#mat barzal rpf | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

behoright · 1 year

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console me l m. barzal

how it feels to rest / on your patient lips

summary: as angry as mat is after the season loss, he cannot hide it from you. mostly plotless smut

wordcount: 4.6k

warnings: minors DNI! 18+ only. smut, sexual situations that include rough sex, degrading language and behaviors, pain/pleasure dynamics, pet names, consent break/check, bodily fluids. mentions of size difference and love lol.

a/n: for all my sad, islanders girlies. masterlist is fixed! muah.

read me please: i cannot say this any more clearly: this is not for everyone. read at your discretion. the warnings are stated as clearly as i can my loves. my inbox is always open to have any discussion about writing, relationships, sex, bdsm and kink. if this makes you uncomfortable or simply is not your cup of tea, move on my dear. love u guys always.

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It really took only a day to figure out.

As much as he tried to hide it, leave it at the rink.

Anger.

Mat had never been so pissed before.

For once, he knew that he had given it his all.

He had sacrificed, time and time again.

Played through sickness, injuries, birthdays, and special events.

Harder than ever before.

Despite knowing that everything passes, he couldn’t shake the thought, or perhaps the fact, that there had been other factors that cost the team the cup.

Things out of his control.

And it drove him to the edge every night.

Having to see his teammates get more disappointed with every passing second on the ice.

Knowing that their dream was slipping away from them, no matter how much he had clawed and fought to hold on.

He spent extra time at the gym, on the ice, hours after the last painful loss, just to attempt to get rid of the anger.

But it wasn’t working.

Instead, it just fueled the apparent neverending and burning cycle.

The last thing he wanted to do was bring his negativity home.

Back to you.

To the safe haven you had both built so meticulously.

The only person that stood by his side, in every sense of the word, didn’t deserve to take the brunt.

However, you could see the cracks.

He was very good at veiling it, but not good enough for you.

The past couple days had brought you a huge sense of gratitude, knowing you were in a relationship that stripped your souls and bodies.

Fully being yourselves at all times.

So, as you packed to begin your various summer travels, you knew you had no other choice.

Something was pounding, deep from inside you, to open this door for you two.

You stood in your shared room, watching Mat’s muscular back crouched down in the walk in closet as he messily threw his shirts in his luggage.

“Mat?” you called him, voice shaky.

“Hmm, babe?” he asked, still packing.

“How are you feeling?”

The question wasn’t anything new, a domestic ritual you two had to keep your connection based in truth wholly.

Since you had both promised to listen without any stories or distractions in exchange for the complete truth, every single time, it had become easier to share.

“Well, love…” he sighed, not daring to face you as his face stiffened, your question bringing up his most repressed feelings. “I’m angry. I’m fucking frustrated at how it all ended, you know?”

“You are?” you said, walking towards him, picking at the skin on your hands nervously.

“Yeah, baby. It’s okay, I mean, it’ll pass. But I’m angry.”

“Take it out on me.” you blurted out, strong in your stance and words, now only a couple of feet behind him. “Fuck me as hard as you can.”

Mat stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widening as his mind emptied, only being able to stare at the half empty suitcase in front of him.

Whether he liked to admit it or not, he knew that you could see right through him.

There was no hiding from the woman he loved.

“I know that we’ve talked about this before but… are you sure you can handle it?” he questioned, turning around to look at you.

“I know I can, Mat.”

“Baby…”

The overhead warm light surrounded your head like a halo as he looked up at you.

He wondered, during a poetic moment, how his angel could be giving herself over to him like this.

“I’m asking for it.” you said, taking a step closer to him. “Can you handle it?”

For a moment he forgot that his sweet angel was no such thing behind closed doors. Ever since the first night, he saw that dark fire inside you, and it hadn’t gone out in years.

Mat was the perfect fan to your flames.

“Oh, so it’s like that huh?” Mat answered, his lips curling up into a smirk as he stood up to tower over you. “Will you tell me if you need me to stop?”

“Yes.” you gulped as you two stood just inches apart. “I remember my word.”

“You do, huh?” he asked as you saw his feet take one last step towards you, the fabric of his shirt ghosting over yours.

“I can take it.” you repeated, getting lost in his eyes as you looked up into his dark eyes.

“Yeah, we can take it, right, baby?” he uttered, his fingers wrapping around the sides of your neck as his eyes looked down upon you. “We fucking can.”

His lips finally met yours, Mat’s tongue swiping feverishly on your bottom lip before invading your mouth, drippingly meeting yours in a heated makeout session.

The belligerence of his kiss sent a moan reberverating inside his open mouth.

Mat loved to make out. He could do it for hours, until his cock began to twitch restlessly in his denim.

He opened his mouth fully, letting you invade each other messily.

Lately, he had taken it as far as to spit in your mouth. Not forcefully, but just letting a trail of spit drip from the tip of his tongue into your throat, the height difference coming to his advantage.

It felt so fucking primal to him that it always sent you flying against a wall everytime he’d see the look of passion and satisfaction in your eyes after you swallowed his saliva.

“Is this what you’ve been thinking about? All those times I was heated, venting at you?”

he asked, forcing you to take steps back into the bedroom, still holding you tightly, the tips of his fingers pushing against the ridges of your scalp.

“Yes.” you whispered into a kiss. The sensual murmur drove him to bite your bottom lip, pull it towards him as he stopped your motions.

“Oh, what is wrong with you, baby? That’s so fucking bad.” he said, watching the bite swell up exquisitely as you smiled, enticing him into more kisses.

More spit, boiling into each other and pushing each other unconsciously as you two ondulated in your heat. He began to shove himself intensely against you, getting more of those moans he loved so much.

“You can’t even be quiet when I kiss you.” he said, shaking his head slowly as his hand came to rest on the front of your neck. He flinched backwards when you attempted to kiss him again.

It was his bedroom now.

“Come here.” he barked, sitting down on the bed. “This will shut you up.”

He didn’t have to repeat himself before you kneeled in front of him, not even giving him a chance to undo his pants before your mouth salivated over him. He rested his long fingers on your shoulder, almost keeping you tamed as he pulled out his erection.

“Eager, eager girl.” he chuckled, watching you leap onto him.

You wished you could take him entirely the second your tongue met the salty precum that had dribbled down his shaft, but that had never been a possibility.

Unbeknownst to you, Mat fucking loved it.

He adored that you struggled to take him, that you wanted so hard to swallow him whole at a first try.

His head fell back, exposing his thick adam’s apple as it thumped in his throat, Mat trying to hide his gulps every time your lips wrapped around him lower and lower.

You knew just how to please him, swirling your tongue and hollowing your cheeks just at the right minute spots that still took his by surprise every single time.

Mat felt your desperation as you kept taking him down, so eager to please him. For a second, it enchanted him, filling him with gratitude that he had a partner that so badly wanted to destress him.

However, it was short-lived.

It was not what you wanted, or what he needed.

“Fuck.”

It felt good, his toes slowly beginning to curl as he felt strings of precum coat the back of your throat, but the more he channeled the feeling that he had pushed away for so long, the more restless he became.

Every time you gagged, your muscles would clench around him, shocking him with exhilarating stimulation.

“Sit up. Now.” he said, strictly, jumping out of his experience. You tentatively moved away from him, the only thing connecting you two now being a sloppy trail of saliva.

“Baby, I-, I-...” you said, uncertainly.

“You what? Hmm?” he asked, undressing as you stared at him dumbfounded.

Throughout the years, Mat had never sounded so stern in the bedroom as he did now.

“You asked for angry Mat, didn’t you?” he continued, tapping your head demeaningly in an effort to sit you up. “Beggars can’t be choosers, doll.”

The register in his voice was forceful and humiliating enough to send your desire running down the inside of your thighs, his muscular hands working on practically ripping your clothes off so harshly that he had thrown you off balance a couple of times.

Your heart began to race in anticipation as he silently threw the half-trashed garments through the room.

He was decisive, precise in his actions, and it made you slightly trepid.

Prolepsis and nerves mixing acidly in your stomach; you knew you had the choice to revoke consent anytime, but you were grounded enough to know that Mat was the safest man to do this with.

Apart from working up to it for months now, and seeing him slowly come out of his shell and let go further every time he got you to himself behind closed doors, you knew how much you wanted this.

Your body knew as well, your blood rushing rapidly to your cunt as he kept grazing against your skin, snapping the back of your bra before discarding it mindlessly. You could feel the flames of his subjugated feelings simmering again, coming to the surface the more he got out of his head and into his body, his breath becoming deeper and hotter against your skin, breathing out frustration with low, vibrational groans.

“Get on the bed.” he yapped as soon as you were fully naked, his hand pushing you a tad bit too potently onto your bed; so much so that you naturally rested your sweaty limbs on the blankets on all fours.

“Look how wet you are. You’re not embarrassed?” he spit out, running his finger up your slit sloppily as he set himself behind you. “I haven’t even touched you, Y/N.”

He was just a hair over the line, authoritative in his colloquy and pinpointing his acts precisely to get you where he wanted.

He didn’t care to run himself on your slit, not tonight, his cock still dripping with your thick spit. He thrusted entirely into you, his pounding head coming in contact with your cervix instantly, making your body barely jolt forward.

“You should be fucking ashamed, Y/N, not moaning.” he barked, as he began to move painfully slow. His thick length, running in and out of your tight walls at a lethargic pace.

Still, feeling every inch so powerfully split you apart with no preparation, the ridges of his member and his veins skimming your engorged insides ripped moans out of you like never before.

“You just love being a fuck toy for me, don’t you.” he said, roughly intensifying the grip on your hips as he gradually sped up his movements. He sounded just as rough, doing his best to hold back any signs of satisfaction, but it wasn’t easy. He had made you into a mess so quickly and it mostly came down to his demeanor.

Ever since he met you, he knew he’d treat you right and respectfully, only you.

He never cared to seem friendly to other girls, truthfully; because he had you.

The only girl that had naturally commanded such a soft love and tenderness out of him. It was almost ironic to him how the tougher he was with you in between the sheets, the more you melted.

And god, did he love to see you like this.

Spread vulnerably and already on the brink after a handful of thrusts.

It drove him mad, struggling to keep any self-control just to have you on a tittering edge.

But feeling you drip around him, your yearning for him ebbing and flowing out of your pussy as it mixed with the spit that you’d left on his cock, now all of it mixing and coating both of you.

“Yeah, my little doll.” he said, masking his exasperation as he found a steady rhythm that made your ass recoil delightfully against his pelvis, the chiseled V that framed his cock pounding hard into your flesh as you began to see stars.

Your mouth was stuck open, wanting his call out his name miserably but finding it impossible as the tension kept building within you, tightening your pussy all around and sending shivers down his back as his legs began to tense, inch by inch.

He groaned deeply, squeezing his eyes shut and striving to pivot on that feeling he adored so much, all the sensations that came with being buried deep inside you.

But all he found was that anger.

The emotion he had tried to leave at work, to get past.

The one that you had noticed.

For good reason, because it was unignorable.

And so he focused on it, the frustration that he had accumulated for months beginning to expand and find its way insidiously through every vessel, every corner of his being. His jaw clenched, the more he let it take over him, the more pleasure would grow, passing from you to him and burning brightly in his belly.

The hinges of the bed creaked and slammed against the wall, his bedframe scratching against his beloved wooden floor as his ears were blessed with your saccharine moans, leaving you unexpectedly and unplanned.

Your body knew how to take him precisely as his thrusts moved you forward, encouraging all the natural sounds to come out of you instinctively.

He was afraid that if he let go of your hips that he would lose it.

He was afraid that he’d pound you right into the mattress; instead, he had a set intention to make this last, to see how far he could take you.

Mat had never heard you sound so beautiful, he thought, just as his rage came to a peak; he could feel his joints begin to sore as he gave it his all, unwilling to stop and let go, fully zoned into unloading his stress.

He never knew it would bring you so much bliss as he looked down and saw the consequences, heavenly squelching echoing against his growls. He knew you were losing it, micro mannerisms in your body letting him see that you were reaching your orgasm hastily.

He didn’t need to see your face.

He knew that that familiar blush had knocked at your door, covering your cheeks expansively as your moaning got more high-pitched and frenetic, your pussy twitching around his moving cock.

“Slow down, you’re making a fucking mess.” he commanded, smugly knowing it would allow it to rip through you, just as it did.

His knuckles turned white just as yours did, the grip on your sheets fatally unyielding as you let go, coming over Mat.

The pleasure sparking every synapse in your brain, the cozy feeling flashing through you over and over again as he kept fucking, still roughly and aggressively.

“You’re fucking gushing.” he said, brave enough to let a hand come down, hard on your ass. The nonchalant tone of disgust in his voice made your whole body light up, tiny bumps forming on your skin at his words as you began to come down from your orgasm.

Mat kept relentlessly, only speeding up, just edging at the border of being too much. As he hit the same spot over and over again, forcefully, your limbs became weak, succumbing to the tremoring that Mat was sending through your system.

The more you came on him, the more degrading he’d become, periodically spitting onto your core. You knew it wasn’t for any functional purpose more than for humiliating pleasure, giving you everything you craved and more. You couldn’t ask for more, his groans and insults filling up the room; however, the needier you acted, the more Mat would crack under you.

And the more you pretended you didn’t notice it, the harder your eyes would roll back.

“You’re so fucking loud, god damn. I’d tell you to shut up, but I know you can’t do it, you’re so heated up.”

Your muscles started to twitch faintly as he snuck his hand around you to rub your clit vigorously, pushing against your skin with sadistic pressure. As much as you tried to get any words of warning out, your body betrayed you, falling pathetically flush against the mattress, the only thing leaving you a whimper.

The movement wasn’t surprising to you; you had noticed the build-up and distress signals a while ago but had stupidly given in to the thrill instead.

For Mat, however, it was a different story.

Seeing you tremble against his milky sheets, writhing around slowly and whimpering had him worried immediately. He pulled out swiftly before turning you around.

Thankfully, your eyes found each other, giving him an encouraging sign of lucidity from you.

“Look into my eyes. Are you okay?” he said, clenching his fingers underneath your chin.

“M’kay.”

Through blurry vision, you were able to find his dark gaze, regardless of how he was touching your face. The grip on your cheek was so protective and yet you couldn’t ignore the hedonism in his touch.

“What is it? I’m not going to keep fucking you if you’re lying to me.” he said, harshly.

Your brain had melted, completely caved into him, his energy and touch that had brought you to this place so quickly. The unfamiliar floaty feeling neighbored you as you began to tranquilize your boyfriend.

“I’m not lying.” you muttered lazily, gaining enough strength to prop yourself up on your elbows, your nose now touching his. “It just feels so good, Mat.”

Your confession took Mat by surprise.

His worst fear was taking it all too far, unwillingly hurting you in any way, whether that be physically or otherwise.

All the same, here you were, in all of your splendor under him, shaking from pleasure.

It didn’t take long to realize that perhaps he had induced some sort of high, if that was possible.

“You need a kiss?” he asked, his eyes still diligently studying your face. “You need a kiss, don’t you, yeah, come here.”

It wasn’t frenzied or fiery, and still, it told him everything he needed to know.

“That’s all? Better?” he looked at you once more, running his mental checklist.

Eyes were good, skin not too flushed, she can kiss normally, and speak. Not dehydrated or pale.

“Much better.”

The transparency in your speech set in stone what he had thought of.

The words that so easily came out of him, his mannerisms and gestures had sent you haywire, quivering with vibrant intensity, the bliss forcing its way out of your pores, steaming from your skin.

“Good job.” he coaxed, mentally patting himself on the back with a smirk as you fell back down onto the cloudy mattress with a dreamy sigh, a hazy look fixated on him.

Drunk on pleasure, he thought, snickering.

“I bet you feel so dirty, don’t you?” Mat said, his chest heaving with warm sweat dripping from his stubble down onto his pecs. Vulnerability surrounded you both, your eyes running upon each other’s bodies. Taking this moment to pause made sure you were attending to each other fully and completely, the desire still consuming you thoroughly. In the quietness, Mat took his fingers and began running them down your abdomen, barely grazing your clammy skin.

“I asked you a question, doll.” he said, moving his touch again up your centerline. You could only nod, his fingertips electrifying you with eternal bliss as they found their resting place on your plump lips.

“Are you having trouble with your words?” he said, breathlessly mocking you before you stuck your tongue out, soaking his digits by letting them sit on you.

After all, Mat didn’t think he could break any further.

Until then.

Seeing you embrace the feeling gave him the reassurance that he was subconsciously looking for.

He was incredulous at your actions, sticking your tongue out fully, with no shame or guilt, and only for him.

Letting your spit absorb into his calloused skin, while more saliva pooled visibly at the back of your throat.

Disgustingly.

And it made his throbbing cock twitch, heedlessly slapping against your cunt in a wet motion.

“Fuck, angel.”

He pushed it further by entering your mouth and your pussy simultaneously, a choked moan surrounding his hand as your eyes flew back.

“That’s my fucking girl.” he said, his eyebrows furrowed as he wasted no time in his fucking, militantly filling you fully again. “Doesn’t it make you feel so good, baby?”

“It does.” you moaned, obediently answering his every question and request.

“Doesn’t it feel so fucking good to be so dirty for me?” he asked, flush taking over him again.

It was so delightful to see him let go, fully, just as he thought the same about you.

“So nasty, such a sick little girl.” he continued. “Turn around, come here.”

Mat sat back on his heels, guiding you to sit on his cock.

The will was stronger than logic, your thighs quivering as you sunk down on him.

Mat always hit deeper at this angle, his cock bulging out on your lower tummy as your ass came flush with him.

“You’re so bad, so fucking bad. And look at you, you don’t even care.” he said, moving your hair to the side as his lips grazed against the shell of your ear.

“What would everyone say if they saw you acting like this, huh? Begging to take me after I’m so mean to you. After I slap you, choke you, and spit on you. After I say the most degrading fucking shit to you, you don’t care. It makes your panties drenched, doesn’t it?”

Mat’s hands ran up past your tummy and found a tight hold on your tits, variating between letting them bounce in his palm and gripping them so desperately that it left marks on you. Your chests moved in synch, up and down with your motions; you let your head fall back on his shoulder as you unavailingly rebounded briskly, tightening just at the perfect moment, when your opening came in touch with the delicious curve between his pelvis and the base of his cock.

“Just as I fucking thought, you can’t even hold back.” he said, grinding ever so slightly against you. The recognizable feeling started to take over you for the millionth time, candied moans causing Mat to jolt against you unexpectedly and thrust deeper.

“You’re going to cum again, aren’t you?” he asked, slapping one of your breasts. “Your body gives you away so easily, angel face.”

He was solid under you, your loving foundation as more juices ran out of you, covering his thighs in sticky squirt, your whole being quivering in delight with his arms instinctively holding you through it.

“That’s because you’re mine, yeah?”

Your eyes, stuck on the ceiling, recognized just how close his face was to yours, gaze fixated on your expression as it furrowed and sweated the incessant orgasm.

“Yeah, I don’t even have to fucking ask.”

Mat kept talking, kept grinding, as his hands got more desperate, undecided between all the layers of skin and flesh. The more he focused on you, the more he felt like he couldn’t hold back any longer, and as much as he felt that most of the night, he knew that the simple intemperance that had built inside him was about to burst.

“Look at you. You need more? You always fucking do.” he coaxed, settling his left hand on your throat as your whole body kept aching, spasming sweetly on top of him.

Totally uncontrolled.

Unaware of what liquids were leaving you and what noises you were making.

Your brain only handling and pining for pleasure.

More and more.

“It’s never fucking enough for you, is it? You love it when I cross the line with you, you needy, needy girl.” he said, his grip on your throat tightening slightly enough to make your dotted vision fill with sparkles.

Your head snapped up as your abdomen contracted, almost painfully sore, finally letting you breathe deeply as your body gave you a second to recuperate.

Tears involuntarily left the corners of your eyes, perhaps from the delectation of it all, the intensity, the overwhelm, or the tiredness.

“It feels so, so good. You make me feel so good.” you managed to find the strength to whisper against Mat’s lips before letting yours fall on top of his in a loving kiss.

“Oh, god, you’re going to make me cum, baby.”

Mat’s voice quivered, as he stared into you; he had never breathed deeper and yet hyperventilated at the same time, just as he'd never felt so much rage and frustration mixed with pleasure all at once.

“Like that, like that, like that.” he said, through gritted teeth. “Fucking look at me.”

He grabbed your chin roughly, your face pouting under his touch in the cutest way, he thought. “Like that, baby, fuck.”

Mat exclaimed loudly as he colvulsed forward, his cum filling your tight hole with a growl so deep that you felt yourself vibrate at the power in his voice. You sloppily kept jumping on his dick, every single muscle of his being flexing in concentration and gratification as his warm seed seeped inside you and overflowed, running down his hips before he had the chance to pull out.

