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doc-pickles · 5 months

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voicemail | mat barzal

summary: you’ve left mat many voicemails in the last few months, but he finally listens to them

warnings: mentions of pregnancy and childbirth

a/n: head empty no thoughts. enjoy!

xoxo nina

“Hey you’ve reached Mat. Leave a message after the beep.”

“Mat it’s me… I know we haven’t talked for few months but I would really appreciate it if you called me back.”

“Hey me again. Please call me back, I really need to talk to you.”

“Listen I know we broke up but… This is super important. I wouldn’t be calling if it wasn’t. Please Mat.”

“Since you won’t pick up the phone I’ll just say it. I’m pregnant, Mat. It’s yours. Please… Just let me know you’ve gotten my calls and texts.”

“I don’t want money or anything, I just want you to know about our son and have the chance to be there for him. Call me please.”

“Hey, me again… If you don’t want to be apart of this that’s fine I just… I need you to tell me so I’m not sitting around with this false hope that you’ll show up for us.”

“Mat my water broke and I’m so scared. All I want is you. If you were ever going to pick up the phone now would be the time. Please babe, I can’t do this without you.”

“Matty…. He looks just like you. Please… please pick up the phone.”

“Fuck… C’mon Grey,” you groaned quietly as you rocked your two week old son. He was crying loudly and nothing you’d done yet seemed to help. “Bubs please, mama is trying her best.”

His wails continued, your shoulders slumping in defeat as you rocked back and forth. You were seconds away from crying right alongside your little boy.

A knock on the door interrupted your thoughts. Your brow furrowed but you moved toward it anyways. With a wince you glanced at your reflection in the hallway mirror. Your hair was messily piled on your head, the dark circles under your eyes were almost purple, and you had spit up on your shirt.

“Hold on Greyson, I’m just gonna answer the… door…,” your voice faltered as you pulled the door open to reveal Mat standing there. His hair was sticking up as if he’d been running his hands through it and his eyes were puffy. “Mat?”

Mat didn’t say anything as his eyes locked on Greyson who was still loudly wailing, unaware of the tension boiling between his parents. He blinked a few times before he looked up at you with watery eyes, “Is… Is that him? Is that our son?”

Your lip trembled as you looked up at Mat, heart aching in your chest as your eyes met, “You didn’t answer my calls.”

“I know.”

“You missed my whole pregnancy.”

“I know.”

“You weren’t there to hold my hand when he was born. I…,” tears welled in your eyes, quickly spilling over as you and Mat stood across from each other. “What- why now? What the hell are you doing here Mat?”

You fell into full on sobs as Mat stepped forward and pulled you into his arms, both you and Greyson crying against his chest. His arms held you close as he whispered apologies and sweet words to you.

“I’m so sorry baby, I’ll explain everything. Okay? I’ll tell you everything,” Mat whispered against your hair. You couldn’t do anything but cry along with your son, your shoulders deflating as Mat held you. “It’s okay, I got you. I got you both.”

When Mat gently grabbed Greyson from your arms you didn’t hesitate to hand him over. You’d been rocking him for close to two hours and you were delirious and exhausted from trying to calm your son.

“I’ll hold him while you take a nap,” Mat pressed a kiss to your forehead, holding you close for a moment. “I’m here baby, I got you.”

You laid in bed for a few minutes simply staring at the ceiling. You and Mat had gone through a civil breakup, ending things solely because you rarely saw each other. Between his job and yours your schedules were hard to coordinate and it had put unnecessary stress on both of you.

When you’d both decided to break off your relationship you spent the whole night in bed together. You couldn’t even begin to count how many times you and Mat had made love, chuckling as you realized that’s probably when Greyson was conceived.

With a sigh you laid down, your eyes immediately shutting as you drifted off to sleep thinking about you and Mat and your son.

Your body wakes you up, the breastmilk leaking through your top a sure sign that you’ve missed a feeding. With a groan you changed before going to hunt down Mat and Grey.

Stretched out across your couch is Mat, Greyson on his bare chest. His eyes scanned over every inch of your son as if he didn’t want to miss a single detail.

“Hi,” you whispered from the doorway, Mat’s eyes finally breaking away from Grey to meet your eyes. “I need to feed him, my boobs are killing me.”

Mat didn’t make any jokes, much to your surprise, as he sat up and handed Greyson over to you. You sat on the opposite end of the couch and quickly latched the baby onto your breast before you looked back over to Mat. His head was in his hands, bent over as he heaved a deep sigh.

“Mat-“

“I’m so sorry,” he cut you off, eyes still locked on the floor. “I… Fuck… After we broke up I was a mess. I started- ah, hooking up with this girl Hayley. It was casual, I literally never saw her outside of our hookups but she clearly wanted more.”

Your heart clenched as Mat told you about this other woman, but you let him keep going. You knew he wouldn’t be telling you this if there wasn’t a point to it all.

“We started casually dating. Just dinner or a movie before we… You know… Anyways last night I woke up to her going through my phone,” Mat stopped, finally pulling his head away from his hands as he looked up at you. “She had been deleting all your messages. I kicked her out and they were all there so I… I listened to every single one and then I drove over here. As soon as I knew I was on your doorstep. I’m so sorry. If I’d known, if I’d heard that first message I would’ve been here for everything.”

You hadn’t even realized you were crying until Mat leaned over to brush the tears staining your cheeks. You met his eyes, hurt and sincerity floating in them.

“I can never stop apologizing for missing all of this but I swear I’ll be here for every moment from here on out,” Mat whispered as he caressed your cheek. “Okay?”

You nodded as Mat kissed your forehead just as Grey let out a whine in your arms. Mat chuckled as you gently patted his back and coaxed a burp out of the infant, “He didn’t wanna be ignored.”

“He’s an attention seeker, just like his dad,” you snorted and watched as Mat’s face lit up. You handed Grey back to him, smiling as your son curled right into him. “He also already looks just like you. Figures since he has your name.”

Mat’s brows furrowed as he looked from Greyson to you, “My name?”

“Greyson Mathew,” Mat’s eyes widened as you grinned. “I knew you wouldn’t have ignored me on purpose or out of spite. And I don’t know what stopped me from just marching down to your place with my huge belly and waiting until you talked to me. I think a part of me was scared that maybe you would reject me to my face. I don’t know but… I’m glad you’re here now.”

Mat pulled you into his side, cuddling you into him as he pressed a kiss to your hair. Grey squirmed around for a second but calmed as you put your hand over Mat’s on his back. The scene was sweet and intimate, what you’d been dreaming of since you found out you were pregnant.

Everything was perfect.

“Grey’s screaming,” you groaned as you cuddled into Mat’s chest. “It’s too early for screaming Mathew.”

Mat chuckled as he slowly extracted himself from your hold, “I’ll go get the gremlin. You just lay there and look pretty.”

You grinned up at Mat as he left the room, heading down the hall towards Greyson’s room. A harsh kick landed against your stomach and you groaned, settling your hand against the slight curve of your belly.

“Your brother is already causing a ruckus, I don’t need you too,” you chuckled as another kick hit your hand. “Calm down sweet girl or daddy is gonna come in here and rile you up.”

“My girl is awake?” Mat asked excitedly from the doorway, Greyson on his hip with an identical smile to Mat’s as you rolled your eyes. “Lemme feel her.”

Greyson plopped himself onto the bed and curled into your side, watching with wide eyes as Mat leaned down to whisper to your belly.

“Baby!”

“Yup that’s your baby sister,” you giggled as Mat pressed a kiss to your belly. “Enough Mathew, you already know she’s gonna be a daddy’s girl.”

“I know,” Mat groaned as he looked up at you with a smirk. “But I didn’t get to experience this with Grey. I want to make the most of this.”

You smiled and ran a hand through Mathew’s curls, your wedding rings glinting in the morning light as his cheek pressed against your belly, “You’re an amazing dad Mat, have been from day one. We’re very lucky to have you.”

“I couldn’t imagine my life without you three,” Mat smirked at you before he leaned up and kissed you softly. “Thank you for giving us a family.”

“Thanks for listening to your voicemails,” you grinned as he leaned into your side.

#Mat barzal #Mat barzal imagine #mat barzal fanfiction #nhl imagine #nhl fic #hockey fanfiction #hockey imagine #nina writes

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sapphistaedine · 5 months

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thinking about soulmates in the wheel of time. i like to imagine couples from the past keep coming back to each other when they’re reincarnated. they see each other in the present timeline and they’re like oh. i remember you. but they don’t bc they don’t remember anything about their past lives. but a part of them is drawn to the other person. a part of them feels the warmth and familiarity of the other person. their eyes meet and the background fades and the world stops and they’re like yes. you. i know you. we’ve met before.

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midnightsnyx · 6 months

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girl at home | mat barzal | part 4

pairing: mat barzal x fem!reader summary: you’re eighteen when you find yourself pregnant after Mat leaves for hockey. nearly eight years later, Mat finds out about your daughter and you have to deal with the consequences of not telling him about her.

warnings: not edited, angst, mentions of alcohol, pregnancy, food word count: 1.3k authors note: sorry it's late & short but i was sick and then had writers block. i hope u guys like it!! if u like it let me know but if you hate it also let me know. also HUGE thanks to @barzysbaby for the help with this chapter!! it probably wouldn't have been finished without your help! if anyone wants to be added or taken off the tag list, let me know! you can shoot me a dm, send an ask or fill out my tag list form.

requests are open 🫶🏻 masterlist masterpost ask box taglist form

After your unexpected heart-to-heart with Mat, you begin to realize that you’re starting to tread on some thin ice with your relationship with him. Letting those feelings you’d tucked away start to come back was a recipe for disaster because you had Nora to think about. If he really wanted to be a part of her life, the two of you couldn’t start a relationship because if it went wrong, it would ruin the opportunity for him to be in her life comfortably.

However, the problem is how perceptive Nora can be.

Letting yourself have ‘just one moment’ with Mat last night was a bad idea because you wake up on the couch the next morning, Mat holding you close, and a grumpy six-year-old demanding breakfast.

“Eggs please,” Nora demands, curious eyes watching you and Mat. When you make no move to get up off the couch and get her breakfast, she stomps a foot and crosses her arms.

“Grandma said I could have eggs for breakfast,” she says and then pauses before adding: “and she said I could have pancakes. Chocolate chip pancakes.”

“You’re not at grandma’s, are you?” you reply, watching her frown.

“Well then can you bring me to grandma’s?” she replies without missing a beat.

You open your mouth to tell her no, you won’t be bringing her to grandmas with that attitude when Mat interrupts.

