#Mat Barzal one shot
Text
𝓿𝓸𝓲𝓬𝓮𝓶𝓪𝓲𝓵 - Mathew Barzal x Reader
Summary: what started as an accidentall voicemial to your ex boyfriend ended up becoming routine and maybe even more
TW: none that i can think of
Word count: 3.9k
A/N: completely made up game schedule btw
Masterlist
Add yoruself to the taglist if you wanna be notified when i post the fic!
-
“Hey, it’s Mat.” His voice echoed through the phone, so familiar yet strangely distant now. You’d heard him speak in interviews, but this was different. He was addressing you, or at least the voicemail version of you. “I can’t answer right now, so you know what to do.”
You didn’t know what to do. Calling your ex-boyfriend, the one you had broken up with months ago, wasn’t something you had exactly planned. Yet, when the acceptance email for the program you had worked tirelessly for arrived, the one he had witnessed you pour your heart into, he was the person you wanted to share it with. So that’s what you were doing, trying no to overthink it before nerves got the best of you.
“Mat, hi. This is so random—H-how are you?” Thank God he didn’t answer, you were a stuttering mess leaving a voicemail imagine if it had been him on the other end instead. “I got in! Into the program I mean. I don’t know why, but I wanted to tell you. You helped me so much before—” you cut yourself again. It didn’t feel right to mention the break up like that, but what could you say? Before I broke up with you? Before I stumbled out of your apartment leaving you behind without an explanation?
“Fuck it. I can’t do this.” You pulled your phone away from your ear and touched the red dot.
That’s it. He didn’t need to know, he probably wouldn’t even care. Who would want their ex to call to tell them they were doing great? That maybe after all the breakup was worth it because they had gotten into the program they had neglected their relationship for? Too long, right?
A second later, realization struck like lightning – you had ended the call before deleting the voicemail. It had been sent.
“Oh no, no, no!” you exclaimed, eyes widening in horror. There was no turning back. Mat would undoubtedly hear you stumbling over your words. Why couldn’t you have just left well enough alone? The last thing he needed was you barging back into his life with a pathetic voicemail about something he likely moved on from. ‘He probably already despises me after how everything unfolded, and now this’ you thought.
You were wrong, because no longer than 5 minutes after everything had gone down your phone was buzzing in your hand, Mat’s contact bright in the center as he now waited for you to pick up for a change.
“Mat.” you picked up.
“Hey. You called me?” He sounded confused, for very obvious reasons. Nevertheless it was nice to hear his voice now directed at you.
“Yeah, right. I left you a voicemail.” You rolled your eyes. At least you sounded less nervous than earlier on the voicemail, but it was not less embarrassing.
Mat’s voice came through, cool and collected. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t check. I just saw the missed call and, you know.”
“Sure, sure.” you replied, trying to sound half as calm as he seemed to be with the whole situation.
“Do you want me to hear it or …” his offer hovered in the air.
“No! I mean, I can tell you.” You cringed at the thought of him hearing your rambling voicemail. “So, I called because I just got the mail. I got into the program!”
“Shut up! That’s great! Congratulations!” Mat’s excitement burst through the line. Your heart melted a little. After everything that had happened he sounded genuinely happy for you.
“Thank you, Maty.”
Mat’s tone softened. “You deserve it, after all the hard work you put into it. I knew you’d get it.”
You chuckled, the tension easing. “I know, I know. You told me like a million times. I was just insecure.”
For a second you let yourself imagine this was under other circumstances. You were still together and he was calling you right after practice or from another city in one of his roadies. He’d come back home eventually and hug you so tight you wouldn’t be able to breath, probably lift you up and spin you around a little. You wouldn’t be able to stop laughing and-
“I know …” Mat’s response brought you back to reality. The reality in which he wouldn’t knock on your door with his arms wide open.
His tone carried an easy understanding. He definitely knew about your insecurities. They played a huge role on why your relationship was the way it was right now: nonexistent.
“So that’s what the voicemail said?” He broke the silence.
“Yeah, basically. But you know, all giddy and stuff. Really embarrassing.”
Mat’s laughter grew louder, and you could practically see him shaking his head. “Oh, really? Well, now I have to hear it.”
“No, no, no.” you protested, your embarrassment deepening. “Seriously, don’t Barzal. I know where you live.”
But Mat insisted, his curiosity piqued. “Come on! Embrace the cringe. It can’t be that bad.”
He ended the call before you could object anymore, only to call you back a minute later. Mat’s laughter erupted again as soon as you picked up, and you couldn’t help but join in, the shared humor dissipating the lingering awkwardness. If you closed your eyes you could almost picture him with that scrunched up nose as he laughed.
“The ‘fuck it, i can’t do this’ was the best part by far.”
-
The familiar buzz of the MSG postgame show filled the cozy confines of your living room as Mat’s name flashed brightly on your phone, catching you off guard. Shannon and Hickey were in full praise mode, replaying Mat’s epic goal on loop, and there he was, the main attraction, waiting on the other end of the line for you to pick up.
You fumbled for your phone, a grin tugging at the corners of your lips as you swiped to answer. “Hey, I didn’t expect your call.” you remarked, the commentator’s voices still ringing in your ears.
“Bad timing?” Mat’s voice crackled through the phone, a hint of breathlessness underscoring his words – probably still riding the adrenaline high from the ice.
“No, no. It’s just that a second ago you were on my screen falling all over the ice.” you teased, imagining his less-than-graceful moments on the rink.
“I don’t fall that much!” he argued, sounding mildly offended.
“You do, but you also score, so it’s forgiven. Congrats on your almost hatty, by the way.” You chuckled, knowing how much he loathed falling a goal short. Always so hard on himself.
Mat scoffed, clearly annoyed at missing the mark. “So, you watched tonight?”
“Obviously, I watch every game I can catch.” you replied, the excitement of the game still coursing through your veins. The thrill of watching Mat succeed, even from a distance, even after all that happened, was undeniable.
“You should come, you know. I’m sure the girls would love to see you.” Mat suggested, his voice tinged with a hint of longing.
“I don’t know, Mat. It’s not my place anymore.” you hesitated, letting the uncertainty hang in the air. You had to change the subject before your mind started spiraling. “Anyway, why did you call?”
“Oh, right. I listened to your voicemail again!”
“So you called to tell me you haven’t actually deleted it like you promised?”
“I heard it right before the game and got 2 goals and 2 assists. I think it’ll become my new pregame ritual, honestly.” Mat admitted, his voice softer now, laced with a hint of nostalgia. Why had he chosen to hear it? That’s something he would save for himself for now. The shared memories of your past flitted between you, unspoken but palpable.
“Really? Want me to send embarrassing voicemails before every game?”
“I’d love it. Yes, please.” Mat replied with a laugh, the warmth of his laughter washing over you like a comforting embrace. The playful banter held a certain intimacy, a bridge between past flames and the uncharted territory of what lay ahead.
The banter flowed seamlessly, a blend of shared history and the current moment. The familiarity was comforting, but the unspoken complexities of your past lingered in the air, a delicate tension.
-
NYI vs. TBL - November 5th
“Hey, Barzy. I don’t know if you were joking or not but here’s your pregame embarrassing voicemail as solicited. You weren’t serious, right? Well fuck it, enjoy it or ignore me whatever.”
NYI vs. CGY - November 7th
“Just walked past that coffee shop where we had our third or fourth date I think. Remember how you choked over your latte when I lied and said I loved the Rangers?”
NYI vs. SEA - November 9th
“Hey, you won’t believe who I just saw. That guy that lives in the building across the street, the one that has your face tattooed on his left arm. He asked about you, told me to wish you good luck. So good luck from him … and from me. Good luck tonight.”
NYI vs. VAN - November 11th
“Hi! Your sister told me your family is going tonight, so send them a kiss from me, ok? … I-I keep in touch with her, I don’t know if you knew that or like maybe I should’ve told you? Are you ok with that? I’m sorry I just assumed you would be. Anyway, good luck! Say hi from me! Or don’t if you don’t want to-”
NYI vs. NYR - November 16th
“Dude. Rangers tonight. Don’t mess it up. May have bet on you guys with a guy from work, I don’t wanna have to pay for his lunch tomorrow. Please. Good luck, 13.”
NYI vs. PIT - November 18th
“Shit, shit, shit. Hope you can hear this before the game. I’m still getting used to the program’s schedule and all of that, I’m kind of a mess right now. Anyway, good luck!”
NYI vs. DET - November 20th
“Maty, hi! I know this is kind of dumb because I saw you like 10 minutes ago and I’m in the building but still thought I should leave the voicemail just in case. (Come on!) Ok I have to go, Sydney has a tone of gossip to catch me up on. Good luck!”
NYI vs. DAL - November 23th
“Hello Mr Barzal, I won’t be able to watch tonight, but still good luck! Even if you don’t win, I hope you score a goal, make an assist. That 8 game point streak you have going on is insane. I think I’ll start charging you for this if they are working so well.Good luck Barzy!”
NYI vs. STL - November 26th
“Hey! First of all, good luck! Second, I left my scarf at the Lee’s last night. It’s red, I was wearing it when you picked me up. Grace said Anders would give it to you tonight. Maybe we can meet for coffee tomorrow so you can give it back? Anyway, good luck!”
NYI vs. CHI - November 28th
“13, hello! I don’t have anything funny to tell you today so just good luck! Love you- shit, sorry. Habit I guess. Bye.”
NYI vs. NYR - November 30th
“You have zero new voicemails. To record a new personal greeting press one-”
-
You tried everything to get your mind off it, but it wasn’t working. The cup of tea was now cold in your hand and you couldn’t even pretend to care what was going on in the movie you had playing on your tv. The game had ended an hour ago but it was on replay in your mind.
It was silly to think it was your fault. You couldn’t influence the score of the match, the 5-1 loss against the Rangers wasn’t on you. However the outcome would’ve been different if their starplayer hadn’t been taking stupid penalties, losing the puck, causing turnovers. That could be on you partially.
The bell ringing caught you by surprise, almost dropping the cold tea. You got up to answer, even though you had a feeling you knew who was waiting by your building’s door.
“Hello?”
“It’s me.” The familiar voice needed no introduction.
“Mat? What are you doing here?”
“Buzz me in.” he requests, and you could practically hear the determination in his tone. With a resigned sigh, you pressed the buzzer, knowing full well he wouldn’t leave until he got what he came for.
A few moments later, a knock sounded at the door, and you found yourself face to face with him. Determination was bright in his eyes, your heart started racing.
“What’s going on?” He rolled his eyes, clearly not impressed by your attempt at pretending not to know why he’s there.
“You didn’t leave a voicemail.” Mat strided in without waiting for an invitation, and the unspoken tension was palpable.
“Right, that. I guess I forgot. Sorry.” you lied, trying to sound convincing but knowing there’s no use, he’d know. You closed the door behind him almost instinctively, as if shutting out the forthcoming emotional storm that’s about to break in your apartment.
“You’ve been sending me a voicemail before every single game for the past month.” he remarked, his gaze keenly picking up on your avoidance. Frustration started to take over. He already had been in this position before, begging you for explanations and all you did was look away. “Please, don’t shut me out. Not again.”
“I got confused, okay? Why are we doing this? I’m your ex-girlfriend, I broke up with you, Mat. And now I’m going to your games and sending you voicemails every game? What even is this?”
At some point you started walking all over the living room, the distress was clear. Mat was better at hiding it, he stood still by the door like he had been since he walked in, but you could see his hands fidgeting. Neither of you had a clear head to take on what was about to come, chaos was inevitable.
“I don’t know, but I thought you liked this. I thought it was like an inside joke, our own thing.”
“It was that. But you’re not supposed to have that with your ex.” you said, trying to emphasize the last word for him, as if a reminder of your status would help the situation in any way.
“We’re friends?” He furrowed his brows, and, had it not been for the situation you were in, you would’ve laughed at the way even he sounded so unsure of what he was saying.
“Mat, come on. It’s confusing, I know I was getting confused. It started with the voicemails, which was already something, but then we’re talking every day, I’m going to your games again and team’s gatherings, we’re hanging out again. I said ‘I love you’ on my last one!” You finally looked at him, baring it all. There was only one solution in your mind and it had to be taken no matter the pain it would undoubtedly cost you. “I think it’s better if we stop.”
There was a moment of silence, he looked at you as if trying to read through the wall you were hiding behind. Trying to decipher if it was you speaking or your insecurities had taken over again. Most importantly, trying to figure out if this time he had what it took to get to you before he lost you.
“I don’t want it to stop.” he said, determination clear in his voice. In a second he closed the gap between you. The proximity caught you off guard, you couldn’t remember the last time you were this close. “Tell me you don’t feel anything.” It sounded almost like a beg, but he didn’t care.
“We broke up.” you insisted, trying to sound all resolute.
“You broke up with me.” he corrected you, his gaze holding steady, slicing through your defenses.
“We weren’t working, Mat! We could barely see each other, and when we did, we were too tired or stressed. We fought a lot. We broke up.” It sounded almost childish the way you stubbornly persisted on it, like you needed to reassure yourself more than him how things had played out last time.
“Couples fight sometimes; it’s normal. I was stressed about the playoffs, and you were stressed about getting into the program. It was a bad moment, yes, but that’s over.”
“Other problems are gonna come up.”
“We can face them together, we fight and make up. That’s it, that’s how couples work.”
You paused for a second, it made no sense to keep on repeating yourself. It seemed like he had a solution for every obstacle you presented. He had come here for answers, it was time to give them to him even if you were answering older already forgotten questions.
“I was scared, Mat. I was scared and insecure, and it felt like I was ruining it all.” Tears start rolling down your face and there’s nothing he wants more than to hug you, keep you close to his chest, push the pain away; but he knows he shouldn’t. You’re finally letting down your guard, telling him what he’s been dying to hear for months; he has to give you space to be vulnerable. “I thought it was better to break things up before they got really nasty.” your voice wobbled.
“I get it, I really do. But you could’ve told me and I should’ve been more present, not left you alone to deal with our problems. We could’ve tried to make it work. ” He looked deep into your eyes, his own reflecting a mix of understanding and unwavering love. “I know I loved you more than enough to work through it.”
“I’m so sorry. I’m sorry about how I ended things, and I’m sorry about the voicemail and all the mess I’ve caused.” You tried to walk away from him, the proximity being too much, but he caught your arm making you face him once again.
Tears started streaming down his face as you tried to grapple with the weight of your own decisions. He looked you in the eyes, the determination from earlier is still there, even behind the tears those glossy eyes told you he wasn’t gonna leave in silence like last time. This time he had to leave it all out, even if he ended up hurt in the process.
“When you first called me I was too nervous to answer so I let it go to voicemail. I think even then I knew it wasn’t over for me, I knew hearing your voice would bring it all back.” You winced, acutely aware of the emotional turmoil you’ve caused. What you didn’t know was he wasn’t worried about pain coming back; what worried him was all the love he had for you and had pushed away after the break up coming back and once again not having where to put it.
“But then I wanted to hear you, the real you, not the voicemail, so I called you. I cannot tell you how happy it made me to hear you, like my heart was beating again after months of numbness. And you were telling me this great news, when you got that acceptance letter you wanted to tell me.” he continued, and you released a heavy breath, a half-smile forming on your face. He was right, the first person you wanted to share your triumph with was him, you hadn’t thought much about it back then but no it was so clear.
“I replayed your voicemail before the game that first time because I wanted to hear your voice. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I heard you over the phone earlier that day, and all I wanted was to hear you again talking to me.” he confessed, a mixture of vulnerability and longing in his words. “At first I thought maybe I was making it up, you know? Maybe it was just my unresolved feelings, maybe there was nothing going on. But you called me first and then you kept on sending the voicemails. Things were going back to the way they were before. It felt like I was me again, like we were us again.”
Mat smiled thinking how everyone could notice; his friends, his teammates, his family, everyone could see the old Mat was back. He told them off, too afraid to consider you were all he was missing because he knew he didn’t have you back, not yet.
His hand gently cupped your face, sending a shiver down your spine. Closing your eyes, you leaned into his touch. You missed it, there was no denying it anymore. You missed it all too much—his touch, his voice, his energy, his very presence. Him.
“You said ‘I love you’ on the last voicemail. I replayed it like 20 times at least, just to hear those three words. From you, to me.” The weight of those three words hung in the air between the two of you after so long, it was electrifying. Your heart raced; he was about to say it, and you yearned to hear it.
“I love you.” he declared, and there was no ambiguity this time. It wasn’t a recall of your words; this time, it was his confession to you.
“Maty…” was all you managed to say; his nickname laden with tenderness and echoes of old fears that still lingered.
“I want this. I want you even if I can only see you two times a week and even if half that time you are studying or working or stressing over both. I want to be there with you. I want to fight and make up. I want all of it, the messy and ugly included.”
“I love you.” you finally whispered.
It was over. He loved you, you loved him, and there was nothing left to say.
In that breath-holding moment, he leaned down, his lips finally touching yours. It’s not just a kiss; it’s a wild ride through forgiveness, longing, and the silent agreement to dive back into the messy and the beautiful, hand in hand. He was smiling into the kiss, so were you. The taste of salt from their tears lingered, mingling with the sweetness of the moment. The kiss spoke of second chances and the magic of beginnings, a promise to rewrite the story that had once unraveled.
You pulled away, breathless and teary-eyed, yet a radiant joy painted across your faces. You laughed, a melody of relief and newfound hope. One of his hands was on your back as the other traveled from your face to the back of your head, pulling you against his chest. Your arms hugged his torso tight.
“I love you.” he mumbled against your head before placing a kiss on top.
-
NYI vs. MTL - December 1st
“Hey! Good luck tonight babe-”
“I don’t think it counts if I’m literally next to you when you record it.”
“Shush. Who’s the voicemail expert here? Me. Anyway, as I was saying before you interrupted me: good luck tonight, I love you.”
“I love you too.”
-
soooooo it’s here! hope you like it! like and reblogs are always appreciated!
it felt so good to write again and to share it too, hope i have more time this year to write more stuff
taglist:
@glassdanse @2manytabsopen @barbienoturbby @sweetlittlegingy @mcsteamylove98 @ttylfedora @chieflawyerpastatoad @iwantahockeyhimbo @fallinallincurls @jordiee95 @heatherawoowoo @barzysreputation @farabeezers @4ambagelbites @matwith1t @audryaho @maximoff-xmen @astrydis @joelsfarabees @bitchforbarzy @deloughrey @brias1201 @besthockeyfics @ya-pucking-nerd @hoiyheadharpies @mckenna4 @rosesvioletshardy @hockeyunits @siriusly-parker @ilyasorokinn @lam-ila @boqvistsbabe @theycallmecassie @ephemeral371 @hal3ynicol3 @angelblooddevil @besthockeyfics @beauvertime @picked-off-by-barzal @1316 @cherrygirl1229 @lunabean @random-readers-world @poufsouffle21 @barzysbaby @matbarzal13 @alwaysclassyeagle @wanbach23 @evaggreendaily
#mat barzal#mathew barzal#mat barzal imagine#mat barzal imagines#mat barzal fic#mat barzal x reader#mat barzal one shot#mat barzal fluff#mathew barzal imagine#mathew barzal imagines#mathew barzal one shot#mathew barzal x reader#mathew barzal fic#hockey#hockey fic#hockey fanfic#hockey imagine#nhl fic#nhl imagine#nhl fanfiction#nhl imagines#isles imagine#new york islanders imagine
811 notes
·
View notes
Note
mat and reader having a tradition? After every win they get a strawberry milkshake or something? something just between them? and maybe if reader cannot go with him, she gets someone to buy one ?
thank you for requesting!🫶🏽
.
