#summer 2k23 fic exchange
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Surprise Party | Quinn Hughes
hi friends! this is my summer 2k23 fic exchange!! @jostystyles this one's for you darling! I hope you enjoy it and I hope this has come out before your bday but if not, happy late birthday! Hope this fic lives up to the hype and I apologize if the flow is a little off. Thank you again to @wyattjohnston for organizing all this! I had sm fun with it!
warnings? nah, Quinn's a lil cutie
summary: Quinn throws you a surprise birthday party and pulls out all the stops, making your feelings for him grow exponentially
w.c: 3.4k (and to think I was nervous about making the wc)
Your eyes crack open slowly, for a moment you’re confused as to what has woken you up but then you hear it. Footsteps.
Your heart seizes in fear for a moment but you would bet your life that it was Quinn, the only other person besides yourself to have a key to your apartment. You wonder what he was doing over here, especially so early but you shrug it off and sink further into your pillows. At this point, you were too tired to investigate and knew the odds of it being a serial killer were most likely slim.
Just as your eyes flutter shut and you’re halfway to dreamland, you hear your bedroom door swing open.
“Happy birthday to you,” you hear Quinn’s voice sing but when you sit up you’re greeted with more than just your best friend.
“Happy birthday to you!” Your best friend Charlie from high school jumps on your bed, crawling her way up the mattress until she plops next to you and throws an arm around your shoulder.
“Happy birthday dear (y/n)!!!” Quinn, Beau, and Brock sing out and now you’re full on grinning. Your hand comes up to cover the expression but Beau is quick to take it and leave you exposed and giggly.
“Happy birthday to you!”
As they cheer, you blow out the candle on the cupcake Quinn is holding out for you. He sets it on your nightstand as everyone piles on top of you for a hug. Your heart is pushing to the top of your throat, threatening to spill out and unleash in a babble of sentimental words.
“Thanks guys,” you say, still grinning madly when everyone finally lets go. “I appreciate you.”
“Okay, birthday plans,” Charlie says and you look over at her in confusion.
“I thought we were celebrating tonight?”
“Change of plans, you, Quinn, and Brock are celebrating tonight but Beau and I had something come up so we can’t come tonight.”
“So, you’re stuck with us all day,” Beau supplies and while you’re a little suspicious about the sudden change and supposed ‘something’ you nod anyway.
“Alright get dressed! Breakfast first,” Charlie ushers the guys out but Quinn holds back for a second.
“Happy Birthday (y/n).”
When the door shuts you’re embarrassed by the little happy dance you do thinking about Quinn stopping to wish you a happy birthday separate from the others. He was so fucking cute.
You’re still beaming when you leave your room in a brand new sundress bought just for your birthday. Charlie and Beau are the only two left in your apartment and they stop speaking as soon as you enter the room.
“Period!!” your best friend yells and you give her a mandatory twirl before walking over to her and Beau.
“So, what are we doing first?”
The three of you get breakfast at your favorite diner before the two suggest heading to the beach. You hadn’t been yet this summer and were beyond excited to start off your many trips with two of your closest friends on your birthday.
“What do you guys have going on later?”
“Uhm,” Charlie shoots a glance at Beau who awkwardly stiffens at your question.
“We’re going on a date,” Charlie blurts out and your eyes widen in shock.
“A double date! Not a date with each other,” Beau stutters out and your eyes shift back and forth between the two.
“Oohkay,” you say, flopping down onto the beach chair and trying not to stare at the two next to you.
You shrug off your friend's weird behavior as the warmth of the sun flows over you. The sound of the ocean floods your ears and you feel your body sink further into the beach chair. Your eyes slide shut, a deep breath releasing as you think over the rest of your day plans.
You couldn’t wait to celebrate with Quinn and Brock tonight. You assumed it was some kind of dinner, gift, movie night combination for your celebration but regardless you knew it would be the best part of your birthday if you were with Quinn.
Sometime between when you first were introduced to Quinn, to five years later, sitting on this beach and having him impede all of your thoughts you were still somewhat shocked by how intensely you fell in love with the hockey player. The way your heart full on stopped and then sped up twice as fast as normal when he entered a room drove you crazy in the best and worst way possible.
After a couple of hours at the beach, you grow hungry again and the three of you make a pit stop at your favorite fast food restaurant before ending up at the mall.
“Anything I want?” you ask, wanting to make sure you heard Beau correctly.
“Anything,” he nods and your eyes widen.
“Beau I can’t,” you shake your head, knowing you’ll feel too guilty letting him buy you literally anything.
“I mean if you turn it down,” Charlie jokes and you grin.
“Okay okay,” you say and the two of them cheer before Beau grabs your hand and pulls you further into the mall.
~
Quinn has been panicking ever since he left your apartment this morning.
He had decided about a month ago he wanted to throw you a surprise birthday party instead of just doing your usual celebration routine. He wanted to truly celebrate you and all the amazing accomplishments you had done this past year and all you’re going to do for years and years after.
“Dude, I know you’re in love but you gotta chill,” Brock says, clapping a strong hand on Quinn’s shoulder as he nervously looks over every inch of his house and how he has set it up.
It was a no brainer to pretty much everyone with eyes that Quinn had feelings for you. Everyone could see his shaky hands, nervous glances, and shallow breaths when you so much as glanced in his direction. It was torture in the best way possible, being your best friend but not being as close as he wanted. Therefore, he felt a little bit under pressure to make your birthday the best day possible for you.
“She’s gonna love it,” Brock reminds him and Quinn nods, trying to convince himself of the statement as well.
~
“Thank you for hanging out with me today,” you tell Charlie and Beau as they walk you up to Quinn’s door.
“Anything for the birthday girl,” Charlie says, pulling you into a tight hug and you grin against her.
When you let go, you turn and push open the front door to Quinn’s house without a second thought about it until you see all the lights off.
“SURPRISE!” The lights flip on like magic and your hand slaps over your mouth the minute you see everyone in Quinn’s house.
What looks like the entire Canucks team, your closest friends, Jack and Luke, your sister and brother, and a handful of others greet you with smiling faces. You don’t even realize you’re so fucking happy until a random tear spills out and you’re overwhelmed by emotions that you can’t even move.
“Oh my god,” you choke out and faster than you can blink you’re surrounded by friends and people tugging you close and holding you tight.
“Thank you guys! I love y’all!” you call out and everyone slowly starts to return to normal party status as you recover from the surprise.
You turn to Beau behind you and he shrugs his shoulders at you, Charlie also shares a sneaky grin and you dive into a group hug with the two of them. You couldn’t believe they spent the whole day with you and kept the secret of this surprise party as well. You couldn’t ask for better friends.
“Don’t thank us,” Beau says and you’re about to question him when you hear a voice.
“(y/n)?” you pull away from your group hug to see Quinn standing there with a shy smile on his lips.
“Did you?” You ask trailing off and when Quinn’s smile brightens you feel your heart shake beautifully in your chest.
You step towards him, throwing your arms around his waist and he pulls you close. He whispers happy birthday into your ear and it sends shivers down your spine, and all you can do is thank him over and over again. You prop your head up on Quinn’s chest and he grins madly down at you. It takes all your willpower not to lean up on your tiptoes and press a kiss to his lips.
“Come on (y/n), let me make you a drink,” Charlie says, dragging you away from Quinn and you’re practically vibrating from head to toe in happiness.
Quinn watches you as Charlie pulls you along and his smile is so wide he might as well have just been handed the Stanley Cup. He made you happy. He made you smile. That’s all he ever needed in this world.
As Charlie drags you through the house, your heart fills and fills at the sight of everyone wishing you happy birthday and well wishes. Just when you think there couldn’t be more people you know, you realize Quinn has pulled off all the stops and invited every single important person in your life.
“(y/n)!” you hear someone call out and just as you turn to look who it is, you’re engulfed in a giant bear hug.
“Nate!!” you yell into his chest and the giant hockey player chuckles against you.
“What are you doing here?” you ask, stepping back to take in his appearance.
Every time you see Nate you swear he gets taller, his frame towers over you and your eyes scan his face to see his beard slowly creeping back onto his face after no doubt shaving it when the season ended. He’s wearing a black shirt that hugs his muscles and dark blue jeans and your heart is bursting to see the person you consider your other half.
Meeting Nate was a complete accident, something you thanked the higher beings for everyday because you weren’t sure how you lived without the hulking hockey player before. You and Nate were scarily alike; cracking the same jokes, sharing the same taste in food, finishing each other's sentences constantly, reading each other's thoughts with one look, and everything else in between. If you hadn’t met Quinn first, you probably would have fallen head over heels for Nate.
“It’s your birthday!” He says like it’s the most obvious explanation in the world. “You think I’m gonna miss celebrating you?”
You grin widely, diving deep into a catch up session with Nate that by the time you’re finished, you’re being ushered into the main room as someone flips off most of the lights again. You look around in confusion but when you see fire moving around the room you realize what’s happening.
“Happy birthday to you,” the whole crowd of people begin to sing and you hide your face as your cheeks flame embarrassingly bright.
Your arms wrap around your body as Quinn carries the cake closer to you. You hear his quiet voice repeating the same words from this morning and for a moment it feels like just the two of you in this giant room full of people.
“Make a wish,” he whispers, nudging your side when everyone finishes singing.
You blow out the candles, your wish being something you’ve been wanting for five years now but still has yet to come true. But you’ve always believed in the power of wishes regardless.
“What’d you wish for?” Quinn asks when the cheering has settled and his big brown eyes staring into yours cause your knees to weaken.
“You know I can’t tell,” you joke and Quinn grins at you. You’ve won the fucking lottery seeing a smile like that and knowing it came from you and the stupidest joke alive.
Someone hands you a piece of cake and you take a bite, your favorite flavor, and groan in happiness. How did Quinn know you this well? You’re halfway turned towards him, ready to compliment him, tell him you love him, thank him, anything, when your sister calls your name and you’re forced to walk away.
You spend the next two hours bouncing from person to person, group to group, thanking them for coming and any gifts they brought and overall forcing your heart to not implode from the love being shoved deep into it. You’d remember this day forever, a core memory to look back on and make you smile when things get tough.
Quinn has kept an eye on you all night, his talent for finding you in a crowd coming extremely handy at the moment. As you move from one group to the next he recognizes the tired expression that flickers in between the smiles. He knew your social battery was probably running low after hours of being out of the house and now all of these people being here as well.
His eyes run over your features, the way you’re only half listening to the conversation, your head involuntarily nodding while you stare off at a random space. Your arms are wrapped around yourself protectively and while he knew you loved everyone at this party and had a connection with each of them one way or another, he also knew you could only do so much socializing.
“Excuse me, I think I need to go bail out the birthday girl,” Quinn says, excusing himself from a conversation with his younger brothers.
As he makes his way towards you, he thanks people on your behalf, telling them you’ll reach out as soon as possible and offering to tell you goodbye for them. He moves throughout the room, quietly ushering people out of the house and hoping he doesn’t sound too rude while doing so.
When Quinn finally makes it over to you, you’re hugging Jack and Luke. You mention something about seeing them soon and the brothers offer nods and goodbyes to Quinn before leaving.
“Is it finally my turn with the birthday girl?” Quinn jokes and fire ignites your body at his words.
“Oh shut up,” you tell him with an added eye roll.
“Hey I don’t want to cut in line and bother miss popular,” he says, throwing his hands up in defense and you lightly push him away in annoyance.
“So, I was wondering if you wanted to stay over?”
“Oh thank god,” you reply and Quinn tilts his head in confusion. “I was not going to be able to fit all of that in an uber.”
The two of you laugh as you look over at the literal pile of gifts sitting on Quinn’s kitchen table. You were still in disbelief that someone would spend any amount of money on you and even more in shock that so many people came to your birthday party. You’re pretty sure the smile on your face was permanent.
“Wanna go chill upstairs?” Quinn asks, pulling you from your thoughts.
“What about the mess?”
“We’ll worry about it tomorrow,” he says, extending a hand towards you and you take it, letting him pull you in the direction of his bedroom.
The two of you spend the next few minutes in a familiar routine, Quinn handing you some of his clothes to wear to bed, changing in the bathroom and coming back to his king sized bed and curling up into the warm covers.
Quinn puts on your favorite movie, The Parent Trap with Lindsay Lohan, before running downstairs and grabbing ice cream. When he comes back up he hands you a heaping bowl of the desert and you can’t help the little dance you do at the sight of the food.
“Chocolate marshmallow?” you ask after taking a bite.
“It’s your favorite,” Quinn says, shrugging his shoulders.
You stare at the boy next to you, your heart constricting painfully thinking about how no one else in the world most likely remembers the weird flavor of ice cream you enjoy the most. And Quinn bought it? For you? Did he even know how this little thing made you feel so incredibly much?
“Ooh!” Quinn exclaims and you offer him a confused look.
He doesn’t say anything as he pauses the movie, climbing off the mattress and heading towards his closet doors. You watch as he rummages through the items in there until finally landing on what he wants.
When Quinn stands back up and closes the closet doors, he feels the nerves zing throughout his body. He had spent an eternity trying to get you the perfect gift and now that the time is here, he’s still worried it’s not enough or not perfect for you.
He pushes through his nerves anyway, sitting back down on the bed before extending the decorated box towards you.
“Happy birthday,” he says and mentally smacks himself for having zero charisma.
Your hands ghost over the box, the perfect shade of your favorite color with a matching ribbon wrapped around. You tug the fabric off, pulling the top of the box open and as your eyes meet the contents of the package it takes all of your willpower not to burst into happy tears.
The box is beautifully decorated on the inside with photos of you and Quinn, little handwritten notes around the edge and important dates of your friendship from the past five years. You reach inside to see a necklace with the letter Q on it and a pair of silver earrings to go with it.
You set the jewelry aside and look down to see a chunk of letters tied together with a string. You pull them out to see each of them are labeled with a different sentence. The first states “Open when it’s your birthday!” The next, “Open when you just got good news but can’t call me”, the third “Open when you miss me while I’m on a roadie” and at least ten more along the same lines.
The rest of the box is littered with all of your favorite little things and a final polaroid of you and Quinn. You stare at the framed picture, confusion etched in your features until it occurs to you what this photo is.
“Our first summer,” you say wistfully, glancing at Quinn to see him nervously chewing on his fingernails.
“The first time you came to the lake house,” he says and you’re both wearing matching grins.
The first time at the Hughes family lake house was when you truly understood your feelings for Quinn. The polaroid is a picture Jack took, the two of you sitting side by side at the edge of the dock, feet swinging over the water as your bodies pressed next to each other from top to toe. You didn’t think your breathing would ever return to normal after that day when you were around Quinn.
“Oh Q,” you say, pulling out the old nickname and his face flushes in happiness.
“I know I already threw you a party and I hope you liked it but I really wanted to get you something just from me and I hope it’s okay it’s definitely a bit more sentimental than I usually go and honestly it’s probably too much but if you don’t like it I can-”
Your lips press to Quinn’s in a gesture that hopefully silences him as well as get your true feelings about the gift and him across.
It takes him a second to respond but his hand slides to your cheek, his thumb running over your soft skin and a silent hum emits from him when you lean further into his touch. The kiss lights you on fire, your skin feeling warm and every nerve standing at attention. As if you didn’t know before, you’re certain that Quinn Hughes is the sole owner of your heart from now until forever, even if he doesn’t want it.
“You liked the gift?” Quinn asks when you break apart, faces still inches apart as if there’s a magnetic force keeping you close to each other.
“You’re so dumb,” you say, rolling your eyes and pushing your forehead lightly against his.
“Yeah, but you love me,” he retorts, pecking your lips and coaxing out a giggle from you.
“Yeah,” you sigh happily. “I really do.”
#quinn hughes fanfiction#quinn hughes x y/n#quinn hughes x reader#quinn hughes imagine#quinn hughes fic#vancouver canucks fic#vancouver canucks x reader#vancouver canucks imagine#prettytoxicrevolver fic#summer 2k23 fic exchange
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make it weird - jack hughes
summary: kat's vacation gets gatecrashed by the one guy she cannot stand.
word count: 2,140
note: this is for @torontoflames as part of the summer fic exchange 2k23. i've tried my hand at enemies-to-lovers and i hope you enjoy! @laurenairay and @matthewtkachuk are gems and helped me with this a lot <3
There were few sounds in the world Kat found more infuriating than Jack’s laugh. Intellectually she knew that it was a perfectly fine laugh, nothing unusual or grating about it; that didn’t stop her eyes from rolling back into her skull when it filled the room.
Had he ever done anything specific to warrant such a visceral reaction? Kat honestly couldn’t remember. She was sure there was something at some point that had laid the groundwork for her ever-simmering hatred even if she could no longer recall.
More pressing than his laugh at that exact moment, though, was his presence on the once-in-a-lifetime Greek Island Vacation that Kat had been dreaming about since she was fifteen. It had all been going to plan with no setbacks and no surprises until two weeks out when she heard Jack had purchased flights on a whim.
Still, Kat tried to smile across at Sarah, who was furiously trying to butter her toast before it got too cold and was completely unaware that Kat’s grip on her spoon was leaving indentations in her hand.
“About time you two woke up,” Sarah joked, tilting her head up to meet Nico’s lips before he sat down, leaving Jack to take the empty seat beside Kat.
Sarah knew all about Kat’s dislike of Jack—in fact, she’d forced Nico to be the one to break the news—and it was an open secret at the table, so Kat continued to glare holes in Sarah’s head, getting more intense every time Jack opened his mouth.
When the vacation was organised, Kat hadn’t been bothered by Nico coming along. She liked Nico, she liked that Sarah was dating him, she liked that he’d suggested a very nice resort over their original plans and offered to pay the difference, and even though she knew it would mean she would be spending quite a lot of time on her own it was okay. Going on a day tour organised by the resort was perfect, swimming in the cove by the resort was fantastic and, truthfully, even when Jack was the only one around to play tennis against it was fine.
Because he was on the other side of the court and she could unleash any hatred she had in the form of an overhand shot that landed rapidly and directly at his feet or on the other side of the court and make him dive. Jack took it all in stride, as he so often did, and rolled through each dive like the pro-athlete he was.
His diving got more theatrical when a few young women appeared on the next court.
“Are you for fucking real?” Kat grumbled under her breath as Jack missed the easiest shot she’d sent him all afternoon because he was distracted by one of the women waving at him.
Kat couldn’t shake the annoyance she felt with the flirting because there was no way she and Jack didn’t look like a couple and it was just plain rude for them to be flirting so blatantly.
“Do you want to keep going or are we done?”
“Serve it up, let’s go,” Jack responded, unfazed and seemingly unaware that Kat was being more curt with him than normal.
Kat served it directly at his feet and delighted in the panicked jump he took to get out of the way; she was less delighted by the giggles from his new posse . Really, as much as she didn’t want Jack to be ruining her holiday, the least he could do is pay attention if he was spending time with her.
He held it together long enough to serve it back to Kat in the exact right spot for Kat to lob it back to him rather viciously. The humph that left him as it connected with his stomach was music to her ears and exactly what she needed to be able to leave feeling satisfied.
If Jack noticed that she was leaving the court, he didn’t say a thing.
Kat spent the next day wandering the resort and the island by herself—well, on a resort organised tour. She left before anyone else was awake and arrived back home in time for dinner as a group where nobody questioned her decision to be alone.
It was better than being stuck watching Jack flirt with the gaggle of young women who seemingly followed him everywhere. Including to dinner. He was aware enough, thankfully, to read the looks on her, Sarah and Nico’s faces and understand that his new friend was not welcome.
“If you go on another day trip, can I come?” Jack asked.
“I guess,” Kat said, less reluctant than at the start of dinner. As annoying as she found him and his laugh, he did have a way of wearing her down over every meal; it just never lasted long enough to dissipate completely. “Probably not tomorrow. I’m getting drunk by the pool tonight.”
Jack’s smile was so wide it must have hurt his cheeks when he said, “I could get drunk by the pool.”
They were able to cajole Sarah and Nico into joining them and Kat was grateful for the evening with her best friend and for the distraction from Jack. There wasn’t much swimming done, just some wading into the shallow end between drinks because the staff on duty were sticklers for the no glass in the pool rule.
Sarah talked about the day trips out of the resort, and they agreed that they’d check out the scooter tour through Rhodes both as something different from what they’d both been up to and because they knew that Nico and Jack would undoubtedly do something together that was worth laughing at.
“I’m yours for the rest of the vacation,” Sarah promised. “I know I’ve been the worst friend ever leaving you with Jack.”
“I knew what I was getting into.” Kat was sure that her words were just a little hollow and her smile not entirely convincing because Sarah frowned and then said she was disappearing back to her room for a few minutes but would be right back with a present.
Kat was left with nothing to do but kick her feet under the barstool.
Across the bar she noticed a man sitting by himself and she made a decision—she wasn’t going to be the only person on the trip not getting laid, so she stood up, tried to subtly make her bikini top do something for her tits and walked towards the man with her shoulders back.
She tapped on his shoulder when she reached him, put on her most flirty smile when he turned around, and said, “Hi, I’m Kat. What are you drinking?”
The man’s face went through multiple different facial expressions, none particularly clear but none at all good, and Kat’s confidence shattered into pieces when he laughed so abruptly and so harshly that he immediately started choking.
“Nothing you can afford to buy me, sweetheart, and nothing I’d buy for a girl who got into her mommy’s make up.”
Kat wasn’t entirely sure how she got away, she had no memory of leaving because all she could see in front of her was his face, yet she ended up at the open door of a cubby and hid away in it without hesitation and kicked the door shut behind her.
If she wasn’t willing away the tears in her eyes, she may have been able to appreciate it for the secluded, cozy space that it was and not the stark reminder that she was going to be the only person on her vacation who didn’t have any fun.
The scraping of the door had Kat glaring at the ceiling; none of the details of that were clear either through the tears.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“With you?” she asked, nothing but bite in her voice. “No.”
Footsteps drew closer to her and it was the final straw for a tear to escape—she tried to swiftly wipe it off her cheek before Jack saw. The movement was more than enough to give her away.
“I can go find Sarah but I don’t know if you want to explain and relive that.”
“Explain that I tried to put myself out there and he literally laughed in my face? Probably not.” She inhaled sharply. “Wow, I’m reliving it anyway.”
“I know you don’t like me very much—and don’t lie about it,” he interjected when she opened her mouth to deny. “It’s fine. You don’t have to like me. I just don’t think you should let one guy ruin your trip.”
Kat laughed, so hard that she snorted, at the irony of the one guy who had ruined her trip saying that. Jack preened, thinking he had accomplished something by making her laugh.
“I can handle being rejected,” she said firmly before admitting meekly, “He hit every insecurity I have in like two sentences.”
“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Look, you aren’t exactly my favourite person in the world either but you’re hot and he’s an idiot, so.”
Kat’s mouth opened, and then shut when she couldn’t get any words out. She didn’t even know what words she wanted to say. All she could do was stare up at Jack and try to make sense of what he’d said.
“Don’t make it weird,” he joked as he nudged her thigh with his knee.
Knowing that if she kept looking at him she was certainly going to make it weird, Kat looked out one of the cubby’s windows and briefly caught sight of Sarah returning to poolside with Nico.
“Why did you crash my vacation?” she asked, finally getting to the question she’d been wanting to ask since she heard he’d bought flights.
“Your vacation?” Jack asked incredulously as if it was the first he was hearing about him inviting himself along at all.
“This is a vacation Sarah and I have been thinking about since freshman year,” Kat explained, exasperation growing inside her again as it so often did when Jack was involved. “I barely got over Nico being invited.”
Jack was sure and certain, far less incredulous, and told her, as if he’d had his explanation planned for quite some time, “I crashed your vacation because I knew someone was going to end up being the third wheel. I really kinda thought it’d be Neeks but I was prepared to make you like me if I had to.”
Unable to keep looking away, Kat was taken aback by the soft smile on Jack’s face. She’d never seen him look less than smug and was utterly disarmed by the change. And by the way it made her feel.
“Thank you. For being here. On my vacation and right now.”
“Don’t make it weird,” he said with the same nudge of her thigh as earlier.
He extended his hand to her, saying that they should rejoin Nico and Sarah before they started to worry or ask questions. Kat pretended she didn’t feel the fluttering in her stomach when their hands touched. She also ignored the disappointment she felt when he let go when she was standing.
Instead of walking with her to Sarah and Nico, Jack turned in the direction of the bar. If he were anybody else, Kat might be worried that he was going to find the guy who had rejected her. As little as she actually knew him, it didn’t take much leap in logic to realise he was just going to get them drinks.
Sarah and Nico were sitting at a table closer to the pool than Sarah and Kat had been, a little brown bag on the table in front of them.
“This my present?” Kat asked, reaching out to open the bag slightly. “Oh, yum, baklava.”
She took one of the empty seats and wasted no time tearing open the bag and indulging. Sarah and Nico watched her for a moment, before their eyes shifted back towards the bar, and Kat knew that they’d seen her and Jack leave the cozy cubby together.
“Something you want to share?” Sarah asked, one eyebrow slightly raised.
“Nope,” came Jack’s voice from above Kat’s head, shortly followed by his arm and the drink he was placing in front of Kat.
As the moon rose and the sun disappeared completely from the sky, Kat reluctantly admitted to herself that Jack wasn’t all that bad—even his laugh was contagious more than grating in the aftermath of his comforting moment.
Kat took the opportunity when Sarah and Nico went to get another round of drinks to ask Jack, “Did you mean it? That you think I’m hot?”
A familiar smirk formed on Jack’s face, his hand moving to her bare thigh.
“Don’t make it weird, Kat.”
Please consider leaving feedback—reblog and write in the tags or send an ask, I’m not fussed. I just want to know what you’re thinking!
#jack hughes fic#jack hughes imagine#nhl fic#nhl imagine#hockey imagine#hockey fic#homemade fic#the summer fic exchange 2k23#fic: devils
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all’s well that ends well to end up with you
here is my entry for @wyattjohnston’s summer fic exchange 2k23!! this fic is for @ya-pucking-nerd !! i had so much fun writing this and i hope you love it just as much! writing cale has always been a favorite of mine and this one was no exception. and shutout to @tonyspep as always for brainstorming so much of this idea with me!
i ALSO made a playlist for this fic which you can listen to here!
hope you enjoy!! feedback is always appreciated! xx
word count: 5.3k
~~~~~
Cale’s offseason has hardly started, yet his phone is already lighting up with a call from you to no doubt make summer plans before he heads back to Calgary to enjoy time with his family and to start his summer training.
