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pucksnsticksnhockeyboys · 4 years

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captain’s best friend

summary: it’s a competition to see who is Gabe’s best friend, but is that really what you and EJ are focused on?

warnings: mentions of alcohol, drinking, I think like two swears, unedited writing

word count: 3.6k

note from the writer: everyone say thank you @burkymakar bc she chatted with me through this entire thing (which I wrote in one day)

Game days were some of your favorites. The electric crowd, a whole stadium cheering for the boys on the ice that you knew so well. Overpriced food and even more expensive merchandise. But no matter how much you loved it, it was after a good victory that you truly felt your happiest.

“What? No Johnson jersey?”

You playfully rolled your eyes at the sound of an approaching voice, turning around from your conversation with Aleks Zadorov Mel Landeskog only to come face to toothless face with none other than Erik Johnson.

“Oh, you know, gotta support my best friend.” You teased, tugging at the hem of the Landeskog jersey Gabe had gotten you years ago. The same jersey you wore every game day, so it really shouldn’t have been a surprise to him. EJ scoffed, his own playful grin taking over his features.

“I’m Landy’s best friend.” He stated matter-of-factly and you quickly shook your head at him. Mel, wanting to avoid yet another childish bickering match over who was her husband’s best friend, bumped her hip against yours while balancing a sleeping Linnea on the other side.

“What are you doing tonight?” She asked as more of the boys started emerging from the locker room. You glanced at EJ, having heard about tentative plans to go out to a bar or two if the Avalanche came out with a win, but before you could say anything either way, Andre had swung an arm around your and Erik’s shoulder.

“We’re celebrating!” He cheered, a little too loudly for Linnea sleeping nearby, before removing the arm that was around your shoulders and clapping EJ on the chest. “Two assists, man! I’m buying you a drink tonight.”

“Yeah, you better.” EJ responded goodnaturedly as Gabe arrived, sweeping his daughter into his arms and planting a kiss on his wife’s cheek. After greeting them, he pulled you into a quick hug as Mikko, Tyson, and JT arrived.

“You kids have fun tonight.” Gabe joked, before his gaze fell on you with a faux-serious look. “I’m putting you in charge of making sure they all get home in one piece.”

“You’re not my captain.” You teased, and Gabe narrowed his eyes at you playfully. He kept quiet, bidding you and his teammates goodbye as you made plans with Mel to get brunch the next morning while the boys were at practice.

“Who am I riding with?” You asked as the Landeskogs left. You didn’t have much of an opinion—as long as you didn’t ride with Andre, who acted as if he was in NASCAR each time he drove. Tyson’s face twisted up in a mischievous smile that you didn’t get to question before he started speaking.

“You can go with EJ.” He said, as if it was some big deal. Mikko chuckled then, too, while JT smirked smugly and you felt entirely out of the loop. You glanced to EJ with your brows furrowed, only to find him already glaring at Tyson. That only deepened your confusion, because as far as you knew, you had a pretty good friendship with the defenseman.

“I mean, if it’s fine with him.” You offered, figuring that if he truly had a problem with it, he’d take you up on your offer out. Instead, his gaze snapped to meet your confused one, and his look softened incredibly.

“Yeah, no, of course it’s fine.” He cleared his throat, and with one last glare at Tyson who was snickering, everyone made their way to the cars. The place Andre picked wasn’t far from the area, and it was only after a few moments of the radio playing softly did you gain the nerve to speak up.

“I could’ve made one of the other guys drive me, you know.” You explained, still feeling some of the awkwardness from the previous conversation. You weren’t sure why you were so concerned with making sure he didn’t feel inconvenienced by driving you, but you did.

“I’m sure you could have, but I don’t mind driving you.” He chuckled, turning to glance at you for a second before returning his attention to the road. You blatantly studied his profile, watching as the lights of Denver cascaded across his face. He probably felt your gaze, because the corners of his lips quirked upwards mischievously. Your attention snapped forward out the windshield as he opened his mouth to say something, probably about how you were staring. “There’s a team dinner at Landy’s next week, did he tell you?”

“Not yet.” You responded, practically hearing the smirk in his words as you admitted that Gabe told him something he didn’t tell you.

“It’s because I’m his best friend. He told me first.” He said proudly, and you couldn’t help but laugh.

“Or maybe, it’s because it’s a team dinner, and I’m not on the team.” Though factually, you weren’t on the team, it had been a long time since you hadn’t been invited to an Avalanche as someone’s plus one. Gabe had brought you around the team so much that they progressively became your friends just as much as they were his, and slowly it was just expected that you’d arrive at any and all team events.

“I’m pretty sure Landy would hate it if you didn’t show up.”

“Just Landy?” You asked without processing how flirtatious the question actually was. Your heart was beating in your chest as you waited for Erik’s answer, and you felt his attention flick to you as he pulled into a parking spot a short distance from the bar.

“No, not just him.” He said quietly but clearly. You nodded, missing the fond look he sent your way as you picked at your nails. The air in the car felt thick, and even though you had taken off the jersey, opting to wear the shirt underneath that you had on in preparation for going out, you felt incredibly warm.

You heard your name being called out, and you saw Andre and Mikko standing on the sidewalk in front of the car. You smiled, thankful for the distraction, and climbed out. You heard EJ get out, and he soon fell in step with you.

The bar was much more crowded than you thought it would have been, but then again it was a Friday after an Avalanche win, so people were in a good mood. Nate and JT immediately slipped away to get a table big enough for the crowd that had arrived with the team, while the other boys headed into the crowd. You had been momentarily distracted by the atmosphere and trying to decide what you wanted to do first, so when a hand settled on your lower back you understandably jumped.

“Easy there, killer.” EJ teased as you turned around to see who it was. You relaxed upon realizing that it was him, and not some stranger, and subconsciously you stepped closer to him. He leaned down enough to whisper in your ear in an attempt to speak over the clamor of the bar, and you reasoned that the heat rising to your face was a result of the crowd. “Do you want to get a drink first or sit down?”

“A drink.” You settled on. If he was going to be hanging on you all not—not that you truly minded—you would need some liquid courage. For a second, you saw his toothless grin widen in mischief before his hand slipped into yours and he used it to keep you close to him as he used his large frame to make a path through the crowd.

A strong drink, you decided.

And if it was a few strong drinks, who could blame you? Erik had barely left your side the entire night, warding off any creepy guy that approached and keeping you company. Even when you pulled Tyson and Andre to the floor to goofily dance around as your drinks started to hit you, you felt his eyes on you. Tyson must have noticed, because he gave you a shit-eating look no less than three times, but as the drinks kept coming, you found it harder and harder to care.

The end of the night came quicker than you thought it would, but the boys had practice in the morning and Nate was there to make sure everyone made it out of the bar by one in the morning.

“And to think you were supposed to be in charge.” He teased, watching as you giggled at seemingly nothing. You were drunk, not terribly so, but drunk nonetheless. Nate patted you on the shoulder and Andre pulled you in for an obnoxiously dramatic hug, and then it was just left with you and EJ at the bar, who you had seen nurse the same beer all night.

“Come on, I’ll give you a lift.” Erik offered, closing out his tab and yours, despite your protest.

“I’m fine, EJ. I can just get an Uber.” You shook your head, but he didn’t see, as he wrapped an arm around you and began the trek towards the exit.

“There is no way I’m letting you get into an Uber by yourself, while you’re drunk.” He huffed, rolling his eyes like it was the most obvious thing in the world. You tried not to think about how your heart skipped a beat at his thoughtfulness, or how his touch on your lower back as he led you through the crowd set you aflame. “Landy would kill me if I let you do that.”

Oh.

“Yeah,” You chuckled, a little breathlessly as the cold Denver air pricked at your skin. You decided that sober you would have to deal with why you felt more than a little disappointed that the only reason he wasn’t letting you climb in an Uber was Gabe. “Landy would hate it if you left me, his best friend, to find my own way home.”

“C’mon.” He chuckled, surprisingly not taking the bait for your age old argument of who was the captain’s best friend. You found yourself wrapping a hand around EJ’s arm and moving closer to him in an attempt to both steal some of his body heat and not get lost in the crowd of people on the sidewalk, with the added benefit of making him slow his steps down so he wasn’t using his long legs to race ahead. “Let’s get you home.”

The next morning you woke up to an empty house and a dull headache. While it wasn’t that bad of a hangover, you still felt the effects of the one too many drinks you had the night before. The first thing you did upon waking up was check the time, seeing you still had a little over two hours before you had to meet Mel. After responding to a few texts, you rolled over in preparation to get up and make breakfast, only to see a glass of water, a bottle of painkillers, and a note that you certainly hadn’t left on your nightstand. Picking up the note—which really was a napkin stolen from your kitchen—you recognized the scratchy handwriting.

Drink up. —Landy’s best friend

You couldn’t help the smile that grew on your face at the simple note, and quickly took the medicine and water before busying yourself with getting ready for brunch with Mel. It didn’t work, and you caught yourself more than six times thinking of the tall, toothless blond that shared the spot of the captain’s best friend with you. Even as you made your way to the predetermined diner, you couldn’t wipe the dopey smile off of your face as a result of the previous night’s events.

“So, you and EJ?” Mel teased the moment you sat down at the table. You had been cooing at Linnea, but stopped abruptly upon hearing her suggestive question. There was no you and EJ. There was you and then there was EJ.

But why did your heart skip a beat at the idea?

“No?” You said, unsure what it was exactly that you were denying. She simply shot you one of her unimpressed mom looks that you had seen directed at Gabe more than Linnea, and you gave her a confused look of your own.

“JT told Gabe that you left the bat with EJ last night.” She explained, and you rolled your eyes at the redhead who apparently couldn’t help but gossip. Mel was looking at you expectantly, and part of you wondering what made her think that something would happen between you and her husband’s second best friend.

“Erik just helped me get home last night, so I wouldn’t have to take an Uber.” You explained, and you quickly regretted your word choice as her smile turned mischievous.

“Oh, so he’s Erik now?” She teased you for calling him by his name instead of his nickname that everyone called him. Linnea saved you from coming up with a response, deciding she hadn’t gotten enough attention and babbled loudly, gaining her mom’s attention.

Arriving at the Landeskogs later that week, you hadn’t realized it was wine night, until you spotted four different bottles on the island table. You shot a confused look to Mel, you gave an exasperated sigh.

“They’re EJ’s, he’s getting into wine collecting, and brought some over for Gabe.” She explained, and you chuckled. You remembered him telling you something along the lines of his new hobby, but after your conversation with her over brunch days prior, you weren’t going to readily tell her your communication with Erik had increased.

“Is he here?” You asked casually, picking up the bottle that was closest to you. As if in response to your question, you heard Erik’s loud laugh fill the house and you couldn’t help the smile that bloomed on your face. You followed Mel into the living room, finding EJ and Gabe both sitting on the large sectional, with Linnea bouncing on Erik’s lap.

“Hey, you made it!” Gabe cheered upon seeing you, and Erik’s head snapped towards you, a smile on his face. Your heart skipped a beat momentarily at the sight, but you were dragged back to reality as Linnea cooed at you, making grabby hands.

“I was promised dinner.” You teased, dropping into the spot besides Erik. He seemed to be able to tell what you were after, and set Linnea in your lap. His arm went to the back of the couch behind your head, and you tried your best to focus on making faces at the baby in your lap instead of his proximity.

“You were promised dinner? I was just told to bring wine.” EJ joked, earning chuckles from everyone else in the room.

“That’s because I’m Landy’s best friend.” You said smugly, glancing at Erik out of the corner of your eye. He grinned, and from the mischievous glint in his eyes you could tell he was taking the bait this time.