“I miss you.”
It hadn’t been the first time he had said it since you had called him after his game, and you doubted it would be his last either. But it made your heart swoon, nonetheless.
“I miss you too,” you murmured back, your cheek pressed against the pillow as you glanced at him on your phone. It was propped up on your bedside table, leaning against your lamp so you could lay comfortably in bed as you spoke. “But you guys are killing it on the roadie. Two wins, huh?”
His lips twitched. “Yeah, but they’d be better if you were in the crowd.”
“What, sitting at home decked out in Islander number thirteen merch wasn’t enough?” You teased, deciding to withhold the part where you ordered a shit ton of team merchandise from your boyfriend.
All in all, your relationship with Mat was still fairly new. Being a hockey player with an insane schedule wasn’t ideal for starting a new relationship, so despite knowing each other for the better part of a year, it took a few months before you decided to make it official.
And Mat had played away games since making it official, but this time it just hit harder.
Maybe it was because it was his longest roadie yet. Or maybe it was because you finally felt like you and Mat were starting to get into the swing of things, that natural flow that clicked when the relationship felt stable enough. Or maybe it was simply because you missed the boy, because your love for him was growing with each day.
But after getting so used to sleeping at each other’s apartment, the empty bed had been particularly upsetting to return to every night since he had been gone.
“It was more than enough, baby,” Mat replied with a fond smile on his face, thinking back to the photo you sent him of you bundled up on the couch with his jersey on. “But it feels wrong not celebrating wins the proper way.”
The proper way being with a cold, full-fat strawberry milkshake the two of you would get from a local diner—one that his trainers would definitely drop dead if they saw him stepping into. It was reserved only for wins, for a celebration between the two of you. And just like you, he knew it wasn’t the first time he won an away game and couldn’t share a milkshake with you, but it hit harder knowing that he couldn’t have it this time.
“Hm, what do you mean?”
His brows furrowed together in confusion. “What?”
“I think we are celebrating the proper way,” you replied with a nonchalant shrug, half-burying your face in your pillow to hide the grin growing on your face.
Mat’s confusion only grew and, much to your amusement, he looked partially offended. Almost like he couldn’t quite believe you had forgotten your shared tradition.
“I—” Mat started before he was cut off by the sound of someone knocking on his door.
He disappeared from the screen for a few moments and you used the time to set yourself up. You sat up on the bed, leaning back against the headboard and letting the duvet fall to your waist to expose one of his hoodies you had stolen from his wardrobe a few weeks ago. You waited for him to return, an eager smile on your face.
“Baby,” his voice was so sweet and fond as he returned to the camera, holding a milkshake in his hand with a cheesy grin on his face.
“Surprise!” You grinned, leaning over to pick up the milkshake that had been sitting out of shot since you had been on the phone to him. “It’s not the same as the diner but—”
“It’s perfect,” Mat finished for you, his cheeks looking a little rosier than before. “I can’t believe you set this up.”
“I wanted to celebrate properly with my boy to show him how proud I am,” you replied simply, watching as his expression brightened at the use of ‘my boy’.
“I can’t fucking wait to kiss you.”
“Me too, babe. Me too.”
.
#mat barzal#nhl#new york islanders#mat barzal x reader#mat barzal x you#mat barzal x y/n#mat barzal fic#mat barzal one shot#nhl x reader#nhl x you#nhl x y/n#nhl fic#nhl one shot
232 notes
·
View notes
Text
Black and White - Mat Barzal x Reader
Hockey Masterlist
Warnings: Swearing, mentions anxiety, almost pg13
Words: 1385
Summary: After attending one of the isles’ many fundraising events, a simple walk in the park turns into a moment the two of you will never forget.
A/n: I’m like 90% done with finals and so I’m filling this anonymous request as a result. I hope y’all like this quick little fic and as an update there’s a fluffy Zegras fic in the works.
“Thank you for coming with me tonight,” Mat says from behind a fleeting scoop of bubblegum ice cream. The Islanders fundraising gala was fun and all but Mat and I dipped out before closing remarks in favor of grabbing ice cream before Baskin Robbins closed. So now we’re walking around a random park, black tie attire, in the cold Long Island night.
“You don’t have to thank me, I’m your girlfriend. Being your plus one is part of the gig, and I’m more than happy to do it.” Mat lets go of my hand to lift his arm and gesture me over. I gladly accept the warmth as I’m nearly freezing from walking around at night in a light coat while eating ice cream. He hugs me into his side and kisses my cheek gently. I breathe a small laugh as his lips are still cold.
“How do you know if you want to marry someone?” Mat asks out of nowhere. I hesitate for a second, jarred by his candidness.
“Are you asking me specifically or like the general ‘you’?”
“I’m asking you specifically.” I pause to collect my thoughts and Mat watches me carefully.
“...Well…I think for me specifically…I want an equal relationship where I feel like I lean on them as much as they lean on me for support. I want someone who respects my boundaries and knows I’m their partner and not their therapist. Whoever it is will get along with my family and at the very least tolerate my friends,” we share a small laugh amidst the tense moment. “I want someone who understands how I give love and helps me understand how to give them love and- why are you looking at me like that?” Mat barks out a nervous laugh. He takes his arm off of my shoulders and messes with his hair a bit. One of his nervous habits that I’m not sure he realizes he has.
“Do you think… I meet those requirements?” I hesitate but only because I’m trying to remember everything that I said.
“Yes, I think you do.” Mat smiles relieved before taking my hand in his own once more, placing a kiss on the top of it. We continue through the park, heading back to the car when a sudden flash of light catches our attention. Looking to the source, we see that a gazebo covered in christmas lights had previously not been lit. I snap my head around to look at Mat and the look on his face tells me he already knows just how excited I am about it.
“I don’t know how I didn’t notice this before!” I say as I’m pulling Mat along with me. His pace was too casual for the kind of urgency this sight has instilled in me. As we get closer, someone stands up and I stop in my place. I don’t want to impose on someone else’s time with the pretty lights. Opening my mouth to speak, I immediately cut myself off when I recognize the not so unfamiliar stranger.
“Beau?” I ask when he turns around. He looks at me, slightly panicked. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh my god, no way!” I hear a woman’s voice from behind me and Mat. I turn around to see it’s Emma emerging from a weird angle. She’s coming at us from behind rather than from the parking lot or from the shops.
“Long time no see,” I joke, happy to see our friends despite just spending the last three hours with them. “What’s up? Are you guys also on a walk… at the same park?” Beau and Emma share a look before she gestures him over to where she’s standing.
“Yeah, I was telling him about this gazebo because I drove by one night and the lights were just so pretty I wanted to show him.”
“Gotcha. Well if you want, I can take some cute pictures of the two of you!” I offer happily and Emma and Beau share another look.
“That… would be great, thank you! Beau?” She looks at him and nods over to the gazebo. He looks at Mat with the most confused look I’ve ever seen.
“You okay?” I ask as Emma hands me her phone. She has to physically walk over and grab Beau which snaps him back into reality.
“Yeah I’m good,” he replies quietly and walks into the gazebo. Emma barely poses and I’m about to snap the third photo when she breaks away and walks over to get her phone from me.
“That should be good, thank you.”
“Are you sure? I only took like three-”
“Yeah, no, we’re good! Your turn!” She says urgently and nudges me toward the gazebo. I decide not to push back and when I turn to beckon Mat over, he doesn’t follow.
“I’ll hold your coat so you can get outfit pictures first.” I reluctantly nod and then shrug off my jacket. Why is everyone being so weird?
“You gotta hurry because I am FREEZING!” I instruct Emma and she laughs before nodding.
“Copy that.”
“Okay, I want full fit and shoes for some and then just waist up in the others,” I speak quickly before posing and trying not to shiver violently. “Fuuuuuucckk it’s so cold.” All three of them laugh at my dramatics. Mat shakes his head amusedly and then hands my coat to Beau so he can get in the pictures. He wraps an arm around my waist for a few pictures and Emma snaps approximately two before putting on her director hat.
“Okay, Y/n stay where you are. Mat can I have you stand to the side of her but take a tiny little step back?”
“How should I pose without him…?” I ask skeptically. I don’t think I can see the creative vision and I hope Mat is also a little lost so I don’t just look like an idiot. When I turn to see if he’s also puzzled, I don’t get the moment I’m hoping for. Rather than sharing a confused look and laughing about it, I find him placed just out of my line of sight on one knee with one hand tucked into his jacket pocket.
My eyes go wide for a millisecond before welling up so full of tears that I can no longer see. I hold my right hand over my mouth to keep myself from crying harder. Mat has small tears in his eyes as he holds a small velvet box the color of the Isles signature blue.
“Y/n… you are the love of my life. I remember the first time you came over to my apartment. It was date number four. I made us dinner and you went to the bathroom and when you came back you were very anxious.” I laugh through my tears as I recall the evening and how the story went.
“You were acting weird the entire night and when I asked what was wrong, you were silent for a minute before asking if I “actually” used 3-in-1 shampoo. I laughed so hard I nearly cried and from that moment on, I knew you were endgame.” His simple word choice makes me laugh and the swelling of emotions in my chest makes me forget just how cold I was before.
“Y/n Y/l/n, will you marry me?” I begin to sob so uncontrollably that I can’t speak so I just nod an emphatic yes. Mat smiles brightly before taking the ring out of the box and sliding it onto it’s permanent spot on my left hand.
I don’t even wait for him to stand up before grabbing his face and kissing him with the passion only two people madly in love could ever know. He kisses me back and places his hands on my waist. Emma and Beau cheer and I remember they’ve been here the whole time.
“You motherfuckers! You knew, didn’t you?” They laugh at my outburst and confirm my suspicion. Mat rises to his full height and when he’s standing I playfully shove his chest. “That’s why you were being so weird today!”
“How does it feel to be engaged, man?” Beau asks and Mat huffs a long sigh.
“I don’t know, I think I blacked out.”
#NHL imagine#NHL hockey#NHL x reader#nhl fanfiction#Mat Barzal#Mat Barzal fanfiction#Mat Barzal fanfic#Mat Barzal fic#Mat Barzal writing#Mat Barzal imagine#Mat Barzal oneshot#Mat Barzal one shot#Mat Barzal fluff#Mat Barzal smut#Mat Barzal angst#Mat Barzal x reader#Mat Barzal x y/n#Mathew Barzal#Mathew Barzal fanfiction#Mathew Barzal fanfic#Mathew Barzal fic#Mathew Barzal writing#Mathew Barzal imagine#Mathew Barzal oneshot#Mathew Barzal one shot#Mathew Barzal x reader#Mathew Barzal x y/n#Mathew Barzal fluff#Mathew Barzal smut#Mathew Barzal angst
497 notes
·
View notes
Text
bad reaction pt. 2 - mat barzal (au #2)
part one has been dubbed the 'bad reaction mat fic', so here's the second au of part two loll. here's the first au of part two! this kinda sucks, but it's not supposed to be a happy ending so yeah
gif not mine!
it was quiet. too quiet.
you peered an eye open, trying to listen to any sound of noise in the apartment. you couldn't.
suspicious, you got to your feet, making your way down the hall and into your son's room. finding it empty, you suppressed a groan.
if he was awake and not making noise, it meant something was happening. something you wouldn't be happy about.
you silently headed down the hallway and towards the living room, mentally preparing yourself to clean up whatever mess nico had made this time. he was a rowdy kid. always making noise, breaking lamps, or creating messes.
but he had a heart of gold.
"nico," you called out your son's name a little hesitantly.
"in here, mama!" he responded.
you followed his voice to the living room, stopping in your tracks at the sight on the t.v. screen.
it had been years - six years - and that time had seemed to do mat well. he hadn't shaved recently, growing out a bit of scruff, and his brown eyes were just as lovely as you remembered.
he was in the middle of giving an intermission interview, answering the reporter with the standard responses.
"he shoots... he scores!" nico's voice broke your trance.
nico had taken the broom from the kitchen and was holding it as if it was a hockey stick. the tennis ball he was using as a puck slammed into the leg of the coffee table, adding another dent.
you shook your head to yourself, reaching for the remote to turn the t.v. off.
"no, mama wait!" nico called out. "i wanna watch the hockey game."
"it's a repeat, bubba," you told him. "the islanders already won. besides, i thought you didn't like hockey."
"i changed my mind," he shrugged simply. "but leave it, i wanna watch."
despite your heart aching at the sound of mat's voice - no matter how monotone it was - you gave in to your son's wishes, leaving the game on. insisting on turning the t.v. off would only make him suspicious.
the last thing you needed was for anyone to find out who nico's dad was.
--
tags:@woodruff-edwards , @austinbutlerscaresme , @svechnikovvv , @hockeyboysarehot , @emptyflowerpots , @mysticaldonkey , @lam-ila , @babydollmarauders , @starjoyyy , @kjohnson-91 , @gavinbrindley, @hischierdevils , @jackhughesily , @panarin10 , @equallyshaw , @power2myheart , @lynnismypseudonym , @beccaiscold , @akengii , @hischierhaze, @cinnamonpancakes , @mitchymainer , @lifeofpriya , @marshmallow-babe, @hughesx3 , @emsully2002 , @starsandhughes , @huggy-hischier73 , @doglady5678 , @thatoneblog , @exonct07 @hughesmedicine , @qwanelledingele , @mindless-rock , @ireadthensuetheauthors , @huggy-hischier94, @slaythehousedownboots , @diary-of-jj , @youunravelme
#mathew barzal#mathew barzal one shot#mathew barzal x reader#mathew barzal imagines#mathew barzal imagine#mathew barzal#mat barzal x oc#mat barzal#mat barzal imagine#mat barzal imagines#mat barzal oneshot#new york islanders x reader#new york islanders imagines#new york isles#naqia writes!
168 notes
·
View notes
Text
Vineyard Adventures
mat barzal x model!fem!reader
a visceral in doses fic
warnings: steamy, makeouts, touching, mentions of smut related topics, consumption of alcohol, and i think that’s all
You were one full glass and many samples of wine deep into your date with Mat. He had signed the both of you up for a wine tasting and lunch in Tuscany, Italy. He thought it would be a nice opportunity to have a childless date- as your son was with Beverly. It wasn’t something Mat and you could always do when you both had busy schedules and a one year old.
There were different variations of cheese and fruits to pair with all the different wines; it was something you took advantage of, so you could keep yourself from getting tipsy too fast.
You were having such a good time. There were other people taking part in the experience, but it made it better because you got to meet new people. Plus, the weather was perfect. The sun was shining, leaving a dust of pink on your cheeks, and the breeze blew through the air, making everything feel fresh.
The set up was very beautiful. Right now, you were seated at a long table, trying the first round of samples of dry wine and picking which one you wanted to have as your drink. Later, you’d take a group tour of the vineyard before making your way back to the table to have a very large lunch.
As said before, you’re trying to drink slowly, wanting to actually remember this day, and not wanting to come home plastered to a child that you still had to care for. So, you were sipping from your wine glass and talking to a lady sitting across from you. Mat, well he was in awe with you. He listened as you laughed with the people you were talking to, the melodious sound made him melt. Your hair was down and each time the wind blew he could smell your musky perfume. One of your hands was placed in his lap, holding one of his hands. He could feel the vibrations from your laughs, making him feel even more connected to you. Every now and then you’d lean into Mat, and he enjoyed the feel of your silky, sun kissed skin.
“Mat?” You whisper to him, breaking him out of his trance.
You had noticed that he was quiet and off in his own world, so you wanted to make sure he was fine.
“Yeah?” He says, brows frowned in concern that something might be wrong.
You adjust yourself in your chair so that you’re faced more towards him, and lay your palm on his cheek to gain all of his attention.
“You’ve been quiet for a while, just wanted to make sure everything was alright,” you explain.
He just gives you that gorgeous smile that never fails to make you blush, and assures you that everything is fine.
“Are you sure? Is it because I’m talking to other people while we’re technically on a date? Oh my god! I didn’t even realize. I’m sorry; I’m not trying to ignore you,” you blurt out under your breath, only loud enough for Mat to hear.
“No, babe. I promise it’s okay. I’m actually enjoying seeing you talk with the others. I love looking at you like this,” he says with a small chuckle and grin.
“Like what?”
You really didn’t understand how much Mat adored looking at you and just listening to your voice. Of course you knew how much he admired you, but you never really noticed just how much attention he paid to you. You had him hanging on your every word, since the very first time he met you.
“Your personality shining through, willing to let anyone see just how beautiful you are, inside and out,” he whispers in your ear. He had moved his chair even closer to yours, and moved so that he invaded your space.
You tilt your head into his out of shyness of his kind words. He just presses a loving kiss to your pulse point on your neck.
“I love you,” you mutter into the skin of his cheek before staring into his eyes, and moving them to look at his lips.
“I love you,” he says and happily gives you the kiss you wanted.
An hour goes by and you’ve downed almost two more glasses of wine. You’re not drunk, but you’re starting to feel lighter, and your want for Mat grows stronger.
You had to sit in your chair and watch his every movement. The way his nose would crinkle when he’d laugh to the way he draped an arm over your chair, letting his fingertips glide against your shoulder which sent chills throughout your entire body. It got even more unbearable when you’d watch him drink from his wine glass. It doesn’t sound like something sexy, but you knew he wasn’t a big fan of wine like you were, so him planning this date with your interests in mind and him drinking wine with you, was incredibly attractive. It didn’t help that he would lick his lips after every drink he took.
For his amazing efforts, you’d be attending a basketball game with him when the season starts. You will even take him to his favorite restaurant, and just treat him to whatever he wanted because he definitely deserves it.
When it’s time for the group tour to start, you are tipsy. Something you hadn’t been since you had your baby. Mat holds onto your hand a little tighter, always needing to protect you.
At different spots where the tour guide talks about the history of the place, they hand out even more samples of different wines. You couldn’t deny any of them, and when you found your favorite of the bunch, you were given a glass full. You did share your first glass with Mat, though. The second glass was all yours, so by the time you were almost done with the tour, you were a little passed tipsy. You knew how told hold your alcohol, but this was meant to be relaxing for you, so you let yourself indulge.