It’s not unusual for his best friend to call him and the soft, giddy smile on his lips at just the sight of your name on his phone display is nothing new either, but when the call connects and words are practically spewing from your lips, he knows something must be wrong.
“Woah, woah, woah. Slow down. I can’t understand a word you’re saying.” Cale cuts you off, trying to figure out what’s going on.
“I said,” You emphasize, taking a deep breath to ensure you speak slower this time, “you got invited to Ryan’s wedding right? The one that’s in a few weeks in Montana?”
“Yeah, I did. What about it?”
“Well, uh, I kinda realized that showing up by myself would be lame right? Like this guy used to be insanely in love with me, but now he’s getting married and I’m, well, not even close to being in a relationship let alone a serious one.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that. You and Ryan are still friends so it won’t be awkward and I’ll be there so you won’t be bored at any point.” Cale replies, still confused as to what you’re getting at.
“We are still friends, but I have to prove that I’m doing just as well as he is, you know? So I have a plan. Well, more of a question before a plan.” You explain, feeling the nerves creep in as the moment about revealing what you’ve been thinking of asking Cale nears with each passing second.
“Okay…”
“What do you think about going as a fake couple? Like we’re dating but it’s obviously not real? Just to prove to Ryan that I’ve moved on and am doing better! He already knows we’re friends and I don’t think it’d be that hard for us to come up with a story and act all lovey dovey together for a few days.”
Cale is silent on the other line and you have a sick feeling in your stomach that you’ve really messed up. It was a stupid idea anyway. Why would he agree to it? He might be your best friend, but asking him to fake date you? It wasn’t that smart.
“So what’s our story?” Cale asks after a moment, trying to hide the smile growing on his lips that you can’t see anyway.
“Our story?”
“Yeah, if we’re going to make this convincing we have to be on the same page about how we met, the first time we said ‘I love you,’ some funny moments that have happened since we got together. Stuff like that.”
Before you can even begin to think about everything Cale just mentioned, your heart begins racing and a grin is on full display across your face.
“So you’re in?” The question is full of excitement and Cale can’t help but chuckle in response.
“Of course I’m in. I’d do anything for you Y/N. Plus, I think it would be fun to finally get back at Ryan for what he did to you.” Cale replies, trying desperately to ignore the butterflies erupting in his stomach. You squeal on the other end of the line and jump right into ironing out the details so there isn’t anything missed that can foil the plan.
Cale pays attention because he has to, but he knows he’s in trouble. He just agreed to be your fake boyfriend for a whole weekend. Cale’s already hiding how he really feels about you and he has a feeling getting a taste of what he wants so badly will only make him fall even harder.
“Okay,” You say, clicking your seatbelt back into place as the plane begins its descent and turning your gaze to the blue eyed, rosy cheek boy next to you. “Remember our story?”
Cale playfully rolls his eyes at the question you’ve asked about a hundred times since you both boarded the short flight to Montana. “Yes, I do. We met in one of the business classes we were both taking together at the University of Denver when I was working towards finishing my degree in my free time. You had no idea I played hockey and after I asked for a pen that day in class, we started hanging out together. The rest is history.” He recites the story of how you actually met with a smile. “Our anniversary is April 29th, we’ve already met each other’s families and we couldn’t be any happier together.”
“Good job!”
“Most of our fake relationship is based off of how we really met so it isn’t that hard to remember, Y/N.” Cale teases, earning a small chuckle from you in response.
“I know and that will only make it more convincing, don’t you think? Being best friends and having history together already gives us an advantage. I just hope it works.”
“It will.” Cale murmurs, intertwining his fingers with yours and giving your hand a squeeze. You give him a sweet smile in return, before you begin talking about how excited you are about all the plans that are in place for the moment you land. He has to try and remember none of what happens between the two of you this weekend will be real, but that won’t stop him from taking it all in as if this was his real life even if just for a short amount of time.
Best friends, nothing more. Best friends, nothing more.
The words repeat in his head when the plane lands, as you both gather your luggage from baggage claim and throughout the entire cab ride to the resort where the wedding is being held. And just when Cale thinks the reminder is concrete and that nothing will sway him, he opens the door to your assigned hotel room and he stops breathing as he freezes in the threshold.
“Cale? What’s wrong?” You ask from behind him, unable to see around his broad shoulders into the luxurious room. He doesn’t say anything at first, just shuffles through the door and you’re about to tease him until you see the single king size bed in the middle of the room. “Oh.”
“Uh, there’s only one bed.” Cale states the obvious as if both of you aren’t already staring at the bed. “I swear I booked a room with two separate queens, but there must have been a mixup or something. I can check with the front desk to see if we can be moved and if not, I can just sleep on the floor. You can have the bed. That’s fine. It’ll work if-”
“Cale.” You say his name firmly, holding his wrist in an attempt to get him to look at you. He has flipped into rational thinking mode because of the issue at hand, but you know calming him down is the first step in telling him it’s all okay. “You will not be sleeping on the floor. I won’t allow it. That will kill your back and you know it.”
“But-”
“No buts. We’re only here for two nights. Sleeping in the same bed won’t be the end of the world for us. How many times have we fallen asleep on the couch together? Or taken a pregame nap? This is no different. I promise.” Your words are soft and visibly make Cale relax. He knows you’re right, but a large part of him knows he won’t be able to handle being that close to you in such an intimate setting even if it’s under the guise of a fake relationship.
“You’re right.” Cale sighs, calming himself down and realizing the situation isn’t as bad as he thought it is. “We can do this.”
You offer him a sweet smile before walking further into the room and dropping your suitcase to the ground. “Do you want to explore the town today since we’re here a day early? I looked up the usual touristy things and places to eat just in case.” Cale looks at his watch and shrugs, feeling happiness surge through him at the thought of wandering through a new place with you.
“That sounds perfect. I’ve never been to Montana before so getting to spend a little time in the town would be really nice.” Cale doesn’t mention how spending all that extra time with you is really what he’s looking forward to most. He would go anywhere in the world if it meant being by your side.
“Then what are we waiting for?” You say excitedly, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the door. And if your heart races a little faster than usual when Cale chuckles and follows behind, no one has to know.
Cale wasn’t kidding when he said he’s never been to Montana before, but he has to admit the little town not far from the resort is the cutest place he’s ever seen. Little storefronts line the streets and both locals and tourists take their time enjoying the cozy town. The scenery is gorgeous too, snow capped mountains extending high into the bright blue sky, but there’s nothing quite like the joy on clear display across your face at every new experience you and Cale do while exploring.
So far, you’ve stopped in various antique shops, a bookstore, two art galleries and took a tour of the local distillery. You haven’t stopped smiling at all and Cale can practically feel his heart swell every time you turn to him with nothing but excitement and adoration.
You’re walking down the busy street next to Cale, still trying to take in the entire scene when your stomach growls. The lighthearted laugh that you love so much slips past Cale’s lips and you can’t help but smile at the beautiful sound.
“Sorry,” You giggle. “I guess we should find somewhere to go for dinner, huh? I didn’t even realize how late it was.”
“Want to try that restaurant we passed before that looked good?” Cale suggests and you nod in agreement. As you both turn in the opposite direction to head back to the establishment, Cale takes a subtle leap of faith and intertwines his fingers with yours. He argues it’s just to get used to faking a relationship especially around other people, but when you smile up at him and squeeze his hand in response, he can’t help but think maybe, just maybe, you feel the same way about him.
That would be crazy though. Cale knows that.
He pushes those thoughts out of his head and focuses on dinner with you. The meal is full of laughter and recounting shared memories which fill both of your hearts to the brim. By the time you’ve both finished eating and had a few glasses of wine, the sun has fully set and the road is calmer than it was earlier.
When the waiter comes back with the check, you thank him before Cale insists on paying and you don’t object because you know he won’t budge. You try to stifle a yawn as he signs the receipt, but he somehow notices everything so it’s no surprise he asks the obvious question.
“Sleepy?” Cale chuckles, putting all his attention on you again. You feel your cheeks heating under his attentive, but soft gaze.
“A little. It’s been such a good day, just a little long.” You reply with honesty and Cale nods along in agreement.
“Well, we can’t have you falling asleep during the ceremony tomorrow so we should probably head back.”
“I guess so.” You smile at Cale before following closely behind to exit the restaurant. “Although having you there will already make the whole wedding more bearable. Thank you again for this.”
“It was an easy decision to come along with you. Plus, I can’t wait to see Ryan’s face tomorrow when he sees us together as a couple. Besides getting to spend time with you in this beautiful place, that will make the whole trip worth it.”
You giggle because the mental image is hilarious. Although the walk back to the resort isn’t long, you lean into Cale, who wraps his arm around you, and take in the serene moment. Any worries or anxieties about spending a whole day tomorrow fake dating your best friend have seemingly disappeared which you couldn’t be more grateful for. You’re determined to just enjoy the day with him and not let your feelings get tangled with whatever may happen to convince everyone at the wedding that you’re actually together.
It can’t be that hard.
But when you return back to the hotel room ready to watch a movie and call it a night, Cale seems nervous and jumpy again. It must still be the one bed situation even though you reassured him earlier that it’s fine.
“Um,” Cale starts, his voice quiet and shy. He meets your gaze for a few seconds before looking away. “Is it okay if I take the bathroom first?”
“Yeah, of course! Go ahead. I’ll just get changed real quick while you’re in there. My nighttime routine isn’t anything crazy anyway.” You chuckle, hoping to ease some of the obvious tension Cale seems to be experiencing. With a nod and a gentle smile, Cale disappears into the en suite bathroom which leaves you scourging through your suitcase for the pajamas you packed. “Where in the world are they?” You mutter to yourself before finding the set buried all the way at the bottom.
With a silent celebration, you quickly switch out your jeans for the comfy shorts and right as you’re pulling the shirt you’ve been wearing all day off, the bathroom door creaks open. Before he can catch a glimpse of anything, you face away from him and call out, “Cale! Just turn around a minute, please?”
He does as you ask, he wouldn’t ever overstep like that. But Cale’s breath was already stolen away from those brief, accidental seconds when he got to see the smooth expanse of your back, the gentle curve of your breast and your hair spilling over your shoulders.
His mind is going a million miles a minute, trying to remind him that that’s his best friend he’s thinking about this way. You’ve always been gorgeous and he’s known that since you met, but something about this moment is striking him in an entirely new way. Maybe it’s the small proximity of the hotel room. Maybe it’s that his feelings for you continue to get stronger and stronger with each passing minute.
Cale has no idea, but he’s in big trouble either way.
“Okay!” Your voice interrupts his thoughts, “I’m all good. You can turn back around.” Cale lets out a sigh when he sees your bright smile and how cozy you look in the matching blue pajama set. “All good?” You double check while trying not to make it obvious that you’re taking in just how adorable Cale looks right now.
“All good. Want me to pick the movie? And do you, uh, prefer a certain side of the bed?”
“Yes, pick the movie. Whatever you want! And nope, I’m not picky.” With that, you disappear into the bathroom for a few moments as Cale settles in. By the time you reemerge only a few minutes later, you see he picked a movie you’ve both watched a thousand times and claimed the right side of the bed. He looks so soft and cuddly which makes your heart skip a beat just at the sight of him.
Cale pats your side of the bed and gives you that sweet smile you adore so much. After slipping under the covers and plugging your phone in, he starts the movie. Despite how weird sharing a bed felt hours ago, now there’s nothing but comfort evident in this moment. You don’t know how much of the movie you actually watch before you start drifting off, head resting against Cale’s shoulder. But the last thing you remember before sleep takes over is Cale whispering a quiet “Goodnight, Y/N.”
The warm sunlight shines through the hotel room curtains, pulling you out of the peaceful dream currently unfolding in your mind. You slowly blink your eyes open and get reacquainted with where you are, in Montana with Cale for the wedding, when you realize that you’re wrapped up in a strong embrace and your head is resting against your best friend’s chest.
And before you even have time to realize you’re both practically snuggled up together which somehow must’ve happened during the night, you notice Cale’s beautiful blue eyes are focused on you and there’s a lazy, but adorable smiling donning his lips. His hair is messy from sleep and his cheeks are already rosy. He looks like a dream.
A part of you thinks that you could get used to this, but that reality still seems so far away and unlikely to happen. So you might as well enjoy the moment when it’s here.
You match his grin, lean up a little to get a better view of him and start absentmindedly playing with the loose collar of the old t-shirt he’s wearing. He watches you, waiting with patience for you to say something.
“You drool in your sleep, Makar.”
“Hm, do I?” Cale laughs softly, rubbing a hand up and down your back while the other brushes some loose hair behind your ear. “Well, I guess I should make it up to you by letting you shower first, huh?”
“That would be the gentlemanly thing to do.”
“Bathroom’s all yours then. Just let me get in there at some point before we have to leave, please. I can’t show up with my hair looking like this.”
“Your bedhead is so cute though! I don’t think anyone would mind.” You tease him back, the happiest laugh escaping past your lips as you untangle yourself from the blankets to head towards the bathroom. The moment the door closes behind you and the sound of the shower running can be heard, Cale lets out a sigh while scrubbing his hands over his face.
That felt a little too real for Cale’s liking if he’s going to try and keep all his feelings under the guise of pretending. But he’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy the banter and soft moment of waking up next to you.
As he listens to you sing a Taylor Swift song while getting ready, Cale goes through his usual routine before beginning to get dressed in his favorite suit. He happens to know it’s also your favorite suit of his so maybe, just maybe, he picked it for that reason too. He’s just fixing the navy blue tie you told him to wear so he’d match your dress when you step out of the bathroom and Cale has another moment where it feels like he can’t breathe.
You hadn’t told him anything about the dress minus its color prior to this very moment. The beautiful navy blue fabric hugs your body in all the right places and stops mid calf to showcase the pretty heels you picked to match. Cale also can’t help but notice the slit that shows off your left leg too. The straps are tied in bows at your shoulders and the dress is perfect, yet simple and you look absolutely stunning.
But Cale’s gaze catches on the glittering bracelet on your right arm. The one he gifted you as a graduation gift. The one you’ve told him you only wear for special occasions. It almost shocks Cale to his core that you’re wearing it now, but his heart couldn’t be happier.
“Wow. Y/N, you look gorgeous. So pretty.” Cale manages to get out, eyes still taking the sight of you. The bright smile that takes over your face rivals the sun which makes him practically melt on the spot. Cale knows then, more than ever, that he’s hopelessly in love with you.
“Thank you,” You say, voice shy and gentle. “You look really handsome yourself, Cale.” And he does. He’s wearing your favorite suit of his and looks incredible as always. Your heart swells just looking at him.
“Thanks,” He replies with a sweet smile before you close the space between the two of you to readjust his tie. That same surging emotion from last night rushes through his veins at the close proximity to you and when you pat his chest, signaling your work is done, he meets your gaze and takes a few seconds to remember every detail of this moment. “All ready to go?” Cale asks simply, trying to make sure he looks unaffected by what just happened.
“Mhm. Remember our story for when people ask because you know they will and we both know each other’s boundaries with PDA, so we’ll stick to what’s appropriate there, yeah?” Your best friend nods in response as he slips his fingers between yours again like it’s something that happens all the time.
“Sounds like a plan. We have to leave now so we aren’t late, sweetheart.” Cale ties the pet name out while guiding you towards the door and as your heart is racing, you can’t stop smiling knowing that today is going to be amazing with this incredible man by your side even if he’s only your fake boyfriend for the day.
And you aren’t wrong. The ceremony goes by without any hiccups. Cale keeps his hand in yours the whole time and presses the softest kisses to the side of your head throughout. You introduced Cale to a bunch of your friends as your boyfriend which only earned you more sweet smiles and gentle touches from the boy at your side. It felt like living in a blissful bubble where nothing could disrupt your fantasy even though you knew deep down this was all still pretend. There was no way Cale had real feelings for you.
The real test though is the reception. You can’t avoid Ryan forever and you have a feeling he’s going to make a point to come over and talk, but more importantly, ask about your date. Before the nerves can take over though, Cale puts all your worries away. As you both stand side by side in front of the seating chart in search of your names, he kisses your cheek and pulls you in closer to his side.
“How are you holding up?”
“Pretty good. There’s this awesome guy who is making the whole night a lot more fun than I thought it could’ve been.” You giggle, watching Cale’s cheeks brighten with the familiar pink color of blush.
“Really? Because I can’t get enough of the girl I’m here with either. Her smile is making it hard to breathe. And I’m glad she invited me along.” Cale responds with a smile on his lips and blue eyes full of nothing but adoration. His words pierce your heart in the most unexpected way because you know he means them. None of what he says is pretend to fit the show you’re both putting on.
But what could that possibly mean?
You don’t get a lot of time to think about it because Cale spots your names together under Table 8 and gives your hand a tiny squeeze before guiding you through the decorated ballroom. You take in all the beautiful sights and settle in next to Cale as you greet the other guests seated at your table. One of your college best friends is in the chair on your right which brings you even more comfort.
“Y/N!” She exclaims, giving you a hug while sporting a huge grin. “Last time we talked you didn’t mention that the handsome, but adorable professional hockey player who you always claimed to be your best friend is your boyfriend now!”
“Oh,” You chuckle, glancing at Cale who is in a conversation with one of the guests who are also sitting at your table. “We didn’t want to tell everyone just yet. But yeah, we’re together now and he’s the best.”
“I don’t know why you both waited all that time. It was obvious you two had feelings for each other the first time you met! I remember how you bursted into the campus coffeehouse with the happiest look on your face and I knew you met someone incredible.”
“It wasn’t that obvious to us for a while, I guess. But we’re making up for the lost time now.” You say softly, turning to look back at Cale as a million thoughts run through your head.
Since you met Cale, you’ve had feelings for him and for years, you never said anything because you couldn’t risk losing the best friendship you’ve ever had. But with your friend’s words echoing in your mind, you realize there is no time to waste. He didn’t even object when you asked him to be your fake boyfriend for the wedding. He has been noticeably more sweet and attentive the whole weekend and you’ve even noticed things he’s said or done that seem to be hinting at the fact he might want to be more than friends with you.
Ohmygod.
You’re in love with Cale and he most likely has feelings for you too.
Suddenly, nothing else matters except confessing the very thing you’ve tried to hide from him for years, but when you turn to ask Cale for a moment outside, the lights dim and the DJ’s voice booms through the speakers around the room.
“Everyone, please welcome the bride and groom!” Everyone stands and claps as the newlyweds enter the ballroom hand in hand with beaming smiles on their faces. The first dance song is introduced and even though you watch the couple dance together, you’re more focused on the boy next to you.
Cale’s arm is wrapped around you as a silent reminder he’s there because he probably thinks seeing your ex-boyfriend dance with his now wife at his wedding isn’t the greatest reminder that you’re single and here with a “fake” date. But you don’t even care about that right now. His touch grounds you and it’s what makes your mind up about telling Cale about how you feel.
Applause erupts again as the song finishes and almost drowns out the DJ’s next words. “The newlyweds would like to invite all couples to join them on the dance floor for this next dance.”
The familiar beginning notes of Taylor Swift’s “Lover” fill the air which makes you let out a little gasp in surprise. You love this song and Cale knows it. He can’t let this opportunity slip away from him, especially not with the plans he has.
“May I have this dance?” Cale asks softly, sporting an adorable smile while holding his hand out for you. A giggle slips past your lips as you nod and put your hand in his. He leads you out to an open spot on the crowded dance floor before pulling you into him. You wrap your arms around his neck as his hands settle on your hips, eliminating any space between your body and Cale’s.
For a moment, neither of you say anything. The music plays and you sing along under your breath all while never pulling your eyes away from his. How could he be so oblivious to the fact that he’s in love with you? All this time it could’ve been real, but it took a fake relationship for him to realize he can’t wait any longer to tell you how he feels even if it’s terrifying.
Little do either of you know, the same thought is going through both of your minds at the same exact time.
This is it.
“Y/N,” Cale starts when you say “Cale,” at the same time. He chuckles, trying to hide his nerves, and dips his head down before looking at you again as you both keep dancing. “You go first.”
“Okay,” You whisper, fumbling with Cale’s collar and keeping your gaze locked with his. It feels as if the rest of the ballroom falls away. There aren’t any other dancing couples or bright lights shining down. It’s just you and Cale and your favorite Taylor Swift song playing in the background. “I know this may seem like a surprise and if you don’t feel the same way, that’s okay. This is just something I can’t hide anymore.”
Cale’s breath is knocked out of his lungs at just those few sentences. Is this really happening? Is he about to get his girl after all this time?
“I love you, Cale. I love you with my whole entire heart and I’ve known since the day we met in class, but didn’t want to ruin the best friendship I’ve ever had. I realized though that it’s not your friendship that makes my life infinitely better, it’s you. And I know you came to this wedding as my fake boyfriend because I was nervous about seeing my stupid ex, which was beyond kind of you to do, but I want to leave here with you as my real boyfriend. I want to love you like I’ve dreamed of for years now.”
Time stops. Or at least Cale swears it does. He almost thinks this is all a dream except he knows it isn’t because of the tender look on your face. Nothing but love and admiration is on display across your beautiful features and he knows you’re preparing yourself for a potential reaction which is the farthest thing from the truth.
“I love you too, Y/N. Always have. Everyone around me has seen how insanely in love I am, but I couldn’t risk losing you either. You’re the most amazing person I know and it would make my heart so happy to be with you. I think we’ve proved this weekend that we can definitely make a real relationship work.” Cale replies honestly, his voice shaky. You laugh softly, your eyes filling up with tears for a moment.
This is real. He loves you too.
As you’re convincing yourself this is all real life, the bridge of the song begins and a beaming smile blossoms across Cale’s lips. He looks beautiful under the shimmery lights of the dance floor and he’s excluding pure happiness. His cheeks are rosy, blue eyes bright and you’ve never been so in love.
“Can I kiss you now?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
Cale leans forward to close the small gap between the two of you with a gentle, but passionate kiss that says everything he’s been holding back for years. You melt into him, letting the overwhelming sensation of love wash over you. And as Cale pulls you impossibly closer to deepen the kiss, your heart feels as if it might explode.
This is all you’ve wanted for so long.
When you both slowly pull away, leaning your forehead against his, the rest of the crowd dissipates as the fast paced music picks up to get the party started. There’s nothing to do but bask in the moment and commit every detail to memory. Cale hasn’t stopped beaming yet and you don’t think you’ve ever been this happy before.
“I know everyone here already thinks we’re a couple, but just wait until the guys find out. I think they’ve been waiting for this just as long as I have been.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” You chuckle, cheeks going pink from blush at the thought of Cale’s teammates hearing the news the two of you are now together. Cale is sure that he’s never seen anyone cuter in his whole entire life and now he gets to call you his.
But right now, he isn’t thinking about talking to Ryan like you’ve been dreading all day or returning home for the rest of the offseason. Cale is just focused on having the best time dancing the night away with the love of his life because he finally has you. And he won’t be letting you go anytime soon.
tagging some friends/mutuals who might be interested!
@tonyspep @starshine-hockey-girl @kailyn-writes @happer08 @rosesvioletshardy @sorryjustafangirl @laurenairay @miracleonice87 @hockeyunits @stroopwaffle8 @musiclove-12 @eightmakar @ilyasorokinn @barzysreputation @breezymichelle99 @comphyjost @comphy-and-cozy @jostystyles @ya-pucking-nerd @fallen-froots @beauvibaby @barzysunflower @boqvistsbabe @wyattjohnston @tpwkstiles @hockeylvr59 @2manytabsopen @lam-ila @nateslehky
#cale makar#cale makar fic#cale makar fics#cale makar imagines#cale makar imagine#summer fic exchange 2k23#nhl fic#nhl imgaine#cale makar x reader#cale makar fluff#colorado avalanche
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i should’ve fought harder | tj
warning; language, mentions of drinking, mentions of violence (its hockey babe)
summary; What happens when you both find out that your messy breakup was the biggest mistake of all?
word count; 5k+
this is for @typical-simplelove as a part of @wyattjohnston summer fic exchange💓i hope you enjoy it bb
You’d be lying if you said you cut him off entirely after that night. It was nearly impossible to cut him out of your life after all you’d gone through together. Sure, it only spanned over a year in all actuality, but it felt like you had spent an entire lifetime by his side. Now you were expected to do a complete 180 and pretend like none of that ever happened? It didn’t feel possible.
You’d also be lying if you said you wanted to cut him out of your life. You weren’t the one that wanted to end things in the first place. You tried to work through all of your differences, tried to work through the different lives the two of you led. You tried everything you could possibly think of, but none of it was enough to save the life you’d built with Tyson.
It also didn’t help that you had heavily intertwined your lives before breaking things off. You were one of the first things that grounded him in New York. Too many nights were spent with him expressing gratitude for your presence helping him adjust. Despite your many reminders that he had friends on the island and in the city, his appreciation was always given to you.
You still got questions about him, despite all of your friends knowing that you weren’t together anymore. It didn’t matter that the break up was messy, nothing was enough to get people to stop asking. It probably didn’t help that you still hung out with mutual friends.
He experienced the same thing to a certain degree. It was a weak spot for him. His teammates only used it as fuel when he was having an off day. He'd never admit it, but it was the one thing that really set him off when he was on the ice.
He was always able to step away from his personal life when he was on the ice. He used to be the best at it, but with the newfound ammo, there was something that would set off Tyson Jost every single time.
It's not like he advertised it, telling every other team in the league that the only thing they had to do to rile him up was mention your name. Once one person caught on, it felt like every hockey player in North America knew about the boy’s soft spot.
He'd gotten into two fights this week alone, which wasn’t like him. It might have been more than two if Jeff hadn’t been there to talk him down from the ledge on more than one occasion.
He didn’t know you still watched his games. In fact, he thought you’d rather drop dead than show up to another hockey game. He didn’t know that you’d asked Jeff to get you into the first few games after the breakup, since you’d sworn the winger to secrecy each time he helped you.
Eventually you resorted to watching their games in your living room, wrapped in the last sweatshirt he left at your apartment, a bottle of wine sitting on the coffee table at the ready. You didn’t even bother to pull out a glass.
The first fight, although confusing, was written off by you initially. He played hockey, fighting was practically inevitable. It wasn’t a part of his game usually, he wasn’t the most violent player, especially in New York. The second fight of the week, however, raised some concern in your chest.
