#grandprixbarzal | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

jostyriggslover96 · 3 months

Text

Holiday Traditions

Summary: Kira (OC) and Jack Hughes are hosting their first winter holiday together. Pressure is already on, but to top it off, it's the first time their families are meeting. Insert a winter storm that has other plans, what does this mean for the holidays? (Kira's thoughts are in italics). Part of the HEART FIRST Series, checkout Summer Rituals, Someone Unexpected, and Best Thing in My Life if you haven't already!

Note: Thank you for all the love this Jack Series has gotten! The plan was to have this out in December, but health issues had other plans. So here it is, I hope you enjoy! If anyone wants to be tagged in future Jack pieces, just let me know! Special thanks to @hockeyboysimagines @heavenlyhischier @grandprixbarzal for all their support with this fic!

Warnings: Swearing, anxiety, holiday celebrations, sweet sweet fluff.

Word Count: 3.7k

Holiday Traditions

I was a bundle of nerves as I paced the perimeter of the living room in Jack’s apartment. Why was I a bundle of nerves? With exams over, holiday shopping done, Jack’s apartment decorated to the nines, and delicious Christmas and Hanukkah goodies flooding the kitchen counter…everything was in place. There would be no last minute shopping or last minute baking or even last minute gift wrapping. But still, I was more nervous than ever.

“Babe, it’s going to be fine,” Jack’s voice broke me from my trance. Glancing over my shoulder I noticed him standing at the edge of the hall, watching me. Watching me pace, shake my hands, and fiddle with my rings.

“How can you say that?” I asked, my voice shaking as I turned to face him fully. His expression was warm, comforting. He didn’t have a worry in the world right now. In fact…he was smiling.

“Well they’re our families, not total monsters,” he chuckled as he crossed the room and took a seat on the couch, legs spreading as he got comfortable.

“But this is the first time they’re meeting, it’s a big deal!” I exclaimed.

“They’ve met before,” Jack clarified.

“FaceTime doesn’t count,” I scoffed, arms crossing as I rolled my eyes. Jack let out a deep chuckle again. Sometimes I wish I was that laid back.

“Come here,” Jack commented as he patted the empty cushion beside him. Shuffling over to the couch and plopping down on the cushion, Jack didn’t give me much time to get comfortable as he pulled me into his lap. Shifting around slightly as his arms wrapped around my waist, I curled an arm under his shoulder before resting my head there too. “Are you nervous to see my family?”

Lifting my head, I gazed into his blue eyes, which were now drowning in concern. “No Jacky, I love your family! We had so much fun at thanksgiving, and Ellen has very good baby pictures of you,” I giggled. Jack let out a groan as he shook his head, clearly remembering his mom pulling out a photo album from her bag at thanksgiving to show his girlfriend.

“I’m going to have to check her bags when she gets here,” he mumbled distantly, causing me to let out another giggle.

“You were so cute Jacky! It’s not like my dad didn’t show you our family album when you came for my birthday,” I reminded him with a stern look.

“I could get used to two thanksgivings,” he proclaimed with a content sigh. We both sat in silence for a moment. Comfortable in each other’s arms. “Now tell me pretty girl, what are you nervous about?”

I had almost forgotten about the tension I was feeling minutes earlier, Jack always knew how to soothe me. “I just want everyone to click, it would be nice to have holidays together,” I sighed as I stared at my hands which were fiddling with the silver ring on my middle finger.

“Kira, our families already love each other. Our dad’s have plans to fish in the summer and our mom’s text all the time,” he reminds me, tilting my head back so I can see his reassuring smile.

“You’re right Jacky,” I nod, a smile slowly forming on my lips.

“Remind me why they’re all flying in together?” Jack questioned.

“It was cheaper for my family to fly in and spend the night with your parents than to come directly to New Jersey,” I explained as I rested my head on his shoulder once more.

“Oh right, and they land at 7:15?”

“Yeah, they should be boarding…now,” I commented as I checked the clock on my phone. Dropping my phone behind me, I nuzzled closer to Jack, cherishing his warmth.

“This will be a great holiday, and hey, we get to teach your family a little bit about Hanukkah too,” Jack whispered before pressing his lips gently to the top of my head. Just as Jack pulled you closer in his arms, giving my waist a squeeze, the perfect silence was broken between the two of us by a *ping* on Jack’s phone signaling that he just got a text.

I felt him reach into the pocket of his sweats for his phone, a moment passed before he let out a “shit!”.

“What?” I asked absentmindedly, eyes fluttering closed as I enjoyed his embrace.

“Text from my mom ‘we have a problem, a snow storm came in fast. Flights are being grounded’” he read to me.