“Maty,” you sigh out as you grip Mat’s bicep.
“Yeah, baby?” He tucks a piece of your hair behind your ear and it makes you swoon.
You giggle, momentarily forgetting what you wanted to ask him. You have to think for a couple of minutes before it finally comes back to you.
“Is this thing almost finished?” You whisper into his ear.
“Umm… I’m not sure, why?” He asks.
“Kiss me,” you don’t give him time to respond, you just simply stand in front of him and lean into his body, attaching your lips to his. You’re both so caught up, you don’t even care that you’re now separated from the group.
Mat comes to his senses and separates from you, causing you to pout.
His hands that were on your waist are now holding onto your hands. He looks around behind you and then behind himself. You want to ask what he was doing, but before you get the chance to, he’s guiding you to an empty, dim lit hallway. You smirk in response and follow him willingly.
“Maty,” you whisper into the silence. The silence that was way too loud, filled with the buzzing lust lurking in every corner of your bodies.
He pulls you flush against him, one hand gripping your hip and the other holding the back of your neck. Both of your hands are pressed against his torso, relishing in the feeling of his rock hard muscles tensing under your touch.
You stare at each other for a while, imagining what you both could be doing if you were behind closed doors, and on a comfortable bed. You know that his head would be buried between your legs, eating you out until you were a squirming mess. You squeeze your thighs together at the thought and that catches Mat’s attention. He dips his head down, secretly trying to hide his smirk, and drags his nose along the side of your neck all the way down to your collarbones, smelling your musky perfume that you always use. He didn’t care that the halter neck of your dress made it a little more difficult.
“Oh you think your slick, huh, hotshot?” You ask, feeling his not so well hidden smirk.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mat answers.
When you start to reply, he’s already pressing kisses all over your neck, causing the words to die on your tongue.
You bring your hands to his back, wanting so badly to rip his shirt off. For now you just let your hands grip the material tightly.
Mat feels your nails trying not to dig in his skin, so he decides to tempt you even more. Both hands travel down the length of your silky, pink dress and continue down to your smooth legs. The feeling of his rough hands softly traveling down your body makes you hot, desire flowing through your veins and settling in your core. You lift a leg up and set it on Mat’s waist as a way to bring him even closer to you.
For a moment you both just stay still. You look into each other’s eyes and just float in the warmth and want that’s taken over. Mat brings a hand up to caress your cheek, his thumb rubbing your bottom lip. His eyes move lower, watching your chest move with every erratic breath you take. You love being the center of his attention, so you wait for the perfect moment to suck on his thumb, and when you do, his eyes are flashing to yours. Your tongue wraps around his digit and you make sure to make a show of sucking it, small moans and hums falling from your mouth. When he pulls his finger out of your mouth, he’s quick to crash his lips on yours, sucking on your bottom lip.
Mat moves you further down the hallway where there’s barely any light. It’s filled with boxes and might be dusty, but none of you cared enough to leave.
The lip lock gets sloppier and rougher. You wouldn’t be surprised if there would be bruises on your lips afterwards.
“Maty,” you whine when he moves away.
“Look at what I found,” he says, showing you a bottle of wine that you had no idea where he got it.
The label reads “Capezzana: Vin Santo Di Carmignano Riserva.” You had never heard of it before, and it wasn’t one of the sample you had earlier.
Mat opens the bottle, as it had already been opened, and brings the bottle to your lips.
You allow him to pour some in your mouth, and you have to restrain yourself from taking your clothes off and letting him have his way with you. The look in his eyes was dark and so sexy.
After your small drink, Mat sets the bottle down and kisses you again.
“Fuck,” Mat whines at the sweet taste left on your tongue. It’s so good he can’t resist the chance of sucking on your tongue when his lips are back on yours.
Your hands abandoned his neck and are now satisfied with being buried in his hair, pulling on the soft strands.
“What has gotten into you?” You ask.
“You’re so sexy and just seeing you enjoy yourself after the stressful year you’ve had; I love seeing you happy,” Mat whispers.
You pout and become a puddle of mush at his sweet words. You were so appreciative of how much Mat had stepped up- especially with a busy hockey season. He was the best father, after all the fears he had, and he was the best partner you could ask for.
“How about you, hotshot? You’re sexy, drinking wine with me even though you hate it,” you speak into his lips.
Mat’s hold on your waist tightens and he buries his head in your neck. He sometimes got shy whenever you would compliment him with sincerity. His hands travel up your back, stopping just below your shoulder blades. It was his quiet way of making the moment sweet.
You slot your lips with his, savoring the way this kiss was softer, slower, but just as intimate as the others shared. Once the kiss turns into pecks, he presses them from your jaw to your cheek, making you giggle.
“We should probably head back,” he tells you.
“If we must,” you groan out.
He leads you back to the table, hand in hand, your hair looking a bit disheveled and your lips plump from all the kissing. You have to keep yourself from looking into the eyes of all the others. They didn’t need to know what just happened, and you didn’t want to think about the looks you were probably getting.
“Nice of you all to join us,” the tour guide says as we sit in our seats.
Mat smirks and I just smile and nod. Hopefully no one would post about it online, not that they really knew what happened.
Mat and you get through lunch with only little embarrassment from the knowing looks you both were getting, but besides that, everything was lovely. You continued to chat and laugh, and even allowed yourself to practically sit on Mat’s lap for most of it. You didn’t need to care about what the others were thinking.
Mat even surprised you when he flagged down one of the servers to request something.
“Can we each have a glass of Vin Santo Di Carmignano Riserva, please?”
You look at him surprised, not expecting him to ask for that certain wine. When you make eye contact with him, he shoots you a wink and a small smirk, making your heart pound faster, wanting to escape into his hands. He always knows how to make you feel giddy.
“I would actually like to buy two bottles,” Mat says when the wine was brought out to the both of you. You just let out a laugh and pull him away from his conversation to give him a loving kiss. You loved your man so much.
a/n: This part is set in the future bc if you noticed, I mentioned that they have a one year old, so say 4 years into the relationship. I hope you all enjoy!!!
#mat barzal#mat barzal blurb#mat barzal fanfiction#mat barzal fic#mat barzal fluff#mat barzal imagine#mat barzal x reader#mat barzal smut#nhl imagine#nhl fic#nhl smut#nhl fanfiction#nhl one shot#new york islanders#visceral in doses
216 notes
·
View notes
Text
blue moon, insta edit w mat barzal. imagine link:
—
@lucy.barzal: from then to now…what a difference 2 years can make 🤍 #BarzalTime
Tag: matbarzal
Location: the plaza hotel
•
@lucybestfriend: YOURE OFFICIALLY A MRS
@lucybestfriend: I CANT HANDLE IT
@devonsimons: no longer a simon big sis 🥲
↳ @lucy.barzal: I love u forever little buddy 🫶🏻
@joshuasimon: party. Of. The. Century.
↳ @matildasimon-hanks: RUDE
↳ @lucy.barzal: I’m biased now so I can’t support u hehe
@matbarzal: my love forever and ever 🤍
↳ @lucy.barzal: 🥹🥹
↳ @lianabarzal: ew gross
↳ @deconsimons: tell me about it lol
@anderslee: so much fun, congrats you two kids 🥳
↳ @lucy.barzal: Thankyou LEE!
↳ titobeauvi91: favs
↳ @emmasimard: LOVE YOU
↳ @lucy.barzal: uh that’s awkward, @mattmartin and @sydneymartin are my favs ….
↳ @mattmartin: take that Tito
@tysonjost: congrats buds
↳ @lucy.barzal: feel so honored by your presence 🫡
↳ @tysonjost: u should be
@victorsimon: congrats you two! Welcome to the fam @matbarzal
↳ @matbarzal: so grateful for you all !
—
@matbarzal: mannnnn, am i a lucky husband #BarzalTime
Tag: Lucy.barzal
Location: the plaza hotel
•
@lucy.barzal: FIRST COMMENT
@lucy.barzal: CAN U FOLLOW & LIKE
↳ @titobeauvi91: we love a good troll
↳ @tysonjost: ur a little pest
@anderslee: king 👑
@joshuasimon: welcome tot he fam bro !
↳ @matbarzal: we still need a re do on that game
↳ @joshuasimon: still amazed I beat you
↳ @matbarzal: don’t remind me
@matildasimon-hanks: congrats you two!!! Can’t wait for Hawaii in Jan! 🤞🏻
↳ @lucy.barzal: only you would wish mat to not make all star💀
↳ @matbarzal: atleast she’s honest lolol
@devonsimon: FaceTime soon?¿ ft soon?
↳ @matbarzal: ft soon.
@devonsimon: u got games on ur phone?
↳ @mattmartin: simon = professional trollers
—
Hope you all enjoyed! I don’t really know everybody on the islanders so I hope I got everybody right lol
Please like a repost!
random tags: @matbaerzal @barzysunflower @barzal @rosesvioletshardy @canuckshuggy @bitchinbarzal @andreburakozy @jayda12
#mat barzal#mat barzal x oc#mat barzal imagine#nhl#hockey#nhl imagine#hockey imagine#nhl one shot#hockey one shot#New York Islanders#equallyshaw masterlist
80 notes
·
View notes
Text
there’s nothing better than scouring your docs to see if you have any unfinished pieces of writing (too many) and then coming across something you have NO recollection of writing whatsoever and then reading it and literally smiling the entire time
#my multi chapter unfinished sidney crosby fic that idk what to keep writing for#but there’s also the unfinished multi chapter of mitch marner based on tis the damn season#and a really long mat barzal wedding one#a couple of one shots with nico#and Mat again as well as Matthew tkachuk#I just need inspiration and DESPERATELY#I also have extensive ideas for an Ethan edwards kind of tutoring one as well
8 notes
·
View notes
Text
the worst wing-woman
author's note: just like all my other fics, we are existing in an alternate plane where tito was never traded. also i've never worked for the nhl, so i have no idea how accurate being a photographer is but guess what. idgaf. also sorry for the amount of italics in this fic, i have no self control apparently. and shoutout to my new friend @dani746 for helping me with this monstrosity.
summary: you've been in love with mat barzal for as long as you can remember, so what do you do when he asks for your help to win over your friend?
pairing: mat barzal x islanders photographer!reader
warnings: cursing and low self esteem
despite working for the isles for two years now, you still got nervous walking into work.
you weren't a stranger to the team, some of them you knew quite well. anders and marty being two players you were friendly with (mainly due to the fact that you were somewhat friendly with their wives). but there was always one player who eluded you, who you'd only ever had professional interactions with.
mathew barzal.
and it shouldn't be surprising, you were a measly photographer whereas he was the star player of his team, the winner of the calder trophy, an nhl heartthrob. why should he pay attention to you?
media day was one of your favorite days, mainly because it was the closest you ever got to holding full conversations with him. not that the conversations went anything beyond "look right here" or "great job, mat."
you didn't even think he knew your name.
the longest conversation you had with him consisted of him asking to see the photos you took and patting you on your back when he liked what he saw before he went off to talk to tito.
"you having a good day?" you nearly jumped a foot in the air when your staring was cut off by anders walking up to you.
"yeah," you said when your heartbeat returned to normal. "just busy is all." you held your camera up as if that was enough of an explanation.
anders nodded. "any of the boys giving you a hard time?"
you shook your head rapidly. "nope, they've all been on their best behavior."
"even barzy and beauvillier?" at the mention of their names, the duo turned their heads and locked eyes with you and anders.
you wanted to dig a hole and die in it.
"what about us?" mat asked, sauntering over with his best friend right behind him.
"you haven't been giving her a hard time, have you?" anders crossed his arms. and if you weren't panicking at the closing distance between you and mat, you might've noticed the shared smirk between the three hockey players in front of you.
"us?" tito asked. "why would you think that? we've only ever been angels."
before anders could ask you to corroborate tito's story, your name was called. you awkwardly waved to the three men before walking over to another set of props, ready to photograph another hockey player.
"done embarrassing yourself?" your coworker tyler asked.
you lightly shoved his shoulder. "shut up."
"seriously, you're not his type," he added. "he's not gonna go for you."
tyler might as well have stabbed you in the gut with how much his words hurt you, but you put a smile on and nodded. "yeah, i know. i know."
and you did.
you knew.
but you'd be delusional for a little while longer if it meant going to work wouldn't suck every day.
later that night, you found yourself at a bar with a group of your friends. you didn't want to go originally, but when alexa said she needed to go out to get over her ex, you felt like you had no other choice.
which is how you found yourself sipping a soda water in a booth while your friends danced and took body shots.
your gaze wandered around the bar aimlessly before you checked your phone for the time.
you'd only been there for an hour.
it took all self restraint not to bang your head against the table.
"having fun?" your head snapped up at the familiar voice only to see anthony beauvillier standing at the edge of your booth with a self satisfied smirk.
"i--"
"i didn't take you as one to go out drinking on a weeknight," he said.
you slumped into your seat. "i'm not. my friend alexa wanted to go out because her boyfriend just dumped her and she wanted a distraction."
anthony took the seat opposite of you. "and that is...?" he gestured at your drink.
"soda water," you answered. "i'm the DD for tonight."
"oof," he groaned before taking a sip of his beer. "that's rough."
you shrugged. "it's not that bad, i'd rather my friends get home safe than get drunk and show up to work hungover."
anthony nodded in a way that you'd seen other men do, the type of nod that comes right before someone looks around for someone more interesting to talk to.
"but what about you?" you rushed out, nearly tripping over your own words.
tito smiled. "what about me?"
"why're you here?"
he shrugged. "mat wanted to come out and didn't want to go out alone, so here i am."
mat.
you wanted to vomit.
"oh," you mumbled. "mat's here?"
tito nodded and gestured with his bottle to the bar. "he's over there talking to some brunette."
you followed with your eyes and when you finally locked eyes on him, you wished you hadn't.
he was talking to alexa, smiling at her the way you wished he'd smile at you.
maybe you could leave the bar and get hit by a taxi on the way out, that would be less painful than seeing the man you're in love with flirt with your friend.
"you okay?" anthony asked, nudging your leg with his foot.
you turned your gaze back to him and attempted to give him your most convincing smile. "i'm great!" you said before throwing your soda water back and coughing when the carbonation burned.
anthony didn't say a word.
when you looked back at the bar, alexa was nowhere to be found while mat was fiddling with one of his wristbands. you looked around to find alexa, thinking maybe she was in the crowd dancing or perhaps she was in line for the bathroom.
but she popped up at your table, sweaty and smiling.
"you good?" she asked before fixing her eyes on anthony who was sipping on his beer. "who's this?"
"anthony. i know him from work." tito gave her a small wave before taking another sip of his beer.
"alexa," she smiled before her attention focused back on you. "i actually met one of your coworkers, mat right?"
you forced a smile and nodded. "the one and only. what did you think?" though, to be fair, you didn't really want to know her opinion on him. not when you thought the world of him.
alexa shrugged and tossed her perfect hair over her perfect shoulder and gave a perfect smile that was a healthy balance of nonchalant and mildly interested. "he was alright, he knows he's attractive which is rather unattractive if you ask me."
tito choked on his beer while you stared in awe.
of all the words you'd use to describe mat, "alright" was not even close to the top 25.
"something funny?" alexa asked.
"nope," tito supplied, shaking his head. "nothing at all."
alexa looked at him, unconvinced, but didn't let it bother her. "i'm gonna go dance, you coming?" she asked.
you shook your head. "not really my scene."
alexa nodded and pranced off to the dance floor where the rest of your friends were grinding on strangers to the tune of some 2000s pop song.
"she's a delight," tito said.
you sighed. "she's practically miss america." you were too busy staring at her having fun to notice another person walk up to your booth until he was standing right in front of you with a question posed on the tip of his lips.
mat.
your mouth went dry at the sight of him.
"you know her?" he gestured over his shoulder to where alexa was laughing with one of your friends.
you nodded.
"are you two close?"
you shrugged.
mat sighed. "are you capable of speaking?"
tito spoke up. "mat, you just bombarded her without a single hello, chill."
mat pinched the bridge of his nose. "sorry, i just--she rejected me and i don't know why."
"you're too attractive and you know it," you blurted out before you could stop yourself. you quickly slapped a hand over your mouth like that would stop any other bullshit that might come out.
mat tilted his head and leaned in. "huh?"
"her words, not mine," you said like it would absolve you of any guilt.
"what do you mean by being 'too attractive' and 'knowing it'? how does that even make sense?"
you shrugged for what felt like the twelfth time that night. "alexa's not really into guys who are obsessed with their appearances. she just got out of a relationship with a guy like that," you explained.
mat ran a hand down his face before placing both hands on his waist. "so what do you suggest i do?" he groaned.
"i--"
he snapped his fingers and looked at you for what felt like the first time. it sent a chill down your spine that you had a problem suppressing. "can you help me?"
your mouth dropped open. "huh?"
"you're friends, right? can you help me win her over?"
you could list about a thousand other things you'd rather do. you could think of five just off the top of your head.
but he looked so earnest and willing and how could anyone possibly resist him when he looked at you like that--
"of course!" you smiled.
of course?! yes would've sufficed but now you've got him thinking you'd enjoy this. which you most certainly wouldn't.
oh who were you kidding? all attention was good attention when it came to mat barzal and you'd give anything to keep him looking at you.
"thank you!" he smiled before clapping tito on the shoulder. "ready to head out?"
anthony nodded before addressing you. "i had a nice time. see you tomorrow?"
you smiled and nodded, giving them both a small wave as they walked away. the second they were out the door, you thumped your head against the table.
playing wing-woman for mathew barzal.
what the fuck was wrong with you?
how to be a wing-woman: a guide
usually when you went to work, you kept your head down and stayed out of the way. occasionally, you'd run into anders or marty, or maybe even tito, who would say their polite hellos, but for the most part you stayed out of the way during practices.
you were looking at the photos you just took when someone banged on the glass. a quick glance (that turned into a double take) let you figure out it was mat based on the 13 on his jersey and the fact that you could pick him out of a crowd anywhere.
he waved and smiled (and you might've died inside). "can i talk to you after practice?"
you nodded frantically before gaining a semblance of self respect and slowing down.
"great! meet you outside of the locker rooms!" he said before skating away.
"what was that about?" tyler asked. you turned, not even realizing he'd made his way towards you considering you thought he was on the other side of the arena.
"what? can't i talk to the players?"
tyler laughed. actually laughed. "considering barzal has never so much as looked at you, i'd say him approaching you during practice is pretty strange."
your shoulders sunk at the weight of the truth. "if you must know," you started. "he wants to date one of my friends, so i'm helping him out."
tyler laughed again and walked away without saying another word while you scrolled through the photos you took again until practice ended.
you headed towards the locker rooms only when the last player had been off the ice for ten minutes, you didn't want to chance waiting around too long looking like an idiot.
as you waited, you made a mental note of all the editing you'd have to do when you got back to your cubicle. you got a few good shots earlier, but they'd need some tweaking before you sent them to the social media team. in fact--
"hey, what're you doing here?" you glanced up and saw anders, hair wet from whatever brief shower he took.
you shrugged, not sure if it was your place to give away mat's intentions. "just waiting around."