Jeff had texted you after both games, assuring you he was okay and that the game just got the better of him. You weren’t sure it was true but appreciated the sentiment anyways. Tyson had been on edge for weeks, but Jeff wasn’t going to tell you that. He didn’t think it would do either of you any good.
Then there was the night that he was on the end of a nasty hit, one that had him hunched over on the ice for longer than anyone wished he’d been, gripping onto both sides of his head after violently ripping off his helmet.
You were at work, hand over your mouth as you stood at the bar, frozen in place. There was a tray of drinks sitting in front of you, getting warmer with every passing second, but you couldn’t move.
“Y/n.” Reyna, your best friend at work, gripped your elbow gently to tear your focus away from the screen. “I'll take these. You go check your phone.”
You mumbled the table number to her quickly before flying to the back room, fishing your phone out of your bag quickly and trying to think about how to go about this.
You couldn’t call him. He'd be confused at best. He probably wouldn’t answer. You couldn’t call Jeff, he was still on the ice. In fact, every other person you thought of calling was out on the ice. Even Mat was in the middle of a game. You’d have to wait for intermission.
So you texted Jeff, knowing you wouldn’t get a response quick enough, but figuring it was better than any other option you had.
i’m at work, but i saw the hit. just please tell me he’s okay.
You had to go back out and clear the rest of your tables. It weighed heavily on your chest for the rest of your shift. Two more grueling hours had passed by, and when Tyson never came back out onto the ice, you knew something was wrong.
You lunged for your phone after clocking out, ripping it out of your bag and fumbling to punch in your passcode.
minor concussion, massive migraine. he’ll be alright, but he’s out for a few weeks.
You pinched the bridge of your nose, sighing heavily both out of relief and in slight distress.
You remembered a time where you’d spend nights running your fingers through his hair gently, massaging and softly scratching at his scalp to soothe his migraines. You’d sit in the dark for hours, barely even speaking while soft music filled the room.
His head would sit in your lap or on your chest, your nails running up and down the span of his back. Then there were the days where he was so sore he could barely move. You’d spend hours rubbing out knots from his muscles and doing anything you could think of to help him relax.
You couldn’t do any of that anymore. It wasn’t your job anymore.
You thought it would get easier. You thought that it would get worse before it got better, but as weeks turned into months, you began to realize that things may never get better. You couldn’t let go of him.
His words would replay over and over again in your mind, a loop that had no ending, it seemed.
“I’m tired of fighting, Tys.” you sighed, your shoulders slumping as you watched him lean back into the couch.
“Maybe if you didn’t stick your nose in my business all the time, we wouldn’t have to fight.” He lifted the hat off of his head and ran his fingers through his hair, not missing the way your eyes followed his hand before he placed the hat back onto his head.
“I'm sticking my nose in your business? You haven’t spoken to me in almost three weeks!” your voice raised again, earning a guttural groan for the boy as he rose to his feet, standing just above you.
“Talking to you is exhausting sometimes.” His voice was calmer than yours, and he didn’t have the same wall of tears built up in his eyes that you did. He was angry at you for whatever reason and your heart was breaking. This might be the final nail in the coffin of your relationship.
Your bottom lip wobbled as you looked down at your feet, feeling him brush past you as he headed towards his bedroom. There wasn’t a single touch or glance as he hurried by.
“I don't think this is working out.” you shook your head, sniffling in an attempt to suppress the tears that threatened to spill over.
“You don’t mean that-”
“Yes, I do. What don’t you understand, Y/n? I don't want to be with you anymore. I don't want to deal with this shit anymore.” The venom dripping from his voice was hard to shake off. He never sounded like that with you. Disbelief flooded your senses as you stared at a boy you weren’t even sure you recognized anymore. “Just go, y/n.”
“Tyson, please-”
“Just get the fuck out, y/n!”
It seemed like a bad dream every time it replayed in your mind. The way he slammed the door shut behind you. The way he waited two weeks to call you, only in search of a sense of comfort that he knew you’d be willing to give him.
You ended up in Tyson’s bed three times after that, each one breaking your heart even further as you neared the realization that he wasn’t going to change his mind. It was a hard pill to swallow, and the void was still a large hole in your chest, but you had come to the understanding that you and Tyson needed to be separated in order to get through this.
He returned back to the ice as soon as he was cleared to play, throwing himself into it more than he ever had before. He barely talked to anyone outside of the team, and people were running out of ways to reach out to him.
The first time the two of you ended up in the same room together was completely accidental. Tyson had made sure he didn’t end up at your restaurant on nights out, always too scared that you’d be working the same night. even on days he knew you never worked, he didn't risk it.
You let your friends pick the bar that night, which seemed to be a mistake now. You should’ve just picked one. You would’ve picked one you knew he never went to. But as your luck ran out, you found yourself pressed against the bar, flagging down the bartender when a hand landed on your back.
You turned over your shoulder, not being able to stop the wide grin that spread across your lips. You threw your arms around Mat’s neck, hugging him tightly and listening to him chuckle beside your ear.
“Haven���t seen you in a while.” Though you hadn’t seen him in a few months, you had heard from him just last week.
“I know.” You stopped yourself from scanning the bar over his shoulder and settled on letting your eyes settle on the boy in front of you.
Mat and Jeff were two of the only mutual friends you shared that still reached out. The rest of the sabres had taken obvious sides to “keep the peace”. Jeff knew you better than they had so it was difficult for him to cut you out. Especially when he knew how your brain worked when you were alone. He knew you needed some line of connection to Tys.
Mat’s situation was a little easier. Though New York wasn’t all that large, being on a different team made it easier for Mat to separate you from Tyson in his mind. It wasn’t often that he saw Tyson between their schedules, and he’d never stop pointing out the obvious.
Mat introduced the two of you when Tyson moved to Buffalo. He knew he needed good people around him after his hectic years since Colorado. You l didn’t live far from Tyson, and Mat’s raving review of your restaurant put the final stamp of approval on it all.
“You can ask, you know?” you shook your head, chewing on your bottom lip nervously.
“I don't need to ask, Jeff. I know he’s here, and I know that he probably knows that I'm here. It’s not like I can ban him from stepping foot into the same building as me.” Even if you wished you could. Your head snapping back to the bartender as he sets four cups on the counter in front of you.
You reached for your wallet just as your wrist was caught in Jeff’s grip. He told the bartender to put it on his tab that he had started not too long ago. You thanked him and he waved you off quickly.
“How is he?” Your curiosity got the best of you, seeing as you hadn’t spoken to Tyson in so long that you weren’t sure how he was truly doing off the ice.
“Awful.” Jeff offered you a sad smile, letting a heavy sigh pass his lips. “He fucked up, y/n. Maybe beyond repair, but he hasn’t been the same since the two of you split.”
You took a sip of your drink, hoping that the alcohol would wash away the nerves growing in your chest. You knew Tyson had at least some regret from the way things ended. You had drunk voicemails to prove it. That didn’t mean you were ready to jump back into something that ended the way it did. Part of you never believed it was entirely genuine.
“I have to go back to my table, but it was nice to see you, sunshine” he nodded, letting you wander off with one last smile.
You flung yourself into the empty seat at your table once you returned, throwing your head back against the wall as you let out a heavy sigh. It caught the attention of your friends, who were quick to ask what was wrong before you heard a gasp from beside you.
“Out of all the bars in the fucking city?” you nodded, following her line of sight only to be filled with instant regret.
He was laughing, a wide grin on his lips as his head tilted back ever so slightly. You felt your stomach twist, nausea mixing with nostalgia as you longed to hear the sound he was creating.
“Drink this.” you turned to your friends, head slightly foggy as you pulled yourself out of your current headspace.
You don’t know when they got shots, but you were quick to throw one back, and one more before Selena was gripping onto your hand and pulling you out of your chair.
You could barely hear the song, just feeling the bass in your hips that moved sensually. You laughed loudly at your friends around you, pressing themselves against you in an attempt to distract you. It had been slightly successful and you almost forgot about the boy’s presence at the bar.
You hadn’t thought much of it as you told your friends you’d be back after a bathroom break. They stayed in the middle of the crowd, though they did keep their eyes on you as you slipped into the hallway with the bathrooms.
When you walked out, wiping the excess water off onto your jeans, you almost ran right into someone, eye level with their chest as you almost sputtered out an apology.
Almost.
Your breath caught in your throat at the sight of him, right in front of you for the first time in months. He clearly didn’t know what to say anymore than you did, because it took a minute for you to spit out a coherent thought.
“Hi.” you spoke softly, wanting nothing more than to kick yourself for being such an idiot.
“Hi.” his voice was just as soft, barely reaching your ears over the loud music.
You froze then, your mind void of all thoughts you previously had. You didn’t know what to say, and you didn’t know if you should say anything. You hadn’t spoken to him in months, what were you supposed to say now?
“Y/n, listen-”
“Y/n!” you turned to the sound of your name being called, eyes landing on selena who stood at the other end of the hallway with hands on her hips. “We ordered shots!”
Selena knew what she was doing, and you and Tyson both knew that. She wasn’t trying to be all that discrete, her eyes burning holes into the side of Tyson’s head as she silently tested him. She expected Tyson to try to fight back against her, fight to keep you in front of him for just a moment longer, but he didn’t.
You nodded, glancing at Tyson one last time before walking towards your friends and grabbing your savior’s outstretched hand. You squeezed it softly, thanking her for helping you once you were out of earshot.
You probably had three more shots before the boys saw you again. You were level headed enough to walk, but your filter had completely left you as you let your muscles finally relax.
Your night had taken a turn for the better until you felt an unfamiliar set of hands land on your hips, gripping you tighter than you wanted to be held. You turned over your shoulder, moving out of the grip of the man you were unfamiliar with.
“What's wrong, gorgeous?” you rolled your eyes, annoyed with the fact that he felt entitled to a reason why you didn’t want his hands on you.
“Don’t touch me.” you shouted over the music, turning back around towards your friends when you felt his hand back on you.
This time his hands were off of you before you had even moved, confusion flooding your system as you turned around. You were drained of any intoxication you currently felt as you jumped to pull Tyson back, not wanting him to get caught in a bar fight just after he returned to the league.
“Tys, stop.” you moved in front of him, your hands flat on his chest to keep him away from the other guy. His nostrils flared in anger, his eyes not even looking down at you as he looked over you to glare harshly at the guy behind you.
“You can’t get into a fight right now. You just made it back to the league.” his eyes snapped down to you then, his face draining of any anger he previously felt as a soft smirk inched up his lips.
“You’re keeping tabs on me?” you rolled your eyes then, huffing in newfound annoyance as you dropped your hands from their place on his chest.
You took a step towards your table, only to be pulled into a familiar pair of arms. you avoided his eyes until he brought a hand underneath your chin, tilting your head back far enough to look up at him.
“Come home with me.” you sighed softly, eyes fluttering shut when his hand moved from your chin to your cheek.
He smiled when you leaned into his palm, pressing a soft kiss to the heel of his hand before looking back at him. The phrase of denial sat on the tip of your tongue, threatening to fall past your lips despite you wanting to give in more than anything.
You looked over his shoulder, catching sight of your friends who had different expressions adorning their faces. Selena clicked her tongue in disapproval, shaking her head gently at you and watching your shoulders slump in defeat.
“I can't.” you pulled his hand away from your face slowly before walking past him, towards your friends but not stopping to address them.
You gathered your things from your table and grabbed your card from the bar before walking out of the bar, leaving your friends and Tyson back in the bar behind you.
You shouldn’t have been all that surprised when he ended up in your restaurant just a week after that, letting profanities slip underneath your breath when Reyna gave you the heads up that they were in your section.
She offered to take their table, but you told her you had it under control. Besides, it’s not like he came alone.
You couldn’t help but smile when they clapped at the sight of you. The loud interruption wasn’t all that surprising for the tables around them, given that it was a sports bar in New York. There were always people screaming and clapping from tables.
Tyson sat in the aisle seat, which you noticed within seconds of seeing their table. Jeff sat beside him, offering a warm smile when you finally reached the table. Mat and Anthony sat across from them, and you noticed another table of hockey players just beside them, another table in your section.
“What did I do to land all of you guys in my section?” Your smile was refreshing for Tyson to see.
He hadn’t been able to get you off his mind for the past however many months, but the last week was brutal. After having you right in front of him, leaning into him like you used to do, he knew there was no going back. Any progress he made, which wasn’t much, was lost the second you pressed a feather soft kiss against his hand.
“We asked for you.” Owen beamed at you from the next booth over, hissing out in pain when Jeff reached over the back of his booth and hit the back of his head.
“You weren’t supposed to tell her that, idiot.” you laughed at the interaction between the boys before your head fell to the side.
“Can I get you drinks?” they all fired numerous drink orders at you, but you took mental note of them before smiling warmly and telling them you’d be back in a minute.
You tended to your other tables as well as theirs, bringing everyone drinks quickly before you stood in front of their table with a pen and a notepad, writing down their orders with ease.
When your eyes landed on Tyson, a corner of your mouth curled up gently.
“Same thing?” he nodded, smiling when you scribbled his order down from memory.
You didn’t notice that every time you’d check on them, you’d set a hand on Tyson's shoulder, the other resting on your hip as you looked over the eight of them. It was usually quick, but Tyson felt a fire underneath his skin every single time.
You had expected him to ask something similar to what he asked you the week before. It shocked you to find two empty tables, multiple checks left on the table with various different messages written across them.
The only thing he left you with was an uneven heart at the bottom and a tip that had your eyes practically popping out of your skull. It was something he jokingly did when you were dating, but that was then, and this was now.
In theory, you should’ve probably called him. You should’ve reached out, even if it was just to scold him about the tip that he left you. He was hoping you’d call, checking his phone every five minutes for the rest of the night while his leg bounced in anticipation, but you never did.
He was disappointed, but he thought that was selfish of him. You didn’t owe him a phone call. He'd broken up with you, after all, and you were the one that made this entire process easier than it should’ve been.
You should’ve screamed, should’ve pushed him away after all he’d put you through. The two of you had ups and downs, riding an emotional roller coaster all the way to the end. but you couldn’t push Tyson away. You couldn’t cut him out even if that had been what you wanted.
You couldn’t get rid of him, and you didn’t want to.
Jeff had practically choked on his drink when you told him you planned on coming to their next home game. He had to drop his phone into his lap in order to finish coughing up a lung, assuring his teammates he was fine and the liquid had just gone down the wrong pipe.
Tyson gave him a hesitant look, not exactly believing that nothing had triggered Jeff’s coughing fit, but didn’t push the subject. If Jeff wanted to keep things from him, he would. There was no breaking that boy once he told himself he’d keep a secret.
Tyson had no idea you were sitting in the crowd. You were a few rows away from the glass, the jersey you’d usually wear still stuffed in the back of your closet. The hoodie you wore, however, did have the familiar logo on the front of it, with the same name and number that you used to wear every other night draped across your back.
It wasn't until he had scored a goal with two minutes left in third period, screaming at the top of his lungs and skating around the back of the net that he saw you. He stopped dead in his tracks, eyes locked on you even while his teammates tackled him with massive hugs.
Jeff turned to follow his line of sight, smiling widely and waving at you. you waved back, watching Tyson turn towards Jeff and mumble something before the shorter boy shrugged, laughing when Tyson shoved him playfully.
He turned back to you, eyes filled with a slew of emotions you weren’t able to unpack in the short moment. His lips moved, mouthing a desperate ‘please don’t leave’. You nodded, assuring him you’d stay put after the last buzzer filled the arena.
You kept good on your promise, staying in your seat even as the people around you filed out of the arena. you expected to wait for a while, given that he’d no doubt have to do a media run before he’d be given the chance to shower and change, so you were surprised when he came barreling down the stairs not even twenty minutes later.
You laughed gently when he almost flew right past you, his momentum making it difficult for him to stop on the right row of seats. He watched you stand up and make the short distance over to him, his jaw dropped and mind reeling too fast to form a coherent thought.
“Hi.” you spoke first, seeing the mental roadblock he was currently facing.
He didn’t know why talking to you right now was so difficult. He has just spoken to you two weeks ago, sitting in your restaurant for hours, and that didn’t seem as daunting as this did. maybe it was because you were wearing his name across your back. maybe it was because this is the first game he’d seen you in months.
Maybe it was because he was still head over heels in love with you.
“Hi.” it came out in a breath, almost like he couldn’t believe that he finally got a single syllable past his lips. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see Skinner.” you shrugged your shoulders, waiting for a second before a wide grin spread across your lips, a similar one finding a home on Tyson’s.
“I thought I’d never see you in here again.” it shouldn’t have knocked the wind out of you, shouldn’t have come as such a surprise.
“Well, here I am.” he nodded, unsure of where to go from here. He didn’t know what this meant, but he was desperate to find out. “Tys-”
“I’m so fucking sorry. About everything I ever said or did that crossed the line. I'm sorry I wasn't the boyfriend you needed me to be, and that I didn't love you hard enough when things went to shit. I’m sorry I fucked it all up, because I swore U wasn’t going to. I told you I was going to be there for you even when it seemed impossible, and I didn't follow through with that and i’m sorry.
“Not a single day passes by that I don't think about you, that I don't miss you. I love you with everything I have and I should've shown you that when we were together, but I didn't. I don’t know how to make up for all of that time, but I need you to know how fucking sorry I am.”
He barely even realized he was rambling, shooting off at the mouth too fast to think about what he was saying. He missed the smile inching up your lips as you listened, letting him get everything off of his chest.
“I should’ve fought harder. I shouldn't have let hockey get in the way of it all. We both had our own shit we were dealing with and instead of trying to help each other through it, I thought isolating myself and shutting you out would make it easier. I was an idiot, y/n, and I know that’s no excuse, but-”
Your hands reached for his head, holding it between your palms and bringing him down to meet you halfway. His lips felt familiar, a sliver of home that you had been missing for months. The rhythm came naturally, moving against each other like you had never been apart to begin with.
You were both slightly out of breath by the time you pulled back, foreheads resting against one another as you both smiled like idiots.
“I love you. I always have, and I always will.” you whispered softly, leaning up to place one more kiss to his lips. This one was softer and shorter, but it was enough to have Tyson’s heart beating at a mile a minute.
“I don’t think I'll ever be able to love another person the way I love you.”
You tilted your head back, just enough to disconnect your foreheads so you could look up at him properly. Your thumb ran across the skin of his cheek, and he leaned into your hand just like you had done at the bar. His lips were soft as they pressed to the pad of your thumb, sending a jolt of electricity down your hand and through your arm.
“Take me home.” you whispered softly, watching his lips turn up in a smile wider than one he’d ever worn before.
“I’ll take you anywhere you want me to.”
#tyson jost#nhl fic#hockey fic#nhl imagine#buffalo sabres#tyson jost x reader#summer fic exchange 2k23
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something in the way she moves
with Jack Hughes
for the summer fic exchange 2k23
a/n: I’ve been in my Taylor Swift and Jack Hughes era all summer, so what better way to write my exchange fic for @wyattjohnston than to combine those two subjects into one project for her? this one was originally inspired by “Question…?” and ended up tying together several Taylor songs all at once – check out the companion playlist for all of those and more songs that inspired the fic! also, shoutout to Brady and Emma’s wedding for providing the perfect backdrop for this story after I stalled out with ideas for the perfect present-day setting. lots of special guests appear in this one! finally, some people might hate the flashback format with all the jumping around, but I’ve been watching a lot of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” so you can thank the show for that! hope everyone enjoys… but especially @wyattjohnston. this one’s for you, my friend! endless thanks to you for putting on this wonderful exchange for us all, and for inviting me to be part of it. (and thanks to the lovely @laurenairay for the assist!)
tropes: whirlwind romance, exes to lovers, fluff, angst
warnings: swearing, alcohol, mention of breakup, arguing / conflict, sexual references but nothing graphic or detailed, quinn and luke and brady and matthew being pests, miles wood being a drunken hooligan lolol
word count: ~8,500+ (hey who knew I still knew how to write long fic)
_____
July 21, 2023 – present day – Brady and Emma Tkachuk’s wedding – Peapack-Gladstone, New Jersey…
“Can I ask you a question?”
Jack tucked his chin to his chest, busying himself with studying the pattern of the brick patio beneath his smart white sneakers. Whatever question Francesca had in mind, he was absolutely sure he was unprepared for it. But he nodded anyway.
Fran stared at his profile as he shuffled his feet beneath him, but as he lifted his head to look at her, she looked away, unable to meet his eyes as she forged ahead. Her gaze settled across the horizon instead, the moonlight casting a glow across the rolling green hills of Natirar.
She sighed, then bit the bullet. “Does it feel like everything’s just like… second best now?” she inquired listlessly.
Jack chuckled sadly, fiddling nervously with the neck of his amber beer bottle. Anybody who knew Jack knew he was never nervous. Except for where Fran was involved. She was the only person who had ever been able to do anything remotely resembling rattling him.
“What, after that meteor strike?” he asked sarcastically.
That’s what it felt like, at least – that night two years ago, when his team was out celebrating the end of their abysmal season before separating for the summer, the very same night her roommates had dragged her kicking and screaming from Fordham’s campus, across the Hudson, to see some indie band for one last hurrah before they went their own respective ways until fall semester, and Jack and Fran found themselves in the same crowded Hoboken bar. It felt like a meteor had crashed directly in his path that May night and blown up his entire life as he had known it.
He nodded wearily before answering his now ex-girlfriend’s, as well as his own rhetorical, question.
“Yeah, Fran. Yeah… it definitely does.”
Because second best was all that anything could have ever been, following the sensational rise and the staggering fall of Jack Hughes and Francesca DeLuca.
He’d never forget the very moment he first laid eyes on her…
___
May 1, 2021 – two years earlier…
From Jack’s perch at the bar next to Nico, nursing a Moscow mule, the girl in the pale yellow halter dress was impossible to miss.
He’d never believed in love at first sight, but as he surveyed the way that dress hugged her curves as she danced with her girlfriends, belting out the lyrics to “Peaches” to Justin Bieber, he thought for the first time that he might be completely wrong about that notion. He watched her hips sway enticingly, her olive-toned skin glowing beneath the bright multicolored lights, dark curls bouncing along with her every step.
Before he knew it, his feet were taking steps of their own, ditching Nico mid-sentence as the young captain stood dumbfounded, arms flung out to his sides in annoyance as Jack sauntered away. As he watched Jack approach a circle of dancing young women, he zeroed in on the one in the yellow dress right away, knowing immediately that she was the reason for the abrupt end to his conversation with his teammate. As he saw Jack approach her, Nico could only smile and roll his eyes as he wandered off to find the rest of the Devils crew, assuming they’d lost #86 to the girl in the yellow dress for the rest of the evening.
Meanwhile, for once, Jack didn’t have a plan, no course of action – didn’t have a pick-up line prepared, didn’t have anything clever in mind to say when he reached the girl in the yellow dress. When he finally did, she had her back to him, and it was only thanks to her perceptive friend, who pressed her lips into a straight line and tapped the woman on the shoulder, pointing to where he stood, that she even turned around and noticed Jack over her shoulder.
And when she finally did lay eyes on him… well, she was as sunk as he was.
Nothing was said between the two for a few moments, only bashful smiles exchanged. The girl took a few steps toward him, and he eventually found the wherewithal to open his mouth, praying that whatever was about to tumble from his lips wouldn’t make him look like a complete idiot.
“Hi… I like your dress.”
Okay, could’ve been better, could’ve been worse.
The girl’s lips spread into a grin, one that made Jack’s stomach flip over itself.
“Thanks,” she said, glancing down to what she was wearing as if she herself had forgotten. Then her eyes scanned his outfit. “I, uh, I like yours, too.”
A giggle escaped Jack before he could stop it, and instead of making things awkward, it seemed to endear the girl to him further.
“Thanks,” he muttered. And then no other words came to mind.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, he berated himself. Say something else, you jackass.
Thankfully, the girl saved them both from complete and total disaster and rescued Jack from himself.
“I’m Francesca,” she said, raising her voice above the thumping music which seemed to get louder with every passing moment. “But everyone calls me Fran.”
Jack extended a hand for a gentlemanly shake, making Fran smile as she grasped it in hers.
“It’s nice to meet you, Fran,” he said, ducking his head close to her ear so that he, too, could be heard above the music… and maybe because it provided the perfect opportunity to be closer to her. “I’m Jack. And everyone calls me Jack.”
That earned a full-on chuckle from Fran which warmed Jack from the inside out. He watched her, grinning from ear to ear, amused by her amusement and encouraged by the fact that him introducing himself hadn’t seemed to spark any instances of the often inescapable “don’t I know you from somewhere?” or “you look so familiar” or, worse, “you play hockey, right?” He could be jinxing it, or she could just have a really impressive poker face, but it seemed that Fran truly had no earthly idea what he did for a living… and that delighted him to no end.
“It’s nice to meet you, too, Jack,” she replied, still allowing her hand to be enveloped by his. “Are you from around here?”
Jackpot.
He fidgeted with the cocktail glass in his hand, making the melting ice cubes clink against the side. “Ah, kind of a long story,” he admitted truthfully with a smirk.
She glanced at her wrist as if checking her watch, though there was no timepiece to be seen.
“Well, I’ve got time,” she retorted playfully. “Can I buy you a drink?”
Jack shook his head emphatically. “Absolutely not, but I’ll buy you one and tell you all about it,” he said, nodding in the direction of the bar. “After you.”
Fran eagerly took the lead, heading straight for the bar as he followed close behind. Once they reached the counter, she rested her elbows on its edge and waited patiently for the bartender to take the orders of the other patrons who had been waiting far longer than the two of them.
But as Jack sidled up to her, resting one arm dangerously, though comfortably, close to hers against the cool aluminum bartop, his chest pressed just close enough to her back to be noteworthy but not overbearing, she noticed that the bartender’s eyes flickered toward him immediately, an immediate smile crossing the woman’s face. Francesca was even more confused, and admittedly disheartened, when the bartender ditched the entire far side of the bar in favor of beelining it toward Jack.
“What can I get you, sweet cheeks?” the bartender said in a syrupy cadence, leaning over the counter as if to make sure Jack noticed her sizable chest on display in her black sports bra.
Blegh, Fran thought. Maybe this guy isn’t such a good idea…
Unfazed, he asked, “Hey, can I please get another vodka cran and then…” Jack motioned to Fran.
