and mouse chase of their relationship setting fire to his veins. Never one to back down from a challenge, especially if said challenge is going to involve a hyperbolic war of words with his Lady, Chat bends at the waist and takes her hand, locking eyes with her.

"There's beggary in the love that can be reckon'd."

He slips into her room unnoticed, lurking in the shadows cast by curtains and lanterns. He knows he’ll remain unseen until he wishes to be seen - it’s one of the things that make him so effective at his job, and so desirable to his Queen. However, unseen does not mean incorporeal, so he takes a position in a little-used corner, watching until the last of her slaves had served and undressed her.

Her gowns were becoming increasingly elaborate since expanding her rule, her collection of intricately woven scarves and robes of every color growing exponentially by the day. Every one a mark of prestige, of victory. She has spent years on battlefields and war fronts, serving as an inspiration to the troops. Her popularity has given her an almost iconic status within her new empire, and he revels in the knowledge that he helped give it to her.

Once, he’d told sworn that he would give her the world. Now, he has. She dismisses her servants, sends the guards outside. The flickering candle lights illuminate her, glimmering on the golden jewelry she wears. Light and shadow play across newly exposed skin as she removes the last of her robes and begins anointing herself with scented oils.

For a time, the only sounds is the faint rustling of cloth and the splash of water.

"Is it over?" She asks, unclasping one of the many golden chains around her neck. Setting it aside, she turns to face him, vibrant eyes trained intently on where he stands hidden. Her hair glows in the candlelight, so dark in color that it practically shines blue, "Is he gone?"

"Of course," He slinks towards her, catching his black and green reflection in the mirror as he passes. "Palmyra is yours."

Scented candles and trembling sighs as replaced with an wooded grove and screams. Dilwyn stumbles back, lashing out with his staff to bat the golden hammer away. The two weapons collide, and though the hammer’s aim is thrown off course, Dilwyn has been thrown fatally off balance.

He has no idea how the burly Scot had managed to hide in the forest, clad as he is in bright yellow and black. He should stand out like...well, like a Scotsman amongst the Brits, and yet, he’d managed to sneak up on him, knocking him to the ground as Dilwyn was traveling to meet with the Red Lady.

“Black Cat! Duck!” Dilwyn lets gravity take him, dropping and rolling away as the hammer crashed down where he’d been. A familiar zipping noise herald’s his Lady’s arrival, as she leaps from the trees, her weapon lashing around the man’s ankle and dragging him down.

“I’m not a black cat!” Dilwyn protests as he gains his feet and brandishes his silver staff. “Black cats are un-Christian!”

Pain flashes through his Lady’s blue eyes before she’s distracted with the Scotsman - Killer Bee - who has grabbed her rope and is trying to haul her forward.

“Kitty.” She scolds him even as he slams his staff on her string, dragging it down and giving himself slack to twist the string around it, “You have a pact with a faerie, who inhabits a ring to give you supernatural powers. You are un-Christian.”

Dilwyn grimaces, grasping his staff on either side of the string and adding his enhanced strength to hers to counter the stronger man’s pull. Killer Bee gives up, going with the tug and trying to gain enough slack to unbind his ankle.

He is un-Christian. As the son of the head Deacon, his father would undoubtedly say so, immediately before he damned him to the fires of hell. Still, Dilwyn did not feel evil, despite his activities. He did good things - he protected people from threats, both mundane and supernatural. He read his scriptures, he faithfully attended mass every Sunday. He did extra devotions to make up for his sin of lying during confession.

The argument about whether they were going to hell or not was an old one. It bothered him, more than he would admit, that he was often told he was evil, but did his best to be good and virtuous. His Lady, on the other hand, had accepted her faerie and the charge laid upon her with joy.

Dilwyn yanked the rope viciously, jerking the man off-balance and sliding his staff free. Leaping forward, he pinned the golden hammer, forcing a foot against the man’s throat and reaching into the mass of hair to yank free the comb. Killer Bee screamed his rage, but it was too late.

Bringing his staff down with more force than necessary, Dilwyn rendered his fallen opponent unconscious.

It was later, much later, when Dilwyn was out next. The Scotsman, who still refused to divulge his name or Clan, was in jail, facing charges of thievery, murder and conspiring against the crown. Despite his further crimes as Killer Bee, he would not be able to ace those charges - the Red Lady had taken the comb, promising to return it to the one who guarded such artifacts.

She would not say who that was, and Dilwyn had been forced to concede the point - as much as he wanted the man to face justice, the comb needed to be returned to where it could be safely kept.

He leapt through the trees, letting his enhanced vision and superior reflexes guide him in the darkness. Ignoring his faerie as it tried to convince him of his innocence, and remarked on the irony of using his powers to escape his confliction with having said powers. Dilwyn’s stomach churned at the dichotomy of having sworn a pact with evil forces to uphold good. It didn’t sit well - it didn’t make sense. Nothing did.

The fire flickering in the distance caught his attention. Curiosity drew him nearer, despite his fear at what he might find. Would it be more faeries, frolicking in the forest? Demons, dancing in the dark and sacrificing the souls of the innocent to the devil? Something else, something more sinister? Or maybe a hunting party, camping in the woods in preparation for the morning hunt.

It was a party. The group was larger than he would have supposed - their village was fairly small and more than half of the people were either strangers, or someone barely recognised as traveling merchant families from other towns.

She was on the fringes of the clearing, laughing at the couples dancing and leaping the bonfire. Nearby a band played, the primal pounding of the drum and the sweet sounds of the lute and gittern accompanying the a bard who was singing a traditional Welsh ballad. Her loose white gown was bound with only a belt, her feet were bare, and a flowers were woven into her hair.

His Lady. He knew, without knowing how he knew. He was drawn to her always; her beauty, her grace, her spirit. He’d often wondered if she were in their village. He’d wondered, if circumstances were different, if his family might allow a marriage with hers. Plagg had told him often enough that even if he looked her in the face every day, he would never know her for who she was - the magic did not allow it. But here, in the night, with the presence of something hanging thick and cloying in the air, he knew who she was.

Beltane. Plagg spoke up from beside him. Even the gods cannot interfere with the magic that guides the wheel of the year.

What? He watched as boys, and handsome young men, and even older men, approached her where she sat giggling with the other young women. They offered her smiles, and honeyed bread, and cups of mead. She turned them all down with a laugh, waving them off cheerfully.

It’s Beltane, the second sacred holiday of the Celts. The fertility festival. Plagg added dryly. You’ll recognise her tonight, but only under certain circumstances will that hold true in the morning.

Circumstances? What ‘circumstances?’ Dilwyn asked distractedly, but Plagg refused to answer. Dilwyn didn’t care, because his Lady had turned, and her gaze was trained with unerring accuracy in his direction. She knew he was there, though how he knew, he couldn’t say.

The Red Lady stood, excusing herself from her friends. She winds her way around the circle, collecting a platter with bread heaped with honey, fruits from the spring forest, and a goblet of mead. Chatting and laughing, she meanders ever closer as the firelight plays in the shadows of her hair and folds of her gown. Dilwyn cannot tear his eyes from her, and cannot find it in him to worry at his behavior.

Careful. Plagg’s voice is distant and easily ignored. If you do this, there’s no going back.

Back? Back to what? Dilwyn doesn’t care, because she’s in front of him, blue eyes almost luminous as she offers him honeyed bread and a shy smile.

“Kitty.” The word is a whisper, a prayer, a benediction and a promise. Dilwyn shudders, fire igniting in his veins in a way he cannot ignore as he watches his hand rise to take the chalice of honeyed mead from her grasp.

“My Lady.”

He’s a fisherman, scarred hands hauling in the nets, dumping fish and seaweed onto the deck. Plagg is hiding under his collar, in the shade of his dǒulì as his chosen toils in the sun.

“I still cannot believe you gave it all up...for fish.” The tiny black cat complains. “Wealth, power, prestige-”

“Court intrigues and backstabbing. Cold meals, stale rice and military exercises.” Xai Li nods. “Yes, I have no idea why I would return to my home, with honor to my family’s name, to build a life for myself.”

Plagg snorts, and Xai Li knows he’s not fooling his old friend in the least. Smiling, Xai Li thinks of his Lady, his wife, who was by his side through the war, disguised as a man to avoid detection. Later, found, was elevated, much as he was, but they elected to retire with honor rather than continue life at court.

Her face is round and pale like the moon, her lips dark and full and her hands talented and dainty. A pair of dark earrings glint in her ears as she weaves.

Pale metal gleams on his finger.

It’s cold - bitterly cold, since the sun has almost set. His boots crunch in the snow, and despite the layers of fur and wool he’s donned, Pyotr is shivering. Still, hunting went well, and having made the kill, his family will have a new bear skin throw for the darkest days of winter. Even better, being part of the hunting group who had tracked down the bear had meant he’d escaped having to sit through the council meeting. Pyotr whistles a jaunty tune, pleased with how the day has gone.

His home is straight ahead, candles glowing in the windows like a beacon of warmth and peace. Nika has long pulled in the wash, and the children are no doubt indoor as well, practicing their alphabets and maths under his wife’s patient tutelage.

Sure enough, Viktor and Anna are sitting at the central table, boards out and charcoal sticks in hand. Anna’s tongue pokes out from between her lips as she forms her words; Viktor is whining.

“But Mama!” He complains. “Letters are boring! I want to go hunting, with Papa! Artur went with his father!”

“Artur went fishing, not hunting.” Pyotr corrects his son as he steps in the door. “Today we were hunting for bear, and even though you are fierce, you are not ready for that.”

Nika straightens from her place at Anna’s side, hand pressing against her lower back as she offers him a smile. “Husband! Finally - I thought the veche might have eaten you.”

Pyotr snorts, setting down his pack and unlacing his thick boots. “No, I escaped that ghastly fate by sacrificing father instead.”

