#running-rabbit

[cricketnationrise]

For the ficlet fest (congrats on 500!):

7:52 pm

the weight room

Jack Zimmermann

Rating: M

(Doggernaut/rabbitrunnah)

oooooh this was really fun to write, thanks for the prompt! i hope you enjoy senior year jack thirsting over bitty as much as i do <3

want your own ficlet? my followers can submit their own prompts using these guidelines through Jan 31, 2024.

🏒🏒🏒🏒

7:52pm, weight room

Jack tries to catch his breath before his last set of leg presses. 

There’s something immensely satisfying about weight-lifting days. It’s straightforward; more weight, more reps, diversifying exercises—it all works together to translate to better performance on the ice: more power, more breakaway sprints, more goals. A simple A plus B equals C. Jack’s favorite kind of math.

Once, not that long ago, weight training days would have been solely about maintaining the perfect form, strict adherence to his own ridiculous goals, pushing his body to keep going, to be better, to go right up to the limit of what was possible—and then past it, regardless of all the warnings his coaches, his parents, his teammates, even his own mind were giving him.

But now Jack’s in a better place, he’s got more support, so he can just lose himself in the repetitive motion, the sensation of sweat down his back, the clean exertion of pushing his body in a healthy way.

Or, he could, if he wasn’t so distracted.

It isn’t Jack’s fault that the leg press machine faces the mirrors. It isn’t Jack’s fault that there’s a clear view of the hip adductor machine in said mirrors. And it certainly isn’t Jack’s fault that Bittle is ahead of him in the circuit, on said hip adductor machine, in said mirrors.

…But it might be Jack’s fault that he can’t stop watching.

Despite his size, Bittle’s always been strong. That much had been obvious from the way he could skate suicides for an hour, the way he could hurl his body so high into the air and spin, the way he could whip a meringue by hand without pausing, or switching hands. He’d been surprisingly dense when Jack had pushed him into the boards during checking practice last year, Jack’s attention caught by how Bittle’s muscles were highlighted as much as his haircut in the sunlight when he’d moved into the Haus this summer.

Bittle’s strength is glaringly obvious right now.

The mirror provides an optimal view for Jack as he rests before his last set. Bittle’s perched on the seat, hands on the grips behind him for balance. His brow is furrowed, and the collar of his shirt dark with sweat from the effort from today. For once, he’s not singing or humming or bouncing along to the music in his headphones; Bittle’s breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth carefully, measured, timing his exhales with every time he manages to bring his knees together. Jack’s whole being is focused on the way Bittle’s thighs flex as he pushes them from spread wide to knees touching and back again. Over and over. All of Bittle is glistening with sweat from the exertion under the fluorescent lights and Jack— 

Jack has a sudden, visceral, all-consuming urge to taste. To run his hands from Bittle’s delicate ankles, up his calves. To hold Bittle’s thighs open wide with his shoulders so he can get his hands on his hips, his waist, his ass. To take his time, sucking the sweat from Bittle’s thighs hard enough to leave a line of bruises in his wake, before moving higher. To lick the sweat from the crease where his thigh meets his hip. To chase the drops of Bittle’s precome with his tongue. To take Bittle’s cock with his mouth, all the way to the hilt, before pulling Bittle’s hand to his own hair, encourage him to move Jack exactly how he wants, to take—

The resounding clang of Bittle’s weight stack yanks Jack out of the fantasy.

Câlisse de tabarnak—he’s in the middle of a workout, he can’t be getting distracted by a teammate of all people, and especially not Bittle. Jack depends on their hard-won friendship too much to ever even entertain the possibility—

Jack stands, busies himself with adding more weight to his own machine for his last set, determined to keep his eyes off the mirror, off of Bittle as he bustles around the machine, gathering his water bottle, bending over to wipe the seat down, ass facing the mirror—

It’ll be fine. Bittle will finish cleaning the machine. He’ll move on to the next stop in the circuit, to the machine that’s directly behind the hip adductor. Completely obscured from Jack’s view, and Jack will be able to finish his leg presses without getting distracted.