“Oh, fuck, baby.” he moaned, breathlessly. You finally fell, completely limp, into the puddle that he made you in since the beginning.

“That’s okay, that’s okay, fall into my arms.” Mat reassured, still firing under you. “You did so good. You were so, so good, angel.”

Mat had enough of a size advantage on you to manhandle you, this time turning you both onto your sides after a couple of quiet moments, keeping his cock warm still inside your folds.

“I love you, I love you, baby. So much. Thank you, thank you. Come here.” he whispered against you, running his hand through your locks as he pulled you closer to him by your waist.

“Are you good, baby?” he said, watching you nod with a sweet smile on your face. “Why are you crying?”

“It just felt so good, babe.” you reassured him, turning slightly to play with his shining chain that sat damply on his collarbones.

“I would never hurt you, yeah? You’re safe with me.” he whispered into your cheek in between kisses. “I got you always, babe. Nothing’s going to hurt you while I’m here.”

“I know, baby, I love you.” you said, your eyes into his. “Are you okay, Mat?”

“Oh, baby, yes, yes I’m okay don’t worry. Was I too rough? Too mean? You can tell me, love.”

“No, no, it was perfect.” you repeated. You’d say it as many times as it was needed.

“Good. You were perfect.” he said.

You didn’t know, but he thought the same. Reassurance had no limit for him.

“I see you, I see you fully and I love you, I love everything about you.”

“I love you more, Mat.” you said in between kisses. “Do you feel better now?”

“Oh, baby. So much fucking better.”

#mat barzal #mathew barzal #mat barzal rpf #mat barzal smut #mat barzal x reader #mat barzal imagine #mat barzal fanfiction #mat barzal fic #ny islanders #smut #nhl #nhl rpf #hockey #nhl fic #nhl smut #hockey smut #kikiwrites

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offside-the-lines · 3 months

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tell me who i run to (if not you) | anthony beauvillier

"The first sip is joy, the second is gladness, the third is serenity, the fourth is madness, the fifth is ecstasy." - Jack Kerouac

Summary In July of 2023, Evie looked at a list of cities in North America and rolled a die. Just like that, she packed up her life and moved to Chicago, a fresh start. The 2023-24 NHL season started well for Tito; he did not expect the call on November 28th telling him that he was being traded. To the worst team in the league. And just like that. 10 months after being ripped from his home, he had to pack up and move again. To an unfamiliar city, and to unfamiliar faces. Which is why, when Tito and Evie ran into each other, quite literally, on Christmas morning, they both latched on to a familiar face. Over the next few months, they became close friends. They didn’t talk about the nights shared in Chicago clubs. They didn’t need to. Because they're just friends. Right?

This is a completed fic split into episodes for easier reading. It was written for @bqstqnbruin as part of the Winter Fic Exchange 2k24 hosted by @wyattjohnston.

Episode 1. Blue Christmas (4.9k) Episode 2. I. Winter (4.4k) Episode 3. Pal-entine's Day (4.8k) Episode 4. Four-leaf Clover (5.5k) Episode 5. Evie's Birthday 🌶️ (5.6k) Episode 6. II. Spring (4.8k) Episode 7. Not Goodbye 🌶️🌶️ (5.4k) Episode 8. III. Summer (4.8k) Episode 9. Tito's Birthday (4.2k)

Read it in full (44.5k)

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Under the cut: author's notes, tropes, warnings & disclaimer, fun tidbits, chapter summaries

Author's Notes: This fic was written for @bqstqnbruin as part of the Winter Fic Exchange 2k24 hosted by @wyattjohnston. It got so out of control long so quickly. I genuinely had so much fun writing this, it's basically my magnum opus; if you look closely, I think you can probably see my soul in there somewhere. I would like to thank @devilssacrament, @wyattjohnston, and @forgottenflowers for being my editors, holding my hand and keeping me sane in this. Also, thanks to @swissboyhisch, and @imperatorrrrr for being a sounding board for ideas . All of your help and support has meant so much to me. You are all just the fucking best, I am sorry this has been my entire personality for the past month, I will probably return to normal soon. Probably...

Tropes: a gut-wrenching mix of angst and fluff with a happy ending, slow burn friends to lover (tbh, idiots to lovers let's be real), alternating POVs

Warnings: alcohol (one instance of alcohol poisoning by side character), mature content bordering on smut (mostly occurring in clubs/public), references to a toxic past relationship. Disclaimer: This series is set in Chicago but does not mention the name of the team based there. Only other Chicago players mentioned by name are: Nick Foligno, Jason Dickinson and Connor Bedard. Other notes: NHL players featured Mat Barzal (a heavily featured supporting character/bestie) and brief mentions of Zach Hyman and Matt Martin. Assume that Tito and Evie are always speaking in French with each other.

Face claim for Evie (if you want one, but you can imagine whoever you like): Adeline Rudolph

Fun Tidbits: Original Character (she/her) called Genevieve Gignac or Evie (pronounced eh-vee) is the oldest sibling of Tito's juniors teammate and friend Brandon Gignac. Along with their other sibling Wiliam, they grew up in Montreal. Evie had been living in Toronto for six years, before moving to Chicago in the summer before the fic starts. I did way too much research so a lot of the little facts are true. Nicknames: (ma) chouette (shoo-wet): owl (mon) chou/chouchou (shoo): in practice, honey, sugar, baby, sweetheart // by definition, my cabbage or my profiterole/cream puff (depends who you ask) Solours (soul-oars): the Québécois name for the yellow Care Bear with the smiling sun on its belly Solou’ (soul-oo): a diminutive Evie decides to use

Cook, Cook, drink your tea, But save some in the pot for me. We'll watch the tea leaves in our cup When our drink is all sipped up. Happiness or fortune great, What will our future be? -- "Afternoon Tea at Pittock Mansion" by R.Z. Berry

Episode Synopses:

Blue Christmas Evie and Tito are both starting life anew in Chicago. It's an unfamiliar city with unfamiliar faces. They're both alone on Christmas. Maybe it's fate that brings them together. Jason and Alandra Dickinson are already smelling smoke from this fire.

I. Winter Tito injures his wrist in the first game of 2024, he’s out for 6-8 weeks and then his car breaks down. He thinks maybe he’s cursed. Evie becomes a shoulder to lean on. Barzy gets suspicious.

Pal-entine’s Day Tito returns her kindness by being a shoulder Evie can lean on when she is having a hard time after all-star break. She tells him it’s anxiety about work. He brings her a box of pastries and they cuddle on the couch all day; he doesn’t realize it’s Valentine’s Day. Later, a hook-up goes very wrong.

Four-leaf Clover Tito’s been playing again, and during his first stretch of away games begins to miss home. Well, Evie’s home anyway. When he sees her in the bar, he can’t help but show it. Barzy calls him out on his lies.

Evie’s Birthday Sometimes the music moves you. Sometimes the bass pounding in your chest makes you do things you wouldn’t do. Fuck it, it’s your birthday. That’s what Evie tells herself anyway. There are gifts given, but there are also secrets kept.

II. Spring Tito tries to tell her— he does— It’s just he needs to find the right time, and something keeps coming up. Evie’s honest with herself. But does that even matter? Mat decides maybe it is his time to intervene.

Not Goodbye Evie realizes that her time is running out. To do what? She doesn’t know. But she has one last night to find out. That is until— Well. It’s too late now. Tito flies home and wonders if that will be the worst mistake of his life.

III. Summer They try to get on with their summers as if nothing is wrong, convincing no one. How long will it take them to realize they can’t keep pretending like everything’s fine? And who will finally take the leap of faith?

Tito’s Birthday Tito receives the best birthday present he has ever gotten: the girl he loves standing at his parent’s front door. It was never destiny or fate; it can only be by choice. And they’ll choose each other every time. Eventually, anyway.

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877158 · 8 months

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hockey boys x narratives (pt. 1)

#narratives meme #mine #sidney crosby #pittsburgh penguins #anthony beauvillier #mathew barzal #mat barzal #auston matthews #mitch marner #toronto maple leafs #connor mcdavid #edmonton oilers #hockey rpf #new york islanders #hockey poetry

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cellythefloshie · 9 months

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;; Boyfriend 500 Follower Celebration

Summary: Mat thinks you can do better than your boyfriend, and he sees himself as the most worthy candidate. Word Count: 1k+

What are the chances? Everyone's dancing, and he's not with you.

Mat Barzal wasn’t a predatory man, but he was one that knew what he wanted. And once he wanted something, he would get it, even if it wasn’t morally right to do so. Lately? He wanted you.

It had been something that clicked inside him since the moment his eye met yours all those weeks ago. The team had gone out to dinner, wives and girlfriends all invited, and it had surprised all when your boyfriend didn’t show up alone. You had been together for almost four months, and no one had known. You were best kept secret. But the moment he made the introduction between you and Mat, there was no ignoring the thought that consumed his mind. They lingered there, but one persisted louder than the rest: I can be a better boyfriend than him.

Not that he had anything against the guy. He was a good teammate on and off the ice. But you? You were something special. And Mat? He wasn’t a good guy. Not really. If he was, he wouldn’t be watching you, and only you, in the crowded room. He wouldn’t have noticed how your jeans fit snugly around your hips. Or the low cut of your shirt gave him and any other who dared to look at the magnificent view of your breasts as you danced. There was no losing you on the dance floor, not even as he stood across the bar leaning against the bar top with a drink in his hand. He nursed it slowly, letting the alcohol burn its way down his throat, all the while never tearing his eyes from you. The lights illuminated your figure and the soft features of your face. Though he was sure without them, you would still be radiantly glowing in the darkened New York City nightclub.

You were someone who demanded to be seen, even if it wasn’t with your words or your intention. Carefree and confident with every one of your movements to the music, you would have lured anyone in. But your boyfriend was always there with his hands on your body, and Mat could only dream of touching you. He would kiss you, leaving you blushing, his lips dragging down your neck and leaving Mat hot with jealousy. But tonight, his teammate was nowhere to be seen.

Mat stiffened, his back tense as he pushed up off the bar and placed his half-empty glass down against the bar top. His hand slipped away, wet with the cold condensation before he could drag it down the length of his jeans as his dark eyes scanned over the dance floor. He saw the faces of strangers and the bodies of your friends as they danced around you. Silhouettes of others obscured his view of your body and how it rolled to the music. They hid the smile on your face and how it grew when it changed to one that could only be your favourite. What he saw, however, was how you looked around for your boyfriend, and how your smile wavered when you could not find him in the crowd. Yet, you remained on the dance floor lost in the music without him and without your friends as they filtered off the dance floor for another drink.

Deep in his chest, his heart thundered along with the bass of the music. It pulsed through him and drowned out every thought in his mind that told him to turn back and retreat to the bar. That you were a woman spoken for, and he had no right to even think about touching you. Yet, he didn’t stop. Mat needed to take this shot, even if he might regret it later. His one thought drove him: a mantra, a promise; I can be a better boyfriend than him.

Mat joined the crowd of strangers on the dancefloor effortlessly, his every movement orchestrated to get him closer to you. Moving as effortlessly as he did on the ice, Mat dodged strangers and desperate women who wanted to steal a dance, but he himself was a desperate man. He would not settle for anyone but you.

After offering nothing more than a slow, apologetic shake of his head to the women who could not see his disinterest, Mat finally met you out on the dance floor. Lungs burned deep in his chest as he admired how your body moved. The sway of your hips, the way you so clearly didn’t know what to do with your hands. He would have laughed if he could breathe. Mat wouldn’t let his nerves get the best of him. The song was almost over, but that didn’t stop him from reaching out and taking your hand. His touch left you spinning in place to face him, your expression going from shocked to relieved as quickly as the lights could change in rhythm with the music. For a moment, he expected you to pull away, but your smile only grew. Mat could breathe again. You were dancing with him.

There was no fighting the smirk that took to his lips as he trailed his hand up your arm, feeling your skin for the first time beneath his fingertips. Or hiding the light in his eyes as he marvelled at the sight of you dancing there in front of him. With his eyes, he drank you in and his neck craned down to look at you, sending wisps of his dark hair down to tickle the skin of his forehead. Mat was enjoying it far too much, and anyone who looked at him would know it. But that didn’t stop him.

Mat was utterly shameless in how he danced with you. His touch didn’t stop with stroking up the skin of your arms. Hands found your body, stroking over the satin fabric of your top and wrinkling it beneath his desperate touch. It drew you in cautiously, testing the graze of your body against his thigh, but then you indulged him.

You spun around, your back flush with his chest and the rest of your body fitting against his so perfectly. It was an invitation, one that he accepted without hesitation. His hands dragged down your body, feeling your every curve before one of his hands settled on each of your hips. Fingers gripped at you tight. Pressing into your sweet flesh and guiding you back until he could feel the curve of your ass grinding against the inside of each thigh. Each bump, and every grind, was like getting shocked with a volt of electricity. It coursed through him, leaving his breathing laboured and his skin damp with the beginnings of sweat. There was no ignoring the ache in his cock, and how it threatened to stiffen for you. And how quickly he would let it if you let him.

Mat had to bite down on his lip to fight it, but the thought lingered. Echoed. I can be a better boyfriend than him. He wanted you to know it, but words alone wouldn’t be convincing. You needed to feel how he felt. The desperation. The desire. Did it consume you the same way it consumed him? There would only be one way for him to tell.

A single hand left your hip, his fingers splayed wide. He dragged his palm up over the plains of your stomach and the swell of your breast that he so desperately wanted to take a handful of. He could feel the heaviness of your breath and left it behind as his fingers tickled your collarbone and travelled up. Up, and over your neck and how you outstretched your throat to him before his fingers found the soft skin of your cheek. Slowly, with your back still firm to his chest, Mat turned your head just enough for you to glance back at him. He watched as your eyes fluttered, your gaze flickering over his softened features before they settled on his lips.

Mat dragged his tongue hungrily over his bottom lip, moistening it and his dry mouth before he leaned in. His hand remained on your cheek, his thumb dipping down just enough to angle your chin up for your lips to meet. His kiss showed every bit of his intent and would leave your boyfriend regretting that he left you to dance alone.

#mat barzal #nhl fanfiction #nhl rpf #nhl imagine #hockey imagines #hockey rpf #fanfic #;;500

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idontgiveaflyinggrayson69 · 1 year

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Life As We Know It | Part 21

Author: Nat / @idontgiveaflyinggrayson69

Tagging: @thirteenisles @matbaerzal @mcmo-anon @texanstarslove @matbarzyy @hockeywocs @ggggmoneyyyy @tysonjost-taylorsversion @toplinetommy @fiveholegoal @itrocksmysocks @joelsfarabee @barzysreputation @iangiemae @stlbluesbrat @c-tangerine @canadianheaters @jeylia-haj @roopehintz @dreamsndior @beauvibaby @2manytabsopen @nazdaddy @sorryjustafangirl @fallinallincurls @pastelpapermoons @hockeybabe87 @kayt-marie @heatherawoowoo @islesnucks @whoeverineedtobe @ohpuckyeah @tpwkstiles @mf-mightyducks @day-dreamerr @ficsilove10 @notaccurateornice @rapidfever @hoodpankow @oopsiedoopsie23 @haylie-mcc @jostyriggslover96 @newlibrary @honestreputation @the-philthepill13 @justanotherfansblog @simpgirl-lat @hockeypuckspost @great-puck-work @yzas-stuff @sidscrosbyy @teenagekook @svechnikolan @lovethepreds @strong134 @dylancozzys @gravyoverall @lena306 @caelum-the-part-time-acosmist @taiter-tots @canesjedi31 @kq9003 [let me know if you want to be added!]

Word Count: 8k

Warnings: Alcohol. Sexual references?

Comments: I know this took a million years and I’m so sorry!!! I hope it’s worth the wait!!! Thanks again to everyone who stuck with this story despite it being WAY too long between updates. And remember, Beau is an Islander for life in this story 🧡💙

Tess loved Valentine’s Day.

As long as he knew her, Tess had adored Valentine’s Day. Tess loved all the hearts and flowers and teddy bears and the idea of love that came with it. Not to mention, Tess had never really had a serious boyfriend, one that would spoil her with chocolates and roses and tell her 365 different reasons why he loved her. Anthony would be the first, and if he was lucky, her only, so he knew that he had to do something special for their first Valentine’s Day together; he knew he had to make it worthy of her. Even if he had never really been a fan of Valentine’s Day himself.

It wasn’t that Anthony didn’t like Valentine’s Day or had any personal vendetta against it. For several years he had played the boyfriend role perfectly with dinner and gifts and flowers, he just had never really been a fan of the holiday. Valentine’s Day marketed love and buying gifts to show that love, but Anthony firmly believed that, if you loved someone, truly loved them, you should show them every day, not just one day out of the year.

You should take them out to dinner just because, buy them flowers because the tulips reminded you of them, get them the bracelet or book or knickknack because you knew they’d like it, or go out because you love being with them. Love wasn’t something to expect or market, but something that should be given whole heartedly.

But Tess loved Valentine’s Day and he loved Tess with every ounce of his being, so he would make it the best damn Valentine’s Day he could.

The Islanders were on the road the week leading up to Valentine’s Day, so he had a lot of time to think about how he’d woo Tess. Most guys slept on the plane or played on their phone, but Anthony spent every second trying to plan the perfect day for Tess. And it didn’t take him long to realize that it was a lot easier to draw up a play than it was to come up with a Valentine’s Day plan.

Tess…

Tess was loving and kind and amazing and perfect and he knew how she used to dream of a perfect Valentine’s Day and happily ever after and he wanted to give her everything. He had let down a lot of people in his life, sometimes it felt like he still was, but he could never let Tess down. Come hell or high water, he’d do whatever he could to make her happy.

The plane wasn’t enough time to make the perfect plan, especially after he asked Barzy what his Valentine’s Day plans were and he shared a way too detailed description of all the different sex positions he was thinking of for him and Connor. “You know, the best thing to give a woman on V-Day is a mind blowing orgasm,” Mat said without looking up from his phone, and he only forced his eyes away from the screen when Anthony didn’t reply.

“Yeah, I’m not sure that’s on the menu,” he finally replied.

“You guys still haven’t?” Mat asked at the way Anthony’s lips tightened and he winced when Anthony shook his head. “Damn, I really bought that pack of condoms for nothing…”

“We’re going slow,” he shrugged. “Tess asked for slow so we’re going slow, we’ll get there when we get there. I mean…” he took a deep breath. “She’s never even mentioned sex before, for all I know…”

Mat’s eyes bugged a bit, “you think?”

“I don’t know,” Anthony replied firmly. “So, we’re going slow. So, yeah, I’m not sure mind blowing orgasm is on the menu, but I could totally give her one if she wanted,” he added quickly when Mat opened his mouth.

He was quick to close it before he shrugged. “I mean,” he started. “Are you sure? It has been a while. I could refresh you on where the clit is and how to—”

“Mat.” His voice matched the sharp look in his eyes. “I know what I’m doing. And plus, I know Connor has you by the balls. She tells Tess everything and Tess tells me everything.” His smile grew as Mat’s flush did and he contently leaned back in his plane seat as Mat went uncharacteristically quiet.

Maybe one of the married guys would yield better advice for Valentine’s Day, Anthony thought as he closed his eyes. Like Nelly or Bails or Pager. They had to know how to get Valentine’s Day right if their wives stuck with them.

Anthony’s mind was still racing when they landed in Tampa, and he was distant enough during dinner that the guys noticed, so distanced and caught up in the thought of Tess that he didn’t even hear Nelly’s question.

“He’s still in the honeymoon phase,” Mat smiled brightly as he wrapped his arm around Anthony’s shoulders. “Tess consumes his every thought.”

“Shut up,” he grumbled and pressed his thumb into Mat’s ribs hard enough to make him yelp. “Like Connor isn’t the only thing on your mind.”

“Not the point,” Mat replied and tried to jab he back, but Anthony easily blocked him.

“Whatever,” Anthony rolled his eyes. “What was your question?”

Brock shared a knowing look with Anders before he shook his head. “I asked you what you were going to order.”

“Oh,” he whispered and felt his blush creep up his neck. “Um, the steak sounds good?”

“Yeah,” Brock nodded. “I was between that and the salmon.”

“Salmon would be lighter, depends on how the flight hit you, I guess,” he replied, but suddenly he was thinking of whether steak or fish would be better for him and Tess. Or maybe chicken. Or duck. Or—

“Beau,” Anders’ voice cut through his thoughts and he winced as he looked to his captain.

“I will have my head on for the game tomorrow don’t worry,” he reassured Anders.