“You sacrificed grandfather?” Anna’s head pops up, wide blue eyes - so like her mother’s - full of concern.

“No, sweeting.” Pyotr wanders over, planting a kiss atop her braids as he eyes her neatly printed letters as well as the flowers she’d drawn in the margins.

“Oh.” Relieved, Anna goes back to her work, copying the verse she’d been set.

“Papa, will I have to go to council meetings some day?” Viktor asks with a frown.

“Unfortunately,” Pyotr nods solemnly. “It is the fate of all men - to sit and listen to older men complain.”

Next to him, Nika snorts out her amusement, holding out a bowl of rich-smelling stew and a hunk of dense bread. Taking them from her and setting them down, he pressed a kiss to her cheek. One arm reaches out, sliding across her shoulders and drawing her in as his other hand presses gently on the rounded curve of her stomach. “How are you feeling? Is Natasha behaving for you?”

Her smile is tired and strained, but it’s there. “Your son is as well-behaved as you are.”

The lights are too bright, the music too loud. No longer in the forest, the opulence of the ballroom is staggering in comparison to the simple, homey cabin.

Powdered wigs and powdered faces, covered in masks to conceal the wearer’s identity. Satin and silk and pearls and jewels sewn into ornate outfits made to represent any number of creatures both mundane and fantastical. There is a lavish feast spread out on the table for consumption, overflowing with meats and pastries. The wine is flowing and plentiful, and he can hear cups clinking around him as people laugh.

He's been to hundreds of these events, these tedious masquerade balls where he's always expected to uphold his father's perfect image. It drives him to distraction and in a moment of pure rebellion, he ventures out onto the floor.

"Who is that?"

His father's server simply shrugs, "I'm afraid you will have to be more specific."

"The woman over there," he gestures, the claws on the tips of his fingertips pointing across the room, "On William's arm, dressed in the finest silks of red and black."

"I know not, sir."

He follows her as she dances, utterly entranced, "I have never encountered beauty such as this. She could teach the torches of this hall a thing or two about burning so bright. Did my heart ever love until now?"

He was too late. His unit had been beaten back, and one of the English dogs had gotten close enough to put a dagger in his leg, delaying his journey. He was only hear now because of the grace of Marcus’ illusions, showing him still abed and resting quietly.

It was all for naught. His carelessness had left his partner dead.

The burning in his leg, the stickiness of the blood seeping through bandages, were all secondary to the pain in his chest. His breath scraped against his lungs, each inhale tasting of ashes and defeat.

“Calm down, Jean.” Plagg’s voice was hoarse with exhaustion and emotions. “You’ll give us away. And if you do, you’ll…”

Join her at the stake. The words hung in the air, unspoken, Plagg’s normally acerbic attitude faltering under the weight of his chosen’s pain.

“We’ll have to come back later.” Plagg continued. “The earrings must not be allowed to fall into Cauchon’s hands.”

The scent of smoke and the taste of tears are only a memory. The clatter of hooves on cobblestones and the call of voices in unknown languages are only heard in dreams that are half-forgotten by morning.

The trees are huge and dense, dappling sunlight and shadows in ever-shifting patterns across the branches. Nearby, a flock of parrots is cracking nuts and looking for seeds amongst the branches. A snake lounges on a nearby branch, barely discernable from the vines around it as it waits for unwary prey to wander closer. In the distance, monkeys scream to each other as a predator approaches.

The Jaguar kneels amongst the branches, spear in hand as he waits for his partner to lure their prey past. He sees her, scarlet body-covering flashing in the shifting light. Her dark hair is streaming out behind her and her smile is gleaming at the apex of her swing, luring the monster after as she alights on the branch.

The creature howls in its madness, it’s strange and unwieldy body barreling after his Lady clumsily. Laughing, she wait until the last moment - until it’s too late for the beast to correct it’s course, until it’s just where he needs it - and then she flings her strange bola. It loops around another branch, directly to the side, and she leaps, graceful as a bird while their quarry screams in rage.

Wrist snapping forward, Jaguar lets the spear fly.

The spear never struck.

Instead, the familiar weight of his wakizashi was at his hip, carefully concealed under his travel cloak.

It had been a long day. Having posed as a merchant delivering foods, Daisuke had entered the west gate. Fresh produce meant he was allowed into the inner walls, to deliver his goods directly to the kitchens situated near the living quarters. Once his delivery had been accomplished, Daisuke had detoured to the toilets, where he had emerged as a gardener. From there he spent the day raking, clipping, and tending to the blooms, making sure to remain inconspicuous (even when some particularly beautiful courtiers had strolled through).  

He had taken his lunch in the gardens, passing himself off as temporary help that had been hired to prepare the grounds for the Lord’s upcoming celebration. One of many, his story was readily accepted. Daisuke had continued his work until the sun was dipping low in the sky, once again detouring to the toilets as the other gardeners departed.

However, now he was outside the inner walls - indeed, he was across the moat. Not that the distance was a problem; the kwami nestled in his pocket could easily ferry him across with a single phrase. However, there was no subtle way of vaulting across a moat.

And, considering who his opposition was, subtlety was paramount. Intelligence indicated that Lady Luck had sided with the elder Lord, against the reigning Shogun. Daisuke had come across her before, both as an ally and an enemy, and she was not somebody to be take lightly.

Nijō Castle is gone. He is no longer a shinobi sneaking through the night. Now, he stands just out of sight of a doorway, his heart beating wildly inside his ribcage.

"It's my secret!" She cries as he watches her through the reflection of the window, her arms wrapped around her middle in anguish. "How can I marry him when I'm in love with someone else?" She clasps her trembling hands together, "If this is heaven Tikki, then I am truly miserable."

The kwarmi, so similar to his own and yet somehow completely different, hovers before her eyes, "Please! Don't do this to yourself Ladybug."

"I dreamt I was there once," She continues, stricken with grief, "and the angels flung me from the clouds back to the earth where I woke, sobbing for joy. I've no more business marrying him than I do being in heaven, but he shall never know. He must not ever know how much I love him for whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are one and the same and Edward is as far from mine as fire and ice."

"You cannot reveal yourself to him," the kwarmi begs, "He cannot know!"

Clutching his chest, he stumbles backwards and disappears into the shadows whence he came.

Chat's eyes snapped open, searching frantically for the threat - for his wife- his...lover? His friend. His partner. His enemy? His everything. Where was she? Was she tall or short? Young? Blonde? No, brunette. Wait, black. Blue. Her eyes were blue. Her eyes were always blue.

People swam into view above him, their suits strange and familiar as they stared down at him with worried expressions.

“Chat? Chat Noir! Chat, are you okay?” Black hair in a million tiny braids swung around her shoulders, her face achingly familiar and completely foreign. Was she a friend this time? Or the threat? Who was she?

“Who- Who am I?” She sounded bewildered, and skin the color of cocoa overlaid her pale cheeks. Wild blond locks whipped around her head...except they were pigtails. “Chat, I'm Ladybug! Kitty, what happened to you?"

The scent of smoke makes him want to sneeze, but the taste of honeyed mead lingering on his tongue comforts him. He speaks, or tries to, but the words don’t make sense to him despite their familiarity.

“Maybe that akuma scrambled his brains.” The woman in yellow and black peered at him intently. Chat was absurdly grateful that she didn’t seem to be shifting identities.

“None of the other victims were this confused!” Russet ringlets shivered as another girl shook her head, and her bushy fox tail twitched in agitation.

“Nika? No, Cleo...Anna. Efa. My Lady.” Chat ground the heels of his hands into his eyes, trying to block out the light and calm his churning stomach.“Who...who am I now?”

“Chat? Kitty?” He forces his eyes open, squinting up and focusing on her eyes. So blue. Always blue, to his green. It’s how they’re found. It’s how he knows her. He keeps his eyes on hers as overlapping features shift, until they resolve into someone he can name.

Ladybug. She’s had the name before, in other languages. Her face and form and outfit have changed, but he always knew who she was. The real question was, who was he? He wants to ask, but he can’t, because he head is threatening to split open as several personalities contend for dominance.

Adrien Agreste. Plagg’s voice is tired and dazed-sounding, even in his head. Plagg. His kwami. His companion, in this lifetime and tens of others.

You are Adrien Agreste. Plagg repeats, and he - Adrien - listens. The others - his team mates - are hauling him up, pulling him away from curious onlookers and flashing lights. They’re on a roof and his legs refuse to hold him up. He collapses against a wall as voices swirl around him.

Rena used her special ability and she needs to leave, but is worried. Queen Bee - who is not a burly Scotsman, but a petite blonde with a rapier wit - leaves with Guī. (No, not Guī, he thinks, but someone like him.) They go to speak to reporters and assess victims, to help clean up.

His Lady, in red and black, with dark pigtails and blue eyes, leans down next to him. Her small hand is on his shoulder, pale, wearing rings, covered in red. The Black Cat, now named Adrien Agreste, leans over and heaves onto the tarmac next to him.

There’s precious little in his stomach to sick up, but his body tries it’s best. Even his stomach is confused, wondering whether he’d eaten tough plains tubers, rich roasted lamb, succulent figs or plain rice. He drank water earlier. But there was champagne at the party? The taste of mead persists.

“Oh, Chat. Oh, Kitty. It’s okay, mon minou, you’re alright. I’m with you.” His Lady stays by his side, smoothing blonde hair back from his forehead, rubbing comforting circles on a back not covered in armor or cloth. Leather. He’s wearing leather, or something like it. Still, her voice is sweet, familiar and foreign and grounding as memories that aren’t his swirl in his head.