“I’ll make some pancakes,” he mumbles sleepily, sitting up and pulling you with him. You turn to tell him no but your mouth goes dry because you forgot how good he looks in the morning. You’re staring long enough that he notices and a smirk tugs at his mouth but he doesn’t say anything, instead standing up and offering a hand to Nora.

“Let’s go make mom some pancakes,” he says and she smiles up at him and it’s just so damn domestic that you want to cry.

You watch them walk over to the kitchen and start preparing the ingredients while you sit there, trying to pull yourself together. He’s falling so seamlessly into being a parent that you can’t decide how to feel. His attentiveness and patience with her could be temporary and then when he realizes how hard being a parent really is, you’ll be left to clean up the mess he leaves behind. On the other hand, he might be serious about the entire thing and everything could work out.

Nora's giggles catch your attention and you look to see Mat cracking an egg on her forehead like the video he had sent you a few days ago, claiming that he would try it on Nora. Almost as if he can sense that you’re watching them, he looks up and catches your eye and grins, tilting his head slightly.

“You wanna help or just sit there all morning?” he teases so you stand up and make your way to the kitchen to stand next to Nora, kissing the forehead when she grins up at you.

“How can I help?”

. . .

It was inevitable that the hockey world would catch wind that Mathew Barzal had a child. Whether it was his now ex-girlfriend, or just someone from home that spilled the beans, suddenly all the sports sites had articles up about it. They can't legally say Nora’s name or show photos of her because she’s still a minor, but they can definitely dig up old high school pictures and find your instagram.

It wasn’t hard to put the pieces together for people to realize that you were his baby mama. You had to turn your social media accounts private because you were suddenly having people comment on your photos, and sending DM’s. Most of them weren’t the nicest, accusing you of kid-trapping Mat and while you knew that it was useless to be upset over it, it was hard. They didn’t and would never know the details but it bothered you to no end, and unfortunately, you took your frustration out on Mat, who took whatever you threw at him. You said things you regretted the next morning and he would just smile and tell you it was fine.

But it wasn’t, and everything crashed down about two weeks after the first article was posted. You woke up to your phone buzzing, calls and texts from your mom, Jax, some other friends and even Liana.

And a single text from Mat that had just two words, and a link attached.

baby daddy: I'm sorry. instagram.com/matbarzal

It was a statement, clearly written by a PR Manager from the Islanders organization. The statement basically said that Mathew Barzal did not in fact have a child. It was just a rumor floating around that a disgruntled fan spread. A lot of people called it bullshit, saying that it was PR cleaning up a mess, which technically they were doing. Then, there were the fans and journalists who did believe the statement and tried to take back whatever they may have said that was mean.

It wasn’t the things other people were saying about it though, it was what Mat wasn’t saying. After the post, he ghosted you for four days, ignoring all the texts and calls even when they were about Nora. Liana and Nadia still asked to see Nora on the weekend that she normally does so you dropped her off Friday evening, noticing that Mat’s car was nowhere to be seen. Nadia and Liana didn’t say anything about the situation, just thanking you for letting Nora stay over for the night and promising to call if anything came up. You didn’t have anything planned so you went back to your apartment, hoping to catch up on some overdue work you’d been letting pile up.

Halfway through writing a draft for a chapter, there’s a knock on your door. You’re once again suspecting it to be Nadia or Liana with Nora but you come face to face with Mat.

Again.

His eyes are trained on the ground, refusing to meet yours. There are a thousand things you want to say, most of them not nice at all but what comes out is: “beer?”

His head shoots up, clearly not expecting that response from you but he nods his head and walks in when you step to the side. He toes off his shoes and walks straight towards the kitchen. By instinct, he opens the fridge to get himself a drink and then pauses, looking at you sheepishly.

“Beer?”

“Water,” you reply and he nods, passing you a bottle of water. You both sit at the kitchen island, drinking your respectable drinks in silence until he clears his throat.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “I didn’t know that they were going to write that. Our public relations manager wrote it and just told me to post it. My agent asked her to clean things up a little because it was getting out of hand. I didn’t want to hurt you or Nora, I swear.”

“It’s too late for that,” you say sharply. “You said you want to be in Nora’s life but she can’t be a secret, Mat! You can’t say you want to try, and then turn around and tell the world that she’s not yours. If you’re not going to be in this one-hundred percent, then you shouldn’t be here at all.”

He must take your last statement as a dismissal because he stands up, slips his shoes on and leaves, closing the door a little harder than necessary.

You sit in silence far too long, part of you foolishly hoping that Mat will come back but you know he won’t. Not today at least. So, you go back to working on your draft but you can’t focus. Part of you wants to try and put yourself in his shoes, to try and understand why he didn’t fight harder against what public relations wanted but you can’t. You can’t imagine not being Nora’s mom and you wonder if maybe this is the way out he was hoping for. Maybe he decided that being a parent was fun for a little while, but when he understood the real consequences and struggles that come along with it, he realized he didn’t want it. That he didn’t want Nora.

Maybe this is his out.

tag list: @literatureluster @dasiysthings @barzyblogbabe @teapartydreams @diary-of-jj @heatherawoowoo @fallinallincurls @topguncultleader @shadowsndaisies @lovinbarzal

#hockey imagines #allies writing #nhl fanfiction #hockey fanfiction #nhl imagines #hockey imagine #mat barzal x reader #mat barzal imagine #mat barzal fic #mat barzal fanfiction #hockey fics #hockey fic

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mendeshoney · 7 months

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if you're still interested writing from the drunken confession prompt can you pls do "I can't wait for the room to stop spinning, so I can focus on your face again." With barzy but with the reader being the drunken one pls 😭

3.) "I can't wait for the room to stop spinning, so I can focus on your face again." with Mathew Barzal

"What the hell, Sydney?" Mat practically barks out, his hands shooting forward so he can steady you when Sydney all but dumps you into his arms.

You're absolutely wasted.

And it's not even one in the afternoon.

Sydney rolls her eyes, and from behind her, Mat can see her husband and his teammate, Marty, rolling his own eyes at his wife's lack of coordination. "Will you relax? She's fiiiiine!"

At Sydney's tone, and your sudden lack off coordination, Mat frowns, tightening his grip to keep you upright. "You two said you were going for brunch."

His tone is slightly accusatory, and it makes you scrunch your nose up in dissatisfaction. "We did!" You all but whine, and Marty sighs from his doorway.

"They went to that one café with the bottomless mimosas." Marty explains, barely breaking a sweat as he helps to keep his wife standing.

"They were amaaazing!" Sydney gushes, and you giggle from within his embrace.

"Sooo delicious!" You agree, and Marty sighs.

"She's been fine since I picked her up," his teammate tells him, "No nausea or sickness or anything, but I brought her straight home before these two could start brunch hopping."

Mat nods, letting out a small breath as he glances down at you, an amused smile crossing his lips when he finds you already looking at him with those big, beautiful eyes of yours and a toothy grin.

"Thanks man," Mat says, quickly shaking his teammates hand before pointing a finger at his wife. "And you! No more brunch."

Sydney whines a little more as Marty drags his wife back towards their car. Mat shuts the door behind him, turning to you and laughing a little when he finds you're still looking at him with that same grin.

"How are you feeling, princess?" He asks softly, brushing some hair out of your face.

You shrug, eyelids blinking slowly at his face. "Fine," you say, then frown a little, "A bit dizzy, I think."

Mat frowns now too, carefully putting one arm behind your back and the other behind your knees before lifting you bridal style. "Let's get you some water then."

"Mkay," you say dismissively, humming quietly to yourself as Mat walks you both toward the kitchen. He can feel your eyes glued to his face as he goes, and he hides the smirk threatening to cross his face.

He places you on top of the kitchen island, careful as he steps back, and he sees you blink at him, smiling, before your eyes blow wide and then squeeze shut, your body swaying a little.

"Whoa there," he says, placing his hands on either side of your face, steadying you, watching as your eyes do that slow blinking thing again. "Are you okay?"

"Mhm," you say, eyes still shut. "A little bit more dizzy."

"From me carrying you?" He assumes.

You try to shake your head, but Mat's hands keep you still. "Dunno baby."

"How many mimosas did you have?" He asks through a laugh, thumbs rubbing gently at your cheek bones.

"Can't count now, baby," you say, "trying not to be dizzy."

"I'm sorry princess," he says, pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead. "I didn't mean to make it worse."

Your mouth opens like you're going to say something, but then it closes again, and your mouth forms a little pout, and he swears he can start to see tears beginning to coat your lashes.

He presses forward, hands still steady and holding your face. "Baby? What's wrong?"

"Too dizzy to open my eyes, room's spinning," your voice wobbles the way it does when you're about to start crying, and Mat can feel himself start to panic.

"Do you want water?" He asks, "I can get you water but I'd have to move to the sink."

"No, I don't want that." You pout more, and Mat's heart starts to fracture.

He presses another kiss to your forehead. "What do you want then?"

"Wanna look at your face."

It's quiet for a second, and then your words click in his head, and Mat starts to laugh. "What?"

"Wanna see you," you explain. "But I'm worried if I open my eyes, I won't be."

"Cause you're too dizzy?" He manages to ask through his chuckling.

You nod slowly, and then the tears that threatened to spill from your eyes start to disappear, and a small, pleased smile crosses your lips, posture straightening a little.

"I can't wait for the room to stop spinning, so I can focus on your face again." You declare happily.

It only makes him laugh more, and he presses his palms into your cheeks a little, delighting in the way they squish a little and your mouth exaggerates the pout that forms.

"Why do you want to see my face?" He asks playfully.

"S' pretty," you manage to say through the squish. "And I love it, love you."

"I love you too, princess." Mat punctuates his statement with a kiss to your squished up lips, then slowly lowers his hands from your face to your shoulders. "Now, how about that water? And some Advil. Definitely Advil."