“Uh, Bud Light, please?” she ordered, repeating the same go-to drink she’d already had half a dozen of.
Jack pursed his lips to attempt to avoid a full-blown grin. He couldn’t help but love a girl who loved her beer.
The bartender nodded, knocking on the counter and turning toward the taps.
Fran tried to put the awkward encounter with the bartender to the back of her mind for the moment and turned 90 degrees so that she could face Jack more easily.
“So, you are or you aren’t from around here?” she asked, returning to the question that had led the two of them here originally.
Jack smiled, weighing his options. This question was always a complicated one to answer… but something about explaining it to Fran put him oddly at ease.
“So we, uh, we moved around a bit because my dad was a hockey player before he had kids, and then a coach for years while I was growing up,” he began.
“Oh, nice! I don’t know much about hockey,” she told him, shaking her head. “Big on playing sports but never big on watching them.”
Oh, my god, he thought to himself as he nodded, trying to seem casual. It’s like this girl was built in a lab just for me.
However, he didn’t know whether this next part would seem better or worse to a girl who wasn’t a sports fan. But it was his reality, so he decided to lay it bare.
“Gotcha, um… so, I… also play hockey.”
Francesca’s eyebrows shot up.
“Wow… really?”
Jack nodded again, then cleared his throat.
“Yeah, uh, that’s actually why I’m here tonight,” he explained. “All my teammates are here. Our season just ended and everybody’s about to separate for the summer, so we came out for one last night together for a while.”
It was Fran’s turn to nod as the bartender approached, and Jack thanked her and pushed a large bill across the counter. Fran busied herself with running her finger along the rim of her glass, pretending like she didn’t notice the generous denomination. Jack leaned an elbow against the counter to face her, in hopes of continuing the conversation.
“So… wait, you play for, what, the Rangers? Islanders?” she asked, pulling the names of the teams she vaguely recalled from the cobwebbed recesses of her brain.
Jack smacked a hand to his chest dramatically as if he’d just been shot.
“God, Fran,” he hissed, “you really know how to wound me.”
“What?!” she asked, sputtering with laughter. “I dunno! Are those the wrong team names?!”
Jack shook his head, entertained. “No, no,” he assured. “You were right – those are NHL teams, but I play for the Devils. They play just over in Newark.”
“Oh… right,” Fran said softly, biting her lip and tucking her chin to her chest, praying she somehow didn’t look as stupid as she felt.
Jack lowered his head to try and meet her eyes, squeezing her elbow gently. The simple touch alone sent a bolt of electricity through her being.
“Hey, don’t be embarrassed,” he said with an easy chuckle. “Trust me, it’s way better having to explain all this to you than having you come up and recite it all to me like some creepy walking encyclopedia.”
Francesca forced a tight smile, but still stared at her shoes. In a gutsy move, he reached his thumb and forefinger to grasp her chin and gently tilt her head upward.
“C’mon, lemme see that pretty face,” he said in a gravelly tone, one that made her spine shiver.
Just as she found herself leaning into his touch, she saw a tall, dark-haired, broad-shouldered man approaching Jack from behind, unsteady on his feet. She assumed that this was one of his teammates, as the taller man went to sling a noodly arm around Jack’s shoulders.
“Uh, look out-” Fran warned… but it was too late.
The man’s hand flung Jack’s glass clean out of his grip, sending its red liquid contents splashing all over Fran’s chest and stomach before hitting the floor, thankfully hitting a sopping wet rug beneath the bar, which was the only thing that kept it from shattering into a million pieces.
They both gasped in the process, and Jack instinctively grabbed her by the forearm.
“Oh, my god! Omigod, fuck, Fran, I-I’m so sorry,” he lamented. “Woody! Fuck!” he yelled to the drunken man who apologized apathetically, then disappeared into the crowd.
Fran blinked quickly, her mouth in a tight “o” as she set aside her beer. As a wincing Jack stupidly patted her torso with the flimsy cocktail napkin that had been handed to him with his drink, he took in her expression and felt sick to his stomach.
Well, there you have it, he thought to himself. No way she’s ever gonna see me again after this…
What he hadn’t accounted for, though, was that after the initial shock of wearing the cold drink faded, Fran would throw her head back in uproarious laughter, eyes screwed up tight in hilarity.
Jack let one nervous snicker escape him, and then another, and then another… and by the time thirty seconds had passed, the two of them were breathless in fits of giggles, Jack keeping a firm hand on the crook of Fran’s arm.
“Are you okay?” he managed to utter as they finally began to settle down.
She nodded, wiping tears of hysteria away with her wrist.
“Yes, I’m fine,” she promised, splaying a hand on her chest as she glanced down at the maroon stain on her yellow dress. “I’m just dying because this is my roommate’s dress and she made me swear not to spill anything on it,” she admitted, erupting with laughter all over again. “So much for that.”
Jack’s eyes glittered as he watched her chuckle. “Well, the blame lies squarely on me, so I’ll apologize to her for that one,” he told her, beaming. He cleared his throat before venturing forward. “Hey, my place isn’t far and I think I’ve got some club soda in the fridge… whad’ya say we-”
Before he could finish his thought, Fran picked up where Jack had left off before the drink had been spilled, pressing a hand assertively to his cheek and leaning forward to plant a firm kiss to his lips. Neither of them knew how much time had passed before she eventually pulled away, biting her bottom lip coyly.
“Is that a yes?” he asked, smoothing the back of his finger across her cheekbone. He watched a Cheshire grin spread across her now-swollen lips, and she offered an enthusiastic nod.
He trailed his fingertips down her bare arm, sending chills across her skin despite the heat and humidity of the bar, before he reached for her hand.
“Then let’s go.”
After a short cab ride brimming with stolen glances and squeezes of hands, the two were practically sprinting through his front door, Jack not bothering to even turn on the lights in favor of keeping his hands securely on Fran’s lower back, holding her desperately close as his lips danced across hers with simultaneous ease and desire.
Eventually, he carefully backed her into his kitchen and hoisted her onto the counter, feeling her quiver when the cool marble hit the backs of her thighs.
He smiled against her lips and said roughly, “I gotta get you that club soda.”
She shook her head without breaking away from his kiss.
“It can wait,” she whispered insistently. “Just get me outta this dress.”
Jack smirked, his fingers immediately following orders as they searched for the zipper in the middle of her back.
“Whatever you want, baby,” he retorted, finally pulling the zipper down, allowing him to tug the dress over her head. He offered it to her, one last chance to take care of the task they came here under the guise of doing – removing the maroon stain from the gauzy garment. Instead, she tossed it aside, watching as it floated to the tile floor before grasping Jack’s shoulders purposefully, leaning in to speak against the delicate skin of his ear.
“I want you,” she admitted, nipping at his earlobe.
And after he carried her to his bedroom, she had him, had her fill of him – just the way they both wanted, their union the perfect balance between urgent and reverent, as if they both already knew that whatever this was between the two of them was something meant to be cherished.
More than an hour later, after making the mutual decision that it was time for a snack and a little something else to drink in order to replenish their strength, Jack left her alone with her thoughts in the quiet of his bedroom as he made his way back to the kitchen, donning only a pair of sweats, smiling when he picked up the now-rumpled yellow dress and placed it in his spacious farmhouse-style sink. He secured the drain stopper and retrieved the club soda from the refrigerator, still smirking to himself as he poured the stain-fighting liquid over the fabric to ensure it was completely immersed.
As he turned back to the fridge on the hunt for a satisfactory snack, Jack saw Fran emerge from his bedroom wearing nothing but one of his white dress shirts and a clean pair of his boxers.
She grimaced, and he sensed her unease even from a few yards away.
“I’m sorry, I just kinda put on the first things I found in your closet,” she said, one eye squeezed shut as if it pained her to make the admission. “I hope that’s okay. I swear I don’t make it a habit to put on a guy’s clothes like I own the place, but I, uh… didn’t exactly have a dress to put back on,” she pointed out.
Still distracted by the sight of her in his clothes, he shook his head rapidly.
“No, no, of course… I’m taking care of that as we speak,” he assured, nodding his head in the direction of the sink. “And you can wear whatever you want of mine – I should’ve laid something out for you, but… this is perfect.” He took a few slow steps toward her, his hands coming to rest on her hips. “You look amazing,” he said, his voice deep once again.
Francesca bloomed under his praise, preened beneath his touch as he reached out to stroke her cheek, his thumb coming to rest on her plush lips.
“Thank you,” she whispered, pursing her lips to kiss the pad of his thumb.
It took every ounce of gentlemanly will in Jack not to throw her over his shoulder and haul her back into the bedroom again. Instead, he forced himself to take a step back and motion toward the adjacent living room.
“Go on and make yourself comfortable,” he urged as she glanced toward the expansive space. “I’ll grab us a couple things and be right over.”
Fran nodded and obliged, entering the inviting area and finding herself immediately drawn to the vintage Victrola on a shelf on the far side of the room.
Meanwhile, after coming up empty in the liquor cabinet and noticing that the refrigerator was fresh out of beer, Jack opened a crummy bottle of wine he was certain Ty had bought once for a date but had never been touched. He poured two glasses and set them on a sturdy wooden tray, then scrounged through the cupboards to find some crackers that weren’t stale to go along with the Gouda and sopressata he’d found in the fridge. Pleased that he accomplished his mission, he arranged all of the items on the tray and carried it into the living room. As he set it on the coffee table, he found Fran admiring the shelves displaying his substantial collection of vinyls. Upon hearing him approach, a glass of wine for her in hand, Fran turned his way.
“You have quite the record collection there, Mr. Tough Guy Hockey Jock,” she teased, brows raised as she gratefully accepted the glass. “And not just the trendy new stuff, the good stuff – Sinatra, the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Bowie, Pink Floyd. I’m impressed.”
Jack smirked. “Thanks – to be fair, I inherited a bunch of them from my parents and grandparents. They’d move and they’d always threaten to sell these on eBay but I wouldn’t let ‘em,” he explained. “Go ahead, put one on – anything.”
His request was easier said than done, and as he turned away to close the blinds throughout the room, chomping on cheese and crackers, she faced the impossible task of choosing one, eventually settling on James Taylor’s “Something in the Way She Moves.”
He smiled when he heard the first strains, and her eyes met his when she turned away from the record player after setting the needle.
“Great choice,” he praised, the two of them crossing the room toward one another as if at the mercy of some magnetic force.
“One of my mom’s favorites,” she explained, fingers toying with the hem of the dress shirt as the folksy melody swirled throughout the room.
There's something in the way she moves
Or looks my way, or calls my name
That seems to leave this troubled world behind…
When they were no more than a foot apart, Jack opened his palm and held it out toward her.
“Dance with me,” he less invited, more demanded, not that Fran minded. She instantly slipped her fingers into his and took a step nearer so that their chests were pressed impossibly close.
She in his shirt and boxers, he in a pair of sweats, neither of them in shoes, they twirled around his living room as if attending a royal ball, until an unmistakable scratch signaled the end of the record… but by then, Jack and Fran were already locked in each others’ embrace again, the only sounds in the room the panting breaths escaping their lips between fiery kisses.
They never did make it back to the bedroom that night, didn’t even ever find sleep where they stayed curled up together in the living room, talking and laughing through the wee hours. Instead, when the sun rose, their only hint that morning had already come, they were sitting on the hardwood floor, laughing with her feet in his lap like he was her closest friend and not some random boy she’d met at a bar mere hours before.
“How’d we end up on the floor anyway?” Jack said, rubbing at a kink in his neck as one hand stayed fixed on her ankles.
Fran lifted the empty bottle of wine next to where she lay, and his eyes reluctantly traveled away from her face and toward her hands.
“Your roommate’s cheap-ass screw-top rose, that’s how,” she retorted, reminding him of the bottle they’d shared after all the drinks they’d already indulged in at the bar.
“Mmm…” he hummed with lifted brows, both of them chuckling at the culprit as she set it back down on the hardwood. “So… coffee?” he inquired, desperate for this night – or, well, now morning – not to end. Desperate for Fran to stay here, with him, and never leave.
To his delight, she cocked her head against the throw pillow and offered him the warmest smile he’d ever seen.
“I’d love some,” she answered simply, realizing she’d be content to never see the outside world, anything beyond the walls of this Hoboken house, again.
They saw each other every day for the next year and a half after that, and starting with that very first one, Jack had painted all Fran’s nights a color she had searched for since.
And still, to this day, she couldn’t remember who she was before him.
___
July 21, 2023 – present day…
“This day,” that is, being Brady and Emma Tkachuk’s wedding day. Which after the breakup, Fran had never anticipated being present for.
But then came the phone call in the dead of winter, just weeks after she’d ended it with Jack. She was still reeling, trying to push through the pain while focusing on excelling in her last semester of undergrad, but anyone who knew her could see that she was struggling, including mutual friends of hers and Jack’s. Which soon made its way back to Emma via Brady.
And when Fran saw Emma’s name on her screen that day as she studied for an exam, she smiled. She hadn’t talked to Emma since before the split, and despite knowing it was more than likely going to be a covert check-up call, Fran was happy to hear from the girl she’d become so close to in the last two years.
___
February 18, 2023 – five months ago…
Fran tapped the “answer” button and lifted the phone to her ear.
“Hi, Em,” she said warmly.
“Hi! I miss you! Brady’s here, too,” Emma explained.
“Franny D!” he called over the speakerphone.
“Hey, B! I miss you guys, too,” she said sadly. “How are you guys?”
“We’re good!” Emma answered. “Neck-deep in wedding planning. I know it’s gonna be fun but it’s honestly kinda brutal.”
“Brutal, Franny,” Brady echoed dramatically. “It’s torture.”
Fran chuckled. “What, B, not enjoying picking out linen colors? Did you go with eggshell or warm white?”
“Couldn’t tell ya, Franny,” he replied. “If I had it my way, none of the tables would be covered and everybody’d just be playing beer pong on ‘em.”
Fran swore she could hear Emma’s eye roll. “You’re such a dude,” Fran complained.
“He’s not kidding about making that suggestion, either,” Emma said, feigning (or maybe not) weariness. “But, um, that’s not why we’re calling. First of all, we, uh… we just wanted to see how you were.”
Fran swallowed, staring out the window of her apartment, watching the snow swirl among the towering skyscrapers and across bustling streets. She’d been having trouble answering that question at all, let alone honestly. She reached to rub her palm up and down the length of her shin, suddenly feeling cold.
“I’m, um… I mean, I’ve been better, that’s for sure,” she told them. “I just… I really never thought this would happen, to be totally honest.” Her voice was quieter now, the familiar lump in her throat quivering.
Emma made a sound of understanding.
“Us either, Franny,” Brady gently concurred. “And I know you don’t wanna hear this right now, but I know Jacky didn’t think so either.”
Fran sighed, dropping her chin to her chest as her eyes fell to the azure crewneck with the maize Michigan logo emblazoned on the front, which Jack had left behind once after a trip to visit Luke. She had never returned it, and he eventually noticed it in the background of a FaceTime call while he was on a road trip and told her to keep it because he was certain it looked better on her anyway. And now it hurt to look at it, and it hurt to wear it, and it hurt to not wear it, so she went with wearing it, because even though she’d been the only one to don it for a year, she swore it still smelled like him. Unconsciously, she closed her eyes and breathed deep.
“I know,” she said softly.
“We didn’t wanna make you sad, Fran, but the other reason we were calling is just to say that we’d really like to invite you to the wedding in July-”
Brady interrupted his fiancee. “No, we are inviting you to the wedding, no question,” he said firmly. “But we just want you to know that it’s completely up to you whether you wanna come.”
“Yes,” Emma jumped in again. “We would absolutely love to have you there, because you mean so much to both of us, but we totally get it if it’s too much. Quinn’s in the wedding and we’re inviting their whole family, so… obviously Jack will be there.”
Her eyes fluttered open and she cleared her throat. “Y-yeah, of course, as he should be,” Fran managed. “I really appreciate the invitation, you guys. Seriously, it means so much to me. I’ll check the dates on my calendar, but I’d really love to come-”
Before she could even finish her thought, she heard a loud clap and a “FUCK YEAH!” from Brady, and she couldn’t help but laugh.
“You’re the best, Franny D,” he said. “And I’ll promise Quinny’ll keep Jacky on his best behavior.”
“Plus Ellen’ll be there, so you know he’s not getting away with shit,” Emma offered.
“You guys are too much,” Fran said affectionately. “It’s your day – I don’t need you worrying about me and J.” She felt a stab in her heart at her own use of the retired pet name, one that was once used so frequently and so fondly but was now avoided like a plague. She swallowed that lump in her throat again. “We’ll be fine.”
“We know you will,” Brady said softly. “Well, listen, we’ll let you go but, uh… thanks, Franny. I really hope you can make it.”
“Yes, we really do!” Emma reiterated. “We love you, Fran. Talk soon.”
“I love you guys, too,” she told them. “Thanks for calling.”
And Brady must not have been able to keep the news to himself, because within a few hours of agreeing to attend the Tkachuk wedding, her phone had buzzed four more times with text messages from four members of the Hughes clan:
Lukey: yooo B just told me you’re coming to the wedding!!! hell yes, sista 👊 see you soon
Quinny: Franny D, super happy to hear you’re coming to B’s wedding. we love ya, no matter what. can’t wait to see ya
Ellen: Hi, my sweet girl 💖 Chantal just told me that you’re planning to come to Brady and Emma’s wedding. I’m so happy to hear it! I’m counting down the days until I see you. Love always 💋
Jim: Hey Franny! Can’t wait to see you at the Tkachuk wedding this summer. Really glad you’re planning to go. ❤️
The only member of the family that her phone didn’t sound with a message from that night?
Jack.
The one that it hurt the most not to hear from.
She set her phone aside that night and swallowed, hard, pulling her legs to her chest and resting her forehead on her knees. Preparing to see Jack in person for the first time in months was going to be impossible enough, but seeing his entire family… that just might be enough to break her.
Because she’d never fallen out of love with them, either.
___
July 21, 2023 – present day…
And today, after a heartbreakingly long hug with Ellen before the ceremony, and affectionate but melancholy greetings from Jim and Luke, here Fran stood in the midst of Brady’s reception, in front of the middle Hughes son who never did text her leading up to this moment. When he’d seen her approach his family’s seats a few minutes before today’s ceremony, he had only just stood up from his chair at the far end of their row to try and make his way toward her when the processional music started, leaving both of them frozen in place, staring helplessly at one another. She’d mouthed sorry, and he’d nodded and mouthed we’ll talk, as his family sat still between them, awkwardly trying to avoid making eye contact with the estranged couple lest they make the moment even more painful for them than it already was.
When Fran turned to find the nearest single seat, she could feel the tingling heat creeping up her neck, and it wasn’t from the summer sun. She’d spent months agonizing over what she would say to Jack when she finally saw him again, and she still couldn’t believe that the first thing she’d spoken aloud after they’d found each other on the deck for a quiet moment alone was “can I ask you a question?” But how else was she supposed to begin the conversation, anyway?
And at least he’d agreed – conceded that nothing had yet felt as good as the two of them had. For the past six months, she’d been terrified that nothing ever would, and she had to admit, it felt good to know that he seemed to share that same belief.
It felt good and it felt awful all at the same time.
Fran sighed, lifting her gaze to the shimmering stars far above their heads.
“Why are we doing this?” she whispered, half to herself and half to him.
Jack gave her a quizzical look; she was all over the place right now… not that he didn’t feel completely undone and frazzled himself.
“What? Talking? I dunno, Fran, I can go back inside, but I wasn’t just gonna sit in there all night and ignore y-”
Fran stopped him, shaking her head. “No, that’s not what I mean,” she said, a noticeable exhaustion in her tone, one that Jack recognized in his own voice often these days. “I just mean… this hurts so bad, J. And it doesn’t have to – didn’t have to. We were so good together… why did-”
“Because you said it was too much, Fran,” Jack accused, sharply though accurately, remembering how the pressure of being in a serious relationship with one of North America’s most heralded professional athletes at such a young age had often left her curled up in a ball in the corner, something that at 20 and then 21 years old, he had found himself completely unprepared to handle.
“And I made the wrong choice!” Fran admitted, her voice rising an octave by the end of the sentence as her emotions took over. “At least I can admit it. Can you? I mean, you’re the one who left my house in the middle of the night, without even trying to put up a fight. Can you admit that you were in the wrong, too?”
Yeah, I can, he immediately thought to himself, though he couldn’t quite bring himself to say it.
Instead his mind flashed to the very moment in time where he knew he had indeed made the wrong choice.
___
April 3, 2023 – three months earlier…
Jack was trying his hardest to pay attention to his date. He truly was.
In a well-meaning but doomed-from-the-start attempt to help him get over Fran, one of the team WAGs had set him up with her college roommate who had recently moved to the city. So here he was at dinner following a Broadway show he’d never even heard of before, which he had bought tickets to specifically because he knew he wouldn’t have to speak to the girl for at least a couple of hours but would still come away looking like the hero for dropping money on expensive tickets for date number one.
What he hadn’t accounted for, when she had unsurprisingly suggested that they grab a bite to eat after the show at Sugarfish on 56th and Broadway, was that he’d spot, through the front window, Francesca walking down the sidewalk hand-in-hand with some guy, laughing with him as he told what were no doubt painfully lame attempts at jokes to try and impress her.
Jack’s blood ran cold, his jaw muscles flexing as he clenched his teeth together, his date still rambling on about her so-called career as a “business owner.” (See also: owner of an Instagram account where she posted regular thirst traps and tagged the brands she wore, unprompted. See also: a quasi-influencer. See also: a Kardashian wanna-be.) Which provided him the perfect opportunity to get lost in his own spiraling thoughts.
Granted, this restaurant wasn't that far from Fran’s apartment on 52nd, a fact which Jack was painfully aware of throughout the entirety of the show and the meal. But goddamn it… this city was filled with eight million people besides her and that dickhead guy, but they just happened to be the two who caught his gaze.
Which maybe wouldn’t have bothered Jack so much if it didn’t look like Fran was actually enjoying the guy’s company.
He slouched in his chair and spoke as few words as possible for the rest of the meal, and when it had finally, mercifully, ended, he called her an Uber, waited until she had gotten picked up, sulked to his car, and deleted her number.
___
July 21, 2023 – present day…
“Well? Can you?” Fran repeated, losing patience as she wondered where his mind had just wandered off to.
“Yeah, I can,” Jack said simply, deciding to lay all his cards on the table at the recall of the recent memory.
Fran’s head snapped toward him. Being that he was by far the most stubborn person she had ever known, she hadn’t expected him to fess up to that. Her mouth opened as she thought of what to say next, then closed it when nothing came to mind quickly enough.
“I can tell you exactly when I realized it, too,” Jack said with a smile devoid of humor, licking his lips – the very same lips she used to call home. “I saw you with some guy walking down 56th a few months ago. And it felt… fuck, it just felt like I was out of time.”
Francesca blinked repeatedly, confusion etched on her features. Though she knew who she would have been with that night, she didn’t even remember the exact instance he was referring to, so it obviously hadn’t left all that much of an impression upon her. But that’s not the information she wanted to inquire about.
“W-what do you mean, ‘out of time’?” she asked, her volume much lower now.
Jack met her with sad eyes, pursing his lips. He shrugged a shoulder.
“I dunno, I guess… I guess I was holding out hope that somehow, we’d work it out,” he replied, his voice suddenly sounding hoarse. “I just always thought it would be us in the end. But seeing you with someone new, I… I just lost that hope.”
Tears pricked at the backs of Fran’s eyelids and she looked away, swiping at her eyes with the side of her hand.
“There’s never been anyone else… I mean, not… not really,” she was suddenly saying, caught off guard that she was opening up so much. “That was the closest I got, but it was only for a few weeks, and he ended it because he said I was being distant. And he was right. I just, I wasn’t in it. Not at all.”
Jack watched her the entire time she spoke, then nodded slowly. He understood that feeling all too well.
“I get it,” he said softly. “Trust me.”
As the two of them let their respective admissions hang between them in the thick summer air, falling into a contemplative silence, unbeknownst to them, a tipsy Luke had made his way back to the open bar at the edge of the dancefloor, which was situated just inside the tall French doors leading to the venue’s back patio where his brother and Fran stood alone as the party raged on. Luke’s eyes never left the acrimonious pair as he ordered himself not one, but two more gin and tonics, then darted, drinks in hand, across the room to where his parents and Quinn sat at a table chatting.
“Luke Warren Hughes, you’d better slow down on the double fisting,” Ellen warned in her best mom voice.
Luke waved her off. “Yeah, whatever – guys, listen to me, this is important,” he urged, out of breath. “Jacky and Franny are outside by themselves talking.”
“What?!” Quinn exclaimed, jumping up from his chair so quickly and so forcefully that it would have tipped over if not for Jim’s quick reflexes, as he shook his head in disapproval. As he watched his eldest son jog to the same door Luke had just been standing near to peer through the panels for himself, Jim scoffed.
“You guys need to give them their privacy – they’ve been through enough,” he stated firmly.
“Yes, and you wouldn’t like it if your brothers were spying on you and a girl,” Ellen pointed out.
Luke swallowed a gulp of his cocktail and beamed.
“Yeah, but… it’s not just some girl. It’s Jack and Fran,” he declared, shaking his head in excited disbelief before following after his brother.
Having lost both their sons to espionage, Ellen and Jim’s eyes met, and they shared a knowing, hopeful smirk.
“It is Jack and Fran,” Jim repeated in a voice near a whisper, tipping the rim of his beer bottle toward his wife, who clinked it with her champagne glass.
“Cheers to that… no matter what happens,” she said softly.
Back outside, ignorant to the fact that they were being carefully watched, Jack was surprised when Fran breathed a laugh through her nose, finally breaking the silence. Her cheeks warmed at the memory replaying in her mind.
“Remember that first night we spent together, at your place in Hoboken? What we did after Miles made you spill that drink on me?” she asked, unaware that he had played those sacred scenes over in his mind hundreds if not thousands of times in the past two years just as she had, particularly when they were each alone in their beds in the dead of night.
“Of course I do,” he replied quietly. “It’s kinda… all I ever do. Well, that night and… a-and lots of other nights after that.” He caught her stare and somberly confessed, “I feel you no matter what.”
Fran took a few daring steps closer, her hand brushing his. She leaned in so close that her lips nearly grazed the shell of his ear.