Anders shook his head. “I’m not worried about that,” he replied. “I just want to make sure you’re okay, offer any advice if you need. I mean, it must be difficult balancing this new phase with Tessa while trying to juggle a 12-month-old, I think I speak for all of us when I say those are a handful on their own.” Those with kids agreed with a soft laugh and Anthony nodded.

He knew he’d probably be chirped into next week for it, which is why he’d rather go to Anders or Nelly or Bails one on one, but he resigned himself with a nod, “Valentine’s Day is coming up and Tess adores Valentine’s Day and I want to make it special for her without it being cheesy.” When the table was quiet, he took a big drink of his beer and shot Mat a death glare.

It was Brock that broke the silence. “Flowers,” he said. “Girls love flowers, but not any kind, their favourite kind, that’s very important.”

“Yeah,” Anders agreed. “And you’re a pretty decent cook, aren’t you? So cook her dinner instead of taking her out, that shows you care, and girls find that romantic as fuck.”

“And jewelry,” Bails tacked on. “It sounds cliché, but they really do love it, if it’s good. Don’t get what you like, you have to get what they’d like, even if you don’t understand it. And for the love of God, there is a huge difference between yellow gold and white gold and do not make that mistake.”

Anthony blinked back at him as he nodded, “right, got it, thanks.”

“And don’t forget the condom,” Anders added with a wink and teasing smile that made Anthony rest his forehead against the table with a groan.

“One time,” he grumbled to himself. “One fucking time…”

“One time too many,” Mat cackled as he shook Anthony’s shoulder.

Once he got back to the hotel room, he stripped down to his underwear and crawled into bed and Anthony looked up jewelry stores and florists between texts to Tess while Friends played in the background. He had always liked the show, but now it was an ever present reminder of her that made him love it so much more.

Planning the perfect Valentine’s Day kept him up at night and, despite his earlier promise to Anders, it took him longer than he wanted to admit to find his legs during the game the next day, but he finally came up with a plan and he only hoped it would live up to her expectations.

Luckily, the Islanders were home for Valentine’s Day, so the day began like any other: Tess wrapped up in his arms. Sure, she had her own room and own bed, but the only place Anthony wanted her was his arms. Once he knew how perfectly she fit in them, he’d never be able to let her go. So, Valentine’s Day began with Tess waking with her face pressed into Anthony’s chest and his arms wrapped around her and she smiled as she tried to snuggle closer. He had always been the best teddy bear she could ever ask for and she felt rather than heard Anthony’s laugh as he tightened his hold on her.

“Good morning,” he breathed, his voice thick with sleep.

“Shh, sleeping,” she mumbled and buried her face into further his chest, making Anthony laugh harder as he trailed his hand up and down her back.

“Okay,” he hummed. Tess made a soft sound against his chest and he tightened his hold on her. Perfect wasn’t a good enough word to describe her, she was his everything. His past, his present, his hope for the future, his family, his everything. All that he was began and ended with Tess. And Valentine’s Day meant a day off, so he was more than happy to stay wrapped up in Tess’s arms as long as she’d allow, or as long as Sorel would allow.

Which, of course, is exactly how the morning went.

He didn’t know how long they stayed wrapped up in each other’s arms before Sorel’s crying came through the monitor, but it wasn’t long enough. He loved Sorel more than he had words to describe, but sometimes all he wanted as an extra five minutes with her mom. They had spent longer, much longer, as friends and parents than they were as a couple and Anthony was desperate for any moment alone they could steal.

He hated jostling Tess when Sorel cried, but he knew it was long past her normal wake up time and she needed to be changed and feed. He murmured an apology when Tess groaned as he slipped out of bed before he went to get Sorel, and by the time he emerged from her room in a clean diaper and outfit, Tess was up. Her hair was messy and fluffy, and she had a sleepy smile on her lip and his shirt dwarfed her frame, all of which made Anthony’s heart flutter.

“Sit,” he told her and put Sorel in her highchair. “I will make you coffee and breakfast.” He smiled before he kissed her cheek and directed her to a chair at the island.

It didn’t take long for her coffee to finish brewing and he added the milk and sugar before he slid it across the table and started making his own. “Bacon and eggs?” He asked. “Or maybe waffles and berries?” He smiled when Tess’s face light up and reached under the island to find the waffle iron. He couldn’t remember the last time he used it and he hoped it still worked as he pulled it in and gathered the ingredients for waffles, and he gave Tess a hard look she tried to get up to get the fruit from the fridge.

He prepared the berries and fruit after he mixed the batter and the waffles didn’t take long after he added them to the iron. He added strawberries and blueberries to Tess’s plate, along with a mountain of whipped cream that made her laugh and he stole a kiss as he sat it down in front of her.

“Thank you, it looks amazing,” she smiled back at him.

“Not as amazing as you,” he replied without missing a beat and his smile widened as she blushed, and when his own waffled was ready, he added strawberries and banana.

Anthony tisked Tess when she reached for the dishes after breakfast. Today was her day, one of them at least, and he wouldn’t have her lift a finger, and he was in the middle of dishes when the florist knocked at the door.

The knock at the door surprised Tess and she furrowed her brows as she looked at Anthony but he did his best to shrug her off. “Can you get it?” He asked and she nodded before making her way over.

As soon as she answered the door, she was faced with a delivery boy and a large bouquet of flowers. “Delivery for Tessa?” He said with a smile.

“Uh, yeah, that would be me,” she replied with a confused expression and the guy handed her the big bouquet of flowers to her before he wished her a happy Valentine’s Day and got on his way. Tess was frozen for a moment as she held the flowers close to her before she took a deep breath in and her smile grew as she closed the door when she was able to give them a good look and smell. It was a bouquet of pink and red roses and lilies and other filler flowers and soft green leaves around the edges and, of course, beautiful white orchids.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” he told her softly as he leaned against the counter and his shoulders softened at the way she smiled when she finally looked up at him.

“They’re beautiful,” she told him. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he replied and pushed himself off the counter to step closer to her. “But they’re not as beautiful as you.” Tess opened her mouth to argue but he pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “They’re not,” he repeated.

His smile grew at Tess’s blush and he got her a vase for her flowers so they could sit in the middle of the island, and they were more than happy to spend the afternoon together watching Sorel’s favourite TV shows and playing her favourite games. They were a family. Forever and always, they were a family.

When it was time, Anthony pulled everything out and started to prepared dinner before Tess could ever ask, and maybe pinot noir wasn’t the best pairing in the cookbook, but it was Tess’s favourite and her smile meant everything to him. He made her garlic parmesan chicken breasts with steamed veggies for a side. He wanted to refuse her help, wanted to make it special for her by doing everything for her, but he gave in every time she gave him her puppy dog eyes so he let her prep the veggies while he did the chicken and he couldn’t stop thinking about how nice it was to work around each other in the kitchen and how mundane it was.

Finally, the dinner was severed and Anthony smiled as he moved everything to the table. “After you,” he said and only took for himself after Tess had served herself and Sorel. And, to only mild surprise, the dinner was actually really good and Tess couldn’t stop shaking her head as she smiled.

“What?” Anthony asked with a soft laugh.

“I’m just really happy,” she told him. “I can’t count the times I thought about us spending Valentine’s Day with you and now it’s really happening.”

Anthony softened as he looked at her before he raised his glass of wine. “To us,” he said and smiled as she raised her glass too.

“To us,” she echoed and clinked her glass against his.

The rest of dinner was nice. Anthony talked about the roadie and his week ahead while Tess spoke of her plans with Connor and Anthony helped Sorel with her dinner which always made Tess look at him with soft, loving eyes.

Tess fell in love with Anthony years ago, but it was a totally different, deeper love watching him with Sorel. She always knew he’d be a good father, but it was something else entirely seeing how amazing a dad he really was. For so long, Tess had dreamt of having a family with him that it felt surreal to actually have it. There was so much love in her eyes watching him feed Sorel with a smile on his face and Tess meant every word when she said she had never been so happy in her life.

She finally had everything she could ever want.

After dinner, Tess tried to help with dishes but Anthony refused her help. So, instead she played with Sorel on her play mat while Anthony finished the dishes and then they started getting her ready for bed. Tess would have bathed her, but it was Valentine’s Day and dinner had been later than usual and Tess didn’t want to keep her up later than usual. Sorel really took after her dad and could get really cranky when she was tired so, yeah, her bath could wait till tomorrow.

Once Sorel was down, Tess changed into something more comfortable—one of Anthony’s old Islanders shirts and some sleep shorts—and she didn’t think twice about curling up next to him on the couch.

“I’ve never been a huge Valentine’s Day person,” he confessed softly.

“I know,” Tess replied and looked over at him. She had seen him through multiple girlfriends, as painful as it had been, and it had always been about what they wanted rather than about them.

“But I get it now,” he told her. “I like being your Valentine.”

Tess ducked her head as she leaned into him. “I really like being your Valentine, too, Anthony. I really like you,” she teased and Anthony kissed her temple before he gently carded his fingers through the ends of her curls, and he murmured an apology as his fingers tangled in her hair before he pressed another kiss to his temple.

When he pulled back, he held her eyes, her beautiful coffee eyes he fell in love with, before he whispered, “I got you something. I’ll just be a second while I get it.” Tess’s brows furrowed as she watched him get up and disappear into his room, but he came back a moment later with a big red gift bag and Tess’s shoulders relaxed.

“You didn’t have to,” she said softly.

Anthony gave her an almost offended look and handed her the bag before he sat back down next to her. “Like I’d fuck up our first Valentine’s Day,” he scoffed. “Now go on, open it.”

Tess laughed softly but opened the bag and she was surprised at everything in it. “Anth—“ she started but Anthony waved her off.

“C’mon, open it,” he encouraged.

Her eyes shined and the corner of her lips twitched up as she nodded and started to pull everything Anthony had stuffed into the bag. First there was a candle that smelt like vanilla. Then there was a set of bath bombs that Tess definitely didn’t think about using with Anthony and blushed when she sat them down on the coffee table. There were two sets of chocolates, and a Tiffany’s box. Just like the bracelet and the ring before, Tess’s breath caught in her throat and she looked up at Anthony. He worried his lip between his teeth but nodded and Tess looked down as she opened it and her smile softened immediately.

Had had gotten her a bracelet and a ring, it was only fitting that he got her earrings too. They were simple and beautiful, small silver, or maybe white gold, hoops with dangling pear diamonds.

“They’re beautiful,” she whispered and looked up at him. “Thank you.”

Her heart twisted knowing she hadn’t gotten him anything thinking he didn’t care about Valentine’s Day and she put the earrings down to hug him, pressing her face into his neck as she tried to pour her love for him into the hug. Anthony’s eyes closed as he melted into the hug and he buried his face into her hair. “You’re welcome,” he breathed.

Tess pulled back from the hug after a moment and cupped his jaw to kiss him softly. “You’re making me feel terrible for not getting you anything,” she told him but Anthony shook his head.

“You’re the only gift I could ever want,” he told her and kissed her again.

Tess’s thumb ran over the arch of his cheek and she couldn’t stop smiling as she pulled back from the kiss and Anthony was so incredibly in love with her. Sure, they had only really been together for a handful of weeks, but they had been friends for years and he honestly couldn’t imagine his life without her.

Tess continued to run her thumb over his cheek and the soft look in his eyes stirred something in her. Her eyes dropped to his lips and she leaned into him before kissing him again, deeper than before. Anthony was taken back but he quickly melted into the kiss and let his hand rest on her hip.

He didn’t expect the kiss to last long so he let her control it, but Tess didn’t pull back. Maybe it was the wine or the gifts or the fact that it was Valentine’s Day, or maybe it was just Anthony, but Tess didn’t want to stop and when Anthony broke the kiss, she quickly chased his lips and kissed him again. Anthony made a soft sound against her lips that sent a wave of heat through her body and Tess pressed herself closer to him, as close as she could be still sitting next to him.

Anthony kept waiting for her to pull back but she didn’t. Instead, she threaded her fingers through his hair and let her chest rest against his. She wasn’t wearing a bra, she never really had to, so Anthony could feel her breasts and the hardness of her nipples against him and he couldn’t get enough. His neck strained as he deepened the kiss and Tess made a soft sound against his lips that had his hand moving from her hip to her thigh as he pulled her onto his lap, her knees on either side of his thighs bracing her weight as her hips rested against his.

Tess broke the kiss with a gasp and looked at Anthony with wide eyes. “Sorry… Is this okay?” He asked, letting his hands rest on the bare skin of her thighs, terrified he had read her signals wrong and had gone too far.

It took Tess a moment to answer as her heart raced and her lips parted as she looked at him. He was warm beneath her and she settled her weight on his lap before she ran her hands up his arms to rest on his shoulders. “Yeah,” she nodded and kissed him again, pulling a soft groan from him.

Anthony let her control the kiss for a moment before he deepened it and pulled her hips flush against his and Tess couldn’t help the moan that slipped from her lips. It was the first time he heard her moan and it went straight to his groin and he wanted to pull more beautiful sounds from her. When she didn’t pull back from the kiss, he let his hands move to her ass and he gently kneaded the soft flesh. It would be so easy to grip her ass as she—

He shook the thought from his head as he nipped at her lip and moved his hands up to her waist. Her skin was warm and she kissed him again just as deeply as before which only spurred him on as he trailed his hands higher on her rib before he broke the kiss to trail his lips down her jaw. Never in his life had he wanted someone as badly as he wanted her and Tess threaded her fingers through his hair and titled her head to the side to give him move room as she moaned softly.

Anthony felt himself start to harden and in the back of his head he knew they should stop and talk about it. Fuck, he didn’t even know if this was something she had done before, but Tess wasn’t stopping him and he didn’t want to stop. All he wanted her.

His lips found where her jaw met her throat and he grazed his teeth over her skin before he sucked softly but not hard enough to leave a mark and he hadn’t realized his hands were moving up until the tips of his fingers brushed the underside of her breasts. Tess’s grip on his hair tightened and she tensed, pulling him from his thoughts and Anthony immediately moved his hands back down to her waist and leaned back to look at her. “I’m sorry,” he told her, his jaw slack and eyes dark.

Her chest heaved and her heart raced but she shook her head. “It’s okay.”

As much as it killed him, Anthony said, “we should stop.”

“No, Anthony, it’s okay,” she told him.

Anthony’s breath caught in his throat as he looked at her and the look in his eyes sent a wave of heat to her core where she could feel him beneath her. “You sure?” He asked breathlessly and Tess nodded, a soft throbbing starting between her thighs as Anthony held her gaze and trailed his hands back up.

He let the tips of his fingers brush the bottoms of her breasts for a few moments before he slid his hands up to cup her chest. Her breasts fit in the palms of his hands and her nipples were hard but not as hard as he was. He swore he had never been so hard in his life and Tess could feel every inch of him through his sweats and the thin material of her sleep shorts.

“Okay?” He asked breathlessly and Tess nodded.

“Yeah,” she replied shakily.

Anthony gave both of them a minute as he held her chest in his hands, feeling her heart racing against his touch. Tess’s chest heaved against him and his lips were parted as he held her gaze before he pinched her nipples between his fingers.Her eyes closed as she moaned louder than before and Anthony was addicted to the sound. His bottom lip was red and worn and a moan slipped from his lips when Tess rolled her hips into his. “Fuck, Tessa,” he said breathlessly and rolled her nipples between his fingers.

Anthony had always stirred something in Tess but he was doing a lot more than just stirring and she couldn’t get enough of him. She had been terrified that it wouldn’t be good, that it would be awkward, but she was wrong. It was amazing having Anthony touch her. Her hair was a mess as she arched into him and when she ground her hips against his, she pulled a strained groan from him that made clench around nothing.

The more Anthony pinched her nipples, the louder her moans got and it was the hottest thing Anthony had ever heard and he wanted nothing more than to take her apart and see how loud he could make her. But Sorel’s room wasn’t all that far away and they couldn’t wake her. “Tessa,” Anthony breathed. “I need you to quiet a bit.”

Her hips immediately stilled and she looked at him with flushed cheeks, “fuck, I’m sorry.”

“I’m not,” Anthony replied immediately and pinched her nipples again, pulling a sharp gasp from her. “I just don’t want to stop so please don’t wake Ellie.”

Tess knew he was right, but it was so hard for her to be quiet when he was touching her like that and she could feel how much he wanted her. She rolled her hips down against his, creating beautiful friction which pulled a loud moan from her and Anthony tried to quiet her with his lips but he just ended up moaning against her.

Slowly he broke the kiss to kiss down her neck again as he pinched her nipples, pulling another moan from her and he was about to ask to take her shirt off so he could see her as well as he could feel her when the sharp sound of Sorel’s cries cut through the room.

“Fuck,” Anthony cursed and leaned his head against Tess’s shoulder with a groan before he let his hands fall to her hips. He was finally going to have her and of course Sorel had to ruin it. “Maybe she’ll cry herself out?” He tried and Tess nodded. But no matter how long they sat there, Sorel didn’t stop crying so Tess slowly untangled herself from him with a sigh.

Her hair was messy and her skin flushed and all Anthony wanted to do was ruin her.

“I’ll get her,” she told Anthony and gave his thigh a pat before she made her way to Sorel’s room, leaving Anthony alone on the couch. He ran his hand over his face as he sunk into the couch, his desire for her clearly visible through his sweats. He had been cock blocked before, but never like this.

And Sorel was usually so good so he expected it would be a quick check in and put down, but the minutes ticked by and Tess didn’t come back out. Anthony groaned and threw his head back against the couch before he got up to check on them, after he adjusted himself of course.

He found Tess swaying with Sorel in her arms while Sorel gripped her shirt tightly. “She doesn’t want to let go,” Tess sighed as she looked over at Anthony.

“You were pretty loud,” he replied softly. “Maybe… Maybe she thought I was hurting you?”

Tess couldn’t help but burst out in laughter as she blushed, but it… It wasn’t that far fetched at all. Ever since they got together and Anthony had been showing more affection toward Tess, Sorel had been getting fussy with Anthony and pushing him away, so it wouldn’t be that hard to fathom that Sorel did think he was hurting her mom… Even if he was doing the opposite.

Anthony sighed and stepped forward to take her from Tess, even if he had to gently pry her fingers from Tess’s shirt. “Daddy wasn’t hurting mommy, okay? Now why don’t you go back to sleep so mommy and daddy can go back to what they were doing.”

“Anthony!” Tess scolded as she gave him a pointed look but he just shrugged. And, of course, Sorel only cried louder as Anthony held her and reached her hand out to Tess until she took her back.

It took them too long to get Sorel back down, she really didn’t want to let go of Tess, but once her door was closed behind them, Anthony let his hand trail down Tess’s back as he bit his lip. “So…” he started. “Where were we?”

Tess took a deep breath and scrunched her nose up before she looked up at him and she didn’t have to say anything for him to know the moment was long gone. “It’s late,” Tess told him. “Tonight was fun, but I’m tired and honestly I think I’m getting a headache from the crying and I just want to go to bed.”

Anthony took a deep breath as he nodded, “yeah, yeah, of course.”

Tess gave him a soft smile and kissed the corner of his mouth before she gave his chest a pat and went to brush her teeth, and Anthony flopped onto the couch with a groan as soon as she closed the door.

He loved his daughter dearly, but fuck.

It had been over a year since the last time he got any and it was Tess and he could still feel her on his lap, the warmth of her against where he needed her most, and how perfect her breasts were in his hands. Tess was perfect, he had always known that, but feeling her, hearing her, having her like that… He hadn’t realized how truly perfect she was and—

“Are you okay?” Tess asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Huh?” He replied, looking up at her like a deer in headlights.

Tess laughed and gave his thigh a pat as she sat down next to him. “I asked if you were okay because you were staring out into space,” she said.

“Oh,” he replied softly. “Yeah, I’m good. I mean, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little… frustrated, but yeah, I’m good.”

Tess blushed and looked down as she fiddled with her shirt. “Sorry…” she said softly but Anthony shook his head.

“You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for,” he told her. “We tested the waters tonight and it was good, right?”

Tess nodded, “yeah.”

“Then we’re good. And you should never apologize for being as hot as you are. If anything, I should be the one apologizing because I’m probably going to end up hard against your ass tonight.”

He made Tess laugh at least and she leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder. “I love you,” she told him after a long moment.

Anthony softened and wrapped his arm around her, “I love you more.”

“Not possible,” she told him and kissed him before he could argue. Anthony melted into the kiss and gently cupped her cheek. She could disagree with him all she wanted but Anthony had never love anyone the way he loved her and he knew he’d never love anyone else the same way.

It was Tess for him.

It was always going to be Tess,

His Tess.

She bit her lip when she pulled back from the kiss and Anthony tilted his head as he looked at her, knowing she had something in mind and already feeling like he wasn’t going to like it. “Tess—” he started but she cut him off as she patted his thigh.

