Is there updates as to when we will get another chpt of Play it Cool? Miss you writing!
Hey anony! Thanks for checking in - it's been a while, and I'm sorry I went MIA leaving you all hanging. I haven't had a lot of downtime lately, and doing all the things I enjoy doing have gone to the wayside. I'm hoping things will be slowing down more soon so I can focus more on writing.
THE GOOD NEWS... is that I'm dogsitting for a friend this coming week, and I will get the adventures of Tyson and AJ (and some special guests) posted next week. It's going to be a wild summer for these two!
Warnings: A little bit of angst, but nothing bad, I promise. Probably language.
Need to start from the beginning? Here's where it all began! https://at.tumblr.com/brainrattlers/play-it-cool-tyson-jost-1n/p7no8u1hzuza
Want to catch up? Check out the Masterlist!
Author's Notes: I. Am. BACK!!! Short chapter, struggling a bit to find words, but I figured I'd get something posted, and then add some of the stuff brewing in the next few weeks than rush it all at once. It's been a wild few months, looking for a new job (I'm still employed, just looking to upgrade), but also adding a bunch of side gigs to my list of things I shouldn't be doing but here I am.
So what's going on with Tyson and AJ? Summer vacation has started, and these two have a few months to do whatever they want. Let the planning begin!
*****
While the season didn’t end quite as hoped by the Sabres, Tyson remained optimistic about things to come. His end-of-season exit interview went well, according to him, saying he wanted to be back with the team. Locker cleanout days are always a little emotional, but Tyson was in good spirits, all things considered.
AJ was trying to keep the same level of optimism, but her gut kept her guarded, knowing that a lot of what was to come was actually hinging on a few other players on the team. If Okie and Girgensons stay put, there was a good chance that there wouldn’t be a spot for Tyson. Not only that, but of course Tyson becomes a restricted free agent July 1st. And as is, Okie was signed to a single year contract. It now was falling on the fate of Girgensons.
So really, it was a game of “hurry up and wait.” AJ was starting to feel like that might just be how life was going to be from here on out with Tyson until a team realizes how much of a gem Tyson is. Granted, AJ is a little biased in her description of Tyson’s style of play and how much teams really could use a player like him…
“You know, we can go do whatever we want, right?” Tyson jostled AJ’s foot on his lap, noticing she was scrolling aimlessly on her phone. “I have some friends up in BC asking me to come out. You want to go on vacation? Grandma and Grandpa would love to see you again…”
“... really? Using Emily and Jim as bait to get me to up north? You play dirty, Tys.”
Tyson grinned, knowing AJ had a soft spot for his grandparents. She had lost hers years prior, and missed the grandparent vibe. You know the one, where you get spoiled, either with a favorite meal, or a $10 bill slid into your hand when mom wasn’t looking. It really isn’t even about the getting spoiled part either, there is something so special hearing all the stories from their past, learning bits and pieces about what made them the people they are today. It truly was something she missed with her own grandmothers since their passing. Emily and Jim definitely brought that vibe to her, and embraced her as their own grandchild.
AJ thought about it though, and Tyson could see the gears turning in her head. He waited patiently for her to say something more, because an idea was definitely brewing.
“What would you think about some summer shenanigans?” AJ squinted at Tyson, gauging his response to the vague proposition.
“What kind of shenanigans?”
To be honest, AJ was missing some of her old friends. The world can feel so small with the internet, bringing people together digitally, but it’s just not the same as in person. AJ missed seeing Jess. It’d been months since they were in the same space, meeting up back in February in St. Louis. She missed Nate. She missed some of the other friends she made in Denver during her brief time there.
“I was thinking maybe talking to Jess, and as soon as she could, maybe a couples’ trip with her and Nate? Like maybe they come up here, or we go out there, or… we meet up somewhere? I’m not sure yet. I hadn’t really asked her either, but I know she’d be down. The only hindrance at the moment is…” AJ got quiet, realizing what she was going to have to say, “Nate’s still in the playoffs.”
AJ cringed at having to say that, considering how last season went. Thankfully, Tyson’s work on himself last summer and this year with family and a sports psychologist really helped his mental game. He nodded in understanding, and didn’t even flinch. Buffalo made a good run at the playoffs, but just came up short. It was going to whole new level for the team next season, so right now, his feelings were not hurt by the statement.
This time, it was Tyson that got a little quiet, chewing on his lip for a minute before responding.
“I’m sorry I hadn’t brought it up sooner, but a few of the guys are talking about heading down to Hilton Head, kind of an end of season guys trip,” Tyson sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, “We’d be leaving Monday.”
“It’s okay, you know I’ve got plenty going on here, besides, it’s not like my plan can happen quite yet anyway. But would you be interested, if they are?”
A smile broke out on Tyson’s face, followed by a nod. Leaning down, he pressed a kiss to AJ’s temple.
“Yeah, that sounds like a blast. You’re the best babe!”
AJ chuckled as Tyson skipped off to the bedroom. Looking around the living room, kind of lost in thought, she grabbed her phone.
AJ: Would you and Nate be up for some shenanigans this summer?
Not even a minute had passed before AJ’s phone was vibrating in her palm.
Jess: We’re in.
***
AJ got used to Tyson being away on roadies, and she always found things she could do that she enjoyed while he was gone. Eating food that he didn’t like (or shouldn’t eat, and likely, she probably shouldn’t eat either), sprawling out in bed, listening exclusively to her music, staying up late and watching cheesy movies… stuff like that. It was nice to have AJ time.
But truth be told, AJ missed Tyson while he was on the guys’ trip. He was checking in multiple times daily (and getting absolutely roasted for it), but it didn’t make up for the little things she was missing, like him wrapping his arms around her midsection as she’d chop vegetables for dinner, swaying to the music they had on in the kitchen. The random notes that would be written in the steam on the bathroom mirror. The way Tyson would pull AJ in as the little spoon, mumbling incoherently as he drifted off to sleep.
Even the kinda gross things, because, let’s face it, Tyson’s a guy, AJ missed. The way Tyson would burp after chugging a protein shake. How he’d stick his stinky sock feet in AJ’s face when they were laying opposite each other on the sofa together. The occasional facial hair clippings littering the sink in the bathroom. (Although that was just more irritating than gross.)
AJ was simply missing Tyson.
After cleaning the kitchen up from breakfast, AJ headed to the hobby room, and flopped on the sofa, where one of Tyson’s hoodies was thrown on. Rolling over, she reached up over her head and grabbed it, spying which one it was. It smelled faintly of his body wash as she inhaled, sighing into it. Although not really cold, AJ put it on and fell asleep in a somewhat warm embrace of his hoodie.
The buzzing of her watch urged AJ to open her eyes as a certain someone was wanting to FaceTime.
A very groggy looking AJ appeared on Tyson’s screen.
“Hey baby girl, I didn’t wake you up, did I? Is… that my hoodie?”
AJ rubbed her eyes and looked down, and back at her phone camera with a smile.
“I suppose it is. I was napping but I really shouldn’t be if I want to get to bed at a decent hour tonight. What are you guys up to today?”
Tyson told the tales of going golfing and hanging out at the beach with the guys. All the different restaurants they stopped at. But there was something a little off about how he was acting, but AJ couldn’t put her finger on it.
Finally when he stopped talking, AJ piped up.
“You good?”
Biting his lip, Tyson put his thoughts in order before opening his mouth.
“I mean, yeah, but, no. It was weird, last night we went clubbing, and the guys were pairing off with girls they met there, and there were two that wouldn’t leave me alone and…”
AJ’s heart was pounding hard, worried about what might be said next.
“... I had to just get out of there, I took a Lyft back to the house. I… just miss you.”
The breath AJ didn’t know she was holding came out in a gasp, and Tyson caught the tear coming down her cheek. It wasn’t her intention to get emotional, but it hit her hard. And seeing AJ tearing up, made him get teary-eyed as well, but he wasn’t sure why she was to begin with.
The dam broke.
“I miss you too babe, so much,” AJ just let the words fall out of her mouth without a filter, “It just hasn’t been the same here without you. You make my world better.”
Tyson was wiping his eyes, trying to act like he wasn’t crying at all when one of the guys came by him asking if he were about ready to head out.
A mumbled, “Yeah, uh, I’ll be just a minute, no, my allergies are acting up or something, I’m good,” was overheard, before he looked back at his phone. “Hey, we’re heading out for another course, call you tonight before bed?”
“Of course. Go kick some ass on the green! Love you.”
“Love you too, talk tonight,” Tyson blew a kiss at his phone.
AJ “caught” it and smooshed it on her lips before ending the call.
Now wide awake from that unexpected conversation, AJ sat up and started thinking about what she could do to fill some time between now and this evening when Tyson would call. There was only so much cleaning she could do around the apartment to ease her racing mind, so she grabbed her tablet and started looking at vacation spots, texting Jess along the way.
AJ: Would you guys like to come up here? I know it isn’t fancy like Denver is, but there is so much cool stuff to see and do here, really!
Jess: Hmm… I’d be down, but I’m thinking we should get away from EVERYTHING. Mexico has been calling my name here lately, I miss it.
AJ: I’ve never been. I’m looking up some places though. Cancun looks fun, and there seemingly is a lot to do around there. Ooh, they have a big art museum nearby, that sounds good. And Chichen-Itza and Tulum aren’t terribly far either.
Jess: You’re forgetting margaritas and all the amazing food!
AJ: Yes, that too! lol
AJ could feel Jess rolling her eyes at the choices of things she wanted to see. That was the funny thing too, if Nate had heard what AJ was saying, she was pretty sure he too would be rolling his eyes in the same way. Those two really are perfect for each other.
As the afternoon and evening went on, texts were sent back and forth about potential places to stay. It was just going to be a game of figuring out WHEN, with Avs in the playoffs, and knowing Tyson, he probably already had a summer packed with things to do. AJ knew that he was planning on heading out to Edmonton, and had mentioned something about maybe working out with some trainers in Vancouver for a bit. Tyson was never one to really stop and relax somewhere for an extended amount of time, other than with his family whenever he could.
The planning texts were interrupted by a facetime with Tyson, who seemed far more chipper than he did previously.
“How was golfing? Your nose looks a little pink, shoulda worn more sunscreen,” AJ joked, knowing he always gave her shit as she was pasty white and burned within minutes in the sun.
“It was good, shot five over, not bad for a course I’d never played on. Yeah I got a bit of sun today. Thankfully we’re heading out tomorrow. You still picking me up from the airport? I get in around noon.”
AJ looked panicked, looking at her watch, then back at her phone screen, seeing Tyson’s face contort into concern.
“You are picking me up, right? I mean, I can get a ride with one of the guys, but…”
The giggles couldn’t be contained, and fell out of AJ’s mouth.
“Of course, goof, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I haven’t seen you in like a week,” she grinned, “Besides, I found a new burger place I want to try, figured we could swing by on the way home.”
A wave of relief washed over Tyson, knowing he was going to get to see AJ as soon as he got out of the airport. AJ then saw Tyson squint a bit, and roll his eyes after his phone buzzed. Quirking her eyebrow, he could tell she was wondering what was going on just by the subtle movement.
“The rest of the guys went back clubbing again tonight. It’s just not as fun, not without you here. I just didn’t want a repeat of last night, it just felt… wrong. In fact, I just got called an old man for turning in early. I’m not going to feel like shit on the plane at least.”
The two chuckled, and continued talking for a bit, until it was evident Tyson really did get a bit of extra sun and he was pretty wore out, getting sleepier with each new topic that was brought up. After a few minutes of being disgustingly cute and sending kisses to each other, they finally ended the call.
Tyson laid in bed, still feeling awkward about the previous night, despite nothing actually happening. It did occur to him just how much he and AJ complemented each other. Dancing with random women in a bar no longer was exciting. He’d rather dance in the kitchen with AJ. Taking a woman back to his hotel was the furthest thing on his mind, unless that woman was AJ.
“Maybe I really am turning into an old man!” he thought to himself, as a smile crept up on his face as he drifted off to sleep.
AJ woke up late the next morning, relaxing in bed, completely sprawled out, for one last time before Tyson would be back. Spending an hour scrolling through Instagram, she finally got up, got a shower, and a quick breakfast before grabbing a small baggie from one of the cabinets in the kitchen and heading out the door. AJ and her black Soul hit the road, heading to the airport.
Once the car was parked, AJ headed inside, outside of the security area. Looking around, AJ saw her target… and it wasn’t Tyson. With a smile and a wave, she headed over to Karma, whose ears perked up when Ann waved back, asking if Karma knew who was coming.
“Hey Karma, who is a good girl? IT IS YOU!!!” AJ scratched Karma’s ears before giving her a treat from the bag. “Hey Ann, how is it going today?”
So who are Karma and Ann, you might ask? Karma is an adorable, frosty-faced Jack Russell Terrier/Beagle mix, and Ann is her owner. Together, they patrol the Buffalo Niagara International Airport as a therapy dog team. Most dogs you see in airports have patches on their harnesses saying “SERVICE DOG, DO NOT PET”... but Karma has a bandana on that says “PLEASE PET ME!” AJ met them earlier in the year during one of her trips to see Tyson on the road, and had since become friends with the human/canine duo. Ann always asked how Tyson was playing, and Karma always was up for a belly rub as the two would chat. Today, Ann was in for a treat, she’d never actually got to meet a professional athlete despite all her time at the airport.
Finally, coming out of the secure area, Tyson spied AJ sitting on the bench petting a dog.
"AJ found the only pettable dog in the whole place, that's so her!" Tyson thought to himself, smiling the whole way to her.
Putting his bag down, Tyson found AJ already clinging her arms around him for a tight hug.
“Hey Tys, this is Ann, and…”
Before she could even say anything else, Tyson was already leaning down petting Karma’s head.
“This must be Karma, I’ve heard so much about you already from AJ!” Tyson leaned up and shook Ann’s hand, “And you too, it’s nice to meet you!”
Ann was usually chatty as all get out, but she was in awe of the Buffalo Sabres player standing before her. Finally breaking her out of the spell, Ann finally was back to telling stories and giving advice on where to go get dinner for the night. After gabbing for a few more minutes, and a few more treats for Karma, AJ finally convinced Ann that there were probably more passengers and airport/airline staff that could use some Karma pets and kisses. Everyone parted ways, with AJ promising she’d be back soon to see them again.
Walking hand in hand to the parking lot, AJ posed a question to Tyson.
Hi Anony!
I'm still here, it's just been... a year? Are we allowed to say that? :) You'd think that with both of my teams I follow out of the playoffs, I'd have more time to write, but it seems busier than ever here lately. I've still got plenty of summer shenanigans for Tyson and AJ (and maybe some other special guests) to get into brewing in my head, they just haven't made it to my fingers to get typed out yet. This is my sign that this weekend I need to just stop, sit down, and write a few thousand words for Play It Cool!
Thanks for checking in, it means a lot to me when you do! ❤
Warnings: This chapter is a little naughty. There is some insinuation of adult activities going on. Nothing graphic but, you've been warned (so I'll say 18+ just to C my A.)
Need to start from the beginning? Here's where it all began! https://at.tumblr.com/brainrattlers/play-it-cool-tyson-jost-1n/p7no8u1hzuza
Want to catch up? Check out the Masterlist!