“He trusts me enough to pick out a good wine, I’m the best friend.” He replied, and you heard Gabe and Mel groan in good fun. It wasn’t the first time you and Erik had gotten into the playful argument about who was Landy’s actual best friend.

“It doesn’t count as ‘picking out a good wine’ if you just bring four bottles. That’s cheating.” You grinned, your attention fully on him then.

“Oh my god, just kiss already.” Gabe groaned, earning an elbow from Mel, who honestly didn’t seem all too concerned with actually putting a stop to her husband’s comments. Your stomach dropped and your face warmed, and you turned back to Linnea, who had begun pulling on your shirt in a bid for attention.

“Why not?” Erik teased, surely he was joking, but his knee knocked against yours after a beat of silence. You spared a glance up to Mel, who had the audacity to look smug while you were freaking out.

“Why don’t we give you guys a moment.” Mel suggested, patting Gabe on the knee so he got the message and scooped up Linnea from your lap. You watched in confusion about why you and Erik would need a moment as they left, but just before Gabe disappeared, he turned and pointed a very captain-like finger at EJ.

“Just say it, man.” And then he was gone, leaving you even more confused and flustered as Erik moved his arm from on the couch behind you to his lap, where he anxiously fiddled with his watch.

“Say what?” You questioned, turning slightly to face him.

“Fuckin’ Landy.” He muttered, though you assumed he was speaking to himself as he had yet to look up to meet your gaze since Gabe left. “Alright, here goes nothing.”

“Erik—?”

“I like you. Like, a lot.”

And that truly was not what you thought he was going to say, so you said nothing out of pure shock. You weren’t upset that he had told you his feelings, far from it, but he had caught you off guard.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. I’ll just—” He started, and made to get up to leave, but your hand shot out before you could register you were moving and grabbed his forearm, causing him to stop his rambling.

“No, no. I just, I didn’t think you’d like me that way.” You confessed, and EJ laughed like it should have been obvious. He settled back into his seat, but you could tell he was still tense.

“Are you kidding me? I’m crazy about you. Whenever we go out, I’m stuck by you, and barely drink, just I can be the one to drive you home. When Landy first started bringing you around, he used to give me so much shit because I asked about you all the time. He still does, but it’s because I took forever to make a move.” He confessed. “But I was nervous, you’re so fun, and witty, and kind.”

“You’re all those things and more, too, you know.” You assured him. You were certain you had never met anymore more witty and fun than him.

And then it hit you exactly why your heart stuttered each time you saw him—why you suddenly had the urge to kiss him only moments before.

You had feelings for your best friend’s second best friend.

Erik called your name softly, and when you met his gaze, he was looking at you with a look of utter seriousness that you had truly never seen before on the lighthearted man. While you adored his playful smile and the mischievous glint in his eyes, you were incredibly grateful he wasn’t treating this as a joke.

“What’re you thinking?” He asked, avoiding the question you could tell he actually wanted the answer to. You turned in your seat to face him, tucking one leg under yourself while your knee pressed gently against the side of his thigh.

“I’m thinking,” You hesitated, trying to find the words that encapsulated how you were feeling, while still keeping true to the banter that defined your relationship with him. “that I wouldn’t mind sharing being Landy’s best friend if it was you I was sharing with.”

He chuckled at this, and briefly you could see relief wash over his features. But then he brought one of his large hands up to cradle your jaw and hold you still as he crashed his lips against yours. You hadn’t realized how long awaited the kiss was until he was pressed against you and you felt as if you were breathing for the first time. You felt blind for not seeing it before, how you felt for Erik and his reciprocated feelings.

“Neither of you will be my best friend if you keep doing that on my couch!” Gabe teased from the doorway, and you had your suspicions that he had been listening in the entire time. You tilted your head back with a loud, gleeful laugh as Erik exchanged some choice words with his captain. Gabe tossed his hands up in innocence before shooting you a wink and slipping back into the kitchen. Erik’s hand dropped from where it had been holding your face to link with yours, and he pressed a series of gentle kisses to your fingers.

“Softie.” You teased, but made no effort to stop him. In fact, you leaned forward in search of another sweet kiss and he readily complied.

“Want to get out of here?” He questioned, just as you heard Mel’s cheers as Gabe, presumably, told her what he had seen. You smiled at Erik, ready to go along with whatever he had in mind.

“Lead the way.”

Game days. Your favorite.

You were bouncing in your seat the whole night, and Mel rolled her eyes playfully at you as you jumped out of your seat to cheer for Erik as he scored the goal that cemented Colorado’s win.

“What’re you doing after?” Mel asked as you waited with her and the other partners of the players for the boys to come out of the locker room. You had kidnapped Linnea and had been making faces at her while she was perched on your hip.

“Movie night. It was supposed to be my turn to pick, but Erik scored, so.” You explained. She didn’t have the chance to reply as the door to the locker room opened and the blond you had been waiting for emerged, his loud voice filling the hallway.

“What’s with the Johnson jersey?”

“Oh, you know, gotta support my boyfriend.” You teased, handing Linnea back to Mel as Erik approached, pulling you in for a quick kiss. You hadn’t told him you were wearing it, instead of your usual Landeskog jersey.

“Damn straight. I think it’s good luck.” He mumbled against your lips, before straightening back up and taking in your mischievous grin. He admired you, knowing that he was in for some comment or another, not wanting it any other way.

“But I’m wearing Landy’s next time, I still am his best friend.”

#erik johnson #Erik johnson imagine #Erik johnson x reader #Erik johnson fic #NHL imagine #NHL x reader #hockey imagine #hockey x reader #Colorado Avalanche #Colorado Avalanche x reader #Colorado Avalanche imagine

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acciowests · 3 years

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From Lorcan With Love

WORD COUNT: 1707

SUMMARY: A "From Lukov With Love" inspired ice hockey x figure skating AU featuring Lorcan Salvaterre and Elide Lochan from "Throne Of Glass"

Lorcan and Rowan arrive early for training and walk in on a figure skater finishing her session. It isn't until she falls that Lorcan rushes forward, helping up the woman he learns is called Elide and immediately begins to fall for her charms.

"You know, you didn't have to wake me up this early, right?" Rowan drawled as they pulled into the Orynth Rink parking lot. With their first game of the season taking place next Friday, Lorcan Salvaterre - Goalkeeper of the Terrasen High Hawks - had booked out the rink for three whole hours of practice. Along with being Lorcan's best friend, Rowan Whitethorn was also the captain of the Hawks, their school's ice hockey team. Despite having napped for most of their journey, Rowan's brows were furrowed in a tired frown, his lips in a thin line as he stretched in his seat.

The capital's Ice Rink mainly housed ice skating: including singles figure skating, pairs ice dancing, as well as the annual sectional competitions and sometimes the national one also. None of that meant much to Lorcan, he just knew the Orynth Rink also showcased professional Hockey Teams, such as the Orynth Stags; a team he had dreamt of being a part of since he started his ice hockey journey at seven-years-old.

"Stop complaining, old man," Lorcan chuckled, smirking at the silver-haired boy. "Get the bags from the trunk will you?"

Sticking up his middle finger noncommittally, letting it fall into his lap, Rowan climbed out of the car, rounding toward the back of the vehicle. Lorcan switched off the engine and stepped outside. Grabbing the gym bag full of their gear, Rowan hauled it over his shoulder as Lorcan locked the car, the two boys walking through the parking lot and toward the rink.

The changing room was empty, as Lorcan expected, and the two boys changed in comfortable silence. They pulled on their team jerseys: deep green with silver writing that displayed their name and number. Paired with sweatpants and their elbow and shoulder pads, as well as their shin guards, the boys shoved their bags into the lockers, along with their phones, and headed out to the rink. Walking off the ice with skates on had always felt weird, even with the skate guards that protected the blade. Heading down into the stadium, Lorcan's eyes locked onto the lone figure skater within the rink. The clock overhead told him she still had fifteen minutes left, which meant he and Rowan had fifteen minutes of waiting.

Slumping down into a seat, Lorcan set his elbows against his knees, leaning forward and watching the petite, raven-haired girl dance across the ice. Beside him, Rowan drummed his feet lazily, Lorcan ignoring him completely as he listened to the sound of her blade across the ice.

When, and if, he saw figure skaters, they were always wearing glittery costumes in shades of reds, purples and blues. And though he was sure most skaters did dress down for practice, the girl before him looked like she dressed in the dark. Which, if she had booked a three hour practise, she just might have. Ignoring the grey leggings and burgundy sweater showing a Perranth Skating Club logo, she skated as though she was in front of thousands. Each turn was sharp but smooth, each of her jumps or leaps landing perfectly - to Lorcan's untrained eye, anyway.

"I was thinking we could do some new drills. As captain, I reckon we have a good shot this season. I think we could rank high, come out on top," Rowan started, interrupting Lorcan's gaze.

"Right, yeah. If the others even get here," Lorcan sighed, not that he minded. He was much enjoying his time watching the beautiful skater.

"Chill out, Lor. There's still five minutes, they'll be here," Rowan insisted, nudging Lorcan's shoulder.

Shrugging, Lorcan turned to face the rink, just in time to watch the skater turn back into a jump. She took off from the back outside edge of her skate, using her toe pick to help her spin twice, and just as her foot hit the ice, her ankle gave way. An echoing thud rang out around them as she hit the floor, her thigh and butt slamming down onto the ice as she fell.

Before he even realised what he was doing, Lorcan stood, rushing down the rows of seats and towards the rink. Removing his skate guards and tossing them to the side, Lorcan stepped onto the ice, skating over to the girl who was now curled up, a hand against her thigh and stretching a leg out before her.

"Hey, you okay?" Lorcan called, coming to a stop beside her and offering her a hand, "That looked like a pretty nasty fall."

The girl chuckled, rubbing her thigh once more and taking his hand. Her palm was surprisingly soft, cold enough to send a shiver through him as she gripped tightly. Hoisting her up, Lorcan didn't miss the wince that slipped between her lips. Before he could say anything, she shook her head, "It's fine, it's just my ankle."

As she stood before him, Lorcan tried not to smirk at the immense height difference between them. At least a whole foot. Instead, he just nodded, "Well, that jump looked pretty hard. From what I've seen you're a pretty good skater. You shouldn't let one fall get you down."

"Not good enough. I should be able to do that jump in my sleep. There's no way I'm going to win sectionals like this," she sighed, running a hand through her hair. Her left hand, Lorcan realised, was still in his. She hadn't put her ankle back down onto the ice, instead, she rested it against her other foot, off the ground where there was no pressure on it.

"What happened? Is it just a strain?" Lorcan asked, hoping he wasn't being too curious. His eyes were drawn to the flush of her cheeks, bright red against the pale shading of the rest of her face. With her mop of black hair against glowing skin, she looked ethereal.

"I wish," she scoffed, "No, I broke it a few years ago and it never healed properly. I lost my axel completely, had to relearn my entire program and make all the moves easier. I already lost regionals, I can't afford to lose sectionals too," she explained, her chest rising and falling.

"Well, how long until sectionals? Maybe with some assistance, and physiotherapy on your ankle, you might be able to win?" Lorcan suggested, watching the girl's eyebrows slowly furrow as she looked up at him. They were thick and black, arching over her face and defining it fiercely.

"You don't know when sectionals are?" she asked, as though it was the most obvious question in the world.

Lorcan chuckled, shaking his head, "Oh, no. I'm not a skater. I play ice hockey."

The girl blinked, her eyes widening, "Oh... Oh my god, I'm so sorry. You probably have no idea what I was just talking about, do you?"