“We need to tell our parents about us.”

Anthony’s groan may have even been louder than her moans and he leaned over to press his face into her lap, “please don’t talk about my mother when I’m still hard.”

Tess’s laugh warmed his chest and she gently carded her fingers through his hair. “Sorry,” she whispered. “But we do, you know we do.”

“I know,” he sighed and rolled onto his back to look up at her. “You know they’ll never let us hear the end of this, right?”

Tess breathed a laugh and let her hand rest on his chest and Anthony was quick to cover it with his own. “I know. But we need to tell them before they figure it out themselves, and my mom’s gonna know the moment she sees us. Connor did.”

Anthony ran his thumb over her knuckles as he gave her a lopsided smile, “love me that much, huh?” He laughed when she scrunched her nose up and when she shoved his chest, he tightened his hold on her hand and leaned up to catch her lips in a soft kiss. “I love you that much, too, Tessa.”

She scrunched her nose up again at the use of her full name and to still the butterflies he still gave her. “So, we’ll tell them then?” She pressed.

“How about we tell yours and leave mine till the summer?” He tried and Tess shook her head.

“Mine first, but we’re not waiting till June to tell your family. I don’t want to get off on the wrong foot with your parents.”

Anthony scoffed and pushed himself up to sit beside her, his hand on her thigh. “Please,” he started. “My mom loves you almost as much as I do. I could tell her we eloped and she’d just be happy to have you in the family.” Tess could see the gears begin to turn behind Anthony’s eyes and he continued, “now that I say it, we should wait until—”

“Absolutely not,” she cut him off. “We’ll tell my mom first then you’re calling your parents to tell them.”

“What if I send her a picture and turn my phone off?” He suggested, though mostly just to rile her up some more, finding her persistence adorable.

“What if I didn’t kiss you until you told your parents?” Tess replied without missing a beat and bit her lip as she looked over at Anthony, proud of herself.

“You wouldn’t,” he breathed as his face dropped. He was right, she wouldn’t. Now that she had had a taste of him, she didn’t she’d ever be able to give him up. But Tess shrugged and Anthony made a strained sound in his throat before he pulled her back onto his lap and kissed her again. “Now that I’ve had you, I can’t go a day without you, so, okay. We’ll call my mom after we tell yours.”

Tess’s smile lit up his whole world and when she kissed the corner of his mouth, he cupped her jaw and redirected her so he could kiss her properly and deeply. She made a soft sound against his lips and fisted his shirt as she felt him again. “Anthony,” she breathed a warning and he pressed his face into her shoulder with a groan.

“I know, I know. I can’t help it,” he told her. “You just do things to me.”

She blushed as she shook her head before she patted his shoulder and pulled back to sit beside him. “TV until your friend calms down and then bed,” she told him and reached for the remote. “We’ll tell my mom the next time we see her.”

Anthony rolled his eyes but nodded, “fine.”

And he was right, even after watching TV he ended up hard against Tess’s ass that night and the next morning, but this time he didn’t pull back and Tess didn’t get flustered or push him away.

---

Tess was right, Lisa knew as soon as she saw them.

It was on Anthony’s face.

It had always been in his eyes. The last couple times they had come over, he had looked at Tess with hope and possibility, but this time… This time it was different. He held the door open for her and let his hand rest on her lower back as they toed their shoes off, and his touch lingered as Tess stepped toward Lisa with Sorel in her arms, and she just had a funny suspicion.

“How’s my grandbaby?” Lisa asked as she took Sorel from her daughter and Anthony ducked his head as he smiled.

Sorel giggled and Tess smiled before she glanced back at Anthony for a moment. “She’s good. Been having some issues sleeping through the night, but she’s good,” Tess replied and blushed softly as she remembered the exact reason Sorel hadn’t slept through the night the week before.

Lisa kissed both of Sorel’s cheeks as they moved into the living room. “Issues sleeping, baby girl?” She asked Sorel in a playful voice that made her laugh again. “What kind of issues?”

“Wake up in the night, crying, that sort of thing,” Tess shrugged as she sat down on the couch and Anthony sat down next to her and gave her thigh a reassuring squeeze, though whether he was reassuring her or himself was up for debate.

“Oh,” Lisa hummed as she looked at Sorel. “Have you tried putting socks on her for bed?” She asked and looked back at Tess and Anthony.

Tess looked over at Anthony and he gave a small shrug of his shoulders. “No, we haven’t,” he replied. “But we certainly will,” he quickly added. “Thank you.”

Lisa pressed another kiss to Sorel’s cheeks and looked back at her daughter and Anthony. They were sitting closer together than normal and his hand rested on her thigh and Tess didn’t knock it away or seemed to have a dark blush to her cheeks like she’d always get. She watched as Tess pushed her hair behind her ears, a long time anxious habit, and Anthony looked over at Tess at the movement.

Lisa had seen Anthony look at her daughter a lot. She had watched his gaze go from friends to something else; watched as his eyes went from hope and possibility to confidence and sure. His thumb rubbed soft circles on her thigh and the corner of his lip twitched up as he looked at her even though Tess wasn’t looking back at him, and Lisa watched as his gaze dipped down to Tess’s lips for half a moment and his smile grew.

Lisa smiled as she settled Sorel on her lap. “So how long have you two been together?” She asked, making Anthony’s head whip toward her and neither of them had to say anything for her suspicions to be confirmed, Anthony’s deer in headlights look said it all.

Slowly, Anthony looked back at Tess and she covered his hand with hers as she smiled before she looked back at her mom. “Almost a month,” she answered, making Lisa’s smile grow.

She always knew her daughter’s feelings for Anthony, Tess had had them for years. If she was being honest, she wasn’t always fond of Anthony with him being a hot shot hockey player and all. She was terrified that he was going to break her daughter’s heart beyond repair, but she had to admit that he had really proven her wrong over the years and she was glad he did. She was happy for them.

“We came here to tell you, but…” Tess continued and looked at Anthony. “You kinda figured it out.”

“Anthony kinda made it obvious,” Lisa laughed and scrunched her nose up as Tess gave Anthony a playful shove that made Tess’s smile grow.

“I knew it,” Tess muttered and Anthony smiled as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“No, you didn’t, you thought you’d give it away,” he replied as his smile widened.

“Shut up,” she muttered and leaned into him in a way that definitely said she wasn’t mad at him.

“I’m very happy for you,” Lisa told them. “The two of you…” She glanced at Sorel before looking back at them. “You’re good for each other.”

“I try to be,” Anthony replied without hesitation. “I just want to look after my girls.”

Lisa’s smile softened as she looked at him and she kissed Sorel’s cheek before she set her down on the carpet and Anthony gave Tess an unsure look as Lisa disappeared into the kitchen, but Tess could only shrug. She didn’t know either. Lisa was only gone a moment before she came back with a bottle of wine and three glasses. “This calls for celebration,” she grinned as she set the glasses and bottle down on the coffee table and Tess pressed her face into Anthony’s shoulder as she groaned. “Well, it’s not every day my daughter starts dating an NHL player.”

“Mom, please,” Tess begged and Anthony gently ran his hand up and down her back.

“What?” She asked as she poured the wine and handed the glasses to them before she settled back into her chair with her glass and crossed her legs. “Can a mother not be happy for her daughter? And come on, I want all the details.”

Anthony laughed at the very large drink of wine Tess took and kissed her temple. “There’s not much to say,” he answered for her. “It was after Ellie’s birthday and I couldn’t stop looking at her and I just couldn’t keep my feelings to myself any longer.” His gaze softened as he looked over at Tess and she smiled despite the blush clinging to her cheeks.

They continued talking over their glasses of wine while Sorel played on the floor, and it honestly didn’t take long before Anthony ended up on the floor with her, managing only a few sips of wine between Sorel and the conversation. And once it was time for Sorel’s afternoon nap, Lisa headed to the kitchen to start preparing for dinner while Tess took Sorel up for her nap.

Anthony followed Lisa, picking up his and Tess’s glasses along the way. He was happy to help however he could and he washed the veggies as Lisa pulled everything else out. She thanked Anthony as she took the veggies from him but shooed him away when he tried to help.

She had just started to half the cherry tomatoes when Anthony took it upon himself to refill her wine glass and Lisa gave him a soft smile before she put her knife down and turned to him. Anthony’s smile slipped at her expression and he put the bottle down before he leaned back against the counter. “I meant it when I said I was happy for you two,” she started, making Anthony take a breath, sensing a ‘but’. “But she’s still my daughter, and without her father…” Lisa sighed before she shook her head and pushed her chin back up. “If you hurt her, I will kill you.”

Anthony breathed a small laugh and nodded. “If I hurt her, I’d let you,” he told her honestly. “But I don’t intend to do that, I promise.” He looked down at his hands as his smile softened. “I’ve never felt this way before, and I know we’ve only been together for a month, but I mean it when I tell you that I hope to marry her one day.”

Lisa softened and she nodded as she stepped closer to him and she gently squeezed his shoulder, “I hope you do, too. But that doesn’t change my warning. I like you, more than I ever thought I would actually, but she’s my little girl.”

His expression softened as he nodded. “I know,” he whispered. “I’d expect nothing less.”

“Good,” Lisa nodded and squeezed his shoulder again. She knew he meant it when he said he wanted to marry Tess, she could see it in his eyes, and though it was early, she meant it when she said she hoped he would. She could still remember the first time she realized she wanted to marry Tess’s father and her heart ached as she pulled back from him.

“And while I have you, don’t get me wrong I love Ellie, but I do hope that you and Tess are using protection. I’m not ready for another grandbaby,” she continued and Anthony’s eyes bugged as he flushed and he opened and closed his mouth as he looked at her, struggling to find his voice as Lisa turned back to preparing dinner.

And, naturally, that was when Tess stepped into the kitchen and she slowed in her steps as she took in her boyfriend’s flushed appearance before she looked to her mother. “What are you two talking about?” She asked slowly, not sure if she really wanted to know.

Lisa gave her an innocent smile that made Tess’s heart drop to her stomach. “I was just making sure you two were using protection,” she replied simply and Tess felt her heartbeat in her ears as she blushed.

“Mom,” she said sharply.

“What?” Lisa asked with a shrug. “One grandbaby is enough for at least another year. Then maybe you two could start trying for another. You don’t want to have them too far apart in age, you know.”

“Mom,” Tess begged, unable to look in Anthony’s direction, but Lisa’s smile only grew and she watched her daughter carefully as Anthony reached out to pull her close and Tess pressed her face into his chest, unable to meet either his or her mother’s gaze.

Young love, Lisa couldn’t help but think to herself. Such a beautiful and precious thing.

#anthony beauvillier #anthony beauvillier imagine #anthony beauvillier story #anthony beauvillier x oc #anthony beauvillier x reader #isles #islanders imagine #new york islanders oneshot #hockey #hockey rpf #hockey imagine #nhl #nhl imagine #mine #Life As We Know It #mat barzal

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jostystyles · 1 year

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trade the city for a place i can keep the pressure down by @nastybastian

this is literally one of my fave rpf fics that i read again and again so i decided to make a moodboard for it :) it’s such a beautiful story and it just screams august by taylor swift to me so that’s why i included those lyrics! the colorized pic of the iconic mat and tyson pic is by @burajosty <3

#emmie’s edit #hockey rpf #mat barzal #tyson jost #nhl moodboards #hockey moodboard #mat barzal moodboard #tyson jost moodboard #buffalo sabres #new york islanders

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ao3feed-hockey · 2 years

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you know my weakness is you

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/tWlxuA5

by mendeshoney

Mat's pretty sure he hates you.

Till he doesn't.

Words: 11741, Chapters: 1/2, Language: English

Fandoms: Men's Hockey RPF

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Mathew Barzal, Original Female Character(s), Original Female Character(s) of Color

Relationships: Mathew Barzal/Original Character(s), Mathew Barzal/Original Female Character(s)

Additional Tags: Enemies to Lovers, Kissing, Spit Kink, Smut, Consensual Kink

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/tWlxuA5

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #hockey rpf

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swissboyhisch · 10 months

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Drunken Mistakes

Pairing: Mathew Barzal x Reader

Summary: After receiving some bad news, you just wanted to not be alone. After a couple drinks, what most likely is a bad decision, starts to sound too good to miss.

Word Count: 2576

Warnings: Alcohol, friends with benefits, bad thoughts

NEXT PART >>

THE MASTERLIST JOIN THE TAGLIST HOCKEY DISCORD

Alcohol. Something to numb the pain. Anything honestly.

After the news you just received, you wanted some kind of distraction. You didn’t want to stay in your hotel room alone. Being in the city, away from your home. You wanted some kind of comfort. Sure, you had some friends living in the city, but everyone was busy. Leaving you alone with your thoughts.

Mat then popped into your mind. An ex-fling. Your childhood best friend that you had reconnected with. One you had a friends-with-benefits situation with. After nights of constant talking and hours-long phones on the way home from work, you had caught feelings for Mat. In return, he ghosted you. Yes, he had warned you not to catch feelings, but it still hurt.

Neither of you had messaged each other for months. The last thing you discussed was your travels through Europe and how you were doing amazingly. During that conversation, Mat had admitted he was lonely. But something was telling you to text him at this very moment. Maybe it was just your desperate need not to be alone.

Hey

Within minutes Mat had replied. When he asked how you were going, you told him the truth. Not good… Well, more like horrible. With that admission, Mat drove to your hotel to pick you up. Promising to be there as quickly as he could.

You grabbed some clothes for the night and the phone charger before heading down to the lobby to wait for Mat. It didn’t take long before the familiar mop of hair weaved through the few people standing about the lobby.

“Hey,” Mat muttered, pulling you into a hug. He could tell you weren’t doing the greatest. “You’re gonna be okay.”

You relax into his body. Your body goes slack in Mat’s arms, holding you against him. “Can we go to yours?”

“Let’s go,” Mat replies.

The brunette grabbed your bag from your hands and placed his hand on your lower back to guide you out of the hotel. His luxurious car was parked in the valet. Mat opened your door, allowing you to slide into the passenger seat and get comfortable. Once Mat pulled out of the hotel, he drove through the city. The music playing on Bluetooth became the soundtrack to your life as you stared out the window.

“The new place,” You finally spoke up, seeing the building come into view.

“Yeah, the new place.”

You noticed things that were not Mat’s when you walked into his apartment. A pair of shoes near the door that wasn’t his style. A pair of keys to a car that wasn’t his. Well, that you knew of.

“No roommate?”

Mat chuckled at the question, “I got a roommate, one of the traded guys.”

That made your heart hurt—more than it already was. Anthony Beauvillier was one of your closest friends, especially when you and Mat were hooking up. And now he lives in Vancouver. If you were hurting, you could only imagine how Mat was taking the whole ordeal.

“Have you talked to Tito recently?” You ask.

“Every day. Want a drink?”

The yes flew out of your mouth faster than you could predict. After looking through Mat’s vast selection of expensive alcohol, you decided to have a Jack and Coke. He grabbed the bottle of whiskey and mixer, a glass from the cupboard, and a shot glass.

“How strong?”

“At least a double,” You answered.

Then the tour began. He started in the kitchen and living room. The occasional picture of his family is scattered on the walls and shelves. Next was the balcony. Quite considerable and well-decorated. The area's main feature is a comfy couch facing the city's view. The last room on the list was his bedroom, which was very Mat: simple colours, well shades of black and white. The wardrobe with mirrors for sliding doors was on the left as you walked in. Across the room was a large window. A dresser with a tv opposite his bed sat centre on the wall to your right—every bit Mat as you’d like.

“My teammate isn’t home, so do you wanna watch a movie in the lounge room?”

“Let me get comfy first,” You mutter, placing your drink on the dresser as you put your bag in the corner of the room.

After changing, you joined Mat on the couch. His feet kicked up on the poof he had, and an enormous blanket lay over his lower half. Without saying anything, you slid under the blanket and sat directly beside him, despite the space on the couch.��

“What movie?”

You look at the options on Netflix, “I don’t know.”

“You choose,” Mat decided, handing you the remote.

“Why?” You laughed.

“You’re the guest.”

“Come on, Mat.”

You gave up on that argument quickly and just flicked through the app. Nothing piqued your interest, and Mat wasn’t any help. Then you came upon Molly’s Game. From the description, it was about an Olympian who runs a high-end poker game for the mafia and prominent stars who ends up on the radar of the FBI. It sounded exciting, and you hadn’t watched it, so you pressed play.

The two of you sat watching the movie, alcoholic drink in hand. The occasional comment or questions asked between you about things that had happened recently. After a bit, you finally got comfy. You were leaning into Mat’s side, head on the shoulder. His arm slides up and around your shoulders. He was holding you tightly against his side. Both of you were settled. You came to trace shapes on his chest as you focused on the movie. His lightly ghosted up and down your back.

It was quiet until Mat broke the silence between you both. “I forgot how easy it is with you.”

You felt that deeply. Whenever you and Mat had spent time together in the past, you didn’t have to try. Didn’t have to actively think about what to do. You both just worked so well together. Sometimes you wondered why he didn’t want a relationship with you if that was his thoughts.

“Me too.”

You finished your drink quickly. It's likely quicker than you should have. Mat didn’t hesitate to grab your empty glass from your hand and get up to make you another drink. You watched as he walked around the couch and to the kitchen. Even twisting so you can lean on the back of the couch and watch him. He saw you looking at him and smiled at you. For a quick second, you felt those butterflies in your stomach, similar to when you two had first hooked up.

“Want to do a shot?” Mat asked as he finished making your drink.

Your eyes lit up at the suggestion. Quickly joining Mat at his alcohol stash. “Of what?”

“I don’t know.”

After having a flashback to having had many nights when you were younger doing shots, you knew what you wouldn’t shoot. “Anything but vodka.”

“How about Fireball?” Mat asked as he grabbed his half-empty bottle.

“Sounds great.”

Mat poured out the two shots. Pouring on the smaller side as the shooters were quite large. You both clinked your glasses before throwing back the amber liquid. Cinnamon. Quite pleasant, you thought. You both put down the glass before sharing a laugh. That was when you looked up at Mat and saw how close you were. Without hesitating, you went in for the kiss. Sure, neither of you had discussed how the night would end between you, but it seemed like there was an underlying tension, sexual.

You both smiled at each other and settled back onto the couch. You were drinking and paying little attention to the movie on the large screen. Most of your attention was on Mat. Your hand started to wander. Starting on his chest and then making your way up to his jaw. He currently had more stubble than you had seen him with in the past.

“I like the scruff,” You comment.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Then silence once more. Both yours and Mat’s hands wandered, touching each other lightly. Nothing too inappropriate. Even the occasional snuggle into Mat’s chest resulted in his hand coming to scratch the back of your head lightly. Just comforting touches that you needed after the news you had heard earlier.

You watched Mat skull the last bit of his beer, then place the empty bottle on the coffee table to his right. After handing him your drink to place on it, you struggle to get out of the tangled mess of blankets and legs. You made your way through the dark, well, low light, to the kitchen to grab a beer for the fridge. Mat watched in amusement as you walked a little tipsy.

“You didn’t have to,” Mat stated as you opened the fridge.

You grabbed the beer he was drinking, “Twist top?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool,” You hum before opening the bottle and returning to Mat’s side, handing him his drink before snuggling back to his side. Not without a quick peck to his lips.

Midway through the movie and a few more drinks later, the kissing intensified. Your hand cups Mat’s scruffy jaw as he pulls you in closer. Fingers tangled into your hair.

“Wanna move to the bedroom?” Mat mumbles against your lips.

“Sure.” Mat turned off the tv and placed the empty glass and bottles on the kitchen counter. You went to the bedroom while he did that. Placing your phone on charge and climbing in under the covers.

Mat walked in and slipped off his t-shirt, revealing his abs. A sight you had missed. God, he was so good-looking. Angelic really. The light was changed to red, a staple between you and Mat when you were hooking up. It also doubled as a warning to Tito that you two were fucking.

“Looking hot,” You grin as Mat makes his way to bed with you.

With a hard tug, Mat falls on top of you. He dipped his head once more to capture your lips with his. You pressed your hips against him, feeling his hard-on under his sweats. Hands slid under your jumper. Pulling up the hoodie. Mat broke the kiss to slip off the article of clothing and throwing in the direction of your bag before returning to kiss your lips.

“Mat,” You moaned as the brunette moved to kiss down your neck.

He gently bit that sweet spot he had memorised, then smirked as you moaned again. “Found it.”

His words made you laugh lightly. Then cut off again by a moan since Mat slid a hand up into your hair. A tangled mess and slight tug. A staple move by the big-shot hockey player. In retaliation, you grazed your hands over his cock under his sweats, making Mat halt in his movements, a silent moan. You tug his sweatpants a little.