#mathew barzal #mat barzal #mathew barzal x reader #mat barzal x reader #writing challenge #mendeshoney masterlist

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youunravelme · 11 months

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slowly, then all at once

author's note: i'm going through some shit and needed to alleviate it with fluff and also it's mat's birthday (or at least it was when i started this)! EDIT: this takes place in an alternative TATGYLB universe bc went an ENTIRELY different direction with this series (because i don't plan well lolol). (stole the title from the fault in our stars because that book had me in a CHOKEHOLD at 14)

pairing: mat barzal x reader

warnings: none? cursing?

summary: the stages of mat falling in love with you

mat saw how you were with ella, the way you'd smile and talk to her like she could hold a conversation. or the way you never chided him or condescended to him when he did something completely stupid.

which is more than what he could say about his teammates.

so when he heard your piece of shit boyfriend screaming at you over the phone? or when he showed up unannounced and trying to "win you back?"

mat was livid.

he was sure jason had never hit you, because if there was any indication of that, mat would be all over it.

so while he's sure jason never inflicted physical harm, he saw the way you kept to yourself and even the way you looked surprised at his invitation to lunch or the game.

it broke his heart a little, to think that you'd never once considered yourself now a part of his life. when, in fact, the second you agreed to watch ella, it was like he'd pulled you into the fold.

he was on a mission to prove it to you.

inviting you to his game was the first step in his original plan.

well.

it was the first non intimidating step. (tito mentioned that maybe meeting his mom and sister after only knowing him for like a week was not the smartest move he'd ever made.)

you still looked out of your element when he asked, but he's positive that it was his own enthusiasm that convinced you to say yes.

and he thought it was a great idea! he got you and jason tickets, thinking that maybe you'd be more comfortable with having him around. and perhaps that was true at some point, but when he saw you, standing with only ella and sydney with water lining your eyes, something in his chest twisted.

you looked shaken, like someone had stuck you in a blender.

"where's jason?" was apparently the wrong thing to ask because sydney changed the subject almost immediately.

you wouldn't even look at him.

and when you told him about your piece of shit boyfriend leaving you?

mat wasn't prepared for the burning in his chest. no one got away with treating a friend of his that way, but seeing as you just avoided the topic altogether, he dropped it.

until you went upstairs to your apartment and didn't text him. tito would say he has a habit of hovering at times and maybe he never really agreed until five minutes passed without a word from you.

if you asked, he would've denied the intense concern growing in his chest. but how else was he supposed to react when you seemed so dissociated the rest of the night?

thankfully, you picked up almost immediately.

"hello?"

mat cleared his throat. "hey, you never texted me to say you got in alright. you okay?”

now it could've only been a few seconds, but it felt like a lifetime before he heard your voice.

“keep the car running, i’ll be down in a few minutes.”

mat was ready to grab ella and head upstairs, car be damned.

he couldn't hear what else really happened on the phone, he only knew that you came downstairs, empty handed, and frazzled. the sight alone had him contemplating going into your apartment to figure out exactly what was going on, but he knew the best decision was take you back to his place.

he'd figured it out when jason showed up with his daughter's car seat screaming at you for wearing his clothes. screaming at you like you were somehow in the wrong, like he wasn't the one who cheated on you.

you.

who had to be the most selfless person he knew (don't tell his mom).

you.

who had readily agreed to take care of his daughter on a whim because he was insanely scared.

you.

who was one of the only topic of conversation his mother wanted to discuss. it used to just be hockey and how he was doing. now the thirty minute phone calls turned into hour and a half long facetimes where ella and you are regular topics for discussion.

mat couldn't comprehend how someone could look at you and want to tear you down, but after you officially broke up with jason? he was determined to show you how much you deserved.

exhibit a

"it's five sugars, right?" mat called over his shoulder once he heard your footsteps coming into the kitchen.

you paused in the doorway. "what?"

mat turned around, two mugs of coffee in his hands. "you like five sugars, right?"

ella sat on your hip but didn't seem to give a flying fuck that he was in front of her.

"you--you remembered?" you tilted your head. "you only made me coffee like once?"

mat's face heated up at the implication but smirked anyway. "i have a great memory!"

"could've surprised me from the amount of times you get hit."

mat shrugged, still not completely used to the idea of you watching his games, even if they were just highlights. he held the mug out to you in exchange for ella.

"you wanna come to a game again?" he offered.

you looked at him before breaking eye contact and sipping your coffee. "i don't know if that's the best idea after last time. i don't want to embarrass you again--"

"woah woah woah," mat sat his coffee mug on the island before holding a hand up at you. it didn't sit right with him to see you so ashamed of something someone else did. "what happened at the game was not your fault. it was his, okay? you weren't to blame."

"you weren't even there to see it--"

"and i don't need to, okay? i know you." he meant it. but seeing as the conversation was getting a little too heavy, he changed the subject. "just think about it! and let me know what game you want to go to."

you didn't say anything, but just gave him a small smile and nodded.

he'd count it as a win.

exhibit b

it'd been about four months since you'd started working with mat, three months since you moved in.

not that he was counting.

there were things that were harder with having you around. mainly remembering to wear a shirt when he wakes up in the morning, or to not adjust his junk until he was in the bathroom or his bedroom.

but--

there were many more things that were significantly easier (and better) with you in his life (and apartment).

sleep training ella was easy as hell

keeping an eye on ella who was walking now

the apartment actually smelled nice? not that it smelled bad before, but now it smelled like a home.

and who knew decorative pillows made a difference?

but his favorite thing recently?

grocery shopping.

he was currently pushing ella around in a shopping cart while you scrolled on your phone through the list.

"so what do we need next?" he asked.

"if you'd give me a second, i'd have the answer for you," you snipped.

by now, mat was used to your snide comments, knowing that you were just a bit quippy when you were focused.

"ella, is your nanny being a little cranky?" he joked, ignoring the glare you were shooting his way.

you rolled your eyes and tossed a bag of bread at his head that would've hit its mark had he not had the reflexes that gave him a professional hockey career.

"excuse me?" an older woman spoke up from behind him. "as cute as your little family is, can you move out of the way? you're clogging up the aisle."

mat blinked. time froze. he'd never fully considered the implications of the three of you out in public together. but being the comment of you, him, and ella being a "little family" had his heart stopping in his chest.

"oh of course!" you spoke up and grabbed mat by the arm. the feel of your touch alone had him directing his attention to the physical contact.

he looked at you instead of the woman, watched as you mumbled to ella as you pulled all three of you out of the way. his brain went on overdrive.

god he never wanted you to let go of him ever again. he would give anything to just be able to hold onto you a little longer.

and he must've been thinking for too long because you were snapping your fingers in front of his face?

"mat? you okay? did i lose you there?" you had a cute pinch between your brows and a small frown on your face.

that wouldn't do.

so he smiled and nodded. "sorry, just thinking about something."

you.

exhibit c

you went out for the night with sydney while he hung out with tito and anders. initially, you said you'd look for a sitter to cover you, but mat laughed that suggestion off.

he didn't say it, but you were no longer a nanny to him anymore. and you deserved a night off without the stress of finding a replacement. anders and marty suggested a babysitter that he hired for the night immediately.

"are you sure you don't want me to wait until she gets here? i can help explain ella's routine!" you said.

mat rolled his eyes as he herded you towards the door. "i'll be fine, go have fun!"

you let him gently push you out of the door but turned around and looked at him. "if you need me, text me."

mat smiled. "if you need me, call me."

the babysitter arrived five minutes early which meant mat could spend that time kissing ella's cheeks and reiterating her schedule to the sitter.

he was the last person at the bar, anders and tito were already sitting in a booth, each with a beer in their hands, an extra one on the table for him (he assumed).

"didn't wanna leave ella?" anders asked.

tito scoffed. "more like he didn't wanna leave mama bear." mat rolled his eyes while anders cackled in response.

"shut up, beau."

"ah! but you didn't deny it!"

mat shook his head and took a seat in the leather booth. "what's there to deny? we're roommates and she watches ella all the time. we're friends."

tito made a noise in the back of his throat. "you and i are friends, barzy. you make goo goo eyes at her when you think no one is looking."

"no i don't."

anders piped in. "you nearly ran into me on the ice because you were staring at her wearing your jersey."

"no," he defended. "ella was making a really cute face!"

anders blinked at him before rolling his eyes. "sure, barzy."

mat grumbled under his breath and chugged half his beer.

two hours or so had passed with the three of them talking shit about other teams. anders had hinted at leaving, checking his phone just to make sure grace didn't text him. mat found himself doing the same thing to make sure the babysitter hadn't said anything, or maybe to see if you had.

tito didn't seem to give two shits about his phone. and why would he? he was the only one without kids.

they were in the middle of a conversation about the upcoming devils game when mat's phone started buzzing.

sydney martin.

mat picked up the phone, albeit a bit confused. "hello?"

"mat! hey!" sydney greeted. "are you busy?"

mat glanced at tito and anders whose brows were furrowed. "no, why what's up?" his swore his heart stopped in his chest when she said your name. "is she okay? what's wrong?"

"she's a little drunk and crying and asking for you. i don't know if you're sober enough--"

"i'm sober," he said. "only had one beer." he was already reaching for his keys in his pocket. "what's she crying about?"

sydney sighed through the phone. "we saw jason and her old roommate out at the bar tonight. he made a few comments."

mat's jaw clenched. he forced words out through his teeth. "what did he say?"

"mat--"

"no, if he said some shit, sydney, i need to know."

"no," she corrected. "what you need to do is get over here and take her home."

mat was already standing. "i'm on my way."

sydney hung up.

"everything okay?" anders asked.

"probably something to do with mama bear," tito commented.

mat sighed. "she ran into her piece of shit ex and is now inconsolable. i have to go pick her up."

anders snorted. "right. 'have to.'"

mat ignored the comment and said goodbye, already rushing out of the bar to get to you.

it was another ten minutes before he saw you, standing outside a bar with sydney. he could see your tears from the car.

mat jumped out and hurried towards you. sydney all but pushed you into his arms.

and it felt like the world made sense again. you fit perfectly in his arms, against his chest, head tucked into his neck.

"mat--" you sobbed. "i--i can't--"

he kissed the top of your head. "let's get you home, okay?"

exhibit d

ella was saying actual words now like most babies her age. mat used to look at anders, marty, and other parents a little judgmentally, he'll admit, because while babies learning to do things was incredibly cool, he didn't fully understand the hype.

until she said dada for the first time.

it damn near made him cry.

and like for all of her other milestones, you were there beside him with your phone recording the moment. you almost missed it, but you had a sixth sense for those things, figuring out when ella was going to do something incredible.

that was two weeks ago and it still never got old to hear her say his name when he came home or rounded the corner.

he'd been known as mathew, mat, barzy, barzal, gary, and a slew of other names, but dada had to be his favorite. to belong to someone who needed you so wholly was the best feeling in the world.

that and seeing you smile at him.

he'd accepted it now, there was no denying it, not after half the team was on his case about his feelings for you. and how could he not fall in love with you? you were gentle and kind and handled the shittiest situations with so much grace (he wasn't joking, he'd wanted to fight jason the second you came out of your old apartment looking like you'd seen a ghost).

you handled his friends with ease, never letting tito's teasing affect you. you handled the "mama bear" nickname with ease, even laughing at it at times.

you just made his world so much better just by existing in it.

which is why he gave you the day off while he and tito took ella around the city.

ella was fine for most of the day, though she kept glancing around.