Too confused to be embarrassed, to tired to care about propriety, he (Adrien Agreste, Plagg tells him. Chat Noir.) hauls her into his lap, ignoring her squeak of surprise as he buried his face against her neck. She smells like shampoo and artificial flowers, like skin and sweat, and Chat focuses on it, telling himself that it’s really real.

Her pulse is fluttering faintly near his nose. Her ribs, encircled by his arms, expand and contract as she breathes, and the muscles under his fingers twitch and flex. He listens to the sound of her breathing, and the scrape of their uniforms brushing as she turns in his embrace, relaxing when her arms wind around his neck and pull him closer, drawing him into the circle of her arms and letting him cling to her as she whispers soothing words in his ear.

Chat keeps his eyes closed, trying to relax under the mental onslaught that’s thankfully slowing. He focuses on breathing, inhaling through his nose and exhaling through his mouth to calm his stomach as he listens to Plagg telling him facts about himself - this version of himself. The snark is missing, but he now knows that even Plagg can be gentle when the time calls for it.

Whatever happened, however confusing and strange and disorienting, has at least reaffirmed two things for him (whoever he is). One, that whoever he is, and whenever he is, there are two constants in his existence: Plagg, and his Lady. Two...there’s a reason for that.

300 BCE - Scythia (Iran) - Theseus and Hippolyta

41 BCE - Alexandria - Marc Antony and Cleopatra

270 CE - Palmyrene Empire (Syria) - The Assassin (lover of Queen Zenobia)

350 CE - Wales - Dilwyn and Efa

530 CE - China - Xai Li and Hau Mulan

1200s CE - Russia - Pytor and Nika

1300s CE - Italy - Romeo and Juliet

1431 CE - Jean de Metz and Joan of Arc

1510 CE - Amazon Basin - unknown

1615 CE - Kyoto, Japan - Daisuke and Akira (shinobi)

1794 CE - ??- ??? and ??? ← Who the hell are these people Bronte?

1865 CE - United States - Kembel Warren and nope fuck it I’m done

#ml #Plagg Appreciation Week #We are Miraculous #11 Flashback sequences later #17 pages #I was up half the night #I can't even #I'm so done #What was I thinking? #Plan T #TakeEmByStorm #Plagg's Day Out

[markyishanthonymartinez]

4/17/17

i rushed home to hopefully do this before you check.

today was alright i guess.

no. no no no. 

today was great. like sometimes i think about my days and I'm like, “eh yeah it was pretty normal, decent day, whatevs,” but like that’s so dumb. like most days are so great. today was average, but there’s so many great awesome wonderful things that happen every day that i dont think about or appreciate cause i’ve become desensitized to them as being good things and that’s no bueno. 

okay gonna talk about even the lil tings.

i woke up a bit late if i’m being honest, but that’s okay. i sprung straight out of bed and made a quick breakfast (quietly of course, cause logan was slep). ate, got dressed. okay tbh i looked cute af today. i wore one of my fav shirts, which is my pink state champs shirt and like i just really think soft colors really work well with me cause they kinda play well with how dark and defined my hair and facial features are and stuff (honestly that’s probably why like 60% of my closet is white shirts). but yeah and not to mention that pink is kinda polarizing and makes people double take and idk fam, i paired that with my favorite khakis (cuffed up once of course), my normal black vans that i’ve probably worn for like 100000 days straight, and my black bomber jacket that i wear sempiternally. idk i thought the fit was fly af and i felt dank and looking good=feeling good and feeling good is always worth noting. 

went to class. instrumentation is half pointless at this point, cause like we already had our last midterm and the final isn't a written final, the only final for the class is a lab practical. and we’ve learned all the things that the practical could be on. so like in a very loose use of the word, class is kinda pointless the rest of the way. obviously there’s homework and learning and stuff so it’s not completely pointless, but having that in the back of my head just makes it a bit difficult to give my undivided attention in class. even poles was doing other stuff and he’s alwayyyyyyys the attention-payer. bags and jeff are always on their phones and I'm kinda in the middle 4ever. wait also, we got our test scores posted online like a week ago, but he hasn't even mentioned passing the test back to us and like, “fam... if the tests are graded and the scores are entered into canvas then why can't i have it?????????? @ ME” 

after class, as we do every monday, wednesday, friday, we went to the ecc and put in two hours of homework time. i almost finished the mech design due thursday and that’s good cause i need to turn my attention to the heat transfer test on thursday as soon as i can. OH DANG ALSO i finally listened to the new kendrick record. that probably sounds ridiculous considering how hyped i was for kendrick last night and i hadn't even listened to his record, but lemme essssplain. i, mark anthony martinez, love love love listening to records in full and will hold off listening to singular songs until i find the time to run through a record. i just love following the story and letting it all hit me in one fell swoop. but yeah DAMN. is DAMN. absolutely wonderful. kendrick has really outdone himself, and that’s saying something considering his last two releases have been instant classics. i just identify so much with the record and i can't say enough great things. but yeah gr8 times, did hella homework and listened to gr9 record, happy merk. 

then we all walk together to systems. okay this one asshole has been kinda trying to take our seats for the past two weeks and i’m gonna kick his teeth in next time he does it.... okay not really i’ve never been in a fight. but forreal, WE’VE SAT THERE ALL SEMESTER, 1-2-3-4-5. JT ON THE END, THEN ME, THEN POLESIES, FOLLOWED BY JEFF, AND FINALLY BAGS. EVERYONE ELSE RESPECTS SEATS. WHY CANT YOU, YOU DISRESPECTFUL UNGRATEFUL TURD BASKET. no, but really, fam has sat in the row behind us allllll semester and like just last week he decided to try us? nahhhhh, aint gonna fly. 

anyways, jt didn't get a seat with us because of that, and like he just walks up and loudly proclaims, “DAMN MAN, WHY DO PEOPLE GOTTA FUCK UP THE STATUS QUO?” same jt, same. 

systems was dope. it’s probably my most fun class considering how dynamic and interesting and just all things it is. v hard, but i love to dip my mind into the material. 

wow okay i just peeked at the clock and whoops.

ummm okay then i came home with poles and bags and logan was on the couch watching the arsenal game on his phone cause i guess the nbc sports xbox app wasn't working. so i came to the rescue and put the game on my laptop and connected it to our projector, yay haps logan. 

then we all hung out for a bit and did guy stuff.

talk shit about each other and talk about memes and make fun of bags for breaking poles’ garbage disposal

arsenal won, logan was haps, i wasn't lol. 

then poles left to go try to fix his garbage disposal lol. and logan bags and i kinda just hung out and continued the previous activities and yeah. bags left for work and logan left for the airport and i did homework while listening to más kendrick. 

then i had a game tonight. tyler didn't show up... which is weird cause like he’s the one that organized this and like is one of our better players and prettttty sure he took and nap and just slept through everything lol. but anyways, we played tke. FUCK TKE. (in case bags reads dis). but yeah uh they weren’t very good. like they weren't garb, and had a few solid players, but in the grand scheme of things they did a lot of nothing lol. we had soooooo many chances that we didn't put away. we got the first goal through nathan early on. then they tied it up and kinda celebrated all over the place, which sorta kinda maybe pissed me off. so, naturally, i scored a beautiful little heel flick that drew cheers form the tke crowd lol. and then nathan set me up beautifully for a second that i got really clean connected on and drilled passed the keeper from outside the box. it ended like that 3-1. oh oh oh also one of the refs was a rad friend that lived on my floor in the dorms that i hadn't seen in 15k years so that was nice to see her. oh wait at the end, okay hold on, why am i always a dickhead? like the the crowd kinda got on my nerves a few times cause they were just being overly rambunctious. so what does lil ole mark decide to do? i go into sarcastic mark mode, but not verbally (well okay a lil verbally), mainly physically. like one time they kicked the ball out and said they were all like WTFFFF FAM THAT WENT OUT OFF HIS BACK. and like it defs didn't and the refs knew it didn't and i’m kinda just chuckling and then one of them is like, “see, he’s laughing, he knows it went off his back” so of course, what do i do. i literally point at my back and just lay down in the middle of the court. then there were other things here or there, but yeah i was nice most of the time. 

came home, eating pizza, gonna shower and slep now. 

april seventeenth is a beautiful day.

happy birthday lil ms orange

ilylots

hope you did fun things//and even if you’re old and grody, stay beautiful

- mark anthony martinez

[love-hope-faith-feels-like-a-lie]

Hi! 👋 hope you, and your loveones are well. Ask game: 1-20 17 25 27 33 47 56 78 87 99 100

Hey! Hope things are great with you. Thanks for the ask, much love to ya! (ps. sorry it took a while to get to it.)

1: when you have cereal, do you have more milk than cereal or more cereal than milk? I think I end up having more milk than cereals. Don’t really like having dry ass cereals. 

2: do you like the feeling of cold air on your cheeks on a wintery day? Yes, very much. Love winter in general. 

3: what random objects do you use to bookmark your books? I’ve used my phone when I couldn’t find paper but only when I need to leave the room while reading in bed. Other than that just random paper. 

4: how do you take your coffee/tea? I don’t. Not a coffee lover and I only like Ice Tea. The mango one is my fav. 

5: are you self-conscious of your smile? Really like my smile but sometimes I do get self-conscious about it, especially when I’m somewhere I don’t really feel comfortable.

6: do you keep plants? Yep, I have three. A cactus, an aloe vera and this other little plant that I have no idea what type it is but it was dying when I saw it at the shop and I had this need to buy it and nurse it back to health, which not to toot my own horn, is currently thriving now.

7: do you name your plants? Nope, but now I totally want to because it’s such a Lorelai Gilmore thing to do. 

8: what artistic medium do you use to express your feelings? Writing, I guess. Drawing too but I haven’t done any in a good while. 

9: do you like singing/humming to yourself? Yeah but I only do it when a song is stuck in my head or when music is playing. 

10: do you sleep on your back, side, or stomach? On my stomach. 