“You want them off?” Mat smirks.

“Of course.”

Mat listens to your needs and stands up, gripping the waistband and sliding them down. His hard cock sprung out of the waistband. Slapping his abs with a satisfying skin-on-skin sound.

“Your turn.” You lifted your hips, allowing Mat to slide off your sweatpants. Mat chuckled at your underwear. “You planned on getting some, didn’t you?”

“Can ya tell?”

Without saying anymore, Mat slipped off your underwear and pulled your legs, sliding your body to the edge of the bed. You wrapped your legs around his waist. You needed him closer.

“Mat…”

You reached your hands up and pulled him down to your lips. Lips. Tongues. Wandering hands. A little biting on your part. After you and Mat hooked up last time, you knew to hold back on the biting. You moved to kiss down Mat’s neck, nipping and sucking as you went.

His fingers tangled into your hair to pull you away, “Careful. No marking, you know that.”

“I know, I know. I wasn’t planning on doing it.”

The following day you awoke to Mat lying shirtless beside you in bed. Little snores were the only sound echoing around the room. Your phone was suddenly receiving notifications, buzzing on the side table.

“What time is it?” You mumble to yourself. Leaning over to look at your phone. The glowing white numbers. 6:00 AM. “Fuck.”

You had forgotten to change the sleep focus for last night. Usually, you’d be up for work at this time hence why your phone turned notifications back on. You flicked it back onto sleep focus and rolled over to curl into Mat’s side.

“What’s the time?” He mumbles, barely even awake.

“6.”

“Go back to sleep,” Mat huffed.

For the next two hours, the pair of your drifted in and out of sleep. Either you would shuffle and wake Mat or vice versa. Then it got to the point you couldn’t be bothered to try to go back to sleep. Instead, you pulled up Instagram to scroll through whilst Mat slept. You knew Mat liked his sleep, and he had a later morning skate at 10 AM if you remember correctly.

“Mat, it’s 8:30,” You mumbled when you noticed the time. Both of you needed to shower before leaving. And Mat had offered to drop you back at your hotel on his way to practice.

The two of you fell into a routine of getting ready for the day. You showered before changing back into the clothes you wore to Mat’s. Mat jumped in the shower after you. He came out of the bathroom dressed in jeans and one of his many Islanders hoodies. Something that made him look so good.

Mat came over to where you were sitting on his bed, slipping on your Apple Watch. He leant down and pressed a kiss to your lips once more. Probably the final one of the morning. “Want some food before I drop you off?”

“That sounds good.”

You grabbed your bag, and the pair of your made your way to Mat’s car. He had mentioned a bakery near your hotel that was good. It didn’t take too long… in city time that is. The two of you entered the cafe. Browsing all there was to choose from. After looking at all the baked goods, you decided to get juice—something to quell your unsettled stomach, hopefully. Mat stood before you, eyeing up something in the glass case.

“What do you want?” Mat asked.

“Oh, I’m just getting a juice. Don’t feel like getting any food at the moment.” Mat plucked the juice bottle from your hands and placed it on the counter with his drink. You groaned, going to try to grab the drink back, but he smacked your hand away. “Mat, I can get my drink.”

“Don’t stress about it. I don’t mind.”

You didn’t expect Mat to pay for your stuff. Honestly, you hated having people pay for things for you. Mat was a good person, and you knew that. So it really shouldn’t have been a surprise. After he paid for your things, you both returned to his car, and he started to make his way to your hotel. It was quiet until you pulled into your hotel driveway.

“Thank you for last night,” You stated as you grabbed your bag. “I need it.”

“Me too,” Mat smiles.

“Good luck for tonight.”

Mat says a quick thank you. “Keep me updated.”

“Will do.”

“Bye.”

You send him one last smile. “Bye.”

TAG LIST:

@findapenny @mp0625 @hischierhaze @11zegras @lvrzegras @francesfarhadi @cixrosie @daisysthings @barzyblogbabe

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matbarzyy · 2 years

Text

Winter Magic

A/N: This is my piece for @miracleonice87 for the winter fic exchange organised by @antoineroussel . I feel like it’s such a short one compared to all the fics I’ve seen being posted for this lately, but it’s very sweet so I hope you’ll like it! <3

Word count: 1746

“Baaaaabe,” Mathew whined from the couch, getting you to step out of the kitchen to see him pouting under his pile of blankets.

“What?”

“Cuddles,” the one word reply matched his attitude and you sighed.

“I’m nearly done,” you went back to the kitchen without another word, knowing that Mat would be sulking until you came back to him.

There had been issues with heating in the apartment the two of you shared for nearly a week, and it had been impossible to turn it on for two days now. There was, of course, no one to fix it until tomorrow, which left you to deal with the cold.

Mat had immediately decided that the best way to stay warm was to cuddle, and he had since refused to part from you. Cooking, however, required limbs free of Mat’s hold. You tried to make something quick, partly because you wanted to be back to hiding under a blanket as soon as possible, but mostly because Mat was acting like a toddler to get his way.

“Mat, you can’t eat if I’m sitting in your lap,” you grumbled when he pulled you onto him as soon as you had set the bowls of food on the table.

“I don’t care,” he nuzzled his face in your shoulder and gave your sides a squeeze.

“Mat!” You jumped and turned to look at him. He looked at you like a wounded puppy, so you settled next to him and extended your legs over his lap. “What’s going on with you?”

“Playoffs,” he sighed the word, leaning back against the couch and closing his eyes. His hands didn’t come to cover your legs like they usually did, and you knew it was because he thought he had annoyed you.

Mat was a lot. He knew it from hearing it a million times during his childhood. He knew it from hearing it from ex girlfriends who loved the affection at the start and grew sick of it so fast it gave Mat whiplash and made him wonder if he’d ever find someone who genuinely enjoyed spending that much time with him.

It had always been his biggest insecurity in your relationship. You laughed with him and were capable of the most stupid things when you were together, but he always had this lingering feeling that you’d grow tired of how annoying he could be.

“We’re gonna be okay,” you reminded him and brushed your fingers through the hair at the back of his head. “We’ve done it before,”

“I know, doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“C’mere,” You motioned for him to rest against you.

His eyebrows furrowed as he eyed the bowls on the table. “You don’t want to eat?”

“If you want cuddles, then we can cuddle first.” You declared, watching his eyes light up.

“Cuddles please,” Mat didn’t hesitate to move your legs so that he could lie down on you and rest his head on your chest with a content sigh. “Best pillow ever,”

“You’re such a baby,” you chuckled when he grabbed your hand and placed it on top of his head. You took the hint and began to play with his hair.

“Mmh,” he hummed without a care in the world.

“We’ll be fine, Maty,” you spoke softly, twisting longer strands of his hair around your fingers and slowly letting them slide away before doing it all over again. “It’ll suck, sometimes, but we also have down times when you’re home, it’s just life. I’ll do my best to be at games even if they’re far,”

“I want to marry you,” he murmured.

Your heart skipped a beat and your mouth went dry.

It was so unexpected, and it took several seconds for you to find your voice again. “Are you…”

“Not right now,” Mat reassured you, meeting your eyes. He could hear your heart beating ten times faster than normal with his head on your chest. “I just, I want to. I always hear all the older guys saying they’re going home to their wives, and I think of the day I’ll be able to say that about coming home to you.”

“I don’t know what to say,” you breathed out, slowly processing everything he had said.

Leave it to him to casually drop a bomb like that and carry on with the conversation like he didn’t make your heart jump out of your chest. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to marry him one day, but more that you didn’t even know you were already at the stage of your relationship where you could talk about it.

Mat continued, seeming unbothered by your lack of answer. “I’ve had girlfriends before, but what I feel for you is so much stronger than what I felt for any of them, it doesn’t feel right to use the same word. I think wife might be a better word, if you think you can see something like that in our future,”

“I can see that,” you felt a surge of emotion at the thought. You had imagined it hundreds of times, but you hadn’t yet told yourself that it could very well become a reality. “I think about it a lot, especially every time we see Marty and Syd,”

“You want babies?” It was Mat’s turn to be shocked, his voice an octave higher than normal, and you chuckled.

“Let’s start with the getting married part,” you soothed him with your hand in his hair, and it only took a second for you to feel him relax against you again.

“Mmh, but we should talk about kids too, right? I mean, a mini you running around our place would be adorable,” he sighed, already creating scenarios in his head and picturing how everything would look.

“They’re adorable until they’re teenagers, Maty,” you brought him back to reality. “Especially if we end up with a mini you. Can you imagine the chaos?”

“Do you think they’d want to play hockey?”

“If they’re anything like you, they’ll find something to be passionate about.”

“I picture it, sometimes, when we go to sleep,” Mat confessed. “I wonder what it’d be like to have our kid crawl into the bed with us in the morning, or how you’d both come to games in my jersey and other stupid little things,”

“I don’t think they’re stupid things at all,” you smiled because you had pictured the same things. “I think about it too, but then I think about the way we’re living now and I know we’re far from ready,”

“One step at a time, love,” Mathew grasped your hand in his and gave it a squeeze. “No one said we had to have a baby any time soon,”

“There’s going to be a wedding to plan first, is that it?” You grinned, thinking of his disorganised self trying to deal with the preparations.

“Mmh, speaking of which, I’m going to need you to tell me your ring size.” He brought your hand up to his lips and brushed them over your knuckles. “And while we’re gonna take our time to get to the baby part… we can definitely keep practicing making them,”

“Oh?” Your eyebrows rose as he tumbled off the couch and scooped you up in his arms, the blankets falling to the floor. “Mathew!” You squealed as he lifted you off the couch and made his way to the bedroom.

“What? It’s a good way to warm up,” he dropped you on the bed, letting you bounce on the mattress before he crawled on top of you and rested his hips against yours.

Despite having been in this position with him hundreds of times, a new wave of emotions surged in your chest. Mat’s eyes were shining, and his smile was just as bright, telling you that he was feeling the same things.

“Are you going to kiss me or just stare at me?” You taunted him after several seconds had passed, and Mat only shook his head with a chuckle.

“Sorry, just thinking about you becoming Mrs Barzal in the near future,”

“Bold of you to assume I’m taking your name,” you snorted, surprising him.

“You don’t want to?” Mat hadn’t meant to assume anything, it was the twenty-first century after all, but he also hadn’t bothered to think you might be against it altogether.

“I like my name,” you shrugged, trying not to feel bad when the light in his eyes dimmed slightly and he nodded his understanding. “I could hyphenate, maybe? Does it matter to you?”

“It’s your name, honey. I would love for you to take mine, but I get why you wouldn’t want to. Hyphenating sounds like a good compromise, if you’re up for it.”

It was your turn to nod this time, but you wanted more than half a minute to think about it. This discussion was a start but you knew it would be better to come back to it once you had both had time to consider everything. “How about we talk about that again when it’s actually happening?”

“Oh it’s happening,” Mathew’s smile grew back on his face. “But we can go back to focusing on the baby making part right now if you’d prefer,”

“Yeah, I think I do,” you lifted your hips up to meet his as a response.

Mat’s tongue poked out to wet his lips and didn’t waste another second before his lips were on yours. You pulled him closer to you, your arms wrapping around his neck and your legs lifting to circle his waist so that you could get rid of any unnecessary space between your bodies.

A quiet grunt came from his chest as he gave in to your silent request, letting his weight press you into the mattress. “I love you,” you breathed out between two kisses, not even caring about catching your breath.

“I love you too,” he let you pull his hoodie over his head before moving to get rid of your own clothes. “So much,” he added just as his lips were about to meet yours again, his chest pressed against yours and his hips slowly rolling against yours.

Every touch made worry disappear from your body, comforted you in your decision and reassured you that Mat was the only person that would ever be right for you.

Even in the bleak and coldest of winter days, he knew just how to make you the happiest person alive.

Please reblog and let me know what you thought ‹3

#mat barzal imagine #mat barzal #mathew barzal #hockey rpf #mat barzal fic #writing #new york islanders

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offside-the-lines · 20 days

Note

beau/barz + handcuffs ❤️

This is not even close to 5 sentences at this point but I was really in my feels about Tito not hanging out with Mat before the game. I put a read more break where I would’ve ended the 5 sentence drabble.

Tito takes long draws of the beer he grabbed from Mat’s fridge, leaning against the counter with a sigh. He can hear Mat rummaging around his bedroom.

Tito’s not entirely sure how he ended up back here— well, that’s a lie. He knows exactly why he’s back here: Mat waiting for him outside the visitors’ locker room, Mat looking sad and pouty, Mat asking him out for “just dinner” with a waver in his voice. Tito knew this was inevitable, and said yes anyway.

Mat finally emerges from the bedroom, his shirt untucked and half-unbuttoned, shaking a pair of leather handcuffs in the air victoriously.

“Found ‘em,” he beams.

“Yeah?” Tito rolls his eyes, suppressing a smile. “And what’s your plan with those?”

“Well, here’s the thing,” he starts, faking nonchalance. He boxes Tito in against the counter, putting the cuffs down behind him. “You’ve been ignoring me. And you blew me off yesterday. Kinda rude, don’t you think?” He trails his hands up Tito’s arms before efficiently unbuttoning his dress shirt. “Like, you and I both know we were going to end up here anyway. Just wanted to remind you of that.”

Deft fingers slip under his shirt and slide over his skin, leaving goosebumps in their wake. Tito uses the moment of distraction to flip their position, pinning Mat’s wrists to the countertop, and just gives in.

He leans in and runs his teeth up the column of Mat’s throat. He murmurs, “Well, if you’re trying to make it memorable, maybe you should be the one tied up.”

Mat swallows thickly. A whine escapes Mat’s lips when he presses wet kisses against his jaw.

“Yeah, you’d like that,” Tito chuckles, “Don’t worry, I got you.”

He feels the mask of confidence and arrogance melt away beneath him. If this is as good as he think it’ll be, then maybe this won’t have been a mistake. Or at least that’s what he tells himself anyway.

Send me a player or pairing + a word, and I’ll write a mini fic about it. (I am running on quite a backlog right now so it might take me a while to get to your request).

Read other prompt mini fics!

#anthony beauvillier #mat barzal #mini fic #requests #beau/barz #nyi #nsh #hockey rpf #hrpf #rox writes #1318

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generallybarzy · 3 years

Text

compromise.

an: this is something that is very very personal to me. This, alongside my fics "Every Side of You", "Come Tomorrow Morning", and "Not Despite, But Unconditionally", are part of a collection of fics (with no plot or order) I'm going to dub the "Comfort Collection", which all deal with serious topics and Mat comforting you through tough times. Each and every one of these fics is going to be personal and close to my heart, whether they were written for me or for a friend.

summary: seeing something on the most recent Instagram post Mat made with you set you off into a destructive, toxic path.

triggers: eating disorders, body image issues, self-deprecation. Please don't read if this content will affect you negatively.

word count: 3k

You weren’t hungry.

Both you and your boyfriend Mathew cherished your mostly weekly routine of movie nights and take-out food. It was something you'd been doing since the beginning of your relationship, and something that had helped you grow closer and closer in the past few months. But tonight, something was wrong. You knew, and you had an inkling that Mat felt something was off too. Usually, you were cuddled up in his side, laughing and joking around at whatever dumb show or movie you put on. Tonight, though, you were withdrawn, scrolling through Instagram. Usually, you never hold back around him. You weren’t afraid of pigging out on some junk food with him, and he was always comfortable enough to claim it was his cheat day, but tonight, you weren’t hungry.

That’s what you kept telling yourself, anyway.

God, that girl has such pretty legs- so long and slim… and her tummy is so flat, how do I get that???? Her boobs are so perky too, her arms are small enough for Mat to basically wrap a hand fully around her bicep….. Like every night, every post you scrolled past on Instagram made more insecurities pop up from within you. Mat definitely wishes I was her, why wouldn't he? She's so hot… much more than you. He's probably wishing you were that small, small, and skinny enough for him to pick you up like that. But you just have to keep eating, don't you? Can't stop putting on weight...

“Babyyyy.” You heard his sweet, familiar voice from beside you, and you glanced up from your phone to see Mat smiling and poking at your plate of take-out food with his fork. “Babe, I’m gonna steal all your food if you don’t eat it soon.” He smirked, knowing that you hated when he stole off your plate.

You couldn’t find the words to form a good sentence, let alone answer him in the playful, happy tone you’d been faking for so long. So you stayed quiet, giving the smallest, fakest half-smile and pushing the plate towards him. "You can have it if you want."

A beat of silence passed between you, the only sound being the movie on the TV.

"Baby?"

The soft whisper- filled with so much love and intensity, a pure, earnest worry- was enough to pull you out of your trance. Your eyes lifted slowly from the plate of take-out food in front of you that you'd barely even picked at since the two of you sat down, crisscrossed on the floor by the coffee table. You looked up, up to his worried face and his questioning hazel eyes. His hand reached out across the edge of the coffee table and found yours, lacing your fingers together and squeezing. Mat knew this wasn’t like you. You weren’t meek, quiet, and withdrawn, not with him, at least. This wasn’t the girl he grew in love with, who was never afraid to be herself around him. "What’s wrong?"

Something was wrong.

Mat was beautiful- so handsome, borderline physically perfect as if built by the gods themselves, and you- his girlfriend- were… well, you. Just you.

After the first Instagram post of the two of you together, you were initially overjoyed with the support. Everyone was happy for Mat, happy he had someone who made him happy, but there were a few who didn’t seem too supportive, who were "overprotective" of their favorite hockey player. If you weren't insecure before going public, before all the attention, now, all the comments, no matter how harmless- "I can't believe he'd like a girl like you", "usually Barzy only dates skinny girls"- those definitely stung a bit. But it wasn't just the well-intentioned bad comments like "wow, I didn't think barzy would date a curvy girl!". Those you could see didn't truly mean any harm. But a handful of people were still less than thrilled about Mat's public relationship.

"wow, he really downgraded after me, huh? didn't expect him to go after a fat girl 🤷‍♀️"

The first time you saw that comment, you realized just how much you actually cared about what other people thought of your relationship. It hurt you, as expected, and while part of you was shocked that someone would come at you like that, another part of you knew it had only been a matter of time. You wanted to ignore that comment, go on with your life, but you couldn’t help it. You went on a "quick" look through the girl’s account and found a picture from the summer before you met Mat, where she was clinging onto none other than your boyfriend in a tiny bikini, his big hand on her tiny, bare waist, and his lips on her cheek, looking so happy. And then, her words started to hurt a little bit more. It hurt more than it really should’ve to see pictures of Mat kissing someone who wasn’t you. You knew he dated before, of course he did, and you weren’t gonna be upset that he’d had girlfriends before, but it still made you feel a little insecure. She was his ex, she was literally model-gorgeous, and somehow, Mat had gone from her, to you. You knew you should have put your phone down then, you know what you were about to do was so stupid and would only leave you more insecure, but you looked through who Mat was following, and there she was, along with dozens of other pretty girls- Instagram models? His exes? Both? Or something worse?

You couldn't stop the toxic thoughts from filling your head with words you saw in the comments.

"Does he actually sleep with her? Probably just a pity fuck"

"Does it suck to not be able to be on top or else you'll crush him?"

"The girl on top is his favorite position, at least it was with me, don't know if he'd like seeing such a fat girl on top of him."

It wasn't long before you reached a toxic decision: Mat was way too perfect for you- in your current state at least- and he deserved a better-looking girlfriend. You'd been trying your hardest to lose weight for the longest time now, but nothing seemed to work. The longer it took, the more desperate you became- Mat would realize soon that he could do better than you if you didn't do something quick. So, in a moment of self-destruction and pity, you decided you wouldn't gain weight if you simply didn't eat.

It's been three days now, at least you think so, and the most you'd eaten was a strawberry that Mat had cheekily fed you, trying to be romantic and cute and a cracker here and there that you hated yourself for. Other than that, water had been your only substance, and you'd assured him you'd already eaten whenever you came over to his place and he offered food. Were you hungry? Absolutely. But you were waiting desperately to see those numbers drop on the scale, and you weren't about to sabotage your mission. You’d keep telling yourself you’re not hungry.

But you didn't want Mat, precious Mat, to worry about your stupid insecurities, so you simply shook your head and forced a smile.

"What do you mean?"

"You're acting weird." You shrugged and looked back to the movie on the screen, trying to let the conversation fall dead. But Mat knew you too well. "Hey." Mat's thumb rubbed circles against the skin of your wrist. "Look at me, seriously. You've barely eaten tonight."

"I'm just not hungry."

"This is your favorite."

"I'll save it for later."