Author's notes: Oh geez, I'm sorry you all. I've been MIA for a few weeks. It's been a little crazy with work, interviewing for a job I applied for while I was in Buffalo, and just life. Finally got through this chapter, and am already working on the next to wrap up the season. Definitely not how the Sabres hoped to see their season end, but this is just the beginning for their team. (And I will say I'm nervous with Tyson going RFA this summer, there are a lot of if this, then thats which can happen and possibly cause Tyson to be with yet another team next season. I really hope Buffalo figures it out though, he's a good fit there.) I already have plans for Tyson and AJ's summer, so get ready!
Now where were we when I last left off? Oh, that's right, Tyson was sad AJ couldn't be in DC for his birthday, but AJ has some plans of her own.
*****
Tyson spent the week with a few things on his mind.
First, hockey, obviously. The Sabres being on the bubble of a wildcard spot. The team was working so hard, but still had some very off-nights that were diminishing the likelihood of them playing in the offseason, but they persisted. A week on the road kept Tyson’s focus mainly here.
Next was AJ’s lab results. She had another set run right before this roadie, and was waiting to hear back anything. Tyson wanted his partner in crime to be healthy for all the shenanigans he envisioned them getting into in their future. He also knew that it was bothering her simply not having answers.
Lastly, was his birthday surprise. Since AJ had told Tyson that there was something going down for it, “an experience,” he was told. He had no idea what she was up to, and frankly he was itching to find out. Was it going to be something ON his birthday while on the road? Was it going to be when he got home? He had no idea.
So his mission early on in the roadie was to find out as much as he can to piece it together… maybe AJ had talked to some of the guys on the team? He was going to find out.
AJ on the other hand, was busy working on trying to figure out the logistics of everything, which indeed include talking to a few guys on the team, as well as their significant others. The thought of starting a group chat came up, but it would seem weird if a few guys’ phones buzzed at the same time, yet Tyson’s wasn’t. For now she had to keep it separate.
Quinner: He’s asking again. Do I say anything?
AJ: He’s such a brat. No, not yet. Play dumb.
Quinner: Can do. What’s the word on my gaming rig?
AJ: Just waiting on the GPU to arrive, which is slated for tomorrow. It’ll definitely be ready when you all get back.
Quinner: Awesome
AJ went back to working on a PC on her desk, when her phone started buzzing again.
JJ: Guess what
AJ: I already know, apparently he hit up Quinn earlier. You have no idea what he’s talking about.
JJ: Got it
Sighing, AJ finally decided to give some sort of hint to Tyson so he’d quit annoying everyone. She waited an hour or so before sending out any crumbs of info.
AJ: Alright Jost, your birthday is tomorrow. It will be celebrated at a later date. Stop asking your teammates for clues (winking emoji)
Tyson pouted as he and the rest of the team were on their way to the arena, but was grinning on the inside knowing that AJ was up to something. Not only that, but she also was finding her footing more in Buffalo, getting out and about, meeting new people - not just his teammates, but WAGs, and just a few people she’d see around the neighborhood often.
When Tyson was on a roadie, and the weather was decent, AJ would walk down the street and snag a Beef on Weck from Charlie the Butcher. (This was probably her favorite Buffalo thing so far, she’d never had anything like it prior to moving there.) She’d sit at one of the tables in the lobby and people watch as she enjoyed her sandwich. A few people from the offices would come down at lunch time and start chatting.
AJ started recognizing some of the employees at the local market. She even started going to a bowling alley, getting picked up to sub for people missing on teams every once in a while on league nights. Feeling more comfortable being around strangers, she realized that some of her meds were finally starting to do their thing again.
Braving a bit of rain and snow, AJ finished up her lunch, and headed back. After checking the tracking on some computer part orders, she sighed and looked around. Something clicked in her head after scanning the living room, seeing the pile of laundry she needed to fold in the basket. Through the bedroom and into their walk-in closet, AJ found herself looking through her own clothes, and sliding hangers around of Tyson’s clothes as well. Grabbing a specific hanger, she dropped the garment on the bed.
Rummaging around in her dresser, AJ grabbed a pair black Culprits and tossed them on the bed. Pulling a couple bags from the closet, she set up her tripod and camera, making sure the memory card was not full. Lamps were moved around. Pulling up an app on her tablet, she set the scene, making sure she’d be in the shot correctly.
With a quick wardrobe change, finding poses that were sexy but still classy, and not ridiculously silly. were kind of difficult. AJ would tap the screen on her tablet, and try to pose quickly before the timer ran out. Locations were moved, to the living room, and the kitchen. After about an hour and a half, she gave up, having exhausted all of her pose ideas. A few minutes were spent editing each photo. Finally AJ gave up.
AJ: I need your help with something. Tomorrow’s Tyson’s birthday, right? I shot some photos for him while he’s on the road but I need help picking out which ones. So awkward.
Jess: Send away!
With a deep breath, AJ picked her top 10.
AJ: Alright, I might throw in silly too, but pick your top… 5.
<4 attachments><4 attachments><2 attachments>
Jess: Oh, wow, Tyson’s going to LOVE these! I’m going to say 2, 3, 5, 7, and 9.
AJ: You don’t think 7 is too much?
Jess: Nooooo he’s going to be all over you when he gets back (winking emoji)
Truth be told, AJ started daydreaming of Tyson striding through their front door with that determined, almost primal look on his face that usually happens after a roadie, or when Tyson was just in the mood. Being gently pinned up against whatever surface was nearest to them at the time was a common occurrence, with a few minutes of intense making out sometimes leading to more. It wasn’t uncommon to find a trail of clothes leading to the sofa in the living room or toward the master bedroom, which had to be retrieved later.
Tyson hadn’t even been gone two days and AJ was suddenly missing him a lot, longing for his touch, his facial scruff against her cheek. The feeling of his arms wrapping around her from behind as she cooked dinner… She sighed at the thought of laying in bed, arm around her as she rested her head against his chest, fingers playing with his small patch of chest hair. This was just as torturous to her as it would be for him.
It hit her at that point that they literally spent a month apart at one point, and she survived. A few more days wasn’t going to be the end of the world.
Thankfully, a shipment of computer parts came the next day, and AJ was going to be occupied the rest of the week… But not before sending Tyson a little impromptu birthday present.
Tyson’s birthday started with a few texts from family, and one from AJ wishing him a good birthday. But compared to the others’ texts, AJ’s had a bit more mystery to it.
AJ: Happy Birthday to my Maple Syrup Man! I hope you have an amazing day. While it’s not your actual present, I have something for you later.
Tyson: (thinking emoji) What is it?
AJ: Patience babe - you’ll get it tonight (winking emoji) Love you!
Tyson: Love you too!
With that little nugget of intrigue planted in Tyson’s brain, he was getting antsy as the team was traveling to DC. A group of the guys were taking him out to dinner when his phone buzzed in his pocket.
AJ: Hey Birthday Boy, message me when you’re free. And preferably alone. (winking emoji)
Finishing up installing the new graphics card into Jack’s computer, AJ was starting to fidget and get nervous regarding what she was about to do. As she started cleaning up the cables inside the case, her phone buzzed loudly against the table.
Tyson: Everyone just left, in my room by myself. So… what’s so important that I be by myself for?
It was time to draw this out to make him get a little more curious.
AJ: I just wanted you all to myself. How was dinner? Did you get cake? Or pie, as it is Pi Day?
Tyson: Dinner was good, had a pretty good steak. Now why do I need to be alone?
AJ: Cake?
Tyson: YES CAKE WHY DO I NEED TO BE ALONE? You’re driving me crazy over here!
AJ: I’m driving you crazy now? Just you wait… (evil imp emoji)
For good measure, AJ waited another minute or two before setting up the text with the photos.
AJ: Happy Birthday, babe <4 attachments>
<1 attachment>
Tyson’s jaw dropped when he opened the photos, finding AJ in various poses, wearing Tyson’s Sabres jersey and showing the smallest hint of her black boycut Culprits underneath. His brain definitely started short circuiting seeing AJ in the kitchen cooking, lounging on the sofa, one cute photo on the bed… but the last one of her on the bed definitely got his heart racing.
Nervous of how he’d react, AJ nearly dropped her phone when Tyson was trying to facetime her. She accepted the call.
“Holy smokes, you’re killing me over here babygirl…” Tyson’s eyes were dark. “I can’t wait to get back home… but at least I’ve got these photos to tide me over.”
AJ blushed heavily.
“This isn’t your actual birthday present but I thought you might enjoy them.”
“I’m going to be up for a while thinking about that last one, and definitely enjoying it. Might have to make that one my home screen on my phone,” Tyson got quiet for a moment. “It’s my birthday, and since you’re not here and I don’t get to have birthday sex ON my birthday, but… what would you think about maybe… over facetime, you and me? I mean you don’t have to if you don’t want to, but… it might be fun?”
The smirk and biting of AJ’s lip was the only thing that Tyson needed to know. It was always amusing watching him go from adorable and almost shy, to straight up feral. She saw him reaching for his earbuds immediately, and could hear that his voice lowered when he made his next request.
“Put the jersey on.”
And because this is a classy joint, let’s just say that AJ and Tyson had a rather exciting evening doing things that are… less than classy. (But fun.)
AJ woke up exhausted the next morning. She couldn’t even imagine how Tyson was feeling… but after watching the game, it might have been just what he needed as he scored an unassisted goal in the first period.
Finally at the end of the week, after a tough loss to Philly, Tyson was on a flight back to Buffalo and could not possibly be more antsy about getting back to the apartment. Texts were sent as soon as he landed, as soon as he was on the road, and one from the garage that he was on his way upstairs… requesting that AJ was in the jersey (again).
Just as she imagined earlier in the week, Tyson opened the apartment door, dropped his bag in the laundry room, and immediately strode into the kitchen to find AJ wearing little more than that Sabres blue jersey as she was getting a glass of water to take her nightly pills. Barely letting her swallow them and put down the glass, Tyson had already twisted AJ around to face him, lifting her onto the countertop.
AJ yelped in shock of how cold the surface was against her legs.
An intense kiss was shared, but Tyson was impatient. He pulled AJ down off the countertop, grabbing her hand and leading her to the bedroom. Unwrapping his favorite gift was the only thing on his mind that night.
With no practice scheduled in the morning, the couple lounged in bed, finally getting up late in the morning to seek out some brunch. The conversation over waffles was about what was coming up in the next week for both of them. Tyson had a number of home games, with one interruption of a quick trip to Long Island for a game there. AJ talked about how she was meeting up with a few new clients to work on setups for. The big thing she emphasized though was that the following Sunday (not tomorrow), Tyson needed to keep his night free. Yes, it was his birthday present, and no, she was not going to give hints. Also she pleaded with him to not ask his teammates any more questions.
The week was kind of rough on Tyson as he’d been scratched a couple of games. AJ was taking it harder than he was, but she couldn’t help but have flashbacks of his time with Minnesota again. Thankfully he was playing again by the end of the week. She showed up to the game against New Jersey, and watched as the team warmed up in their Military Appreciation sweaters. It’d been a minute, but AJ forgot how good Tyson looked in green. (To be fair, AJ thinks Tyson looks good in all colors, really.) The team was super intense during warmups, and barely did Tyson kiss his glove knuckles and tap the glass as he skated by AJ. Had to keep the tradition up though.
The next morning, Tyson headed to practice, and then off they went to NYC for their game against the Islanders that night. AJ spent her day finalizing plans and making sure everything would be great for Tyson’s present the next night. Reservations were made. Random texts were sent to not ping the entire group chat at once. It was a GO.
With a 2-0 win, Tyson got back relatively early, coming home to AJ watching KSU playing in the NCAA tournament.
“I didn’t know you liked basketball?” Tyson questioned as he unloaded his backpack from the super short trip.
“I don’t, but it’s where I went to school, and actually was working there before Nate convinced me to move to Denver. Just kind of a nostalgia thing I guess. First year in quite a while that KSU has had a decent team.”
Tyson flopped down onto the overstuffed sofa next to AJ, stealing a few pieces of popcorn from the nearly empty bowl. Unfortunately, the Wildcats just couldn’t come back from their point deficit and lost in the Elite Eight. Tyson had curled up and fallen asleep across her lap as she was playing with the short curls on his head in the last few minutes of the game. His features were serene as he snored lightly. Unfortunately though, because she wanted to go to bed, AJ was going to have to wake him up.
“Tys..” AJ whispered to not jar him awake, “Tys, babe, you gotta get up so we can go to bed.”
His eyes stayed closed as he mumbled something unintelligible.
“Tyson, hon, really we gotta get up, my foot is falling asleep.”
More mumbles, followed by Tyson burying his head harder into AJ’s lap, wrapping his arms around her torso. Clearly he was awake and faking it this time. His body shook a little as he laughed. Rolling off her lap, he sat up and sleepily smiled. Suddenly his eyes went wide.
“TOMORROW IS MY BIRTHDAY MAKE-UP!!! YEAAAAH! The sooner we sleep, the sooner it gets here!”
You’d think it was Christmas the way he was acting. Tyson ran to the master bedroom, and ducked into the bathroom to get ready for bed, leaving AJ just rolling her eyes at the absolute kid of a man she had. But it was one of her favorite things about him… he was an adult when he needed to be, but like her, wasn’t going to grow up otherwise if he didn’t have to.
That early Sunday was rough on Tyson. He went to the optional skate, antsy as hell in regards to not knowing what was going on. Kyle had texted AJ letting her know that Tyson was still sniffing out clues, but everyone was shutting him down. Both Kyle and Danielle were helping AJ put this all together, she probably wouldn’t have been able to orchestrate the entire thing. Thankfully there was nothing really physical that could be left out for Tyson to see, other than maybe a text message here or there… but AJ was doing pretty well keeping her phone on silent and on herself when Tyson was being snoopy.
AJ clearly caught him when he got home from practice, seeing if there were any signs of fun that was to be had that evening. After a quick nap, Tyson found AJ getting out of the shower (which was difficult keeping him from climbing into the shower with her, but they would definitely be late for the plans). She wasn’t getting super dressed up, just some jeans, a tee, and a warm hoodie. He finished up his shower as AJ put the finishing touches on her hair. Putting down the diffuser, she did offer him some advice.
“Put on something warm, let’s go for a little walk.”
Tyson squinted as he grabbed his Nike SB hoodie from the closet, pulling it over his wet curls. Grabbing his hands, AJ pulled him in for a quick kiss.
“C’mon birthday boy, let’s go!” AJ giggled as she pulled Tyson to the door.
The two walked hand-in-hand on Main Street, swinging their hands as they strolled past the Ellicott building, past Tesla Park, past Lafayette Square.
“Are we going ax throwing?” Tyson questioned, as they neared Hatchet & Hops.
“Nope, just a bit further!”
AJ wasn’t kidding when she said just a bit further, they stopped just past it, in front of a restaurant front blasting music. Opening the door, she led Tyson into Misuta Chow’s. The hosts greeted them.
“Has anyone for the Toasty Josty party arrived?”
“Ah, yes, this way,” the host led them to the back where tables and chairs were marked with reserved signs.