11: what’s an inner joke you have with your friends? There are a few, and they’re just so weird and difficult to explain. One has to do with a soda can, KA to be specific.

12: what’s your favorite planet? Saturn. Simply because E and I want to have milkshakes on the rings of Saturn, and I just love that thought. 

13: what’s something that made you smile today? Well, Gilmore girls. Was watching an episode during breakfast. It never fails to make me smile.

14: if you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like? No idea, but there would be a lot of books and movies in my room. (just like now tbh) We would jam music with her Alexa. There would be pizza in the freezer and loads of pasta in our cupboards. Skincare and hair care products that would mostly be her's in the bathroom. A gin bottle and maybe some wine here and there. 

15: go google a weird space fact and tell us what it is! If you drilled a tunnel through Earth and jumped in, you would reach the other side in 42 minutes and 12 seconds, and your top speed would be 17,670 mph. An epic slide. Might be a little hot and death will be at the end of it but you know...fun. lol.

16: what’s your favorite pasta dish? All of them tbh but I guess mac and cheese and spaghetti bolognese are my favs to make and eat. 

17: what color do you really want to dye your hair? Purple! Wanted to for a good few years now, but I love my hair and its natural colour too much to change. 

18: tell us about something dumb/funny you did that has since gone down in history between you and your friends and is always brought up. I can’t think of anything rn, but my cousin likes making fun at the fact that when I was little I jumped on an Argos book and slipped on it and hurt myself. I also remind my bestie of the time she tripped while running in the library at school. Love the fact I got to see that. Really great moment. 

19: do you keep a journal? what do you write/draw/ in it? Yeah, I finished the first one I made a few years ago and so I started an online one which I kept up to date for a few months and then forgot about it. So I recently started writing and updating a new physical journal. My hand hurts from all the writing. It’s mostly just writing and sometimes it becomes a scrapbook when I have tickets or little things from events to add to it. 

20: what’s your favorite eye color? Probably blue but honestly they’re all so beautiful in there own way. 

25: what’s the weirdest place you’ve ever broken into? Don’t think I have ever broken into anywhere. I guess I’ve been in places I probably shouldn’t have been like classrooms (during lunch and break), teacher’s office and the upstairs area of the library that ended up being like a clubhouse for me and my friends in our last year of school. 

27: what’s your favorite bubblegum flavor? Don’t think I have one but I like fruity flavours better. 

33: what’s your fave pastry? Damn this is hard because I just want to say all of them. Here are a few though: Danish pastries, croissant, pain au Chocolat and Palmier.

47: what food do you think should be banned from the universe? Carob. My Dad got it once when we were in Maderia and I just hated everything about it. Its smell makes me want to throw up. Not my thing for sure. 

56: what are some things you find endearing in people? I love how unique people are. No one is exactly the same and I love that.

78: are you in the minion hateclub or fanclub? Don’t hate em, don’t love em either. 

87: what are some movies you think everyone should watch at least once in their lives? Back to the future, It happened one night, Casablanca, bringing up baby and The Philadelphia Story. Some classics I’ve fallen in love with and need more love shown to them. 

99: list some songs that resonate to your soul whenever you hear them. I was wrong by ARIZONA, Hatefuck by Cruel Youth, Ocean Eyes by Billie Eilish, Wasted Roses by JT Roach, You're Not Missing Me by Chelsea Cutler, Numb by Hayden James and Right Where You Should Be by Quinn XCII, just to name a few.

100: if you were presented with two buttons, one that allows you to go 5 years into the past, the other 5 years into the future, which one would you press? why? I think I would go with five years in the past. I would be nice to relive somethings again knowing the future and being able to appreciate it more. 

Thanks again for the ask, this was fun to do. All the best to you!  💕

[bike42]

San Juan Islands / Victoria BC - Days 10-12 - Fri-Sun August 23-25, 2019 Kayak Adventure

We arrived at our Sea Quest meeting place at 7:50am and saw a group already gathered there. A group of 4 ladies from Atlanta greeted us, and from there we learned that we’d actually be two groups out on the same adventure. Soon we were joined by a single guy (Rob) and two other couples, and 4 college friends from Texas (including Joe that actually lives in Colorado). At a little after 8am, two vans from Sea Quest arrived, one pulling a trailer with the kayaks.

The respective drivers jumped out and read off the names of their groups: the ladies, one couple and Rob went with Ben, and the rest of us were paired with Jonathan.

Like any new group, we were sizing each other up. When I’m assessing, I generally look for compatibility in skill level (personality assessment is formed during the trip). The guys seemed extremely experienced, but I had serious reservations with the other couple (lack of water shoes and waterproof clothing for starters).

We climbed into our vans with our guides and began our drive to the other side of the island, stopping by the guide house along the way to pick up extra sleeping bags and pads for the couple (along with two other people to shuttle the vans back).

We drove to a county park launch site just north of Lime Kiln State Park. I recognized landmarks from our cycling trip and it felt neat to be so familiar with San Juan island!

Lots of help unloading the vans and getting everything carried to the beach. After waiting so long for this adventure, I think we all were very excited to get going. Most were familiar with the drill, stash your gear in the boat dry wells and start splitting up the common gear and stash that too. The couple however were clearly new to this, and when it came time for Jonathan to have us put on PFDs and spray skirts, then practice getting snapped into our cockpits, she had a panic attack. They had a huddle with Jonathan and decided to back out of the trip. I felt bad for them, but secretly glad as it wouldn’t have been the same trip with completely inexperienced trip mates. They should have somehow been screened out, as this is serious stuff - not uncommon for kayakers to have to be rescued by the Coast Guard out here.

I hadn’t mentioned that as we were gathered in Friday Harbour it started to drizzle. Rain wasn’t really forecast, but we quickly got into our “it is what it is” mode. It wasn’t too cool and we had the gear, so misery factor was very low. The subdued light made it better for searching for Marine life anyway!

We set out and our group was well matched for paddling. Not that it mattered, but as a group we were stronger than Bens group. We headed north along Haro straight with awesome views of Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula beyond that. I had a big grin on my face; it was so exhilarating to finally be doing this (one of the first things I had on my bucket list when I first started actually keeping a written list).

Soon we started seeing salmon (pinks) jumping out of the water all around us. It was fun - better than fireworks! Impossible to not exclaim out loud each time!! I kept hoping we’d see a pod of Orcas come to eat them, but that didn’t happen for us (at least on day one).

We also started seeing Harbor Seals hauled out on rocks along the shore. Sometimes solo, but more often in groups. They had young with them, and Jonathan instilled in us how important it is not to disturb them. Should be common sense, but it is so tempting to get closer and get good photos.

We also saw several sets of Harbor Porpoises, they’d do 4 or 5 shallow dives, then disappear in a deep feeding dive.

After a bit, we stopped along a rocky protected beach to stretch our legs and have a snack. Then back in the boats, still traveling north along the shore. Amazing how big the island is when you’re trying to get around it by kayak.

We alternated between cruising along, with quiet moments of drifting and watching salmon jump, porpoises dive and seals flop around.

Then we had a lot more boat activity as well as developments along shore, and Jonathan told us we’re now just outside Roche Harbor on San Juan Island. We stopped as a small “park” island where there we two campsites (already occupied) and a toilet. From here, we’d cross the Speiden channel and head to our campsite. The sky was clearer, just light clouds and I was warm enough to shed my rain jacket layer by then.

Jonathan explained that part of the reason we were lollygaging earlier was that the timing of our crossing needs to be just right due to tides and currents, and also it seems calm, but wind can whip up fast and take us off course. Exactly the reason we’re out here with a guide!!

We crossed directly over to Spieden island, pointing in a direction opposite of where we wanted to end up, and with the current then, we ended up perfectly. As we were just entering the channel, the ferry to Sidney BC cruised through the channel, looking exceptionally large from our perspective!

Then we cruised the shore of Spieden Island, heading west now. Along the shore we saw many Harbor Seal colonies. We also saw a majestic looking pair of bald eagles high on a tree above a colony (Jonathan said he’d once seen an eagle eating a baby seal, the kind of nature I know has to happen but I’d rather not see!). The island has a large expanse of what looks like dead grass, and all along there we saw Moufflon sheep, apparently having been introduced to the island when someone was trying to establish a hunting camp. Even Jonathan was excited about how many we could see.

From there, we could see the slot of Reed Harbor on Stuart Island, we’d camp at the end of the harbor tonight! I’m not going to lie, when we turned into the harbor and saw how far it was until the end, I felt pretty discouraged! I’d pushed hard to cross the channel and I was exhausted!

The tour to the back of the bay was beautiful. There were a variety of boats moored there, mostly sailboats. Jonathan chatted with the folks on deck as we passed. He and his girl friend live on a sailboat in Friday Harbour and are readying it to sail to Baja Mexico some winter (he actually grew up living on a sailboat in Friday Harbour!).

As we got close to the landing, we passed a swim platform that had a baby seal hauled out in it with two adults swimming around it. We would have loved to see them jump up on it, but we were probably a perceived threat. Jonathan said they come at it super fast and fly out of the water. When they land, they bounce around a bit!

We landed at 6pm. Gorgeous wooded camp site in a state forest. Pit toilet, plenty of firewood, compost bin - good living! We hauled everything out of the boats and set up tents and got our stuff settled while Jonathan set up to make dinner (with JT as sous chef). Dinner was vegetarian burritos and our trip mates from Texas brought along boxes of red wine - heaven! As if it couldn’t be any better, Jonathan lit a fire and we had brownies for dessert!

Blissful night of sleep with the quiet and campfire smoke. Paradise camping!!!

Jonathan said he’d monitor the weather overnight and wake us up “at the crack of dawn” if we needed to move early due to weather.