Lorcan couldn't help but laugh, loving the way the girl's lips curled into a smile as he did so, "No, but it's fine. I can tell you're very dedicated. I'm Lorcan, by the way, Terrasen High Hawks."

"Terrasen High? Wait, Lorcan as in Lorcan Salvaterre?" she asked, brows raising. Lorcan knew he recognised her. He could have sworn she was in the year below him, he would remember her face anywhere.

"The one and only. You're a junior, right?" he replied, helping her skate back across the rink and toward the entrance. She reached for her skate guards as he remained on the ice. Slipping his hand to her elbow, he helped her balance as she stepped back onto the stone ground.

"Right. Elide Lochan, Perranth skating club," she smiled, sticking her hand out. Lorcan shook it happily, loving the warmth that radiated from her like electricity.

"Perranth is lucky to have you represent them," Lorcan smirked, biting down on his bottom lip. There was something about the girl before him, something that made him feel completely giddy inside. If his teammates saw him like this...

Elide rolled her eyes. Chocolate, Lorcan noticed, the perfect shade of swirly hazelnut. "Now you're just being kind!" she laughed, a melodic sound that he wished he could capture forever, "Thanks, by the way, for helping me up. I probably would have just laid there until my session was over."

Lorcan grinned, something he didn't do too often, "Well, you're lucky I was here. Couldn't have you catching a cold, can we? I heard hypothermia is a killer."

Pressing her lips together, Elide shook her head slowly, "No, I suppose we can't."

With an obnoxious slam, the doors to the rink swung open. The remainder of his team poured out, dressed and ready for their training session. A blur of green and silver, plus the grey, black and navy blue of Adidas sweatpants. Gavriel was at the front, the oldest on the team, his golden hair tied back in a bun and a grin on his face as he reached Rowan.

Rowan stood, patting Gavriel's shoulder and moving down the rows of chairs. "Lorcan," he called, heading toward the equipment cupboard in the corner of the rink, "Help me get the stuff out!"

They always borrowed sticks and pucks from whatever rink they were training at. Lorcan only used his own stick for final games, an object of good luck. They would also have to drag the goals out, setting them up to actually have something to shoot at.

Offering Lorcan a smile, Elide stepped back, rocking on her good foot, "So, I guess I'll see you around then?"

If he had his phone to hand, he would have asked for her number right there and then. But, he didn't. As she turned to walk up the steps toward the changing rooms, Lorcan called, "We have a game next Friday, will you be there?"

Elide stopped, looking over her shoulder and smirking, "Depends, are you inviting me?"

Pushing down the chuckle that tickled his throat, Lorcan nodded, "I am, and maybe we could hang out afterwards... Just the two of us?"

"Sure, sounds fun. See you Friday, then," Elide confirmed, turning almost immediately and rushing up the stairs.

Lorcan watched until she completely disappeared from view. He could smell the cinnamon and elderberries scent that lingered in her wake. Elide Lochan. Friday couldn't come sooner.

* * *

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#fanfic #fanfiction #my writing #sarah j maas #sjm #throne of glass #writing #elide x lorcan #elide lochan #elorcan fluff #elorcan au #elorcan fic #elorcan #lorcan salvaterre #figure skating #ice hockey #from lukov with love #from lorcan with love

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echodrops · 4 years

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Home and a Half Pidge Headcanons

An ask I got yesterday reminded me that I never posted the HaaH headcanons for Pidge like I promised, so here they are! (I’ll answer the actual ask as soon as I can with some new material instead of headcanons I already had written... oops...)

Anyway, without further ado, some headcanons for Pidge related to my fic Home and a Half!

Pidge:

- Grew up in the picture of the nuclear family: mom, dad, two kids, dog, nice upper-middle-class house in a quiet neighborhood, dinner on the table at 7:30pm on the dot… Of all the paladins, Pidge had the most stable and “average” childhood… at least on paper.

- In reality, there is not a single person in the Holt family who isn’t eccentric as fuck. Grandma Holt? May or may not still be an active intelligence agent for MI6. The dog? Woofs in Morse code. Auntie Ariana? Has actually seen the Jersey Devil. Colleen Holt? Has killed a man. If you ask Pidge, she’ll say that her upbringing was perfectly normal and she’ll genuinely mean it, but this is a consequence Pidge having no idea what “normal” even means.

Rest under the read more to save your dash:

- Not actually a girly-girl when she was young. Although they’re eight years apart and thus unlikely to be mistaken for one another, very early on Pidge got frustrated by how similar she and Matt look, and she definitely did not want to wear his tacky hand-me-down clothes, so she pitched a royal fit and insisted on wearing dresses and hairbands so that her family would have to buy Pidge all her own things. (They probably would have bought them anyway if she’d just asked calmly, but Pidge was three at the time, and they were all very impressed by her grasp of cause and effect.)

- Of course, when Matt disappeared on the ill-fated Kerberos trip, those tacky hand-me-downs ended up being some of the most important items in Pidge’s life. Even outside of infiltrating Garrison, wearing Matt’s old clothes was one of the few comforts Pidge would allow herself—when she cut her hair and put on his baggy shirts, for a second, looking in a mirror, she could almost convince herself he was still there—

- Pidge has no intention of changing the way she dresses or styles her appearance until she’s reunited with Matt and her father. After that? Well, they may not be the coolest looking things ever, but Matt does have a point that baggy t-shirts are very comfy…

- And okay, because I’m sure everyone expected this headcanon first: Pidge and gender is a surprisingly uncomplicated subject. Side note before I go further: I’m sure everyone has their own headcanons for this and none of what I say here should be taken as rejecting or invalidating any other fan’s views on Pidge. The only thing invalid in the Voltron fandom is canon. Anyway, I personally like to imagine that Pidge is very ambivalent on gender. There is so much else going on—the war, Sam and Matt being missing, freaking giant robot space cats—that sitting down and sorting out the question of “Do I identify as male, female, nonbinary, or anything else?” is just really, really low on Pidge’s to do list. Pidge thinks of Pidge as “Pidge” and even that’s rare because Pidge doesn’t sit around thinking about herself or what other people think of her.

- In fact, what strangers think is, in general, extremely low on Pidge’s radar. Although she used to be more self-conscious due to bullying from both classmates and her teachers, the combination of her parents’ consistent support and Matt’s… extreme tactics (“I’m telling you Pigeon, nanobots in their lunches will solve all your problems.” “That’s illegal, Matt.” “Nothing is illegal until you get caught.”) Pidge (mostly) overcame the phase of being affected by other people’s opinions. Who cares what strangers think? Absolutely none of them will ever be even close to as smart and talented as her family anyway. (My IQ is three times yours, your argument about my gender is literally invalid.)

- By the way, I’m using “her” simply because that’s what I’m used to seeing in the fandom and to keep the fic and headcanons consistent, but in the functional world of HaaH, Pidge answers to any pronouns and doesn’t have a preference for any set in particular over others. In fact, Pidge is used to going by different sets of pronouns coming from different people, and might be “he” to one person, “she” to another, and “they” to yet someone else. Pidge is just… Pidge.

- Again, with the war and Voltron and missing family and literally everything else going on--and the fact Pidge is far more practical than all of the rest of her fellow Team Voltron members combined--she isn’t wasting time and energy doing something as troublesome as falling in love with an alien. (“Keith, can’t your melodrama wait until after we win the war?” “My drama waits for no man.” “Then please explain how you and Lance manage to engage in synchronized dumb-fuckery at least three times a week.”) Eventually, after life has settled down and Pidge has had some time to think about it, she’ll realize that the reason she somehow managed to avoid any romantic entanglements in space isn’t because she’s just much more mature than her teammates (although this might be true)—it’s that she’s just not really interested in romantic engagements with anybody, period.

- Pidge’s one true love is discovery; she feels far more passionate about knowledge and learning new things, encountering new puzzles, and grasping new concepts than she does about anything else. In between all her creations and codes and experiments and observations, it just doesn’t feel like there’s room—or that there needs to be room—for a romantic relationship with a real person.

- Pidge will make room for friends though, if and when they insist on worming their ways into her life. She tends to be a fairly private person who has never really had a large friend group (back on Earth, before Garrison, there wasn’t anyone but Matt and her parents who really understood her, and she didn’t have much in common to discuss with children her own age), but once someone earns Pidge’s trust, she does open up and form close bonds and she will give her all to help and be there for her few, but close, friends.

- Meeting Hunk at Garrison was a huge revelation. Up to that point in Pidge’s life she had never really met any young person outside her own family with a soaring genius-level IQ that was a match for her own. Although she and Hunk bicker frequently because their approaches to science are extremely different, she’s still over-the-moon to have someone who doesn’t stare at her like she’s talking gibberish whenever she goes off on one of her tangents.

- If you ask Pidge, she will violently swear up and down that Lance never and in. no. way. reminds her of Matt, fills in for Matt in the lame-older-brother role, or helps her miss her brother just a little bit less. That did not happen, never had a chance of happening, what are you even talking about—

- But if you ask about Shiro, she will be flat-out honest and admit she totally thinks of him as Space Dad. It’s not her fault. Shiro literally hero worships Sam Holt (still to this day!!) and may or may not have taken on more of his mentor’s mannerisms in order to fill the leadership role for Team Voltron. Sometimes Shiro will say or do something and Pidge will be absolutely dumb-struck because he got that from my dad is an actual thing she has to deal with.

- “Pidge” is actually a derivative of “Pigeon.” Everyone in the Holt family has a bird-based code name. Mr. Holt is Eagle Two.

- People often get the impression that Pidge is scatterbrained because she can talk about ten different things at once and pounces on leaps in her own logic that other people just can’t follow, but her thoughts and speech are very organized. It’s not her fault you couldn’t understand her system of organization if you tried.

- Put Pidge on the spot on a subject she doesn’t know, though, and watch the awkward jump right out. (“Oh, you meant the pop band Galileo, not the person. You know, that’s really an easy mistake to make. You can hardly blame me when you stop to consider all the similarities between modern chord progression and the trajectory of supermassive objects like—”)

- And if it’s not awkward, it’s defensive. Pidge may be hyper-intelligent, but she’s still very, very young, and it’s hard not to get snappish when challenged by people whose opinions she really does care about. She has a far quicker temper than Matt (who is a “revenge is a dish best served cold” champion), a trait she shares with their mother. Colleen, in turn, blames it on her having been born in New Jersey. Pidge has flipped so many tables on the Castleship that Coran and Lance eventually went around and bolted them all down.

- Do not even so much as hint that Sam and Matt Holt might be dead instead of just missing in space. Keith is still scared after his last attempt at reasoning with Pidge about her family’s fate.

- Has a bad hoarding habit. Back on Earth she had her parents there to insist she clean her room at least once a week, but in space, things are getting a bit crazy. The Castleship closets and cabinets can hyper-condense their contents and she’s STILL running out of room for all the neat doodads and parts and scientific wonders she finds on their adventures across the galaxy. Is definitely in the “Look, there’s still a mostly clear path to the door; it’s fineee” category. It’s not like she finds it hard to let things go once she’s gotten attached to them or anything. Nope. Definitely not.

- Pidge’s mess is absolutely of the “everything has a proper place” type though. Move anything with her name on it and you will feel her wrath.

- As the only one of the Earth paladins to have technology on her when they were unexpectedly swept off to war, everyone on the ship relies on Pidge’s laptop for their monthly dose of Earth nostalgia. Good thing for them Pidge and Matt’s pirating skills put Pirate Bay to shame, and she’s got basically every Earth movie from 1980 to the present. She even has every episode of the timeless classic F.R.I.E.N.D.S. (Keith hates that show with a burning passion that even he cannot explain.)