Tyson immediately recognized a few teammates and their significant others. Cheers for the birthday boy were abound as the couple sat down. A few more people showed up. Dinner and drinks flowed, including a special birthday mochi for Tyson. But the fun was just beginning, as the party moved upstairs to the arcade/bar/karaoke night.
It’s not surprising that the first person to get on the mic from the group was Skinner, not surprisingly an 80s pop song. There were a number of the group that went up and took their turn belting out a tune. Some were surprisingly good! Some were much better after they had a shot or two. Some… were just bad. Video games were played. Lots of smiles and laughs were had.
“Tys, you should go sing!” AJ prodded a bit, as they played Mortal Kombat against each other.
Tyson bumped his hip against AJ’s as he mashed buttons on the arcade cabinet making a combo that nearly took out AJ’s character.
“No thanks, but I know someone that has a beautiful voice that should go up there…”
AJ lost focus on the game as she blushed a little, and Tyson plunged his character’s sword into hers.
“Fine, but only because it’s your birthday, Josty.” AJ winked.
When it was her turn, AJ did a quick shot (and cheered on by the guys) as she took the mic, clearing her throat. Her eyes closed as she took the mic in her hand, the opening guitar notes of Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You” playing throughout the bar. A little unsteady at the start, her voice found its footing as her eyes found Tyson’s. The softest of smiles graced his lips as AJ’s voice flooded the room. A few surprised looks went her way as they were not expecting her to sing that way. Whoops and applause happened after she put the mic back on the stand at the conclusion of the song. AJ’s face turned a number of shades of pink to red as she quickly got to her security blanket of Tyson with his arm around her.
A few of the bar-goers, friends and strangers alike came by and high-fived or complimented AJ. Tyson just beamed next to her, especially when his teammates and friends said something.
“You know, that’s how I fell for her, she was singing while fixing, what was that thing again in the dressing room?”
“Access point.”
Tyson continued, “Yeah, Access Point. She was on a ladder, singing with her headphones in, and I was last off the ice, taking a shower and headed into the dressing room. Her siren song had me hypnotized in the doorway. And she twisted a bit to do something, saw me… and that's when she first fell for me… literally, down the ladder a bit. And as awkward as we both were… that’s when I knew she was the one.”
Tyson pulled her in and kissed the side of her head.
“Aww, babe, you never told me that last part. But wow, you left a LOT out of that story, that’s probably for the best,” AJ grinned.
A few “That’s so cute!” and “Adorable!” exclamations came from the significant others.
A few more songs were sang, more video games were played, and maybe another drink or two were had. AJ was definitely a bit more tipsy than Tyson, but he also had a game the next day and was behaving. Calling it a night, Tyson thanked everyone for coming out, and thanked AJ (who thanked everyone else for helping) for putting on the party.
The walk back home was pretty chilly, with a drizzle falling all around the couple. Tyson insisted on holding AJ’s hand to keep it warm, as well to make sure she stayed upright in case some of the drizzle had frozen on the sidewalks. Back at their building, he stole a kiss in the elevator ride up the twelve floors, which still tasted a bit of Jolly Rancher shots. Tyson pulled AJ in tight.
“Good birthday? You’re a hard man to shop for, you know that?”
“No I’m not!” Tyson defensively shot back while tickling AJ as she opened the door to their home, “But this was definitely one of the best.”
Author's notes: Tonight's loss versus New Jersey stings. I watched the post-game with Okie and was nearly in tears. It doesn't feel right dropping the new content, but I wanted to give a little taste, regardless. I'm a few weeks behind, but AJ and Tyson will tackle tonight's game soon enough. Full chapter should be up later this week.
Masterlist - Play It Cool
***
Tyson spent the week with a few things on his mind.
First, hockey, obviously. The Sabres being on the bubble of a wildcard spot. The team was working so hard, but still had some very off-nights that were diminishing the likelihood of them playing in the offseason, but they persisted. A week on the road kept Tyson’s focus mainly here.
Next was AJ’s lab results. She had another set run right before this roadie, and was waiting to hear back anything. Tyson wanted his partner in crime to be healthy for all the shenanigans he envisioned them getting into in their future. He also knew that it was bothering her simply not having answers.
Lastly, was his birthday surprise. Since AJ had told Tyson that there was something going down for it, “an experience,” he was told. He had no idea what she was up to, and frankly he was itching to find out. Was it going to be something ON his birthday while on the road? Was it going to be when he got home? He had no idea.
So his mission early on in the roadie was to find out as much as he can to piece it together… maybe AJ had talked to some of the guys on the team? He was going to find out....
Heading home from Buffalo with all sorts of inspiration! Caught the games on Friday and Monday night, explored the city a little when it wasn't raining. Think I'm falling in love with Buffalo. Will be back to writing the next chapter when I get back.
But have some Military Appreciation Night Tyson in the meantime!
Need to start from the beginning? Here's where it all began! https://at.tumblr.com/brainrattlers/play-it-cool-tyson-jost-1n/p7no8u1hzuza
Want to catch up on last chapter? Check it out here https://www.tumblr.com/brainrattlers/709931912720990208/play-it-cool-tyson-jost-40n
Masterlist
Author's notes: Hey all, I'm back! If you saw my last post, some stuff has been bugging me mentally and physically. Had to take a step back for a bit, and am easing myself back into this shorter chapter. Little bit of a time hop, but you didn't miss too much. Maybe will do a "What We Missed the First Time" later to make up for some of it. Also no more Monday night/Tuesday morning binge writing sessions, I literally physically cannot do that right now 🤣
Today's chapter finds Tyson and AJ finding their own grooves in Buffalo a little more. Just because you're in a relationship, it doesn't mean you give up everything and everyone around you for the sake of your partner. Also it makes it that much better when you do get to spend time together.
****
Tyson unlocked the apartment door, tossing his gear bag in the laundry room on his way to the bedroom to take a quick shower.
“Hon, where you at?” Tyson searched around, trying to find AJ in the apartment.
A muffled “Guest room!” came from the other side of the home.
Tyson made his way through the living room and found AJ inside the guest room closet, arranging the last few boxes in the room. He smiled seeing his Christmas tree box in the corner, that would soon be tucked away, hoping this coming year they’d be able to have it out with all of their decorations they missed out on this last Christmas. Peeking around the corner of the doorway, AJ was tidying up shelves with clear plastic bins organizing various things of theirs that weren’t needed every day, or even every month, like summertime clothes, and the holiday ornaments.
Trading places, AJ motioned toward the tree box, then the closet, knowing Tyson would be far more capable of moving the tree efficiently. Plus it’d only been a few days that AJ had been on her new slew of pills from the doc; she still would get fatigued easily. Taking that step back, she gladly watched as Tyson lifted the box with ease, and was clearly staring at the muscles that strained a little against the fabric of his shirt. Without even thinking, she had her bottom lip trapped between her teeth as her eyes were trained on Tyson’s every move.
Completely lost in her thoughts, Tyson had already got the box in the space she made in the closet, and was realizing AJ had been ogling him. The fact he caught her made him smile and wiggle his eyebrow to see if she’d even catch on. Still adrift in her own mind, she started noticing that he was now purposely flexing his arms just to get a reaction. Letting go of her bottom lip, AJ took a shaky breath in figuring out he was playing her like a fiddle. Her cheeks turned a little pink when she finally looked him in the eyes.
“I.. uh… Thanks for getting the tree into the closet babe,” AJ was trying to regain her composure but failing, “You made that look easy.”
Tyson just smirked at the floundering AJ found herself doing. She felt awful that she was completely ogling him, but in his mind, as long as it was him, he definitely didn’t mind. Also he liked seeing how flustered she’d get trying to work her way back out of the awkward situation. For further grins, he rolled his sleeve up and flexed his biceps, leaving AJ to run her fingers over and squeeze them, making them both giggle after she raised her eyebrow and bit her lip.
The schedule for the Sabres was a lot of home and away suddenly, but with things feeling more stable, AJ wasn’t struggling as much. Tyson was still concerned, but as the days went on, he found himself feeling more confident that she was doing okay. A few times she had mentioned maybe putting up posts about doing computer repair freelance as she was getting antsy around the apartment. The fact she’d been playing video games more again, and getting excited about exploring new parts of the city were all signs that AJ’s mental health was starting to improve. (And the more he thought about it, he could see the signs that maybe there was a little something was off, but he was so happy that she realized and took action with it.)
This also was perfect timing because Tyson had been getting more and more invites to hang out with his teammates, but he didn’t want to leave AJ by herself so much, considering how much he was already on the road.
Tyson’s phone vibrated against the counter in the kitchen as he was making breakfast. Not being nosy, but the screen was lit up while AJ was grabbing a bowl to put some fruit into, she noticed a text from Illya.
“Juicy gossip in the group chat?” AJ started cutting an apple up, suddenly worried she might have crossed a line she shouldn’t have, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be snoopy.”
“Nah, you’re fine. There’s talk of a few of the guys going to Boosh’s after the game.”
“Okay,” AJ shrugged.
Tyson squinted trying to read into that one word answer AJ gave.
“You know you can go, right?”
AJ never has been one to give an answer that secretly meant the opposite, but Tyson was still a little leery.
“You’re sure it’s fine?”
“Of course! Why wouldn’t it be?” AJ genuinely was curious. She turned around to wrap her arms around Tyson’s waist. “You don’t always have to hang out with me. Seriously, go hang out with them tonight if you want.”
Searching AJ’s eyes for something telling him not to go, he came up empty. With a kiss on her forehead, he nodded.
The two ate their breakfasts, talking about their plans for the day. It was a little different game day as it was an early afternoon Saturday game. After grabbing the dishes and throwing them in the dishwasher, Tyson pushed AJ up against the fridge for a pretty passionate kiss before heading out for the arena. AJ had about a couple hours to kill before she would head to the arena for the matchup with the Lightning, and took the opportunity to clean up the apartment a little bit, little bit of vacuuming, some dusting, straightening up the pillows and blankets on the sofa.
It was almost as if it were destiny that AJ had done so, as her watch started buzzing with a text with an unexpected request.
Tyson: Hey babe, change in plans maybe. Would it be okay if some of the guys came over after the game? I should have asked first but I kind of offered. If it isn’t, it’s fine.
AJ: No worries. I’ve got a project I need to work on this evening, so you guys can do whatever, I’ll probably be holed up in the hobby room. See you in a bit babe, getting ready to head out. Love you.
Tyson: Love you too Eggo
Thankfully it was a win against the Lightning, and the team was in a great mood afterward. AJ made it home earlier, and had gotten a headstart on her project. Just as she predicted, she found herself in the hobby room, lights on full blast as she unboxed a stack of packages leaving the items inside strewn about the sofa. Digging out her screwdriver set, she tore into everything, and started plugging pieces in, hiding cables, and screwing things together. The next thing she knew, Tyson was peeking his head in to see what she was up to, seeing a new computer sitting on her desk. A few other voices trailed behind him.
“What’s with that? Is there something wrong with yours?” Tyson pointed at the other giant desktop computer, lit up with all sorts of LED fans.
“This? Oh, I got a nibble on one of my posts and built a custom rig for someone. Feels good to be doing something again.” AJ had a look of pride on her face again as she plugged it in, seeing lights turn on and the display show up on the new TV they hung in their hobby room. “I’ll keep it down in here, let you guys do your thing.”
The teammates poked their heads in to say hello, and followed Tyson to the kitchen and living room, where the conversation went to food pretty fast. AJ put her headphones on and started tweaking some settings on the computer, bouncing her head to the beat of the music in her ears. Tyson came back pretty quick, lightly tapping AJ’s shoulder.
“Hey, we’re getting wings, you want anything?”
After staring at the menu on her phone a bit, AJ said she’d place the order because she had some points to use up. Tyson insisted on paying still, and tossed her his wallet. After tapping in what everyone wanted, AJ pulled out his debit card when something else fell out onto her desk.
Gingerly picking up the dog-eared business card she recognized the logo for where she used to get her hair done, not back in Minny, not back in Denver, back in her hometown. A small smile from reminiscing graced her face as her fingers ran over the appointment card for an appointment long ago, which had her name scribbled on it, along with her phone number.
“I can’t believe you still have this, from that first night at EJ’s,” AJ’s eyes were sparkling at the thought of their first kiss, and how she slipped the card into Tyson’s back pocket before she left for the night.
Tyson turned a little pink, taking on a bashful look.
AJ slipped the card back into his wallet, along with the debit card. Her phone notified her that their order would be delivered in about forty-five minutes. Tyson headed back to the living room where the guys were probably going to end up playing video games a chunk of the evening. Not intentionally listening in, she did hear someone ask Tyson what she was up to in the other room.
“AJ, well, worked, works? In IT. But right now she’s still finding her footing here so she’s doing freelance support for people’s computers. And she builds custom computers, for like gaming or design work.” The sense of pride could be heard in Tyson’s words. “She’s pretty good at it too.”
“That’s pretty badass. I wouldn’t have any idea how to do that stuff. My computer is shit, you think she could help me out?”
“Did you see the cool fans on that one she was working on? That’s seriously sweet.”
“Yeah! I can talk to her, I’ll let you know what I find out. So what are we playing, boys?”
AJ got a warm fuzzy from the unintentionally overheard praise. She went back to working on the desktop, testing out a few things. Finally her phone buzzed, but she was in the middle of installing a different fan on the computer case.
“TYS! Food’s downstairs!”
The communal sounds of happiness that dinner had arrived were loud and clear. Even AJ was pretty hungry and waiting for dinner. She was going to grab some leftovers after the game, but wasn’t about to pass up wings. As Tyson made his way back into the apartment, AJ tiptoed into the kitchen to grab some water, offering up beverages to the guys sitting in the living room. Tyson grabbed the different containers from the bags, and handed them out. AJ snuck over to grab hers, kissing Tyson on the cheek and thanking him for dinner. She was starting to head back to the other room, when someone caught her attention.
“You can hang out with us if you want, you can play next round if you feel like it?” JJ held up a controller toward AJ.
“Oh! Oh, no, no, you guys go ahead and play. I’m not very good at games like that.” AJ shook her head as the words came out.
“Whatever babe, you play Fort with Nate, you’re fine at games like this,” Tyson was trying to get her to hang out with them as well.
“Naww, you guys can play. I’m probably going to eat, and maybe go read in bed. I’m a little tired today,” AJ sat down on the floor next to Tyson’s feet, looking back at him on the sofa, “was kind of a rough one.”
Tyson nodded in understanding, realizing she truly wasn’t feeling up to it. He could see the dark circles under her eyes a bit, even in the darkened room. She gave a small smile, then looked back at the TV to see the guys playing some first person shooter. Leaning on his shins, AJ sighed as Tyson lightly raked his nails through her hair before digging into the wings on his plate.
The other two guys groaned as one of them ran out of ammo and was sniped.
“You missed the ammo box that’s around the corner from the laboratory,” the voice came deadpan from AJ as she rubbed her eyes a bit before yawning.
Everyone looked at her, silently questioning how she even would know that.
“Okay so maybe I’ve played this one before,” AJ grinned as she got up to put her plate away, “But you guys have fun, I’m calling it a night.”
Not even thinking about the present company, AJ leaned down and kissed Tyson, nothing major, but it was enough to elicit a couple “oooOOOooh!”s. Tyson turned a little red, but for sure played it up and grabbed her face and kissed her with much more gusto to make her turn red too.