My eyes flew open as I leaned back in his arms, “Well shit,” I exclaimed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack and I spent what felt like hours sitting in silence once we understood the gravity of the situation. We would be alone for Christmas. That message took a while to sink in for me. There hasn’t been a single Christmas in my life that I have been away from my family. I know that would change as I got older but this year was unexpected. We would be alone for Christmas.

It didn’t really sink in until a FaceTime call with my family who were cozy and settled in at the Hughes’ house. Of course my parents were disappointed about the circumstances but they seemed to be enjoying their time with Ellen and Jim. Even my brother was out playing hockey with Luke despite the treacherous snow storm. Hearing my dad discuss his blossoming friendship with Jim made my heart swell with joy. Dad friendships are the cutest.

As I hung up the call with my family, the joy that filled my heart dissipated as my heart sunk once more. I’m so happy that my family will enjoy their Christmas with the Hughes’ family and that everyone seems to be meshing well, but I wanted to be there so badly.

There would be no Christmas baking or decorating the tree or driving around to see the lights. There wouldn’t be any overly competitive card games or sneaking cookies while my mom isn’t looking, or Christmas movies by the fire. There wouldn’t be any traditions this year. Nothing felt lonelier than that.

~~~~~~~~

Wallowing in my despair, I buried myself further into Jack’s sheets as I stared blankly at the wall. My hope for the season of joy was fading quickly. Silence filled the room and my heart. Just as I was really about to spiral into the abyss of the holiday blues, the bedroom door flung open.

“Kira, I have a surprise for you in the kitchen,” Jack’s melodious voice filled my ears. Somebody still had the holiday spirit.

“No thank you,” I responded solemnly as I pulled the comforter up to my chin. With my back turned to Jack, I could still hear him shuffling around the room. He wasn’t exactly known for being quiet. Suddenly I felt the bed dip as Jack shifted his weight onto the mattress before a hand rested on my shoulder.

“Babe, I know this isn’t the Christmas you wanted and you’re probably devastated not having your parents here. I think you’ll really like this surprise though,” Jack whispered soothingly as he gently rubbed my back.

“I’ve never missed a Christmas with them Jack,” I whispered as hot tears stung my cheeks. Sniffling as I used the comforter to dry my eyes.

“I know my love, it’s absolutely awful and I’m not trying to erase how you’re feeling. I remember my first Christmas without my parents, I cried into my pillow on Christmas Eve.”

Glancing over my shoulder I looked at Jack, trying to gauge if he was being honest. “Really?”

“Really. I’ve never told anyone that. I just want you to know that you’re not alone,” he commented as he took the opportunity to pull me into his arms.

“Thank you Jacky, truly,” I smiled as I wrapped my arms around him, enjoying as his warmth enveloped me.

“I really think this surprise might help,” his breath danced across my skin as his lips pressed close to my ear.

“Gosh, you and this surprise,” I groaned dramatically. Secretly curious to see what he had planned. Throwing my arms up in mockery, I rolled out of the bed and slipped on my slippers. Jack chuckled while I acted like a total drama queen as my mom would say.

Shuffling out of the room, I let Jack lead me down the hall into the kitchen. Gasping as we turned the corner, I noticed all the baking ingredients were out on the counter paired with a rolling pin and cookie cutters.

“Are we making cookies?” I turned to Jack in shock as he smiled back at me. He simply nodded to confirm my suspicions before another voice rang through the room.

“You bet we are, can’t skip out on traditions,” I heard my mom’s voice. Glancing around the room, knowing she couldn’t be here, my eyes landed on the laptop on the counter. Making my way to the computer, I was overjoyed to see my mother’s smiling face on the screen. “I know we can’t be there sweetheart, but we can still be together.”

Tears welled in my eyes as I glanced back at Jack who was leaning against the wall, taking everything in. “You did all this?”

“He sure did, such a caring young man,” my dad chimed in from the laptop. Jack’s cheeks turned a flush shade of pink at the compliment from my dad.

Reaching out for Jack, I wrapped my arms around him in a tight hug, signaling my gratitude. “Thank you Jacky,” I whispered in his ear.

“Anything for you,” he pressed his lips to my temple as we stood in each other's arms for a moment.

“Could we get started? I’m hungry,” I heard Luke groan from the computer.

“Lucas!” Ellen scoffed at her youngest son. Pulling back from Jack I saw the whole scene unfolding. I couldn’t help but giggle as the youngest Hughes’ boy was being scolded.

“Well are you going to stand there hugging each other or can we start?” My brother's voice questioned. I rolled my eyes as I pulled away from Jack, walking back to the counter to scold my brother.

“Don’t be jealous that you don’t have anyone to snuggle up with right now,” I gently teased. My brother's eyes widened as everyone’s attention turned to him.

“Whatever,” he scoffed as everyone let out a quiet snicker.

“Okay, keep it together kids.” My mom declared as she corralled all of us. “Now let’s get started by everyone washing their hands,” she instructed as Jack and I moved to the sink. I couldn’t control my beaming smile as we all got to work on sugar cookie dough. This is what I wanted. This is what I loved about the season. Time with my family, and my new family too.