“Do you wish you could still touch me, Jack?” she whispered, and the hair on the back of his neck stood on its end.
He slowly exhaled through pursed lips, trying and failing to steady his now-racing pulse.
“Every fuckin’ day, Fran,” he said with little hesitation, turning his head so that their noses were mere centimeters from each other.
“Is it too late to do something about it?” she asked, her eyes locked with his.
“With us?” he let out a singular chuckle. “It’s never too late with us, Fran.”
She smiled so wide it made her cheeks ache, and she ran a hand down the lapel of his jacket.
“Good, because you look really fuckin’ handsome, and I’ve been wanting to tell you that all night,” she said, her voice low and sultry.
He hummed appreciatively and nuzzled his nose against her temple.
“Funny you say that, because I’ve been wanting to tell you all night that I, uh… I like your dress,” he whispered, recycling the very first compliment he ever bestowed upon her before pressing a kiss to the skin just in front of her ear as she giggled, but the laughter died on her lips as Jack kissed a line from her ear, across her cheekbone, to the tip of her nose, to the corner of her mouth, and finally, to her eager lips, which matched the fervor and neediness of his own. It was as though the pain of the past six months melted away as they each attempted to demonstrate how deeply and passionately they had missed the other, hands in hair, chests flush, soft moans being captured by the other’s mouth…
But it wouldn’t be an important moment in Jack and Fran’s story if there weren’t loved ones meddling nearby.
Now it wasn’t only Luke and Quinn at the doors watching the marvelous scene unfold, but it was Matthew, and Ellie, and Taryn, and Robbie, and all the Fitzgerald kids, and Brady, and Emma. Someone pushed open one of the doors, flooding the patio with a cacophony of cheers and jeers from those closest to them.
“Get a room!” “Finally!” “Jack, this is a family wedding!” “Hand check!” “Oww owwww!”
God… embarrassing.
Reluctantly pulling away from the kiss, Jack growled, resting his forehead against Fran’s as she giggled nervously, before whipping his head toward their audience.
“Don’t you all have a wedding to get back to?” His head swiveled to Brady and Emma. “Especially you two?”
Brady shrugged. “Hey, we already had our kiss, man. You go ‘head,” he encouraged.
Emma giggled, one hand wrapped around her groom’s bicep as she swatted nonchalantly toward Jack and Fran with the other.
“Yeah, carry on. Don’t mind us!” she sang.
Jack rolled his eyes, but all inhibition and worry faded away as Fran grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down to meet her lips once more, feeling his frown literally turn upside down into a smirk as he sunk into her, hand finding a familiar home low on her back, dangerously close to the curve of her ass.
And at that, the crowd they’d drawn erupted into a fit of laughter and applause, Quinn and Luke in the middle of it all, pumping their fists simultaneously before clapping their palms together and leaning in for a hug.
They got their sister back.
“What are you kids doin’ over here?” came a booming voice from the back of the group. Jack and Fran watched as the seas parted and Keith Tkachuk made his way to the door, following his younger son’s pointed index finger to find the reunited couple embracing on the patio. His eyebrows shot to the top of his forehead.
“Well, can’t say I didn’t see this one coming!” he bellowed, a jolly twinkle in his eye. “Now, you boneheads have had your fun,” he addressed the group. “Leave these two to have their own.” With a wink, he turned away, and their crowd of clamoring cheerleaders dispersed, whispering animatedly among themselves.
Jack exhaled swiftly and rubbed the back of his neck.
“Shoutout Big Walt,” he declared, clearing his throat.
Fran nodded, snickering, and pulled him in by the waist.
“Gotta love ‘em, though, hmm?” she mused, nuzzling her nose against his.
“Mmm, yeah, whatever,” Jack dismissed, a tenacious hand on her cheek as he leaned down to press his lips to hers once again. “Now, where were we?” he teased in a whisper as she smiled against his mouth, her hands traveling beneath his suit jacket, across the familiar expanse of his sculpted back. His hands found their original target and slipped down the small of her back, finally reaching the arc of her rear.
“Mmmm… hello, old friend,” Jack murmured in her ear, earning him a playful smack to the hip.
“Shut up,” she sassed him, but she didn’t mean it, and they both knew it. He fixed his lips to hers over and over again, and though the party roared on inside, mere yards away, it was as if Jack and Fran were the only two people on the face of the earth, their bodies fusing together as if they had always been intended to be one.
It was always like that for the two of them.
Nothing could have pulled them from that moment… except the first strains of “Something in the Way She Moves” by James Taylor echoing from the speakers inside.
The pair froze. She pulled away to hold him at arm’s length, in utter disbelief.
Jack ogled at Fran, the pure longing in his eyes mirrored in hers. His siblings and friends were meddlers, sure… but had they been so thoughtful as to remember that this was their song — had been since that very first night? Or was it simply fate?
Either way, Jack could do nothing but extend his upturned palm toward her.
“Dance with me?” he asked softly.
Suddenly self-conscious, she smoothed a hand through her curls, then swiped at the damp corners of her eyes.
“God, Jack, I’m a mess,” she said with a halfhearted chuckle. “I don’t think I can go back in there right now.”
Jack shrugged. “So what?” he asked, taking hold of her hand and pulling her in, his other arm winding around her. “We’ll dance right here.”
She rested her free hand on his chest, melting at the sweet sentiment. Then, she relaxed into him, tucking her head into his neck where it fit perfectly — always had.
He pressed a kiss to her temple, then rested his cheek atop her head as the song carried on...
There's something in the way she moves
Or looks my way, or calls my name
That seems to leave this troubled world behind
If I'm feeling down and blue
Or troubled by some foolish game
She always seems to make me change my mind
And I feel fine anytime she's around me now
She's around me now
Almost all the time
And if I'm well you can tell she's been with me now
She's been with me now quite a long, long time
And I feel fine…
Jack’s heart soared, his joy permanently etched on his face, as he swayed side to side with Francesca in his arms. In his wildest dreams, he could have never hoped to have her here with him again like this.
He glanced down at the girl he’d loved since the first time he’d laid eyes on her, saw her eyes fluttered closed in blissful contentment, and brushed his lips across her brow as he whispered, “Fran, you know for me, it’s always you, right?”
He watched the corners of her mouth pull upward even further, and she tipped her face up to meet his.
“I hoped so,” she admitted roguishly. “Because for me, it’s always you, too.”
#the summer fic exchange 2k23#my writing#jack hughes#jack hughes fic#jack hughes fanfic#jack hughes fanfiction
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ANDREI SVECHNIKOV - HATE HATE HATE
This was written for @comphy-and-cozy apart of the summer fic exchange! I know it’s really short the next few chapters will have over 7000 words. I was rushing to get everything mapped out and I changed and rechanged so much shit! I restarted 5 times and I restarted like a week ago because nothing made sense, but now I have a whole plot mapped out and everything! There will be 10 chapters so no need to worry! This is more like a prologue! I promise! I decided to make it a readers pov however I’ll post many other povs in the behind the scenes readers name and stuff like that. Hopefully that makes sense! (It’s 1AM help me deal lord)
A big thank you for @wyattjohnston for letting me be apart of this and I’m so so sorry for delaying this for so much days. Holy crap! I promise I’ll get all the chapters out as soon as possible.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Word count: 1K
TW: reader gets drugged (that’s it nothing bad)
It was immediately obvious that you detested him after you had your first encounter with him. You felt frustrated by his arrogant and excessively confident demeanour. You were unable to comprehend how your brother Sebastian Aho initially connected with him. Both of them were interested in different things, with the exception of the fact that they were both on the Carolina Hurricanes and loved to play hockey.
You hated him or did you?
enemies to lovers + brothers best friend
If it wasn’t the sunlight waking you up it was your brother and his loud obnoxious friends over. Today was the same as every other day since their shouts were so loud that they resonated throughout the walls, and the buzzing of your alarm clock didn't help matters either.
“Wake up and come downstairs sleeping beauty” you heard your brother Sebastian call from all the way downstairs. All you could do was groan at the request. You didn't want to get out of bed, nor did you feel like getting out of it. Even if you didn't have to work today, all you intended to do was relax and take it easy.
You decided to listen to the voices downstairs and suddenly recognized a voice that you had never heard before. The voice had an accent that was anything but typical of someone from North America. It was abundantly evident that whoever it was, they were from Europe.
When you had been considering whether or not you should go downstairs, you heard some movement coming up the stairs.You believed it was your brother at first, but when a hand caressed your back, you were taken aback.
The voice asked, "What are you doing in the middle of the hallway, young one," as his touch was still lingering before it finally moved away from you.
"First of all, I'm not young, and second of all, who are you?" You shot back your response using the most condescending tone you were capable of producing.
"My name is Andrei. And yours? Actually you don’t need to say I already know it and regardless I’m just going to call you young one." When he had finally turned around to face you, he inquired.
There was no denying the fact that he had a stunning appearance. It was obvious that he was much taller than you, and his perfume smelled like a combination of apple cider and pumpkins. His accent did not help matters either; it just added to the hotness of him.
“Don’t call me that ever again." You responded back, clearly irritated by the way he called you young one. You weren’t young by any means and just because you lived with your brother doesn’t mean you were.
“Cool well I could careless what you have to say by the way your brother asked for you to come downstairs. I'll see you down there once you decide to stop staring at me.” Andrei said in a cocky voice which just made you even more irritated and mad. Who does he think he is calling you out like that.
“I wasn’t staring” You told him as he chuckled and turn away down the stairs. You heard him say “Sure sure sure.” Before his voice disappeared alongside many other voices in the house.
Your brother yelled at you as you made your way downstairs, telling you to come sit down and introduce yourself to the others.
“Come here and introduce yourself, these are my friends I train with.” It was said by your brother Sebastian.
You responded to the request by rolling your eyes.
You sat down on the sofa immediately crossing your legs and staring at the guy in front of you. The guy I you just had an interaction with the guy who called you “young one”
She shouldn't be sitting with us, she can't be more than 5 or something," Andrei said. Inquiring while casting a sideways glance at your brother, Sebastian then joined the others in what appeared to be a simultaneous fit of laughter.
You had no choice but to hurry back to your room because there was nothing else you could do. You weren’t going to sit there as he kept making fun of you/ if one thing wasn’t obvious is that you had a strong dislike for him.
It was unlike any other typical day that had come before. You happened to be invited to join the girls as they headed out to the club to celebrate Brianna's engagement.
You and your friends came to the conclusion that the best way to celebrate would be to first go to a pub and then go home.
You had a difficult time choosing between the dresses, but in the end, you went with the glittering silver dress that was covered with beads all over it and was only slightly shorter than the others.
You didn't give a second thought to whether or not it would be a good idea to wear it, particularly given the fact that you were a female in the company of a large number of other females; nonetheless, since you didn't even give it a second thought, you simply slipped it on and joined the girls in the car.
As soon as you arrived at the club and were able to enter, you made your way straight to the bar and placed an order with the bartender for several alcoholic beverages. You acknowledged their kindness and then turned to look for your friends, but on the way, you were unlucky enough to run into someone.
Their hands grasped your waist to prevent you from falling to the ground. Once you made it to your feet their hand didn’t leave yours.
“Woah watch where you're going young one.” The voice said. You didn’t even need to think twice who it was. You knew it was Andrei. The cocky European voice was a clear indicator.
“Are you following me or something? Are you obsessed?” You said as irritation ran through your veins. You detested his arrogant grin as well as how he spoke with utmost cockiness you’ve ever heard before.
He paid you no mind, instead emitting nothing more than a muffled murmur as he drank from his glass. You made the decision that you weren't going to let that dampen your spirits, and instead you were going to have the best night it was even possible for you to have. You set your drink down and proceeded straight to the dance floor after doing so.
You danced for a few minutes, then went back to your drink to have a few more sips of it before joining your friends for some more dancing.
You were immediately overcome with feelings of lightheadedness and dizziness upon dancing for quite some time, it was to the point where you found it difficult to stand. Your vision suddenly went black and you were sure that someone had caught you before it became completely dark.
…
#nhl hockey#hockey#nhl imagine#fluff#nhl#hockey imagine#nhl smut#hockey fluff#hockey smut#andrei svechnikov#andrei svechnikov fic#carolina hurricanes#sebastian aho#enemies to lovers#brothers best friend#the summer fic exchange 2k23
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i can still see it all | qh
a/n: this is my entry for @wyattjohnston summer fic exchange! @wildrangers this is for you love! i hope you love it <3 im so sorry it took me forever, i had covid and other life happenings that set me back. i picked daylight from the list of songs you gave me, and this was born. enjoy love 🩵
They say when you love someone, you’ll know. There will be a moment of realization, a sort of ‘ah’ moment. Quinn has never really had that. Sure, he’s dated girls and thrown out the L word a few times, but he wasn’t really sure he meant it. Obviously, he loves his mom, dad, and brothers. Love, to him, was all black and white. It was all good or all bad. But sometimes, when you’ve been asleep so long in a 20 year dark night, the scream of color can come along and change your life for the better. (Y/N) came into his life in the most obscure way possible. He met her at the bar 5 minutes after he was dumped by his ex. After she laughed in his face and told him she was, she bought him a drink. After that, he doesn’t know when or even how it happened. Suddenly she was in his life everyday, and his friends became hers. Jack and Luke took to her instantly, and his mom liked having another girl to talk to. The one thing he did know was that he fell in love with her. He was starting to understand that love wasn’t quite black and white, but it could be golden. She was his muse, the one thing that kept him going when he felt like stopping. Even if she didn’t know it.
Quinn was always working. It was no surprise, being an NHL star. Between games, practice, charity events, and just existing. It was exhausting sometimes. He loved it, and wouldn’t change it for the world, but sometimes he just needed a break. When summer first hit and he was still in Vancouver, sometimes he wouldn’t leave his apartment for days. He had to take a break, just to recharge his social battery. (Y/N) knew this. Which is why she came over to make sure he made an effort to eat and have some sort of human interaction.
Unlocking the door with bags in hand, (Y/N) stumbled into his apartment. Brock was away on vacation, so Quinn graciously offered to watch Milo and Coolie for a few days. She heard little footsteps running towards her and looked down to see a dog wagging its tail and smiling up at her. “Oh Milo,” She sighed. “What are we going to do with him?” She finished, glancing around the apartment. It was messy, she wouldn't lie. Quinn was a messy person even if he didn't seem like it. Figuring he was napping as he didn’t answer her texts, she began to clean up his kitchen a bit. As she scrubbed the counters of the residue from last night’s dinner, she glanced at the wall of photos diagonal to her point of view. The first one that caught her eye was a family photo from Quinn’s draft day, his crooked smile reflected on the faces of his family members as they surrounded him in his newly adorned Canucks jersey. To the right of that one, was one she took of him, Brock, and Petey at a family skate event a few years back. The last one to catch her eye was her favorite. It was of her and Quinn, taken last summer at the lake in Michigan. She was on his back, both their faces flushed with sun and noses scrunched up in laughter. To an outsider, they could easily be mistaken for a couple.
As she finished cleaning up, (Y/N) began to walk down the hallway, dog in tow and a bag of takeout in her hands. “Knock knock, I’m coming in whether you like it or not.” She exclaimed in a sing-song tone once she reached his room. She couldn’t see it, but Quinn smiled. He loved the sound of her voice.
“I knew you’d show up sooner or later.” He answered, standing up from his bed and grabbing a shirt from the floor.
“Well, I have to make sure you keep yourself alive, don’t I?” (Y/N) giggled. She looked as beautiful as she always did, her sweater falling off her shoulders and her ripped jean shorts hugging her curves in just the right way. Two long french braids fell just past her shoulders. Her tan sandals scraped gently across the floor. She didn't like to wear heels. “They make me feel like a skyscraper Quinn, I’m too damn tall for them.” She always says. Quinn didn't realize he was staring until she finally said something.
“Earth to Quinton. Hello?” She called to him, waving her hands in front of his face. “I’m sorry what, I keep getting lost in you.” Did I just say that out loud? Shit. He thought to himself.
“What?” (Y/N) replied, blushing.
“Nothing. Just forget I said anything.” Quinn said, rushing out of the room into the kitchen.
“Wait! Don’t lie to me Quinn, what did you mean when you said that?” she said, following him.
She wasn’t sure of what she heard when he said it. It gave her a sense of false hope when he said it. Sometimes she wanted to scream out how much she loved him, but was afraid he didn’t feel the way she did. This was one of those times where she thought it to be true that maybe, just maybe, he loved her back. If she was honest, she loved him from the moment she met him. He was an idiot, but a lovable one. She never understood how anyone could stand to break his heart, even on the night they first met. Love, to her, was something that she once believed to be burning red. It ignites a fire in your heart, body, and soul, and burns for that one person. When she met Quinn, she wanted him to be that person more than anything. As they grew closer, she realized he was. But the love she held for him wasn’t the one she always dreamed of. It was different. It shone a bright golden hue, and encapsulated everything about him. (Y/N) was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of Quinn’s voice.
“Can we please just forget that I said anything, (Y/N), please?” Quinn said, turning around to look at her. He began to walk away when she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards her. Looking up at him, she said softly, “I see the way you look at me when you think I’m not looking. You look at me like I’m the only other person on this earth. Don’t you realize that I look at you the same way too?” Quinn was processing what she just said to him, his heart beating a mile a minute. He glanced at their hands intertwined at the side. Neither of them let go. Finally he gained the courage to say something back.
Looking into her eyes, he confessed to her. “I think I’m in love with you and that scares me half to death. No, scratch that, I know I’m in love with you. I’ve been in love with you ever since the day I met you. I don’t want to look at anything else now that I saw you.” She didn’t say anything back. She wrapped her free hand around his neck and pulled his face down to her height and kissed him. It was exactly the way they both pictured it would be like. They kissed lasted for what seemed like an eternity, until they finally broke apart.
Their heads were pressed against each other, just looking into each other's eyes. (Y/N) was the first one to speak. “I’m yours.” That was all she needed to say for Quinn to know that she loved him too. And while he was sure of it, there was a part of him that hesitated.
“Are you sure about this? Like, are you sure about me?” He wondered aloud.
(Y/N) stared at him, confused. “I just confessed my love for you in the cheesiest and most embarrassing way possible and you’re asking me if I’m sure? Quinn, I know you’re not that dumb.”
Quinn laughed. “No, it’s just like, I know you love me. And I love you too, but like, I don’t want to fuck this up. I’m not really good at this kind of stuff” he confessed, not making eye contact with her out of embarrassment.
(Y/N) put her finger under his chin and pushed it up. “Hey, look at me. It’s me you’re talking to. You don’t have to try with me. Just being the way you are is enough. Love is weird. But the best part is when you get to love your best friend. And that’s us. You’ve just got to step into the daylight, you know? Let it all go. We can figure the rest out on our own. Just let it go.”
Quinn kissed her again. As he was getting older, he wanted to be defined by the things he loved. And he loved (Y/N). She’s his daylight, afterall.
tagging: @2manytabsopen @lam-ila @laurenairay @comphy-and-cozy @comphyjost @smileysvech @tinyhockey @prettytoxicrevolver @hotanddistraught
#emmie writes#quinn hughes#quinn hughes fic#summer fic exchange 2k23#summer fic exchange 2023#quinn hughes x reader#quinn hughes imagine#jack hughes#nhl imagine#nhl fic#hockey imagine
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taking on the world together - J. Oettinger
Summary: Gracelyn didn't realise how much of Boston she associated with Jake Oettinger until he was gone.
Warnings; light angst, fluff, friends to lovers, slow burn, ignoring the existence of COVID-19 to fudge the timelines, college years, one incident of mild harassment, some bad language.
Words: 11.4k
A/N: jumping in as a pinch hitter for @wyattjohnston’s summer fic exchange 2023! Writing for @jarmorie - I really hope you like this and I really hope I hit all your prompts! Spreading the Otter love as he deserves 💛 I was listening to this song and immediately got so inspired.
Tagging some fellow Otter fans: @senditcolton @extratragic @texanstarslove
Inspiration (and title) from Mine, by Taylor Swift
~~~
I was a flight risk, with a fear of falling,
Wondering why we bother with love, if it never lasts.
~~~
September 2016.
Gracelyn Davis had never left Fayetteville, West Virginia before. At least, not before her father drove her across the country to Boston University like he had done over the past two days. Her mother had decided being in the car for that long with them ‘wasn’t for her’, and considering her father was a man of very few words, the 12 hours, spread over two days with a sleep stop in the middle, had been spent split between rereading one of her favourite books and watching the world go by out the window.
It was a quiet ride. Gracelyn was used to it.
Butterflies filled her stomach as they pulled into campus parking, the crowds of people almost overwhelming. They weren’t even in the heart of the city and already this was the busiest place she’d ever seen. Gracelyn matched her father’s silence as they unloaded the car, using the offered hand trolley to help with her boxes, her father pushing those with her duvet and pillows piled on top while Gracelyn pulled two suitcases and a large duffel bag. It didn’t take long to get herself all signed in, and once they’d piled all her belongings in the empty dorm room, she knew it was time.
With a brief hug and a ‘do your best’, her father left. She hadn’t really expected much more. Even the fact that she’d finally left her small town was more than she could ever have dreamed of.
“Whoo! Go Terriers!”
Gracelyn watched out the third storey window as small parade of energetic people dressed in red, white, and black jogged past her building, smiling to herself at the cheerful chaos. This was nothing like Fayetteville. She loved it already.
“Hey roomie!”
Gracelyn turned around sharply, hand to heart in surprise at the voice in the doorway. The campus had assigned housing to all freshman who’d applied, and she’d been put in contact with a ‘Madison’ to get to know each other. All she really knew was that Madison had blonde hair, came from Queens, New York, and was going to be studying Digital Marketing. That, and she had very strong opinions on everything from Taylor Swift to correct recycling methods to sheet thread count. Blonde, tanned, perfect white smile, and all the confidence of a city-kid that Gracelyn didn’t have.
“Oops, didn’t mean to startle you. It’s nice to meet you, Gracelyn,” she grinned.
At least she was friendly too.
“Nice to meet you too, Madison. I prefer Gracie,” Gracelyn said, smiling shyly.
“Gracie it is! And please, call me Maddie. We’re going to be the best of friends. I can already tell,” she grinned, throwing her blonde hair up in a bun. “Do you mind if I put on some music while we unpack?”
~~~
May 2020.
How time had flown by. As Gracelyn pulled out the first of her cardboard boxes to at least attempt to start packing up her half of the dorm room, memories flooded in. Maddie hadn’t been wrong – they really had become the best of friends over the past four years, forming a wider group of six of them in total. Herself, Maddie, Luisa, Jenny, Chanel, and Daisy, all girls scattered across their original freshman dorm building floor, all of them forming bonds that stuck with them over the past four years.
Each of their had majored in a different subject, each other them came from different states, but each of them had been the loyal, sweet, kind friends that Gracelyn had always hoped for, so she knew that even though their time at college together had officially come to an end, she wouldn’t be losing these friendships any time soon.
Late night study sessions, movie nights, sleepovers, makeovers, campus concerts, dinners out – all of these memories scattered across polaroid photos, Instagram accounts and genuine memories. All of the things that Gracelyn was going to miss so terribly.
She was even going to miss the parties, the wild nights out that were so often accompanied by singing at the top of their lungs, dancing until their feet ached, and nasty mornings after.
Speaking of parties, Maddie wasn’t the only person who Gracelyn met in her first week in Boston who turned her life upside down.
~~~
September 2016.
“Are you sure I look okay?”
Maddie gave her an incredulous look. “Gracie baby, you have the best ass in our group, of course you look okay. You look stunning, own it.”
Gracelyn blushed heavily, shaking her head with a laugh. The two of them had made quick friends with a few girls down the hallway, and somehow they’d all persuaded Gracelyn to go out to a party tonight. Her first proper college party. Her first proper party in general, if she was being honest.
“You know what I mean. I’ve never…you know I’m not a party girl,” she sighed.
“I’m not a party party girl either. I’m a hang out with my friends kind of girl, with music, and drink we shouldn’t have access to, and we’re going to dance and sing and have fun, okay? If there happen to be cute boys there who stare at your incredible ass, then so be it,” Maddie grinned.
The confidence of this girl was incredible. No-one had ever boosted Gracelyn up like she did either.
“It’s not too much?”
Gracelyn looked back at herself in the full-length mirror that Maddie had brought with her, checking out the deep-red tight dress that clung to her every curve, borrowed from their friend Chanel. If her mother could see her now, she’d have a conniption. Then again…maybe that was a good thing. The Gracelyn Davis of Fayetteville would never have showed off her body like this – yeah, maybe she had a slight pouch on her belly, and maybe her thighs didn’t have a gap, and maybe ass was a bit more of a bubble than she would like…but maybe for the Gracelyn Davis of Boston that was a good thing.
“It’s definitely not too much. How about you throw a leather jacket over the top and wear those comfy black ankle boots, hm? That way it’s not over the top, but still dressy, hm?” Maddie suggested, unwinding her final blonde curl from her curling wand.
That…that was a good suggestion. Thank god for Maddie.
“That sounds good to me,” Gracelyn said shyly.
“Atta girl,” Maddie grinned, “Now help me pick which lipgloss says try anything and I’ll bite.”
Four lip gloss swatches later and the two of them had headed out of their dorm room, Maddie knocking on their friends’ doors until the six of them were on their way to the alleged party, wherever that was.
“Now remember, the hockey guys are all mostly a bit dumb and will probably get a little handsy after a few hours of drinking, so don’t feel like you can’t loudly tell them no. If you’re feeling uncomfortable, stay with a group of us girls, yeah? I’ve heard most of the team are harmless, but there’s bound to be a bad apple or two in the bunch,” Daisy said, rolling her eyes.
Brilliant. That didn’t settle Gracelyn’s nerves at all. Girl time it was.
“How did you find out about the Terriers party anyway Daisy-boo?” Maddie asked, looping her arm through Gracelyn’s.
She clung on with gratitude.
“Eh, this Sophomore was trying to impress the new freshman players – I said I’d think about turning up with a few friends,” Daisy said coolly, her smile sharp.
Again, the confidence. Incredible.
“Treat ‘em mean, I like it,” Jenny snickered.
“He was harmless enough. Sounded like a good excuse for a party anyway, and the upperclassmen are providing booze with the caveat that no-one underage gets super wasted, so I figured why not have our first party in style, right?” Daisy shrugged.