- Speaking of technology Pidge had on Earth—every single person in the Holt family is (and has been for decades) aware of the existence of aliens. Pidge’s family tree has been involved in communications, radio wave technology, and interpreting space observations since those fields were first invented. When Earth first identified patterns of waves that obviously corresponded to alien communications going on outside Earth’s galaxy, Pidge’s great- great- grandfather was there. When world governments covered up the discovery, he was the loudest voice of dissent. Since then, the Holt family has been deeply involved in military and space operations across several countries, operating from within an oppressive system they fundamentally disagree with, using their positions of authority to monitor the Milky Way and beyond, keeping tabs on what the aliens might be saying—and what messages Earth might be inadvertently sending back.

- Of course this is top secret work—secret even from the Garrison and government where the Holts were employed. Other kids learn how to play piano and soccer; Pidge and Matt learned how to hack virtually impenetrable military databases and hide their data behind uncrackable ciphers instead.

- But the Kerberos Mission was supposed to be safe. They’d all monitored the chatter so closely—there hadn’t been anything hostile anywhere even near Earth’s galaxy, no sign at all of any technologically advanced race like the Galra in years and nothing about one little Earth mission that would disturb any other intergalactic travelers anyway… Why would they...

- Pidge is surprisingly athletic for a self-professed nerd. With youthful energy to burn and a family to save, Pidge took to Allura and Coran’s intense Altean training like a duck to water, and while she’s not quite Shiro or Keith when it comes to hand-to-hand combat, she can definitely holds up better than Hunk or Lance.

- Favorite color is actually yellow, and if Green wasn’t totally The Coolest™ lion, she’d be sort of salty about Hunk getting the Yellow Lion instead.

- Absolutely capable of cursing up a blue storm, and hasn’t been friends with Hunk quite long enough yet to remember to censor herself around him all the time like Lance does with his “Holy crow!”s. She’s trying, dammit!

- Big on pets. Gets attached to pet-shaped creatures (whether living or robotic) very easily. 110% kept the space caterpillars, who live happily free-roaming the piles of space junk in her bedroom. The space caterpillars and the space mice do not get along, however, as the space mice do not take well to having their status as the favored fuzzy team mascot squad threatened. In their micro-Cold War, which is occurring without any of the ship’s humanoid occupants being aware, the space caterpillars are currently winning.

- The caterpillars’ names are Copernicus, Kepler, and Newton.

- Remember that one post about Lance drawing angry brows on the space caterpillar and siccing it on Keith? I very much accept that as canon. Pidge was Not Happy™ when she found out what Lance had done and she is NOT letting anyone else near her caterpillars again any time soon. Is very, very careful not to let Niresh see the space caterpillars so that they don’t end up stolen right from under her nose.

- Speaking of the kids, Pidge is super awkward with them and skedaddles at the first sign of tears. Next to Allura, there is probably not any member of the team worse suited to babysitting duty. That said, as someone who has lost members of her family in the war, Pidge is probably the member of the team who most directly understands Dulsara’s anger and the children’s loss. That doesn’t mean she’s really ready to let herself sympathize with the Galra though, at least not until she finds her own family first.

- Pulls all the most bullshit moves in Monsters and Mana. Whenever the team reminiscences on the truly legendary moments from their campaigns, somehow Pidge is the star in all of them.

And that’s all I’ve got for now!

#pidge #Voltron #Pidge headcanons #voltron headcanon #HaaHVLD #Home and a Half #voltron fanfic

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coloradogirl07 · 5 years

Text

Marry Me (Billy Hargrove Imagine)

based on “Marry Me” by Thomas Rhett.

(Y/F/N)= your first name

Italic font = past

She wants to get married, she wants it perfect. She wants her granddaddy preaching the service. She wants magnolias out in the country. Not too many people, save her daddy some money.

You and Billy were both five years old and sitting outside on your house’s back porch. Billy watched as you wrapped toilet paper around one of your headbands to make a white veil.

“Finished!” you held up the makeshift veil for Billy to see.

He nodded his head at you while playing with a basketball in his lap. He had come over in hopes that you’d play ball with him, but instead he spent the last thirty minutes setting up your stuffed animals to be seated along side a toilet paper aisle “What is this for?” he asked.

“For my wedding!” you smiled at him and motioned at your dress you had put on and a pair of your mom’s high heels that didn’t fit you at all.

“Who are you marrying?”

You thought for a second, “You could be my groom,” you grinned.

Billy scrunched up his nose a little bit, “But you’re my best friend.”

Your grin fell a little, Billy didn’t know this but you had a little crush on him, “I know,” you said as you stood up in your mom’s shoes, “It’s just pretend, Billy.”

“Can we play basketball now?” Billy asked as he hopped off the steps of the porch.

“You can go play if you want.” you answered as you started to pick dandelions from the weeds. Billy watched you for another minute and then walked towards his own house to shoot hoops.

Billy was brought out of his thoughts as you started to snap your fingers in front of his face, “Earth to Billy!” you waved your hands around.

“Sorry,” Billy shook his head and cleared his throat, “What were you saying?”

“I was saying that you need to focus so you do well on your test tomorrow so that you’re still eligible to play in your basketball game on Friday.” you raised an eyebrow at him.

“Right.” Billy smiled at you and then looked down at his study guide that you had made him.

“What were you thinking about?”

Billy could feel his cheeks become warm, embarrassed about the memory that distracted him, “It was nothing,” you kept your eyebrow raised as you stared at him, not buying his answer, “(Y/F/N), it’s nothing.”

“Thinking about your latest hook up?”

Billy scrunched up his nose, much like he did that day when you two were five, “None of them are really worth my time anymore.” he shrugged.

“The Billy Hargrove is over hooking up?” you teased him.

“Yeah, a little bit.” he admitted; one thing he’d never admit though was that it was because he had feelings for you.

You smiled at him, “Okay, but really, what were you thinking about?”

He sighed, “You remember when we were five, you had me make an aisle for you, and I gathered all of your stuffed bears up and set them up as guests for your wedding?” you let out a little laugh and nodded your head, “I was thinking about that.”

“My real wedding is going to be perfect,” you started thinking about that day, “No toilet paper veils or aisles. I’ll have the most perfect, white dress.” she smiled, “I want my grandpa to preach the service just to make it more personal.” Billy watched as you went into thought, “I don’t want anything too expensive though, my dad doesn’t need to pay that much for one. Oh! It would be so pretty to be out in a field somewhere in the country.” you clapped your hands together.

Billy smiled along with you, “And magnolias,” he said.

You came out of your thoughts to smile at him, “Of course there will be magnolias, they’re my favorite.”

“I know,”

Oh, she got it all planned out. Yeah, I can see it all right now. I’ll wear my black suit, black tie, hide out in the back. I’ll do a strong shot of whiskey straight out the flask. I’ll try to make it through without crying so nobody sees. Yeah, she wanna get married. But she don’t wanna marry me.

Billy sat there picturing you walking down the aisle in a beautiful, white dress. He could picture himself being nervous and taking a few shots from a flask that one of his groomsmen would hold onto for him. He knows that he’ll want to cry when he sees you walking towards him but he’d want to keep his tough persona up, even though you’ve seen the true side of him since you two were kids.

The thoughts just kept flooding his mind but they stopped when you spoke, “I just have to find the right guy, then it’ll be perfect.”

Billy’s smile faded a little as he looked back down at his paper, “Yeah, well, you never know, you could already know him.” he shrugged.

“That is true,”

I remember the night when I almost kissed her. Yeah, I kinda freaked out, we’ve been friends for forever. And I’d always wonder if she felt the same way. When I got the invite, I knew it was too late.

“Billy!” he turned to look over his shoulder at the student section of the crowd in between quarters as their coach was talking to them, “Billy!” he finally saw you waving your arms at him as you wore a basketball jersey. You turned around to show him that you had his other jersey on as it read HARGROVE on the back.

Billy grinned at you and waved back, “Hargrove!” he jumped at his coach’s voice, “Are you focused?”

“Yes, sir.” Billy answered.

“Then quick waving at the girls.”

“He’s not just waving at girls, coach, he’s waving at HIS girl.” one of Billy’s teammates said.

“We’re just friends.” Billy shook his head at them.

***

Billy walked out of the locker room to see you leaning against his blue Camaro. You smiled at him when you saw him walking towards you, “Hey, good job tonight!” you hugged him once he was standing right in front of you.

“Thank you,” he hugged you back, “Now, do tell how you got my other jersey out of my closet,” he raised an eyebrow at you.

You laughed, “I may have snuck into your room right after school while you were warming up here.” you walked around to the passenger side of the car, “I had to support my number one guy.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Billy waved off your words, “Ready to go get some milkshakes?”

“Always.”

Billy drove to the local diner that you two (and everyone else from the school) would go to after all of the basketball games. Two of his friends already had a booth, so the two of you slid into one side to sit across from them. Billy watched as you got excited about something you were talking about. You were leaning against the table with your hands resting on the booth seat. Billy went to lean back and he dropped his hands to the seat, gently touching yours. He expected you to move away, but you didn’t. His two friends jumped out of the booth to greet some other teammates, and Billy froze as you held his hand and turned to face him.

Billy was taking his chance and leaned in to kiss you, you leaned in with him, but you two were interrupted when another teammate, who was just showing up, banged on the window and made a kissy face at the two of you. You jumped out of the both laughing and ran outside to “yell” at Billy’s friend. You gently shoved his friends as he was laughing with you. You turned to look at Billy through the window and shrugged your shoulders at him.

For that split second, Billy had thought that maybe the feelings were mutual. That almost kiss was almost five years ago now. You and Billy talked almost every day that you were away at school. He was always excited to hear the phone ringing at the same time a day. He was less excited when you called to tell him that you had met a guy.

Billy was making nice with the guy at the family bbq currently, “Alright, I have to ask you something, man.” your boyfriend said to Billy, “You are (Y/F/N)’s best friend and I’ve already talked to her mom and dad...” he took a deep breath, “But you are literally her favorite person in this world, I wanted to see if you’d be okay with me asking her to marry me?”

Billy was sure that his heart stopped at his words, “You want to marry (Y/F/N)?”

“She is the most wonderful person I know,” your boyfriend nodded at Billy.

“I have to agree.”

Your boyfriend continued to nod at Billy, “So, what do you think?”

And I know her daddy’s been dreading this day. Oh, but he don’t know he ain’t the only one giving her away. I’ll wear my black suit, black tie, hide out in the back. I’ll do a strong shot of whiskey straight out the flask. I’ll try to make it through without crying so nobody sees. Yeah, she wanna get married. But she don’t wanna marry me.

“Billy!” you screeched as soon as Billy opened his apartment door.

“(Y/F/N)!” he mimicked as he stepped aside to let you in.

“It smells good in here.” you hung your purse up on his coat rack near the door.

“I made your favorite,” he smiled at you but it slowly faded when he saw something sparkly on your left ring finger, “What’s... uh... what’s that?” he pointed.

You looked down at your hand, “That’s why I wanted to come over. I wanted to tell you that I’m engaged.” you held out your hand and he gently grabbed it to look at the ring.

“You deserve bigger.”

You rolled your eyes, “Billy,”

“I’m just saying,” he shrugged, “When did that happen?”

“Two weeks ago,” you said and he turned to look at you, “Don’t get mad, I wanted to tell you in person, but you’ve been too busy to hang out with me.”

“I’m never too busy for you.” he argued.