About 4:45am, we heard music! It was Jonathan playing a guitar and singing “Summertime.” It was wonderful! He promised coffee would be ready by the time we packed up our tent.

The guys were experienced packers and soon we were slugging coffee and hauling the gear back to the beach. The light was amazing, and the view would change with every trip down to the beach. By 7am we were loaded and taking our pre-launch selfie.

Jonathan said there was weather coming about noon, just for an hour, but he suggested we paddle back to Posey Island and set up camp there and then make a proper breakfast! It was a gorgeous morning as we paddled back across the channel, but the clouds were moving in from the West and I agreed this was a good plan.

There were still campers there when we arrived about 9a, but we moved into the site overlooking the channel anyway. We unloaded the boats and Jonathan set about erecting the rain tarp over the tables. It was just a drizzle, yet we were glad when we got the tents set up and our gear stowed. Not quite sure how we lost a few hours there, but we had a fabulous brunch at 11:30 (egg sandwiches with similar ingredients from our burritos last night: fresh tomatoes and avocado, salsa, cheese).

After that, the group decided a nap was in order! We retreated to our tents. I read and napped and heard occasional rain on the tent, happy to be snuggly inside.

When we emerged, it was a different day. Blue skies, abundant sunshine and a nice breeze. We snacked for a bit and watched the seals in the water around the island. One was breaching and slamming down into the water - not sure why but it was like he was performing for us (like the salmon were yesterday!).

Then we headed out for a three hour paddle to the East. We were heading down the channel, views of islands and water to our left - houses and docks on the right. Jonathan heard some chatter about whale sightings over the marine radio, but too far from where we were at! We stopped at a kelp bed and he told us a bit about how various marine life needs it to thrive - and then we ATE some, we really did! It wasn’t bad, and with peanut butter, it was really good!

Paddled back to camp - about 3 hours in the boat and I was cramping up! Sat around chatting, drinking wine and having more snacks ... waiting for dinner. Fresh air and exercise makes me hungry!!!

As we were sitting around chatting, Jonathan came back around the island and pointed out a seal that was sleeping on the rocks just about 10 feet from us. We got up and took photos, and it continued to sleep, occasionally sneezing and loudly yawning. After about 30 minutes, he started moving around a bit more. Rubbing his eyes, scratching himself! The tide was just about reaching him and it was so cool to see him roll around a bit, and then bounce a few times and dive back into the water.

We continued to watch the sunset and wait for dinner (several hour process). At one point I was out on the rocks looking at the last remnant of the sunset and a kayak going by yelled “Orcas!” I thought it was worth checking out. I was halfway down the beach when I heard the characteristic “pffft!” I yelled for the others and continued down the beach. They were traveling fast, but I saw 4 of them as they traveled down the channel - too dark for photos, but a magical end to a great day!

Sunday morning we got a later start. I was up at 6, but it was closer to 7am before Jonathan serenaded us and told us to start “rustling.” We packed up while he made us French toast with blueberries and bananas. Both mornings he also made amazing coffee using a locally roasted blend and a French press.

We set out about 9:15am, cutting through the inside of Henry Island. That route took us across the mouth of Roche Harbor and the power boats and seaplanes were driving me a little bonkers and messing with my mojo! Soon we were back in a channel, and a little out of the chaos. We passed a small rock island that had about a dozen seals hauled out on it, including a mom and a baby. Another baby climbed out of the water and bounced its way up to the mom - so adorable!

At the south end of Henry Island, Jonathan heard via the main radio that there were Orcas just ahead of where we were! We paddled fast, and to the south in the Haro Straight we could just make out the “blows” and a little bit of dorsal fin. We couldn’t tell if they were heading south, or north towards us - but soon they were getting closer! Another guide, Casey was out further with his two guests (ladies also from Texas) and it appeared they were right in the whale’s path - super exciting! We headed south, anticipating the whales would turn in to the head of Henry’s Island and they did! We met up with Casey’s group and rafted our 6 boats together. Jonathan had told us Orcas sometimes think that’s interesting, and it proved to be true. They were all around us, putting on a show! Spy hops (where they just get their head up and look around), full breaches, dorsal slaps, tail flips, they showed us all of their moves. Words can’t describe the joy and delight this brought to us! I tried to take some video and photos, but it was so much better to just enjoy the moment.

I’m not sure how the guides know this, but the Orcas last night supposedly belonged to a “transient” pod, and what we saw today was the “J pod of the Southern Residents.”

We spent an hour with the Orcas, then they moved on to the south. By that time, I was ready to get out of the boat anyway! We paddled north and landed on a beautiful beach where we had lunch and a stretch break.

Since we’d messed around a bit, Jonathan thought we’d be fighting a bit of current and wind as we paddled back to the launch and that was the case! We powered through it, which is better than slogging along. Just before our turn there was a commercial boat harvesting salmon - I say harvesting not fishing because they were hauling in huge nets full. Jonathan was not happy about that. They have a moratorium on salmon fishing for the general public due to the decline in the salmon population (which directly affects the Orca population) but operations like this somehow get permits. Anyway - it’s fun to see a 23 year old so passionate about the cause!

Back to the park where we’d launched about 1:45pm. Warm and sunny, looked a little different than when we left in the rain on Friday. We unloaded our boats and stuffed everything in the trailer. Someone back at the crew office has a lot of clean up to do (Jonathan has a lot of strengths, but cleaning and organizing aren’t among them). We drove back to Friday Harbor with Jonathan talking more about the salmon and the Orca. Two of the Texas guys were science teachers so they always added interesting questions / viewpoints to the conversation!

We said our goodbyes and climbed the hill back to the hotel where we’d left 4 bags Friday morning. Our same clerk was delightful and gave us access to a conference room where we could open and organize all of our bags, clean up a bit and at least change into clean clothes. After that we had 45 minutes until our ferry came, so we hauled our bags to the dock and got a sandwich / latte / smoothie while we waited for our ninth and final ferry of the trip.

This ferry was operated by a private company - the San Juan Clipper, runs between Victoria BC, Friday Harbor and downtown Seattle. The boat wasn’t as nice as some of the state run ferries we’d ridden on, and they were out of chowder and chili, but said they had a few hotdogs left?! Plus it was sold out, so fairly crowded, and a jovial crowd on Sunday evening! We read, napped, snacked. I was glad I had my iPod along as the crowd was just a little too much right then and I needed to chill.

[placetobenation]

*** Scott & JT’s Vintage Vault Refresh reviews are a chronological look back at WWE PPV and TV history that began with a review of WrestleMania I. The PICs have revisited these events and refreshed all of their fun facts that provide insight into the match, competitors and state of the company as well as their overviews of the match action and opinions and thoughts on the outcomes. In addition, Jeff Jarvis assists in compiling historical information and the Fun Facts in each of the reviews. Also, be sure to leave feedback on the reviews at our Facebook page. Enjoy! ***

Monday Night Raw #120

July 17, 1995 (June 26, 1995) Danville High School Danville, PA Announcers: Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler

1) Owen Hart & Yokozuna defeats Gus Kantarakis & Jim Dimitri when Hart submits Dimitri with the Sharpshooter at 2:54

Scott: So the Tag Team Champions are facing the babyface Greek warriors? It’s been a while since we’ve seen the Tag Team Champions in action. We are a week away from IYH so all the big players will likely be on this week. Before the open we had promos from Shawn Michaels & IRS, who will face each other later in the show. This one is a pretty quick squash because we have a lot to do this week. Grade: DUD

JT: Welcome to this week’s edition of Raw where things may be feeling a tad stale as we are still holed up in Danville, PA. Of course, the crowd has held up well to date so we will see. IYH is less than a week away and the hype machine is in high gear. Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler welcome us to the show and we head right down to the ring where Owen Hart and Yokozuna head to the ring to battle a pair of Greek underdogs. Vince reminds us that the champs are battling the Allied Powers in Nashville as Jim Cornette says that the names of these jobbers sound like a law firm. We get more Isaac Yankem talk, of course, as the match gets under way. Vince also tells us that Yoko is checking in at 641 pounds these days and King says he weighs more than the Blu Brothers combined. Owen and Yoko dominate the action and pick up the win as they head into looking to continue their dominance on Sunday. Grade: DUD

*** Todd Pettengill is here with our final In Your House report. The show is this Sunday and here is the card:

Diesel vs. Sid – WWF Title Lumberjack Match Shawn Michaels vs. Jeff Jarrett – WWF Intercontinental Title Match 1-2-3 Kid vs. Roadie Allied Powers vs. Owen Hart & Yokozuna – WWF Tag Team Title Match Razor Ramon & Savio Vega vs. Men on a Mission Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Henry Godwinn

Also, Shawn Michaels will be performing “With My Baby, Tonight”. Call your cable company right now… don’t be left behind! See you Sunday! ***

2) Jean-Pierre Lafitte defeats Dave Thornberg with the cannonball at 2:32

Scott: We just had our final IYH report with Todd, and now the French-Canadian Pirate is in action. Vince is talking about the retirement (kayfabe, he was fired in real life) of Jack Tunney as WWF President, and the rumors are rampant as to who the new on-air boss will be. Other than that this match isn’t much. We need more of the big players on this episode to do the final hard sell for Sunday and not the random guys that won’t be on Sunday. Grade: DUD

JT: Back down to the ring, Jean-Pierre Lafitte is heading to the ring to battle Dave Thornberg. Vince says Jean-Pierre is a descendent of the legendary pirate Jean Lafitte and Thornberg is related to former Attorney General Dick Thornberg. We also get some talking about Queen Elizabeth and then Vince talks about the retirement of Jack Tunney as WWF President. The search is on for his official replacement. Vince tells us things have gone missing from the locker room lately, hinting that the pirate is the reason why. Lafitte easily finishes off Thornberg with the cannonball. He has looked really good in these squashes, airing it all out without caution. We will see him Sunday at ringside as he is one of Sid’s lumberjacks. Grade: DUD

*** We visit Sunnyvale, CA where former Headshrinker Fatu is visiting his hometown and talking about where and how he grew up. Now that he is a big star, he wants to make a difference just like his mom told him to do when he was younger. ***

*** We get one last look at Jeff Jarrett’s “With My Baby, Tonight” video before he performs live in Nashville this Sunday. ***

3) Shawn Michaels defeats IRS with the Superkick at 8:33

Fun Fact: Tonight we say goodbye to IRS (Mike Rotunda) on Raw. He will participate at In Your House #2 as one of the lumberjacks in the main event before leaving the WWF. Rotunda would return to WCW in September as V.K. Wallstreet.