As the rest of the girls sounded their agreement, Gracelyn tried to relax. She knew that her friends wouldn’t let anything happen to her. They already had a game plan for if any of them felt uncomfortable. She didn’t have to drink anything more than what she actually wanted to. She could do this, right?
“Here we are!”
Daisy’s voice broke her out of her thoughts, turning her attention to a large house that already had red solo cups scattered across the lawn and loud music blasting. Maddie squeezed her arm, dropping it so their hands were linked, the other girls pairing off in twos too, making sure that none of them got separated while they wound their way through the crowd. Gracelyn tried not to get overwhelmed at the sheer number of people squeezed into the main living area, managing to smile as Daisy waved flirtatiously at a guy she could only imagine was the Unfortunate Sophomore.
“Let’s get some drinks!” Jenny said loudly, earning cheers from around them.
Gracelyn just stayed silent as beers were passed around, Maddie just winking at her. This was it. This was her first college party. This was her first college beer. She was finally here. She’d made it. So she took a big swig, letting the cool cheap alcohol run down her throat, Maddie just whooping before doing the same with her own drink.
Time seemed to blur together after that. Not in a drunk way, but in a way that everything was so new, so overwhelming, that Gracelyn just let it wash over her. She was trying to follow Maddie’s lead, going with the flow as her New York roommate would say, so by the time she’d finished her third beer, Gracelyn was more than ready for a glass of water and a breather.
Thankfully, Maddie and Daisy had been roped into playing beer pong, which was outside on the back porch, so while the other girls grabbed more beer, Gracelyn grabbed a bottle of water and hopped up on the porch railing to watch. Despite Maddie being eagle-eyed, Daisy was swaying a bit, so this would be interesting.
“Hey, is this space taken?”
Gracelyn turned her head to the sound of the voice, not sure if it was being directed at her or not, only to come face to face with the cutest guy she’d ever seen. Tall – at least 6ft 4, if not 6ft 5 – with broad shoulders, messy dark hair and a sweet smile. Pretty eyes too. He was talking to her?
“Uh, no, go for it. I’m just watching my friends about to play,” she said, jerking her head in the beer pong table’s direction.
“Ah, yeah some of my teammates are about to face them. The blonde girl looks dangerous,” he mused, leaning against the railing himself in the space to her left.
“Oh you have no idea,” Gracelyn grinned, making him laugh.
Actual natural human interaction with a cute guy. Wow.
“I’m Jake,” he said, holding out his hand.
He immediately looked embarrassed at himself for holding out his hand, but the fact that he didn’t backtrack made her smile.
“I’m Gracelyn. Or Gracie, to my friends,” she said, shaking his hand.
“Nice to meet you Gracie,” he said, smiling.
Bold. She liked it.
“Not much of a drinker?” he asked.
She frowned until he shook his own cup and looked down at her water bottle, and immediately her cheeks flushed. Was he making fun of her?
“Um, I…”
She trailed off, before clearing her throat. No damn it, she was Gracelyn Davis of Boston now.
“I already had three cups of beer and I didn’t party back home, so I’m trying to pace myself. A little lame maybe but it’s literally first week of freshman year so…” she said, shrugging.
“I feel that,” the guy…Jake nodded, smiling still, “And it’s not lame. It’s my first week of freshman year too and I know that the freshmen will be clearing up tomorrow morning, so I don’t want to be horrendous after my first team party.”
He was a freshman too? Built like that? And he was a hockey player? Damn, what was he doing talking to her?
“Ouch, I’m sorry you have to clean up,” she said, grimacing as right-on-cue someone threw up over the porch railing a little ways down from them.
Jake grimaced himself, before shaking his head. “It’ll be worth it to play on the team.”
“Go Terriers?” she offered.
Jake just laughed, throwing his head back. Damn. Damn he looked so good.
“Alright boys, you’re going down!” Maddie said loudly.
The crowd cheered and whooped, Gracelyn and Jake included. Daisy took her first throw, immediately sinking the ball into a cup, clearly more sober than she looked. What a hustler - this was going to be a messy one. The freshman hockey player groaned but laughed, drinking the beer in the targeted cup down in one go, earning more cheers for himself.
“I have a feeling we’re going to be seeing more of each other, Gracie,” Jake said, smiling wide.
For some reason, she had a feeling that he was right.
~~~
May 2020.
Yeah, Jake was…Jake was different. Right from that first night, that first meeting, the two of them had stayed in touch, slowly becoming friends through texting as well as more hockey team parties. Maddie and their friends always dragged her along to any party at the hockey house, especially when Daisy started hooking up with the Unfortunate Sophomore, and the more she went to, the more she actually looked forward to them, mainly because at some point in the evening Jake would find her and the rest was history.
He wasn’t a rowdy dumbass like the other college players he lived with. Sure, she was cautious, a little introverted, always hesitant, but Jake was sweet and kind and patient, and never pushed her more than she was socially capable of in the moment. Maybe it helped that he was a goaltender – which she’d found out the second time she met him because someone dared him to show off his box splits and he did so without hesitation – because he was so different to all his friends, but she liked it.
She liked him.
He was a little more focused, more responsible maybe for his age, but still encouraged her to come out of her shell. Over those first few months, she found herself slipping out of her old social binds of Gracelyn Davis from Fayetteville and into her new self of Gracelyn Davis of Boston, and so much of it was because of him.
That’s why it hurt so much still, when everything changed.
There were so many memories of their friendship over the years, entwined with those memories of Gracelyn and her girlfriends, more than she dared to think about while she attempted to make a start on packing up her college life. She still had over a week left on campus, until after commencement weekend, but that didn’t mean she could put everything off until last minute. That just wasn’t the way her brain worked.
She could at least make a start on closing this chapter of her life.
But in the first shoebox she moved off of one of her shelves, she found a couple dozen polaroids, all ones she’d taken off being pinned on her noticeboard in Junior year – all ones of her and Jake. All photos of memories that made her heart ache all over again, flashing across her mind as she continued to look through them one by one.
~~~
November 2016.
“Hey, do you want to take a walk?”
Gracelyn looked up from her notebook, seeing Jake standing in the doorway of her dorm room.
“How did you get up here?” she asked, placing her pen and paper to the side with a smile.
“I bumped into Chanel and Luisa on the way through,” he shrugged, “They said you’ve been studying in here since your last class ended, and, uh, encouraged me to do something to change that.”
Yeah that sounded like Chanel and Luisa. Meddlers. Her friends weren’t wrong though – she really had been studying in her room since her last class ended, knowing that Maddie was still out in a class of her own and there was a movie night on campus later, so she wanted to get ahead of herself. It was only month three of freshman year after all – she couldn’t afford to get behind yet.
Still…a small break couldn’t hurt right?
“You want to go for a walk?” she mused.
“Yeah, it’s not snowing out so I thought it might be nice?” he said, smiling shyly.
Oh what a sweetheart. In what world would she say no to that?
“And you’re asking little old me?” she grinned, kicking off her slippers.
“You’re one of my best friends Gracie, you know that. And you’re definitely the only sane one,” he said, shrugging with a smile.
Well that much was true.
“I’m in,” she laughed.
It didn’t take her long to slip into more appropriate boots for the weather, as well as a thick coat, knitted hat and gloves to help out with the cold, and soon enough the two of them were walking out of campus along the Charles River.
“So what’s really going on?” Gracelyn asked, when the crowds around them had thinned out to only a couple of people.
Jake opened his mouth to protest, before closing it again with a huffed laugh. “You can read me that easily, huh?”
“You’ve got a pretty expressive face,” she shrugged, although made sure to smile so he knew she didn’t mean it as a bad thing, “And you’ve never wanted to just go on a walk before. Not that I mind, obviously – it’s always good to get fresh air and you know I like hanging out with you – I just hope that nothing bad has happened?”
He quickly shook his head but then grimaced, wiggling his hand to indicate it was something so-so. Hm. This was going to take more than their usual casual talking, she could tell.
“Do you want to grab a coffee and find somewhere to sit?” she suggested.
“Sure.”
It didn’t take long to pick up a couple of lattes each, and even less time to find an isolated snow-free stone bench to sit on, not far from the Hatch Shell, and by that point Jake looked a little less tense.
“Thank you, Gracie,” he murmured.
“For what?” she asked, confused, “we haven’t even started talking properly yet.”
“You’re giving me the chance to get something off my chest that I haven’t been able to bring up to anyone else. Or that I feel I can bring up to anyone else. I appreciate it, that’s all,” Jake shrugged, taking a sip of his drink.
“Well now I’m worried,” she said, trying to make it a joke to hide her true concern.
What was wrong with him? Was he sick? He couldn’t be failing any classes, right?
She waited in silence for him to gather his thoughts, taking in the sight of the river slowly flowing by, until Jake finally cleared his throat.
“There’s been scouts coming to hockey games. NHL scouts, for me, following on from my time in the NTDP,” he said softly.
“Okay. Okay, that’s a good thing, right?” she said, frowning slightly.
She may not know much about ice hockey or the NHL or the NTDP, but she did know how important it all was to Jake. So what was the issue?
“I guess? But…it’s also so much pressure.”
Oh.
Oh.
Oh bless his heart.
“I can understand that. That does sound like a lot of pressure. What exactly is worrying you about it?” she asked.
The more she understood, the more she could help, right?
Jake let out a shaky breath, looking down at his hands for a moment, before lifting his head to look out over the river in front of them.
“I’m nervous. Playing in the NHL…it’s all I’ve ever wanted. And it’s so hard to even be considered as a goaltender in the big leagues so the fact that they’re looking at me? Assessing me? It’s a lot,” he explained, voice quiet, “And it’s not like I can even talk to the rest of the team about how nervous it makes me either.”
Because so many of the guys won’t get a shot in the NHL like the scouts are considering for him.
Oh this sweet hearted boy.
What really made her sad though was the look of hesitance tainted with self-deprecation in his eyes. He didn’t deserve to look or feel like that, not ever.
“Hey, Jake, will you look at me?” Gracelyn asked.
It took a couple of seconds but he eventually did, emotion splashed all over his face.
“I know it’s scary. And I know it makes you nervous. This is your dream, and you’re pouring your whole self into it. But, Jake, these scouts wouldn’t be coming if you weren’t already proving how good you were, right?”
“I mean…”
He trailed off, wiggling his hand so-so again, making her shake her head.
“I mean it, Jake. If there wasn’t something in your gameplay that they liked, they wouldn’t be coming to see you. Just show them what you’ve got. You don’t have to be anyone other than yourself, okay? You’re Jake Oettinger, badass Terrier and incredible goaltender, and there’s nothing you can’t do,” she said firmly.
Jake choked out a laugh, hanging his head briefly before looking back at her. She chose to ignore the way his eyes were shining slightly.
“How do you always know exactly what to say?” he murmured.
Gracelyn just smiled, a light blush dusting her cheeks. “Well I don’t know about that…but I’m always here for you, whenever you need me.”
“So all I need to do to get your undivided attention is to text you, meet you at our spot?” he grinned.
Her blush deepened, traitorous butterflies filling her stomach.
“This is our spot?” she said, voice far breathier than she cared to admit.
“It is now,” he shrugged, “just you and me.”
Well damn, she liked the sound of that. Did he even know how that came across? What it implied?
“Alright, deal,” she nodded, trying to keep her cool.
“Besides, I can’t have you sharing your wisdom with everyone, right? Gotta keep some of that good magic all for myself. God knows I need all the help I can get. You don’t mind, right?” he grinned.
She couldn’t stop the laugh that burst from her chest, her head tilting back as it rang out loud and clear. His teasing request was more than a little shameless – with anyone else she would’ve been put off by the audacity, but with Jake? It was just charming, endearing her to him more than ever. When she’d finally composed herself, Jake had a slightly stunned look on his face – probably from the vivacity of her laughter – so she just smiled widely at him. How could she not?
“You truly are one of a kind, Jake Oettinger,” she giggled, finishing the last of her coffee.
“I’m going to take that as a compliment,” he said, giving a little shrug as he grinned.
Like she could ever insult him.
“We should take a photo,” Jake said suddenly, digging in his coat pocket.
“What?”
“To keep this memory, of finding ‘our’ place. Of you giving me the advice I needed. Of me making you laugh like that for the first time,” Jake explained, making her smile at his enthusiastic listing, “one of the guys bought a bunch of cheap polaroid cameras at the weekend and I still have one in my pocket.”
“Well in that case…” she teased.
Jake just laughed, throwing an arm around her shoulder, guiding her to lean into his body. Gracelyn just tilted her knitted hat-covered head to rest against his and threw up a peace sign, smiling widely as Jake raised the camera in his hand. FLASH. She blinked a couple of times, listening to the camera whirring, but smiled softly to herself as Jake kept his arm around her. She appreciated the warmth from his body, if nothing else. With his free hand, he dropped the camera in his lap and pulled free the developing polaroid, shaking it a few times until the picture started to become clearer.
“Oh yeah, that’s a good one,” Jake said happily, handing it over for her to see.
Gracelyn felt her breath hitch in her chest as she looked at their photo. Their matching wide smiles alone showed her exactly how happy he’d been in that moment, but the fact that it was with her? That was everything. She didn’t even know what to say.
“I love it,” she eventually managed to murmur.
“Then it’s all yours,” Jake said simply.
“What? No, it’s your camera,” she said, shaking her head.
But Jake just squeezed her shoulder, nudging her with his chest. “I insist. We’ll have years yet to take more photos together.”
She could only hope. Gracelyn just nodded silently, sliding the photo into her pocket with a grateful smile, leaning back into his chest as he put the camera back into his pocket without moving his arm from round her shoulders still. As her heart started beating all that little bit faster, she knew she was in trouble. She may not be particularly experienced in the nature of romance, but she knew from friends, old and new, what it was like to get a crush on someone.
How could she not start falling for him in this exact moment?
Gracelyn had always promised herself to keep her guard up, especially around her heart. Her parents’ relationship was toxic enough, their marriage fuelled by arguments and spite and cold disdain, and she’d always sworn to herself that she would never end up like them. There was a reason why she had no intention of going back home for Thanksgiving or the Christmas break. But being here with Jake right now? Tucked under his arm with him holding her against his chest after all those sweet words? It was dangerous, for her emotions and her resolve.
If she didn’t get this under control soon, there was no telling the damage this crush could do.
~~~
June 2017.
Gracelyn had been dreading June 23rd ever since she learned how significant the day was. Significant to Jake, anyway. Today was the first day of the 2017 NHL draft, and she already knew that Jake was predicted to go decently high in the first round – Gracelyn Davis of Fayetteville hadn’t a clue about any of this but Gracelyn Davis of Boston now knew all too much – so she could only imagine how stressed he was today already. Over the rest of freshman year, she’d gotten more and more into watching hockey, mainly because of Jake asking her to come to games as his ‘good luck charm’, so she knew that scouts had been following him for quite some time still. Spending so much time with him this year – including studying, brunches, parties, and campus events, on top of all the games she’d gone to – hadn’t lessened her crush in the slightest, but things were definitely much more manageable. She knew what she could and couldn’t handle, and it helped that she knew Jake had no idea how she felt either, so their friendship had only gone from strength to strength.
Today could change everything. She didn’t know if she was ready for that.
While Jake and his family were in Chicago ready for the draft day, Gracelyn was at her summer job – administration at the West Virginia Science Adventures summer day camps, right there in Fayetteville. She worked 9-4 every day, helping to make sure that everything ran smoothly, and it meant that she was out of her house essentially all day, which could only ever be a good thing. That, and it also allowed her to surreptitiously listen to the broadcast of Jake’s draft day while she was typing up the stock request forms that her supervisor needed from her.
She took her time typing, making sure everything was meticulous while she listened to the draft picks start getting called.
And then came the 26th pick, from the Dallas Stars.
“From Boston University, Jake Oettinger.”
There it was. He’d done it! The first goalie of the 2017 draft was picked, and it was him! She couldn’t stop the happy squeal that left her lips, glad that no-one else was in the office cabin right now, especially since she couldn’t help the stupid smile on her face or the tears in her eyes.
Jake had been drafted to the NHL, just as he’d always dreamed. It was everything he’d ever wanted, and he deserved it so much, and even though she knew it meant he was leaving her behind, how could she not be proud of him?
To: Jake
From: Gracelyn
You did it! Congratulations!
I’m so proud of you!
I told you that everything would pay off!
I know you’re busy so don’t worry about texting back.
But just know that I am so so happy for you, okay?
Speak to you later ❤️
With a breathy laugh, she put her phone down, exiting out of her messages and turning off the broadcast. She didn’t care what else happened in the draft – she only cared about Jake. Now that was done, she could get on with her job without feeling guilty, even if the buzzing in her veins kept that smile on her face for the rest of her day.
It wasn’t until Gracelyn was home that she got a message back from Jake, after she’d cooked and eaten dinner by herself and was relaxing with a book in her bedroom.
To: Gracelyn
From: Jake
Thank you so much Gracie.
I don’t think I’ve stopped smiling.
This is crazy. I actually got drafted.
The Stars drafted me!
I’m still committing to BU, for more development, but I can’t believe they want me!
Gracelyn frowned slightly at the reply from Jake, confused. He wasn’t going straight to Dallas? He was staying in Boston? Why?
To: Jake
From: Gracelyn
I thought you wanted to jump right into the NHL?
That’s the dream right?
Don’t get me wrong, I will miss you.
But this is your dream?
Gracelyn chewed her bottom lip while she waited for him to reply, rereading over the same few pages until her phone buzzed a few more times. She felt so stupid for the way her heart was beating like crazy…but this was important. This was Jake.
To: Gracelyn
From: Jake
Oh you’re not getting rid of me that easily, Gracie Davis.
This is definitely the right thing for me right now, and I know the Stars will understand.
Boston is still where I need to be right now, so you’ll see me in September! ❤️
Well if that was what he wanted, she wasn’t going to complain. Still, it would only be a matter of time before Jake took his dream in both hands and leapt for it, so she would have to make the most of the time she had with him. That was all she could hope for, right?
~~~
September 2017.
“See, I told you I’d come back.”
Gracelyn jumped at the familiar deep voice, her friends just cackling at her reaction to Jake silently creeping up behind her, but she found herself smiling at him as she turned around to face him properly.
“One of these days you’re going to give me a heart attack with this sneaking up behind me,” she mused, hands on hips.
“Well we wouldn’t want that, would we?” Jake grinned.
With that, he slung his arm around her shoulder, tugging her into a hug which she returned happily, hiding her blushing face in his chest slightly before pulling away. Jake didn’t drop his arm from over her shoulders though, making Maddie smirk at her, and Gracelyn could only be grateful that Jake seemed not to notice.
“Alright superstar, let’s get some food,” Gracelyn said, sighing dramatically.
“I missed you too, Gracelyn Davis,” Jake laughed.
I missed you more, Jake Oettinger.
“WELCOME BACK PARTY AT THE HOCKEY HOUSE!”
The crowd around them whooped, Luisa and Daisy looking particularly happy about the potential frivolity, whereas Gracelyn just smiled at the interruption.
“You and Maddie are still rooming together this year, right?” Jake murmured, leaning down so only she could hear him among the ruckus.
He remembered them talking about that?
It was true though – Gracelyn and all her friends had decided to move out of freshman dorms and get neighbouring apartments in the dorm buildings available for Sophomore students. Maddie and Gracelyn had decided to stay sharing a dorm, whereas Luisa and Daisy were roommates now, as were Chanel and Jenny. It was an arrangement that worked perfectly for them, and she couldn’t wait to actually have all of her friends living together.
“Yeah we are, why?” she said softly in return.
“Well I know that you’ll definitely be coming to the party if your girls are there to persuade you,” Jake teased.
She rolled her eyes playfully. “I would’ve come anyway.”
“You would?” Jake asked, surprised.
There were so many things she could’ve said in that moment, both innocent and incriminating, but in the end she chose just to shrug. It was the safest option.
“Food! Let’s go!” Maddie said cheerfully.
As her roommate linked their arms together, Jake’s arm slipped off her shoulders, making Gracelyn look up at him properly. “Are you coming, Jake?”
“Yeah, of course,” he said, nodding quickly.
After eating lunch and hanging out for a few hours, Jake and some of his lingering friends went back to the team house to set up for the party, leaving Gracelyn and her friends to get ready. Just like freshman year, their first party of Sophomore year was going to be at the hockey house, so they spent their time getting all dressed up in pretty eye-catching dresses (with a little pregaming, thanks to the stock they’d all brought along from home), and by the time they arrived at the hockey team house the party was in full swing.
Gracelyn spotted Jake easily, and he waved enthusiastically at her from across the room, making her friends laugh and pull her into the kitchen to get drinks of their own. Over the next few hours, Gracelyn and her friends alternated between drinking in the kitchen and dancing on the make-shift living room dancefloor, celebrating the return to college and the start of the new school year. It was everything she’d missed about Boston, having fun with her friends, finally feeling like she was back where she belonged.
Soon enough though, Gracelyn needed to make a trip to the bathroom, leaving her friends where they were in the kitchen and heading upstairs to the nicer of the bathrooms that Jake had always let her use. But on her return trip downstairs, her path was blocked in the front corridor, by a guy she didn’t recognise. He was taller than her, bigger than her, and much drunker than her – she could smell the beer on his breath from a few feet away but even more so as he stepped even closer.
“Well hello. I haven’t seen you around before,” he drawled.
What the hell?
“I’m a sophomore. I’m not new,” she frowned, confused.
“Shh, sweetheart, don’t talk so much. Why don’t we get to know each other a little better, hm? That ass of yours? Damn.”
What the actual fuck.
“Don’t talk to me like that. I’m not interested,” Gracie said shortly.
“Don’t be like that baby, I’m a real nice guy,” he grinned.
The sleaze dripped off of his words like oil, making her recoil, but it was as she moved to step around him that he grabbed her arm, holding her in place. Fuck. Oh fuck.
“Let’s try again, hm?”
“No,” she said shakily.
“No-one says no to me. You should be nicer to guys that show you interest, you know.”
Gracelyn just froze in place, mind blank and body stiff. This had never happened before, being confronted like this, and it didn’t matter how much advice she’d been given over the years, it all had flown away in the moment.
She took a deep breath, ready to yell out for help, when a familiar large body appeared by her side. Jake. She felt like crying in relief, even more so as her friend easily knocked the drunk guy’s hand off her arm.
“She’s not interested. Move on, bud,” Jake said firmly, stepping up close, making the guy look up at him with a glare.
“Back off man, I was here first,” the creep slurred.
What the actual fuck. She wasn’t prize cattle at an auction.
“I said no,” Gracelyn repeated.
With her desperate glance up at him, Jake clenched his jaw and his fists, drawing himself up to his full height as he pushed himself between Gracelyn and the creep.
“Last chance. Fuck off,” Jake said angrily.
It was all she could do to clutch at the back of his tshirt, hands shaking and heart racing.
“Whatever man, she’s ugly anyway,” the guy scowled.
She inhaled sharply as a pang of hurt ran through her chest, only to gasp out louder as Jake lurched forward, pinning the guy to the opposite wall with his forearm across his throat.
“Apologise, asshole. You’re not worth the air she breathes,” Jake all but growled.
The creep choked a little, trying to get Jake’s arm off him, and it was only then that Gracelyn noticed the crowd that was starting to form around them.
“Hey, Jake, he isn’t worth it. Don’t get in trouble because of this scumbag,” she pleaded, resting her hand on his shoulder.
Jake looked down at her with pursed lips, waited a beat or two, before nodding. She let out a shaky breath as Jake shoved the guy into the wall one last time before stepping backwards, still standing himself in front of her.
“Stay away from her, you hear me?” Jake demanded.
“Whatever freak,” the guy muttered, storming off.
Jake’s frame tensed but Gracelyn just reached for his forearm, desperate for Jake not to follow after him. The last thing she wanted was for her friend to get into a fight because of her. The creep wasn’t worth it. She wasn’t worth it.
“What was that all about?”
Jake turned around to see his captain frowning behind them as the crowd dispersed, and scowled again.
“That guy wouldn’t leave Gracie alone when she told him no. Was making her uncomfortable, a real fucking creep,” Jake muttered, clenching his hands for a moment again.
“Oh shit, for real? Damn, Gracelyn, sorry about that. I’ll make sure he’s kicked out,” Jake’s captain frowned.
What?
But before she could voice her confusion, the Senior walked off, leaving Gracelyn and Jake alone.
“He’s got a no tolerance policy for sexual harassment,” Jake murmured.
Well…that explained a few things. But still…
“Are you okay?” he asked softly.
“I think so? I just…I froze. Everything about that guy screamed at me to run away and all I could do was freeze,” she sighed, running a shaky hand through her hair, “I feel so stupid.”
“Hey, no, it’s okay. So not stupid at all. I hate that you ever experienced this at all, you know? You should never…”
She could see his anger rising again and did the only thing she could think of. She quickly wrapped her arms around his waist in a hug, burying her face in his shirt, just letting herself breathe and willing him to calm his anger back down. Jake froze briefly in surprise before quickly hugging her back, clutching at her firmer than she’d anticipated.
“Thank you, Jake. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you weren’t there,” she murmured.
Jake stiffened at her words before nodding, squeezing her body before letting go to look down at her properly.
“I’m glad we never have to find out what could’ve happened. I’m pretty sure you would’ve snapped and decked him, Gracie Davis, just as he deserved, but I’m glad I could at least help,” Jake said firmly.
She laughed softly but shrugged. “You did more than help. Superstar and knight in shining armour? I’m glad you’re in my life hey?”
Jake huffed out a laugh and slung his arm over her shoulder as usual, guiding them both into the kitchen towards the beer keg.
“I told you you’re not getting rid of me that easily. I meant it,” he said, smiling sweetly down at her, “So let’s get back to the party as it should be, yeah?”
“Yeah, I’d like that. I think Maddie’s about to kick some ass in beer pong if you wanted to watch?” she mused.
“Just like when we met a year ago. Perfect,” Jake grinned.
~~~
March 2019.
Jake didn’t leave for Texas in Sophomore year. Didn’t sign an entry level contact, didn’t leave Boston, didn’t leave the Terriers. Didn’t leave Gracelyn. All throughout the school year, they only got closer and closer, somehow spending even more time together than they did previously – any time that Gracelyn wasn’t with her friends or studying (and even then, sometimes she was studying with Jake), the two of them could usually be found together. It seemed like the welcome back party of Sophomore year triggered something protective in Jake, and he always made sure that she was okay wherever they went, even to the point of scaring off guys regardless of whether they were being creeps or not. Her friends – especially Maddie – called Jake a cockblock, but it wasn’t like Gracelyn protested at all. Her crush on Jake hadn't lessened at all, so why would she be interested in other guys? Especially if Jake wanted to be by her side.