"probably looking for mama bear," tito guessed. "i would be too if you were the one looking after me."

mat flipped him off behind ella's back. "i'm not an idiot."

"before you met mama bear, you kinda were."

he rolled his eyes. "sorry for not knowing how to take care of a baby as soon as i find out i have one. most people have nine months to prepare for the arrival of a child. ella literally showed up on my doorstep."

truth be told, he was parroting the words you'd said to him a week ago when the guilt settled in about how much of a shitty father he was. you were quick to correct him, saying the exact things he told tito, that for a man who found out he had a child only a few months ago, he was doing a great job, and he was even better than some other fathers who left the parenting to their partner.

"i'd never leave you hanging like that," he'd said to you.

but you shrugged off his comment. "it's a little different when it's my job to take care of your kid, mat."

"you've done a great job, barzy," beau said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "there's no doubt about it. you can tell because she loves you."

ella smiled at mat and pushed his cheeks together.

"what do you say we get back to mama bear, huh?" he asked his daughter who only seemed to smile wider at the mention your nickname.

it was another fifteen minutes before they were home, rowdy and disturbing the peace and quiet you'd created for yourself.

"we're back!" mat called as tito shut the front door behind him.

they were setting things down on the floor by the door when you walked out in sweats.

"mama bear!” tito cheered.

you smiled and mat couldn't breathe. "how was my baby?"

mat was embarrassed to say he almost answered for himself. "she was great," was what he said instead. "isn't that right, ella bean?"

ella was reaching for you, making grabby hands in your general direction babbling something he couldn't quite make out.

"what'd you say, baby?" you asked.

"mama," she said.

and the room went silent.

mat's eyes kept darting from ella to you like he was watching a game of olympic table tennis. ella kept reaching for you until you finally gave in and held her. it was then he saw the tears streaming down your cheeks.

mat immediately went into defense mode.

"i'm sorry, i promise i didn't teach her intentionally, she probably picked it up from us calling you mama bear all the time and--"

you shut him up by placing a small kiss on his cheek and squeezing his forearm before turning on your heel.

"let's take a nap, ella bean."

mat couldn't speak, not even when you left the room. tito clapped him on the shoulder before heading towards the kitchen.

"you're so gone for her."

exhibit e

"are you sure about this?" you called from the other room. mat was in the living room adjusting his tie in the mirror on the wall while the babysitter was playing with ella on the floor.

to be honest, when he was complaining to beau about not having a date to some charity event the islanders were hosting, he wasn't expecting beau to suggest you. though, given how beau kept winking and nudging him after every time you and mat so much as made eye contact, it shouldn't have been surprising.

it wasn't that he didn't think of asking you, it was more like he didn't think you'd actually say yes.

"sure about what?" he called back.

"bringing me."

"i've never been more sure about something in awhile."

"you're so dramatic," you laughed.

mat would give anything to bottle up the sound.

"does this look okay?' mat turned when your voice sounded closer than it was a second ago.

he couldn't breathe.

god you looked beautiful.

"oh," you said softly. "your tie matches my dress."

if he could've he would've looked down to confirm your observation, but he couldn't take his eyes off you. your hair was perfectly styled, your makeup, flawless. the navy of your dress was perfectly matched to his tie and pocket square, something that shouldn't matter as much to him as it did.

but it was you.

so it meant the world.

you looked like you were his.

"yeah," was all he could say.

"you never answered my question," you said. "do i look okay? because if it's too much--"

"perfect," he said. "you look perfect."

you smiled. "sydney picked it out." thank you sydney. "you look handsome too mat, though, your tie..." you gestured to his neck so he turned around to see it crooked still. "do you need help?"

"yes please," he sighed. "i've looked up videos, but tito usually helps me do it."

"aw," you cooed. "you looked it up? that's so cute!" your deft fingers began undoing the knot and redoing it way better than he could've.

"how are you so good at this?"

you shrugged. "when i was fourteen, i read a book where a girl tied her husband's tie and i wanted to be able to do the same for the love of my life one day. so i asked my dad to teach me. i'm a bit of a hopeless romantic."

the love of your life.

god he'd give anything to be loved by you.

and it would be so easy just to lean forward a couple of inches and kiss you.

right there.

give in to what he'd been feeling for months.

but the babysitter rounded the corner with ella who was chanting mama and dada which somehow ruined the mood and made him want to kiss you even more.

"be good, sweet girl. we'll see you tomorrow." you made your way to the front door while he kissed his daughter on the head.

"i'm not sure how long we'll be out, but i'll keep you updated," he told the babysitter.

the babysitter nodded, which to be honest, he barely noticed because his attention was back on you and how your dress, while it had sleeves, had a dip in the back. he didn't know that skin could be so alluring, but maybe it was the fact that it was you.

mat cleared his throat and bid the babysitter and ella goodbye before ushering the both of you out of the door.

the drive lasted longer than he wanted it to, mainly because he couldn't wait to get to the event just to show you off.

was this how he was supposed to feel with all of his other exes? the desire to show the world you were his?

"you okay? you're quiet, it's unlike you," you said.

mat shrugged, mainly so he didn't immediately profess his feelings. "just a lot on my mind."

"uh oh. that can't be good," you joked. you leaned over the console and placed your chin in your hand. "you wanna talk about it?"

mat's hands on the wheel tensed, mainly to keep himself from leaning over and kissing you immediately.

"i'm good, maybe we can discuss it later."

you shrugged. "if you say so."

the both of you arrived at the event shortly thereafter with mat passing his keys off to the valet. "stay seated," he told you before getting out and rounding the car to open your door.

"you didn't have to--"

"i know," he smiled. "i wanted to." mat offered you his arm and you took it, wrapping your hand around his bicep like it belonged there.

the two of you spotted marty and sydney first; the latter all but shrieked when she saw you.

"you look amazing!" she said before tugging you out of mat's arm and into her own. "i told you this dress was the one."

"you didn't say i would've matched mat," you mumbled, though he still heard it over the buzz in the room. he was always listening to you.

marty nudged him. "you seem pleased with yourself."

mat smiled. "i am."

you were laughing at something sydney said when tito came up and clapped him and marty on the shoulders. "let's get you a drink, barzy. you look thirsty." he leaned in. "in more than one way."

mat shoved him off and leaned towards you, gently touching your arm. "i'm going with beau and marty to get a drink, but i'll be back."

you smiled and nodded. "okay, don't worry about me, mat. i'll be fine in your absence."

he let himself be whisked away from you and towards the bar where a drink was placed in his hand pretty quickly.

"so," tito started. "you two match."

"it was syd's doing," marty explained. "she orchestrated the whole thing. picked out the dress based on the tie mat wears every year. it was her new project."

mat flushed but did his best to brush it off.

"i don't know how you did it barzy," tito continued. "she looks good. if i were you i would've--"

"watch it, beauvillier."

"i was gonna say--"

"i don't care what you were gonna say, i probably wouldn't have liked it."

"well then, maybe you should take a chance and ask her out finally. the pining was cute at first, now it's bordering on pathetic."

mat rolled his eyes while marty laughed into his drink.

"look, you have a good thing going, you brought her here as your date, ella calls her mama, you two are as good as locked in and committed. you just have to do the hard work of officially asking her out!"

his gaze travelled to the other side of the room where you were laughing along with sydney and grace. you looked like you belonged in his world.

effortlessly.

mat made a move to go over to you, but marty caught his arm. "this is not the place to ask her out," he said. "as much as you want to, you don't want her thinking it took a pretty dress to get you to take her out."

"that's not the case here--"

"does she know that?"

mat rolled his eyes and took a sip of his drink.

it was another thirty minutes before he made his way back to you. he found you standing alone on the balcony with a glass of champagne in your hand.

"you okay?" he asked. "no one's bothering you or anything, right?"

you looked over your shoulder and snorted. "i'm not important enough to be bothered by the donors, mat."

"don't say that. you're important."

you rolled your eyes. "not what i meant, mathew."

god he loved it when you said his name.

"i just meant that the donors don't really pay attention to me, so i've just been hanging out with the wives all night since my date ditched me," you teased.

"okay to be fair, tito pulled me away, i would've stayed with you all night if i could've."

you blinked. "really?" you asked in a small voice.

he nodded until he found the words to speak. "i love spending time with you. you're one of my favorite people."

within a split second you were closing the distance between the two of you and wrapping your arms around his waist. your arms snuck under his coat so that the only thing separating your skin from his was the thin material of his dress shirt.

it only took him a split second to react to the hug and wrap you in his arms.

you mumbled against his chest. "you're one of my favorite people, too."

in conclusion:

in the end, there was nothing special about that day. it was a saturday in the middle of july back in coquitlam. by the grace of god, he'd convinced you to come to canada for him, not that you could really refuse as he was the one signing your paychecks, you'd joked (though he made it clear he'd continue paying you even if you didn't go).

and maybe he regretted it a little bit, seeing you bond with his family was another nail in his coffin of falling deeper in love with you. there was no way out now, not that he'd ever want one.

it was one particularly hot day in the summer that mat dragged you and the rest of his family to the beach. and maybe that was a mistake (seeing you in a red bikini in public should be illegal).

you sat in the sand with ella building castles, or at least attempting to, while he tried to drown liana in the water. it wasn't until liana finally dunked him, that he trudged back to shore, bent out of shape and irritated.

"you can dish it out but can't take it?" you teased as he plopped onto the sand next to you.

mat glared instead of saying anything mainly because ella was starting to pick up more and more words and she'd say "fuck" too many times thanks to his mouth.

speaking of, when she saw her dad, ella immediately called him before throwing herself into his lap, completely forgetting about you. it was funny to see mainly because it was a new trend of ella's, ditching you for him. it was even funnier because how put out you'd be about it.

just like now with your lip poked out and your eyes rolling.

"oh don't be a sore loser," mat said. "she used to love you more than me."

"well that makes sense, i'm way more likable than you are."

"i can't argue that."

liana came running into their direct line of sight with a polaroid camera in her hand. "i wanna get a picture of the happy family," she said as her explanation. "say cheese!"

mat froze but you didn't bat an eyelash at the idea of being called family. sure, he'd considered you a part of his ever since you agreed to watch his child, but he didn't know you felt the same.