“Okay, but I didn’t want to tell you on the phone. I mean, I did call you right after it happened, but I just wanted to tell you in person.” he gave you a confused look, “I knew I’d be able to tell how you really feel about it if I was standing in front of you.”

His stern expression softened, “I’m happy for you.” he lied, you know he was lying but you didn’t want to argue with him tonight.

Bet she got on her dress now, welcoming the guests now. I could try to find her, get if off of my chest now. But I ain’t gonna mess it up, so I wish her the best now.

Billy walked into the wedding ceremony, a small gift wrapped up in his hand. He set it on the gift table and just looked around. The thought ran through his mind that he could go and find the bridal room and confess his love for you, but he feared you’d never forgive him for ruining the day you’d dreamt of since you were five.

He couldn’t be here. He knew you wanted him here, but he couldn’t do it.

***

You stood in the bridal room, your hands were sweaty and shaking. You had been questioning if this was what you wanted since you told Billy about the engagement six months ago. You had always had feelings for Billy, but you were scared he’d laugh in your face. But after seeing him when you told him, you knew he was hurt.

“Mom, did you find Billy out there?” you asked.

“Your father said he saw him put a gift down on the table, but then he left before anyone could talk to him.” your mom said.

“Oh.”

So I’m in my black suit, black tie, hiding out in the back. Doing a strong shot of whiskey straight out the flask. I’ll try to make it through without crying so nobody sees. Yeah, she wanna get married. Yeah, she gonna get married. But she ain’t gonna marry me.

You had walked down the aisle with your father holding onto you. You were trying not to cry, not because you were overjoyed, but because you weren’t sure if this was how it was supposed to be. Your mind kept running through all the memories you had had with Billy as you walked towards your fiance.

***

Billy sat at the same booth in the same diner where he almost kissed you. He poured some whiskey from his flask into his coffee. By now your ceremony was probably done and you were now a wife. Billy was playing with his cup of coffee when he saw someone standing next to the booth he was at. He looked up with wide eyes when he saw you standing there in your wedding dress, no ring on your finger. Billy scooted over so that you could sit beside him in the booth, “I should’ve done this five years ago,” he said as he leaned in and kissed you.

#dacre montgomery #Billy Hargrove #billy hargrove imagine #stranger things

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pbwsports · 4 years

Text

Is Tua Tagovailoa ready to become Miami's biggest star since Dan Marino?

Leaps into swimming pools. Emotional moments of jubilation. Tears of joy. Fifteen words delivered by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell -- "With the fifth pick in the 2020 NFL draft, the Miami Dolphins select Tua Tagovailoa" -- elicited all that plus a belief the moment will change the Dolphins' franchise forever.

Over the past month, there has been an innate buzz burgeoning nationally, but especially in South Florida, that can be summed up as a Tua frenzy. An 11-minute fan-generated YouTube video provides a visual.

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"Tua is far by himself -- never seen anything like this buzz from a draft pick here. There's no close second," said Dolphins color commentator and radio host Joe Rose, who played for the franchise alongside Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino from 1983 to 1985. "We have a rock star here in Tua. This team has been in mediocrity for so long. It's lacked the Dan Marino star power, the Ricky Williams star power. Tua's the next guy in that group."

Despite the love, it's too early to crown Tagovailoa. He hasn't even played an NFL game. Tagovailoa's arrival is defined by hope and hype.

Even in his first month as a Dolphins quarterback, it is clear that if Tagovailoa lives up to expectations, he will be the face of South Florida sports for a while.

How will Tagovailoa manage the pressure, the buzz, overwhelming positivity, eventual negativity and everything that comes with being hailed as the next big thing in a city starving for its latest sports superstar?

"The great thing for Tua is Dan Marino retired 20 years ago," Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon said. "So it's not like he's following right behind a legend like Aaron Rodgers following Brett Favre or whoever follows Tom Brady. He just has to be himself. He can't be Dan Marino. Just be yourself and rely on the people around you."

'It's going to be Dolphins town'

A Mount Rushmore of athletes who have led South Florida pro teams probably starts with Marino and the Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade, but the initial expectations weren't as high with either legend.

Wade remembers it wasn't until after he led the Heat to their first championship in 2006 that he became the face of South Florida sports. He returned to Miami and hopped in his convertible with a buddy. Fans sighted him and rushed the car. He couldn't drive another block.

"I looked at my friend and said, 'Yo, this is different,'" Wade said. "I enjoyed it. But I knew it would never be normal in this city from that point on. I had to get used to being a celebrity. The perks were great, but the non-privacy was not so great."

"Wade County" was born and didn't slow down. His presence remains large in Miami, but since he retired following the 2018-19 season, there has been an active-superstar void.

Enter Tagovailoa.

"He's a hell of a player. Miami, especially at the QB position, really needs that. They need a leader. They need a player," Wade said. "To come in as a young player and win a game in the second half of a national championship game -- that shows some grit, that shows some balls. People have to really believe in you. Miami needs that. The Dolphins need that. Even though I'm a [Chicago] Bears fan, I was rooting for them to get him because Miami needs to get back to where the basketball program is."

Wade's advice to Tagovailoa centers on how to handle fame; the future Hall of Fame guard says he would often deal with anxiety when he left the house. He felt the need to always be on as D-Wade even when he wanted to just be Dwyane. Wade said even though he wasn't expected to "save the franchise," once he became a fan favorite, he had to "figure out how to enjoy what you worked hard for, but keep a level of sanity at the same time."

The last 5th overall pick to Miami did some cool things. Congrts @Tuaamann can’t wait to watch your journey.

3,032 people are talking about this

Wade is optimistic Tagovailoa will lift the Dolphins to a place they never reached while he was with the Heat.

"If the Dolphins get it going, it's going to be Dolphins town. We did as much to make it a basketball town as possible, and Miami Heat is there to stay. But let's not get it twisted: Florida is football. Once they get their s--- together, they are going to be big and bigger," Wade said. "But those Heat guys -- Bam [Adebayo], Tyler Herro -- are going to battle him for it. He's got to earn it.

"How you put yourself in that conversation is doing something great, something that people have never seen before, and obviously winning."

Marino was a 'rock star'

Tagovailoa passed his first test by eschewing his college No. 13 -- Marino's number in Miami. Instead, Tagovailoa is paving his own path by becoming the first Dolphins QB to wear No. 1.

"I understand No. 13 is retired, and it should be. Dan Marino, he's the GOAT. He's like the mayor out there, and I have much respect for him," Tagovailoa said. "I just want to have the opportunity to go out there and compete."

2020 NFL offseason

Every quarterback who has arrived in Miami has been met with some mention of Marino, and Miami has started 21 quarterbacks since the Hall of Famer retired in 2000. The Dolphins haven't had a Pro Bowl QB since then, which marks the NFL's longest streak.

So while the expectations might seem unwieldy for a 22-year-old quarterback coming off a serious hip injury, this isn't just any NFL city. He's coming to a franchise that is thirsty for a star QB, and fans have been waiting on Tagovailoa for more than a year.

"When I got down there, the Miami Dolphins were Dan Marino's town and team. It's still that way," former Dolphins great Ricky Williams said. "I was a running back, but no one has even come close to eclipsing the success that Dan had in Miami as a quarterback. Even more so than what I experienced, Tua has the potential to be a big part of what it means to be a Miami Dolphin for a long time."

Williams had a great run as the face of the Dolphins. Jason Taylor, Zach Thomas and Ryan Tannehill did, too. But none of them have the national pull Tagovailoa has now.

Tua Tagovailoa is a star in Miami already.

147 people are talking about this

Rose says he remembers the buzz around Marino being relatively subdued when he arrived. The Dolphins, coming off a Super Bowl XVII loss, were led by their "Killer B's" defense, and they selected Marino with the No. 27 overall pick when he fell to them in the 1983 draft.

By the end of his record-setting 1984 MVP season, Marino was a superstar.

"When we went to New York, I saw the phone calls we got in our hotel room. I saw what movie stars and celebrities came around. People wanted to be around this guy," Rose said. "We didn't have the media and social media that they do now, so it could be a lot more hidden. He was big stuff. He was a rock star."

Marino is the standard, but Tagovailoa doesn't have to reach that level to be remembered in Dolphins history. As Moon and Wade have stressed, he just has to focus on being himself.

Why D-Wade is looking to Tua to be the leader the Dolphins need

Dwyane Wade expresses his thoughts on the Dolphins drafting Tua Tagovailoa and gives some advice for playing in the city of Miami.

Work, gain respect, then build the brand

Moon knows all about highly anticipated arrivals. After five Grey Cup titles in the Canadian Football League, Moon signed with the Houston Oilers and became the NFL's highest-paid player in 1984.

With stars such as running back Earl Campbell and linebacker Robert Brazile already in Houston, Moon was conscious of veterans believing he was too full of himself. Moon's response was to work hard, including lifting weights with the offensive line.

"When people came in the building, I was already there. When people left, I was still there," Moon said. "Yeah, I had a lot of attention, but they saw my work ethic. When I got on the field, they started to see I could really play. What you're trying to do is gain respect, and I think Tua will get that, too, because of his work ethic."

Showing that work ethic and building camaraderie with teammates could prove to be more challenging for Tagovailoa this offseason with virtual meetings instead of in-person practices. But Tagovailoa has reached out to many of his Dolphins teammates via text messages and phone calls.

The other balance Tagovailoa will have to maintain is his unique marketability with Moon's advice "to go in there with your head down and work."

Tagovailoa, who signed a four-year, $30.3 million contract, has endorsement deals with Adidas, Hulu, Muscle Milk, Verizon, Wingstop, Gillette, Lowe's, Bose and Call of Duty. He recently signed a multiyear, exclusive memorabilia-and-collection deal with Fanatics. He also has a documentary in the works detailing his journey to the Dolphins.

Tua Tagovailoa taking photo with young Dolphins fan — Riley — who hopes he lands in Miami. Many other Dolphins fans do too.

60 people are talking about this

Agent Ryan Williams and Athletes First have handled Tagovailoa's marketing demands, and he has immediately become one of the NFL's most well-known young players. The people love the former Alabama quarterback, and that has shown up in the numbers. Tagovailoa is the top-selling NFL player in terms of overall merchandise sales since May 1 across the Fanatics network, which includes NFLshop.com and online team stores -- above Tampa Bay's Brady and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, the No. 1 overall draft pick.

Moon remembered advice he was given by his agent, Leigh Steinberg, who also represents Tagovailoa: to take things slow on building your brand and try to avoid reading the headlines or social media.

"I just want to make sure that he doesn't try to get too far ahead of himself. Football is what butters his bread," Moon said. "If he doesn't do well on the football field, everything else will go away. Knowing a bit about Tua, he'll be fine."

Tagovailoa showed humility throughout his college career. He has a connection to family and a desire to give back.

"I'm honored that the fans think so highly of me. But I haven't done anything, yet," Tagovailoa said. "What I did in college can't translate to the NFL. It's a clean slate. I've got to go out there and earn my respect and earn the trust from my teammates."

Thank you to @MiamiDolphins for making this dream come true for me and my family. It's in my heart to give back to the communities that have raised me. Plans are underway to start charitable outreach efforts in Hawaii, Alabama and Miami. Stay tuned, stay safe. Go fins! Blessed! https://twitter.com/MiamiDolphins/status/1260223696674881539 …

We have signed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, defensive tackle Raekwon Davis, defensive end Curtis Weaver and long snapper Blake Ferguson.

2,754 people are talking about this

'The guys in that locker room'

The idea of becoming a star before even taking an NFL snap might be enough to make Dolphins coach Brian Flores' head spin. A champion of competition and team-first mentality, Flores probably doesn't care how many jerseys Tagovailoa sells as long as he produces on the field.