Scott: Now this is what I mean. Shawn Michaels is in one of the most high profile matches on Sunday’s PPV, so he needs to be on this show having a great warm up match. Indeed he faces one of the most solid, dependable workers in the company right now. Before this match we saw a Fatu vignette, as the Headshrinkers are apparently gone and he’s now “making a difference”. Whatever that means. We also watched, AGAIN, the “With my Baby Tonight” video. With Sunday’s show in Nashville it is apparent that Jeff Jarrett is the one with the big push going into this show. He’s the Intercontinental Champion and he’s “performing” live at the show. This has been a fun match so far as IRS knows how to sell Shawn’s high octane offense while wearing his alternate blue button down shirt. IRS takes control with power strikes and a shot with the steel steps. Vince said that both Sid and Diesel are visible at the entrance in the back of the aisle but we don’t see them. The match is really hard hitting and is Shawn’s best match since WrestleMania, not that he’s wrestled many of them. IRS ducked the Superkick a couple times before he finally walked into one. Shawn gets the victory and is ready for Sunday in Nashville. The more Shawn Michaels matches on Raw, the better the grades are. Grade: **1/2

JT: It time for our marquee match of the evening as Shawn Michaels has one last tune up before his big title match with Jeff Jarrett on Sunday. Here he faces IRS, the old stalwart of the Million Dollar Corporation. Irwin is decked out in his blue dress shirt this week, mixing things up after four years in the white. Sadly it is also the last time we will see IRS on Raw before he leaves the company. Michaels toys with Irwin a bit to start, messing with him in the ring and then smacking him around on the floor. Shawn heats up a bit an unloads a flurry of offense on Irwin, drilling him with a dropkick and then grabbing a side headlock. IRS dodged a charge and Shawn careening to the floor where IRS followed and slung him into the steps. The crowd fires up an “Irwin” chant as Vince and King note that Sid and Diesel are both looking on from the backstage area. Back in the ring, we get one last Raw IRS abdominal stretch as Ted DiBiase cheers his charge on. Shawn breaks the hold but Irwin maintains control, gets a near fall and then hooks a chinlock. Irwin maintains the hold through a break but Shawn would eventually power out of the hold and start to batter Irwin with a barrage of offense. Irwin was able to dodge the Superkick and land in a clothesline but eventually his time ran out and Michaels leveled him with the kick for the win. This was a solid TV match and a perfect way for Irwin to go out. He was the big workhorse on Raw for well over a year and always gave us a solid outing each time. He wasn’t the most engrossing wrestler or character but he was definitely a fabric of the show as it got going. Farewell, Irwin. We will see Shawn Michaels on Sunday as he tries to take away the IC title from the clutches of Double J. Grade: **

*** We head to the aisle for a visit with Barry Didinsky, who is offering up Shawn Michaels shirts and glasses as an exclusive deal tonight. Shawn pops in and plants a kiss on a young lady modeling a Razor Ramon shirt as Didinsky finishes his pitch. ***

*** Back to the dentist office we go where Jerry Lawler is watching Isaac Yankem torture some poor child. Lawler talks shit to Bret Hart and says he will see the pain Yankem can bring in the ring soon. And afterwards, Bret and Stu Hart can gum their food together since neither will have teeth. ***

4) Kama defeats Billy Mack with an uppercut at 2:02

Scott: Billy Mack is from Connecticut! Another on the list of…2. Him and Hunter Hearst-Helmsley. Kama is carrying around the chain made from Undertaker’s urn. Speaking of the Deadman, where is he? We haven’t seen him since the go-home Raw before KOTR, and he hasn’t been seen since. Once again, Vince isn’t spreading the wealth on the superstars for both Raw and the syndies. Since Raw launched two and a half years ago we’ve seen Undertaker, maybe ten times? Sure he was out from January-August 1994, but even since then he’s been on Raw, maybe five times? Kama wins this easily but if there’s a feud with Taker going on, we need to see some of that. Grade: DUD

JT: It is back to the ring for our final match of the evening as Kama jobs out with Ted DiBiase to battle Billy Mack. DiBiase is all over the place on these Raws, it feels like he shows up at least two or three times a show at this point. Kama is still wearing the chain that was melded from Undertaker’s urn as their rivalry continues on. Of course, at KOTR, Kama cost Undertaker his first round match with Mabel, furthering the issue. Vince tells that this Sunday will be the first time the WWF Title is defended in a Lumberjack Match on PPV. He also ponders if Isaac Yankem will show up on Raw next week. Vince pushes IYH hard again as Kama wrecks Mack and finishes him with an uppercut for the win. Now he awaits the Deadman. Grade: DUD

*** Vince McMahon heads to the ring to chat with WWF Champion Diesel. Vince asks Diesel if his title reign will come to an end on Sunday and Diesel calls Psycho Sid a big chicken. He says Ted DiBiase bought a bunch of friends to stand around the ring at In Your House but Diesel says you can’t buy friends. He says Sid will eat a Jackknife and see his career end on Sunday and then invites his lumberjack friends to the ring: Bam Bam Bigelow, Smoking Gunns, Bob Holly, 1-2-3 Kid, Tekkno Team 2000, Adam Bomb, Savio Vega, Duke Droese, Fatu, Man Mountain Rock & Shawn Michaels. Diesel role-plays as Sid and shows what will happen Sunday if he tries to run away. Sid then shows up and walks down the aisle and jaws with Diesel. After a break, Sid’s lumberjacks also showed up and surrounded the ring. McMahon told Sid to get in the ring and go eye-to-eye and after teasing he would do so, he backed down and let ringside. ***

Final Analysis

Scott: This episode is roughly like last week’s episode, with some throwaway matches and one good match. Shawn Michaels is getting into a groove since returning from injury. This is the stretch where he establishes himself as the #2 worker in the company behind Bret Hart. Two different workers but Bret obviously was the alpha dog right now. The other highlight for me was finding the second jobber ever from my home state of Connecticut. Billy Mack wrestles about as well as Jerry Allen. Oh and the sad follow up on the announcement of Jack Tunney’s retirement. There will never be another Jack Tunney. Final Grade: C

JT: We wrap up the build to In Your House with a solid edition of Raw. Again, things were very focused and formatted and they made every moment count and did a nice job hyping up the PPV, which they are clearly putting stock in to help the company bounce back from the disastrous King of the Ring. And the card they have put together does have some nice potential. We are still spending a lot of time on characters that are probably headed nowhere instead of really showcasing the top stars but there is no urgency to do so with a lack of serious television competition. I liked the final interview too and the parallels to last week’s version with Sid. The final image of all the lumberjacks was a good one. I am not too crazy about how they have portrayed Sid as a pussy but the stipulation certainly fits the character design. The shrewd move would be for him to show up as a bad ass in Nashville and wreck house. We will see I guess. Until next week… Final Grade: C

#IFTTT #Place to Be Nation

[mushville-blog1]