"Actually…" Mat's eyebrows furrowed. He stayed silent for a few moments in thought, his hand squeezing yours gently. "I don't think I've seen you eat at all today. You turned down my offer to make breakfast this morning. I know I'm bad at cooking, and all I can do right is the eggs, but you still never turn it down. We always end up cooking breakfast together on days you sleep over here. We always do." Your heart started to break. He could see through your facade, he could see and he probably hated it.

"Sorry." You choked out the word in a stupid, sputtering sob. You didn't realize the tears were coming until it was too late.

"Oh, hey, no no no no." Suddenly, the movie was paused and the food was forgotten as Mat pulled the sobbing, shaking mess that was you into his arms. “I didn’t want you to cry, baby. I don’t mind that we didn’t make breakfast together.” He held you, his eyes watching you gently and softly, his lips grazing your forehead in a delicate kiss. "C'mon, hold onto me, babe."

Your arms curled tight around his waist and clung on for dear life, sobbing into his chest.

"Please, baby. Let it out."

You cried into his shirt, breathing in the scent of his day-old cologne, a light, crisp and clean scent that clung to the side of his neck. You were surrounded by his aura, the comforting scent of him, his big, strong arms wrapping you in a little shield and protecting you from any of the mean comments that were plaguing your mind, that he didn't even know about.

"Please tell me what's wrong, baby. I can't stand seeing you cry."

“I, I don’t…”

He waited a few moments. “Don’t know what's wrong? Or don’t know how to describe it?” When you still didn’t respond, he continued to pepper kisses on your head. “Take your time.”

You stayed like that for a few minutes, just holding onto him and losing yourself in your thoughts again. What would he think when you told him how you were feeling? What would he do when you told him you looked through his followers on Instagram, that you found pictures of him with his exes? He would think you’re insane, insecure, jealous. He’d freak out, you had no right to go through his Instagram, did you? What would he do when you told him you hadn’t eaten in days? You didn’t want to tell him any of it, but you knew he wouldn’t let this go. Mat was persistent, and there was no way you’re getting out of this one.

“Mat?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“I… I have a problem.”

“Okay, we’ll work it out together, alright? Just let me know what’s up.”

You uncurled your arms from around him and instead focused on playing with the hem of his shirt, running the fabric through your fingers and focusing on that while gathering your thoughts. “I feel like… like, you could go for someone better than me.”

“What? No-”

“You’re like… so hot and fit and I’m… just fat. Don’t you wish I looked as skinny and perfect as your exes?”

“What?” There was a hint of anger in Mat’s voice, and you flinched at the way he scowled. He noticed, quickly, and settled back down. He knew you needed comfort, and even if he was upset that you'd even think that, your needs came first, and you needed softness. More gently this time, he asked “What? Baby, you’re joking, right?” His eyes bore down into yours, gentle, begging you to answer him. “How’d my exes get involved in this?”

“That post we made on Instagram, it got a lot of… upset comments. A lot of people don’t think I deserve you. Your ex commented. I saw the pictures of you two kissing, being all cute and couple-y.”

“Oh, baby. I’m sorry. I- I thought she would delete those by now.”

“No, I’m not upset about that, we both have exes, I just… she’s so… perfect, she looks like a model, and I saw that you still follow her. You follow a lot of models. Do you wish I looked like them?”

Now, Mat’s eyes went frantic and worried. “No, no, no, babe. You're gorgeous, you're perfect, don't listen to them. I- I genuinely forgot I was following any of them. I’m not on Instagram a lot anymore, not enough to scroll through all those posts. I’ll unfollow and block all those girls, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, baby. I didn’t want to make you feel like that."

"No. You don't need to. I don't want to control who you follow just cause I'm a little insecure."

"No, I swear, baby. I should've unfollowed her- all of them- months ago. The only girl I need is you. You are so, so amazing. I don’t ever want you to think I want you to change anything about yourself. You’re perfect." He pressed tender kisses to your wet cheeks, his arms tight around you. Then, as if he was worried about what the answer might be, he asked hesitantly “Is that why you haven’t been eating tonight? You think I want you to lose weight?” You said nothing still, but nodded, your face pressed against his chest. “(Y/N), I don't want that. I would never tell you to change anything about yourself. Especially not your weight… are you kidding me? Your weight should be the least of your worries. A fucking number on a scale doesn't define you, baby. No matter how much your weight changes, whether you gain or lose 50 pounds, your worth will still be the same.. and that worth… it's through the roof, babe. You're priceless."

“Stop…” You smiled against him, overwhelmed with his compliments. Part of you was convinced now that maybe you were overreacting over it.

“No, I won’t stop.” He pressed his lips against your cheeks, over and over again, something he always did to cheer you up. "You know what the first thing I thought was, when I finally saw you naked for the first time? The first thing I thought was 'oh fuck that's hot, I can't wait to wreck this sweet pussy.'"

“Mathew!” You cracked a smile and playfully smacked his arm. Of course, even when comforting you, he was still himself.

"Kidding! Kidding! Okay, it was more along the lines of 'I can't believe I have such a beautiful girlfriend…. I can't believe she puts up with my shit, I can't believe she chose me, cause she's hot as fuck, and amazing as fuck." You hid your face in Mat’s chest, sniffing back the tears. "Hey, look, you're smiling because you know how hot you are, come on. I love your smile.” He continued to hold you, squeezing you against him and willing to sit there like that as long as you needed. Suddenly, he remembered the food sitting on the coffee table, and with a slight bit of urgency, he motioned to it. "So that’s the reason you haven’t eaten today?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

He hesitated as if he wasn’t sure he wanted the answer you were going to give him. “Okay… When was the last time you ate? Like, ate for real?”

“I- I don’t know exactly.”

“Babe…”

“Maybe a few days ago…”

“What?" He looked shocked, cupping your face between his hands and looking at you with the most serious expression you’d seen on him in a while. “Are you actually serious? No, no, no, (Y/N). ”

“Sorry, I was just… I was telling myself that maybe I’d lose weight if I didn’t-”

“Well, no more of that, okay? Listen, I promised you I wouldn't ever let anyone hurt you, and that includes you hurting yourself, baby. That's not allowed. Not at all. Ever."

“Okay.”

Mat moved you out of his lap and back onto the floor beside him, his eyebrows scrunched into a scowl and his eyes gentle and worried. “What would you think if I decided I’m not good enough? And if I stopped eating so that I looked good enough for you? What would you think?”

“That’s dumb, Mat. You’re perfect.”

“Exactly. So are you. That’s how I feel when you tell me you haven’t been eating. Would you want me to starve myself?”

“Of course not.” You could feel the tears welling up in your eyes again, realizing just how dumb your whole plan had been, emotional at the thought of putting Mat through whatever you were doing to yourself.

“So don’t do it to yourself, baby. You want to treat me the best, treat yourself just as amazing, okay? We’re gonna come to a compromise, alright? Listen.” He put his fingers on your chin and tilted your face up to look at him, teary eyes and all. “Listening, babe? Here’s how it’s gonna go. Whatever you eat, I eat. If you eat nothing, I eat nothing. If you actually take care of yourself and eat, you take care of me too.”

The sudden realization of how much your actions were affecting not only you, but your boyfriend too, was making you emotional again, and you nodded quickly. “Okay.”

"Pinky promise?" He reached out his pinky for you and, with a smile, you linked yours to it.

"I promise."

Mat smiled and brought your hand to his lips and pressed a kiss against it before settling it against his crew-neck cozy chest. “I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you. I don’t want you to look or be like any other girl. I want you to be you. Because I love you.”

“I love you too, Mat. Thank you. I’m sorry for getting all insecure and stuff.”

“Nope, nope, don’t apologize for this. Don’t ever hide something like this from me. We’ll work through everything together, okay?” You nodded again, and Mat finally gave you his beautiful smile. “So, (Y/N), am I gonna get to eat tonight? Are we gonna eat?” You glanced back at the food on your plate and realized just how much you’d been missing out on in the past few days. You realized just how prominent the grumbling in your tummy was, just how hungry you were. Mat had gone out of his way to bring your favorite foods over, to cuddle you and laugh with you and watch movies, and you were here worrying about what his exes thought of you when he was right here showing you just how much he loved you.

“I’m so hungry, Mat.”

He smiled, loading his fork with your favorite food and lifting it to your lips. “Alright! Let’s dig in, baby!”

#tw: ed #mat barzal #mathew barzal #mat barzal fic #mat barzal x reader #mat barzal fanfic #mat barzal imagine #op #nhl rpf #nhl imagine

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cellythefloshie · 10 months

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;; Alone With You Dedicated to @miracleonice87 for @wyattjohnston summer fic exchange 2k23

Summary: Anthony Beauvillier was traded to the Vancouver Canucks, and it not only shocks the fans, but those closest to him. Forced to leave his closest friend and roommate, Mat Barzal, behind, Anthony and Mat are left to navigate the next stages of their career alone. Estelle Beauvillier, has come to New York for school, but has found herself in an awkward position when Mat seeks her friendship during his time of loss. On the West Coast, Anthony struggles to find his place on the Canucks roster, but Mat's sister Danielle is determined to make Vancouver feel like home. Kinks & TW: Will be added at the beginning of the applicable chapters. ABOUT THE OCs: Estelle Beauvillier. FC: Daisy Edgar Jones. Baby sister to Anthony Beauvillier moved to New York to attend university. She was only able to convince her parents to let her do so because Anthony was playing for the Islanders. Daniellie "Dani" Barzal. FC: Madelyn Cline. Sister to Mat Barzal, he contacts her after the news of Anthony's trade drops with a favour: help his friend settle into the new city. She welcomes him in with open arms. Total Word Count: 23K+ A/N: Now, Miracle, I'm not sure how familiar you are with me, my work, or my blog, but the people who do know me for 1 thing: I often get carried away. And it happened again. I swear this was just meant to be a story who focused on Mat OR Tito, BUT I really couldn't decide. SO here we are, you get to enjoy the best of both worlds. I did my best to touch on everything you asked for from a little bit of angst to smut (it really wouldn't be a fic from me without smut) with some creative liberties and I really do hope you enjoy!

Listen to their playlist while you read.

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴏɴᴇ - ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʀᴀᴅᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴏ - ɪ ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ʜᴀɴᴅʟᴇ ᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ - ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ꜱᴏ ʟᴏɴᴇʟʏ - 18+ ᴄʜᴀᴛᴘᴇʀ ꜰᴏᴜʀ - ꜰɪɴᴇ ʟɪɴᴇ - 18+ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜰɪᴠᴇ - ɪ ꜰᴏᴜɴᴅ

#anthony beauvillier #mat barzal #nhl fanfiction #nhl rpf #nhl imagine #hockey rpf #hockey smut #hockey imagines #miracleonice87 #summer fic exchange 2k23 #table of contents #aesthetic

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lililouvre · 2 years

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A Constant | M. Barzal

Summary: Mat has always been a constant in your life. A constant that was more of a nuisance in your opinion.

Word Count: 1.6k

CW: Enemies to lovers?, Friends since childhood, fem!reader.

A/N: Not rlly proof read so I apologize for any mistakes! English isn't my first language so I'm kinda illiterate lmao <3 THIS FIC IS SO BAD IM SORRY I WROTE IT SLEEP DEPRIVED W NOTHING TO DO W MY LIFE

For as long as you can remember, Mat Barzal has always been a constant in your life. From birthday parties to graduations, it seems as if he’s always there at every occasion that’s important. He’s always there even if you didn’t want him too.

He was a constant that was more of a nuisance than a pleasure to have in your opinion.

You never really knew where this dislike of him stemmed from or when it actually started. All that you knew was that he started whatever this rivalry you two had was called. At every competition, every event that you joined, it seemed as if he joined as well for the sole purpose of beating you; of proving that he’s better than you in more ways than one.

Skating has always been a part of your life. Visiting the local rink every weekend for practices were the highlight of your week. The feeling of gliding through ice made you feel as if you were flying in your own special way.

But of course, who would’ve thought that the thing you loved the most would bring you close to the person you seemed to hate more than anyone else?

There he was. Mat Barzal. Speeding through the ice with no care in the world. Show off, you thought. “You know you don’t have to glare at the poor guy every time you see him.” Your friend, Anna, retorts from beside you. You and Anna were by the benches preparing to enter the ice as both of you put you skates on. “I really don’t get where all this hatred you have for him comes from.”

“I don’t hate him, Anna” You say still staring at the boy gliding through the rink. “He’s just....annoying. Always showing off, trying to prove he’s better than everyone.”

Anna just bursts into laughter as she stands up from the bench preparing to enter the rink. “Come on, he’s not that bad. He seems like a nice dude all things considered.” She replies as she looks back at you, who is still sitting on the bench. “You coming?”

You sigh as you stand up and join her in entering the rink.

—————-

For as long as Mat Barzal can remember, You have always been a constant in his life. From all of the parties and occasions, you’re always somewhere in those events brightening up the room with your beautiful smile.

You were a constant he loved to have around.

He never really knew where this infatuation he had with you started. All that he knew was that from the moment he locked his gaze with yours, he was done for. He did what he could to get closer to you. Joined every competition, every event, just so he could spend more time being in the same vicinity as you.

Mat thought the wold of you. He thought you the smartest, coolest, and the most talented kid around. He once heard from his friends that you liked guys who could skate well and from that moment on, he decided that he would try harder.

He thought maybe if he was a better skater, you’d acknowledge him then.

Maybe you’d stop avoiding meeting his gaze and trying your best to leave once he enters the room.

Maybe he’d finally be able to form a proper relationship with you.

———-

“Hey” Mat suddenly greeted you as he stops by the corner of the rink where you were standing.

“Hey, Mat” you grumbled. Why was he talking to you? As far as you were concerned, you’ve only spoken to him a few times in the years you’ve known the boy. “So uhm- You excited for the kids to show up later?” He asked, scratching his cheek, seemingly nervous as he talked to you.

Ah yes, the kids. A few children wanting to learn how to skate were coming over soon. You, Mat, and a few others are supposed to help the little tikes in skating their way through the ice. You and the others were supposed to be “mentors” of some sorts to help these kids get comfortable in the ice.

“Yeah I’m excited. I remember my first time skating as a kid. I’d be glad to share the joys of skating to those kids.” You reply a bit awkwardly. You weren’t really used to Mat talking to you. Granted, you did try your best to avoid him most of the time. So the hockey player never really got the chance to have a proper conversation you.

Mat smiles at your reply. The mutual love for skating is probably one of the reasons why he likes you so much. And seeing you be so elated to pass down the joys of skating to the kids just made him like or even love you even more.

—————

The kids come flooding in the rink a few moments after your somewhat awkward encounter with Mat earlier. For the next few hours you and a few others begin to teach the little tikes the basics of skating.

“Y/N look! I’m skating on my own now!” One of the kids, Poppy, said to you excitedly as she glided through the ice. “Good job kiddo.” You uttered with a thumbs up as you gaze at her proudly for finally learning how to skate on her own. It may have been a rough start, but teaching her how to skate on her own was a pleasure.

As you were lost in your own thoughts, Mat noticed you proudly gazing at the kid you just helped learn how to skate and decided to approach you. “I see your little protege has learned to skate on her own now.” He snickers as his words snap you out of your daze.

You fight the urge to roll your eyes. Why was he talking to you again? As much as you wanted to ignore the poor dude, you didn’t want to be rude especially in-front of all of the kids. “Yeah, she learns fast.” You decided to reply after a few moments of silence.

“So, I just wa-“ You suddenly cut off what Mat was about to say, “Why are you talking to me all of a sudden, Barzal?” You looked at him curiously waiting for a response. “What do you mean ‘sudden’? You-“

“Mat! Y/N! Come here and help the rest of the kids with their skates!”

——————

As the kids one by one left the rink with their parents, you and the rest start packing you own things preparing to go home as well.

“Why do you avoid me Y/N?” Mat suddenly asked as you walked out of the rink. Almost everybody else was gone at this point. “What?“ you replied, confused.

“Why is it that when I try to talk to you—Hell, even if I enter the same room as you, you try to avoid me.”

Mat stared right into your eyes, hurt and confusion all over his face. Why was he so bothered about this? Both of you barely even talk so why did he care so much on whether you liked him or not?

“What are you talking about, Barzal. Why do you even care if I avoid you or no-“

“I care because I do Y/N! So tell me, Why the hell do you seem to not like me?”

You sighed and decided to reply, “Fine, you wanna know why? It’s because you’re annoying. It’s because you always seem to want to be better than me. It’s because your a goddamn SHOW-OFF, Barzal!”

You took a breath before continuing, “Everything I try do be good at, you always try to one-up me. Always there to prove that my efforts are mediocre to yours.”

A streak of confusion crosses Mat’s face at your confession. “Trying to be better than you? Is that what you thought I was doing all these years?” He scoffed before continuing, “ I did all that to impress you Y/N! All the contests I entered against you were because I wanted you to acknowledge me. I like you Y/N.”

He sighed then whispered his next words, “Did you really think I wanted to be better than you?”

Now it was your turn to be confused. He liked you? Mat Barzal liked you?

You paused for a second and decided to ask, “What do you mean you entered all those competitions for me? There are better ways for me to notice you Barzal.”

Mat chuckled and responded “Yeah that is true. But could you blame me? I was like 10 years old hopelessly in love with a girl who didn’t even spare me a glance”

Love? “You love me?“ you asked him in a low tone.

“Yeah, I think I do.” He then continued to ask, “Would you like to go on a date sometime, perhaps”

There was a long pause while you were mentally freaking out over the Hockey player’s sudden confession. Mat was also freaking out as he was worried that his confession was too direct and decided to add,

“Now I know that you’re probably freaking out from my confession right now but I just wanted you to know that there’s no pressure in returning my feelings-“

“Sure”

“What?“

“I said sure, Mat. I guess going out with you would be nice.” You embarrassingly admitted while staring at anything else other than Mat.

“Really? Just like that? There’s no take backs once you say yes, Y/N.” Mat was over the moon and celebrating in his head at this point.

“Yeah really, Mat. I wouldn’t want to waste the years of effort you spent trying to get me to notice you in the first place now would I?”

A/N: Kinda short and shitty but yeah still posted it :) First time posting a fanfic on here after joining Tumblr less than a year ago! I'd appreciate a reblog if y'all liked it <3

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idontgiveaflyinggrayson69 · 2 years

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Life As We Know It | Part 19

Author: Nat / @idontgiveaflyinggrayson69

Tagging: @thirteenisles @matbaerzal @mcmo-anon @texanstarslove @matbarzyy @hockeywocs @ggggmoneyyyy @tysonjost-taylorsversion @toplinetommy @fiveholegoal @itrocksmysocks @joelsfarabee @barzysreputation @iangiemae @stlbluesbrat @c-tangerine @canadianheaters @jeylia-haj @roopehintz @dreamsndior @beauvibaby @2manytabsopen @nazdaddy @sorryjustafangirl @fallinallincurls @pastelpapermoons @hockeybabe87 @kayt-marie @heatherawoowoo @islesnucks @whoeverineedtobe @ohpuckyeah @tpwkstiles @mf-mightyducks @day-dreamerr @ficsilove10 @notaccurateornice @rapidfever @hoodpankow @oopsiedoopsie23 @haylie-mcc @jostyriggslover96 @newlibrary @honestreputation @the-philthepill13 @justanotherfansblog @simpgirl-lat @great-puck-work @yzas-stuff @sidscrosbyy @teenagekook @svechnikolan @lovethepreds @strong134 @dylancozzys @gravyoverall @lena306 @caelum-the-part-time-acosmist @taiter-tots @canesjedi31 @kq9003 [let me know if you want to be added!]

Word Count: 9.5k

Warnings: None.

Comments: I’m so sorry this took longer than I wanted to get up! I’ve been so busy with school and work but I really hope you like this one!!! I can’t wait to explore more of Tess and Beau as a couple!!! xx

Anthony was the first to wake the next morning. For a split second he thought he had dreamt the night before, that when he opened his eyes his bed would be empty. The blackout curtains hadn’t been closed perfectly the night before so some sunlight snuck through, lighting his room in a soft glow and when he opened his eyes, he found Tess asleep next to him.

Her hair was thrown around her and slightly frizzy and her lips were slightly chapped from him kissing her chapstick off the night before, but she looked absolutely perfect to him.

He didn’t know how long he laid there looking her, watching the rise and fall of her chest and just taking in her every feature, but he couldn’t imagine a better way to spend the morning. Tess truly was the most beautiful woman in the world to him and he was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that she loved him back.

She loved him back.