Bittle catches his eye in the mirror and gives him a small smile and a salute before bouncing off to the next machine and Jack—

Jack better do two more sets, just to be safe.

[whoacanada]

Would love to know more about your #13 WIP!

Oh god #13 — okay, so, ‘(yeah it’s true) all i wanna do is talk about you’ is entirely about the Falconers signing a new/old hotshot player who’s wife immediately puts herself in competition with media-darling Bitty. What starts off as innocent backbiting turns into, like, anonymous complaints to the adoption agency Jack and Bitty are using. Also greatly inspired by UK footballer drama.

___________

“You know I’m going to be fat when I retire because of you,” Jack chides, snatching a white fudge, falcon-shaped cake pop from the stand as Eric tries to swat him away. “Hope you’re ready.”

“Ready? I’m expecting it.”

After seven years, Eric is old hat at welcoming the newest Falconers and their respective partners. The first Family Skate of the season is populated with elaborate desserts and dishes right out of Eric’s cookbooks. He spends days in the kitchen perfecting cake pops and truffles in the shape of the Falconer’s mascot, sweet and savory hand pies, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, and vegan options, he puts his whole heart into every season, even personalizing care packages for each new family. All of it a love letter to the Falconers, and, unsurprisingly, to his husband.

However, as Eric stares down the folding table near the arena entrance, there’s an unease he hasn’t felt since his first Family Skate, when a still-closeted Jack had introduced Eric to his teammates for the first time.

“There’s usually one every season,” Carrie sighs from behind Eric. “We’ve been lucky, but with all this young blood, we’re long overdue for a bitch.”

Eric turns away from his shame to find Carrie, Gabbie, and Vanessa showing varying levels of discomfort as they stare down the lone gift basket; the hang tag bearing ‘David and Emily Grant’ in Eric’s swooping hand, courtesy of a recent calligraphy class taken with the ladies — also, Guy, surprisingly.

“No need to be crass,” Eric defends. “Maybe they just missed it.”

“Nope.” Vanessa shakes her head, causing the arena lights to catch on her new diamond earrings. “She was on Real Housewives of Vegas when Grant had the C before Parson dethroned him. She’s been chasing that high ever since.”

“That doesn’t mean she’s going to be a problem. I haven’t even talked to her yet.” Eric understands the issue the moment the words leave his mouth. “Oh.”

“Three A’s, no C,” Gabbie cautions. “Which means there’s a prize to be won.”

“God, do you remember when Cavanaugh signed? His girlfriend was nuts, walked around here like he was the next Crosby.”

“Did she talk to any of you?” Eric asks, trying not to worry he’s the odd man out, figuratively and literally. “Emily? Did she say anything?”

The women fall quiet and Eric exhales slowly.

“Ah, well, guess I need to go on a full charm offensive, then.”

“No, you need to stay the hell out of her way.” Carrie insists. “She’s looking for a rival and you’re the only one of us with real star power. No offense, we’re all great, but you’re . . . you.”

“And Jack’s got an A.” Vanessa chides.

“I’ve never not been able to make someone like me,” Eric says, only to immediately remind himself of Whiskey’s standoffishness. “I’ll just need to step up my game, that’s all.”

Ashley, pushing her stroller past, slows her stride when she hears the content of the conversation. “Are you talking about Grant?”

“We aren’t talking about anyone,” Eric says diplomatically. “Emily just forgot her gift basket.”

“Oooo, word of advice,” Ashley says, keeping her voice low. “Don’t let any of this get back to the guys. WAG feuds can get you traded. That’s what happened to Victoria Rawlins last season, you know, with the Caps? She got into it with the owner’s wife and her husband got knocked down to a farm team. Can you imagine an argument about breastfeeding versus formula costing a career? My god.”

“That’s what happened? Jack said he was — Okay, okay, never mind, warning received,” Eric flits his hands to settle the conversation. “Now, I need everyone to remember that the adoption work interview for Jack is in a few weeks and I’ll give updates when I know it’s coming for sure, but please tell your men to not joke about our sex life, or anything, actually.”

