#forward!au

[stormvanari]

Forward!Shout and Forward!Birdy, ft. Forward!Shirobon

[I’m calling this Bomberman Jetters Timeskip AU, “BMJ: Forward.”]

[quinnboni]

I do not think Quinn or Jack would directly cause harm to a hockey playing reader of course, they would find other ways to chain them down that don't involve a career ending injury. But if the circumstances occurred, well...

Forward!reader taking a bad hit on the ice, a rough blow. The sound of your knee popping and the sudden pain when you go down, when your knee gives out. You know that your injury is bad when they bypass the rinkside PT and haul you straight into the ambulance.

Jack's locked you down by now. You've filled out the paperwork, done the HR hoops because you didn't want this to affect your hockey career. It's too important to you. Signed all the papers that said if the two of you broke up, you wouldn't make it the Devs problem. It's not ideal but at least you both can still play. So it shouldn't be a surprise he's at your bedside when you wake up in a hospital bed, but it is.

It's not looking good for you. You can tell that, even absolutely drugged tf out on a massive cocktail of painkillersb and your knee wrapped. The surgeon says a lot of big words but you think you understand. Major ACL tear. Damage to the MCL. You're out for the season of course, you're not stupid. Maybe you can't come back until late late next season but for sure the one after that--

"Can I play?"

You catch the way Jack winces from where he sits at your bedside, hear him suck in a sharp breath. The surgeon looks Jack meaningfully, then at you patiently, in a way that makes you want to scream.

It's not out of the realm of possibility, she says. With ACL reconstruction surgery, and intense physical therapy, it can definitely be done. You're so relieved you don't notice the way Jack's looking at you.

When you leave the hospital, you and Jack are both quiet as your thoughts race. You, on how you can get back onto the ice as soon as possible. Jack, on how he can keep this from every happening again. How he can keep you safe.

It's a few rough conversations in y'alls future.

icl I'm visualizing the scene from Challengers when Tashi's sitting in the medic room (? idk what to call it) with her arms above her head while Art sits next to her and you know that she knows the injury is career ending...

+ They would definitely not cause an injury but they wouldn't be opposed if an injury sidelined you for the foreseeable future...maybe even the unforeseeable future...

+ Jack's not on the ice when you get injured so you don't get to see his immediate reaction on the bench until you wake up. It confirms your relationship without confirming it you know? There's still plausible deniability but if it's not a relationship, then Jack clearly cares for you as more than a teammate (The Devs are relieved they got all the legal things out of the way concerning your relationship with Jack earlier in the year)

+ The doctor looking to Jack first...chewing on you. Are you kidding. But it's so true, they would be looking to Jack first because even though it's your injury and your career and your life, Jack's your boyfriend and that takes priority

+ The doctor is reassuring though. She doesn't give you any absolutes but she lists players in other sports who have suffered similar injuries whose timelines sound terrible at first but in the grand scheme of things, one year isn't that much to sit out for. You nod along to the best of your ability, clutching at Jack's hand and looking at him for reassurance. He's listening just as intently and presses his lips to your knuckles whenever he catches you looking to him, offering you a strained but assuring smile every time

+ Weeks later when you've been cleared to wear a brace, Jack floats the idea of taking it easy. Take as long as you need to recover, he encourages. You don't take kindly to this and tell him to shove it because all you want to do is be back out on the ice as quickly as possible

+ The conversations that follow always end in a stalemate and it seems as if you and Jack can't find common ground on this. Honestly, I think because you're both athletes, he completely understands why you are so adamant and willing to speed up your recovery by any means possible on that front. And injuries are always a possibility, especially with how physically intense hockey is. So it's less about keeping you safe and more about him having control issues alsdkf

+ I'm not saying he would tamper with your recovery plan but...

[quinnboni]

I'm chewing on forward!reader being Jack's date to a wedding as a favor and that little blurb between you and that anon about their wedding date. The conversation when you were his date to one (or two, or three...) of these weddings haunts you in the weeks leading up to your wedding with him.

It's during the reception when Jack asks you if this is what you imagine your wedding will be like.