Anthony brought his fingers to his lips where he could still feel her lips and it made him smile. He wanted to kiss her again, to talk and make things official, pull her to his chest and just soak in the feeling of her, but she was asleep. Out cold, really. And she deserved to sleep in. He’s wanted this for months, surely he could wait a little while longer. So, Anthony was careful as he peeled the blankets back and slipped out of bed. In the kitchen, he started brewing coffee before he went to check on Sorel. He was a little surprised she was still asleep when she was usually such an early riser, but he knew wake up times were supposed to stay as consistent as possible, so he gently woke her up, changed her, and brought her into the kitchen where he could make them all breakfast.

For Tess, it was easily the best sleep she had had in a long time. She crashed and slept right through the night with no tossing and turning like she had been. She woke up well rested, even if the lack of Anthony’s warm body against her was what pulled her from her slumber.

She kept her eyes closed at first as she moved back in search of him, but when she didn’t find him, she peaked her eyes open and rolled over to find the bed empty. Her heart dropped for a moment, wanting to spend the morning snuggling, but the more she woke up, the more she heard him in the kitchen with Ellie and it made her smile knowing he let her sleep in on his day off.

Slowly, Tess pulled herself from his bed and headed into the kitchen. Anthony smiled as he saw her and he put a cover over the bacon as he stepped toward her but Tess held her finger up. “Gotta pee first,” she told him before quickly slipping into the hall bathroom. While she was in the bathroom, she also brushed her teeth, fluffed her hair, and put deodorant on. “Sorry,” she said as she came out. “Just really had to pee.”

“You can use my ensuite, you know,” Anthony told her as he put the bacon onto a plate before cracking a few eggs into the pan.

Tess took her cup of coffee before sitting down next to Sorel. “That’s your bathroom,” she shrugged. If there was one thing she valued from having siblings, it was privacy and it was his apartment, so she would never invade his privacy like that.

“It’s just a bathroom, Tessa,” he told her. “If you’re in my room, just use the ensuite.”

In the whole year of living in his apartment, Tess had probably been in his ensuite only once or twice, so it felt really weird, but she took a sip of her coffee before nodding, “okay. Thanks.”

“Of course,” he smiled and tossed a couple pieces of bread into the toaster before finishing the eggs and plating everything. “Breakfast is served,” he said with a smile as he put plates down in front of Tess and Ellie before bringing his own over to the island.

“Thank you,” Tess smiled and if she hadn’t woken up in his bed, she would have wondered if the night before had really happened, or if she was dreaming.

“This was really good,” Tess told him toward her last bites.

“Thank you,” he laughed. “A basic breakfast is one of the few things I’d like to think I’ve mastered.”

His words made Tess laugh with him, “it was really good though.”

“Thank you,” he smiled and restrained his urge to kiss her. Sure they had kissed the night before and said those three little words, but that was then and he didn’t want to overstep.

Sorel took longer with her breakfast and Tess had to help her with the little bits of egg left, but once she was done, they started to clean up, and it was only once the breakfast dishes were in the dishwasher and Sorel was set down on her playmat that Anthony turned to Tess. “We should talk?” He didn’t mean for it to come out like a question, but it did.

“We should,” Tess agreed and took a deep breath. The playmat was well in view from the island so they both sat down there. Despite spending the night in each other’s arms, it was awkward and neither of them knew where to start. “So…” Tess whispered, hoping Anthony would take the lead like he did the night before.

“So, we kissed,” he said softly.

“We did,” Tess replied with a small smile and she surprised both of them when she leaned in to kiss him again. It was soft and quick, but Anthony melted into it.

“And I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you, too,” she smiled.

“So… We’re together then? Like a couple?” He asked with a hopeful smile.

Tess wished it was that simple because she wanted that more than anything, she had wanted it for years, but it was about more than them now. “I want nothing more,” she told him as she looked over at Sorel. “But we need to talk about what that means.”

Anthony followed her gaze and his smile softened as he watched Sorel play with her alphabet blocks, which had become her new favourite toy. He knew exactly what Tess meant and he nodded before looking back at her, “every word I said last night, I meant.”

Tess’s smile softened and she reached out to take his hand. “Anthony…” she started and the corner of her lip twitched up. “I’ve kinda been in love with you for years.” Her words made his stomach twist. Mat had told him the same thing but he never thought he was telling the truth. “I’ve loved you for years and I never thought you could love me back,” Tess continued, saying the words she tried to the night before.

“I—” He started and looked down at their hands before meeting her eyes again. “I’m not going to lie to you, Tessa. I didn’t—I didn’t realize I was in love with you until a few months ago; I still don’t even really know how long I’ve loved you because you feel like home to me, you always have. But I know now that I’m helplessly in love with you and I want to be with you. You’ve been—” He shook his head as he glanced over at Sorel before back to Tess. “You have been the best mom either of us could ever ask for and I don’t ever want to risk that, but I want you. I need you. We both do.”

“I want that, too,” Tess told him and squeezed his hand, doing her best to ignore how her heart twisted. She was right, she had loved him longer than he loved her, but she pushed past it. He loved her now and that was all that mattered. “But...”

“But?” Anthony whispered, his heart sinking.

“But what about Ellie?” She asked and looked over at her. “We’ve been raising her together. I don’t want us to not work and it cost her,” cost her me. Tess didn’t have to say it for Anthony to know.

Anthony squeezed her hand. “Hey,” he said softly. “I know we aren’t together yet, but I’m serious when I say I haven’t felt this way about anyone. But regardless of what happens between us, Ellie… I want you there for Ellie.” He meant every word. “I know Nikki is her mother biologically, but you’re her mom and I never want to interfere with that.”

His words pulled at her heart and she looked down at their hands as she took a breath and willed her throat to not be so tight. “So, if we don’t work out, we’ll still be friends?” She asked. She couldn’t handle losing Ellie or Anthony. Before Ellie, Tess’s biggest fear when it came to getting together with Anthony was that if it didn’t work out, she’d lose him and that was something she couldn’t handle.

“Of course,” he whispered and squeezes her hand again. “I love you, and I mean that in every sense of the word. I want us to be together, but if, for whatever reason, that doesn’t work out, I want us to still be best friends because I love you and I don’t want to imagine my life without you.”

“I don’t want to imagine my life without you either,” Tess whispered with a small smile.

Her words made him smile softly and he nodded. “So, I love you and you love me and we promise to be friends regardless, so…?”

Tess took a deep breath and let her smile widen a little more. “So, we’re doing this?” She asked with a hopeful smile.

“We’re doing this,” Anthony smiled back. “You’re my girlfriend.”

Tess blushed at his words and ducked her head, “and you’re my boyfriend.” Anthony gave her a bright smile and pulled her in for a kiss. Tess blushed but she melted into the kiss. “I have a few …stipulations, though,” she said when she broke the kiss.

“Stipulations?” Anthony asked and Tess’s blush darkened.

“I just… I want to take things slow,” she told him.

“Take it—Oh,” it was his turn to blush and he nodded.

“I don’t want to rush into anything and I just want us to feel things out.”

Anthony nodded, “I don’t want to rush anything either.”

Tess smiled and let out a relieved breath as she leaned into him. Anthony wrapped his arm around her and pulled as close at their two chairs would allow before Tess found her voice again. “I mean, like, physically,” she whispered, her skin burning. “I want us to be comfortable and not rush anything, regardless of how long that takes.”

“I know,” he whispered with a small laugh. “I want you, Tessa, not sex. So however long any of it takes, it’s okay.” Tess nodded but still pressed her face into his chest at his mention of sex, her heart racing at the thought of it. Anthony laughed a little harder as he held her and a moment later he added, “I also think we should keep us between us for a bit. You know, until we figure it out because I know for a fact Barzy and Connor will never leave us alone.”

“I completely agree,” Tess nodded and pulled back to look at him. “Connor has been pestering me for weeks.”

“Barzy has been pestering me for years,” he confessed. “Though he’s gotten completely out of control since I told him I’m in love with you. And then he told Connor and they really have no chill.”

“I know,” Tess sighed. “I think keeping us between us while we figure it out and get through any awkward phase is a great idea.”

“Okay,” Anthony nodded with a smile.

Tess opened and closed her mouth before she paused. “I also,” she started. “I mean, I’m sure it’ll change with time, but even after we tell our families and the guys, I don’t think I want to be like public public.”

The corner of Anthony’s lip twitched down as he furrowed his brow, “public public?”

“Like on your Instagram,” she explained. “I know how the fans reacted to Connor and what some of them had to say about me after that Halloween picture leaked and I—” she shook her head.

“I understand,” he nodded and squeezed her hand. “I won’t post anything unless you give me the okay to, I promise.” Of course he wanted to post about her and share his love for her, but he knew exactly where she was coming from and he more than respected her wanting to keep things publicly quiet.

It felt like a weight was lifted from Tess’s shoulders and she let out a deep breath. “Okay,” she nodded.

“Anything else?” He asked.

“Don’t try running your fingers through my hair or playing with it,” she told him without missing a beat making him laugh. “I’m serious! It’ll get frizzy so please don’t!”

“Okay,” he nodded and held his free hand up. “Note to self, don’t play with my girlfriend’s incredibly cute and sexy hair.”

“Stop,” she gave him a playful shove as she blushed. “I’ll turn into Monica in Barbados.”

Anthony tilted his head back as he laughed hard at the image. “Okay, okay, I’ll try my best to remember that.”

“Thank you,” she shook her head at him.

“Anything else?” He asked and Tess thought about it for a moment before shaking her head.

“I’m sure I’ll think of something later, but no, nothing else pressing,” she replied with a smile. “Do you have anything?”

“Of course you’ll think of something,” he smiled and leaned in to press a quick peck to her lips. “That’s one of the many things I love about you. But no, I don’t think I have anything else. Take it slow, keep us between us, no posting pictures of my hot girlfriend, and no playing with her sexy hair.”

Tess shook her head but she couldn’t restrain her smile, “we can figure everything else out later.”

“Sounds like a plan,” he agreed. There was always a feeling it out part to every relationship and he knew this one would be no different, but he also knew that they’d figure it out because it was them.

Tess looked at him for a long moment, studying his features before she whispered,

“Je t’aime, Anthony. And I’m in this for the long haul.”

Anthony’s smile widened. “Je t’aime, aussi,” he replied in his strong French accent that gave Tess shivers. “And I’m in this for the long haul, too.” He leaned in to kiss her cheek before capturing her lips in another kiss. He was never going to get tired of kissing her.

The rest of the day was quiet, neither one of them wanting to pop the perfect bubble they found themselves in and risk waking up to find it was all a dream. But it wasn’t. It was real.

By the time dinner rolled around, they could have ordered in. Pizza and Chinese were two favourites they could have had, but Anthony wanted their first dinner together as a couple to be at least a little special. If they were just them, he would have taken her out to somewhere nice, an upscale Italian place maybe. He knew he could probably get Emma to watch Sorel, but that would mean telling her they were together and they weren’t ready to anyone, not yet.

So, he settled for chicken breasts, asparagus, and buns warmed in the oven with some butter. Of course, he insisted on cooking everything himself and he wouldn’t let her help.

“Can I at least kiss the chef?” She asked with a light blush. She wasn’t used to being this bold, but she really couldn’t get enough of him.

Anthony stopped pulling all the ingredients out as he smiled. “That, I’ll never say no to,” he replied and kissed her softly. Her lips were soft and tasted vaguely like strawberries, the chapstick he had seen her use the last few weeks. “Now go sit down and let me cook my beautiful girlfriend a nice dinner, okay?”

Tess scrunched her nose up before she nodded, “fine, fine, but if you need anything, I’m right here.”

“I know, babe,” he told her with a smile before shooing her out of the kitchen and Tess shook her head as she walked back to the living room to play with Sorel and her blocks.

She kept an eye on Anthony and it took everything in her to not ask to help again. He wanted to do this for her and as much as hockey players were only good at hockey, she let him have it. And… It wasn’t awful. Actually, it was really good. But maybe she was so happy and in love with him that anything would have tasted amazing.

“This is really good,” she told him with a smile.

“Don’t sound so surprised,” he laughed. “I’m actually a pretty decent cook.” His words made her laugh before her smile softened.

“You’re pretty decent at a lot of things, Anthony,” she told him.

“Is that what I am now?” He asked. “Anthony?”

Tess titled her head as she looked over at him, “that’s your name last time I checked.”

“No, I know, but for as long as I can remember I’ve been Beau to you, maybe Tito, especially when you’re drinking, but never really Anthony,” he replied.

Tess was quiet for a moment as she thought about it. “Would you prefer Beau or Tito?” She asked and he shook his head.

“No, I like it. It’s just… Different.”

Tess smiled as she reached out to cover his hand, “different can be good.”

“It is good,” he confirmed. “And I know this is far from the perfect first date, but I hope one day soon I can take you out for a proper first date.”

Tess squeezed his hand before she looked over to check on Sorel and her bites of shredded chicken and looked back at him. “There’s nowhere I’d rather be,” she told him honestly.

Anthony smiled as he nodded before he turned back to his dinner. “So, if I’m Anthony now, should I call you Tessa?” He asked softly, but Tess scrunched her nose up.

“That sounds so formal.”

“Sounds beautiful just like you,” he replied. “But I’m okay with Anthony and Tess with the occasional Beau and Tessa, if you are.”

Tess immediately smiled, “deal.” Anthony returned her smile as he nodded, and they kept smiling throughout dinner. Once they and Sorel were done, Tess did the dishes, even if Anthony protested.

Tess wanted nothing more than to stay wrapped up in the perfect bubble of them, but she had to hit pause to bath Sorel after dinner. But after Sorel was squeaky clean and ready for bed, Tess was free to be with Anthony.

“Is this real?” She asked as she curled up on his chest on the couch.

“Very,” he laughed softly as he wrapped his arm around her and Tess smiled as she snuggled closer. She didn’t know what the future held for either of them or how this was going to turn out, but neither did he. All that mattered was they were together. They could figure out the rest.

Anthony was glad that they got together over bye-week so they could have those first few days to themselves.

It was so nice to get to wake up in the same bed, spend the day together as a couple, exchange those kisses, and go to bed together. It was what they had both dreamed of for so long and now they finally got had it.

And it was crazy how while everything changed, nothing really changed at all. Sure, they were together and they kissed and snuggled and slept in the same bed wrapped in each other’s arms, but everything else was the same. They were still best friends who joked with each other and raised Ellie together. Neither of them could have predicted it would be so easy to transition from friends to more, but they couldn’t be happier. They were together and that was what they were meant to be.

Anthony had always been good at taking quick showers, the years of hockey made sure he mastered the most efficient shower. But, since getting with Tess, his showers got a little longer as he took his time, wanting to look and smell his best for her.

When Anthony stepped out of the shower, he grabbed his towel and dried his hair before wiping down his chest and wrapping the towel around his waist. The mirror was a little foggy, but not enough he couldn’t see himself. He ran his hand through his hair as he tried to smooth it back before shaving. It was bye week so he didn’t have to, but he wanted to look his best for Tess and he wouldn’t subject her to kissing his stubble this early on. He had gotten enough comments from his exes to subject the woman he was head over heels in love with to it this early.

After shaving, he put in some aftershave before he stepped out into his bedroom to change. Anthony didn’t bother putting a shirt on, sticking to just boxers and some sweats before he made his way into the kitchen, and he had Tess’s full attention as soon as she laid eyes on him. She could hear Sorel’s blocks, but she watched as he walked into the kitchen with his grey sweats low on his hips, his hair damp and messy from the shower, and his skin flushed from the hot water. For the first time, she was allowed to look at him and she couldn’t pull her eyes away from him.

Even if she was supposed to be doing the dishes.

“You okay?” Anthony asked, snapping her out of her trance and she blushed knowing she was caught.

“Yeah, yeah, just dreaming, I guess,” she replied and quickly finished rinsing out Sorel’s bottles and put them in the dishwasher before drying her hands.

Anthony titled his head as he looked at her before he stepped closer and rested his hip against the counter. He watched as Tess’s eyes dipped from his to his chest making him square his shoulders as he smirked.

Tess couldn’t help herself, she just reached out and touch his chest right under the black ink of his tattoo. She knew he was in shape and she knew he was firm, but feeling how firm he was took her off guard and she blushed hard as she quickly pulled her hand back. Anthony watched her carefully, his eyes darting to her hand and his smirk grew.

“I’m so sorry,” Tess rushed out, struggling to meet his eyes.

“It’s okay,” Anthony laughed. “I’m your boyfriend. You’re allowed to touch me, Tessa.”

“Still,” she squeaked. “That was uncalled for.”

“I’m your boyfriend,” Anthony repeated. “You’re allowed to touch me. In fact…” he trailed off as he gently took her hand in his and brought it back up to his chest, letting her actually feel him. “I want you to touch me.”

Tess took a sharp breath in, her eyes widening as she looked up at him. His chest was so firm under her hand and she could feel his heart beating and his hand dwarfed hers and her own heart was racing and his skin was still warm from the hot water and she could feel his breath get swallower. Her lips parted as she slowly moved her hand up from his chest to his shoulder before Sorel knocked her blocks over, making both of them jump as they were pulled out of their bubble and Tess pulled her hand back with a dark blush.

A flush dusted Anthony’s skin too as he swallowed and Tess cleared her throat. “Uh, right then,” she said and met his eyes for half a moment before she walked to the living room to check on Sorel. She had to take a deep breath, but even as she flexed her hand, she could still feel Anthony and it didn’t help to rid her of those stupid butterflies he always seemed to give her.

Or the flush she felt from her cheeks to her toes.

She glanced back at Anthony once she sat down next to Sorel and he did his best to give her a reassuring smile, but he could still feel her hand on his chest and, fuck, did he like it. He had to take a deep breath too before he slipped back into the bedroom to put a shirt on.

They had been together for less than a handful of days and she wanted to take things slow and that was definitely not slow. His gut twisted with guilt but he shook it off and told himself it wouldn’t happen again.

He wanted to be the best boyfriend she ever had and as much as he really liked the way her hand felt against his chest and the look in her eyes when she ran her hand up to his shoulder, he wouldn’t cross that line until she was ready.

He didn’t say anything as he came back out of his room, but neither did Tess. Sorel yelled “dada!” in her adorably cute voice that immediately made him soften and he made his way into the living room and sat down next to her on her play mat, the moment before almost forgotten.

Almost.

And later that night when Tess was curled up on his chest, if her wandered over his chest a little more than it had in the previous nights… Well, he didn’t say anything.

They had agreed to keep things between them so he knew he couldn’t tell the guys why, but he headed into the first practice post All-Star Game in a very good mood.

A lot of the guys were happy to be back, the older guys were happy for the break they got with their families, and some of the younger guys were still a little hungover from the weeklong partying. But Anthony was clearly in the best mood, even better than Casey, which was damn near impossible, so everyone picked up on it.

“Sex?” Marty asked. “Finally get some post-baby?”

Anthony choked and Barzy replied for him before he could even open his mouth. “No, can’t be sex unless—Oh my God, did you and Tessa…?”

“What?! No!” He replied quickly, his voice going a little higher as he tried to control his blush. “I just finally got multiple nights of good sleep and I feel good and I’m ready to take on the second half of the season. Is that so wrong?”

“No, of course not,” Casey told him.

“You sure, though? You really do seem post-sex happy,” Marty tried again and Anthony gave him a leveled look.

“Why would I lie about not getting some?” He replied, which, fair.

“We really need to hook you up with someone. How long has it been?” Marty asked, looking over at him seriously.

“Since before Sorel was born,” Barzy again replied for him and Anthony shot him a glare. “But the only person he’s allowed to be with is Tessa.”

“Okay!” He said firmly. “Can we please talk about literally anything but my lack of sex life?”

“I don’t know, I think it’s kinda funny that you’re one of the guys girls thirst over the most who’s also single and you’re not getting any,” Wally pipped in, making Anthony glare at him before he balled up a piece of sock tape and threw it at him, which only made the room crack up more.

But, Anthony got the last laugh because Trotz wanted to run through everything and he even had a grin on his face as he bag skated them to help them find their legs after a week off and Anthony was more than able to handle everything thrown at him. His muscles ached in a good way by the end of practice, but he still had his legs and a smile on his face and Trotz gave him a pat of recognition on his way back to the locker room.

The first game was in two days but it couldn’t come fast enough for Anthony. Being with Tess… It filled him with a new kind of energy and drive and he couldn’t put into words how happy and excited he was and he was probably crazy, but he just had a really good feeling about the season. It felt different. Special.

But maybe that was just him.

Anthony woke up game day morning feeling like it would be a good day. Tess was still asleep next to him with her hair thrown around her like a messy halo and he did his best to slip out without waking her and made them both coffee and breakfast.

When it came to getting ready later that afternoon, he picked his striped suit because he knew it was one of Tess’s favourites and he took his time getting ready, wanting to look his best for Tess, but she still needed to fix his collar and tie.

Anthony watched her with careful eyes as she fixed his collar and straightened his tie before she smoothed her hands down his suit jacket. “Better?” He asked softly.