"for?" he pushed.
"barzy needs her to play wing-woman," tito said from over anders' shoulders. "he wants to get with her friend, but her friend isn't interested."
anders threw his head back and laughed. "barzy not getting a girl? that's fucking hilarious."
tito smirked. "tell him what your friend said" he told you.
"she doesn't like that he knows he's attractive," you mumbled.
if it was even possible, anders laughed even louder. "un-fucking-believable."
"what's so funny?" mat walked up, running a hand through his damp hair.
you said "nothing" at the same time anders asked "you got rejected, barzy?"
mat's face dropped before looking at you and tito accusingly. anthony sighed and nudged his best friend. "chill out, barz. she didn't bring it up, i did."
mat's shoulders relaxed before he punched tito in the arm. "dick," he mumbled.
anders looked between the three of you and sighed. "i don't have time for this shit," he said. "i'll see you later." and he was off down the hallway.
"so what's the plan for today?" tito asked.
"you're not included," mat said. his gaze focused on you. "can i have your number?"
you blinked. "what?"
mat laughed a little and you could feel heat and shame running up your spine. he asked you one fucking question and you had to go act like a weirdo. "so i can text you? i think we should sit down and create a strategy."
you nodded and read off your number as he typed it into his phone. "great," he gave you his megawatt smile. "i'll text you."
"okay," you breathed out as he walked away without a thought.
tito kept standing there, smirking to himself. "you're so fucked," he said.
you nodded because there was nothing else to say.
step one: talk him up
you and mat got lunch two days later on a saturday when he didn't have a game. it was rather surreal, sitting across from him in public. the delusional part of you was begging you to imagine this as a date instead of a meeting to set your friend up with mat.
when did your life turn into something so pathetic?
"okay," he started. "tell me about your friend."
you would rather do anything else.
"she just got out of a long term relationship with this guy named jared. he was a bit self absorbed which is probably why she didn't like you knowing how hot you are." you paused as the words left your mouth, ready to set yourself on fire if he reacted. but he didn't, he only leaned in closer to listen. "she uh--she likes daffodils and goes to the farmer's market at union square every saturday."
"but what's she like?" he asked. "what's her personality?"
how would you say she's the trademarked cool girl? the girl every guy wanted, that mat was one man in a long list of men who tried and failed to win her over.
"she's sweet and affectionate," you started. "she pretty girly on the outside but knows her way around a car. she grew up with three older brothers so she knows a fair bit about sports, just not hockey, but if you wanted to talk stats about football or basketball, she's your girl. in college, she held the record for fastest shotgun in her sorority."
you racked your brain for more information about your friend, but it was difficult under pressure to sum up someone you'd known since freshman year of college.
"what else?" mat asked.
"she's a bit of a partier, but knows how to settle down and just chill. she's a really good friend, like last year i dated this guy who was cheating on me the entire duration of our relationship, which i should've known about because he said he had to go on business trips all the time but he worked as a barista, and she held me while i cried for three days straight and even threatened to fuck up his car."
mat stared at you without saying anything in a way that made you want to sink into a hole, never to be seen again. "you dated a barista and thought he needed to go on business trips?"
you blinked. "that's what you got from that? me dating a shitty barista?"
he shrugged. "i heard everything else, but that was definitely the funniest part. how long did you date him?"
"six months," you replied quickly. "but that's not the point! alexa is going to play hard to get because she doesn't want anything too serious right now."
"great! neither do i!"
"but she's not a one night stand kind of girl anymore. so if you want her, you have to prove to her you can be serious enough for a relationship but not serious enough that you get clingy and overbearing and propose within six months."
mat blinked at you. "how the hell does that make sense?"
"believe me, there's a balance."
he sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. "and you would know this how?"
"well i uh--" you sputtered. your nerves were only encouraged by his light chuckling. "all girls know these things! we don't want overly possessive boyfriends but we also want someone to care. it shouldn't be that hard to comprehend."
"it's not," he defended. "just a little...complicated, don't you think?"
"alexa's a complicated girl!"
he sighed and ran a hand down his face. "okay so how do i show her i mean business but that i'm not looking to settle down and get married?"
"i guess i could talk you up to her in passing conversation?"
"what would you tell her? we don't know each other very well."
"i know more than you think!"
"please, share with the class."
shit.
do you confess that in the two years you'd worked for the islanders that you watched him borderline obsessively?
"well, i know you're good with kids, if your interactions with young fans is anything to go by. you don't like dogs, which is a bit of a red flag in my book, but alexa shouldn't mind. you're a fantastic hockey player, and a great teammate."
"is that enough to convince her?"
you grimaced and shook your head. "she's a bit more personable. she one time broke up with a guy because he was rude to waitstaff. she would want to know how you treat non millionaires and authority figures. for instance, how much do you tip a server?"
"25%," he replied. "but why does that matter?"
"alexa used to be a server throughout college and couldn't stand people who she knew had money but would cheap out on the tip because she didn't greet them fast enough."
mat opened his mouth, presumably to ask another question, when his phone started ringing. "shit," he mumbled. "listen, i gotta go. it was nice talking to you, i'll be in touch." he pulled out a few twenty dollar bills and put them on the table before getting up and walking away.
you waited for the server to come back before paying the bill and told them to keep the change before you got up and walked home.
when you got back to your apartment, alexa was already standing at the door, waiting to be let in.
"finally," she said. "i was wondering when you were gonna come home."
"you could've texted me," you said while unlocking the door.
she followed you inside and shut the door behind her. "i could've, but your phone was on do not disturb for some reason, so i doubt my texts would've gone through in time. where were you anyway?"
"getting lunch with a friend from work," you replied.
alexa groaned as she all but collapsed onto your couch. "please tell me it's not tyler. i hate how he treats you."
you dropped your bag by the door and headed back to your room, but not before calling over your shoulder. "he's not that bad, he's like that to everyone!"
"doesn't make it any better!"
you changed into some comfortable clothing before joining alexa on your couch. "did you have fun the other night when we went out to the bar?"
alexa looked at you weirdly.
shit. you must not have been as subtle as you thought.
"i did," she said. "but what makes you ask."
you shrugged. "i know it's been rough with your breakup lately, but i saw you talking to mat and you looked happy."
alexa groaned and sunk into the couch. "i thought we talked about this already. he knows he's attractive, it's such a turn off. you should've seen the way he was talking, it was like he knew that if he gave me a look, i'd be going home with him."
"well he's really nice, i promise! you should see him with kids at the stadium--"
"you mean the kids who idolize him? yeah i bet he's real nice to them."
okay, switch strategies.
"he tips waitstaff really well!"
"with what he makes? he better." alexa sighed. "listen, i'd be more impressed if he could tell me anything about you, but seeing as you've worked there for two years and he couldn't tell me anything other than your name the other night says all i need to know about him. so can we talk about something else?"
you nodded, ignoring the jutting pain in your chest at her words. you knew well enough that mat knew nothing about you, why would he? but to hear it come from the mouth of someone else stung.
getting them together was gonna be harder than you originally thought.
step two: get them interacting
you were dreading the next time you saw mat for the first time in your life. you were in your cubicle editing photos from the game that night to be posted tomorrow to distract yourself from the inevitable conversation you'd have to have with him. tyler, unfortunately got the shot that was posted immediately to the islanders' instagram account to celebrate their win over the rangers and he had no problem letting you know it. and while it was annoying, it served as a great distraction from your other problem.
"maybe you'll get it next time," he sneered as he packed his bag. most days you hated the fact that you were cubicle neighbors, but neither of you were powerful enough to request moving spaces. and even if you could, you knew it would just make you look hard to work with.
"have a good night, tyler," you replied, not even wanting to give him any ammo to use against you.
the door shut behind him with a click, locking you into sweet sweet silence.
until a minute later when your phone went off with a text message.
mat barzal: where ru?
mat barzal: wanna go to a bar with me and tito and you can bring alexa?
you scoffed. "you can bring alexa," you mocked under your breath. "like that's not the sole reason for you asking me to go out tonight." you packed your bag up and shot a quick text to alexa, asking if she wanted to go out. she replied with an immediate yes, asking where to meet you, which prompted you to reach out to mat who sent you an address in response.
which is how you ended up on a sidewalk in front of an incredibly busy bar with alexa next to you.
"i've never been here," she remarked. "how'd you hear about it?"
"oh, a coworker mentioned it," you said in what was hopefully a nonchalant manner.
she looked at you a moment too long before grabbing your hand and pulling you inside. "you find us a place to sit and i'll grab our drinks!" she shouted over the music.
you quickly looked around for mat and tito, the former who'd texted you the second they arrived. you saw a head of dark hair and immediately knew it was mat. you hurried over, panting when you arrived from having to shove your way towards them.
"you made it!" anthony said. you looked at him and mat, eyes bouncing back and forth between them, when you realized your first problem.
they were sitting on opposite sides of the booth.
which meant you would have to sit with one of them, and alexa would have to sit with the other. if mat had it his way, he'd sit next to alexa, but you knew your friend wouldn't have that. she'd feel manipulated and uncomfortable.
"is there a problem?" tito asked.
you gestured to the booth. "alexa will want to sit by me. she's still not convinced about you, mat."
mat, to his credit, didn't look shocked or offended, he just shrugged and moved to tito's side. "this work?" he asked as you sat down.
you nodded.
"so what's the plan? how should i approach this?" he asked.
"keep the conversation on her, when she tries to turn it on you or about your career, focus on other people, applaud your teammates, your coaches, but whatever you do, don't talk about yourself too much. she already thinks you have a big ego."
"to be fair," tito started. "he does."
mat didn't even dignify that with a response. "so keep the conversation on her and others, got it."
alexa found you a moment later and didn't do a great job covering up her disinterest in sitting with mat and beau.
"i couldn't find anywhere to sit," you explained.
alexa didn't buy it if her eyes bouncing around the bar to find empty tables said anything. but she sat next to you anyway, placing your drink in front of you.
"you remember mat and anthony from the other night, right?" you asked.
she just hummed and took a sip of her drink.
"so, alexa," mat started. "what do you do for a living?"
she stared at him and sighed. "i'm a vet tech," she said, but offered no other information.
"she especially loves the cats," you added.
"cats are great!" mat said a little too enthusiastically.
alexa drained the rest of her glass and got up, leaving the three of you behind.
the second she was gone, beau broke into laughter, slapping his own chest. "that was fucking hilarious," he said.
"yeah yeah yeah, laugh it up," mat grumbled, swirling his cup around instead of making eye contact with anyone.
"i'm serious, i don't think i've ever seen you fail so quickly. it's kind of amazing."
mat focused his eyes on you. "what did i do wrong? i tried asking about her life and she seemed wholly uninterested."
you shrugged. "i don't know! maybe she feels cornered?"
tito took a sip of his beer. "i think you need to workshop this. clearly, neither of you thought this through."
you groaned and rested your head on the table.
this was already harder than you anticipated.
step three: reevaluate and regroup
you met mat in a booth of a coffee shop after you got off work. he was staring at his phone when you walked in, completely unaware that you even existed.
which wasn't abnormal considering you didn't even think he knew who you were a few months ago. but the second the barista called your order out, his head whipped up.
you could've sworn time stopped at that moment.
you made your way towards him and plopped down in the booth opposite of him.
"hi," you smiled. "what's up?"
"i don't know what to do, she doesn't seem interested in me." he groaned into his hands before running one of them through his hair.
god he was so attractive.
you snapped out of your reverie. "listen, you've got what it takes, we just need to reevaluate our strategy. i think the bar thing was a bad idea, she felt ambushed and it probably set us back a little, but i have an idea."
he leaned his forearms on the table. "let's hear it."
"practice dates," you said.
mat blinked once. twice. a third time before he spoke. "practice dates?"
"okay hear me out," you said, pulling a notepad out of the bag you brought. "i have a list of things that alexa likes to do and i was thinking, you and i can do them and work on conversations and how to approach her. so when the time comes, you don't feel out of your element."
"who said i feel out of my element?"
you stared at him. "you said last night 'cats are great!' and expected conversation to flow naturally."
"okay so not my best moment."
"not even close." you sighed. "listen, i wanna help you, and i feel like this is your best bet in winning her over."
mat ran a hand down his face. "okay fine. what's the first date?"
practice date one: pumpkin patch
to be quite frank, you were nervous when proposing the idea, scared that he wouldn't be willing to sit in a car with you for three hours just to get to the pumpkin patch. and maybe he would find it childish.
when in fact, he said nothing about the long car ride, he even offered to pick you up from your apartment, and laughed when you offered to pay for gas. when you finally arrived, you jumped out of mat's car like an excited child. mat stepped out like he knew he was the romantic lead in a movie, suave and collected.
you two could not be more opposite of each other.
it took everything in you to focus on the task at hand, and not fall deeper in love with him. but how could you not? when he looked so boyfriend in a coat and flannel and beanie and jeans that hugged his thighs just right--
you were getting ahead of yourself. you were doing this for mat and alexa, not your own selfish ambition.
"so what's the plan?" he asked after locking his car with the key fob.
you shrugged. "what would you do if you were here with alexa?" the words tasted bitter in your mouth. it was such a painful reminder, knowing that this wasn't real and was in service to hook him up with your friend.
mat looked around and shoved his hands in his pockets. "corn maze?" he pointed. you must've made a face because he spoke up again. "what?"
"alexa hates corn mazes."
he paused. "to the pumpkin patch then?" you nodded and followed his lead. "so how did you meet alexa?"
"she was my first roommate in college, we shared the smallest dorm in history."
"that sounds like an exaggeration."
"says the man who never went to college."
he laughed. "i don't need a college education to identify a hyperbole when i hear one."
you gasped and looked at him with wide eyes. "a hyperbole? what a word."
"laugh it up," he said. "but i'm not a complete idiot, you know."
"never said you were. i just haven't heard anyone use hyperbole in a sentence outside of my english lit classes."
"well, you should know i'm full of surprises."
the two of you approached the pumpkin patch and started weaving between families and the occasional rogue toddler. mat had to tug you out of the way a few times when you about stepped on a child because you were gazing at pumpkins.
"if you don't mind me asking," mat started. "why are you helping me? you don't owe me anything. i feel like i'm taking advantage of your kindness."
you shrugged. "you wouldn't be the first one."
"what's that supposed to mean?" you looked up from the pumpkin patch to see mat's brows furrowed together and his mouth twisted in a cute frown.
"well, i mean, i've been told i have a habit of being a doormat at times."
"who said that?" his tone had changed to a softer one.
"huh?" you asked.
"who called you a doormat?"
you shrugged again, that seemed to be your go to move around him. you squatted down to look at a particularly fat pumpkin, inspecting all sides of it before you responded. "i've heard it all my life, some have said it in meaner ways, others have been nicer about it."
"i'm sorry," he said.
you stood to your full height which was still much shorter than mat's. "why? it's not like it's not true."
"what if i helped you?"
it was your turn to frown. "help me? with what? ice skating?"
mat rolled his eyes. "no, with confidence. maybe even get you a date."
you guffawed, mouth opening and closing like a fish. "what?"
mat pulled you out of the way of yet another child and kept his hand on your elbow until you were clear of the pumpkin roots. and if your heart stopped for a few seconds, that was your business, no one else's. "you heard me. you're young, single, and attractive and you spend all your free time at the office or DDing for your friends. we can work on your confidence and get you out there."
"i don't know..." though your mind was still focused on the fact that he'd called you attractive.
"what about that other photographer guy? tony?"
you cackled. straight up burst into laughter. "tyler? that's fucking hilarious mat."
"what?" the two of you continued down the patch, occasionally gazing at the pumpkins, but mostly just talking. "you two are always talking."
talking or being insulted?
you shook your head. "enough about me, we're here for alexa."
mat nudged you with his elbow. "actually we're here for me to win alexa over."
you kicked a small stone with the toe of your shoe and said nothing. the tragedy of your own personal situation wasn't lost on you, neither was the idiocy of your plan. what were you thinking, spending your free time with mat? to win over your friend?
it was textbook self inflicted torture.
"where'd you go?" mat nudged you again. "i lost you there for a second."
you bent down and picked up a smaller pumpkin. "what do you think about this one?"
"it looks fine. you're ignoring my question."
you juggled the pumpkin back and forth in your hands to determine if you liked it or not. "what question?" you looked up just in time to see mat roll his eyes, but he dropped the topic anyway.
the both of you walked over to the stall to pay for the pumpkin. you reached into your tote bag to grab your wallet, but mat was already holding out a five dollar bill to the vendor.
"you didn't have to--"
"do you wanna get some cider?"
you could've started drooling at the idea of drinking cider. "yes!"
mat chuckled and started walking towards the cider stand where a small family waited in front of you. "does alexa like cider?" he asked.
"what a random question."
"well you're not giving me anything to work with!"
you almost groaned. because he was right. you got caught up in the idea of hanging out with mat outside of work that you forgot the real reason both of you were there in the first place.
"she loves cider, especially when it's spiked. she also loves mulled wine." mat scrunched his face up. "not a fan?" you asked.
"warm wine? no thank you."
mat paid for the cider, going as far as having the cash ready before you could even order.
"you really don't have to keep buying things. i can pay!"
"oh this is all a bribe to get you to go through that corn maze with me."
your face dropped. "alexa doesn't like mazes."
"so i won't go with her next time, but you're here now and i wanna go."
you let him drag you along until you were in the thick of the maze. you let him guide the both of you through it like he knew what he was doing even though you were pretty sure you hit every possible dead end in the maze.
two little kids ran past giggling and smiling. "we found the end, mama!"
you almost laughed at the look of irritation on mat's face.
it took an obscene amount of time to get through the maze, and mat was in a much worse mood when it was all over.
needless to say, the ride home was quiet.
practice date 2: dinner at mat's
you weren't quite sure what mat was planning on making for dinner, but you were willing to bet the smell of smoke wasn't a part of the plan.
the scene when you walked into his apartment could only be described as chaotic. the smoke detector was going off and when you walked into the kitchen, mat was going between waving a towel under the detector and opening every window in his kitchen.
"you weren't supposed to be here yet!" he shouted over the noise before darting past you into the living room to open the windows in there.
you dropped your things on the counter and took over waving the towel under the smoke detector.
"what happened?" you asked.
"i suck at cooking!" he came back in the kitchen and took the towel from you. "i'm taller," he said like that was an explanation.
the beeping ceased and left the two of you in a hazy apartment. when you looked around the kitchen, you saw what had to be charred meat and veggies in a skillet.