"The world will make you think that you're this superstar. And maybe you are, but it doesn't really matter," Flores said last November regarding any particular player's growing success. "The only thing that matters is the guys in that locker room."

Best of NFL Nation

• Darnold will benefit from Flacco and Gore • Cards lineman mentoring at ASU • Pats' CB adding safety to his skill set • Gilbert poised to emerge for Steelers • Ravens' Queen a hit despite inexperience

But there is an element of stardom Wade alluded to with which Flores probably will agree, and that's winning. The New England Patriotsbecame an NFL dynasty with a star quarterback because of their winning records and Super Bowl titles. The allure of Tagovailoa's star power will be embraced should the Dolphins become title contenders year in and year out.

Before worrying about the celebrity, the more timely concern revolves around when Tagovailoa will get on the field. Some argue he should be an immediate starter, while others suggest a redshirt 2020 season. The most likely result appears to be somewhere in the middle.

The Dolphins are in Year 2 of a dramatic rebuild, but Flores always wants to win. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, the veteran incumbent, has the upper hand in securing the starting role for several reasons, thanks to his comfort in offensive coordinator Chan Gailey's scheme, his success guiding the Dolphins in 2019 (to five wins), his leadership in the locker room and a lack of a true offseason.

But Tagovailoa is also eager to learn under Fitzpatrick, saying on draft day in April that he wants "to understand the kind of person he is ... nitpick him, ask him how he goes about preparing for a defense ... and just being able to question him."

Fitzpatrick vows to be Tagovailoa's "biggest cheerleader," but he won't hand him the starting job in 2020. Tagovailoa probably wouldn't want it any other way, because when football returns, he will get the opportunity to prove his worth.

Once Tagovailoa hits the field, the hope is he gets to become the greatest version of himself instead of being constantly compared to Marino. That weight is too heavy.

But becoming the long-term face of the Dolphins and South Florida sports? That's well within Tagovailoa's grasp. Source - ESPN

#nfl

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eichscrocs · 5 years

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Hey now, You’re an All-Star

January 11, 2019

@ edmontonoilers: YESSSS! ⭐️ #LetsGoOilers

@ edmontonoilers: Leon with some love for the fans after today's #NHLAllStar news! #LetsGoOilers

When Connor heard the news he was beyond thrilled, his 'liney' Leon was going to All Star too.

@ mcdavid97: All-Star bound with 29! 👊

Surely Connor had gone years previous, but none of them had included another one of his teammates, let alone the one he was dating. Connor liked to keep his life private for the most part, which included Leon too. Media was beginning to become suspicious, but in all honesty neither boy seemed to really care that much anymore. It was going to be a first time for the both of them; Leons first all star, and Connors first all star with his boyfriend. Surely a big reason Leon got voted in was Connors endless support, and maybe for the fact Connor had his whole family (distant relatives included) voting multiple times daily for him, but Leon didn't need to know that.

The beginning of the 2019 season did start out a little rough, so the break would be good for the both of them (besides the fact Connor managed to get Chia fired, but that's besides the point). The Oilers organization had known about the two boys relationship, and everyone was so supportive, especially Nuge who had been the reason they got together in the first place. In the locker room it was even the on going joke, and Ryan was often referred to as 'Ryan Love Whisperer Hopkins'. Connor and Leon enjoyed any privacy they got so the organization was surprised when the two had told them that they wanted to let everyone know they were together, but a little more subtle since both boys were quite reserved.

January 24, 2019

@ edmontonoilers: The dynamic duo had officially arrived in San Jose! #NHLAllStar #LetsGoOilers

If Connor and Leon could agree on one thing it'd be the all star jerseys, they color black was extremely flattering, but they wouldn't be wearing those jerseys until tomorrow. After all today was the skills competition, they'd be sporting the classic orange Oilers jersey. Connor was the first of them to compete, to no one's surprise it was his third year in a row competing for the fastest skater title. Why? Because other than Dylan Larkin (who wasn't voted in) he truly was a speedster. Leon sat on the bench chilling and taking in his new surroundings. HI heart was so full and slightly filled with nerves of watching his boy get ready to skate. From how the event was beginning to unfold his only threat to steal the title from him was Jack Eichel. Seeing Connor on the ice made his little heart flutter.

Connor had taken off just like that and Leon instantly zone in to watching him skate his lap. His skate was over just as fast as it had started, and sure enough Connor took the three-peat. Leon stayed sat on the bench smiling even wider than before. Media ended up in his face and questioned him about Connors pace. Leon would be lying if he said he didn’t wish they were going to ask about their relationship. So he figured clue number two, drop a hint. So Leon turned to face the camera for all to view on instagram, his english flowing perfectly. “I had and idea that he’s pretty fast so, uhm ya know obviously last year I think he won it, so it was uh ya know I had my money on him.” Leon finished off saying while a slight smile arose on his face.

After Connors event both boys were able to relax for a little, as puck control was the next event. Connor shoved his way in the box to sit with the rest of the Pacific division boys, but more importantly next to Leon. “You did so well out there.” Leon said then bumped shoulders with him. Connor schooched closer to Leon (if that was even possible) and his body was pressed right against Leon from shoulders to skates. He rested his one hand on his knee while Leon decided to put his hand directly half on Connors and half on his own retrospective kneecap. Leon looked over at him again and smiled, then turned back to watch the event infront of him. Nobody seemed to ask about it; whether they didn’t care, couldn’t see it, or already knew (Leon doubted the third one though).

As it got closer to Leons turn for premier passing he got more anxious. He didn’t want to dissapoint himself, the fans that voted him in, and most importantly Connor. Leon had to leave his warm encounter with his boy to get ready to go. Connor stayed on the bench watching in awe at his boyfriend, the way Leon made the pucks into the minature nets with such little effort was really no surprise. Since Leon joined the Oilers organiztion he had been giving those types of passes to Connor. Even before McDrai happened they had sucah a remarkable chemistry. (Why was Connor now suddenly realizing that Ryan is super good at reading into love?). When Leons last puck went into the net, the time stopped and Leon looked over and started skating back towards the bench where Connor was. Leon didn’t look at what his time was, but he knew it had to be good when he saw Connor smiling and clapping his mitts together for him. Finally Leon’s competition had ended too, and he managed to stay on top, claiming the win. The closer he got to Connor the happier he was. Connor was sitting looking sky chewing his gum, not to forget the fact he was checking Leon out from head to toe. That all star champ was his. For the remainder of the competition boys the boys were just fooling around with each other. Both had adrenaline running high from their wins. The start of this weekend was a good one, and eventually they hit the locker room to suit back up for media.

Connor had anticipated questions about the Oilers and his captaincy, but his personal favorite was when someone had asked about Leons performance. “That was awesome! That was an event that was tough. Really really tough and Leon I know was a little bit nervous.” Connor began to answer. Since he had heard from Leon still nobody had realized they were an item, he knew he’d have a little fun hyping Leon up. “I ket saying you’re one of the best passers in the game you could easily do it. And he proved that tonight.” Connor said lovingly about his teammate and boyfriend (which the media still couldn’t seem to pick up, which was surprising).

Finally day one was in the books and both began to head to the hotel to rest for the night. Although they’d be staying in the same room together, a king size bed all theirs. After all they were both hockey boys who needed enough space for cuddles. Connor’s room was rendered useless, they’d be using Leon’s room instead. Not that it mattered too much anyways, Connor had the salary to make useless purchases like his hotel room that would remain empty all three days in San Jose. Both boys began to take off their suits and put them on hangers. Even with salaries like they have, both Leon and Connor hated spending so much time finding a suit they liked, only for it to cost more than they ever would have typically spent (it was a suit, why must they cost so much?). No way were they going to ruin them only to go through suit hell once again. Leon was the first to get changed out of his suit, and he head to the luggage to find some clothes for bed. Leon put on some plaid pj pants with pockets, along with an old oilers shirt (which wasn’t his). He had taken a seat while Connor was still getting ready for bed. Connor put on Oilers pj pants that Leon orginally got for him as a gag gift, but no surprise Connor loved them so much. Paired with his Oilers pants was one of Leon’s shirts. Leon looked up from his phone and saw Connor looking adoarble, his hair still looking freshly cut.

In fact Leon was the actual reason his hiar was cut in the first place, and it wasn’t because Leon liked it short, hed just told Connor it’d be funny to see media have a hay day. And anyways Connor loves seeing Leon laugh, so his answer was obvious, he had to do it. He took a seat right on top of Leon crushing him, and laughing as Leon went wide eyed and stuttered out “Oh well hello to you too” while lightly laughing. “What are you looking at?” Connor asked as Leon was looking down on his phone. “Figuring out which picture of us to put on insta.” he replied while turning his phone to Connor to look at the pictures. Leon continued to swipe through the photos until Connor pointed out a good one. “Post that one” Connor suggested. Despite Connor hardly posting on his accounts he knew when a picture was good, and that was definitely it. Leo opened Instagram and selected the picture Connor suggested. “Should I add a filter?” Leon asked seriously. Connor thought the photo was fine as it was, but the temptation was way too high. Leon had seen a yellow tinted filter, “Con! This filter would look sick!” Leon said while showing Connor the result. To Leon’s dismay he was given the ‘are you actually joking me right now?’ look. “I think it looks good, especially you so I’m posting it.” Leon told Connor. Connor put his hands up as to say ‘I’m not stopping you’. “Oh I have the perfect caption too!” He said excitedly as he began to type it out. It was the best usage of 27 letters in his life, all for one small post.

@ drat_29: Great day at the skills comp with @ mcdavid97

“Alright it’s posted” he said to Connor as he locked his phone and placed it on the nightstand. Both boys then opened the bed to go to sleep for the next days fun games. Of course they couldn’t go to bed without Connor claiming his little spoon position. “Ich liebe dich.” Leon mumbled to Connor as he drifted to sleep holding the one he loved the most in his arms.

#edmonton oilers #connor mcdavid #leon draisaitl #all star weekend #the formating is weird??#mcdrai #oilers #mine #also this is posted for a specific follower???

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queenofmoons67 · 6 years

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strike the match (let it all burn) omakes

Hi everyone! Since I have no idea what the issue with the text breaks are (they show up on my laptop) I’ve split the omakes from the main fic. If you continue to have issues, please let me know!

The main fic can be found here. I highly recommend reading that first.

Summary: Eijun, Furuya, Haruichi, and Raichi find themselves in the middle of a hostage situation. The omakes are the entirety of the main fic, but from the point of view of those stuck waiting outside. Part of my "we are the challengers (plus ultra!)" verse.

The omakes bounce between various POVs, but once someone’s POV has been done, they aren’t revisited (though, of course, they may appear in later scenes).

Quirk List: Kuramochi (cheetah camo), Ryou and Haruichi (rose), Miyuki (quirkless), Kataoka (doberman), Zono (oak tree), Toujou (rock), Chris (weakness reading), Eijun (lion and house cat), Furuya (bonfire), Asada (quirkless)

Word Count: 3267

Youichi was frantic. Everyone had been warming up for their practice game against Yakushi when Kanemaru ran out on the field screaming for Kataoka-kantoku. Next thing he knew, he, Miyuki, and Zono were being summoned to talk with the coaches.

Their news had sent his heart into overdrive. Sawamura - stupid, stupid Bakamura - had gotten himself into a hostage situation. Because of course he had. And his boyfriend's little brother had also gotten himself into that situation, because of course he had. And of course Furuya had been dragged into the mess as well. Because it was just Seido's luck to have two of their ace competitors and their second baseman in this mess right before the fall season started.