"smile, mathew," you nudged him in the ribs.

he turned his head towards you, ignoring his sister's groans and chirps. he ignored the sound of a camera clicking and the subsequent flash that followed.

his focus was on you.

"mat, what're you looking at?" you asked. he could vaguely register liana walking away as your eyes searched his face for any hint of what could be going on, but all he could think about was you.

you wearing his jersey and holding ella at the stanley cup finals.

you in a few years with a ring on your left hand that he put there.

you with a newborn baby that was the perfect mix of the both of you.

you, old and crinkly, holding his hand on the couch as you told your grandkids stories.

you.

before he could even stop himself, he leaned forward and captured your lips with his.

you responded not a beat later.

and maybe it was embarrassing, how eager he was or how his hand felt like the perfect fit against your cheek. but he couldn't give a shit.

not when he'd waited so long for something like this. for someone like this.

and when you both pulled away, much too soon in his opinion, your eyes were wide.

"why'd you do that?" you whispered.

he shrugged and adjusted ella in his arms. "because my life is better with you in it. because i love you." he cleared his throat. "why'd you kiss me back?"

you smiled and leaned into kiss him again. this time though, instead of pulling fully away, you stayed close so that your lips brushed his. "because i love you too."

#mat barzal #nhl imagines #nhl imagine #tatgylb #mat barzal imagine #mat barzal x reader #my writing

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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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dear-bunnyboo · 8 months

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𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒 || 𝐌𝐀𝐓 𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐙𝐀𝐋

here is my first fic for my baby Barzy! this fic is a little bit short but cute regardless. also a huge thank you to everyone who voted for the song Dress by Taylor Swift to inspire this fic, hope you enjoy!

oh, and before i forget— the other option was Right Where You Left Me by Taylor Swift anndddd i might make a fic about that as well so keep a look out (trevor maybe?) 👀

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: Mat Barzal x Best Friend!Reader

𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠: 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 - 𝐓𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐭

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: You have been Mat’s best friend ever since you two were in middle school. What happens when he asks you to come and accompany him to the NHL Awards as his date?— a platonic date of course… right?

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: cursing, cluelessness, mutual pining, best friends to lovers, mentions of past relationships, confessions, alcohol consumption, rumors, tension, fluff, new relationship, and more fluff.

𝐍𝐇𝐋 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 || 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

Our secret moments in your crowded room

They got no idea about me and you

There is an indentation in the shape of you

Made your mark on me, a golden tattoo

A light graze touched your skin— snapping you out of your thoughts as you watched the people around you socialize.

Looking down towards your hand that sat on top of your thigh, Mat’s pinky finger was hooked onto yours— something he does to comfort you, ever since you were two were young.

Your best friend Mat invited you as his plus one at this year’s NHL Awards. You have accompanied him before in these types of events as his plus one— his date according to his constant teasing, he claims he would never stopped calling you that cause he loves watching your face go read.

That is simply because you have been pining over Mat for years now and you know in every part of your being that you shouldn’t. He was your best friend— and you didn’t want to risk losing that.

It was a cliche, but everyone either wants you and Mat to get together or they already think that you are already secretly together— both your parents teasing you two for the longest time that you two were gonna get married.

The fans speculating and theorizing that you two have been hiding your relationship for a couple of years now— the cameras following both of your every move, waiting for a confirmation or the rumors going around that you are in an unrequited relationship with the hockey player— and in your mind could be plausible at the moment.

They got no idea about you and Mat’s feelings for each other and neither did you two.

All of this silence and patience, pining in anticipation

My hands are shaking from holding back from you

All of this silence and patience, pining and desperately waiting

My hands are shaking from all this

You and Mat were surrounded by his teammates and their significant others— another reminder that you were nothing but Mat’s best friend as the WAGs continued to gush about your dress.

It was a satin royal blue halter neck dress that came down to your mid thigh, was beautifully paired by your favorite black stilettos that accentuated your legs even more.

The dress immediately reminded you of Mat the second you walked in the store— it was on the more pricey side but you couldn’t help but imagine the look on Mat’s face once he sees you in it which was proven worth it when he remained motionless with his mouth wide open, staring at you with awe when he picked you up.

You weren’t one for parties which is why you remained by Mat’s side during the after party. It was loud and chaotic as everyone celebrated the success of the award show— everyone around you were drinking and socializing with their peers— you on the other hand were on your third glass and you were pretty sure you were starting to see double.

You were a lightweight. You won’t deny it, in fact you really didn’t mind it— you weren’t a big fan of drinking and it gives you a reason to stop drinking and you may or may not love the attention Mat gives you when he takes cares of you.

“Y/N”

Say my name and everything just stops

I don't want you like a best friend

Only bought this dress so you could take it off

Take it off

Carve your name into my bedpost

'Cause I don't want you like a best friend

Only bought this dress so you could take it off

Take it off

Mat calls out, his arms circling around you as he watches you sway, clearly tipsy.

“Y/N, it’s late. We should head out.” Mat gathers you to his side as he helped you out of the establishment— the Canadian saying his goodbyes to his friends in the process as you waved at them enthusiastically.

“Come on, let’s get you home.” He says once you both got in the car.

Luckily you weren’t any sort of crazy once your drunk— very well behaved if you may.

Mat had to drag you in your house, you surprisingly losing all mobility as you put all your wait on the Canadian who did not complain once which was one of the many things you loved about Mat— his willingness to take care of you wholeheartedly.

Inescapable, I'm not even gonna try

And if I get burned, at least we were electrified

I'm spilling wine in the bathtub

You kiss my face and we're both drunk

A soft peck landed on your face making you snap out of your trance— looking around you found yourself in your bathroom, Mat was talking but you couldn’t really hear him or see him properly considering you were shitfaced— you just knew you were gonna hate yourself in the morning.

“Are you alright?” May questioned as he lifted you up on the counter of the sink, his body standing in between your parted legs as you tried your best to read his lips.

“I’m not drunk” you shook your head aggressively pouting at your best friend who was now laughing at you.

“That’s what drunk people say, Y/N.” He stated as a matter of fact as he rummaged through your cabinets— collecting all your skincare products into his massive hands before setting them down next to you on the sink counter.

“Yeah, but they didn’t tell you that, Barzy.”

“You are making no sense right now.” Mat muttered under his breath as he continued to remove your make up off your face, his concentrated face making you bubble up in laughter.

“You’re the cutest, Barzy baby.” You hummed before placing your head into his neck which you thought looked inviting.

“Well, you’re the prettiest, Y/N.” He sighed caressing your back as you remained cuddled up against his warm chest causing you to stifle our a yawn.

“Let’s get you to bed.”

Feeling more sluggish than before you let Mat carry you towards your room— you quietly watched him as he tucked you to bed, feeing your eyelids starting to get heavier each time you blinked.

“I have a secret to tell you but you can’t tell, okay?”

And I woke up just in time

Now I wake up by your side

My one and only, my lifeline

I woke up just in time

Now I wake up by your side

My hands shake, I can't explain this

You continued to speak not even letting Mat reply in return, “I really really really like Mat. Not just like him, I love him— not as a friend though. Well, I do love him as a friend but I love him as more as well— and it really hurts me to know that he doesn’t feel the same way. I’m not just saying this cause I’m drunk— I really do love him, so much.”

Say my name and everything just stops

“Y/N”

Mat remained still on the same spot as he listened to you ramble— he slowly sat on your bed as he watched you pout at him.

“You can’t tell him— he won’t be my friend anymore if he finds out.”

“I bet he doesn’t want to be your best friend anymore.”

This made you pout even more— your eyes were sleepy but started to tear up at the statement.

“Why would you say that?” You say nearly crying over the thought of Mat not being your friend anymore.

I don't want you like a best friend

“What I meant was that if he found out he might not want to be your best friend anymore cause he wants to be more as well— I bet he wants you to, he loves you just as much, you just gotta tell him.” Mat smiles at you as you struggled to stay awake.

“You really think so?”

“I know so— so tell him, okay?” The Canadian pushes as he removed the hair from your face.

“I promise, Barzy.”

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lam-ila · 3 months

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Sing Your Heart Out as Your Ex Watches || Mat Barzal

Summary: Singer!reader performing at the NHL All Star Game while their ex watches.

Word Count: 851

Warnings: jealousy from an unnamed ex who plays in the NHL, slight mention of said ex being a bad boyfriend (please let me know if you find any more that i should add)

Maleeha's Masterlist

a/n: this short little fic was inspired by this post by @islesnucks and was quickly written (busted it out in an hour)

this is gender neutral. hope you enjoy this! feedback is appreciated

LIKES ARE GREAT, REBLOGS ARE BETTER ♡

You were an up and coming singer, and was pretty well known in the hockey world. Growing up a hockey fan had a big influence in your life; your most famous music video included you wearing some hockey gear, grabbing the attention of hockey players, fans, and organizations.

You were already connected to the hockey world with your boyfriend, Mat Barzal, being a well known hockey player for the New York Islanders. Unfortunately, you were also connected to the hockey world through your ex... who also played in the NHL.

You had been broken up with your ex for two and a half years and you had been with Mat for a little over a year. You couldn't have been happier with Mat, he was everything your ex wasn't: sweet, respectful, kind to your family and friends, the list could go on and on. So when you were confirmed to be at the NHL All Star weekend before your boyfriend was, he couldn't have been prouder.

A few weeks later, the All Stars were announced and Mat's name was listed as one of the players; it was your turn to be proud of him. However, upon reading the list of players who would accompany Mat as All Stars, you frowned at the sight of your ex's name. You brushed it off as your joy that Mat was an All Star overpowered your sadness that your ex was also an All Star.

Since you were performing, you were listed as one of the four celebrity captains. You of course drafted your boyfriend as your first pick resulting in the fans, both yours and his, going wild in person and over social media. Your and Mat's names were all over social media the entire weekend with your ex's name sometimes following your names as he seemingly didn't even try to hide his jealousy that you were happily with Mat. Your ex's obvious jealousy didn't bother you at the time, you were secure in yourself and your relationship as was Mat.

Your and Mat's names appearing on social media only increased on the Saturday, when you were behind the bench that Mat sat upon. Clips of you strategizing play and semi-flirtatiously bossing Mat around were all over the tags relating to the both of you and the NHL All Star Game.

You were set to perform after the second game of the day before the third and final game of the day. At first, you were excited to perform, however, as the All Star weekend went by, you were increasingly getting nervous about performing in front of your ex. As you were getting ready with your backup dancers in the arena's home team locker room, you realized how un-ready you were to perform in front of him. Your backup dancers noticed your nervousness and one of them texted Mat that he needed to come to calm your nerves. Once Mat arrived, you didn't look his way as he expected, signaling that you were lost in your thoughts.