Conference Champ picks

Well folks, we’ve reached the end of another college football regular season. Yes, this is a sad time, but we still have one great Saturday (and tonight’s Pac12 game) before we head into bowl season (also known as Degenerate December). On the eve (day of the eve?) of Conference Championship weekend, I sit at 41-38-3 after going 3-3 last week. I really want to hit that 60% mark, so I am willing to either win by swinging my sword or go out flat on my back laying on my shield. Let’s pick some games: Akron vs Toledo (-21, o/u 58) – MAC Championship Come on, if you read me consistently you knew I wasn’t passing on the MAC championship game. This is a rematch from a 48-21 Toledo win on October 21st. Not a ton has changed between these two since then; Toledo has way more firepower and playmakers than Akron does. Toledo also faced better competition in their half of the conference and has wins over Nevada and Tulsa. They are simply the better team and don’t be shocked if this thing is over by halftime. Big number but lay it on the Rockets. Toledo covers the 21. TCU vs Oklahoma (-7.5, o/u 64) – Big 12 Championship Sooners won this game 38-20 a few weeks ago and I’m not really sure how much different this one will be. I mean sure, it’s a neutral site game, there is the revenge factor for TCU, it’s hard to beat a good team twice in one season and Oklahoma’s defense isn’t any better this week than it was last time they played. All that said, I just don’t see it for TCU. They aren’t equipped to win a shootout and I don’t see them stopping this OU offense. It’s too big of a task for this TCU defense that is wildly overrated. They’ve given up 30 points 3 times, has feasted on Kansas and played teams with massive QB issues Kansas State, Iowa St (who they lost to) and Texas. Folks, ignore what the TV hype experts are telling you, this game goes down the same as the last one. Sooners roll, lay the 7.5. Georgia vs Auburn (-3, o/u 48) – SEC Championship We get another rematch of a recent game, in which Auburn destroyed Georgia at home. This game is a neutral site in Atlanta, not Jordan-Hare Stadium and believe it or not I think that matters here. After the Auburn loss, the public perception is Georgia simply isn’t that good (we’ll talk more about perception shortly) and that their big wins over Tennessee and Florida weren’t that impressive given how bad those teams are. The public is continuing to ignore the Bulldogs as 60% of the betting money is on Auburn right now. That’s fine, because I like fading the public and I’m going to do it here. Auburn had two running backs go down with injuries in the Bama game and is already without Kamryn Pettaway. It’s sounding like Kerryon Johnson is going to play, but how long can he go and be effective with a bum shoulder. On the other side, Georgia wants to undo the damage their loss to Auburn caused. It knocked them out of the #1 spot and playoffs. A win Saturday and they are all but assured a spot in the playoff. Unlike TCU, I am going with the revenge here and taking Georgia plus the 3 and I’ll put a few bucks down on the +100 too. Fresno State @ Boise State (-8.5, o/u 49) – Mountain West Championship Rematch from last week where Fresno handled the Broncos 28-17 at home. The return match is in Boise on the horrible blue turf. Prior to last week’s tilt, Boise was thinking if things fell their way in the AAC with Memphis, USF and UCF they had a shot at the Group of 5 spot in the New Year’s Six. Well they don’t now and their fans seem to have zero interest in this game. As of Wednesday, they had about 12,000 tickets available (for a 36,000 seat stadium). As far as the football goes, Fresno is playing with a ton of confidence and you just have to think a conference title means more to them than it does to Boise. I’ll take the 8.5 with Fresno and won’t be one bit shocked if they pull the upset, again. Miami vs Clemson (-10, o/u 46) – ACC Championship A few weeks ago, as a Miami fan I was really confident the Canes were going to beat Clemson. I was disregarding what my eyes told me about the Canes all season and was just focusing on what they had done to VA Tech and Notre Dame in consecutive weeks. Remember a few minutes ago when I talked about public perception with Auburn and Georgia? Well, the public perception from most is Miami really isn’t as great as their record and hype. They struggled with much lesser ACC teams (and Toledo for 3 quarters) and only put together two great games at home. If I take my fan goggles off for a second, all of that is true. Look, Miami is a good team, not great. Their defense is excellent and they help their very inconsistent offense and QB out with turnovers and short fields. I’m not sure how much of that they can do against a very efficient Clemson offense. QB Kelly Bryant has stepped in for Deshaun Watson and played some pretty good football. He has veteran WR’s and TE’s, plus he knows their defense is as good as anyone so he doesn’t have to force plays. Even after the Pitt game, I thought this was a one a possession game, but I am not so sure now. Miami is down another weapon offense and I am not sure where QB Malik Rosier’s head is at after the weird move to pull him and re-insert him against Pitt last week. I think this is close early, but Clemson eventually finds a way to cover the 10. Man I hope I get this one wrong. Wisconsin vs Ohio State (-6, o/u 51) – Big 10 Championship It’s put up or shut up time for these two schools. Ohio State thinks they deserve a playoff spot with a win here (you lost to Iowa by 30, shut up, you don’t). Wisconsin has had to hear about how crappy their schedule has been all season and needs a win over the Buckeyes to silence some of that (your schedule sucks, shut up and get over it). Before the season, I told you that Wisconsin was a sleeper to make the playoffs and that you should have bet them at 18-1. If you had listened to me, you are probably pretty happy (maybe nervous too) right now. Buckeyes have a major injury concern with QB JT Barrett and his knee. He had surgery on it Sunday to remove some loose stuff (medical term), but everyone says he is going to play. Part of me thinks this is 100% gamesmanship by Urban Meyer and that there will be a game time announcement that he is out or will be only used in an emergency. Even if he does play, how effective is he going to be? He’s already a terrible passer (if you disagree with that, you’re delusional, a Buckeye fan or both) and if his mobility is limited against this defense, well this could look like Iowa or Clemson last year. Even at full strength, I don’t think this Buckeye team is as good as everyone else does. They got drilled by a mediocre Iowa team, they clipped Penn State when James Franklin took his foot off the gas, struggled with a QB less Michigan team and got beat by the best team they faced in Oklahoma. I think this Wisconsin team is somewhere between Oklahoma and first half Penn State and both of those are better than Ohio State. Throw on top what happened to this Wisconsin team last year in this same building/game. I’ll take the 6 points with Bucky Badger and I’ll throw some coin down that they win this game outright.

[novellar1582145-blog]

You Make These ssbbw Mistakes?

Leigh Darby is the busty boss of Danny D, and she's a real hard case. If her helper is fired by her there's a job opening at any office, and both Danny and his coworker Chris desire the career.

Chris shows off his winning attitude and personal qualifications, and just when it seems like he's going to get the job, Danny pulls out his own biggest qualification for any position: his huge cock! She sucks and strokes that massive willie of his while he sucks on her beautiful big tits. Once her cunt is dripping wet, she strips down to nothing but a few sexy stockings and garters so she can ride Danny's big dick to a nice load of cum! Anastasia Lux ladies and gentlemen! She's perfect for BigTitsRoundAsses. A big jugg babe from Europe. Anastasia is gorgeous from head to toe. We haven't had big natural tits like this in quite some time. I'm sure she will be appreciated by the fans. You have to watch those huge tits and her huge butt shake all over the place. Particularly when she's getting drilled. Potro made sure she felt every inch of this cock. Come and see During this weeks Backroom Facials we possess the beautiful Vanessa Luna and from the gate this woman was oozing with se allure no hot ups needed here we have right into the actions and let's simply say that this cutie managed the dick into ger advantage and rode it like it had been the previous penis on planet earth lol I really hope you all enjoy how this gorgeous woman rides the cock! Stay tuned! Today on Large Tits Round Asses we have the gorgeous Bethany Benz. Man this chick is fucking fine, all natural body, big perky firm boobsround juicy ass and a beautiful face. We get her to rally around her big tits and give us a bit of a show before Max comes in and lays down the law. He immediately destroys her tight little pink pussy, beats her cunt like it stole something. He manages to hold off till the end and explodes all over her nice chocolate boobs. Love Thus yea I was in the mood for plenty of things the other day. . First I wanted a sexy black chick with huge boobs, a big butt and a freaky personality, Got her, her name is Aleera Flair. Next, I wanted her to show me her big tits, got that too. And to top off it I wanted to earn a huge mess did it. An it moved a little something like that...I poured a large glass of milk about these Big boobs, then Allera place chocolate syrup Bethany Benz can be actually a beautiful tall and big ma-ma from Cali. She's a woman and she is sexy as hell. She might be perfect! Max couldn't be more happier. I'm sure once he caught a peek of Bethany Preston had a couple regrets. I know I would be full of sorrow basically passed this up and had a opportunity. Bethany has a great set of boobs and they chubby [https://Ssbbw.Tv/] So it makes it even better to watch her before she decided to picture porn, Bethany was a thriving woman. She just wants to get right. She is a chick who likes it rough and that can go on it as far as she gives it. I know I really like to watch me a few boobs bouncing up and down and that's exactly what we get in this episode of Facial Fest. All in all, in the long run, she has for. Who doesn't like to watch a beautiful woman get sprayed with cum all over her lips and eyes. Enjoy! All of her boobs, then we added the mixture and caramel and honey, and shit got Afterward my girl went into my boy friend Jmac was waiting to giver her a fantastic fucking and herself washed up which is what he did!! Shit was phenomenal, Love! Anastasia Lux get fucked. Enjoy. Hey wasup people, here is the man JT with another episode of BALLHONEYS. Today I have a surprise for you guys. Within this segment its all about the butt! Her name is Royalty, and also this girl has an incredible supporting. I fulfill her and started speaking with her a little. Then we proceed inside the flat of a friend of mine. She started teasing around, when we got there! She showed us her huge round ass, that receptive our appettite. There clearly was a good chemistry between Royalty and my buddy. Therefore she started sucking his cock quite great. She dide't even stop, she went on plus one suck and licking just like no one else. The actions started! With a position that you can't miss, and also a doggystyle that shows the big and succulent butt that I'm telling you guys abou. So come in and test out this dark beuty, because is all about the ass!

[placetobenation]

*** Scott & JT’s Vintage Vault Refresh reviews are a chronological look back at WWE PPV and TV history that began with a review of WrestleMania I. The PICs have revisited these events and refreshed all of their fun facts that provide insight into the match, competitors and state of the company as well as their overviews of the match action and opinions and thoughts on the outcomes. In addition, Jeff Jarvis assists in compiling historical information and the Fun Facts in each of the reviews. Also, be sure to leave feedback on the reviews at our Facebook page. Enjoy! ***

Monday Night Raw #106

April 10, 1995 (Taped April 3, 1995) Mid-Hudson Civic Center Poughkeepsie, NY Announcers: Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler

1) Adam Bomb wrestles Tatanka to a double countout 7:45

Scott: I kind of like this hoss vs. hoss battle here, and if there’s any chance for Adam Bomb to get into the groove as a babyface, this is a match he needs to win. Tatanka’s shine since the heel turn has pretty much dulled so him losing isn’t really a dig at him, but a clean Adam Bomb win would surely push him up the card. Vince mentions that DiBiase has a HUGE announcement coming soon. I wonder if that means someone is joining his Corporation. Perhaps someone who is huge in his own right? Hmmmmm. Tatanka works Bomb over early but recovers to throw some clotheslines until Tatanka bails to the floor. Adam Bomb follows to the floor and both men brawl to a double countout. That is a horseshit decision here, unless more matches are to follow in this feud. Otherwise Bomb should have won this clean. The match was standard but the ending was pretty awful. Grade: *