Now, he was stuck pacing around the dugout.

Youichi hissed and bared his teeth at nothing. Someone yelped, and he blinked to find Kanemaru right in front of him.

"Sorry…" he said slowly. "I didn't see you there."

The first year shook his head. "No, it- it's fine." He took a deep breath. "Are you ok, Kuramochi-senpai?" Youichi just looked at him, and Kanemaru nodded. "Have you considered doing something? I - talking to the police helped me calm down. It won't take your mind off of it, but…"

"Thank you, Kanemaru," Youichi said.

He turned on his heel and burst into a run - not his normal run, his cheetah-quirk powered run. He didn't use it often, since he'd been the target of a lot of discrimination as a kid for the camouflage that came with it. But for Sawamura and the Kominatos…

"Where are you, Ryou?" he panted.

Ryou's head was deep in his book, surrounded by his old teammates in the library. "A Study Group for Failing Baseball Idiots", Takako had called it when she emailed all of them. They had been at it for hours and were ready for a break, so when they all heard yelling from outside, they were quick to join their classmates in crowding the windows.

Thankfully, Ryou didn't even have to say anything. Being part of a stampeding team of baseball players meant that most people were quick to get out of their way. Those who didn't found themselves on the ends of his glare and moving anyway. Once at the windows, Tanba was kind enough to shuffle to the side and make room for him.

Opening the window flooded the library with even more noise. Looking over the edge, Ryou stared and, ever so carefully, didn't let his jaw drop.

There were police cars crowding the front entrance. None of them had their lights and sirens going, but their sheer number spoke to the emergency. So did the ambulance crouched among them.

The police themselves rushed all over the place. More than one was making a phone call, while others gathered gear. Anyone running did so between their cars and - Ryou's heart dropped. The direction of the baseball fields.

The library doors behind them crashed open, and everyone spun to face them. Ryou couldn't see him over everyone else, but he'd know Youichi's voice calling out his name anywhere.

Kazuya looked up from his brooding to find Kuramochi and the elder Kominato leading the rest of the third years in a charge straight towards Kataoka-kantoku and the police captain. Yelping, he leapt from the dugout to cut them off.

"Woah, woah!" he said, hands held up in the universal 'stop before you run me over' gesture. "Don't you think interrupting them will have the exact opposite effect than what you want?"

"Move, Miyuki," Kuramochi growled. "What would you know?"

Kazuya frowned and hoped his hurt didn't show.

"You realise I have two pitchers in there, right? And three of them are members of my team. Mine. Tetsu-san, you know what that means, right?"

The previous captain considered him seriously - though, honestly, Tetsu did most things seriously, it was just the kind of person he was - and nodded.

"As captain, your teammates are like your children."

Kazuya choked. Ok, that was too serious.

"No, that's not right…" Tetsu frowned. "It's like… as captain, you have a responsibility to your teammates. Part of that includes keeping them safe, even when off the field."

That was more like it.

"Besides," Kazuya pointed out. "When Kataoka-kantoku, Takashima-sensei, Todoroki-san, and Oota-san yell loud enough, you can tell what's happening even from over here."

Tesshin had had it up to his pointy Doberman ears with the police captain.

"What part," he growled, barely resisting baring his teeth, "of 'I am prepared to do anything to rescue those boys' do you not understand?"

The captain flicked his lion ears and raised his eyebrows.

"What part," he began pointedly, "of 'I can't let civilians onto an active hostage scene' do you not understand?"

Tesshin desperately wanted a brick wall to bash his head against. The two of them had been going back and forth like this ever since the police first arrived about six minutes before. All the coaches had already gotten their emotional reactions out through shouting; all that was left was terse logic.

"Those hostages are our children." Tesshin gestured at Todoroki. "In his case, his only son, and in Seido's case we are their guardians. You can't honestly expect us to just sit back and wait?"

The captain sighed and rubbed a hand over his nose. "Look, I'll make you a deal, ok? It's my one and only offer." Tesshin nodded. "I will allow one of you to go, under police escort, and try to talk to the kids. You will not do more than that. You will not attempt a one man rescue or participate in any actions we may undertake. Are we in agreement?"

Beside Tesshin, Oota heaved a relieved sigh. Tesshin thought it might be the first time the man had breathed since Kanemaru burst onto the field.

On Tesshin's other side, Rei nodded with a stony expression. Beside her, Todoroki looked close to bursting into another round of tears, but had enough composure left to gesture Tesshin forward.

"Go get our boys," he hiccuped.

Tetsu sat as calmly in the dugout as he possibly could, watching his old teammates pace.

He had actually been afraid Kuramochi would wear a hole in the floor, but thankfully Ryou had been able to pull him on to a bench and keep him there.

The others had no one to do so, and as a result, the feared hole might happen because of a group effort. Chris, Jun, Tanba, Kawakami, Kanemaru, and Zono - the latter three, along with Toujou, having already been in the dugout when they arrived - were certainly working hard at making the hole happen.

Even Masuko, sitting quietly in a corner as he tried to lower everyone's emotions with his quirk, didn't have much of an effect. The emotions, he had taken the time to explain, were too strong.

"What do you think is happening in there?" Miyuki asked.

Tetsu turned to look at the new captain, seated on the bench beside him. He didn't have to say anything. Miyuki gave him a side eyed look, then continued.

"They let Kataoka-kantoku in, and we've seen a ton of police officers enter and exit, but we haven't actually gotten any news. Just confirmation from the headcount that there's four players in there."

By this point, Miyuki had actually brought the pacers to a halt. He held their complete attention.

"What are you getting at, Miyuki?" Zono growled.

The catcher met his vice captain's eyes evenly. Tetsu was actually a little impressed he was able to; with all the stress, Zono had lost some of his fall leaves early.

"I mean we don't even know if they're alright. For all we know, they could be dead or -"

Ryou opened his mouth to spit, Tetsu was sure, a cutting response to that bit of catcher insight.

He didn't get the chance.

A gunshot and a yowl, one after the other, split the air, cutting and ugly and freezing everyone in their place better than even Miyuki's words did.

When he could move again, Shinji looked towards Kuramochi. He already knew, in the back of his mind, what that noise was. It had come from the direction of the bathroom, after all. But on some level…

On some level, he needed Kuramochi to tell him no. No, Sawamura's yowl of pain was not so loud that it reached them easily all the way over here. No, that was not even in pain. It was a call and nothing more. No, the pitcher Shinji had come to respect and, dare he say, call a friend, had not made a sound that wrenched his heart.

Shinji looked to Kuramochi and felt his heart completely stop instead. He knew he would get none of that.

Kominato had an arm wrapped around his boyfriend's waist. His fingers dug, white-knuckled, into jersey fabric as he held them both back.

The face of Kuramochi himself was turned away from Shinji, towards the bathroom, but his posture said it all. His tail had tucked itself as far in between his legs as it possibly could, and his ears lay flat against his head. The green fur across the back of his neck, usually invisible under his hair, had puffed out enough that there was no ignoring it or the truth it held.

Shinji's legs buckled. He sat on the bench, buried his head in his hands, and tried to ignore the world around him.

Hideaki sat between Shinji and the rest of the team, a rock hardened barrier.

At the moment he felt more like wood.

There had always been something for Hideaki to do, some solution to his problems. Sometimes it took so long it seemed impossible, like with becoming a pitcher again, but the solution was always there.

Now, though… for the first time in his life, he could do absolutely nothing. Everyone who needed to know had been told. He was looking at all of them, and had been for awhile. The police had let Kataoka-kantoku back, but he knew without asking that no students would be allowed. There was nothing to do but wait. Nothing he could do for his friends trapped within the bathroom, but out here...

Hideaki closed his eyes, breathed in deep, and straightened his back.

Shinji made a noise of wonder, and all around them their teammates exclaimed excitedly. Hopefully.

Hideaki opened his eyes to find Endeavor and a team of sidekicks walking inside the building. Police escorted them while leaning in close to, he assumed, brief them on the situation.

He let his shoulders relax ever so slightly. Reaching out, Hideaki pulled Shinji into his side for a one-armed hug.

Sometimes wood is thousands of years old and turns to stone, impossibly strong, to stand forever.

Chris and his old teammates waited impatiently, but it still took twenty, thirty minutes after Endeavor arrived before Kataoka-kantoku finally exited with Furuya in tow. The poor pitcher was half-dead on his feet. He looked up at them through lidded eyes, keeping up with their coach only thanks to an arm around his shoulders and a stubborn will.

Kataoka-kantoku handed him over to them with orders for half of them to get him into a bed. The other half were to come with him and get meals for the others.

They split up without a thought. Those most eager for news left with Furuya, while others who could get by with just the coach's reassurances for the time being headed for the dining hall.

Chris's choice was less pleasant. He headed in Furuya's direction, only for the coach to stop him with a quiet hand up.

"Your father has been calling Takashima, Oota, and I almost nonstop. Please call him back and reassure him that both you and your 'crazy boy' are perfectly fine."

Chris looked back at his coach. He knew his normal resting poker face had twisted into something strange - something that asked if the request was serious, my kouhais need me and you ask this of me?

Kataoka-kantoku just stared back evenly. He knew exactly what he was asking, but he did it anyway. That was the kind of man he was and why Chris had chosen Seido in the first place.

At least he'd confirmed that Sawamura was fine. Chris's heart had been in his throat since hearing the yowl, but now at least it retreated enough that he could clear his throat and speak.

"Yes, sir," he said. He bowed his head, murmured, "excuse me," and walked away.

In all of the chaos and panic, he had forgotten his phone and bag in the library and hadn't had the heart to go back and get them. He was paying for it now.

When he reached the library, it was to find a pile of book bags and baseball duffels behind the main desk, under the safeguard of the librarian. She smiled sympathetically at him and handed him his bag, but thankfully didn't do more than that. He didn't think he could stomach pleasantries right now.

Chris exited the the library and walked in the direction of the baseball dorms, phone ringing and pressed to his ear. It only rang twice before it was answered.

"Yuu!" his dad exclaimed. "How are -"

"I'm fine, Dad," Chris interrupted. "And so is Sawamura. I'm on my way to see him now, actually."

There was quiet for a few seconds, which really said more about his father's feelings than anything he could have said.

"I'm glad. He - I know you care about him. He brought out a side of you I hadn't seen in awhile, and I hadn't even realized I missed."

"Mm," Chris nodded. "Listen, dad - I can see the dorm from here. I'm going to hang up now."

"Take care, Yuu," his father said. "Give that crazy boy a hug from me."

"I love you," Chris replied, and closing his phone, sprinted to the dorms.

He opened the door to a feast. Beds had been claimed and the floor covered in baseball members.

"Chris-senpai!" Sawamura wailed. The lion cub launched himself from Kuramochi's side and burrowed into Chris's. He had to have been a koala in a previous life, Chris thought, to be this clingy. Still, he wasn't about to complain.

"Chris!" Jun hollered, waving from the top bunk next to Tetsu. "We saved you a spot on the bed!"

He waved in acknowledgment, but ignored his friends for now. He took in Furuya and the younger Kominato, both already asleep and safely bundled up. He noted the new groove in Sawamura's tail and, tightening his arms, maneuvered them onto the bed beside Kuramochi.

Now the pitcher was practically in his lap, head resting against his chest, and Sawamura purred in response. The sound was a rusty thing - probably because of the pained yowl. The thought made his shoulder ache in sympathy even as he watched Kuramochi's tail twine up and around the cub's wrist. Chris said nothing as it settled against Sawamura's pulse; he just tightened his own hold ever so slightly and listened to the murmur of their teammates around them.