~~~~~~~~

Everything went surprisingly smoothly as we all followed my mother’s careful instructions; although we did have a few burnt cookies. “It’s okay Jack, I always burn a few too,” my mom offered reassuringly.

It didn’t feel that weird spending time with them over FaceTime, Jack and I didn’t miss a thing. We got to witness Luke and my brother tossing flour at each other much to Ellen’s dismay. We saw our fathers look perplexed as my mom explained how the mixer would knead the cookie dough for us. My mom even corrected Jack’s flour measuring technique as we got our dough together. “Jack, stop eating the dough, we won’t have enough for all these shapes,” I warned as I smacked his hand away from the mixing bowl.

Jack never struck me as a baker, but he definitely held his own with me. We both seemed to enjoy the quality time together and with our families.

The quality time didn’t end there, once the cookies were out of the oven and were cooling Jim announced that we would be lighting another candle on the menorah. Jack snuck a cookie before we got settled, “for quality assurance reasons.” I rolled my eyes as we settled on the couch before getting started. Jack had already explained some of his family’s Hanukkah traditions to me but getting to participate in them was extra special.

As we all gathered around our Menorahs, Ellen took the time to share the story of Hanukkah with our family. Jack shared how the lighting of the Menorah works and why there were only a certain number of candles on the Menorah, as we weren’t on the 8th day of Hanukkah yet. My heart warmed as Jack, Ellen, Luke, and Jim said the blessing as we lit our candles.

“There, like this,” Jack whispered to me as his hand wrapped around mine to guide me in lighting the candles. Jack’s simple reassurance calmed any remaining nerves that I was feeling. In fact, I felt closer to Jack in a different way, learning more about him and what’s important to his family. Our connection feels more…intimate now. All the sorrow I felt earlier in the day has completely faded.

Once the menorah was lit, Ellen spoke a bit about what the meal they would traditionally share and how gifts were a part of the Hanukkah tradition. “Jack don’t worry, we’ll bring your gifts next time we’re in town,” Ellen reassured her son.

Ellen even brought out her dreidel to show us, as I was inspecting it while she held it up to the camera, Jack whispered in my ear, “at least you don’t have to play dreidel with Quinn, he gets way too competitive.” Despite Jack trying to be quiet, Ellen still laughed, confirming that the oldest Hughes’ boy did get very invested in winning games of dreidel with his brothers.

The whole experience of sharing Hanukkah with Jack’s family was beautiful, which I kept sharing with Ellen as I thanked her for including us while we decorated cookies. I could tell by Jack’s reactions that this was a really special experience for him too. While everyone was distracted, Ellen told me that Jack hasn’t ever brought someone over for Hanukkah. That alone made my feelings for Jack grow even more, if it were possible. Knowing that he cares about me, and hearing that validation for other people was everything. He is everything. Maybe it’s the season but I’m feeling stronger for Jack than ever…maybe even like I might be in love with him.

~~~~~~~~~

Later on as we were winding down from our sugar highs, my dad announced we would be doing our traditional tree topping ‘ceremony’.

“You have a whole ceremony?” Luke questioned as he was shoving another cookie in his mouth while my dad gathered the star for the tree.

“We use the term ceremony loosely, you’ll see,” I explained as Jack gathered the star that we had purposely left off the tree for this moment with my family.

Once everyone was ready my dad explained that our tradition was to discuss what brought us joy or hope in the holiday season before putting the star on the tree and ‘officially’ lighting it.

“Oh, like sharing what you’re thankful for at Thanksgiving,” Jack exclaimed.

“Exactly,” my dad smiled. We all went around sharing one by one something that brought us joy or hope during the holidays. It felt like it always did, just with more people to share it with. That brings me joy, I smiled to myself.

“Kira, it’s your turn to share,” my dad prompted.

“Okay,” I paused, noticing that everyone’s attention was on me. Slightly intimidating. “Well, to be honest, I was pretty upset this afternoon when I heard that you wouldn’t be coming. But,” I took a moment to breathe and gather my thoughts. My heart was overflowing with gratitude at this moment. Jack pulled me a little closer as he held onto the star, before giving my waist a reassuring squeeze. “All of you have brought me joy in this season. Especially carrying on our traditions in any way we can and sharing them with each other. I just feel so lucky to be a part of all your traditions.”

My breath caught in my throat as I felt a lump forming. Biting my lip to try to keep my composure, I almost lost it when Ellen said, “we are so happy to have you as part of our family Kira.”

“Me too,” I choked out before we moved on to someone else sharing their holiday joy. It was true, this was my holiday joy, spending this day together. That’s just a testament to how much Jack cares, noticing how upset I was and coming up with such a special way for our families to spend the holidays together. Jack, and his family, are truly something special.