“We’ll keep it down out here,” Tyson whispered, “Get some rest babe.”
This was definitely one of the times that AJ was happy they had a master bath attached to their bedroom. Closing the bedroom door behind her, she found herself actually just drawing a nice hot bath with a honey chamomile bath bomb to soothe her mind. With her headphones in, she couldn’t even hear the guys in the living room as she played sudoku on her phone. And once the water had gone chilly and her feet were thoroughly pruned, AJ got out of the tub, dried off, and put some sleep shorts and a tee on before crawling into bed.
Cheers erupted from the living room, but it didn’t even faze her as she drifted off to sleep. The only thing that did wake her up was feeling the bed dip slightly as Tyson curled up with her several hours later.
“Did you guys have fun? Did they beat the zombie horde?” AJ sleepily whispered.
Tyson couldn’t contain the chuckle that came out as a huff as he smiled, kissing AJ’s forehead.
“There was a zombie horde? We didn’t even make it that far I guess! You could have shown them how it’s done, I’m sure. You feeling better?”
AJ barely murmured a positive reply, and was already back asleep. It was a good day, with a Sabres win, getting to hang out with the guys, and AJ feeling a little better than she had been. The fact she was not pushing herself too much and knowing her limits was huge in his eyes.
The next few weeks were a blur to both Tyson and AJ. The Sabres’ schedule was a lot of back and forth of home and away. And thanks to word of mouth of a few teammates, AJ was busy designing computer systems for a few guys and their friends, ordering parts and building rigs. She was actually doing pretty well for herself.
With Tyson on the road for a week coming up, AJ had a little extra time to work on his birthday plans. He wasn’t being very helpful in giving ideas for gifts. But thanks to some new friends she was making in Buffalo, she was able to figure out an idea, at least. And talking with the Josts, it didn’t look like they were going to make it out for his birthday, but they were going to travel to see him play while on his roadie at least. While this made AJ happy, she was actually looking forward to seeing everyone. But work was picking up and even though she was her own boss for the moment, she didn’t want to leave her customers hanging.
Morning practices brought Tyson home in the early afternoon, where he’d find AJ in the hobby room plugging in cables into ports inside the PC cases. He’d see her updating software and tweaking settings to make things run smoothly. All the while, he’d sit on the sofa, strumming his ukulele and serenading her with silly songs he made up, or occasionally surprise her with a new one that he learned.
But it wasn’t always about hanging out together. AJ was convincing Tyson it was okay to hang out more with the guys and she really was encouraging him to get out more often. And eventually he did end at Boosh’s place to spend a relaxing evening in the sauna. (AJ actually was a little jealous of that night, for sure.) This left AJ with time to separate from her work and do more fun stuff for herself, be it video games, or making some art.
One quiet evening in for the both of them found Tyson lounging on the sofa as AJ was putting away the dishes they washed after dinner.
“I’m a little bummed you can’t come to DC for my birthday,” Tyson pouted playfully.
“Hey, business is booming, it’s kind of your fault, you know,” AJ jabbed back, “Besides, I have something fun planned for you when you get back from Philly. I hope you’ll like it.”
“I told you I don’t need a gift.”
“And you’re not getting a physical gift, per se, but an experience.”
Tyson was intrigued.
“But you’re going to have to wait until you get back, babe.” AJ winked.
Read the next chapter here
Hey Anony! It means a lot to me when you check in 💙
I'm still here, but I'll let you and everyone else in on what's going on with me, and Play It Cool.
They (and I'm not entirely sure who THEY are, but THEY) say that you should write about what you know. So full disclosure, there is a lot of me in AJ. Right now, we're both going through some stuff, and it's actually been kind of therapeutic being able to write about it through her. We've both realized that something is up both physically and mentally, and we're being adults and getting it checked out. As of right now, both of us are, all things considered, pretty good. Still unraveling the physical issues, but both AJ and I recognized the symptoms of our anxiety and depression coming back. Getting pro help and back on meds has happened and I am starting to feel "normal" again.
That being said, one of the frustrating things for me lately is writing. I've had so much fun writing Play It Cool - Tyson is so much fun to write, and I obviously have a soft spot for AJ 😀 But it's been a struggle in recent chapters finding the story, making the words flow how I want them to. I get so frustrated when it doesn't work the way I want it to, and I have to force myself to walk away a bit. But I kept finding it harder to then come back to it. That's actually one of the things that clicked in my head of, "Hey, maybe you are starting to not enjoy things like you used to... remember the last time that happened? That was your depression talking."
Not liking what I was hearing it say, I did something about it.
So here I am now, back on my meds for a few weeks, and still working on finding the words. I've had some sparks of inspiration for upcoming chapters. I appreciate you ALL for reading this silly story that has now gone for 40 chapters and over 250 pages (dang, I've literally written a book!). And I thank you for being patient as I'm in this weird writing drought. But I'm going to get through it. And AJ's going to get through it too. And dang it, I am going to get a new chapter out soon!
Would you consider making a masterlist for Play it Cool? I’m trying to read it rn but as soon as I loose my place it becomes a nightmare to navigate (love what i’ve read so far though!)
It's quick and dirty, but ask and you shall receive, Anonymous!
MASTERLIST - Play It Cool
Need to start from the beginning? Here's where it all began! https://at.tumblr.com/brainrattlers/play-it-cool-tyson-jost-1n/p7no8u1hzuza
Want to catch up on last chapter? Check it out here https://at.tumblr.com/brainrattlers/play-it-cool-tyson-jost-39n/ibz3yvek72nz
Warnings: I can't think of too much. Maybe a little language.
Author's notes: Technically it's still Tyson Tuesday for me here in the midwest, so I haven't missed it! I think I'm just about caught back up, and needed something fluffy after that Sabres' loss tonight (ouch). Back to the story though... Roadie for Tyson, and it's also Valentine's time, to which both Tyson and AJ have a little something up their sleeves.
The weekend was dragging for AJ, who was reluctantly awaiting her lab results. The only thing that kept her sane (re: mind on something else that wasn’t her refreshing the lab results that hadn’t been processed yet) was that Tyson was home for a few days, which let them work on more unpacking when he wasn’t at practice. Their closet was filled with clothes, the linen closet full of towels and sheets. The kitchen was arranged, and the living room was starting to look comfortable to live in. Tyson found quite a scene in the guest room, with Maple and Panda spooning in the guest bed.
“Hey babe?” Tyson hollered from the guest room.
“Yeah?” AJ was on a stepladder, marking lines on the walls to hang some art, “‘Sup?”
“The bears are giving me some ideas.”
AJ finished yawning before she smirked, “Seriously is this the first time you noticed them? They’ve been that way since you got home yesterday, goof.”
Catching her deep inhale, Tyson continued thinking about the bears. He could see AJ’s movements slowing a bit, the fatigue she had talked about coming to the surface.
“Hey, you want to go take a nap? It’s been a minute since we’ve taken one together. No funny business, I promise.”
Looking away from the wall she was marking, AJ saw Tyson leaning against the doorway of their bedroom with his arms crossed over his chest. A smile overtook his face.
“What’s got you grinning like that?”
“I was just thinking about the last time I was in a doorway, admiring a pretty girl on a ladder. The one I’m looking at now is a lot more graceful, and is much better at playing it cool.”
AJ stuck her tongue out at Tyson, then sighed, climbing down off the stepladder. Putting her tools in the toolbox on the counter, she shook her head and smiled as she shuffled toward him. Grabbing her hand, he led her to the bed, where he kept his word about no naughty shenanigans. Instead, he pulled back the sheet and blankets, letting her crawl in. Finally comfy and curled up with her body pillow, Tyson slid in behind AJ, pulling her in close as the little spoon.
Before he could even get comfortable, Tyson heard the soft snores from AJ already drifting asleep. With a kiss on her shoulder, he snuggled in, ready for an overdue nap.
Unfortunately, it was short-lived as AJ’s phone blooped with a notification of a new email, stating her lab results were ready. Frantically opening the email, she clicked on the portal link to pull them up. Tyson asked if it were okay for him to see, if she was comfortable with it. As AJ nodded, he looked over her shoulder as she scrolled through the different tests and numbers.
The good thing about this is that the results gave info about what the numbers should be, and where hers were in comparison. The bad news is that by reading the report without a medical professional explaining it, they could only glean so much information from it. The report had a green box if the number was good, red if it were bad.
For the most part, everything was good… there were a few things that were minorly bad… and one section that was brutally bad.
Trying to understand it all, AJ figured out her iron levels were severely low. Not just like “Oh thats kinda low.” Like “holy crap how are you alive?” low. The odd thing though was that her red cell counts were great. She was iron deficient, without being anemic. She remained quiet, trying to make sense of what she was reading, until Tyson heard her huff.
“I guess now I wait to hear back from the doc… it is what it is, right?”
Tyson hugged AJ tight against him. “It’s fixable. I bet the doc will have an easy answer. Let’s not worry about it until you hear from her, okay?”
AJ nodded, but it still was unnerving, since it was happening to her. But she was going to just have to be a patient… patient. And thankfully, when she needed it, Tyson was the calming presence she needed, even though he seemed to be a chaotic ball of energy at times. He pulled her phone back out of her hands, and set it on the nightstand behind her. Gently rolling AJ over to face him, Tyson loosely held her close until he felt her body relax in his arms as she fell back asleep. He watched her slightly stir after he pressed the lightest of kisses to her forehead.
“We’re going to get you feeling better, I promise.” Tyson whispered.
While AJ snoozed, Tyson quietly snuck out and put one of his plans he devised on the previous roadie into action. Finding the bin he was looking for in the guest room, he grabbed the stepladder and a few other odds and ends on his way. Quiet as a mouse, he scurried around in a different room, and you couldn’t pry off the smile that was on his face. Once finished, he took a look at the space, and felt triumphant.
Sneaking back into the bedroom, he gingerly crawled back into bed, doing his best to not rouse AJ. He failed, unfortunately, but that was okay, it was getting close to dinner time. If she had slept much later, she would have been up all night. A few more minutes of quiet cuddling happened, when Tyson finally piped up.
“Dinner?”
AJ sat up and thought a few moments as she rubbed her eyes. Hopping up, she headed to the kitchen to see what could be made up. Grabbing a tomato, zucchini, garlic, and mushrooms from the fridge, plopping them down on a cutting board. Tyson made himself at home in one of the chairs at the island, watching AJ looking for a few particular ingredients. She pulled a box of Banza from the pantry, quickly followed by a bottle of olive oil. A little cream cheese, butter, and parmesan came from the fridge. Finally, AJ had Tyson toss her a lemon from the basket of fruit in front of him.
The vegetables were chopped, tossed in a little olive oil and placed in the oven. Tyson hopped up and got the kettle put on the stove with some water and salt, waiting for it to boil. After the pasta was added, AJ finished up a few little things like zesting a lemon, and getting her measured dairy products ready. After the pasta was drained, a drizzle of oil was added to the pasta, along with the cheeses and butter, as well as the lemon zest, stirring until the pasta was coated in the sauce. The veggies were pulled from the oven and stirred in.
A piping hot plate of pasta and vegetables was placed in front of Tyson, with AJ sprinkling on just a smidge of extra parm on top. Tyson waited for AJ to get seated before taking a bite, being polite. As soon as she was settled, he’d already dug in, looking at her in surprise.
“Why haven’t you been making this for me every day previously? This is amazing!”
He was already back to working on his bowl, with AJ just staring at him wide-eyed, chuckling.
“Um, thanks? I guess this one is going into rotation,” AJ smirked as she took a bite.
Tyson lucked out that night, as her recipe dirtied very few dishes. AJ was going to help but Tyson insisted he got them. In fact, he offered up the suggestion of maybe playing some video games while he finished up. AJ looked at him a little weird, but took him up on the offer. He took her plate and put it in the dishwasher as she hopped off her chair, and headed toward the room with her computer. They hadn’t yet figured out a good name for that room yet.
Tyson peeked around the corner of the kitchen into the hallway as AJ opened the door.
AJ’s eyes lit up, and she whipped her head back toward the kitchen, feeling Tyson’s gaze on her.
“You didn’t… when did you do this?”
The garland and lights that adorned their hotel room were along the edges of the ceiling, and the lights actually were scattered all over it the entirety, looking like little stars. AJ gazed around the room in wonder, turning toward Tyson who was already moving toward her to admire his own work.
“When you were napping earlier. I didn’t mean to wake you up when I tried to sneak back to bed, but… yeah. I just remembered how much you loved it at the hotel, and I wanted to recreate it for you. You still like it?”
Tyson found AJ already sitting in her desk chair, spinning slightly just looking at the ceiling.
“It’s perfect, Tyson.”
“That’s the first surprise. I have one more idea to run past you…”
Tyson pulled up a website on AJ’s computer, and showed a modular couch that would act as also a guest bed, but looked super comfy.
“You like? This way we can both be in here too, I figured we could call it the hobby room or something. Just our little cave when we don’t have guests. Pick a color?”
AJ picked the midnight blue velvet option.
Tyson pulled his phone out, and tapped away for a few moments.
“It’ll be here in about two weeks,” Tyson looked pleased with himself as he headed back to the kitchen to finish up the dishes while AJ took it easy for the rest of the night.
Things were starting to feel more normal in the new place, especially with Tyson having a game that next evening. Breakfast, morning skate, nap, game. It was falling back into place again. The afternoon was shaken up slightly though with a call from AJ’s doctor, explaining the lab results and what it meant for her currently - mainly taking iron supplements to replenish what she was missing, and then more tests in a couple weeks to rule out a few other things it could be. She was also told to keep eating iron-rich food as well. The doctor didn’t seem terribly worried at the moment at least.
(Tyson might have gotten a little excited at the news, hoping this meant he could grill up steaks for them more often. AJ just really doesn’t like steak, however.
“But you’ve never had one of MY steaks, babe.”
After begging and pleading, she said she’d try it.)
With the final game before the All-Star Game break behind them, Tyson and AJ had a week of freedom. Granted, he still got up, worked out with some of the guys still in town, and one day had a community outreach program with an area school, but most of the time was theirs. Less and less boxes were on the floor, and more and more things were put away. Photos and art were hung on the walls. Their favorite blankets and throw pillows littered the sofa in the living room. The new sectional sofa came in early, and the two set it up in the hobby room. Tyson flexed his muscles and helped AJ build some bookshelves for both the living and hobby rooms. Some evenings were spent with them lounging in the living room watching a movie, others were spent in the hobby room with Tyson practicing his ukulele and AJ playing something on her computer. One evening was spent trying to teach him how to crochet, it didn’t get very far as they ended up just making out under the tiny little lights on the new sofa.
With the bye week winding down, teammates were making their way back to Buffalo from exotic (and less exotic) locations. Practices were ramping up, and Tyson was away at the rink more often again. AJ spent the time putting some finishing touches on the apartment, including new curtains for the bedroom.
The first game back was ROUGH for the team. Tyson tallied an assist, but overall, it was a 7-2 loss that they had to shrug off as they were on a losing streak. The next handful of games would be a roadie in California, much to AJ’s heartache.
AJ pouted as Tyson packed his bag with clothes for a week.