He didn't let go until he felt the cub relaxing into sleep. Only then did he share a glance with Kuramochi and fully transfer Sawamura to the bed beside his roommate.

Standing up, Chris linked his hands over his head and stretched, cracking his back with a moan. The day had definitely been one of the longest he'd ever had. And after everything with his shoulder, he didn't say that easily. What made it even more remarkable was that it was barely even three o'clock in the afternoon. And yet, looking around him, all he could see were baseball members bedding down. After all the excitement and fear of the day, he wouldn't be surprised if they all slept through to the next day.

Turning, Chris began climbing the ladder to the top bunk. If all he could do for Sawamura and everyone else was be there, then he would be ready to do that to the best of his ability.

Hirofumi jolted awake and, rolling over, slammed his hand on his alarm's 'sleep' button. A noise suddenly went quiet, but it left a kind of… tense, agitated silence in its wake. The shock of it made him lie still, gazing blearily at the bedroom floor. For some reason he couldn't make out as much as he usually could without his glasses. He blinked furiously, still gazing down. The action accomplished nothing.

That's when it dawned on him. There was no light, unless you counted the moon shining through the blinds. Which meant it couldn't have been his alarm he accidentally silenced. Which meant -

Hirofumi nearly stopped breathing.

In the absence of his rough, still sleep heavy breathing, he could just make out the sound of even rougher breathing above him, accompanied by the murmur of someone's voice.

Hirofumi had only been in Seido's dorms for four weeks, but he already knew what woke him. The first night it had happened sent him scrambling, thinking someone was in their room who wasn't supposed to be. Memories of Kuramochi-senpai's head during the prank had flashed through his mind, only that time the hatchet was real. Hirofumi had screamed. Sawamura-senpai hadn't calmed down for another thirty minutes, and Kuramochi-senpai hadn't forgiven Hirofumi for another two days. It had taken caving to a night of catch and an early morning run for that to happen.

Now, though… now Hirofumi lay still for a moment before he rolled over and, rustling loudly, gathered his sheets to his chest. He dropped his mouth open and started breathing exercises.

This was only the second time it had happened, but Hirofumi already knew what it was. He had had nightmares himself as a kid, of his own quirklessness killing him someday. And… and everyone knew what happened to Seido and Yakushi that one fall practice. It was hard not to, when Endeavor himself had stormed in. The names of those involved hadn't been released. But that didn't matter when your roommate had a scar from a bullet wound on his tail.

Hirofumi counted ten sheep before the noises above him started again. He couldn't make out the words, but after a month of living together he easily recognised Kuramochi-senpai's voice. It was soft and soothing, intermixed with the occasional cheetah churr. Sawamura-senpai was crying, but Hirofumi didn't worry. It was better than the utter silence from the first time.

Gradually, the sounds above him started changing. Hiccups interrupted the crying, as did the occasional snort. The churrs became longer and longer. There was the thump of a pillow being fluffed, and then a half-laugh. An affronted grumble and more fluffing. The air conditioning beeped, whirred, and released cooler air. Their entire bed shook as someone flopped over, and then again with a second flop.

Sawamura-senpai's voice rose as he screeched, "Blanket hog!"

Kuramochi-senpai hissed and the bed shook again. Both of them quieted. Eventually, the lion's distinct snorting snore resounded throughout the room, and it didn't take long for the cheetah's lower, but just as bothersome snore to join it.

Hirofumi rolled back over to stare at the door. The entire situation, from when he woke up to when they fell asleep, had lasted about ten minutes. It took him maybe another five to join them, his own soft, breathy snores merging with theirs.

I swear I wasn’t gonna have ships in this verse, and then Kuramochi said “boyfriend” and I couldn’t bring myself to take it out.

As always, please let me know what you think! If you have any ideas for future additions, I’m open to hearing them!

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repmekevets · 7 years

Text

my response to some bullshit

first, here’s the original story that, i’m sure, many of your aunt’s & uncles have by now forwarded to your inbox...

An open letter to the NFL players (and other equally stupid pro athletes): You graduated high school in 2011. Your teenage years were a struggle. You grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. Your mother was the leader of the family and worked tirelessly to keep a roof over your head and food on your plate. Academics were a struggle for you and your grades were mediocre at best. The only thing that made you stand out is you weighed 225 lbs and could run 40 yards in 4.2 seconds while carrying a football. Your best friend was just like you, except he didn’t play football. Instead of going to football practice after school, he went to work at McDonalds for minimum wage. You were recruited by all the big colleges and spent every weekend of your senior year making visits to universities where coaches and boosters tried to convince you their school was best. They laid out the red carpet for you. Your best friend worked double shifts at Mickey D’s. College was not an option for him. On the day you signed with Big State University, your best friend signed paperwork with his Army recruiter. You went to summer workouts. He went to basic training. You spent the next four years living in the athletic dorm, eating at the training table. You spent your Saturdays on the football field, cheered on by adoring fans. Tutors attended to your every academic need. You attended class when you felt like it. Sure, you worked hard. You lifted weights, ran sprints, studied plays, and soon became one of the top football players in the country. Your best friend was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. While you were in college, he deployed to Iraq once and Afghanistan twice. He became a Sergeant and led a squad of 19 year old soldiers who grew up just like he did. He shed his blood in Afghanistan and watched young Americans give their lives, limbs, and innocence for the USA. You went to the NFL combine and scored off the charts. You hired an agent and waited for draft day. You were drafted in the first round and your agent immediately went to work, ensuring that you received the most money possible. You signed for $16 million although you had never played a single down of professional football. Your best friend re-enlisted in the Army for four more years. As a combat-tested sergeant, he will be paid $32,000 per year. You will drive a Ferrari on the streets of South Beach. He will ride in the back of a Blackhawk helicopter with 10 other combat loaded soldiers. You will sleep at the Ritz. He will dig a hole in the ground and try to sleep. You will “make it rain” in the club. He will pray for rain as the temperature reaches 120 degrees. On Sunday, you will run into a stadium as tens of thousands of fans cheer and yell your name. For your best friend, there is little difference between Sunday and any other day of the week. There are no adoring fans. There are only people trying to kill him and his soldiers. Every now and then, he and his soldiers leave the front lines and “go to the rear” to rest. He might be lucky enough to catch an NFL game on TV. When the National Anthem plays and you take a knee, he will jump to his feet and salute the television. While you protest the unfairness of life in the United States, he will give thanks to God that he has the honor of defending his great country. To the players of the NFL: We are the people who buy your tickets, watch you on TV, and wear your jerseys. We anxiously wait for Sundays so we can cheer for you and marvel at your athleticism. Although we love to watch you play, we care little about your opinions until you offend us. You have the absolute right to express yourselves, but we have the absolute right to boycott you. We have tolerated your drug use and DUIs, your domestic violence, and your vulgar displays of wealth. We should be ashamed for putting our admiration of your physical skills before what is morally right. But now you have gone too far. You have insulted our flag, our country, our soldiers, our police officers, and our veterans. You are living the American dream, yet you disparage our great country. I am done with NFL football, the NBA, and Major League Baseball and encourage all likeminded Americans to boycott all pro sports until the light goes on for these crybabies and their rich owners who are afraid to speak up lest their spoiled brats (felons, wife-beaters) who are, in most cases, unable to even speak English in any understandable manner. Anyone who confuses respect for our Anthem and our flag with the right to support BLM and ANTIFA is just plain ignorant. Use your freedom of speech in the proper forum and stop trying to hide behind your freedoms to relieve your ignorance. BLM and ANTIFA are issues totally unrelated to respect for our flag and our anthem. Your claim to freedoms are bogus and you should ask yourselves what is it you have ever done to earn them. PS Trying to excuse your actions by highlighting the actions of our President on matters such as this is pure unadulterated BS. Whether he is right or wrong in his criticisms does not relieve you of your stupidity.

here are my thoughts, hastily typed during my lunch break at work, which were then sent right back to the person who sent this shit to me.

- you don't just become a professional athlete, regardless of your physical gifts. it takes just as much hard work & determination as any other profession.

- the picture this paints of collegiate athletes is extremely rare. this is like, a 1 in a million representation. most NCAA student athletes work extremely hard on & off the field & face a difficult challenge of balancing athletics with academics. the vast majority of them are not pampered like this story would suggest.

- only 3-4% of high school athletes make the jump from high school to college, many will never make it to a point where they are even draft eligible, & then only about 7% of eligible players will get drafted. of those ~250 players you get drafted in a given year, only 32 go in the first round. of those 32, only a couple will get a deal even resembling the one mentioned in this story, so.. clearly no research was done in this arena. fun fact: colin kaepernick was the 4th pick in the 2nd round of the 2011 draft.

- also, colin kaepernick had a 4.0 GPA in high school & graduated from the university of nevada. he's not in any way dumb or uneducated.

- the average salary for an NFL player is $1.9m/year. while that is definitely substantial, it's not insane. fun fact: although hard to estimate, glassdoor says the average CEO in this country makes $13.8m/year. that's far more egregious to me.

- as for adoring fans, most players in the NFL aren't recognizable by name or face, but are popular because of their team. sounds a lot like soldiers to me. in the U.S., what's more popular than the military?

- of course the incredibly small percentage of athletes that make it to the pros are fortunate to be able to do that - all of them say as much. they know how fortunate they are to be able to play a game for a living.

- as an aside, most professional athletes are very charitable, contributing time & money to various causes in which they believe. another fun fact: kaepernick has donated at least $900k.

this last paragraph really goes off the deep end so it's going to take a minute..

- there is an admission of hypocrisy right off the bat: "We have tolerated your drug use and DUIs, your domestic violence, and your vulgar displays of wealth." yeah, you have. not nearly enough outrage for any of these things, & not even a mention of a boycott. these are behaviors that have a direct human cost & yet.. silence.

- does anyone getting mad about kaepernick taking the knee even know how it started? i suggest you read this article. it was written by eric reid, one of colin's teammates.

^ everyone seems to gloss over the fact that it was a retired green beret (nate boyer) who suggested kaepernick & reid take a knee instead of sitting on the bench during the anthem. reid said, "I remember thinking our posture was like a flag flown at half-mast to mark a tragedy."

furthermore, "It baffles me that our protest is still being misconstrued as disrespectful to the country, flag and military personnel. We chose it because it’s exactly the opposite. It has always been my understanding that the brave men and women who fought and died for our country did so to ensure that we could live in a fair and free society, which includes the right to speak out in protest."

- NO ONE is protesting the flag. NO ONE is protesting the national anthem. NO ONE is protesting the united states of america. example: no one thought rosa parks was protesting public transit. this is no different. the players are protesting the racism & oppression faced by black people & communities in this country & how it leads directly to a disproportionate number of black deaths. that's what it has always been about.

- also, the last sentence is pure, thinly-veiled racism. it literally calls NFL players felons & wife-beaters who are unable to speak english. come on, be better than that.

- the most important part of this story that requires addressing, comes right at the end, "Use your freedom of speech in the proper forum"

- where exactly is the proper forum for black (or others) people to protest?

the very nature of peaceful protest (like dr. king, rosa parks, & others in the 60s), requires visibility. it's aim is to draw attention to the issues, & guess what else.. make the people (especially the oppressors) feel uncomfortable!

this is the real problem. none of these people are upset about the flag. this is about a refusal to address white privilege & systemic racism in this country.

so yeah, i know there’s plenty more that could be added/modified/whatever, but it’s all i had time for this afternoon. comments welcome.

#text #story #nfl #colin kaepernick #take a knee #racism #bullshit

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