"okay so when you cook dinner for alexa, don't. just hire a chef."
mat held up his phone. "or order pizza. you in?"
"do i get to financially contribute?"
he gestured to your belongings on the counter, one of which was a bottle of red wine. "you already did."
"you can't keep buying everything," you said. "it's not fair."
"why not? i'm the millionaire here, i'd look like a dick if i made you pay for anything. besides, when i date alexa, it's not like i'm gonna let my girlfriend pay."
girlfriend.
right.
that was the end goal for him.
you kept forgetting.
you cleared your throat and dusted your hands on your pants despite them being clean.
"you can go pick out a movie or something while i order the pizza?" mat suggested.
you had no choice but to nod and wander into his moderately decorated living room. it definitely still looked like a bachelor pad, but if a bachelor had enough money to hire someone to say he needed artwork, decorative pillows, and a couch that wasn't brown.
you were scrolling through netflix when mat came into the living room and plopped on the sectional beside you, shucking his shoes off. why he was wearing shoes in his own apartment was beyond you, but you weren't one to judge.
"you look nice," he commented, as if just noticing you for the first time that night.
you looked down at your own outfit. it was a pair of jeans and a nice blouse. "this?"
"are you wearing something else that i'm not seeing?" he teased.
before you could die of embarrassment, you switched subjects. "what do you want to watch? i haven't made a decision yet." you handed the remote to him, hating being the one to make the decisions.
he shifted on the couch so he was sitting up instead of lounging on the chaise and took the remote. "what's alexa's favorite movie?"
"birdbox."
mat did a double take. "she likes birdbox?"
you shrugged. "she's into suspense."
mat was about to select birdbox until he took one look on your face. you don't know what you looked like but it made him pause. "but are you?"
"why do you care what i like?"
"because you're here, alexa's not. i don't wanna make you watch something you'd hate." mat shifted on the couch. "why don't we work on those dating tips i talked to you about."
"oh i don't think--"
"why not?" he asked. "you're always so jittery whenever we talk about it."
oh.
was he referring to the other day after practice when he saw tyler tormenting you and mat misinterpreted that as flirty banter? mat had come up to you afterwards to give you pointers but you practically ran away.
"it's not that simple, mat."
"i think it is."
you threw your hands up. "well then, by all means you must be right."
"what's with the attitude?" he asked. "did i say something?"
it was a good question. one that shouldn't make you want to cry, but life felt overwhelming in all the worst ways. between tyler harassing you every second of every day and pretending like you weren't in love with mat so you could set him up with your friend, and taking photos for games and practices, you were exhausted.
"i'm not sober enough for this," you said before getting up and popping the cork on the wine bottle and drinking straight from it.
it was another thirty minutes before the pizza arrived and the both of you were well on your way to wine drunk, you more so than mat. who could blame you though? your life was a sad excuse for a single twenty-something and you were tired of thinking about it.
"truth is," mat started with a mouth full of pizza. "you just need to act like you're the best thing that's ever happened to this city. guys love confident women."
"and that's your biggest issue with alexa right now."
"wanna switch personalities?"
you laughed.
"what?" he asked. "what's so funny?"
"i'm trying to picture you without an ego and i don't think it's possible."
mat rolled his eyes but had a smile on his lips anyway. it shouldn't have made your heart pound the way it did, but you were weak for that man, you had been since day one.
so you switched courses.
"okay," you started. "how do i make get a guy to wanna date me?"
mats eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "you're serious?"
you nodded. "as a heart attack."
mat sat up on the couch and faced you. his eyes scanned your face like he was looking for something but couldn't find it. maybe he was looking for a reason to change the subject.
"alright," he said. "you gotta be confident, even if you don't feel like it. most guys don't mind a little insecurity, they find it kinda cute, but a guy who wants an insecure girl is a red flag."
"should i be taking notes or...?" you took a large sip of your wine and smiled when mat rolled his eyes again.
"secondly, you can't be hiding behind your camera all the time."
you guffawed. "i do not hide behind my camera!"
"oh give me a break, you totally do! you walk around like it's a safety blanket or something."
"because it is!"
"exactly my point! thirdly, chivalry isn't dead. if he's not doing basic things like opening doors, walking on the closest side to the street, and he's only talking about himself? run."
"what? he can't be a good person if he doesn't do those things?"
"if he can't do a basic kind gesture, he's not going to do larger ones. sorry. i don't make the rules."
you blinked. "but you kinda are making the rules for me, right now."
"you're such a smart ass, just like tito."
"is that a good or bad thing?"
mat shrugged and took another bite of pizza. "hard to say, i love tito most days."
love.
don't be an idiot and read into things.
"so," mat leaned back into the couch. "i gave you advice, it's my turn. how do i win over alexa?"
you thought back to the conversation you had with her a few weeks ago about mat. and one comment stuck out the most. "i think the biggest sin you committed was not knowing anything about me despite working together for two years," you admitted shyly.
mat's brows furrowed in that cute way they always did. "what do you mean?"
"she said she's not impressed by you being nice to kid fans or tipping waitstaff. she would be impressed if you knew anything about me because i'm not a hockey player."
mat recoiled as if physically struck by your words. "she thinks that low of you?"
"no she didn't mean to say you were--" you paused. "me? you think she has a low opinion of me?"
mat crossed his arms. "she just insinuated that you weren't important enough for me to know."
"no! that's not what she meant! she was saying that you think you're better than me."
"that's not even remotely true." and he said it so confidently, you almost believed him. "it's not, you know that right?"
you hesitated and you might as well have punched him in the gut.
mat said your name so softly like it was precious. like it was something special. "you have to know, i have never, not once, believed you were beneath me."
you gave him a small smile. "you don't need to explain yourself to me, mat."
he reached over and grabbed your hand, tugging on it lightly. "no. i need you to know, you are important to me."
your heart fluttered at his words, or maybe it was the fact that you were holding hands and you could feel the calluses rub against your own palm.
you could've stayed there forever.
"jesus fucking christ, why does it smell like something burned in here?" the front door opened and slammed sending you and mat sprawling apart like you hadn't been locked in a staring contest and holding hands. tito rounded the corner and crossed his arms, a smug expression on his face. "what do we have here?"
"nothing!" you squeaked out. "i was just leaving!"
"no you weren't," mat started, eyes wide with an emotion you couldn't place. "beau was just leaving."
you looked as confused as tito was. "what? no i'm not." you glanced back at mat who could not have looked more annoyed if he tried. "or i can...?"
"no!" you said. "i need to get going anyway. got work tomorrow, long day."
mat stood up when he realized there was no convincing you. "i can walk you out--"
"don't worry about it! i'm a big girl." you were leaving when you heard whisper shouting. you couldn't fully make out what they were saying, but before you shut the front door behind you, you could've sworn you heard them mention "liking her."
you did your best not to let the talking break your heart even more.
practice date 3: ice skating
you made mat pick out the last date but he hadn't told you what it was, just asked for your shoe size.
aside from that?
radio silence.
maybe you should've seen this coming. you'd talked to alexa a few days ago and she'd suggested that maybe you should put yourself out there more, find a date, find a boyfriend, find some happiness.
after practice, you found yourself scrolling through your camera roll in one of the seats in the arena when a pair of skates came into your peripheral. you looked up expecting to see a mop of black hair and hazel eyes.
but it was tito with a sheepish grin on his face.
"hey," he said.
you put your camera down and smiled. it was always good to see tito, with the exception of the other night. "hey, what can i do for you?"
anthony playfully rolled his eyes. "you don't live to serve us," he said. "i don't need anything, just wanted to say hi."
"hi!" you smiled even brighter.
"i was wondering, what're you doing friday night?"
you jaw dropped. and it must've been funny because tito threw his head back and laughed. "what?"
tito smiled at you and gestured towards you. "i was wondering if you'd want to get dinner with me on friday. i don't know what time you get off work, but i was thinking 6:30?"
you blinked. you blinked again. "are you serious?"
"why wouldn't i be? you're attractive, single, and i like your company. i think we'd have a fun time."
"okay," you smiled again. have you ever smiled this much in your life? you were unsure. "okay yeah, friday at 6:30 is perfect."
"great," tito grinned. "can i have your number?" you handed your phone over rather quickly, watching as he typed his number in and texted himself. "i'll see you," he said.
"bye tito!" you waved until he was out of sight. and even then, you continued to stare at the spot he was once occupying.
"what the hell was that about?"
you jumped about a foot in the air when tyler made his comment from over your shoulder. "jesus fucking christ, tyler." you placed a hand over your heart to feel how rapidly it was beating. "are you some sort of lurker?"
"what did beauvillier want with you?" he condescended.
"it's none of your business." you rolled your eyes when your phone buzzed.
mat barzal: come down to the locker room.
"who is that?" he asked, peering over your shoulder, but you stood up and started walking away.
the both of you headed down to the locker rooms, though you weren't really enjoying the company. tyler kept talking about your lackluster photography skills like the both of you didn't have the exact same job title.
you were rounding the corner when you saw mat leaning up against the wall, still in his hockey gear. tyler, being confronted with an audience, immediately departed. if you had to guess, he probably went back to his office to scheme how else to make your life miserable.
"hey," you said as you approached. "what's up?"
mat reached down and tossed a duffle bag at your feet. "open the bag," he directed.
you squatted and opened the zipper to see a pair of ice skates. you looked up at mat who looked pleased with himself. "what're these for?"
"you ever been ice skating?" he asked.
the short answer? no.
the long answer? once in second grade for a field trip.
"kinda?" you said instead.
mat laughed, like an actual laugh. there was a shiver that went down your spine at the very sound of it. "it's a yes or no question."
"i would say yes, but i was like eight."
"yeah, doesn't really count anymore. grab the bag, let's go." he walked off without a second thought, leaving you scrambling with the bag and rushing after him.
"what's the point of this?" you called after him.
"you told me to pick the last date, this is it!"
you stopped walking immediately. "mat, i don't know if this is a good idea..."
as if sensing your hesitation, mat turned around and walked back towards you. he rested his hands on your shoulders and squeezed lightly, ducking his head down towards yours. "i'm not gonna let anything bad happen to you, i promise. you have nothing to be afraid of."
"what if my boss sees? what if lou sees? i'm a lot more replaceable than you are."
mat scoffed. "first of all, you're not replaceable. second of all, it's gonna be fine. i'll take all the heat if we get in trouble, which we won't because it's not a big deal." he reached down and grabbed your hand that wasn't holding the duffle bag. "now c'mon."
he led you out to the bench where you sat down and placed your camera on the bench. "take your shoes off and put these socks on." he tossed a pair of socks at your head that you barely caught in time.
"but i'm already wearing socks," you said.
"these are longer, unless you want the boot to cut into your ankle."
safe to say, you put the socks on.
mat knelt in front of you to help put the skates on, tying them up so they were secure on your feet.
you wanted to swoon at the sight of him before you. thankfully, he stood up and helped you to your feet before you could start imagining anything preposterous.
like him proposing.
you watched as mat slid over the top of the bench railing and onto the ice. he turned around and looked at you expectantly.
"oh hell no," you said. "where's the door, i'll use the door."
he cackled as you walked and opened the door, but skated to you anyway to give you some assistance when stepping onto the ice.
"easy does it," he said, chuckling when your grip was practically crushing his fingers. "you're okay, i'm not gonna let you fall."
"it's not you i don't trust, it's me."
mat kept a grip on your hands and led you out to the center of the ice. on the way to the center, you slipped twice, a squeak leaving your lips. you quickly latched onto mat who only laughed at your death grip on his forearms.
"it's not funny," you whined. "i'm terrified."
"you're right, it's not funny. but it is cute." he removed your hands from his arms and skated away from you. "okay, now come to me."
he was easily twenty feet away.
you glanced down at the ice and then back at mat. you would've sat down if you knew how to without eating it. "mat, i'm telling you right now, that's not gonna happen."
"it's not that hard."
"you've been skating since you were a child. i have not." you attempted to take a step forward, but thought differently of it. "besides, how does this help you with alexa?"
"easy," he said. "if i can teach you to skate, i can teach anyone."
"so your idea of a romantic date is a girl busting her ass over and over for an hour?"
"not quite," he said, skating circles around you.
literally.
"you're being an ass,' you whined. "why did the one practice date you pick out have to do with hockey?"
"because it's what i love. and if a girl can't hang with it, our relationship is doomed to fail."
you rolled your eyes. "that's a bit dramatic. you can appreciate and love hockey without having to ice skate. thousands of fans do it all the time."
"but my girlfriend won't be just a fan, now will she?"
your heart sank at the idea of alexa and mat in a similar situation. alexa actually trying to skate and looking beautiful while doing so. you pictured them laughing as she slipped and mat catching her before she could fall.
"you okay? i lost you again." mat skated right up to you, leaving maybe a foot of space between the two of you.
"yeah," you breathed. "just thinking."
mat smirked and skated backwards. "uh oh. that can't be good. less thinking more skating. would it help if i pushed you?"
"no!" you shrieked. "it definitely wouldn't!"
but it was too late. mat was skating up behind you and placing his hands on your waist. "relax," he murmured. "i'm not gonna push you without a little guidance."
relax?
relax?
when his hands were on your waist and he was mumbling in your ear?
how the hell was anyone supposed to live, laugh, love in these conditions?
mat added a little pressure to your back. and suddenly you were moving. "that's it," he praised. "now just move your feet."
it was easier with mat's hands on you, the sensation forcing you to focus on the warmth of his palms than the fact that you were skating on sharp knives.
"see? this isn't so bad, right?"
it wasn't too terribly bad, truth be told it was just like roller skating, just ten times scarier.
"yeah," you said. "not too bad."
"so you're ready to go by yourself?" his hands starting slipping away, leaving a burning sensation in their wake.
"i--"
but he was already skating away. he stopped about twenty feet away and smiled. "skate to me."
"mat--" your voice shook at the idea. skating with him was one thing, skating to him was another.
"hey," he said quietly. "eyes on me, okay? i'm not gonna let you fall, if i think you're gonna fall, i'll catch you. i was the fastest skater in 2020, remember?"
you nodded. "just like roller skating," you mumbled.
"except better," mat added.
you took a deep breath and put one foot in front of the other, slowly but surely gliding towards him. you started picking up pace the closer you got to him.
"mat?"
"you're doing great!" he smiled.
"i don't know how to stop!"
mat laughed even as he caught you. his arms gripped your biceps and his smile was a mile wide. "you okay?" he asked.
you couldn't help but smile. "yeah," you breathed.
there was hardly any room between the two of you. your heart was beating wildly in your chest at the proximity, the rush of skating alone, who knew? you surely didn't.
you looked into his eyes and could've sworn his gaze dropped to your chin, but you were known for your hopeless romantic delusions, so maybe--
"hey!" whatever trance you were in ended when you saw a man in coveralls standing at the end of the rink. "time's up, i gotta clean the ice!"
"sorry!" mat called. "we'll get out of your way!" he gently took your hand in his and skated the both of you back to the benches.
mat helped you take off your skates and walked you back up the tunnel towards the locker rooms. the both of you stopped just outside of them, considering mat still had to shower and go home while you had the rest of the day to do your work.
"this was really fun," you said. "terrifying but fun."
"i'm glad you enjoyed it." his smile just about made you collapse into a puddle.
but you got a grip on reality and nodded. "well, i hope this helps with alexa, i'll try to talk to her in the next day or so, see where her head is."
mat's jaw clenched but he nodded. "i'll be seeing you."
"bye, mat."
you might as well have been on cloud nine by the time you got up to your office. you were in a different zone, focused on the way that mat's hands felt on your body, in your own hand. the feeling of euphoria wouldn't leave your body, you were sure of it. nothing could take that feeling away.
until you got to your desk and saw tyler.
who was sitting on your desk and using a paper clip to get the dirt out from under his nails.
"what were you and barzal doing?" tyler asked, moving off your desk, instead choosing to lean up against the cubicle.
you ignored him.
"i asked you a question," he said.
"i heard you, tyler. but i have work to do." you signed into your computer and plugged your camera in, ready to start uploading and editing photos from practice and the game yesterday.
“do you really think sleeping your way through the roster will help you get your pics chosen for the social media accounts?” he sneered.
you froze, your fingers hovered over the keyboard. "what?"
"i said--"
"don't repeat it." another voice joined in and when you turned around to see who came in, you were flabbergasted.
mat.
"barzal i--"
"where do you get off talking to her like that? talking to anyone like that?" he stepped into the room, chest puffed out.
in all of your time working for the isles, mat had never been much of a fighter, but he looked ready to pummel tyler if need be.
"mat, it's fine," you mumbled.
"no, it's not. is this how he normally talks to you?"
you said nothing.
that only seemed to make mat angrier. "you need to go to HR about this. this is workplace harassment. now apologize," he directed at tyler.
"for what? speaking the truth? is this how you think you can get ahead in life?" tyler said to you. "first beauvillier now barzal?"
you and mat both froze. in the corner of your eye you could see his jaw clench before he looked at you.
"can you do your work from home?" he asked.
you nodded. "i just have a shit ton of editing but i can do that on my laptop--"
"great. i'll take you home."
"but my boss-"
"if anyone has a problem with it, they can talk to me. let's go." mat was spinning on his heel and walking out of the room as quickly as he came in. you were unplugging your camera and logging off your computer, packing up your things, before sprinting after him.
"mat! mat, wait up!"
he stopped walking and looked at you, an unfamiliar expression in his eyes. "can you wait for me outside the locker room? i still have to shower and change."
you nodded. "why did you come upstairs anyway?"
"to give you the skates." you glanced down at his empty hands. "i forgot the bag, and by that point, i was too lazy to go down and get them without you."
the both of you continued your walk until you got to the locker room.
"i'll be a few minutes and then i'll take you home."
true to his word, mat was only gone for ten minutes before coming out freshly showered and ready to go home. neither of you spoke until he was pulling the car out of the parking garage.
"what did tyler mean when he mentioned tito?" mat asked after moments of silence. his fists were gripping the wheel tightly, though you didn't know why.
"tito asked me to dinner on friday."
mat's fists tightened their grip on the wheel and his jaw clenched so hard, you were afraid he was going to chip some teeth.
"oh." was all he said.
"something wrong? i just figured for once i wouldn't be hiding behind my camera like you said and i thought it would be fun, you know? we get along fine. why? do you think i shouldn't go?"
"no!" mat said quickly. "no, i just, it just caught me by surprise is all. i'm sure you'll have fun."
"and i can give you alexa's number if you want to ask her out! she's coming over tonight so i can talk you up now that i know more about you, make it seem more genuine."
"yeah," he choked out. "yeah, that would be great."
mat pulled up to your apartment a few minutes later and watched as you got out. "i meant what i said in your office," he said. "you need to tell HR about tyler's behavior."