"Hi." He said after cautiously approached you and sitting next to you, worried that he would abruptly break you out of your thoughts.

"Hi." You repeated, a slight smile accompanying your greeting as you met his gaze.

"What's going on in that pretty head of yours?" He asked, gently grabbing your hands and holding them in his as if saying 'you can't avoid this conversation'.

"I have to perform in front of him." You didn't have to say his name for Mat to know that you were talking about your ex. "Him being here wasn't bothering me Thursday, or yesterday, or even earlier today, so I don't know why I'm worried."

"I do," You looked at Mat, confused as to how he knew, but you didn't. "You're worried because it's the first time you perform in front of him since you broke up with him. And I completely understand that." Mat paused, allowing you to talk if you wanted to, but your silence showed him that he could continue. "But you know what? He's been jealous this whole weekend. He can't stand how well you're doing for your singing career without him by your side."

"And he can't stand that I have a boyfriend who's better than him in every way." You added, causing Mat to giddily smile and blush. You took a deep breath, your hands still in Mat's, before adding, "I can do this."

"Now that's the positive self talk I want to hear!" Mat squeezed your hands before letting go, standing up to lean down and give you a chaste kiss on your lips. "I want you to go out there and sing your heart out while your ex watches. Relish in the glory because you've earned it."

"I have?" You asked, standing up in front of Mat.

"You have," he reassured. "and that's all your work that allowed you to get to this point." With one last kiss - the good luck kiss as Mat called it - he was gone, re-joining his NHL peers on the ice waiting for your performance of a lifetime.

——————————

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#maleeha writes #mat barzal #mathew barzal #mat barzal x reader #mathew barzal x reader #mat barzal imagine #mathew barzal imagine #mat barzal fanfic #mathew barzal fanfic #mat barzal fanfiction #mathew barzal fanfiction

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drei-mrssvechii · 2 months

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have you ever been ice skating? | mat barzal

join my taglist!

pairing: mat barzal x reader

warnings: kids, mentions of falling down

word count: 582

a/n: so it's been a while since i wrote something and i came up with this at midnight so hope u enjoy it! be kind, always open to feedback, requests, etc, etc.

Your husband, Mat, was a professional hockey player, which meant he spent a lot of his time on the ice; and your son, Eli definitely got the skating skills from him, because you had never been ice skating. You’d usually watch from the tv or the stands but never tried it.

However, Eli had asked to go skating a million times, begging for you to come this time and there was no way you could say no to his cute pouty face and looking at you with those hazel eyes, so you ended up agreeing.

While Mat was tying your skates, your son was jumping all over the place, waiting for his dad to finish. Once you were ready he was the first to step onto the ice and as he began to skate across the ice without any guidance, panic set in and the sudden urge to back off crashed at you.

“I don’t think I can do this” you said, eyes wide open and feet wobbly.

“C’mon babe, of course you can. Best teacher on Long Island here, eh?” Mat assured you and left a quick kiss on your lips.

“Mom!! You watching me? Come in, it’s gonna be fun!” You nervously laughed and trying not to think much about it, you took two deep breaths and left all worries behind.

“Ok, I can do it, I definitely can.” You kept repeating the mantra as Mat stepped onto the ice first, his hands never leaving yours. “Let’s get it over with”

Then he helped you onto the ice and when your legs wanted to give out on the slippery surface, his grip on your body tightened. Just like that, he started guiding you through a few laps around the rink.

Little by little you were getting the hang of it until Mat let go of your hands and skated away.

“Let’s try on your own. Skate to me” You took a hesitant first stride, Mat’s advice playing in the background.

Confidence is key. Take a deep breath, look up, and focus on balance.

You reached Mat in no time, with a huge smile on his face, he placed his hands on your waist and spun you around excitedly.

“See? It’s not that hard.”

“What can I say? I have such a great coach.” You joke with a huge grin on your face. Maybe skating wasn’t that bad after all.

“Mom. Mom. Mom. Let's race!” You looked at Eli, not sure you could beat him in a race. At least you could stand without falling over but his little feet sure had more practice than you. But you’d do anything to see a smile on his face, so even though as soon as Mat shouted “Go!” Eli had already skated away at a great speed, you started off confident, at least you’d make it to the finish line in one piece.

Until you hit a bump on the ice, wide-eyed you instantly fell on your butt.

“Ouch. That one hurt.” You wailed as both boys skated to your side.

“Don’t worry” you laughed briefly “I’m fine but I’d be nice if you could help me up.”

“This whole ice skating thing? I don’t think it’s my thing” you spoke again.

“You’ll get some bruises but with some more practice you could go to the Olympics” Mat joked as he lightly chuckled.

“So funny, Barz. My feet actually hurt, can we go now?”

“Yeah, sure. Come on buddy, mama needs some rest.”

taglist: @fallinallincurls @barzyblogbabe @hockey-racing-fubol @beauvertime @ssebastianaho @stars-canucks @kailyn-writes @owenpowerstapejob @boeswhore @quietblues @barzyandhughesbaby @this-is-ally-and-im-confused @svechnikov3737 @honeygarfield @1-800-iluvhockey @cammieshockeyblog | join here!

#mat barzal #matthew barzal #nhl imagine #nhl fic #nhl writing #nhl #hockey fics #hockey fic #new york islanders #new york isles #islanders #ny islanders #nhl imagines #nhl x reader #nhl fanfiction #nhl blurb #hockey imagine

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barzysunflower · 10 months

Note

what about a little utah hiking blurb with barzy for the summer series? I just know that man would hike shirtless in slutty 5in inseam shorts and would be the real view to look at the whole time👀

come along the world trip

Can I make this smutty? Please? Please? Oh well I did. I'm sorry I turned into a slut thinking about this.

word count: 1.6k warning: smut!!! 18+

📍utah, usa with mat barzal

Abs. So many abs. This man in front of you had abs for days and you weren't even ashamed to stare. You knew he enjoyed it. From where you were sitting on your big rock taking a break from your hike you could perfectly see the beautiful mountain range and your boyfriend Mat drinking some water. The sunlight hit his chiseled abs and when he squirted some water over himself, he wasn't the only one getting wet.

"You can do more than just look, you know." Mat walked closer to where you were sitting when he saw you staring. His body above you blocked the sun which made it easy to look up at him. His smirk was wide and he wiggled his eyebrows knowingly.

You were in the middle of a hike in Utah, where you were spending a few of days with your friend group. You had rented a big house in the middle of nowhere and just spent your days hanging out by the pool, going hiking or doing some other outdoor activities. Todays hike was long and unfortunately for you you were hiking with mostly professional athletes who were making this look way easier than it was. Didn't help that Mat took his shirt off pretty much right when you started walking and that his tiny shorts kept riding up exposing his thick thighs. Multiple times Mat told you he would be more comfortable if you walked in front of him, but the view of looking up at his ass definitely was worth saying no to him.

"You wish." You patted him on the shoulder as you stood up and followed your group who was done with the water break.

"Wait!" Mat caught up to. "Can't walk faster than me. How else are you supposed to check out my ass?"

He laughed as he made a show of walking faster and sticking his butt out a bit.

"Stop!" But you couldn't help but look and let your mind wander to what you would be doing later on at night in bed. "Mat!"

"Oh, come on, admit it." He turned around and grabbed your outstretched hand to pull you into him. "Admit that you're horny as fuck on this hike," he whispered harshly in your ear as you stumbled backwards.

"Seems to me you're the one that's horny as fuck." He shrugged as he tightened his arms around you and you could feel his erection rub against your lower abdomen. "Huh."

He looked around his shoulder making sure your friends were far enough away and thankfully they just turned a corner. He quickly slammed his lips on yours and pushed his tongue into your mouth for a desperately needed kiss. Who was more desperate in this moment was unclear but you kissed each other with fiery passion. His hands wandered to your ass pulling at you while your hands desperately pulled at his sweaty hair. "Mat! Not here."

"No one is here," he mumbled in between kisses. He moved you further back until your back hit a boulder. "You know you want me to fuck you right here against this rock."

Your core clenched at his words, wanting exactly what he just proposed. Your head was spinning and your entire body tingled with excitement. You never thought you'd be into public sex, you barely liked kissing him for more than a few seconds in public, but right now the idea already had you chasing a release. "Oh god," you moaned as you dug your nails into his scalp. Mat chuckled against your neck, then sucked on it.

"Tell me." He wrapped a hand around your thigh and lifted your leg to wrap around his hip to get a better angle to grind into your core. "Tell me how much you want it, baby."

"Oh, Maty." Your head fell back. "I- I wa-"

"Barzy?! (Y/n)?!" Your friends voice interrupted your moment and you froze.

"Uh- We're okay!," Mat yelled back. "(Y/n) twisted his ankle, we're just taking a break. We'll catch up."

"Good. We were already making bets on whether or not you were fucking based on the way you were eye fucking each other earlier." You both bit your lip to keep from laughing and thankfully the boulder was hiding you from the compromising position you were in.

"Nope, no fucking here."

"You need any help, (y/n)?"

"All good, thanks. Already feels better," you yelled back and pinched Mat in the bicep, trying not to laugh.

"Alright, see you later."

The moment was now ruined, so you took a few moments to collect yourself and then tried to catch up with your friends.

***

"Oh my god!," you screamed as Mat seemed to pick up his pace driving into you. You held on to his shoulders as you threw your head back against the shower wall when your body started to tingle with an orgasm fast approaching.

After you had gotten back from your hike, Mat immediately pulled you into your bedroom and in for a shower where he made up for the moment that was ruined earlier. While the shower wall wasn't exactly a boulder, him fucking you against it had the same effect. The second you were wet enough (both meanings) he hoisted you up against the wall and sat you on his thick thighs and entered you with such force, you thought you were being ripped apart. And that feeling didn't stop as he was gripping your ass and thrusting his thick cock into your tight pussy.

"Fuck, don't stop." Your lips found his neck and wandered up to his earlobe, which you bit into when he hit your g-spot. "Oh, god, I'm gonna cum. Maty!"

"Do it," he grunted. "Cum for me, baby."

Your toes curled and your entire body started shaking as your orgasm washed over you. He set you back down on your feet once you stoped shaking, but he never once stopped touching you. His hands wandered up and down your body, his lips kissing you with such desperation like he was starving. Your hand snuck between you and grabbed his cock, pumping it a few times earning moans and grunts from him that made you wet all over again. Thankfully, he didn't make you wait long. With a swift maneuver, he had you turned around and your hands against the wall.