He was always her partner in study groups, in beer pong, in video games, and he always sat next to her when they went out for food, to the movies, to campus events. She was even pretty sure that some of the freshmen on his team thought they were actually dating, considering how often they asked her where he was if they couldn’t find him.
As she said, she wasn’t going to complain. She had Jake in her life in ways that she never could’ve hoped for – and the longer he didn’t leave Boston to sign a contract with the Stars, the more her confidence built, waiting for a moment when she felt sure enough to actually tell him how she felt. It was a lofty goal, but each day that passed, she got a little closer.
When Jake was named an alternate captain prior to the 2018-2019 season, her hope soared.
Throughout the start of Junior year, Jake’s responsibilities to the team kept him longer at practices, longer in team meetings, but that didn’t mean he didn’t put in the extra effort with Gracelyn still, even going as far as to stay behind in Boston with her for Thanksgiving to spend that time together that they hadn’t really been able to. Her friends all thought she was nuts for not just confessing, but she was still too scared. So scared to lose him, the most important relationship in her life, the most important friendship, so she continued to stay silent, just grateful for whatever time that her friendship with Jake could afford her.
She knew that he appreciated her – he always made sure she knew it – and she knew that she wouldn’t trade what they had right now for anything, unless she knew for sure that it wasn’t going to all blow up in her face.
She had to know, before she took that risk.
Before Gracelyn knew it, it was the beginning of March, with Spring Break coming up right around the corner. Maddie was out to lunch with her boyfriend Jackson (business major – a little dry, but adored her friend), so Gracelyn was finishing off a paper in her room alone, having spent some time with her other girlfriends that morning over coffee. She was just finishing off her last editing readthrough when her dorm door was knocked on, in a familiar pattern that made her smile.
“Come in Jake! The door’s unlocked!”
Gracelyn hit save on the word document before closing her laptop, Jake walking into the room quickly. The serious look on his face made her heart clench a little, even more so as he sat down next to her on the bed in silence.
“Hey Gracie, I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”
“Of course not. What’s up?” she asked, worried.
“I just…I wanted to tell you before I told anyone else. Well, other than coach, but yeah.”
She knew it.
She knew it.
She knew it.
“Tell me what?” she asked as lightly as she could, feigning ignorance as he sat down beside her.
“I signed a three-year entry level contact with the Stars last weekend. And I’m heading to Texas to play in the AHL in a few days time.”
She was too late.
She was too late.
She was too late.
“Oh Jake that’s amazing! I’m so proud of you! But it’s happening quick, no?”
Jake huffed out a laugh, nodding as he smiled weakly at her. “It happened a lot faster than I thought. But my agent said this is the best option for me, to start my hockey career off. I’ve got to follow my dream, you know?”
Even if it meant leaving her behind. She’d been prepared for this for a long time. That didn’t make it hurt any less. But this wasn’t about her – this was about him, and everything he’d worked for, and everything he still had to work for in the future.
“Of course you do, Jake. Anyone that tells you differently is an ass. Follow your dreams and don’t look back, hey?”
It was only then that he noticed the tears in her eyes and quickly shook his head. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily, Gracie Davis. You’re one of my best friends, and I’m not losing you. I can’t.”
She choked out a wet noise, half laugh half sob, and just shook her head.
“You go and be the superstar that you are destined to be, okay?” she said, smiling sadly at him, “The rest of us will figure out the rest.”
Jake pulled her into the tightest hug he ever had done, burying his face in her dark hair.
“I don’t know what I did to deserve you in my life.”
Gracelyn just stayed silent, letting her tears fall.
~~~
May 2020.
She never did tell him how she felt. He never did find out how much she loved him. Maybe it was for the best, when their texts slowed over the summer of 2019, because by the time Gracelyn had started up her final year of college in the September of 2019, she’d hardened up her heart enough to make it through the year without him.
She hadn’t realised how much of Boston she associated with Jake until he was gone.
The pizza place where she and her girlfriends would meet up with the hockey team after a winning game. The coffee cart they always picked up a coffee to go before lectures or study sessions or hangouts on the quad. The amazing smoothie bar that didn’t actually overcharge students and gave decent portion sizes. The little independent cinema that always smelled like burnt popcorn and only ever had two films running at one time. The Terriers ice hockey games in general. Even the yoga classes where Jake would maintain – and show off – his flexibility had become a no-go for her, which felt ridiculous the more she thought about it.
Gracelyn particularly avoided ‘their spot’ near the Hatch Shell along the Charles River, the place they’d gone to at least once a week for nearly two and a half years, unable to get all of the time spent relaxing there together out of her head, the time they would just sit and watch the world go by.
Two and a half years of friendship, gone with the wind – and she never expected to see him again. How was she supposed to cope with that?
She knew all of her friends worried about her, hated how she retreated into her shell throughout the whole of Senior year. Gracelyn did try to keep up her life as it had been before, going to parties like she used to, hockey games with her friends, but after a particularly awkward party at the hockey house in November, Gracelyn was done.
After a mild intervention before the winter break with Maddie, Luisa, Jenny, Chanel, and Daisy, following a couple of weeks of complete hermit behaviour, Gracelyn made a compromise – she would no longer go to parties or have anything to do with the hockey team, but would still go to everything else. She just couldn’t – she and Jake had always found their way together, talking off to the side away from the chaos of that side of her old social life, and for all the parties she’d attempted to go to in September to November, she’d struggled more than she’d expected – so that was her bottom line, it had to be a big no.
So life went on – Gracelyn went to all the fun campus events she used to, still went out for lunches and dinners and girls nights and all the things she’d always done with hers friends, but for her own sanity she had to stop the major things that she associated with Jake. It was the only way she was going to get through her Senior year, the only way she was going to get through her heartbreak that wasn’t even really heartbreak.
At least studying for her final papers, her final exams, gave her all the genuine excuses she needed not have that social side of herself any more anyway.
When it came to finishing off her final week of exams in May, Gracelyn was drained. She pushed herself to her limits, maybe even further than she should’ve done, andby the time she stumbled back to her dorm after her final exam, it was all she could do to collapse onto her bed into a much-needed nap.
It wasn’t until hours later that a gentle hand shook her awake, the smell of Thai food filling nose.
“Wakey wakey sleeping beauty, I’ve brought dinner,” Maddie grinned.
Gracelyn blearily opened her eyes, sitting upright with more difficulty than she expected, accepting the offered food with a thankful groan that just made her friend laugh. The two of them ate quietly, the open window giving them the ambience of campus, and Gracelyn found herself smiling as she relaxed for what felt like the first time in ages.
“You’ve finished your final exam now, right?”
Gracelyn just nodded, smiling through the noodles in her mouth, making Maddie laugh. She knew that her roommate had finished two days ago, seeing as Gracelyn’s exams were some of the last of all the Seniors.
“So…there’s a hockey house party tonight…”
Gracelyn stopped chewing, narrowing her eyes, to which Maddie just laughed and held her hands up in surrender.
“I know you haven’t been to parties all year. Not since…he left. But this is our last big blow-out, you know? And you shouldn’t let a dumb boy ruin the last big college party, right?”
Gracelyn huffed out a breath, setting her food down to the side, just running a hand through her dishevelled hair. Parties just hadn’t been the same since Jake left in Junior year, especially not ones at the hockey house – she’d stopped going to them for a reason.
But maybe Maddie was right. Jake wasn’t here. He’d left. She was still here and she was graduating and she shouldn’t let herself feel so sour when she’d worked so hard. Fuck it. This was her last week of college – she wasn’t going to hold herself back any more.
“I’m going to need to shower. And shave my legs. And I have no idea what to wear,” Gracelyn eventually said.
Maddie just squealed, clapping her hands together.
“Go and shower now. Shave everything. Leave the outfit to me and the girls. Tonight is going to be the best night ever, okay?” Maddie said happily, whipping out her phone, no doubt to text their friends of the plans.
“Can I at least finish my food first?”
Maddie just laughed, not even looking up from where she was typing.
So Gracelyn took a shower, shaved, primped, and dressed up in clothes she hadn’t worn in months. The girls all rallied around her while they got ready too, all chipping in with her hair and make-up, making her heart clench in gratitude for her incredible friends and their love. The evening, the party, was going to be the best, just as Maddie had promised. She could feel it in her bones.
She knew that a few of her former social crowd glanced at her in surprise as their group walked through the hockey house, but Maddie didn’t give her a chance to get self-conscious in the grey bodycon dress, pressing a shot of vodka and a beer into her hands with a big smile.
“We’re graduating, motherfuckers!”
Jenny’s whoop raised a loud cheer in the kitchen, more shots being passed around quickly, and it allowed Gracelyn to relax a little in the familiar atmosphere, almost like nothing had changed at all. The whole evening passed in a blur of dancing and drinking and laughter and beer pong, Gracelyn sinking into the support of her girlfriends to let loose, finally shaking off all the tension and stress of the past few weeks of exams. Of the past year, if she was being honest.
It wasn’t until after 1am that the group separated out a little bit, Daisy and Gracelyn on the makeshift dancefloor with the other scattered through the kitchen, bathroom and outside. The two of them sang along to the upbeat Megan Thee Stallion song, dancing free and wild, until a cute guy shyly approached Daisy, dancing with her briefly before whispering in her ear and making Daisy giggle. Then her friend looked over to her, and Gracelyn knew exactly what she was silently asking.
“Go! Go make-out!” Gracelyn grinned, shooing Daisy away teasingly.
Her friend just giggled and smiled her thanks, slinking off deeper into the crowd with the cute guy, making her smile. Why shouldn’t her friend have a little fun, hey?
Gracelyn moved out to the edge of the dancefloor and glanced around the room, trying to spot Maddie or Luisa or Chanel or Jenny, but the person her eyes landed on instead made her audibly gasp. This wasn’t real. He wasn’t here. How could he be here?
What the hell. What was he doing here? Why was he back in Boston, after all this time? Why was he here right now at the same party was her?
Was she dreaming?
Then Jake turned his head and spotted her too, smiling widely.
No this was definitely a nightmare. Gracelyn couldn’t move as he walked over towards her, and it was all she could do to force a smile on her face as he stopped in front of her, towering over her as he always had.
“Hey Gracie. It’s been a while.”
Yeah no shit.
His sweet smile and gentle voice still sent shivers down her spine though.
“What are you doing here?” she asked coolly.
“I wanted to surprise everyone. I know I couldn’t finish off my degree here but that doesn’t mean I didn’t want to see everyone graduate.”
Wanted to surprise everyone? See everyone graduate?
Was he even going to tell her he was there?
Obviously not.
“Well it was nice to see you, Jake. Good luck next season,” she said, smiling politely.
The confused expression on his face, paired with his flinch at her tone of voice, almost made her defensive walls crumble down – but she’d made that mistake before, letting her guard down around him. Three years she spent letting him slowly take over her heart, and she knew that if she let him in one last time that she’d never recover. She just couldn’t handle it again.
“Gracie, wait,” he murmured, reaching out towards her.
Hearing her nickname fall from his lips was almost enough to stop her, but she stepped back ever so slightly out of his grasp, enough that his confusion turned to hurt.
“Goodbye, Jake,” she said softly.
And with that, she made herself walk off, heading straight for the kitchen, hoping to find someone, anyone, because by the time she’d steadied her breathing through the house, she was done. She was so done, with the hockey house, with the party, with the whole night. It was all she could do to force a smile on her face when she found a few of her friends in the kitchen – Maddie, Chanel, and Luisa – Maddie’s eyes immediately narrowing at her expression.
“Hey, I’m exhausted, it’s been such a long day. I’m going to head back to the dorms,” Gracelyn announced.
It was just past 2am now, so it wasn’t like she was being a killjoy. Chanel and Luisa booed teasingly, making her huff out a laugh, whereas Maddie just smiled sadly. Her best friend always knew how to read her mind.
“Do you want company on the walk back?” Maddie offered.
“No, no, it’s okay, please stay and enjoy the last hockey house party. The fresh air will do me good. Thank you though,” Gracelyn said, shaking her head.
She would always be grateful for Maddie.
“Brunch tomorrow, yes?” Chanel said, smiling as she pointed a taloned-fingernail faux-threateningly.
“Of course!” Gracelyn laughed, making the rest of the girls laugh too. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
With a round of hugs and the promise to text when she arrived back at the dorm, Gracelyn left the hockey house for the last time. She hated that tears were stinging at her eyes, closing yet another metaphorical and physical door, so she wasted no time in just starting to walk away, letting her feet guide her. By the time she’d managed to compose herself, she realised she’d somehow walked out to the Charles River, all the way down to her old spot with Jake near the Hatch Shell, and she just felt like crying for real this time.
Why here? Why now? Why did this have to be the ending of her college years?
She managed to blink the tears back as she sat down on their usual…old stone bench, just in time to hear footsteps coming towards her. Her heart clenched in her chest as she snapped her head in that direction, only to see Jake jogging towards her, his cheeks flushed and his eyes wild.
“Gracie! I was looking everywhere in the house for you. But when Maddie told me you left, I knew you’d end up here,” he said, breathless but relieved.
Maddie told him? That meddler. Gracelyn felt a lump rise in her throat at his words though. What did that even mean? What was he doing? Why did he even care?
“What do you want?” she asked, frowning.
“I wanted to see you. Wanted to talk to you. I couldn’t leave Boston again without talking to you. It’s kind of perfect that it’s by our old spot – I can’t get the memories of this place out of my head.”
~
November 2016.
“We should take a photo,” Jake said suddenly, digging in his coat pocket.
“What?”
“To keep this memory, of finding ‘our’ place. Of you giving me the advice I needed. Of me making you laugh like that for the first time,” Jake explained, making her smile at his enthusiastic listing, “one of the guys bought a bunch of cheap polaroid cameras at the weekend and I still have one in my pocket.”
“Well in that case…” she teased.
Jake just laughed, throwing an arm around her shoulder, guiding her to lean into his body. Gracelyn just tilted her knitted hat-covered head to rest against his and threw up a peace sign, smiling widely as Jake raised the camera in his hand.
~
“Oh, well if you want to talk now, then go ahead!” Gracelyn said sharply.
Jake flinched again at her harsh tone of voice, looking even more confused than before.
“Why…what do you mean?”
“I haven’t heard from you in over a year. You stopped replying to my texts, you hurt me. But it’s all good now that you’ve shown up again and declared you want to talk, right? So go ahead. Talk. Tell me why you think you can just reappear in my life after leaving me alone,” Gracelyn said angrily.
The moment that the ranting words left her lips, she regretted them, even more so at the upset look on Jake’s face. Here it was, what she’d always feared would happen. She wished she could use the beer and shots as an excuse but she knew they were barely a factor after all of the dancing. She’d pushed too far this time. He was actually going to say goodbye for good. And why wouldn’t he? That’s what everyone else important in her life had always done.
Braced myself for the goodbye,
'Cause that's all I've ever known.
“I’ll never leave you alone again.”
His sudden words broke her out of her swirling thoughts.
“What?”
“I should never have left you behind, not without telling you how I feel about you.”
What the hell.
“Jake…”
“I have been such an idiot, Gracie. Such a coward. I remember how it felt sitting by the water here with you, letting the world pass by like nothing else mattered, like it was just you and me in our own little world. That first time we were here? I made you laugh, and your laugh was the best thing I’d ever heard. The smile you sent me after you’d stopped laughing made my heart beat like crazy. I wanted to kiss you right then and there, but I chickened out. Every time I looked at you after that, it was like the first time all over again. I don’t know when it happened, probably moments after I met you, but I fell in love with you a long time ago, and I wanted to tell you so many times. I should’ve told you, but I was so scared to ruin everything. Turns out me not saying anything ruined us anyway.”
His words washed over her like a wave, overwhelming in their honesty and emotion, and the more he spoke, the more Gracelyn felt like crying. This was how he felt about her? After all this time?
He was in love with her too?
He wasn’t saying goodbye?
“You loved me?” she managed to whisper.
Jake swallowed heavily but nodded, eyes starting to fill with hope. “Love. Present tense. I still love you, and I am so sorry for being too much of a coward to tell you last year. Am I too late?”
“Too late?” she asked, confused.
“Too late to have a chance with you?”
Oh.
Oh.
“Jake, I…I don’t even know what to say. I’ve spent this whole last year trying to repair myself after you left with barely a goodbye, and now you just…you want to give us a chance? Just like that?”
The guilt that washed over Jake’s face sent a pang through her body, but she stayed silent, waiting for him to speak. She needed to know. He needed to tell her.
“I know you’ve guarded your heart. I know it’s for good reasons. But we’re not going to make your parents mistakes, Gracie. I never want to go a day without telling you how much I love you. I don’t want to spend another day apart. I don’t know where I’ll be next season – I might start down in the AHL but it’s likely I’ll be called up again. But I’ve got to know…will you come with me?”
“To Texas? You want me to move in with you in Texas?”
Her mind was swirling, even more overwhelmed, her emotions choking up her throat as her jaw dropped slightly. That was the last thing she was expecting. Was this too sudden? Was she holding back for no reason?
“Shit, I shouldn’t be asking you that at 2.30am. I’m so sorry, so stupid,” Jake groaned, running his hands through his hair.
“You’re not stupid,” she said quickly, gently pulling his hands back down, “I just…it’s a lot? Let me think about it?”
“Of course. Whatever you need, I…”
He trailed off, an old familiar look of hesitance and self-deprecation in his eyes, enough to make her heart pang. Enough to make up her mind, at least a little bit.
“I love you too, Jake,” she murmured, smiling slightly as his breath caught in his throat, “I’ve loved you for longer than I care to admit. I was trying to build up my confidence to tell you but then it was too late, you know? When you left, and slowly stopped messaging me, it broke my heart. I know you were busy working your ass off in Texas and I am so proud of you for chasing your dreams…but it still hurt so much. I spent all of this last year essentially back in the way that you first met me, introverted and quiet – tonight was the first party I’d been to since November. But I still love you. I don’t think I could ever stop.”
As she spoke, she watched his face shift from happy to sad to devastated to hopeful. She’d missed how expressive he was, especially around her, especially because of her, even if it was terrifying to share all of her thoughts and feelings with him. Things she’d never said to anyone, not even her closest friends. But here she was, confessing everything, hoping that the tears slowly trickling down her face were the only ones she’d cry over him again.
Jake stayed silent for a moment, raising a hand to wipe away her tears, letting his hand cup her face briefly, just long enough for the warmth to seep through his skin to hers before he dropped his hand again.
“I’ll never be able to make up for making you feel like this for so long, I know that. But I’m hoping you’ll give me a chance to start over, to finally start us as we should’ve always been. To show you how much I love you.”
It was everything she’d ever hoped to hear, over the three years they spent as friends and the past year alone. Was it enough? Could she trust him? Could she trust herself?
“I have no idea what I’m going to do with my life, Jake. I know I’m not moving back home, but other than that? I don’t have any job or career lined up yet. I have no idea what I’m doing with my life after brunch tomorrow with the girls. But maybe you can walk me home tonight…and we can talk tomorrow.”
“Yeah, yeah, we can do that. I’d love that,” Jake said quickly, eagerly, “Maybe I could stay until after commencement weekend? There’s literally nowhere else I’d rather be.”
There’s literally nowhere else she’d want him to be either.
So she huffed out a laugh, nodding, heart starting to beat that little bit faster as he took one of her hands in his, threading their fingers together. She stayed silent as he stood up, hands staying linked as she stood up too, Jake just as silent as her. It was only when he lifted their joint hands to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to the back of her hand that she made any sound, a soft sigh of his name, just loud enough for Jake to hear.
It was his answering smile that gave her hope.
~
Do you remember all the city lights on the water?
You saw me start to believe for the first time,
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter,
You are the best thing that's ever been mine.
#my writing#jake oettinger fic#summer fic exchange 2k23#jake oettinger imagine#jake oettinger fanfic#jake oettinger x oc#nhl writing#nhl fic#nhl imagine#hockey writing#hockey fic#hockey imagine
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Underneath the Stars
(Gif credit to @jonasiegenthaler)
Word count: 3,075
Warnings: none
Genres: established relationship, fluff, self-insert
A/N: I’m back at it again by participating in @wyattjohnston’s Summer Fic Exchange and this is my story for @ilyasorokinn, written with the very handsome Nico Hischier. I hope that you like it. I’m sorry in advance that it kinda goes by fast and about the timeline format but I just wanted to try something different. I also decided to challenge myself a bit more by writing adding some dialogue so please bear with me if the conversations aren’t that great. This is an established relationship story (so there’s no meet cute this time, which was a challenge for me to not write one). I’ve also never been to New York City before so I used Google to help me and I apologize for any inaccuracies. Title and some of the story elements comes from Underneath the Stars by Mariah Carey (which I highly recommend listening to). There are also some elements of the journey across NYC events that take place in “The Sun Is Also A Star” by Nicola Yoon (book). As always, I’m open to any and all feedback, comments or questions; just put them in my inbox or dm me. Thank you so much in advance for reading, I appreciate it😌
(P.S. I have other stories (linked here) that I have written for other players as well if you want to check it out)
Optional/recommended listening: Underneath the Stars by Mariah Carey
“Who needs a crowd when you’re happy at a party of two?” -Late To The Party by Kacey Musgraves
7:05-10:00 pm
Another Devils season had yet again come to an end without making the Stanley Cup Final. It was a bit disappointing but the nice thing about being eliminated early is that you had some additional time to spend with your boyfriend, Nico. You were excited to see him but you knew your time together would be bittersweet. You were granted a summer sports medicine fellowship opportunity in California but that meant that you would spend the whole summer away from Nico and you would not be able to visit him in Switzerland either. Nico was happy for you, achieving something that you worked really hard for, but he was also a bit sad that you wouldn’t be able to spend the off-season together and be in the same place without worrying about the hockey season for a few months. You and Nico had been separated at times before, while he was away on road trips, but this felt much different.
For your last outing together before going your separate ways, you agreed to go into the city to watch the Mets play against your favorite team, the San Francisco Giants. Yes, although you were dating the captain of a hockey team, your favorite sport was baseball. Despite being surrounded by others, the PATH train ride into the city felt like you were the only 2 people on board. During your trip, you noticed that the light from the waning sunset bathed Nico in the warmest glow. Before you knew it, you were in New York City and continued the rest of your journey. After taking the main NYC subway, you arrived to your destination at Citi Field and had a lot of fun at the game. It was so nice to enjoy your favorite pastime with Nico and it didn’t hurt that he looked good in a baseball jersey as well. Every time you watched a game, Nico always asked you questions about what was going on since baseball isn’t as popular in Switzerland. It was fun to be on the other side as the one explaining the game to him, just like he would explain things to you when you watched his beloved soccer together or had questions about hockey. One nice memory that was made during the game was singing along to “Take Me Out to The Ball Game”; the song was such a classic and Nico even joked that there should be a hockey version of the song, which made you giggle. Your time together at the game flew by and to your delight, the Giants won.
————————————————————
10:10 pm-10:15 pm
After the game, you planned on taking the subway together back over to New Jersey but Nico could sense that something was off on your walk to the station.
“Hey, what’s wrong? You look upset.” Nico asked with a hint of concern in his voice.
“I’m sorry, Nico, I just don’t want this night to end. I’ve been having such a good time with you and I know once you leave, I won’t see you for a while,” you replied, trying to hold back tears.
Nico felt the same way, he knew he would go back to Jersey, go to sleep, and have to wait months before seeing you again.
“It doesn’t have to end, my love. What else should we do then?”, Nico said with a smile on his face.
————————————————————
10:40 pm-12:56 am
After your conversation, you decided to go to a late night showing of Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse at Alamo Drafthouse. Before the movie, you and Nico stopped at a nearby bodega to get some snacks to sneak in. Nico didn’t care if the snacks were a bit unhealthy because it was the off-season and although it was wrong to sneak in outside food, it’s not like the theater employees were going to kick you out anyways. There weren't many people around for the showing so it was almost like the movie was shown just for the two of you. During the movie, Nico subconsciously put his arm around you and tried to pull you in closer; he would miss movie nights with you. It was a rare opportunity for him to just sit down and relax with his lover. The movie itself was super amazing and after the movie, you and Nico had a lengthy conversation about the events of the film.
————————————————————
1:00 am-2:00 am
Sleep may be an athlete’s secret weapon but even at 1 am, Nico still had energy. You ended up having a game night at Brooklyn Bowl since it was the only fun place that wasn’t a bar that was still open. Of course, being an athlete meant there was a competitive side to Nico so he was trying his best to win the game. You, on the other hand, were just having fun and didn’t care as much about winning. Nico’s goal was to get a strike but he kept knocking most of the pins down except for 1 or 2 so when you got a strike in your casual play, Nico was ecstatic. He lifted you up in the air and spun you around, making you laugh. All of the other patrons must have thought he was drunk but no, he was just sober and so happy for you. You were slightly embarrassed by your boyfriend’s excited gesture but you didn’t care because yet again, he made you laugh. Hearing you laugh was a sound that Nico would miss while you were apart from each other. Despite striking out, you didn’t win the game and Nico never achieved getting a strike but he had more points so winning allowed him to gain even more energy for the rest of the evening.
————————————————————
2:30-3:00 am
Since Brooklyn Bowl closes at 2 am, there was still time in the night and exhaustion hadn’t hit either of you yet so you and Nico headed back towards Manhattan. Nico decided that the best way to expel some of his extra energy was singing and bopping around. Nico’s actions inspired an activity. You decided to go for a late-night karaoke session at a karaoke bar called Karaoke Boho Orchard in the Lower East Side. Thankfully, this karaoke bar had private rooms so you wouldn’t have to worry about singing on stage in front of strangers.