"i will." you probably wouldn't. "thanks, mat."
he nodded as you shut the door and waited for you to go inside before driving off.
you walked up the stairs to your apartment and unlocked the door. as you shut the door behind you, you felt the weight of today bearing down.
tito asking you out.
the moments with mat.
the slut shaming comment from tyler.
when did your life get so dramatic?
step 4: get her to say yes
you had alexa over that night, armed with a million reasons why she should say yes to mat.
and the one reason why she should say no was locked deep in your chest. your happiness and affection for him shouldn't deter her.
besides, you would eventually get over your silly little crush, right?
right?
"so what's new in your world? i feel like you've been so busy lately. it's kind of strange," alexa said before shoveling a forkful of pasta in her mouth. it should've been disgusting, but she made it look graceful.
"oh you know, just working."
"is that why you were in the middle of nowhere a few weeks ago? work?"
"what?"
"i checked your location, you were on a farm. didn't realize the isles was doing photoshoots that far out of the city."
"oh they're not," you explained. "i was with mat, we were just hanging out."
alexa blinked. "since when do you and mat hang out?"
ouch.
but true.
you couldn't come out and say it could you? that the reason the two of you started interacting was because he wanted to date alexa?
no, you couldn't.
so you lied.
"oh, the social media team wanted me to get some information on mat, like a get to know you segment. they wanted something outside of work, so we were just hanging out so i could write this article on him."
a complete lie. you haven't had to write anything on anyone since your college journalism class. but alexa didn't know that. you never told her what you do all day for work. for all she knew, you could be running the tiktok account.
alexa raised an eyebrow. "and how did that go? was he talking about himself the entire time?"
"no!" you said. but then you paused, realizing that getting defensive would just look suspicious. "he told me a lot about how he doesn't like mulled wine and loves corn mazes despite being absolutely shitty at them. he loves his friends and hockey, obviously. he refuses to let anyone pay for anything while you're with him because he has money and likes to treat people. and he sticks up for the people that are important to him. and once you're in with him, you don't have to worry about your place in his life or how important you are because he will keep reminding you."
alexa stared at you. "are you sure you don't want to go out with him?"
you guffawed and hoped that it covered up your embarrassment. "what? no! he's clearly into you, and i think you should go for it."
"give me one good reason why."
"because he's kind, and nothing like your ex. he cares, legitimately cares about people and their lives." you sighed, not sure if you were convincing her. “it’s just one date, lex. if you don’t like him at least you got a free meal.”
alexa chewed her lip, letting you anguish in silence. "fine. you can give him my number and we'll set up a date. i trust you."
"fantastic!" you were already pulling your phone out. "he'll be so excited--"
"only if you can look me in the eye and tell me you don't have feelings for him."
you opened and closed your mouth. "i don't have feelings for him," you said with as much confidence as you could.
"honey..."
"no! i don't! if i had feelings for him, would i be going out to dinner with his best friend on friday?"
alexa didn't look fully convinced, but your date with tito was a welcomed distraction as she started rattling off questions about what you would wear and where he was taking you.
alexa left two hours later, meaning you could go to bed at a reasonable hour. as you laid in bed, you grabbed your phone and opened mat's contact, drafting a text to him.
here's alexa's number. managed to convince her you were worth a shot. xxx-xxx-xxxx.
you locked your phone and put it on do not disturb before you could see his response.
when you woke up the next morning, you saw mat had simply liked the message and left it at that.
by noon, alexa texted you that her date with mat was on saturday.
step 5: let the dates begin
friday came faster than you were anticipating. you kept your distance from mat, unable to look at him without thinking about how he was taking your friend out the very next day and that your interactions from that point on would probably be through alexa.
tyler kept his distance, must've been the threat of going to HR (that you still hadn't gone through with) that had him treating you like a human being with feelings.
as for tito, you probably should've been more excited for your date that night, but all you could focus on was how mat and alexa would fall in love and get married and have beautiful babies and grow old together.
and you would be the sucker who set them up because you could never tell mat no.
a slam against the boards startled you enough to look up from your camera to see tito standing there with a smile on his face.
"you okay?" he asked over the sounds of his teammates on the ice.
you gave him what you hoped was a convincing smile and nodded. but he rolled his eyes.
"we'll talk later," he said before skating away. you smiled and waved at him before you made eye contact with mat who was clenching his jaw. at what? you weren't sure. you even turned around to see if tyler had entered the arena, but you were standing alone.
like you always were.
you were headed back to your desk to do some editing as practice let out, but your name was called before you could get away.
when you looked over your shoulder, you saw tito doing an awkward half jog half walk towards you with a tired grin on his face. "hey," he said. "how do you think practice went?"
you turned to face him fully. "you're asking me? a professional asking some photographer how practice went?"
tito rolled his eyes. "oh c'mon. you've seen our practices, by now you should be able to determine whether or not it was a good one."
"well, no one fought each other, so i guess that's a win."
tito shook his head. "nah, that's when the best practices happen. when everyone's pissed at each other."
you smiled. "shows what i know."
"i think you know more than you think. you've worked here for awhile now."
"i've just gotten better at motion capture photography and following the puck around the ice. doesn't mean i know shit about hockey."
"don't think we don't notice you getting riled up during games when calls are missed."
you tilted your head and furrowed your brows. "we?"
tito shrugged and laughed to himself. "mat usually points it out before i can." you must've made a face because he added more. "it's usually on the bench, he's focused on the game when he's playing."
the both of you turn your heads at the other players walking down the tunnel. when the both of you caught sight of mat, tito smiled.
"will you send me your address? so i can pick you up?"
your attention snapped back to tito. "yeah! of course!"
he nodded and started his walk towards the locker rooms right when mat walked up to you. "what was that about?" he asked.
you shrugged. "just going over details for tonight. he needs my address to pick me up."
mat clenched his jaw again and looked down the tunnel, nodding his head. "that's tonight?"
"yep. at 6:30."
he wouldn't meet your eyes. instead, he looked at your shoes, your camera, the hallway, his teammates, but would never look at your face.
"you and alexa go out tomorrow, right? where are you taking her?"
he ran a hand through his hair and nodded at anders as he passed by. "yeah, we're going out to this sushi place. did you ever talk to HR?"
"well no but--"
"do i need to talk to HR?"
"he really hasn't been that bad lately--"
"because i threatened to tell HR on his ass. he's gonna get comfortable and start insulting you again. it's just a matter of time."
you nodded, feeling a lump in your throat form at the idea of mat scolding you, in front of his teammates no less.
mat sighed and ran a hand through his hair again. "i'm not trying to fuss or tell you what to do, i just don't like seeing you treated like that."
"thanks, mat," you mumbled.
he still wouldn't meet your eyes, instead looking down the hallway to see most of his team in the locker room. "i gotta go, but um, good luck tonight. beau's a good guy."
with that he turned on his skates and walked away.
you felt every bit of pathetic as you watched him go.
that night, you settled on a pretty dress that wasn't too fancy, seeing as the only details tito had given you were that it was nicer than an olive garden but not a michelin star restaurant. you were strapping yourself into your heels when you heard a knock on the door.
your phone said it was only 6:15, but maybe tito was accounting for traffic. he never did specify when the reservation was.
"coming!" you called as you put your last heel on and made your way to the door. "i wasn't expecting you this early, you never told me when the reservation was--" your voice trailed off when you opened the door and saw who was standing on the other side.
mat.
he looked more disheveled than you'd ever seen him. it was clear he'd been running his hands through his hair repeatedly just by the strands sticking out every which way.
he still looked handsome.
"mat, what're you--"
"i think you're beautiful. and smart. and passionate about a lot of things. and i think anyone who tells you otherwise is an idiot, and i'd fight them if you'd let me." your eyes started welling up with tears. "i think you're perfect for me and if you'd let me take you out, i promise i'll spend the rest of my life proving it to you."
you blinked until the tears disappeared by sheer willpower, not willing to cry in front of him. "that's perfect," you said. "say that to lex and she'll be eating out of the palm of your hand."
you turned around to grab your bag and coat before you could see mat's face drop in confusion. by the time you turned back around, anthony was standing next to his best friend.
"you ready?" he asked, only glancing at mat out of the side of his eye.
you nodded and squeezed mat's arm as you passed; you couldn't help yourself. "get home safe, mat."
neither you or tito spoke until you got into his car. "what was that about?" he asked.
you shrugged. still not fully comprehending why mat showed up at your door in the first place. "he was telling me what he was gonna tell lex tomorrow, i think."
"really." he didn't sound convinced.
"why else would he show up?"
tito mumbled. "i can think of a few reasons."
after he parked the car, tito got out and opened the door for you while you were answering texts from alexa. he offered you a hand to get out that you took.
there were no sparks, no electric sensations going up your arm. just physical contact, just the warmth of his palm in yours.
he led you into the restaurant which was moderately fancy, like he said. the two of you were escorted back to a table in the corner, away from windows and therefore away from prying eyes.
like a gentleman, he pulled your chair out and helped you scooch up to the table.
"i can't remember if i told you this, but you look lovely," he said with a smile.
"thanks," you replied. "you look handsome." and you meant it. if you weren't in love with his best friend, in another life, you could see yourself falling for his blue eyes. and maybe you still could. mat was going on a date with your friend tomorrow so it was better that you just get over him already and--
"so how long have you been in love with mat?"
you choked on your own spit, and for a minute, tito looked apologetic. for his timing, you had to guess, not the question itself.
surely you heard him wrong.
"what?" you asked when you finally got your bearings.
"how long have you loved him?"
nope. you heard him correctly.
"i--"
he leaned forward, arms braced on the table. "you don't have to lie to me, i know. i've known for awhile."
"i--"
but the server came up and asked for drink orders. tito ordered a bottle of red for the table after asking for your thoughts.
you were still reeling from his question, safe to say you didn't have any thoughts.
"sorry," tito started. "i didn't mean to make you feel cornered, i just wanted to be honest."
"it doesn't look like you're the only who needs to be honest, it's me." you fiddled with the ends of your dress.
"why'd you do it? why'd you help set mat up with your friend?"
you shrugged. "i just wanted to see him happy. and i wanted alexa to find a good guy, i knew mat was one. they make sense together."
"even if it makes you unhappy."
"even if it makes me unhappy."
tito nodded, and looked at you like he could see something you couldn't. "let's forget about him for now and just enjoy dinner, eh?"
you gave him your best smile and nodded.
the rest of the night flew by. soon enough, tito was walking you up to your apartment and kissing your cheek before he left. you wished you felt butterflies, or something, but there was no special sensation. nothing to make you weak in the knees.
it was like a kiss from an old friend.
your phone buzzed with a text from alexa.
alexa: how'd your date go?
you typed out a quick response.
it was good. just got home.
you locked your phone and placed it on your nightstand before collapsing into bed. but your phone buzzed again. you thought about ignoring it, but if it was alexa, you didn't want her to think you were upset at her.
mat barzal: did you have fun?
you blinked before typing back.
yeah. tito's great.
not a second later, you got another text.
mat barzal: good. have a good night.
you fell back against your pillows and cursed at the ceiling.
step 6: let them fall in love
you woke up the next morning and stayed in bed until your bladder was about to burst. after the date with tito and the reminder that mat was going out with alexa tonight, it was all enough to put you back in bed as soon as you peed.
and you stayed there, flicking through netflix shows and wallowing in self pity. you usually weren't this pathetic, but the idea of alexa and mat getting cozy on their date that night was enough to warrant your sadness.
you'd pull yourself together by monday when you'd have to go back to work and see how happy she made him.
that's what you kept telling yourself, that at the very least, two of your friends would be happy.
by 7pm, you were sitting on the couch, waiting for takeout to arrive.
when a knock on the door signified your food arrived, you got up with your blanket burrito and walked to the door. you didn't even bother checking before yanking the door open and looking down at your doormat.
only to see a pair of shoes.
"what the hell," you mumbled. "i thought i said leave at the door...' your voice trailed off as your eyes lifted to meet a pair of hazel.
mat barzal.
he had your food in one hand while the other was in his pocket.
"mat?" you whispered. suddenly, you were throwing the blankets off your shoulders and behind you into your apartment where they'd be out of sight.
though it was then you realized you were in sweats and you hadn't done anything with your hair all day so you were probably better off with the blanket burrito instead.
"hi," he breathed. "here's your food." he handed it over, nodding when you murmured your thanks, and shoved his other hand through his hair.
you glanced at the time on the clock on your wall to make sure you weren't hallucinating. "why're you here, mat? shouldn't you be with alexa?"
"that's what i wanted to talk to you about, actually."
"oh no," you started panicking, your eyes widened. "did she not show up?" you turned back into your apartment and went to your phone, searching for texts from alexa to explain her absence. "i swear i thought she'd show. she told me she would and she's usually a woman of her word."
you turned around when your front door shut with mat standing in the middle of your living room, looking out of place and right at home somehow.
your phone was vacant of any text messages from alexa.
"no, she showed. i left early."
that caught your attention.
you set your food on the coffee table and turned around to face him.
"why did you leave early? was she rude? are you sick?"
mat shook his head. "no, i'm fine, she was fine. that's not why i'm here. i mean it is but that's--that's--i want, no i need to tell you something."
"tell me what?"
he rolled his eyes. "i'm getting to that." he started pacing your very small living room. you wondered if he knew how much space he took up in your apartment. you wondered if he cared how messy your place was. "i'm just gonna come right out and say it, and don't interrupt me this time." you nodded.
mat ran both hands through his hair for the twentieth time since he showed up. "when i said all those things last night, i wasn't talking about alexa. i was talking about you."
what.
but he continued.
"i'm not gonna pretend i've loved you this whole time, but i fell in love with you along the way. the way you kept analyzing every fucking pumpkin for the perfect one, or how you bring red wine to dinner unprompted because you can't not contribute to something, or the way you trusted me enough to take you on the ice and show you something i love, or how you laugh like no one has ever said something mean to you in your life even when i know that jackass tyler harasses you on the daily. you're kind to literally every person i've ever seen you interact with.
"but i hate the way you shrink yourself like you're afraid to take up space. i hate the way you act like alexa's better than you, like i couldn't fall in love with you when you're literally the most generous, kindest, passionate, and beautiful person i've ever met in my life. because i do love you. every fiber of my being loves you."
you blinked once. twice. and breathed.
"what?" you whispered as tears gathered in the corners of your eyes.
"i know you just went out with tito last night, and if you like him, if you love him, i get it. he's a great guy and you'd be great together. but i'm asking you to give me a chance, give us a chance. i've had fun with you the last few weeks and i cannot bear the thought of not calling you mine any longer." his chest was heaving as the words rushed out of his mouth.
you rounded the coffee table to get to him. as soon as you were in arms' reach, mat was pulling you to him. with your hips pressed together, your lips just a breath away, you spoke softly.
"please tell me this isn't a dream."
a small laugh escaped his lips and echoed over your own. "it's not a dream, baby. this is real. i love you so fucking much."
"i love you too, mat."
any words you had left to say were lost as he brought your mouths together.
you weren't sure how much time had passed before you separated from him with your hands pressed on his chest. mat tried to follow your lips, but you kept a firm hand on his sternum so you could speak.
"what about alexa?"
mat pulled back. "what about her?"
"you were on a date with her and just left her there?"
"i more than covered the tab if that's what you're afraid of--"
"what if she hates me?"
he laughed. like threw his head back and laughed before kissing you again. "baby, we were there for fifteen minutes and all i could talk about was you. she told me to come here and tell you the truth."
you smiled. "thank god for alexa."
"thank god for alexa."
mat led the two of you over to the couch where you immediately curled into him. he kissed the top of your head, seemingly addicted to having his lips on your body at all times. "you're fired, you know."
you would've pulled away had mat's grip allowed it. "what? fired from what?"
"the wing woman business. you're absolutely horrible at it."
"yeah, well i think it worked out pretty well."
he pressed his lips into your hair and mumbled. "yeah, i think so too."
2K notes
·
View notes
Text
jo's nhl fic rec list !
hi - welcome to my attempt at being a fic writer again. i have a wip list in the works but first things first: my fic rec list of all the works i've found and adored.
if you don't know yet, you will know soon that i am such a sucker for angst. i hope you find something new to love from the list below !
i will aim to update this weekly with new additions have NEW tagged next to it. additionally, if any fics become archived / deleted i will also tag it as such.
* updated thursday 25 april 2024 *
weekly note: so, i've sadly had to remove summaries of each fic to make way for new fics. i'm going to think of a solution to work around this, but whatever i do, this will still remain the masterlist for my fic recs!
like my selection of fic recs? have a player who's not been featured? let me know and i'll go on a deep dive for you!
