[attr="class","ollieollie"] ollie may not be a maher, but years of growing up on the farm and practicing as a ranger has made his limbs lean and long. he's used to running, ducking out of the way of a stray beer bottle, or partying on-lookers. a laugh bubbles to his lips as he accidentally locks him and boruta maher in the entrance of the bar as they both try to squeeze through the door.

[break][break] "m'not letting you win!"

[break][break] he pushes forward, squeezing, but boruta is smarter or skinnier than him and is able to squeeze through first. ollie watches in a drunken haze even as he runs after him, emerald gaze following the muscled slope of his calves.

[break][break] it's only minutes later, catching his breath behind bo, that he blinks.

[break][break] "... oh."

[break][break] pause.

[break][break] "WOAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! WILLS! HOW DID YOU DO IT?"

[break][break] but it's a secret, and ollie obediently finds himself sliding into the backseat alongside his ranger friend.

[break][break] "i won't..!" ollie says, hiccuping, before grinning at her through the rearview mirror. "i'll throw up in bo's lap if i hafta."

[attr="class","ooc"] howling at the moon (bar crawl) [break]
boruta maher willow atkins

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[attr="class","icon"]

”i feel great!”[break][break]

but he spoke too soon, spinning to turn away with his hand supporting himself against the vehicle. he breathed deep, whistling through pursed lips and letting his stomach settle.[break][break]

when the door opened, he staggered in, slumping against ollie’s shoulder as his eyes fluttered shut momentarily.[break][break]

”you don’t wanna do that, dude… i’ll come to your house.” each sentence was punctuated with a breath to ease the waves of his impending hangover. ”i’ll throw up on your porch.”

bo's reaction does not spark much confidence, but they're two fully grown men. they can handle their liquor. as slurry as their words are, it's not bad enough that they're gibberish. still, as she gets the car started and waits for it to heat up, she leans over to the passenger seat. her small frame has to bend pretty far so she can blindly pat around on the floor, but eventually she finds her water bottle. 

"it's only half full so don't be greedy," she says as she hands it back to them.

"bo's lap is still technically in grace's car." she thrusts her hands in front of one of the heaters and shivers as the hot air chases away her chills. blue-green eyes flicker up to the rearview and watch the two boys in the backseat. 

she drops a hand onto the gear shift and pulls out, wary of some of the other folks on the road (who absolutely shouldn't be). when her hands aren't gripping the wheel as tightly, she fishes around in the car's console for one of her cd's and pops it in, setting the music low enough that ollie and bo can talk if they want. 

"we're dropping ollie off first 'cause he's closer," she reminds them. "you're only about fifteen minutes away, ols."

boruta maher ollie morales

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[attr="class","ollieollie"] "greedy? i'm not greedy," he mumbles, as he grabs the water bottle and pries it open. he takes a sip from it, wiping his mouth, before he hands it over to his fellow ranger.

[break][break] his heart gives a lurch as the car starts, and it makes ollie realize that maybe he did have a little too much to drink. he leans his head agaisnt bo's who's against his shoulder and his eyes fluttered shut.

[break][break] it was kind of comfortable..

[break][break] "mm." before his eyes open. he blinks. "hey, waaait. you know what would be fun? like - SUPER? what if you guys stayed over? the hotel's pretty cool."

[break][break] he grins in the rearview mirror - a sloppy, messier version of his sober self.

[break][break] "please?"

[break]

[attr="class","ooc"] howling at the moon (bar crawl) [break]
boruta maher willow atkins

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[attr="class","icon"]

”oh, i bet they have pancakes.” maybe they even had a pool and/or battles on pay-per-view. he was definitely down to find out.[break][break]

”we at the hotel, motel, holiday—wait, did will kick you out?”[break][break]

awkward. it startled him into the briefest lull of silence, and then he was leaning a little closer to ollie to ask, ”it was vollans, wasn't it?”

it's soft music anyhow. the lazy strokes and plucking of guitars, the gentle voice of lucy rose. she hums along and finds herself smiling at ollie's good-natured, if ridiculous, invitation. no, that sounds like a recipe for disaster. well, not really. ollie looks sleepy as all hell and will's fairly certain as soon as he gets to the hotel, he's going to pass out. 

leaving her awake and by herself, kicking herself for spending the night away from her plants and her pokemon and her family. 

"maybe next time, ols. i gotta - what? no, i did not kick him out. and neither did lance." she glowers at bo in the rearview. lance was fine with it. well, he wasn't around much to protest anyway. "ollie just got better is all.

"ols knows i wouldn't let him out of my sight if i still thought he was being dumb about his health." gaze drops back to the road, and then kindly up to ollie, and then back again. she purses her lips and shakes her head, turning the music up just a spell. 

boruta maher ollie morales
music

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[attr="class","ollieollie"]the lull of the music in the background is sweet and rosy; it's a seductress that does very well in nearly putting him to sleep. especially with the warmth pressed into his side and the comfortable, yet sturdy shoulders of one ranger captain...

[break][break] wait. wait.

[break][break] "god. yeah. pancakes sound so good."

[break][break] as bo leans close to him, hot breath in his ear, ollie stirs back to life.