You choke on your drink. What?

Jack looks amused Yeah. When you get married?

And you relax because oh. Oh he meant your wedding, not...well, a wedding between two of you. Thank God. Why did you even assume that? (Surely it has nothing to do with the way he's been hanging on your every word this whole night. Or the way he's looking at you).

You shrug though. You don't know. It kind of depends on what the other half wants, you know? But he presses. Come onnnn. You've never thought about it?

And...well. You're buzzed and buzzy. Its a wedding, who doesn't love a wedding? So you indulge him. You're honest with him and tell him. What about you, you ask finally. Because its polite. He makes some joke about how he thinks more of the potential bride than the wedding. You snort. Yeah? What's she look like? The way he looks at you then though, that chills you to the bone.

wait this moved me greatly alksdf hello

+ Him saying your wedding and the your existing in that weird space where it can be taken as your wedding (singular) or your wedding (you and Jack). Jack's not dumb enough to say our and try and play it off so he goes for the next best thing. And based on your reaction, now he knows he's in your head whether you want him to be or not. How fun!

+ 'Jack looks amused. Yeah. When you get married?' <- This is doing so much for me whew

He lets the silence linger too, watching as the wry amusement on your face slowly leaches away. You cock your head to the side, ignoring the malaise creeping across your chest, and give him a smile.

"Sorry, that was kind of a stupid question," you say.

He blinks. "Was it?"

"The answer is obvious, don't you think?"

Jack’s eyes narrow briefly. It’s hard to tell if it’s offense or mystification that has him reconsidering what he’ll say. He waits for you to expand and so you do. 

“Blonde, beautiful, and willing to make you the center of her world,” you list out, putting a finger up for each qualification. There’s a meaner way to put that last bit but you don’t think he’ll appreciate it. “So you should probably have some idea of what you want your wedding to be like then since your bride-to-be is pretty much all figured out.” 

He runs this tongue over his bottom lip, curious. 

“The bride’s the most important part,” he says after a moment. “I’m easy going. Whatever she wants, I want.” 

“What a cop-out,” you sigh, mockingly glum. “It’s your day too, you know.” 

He nudges at you. “What, you don’t think that’s romantic? Letting my girl do whatever she wants?”

“And so she does everything? Please.” 

You turn towards the front of the reception hall when someone taps a mic. A nervous looking woman stands there with a piece of paper clutched between her sweaty fingers. 

You smooth the napkin on your lap and settle more comfortably into your chair. You’re here on behalf of Jack so you don’t know anyone at this wedding. You think the woman up there is the maid of honor but you haven’t been doing the best job of paying attention to anyone outside of Jack and his immediate circle this entire night. 

He brings himself closer to you. You think he’s about to fill in the blank of who that woman is but then he says, “Huh. I’ll keep that in mind.” 

You raise your eyebrows at him. “Keep what in mind?” 

“That you want a groomzilla.” 

He laughs when you elbow him. 

“My poor future husband,” you say. “He’ll actually have to participate in planning our wedding. The horror.” 

“I didn’t say it was a bad thing,” Jack defends. “I’m sure he’ll be happy to do it.” 

“He wouldn’t be marrying me if he wasn’t.” 

Jack hums in agreement. 

[quinnboni]

jack getting jealous in such a specific way when you're becoming actual friends (tm) with some of yalls mutual teammates that he starts trying to butt in all the time. like you and someone are reading the same book or "oh you and your partner watch that show too? what'd you think of xyz on the last episode??" you singlehandedly increase jack's books read of the year solely cause he's stupid desperate to have something in common with you. also i saw a gifset of this guy with the tag of "he looks so idiotic" and. yeahhh 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

I read that as tmi first and that made me giggle 😭

+ He hears about how you've been hanging out with Bratty and letting him show you around the city alongside some other teammates and Jack's smiling through gritted teeth. That's interesting, you've never extended that invitation to him. Oh you thought it would be a bother because of all the things he has going on? You should let him be the one to decide what he can and can't handle. Sorry, that came out a little sharp huh? He just meant he'd like to come next time 😊

[quinnboni]

https://www.tumblr.com/quinnboni/818413622079488000/httpswwwtumblrcomquinnboni818371409294311424?source=share

STOPPPPP you know he is insistent that he escort you home after this, whenever you do manage to get out of there (after a drink...and another drink...and another...). come onnnn, sweetheart. you're drunk. you think he's gonna let you walk home alone? what kinda guy do you take him for?