ANAHEIM DUCKS
better man (trevor zegras) by @starry-hughes
hard to forget (trevor zegras) by @hockey-fics
something about the sunshine (trevor zegras) by @huggybug
word count: 3k
last night in anaheim (trevor zegras) by @itsjusthockey
word count: 2.3k
CAROLINA CANES
do i really have to tell you (brady skjei) by @senditcolton
this is how it ends (sebastian aho) by @silverstonesainz-archive
i could love you with my eyes closed (sebastian aho) by @matthewtkachuk
finish line (sebastian aho) by @silverstonesainz-archive
lover boy (seth jarvis) by @sydnikov
being bold (seth jarvis) by @sydnikov
9PM in Vancouver (andrei svechnikov) by @thewintersoldierdisaster
in five (andrei svechnikov) by @sydnikov
NEW - sunkissed: pt 1, pt 2 & pt 3 (andrei svechnikov) by @sydnikov
NEW - all the pretty girls (pyotr kotchetkov) by @unluckyhoneybee
COLORADO AVS
summers back home (nathan mackinnon) by @happer08
crushes with beefcake (nathan mackinnon) by @ohmyeyesmyeyes
i didn't have it in myself to go with grace (nathan mackinnon) by @mattyanonwrites
monday morning (nathan mackinnon) by @matthewtkachuk
colorado (for the first time) (nathan mackinnon) by @withwritersblock
FLORIDA PANTHERS
subtle (matthew tkachuk) by @hockey-hoe-24-7
word count: 3.1k
you say you hate me (matthew tkachuk) by @pucksnsticksnhockeyboys
all for you (4 times you tried to tell Brady you loved him, and one time matty did it for you): pt 1, pt 2, pt 3, pt 4 & pt 5 (matthew tkachuk) by @comphersjost
4 times you fake a relationship + 1 time you didn't (matthew tkachuk) by @hockeywhy
4 times you didn;t find the one + 1 time you did (matthew tkachuk) by @hockeywhy
homecoming (matthew tkachuk) by @doc-pickles
NEW JERSEY DEVS
gin, tonic, and tequila shots (jack hughes) by @hockey-fics
stay the night (jack hughes) by @eyesthatroll
everybody wants you, but i don't like a gold rush (jack hughes) by @sunkissed-zegras
invisible string (luke hughes) by @hugshughes
tidal wave (luke hughes) by @babydollmarauders
drops of jupiter: pt 1 & pt 2 (jack hughes) by @youunravelme
breakable heaven series: pt 1, pt 2, pt 3, pt 4 & pt 5 (jack hughes) by @chewingcyanide
hey, i can be your boyfriend (nico hischier) by @theemporium
second best (jack hughes) by @chewingcyanideA
my heart's racing, and it isn't the exercise (luke hughes) by @sunnyskiesscareme
head start (jack hughes) by @youunravelme
first rule of fight club (jack hughes) by @thatintrovertedwriter
valentines (nico hischier) by @hischierdevils
reaching out (jack hughes) by @bedsyandco
clumsy (jack hughes) by @babydollmarauders
a walk down memory lane (jack hughes) by @letsgetrowdy43
lover of mine (nico hischier) by @ohmyeyesmyeyes
you're not the one (nico hischier) by @ladylooch
moth to a flame (jack hughes & trevor zegras) by @itsjusthockey
when the party's finally over: pt 1 & pt2 (jack hughes) by @itsjusthockey
NEW - off limits: pt 1 & pt 2 (nico hischier) by @hischierhoney
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
five times everyone knew mat loved you & the one time mat realized himself (mathew barzal) by @idontgiveaflyinggrayson69
bad luck charm (mathew barzal) by @matwith1t
show you (mathew barzal) by @islesnucks
to all the girls you've loved before: pt 1, pt 2, pt 3, pt 4, pt 5, pt 6 (mathew barzal) by @youunravelme
the word wing-woman (mathew barzal) by @youunravelme
this is how you fall in love (mathew barzal) by @youunravelme
it's nice to have a friend (mathew barzal) by @youunravelme
we've come so far baby (mathew barzal) by @mendeshoney
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
cause i'm not ready (auston matthews) by @misshoneyimhome
3 times people asked you if you an auston were together + 1 time you finally are? (auston matthews) by @bedsyandco
we're parents? like actually parents? (auston matthews) by @austonwithan-o
moth to a flame (auston matthews ft mitch marner) by @marnerparty
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
lucky (quinn hughes) by @43-hugs
4 times everyone else caught on before the 1 time you and quinn finally did (quinn hughes) by @mrsensitive
5 times Quinn wanted to kiss you + 1 time he finally did (quinn hughes) by @bedsyandco
friend's don't (quinn highes) by @hischierdevils
third time's the charm (quinn hughes) by @thatintrovertedwriter
fearless (quinn hughes) by @theemporium
plus one (quinn hughes) by @bagopucks
growing up is (quinn hughes) by @adoristsposts
NEW - home (brock boeser) by @bedsyandco
NEW - nothing but love (quinn hughes) by @starry-hughes
NEW - can i be close to you? (quinn hughes) by @43-hugs
#nhl imagine#nhl fic rec#nhl fic#hockey imagine#trevor zegras fic#trevor zegras imagine#brady skjei fic#brady skjei imagine#sebastian aho fic#sebastian aho imagine#andrei svechnikov fic#andrei svechnikov imagine#seth jarvis fic#seth jarvis imagine#nathan mackinnon fic#nathan mackinnon imagine#matthew tkachuk fic#matthew tkachuk imagine#luke hughes fic#luke hughes imagine#jack hughes fic#jack hughes imagine#nico hischier fic#nico hischier imagine#mat barzal fic#mat barzal imagine#auston matthews fic#auston matthews imagine#quinn hughes fic#quinn hughes imagine
278 notes
·
View notes
Text
tough love | M. Barzal
request - can you write for Mat and do enemies to lovers as coworkers. maybe she’s on the social team and she gets hurt getting content and he’s the one to help her get to the trainers for medical attention? (thanks for requesting :)
warnings - mentions of blood, not sure what else but please let me know if there is more! some grammar mistakes present.
To say working on the social media team for a NHL team being your live long dream would be an understatement. Ever since you watched your first NHL game with your dad, you somehow someway wanted to work for one of the teams. You went to school, and you worked hard to get to where you are now.
The lead social media member for the New York Islanders.
You honestly cried when they first offered the job to you. You couldn’t believe it. All your hard work was starting to pay off.
Upon your first year there, you met all of the Islanders team, and also, made some great friendships with them. You did your best to be friendly with everyone as you were going to constantly be working around them. Mostly everyone was very welcoming and friendly towards you, however there is always that one person that begins to get on your last nerves every time you see him.
That person for you was Mat Barzal.
The truth was you never did like him especially since you heard what he had said about you. Within the first month that you were there, you had been walking to your office when you overheard your name down the hall. Thinking someone was wanting you, you walked down the hall, but you stopped at the doorway when you heard what actually was being said.
“I don’t know man, just something about her is nerve wracking. Maybe it’s the over-the-top excitement about everything, I don’t know, or maybe it’s just the way she is constantly annoying in those meetings.” Even though you had only met him twice in that first month, you could tell that the voice was Mat. Once you heard him say that, you made your way back down the hallway to your office. Shutting the door, you did your best to not let it get to your head.
However, no matter what he thought of you, you still wouldn’t let that keep you down. You were just excited that you finally got your dream job, and you were not about to let someone you barely knew get you down about it.
Now over a year later, that hatred you felt for Mat was still there. You didn’t know if he ever noticed it, but you didn’t exactly hide that you didn’t like him either.
The Islanders were playing the Panthers at home tonight. You arrived to the arena for morning practice in your black dress pants with a blue sweater paired with black heeled boots. Multiple of your coworkers complimented you on your outfit that it was perfectly matched with the Islanders blue.
You walked down the long hallway to your office to get your notes for the media coverage today. You were unfortunately going to be interviewing Mat after practice, but fortunately you also would be interviewing other, nicer players after him.
During practice, you advised the intern photographer of what types of shots they should be getting, practicing for the game later tonight. Soon after, all the players were off the ice and down the hall to the locker room to change. Leaving you to mentally prepare for interviewing Mat.
Mat was always professional during the interviews he did with you, however you could tell that he was just trying to get it over with, which he doesn’t do with any of the other media people. That action itself makes you even more annoyed at him.
As you were waiting to get the all clear to make your way to the locker room, you got held up by your office door not opening. You tried the key card and everything but it just wouldn’t open for some reason. Deciding to just figure it out later, even though your notes were in there, you went to the locker room. The whole fiasco had made you late by ten minutes, so you knew that Mat would be annoyed at you.
That assumption was true as you walked into the locker room and saw him on his phone. When he heard you walked in, he spoke to you with an annoying tone. “Other important things to take care of, huh?” You took a deep breathe, trying not to let your emotions get the best of you.
“Yes, sorry, my key card wouldn’t let me into my office,” you say as you get your mic ready for him while trying to rummage through your bag for your water.
“Here, give me the mic.” He grabs it out of your hand after you didn’t respond for five seconds. “Are you sure you weren’t fired?” Although you could tell he was just trying to get a reaction out of you, you couldn’t help but to give a sarcastic answer.
“Seeing as no one has came and dragged me out of here yet, I think I’m still good. You couldn’t make a goal during practice, are you sure you’re still going to be starting tonight?” You turn your head away from your bag and stare dead into his eyes. He gives you a blank stare.
“Is that part of the interview? Trying to take shots at me now, huh?”
You grab back the mic from him and take your seat in-front of him. “No, that wasn’t part of the interview, and I’ll take as many shots at you that I want, since you seemingly want to do the same.” You get comfortable in your chair, leaning back and crossing one leg over the other, which then causes your water bottle to fall to the floor. Water goes everywhere, because of course the lid wasn’t on good.
You reach out to grab your water bottle, the same time that Mat reaches down with a towel in his hand to clean it up. You try to take it out of his hand, but he keeps pulling it from you. “Here, I can do it!” You say reaching out for it again. “No, I got it, I can do it, just put your lid back on your bottle before it gets worse!” You end up just letting him clean up the water as you put the lid back on, because truly you could’ve went back and forth with him for a lot longer.
He stands up and walks to take the towel to the hamper by the door. Once he sits back down, you ask, “Are we ready to start now?”
“Yes, unless you’re going to spill your water again?” You roll your eyes at that and begin asking the questions.
Twenty minutes later, you finish with the last question. You turn the mic off and throw it back into your bag until the next one. You’re rummaging around your bag again when you find the key card that was actually the right one for your office. “Ugh!” You say out loud, not noticing that Mat was still in the room.
From his stall, he whips his head around so fast and makes his way towards you. “What? Are you okay?” You jump when you turn around, not realizing he was closer than he seemed. “Sorry for scaring you, what’s wrong?” He says eyeing you up and down, practically seeing if you broke anything.
“Oh, nothing. I just found the right key card to my office.” You wave the key card in front of you. Mat nervously runs his hand through his hair, backing up to give you your space back.
“Oh, that’s good, great, guess that means we’re stuck with you, eh?” At that, you throw your key back into your back, along with your water bottle, and throw your bag onto your shoulder.
“Yep, guess so! Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to go back to my office, which means I’m not fired, and prepare for the next interview, so thanks!” You just want nothing more than to get into your office and let out the emotions you’ve been trying to hold in.
Mat seems to notice the change in your demeanor, he reaches out to touch your shoulder. “Hey, are you okay? I was only joking,” he says softly but you move out of his reach.
“Yep, all good! I know you’re joking, it’s all good!” You rush out the door before he can saying anything else.
-
You make it through all the interviews, make you’re way home to take a nap, and now your back for the game tonight. You changed your outfit to blue pants and a black long sleeve paired with the same boots from earlier.
You managed to get into your office with the right key this time. You take some last minute notes before heading to your spot in the arena.
You spend the first and second period in your spot with the other media people behind the glass. You send out tweets, take videos, send instructions on what the intern photographer should take photos of, and take notes to ask the players after the game. During the third period, you’re doing the same until the worst thing imaginable happens to you.
It’s 5 minutes left in the final period, the opposing team ends up with the puck on the opposite side of the ice from you. You weren’t paying attention much to what was happening on the ice, which you should’ve been, since the puck somehow ended up flying over the glass and hitting you under the eye. It has you stumbling to find your balance, you hold your cheek, and you can feel the blood flowing down it.
Mat sees it all happen. The puck flying through the air, over the glass and hitting you. He can see the blood gushing down your cheek. He rushes to the bench to get a trainer. He’s practically trying to climb over the glass to see if you’re okay, because the amount of blood doesn’t seem that good. The trainers are around the glass within seconds to get you up and down the tunnel to the medical room.
You faintly hear someone say “I’ll check on you after” but you’re not sure if the force of the hit left you hallucinating things. You’re also not sure if that was Mat or not who was rushing towards you behind the glass.
-
You finish the rest of the period laying on a medical table in the medical room. They ruled out anything major; they just had to stitch you up. Now you just have to lay there for thirty minutes with an ice pack on your face until they rule that you’re good to go home.
Ten minutes or so after, you hear someone ask one of the medical staff about you. They must’ve said that you’re still here, because you see Mat coming through the door looking frantic. He changed out of his gear, mostly now just in shorts and a hoodie.
He spots you laying on the table in the corner, he rushes over to you. “Oh, gosh, are you okay? I came as fast a could to check on you.” He pulls up a chair to sit next to you. He’s not sure whether he should reach out to touch you or not, but he decides not to, not yet anyway.
“Yeah, I think so, pretty much. They stitched me up and gave me some Tylenol for the pain,” You reply back, trying to look anywhere but at him.
He nods his head at your answer. “That’s good, that’s good,” he says nervously.
With his nervous tone, you turn your head to look at him. For someone that finds you annoying, he sure seems to be worked up about something, you think to yourself. Heck, he probably came to make sure you died but got disappointed.
Deciding to speak up after a couple minutes of awkward silence. You ask him, “Why did you help me out there? I would’ve though you would have left me lying there.”
Mat looks down at you with a shocked look on his face. “Why would I do that? Just leave you there? As you’re bleeding down your face?”
“Well yeah, you’re not really my biggest fan, ya know,” you reply as a matter of fact, like he should know that.
“What? Where’d you get that from?” He’s now trying to decide if he should go get one of the medical staff as he is now worried that the hit as made you go crazy.
“Oh, I don’t know, since you said that my excitement about working was over the top or the fact you said that I was annoying.”
“When did I ever say that?” He pauses. “Oh.”
“Yeah,” you wave your hand around, “Plus, you’ve never not been annoyed with me during interviews, when you’ve been nothing but nice to anyone else so.”
Mat sits there trying to process everything you’ve been saying. “Oh.”
Honestly, you’re pretty sure your just spilling all the thoughts on your mind right now. “It’s not like you’ve been my favorite person or anything. I’ve been trying to annoy you since you said that.”
“Oh-” Mat starts, but you continue talking.
“And then I was annoyed this morning because you really want me fired for some reason since you joked about it all morning.”
Mat tries to get another sentence out. “I don’t want you fired-”
You’re still rambling on and on. “I mean, I get it, I really do. My excitement can be over the top sometimes about things, but I don’t think that warrants being fired over-”
“Y/N-”
“I mean what’s wrong with being excited? I’ve worked hard and nobody else seems to think I should be fired, well except you and this lady down the hall, but that was probably because I spilt my drink on her by accident, but still-”
“Y/N!” That shuts you right up. “Did the puck rattle you so much that you’re going crazy now? Take a deep breath with me, you’ve been talking nonstop without taking a moment to breathe.”
You follow his breathing and calm down a bit. You lay your head back down on the table with the washcloth back on your cut. However, you shoot your head back up at what Mat says.
“You know, I never wanted you to be fired. Heck, you’re so good at your job that I don’t think anyone else would be as good as you, so they wouldn’t want to fire you.”
You’re the confused one right now, “Huh?”
“Shhh, it’s my turn to talk now. Honestly, I don’t even know why I said those things about you. I know I was wrong for saying those things about you, and I’m sorry,” He looks into your eyes. “I love how you’re so excited about what you do and it’s understandable because you worked so hard to get to where you are. Overtime, I’ve started to admire how hard you work and how excited you are to do the work that you do. It has always made me so happy to see you do the thing you love to do. I guess my way to showcase that was by annoying you, though.”
You stare at him with your mouth wide open, completely shocked by what he is saying. You take a second to process what he just said, you reply, “Are you serious right now? Because Mat, I swear, if you’re messing with me right now to get a reaction, now is not the time and it would not be good for you.”
Mat frantically shakes his head. “No, no. I promise I’m being serious,” he runs his hand through his hair. “I guess what I was trying to say is that I like you a lot.”
You lay your head back down to think over what just happened in the last hour or so. “I’m dying, aren’t I? I’m hallucinating this. I’m losing my mind. You get hit by a puck in the face one time, and now, you’re losing your mind.”
Mat laughs at your dramatics, but quickly gathers himself to comfort you. “Hey, Y/N, I promise you’re not dying. You’re just fine, everything is fine, you just had to get stitches, and you’re going to be good to go home soon.”
Finally, after debating it a lot, he reaches out to run his hand over your hair, and surprisingly, you let him. After taking some deep breaths and calming down a bit, you say, “Okay, I’m okay. Sorry, I don’t know what happened there.” You shakily let out a laugh.
Mat still has a hand in your hair, and he smiles down at you. “It’s okay, all is good. Guess I probably could’ve waited to tell you all that, but I couldn’t after seeing you almost dying out there.”
“No, I’m glad you did. Honestly, I like you a lot, too. I think I’ve just been too annoyed at you to realize that. Maybe we both have just been flirting back at each other without realizing it,” you jokingly say.
“Maybe so, but truly, I’m glad you’re okay.” He runs a thumb over your cheek under the stitched up cut.
You both relish in that moment until the medical staff comes in. “Okay, you’re good to go, do you think you can drive back or do we need to call someone?”
“No, I think I’m okay to drive, and if not, I have someone to help me.” You thank them before hopping off the table to grab your bag.
Mat walks up beside you and places his hand on your lower back to steady you after seeing you trying to regain your balance. “Do you really think you can drive home by yourself?”
You turn your head to look at him and give him a grin. “Oh, I’m still a bit dizzy so no, but I know someone who can drive me though.” You give him a wink and hand him your keys.
“Me? You want me to drive you home?”
He’s not sure if he has died and went to Heaven. You laugh, “Yes, you! Now c’mon, I’m tired and I need someone to take care of me, so show me how caring you are, and take me home. We can go from there.” Mat didn’t have to think for a second longer as he followed right beside you to your car. Certainly not the night you thought would happen, but you can be glad something good came from it.
#mat barzal fic#mat barzal blurb#mat barzal imagines#mat barzal imagine#mat barzal#hockey imagines#hockey fics#nhlhockey fic#nhl imagines
240 notes
·
View notes
Text
Voicemail - Mathew Barzal x Reader - TEASER
Hey! This is so random after like a year of not posting any fics but here's a small preview of one of the Barzy fics I've been working on. I'll probably post it next week.
Summary: what started as an accidentall voicemial to your ex boyfriend ended up becoming routine and maybe even more
Add yoruself to the taglist if you wanna be notified when i post the fic!
PS: ill also use my old taglist so if you were in it but changed your url and wanna be notified please add yourself again and also let me know which is your old url so i can delete it, thanks!
“Fuck it. I can't do this.” You pulled your phone away from your ear and touched the red dot.
That’s it. He didn’t need to know, he probably wouldn’t even care. Who would want their ex to call to tell them they were doing great? That maybe after all the breakup was worth it because they had gotten into the program they had neglected their relationship for? Too long, right?
A second later, realization struck like lightning – you had ended the call before deleting the voicemail. It had been sent.
"Oh no, no, no!" you exclaimed, eyes widening in horror. There was no turning back. Mat would undoubtedly hear you stumbling over your words. Why couldn't you have just left well enough alone? The last thing he needed was you barging back into his life with a pathetic voicemail about something he likely moved on from. ‘He probably already despises me after how everything unfolded, and now this’ you thought.
You were wrong, because no longer than 5 minutes after everything had gone down your phone was buzzing in your hand, Mat’s contact bright in the center as he now waited for you to pick up for a change.
"Mat." you picked up.
"Hey. You called me?"
-
POSTED HERE!!
#mat barzal#mat barzal imagine#mathew barzal#mat barzal imagines#mat barzal x reader#mat barzal one shot#mathew barzal imagine#mathew barzal imagines#mathew barzal x reader#mathew barzal one shot#mat barzal fic#mathew barzal fic#mat barzal fluff#nhl imagine#isles imagine#hockey imagine#hockey fic#nhl fic
120 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hm, for more Mat what about Mat and reader going skating together on those family days the hockey teams have?
thank you for requesting!🫶🏽
.
“You can’t let go of me.”
“I won’t, baby.”
“Mat, I am serious.”
The boy had to bite back his smile as he looked up at you, pausing his actions with his fingers still tangled in the laces of the skates you had slipped on. He shook his head, failing to hide his amusement as he continued to work on your skates.