“Eric, please,” Gabby smiles. “No one is going to fuck this up for you.”

[omgcpausandstuff]

Oooh, this one make me a little nervous, but my #19 is "Illicit Affairs" by Taylor Swift

Ok, so I have had a lifelong obsession with looking at things and trying to find weird/funny/unusual ways to interpret them. This made me low key insufferable as an adolescent, was revealed to be a marketable skill when I took Requirements Engineering and continues to this day.

Always, that is why this song that is obviously about cheating on your partner is going to have an AU thats... about being masked vigilantes!

Make sure nobody sees you leave  Hood over your head, keep your eyes down Tell your friends you're out for a run You’ll be flushed when you return Take the road less traveled by Tell yourself you can always stop What started in beautiful rooms Ends with meetings in parking lots 

Sneaking around? Disguises? Alibis? Vigorous physical activity? Back alleys? Unhealthy obsessions? Clandestine meetings?

Yeah, vigilantes. So, I’m not sure what two characters I would pick to be at the center of this story mostly because I’m getting a kind of mentor/student vibe and that is not something I’m into romantically. Hmm.... I’ve got it! The mentor is the parent and the student is the child.

Alicia Zimmermann started fighting crime after mobsters killed her husband and nearly killed her son. She’s an actor, she can keep up the façade of normalcy over the summer when Jack isn’t billeted for hockey, but when he’s gone she’s starting to disappear more and more into the mask. She’s got the money, she does her own stunts, she can do this.

Eventually, after she’s been doing this for a while, trying to drown her pain and rage with vengeance, she starts to wonder if her never ending quest is worth it.

Some other disaster happens to Jack (Shitty gets framed for his father’s crimes, maybe?), he finds out what she’s doing, and demands to be involved - she says no at first, but eventually he saves her from a bad situation and she can’t deny him. For a while things are good, Jack seeing her in a new light and admiring her makes her feel good about what she’s doing.

However, she sees the darkness starting to creep into Jack the way it has into her. She has a crisis of faith, and decides to hang up the mask forever. Jack is furious, consumed with vengeance the way she was, and says he won’t give it up.

I’m not sure how you get to a happy ending here! Switch to Jack’s POV and have him meet Bitty and find something to live for besides vengeance?

[mamashitty]

21 for the ship head canons (Shitty/Lardo, or any other ship you want to talk about!)

Thanks for the ask!

21. Where do they get nervous about going with one another?

Shitty: He gets real nervous about meeting Lardo’s family for the first time. It is different than when he met the Zimmermann’s for the first time because he was not in love with their son. It is different because he wants her family to know that he really cares for her, that he will never get in the way of her hopes and dreams, that he thinks her art is really fucking fantastic, that she is his quiet, and he has been in love with her since probably their first conversation even if he denied it for so long. He’s talking louder than is strictly necessary with his nerves. He had had Jack quiz him on everyone’s names the night before because he really does not want to fuck this up. He’s laughing too much and too loudly at jokes that don’t require it. He’s not swearing like he usually does. His clothes feel so damn restrictive. Then he feels Lardo’s hand in his and she is tugging him into the backyard of the house they are at. Some Aunt’s house, he forgot whose specifically, and he feels really awful about that. Lardo is looking at him. Really looking at him and he’s wondering if he fucked up somehow.

“Shits, you need to calm down.” She tells him, and then she just holds him out in the background and is whispering stuff that he’s hardly able to hear, but soon, he calms down enough to really listen and she’s telling him that her family likes him. That he needs to be his fucking self. Please drop an F bomb and then she is pulling out a thin joint. Tells him that it is okay, she got it from a cousin who will join them in a few minutes, and things get better after that. When he finds himself fretting too much, he finds Lardo’s hand, or her gaze, and then remembers to just be himself.