“We’re missing Valentine’s Day,” AJ whined, “I got so spoiled by having you here for ASG break and now you’re leaving me.” She flopped on the bed, throwing a mock tantrum before rolling back over and laughing a bit.
“I promise we’ll do something when I get back. I do have a little surprise, but I can’t tell you what it is. Also… I know you actually like you time when I’m gone, you’ll find some sort of mischief to keep you occupied.” Tyson thought for a moment. “Hey, isn’t Jess’ birthday coming up? Maybe you two can do something together?”
Grabbing her phone, AJ pulled up the calendar that had both the Sabres’ and Avalanche’s games listed. She scrolled through a couple days to see who was playing when. The gears started turning in her head.
Those gears kept turning as Tyson left for the airport and was flying across the country.
AJ: What are you doing this weekend? Do you have some time off from classes/work?
Jess: Are you coming out to Denver?
AJ: Nope, but I have a crazy idea. What are you doing on Saturday?
Jess: No idea. Nate’s in St. Louis. I’m not working though.
AJ: What would you think about shenanigans in StL?
Jess: Day trip?
AJ: Day trip.
The women started looking at flights trying to figure out how to make this happen, especially considering the Avs/Blues game was an afternoon matchup. It was a very short flight for Jess, AJ not so much, but she’d make it work. The two would continue making plans the rest of the day, interrupted only by Tyson texting that he was on the ground in Los Angeles.
Tyson’s roadie started off on a less than stellar note with a loss. The only good thing is that they didn’t have to swap hotels to get to Anaheim for their next game, so the team was able to relax a bit on Valentine’s Day.
Part two of Tyson’s plan went into action when AJ received a message that she had a delivery at the front desk of the building. Completely unprepared, AJ saw a number of plants on the desk next to some bouquets of flowers. The flowers were for other residents, but the plants… all the plants (about 10 different ones) were for her. It took a couple of trips, but AJ got them all upstairs. All placed on the kitchen island, AJ took a moment to look at all of them, and found a card buried in one.
I couldn’t figure out which to get you, they all seemed like ones you’d like, so I got them all. I hope I didn’t go overboard! xoxo, Tyson
They were all beautiful, and all ones AJ would have bought as she does have a slight problem with getting too many houseplants. Some people do drugs, some people drink… AJ collects houseplants.
AJ: Tys, you really shouldn’t have.
AJ sat at the island, trying to figure out what she was going to do with all of them, when she got another message from the front desk that she had another delivery. This left her confused, because she definitely hadn’t ordered anything recently.
Downstairs, AJ found a man with a large cart and several boxes balanced on it. After realizing they were for her, he offered to help her get them upstairs and inside the apartment. They were rather awkward and heavy, so she graciously accepted the help, and tipped him generously after they were in the living room. Unsure of what to do with them, because they were addressed to her, but not knowing what they were, AJ just sat on the sofa staring at them.
Tyson: I know. But if tracking is right, it looks like something has arrived that should help.
Trying to understand what he meant, AJ grabbed the scissors from the kitchen and started opening a box. Inside were a number of metal poles and shelves. Finding the instruction sheet and parts, it was figured out that Tyson had also picked out three stands to put her plants on, in front of various windows in their apartment.
AJ: You really REALLY shouldn’t have, babe… this is too much. I love it, but… too much!
Tyson: I figured I’d get you something you could work on for a bit, building the shelves and all. I hope you have fun with it all this week! Happy Valentine’s Day! Did you ever figure out something with Jess?
The couple ended up facetiming for a bit, with AJ letting Tyson know what shenanigans they were indeed going to be up to. And surrounding AJ, he could already see parts of the first shelves being put together. If he couldn’t be there for the holiday, he was happy he could surprise her with things to keep her occupied while he was on the road. In a twist, AJ also told Tyson she had a minor surprise for him when he gets home later that weekend - nothing huge, but she thought he’d appreciate it all the same.
The rest of AJ’s Valentine’s Day was spent building shelves, after a quick detour to a home improvement store to pick up a few pots and bags of potting soil. Once the shelves were in place, she worked on getting the plants into their new homes in front of the windows where the sunlight streamed in. (And when it wasn’t streaming in, she did also mount some grow lights so the greenery could at least get some artificial light.)
Thankful that Tyson was three hours behind her, sending a photo of her handiwork at 10:30PM her time was still 7:30PM there.
AJ: You still shouldn’t have… but they look amazing. < 3 attachments>
Tyson: Love it. And love you. Heading to bed soon?
AJ: Yeah, it’s getting late. I guess the silver lining of whatever’s causing me to feel off is that I go to bed at reasonable hours these days lol
Tyson: Sleep well, sweet dreams (of me)
AJ: Of course. Love you too, sleep well when you get there (heart emoji)
It had been a long day, and AJ felt rejuvenated mentally at least, after getting her hands dirty building the shelves, and in the physical dirt while working with the plants. Simple things like that made her happy. Her mind wasn’t racing, and with a tired body, AJ fell asleep quick.
Feeling a little extra pep the next morning, AJ made it to the gym for a bit, but unfortunately pushed herself a little harder than she realized. In a way though, it worked out well because she ended up taking a nap most of the afternoon (thus testing out those new curtains in the bedroom). But it was also helpful because Tyson’s game in Anaheim didn’t start until 10PM for her. It was a good game too, with Tyson scoring a goal and an assist. The Sabres got their two points.
Crunch time was coming soon as far as what was being planned between AJ and Jess though. With just days to spare, the two finalized their plane tickets, as well as tickets to the Avs/Blues game. Jess had been talking about what a stressful week it had been so far, so she was anxious to get away, even if just for a chunk of a day.
Friday night, AJ couldn’t sleep, as she usually doesn’t before travel days unfortunately. Exhausted already, her flight left at 5:15AM, and with a layover, she ended up in St. Louis around 10:45AM. Jess had beaten her there, and already took the Metro down to the arena area, where it was jam-packed with people. Unbeknownst to either of them, Mardi Gras was taking place that day as well. A huge parade was getting ready to begin in the downtown area, and AJ was worried she wasn’t going to make it in time.
Thankfully, the two met up at Union Station, and started walking toward the arena. This was the first game AJ had been to where there were a SIGNIFICANT amount of people wearing the opposing team’s jerseys and colors. She figured it easily was one in five people wearing an Avs jersey. (Both Jess and AJ were rocking a 29 jersey. It seems like at least once a week or so they’d find something else they had in common. AJ always said they were twins, even if she were older, and Jess was taller.)
Grabbing some food, the two friends made their way to the glass for warmups. While waiting for the teams to take the ice, it was hitting that this was the first time AJ had seen the Avs in St. Louis - it’d always been Tyson’s team she’d seen there, be it the Wild or the Sabres (and felt weird that she had just been there a couple weeks prior as well!)... but was excited to see her team again, free of stress of who do I cheer for? It was clear she was cheering for the Avs this time around.
And once the teams hit the ice with 16:00 on the clock, She caught the glances and waves from a few players. One player AJ was trying to catch the attention of in particular was Nieto, but he was about as focused as Nate always is and gave no indication of recognition. The women did manage to make eye contact with Nate, but he was stoic as ever… can never really tell what’s running through his mind on the ice. Jess swore she got some extra meaning out of the way he glanced over. Per the old tradition, at least one player shot a puck at the glass directly in front of AJ to make her flinch and/or scream. She was never sure who started it, but all those games she went to while still living in Denver, AT LEAST one player, if not more, would do it. (Author’s note: I’d say it was EJ that started it, but it definitely wasn’t him that shot it that particular game considering he’s out injured.)
As the team headed back to the dressing room, AJ and Jess found their seats in 124, realizing they were sitting amongst some of the WAGs from the opposing team. Thankfully, no one really seemed to care (or notice even). The family sitting next to Jess and AJ did ask if they had traveled in for the game, and where they were from. They might have been some of the most genuinely nice people AJ had met in St. Louis, considering her previous run-ins with less than stellar fans at the Enterprise Center. (To be fair, there are crappy fans EVERYWHERE. But for some reason the awful ones seemed to find AJ there more often.)
While the score of the game was great if you’re an Avs fan, it was definitely still frustrating for a number of reasons - namely seeing Makar get hit in the head again, second time in less than two weeks (and ultimately being put on concussion protocol again). And Nate struggled finding the back of the net BUT it was also against Binnington. Somehow that goalie was able to get into Nate’s head. Thankfully the rest of the team was able to pick it up and get a 4-1 win.
The team headed to the airport shortly after media availability, as they had an early afternoon game back in Denver the following day. The women still had a few hours of free time before having to head back, and took advantage.
Making their way out of the arena, Jess and AJ headed to the Gateway Arch for some photo ops, as well as trying to figure out what to have for dinner. After a failed attempt to get White Castle (stupid card readers being down), and figuring out their backup plan of BBQ was thwarted as it closed early that day, AJ had the idea of dragging Jess to get Seoul Taco, especially as it was kind of sort of on the way to the airport, where both needed to head back to that night regardless. This plan also pleased AJ because she wasn’t able to snag some dinner there when she was there the previous month and was absolutely craving it.
Sadly, it was far too short of a day though. Even though they text all the time, and send each other memes and tiktoks, it still hurt having to head to the airport, splitting up with a hug and a “see you soon!” Depending on the playoffs though, AJ and Jess contemplated finding a game they could meet up for again, because it was ridiculous and fun to somehow cram it all into a day.
Before getting in the air, AJ let Tyson know she was heading home, sending a few photos of her and Jess being silly in St. Louis. She’d end up missing his game for the most part, but she knew they got another win. As soon as she was on the ground in Buffalo, and was able to get a Lyft back home, she crashed hard as the day took it out of her.
In true AJ fashion though, her body betrayed her, waking up an hour before her alarm was slated to go off. Tyson would be home later that day, and she was trying to surprise him with something. If you haven’t figured it out already, AJ equates food with love. So she got up and got dressed, heading to the grocery store to pick up a few things to make Tyson a nice homecooked meal when he finally got back from San Jose.
With all the prepwork done, and food simmering away, AJ fell asleep on the sofa.
A very tired Tyson drove back from the airport, and was dragging his bags upstairs. The click of his key in the door lock woke AJ from her nap. He opened the door, placing his bag on top of the washing machine in the utility closet. His nose took over, leading him down the hall and into the kitchen, where he could see AJ buried under his favorite blanket on the sofa, face barely peeking out. Looking to the counter and stove, Tyson’s eyes went wide and his heart skipped a beat.
“Tell me that’s your pot roast simmering in that pot…”
He could see AJ grinning despite her face being camouflaged by the blanket.
Need to start from the beginning? Here's where it all began! https://at.tumblr.com/brainrattlers/play-it-cool-tyson-jost-1n/p7no8u1hzuza
Want to catch up on last chapter? Check it out here https://at.tumblr.com/brainrattlers/play-it-cool-tyson-jost-38n/0i8kcvjvk4vq
Warnings: Language, Tyson being cute (you know, same ol' same ol'.)
Author's notes: Hey all, sorry about the lack of update last week. Apparently when the Sabres have a bye week, I took it off too. (Real talk, stupid stuff like work and some personal crap came up and I'm still dealing with that. I had half the chapter written for last week and then battled some burnout for a bit. Took a breather to find some motivation.)
Tyson's still on the road after AJ's roadie, but she's back in Buffalo, getting the apartment unpacked.
Waking up in Winnipeg, Tyson was conflicted. He had a little extra pep in his step at practice (or strides, as the case may be on the ice) as AJ was his last two games, but he couldn’t help but still wish she was going to be at the game the next night. He was glad she was safe on the ground in Buffalo though, probably up to some sort of shenanigans. It was one of the things he loved most about her.
AJ was dragging. She made it back to Buffalo in one piece after leaving a blizzard in St. Louis, and making her connecting flight just in time to head back. Her ride from the airport actually dropped her off at the hotel one last time, where she piled the few remaining items in their tiny space into Tyson’s Grand Cherokee, did one last sweep of the room, and checked out at the front desk.
The hotel was officially no longer home.
Parking the Jeep next to her own car in the building’s garage in their parking spots, AJ inhaled deeply. Contemplating a nap in Tyson’s vehicle crossed her mind, as her body was exhausted from the stress of the flights earlier. Finally though, AJ got the motivation to get out and start unloading the vehicle, and getting it all upstairs. After four trips up and down and up again, the vehicle was empty, and everything Tyson and AJ had was in the apartment. In boxes strewn everywhere, but in the apartment.
Grabbing her suitcase, she headed for the bedroom pulling out her ziploc bag of toiletries from the flights, and found the box that had the towels in it. Peeling out of her clothes, the hot water of the shower melted away the grime she always felt after a travel day, leaving her feeling loose and, well, still exhausted. Throwing on a pair of joggers and a hoodie, current time AJ was so happy that past AJ put sheets on the bed before she left for the roadie. Pulling back the sheets, she climbed into bed, melting into the feeling that was Tyson’s bed from Minneapolis, from Denver. It felt familiar, it felt right, other than it was missing Tyson.
With a quick snap of a selfie snuggled into the pillows and blankets, AJ sent it to Tyson.
AJ: Home, can’t wait for you to get here. <1 attachment>
Tyson: I will be dreaming of that tonight, and every night until I’m back.
The smile didn’t fade from AJ’s face as she fell asleep, hugging Tyson’s pillow close to her.
After snagging dinner with a few of the guys, Tyson headed back to his own hotel room, coming up with a few ideas of his own in regards to the new place. Just like the last place in Minneapolis, Tyson was letting AJ come up with how to arrange things - she had more of an eye for it than he did. But there were a few things that he wanted to make happen if he could. Trying to recall how AJ had her space set up as far as her computer gear goes previously, the gears started turning in his head as he pulled up the floorplan AJ had originally sent him when she first toured the building. Eyelids getting heavy, he opened a new note on his phone, jotting a few ideas down before giving up for the night.
Fluffing up the extra pillows on the bed next to him, Tyson curled up with them in the hopes it would feel like AJ back home.
“Just a few more nights…” Tyson whispered to himself as he drifted off, dreaming of coming home to AJ after this roadie.
Sunlight streamed in the windows on the east side of the apartment as AJ hadn’t yet hung curtains yet, and it woke her up. Looking at the clock on her phone that was sitting on a box next to the bed, she figured out she literally just slept thirteen hours. Considering her day previously started with an hour and a half of sleep and a ride to the airport at 3:15AM, she didn’t feel bad about it. Rubbing her eyes, there were a lot of boxes to go through in front of her. AJ detoured to get a quick breakfast at the E Cafe around the corner, and was now fueled to take on the morning.
First on the docket was setting up some tech so that the internet worked throughout the rooms. Plus, AJ was tired of listening to music on the tiny speaker of her phone. Within a few minutes, she had set up the modem and router, plugging everything in with a chuckle.
“LET THERE BE WIFI!” AJ boomed, seeing her phone pick up the signal.
Next up was getting a few speakers throughout so music could be heard in all rooms as she traveled around unpacking. With tunes playing, AJ stared at the living room trying to decide which wall the television should be. As she moved the TV stand, the bookcases followed to flank it. Struggling slightly getting the television onto the stand, the cables were hidden, and she turned it on to make sure everything was still working.