[break][break] "wha - huh? vollans? oh! lance!" he perks up, suddenly reminded of their other fellow ranger captain. "we could invite him too!"

[break][break] his brow furrows for a second as their words catch up to them, dawning on him suddenly. the puzzle pieces slowly sliding together.

[break][break] "oh yeah. it wasn't wills, it was ro. you know how he gets - didn't want to share his toys with me anymore." ollie flashes a cheeky grin — first at willow in the rearview mirror, and then at boruta maher .

[break][break] "plus, if i stayed there too long, then i'd get fat on will's delicious food."

[break][break] had he gained any weight? probably not. ollie was like a border collie on monster energy sometimes, exercising to almost exorbitant amounts. as cut and lean as the steak she'd fed him a few weeks ago.

[break][break] he nudges bo.

[break][break] "so will's out, you in?"

[break]

[attr="class","ooc"] howling at the moon (bar crawl) [break]
boruta maher willow atkins

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[attr="class","icon"]

”okay. i was just curious for ollie’s sake.”[break][break]

and sure, ollie was just like any other wild animal willow took in. just like the baby deer. he’d had to carry that one too.[break][break]

”hell no, lance isn’t invited—unless he wants some more.”[break][break]

a pang of envy hit him over roman, one that didn’t subside as quickly as usual. instead, it sat in his stomach with too much liquor. it made the hotel sound less fun. it was a bit sobering, even.[break][break]

he didn’t comment on it. not in this fragile state.[break][break]

”will’s a good cook,” he agreed. he was a shit cook himself. life could have been so much better.[break][break]

he shifted against ollie’s shoulder then, withdrawing a little.[break][break]

”uh, actually, i dunno, if will’s not goin’…”

bo deflates and willow instantly feels terrible about snapping. she doesn't even know why, really. things have been strained - well, they've been good. they've been okay. they've been fine with lance. it's an awkward situation, surely but she can't fathom his short fuse when it comes to him. 

her jaw tightens when he drops a nonchalant threat. her fingers tap nervously on the shift, on the steering wheel, and she thinks back to that night.

he keeps talking. her expression softens. she shouldn't take too much of the drunken babble to heart, especially with bo looking so...sad. 

"ollie, i don't think you can take much more partying. you still have to wake up pretty early." she chuckles. "can't wait for those texts tomorrow morning..."

the car noses up onto the hotel's side street. she takes it slow around the little circle by the entrance and throws it in park so she can twist around in her seat. 

"go on and get some sleep, captain morales. we'll all have a sleepover next time," she promises with a smile.

ollie morales boruta maher

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[attr="class","ollieollie"] maybe if he'd been sober, he would have the heart to notice how his words effected his fellow ranger captain. he might've felt even a little bit guilty about it.

[break][break] but ollie's sunny, easygoing demeanor persists even while drunk — just a little bit dimmer, like an afternoon sunset.

[break][break] as it was, however, he didn't notice until boruta maher draws back. the absence of warmth makes him stir. wha-?

[break][break] the car steels to a stop, and his stomach give a dedicated lurch.

[break][break] "yurrkay."

[break][break] he sits upright, feeling a little bit groggy still, but pauses at the smile illuminating his best friend's face.

[break][break] "kay," he says. softly, obediently, and then presses a kiss to her cheek. without thinking, he turns back and gives one to boruta maher as well, before sliding out of the backseat.

[break][break] with a big yawn, he waves at them.

[break][break] "bye guys! get home safe!"

[break][break] and with that, he's slinking off to the hotel entrance.

[break][break] and hopefully into his room. if he makes it there.

[break]

[attr="class","ooc"] howling at the moon (bar crawl) [break]
boruta maher willow atkins

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[attr="class","icon"]

a sleepover promise. interesting.[break][break]

bo couldn’t help the blush that came to his face when ollie kissed his cheek, too. thankfully, the dim lighting made it much too difficult to see.[break][break]

”later man.”[break][break]

once ollie was gone into the hotel, bo shifted, and then shifted again, knees splayed uncomfortably. [break][break]

”will, my legs are too long for this. i’m dying back here.”

it's as natural as breathing, really, ollie leaning in and giving her a kiss on the cheek. she smiles warmly at him, chuckling as he gives the same heartfelt good-bye to bo. it's dark enough that willow doesn't see the blush crawl over bo's face, but she sees the awkward slump of his shoulders. 

"don't be so dramatic," she chides. "besides, i was already going to ask if you wanted to move up here." as she's talking, she's leaning back over to the passenger seat and pulling the latch on the bottom of it. the seat slides back as far as it can, able to now that ollie's no longer in the car. 

while he rearranges, she fiddles with the heat some more. "you warm enough? feel okay?"

boruta maher ollie morales

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[attr="class","icon"]

”thank you.” finally.[break][break]
he got out, making his way around the car with an occasional sway, and going to the passenger side. he pulled open the door and slid in, giving a sigh. this was much better.[break][break]
”oh, yeah, i’m fine. better now.” not because ollie was gone, but because he had leg room, of course.[break][break]
he fell quiet then, listening to the music while his mind drunkenly staggered through thoughts, going mostly nowhere pleasant.