JT: Welcome back to Poughkeepsie for this week’s taped episode of Monday Night Raw! Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler are in the booth this week and Vince is rocking a very odd brown sports coat and black turtleneck combo. Not exactly his best look. We are now a full week removed from WrestleMania but the effects on the WWF are still being felt across the roster. However, our opener doesn’t quite fit that description as we have a battle of two aimless wrestlers that haven’t accomplished much of anything in 1995. Adam Bomb makes his way out first as Vince notes how popular Bomb was at the Fan Festival, especially with the Special Olympians that were in attendance. Tatanka heads out next, accompanied by Ted DiBiase and Vince talks about how the Million Dollar Team was embarrassed back in Hartford. Tatanka lands some strikes off the bell but Bomb counters with a hip toss and slam and then sends the Native American bailing with a dropkick. Tatanka returned and regained control with some more lazy strikes but Bomb struck back with a leaping clothesline for two. After a break, Tatanka was stomping away and Lawler and Vince were still discussing football. Tatanka continued to meander through some offense, eventually hitting a DDT for two. Tatanka cranked on a chinlock and then leveled Bomb with a knee to the gut after the big man broke the hold. Bomb powered up again and started to unload a flurry of offense, mixing in punches and clotheslines. Tatanka bailed to the floor but Bomb followed him out and the two brawled out there until a soft double countout. What a waste of a match. Just put Bomb over! Tatanka is going nowhere and Bomb has accomplished nothing in nearly two years. The match was plodding and aimless and then capped with an insipid finish. Grade: 1/2*

2) Headshrinkers defeat Mike Bell & Tony Devito when Fatu pins DeVito with a splash off the top rope at 3:00

Scott: Standard tag team match here with a babyface team that can give Owen & Yoko a great big man match with Owen doing all the bumping. I love seeing Sionne back in the company, as he’s one of my favorite big men of all time. Vince & Lawler are yapping about Duckman, which is on after Raw on USA. I miss the crap movies plugs during Raw. This wasn’t much. Grade: DUD

JT: As the Headshrinkers march to the ring for our next bout, Vince and Jerry chat about the new blue M&M as well as USA’s Duckman. Sionne and Fatu are accompanied by Afa and Lou Albano as always and Vince thinks they could be our next WWF Tag Team Champions. They are also embroiled in a feud with the Blu Brothers. Albano is rocking jeans which just looks weird for some reason. Fatu and Bell open things up with the Samoan unloading headbutts and right hands before cutting Bell down with a clothesline. Lawler plugs tonight’s Duckman episode which guest stars Heather Locklear, so check that out if you are around. The Headshrinkers take turns beating on Bell and DeVito until Fatu pins DeVito after a splash from the top rope. The Shrinkers are still squash artists and may be in line for a big time feud based on the commentary. Grade: DUD

*** We visit with soon-to-be WWF newcomer Jean-Pierre Lafitte as he sits on a throne and talks about buried treasure and his ancestors. He will debut next week. We also check out footage of Bob Holly in action on the Mobile International Speedway this past weekend.***

*** We head back to last week to check out footage, including what occurred during the break, of Shawn Michaels telling Sid his services were no longer needed, leading to Sid snapping and leveling Michaels with a trio of powerbombs. Diesel would eventually make the save for his old friend. Vince McMahon confirms that Michaels will be on the shelf for the near future. ***

3) Kama defeats Scott Taylor with a splash off the middle rope at 2:45

Fun Fact: At WrestleMania, Kama stole the Undertaker’s urn. Since then, he has had the urn melted down and made a gold chain from it.

Scott: So, this storyline continues with the Undertaker and the urn. It seems to be about two years old now, and is honestly pretty dumb. We need more Undertaker on Raw, as his storylines seem to be forgotten because he’s not on enough. Poor Scott Taylor took a pretty solid beating from Kama here, who’s wearing the urn around his neck. I feel a big match with Taker & this guy is coming down the line. This was a one-sided squash. Lawler thinks Taker will dump Paul Bearer because there’s no urn for him to carry anymore. Grade: DUD

JT: We head back to the ring as Kama jogs down to the ring flanked by Ted DiBiase and with a giant gold chain draped around his neck. Of course the chain is made up of the melted down urn, which was stolen at WrestleMania. Taylor gets some flashes of offense but Kama dominates the match as Vince and Lawler discuss the urn and Undertaker’s pans for revenge. The King also talks shit on Mongo McMichael as the match chugs along. Kama eventually nabs the win with an reverse splash off the middle rope. Basic squash here that helps set the stage for Kama’s impending feud with Undertaker. Grade: DUD

*** We head back to last week for footage of Alundra Blayze defeating Bull Nakano for the WWF Women’s Title as well as the aftermath when a mysterious woman attacked Blayze after the bout. McMahon reveals that Blayze suffered a broken nose as a result of the attack. ***

4) Bob Holly, Bret Hart & 1-2-3 Kid defeat Hakushi, Yokozuna & Owen Hart when Holly pins Hart with a roll up at 

Fun Fact: This match is a result of the interference that occurred during the Bob Holly/Hakushi match on MNR last week.

Scott: This has **** stars all over it. Six great workers with very different & distinct styles. Owen seems so much more mature now after winning with first title just one week ago. I also like Yoko with the beard, looking grizzled and veteran. There’s so much history in this match, with Yoko/Bret, Owen/Bret, Owen/Kid so all the chemistry is working perfectly. Hakushi is the wild card but really Yoko is just a boss here, smacking everybody with head butts all over the place and really working the babyfaces over with strong offense while Owen is heckling the crowd. The chants are really hot for Bret, but the match has been sculpted well with keeping him on the apron and the heels working on the smaller Kid, getting mangled by the massive Yoko and the underutilized Hakushi. Finally Kid gets the hot tag and Bret goes crazy but even he can’t fight through the double teams and the two guys with history on the Hitman really gets their shots in until he gets the hot tag to Bob Holly, and it’s Sparky Plugg who gets the pinfall win out of nowhere. That ending was kind of strange, but the match was a lot of fun and the crowd ate it all up. Grade: ***

JT: Back to the ring for our big main event, a match that was set up a week ago on Raw. The brand new WWF Tag Team Champions, Yokozuna and Owen Hart, head to the ring alongside Hakushi, Shinja, Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji. What a crew. Vince puts over that Yoko is bigger and badder than ever and he certainly seems to have regained his menacing presence. He also notes that last week’s Raw scored the highest ratings in the show’s history and the King plugs the big In Your House giveaway. The Hitman, Bob Holly and the Kid hit the ring next and after a quick break we were ready to roll. We open up with a rivalry renewed as Yokozuna starts to work over the Hitman until Bret dodges an elbow drop and lays in some hard punches. Holly tagged in and worked the arm until Hakushi tagged in but that led to more of the same. After a break, Kid tagged in and grabbed the arm but Hakushi quickly turned the tag and tagged in Owen. Owen nabbed a side headlock but Kid broke free and leveled Owen with a hard spin kick. Owen recovered and grabbed control before tagging in Yoko, who leveled Kid with a headbutt. Yoko hooked in a nerve hold and when Kid fought free he drilled with a hard clothesline to keep him grounded. Hakushi tagged back in and worked over Kid as Vince reminds us of the White Angel messing up the Hitman’s award ceremony. Hakushi grabs a near fall and then tags in Owen, who hits a tight backbreaker. After another break, Kid was able to get a cross body block for two but wasn’t able to tag out. Owen tagged in Yoko, who came in and squashed Kid with a huge leg drop. Hakushi came back in next and kept the pressure on, focusing on the lower back. The tide turned when Kid caught a leap frogging Hakushi and planted him with a powerbomb. Kid was able to tag Bret, who met Yoko in the middle of the ring with a big flurry of clotheslines, the last of which took the big man down. Bret followed with a bulldog off the middle rope and then an elbow drop for two. Bret yanked Hakushi into the ring and worked him over in the corner until Yoko recovered and drilled him from behind. Owen tagged in and battered his brother, dropping him with an enziguri and some knee drops to the back of the neck. Bret dodged a charge and made the blind tag to Holly, who slipped in and rolled up Owen for the win and pop. That was some nice shine for Holly, who has really been elevated over the past five months. The match was fine enough but pretty short considering all the talent in there and it felt rushed as a result. It was basically a condensed showcase of what these guys could do if given a lot of time. We only got a taste of Bret and Hakushi going at it, teasing us for their eventual showdown. It also looks like the Kid and Holly could be getting queued up for a title match as well. This was fine enough, especially given how Raw has been of late, but a bit disappointing overall. Grade: **1/2

*** We wrap up with a plug for the WrestleMania Encore Plus, airing on PPV tomorrow night. ***

Final Analysis

Scott:This was a good epispde with a fun main event that got to ***, which you don’t see too often right now. Nothing jumped off the screen at me, mostly because we need some fresh content. The roster is working hard but the talent pool is VERY shallow right now. The Diesel/Shawn stuff is really good but Bret Hart has nothing to sink his teeth into and the tag team division is really bare. WrestleMania was a decent enough show for what they had but it’s really time to reshuffle this mess of a roster and get some fresh blood. Even the fading veterans like Bundy and even Backlund probably need to take a back seat and start to let the youth take over. Now for the first time we have a “secondary” PPV to promote and perhaps that will help things instead of a huge gap leading to King of the Ring. Again, not an awful episode but a lot of work needs to be done. Final Grade: C

JT: Well, this was a fine edition of Raw. There was nothing that stood out as bad but overall there just seems to be a stale air lingering around. Even though the roster is shaken up a bit and being leveraged well it just seems to be lacking star power and captivating characters. Outside of the Shawn Michaels/Sid/Diesel saga, what else is there to really hook you in? Bret Hart and Hakushi should be good in ring but there isn’t much juice to it at all. Beyond that everything just feels like it exists but doesn’t get you fired up. Raw has been fine these last two weeks but a serious roster reshuffle is needed at this point just to clear out some of the lingering deadwood that has accumulated over the past year. We are now just about a month away from the inaugural In Your House, so things should be taking shape soon. We will see if business starts picking up. Final Grade: C+

#IFTTT #Place to Be Nation