In doing so, a lightbulb clicked on in AJ’s head.
Heading to the guest room, AJ pulled a large object from the bed, and placed it on the papasan chair. From behind it in the kitchen, a photo was snapped. Looking at her watch, Tyson should have been awake and probably heading to the arena.
AJ: Well SOMEONE made himself at home. <1 attachment>
Tyson was grabbing a coffee at the hotel before hopping on the bus when his phone buzzed in his suit pocket. Opening up the message, he found Maple the Bear sitting in the chair, clearly not helping unpack boxes.
Removing Maple from the chair, AJ brought him back to the guest room, setting him down next to the giant panda bear that AJ had won for Tyson at the Minnesota State Fair. This gave her an idea for later, but for now, she had to unpack more.
Tackling closets and bathrooms, and finding homes for all of the kitchen gadgets the two amassed took up most of the day. A few texts were shared back and forth, giving Tyson updates on what all AJ was accomplishing, and asking for input. More ideas were coming into his mind, but again, would have to wait until he was back in town. One thing though, he could pull off that night.
AJ’s phone buzzed with a message that wasn’t from Tyson, and it wasn’t from Jess or Nate.
Hi, this is Kevin with Instacart, I have a delivery downstairs for you from Tyson.
Shaking her head, AJ threw her hair back in a messy ponytail and put on some shoes to get downstairs. Kevin was in the lobby, holding a couple bags awkwardly. She dug her wallet out to give the poor soul a tip for having to carry it all inside. Balancing all the bags in her hands, AJ took the elevator back upstairs and down the hall. Once inside, the bags were set on the counter.
Produce, vegetables, meats, boxes of pasta, milk, frozen meals, eggs, cheese… and beer. A six-pack of Blue Moon, to be exact. That made AJ smile, because she could definitely use one this evening with all the unpacking she’d been working on. As food made its way into their new homes on shelves in the pantry, or in the fridge and freezer, she contemplated what she was going to make for dinner, but honestly, really didn’t want to despite the sweet gesture of Tyson sending groceries to her. In fact, she hadn’t quite unpacked all the pots and pans yet, but was getting ready to as it was going to be nice not having to use the same kettle and pan over and over again like they did for months at the hotel.
Just as she was finally coming to terms with it needing to be done, the sound of AJ’s phone vibrating against the kitchen counter snapped her back into reality.
This is Tina with DoorDash, I’m in the lobby with something from Tyson for you.
“What did he do this time?” AJ stared at her phone, smirking as she headed for the door again.
The elevator whooshed down to the main floor, doors opening to let AJ see Tina standing near the desk with a large pizza box. Trading the box for a couple dollar tip, she saw that Tyson had Gino & Joe’s delivered. It smelled delicious as she made her way back up to the twelfth floor again. Opening the box lid, she gasped and giggled.
The pepperoni were in the shape of a heart, filled in with mushrooms. Upon further inspection, a note was scribbled inside the lid.
Hi Eggo, no need to cook tonight, you’ve been working hard. Love you, see you soon. <;3, Tyson
It was nearly 7:00PM, the day went by so fast. Tyson would be getting ready for the game against Winnipeg.
AJ: Tyson Jost, what am I going to do with you? I mean other than love you forever. Thanks for sending everything, especially dinner.
Tyson: I can think of a few things you can do when I get home (winking emoji) Love you
AJ: Kick some ass tonight, I’ll be cheering you on from the sofa with Maple!
Tyson was envisioning AJ sprawled out on the overstuffed gray sofa, box of pizza and a Blue Moon on the coffee table. All the snapshots she’d sent through the day put together a pretty good idea of how things were situated. During his warmup doing a little jogging before getting his gear on, he daydreamed of the next steps in his plan.
Back in Buffalo, AJ settled in with the pizza that she put in the oven to keep warm. Pre-game coverage played on the television. She’d forgotten how comfortable it was to have space, to sprawl out, and to have the big screen TV again - they’d become accustomed to the significantly smaller TV and sofa. Remembering the lamps were set up with wifi plugs, she asked Alexa to turn them off. The glow of the screen illuminated the pretty much set up living room, leaving her to enjoy the pizza and game.
In Winnipeg, Tyson was trying to find the back of the net with six shots on the night, but nothing made it in. Was a solid game for him though, and another W for the team as the points are starting to get important, being on the edge of a wildcard spot for the playoffs.
Between the physical exhaustion from unpacking all day, as well as having a couple beers, AJ’s eyes weren’t staying open. Putting the remaining pizza in the fridge, AJ found her way to her sink in the bathroom (she claimed it anyway, Tyson would just have to deal with using the other one.). After washing her face and taking out her contacts, she grimaced as her stomach wasn’t feeling quite right, although it was a similar feeling that she’d been having the last few weeks, chalking it up to stress and all the crud going around. Popping a few antacids in her mouth, she curled up in bed trying to get comfortable.
A game of Sudoku was interrupted with a notification on her phone from Tyson.
Tyson: One more stop, and I’ll be home. Miss you so much, can’t wait to see what the apartment looks like!
Seeing the words made AJ relax a little bit, her stomach unknotting some.
AJ: Can’t wait to have you back here, it’s lonely in this big space all by myself. Thank you again for dinner, and all the groceries. You’re way too good to me. (heart emoji) Sweet dreams babe, and safe travels in the morning in case I’m not awake yet (sleeping emoji)
Finishing up her game of Sudoku, AJ put her phone down on the box next to the bed, and slept off and on all night, eventually getting up around 6am. Digging her headphones out of her backpack still packed from her flight, AJ headed to the gym downstairs. Her stomach still didn’t feel right, but she powered through a few miles on the elliptical.
Water and crackers seemed to be what was on the menu for breakfast after she got back upstairs and took a shower. Food just didn’t sound good. Sitting at the breakfast bar, AJ scrolled through a few things on her phone - Twitter, Instagram, Reddit. It was too early to text Jess to ask about her thoughts with her stomach, so instead she looked up a few doctor offices in the area. It was time to be an adult and get whatever this is checked out. Once 8AM hit, she started calling a few offices to see if she could find a doc accepting new patients. Somehow she lucked into getting an appointment later that morning as someone canceled at a decently rated doctor in the neighborhood.
In the meantime, AJ looked around at the boxes in the kitchen still, so she started putting in new shelf paper in the cabinets and putting dishes and cooking utensils away. The empty bins started stacking up in the corner, and more floor space was found. And the alarm on her phone let her know when she needed to head off to the doctor’s office.
Halfway across the country, Tyson was landing in Minnesota, and the team made its way to the Xcel Energy Center to have a practice. It was a weird feeling for him being back after the way things ended. No awkward interactions happened though as the Wild were practicing at TRIA Rink that day. A few players asked Tyson for recommendations on places to eat, which he provided, but he wasn’t joining for the night. He had plans with a couple of his former teammates before things would get heated the next day.
It was nice to get caught up on what all had happened in the last couple months, swapping stories. Some of them may not have been Tyson’s teammates very long, but they were still friends all the same. Before he knew it, it was already 9PM, and he had wanted to check in with AJ before she went to bed. He had checked his phone, already seeing a note from her.
AJ: Hey babe, I’m exhausted and going to bed. Hope you’re having a good night, say hey to the guys for me!
Doing the math, she had gone to bed way earlier than the normal late hours he was accustomed to her keeping. Not wanting to wake her up though, he just let it go even though he really had wanted to talk before bed. But figuring unpacking was taking its toll, he pushed down any concern that may have been growing. He sulked a little bit still as he fell asleep in the hotel room bed in a city they used to live in months before.
AJ grumbled at the light shining in the bedroom as the sun crept up in the sky. Still laying in bed, she grabbed her phone, pulling up Target’s website looking at the selection of curtains. Her few plants would love the light from the east side windows, but she needed to be able to sleep a little later in the mornings than the sun was allowing her. As she scrolled through room-darkening curtains, she was interrupted by Tyson wanting to facetime. Before she answered, she scrambled to get her hair down and in relative place and a lopsided smile graced her face.
“Hey babe, how's St. Paul?” AJ was trying to sound chipper despite feeling off still.
Tyson squinted before smiling again, taking in a very tired looking face, “It’s good, hoping to have some good luck tonight. Are you okay? You went to bed early for you last night. I wanted to tell you to have good dreams of me.” He pouted, then smiled trying to keep the feeling light.
“Yeah, I think the last week and change is just catching up with me, I…” AJ didn’t want to worry Tyson, and decided to keep her doctor’s appointment to herself, “I think I just need to get caught up on sleep. But to do that I think I’m going to have to venture out to Target soon and get some curtains. This place has so many windows! So bright in the bedroom…”
An idea hit Tyson’s mind, but he kept up with the conversation. AJ got out of bed and showed some of the spaces she’d unpacked items in, giving an idea of how things were going. He was looking more and more forward to getting home, the place that she was working so hard to create for them to feel comfortable in.
“You know I’ll help when we get back tomorrow, leave some work for me!” Tyson was trying to delegate some of the unpacking duties to himself to allow AJ some rest.
While she tried to hide her bedhead, AJ forgot that the dark circles were still under her eyes. They were a little worrisome to Tyson. But knowing he was going to have to leave soon for a short practice, he encouraged AJ to go back to bed and hide under the covers. He was more than happy to come home and take care of whatever boxes were left in the next few days. Tyson had to make a compromise that he’d allow her to supervise at least.
With a sleepy smile and a kiss blown at the screen, AJ agreed, and closed out the call, finding her way to the kitchen to take some meds and then found solace in the sheets and blankets of their bed. Within minutes, she was sound asleep - it was the best sleep she’d had in days.
The bright light of day was definitely dimmed by the time AJ woke up, unsure of what time it actually was. Frantically searching for her phone that got buried under the blankets that cocooned her, she found it was late afternoon. Her nap lasted almost a full night’s worth of sleep. The bedroom was still out of sorts, so her task for the remainder of the afternoon was at least to get nightstands set up and unpack some clothes into their closet and her dresser. The thought of putting Tyson’s clothes away crossed her mind, but she figured she’d let him put things where he wanted. With most of the bedroom under control, it occurred to her that she had yet to set up her computer rig, which bothered her a bit. Normally this would have been one of the first things she’d set up, but she just wasn’t feeling it. She wasn’t feeling a lot of the things she was normally interested in lately.
Instead of ignoring it longer though, AJ pulled her desk around in the office, and started setting up monitor arms to mount the multiple displays for her computer. Her cameras and mic were set up. Finally, all of the cables were in place, and her computer was plugged in. Sitting down in her chair, something clicked and things felt right in those moments. Firing up some Fortnite, she lost a few hours, and didn’t realize it until Tyson was texting after the game.
Thankfully, she didn’t miss much. And honestly, not watching the game may have done more good for her mentally than she realized. Had she watched the game, she probably would have just gotten angry at the coaching staff again - the whole idea of “getting better, not bitter” was something she was still working on. Tyson wasn’t even upset at her lack of watching, it was a quiet night, and a loss in a shutout. No one was particularly thrilled with how the game played out. The only thing on Tyson’s mind though was getting home the next morning. A fresh start was something he was craving, and those grand ideas he had for the apartment and AJ just kept getting bigger.
It had been a long, emotional day for Tyson, playing back in St. Paul and all, and honestly he was ready for bed. And despite sleeping most of the day, AJ was yawning as well. Both called it a night, excited that with just one more sleep, Tyson would be on his way back to Buffalo.
While he was up early, AJ slept in again, as it was a bit of a dreary day along Lake Erie. Pulling herself out of bed, she made her way to the kitchen to take her meds again, and started picking up a few things around the place. Boxes were shifted around so that there was more of a walkway between rooms. Her Snow Queen pothos was a little dry, so she watered it a bit. Fidgeting, AJ took a shower and put on some clothes, realizing she’d been in pajamas for almost two days. The text she’d been waiting for finally came in.
Tyson: I’m at the airport, come pick me up?
Hopping in her black Soul, AJ floored it heading to the airport. It’d only been a couple days since she saw Tyson in St. Louis, but it’d been a week since they literally were sharing the same space. Navigating the maze of the airport pickup area, Tyson stood with a tired smile, backpack and Normtec bag in hand. Popping the trunk, he tossed his things in before climbing into the front passenger seat.
With a quick kiss, the two were off, heading back downtown. Making up for all the longing and lack of touch, Tyson’s hand never left the top of AJ’s as she held onto the gearshift. He noticed she didn’t look as tired as she had, a good sign. Pulling back into her spot in the garage of their building, AJ carried Tyson’s backpack, while he carried the few remaining items he had with him as they headed back up to the twelfth floor. Key in the slot, the door unlocked.
“Welcome home, Tyson.”
That glint of mischief in Tyson’s eyes was bright as can be as he set his bag down in the hall and picked AJ up, carrying her into their new space. She squealed, pleading with him to put her down. After finally doing so, he grabbed his bags and put them near the door, taking in everything that AJ had set up. Sort of keeping her promise, there were still a few boxes in the living room as well as the bedroom that needed to be put away.
After giving a mini tour, AJ flopped onto the sofa, watching Tyson still exploring the rooms. Her eyes closed briefly, until the sound of Tyson’s voice, laced with concern, brought her back.
“Hey Eggo? What is this?”
Taking a look at what Tyson was talking about, AJ saw him standing next to the breakfast bar in the kitchen, holding a bottle of prescription pills. The look on his face was definitely one of concern.
So much for trying to keep a secret.
Instead of covering it up further, AJ decided to just put it all out on the table.
“First, this isn’t your doing, this is me. Do not blame yourself when I tell you this,” AJ was worried about what Tyson was going to say, so she was stalling as much as she could. “But a few years back, I had some issues. Nothing BAD, but… you know how this past summer was hard on you? I had a period like that too in college. But where you handled it healthily, I… did not. My roommate found me on the floor of our dorm room crying, room completely flipped upside down. I couldn’t find stamps to mail something, and… yeah. I’m not proud of it. But my roommate and some friends convinced me to see a doc, and I got on anti-depressants. I was on them for a while and was doing pretty well, so I was able to get off of them. But the past few weeks, and again, this isn’t anything you did, but some similar feelings were creeping in, so I decided to go to the doctor about it, before it got to that point again.”
Unsure of what to say, Tyson just listened to AJ talk. When she was finished, he thought for a moment before opening his mouth.
“I didn’t even know you were depressed,” Tyson felt crappy. He couldn't even tell his fiancee was not feeling right. “Is there anything I can do? Or anything I should know?”
As she was owning up to things, AJ continued.
“As far as the depression goes, not too much. The meds will hopefully help get me out of this funk I’ve been in. It takes a couple weeks for them to kick in though. Mainly, just sometimes I want a hug, or maybe need to vent and someone to listen. Pretty much the same ol’ things I normally ask for. But I do have to tell you that there are a few other things going on too. Since I’ve been so tired, and not just from this ridiculous roadie I went on with y’all, but like exhausted tired - I’m having some labwork done to see if anything else is going on that needs to be checked into.”
Tyson nodded, realizing that he wasn’t imagining that AJ had seemed to be more tired lately. And to be honest, he was relieved she was being an adult and getting it checked out. The two talked some more about what she’d been feeling, and what the doctor said in advance of the blood work she had done. It was just going to be a waiting game until Monday when her labs would be completed and maybe would have some answers.