Also I'm laughing so hard at "I lied. Duh." "Duh." akdnelfnslnfl. Not laughing at "They left you alone?" because you know they're on his #Shitlist now. He doesn't even know what friends they are, he just knows they suck (to him 🫩)

he's plying you with drinks you definitely do not need after the night you had but at least this gets him out of owing you a drink right? now you guys have a clean slate right?

+ You have had too many drinks and had too many laughs with your friends to deal with being asked a stupid question. Like come on. Let's think here! (<- this will haunt you bc now he'll ask straight up in the groupchat if you're lying when you decline invites asldfja)

+ And the thing is, your friends didn't want to leave you! But you were sooooo insistent and a few of them had to get up early for work the next day so they couldn't keep trying to convince you to leave when you were being so stubborn. They're checking your location like mad and one of them calls you as soon as you walk out the bar to make sure you're getting into an Uber and that you made the Uber say YOUR name. When you tell them you're with Jack they're like ? When did he get there but okay

[quinnboni]

https://www.tumblr.com/quinnboni/818371409294311424/jack-in-forwardau-is-the-biggestopposite-of-a?source=share

Oh this is making me go full Looney Tunes right now... The thinly veiled possessiveness of it all. And by thinly veiled, I mean it's possessiveness with a piece of paper labeling it as something else taped on top of it. Man is not subtle. Also you know he was moments away from whisking you back to his room if you gave Any indication you were down when you turned around in his arms. The glare kind of killed that idea, but...

"#or maybe j keeps too close of an eye on u from this moment on so u don’t really get to sneak away and hook up anymore :/ sad!" I'm crying 😭😭 Suddenly its way harder for you to get someone to go home than it ever was before. And Jack is just always there for after game barcrawls, and with the season you haven't exactly had time to use The Apps in any significant way...

One night you forego the celebration. Wave off the invites. You're tired. Not tonight, guys. Then when the coast is clear is when you decide to go out. You go to a different bar than they planned, maybe even planned a night out with a few non-hockey friends you've made in the city as you're making it your new home. And you have fun. Do shots, make friends, the works.

Except then Jack is slipping into the booth next to you and you double take, triple take. He went out with the team though. What the fuck? What the fuck? What is he doing here? How did he know? Oh, he thought you said you didn't feel good? Yeah, well. You changed your mind. Good thing you're feeling better. What the hell is he doing here? Bar-hopping, right. Onto the next one. Makes sense you guys would run into each other.

But his appearance is majorly unsettling in a way you try not to let on to. You feel like a deer in the headlights and he's waiting to pounce. Except you did nothing wrong! You just wanted a night where his arm wasn't around the back of your seat (not you ☝️ so you can't say anything without looking like an asshole) or his thigh pressed up against yours (it's crowded). Looks like you won't be getting that tonight. Now, about that drink?

it's the worst thinly veiled possessiveness and yet you still don't see it because you don't want to see it 😔

+ After that night, it is impossible for you to hook up with anyone when you're on the road. At home, it's a little easier because try as Jack might, he can't be with you all the time...but he makes a concentrated effort that's for sure

"Is this seat taken?"

"I was just heading out so feel free to—"

Your smile wavers when you look up.

"You're leaving already?"

Jack doesn't wait for an answer before sliding into the booth. He sits much too close to you, and the buzz in your blood turns fizzy at the contact.

"What are you doing here?" you blurt out.

He's supposed to be out with the rest of the team at some club across the city. You forewent their plans, opting for some weak excuse rather than the truth.

Your friends cared little for mingling with your teammates and you needed the break anyway so you waved off the invite, citing that you weren't feeling well. It'd been a good night. A great night even.