The water from the rain shower head trickled down on you, a refreshing treat from the extremely hot weather just outside.

"Mathew," you whined, when he didn't immediately touch you, but that was soon remedied when his hand slapped across your ass. You gasped, feeling and reveling in the burn it left. "Again."

He complied, rubbing the area afterward and sliding his fingers through your wet folds. "You like that?" He spanked you two more times before he grabbed and turned on the detachable shower head and handed it to you. He guided it to your waiting and throbbing pussy and with your help angled and held it just above your clit. Your head dropped in pleasure and your muscles already started shaking.

"Oh, fuck yes," you moaned when he gripped your hips and slid his cock in between your folds.

"So fucking horny for me," he groaned, continuously teasing your entrance. "You were really going to let me fuck you against that boulder, huh? My girl."

"Yes. Yours." With one quick thrust he entered you, making you almost lose your balance. Your entire body tingled and waves of euphoria crashed over you with every thrust of his thick cock massaging your core. The water stream against your clit had you shaking and screaming Mat's name so fast you could barely feel the orgasm coming.

"Uh, uh, keep it there," Mat demanded as the shower head started to slip out of your hand and off your clit. The sensation was too much to handle.

"I can't," you answered breathlessly when your orgasm subsided. "Too much."

His hand snuck around your body and grabbed you lightly by your throat pulling you back to meet his chest. "You can handle it, right? You love my cock in this tight pussy of yours, eh?"

All you good do was nod as he whispered into your ear and continued to pump into you. "Good girl. And you're gonna take my cum so well, eh?"

"Yes! I want it." His other hand came to your sore clit that was hurting as he rubbed it quickly to coax a third orgasm out of you. "Oh, god, Maty, I can't-"

Your pussy tightened around him as his swelling cock getting ready for his release. Your hand found the back of his head, pulling at his wet hair. "Fuck, baby. I can't get enough of you."

His hips sped up, sliding impossibly deeper into you as you arched your back for him to do so. And that was what it took for your body to start convulsing in his arms again. Mat's grip around your hip tightened and with a few more hard thrusts he emptied himself inside you with loud grunts. He thrust in, stayed, and then pumped you full of his cum until you felt it began to leak out, getting washed away by the water. He kept releasing while that rush took a hold of your body, miking his cock until you both fell back against the shower wall spent and tired. After catching your breath, Mat pulled you in for a long and tender kiss. "I love you so fucking much."

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shiggybrainr0t · 2 months

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The light creaking of your bedroom door is what wakes you from the light slumber you found yourself in. The lamp next to your bed casts your bedroom in a hazy yellow glow, and you rub your cheek against your pillow with a contented sigh. It still smells like Shouta.

Speaking of your boyfriend, he glances at you from where he stands in front of your dresser.

“…didn’t mean to wake you up, baby.”

His voice is deeper and more grainy than usual, telling you how tired he is from his patrol tonight.

“Wasn’t asleep. Waited for you.”

He hums in response, and you can tell by his tone that he doesn’t believe you. He turns around to look at the grumpy glare he knows you’re sending him- and he’s right. You’ve brought your blanket up to your nose and only the top of your head is visible, sleep crusted eyes narrowed his way.

Shouta can’t hold the huff of laughter that builds in his chest. He feels his heart beat harder, and he marvels at how you still make him feel like he did the first time he met you, even all this time later.

He’s lifting his arms to put on a sleep shirt when you see it. There, on his ribs is a smudge of black covered in something that looks like plastic. You’re wide awake now, and you quickly jump out of bed to head towards him, shivering slightly at the chill of the room.

At your sudden movements, Shouta lowers his arms and looks at you quickly, scanning your body to make sure you’re ok. You tug the shirt out of his grasp and pull his left arm back up straight in the air. The look he gives you is one that you’re quite used to: bemused and endeared.

“Oh, I was going to show you that in the morning.”

Shouta had talked to you about how he was going to eventually get a tattoo, though he wouldn’t let slip what he was getting or where. Looking at it now, you know exactly what it is, because it’s a drawing that you look at every day whenever you go to your fridge. Only, you noticed this morning that it had gone missing.

Three messy stick people are outlined on Shouta’s ribs holding hands, two significantly bigger than the one in the middle. The one on the left is tall, and has a shock of black, long hair falling over his face. The middle is a little girl, with long hair and a horn growing out of her forehead. And the person on the right is you. It’s a picture Eri drew for you just a year after being taken from Overhaul and into protection.

Shouta is observing you quietly, obediently keeping his arm in the air as you lightly run your fingers over the shiny plastic wrap covering it. It’s only when you start sniffling that he moves, pulling you into his arms.

“Knew you’d react like this.” He says, amusement lightening his voice.

He’s still warm from the shower, and the hair that covers his chest tickles your cheek as you press your forehead against his collarbone. Your tears hit his skin whenever he runs his large hand over your head, his own cheek pressed against your crown. His stubble is prickly and uncomfortable against you, making you sniff loudly and say meekly, “You need to shave.”

“I will.” Is his only reply. He rubs his cheek against your hair, the same way you did to your pillow only moments before. You lean back slightly in his arms and look up at him tearfully. His eye is so dark, yet it gleams beautifully as it stares back at you. He’s taken his eye patch off, showing you the large scare that runs across his other eye. A callused thumb swipes under your own eyes softly.

“I love you.” He says before you can speak, which only makes you tear up again.

Shouta huffs again, a small grin forming on his face as he mumbles “silly baby” at you. He decides to forgo the shirt, and pulls you back to the sleep rumpled bed. You snuggle under the covers, still sniffling, and wait for him to finish taking off his prosthetic before sliding in next to you.

Immediately, you sling your leg over his and press as close as possible to him as you can. Shouta wraps his arms around you with ease, barely moving whenever you decide he isn’t close enough and move half your body on top of his. Under his chin, where his jaw meets his neck, he smells like his body wash and home.

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doc-pickles · 7 months

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sick day | mat barzal

summary: Mat comes home from a roadie and takes care of his family

warnings: throwing up, so much fluff

a/n: y’all asked for dad Mat! enjoy this fluffy piece!

xoxo

nina

Mat was just coming off a four day roadie when you called. The plane had just touched down in New York and he’d turned his phone on only to find you calling.

“Hey baby, we just landed.”

“Mat don’t come home.”

Your words made Mat freeze, Tito looking at him in concern as his face dropped.

“W-what? Baby whatever it is we can-“

“No, no, no,” you rushed out as you realized what Mat thought. “No, god not like that. I’m sorry. We all have the stomach flu and I don’t want you getting sick. All three of us having been throwing up since yesterday morning.”

Mat let out a breath of relief as he leaned back into his seat, “I’m still coming home baby. If you’re all sick I want to take care of you.”

“But you have playoffs right around the corner and I-“

“I’ll see you soon,” Mat’s answer has you heaving a sigh, knowing that arguing with him would be useless. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Half an hour later Mat walked through the front door just as your five year old son Luca puked into the bowl on his lap. You groaned as Rosie, your two year old, burrowed further into your chest with a pained moan. You met Mat’s eyes over their heads and sighed, “Welcome to the fun house.”

Mat dropped his bags by the door and toed his shoes off before going to help Luca. Once he was done throwing up Mat gathered him in his arms and took him upstairs for a bath. You and Rosie both dozed off, your shirt tightly clutched in her hands as she lightly snored.

When you woke up again Rosie was gone and Mat was just coming down the stairs. He smiled at you before he walked over and pressed a kiss to your forehead, “Both kids are bathed and sleeping. How are you feeling mama?”

“Like I got hit by a truck,” you groaned as Mat pulled you into his lap. “Stop, I’m all sweaty and gross and I don’t want to get you sick.”

“I just wanna hold my wife,” Mat groaned as he pulled you closer. “I haven’t seen you in four days.”

You gave up your struggling and settled into Mat’s hold, “And I spent a lot of that time puking my guts out.”

“Why don’t you go take a bath and I’ll watch out for the kids,” you eyed Mat skeptically but he simply met you with an eye roll. “I can handle them babe. Go take care of yourself.”

You begrudgingly walked upstairs, but you couldn’t fight Mat’s thinking as the warm water of the bath soothed your aching muscles. You stayed in far longer than you should have but after getting out you felt a hundred times better.

When you finally trekked back downstairs Rosie was settled on Mat’s hip as he cleared the dishes in the sink. Luca was bundled up on the couch, so you went over to him and pulled him into your lap.

“How are your feeling bubba,” you pressed a kiss to his dark hair as he snuggled close to you. His forehead didn’t feel as warm as earlier so you took that as a win.

“‘m feeling better,” Luca mumbled as he held on tightly to you. “Daddy made toast and I didn’t frow it up.”

You looked up and Mat met your eye over both of your kids heads. He smirked and you swore your heart beat a little faster. You truly couldn’t imagine doing life with anyone but Mat.

The rest of the day went by easily. You all curled up on the couch to watch a movie, Rosie clinging to Mat and refusing to move. Not that Mat was complaining, his daughter tucked in his side as he ran his fingers through her dark curls.

When Luca mentioned that he was hungry Mat was up in an instant to make soup for everyone. Rosie still clung to his chest as he moved around the kitchen and told her everything he was doing. By the time everything was finished Rosie was asleep, arms still tightly wrapped around Mat’s neck.

“I’m gonna go put her down and then I’ll get you both some soup,” Mat leaned down to kiss Luca’s forehead then yours before he headed upstairs with Rosie.

The soup was the perfect thing for your still uneasy stomach. Luca even had a second bowl which made Mat beam with pride. The recipe was from his mom, something he had asked her for the first time Luca had come down with a bad cold. It was a tradition at this point to make it on sick days and you couldn’t complain.

When Luca began to drift off at the table Mat took him upstairs and put him to bed. You began tidying up the kitchen, carefully washing out dishes when Mat came back, “Let me finish cleaning babe.”

“But I-“

“You’re still sick. Go lay down, I’ll be up in a minute,” Mat pressed a kiss to your temple before pushing you towards the stairs with a playful swat to your butt.

You took time to do your nighttime routine, feeling better than you had in days. By the time Mat came upstairs you were tucked under the covers and half asleep.

“C’mere baby,” Mat whispered as he slid into bed, arms stretched out toward you. “I missed sleeping next to you.”

You gladly scooted across the bed and settled onto Mat’s chest, his hands slipping under your shirt to rub your back, “Thank you for taking care of us today.”

“That’s my job,” Mat mumbled into your hair. “I promised you in sickness and in health. Just trying to stay true to my vows.”