Lardo: It is that first time she is going to some work party of Shitty’s. He’s a lawyer and dressed in a suit and she’s dressed in a nice little black dress. She does not feel like herself. She’s itchy on the inside. Shitty’s flow is tamed by a fucking man-bun, and he’s sober and it is weird. Shitty just keeps telling her to be herself but she wonders how she can be if he’s not really being himself. She knows it is dumb being worried about what these people think of her, but she is. Shitty talks highly of all the people he works with in this small law firm. They are all doing some really good and important work. He’s happy at this job and she knows there is no logical way for her to fuck up his job, but she worries still. 

And everyone is nice.But everyone is dressed to fancy and things feel too stiff. And she lost sight of Shitty and is just standing awkwardly by the drinks, a cup of some spiked juice in her hand. And she doesn’t know who to talk to. Everyone is grouped off. She really wants to go home. 

Then Shitty finds her, grabbing her hand, and asking if she is okay. Lardo doesn’t say anything, not wanting to outright lie, but Shitty and see. He tells her there is someone he really wants her to fucking meet and then they can leave. He takes her to this older man, with bright white hair and the most wrinkles on his face that she’s ever seen on one person. Shitty exuberantly explains how this man is his fucking hero. And seeing Shitty acting more like himself caused Lardo to relax a little and the old man really is fucking cool. And Shitty doesn’t get lost in the crowd again, he stays close, and this isn’t that bad. She gets comfortable joining in conversation and people watching and eventually they go home.

The next party she is far less nervous about.

And then they are hosting the fourth party and it is her domain and yes Shitty makes some tub juice and slowly these friends and colleagues of Shitty’s begin to feel more like hers too. And it is nice.

[foryouandbits]

You have no idea how happy it made me to see you posted a new fic and that is 1) long and 2) about alternate dimensions!

Buddy I have been waiting to post this fic for FOR-EVER! I hope you like it!

[17piesinseptember]

#3 for the fanfic asks, please!

Ooh, that was quick! Thanks for the ask :)

3. favorite line/scene you wrote this year

I’m going to choose something very sappy, but it’s this little line from, A Hundred People In a Room, one of my giveaway fics (with an abridged intro for context);

"You didn't distract me." Bitty’s eyes are wide on Jack's. "It's not a distraction if I'm already paying attention to you."Jack's hand is resting lightly on Bitty’s hip. It tightens now for a second. "You were?""I always am. Jack, you could…" Bitty pauses to take a breath. "You could put a hundred people in a room and I'd spot you in a heartbeat."

send me a ‘fanfic end of the year’ ask

[galentines]

If you had a Park Hopper and just ONE day at Disney World, what would you do/eat? (I have one day there in November.)

I would split the day between Epcot and Magic Kingdom. Hollywood Studios is a mess right now, and you have a hopper so its worth going to two parks so I’d skip Animal Kingdom (their new Avatar stuff looks amazing, but I wouldn’t try to do it with only part of a day). And I would say to choose which park to start at based on food preferences - Epcot has the BEST food and will probably be the best for dinner or a big lunch. But Magic Kingdom is where the best rides are. For you specifically, just focus on the Magic Kingdom rides you don’t have in Disneyland! (Most of the Disneyland versions are better anyway, lol)

[mediumsizedfountain]

running-rabbit replied to your post “I’ve been letting my summer pastel unicorn hair fade out back to the...”

How do you keep your color from fading too quickly?

A few things: 1. I try to wash my hair in water as cold as I can stand 2. I try to wash no more often than every third day 3. Avoid shampoo/conditioner with sulfates. I personally use the Ion brand from Sally Beauty, the “color safe” line. Ion also makes a “color fixing” product which is like a conditioner only specifically designed to make your color last longer - “fixing it” more firmly to your hair. I use that for the first few washes. I put it on the long lengths before shampooing, and then only use shampoo on the scalp, and then mix more with my conditioner before applying.

Those methods make the vibrant colors last 4-6 weeks, depending on the shade and brand. I’ve had some deeper colors that fade into pretty light colors, and so those shades will last me 8-10 weeks because I like the fade as much as the original. But lighter shades or weaker brands are typically 4-6 weeks.