Despite dating a hockey player, skating was never a skill you acquired during your life. To be honest, before you met Mat, there was no reason for it to play such a huge problem in your life. But all it took was one slightly awkward and endearing meeting with the Canadian in a coffee shop in downtown Queens for your whole life to change.
Now, skating and hockey were so intertwined in your life, you forgot your life without them.
However, never once in your time with Mat had you bothered to learn to skate. There was never really a need to, beyond a few attempts Mat had had in trying to teach you. But usually those lessons ended with your ass and ego bruised, and Mat killing himself laughing at the whole situation.
But this was different. This wasn’t just the two of you on a cute little date. This was the New York Islanders’ Family Skate Day. This was important. And you knew when Mat asked for you to come with him, you couldn’t say no—even if the last thing you wanted to do was embarrass him and yourself in front of all his teammates and their families.
“You can’t leave me out there,” you said to him, trying to ignore the anxiety and nerves bubbling in the pit of your stomach. “I mean it, otherwise I am moving to Chicago and moving in with Tito.”
Mat snorted as he finished up tying your laces before looking up at you. He placed his hands on your knees, giving them a small but reassuring squeeze. “You done?”
“Is it too late to fake food poisoning?” You retorted.
He shook his head, laughing. “I’m not gonna let anything happen to you, baby. I promise. I’ll be holding your hand the whole time. And if I have to leave you for some reason, I’ll have one of the boys stay with you.”
You still looked doubtful but you nodded.
To his credit, Mat didn’t leave your side as you stepped onto the ice. He was patient as ever as he let you dig your nails into his arm, clinging onto him like a lifeline as you stepped across the ice.
“Gotta push and glide, babe,” Mat told you, though there was something oddly endearing in watching you shuffle along the ice with your baby steps.
“That sounds fast,” you grumbled.
Mat laughed. “C’mon, you trust me, right?”
You looked up at him, your face softening. “Of course.”
“Then trust I won’t let you fall,” Mat said and softly squeezed your hand before he let go. Before you had any chance to panic, he settled behind you with his hands on your waist and his chest pressed against your back. “We’ll go slow, promise.”
“And if we do fall?” You asked, turning to look at him over your shoulder. If you were a little more, your face would’ve heated up at the sight of everyone watching you and Mat, at all the cameras pointed at the two of you.
His grin widened. “I’ll catch you, baby.”
“I was hoping you’d say you’d take the brunt of the fall and soften my fall.”
He snorted. “That too.”
You couldn’t help but grin back. “Knew I kept you around for a good reason.”
.
#mat barzal#nhl#new york islanders#mat barzal x reader#mat barzal x you#mat barzal x y/n#mat barzal fic#mat barzal one shot#nhl x reader#nhl x you#nhl x y/n#nhl fic#nhl one shot
239 notes
·
View notes
Note
ooh i had a random idea come up for mat barzal x reader gf
where mat is protective of his gf when the paparazzi suddenly surround them after a game and someone tries to pull reader aside to get better shots of him
you still weren’t used to the crowds, the fans, the media that followed him around. it was something you knew you were getting yourself into when you started dating mat but it wasn’t easy.
after a particularly tough game, the two of you were making your way to his car when a couple of people came up asking for pictures with mat. he was tired and had a headache and you knew he wasn’t in the mood for photos but he plastered on a smile and nodded. you knew the drill so when he stood next to one of them, you automatically started to take a couple steps away but a hand grabbed your arm and pulled you in a different direction, making you stumble and nearly fall.
“watch it!” mat snapped, immediately moving towards you and pulling you closer to him. he glared at the guy who raised his hands defensively and walked away, along with the other people who had been waiting for a picture.
mat was grumbling under his breath as he directed you to his car, ignoring anyone that tried to stop and talk to him. he didn’t say anything until you were both in the car and driving home.
“can we go live in a cabin somewhere in the woods, away from everyone?” he joked but the idea was tempting to you.
“no ice rink in the woods,” you reminded him but he just smiled softly and reached out to hold your hand.
“as long as i have you, i’ll be okay.”
sleepover weekend
#allies writing#nhl imagines#allie answers#hockey imagine#mat barzal x reader#mat barzal x you#mat barzal x y/n
170 notes
·
View notes
Text
bad reaction pt. 2 - mat barzal (au #1)
part one has been dubbed the 'bad reaction mat fic', so here's part two loll, also there's two ways i want this to go, so they're going to be aus of each other. here's the first one!
gif not mine!
mat was having an off-week.
that's what the whispers around him said. he was having a bad few days, and wasn't playing up to his usual standards.
nothing was wrong. it was just an off-time for him.
but mat knew it was deeper than that.
the moment you told him you were pregnant, his brain had shut off. the two of you had a silent, but mutual agreement, of having no kids. at least not until you had your lives figured out — whether you were going to spend it together or what.
when he heard you two were having a baby, he got mad. mad at you because out of all the girlfriends and flings he'd had, you were the last one he expected to baby-trap him.
but when he came home, late that night and for some reason completely sober, you were already gone.
the clothes from the dresser, the hair ties you left lying around despite mat's complaints, the jacket that had been sprawled on the back of mat's chair for a month now — every trace of you was gone.
and that's when he realized you weren't baby-trapping him.
that the pregnancy wasn't something you'd wanted, but something that had just happened.
that's when he realized he'd let you go.
"oh fuck," he muttered, rummaging through the drawers before finding his phone. in a rush, he'd left it at home.
he dialed your number, holding his breath and it reached voicemail. he tried again and again, even requesting your location, but it was radio silence on your end.
he dialed your younger brother, sighing in relief when he picked up the phone. his relief was short-lived as your younger brother didn't sound happy with him.
"the hell do you want?" he growled. "stop calling y/n, she doesn't want to talk to you."
"look, i fucked up, okay?" mat admitted. "i know that. i messed up, and i — i just want to explain to her. please. if she — if she wants nothing to do with me afterwards... i get it. i just want to talk to her. please."
maybe it was the desperation in his voice, but your younger brother sighed. "she's at my house. you have five minutes to speak with her, or until she kicks you out."
mat thanked him, running out the door and to your younger brother's apartment. when he finally reached, he knocked, leg bouncing as he wanted nothing more than to talk to you, to see you.
"she's in the room," your younger brother said, opening the door. "you have five minutes, and don't you dare make her cry."
mat gulped, rushing to the room. the door was open, and you were sitting against the bed, watching the princess diaries on the projector.
he winced. if you were watching the movie on the projector — it was bad.
"y/n?" he called out, voice cracking slightly.
your eyes widened as they met his, a part of you not believing your brother when he was mat wanted to talk to you.
"can i — can i explain myself?" he asked quietly.
you paused the movie, motioning for him to come in. "you can sit there."
he sat on the chair, trying to convey how guilty he was.
"i'm so sorry," he told you. "i — i was scared because this — what we have — it was realest thing i'd had in a long time. and i was scared that you were going to baby-trap me, and i'd fallen for it. i shouldn't have reacted they way i did. i should've listened to you and talked to you, and helped you through this. i want to be there for you. i'm here for you now. as long as you let me."
you were silent, digesting his words.
a part of you wanted to be mad at him, but you understood where his fear came from. he was a professional athlete, of course that would be one of his first thoughts.
you'd had over a week to come to terms with the pregnancy, while mat had barely had a day. you didn't blame him for his reaction, no matter how much you'd hated it.
"come here," you patted the bed next to you, allowing mat to sit. "i don't blame you for your reaction. honestly, i should've spoken with you earlier, and we could've talked it out together. but that's what we're doing now. we're communicating, and we're okay."
hearing that sentence come out of your mouth, mat tried not to cry.
he pulled you close, pressing a kiss to your forehead. whether you kept the baby or not, he was going to be there for you from now on.
he swore it.
-
tags: @woodruff-edwards , @austinbutlerscaresme , @svechnikovvv , @hockeyboysarehot , @emptyflowerpots , @mysticaldonkey , @lam-ila , @babydollmarauders , @starjoyyy , @kjohnson-91 , @gavinbrindley, @hischierdevils , @jackhughesily , @panarin10 , @equallyshaw , @power2myheart , @lynnismypseudonym , @beccaiscold , @akengii , @hischierhaze, @cinnamonpancakes , @mitchymainer , @lifeofpriya , @marshmallow-babe, @hughesx3 , @emsully2002 , @starsandhughes , @huggy-hischier73 , @doglady5678 , @thatoneblog , @exonct07 @hughesmedicine , @qwanelledingele , @mindless-rock , @ireadthensuetheauthors , @huggy-hischier94, @slaythehousedownboots , @diary-of-jj , @youunravelme
#naqia writes!#mathew barzal#mathew barzal x oc#mathew barzal blurb#mathew barzal imagine#mathew barzal imagines#mathew barzal blurbs#mathew barzal one shot#mathew barzal oneshots#mathew barzal oneshot#mat barzal x oc#mat barzal imagine#mat barzal#ny islanders#isles x reader#isles imagines#new york isles
244 notes
·
View notes
Text
number one supporter | nico hischier
author's note; he is so beautiful he makes my brain short circuit
summary; anger on the ice turns into an annoying relationship that seems to follow the two of you everywhere. until eventually, maybe, the nuisance of each others presence turns into something else.
word count; 1.8k
warnings; fluff, swearing, slight enemies to lovers?
characters; fem!Reader x Nico Hischier, platonic!Reader x Mat Barzal
There was nothing worse than your temper when it came to hockey. The fact that your best friend played made it easier to rile you up, fans realised quickly. Before long you were a beloved figure for Islander fans to joke about.
Their favourite thing to poke fun at was your inability to hold yourself back. Which showed now, as you banged on the plexiglass and yelled “Offsides!”
The devils player who had committed the act turned to you. Decked head to toe in Islanders attire (a beanie, jersey, and scarf. The rest he couldn't see), you took his eye contact without falter. His eyebrows tugged together.
Who were you?
His expression morphed from confusion into annoyance as the referee blew his whistle and lifted his arm. Offsides. You had called it and the ref had listened to you. And you were right, of course (he would later find out you were always right when it came to hockey), which perplexed Nico even more.
Who were you?
The question seemed summed up when Mathew Barzal slammed his shoulder into the glass. You rolled your eyes at him but your previously fiery expression melted away into a badly disguised smile. The player laughed, laughed! at you. Obviously his girlfriend, Nico thought to himself with a scoff.
This seemed further proven when you turned around and pointed both thumbs at the back of your jersey. Like a possessive mark, a billboard as to who you were and why you were there. Barzal, splashed across your back.
The man in front of him took it in, then turned to skate away. He noticed Nico's lingering attention and drifted over to him. "Don't you just love it when the fans really know what they're talking about?"
Dick, Nico thought.
Nico remembered you, he thought as he walked through the arrivals. You were chatting away with Beauvillier happily, waving your hands every which way. He faltered for a moment, urging the memory to surface.
And then it did. He allowed himself, for a moment, to wonder if maybe he had gotten your relationship with the Islanders' golden boy wrong. Then Barzal came in and tugged on your hair like a bothersome boyfriend. You swatted him away and your laugh carried through the building. Beauvillier spotted Nico and raised a hand in a wave. This garnered the attention of the other two. Barzal turned and nodded at him.
You however didn't move. You levelled your gaze on Nico and the boy froze. Then as if he had failed your test, you turned back to Mathew and said something, pushing him on his chest. Not wanting to try and decipher what, Nico nodded at Beauvillier and moved on.
You made yourself apparent in the game yet again. You made a howling, "Ow ow!" noise during warm ups every time an Islanders player passed you. They all shook their heads and grinned.
During the game it was like you turned into a fifty year old dad drunkenly watching the super bowl. You celebrated every goal like it was an overtime winning one. You chirped the boys as they went,
"Nice miss, Barzy!" Seemed to be your favourite one. It seemed every frustration of a mess up washed away when you opened your lip glossed mouth. Every celebration made better by your euphoric yelps of excitement.
When the second period rolled around, Nico felt anxious. Literally anxious under your gaze. He missed a shot and-
"Wanna try getting the puck in the net, pretty boy?"
His eyes widened. He couldn't stop his lips from parting. When he looked at you, you were smiling at him like he was just another Isles player. It felt a little like sunshine on his face. Bright, warm, and blinding, he added to himself as someone stole the rebound from him and the puck was suddenly on the other side of the ice.
Shit. He thought. And it was like you could hear him wondering how he had gotten so distracted, as your lips curled in a feline smile and you nodded at him. He couldn't hear you well over the roar of the crowd, but he could make out the words.
"Puck went that way."
This time he wouldn't let his mind wander. This time he wouldn't pay attention to you. You were just a girl. Just another WAG. Another Isles supporter he couldn't wait to piss off. It was his arena tonight, his home ice, he had the power.
All his self imposed mantras washed away. Anders Lee, the biggest guy on the team, chirped "She distracting you again, or you playing this bad on purpose?"
Nico swung without thinking. He was tired, his skates were tied too tight and hurt, and Lee had just sent him flying into the boards a few seconds ago. The second the fight was broken up he knew what was coming. He shook his head, skating to the penalty box.
He hadn't seen you yet, and he was far from relieved that he finally did now.
"Having fun, pretty boy?" You called, tapping the glass he was confined in. He yanked his helmet off, "Yeah. Your boyfriend sucks. Having a great time beating him."
You pursed your lips, "Which one?"
He couldn't help the laugh that tumbled from him. A deep one that came from his chest, shocked at the utter audacity you carried on you. "Barzal? Number 13? Ring a bell?" He turned his eyes back to the game.
"I only have eyes for you." You teased. Then, almost as if you sensed the way he didn't believe you, you added "Hischier." The name made it seem more realistic. You knew his name. Or you had heard it on the broadcast, at least. Or maybe from Barzal.
"Consider changing your jersey, then." He joked. He turned back to see if you would laugh at his joke, but you were gone. Disappeared into the crowd.
Later he would check twitter and find out that, for once, you had set yourself up in the area designated for players friends and family. You had slipped away only once or twice, and fans found it hilarious that one of those times had been to mock Nico as he sat in the penalty box.
This would be his final time playing the Islanders this season, Nico reassured himself as he kicked a soccer ball around with some other boys on the team. The movement helped him dispel his nerves. Soon he'd be on the ice, on display for you.
If anyone noticed his quiet stress, they didn't point it out. He got a few shoulder clasps. But no indicator other than that. He didn't even know you. He had to keep reminding himself of that. He just knew you called every penalty the refs missed. And that half the time, the confidence in your voice had them calling it- albeit, a few seconds late and to the chagrin of any opposing team.
Nico shook his arms and upper body as he waited for the national anthem to start. Trying to get out the boredom and growing anxiety.
His eyes searched the crowd. Away games were always hard. Nothing compared to the joy of seeing an entire crowd wearing the Devils shade of red.
Nothing, it seemed, except for the absolute electricity as he recognised you, donning that exact colour.
You noticed his attention almost immediately. Then you tugged at the sleeve to show off the number stitched into the side. As if he hadn't seen it already. As if his entire body hadn't been overcome with chills as it took him only a split to realise you had taken his words to heart.
Consider changing your jersey, then.
And you had.
You were still on the Islanders side of the rink, though, and donned the familiar scarf and beanie.
Oh well, Nico thought as the lights dimmed and a woman started singing Star Spangled Banner. That will change in due time.
After what he considered to be maybe the best game of his life, Nico felt a little surprised when Beauvillier congratulated him by dapping him up and smiling at him in a way the man hadn't smiled at him before. It was dripping with a knowing look.
Twenty minutes later Nico was showered and changed and surprised to find you greeting him outside the locker room. "You give good advice, Hischier." You hummed.
He got over his initial shock quickly. "How'd your boyfriend feel about that?"
"Don't have one," Your answer had been assumed at this point, "Barzy's my best friend, though. And he found it pretty amusing."
"I bet." Nico trailed off. He really didn't know enough about you to keep the conversation going, that much was obvious.
"This is the part where you're supposed to ask for my number, Hischier."
He fumbled with his phone as he pulled it out of his pocket and unlocked it before practically thrusting it into your hands. Every ounce of manliness had fled his body and he was unable to even speak. He wanted to make some smart comeback. Ask if you even knew his first name.
"You ready?" Interrupted the pathetic moment. Mat was coming down the hallway. "Yep." You told him. Nico couldn't even force himself to say something cool as a parting gift. He closed and opened his mouth as you walked away, until eventually calling a "Bye!" to your retreating figure.
He heard your laugh. You didn't turn around as you waved him goodbye over your shoulder.
There was no games that could compare to Playoffs. You had made the trip from New York to New Jersey on your own. It was the first time you had ever done so without Mat (What business would I have in Jersey? You had joked to him).
After the first game loss, Nico felt like shit. 5-1 was bad.
The only thing that made it better was that the second he was out of the locker room you were tugging him to your car with a lazy grin. "Baby, come on." You laughed. His steps were slow and heavy with self pity. When you finally reached your car you rested against the hood and pulled him to you. "Don't sweat it."
He grumbled something intelligible in response. You kissed him softly, slowly, and against his lips mumbled
"Those refs were fucking idiots. I won't let them make those mistakes next game."
"Next game?" He asked, pulling away from you with a shit eating smile on his face.
"Yes." You confirmed. "Next game. The Islanders can live without me for a little bit. I have a boyfriend to support."
Nico couldn't help but tease "A jersey boyfriend to support"
"Don't push your luck, Hischier." You growled in response. But you were smiling and kissing him again, and he knew that come next game you'd be glued to the boards calling out every foul except for his.
#adoristsposts#nico hischier#nico hischier x reader#nico hischier fluff#new jersey devils#hockey#nico hischier fanfic#nico hischier fic#hockey fic#new jersey devils fic
403 notes
·
View notes
Photo
coming december 18th with the following....
────────────
1. surprise for christmas w tyson jost
2. baby come home w mat barzal
3. all i want for christmas w nico hischier
4. when christmas comes to town w quinn hughes
5. auld lang syne w dylan larkin
6. last christmas w kent johnson
7. this time, next year w luke hughes
────────────
so as you see it will be for the 7 days leading up to christmas !!!
hope you guys enjoy !!!
#tyson jost#tyson Jost imagine#mat barzal#mat barzal imagine#nico hischier#nico hischier imagine#Quinn hughes#Quinn hughes imagine#Dylan larkin#Dylan larking imagine#sidney crosby#kent johnson#kent johnson imagine#Luke hughes#Luke hughes imagine#hockey#nhl#hockey imagine#nhl imagine#nhl one shot#hockey one shot
35 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
hotkundalini
ЛИБО ТЫ USER, ЛИБО ТЫ LOSER
mellowsublimewizard-blog
The Candlelight
voidbeings-a
cosmic children.
mega2wheellife
Schizzle Time
its-off-to-hell-we-go
Year round Halloween/Horror Blog