When you went out with the team, you were overly conscious of how overwhelming their presence could be and overly aware of the recognition that sparked in people's eyes whenever they saw you. The recent development of Jack sticking to your side throughout the night didn't help. He ignored most flirtations in favor of annoying the fuck out of you all night, wanting to see how far he could push your politeness before it snapped.

"I wanted a change in scenery," he shrugs. "I didn't expect to find you here, though."

"Me either," you mumble, inching away from him.

He leans back into the booth and stretches his arm over the top of it. His fingers brush against the top of your shoulders absently and you itch to shake off what little touch he has on you.

"I thought you weren't feeling good," he says mildly.

"I lied," you say. You really shouldn't have done those goodbye shots with your friends. "Duh."

"Duh," he repeats.

"Is the rest of the team here too?" you ask, leaning forward to look around him.

Jack watches you. "No," he says. "Just me."

"You went to the bar alone...?"

His words don't make any sense especially not to your alcohol muddled mind. This isn't a popular bar, not by his standards. He wouldn't have found this place on his own so someone must've directed him here. And if someone directed him here, why wouldn't he bring along one of your teammates? Or Luke?

He laughs. "Lot of judgement from someone who's also here alone."

"I was just about to leave," you defend. "My friends left like ten minutes ago."

His expression sharpens. "They left you alone?"

You shake your head. "No. I wanted to stay for a little bit. It took me ages to convince them to go."

It probably wasn't your best idea but they all have your location so if anything were to happen, they'd know. You just wanted a few more minutes to soak in how nice of a night tonight was. You felt like yourself for once.

"I should go now, actually," you say. You look meaningfully at him.

He doesn't move. Instead, he turns to you fully, curling his arm closer and hooking his hand on your shoulder.

"I just got here. Stay," he cajoles. "Don't I owe you a drink?"

[quinnboni]

This is purely indulgent, but I'm imagining dman!reader and Quinn the night of the Devs game where Jack has that (piss poor) fight. Quinn has the highlights of the games that night on and the fight of course gets coverage and she's on the couch with him, her legs over his lap casually while he rubs her calves but her stomach is dropping when she sees the hit, then the subsequent fight. Just like "I didn't know Jack was a fighter. Did he...do that for that new forward of theirs?" and asks Quinn if they're dating or something and tries to be casual with it but its just. Like watching a car crash for her.

I'm assuming Quinn's already locked down dman!reader at this point so she's just sick to her stomach knowing what's to come for forward!reader...

[quinnboni]

Don't know if its THE favor or A Favor, but....Jack asks/begs forward!reader to be his wedding date. You kind of laugh it off because Jack, you have people lining up to be your actual date. You could have anyone you wanted to go to this, find a real smokeshow. But, he says, this is a friend's wedding (or dman!reader & Quinn's wedding? ....GAG 😵‍💫). It's important and he doesn't wanna risk "bringing a puck bunny" who just wants to brag on instagram or get autographs to a wedding full of hockey players. It just isn't classy. But when he hedges on it being a favor and you owing him (even if he won't say the word 'owe' outright) you relent. It's just a few days of your summer. Not even a full week, at most. It'll be fine 😀 Right ? 😄

It can be the™️ favor! The™️ favor is supposed to function as his trojan horse lol and this is kind of a perfect situation for that!

+ The way you get irritated when Jack uses the word 'puck bunny' so he immediately pivots and clarifies that he wants to bring someone that he can have a good time with without worrying that his date will be there for other reasons. When you remain hesitant (and still irritated that he tried to 'not like other girls' you), he mentions that you sill haven't paid him back yet and you're like fine, it's just one night, maybe two. But then of course Jack convinces you to stay a week bc of course this wedding is taking place near the lake house so of course you should stay longer. Actually, you should stay longer and train with us. Oh, you can't find your passport? Bummer. I haven't seen it but I'm sure it's somewhere!

+ If this was dman!reader and Quinn's wedding, trust Jack would've ensured you as his date monthsss in advance. You would be together by that wedding 🥴