Apologizing for darkening the mood with all the mental and physical health talk, AJ tried to change the subject a little with some talk about some things she wanted to do eventually for the apartment. The smirk came across Tyson’s face as she showed him some ideas she’d found online. He made mental notes of what he was being shown. Those gears in his head kept turning.
Interrupting everyone's thoughts though was the sound of AJ’s stomach growling. She hadn’t eaten much and clearly it was trying to make that fact well known. Excited to do so, the couple finished putting away Tyson’s travel items, and headed to the kitchen to whip up a late lunch together. AJ had to show him where some of the pots and pans were, but he was picking up fast. Tyson made some chicken and vegetables as AJ made a simple sauce to go with it all poured over some brown rice. The two had ample space to move about the kitchen. AJ even had Alexa turn on some music so the two could have their first dance in their new home while the food heated up.
With Tyson holding onto AJ’s hips, and her hands resting behind his neck, the two just swayed and smiled, locking eyes until AJ rested her head into the crook of Tyson’s neck and shoulder. The feeling of his fuzzy cheek against her forehead made everything negative on her mind disappear as they lost themselves for a few minutes and a couple of songs. The sound of Alexa’s timer burst the bubble, but AJ was okay with it as the food smelled amazing as she grabbed the plates from a cabinet, and dished up some for both of them.
Lunch wasn’t eaten in silence, as the conversation led to them talking about the next few weeks. One more game at home, and then it would be the All-Star Game break. A lot of teams had their bye week before the weekend of the game. Instead, the Sabres’ bye week was after. A few of Tyson’s teammates were heading to the Bahamas. He’d been invited, but with all the commotion of moving, he decided against it. AJ thought he’d probably head back to Edmonton to see the family. Instead, he surprised even AJ.
“I was thinking, what about a staycation?”
Looking for Chapter 40? LET'S GOOOOO https://at.tumblr.com/brainrattlers/play-it-cool-tyson-jost-40n/rn7wesgrzqa7
Hope all is ok. Missed your Tyson Tuesday update this week!
Hey! It's been a heck of a few weeks since getting back, work and personal stuff getting in the way. Should have a new post up tomorrow, and maybe a something a little extra if I can pull it off tonight. ❤️
Warnings: A little bit of language, some implied naked shenanigans, but honestly I think we're alright.
Word Count: 3525
Need Chapter 37? https://at.tumblr.com/brainrattlers/play-it-cool-tyson-jost-37n/njuzxoktjxn8
Start from the beginning at https://at.tumblr.com/brainrattlers/play-it-cool-tyson-jost-1n/p7no8u1hzuza
Author's Notes: I'm BACK! Decided to hit up a few of the closer Sabres games to me last week, catching both the Dallas and St. Louis games. I think I'm still trying to catch up on sleep... but it was so much fun. The Sabres fans I met at both games were a blast to cheer with. If you happened to see Waldo (of Where's Waldo fame) at the Buffalo/StL game, you found me ;) Thank you all for being patient while I took a little break from writing. And It's nearly 3am so I'm clearly back to my old self - any typos are mine and I'll probably fix them in the morning!
So where were we? Ahhh yes, Tyson and AJ found out the apartment they wanted was available... but he also has a roadie coming up. Will that throw a wrench in the plans to get moved out of the hotel and into a new home?
The next few days were a blur as Tyson was alternating between home and away games, while AJ was finalizing things for a potential move to the new apartment. She had taken the lead on getting things set up, wanting to make the transition as smooth as possible considering it was the middle of the season - moving anytime is stressful. AJ wasn’t connecting the dots though that this is the man that flies all over the continent to play hockey, waking up in different cities, different beds, wasn’t a huge deal. She was probably making it out to be more detrimental to him than it really was.
But more about the apartment, as soon as AJ took Tyson to see it, he knew that was the one. The property manager hadn’t even shown them past the first two rooms but the giddiness on AJ’s face was enough to tell him it was going to be home, at least for now. The master bedroom was huge, with an en suite bath, including both a shower and a bathtub.
(“No more waiting for you to get out of the tub so I can shower, yeah?”
“You’re just as guilty of soaking in a nice hot bath. Don’t think I didn’t notice the missing bath bomb from my basket.”
“Can’t prove it was me.”
“Your legs and torso were slightly shimmery and you smelled of lavender, Jost.”
Tyson sheepishly grinned.)
There was a guest room in case friends or family came into town. Another room that AJ could set up her computer gear, and also work on some art projects. The two figured that a sofa would be super comfy in there as well, one that could turn into a bed for even more guests if necessary. The kitchen was more than large enough for the two of them to dance while doing dishes.
AJ’s favorite part was how many windows lined the walls. She already could envision stands and shelves of plants flanking them, letting the leaves soak up the natural light that flooded the rooms through various hours of the day. To the west, Key Bank Arena and Lake Erie were visible in the distance.
Hearing of her plans, he couldn’t say no. On top of it making AJ happy, it was a short drive to both the practice rink and the arena. It was a trendy, renovated part of town that was busy with restaurants and things to see and do. They’d be up high enough on the twelfth floor to not be bothered with the street noise. It all just felt right.
Needless to say, they signed a lease that day, and would be able to move in within weeks. This posed a small issue for AJ, but she wasn’t going to make mention of it. At least this time around, Tyson insisted on hiring movers to bring all their stuff up, especially with it being on such a high floor. AJ would just have to direct traffic and then unpack boxes, with all the heavy stuff being put into place already. She wasn’t about to argue about that this time around.
With a loss at home against Florida, the team hit the road for Chicago, losing in OT to one of the league’s worst teams. The next two games were at home, against the Islanders and Ducks. The first game was a win, with Tyson netting himself an assist. The next day found Tyson at practice, and AJ helping the movers get furniture put into place, and boxes all loaded up into various rooms. The remaining items at the hotel were starting to dwindle as AJ moved most of their belongings over.
Coming back from practice, Tyson found the hotel room missing AJ as she was in the process of moving some stuff the few blocks over to the new building. He sighed, looking at the garland and lights that still lined the ceiling of their room. Gently he pulled the hooks from the walls, looping the lights and shiny garland neatly and placing it in one of the empty bins. He honestly was going to miss it at the new place, even though that very same new place was home.
Even when AJ came back to pick up more stuff, the lack of twinkling lights reflecting against the walls made the place feel empty.
With most everything moved over, the last few things in the room were just pillows, a few sets of clothes, and the last few items needed in the bathroom. AJ had made mention it was going to take a while to get some stuff unpacked, and with Tyson going on the road here in a few days, that maybe they could officially “move in” once he returned. Her outward intent was to get most everything unpacked while he was gone, but that was going to be a little difficult as she actually had some plans already in the works for something else.
The two slept hard that night in the hotel, after moving and unpacking a few boxes, as well as rearranging some furniture. The next morning, AJ was back at it, while Tyson had morning skate before the Anaheim game. Taking some time off, she snagged a ticket and made her way to the arena to cheer on the Sabres with a 6-3 victory. Tyson had a pretty good night, another assist and some pretty good numbers in the box score.
One final night together in the hotel… AJ had issues keeping Tyson focused on getting packed up for the four game roadie, which would send him to Dallas, St. Louis, Winnipeg, and ending in St. Paul. Tyson’s interests were more about some late night shenanigans to literally go out with a bang before officially moving into the new apartment. While getting his backpack filled and his suit laid out for the trip, AJ was trying to secretly pack her own backpack, giving the reason of “oh this is my last bag of stuff to go over.”
Little did Tyson know that, while technically true, that bag was going to be making some of the same stops on the roadie.
That Sunday morning, Tyson had morning practice before heading to the airport. In the same time frame, AJ go the last of their stuff moved from the hotel, and she herself headed to the airport, boarding a different plane. She felt awful for what she was about to do.
AJ: Hey babe, I’m pretty exhausted and am going to crash for a bit. Text me when you land?
She wasn’t lying. The motion sickness pills she downed as she got to the airport were kicking in and she likely was going to sleep on the plane. But all the same, AJ felt a little dirty about it.
Right before takeoff, AJ’s phone, which was supposed to be in airplane mode (seriously, who actually puts their phone in airplane mode when flying?), buzzed in her hand.
Tyson: Sleep well babe, only a few more sleeps until we’re both back in our bed. Heading to the airport here in a bit. Ily
A smile hit AJ’s face, thinking about having a space that was truly theirs, with their own things, and room to move around, and could set up everything the way they wanted. As the plane took off, she fidgeted with the engagement ring on her finger, focusing on it, rather than the upward movement of the plane that made her dizzy. Once at cruising altitude, AJ indeed fell asleep to one of Tyson’s house mixes. It took the passenger next to her tapping her on the shoulder to wake her up as they were landing at DFW - what felt like minutes later, but really was hours.
Collecting her bag and trekking through the airport, AJ found her way to the Orange Line, and took the train into Dallas. It was a quiet day on the train, considering it was not a weekday. Watching out the windows, she took in views she’d never seen before. Hopping off at Victory Station, which spit her out right by the arena, leaving the rest of the way to her hotel as about a half mile walk. Checking in, she made her way to the third floor and faceplanted on the bed.
Tyson: On the ground in Dallas. Miss you already. How’s unpacking?
AJ looked around and saw her bag sitting on the ottoman in her room.
AJ: Honestly haven’t really unpacked much. Kind of relaxing at the moment honestly.
Tyson: Understand completely, no big rush. I think we’re going out for dinner. Talk more later?
AJ: Of course. Have fun! (heart emoji)
Looking at her watch, AJ was trying to figure out what to do with her evening. She didn’t want to chance somehow bumping into Tyson going out for dinner, but at the same time, everything nearby was stupidly pricey in her eyes. In a last minute decision, she put in an order online for Shake Shack, and walked to Crescent Court to pick it up. Thankfully, unlike the last time AJ was at Crescent Court with Jess the year before, there were no team buses or players around. With food in tow, she arrived back at her hotel, sprawling out on the sofa to enjoy dinner and a movie.
It was driving her nuts though knowing Tyson was maybe a mile away, but she’d see him soon enough.
With a few texts, both insisted they were needing sleep, and that they’d talk more Monday.
Snagging breakfast at the hotel, AJ contemplated what to do before the game that evening. Checking out what was nearby, she walked to the Dallas Museum of Art, taking in a wide variety of pieces by famous artists. At the same time Tyson was a half mile away getting ready for morning skate, with a strange feeling. He couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but something definitely felt odd.
Tyson missed AJ, but it wasn’t the same as other roadies. He had butterflies in his stomach for some reason.
After finishing up at the museum, AJ got in a nap before getting cleaned up and heading to the arena. There were a surprising number of Sabres fans at American Airlines Center. Getting down to the glass on the Sabres’ warmup side, AJ knew where Tyson would be warming up. She had a tiny sign that would fit in her backpack she traveled with.
The fans congregated together, chatting about where everyone was from and who everyone’s favorite players were. While she agreed that Thompson and Dahlin were great players, AJ made mention that Tyson Jost was her favorite. The guy with the kid next to her looked at her weird, but another person piped up, commenting on what a great pickup he was for the Sabres. It made her heart happy.
Looking around the end of the ice, there were a number of other signs for players, including a couple more for Tyson. Impatiently waiting until the 16:00 mark was tough for AJ, but the team took to the ice tossing pucks at Anderson playing in his 700th game. Her eyes followed Tyson around, where they did their initial drills. Tyson went to the other side of the glass, reading a poster another fan had, offering a choice of candy, probably for a puck. He skated back to the bench with something and tossed it to the equipment manager before grabbing a puck and starting his own stickhandling drill.
Not even paying attention, he drilled the puck into the boards directly under AJ’s feet and caught the rebound on his stick. Looking up, he saw a small poster, and then looked up even further to see who was holding it. The smile on his face couldn’t be contained as he skated closer, mouthing “Hey you!” as AJ gave a tiny wave. Leaning down, he got a puck on his stick and sent it over the glass to the kid directly next to her, fist bumping him through the glass. The butterflies in Tyson’s stomach from earlier now made sense.
The guy who previously looked at AJ weird for saying Jost was her favorite tapped her on the shoulder.
“What was that?”
“We’ve known each other since he played for Colorado. Thought I’d surprise him at the game.” AJ chuckled.
With warmups complete, and in fact, Buffalo stayed on the ice longer than the warmup clock lasted just to get under the skin of the Stars, AJ found her seat behind the Sabres’ bench. Luckily it was filled with other Sabres fans and she made some new friends that night. The game started off not so great with the Stars scoring within the first two minutes, but the Sabres fired back later in the first. The game went silent in the 2nd, but in the third period, the Sabres scored early to have a 2-1 lead. Later in the period, the Stars tied it up. Throughout the game, Tyson glanced back finding AJ cheering for the team in white and blue.
The Sabres held on to take it to OT.
“I’m standing up,” Dan, AJ’s new friend sitting next to her, stated. “With our top lines out there 3-on-3, this isn’t going to last long. We’re standing up.”
Everyone stood up behind the bench, which pissed off the row behind them, but it was well worth it. Power scored fifty-six seconds into the overtime period, giving the Sabres the win. The Sabres fans cheered, while the Stars fans were left sulking as they walked the stairs to the concourse of the arena. The team piled into the dressing room, and headed for the airport as they were to play St. Louis the next day.
Tyson: EGGO you’re crazy for flying out here! I love you for it though, made my night.
AJ: Crazy about YOU! Fun game. Wish I were flying with you tonight.
Tyson: Me too. When do you fly out?
AJ had to word this very carefully.
AJ: My flight is at 11:15. Figured I could at least score some breakfast before I leave (lol emoji)
Tyson: Text me when you land? We’re taking off.
AJ: You know it babe. Safe travels, love you!
AJ was asleep when the next text hit her phone, of Tyson landing in St. Louis. He was glad she seemingly slept through it. As much as he still loved getting to say “text you when I land” and then doing so, he always felt a little pang of guilt if she’d text back at 3am wherever she was in comparison. At the same time he did enjoy some of her sleepy text typos, and imagining her bleary-eyed in bed texting him back.
What did wake AJ up was her alarm so she would make it downstairs to, yes, get breakfast, pack up, and take the train back to DFW. Not thinking fully about the weather when she packed, as soon as she took a few steps onto the sidewalk of Harry Hines Blvd, it started raining, and she did not pack her umbrella. Walking under overhangs as much as she could, which was tough around the arena because there aren’t any, AJ was becoming more and more soggy as she reached the train stop. Thankfully she made it just in time for the Orange line back, and sat back as it poured down rain the whole way to the airport. Once through security, she sat next to a window with a mint hot chocolate from Dunkin watching the rain.
A quick text was sent as she boarded the plane, and was finally in the air. A bit later, she was on the ground again. AJ’s Lyft driver was awesome, the two chatted the whole way from the airport to her destination. However, that text she said she’d send was a little delayed.
AJ: Hey, on the ground. How was your flight?
Tyson: It was alright, got in around 1am like you saw. Yours?