As you both drifted off to sleep you couldn’t help but think about how grateful you were to have Mat by your side.

#mat barzal #Mat barzal imagine #mat barzal fanfiction #Mat barzal fic #hockey imagine #hockey fic #nhl imagine #nhl fic #nina writes

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fckedupnerd · 4 months

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This mf was the hottest Mat has ever been and nobody can convince me otherwise. Fickelgruber the one true love of my LIFE. 💚💚💚💚

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midnightsnyx · 12 days

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girl at home | mat barzal | part 9

pairing: mat barzal x fem!reader

warnings: angst, mentions of pregnancy, not edited word count: 2.1k authors note: i am back with a little less brain!! (literally) it took me a bit to start writing again cause I had some slowness on my right side so I wasn't quite up to writing. BUT i hope you guys like p9 and thank you so much for the continuous love on this story <3 the first bit is marlee's POV and after the * it's back to readers pov. hope u all like & pls lmk what you think <3

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MARLEE

Marlee Jones loved her job. It was something she took pride in; helping bring new lives into the world and being there for all the mamas. Of course there were always the hard days, the days that made her hug Stella a little tighter when she got home from a shift. Her job had its ups and downs, but at the end of the day, she wouldn’t want to do anything else.

So, her panic is warranted when she comes across a certain patient file. She wasn’t looking for it, but when her eyes caught the name and there weren’t any other people nearby, she couldn’t help herself. It’s against HIPAA, and if anybody found out, she would be fired without question but she slipped the file in between a couple others and walked to a random supply closet. She closed and locked the door behind her before pulling the file out and opening it. Her eyes quickly scanned the pages, the words Hysterical Pregnancy making her heart race. She had to double check the name on the file twice, before believing it.

She knew that someone would notice the missing file, so she quickly found a printer and copied the pages, tucking them in her tote bag and putting the file exactly where it was.

Nobody would know.

Your first instinct is to calm Marlee down. Her panicking is making you panic and at least one of you needs to keep a straight head. You’re trying to let her words sink in without letting your mind go down a rabbit hole. You need to see all the facts before letting yourself do that.

“Marlee,” you reach out to grab her shaking hands. “What happened?”

She looks up at you and takes a deep breath. “I can’t- I can’t tell you the details but she’s not pregnant. She lied, and it’s already caused so much damage between you, and Mat and Liana… and Nora.” She pulls her hands away from yours and buries her face in them.

You decide not to remind her that Mat already fucked things up before Calista dropped the baby bomb on him because she knows that. Focus on one disaster at a time.

Calista lied about being pregnant. Mat doesn’t know this, and even if you try to tell him, you have no idea how he’ll react. Really, it’s none of your business and you can very well go on with your life because Mat has let you know loud and clear what his feelings are. He wants Calista in his life despite you not wanting her in Nora’s life. He technically has no rights, no say in what happens but when he first found out about her and asked to be in her life, you’d so desperately wanted to let him.

“How long can she pull off this lie until he finds out the truth?” you ask quietly and she lifts her head from her hands.

“Depends,” she mumbles.

“On what?”

“How deep she has him pulled into her fantasy.”

. . .

You let Nora spend a little more time with Stella, mainly wanting her to burn as much energy from the sugar high she’s on from the ice-cream. She’s sleepy when you buckle her in her carseat and you’re pretty sure she’s asleep but she mumbles something and you look to see her looking at you with droopy eyes.

“What was that?” you ask softly.

She looks down, avoiding eye contact with you which is worrisome.

“Do you think Mat would want to see me?” she whispers. “Without her?”

She obviously doesn’t need to clarify who she's referring to and it breaks your heart that a six-year-old has to worry about things like this.

“I can ask,” you tell her, unsure why she wants to see him suddenly. “You don’t have to go see Mat if you don’t want to, baby.”

By now, you’re pulling into your driveway so you can turn the jeep off and turn to give her your full attention. She still won’t look at you so you reach out and tap on her leg until she looks up.

“I want to,” she says but doesn’t elaborate so you don’t push.

“Okay, I’ll call him tomorrow.”

She just nods and starts to unbuckle her seatbelt so you get out and help her. She doesn’t complain when you carry her inside, helping her change into pajamas and brush her teeth. When she asks if she can watch a movie before bed, you don’t have the heart to deny her, even though it’s close to her bedtime so you set her up on the couch and put her favorite movie on. She’ll be out like a light in less than twenty minutes so while you’re waiting, you grab your phone and pull up Mat’s contact. Your finger hovers over the call option but you’re not sure you want to talk to him over the phone so you go into your text messages instead. The last messages between the two of you were when you last met up and even then they were short and to the point which makes this text easily simple.

To Mat: Nora wants to see you.

You lay your phone on the counter and get a glass of water while waiting for his response. You’re unnecessarily nervous, mainly because you are expecting him to start an argument the moment you tell him that Nora doesn’t want Calista to be there. You don’t even feel comfortable letting Mat see her because of what he said, but you can’t turn her request down. Not when she was so adamant about not wanting to see him, and out of the blue deciding that she does.

When you check on Nora while waiting for a response, she’s asleep so you pick her up and carry her to bed. You spend a minute just watching her after you’ve tucked her in. You’re desperate to see what’s going on in that little head of hers.

Just as you walk back to the kitchen, your phone buzzes and you freeze. Maybe messaging Mat tonight was a bad idea, and you should’ve just waited until tomorrow. It’s too late now though so you walk over and look to see Mat’s name and an unread message.

From Mat: ok

From Mat: when?

It bothers you, how nonchalant he’s acting after everything that’s happened. This is about Nora though, so you take a breath and try to decide on a date.

To Mat: Sunday?

From Mat: ok

You want to scream at him and take back the offer but remind yourself again that Nora explicitly asked to see him and it’s her decision to make.

So, you set up a place and time and tell him that she doesn’t want to see Calista. You expect him to argue, but he responds with another simple ok, and that’s that.

. . .

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Marlee asks, crossing her arms and glaring at Mat who’s sitting on a bench at the park you agreed to meet at. The two of you are standing outside her jeep, stalling a little before going over there.

Nora asked if Stella could come to the park too and Marlee was pulling out of her driveway before you could finish asking. You’re a little worried that she’s going to yell at Mat, but you figure with the kids there, she will contain herself unless he says something out of line.

“Nora asked to see him,” you remind her but she just grumbles something under her breath.

You’re ready to get this over with so you open the door and let Nora and Stella climb out of the jeep. Normally, they would race to the playground but Nora is hesitating, glancing over to where Mat is. He hasn’t noticed that you’re here yet which is good, because you are about five seconds away from just putting the kids back in and driving away.

Nora sighs quietly before walking over to Mat. You and Marlee hang back a little but Stella grabs her hand and sticks close to her.

When Mat sees her, his face lights up and for a second, you want to forgive him so everything can go back to how it was before. You can’t though, not when what he said is still so fresh and not when you know about Calista’s lies.

“Hey peanut,” he says softly, staying seated while Nora stands in front of him, looking down and scuffing her shoe on the gravel. He looks at you when she doesn’t say anything but you just shrug even though you’re confused. You’re about to ask Nora if she wants to just go to the playground when she breaks her silence.

“Are you not my daddy?” she asks quietly and it takes you off guard. You had this conversation with her, assuring her that Calista was lying but she must want to hear it from Mat.

“What?” he asks, looking at you before turning his attention back to her.

“Calista told me that you’re not my daddy,” she says more firmly, finally looking up at him. Her arms are crossed and she’s glaring at him. You’d be impressed if you weren’t so worried about what Mat may say.

His mouth opens and closes a couple times and he looks like a fish out of water. He looks at you again, as if he’s expecting you to step in but you just raise an eyebrow at him as if to say I told you so.

“I think she was confused-” he begins to say which is absolutely the wrong thing to say because it sets Nora off.

She stomps her foot and her glare hardens. “No! She said that mommy lied and that you’re not really my daddy. She told me that I don’t have a daddy.”

Before he can say anything, she’s storming off toward the playground, Stella chasing after her.

“Do I need to say I told you so?” you ask sharply, now that the kids are out of hearing range.

“You just did,” he mumbles and Marlee, who has been quiet up until now, steps towards Mat.

“You’re a piece of work,” she snaps and Mat looks at her confused.

“Excuse me?”

“Do I need to repeat myself?” she says, and you’re more than happy to let her say what’s on her mind.

“You’re letting your girlfriend tell your daughter that you’re not her father, and instead of comforting Nora, you’re trying to defend your girlfriend!”

For a moment, you’re scared Marlee is going to get angry enough that she’ll tell him the truth about Calista, but she takes a deep breath and turns away to go to where the girls are playing. You watch her walk over until she reaches them before turning back to Mat.

He’s staring at the ground and you don’t know why you’re still standing here but you guess you’re just waiting for Mat to say something.

“I fucked up,” he eventually mumbles and you scoff.

“When did you come to that brilliant conclusion?”

There’s the tiniest part of you that wants to bring up Calista, just to see if he’ll tell you anything but you’re not sure you’re in the mood to hear about her. Not when you know the truth.

“Liana is mad at me,” he tells you, which is news, because you thought she was just angry at you.

“I can’t imagine why.”

You look back at Nora, smiling when you see her laughing. She looks more like herself, rather than the gloomy kid she’s been the past couple days since she asked to see Mat. Like she got what was bothering her off her tiny shoulders.

Out of the corner of your eye, you can see Mat doing the same but his smile isn’t as real. If you weren’t still angry at him, you’d feel bad but you can’t let go of what he said and the fact that he tried again to defend Calista.

“She’s a good kid,” he says softly and you hum in agreement.

“Did you know?” he asks, “that she was going to say that?”

“No,” you tell him. It’s not a lie - she didn’t tell you why she wanted to see Mat, and you didn’t want to push.

“I’m sorry,” he says, but you shake your head and look directly at him.

“Sorry isn’t going to fix it this time. Marlee was right, instead of apologizing to Nora, who deserves to hear that more than me, you won’t stop making excuses for Calista,” you tell him. “I don’t know what you’re expecting from Nora and I, but sorry isn’t the answer.”

He frowns, but nods, seemingly accepting your response. You leave it at that and walk over to where Nora, Stella, and Marlee are, grinning when your daughter reaches for you. She hugs you when you pick her up and when you look back at the bench Mat was sitting at, he’s already gone.

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#allies writing #hockey imagines #nhl fanfiction #hockey fanfiction #mat barzal x reader #mat barzal imagine #mat barzal fic #mat barzal fanfiction

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