“Better,” Tess confirmed and stepped back to admire him. “I like this suit on you.”

“I know,” he smiled. Tess ducked her head at his words but it only made her smile widen and he wrapped his arms around her waist. “So, do I get a kiss for good luck?” Tess didn’t say anything, she just pushed herself up onto her tippy toes and kissed him softly. Anthony melted into the kiss and when she pulled back, he chased her lips for a second. “Extra luck never hurt anyone,” he whispered when he finally pulled back.

Tess shook her head with a small laugh and patted his chest when Sorel wrapped her little arms around Tess’s calf. She really had been walking more and more, which totally didn’t make parenting so much harder. “I think you better kiss your daughter good luck, too,” she told him with a laugh.

“I think you might be right,” he agreed and crouched down to pick Sorel up and kiss her cheek, but it only made her fussy as she reached for Tess. “Or not,” he laughed as he looked to Tess. Sorel always calmed down for her dad, so it was weird that she didn’t want him, but Tess took her from Anthony and Sorel happily tucked herself into her mom. “Okay then,” he shrugged it off with a light laugh before checking his watch. “I need to go but—”

“We’ll be there, don’t worry,” Tess cut him off.

“In the jacket?” He asked, lightly biting his lower lip. He really loved that jacket and now she was really his girlfriend and he wanted to see her in it.

“In the jacket,” she confirmed with a smile and Anthony returned it.

“Kiss goodbye then?” He asked and when Tess nodded, he leaned in to kiss her softly, but Sorel used her little hand to push at his cheek. “Did you just push daddy?” He asked, more surprised than anything else, and not that Sorel had anything to say to him beyond her favourite word, ‘mama.’

“Did she just?” Tess laughed. “Maybe she’s jealous?”

“Maybe,” he sighed and tried to kiss her cheek again. This time she didn’t pull away from him, so he called it a win. Even if it was weird. “Alright,” he sighed and stepped back to grab his phone, wallet, and keys. “I’ll see you later then.”

“You’ll be great,” Tess told him.

“Thank you,” Anthony smiled before he slipped out the front door and headed down to the garage, and Tess turned to Sorel.

“Why’d you push daddy?” She asked softly, but Sorel didn’t say anything, just gripping the front of Tess’s shirt, making her sigh. “Pushing daddy isn’t nice. Daddy loves you very much.”

“Mama,” Sorel replied softly, pulling at Tess’s heart just as much as the first time she said it, and Tess kissed her cheek before making their way toward the couch.

Tess waited until Sorel went down for her nap to shower, with the baby monitor on the bathroom vanity of course. Her shower took longer than normal since she shaved her legs, but she quickly checked on Sorel after showering and she was still fast asleep, so she continued with her post-shower routine. She used a hydrating coconut scented cream and took her time combing, diffusing, and styling her hair so it actually looked nice for once.

By the time she was done with her hair, Sorel was ready to get up, so Tess fixed both of them some early dinner before doing her make up. It wasn’t much, just an earthy eye with some eyeliner, mascara, blush, and nude lip, but she felt beautiful and she smiled as she looked in the mirror.

She dressed Sorel into some blue leggings, a sweater, her jean jacket, and an orange hair bow that made her smile before Tess changed into her best pair of jeans and a long sleeved shirt that was a little lower cut than she’d usually wear. Paired with the pushup bra she chose, she took a moment to admire herself in the mirror. She looked damn good if she could say so.

Tess ran ger hand down her stomach to smooth her shirt down and she couldn’t restrain her smile as she got butterflies.

She sighed happily before she grabbed the jacket out of the back of her closer and put it on. Before the jacket felt like a weight on her shoulders, but how it left her feeling warm and fuzzy.

Tess made sure everything was all packed up in Sorel’s diaper bag before she and Sorel made their way down to Tess’s car to head to the game, and, for the first time, once they got to the arena and headed up to the suite, Tess didn’t feel out of place or like an imposter.

She felt like she belonged because she did. She wasn’t just Anthony’s best friend anymore, she was his girlfriend.

But, once she stepped into the suite, it took all of 30 seconds for Connor to figure it out. She knew the moment Tess stepped into the suite with unmessy hair and perfect make up while wearing the jacket.

Connor had to fight tooth and nail to get Tess to put that jacket on when she first gave it to her and now Tess was just wearing it? With her hair and make up that perfect? When was Tess’s hair ever perfect?

Connor studied her carefully as Tess settled in the suite and when Tess caught her gaze and tucked her hair behind her ear while she ducked, Connor knew.

“Oh my God!” Connor basically shouted as she made her way over to Tess. “You fucked Anthony, didn’t you?!”

“Shhh!” Tess shouted back, her eyes wide as a dark blush settled on her cheeks.

“Oh my God! You did!” Connor said just as loud, her smile widening.

“Connor!” Tess hissed and tried her best to cover Connor’s mouth. “I did not have sex with Anthony.”

“But you—” Connor tried. Tess never called him Anthony. It was alwaysBeau.

Tess glanced over her shoulder to see if any of the girls overheard their exchange or were paying attention to them, but thankfully none of them were. “You can’t tell anyone,” Tess said when she turned back to Connor and Connor’s smile grew as she nodded quickly. Tess blushed again as she tucked her hair back and bit her lip to suppress her smile, “we did not have …sex. But we are kinda together now.”

“Oh my God!” Connor basically screeched, something Tess didn’t even know she was capable of, and pulled Tess into the tightest hug she could with the arm rest between them and Sorel on her knee. “Fucking finally!”

They had decided to keep the relationship between themselves while they navigated going from friends to more, but Tess had wanted this for so long and she was so happy and in love that she was happy Connor figured it out because she wanted to talk to Connor about it.

“Just don’t tell anyone, okay?” Tess said when she pulled back from the hug. “Even Mat.”

“It’s a secret?” Connor asked, furrowing her brow.

Tess titled her head, “not a secret, but we… I mean, we’ve been friends for years and are co-parenting Ellie. We just want to keep it between us while we figure it out, you know?”

Connor nodded. “That makes sense. But oh my God!” She whisper shouted. “Finally!”

“Shh!” Tess shushed her again, quickly glancing back over her shoulder.

“Sorry, sorry,” Connor said quickly, holding her hands up before reaching over to touch her thigh. “Tell me everything.”

Tess smiled as she nodded and she took a deep breath before starting, “well, after the All-Star Game we watched FRIENDS like we always do, right? I got up to grab a drink and he followed me and when I turned around, I ran into his chest and he just kissed me. He said he didn’t want to pretend anymore. We, uh, snuggled all night, I woke up in his arms, and we talked about everything in the morning.”

“That’s disgustingly cute,” Connor deadpanned. “Is he a good kisser? I mean, it’s been a minute, but those lips…”

Tess’s blush darkened but she nodded, “yeah… Yeah he is.”

Connor’s smile grew and she gave Tess’s thigh a squeeze, “God, you have no idea how happy I am for you! You two are meant to be.”

“Thank you,” Tess replied, her smile softening. “I’m really happy. Honestly, I can’t believe it’s real, that he’s mine.”

“I mean, he’s had heart eyes for you for as long as I’ve known him,” Connor told her with a smile and Tess blush a little. When Tess didn’t say anything else, she continued, “as much as I want to, I’m going to save the ‘I told you so’s because I’m literally so happy right now, but how does it feel to be, like, Mrs Beauvillier?”

“I’m not Mrs Beauvillier,” Tess replied quickly, shooting Connor a glare as she blushed again. “But it feels really good to be his. Like I said, I’m really happy.”

Connor scrunched her nose up as she smiled and leaned in to rest her head on her shoulder. “We so have to double date now,” she told Tess.

Tess laughed and rested her head against Connor’s, “you know that’s an awful idea, right? Anthony and Mat are trouble when they’re together. They’d spend the whole time bickering like an old married couple.”

“But it’ll be fun,” Connor told her.

“Okay, okay, fine,” Tess agreed. “We’ll go on a double date eventually.”

“Yay!” Connor said and did a not so small arm pump of victory. Tess laughed, but she didn’t say anything else and the pre-game started not too long after.

To no surprise, Casey, Marty, and Clutter started the game, but from the moment he hit the ice on his first shift, Anthony had a jump to his step and an edge to his game. He skated harder than every other player, won every puck battle, wasn’t afraid to lay the body whenever he could, and he had four shots on goal by the end of the first period. Maybe the Islanders and Rangers were tied 0-0 by first intermission, but it wasn’t for Antony’s lack of trying.

Tess was on the edge of her seat or on her feet practically the whole game. She always loved watching him play and the strength and grace he moved with on the ice and the happiness that flowed off him with every game. She loved how free and authentic Anthony was every time he was on the ice. For years she felt like an imposter as she watched him play from the suite, often alongside his girlfriend of the time, but now she was the girlfriend.

His girlfriend.

Tess felt a new kind of freedom and authentic watching him play. And Anthony… He played with so much pride and happiness and love. He played for his family.

It was leaps and bounds his best game of the season. Even if he didn’t score it would have been his best game, but the puck kept finding him and with the number of shots and good looks he was getting, he was bound to put one in the back of the net.

Tess just didn’t think he’d put three in the back of the net.

She’s been pumped from his games before, including every playoff game the Islanders won over the last couple of years, but this was different and she couldn’t describe the high she was riding as the girls made their way down to the room.

Like always, Sorel was in Tess’s arms and Tess missed the knowing look in Sydney’s eyes as she looked between Tess and the locker room door before she asked to see Ellie. “What? Oh, yeah, yeah, of course,” Tess nodded and handed Sorel to her, even if she felt a little exposed without her in her arms.

Sydney smile as she said hello to Sorel before she looked up at Tess. “I don’t think I’ve had the chance to tell you how good you look in that jacket,” she winked.

Tess blushed but she couldn’t find her voice before the guys started coming out of the room. Usually Anthony and Mat liked to take their time after games so they’d be some of the last ones out of the locker room, but not this game. Anthony couldn’t get out of the locker room fast enough, he needed to see Tess so badly.

His hair was damp and he had stuffed his tie into his pocket and he hadn’t bother doing up all the buttons on his shirt before heading out of the room after Marty. As soon as he saw Tess, his beautiful Tess, his smile widened and he just couldn’t stop himself he was so in love with her. As soon as he could, he cupped Tess’s cheeks and crashed his lips to hers, not caring that the team was watching.

The hollering of the team sounded far away to Anthony as he deepened the kiss before letting her pull back a moment later and he rested his forehead against hers as he smiled. Sure getting a hatty felt good, but kissing her felt so much better.

“What the actual fuck?!” Mat yelled, his eyes wide at the sight. He had to be dreaming. There’s no way Anthony, love sick Anthony, just kissed Tess like that in front of everyone unless they were— “You—” He continued to shout as he turned to Connor but she shushed him and quickly covered his mouth.

“Shh, let them enjoy the moment,” Connor told him, her eyes sparkling and a bright smile on her face as she watched Tess and Anthony.

It had Mat’s wide eyes moving between Anthony and Tess to Connor and back again and he pushed her hand away from his mouth. “You knew?!” He whispered shouted, betrayed she didn’t tell him.

Connor shrugged, “I just figured it out. Tess was glowing and wearing the jacket willingly and she called him Anthony. It wasn’t hard to put it together.”

“And you didn’t tell me?!”

“Mathew!” She hissed and tried to cover his mouth again as she focused on the happy couple.

Tess blushed and pressed her face into Anthony’s chest and she could feel his chuckle which only made her blush darken before he kissed the top of her head and guided her over to Mat so he’d stop shouting and hopefully not disturb any of the sleepy or sleeping children.

“When the fuck did this happen and why the fuck didn’t you tell me?” Mat asked giving Anthony a hard look.

Anthony breathed a light laugh before he winced, “night of the All-Star Game.”

“Seriously?!” Mat’s face dropped before he shook his head. “I’m seriously never going to another All-Star Game again. Sunrise and I come back to you having a literally baby, and now I go to Vegas and you get married… I thought I was the one that was supposed to be getting married in Vegas.”’

“We didn’t get married,” Anthony replied quickly but a blush still creeped up his neck.

“Well at this rate you will be by next year!” He cried and a few of the other guys laughed, but Connor did her best to calm him down. “I seriously can’t believe you two finally got your headed out of your asses.”

Tess missed the way Anthony looked at her. “Yeah,” he agreed. “I can’t really believe it either.”

Connor’s smile softened as she looked at them. Back in October when she first met Tess, she knew that there was something between her and Anthony and she was so glad they finally got to experience the happy Mat made her. They deserved it.

Mat calmed down a little as he took in the way Anthony looked at Tess, the same lovesick puppy way he had for months, and it made him smile. “Okay, bring it in,” Mat said and he clapped Anthony on the shoulder.

“What?” Anthony laughed.

“You have been literally insufferable being hung up on Tessa,” Mat said before looking over to Tess. “You have no idea how many times I tried to knock some sense into him. But now you’re finally together like fuck, so yeah, bring it in.”

Tess shook her head but couldn’t hide her smile and she met Anthony’s gaze with a smile before nodding and letting Mat pull them into a tight embrace. They were all quiet for a moment before they pulled back from the hug and the rest of the guys congratulated them and told them how happy they were for them. Anthony and Tess… Everyone on the team could see they were a long time coming, but they were finally able to figure it out for themselves.

“We, uh, we should get going? Get Ellie home and all,” Anthony said after things started to calm down and Tess nodded. “And no,” he added quickly before looking over at Mat. “Nothing will be happening, so don’t try.” Tess’s blush darkened as she pressed herself closer to Anthony.

Mat held his hand up in surrender but he still couldn’t believe they were actually together. “You never know,” he said with a smirk. “You did have a wicked game and were named first star…”

When Tess tensed, Connor elbowed Mat in the ribs. “That’s enough,” she told him. Maybe she hadn’t known Tess all that long, but she was still the bestest friend she had ever had outside of Mat and she knew that …intimacy could make Tess uncomfortable. “Of course,” Connor smiled. “We hope you have a good night, and we really are so happy that you’re together, even if Mathew has a funny way of showing it.”

“Funny way of showing it? You’re the one who keeps saying they just need to fu—” Mat started and Connor cut him off with another elbow.

Tess winced and couldn’t look up at Anthony, so Connor said, “well, uh, good game, Beau, and good night then.”

“Thank you. You too,” Anthony nodded and pulled Tess a little closer to him before he guided her over to Sydney to take Sorel and Tess grabbed the diaper bag before they started making their way to the garage.

Anthony held Sorel on his hip and he wrapped his other arm around Tess’s waist before he whispered, “I know we said just between us, and I… I kinda blew it. I just—I saw you and I couldn’t stop myself.”

“It’s okay,” Tess looked up at him. “Connor kinda figured it out as soon as I stepped into the suite and she wouldn’t have told Barzy anyway. Syd figured it out too. And I liked it.”

The corner of Anthony’s lip twitched up, “you did, eh?”

“I did,” she nodded. “I like being your girlfriend.”

Her words made his heart flutter and he paused in his step to look at her. She opened her mouth to ask ‘what,’ but he kissed her before she could get the word out. “And I like being your boyfriend,” he told her. “Love it actually.”

Tess softened and whispered, “I love you, too,” before kissing him again. “Now let’s get home. Ellie is going to throw a fit if she doesn’t go to bed like now.”

Anthony laughed and kissed her again quickly before nodding, “you’re right. Let’s go home.”

Tess drove her and Sorel home in her car while Anthony drove himself home and Tess only hated it a lot. She hated being away from him.

Tess got home before Anthony, so she headed up with Sorel and started getting her ready for bed. Anthony got home not long after and he was happy to take over and put Sorel down for the night. Game nights were always long nights so Sorel was all but out the moment she was put in her crib.

Anthony took a moment to just stand there and watch her and for a split second he could have sworn he saw Tess in her before his heart twisted and he shook his head and slipped out of the room. He closed the door behind him and the corner of his lip twitched up when he saw Tess.

“I don’t believe I’ve had the chance to tell you how amazing you look tonight,” he said as he stepped over to her and gripped her hips.

Tess blushed but leaned into him, “I don’t think you have either.”

“Well, you look amazing,” he told her and let his eyes run down her body. “And your hair…” he reached out to touch the end of a curl but restrained himself from actually giving it a tug. “I love your hair so much.”

Tess laughed and knocked his hand back, “it took a long time to get it like this so don’t mess it up.”

“Sorry,” he smiled and Tess hummed before she reached up to run her fingers through his hair.

“I like your hair, too, especially after you wash it and it’s soft and fluffy and a little wavy.”

“I will try to remember that,” he said like he could ever forget anything she said.

“Good,” she smiled and leaned up to kiss the corner of his mouth but he quickly captured her lips in a proper kiss. “I am going to change though,” she told him when she pulled back. “I’m a little over these jeans.”

Anthony laughed but nodded and let her step back from him, his eyes dropping to her ass as she walked back to her room, but no one had to know. He bit his lip as he watched her and once she closed the door behind her, he headed to his room to change too. He changed out of his suit into a t-shirt and some sweats, and Tess was curled up on the couch by the time he was done, so he smiled as he sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“You did have a really good game,” Tess told him as she leaned into him.

“Thanks,” he laughed before he kissed the top of her head. “I had my lucky charm watching me.”

“You say that like we’re not at every home game,” she laughed and wrapped her arm around his middle.

She could feel the way he laughed. “It’s different,” he told her. “We’re different now.”

“Are we?” She laughed. “I didn’t realize.”

“No?” He teased before kissing her. “What about now?”

Tess softened as she looked at him and she wondered what she had done to be this lucky. “I love you,” she whispered after a moment.

“I love you, too,” he replied and kissed her again. “But I guess the cat is kinda out of the bag.”

“Yeah,” Tess laughed. “Guess it is. We’ll have to tell our parents before they find out from someone else. That would be… Bad.”

He knew she was right, but the thought of telling his mother… He wasn’t looking forward to the ‘I told yous.’ “She tried to get us together in the summer,” he told Tess with a wince.

“Everyone tried to get us together and we were too stubborn, huh?” Tess said after a moment and Anthony shook his head.

“Something like that,” he agreed. “But it doesn’t matter because we’re together now and that’s all that matters.”

Tess was quiet for a moment before she nodded, “yeah, that’s what matters.”

They were both quiet for a few moment as they stayed wrapped up in each other’s arms before Anthony yawned. “I know it’s not overly late, but that game kinda took it out of me, so I think it’s time for bed.”

“Right, yeah, of course,” Tess nodded and pulled back. She wasn’t really tired, but she could go to bed, even if she kinda hated the idea of going to bed alone now that she got to go to bed with him. She felt cold without him against her, but she ignored it as she went into the bathroom to get ready for bed.

“Good night,” she said when she came out of the bathroom and started toward her room.

“Where are you going?” Anthony asked immediately.

“To bed?” She replied confused.

“But my room is over there,” he said as he gestured in the other direction.

“Really?” She laughed and Anthony nodded.

“I’m serious. You can’t just abandon me.”

“I’m not abandoning you, Anthony. I’m not even leaving the apartment,” she shook her head but he moved closer and wrapped his arms around her from behind and hooked his chin over her shoulder.

“But I don’t want to be away from you. And plus, we’re back out on the road in a few days and that’s gonna suck, so you can’t leave me now. Especially after the super incredible game I had,” he all but whined.

Tess melted back against him as she smiled. She couldn’t say no to him. Especially when she adored being in his arms. “Okay,” she sighed. “Let’s go to bed then.”

Anthony smiled and kissed her cheek before turning her in his arms to kiss her properly. “Let’s go to bed,” he echoed when he pulled back. He kept his arm around her as he guided them to his room and he pulled his shirt off as Tess settled into bed before he did the same. The smile Tess gave him made his stomach flip and he returned it before moving closer and pulling the covers over them.

“Je t’aime,” he whispered and Tess’s smile grew.

“I love you, too, Anthony.”

He was never going to get tired of hearing her say those words and he couldn’t stop himself from kissing her again. The kiss was soft and Anthony smiled into it before he pulled back, keeping his eyes closed for a moment to soak it in and when he opened them, Tess was already looking back at him. Anthony’s gaze softened as Tess gently cupped his cheek and he knew he was the luckiest guy in the world.

“Goodnight, Anthony,” Tess whispered before she reached over and turned the bedside light off before getting comfortable on her side. Anthony wrapped his arm around her middle and pressed his chest against her back as he snuggled closer.

Tess’s tanktop had ridden up, exposing her stomach and Anthony’s brain short circuited the exposed skin under his touch but he didn’t pull away and neither did she. His touch gave her butterflies and she smiled into her pillow and covered his hand with hers.

Yeah, she could get used to this.

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