AJ: Not bad. Hoped I’d get some sleep but didn’t. Oh damn it’s almost time for you to get ready to play, isn’t it? Kick some ass tonight, Jost. (heart emoji)
Tyson: Only because you said so. Going to miss you in the stands, last night spoiled me.
AJ: You’ll see me soon enough. I’ll be watching the game, cheering you on!
Tyson stared at the last message, getting that odd feeling he had in Dallas again.
“Surely she isn’t here… no… she went back home, right?”
A few of the guys in the dressing room noticed how antsy Tyson was to get out onto the ice for warmups. Kyle was giving him shit for the fact AJ was in Dallas to surprise him the night before, and how he was acting like his kids do when they are excited to be going out for ice cream. The feeling in Tyson’s stomach wasn’t subsiding. He was fidgeting with the tape on his stick waiting for the moment they could take the ice.
Keeping his normal focus was difficult as warmups began, and he started scanning the glass. There were a number of fans, both for the Sabres and Blues already lined up. With a deep breath he went back to doing drills, trying to push the butterflies down. Okie skated up along the boards and stopped, looking back and winking at the person behind him.
As the team drills wound down, Tyson went back toward the center line doing some stretches, when someone caught his eye. Squinting, suddenly his eyes went wide as he continued warming up his legs. Hopping up, he grabbed a puck to do his drills between the blue line and the faceoff circle.
Finishing up, he attempted to get the puck to hop onto his stick blade, but he missed not once, but twice. Looking up, his face was a little flushed as he smiled at AJ, still fumbling around. Reaching down, trying to just simply pick up the puck with his gloves, Tyson still was struggling. Finally with the puck in his hands, and his face now full on blushing, he got the puck over to the kids slapping the glass next to her. With a look back and wink at AJ, he felt like the luckiest man on Earth that his fiancee was at the game again, even if she weren’t behind the bench this time around.
There were definitely less Sabres fans at this game in St. Louis than in Dallas, but AJ made the best of it with her #LETSGOBUFFALO sign as she sat behind the Sabres Attack Twice goal. What made it even better was the 5-3 win over the Blues… especially with AJ’s history with games in St. Louis.
What made the night less stellar was that St. Louis was under a winter storm warning until noon the next day, and AJ’s flight was leaving the next morning at 5:40AM, with her Lyft coming at 3:10AM. She was terrified of one of three things happening:
She was going to oversleep, the original plan was actually to stay awake until her ride arrived.
Her ride was going to cancel and she would have no way to get to the airport on time.
The airport was going to shut down due to the weather.
Thankfully none of these happened, and she did in fact make it to the airport in time. After getting through security (being harassed by a rather rude TSA agent that thought she had something on her ankle, which, surprise, there was nothing but her ankle there), she made her way to Starbucks to snag a drink and prepare for the first of two flights. The snow was really starting to come down though and made her worried.
Just like Tyson’s gut was telling him something the previous few days, her’s was now talking to her.
Tyson and the team had flown out of St. Louis after the game thankfully, and he was safe on the ground in Winnipeg.
Knowing he was asleep, AJ just sent a quick note that she was at the airport, indeed going back to Buffalo, as much as she wanted to continue the roadie with him. She was nervous about the weather, hoping to make her connection as she was already delayed 40 minutes. The plus side, the flight wasn’t full and she ended up getting her own row on that flight.
On the ground in Dallas again, she was stressing hardcore about the connection, it was in a completely different terminal. But the flight deities smiled upon AJ that day and somehow getting out of the jetway and down the hallway, she found herself in Terminal B, right near her gate that had not yet started boarding.
AJ: Made my connection, heading home to Buffalo. (heart emoji)
Tyson looked sleepily at his phone screen with one eye, then put it back on the nightstand next to him. A warm feeling filled his chest upon seeing AJ call Buffalo “home.”
Warnings: Night terrors/sleep paralysis for AJ. Mild language.
Chapter 36 is at https://at.tumblr.com/brainrattlers/play-it-cool-tyson-jost-36n/2w2duzwciyr6
Start from the beginning at https://at.tumblr.com/brainrattlers/play-it-cool-tyson-jost-1n/p7no8u1hzuza
Author's Notes: First.. short chapter, building up to something fun soon! My tags are STILL broken, and I got a form email from support saying they're still working on tickets, hopefully mine would be looked at soon. So I'm HOPING y'all are getting to see this. Just a head's up, there probably won't be a chapter next week Tuesday as I will be on a touch of a roadie myself, hitting up Dallas and St. Louis.
As far as the story goes - AJ's feeling better, and Tyson's starting to shine with the Sabres. If you saw the last two games, you saw just how many minutes he played, and while maybe he didn't have the best points, he has been contributing and the coaching staff is rewarding him for that. However on this last trip to Nashville, AJ decides to watch something a little too creepy for her liking...
***
With AJ on the mend, and Tyson not playing until Saturday against Minnesota, when not at practice, the two had some time to look at a few of the apartments on their list. Unfortunately the one that AJ was most excited about was already rented out on AJ’s sick day.
“It wasn’t meant to be, you know? We’ll find something even better I bet!” Tyson was doing his best to cheer her up, even though he was even a little down, he really liked what he saw in the video she had sent while he was on his last road trip.
AJ continued to scour the listings, Tyson focused on the upcoming game.
Through all of this, AJ was ready to hear all the media talking about him going against his former team, but thankfully there was not a whole lot of that to be heard. Journalists seemed to be respecting what he was put through and just never brought it up.
Finding herself at KeyBank Center that Saturday, AJ was able to at least say hello to a few of her old friends from Minnesota after their morning skate. She avoided the coaching staff like the plague, but did get to chat a few minutes with Marcus, Brandon, and Jared before she had to let them go prepare for the game later. Just like meeting up with her friends on the Avs, it was just like old times with the guys from the Wild. Brandon even made it a point to apologize, even though she wasn’t sure why he was - how things played out was not his doing. AJ appreciated it all the same. It further solidified that it really wasn't the teammates that made things the way they were for them in Buffalo, they're good people.
Letting Tyson do his pre-game thing, AJ snagged some lupper (linner? Meal between lunch and supper/dinner) before heading back to the arena to take in the evening’s festivities. The game was a lot of back and forth, and was a very exciting game. Toward the end of the game, Tyson hooked Foligno and went to the box, much to anyone rooting for the Sabres’ chagrin. It was a hard-fought battle between the two teams, but in the end, the Sabres won 6-5 in overtime.
The next few games at home were a struggle for the team, but it was starting to be Tyson’s time to shine. More shots, more hits. More ice time, more faceoffs won, more points! Unfortunately it was three losses in a row for Buffalo. There was some hope though as their play continued to improve, they were just struggling to get the mojo going for a win.
When she could, AJ was still on the hunt for the perfect place for the two to call home. She checked out a few more properties, but nothing was feeling right. Some were better than others, but it just wasn’t feeling like THE ONE. Coming home to the hotel in the afternoons, Tyson would see the look of disappointment as she walked through the door. The last few evenings, the two worked together looking up listings online over dinner that Tyson cooked while she was hitting the pavement, not just looking for that elusive new pad but also drumming up some freelance IT support work.
Truth be told, Tyson enjoyed the last few gameless afternoons of getting to relax by cooking. He enjoyed the time that he wasn’t trying to bring that extra something to the Sabres (although he enjoyed that part too). The best part was that he was still able to spoil AJ seeing as how she was starting to get appointments lined up to fix computer woes. And keeping up her end of the compromise, AJ was (usually) more than happy to do the dishes after dinner.
I say (usually) because there were some nights that it seemed like Tyson had used every pan and every utensil they had in their tiny kitchenette. AJ didn’t care for those nights - but Tyson definitely helped out and they worked as the team they are. There was one night that it was super light on the cooking utensils, and she recognized that the meal should have utilized far more of them in its creation. He had to admit that he knew she had a long day and he washed as he cooked so they could relax that evening, as he was leaving for Nashville in a couple of days.
Friday morning was the last practice before flying to Tennessee, so the couple stayed in bed as long as they could before he had to leave for practice, and the airport following. Kisses, snuggles, maybe some naked time, it was all part of their blossoming ritual on days like this one. Tyson would grab something to eat on the way to practice just to get fifteen more minutes with AJ before he had to leave. The view of AJ in bed still, smirking as she wished him luck, would leave the words ringing in his ears as he drove to practice.
“Kick some ass, Jost. Text me when you land.”
And if she didn’t have any work lined up that morning, she’d curl back up in the sheets and pillows that still smelled like Tyson and doze until she absolutely had to get up and start her day. This particular Friday, AJ had one townhouse to look at, and then was going to go grab some groceries to make a “Tyson would never eat this” kind of meal.
The townhouse was okay, nothing spectacular. Sending photos to Tyson, she didn’t get a response. Looking at the clock on her phone, she realized he was probably just finishing up at practice. Hitting up the grocery store, some onions, garlic, butter and spaghetti found their way into her basket. Some fried noodles with onion and garlic was something she’d been craving since getting over her cold she had the week prior, and it was definitely something Tyson shouldn’t be eating. (Her either, but the heart wants what the heart wants. Or stomach, in this case.)
Tyson: Hey, hitting the airport. I think with some work that place could be okay. Look at it after I get back?
AJ: I’m not 100% feeling it but maybe if we look at it together I’ll feel differently. How long is the flight?
Tyson: Just a couple hours. Getting on the plane, naptime soon because someone insisted we get up early this morning… (evil imp emoji)
AJ: Whomever could that be? Dream of me, k?
Tyson: Sure hope so babe. Text you when I’m on the ground in Nashville.
A few hours later, true to his word, AJ got that text he was on the ground, and would call before bed.
At the same time, letting some butter melt in the frying pan, AJ chopped up a little onion and garlic, and was letting her pasta drain in the sink. Once the onion was soft in the pan, in went the noodles to get a little browned, and last was the garlic as to not burn. Sitting down on the chaise, she grabbed the remote and clicked through a few show options, and decided for some reason to start watching American Horror Story again.
AJ had started the series when it first came out, but then it got to a point where it was simply too spooky for her, especially living alone. She’d missed the last few seasons, and was suddenly curious. Stupidly she had the lights off, and started digging into her meal, and the first episode of season 10. As the main characters walked near a cemetery, the creepy villains lurched and lunged toward the mains in a very awkward manner.
The hotel room was on the 3rd floor, but it didn’t keep AJ from jumping up and shutting the shades and turning on the lights. But for some reason, she couldn’t stop watching despite the jump scares and general eeriness.
Three episodes in, the phone in her hand started buzzing, which caused AJ to shriek and throw it at the sofa, not realizing what it was. Breathing hard, she picked it up and took the facetime call from Tyson, staring wide-eyed at the screen.
“Hey babe, whoa, are you okay? It’s really bright in the room, what’s going on?” Tyson was immediately concerned.
“I… I did a big dumb thing. I started watching American Horror Story and it was dark and I saw a shadow at the window and now I’m freaked out.”
It drove AJ absolutely batty seeing Tyson giggle because she knew she screwed up and he was going to tease her about it. Yes, she was overreacting and kind of being a baby about it. He tried to not tease too hard though.
“Aww hon, no, turn it off, turn it off. Did we not learn anything from Halloween two years ago? Are you going to be able to get some sleep tonight?”
After talking a few minutes, AJ was a little more calm, but wasn’t happy about sleeping alone that night. She wanted the feeling of knowing Tyson would be there to protect her in the night from whatever might be there… but he was in Nashville.
“It’s just one night, you got this. I’ll be back tomorrow night after the game…” He could see how tired she already looked, “You’re tough, I know you’re good. I’ll be home to protect you tomorrow night, promise.” He was still giggling a little bit, which really did calm AJ down more.
The two wished each other good night, and AJ kept the lights on. And a stream of comedies on the TV, she wasn’t about to fall asleep if she could help it.
Saturday was long as can be - AJ’s eyes wouldn’t stay open as the sun came up. She finally drifted off to sleep for a few hours, losing the morning and a small chunk of the afternoon. A few missed texts pinged her phone but she slept right through.
Tyson’s assumptions were just that, so he wasn’t too worried that he didn’t hear back from her until the middle of the afternoon. The two texted a bit before the game, with AJ promising she’d watch. Tyson teased a bit, asking if she was going to have to watch the game with the lights on.
AJ: Shut it, Jost. Kick some ass tonight. Love you babe.
And it was a hell of a game. Obviously the win was good after losing three in a row, but the stats stood out.
No goals, no assists, and -1 for plus/minus. 2 minute penalty assessed.
Here’s where it got interesting:
3 shots on goal.
1 blocked shot.
4 hits.
Faceoffs - 7 win, 7 loss for a 50%
PK time: 1:58
Shifts: 24
TOTAL ICE TIME: 21:00
AJ couldn’t believe it. Three months ago, Tyson was barely getting a third of that in a game, and against Nashville he led all forwards in ice time. She was squealing via text with Jess as she had no one there to really celebrate with.
As the adrenaline from the game wore off, the lack of sleep was hitting hard, but AJ did her best to stay awake waiting for the text saying Tyson would be taking off soon, and would be home shortly. Once that text happened, AJ crawled into bed, keeping the light on in the kitchen and bathroom, as well as the bedside lamp lit. Somehow despite all the light, her eyes closed and she was out.
Tyson’s plane landed around 1AM, and he made his way back to the hotel, tired from the quick trip. He gently opened the door and clicked it shut quietly behind him. He set his bag on the sofa, and headed toward the bedroom. The light from the bathroom went out as the door shut, waking AJ immediately.
Frozen in terror, she kept her eye on the bathroom door, realizing someone was in there, not clicking that it was her man. Most definitely, AJ was not fully awake. As the door opened, her night terror continued, and she fought with all her might to snap out of it to figure out what really was going on. Tyson had seen her do this a few times, and never really knew if he should try to wake her or not because he also found out she sometimes flails and fights back when coming out of sleep paralysis. (Never on purpose, but in her mind she was clearly fighting something.)
Gently touching her arm, he hoped to rouse her gently.
“AJ, it’s me, it’s Tyson,” Tyson flinched as she recoiled back from his touch, “Eggo, it’s Maple Syrup Man…”
Broken from her night terror, AJ’s eyes opened, and tears started falling as she was overly emotional and couldn’t stop it after fighting something scary, even if it were imaginary in her head. Tyson immediately jumped into bed, holding her tight, letting the tears fall.
“Shhh babe it’s okay, I’m here… I’m here. You’re good, you’re safe. I’m not letting anything get to you.” He softly stroked her back, “And no more American Horror Story for you, especially if I’m gone.”
The sniffles gave way to a chuckle, and AJ latched onto Tyson, holding him just as tightly. He did get her to let go briefly so he could shut the lights off, promising to come back and protect her from all the scary things in the dark. Wrapping them up in blankets, he cocooned the both of them together. It was the best sleep AJ had in a while.
Sun streaming in the room after Tyson opened the curtains, AJ rubbed her eyes and looked at her phone to see she had a text and an email from one of the property managers she had previously talked to - specifically, the one property that AJ and Tyson were most excited for.
I have a new unit available that is a twin of the one you looked at. If you’re interested, I’m holding it for you first. Let me know!
Chapter 38 is live at https://at.tumblr.com/brainrattlers/play-it-cool-tyson-jost-38n/ff3wn6ypfy6e