~~~~~~~~~~~

After saying goodbye to our families, Jack and I sat cuddled on the couch as a random Christmas movie played in the background. Both of us were enjoying hot chocolate and each other, neither really focused on the movie.

“Thank you for today,” I said as I sipped my hot chocolate.

“You’re welcome babe,” Jack replied as he stared off at the TV.

“No seriously, thank you,” I leaned forward to set my hot chocolate down before gently turning his face so he was focused on me. “Thank you for taking care of me and for being so thoughtful in putting something like this together. Jacky, this meant so much to me.”

“Kira, it killed me to see you upset today. I care about you so much and I would do anything to make you happy,” Jack’s eyes locked on mine and in that moment, I knew. I knew this man would care for me the way I needed. I knew without a doubt that Jack was different from any of the men before him. I knew what he meant to me.

“Jacky, I know this is maybe too early for this,” I let out a shaky breath. Its now or never. “But I’m falling in love with you Jack,” I said before holding my breath, unsure of how he would react.

Jack paused for a moment, deep in thought. “I know I’m young and have a lot of life left to live, but I know I have never felt this way before. Kira, I know I’m falling in love with you. I just feel lucky everyday that I get to call you mine.”

I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face. Jack Hughes is falling in love with me! “Can I kiss you now?” I questioned.

“You know I’ll never say no to that,” Jack smirked as I practically pounced on him. Straddling his lap, my hands ghosted over his cheeks as I leaned in to capture his lips with my own. His soft lips floated over mine in perfect unison as all the feelings we’ve been holding in came out. Our lips engaged in a delicate dance as Jack’s hands burned on my skin as they ran down my back and cupped my butt. We were lost in each other, no sense of the world around us for what felt like forever, but in reality was probably a few minutes.

Pulling back for air, we both sent each other looks that conveyed everything we were feeling. I, for one, have never felt so loved. “You know what might be fun?” I pecked Jack’s lips while posing my question.

“What?” He chuckled at my giddy demeanor.

“Starting a tradition of our own for Christmas,” I suggested. “Something fun!”

“What about something adventurous?” Jack encouraged me. I nodded my head in agreement.

“Maybe something we wouldn’t normally do.”

“What about….sex on the balcony?” Jack proposed while sending a suggestive smirk my way.

“Seriously? It’s freezing,” I scoffed, rolling my eyes at him.

“I’m kidding,” he let out a laugh at my unimpressed response.

“Sure, you’re kidding. I’m not freezing my ass on the balcony for you,” my eyes narrowed as I sent a skeptical look his way.

“I am kidding, I swear,” he quickly stopped giggling. Clearing his throat and adjusting me in his lap, as if he is getting serious. “What about going to the beach? I know it’s cold but it would be a nice walk.”

“Oh I love that idea Jacky!” I said in awe, his brain could flip from sex to something sweet like that in a second. He was truly something else. “Ooh!” I gasped in excitement. “Now you might not be into this idea but just hear me out.”

“Go on,” he urged me, now sending me a skeptical look. Unsure of what I was going to suggest.

“What if we collected seashells and painted a few? We could create, like a jar and add to it every year,” I suggested hesitantly. I doubt Jack would be into painting seashells with me but it would be such a special memory.

“Sure, I think that’s a great idea,” he responded, squeezing my hips softly.

“Really?”

“Really,” he confirmed. “That would be a really special memory.” I let out a squeal of excitement before jumping off his lap and starting to create plans for our adventure tomorrow out loud.

“You know, you’ve set the bar for holidays very high Mr Hughes,” I commented as I paused my planning for a moment.

“Well I guess I better start planning for Valentine’s Day now,” Jack smirked from the couch.

“Just so you know, I really love chocolate and champagne,” I quipped.

“Just so you know, I’m a big fan of the color red…and lace,” Jack winked, his swagger sending shocks through my body.

“Well, I will keep that in mind,” I replied as my smile turned into that of a Cheshire Cat. I have just the outfit that will drive Jack wild. Valentine’s Day would surely be one for the books.

To think how quickly this day changed, how quickly it went from sorrow to joy. How quickly we went from no traditions to new traditions together. How we went from dating to falling in love. Really how quickly we went from strangers to more. Meeting Jack Hughes this summer changed my life in the best way. Now here we are, falling in love and starting new traditions together. My hope for the future is that these traditions and our love continues to grow.

#jack hughes #my writing #jack hughes imagine #jack hughes x reader #jack hughes blurb #jack hughes fic #nhl imagine #nhl #nhl hockey #hockey #nj devils #new jersey devils

160 notes · View notes