Nico wanted to sing first and he dedicated “Lover” by Taylor Swift to you; it was a song that you loved dearly. Although Nico’s vocals were a bit off-key, you were so in awe observing him sing and you began to quietly tear up a little bit. While you were wrapped up in your bubble of awe, you didn’t quite realize that Nico had finished singing; you didn’t even think about what song you were going to sing. After scrolling through the song catalog, you serenaded Nico to “Always Be My Baby” by Mariah Carey. The song reminded the two of you that no matter what separates you, you’ll always be a part of each other. Nico’s heart began to fill with so much amusement and joy with your musical tribute. Listening to you enunciate the words of the song sounded almost like poetry. If Nico wasn’t weak in the knees with loving you from before, watching you sing to him made him hit the ground. After you completed the song, Nico suggested singing a duet together and you settled on “Islands In The Stream” by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers. Although it was cheesy, singing love songs to your lover and with your lover reminded you both that the love you shared was so strong. For the rest of your time, you and Nico continued to sing different songs. It was so much fun singing and dancing together; it was a side that rarely came out but whenever it did, you both always had a good time.
————————————————————
3:00-3:45 am
The karaoke room was paid by the hour but Nico was a bit hungry so the two of you made a quick stop at Katz’s Deli since it was the only food place open nearby. The restaurant was surprisingly not filled with many people so you and Nico sat close to the walls; observing the wall photos, trying to figure out who the famous faces were.
“Do you think I should tell them who I am so I can get my picture on the wall?” Nico jokingly asked while you waited for your food to come out.
“Nico, you do know this is Rangers territory? They would rather burn your picture than put it up” you whisper replied.
“Y/n, you do know that the diners in Jersey are better right?” Nico said in a not-so-serious louder tone.
“Nico, how dare you insult an iconic New York institution?” you gritted through your teeth.
You playfully swatted at him and thankfully, your waiter arrived with your order of potato latkes and matzo ball soup. Over the meal, you and Nico chatted and people-watched those who came in and out of the restaurant.
————————————————————
3:45-5:00 am
As the night dragged into the almost sunrise hours, you started getting tired. Nico suggested that you rent a hotel room and rest; he knew that you would probably fall asleep on the train ride back to New Jersey and preferred for you to rest somewhere somewhat comfortable. The closest hotel was the Hotel Indigo Lower East Side, which was right next door to Katz’s Deli. You pleaded with Nico that he didn’t have to pay for a last-minute hotel room but he insisted. The front desk person who checked in was a Devils fan so they gave you a discount and a room with a spectacular view of the city. Nico embraced you as you lay in bed and you tried your best to fall asleep but you couldn’t quite stop staring at the sea of lights from the City That Never Sleeps right outside of your window. You wanted to continue to talk to Nico but as soon as his head hit the pillow, he was knocked out. Over time, your eyes fell heavy and you went to sleep.
————————————————————
5:00-6:00 am
You couldn’t quite stay asleep, your brain raced with thoughts about how your time with Nico was winding down, even though, he was right next to you. You watched Nico as he slept, matching your breaths with the rise and fall of his chest, wondering what he was dreaming about; he looked so peaceful. You tried to quietly slip out of Nico’s arms but he kept pulling you back to hold you close to him. Nico’s eyes fluttered open once he felt the flat space of the mattress after you successfully broke free to use the bathroom. When you emerged from the bathroom, Nico’s big brown eyes greeted yours and he was sitting up in bed.
“Are you okay? Do you want to switch rooms?”, Nico asked with the same hint of concern from earlier in the evening.
“No, I’m good. I just can’t sleep”, you replied back, “ but you can go back to bed.”
“Do you want to leave and go back home then?”, Nico suggested.
Hearing him say that made the reality of your time ending together hit you in a painful spot but it was for the best; you couldn’t stop putting off the inevitable separation that was going to happen soon. You agreed to go home. On the elevator ride downstairs, Nico expressed that he would want to come back to see more parts of the city and for a staycation with you and you suggested that since the hotel had a rooftop bar, it would be a good spot to host a team party.
Instead of taking a train to get there, you decided to walk to the PATH train station that would return you back to New Jersey. On your walk, you and Nico passed through sections of the New York University campus and even made a quick stop at Washington Square Park. Although the park wasn’t as large as Central Park, it was nice to stroll around together and there was a warm gentle breeze that wrapped around you. There weren’t many people around, just a few joggers and people walking their dogs. At one point during your walk, Nico wanted to take a quick break to sit on the grass. Sitting on the grass eventually turned into laying on the grass. There were still a few stars out from the previous evening but not long before, you watched the sun begin to spill the warm colors into the sky; the rising sunlight dressed you in a warm glow. It was hitting Nico bad that this would be the last time that he would hold you for the rest of the summer and he planted a kiss on your head. You felt a tear hit your scalp and you looked up to see Nico crying a little. You had never seen Nico cry like this before but you reassured him that everything was going to be okay. After the sun fully rose, you and Nico left the park to go home. As you walked under the Washington Square Arch, you squeezed Nico’s hand three times as a quiet gesture to remind him that you loved him.
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6:30-7:30 am
The train ride back to Jersey had much fewer people than the train ride over. You and Nico sat in the back, wrapped in your own personal bubble. Nico kept trying to stay awake to maximize the time you had left together but he ended up taking a nap on your shoulder. You still couldn’t quite fall fully asleep yet. Although he didn’t have to do so, you were grateful that Nico sacrificed his time and sleep schedule to spend all night with you. Nico felt similarly; there was no one else in this world that he would be willing to spend sunset to sunrise in NYC, running on little sleep than with you. While he was asleep, you slipped a custom handmade letter bead bracelet onto Nico’s wrist. It was neutral colored and it had your initials together on it so everytime Nico looked down at his wrist, he would be reminded of you. You and Nico hadn’t planned on exchanging gifts before you left but you decided to make it for for him once you realized that you wouldn’t be spending the summer together.
After arriving in Jersey, you and Nico went to a local diner to share one last meal together. As you waited for your order, you were calmly soaking in your final moments with Nico but he was a bit antsy in his seat. Something was on his mind and he couldn’t quite keep in any longer.
“Can we take it to go? I want one final moment with just us.” Nico declared.
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8:00 am
Over your last breakfast at your apartment, you and Nico reflected on last night’s events and the memories you made together. The time you had together sailed by so fast and you both had such a great time; it was both beautiful and bittersweet at the same time. You were obviously surrounded by people everywhere you went that evening but at times, it felt like the city felt like it was your own secret, special place.
Nico’s flight to Switzerland wasn’t scheduled to leave until the following afternoon so he still had time to get some sleep and finalize any final things before leaving the country until returning for training camp in September. After breakfast was done, you and Nico migrated toward the couch to watch the news; watching the morning news together was a rare thing that you got to do together whenever Nico had a weekend off day. You tried your best to stay awake but a wave of tiredness crashed hard into you and you ended up drifting off to sleep in Nico’s arms on the couch. As you lay deep asleep in Nico’s arms, he reluctantly said goodbye. He really didn’t want to leave you behind and wish that he could just move your summer fellowship to Switzerland so that you could be enjoying a Swiss summer with him. He would spend part of his time, missing you being so far away and trying to perfect a potato latke recipe to match the one you had enjoyed at Katz’s Deli. Being this close to you for one last time, Nico could feel himself fading into you and feel the parts of you that faded into him with each minute that passed and he had hoped that these parts would stick around long after he left (which they did).
————————————————————
Time unknown
You woke up hours later on the couch, feeling a bit disoriented. The TV was turned off and you were covered in a blanket. It was dark outside and Nico was gone but he left a gift behind for you. Before going to shower, you noticed that there was a stack of Polaroids and one of Nico’s bracelets on the coffee table. The stack contained all of the pictures from the evening before that Nico took on his phone: the photo of you and Nico at a baseball game that was taken by a fan, a photo of you singing karaoke, an image of Nico taking a selfie while you were looking off-guard at the Katz’ Deli picture wall, a photo of your side profile looking out the window on the train ride home and a Nico selfie on the grass at Washington Square Park to round out the stack. On the back of each Polaroid, Nico wrote “I love you so much” and other sweet notes. You were slightly confused as to how Nico did this but you realized that he had secretly stashed his mobile Polaroid printer at your apartment. It was such a kind gesture that Nico put these photos together for you. Last night felt like a dream but the love captured in those photographs were the most significant memories you would hold onto. Whether you were hundreds of miles or a few inches apart, the love you both shared was always there, lingering around in your hearts. It sucked that you would be separated for a brief moment in time but each day apart was one day closer to being together again.
#nico hischier#new jersey devils#Nico Hischier fic#Nico Hischier x reader#Nico Hischier imagine#hockey#hockey fic#hockey imagine#the summer fic exchange 2k23#hockey writing#my writing#please read my story
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being a good man ✒︎ m.knies
summary: the next chapter of your relationship with Matthew is clearly going to be difficult but looking back at the previous chapters may be enlightening enough
featuring: matthew knies x gn!reader
word count: 2.1k
warnings: none
note: apart from wearing a camisole (which isn’t really anything) i don’t think there is anything that could imply that reader identifies as a specific gender so i’m tentatively putting this as gender neutral.
dedication: this sweet little one shot was written for elle (@gravestrain) for demi's summer fic exchange! i thoroughly hope you enjoy this - i will give you a little disclaimer and ask you exercise a little kindness/caution and read this all with a grain of salt, it's my first time writing for matty.
and a little side dedication to thank demi (@wyattjohnston) for hosting this awesome event.
You and Matthew had been talking about going on some kind of holiday over the summer. Something for just the both of you and to celebrate the fact that not only had he had his NHL debut in the playoffs no less, but also that you were on track to graduate in the major of your choice with a dream job prospect on the horizon.
You had both travelled with friends and their significant others before. You had also heard your friends speak highly of weekend trips and holidays they had been on with their significant others. Your little group of friends kept questioning if you and Matt would ever go on a trip alone, especially now that he was going off to play in the major league. Both of you had brushed off the thought of even doing it, deciding it would be a graduation thing, yet your plans were shifting. Something you had accepted when you agreed to date Matt; you knew that his goals were the NHL, and you supported him entirely. Coming in at a close second to his parents in being proud of him when he got signed for the playoffs.
You had met in your first year at university through a mutual friend, and even though you were sceptical about being friends with him, you put faith in your friend that they were friends with good people. And Matt was better than good people. You’d even go as far as to say he’s close to being one of the best people.
Even though you were hesitant to even accept his invite to mini golf that one night after midterms. He had waited outside until your last midterm with a small box of chocolates and a handwritten note. Clearly, someone had helped him out. His sweet face was haunted with nerves, or maybe that was obvious from the fact he was pacing a hole into his shoes on the concrete. Or perhaps you knew he was riddled with insecurity because you’d been watching him for nearly five minutes as he furiously mumbled to himself a very obviously pre-planned speech to the point where he hadn’t noticed the rest of your classmates or yourself emerge from the building.
When you had eventually interrupted his nervous rambling, he had barely managed to get the invite out. Still, you were happy when the words finally left his mouth. And you were happier with just the two of you that evening, getting to know one another. What made it better was that it didn’t end with just one dinner and plastic putts. Although he was busy not only with his studies but being part of the hockey team, he still managed to make time for you and growing your relationship. He was in this wholeheartedly, which made it so easy for you to fall in deep the way you did.
With all the changes in both your lives, you could barely stop to count what had changed and stayed the same. But with Matt’s professional career starting, you knew that it meant that even though he would be returning to Toronto, you still had classes waiting for you in Minnesota. This was somewhere you couldn’t follow him and cheer from the sidelines. Considering for the entire duration of your relationship, you’d always been in the same state, this was bound to be a big challenge for your relationship, and you wanted to set it up for success in any way you could. You had both planned to spend as much time as you could together before the new academic year and the NHL season began, and you would both suddenly have other responsibilities and less time to see one another.
You stayed in Minnesota after the spring semester had ended to spend some time with your family before spending the rest of your summer with Matt. You had gone on a family trip to Cancún, a trip which you’d taken many times when you were much younger but stopped around the same time you had started preparing for university. The reminder of one of your favourite childhood memories made you realise just how far you’d come. Your parents had called it an early graduation present, of which you had argued you still needed something to look forward to next year. They’d reminded you that even though you would always have their support and could always fall back on them when you needed it, your life was about to become everything you had been dreaming about and working towards for the last couple of years was finally all coming together.
Mexico had treated you well, but while you’d be lounging on the beach and exploring the city, the hot weather had demanded bare shoulders. Bare shoulders demanded more attention to sunblock reapplication, which slipped your mind in some afternoons at the pool and lunchtime picnics. The sensitivity of your shoulders and arms now and the dulling throb, whenever too much pressure touched you was the consequence of your enjoyment. Matt was a happy listener when you got downtown at night to speak with him;. However, he joked about it when you whined; the look of mild concern was ever present whenever the burns were mentioned.
It was only after returning to Matt after saying goodbye to your family at the airport and flying from Mexico to Arizona instead of home that the holiday conversation came up again. It was during, what had become, an average night since you’d been staying with the Knies family, with you and Matt making dinner together. Matt’s main responsibility whilst in the kitchen was helping you reach for things that caused too much grief to your still-healing burns. You couldn’t help but praise him for being such a good little sous chef for you. It wasn’t that he wasn’t great in the kitchen, he could do enough to keep himself fed, but you were sure you’d taught him a thing or two since he’d started actually helping instead of being a pro-taste tester as he had declared himself initially. Even if he didn’t take any of the recipes or skills to Canada with him, the time you spent together was so much more important to you.
The holiday suggestion (read: declaration) came as an offhanded mention that the flights were booked and all you had to do was pack your bags accordingly. Your hands momentarily stopped stirring the sauce, turning to face Matt where he stood by the counter, picking at the leftover cake you’d both baked the night before. His eyes weren’t even on you as he spoke, it wasn’t until your silence had clearly made him uncomfortable (maybe a little insecure), and it was then when he finally looked up at you as he threw a piece of cake into his mouth. His face had the same unsure look as it had been all those years ago. The little reminder of how you came to be in this very moment had your heart fluttering already.
“Stop snacking, you’ll ruin your appetite,” You chided as you took a breath and turned the stove down before turning around to fully face your boyfriend; wooden spoon pointed at him, “Pack my bags to … where?”
When the word Iceland came out, your face was a vision of surprise and confusion. You didn’t even have to ask before his slightly panicked but clearly excited rambles quickly flowed out his mouth. His words very softly trailed off as he simply motioned over to your bare shoulders where the small straps of your camisole exposed them; the slight sheen of the soothing cream and aloe he had demanded her help spread over them shining in the light.
“Thought I’d spare you from blistering for all of the summer break,” He muttered, almost shyly, as he added the vegetable to the sauce as you had instructed him to before he had brought the trip up.
A gentle warmth filled your chest and washed over your cheeks at the thoughtfulness of your boyfriend. Quickly checking, the pan was still simmering away, and the vegetables were slowly cooking; you stepped over to him. Arms gently wrapped around him and giving him a firm squeeze when his arms reciprocated the action.
“When did you decide on Iceland?”
“Well, you’ve always wanted to go, and it just seemed like the right time,” The sheepish look on his face told you that there was definitely more to the story than just that, so you pulled away, resting back in his arms as you looked up at him with a slight raise of your brow, “I started looking around the first time you mentioned you’d got sunburnt.”
A light laugh left your mouth as you pulled his back towards you before pushing him away, gently squeezing his cheeks, “You’re precious,” You set yourself back up by the range, sorting out the sauce before taking it off the heat.
“How quiet you’re being is making me a little nervous here,” A wispy laugh left him, clearly riddled with nerves as he watched you start to plate everything up ready for dinner, “Mum helped plan it, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Oh Matty,” You cooed, looking back towards him with an adoring smile, “I’m not worried about anything – I’m just…trying to process.”
“Process?”
“No one’s ever done something so … elaborate for me before?” The words were uttered softly as you grabbed a handful of knives and forks and handed them over to him as you continued, “I don’t know what to say.”
“Perhaps ‘Yes, I’ll go with you.’ might work?” His suggestion only made you laugh again as you took him in. His forehead was slightly creased with an inkling of worry as his hand fiddled with the silverware you had placed in his hands.
The domesticity of your entire situation filled you with joy, and the words that had left Matt’s mouth swirled in your head like a hurricane. His kindness and gentleness with you throughout your entire time together. How patient and considerate he was of you when you started dating, and you were still unsure, to how he made sure to always keep an eye out for you at parties when you weren’t 100% feeling the crowds, to simply wanting to make sure you not only enjoy your holiday but your health is his main concern.
You both stood in a slightly tense silence, mainly due to the anxiety starting to come off in waves from Matt. The memories of all the times Matt acknowledged you and the choices where he considered you. It was as if he had already decided you were going to be a constant part of his life even when you were still battling between your heart telling you it wanted to be with him and your brain telling you that being with him is not only going to be hard work, but it’s also going to be nothing more than heartbreak.
And yet here you stand with your heart intact, fuller than you thought it could be. Not only had Matt made you whole entirely by yourself, but he had made you want to be more than whole. He’s made you want to walk through life holding his hand, knowing that if you stumble, he will catch you and be there to push you forward and get you safely to the other side. He’s made it clear that this is not something for him to pass the time, but his feelings for you run deep through his veins. No one has ever seen you in the way Matt has, and at every turn, he has made sure to not only tell you that you’re seen, but he always went the step further to show you that you’re seen.
“Yes Matthew, I will join you on that plane,” Moving closer to him to place your hands and his cheek and gently caress the lines of worry that were starting to fade at your words, you smiled up at him once more, “Hell I’d join you anywhere you’d ask me to go.”
So maybe it was time to show him that you see him, and maybe him seeing you fall isn’t such a bad thing.
Because yes, Matt was definitively a great man but better than that, he was a good one.
#the summer fic exchange 2k23#matthew knies x reader#matty knies x reader#matthew knies fic#( m writing. )#( being a good man. )#( I'm so sorry this got posted slightly late ella -- technology is not my friend )
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as the seasons change (p.l. dubois)
@bqstqnbruin Christina! writing for you has been such an honor. I've been following you since I joined Tumblr almost three years ago and have always loved your fics. to write something for you this time is such a joy. 💖
I'm sorry to both you and Demi for the late post. I work 60 hours a week in summers and I'm taking a class that has taken up all of my time. But I promise my tardiness does not dim the amount of love I have for you both (and this fic).
as always: this is a work of fiction. it's hard to imagine why anyone would move from LA to Winnipeg after college, but I tried my best to make it as realistic as possible.
Christina, I hope you love this as much as I loved writing it. It has been such a joy to write this for you. And as always, Demi, thank you for hosting such a wonderful event for our community. @wyattjohnston
3k words. loosely edited, please excuse any mistakes. flashbacks that are not separated by a breaker are written in italics.
You never wanted to hate hockey. Growing up in Southern California, you had always tuned in with the Kings, even attending a few games. But in your mid 20s, you found yourself muting everything to do with hockey, trying to block it out of your head entirely.
It wasn't always like this. In fact, there was a time in your life where it was your entire life. Until it wasn't. You had met Pierre-Luc Dubois shortly after his arrival to Winnipeg. You were living in Winnipeg, fresh out of college working part time on the weekends at a bar. You picked up a part time job to help increase your funds from your starting salary. You truly did have your dream job, but it definitely isn't the dream pay. And moving from your hometown to Winnipeg caused a lot of additional funds.
As soon as you met him, you quickly became aware of his charm, charisma, and unfortunately, his impact on you. And how you could you forget him, with his silky accent always calling you "honey," no matter what the conversation entailed. Every greeting, every question, every conversation, was always started or ended with him addressing you as honey. His reasoning?
"You're as sweet as honey," his deep accented voice told you one day shortly after meeting him. He quickly looked around to survey his surroundings, and then whispered in your ear: "I'm sure you taste like it too."
Of course, your cheeks burned immediately at that. It was definitely not a conversation appropriate for your workplace, under the neon lights of the bar you worked at. Of course, Pierre was the one who was starting those interactions, but you never shut him down, and truthfully you bashed in the attention. It made you feel wanted, it made you feel beautiful. You had your share of guys in college and even a couple in Winnipeg before you met Pierre-Luc, but as soon as you met Pierre, you were done for. There had been no one once you met him, and there had been nothing after him. You had found yourself reminiscing on the times that you and Pierre shared. You were both in love, and you wondered how a connection so powerful, so addicting, had turned into heartbreak.
________
"Holy hell, who is that," your coworker Jess muttered out when the two of you were getting ready to get behind the bar for the night. It was a Saturday night, the Jets fresh off an afternoon victory. You had known that the Jets would frequent the bar you worked in after wins, hell you had met a lot of them, but you knew you had never met him. You would have remembered a face like his, a voice like his. A smile like his. Or a smirk, should you say.
"That's Pierre-Luc Dubois, newly acquired by the Jets and the most beautiful man to ever walk through our doors," another coworker, Anthony muttered as he tied his apron around his waist, causing you all to infer that he was familiar with the hockey player. You weren't surprised that he knew him. "Sports gay," the self proclaimed title that Anthony gave himself long before you met was incredibly correct. He had quickly become one of your best friends both at work and outside of work in the short year that you had worked at the bar.
Jess strategically decided to start at the other side of the bar from the players, causing you the responsibility to serve them. You never minded, you never had an issue with any of them. They always tipped well and were kind and friendly to you. They never complained about any service issues, and some of them even went as far to ask you about your personal life. The ones who did knew that this was an extra job for you and always threw in some extra money on top of the tip.
You made your way over to them, trying to pretend that you weren't just having a detailed conversation about one of them. Trying to pretend that you were unfazed by the eye contact that you made with him, by the way that his button up perfectly squeezed his muscular, tattooed arms.
"How's it going gentleman, wonderful to see you all again. Win today?" you asked as you placed coasters in front of them, never bothering with a menu. They always knew what they wanted. As they informed you of their win and made a few side comments, an accented voice that had become familiar quickly spoke up.
"Hi honey, I'm sorry I don't think I got your name. I'll have a jack and coke please. And I'll buy the first round for everybody while you're at it." The way the pet name flowed so easily off his lips should've been a bigger red flag, but you couldn't help but feel your cheeks burn at the comment. "It's Y/N," you informed him as you placed the drink in front of him, trying not to act like you had been extremely flustered by his words.
"Well Y/N, I haven't been here long but I can promise you you're the most beautiful woman in Winnipeg," he charmed, causing you to blush but also roll your eyes. "Don't mind Luc, apparently French men think they can say whatever they want to innocent bar workers," Adam joked, causing the rest of the guys to laugh. You had become very familiar with Adam in the time you'd worked at the bar. He was like a brother to you, and you appreciated the way he loosened the tension because you were incredibly flustered by his words.
But above all, it was the way that despite the teasing from his new teammates, Luc never flustered, his eyes still smoldering your own, and you knew you were in for some trouble.
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You were packing up your apartment, two years since that day that you met Luc. You had decided to move back home. Truth be told, Winnipeg never felt like home. It helped when you were with Pierre-Luc, but the homesickness was undeniable, and following your breakup from Pierre-Luc, it only got worse. There was nothing keeping you there anymore.
Although you were ready to leave, it was hard to ignore the memories of the apartment you were packing up, both good and bad. The joy of being with Pierre and the heartbreak. The giddiness of first meeting him and the emptiness of what you assumed would be the last time you ever saw him. All of those emotions existed inside of the four walls in your apartment.
As you wrapped up picture frames in packing paper, you wondered why you still had these up. It had been 6 weeks since your breakup with Luc, but the pain felt like it happened just yesterday. Your heart constricted at the picture that was looking back at you, a picture of you in the snow. It was the first time you had been alone with him.
"We're closed," you muttered out as you heard the doorbell chime from the front of the restaurant. You were cursing yourself for not locking the front door yet, but you also wondered why people couldn't just open their eyes and read the closing times that were so clearly printed on the very door that they had just opened.
"It's okay honey, I'm not looking for a drink tonight." the accented voice behind you made you tense up immediately. You had to have been dreaming. There was simply no way that he had come back for you. You had been thinking about him for days since he had first come in with the team. You truly did have a soft spot for the Jets team, but they never came in alone. They always came in a group, and never not on their unassigned assigned day: Saturdays. It was a few weeks later, and to your knowledge, there was no one else with him. You turned towards the voice and found that your suspicions were true.
"Hello again, Pierre. Nice to see you, but we really are closed and I'm really trying to get out of here before midnight. After midnight the streets get crazy," you explained to him as you finished up sweeping from behind the bar. "Yeah, I'm sure the streets are really crazy from the inside of your locked car," Pierre joked, causing you to raise your eyebrows. You hadn't known him long, really he had no reason to be protective of you, but you had a sneaking suspicion that he would not approve of the words that were about to come out of your mouth.
"Oh, I walk." you muttered as you broke eye contact in an almost embarrassment. You weren't embarrassed that you walked, it was truly impractical to drive when it was only a few blocks and the streets were always mobbed, the parking almost worse. But you knew deep down it really wasn't safe, and it was embarrassing to be under the microscope like this. You really weren't used to it. You hadn't encountered many men who cared enough about you walking home alone. "Any straight man," Anthony's voice was like the devil on your shoulder in the back of your mind.
"You what?" Pierre grumbled, his eyes lighting up in an almost anger. "There's no way you just said that." He mumbled and you nodded your head. "Yes, I'm pretty sure I did. Did you even listen?" You were growing frustrated. You barely knew this man other than what you had read on Google, what right does he have judging your life decisions? "Yes, unfortunately I did hear what you just said. I can't believe you put yourself in danger like that." You scoffed at him, wondering if this was genuine concern.
"What do you care? I'm just the girl who pours your drinks." You muttered stubbornly as you brushed past him to lock the front door, trying to get back to what you had been doing in the first place: trying to close this damn bar so you could start your apparently infamous walk home.
"I know I haven't known you for long, but I already care about you. You're more than just 'the girl who pours my drinks.' I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. That's why I came back over here in the first place, to hopefully get a chance to talk to you." He was standing his ground, and you felt yours crumbling at his tone of voice, the care in his eyes, the warmth that was somehow radiating off of his body despite it being mid February in Canada.
"I know, I have no right to come in here and judge your routine. But at least let me walk you home. I'll never come back here again if that's what you want, but I simply can not come in here to see you and then let you walk home in the dark. I can walk 6 feet behind you if you want, but I'm not letting you walk alone." He took a step closer to you, reaching out to touch your forearm and you fought the urge to jump back, his touch almost burning you.
You begrudgingly agreed and let Pierre walk you home after you finished closing the bar. The task was surprisingly short, only lengthened by the presence and words of Pierre. You walked closely to Pierre, unconsciously trying to catch some of his body heat as snow was now steadily falling from the sky. It made you miss the warmth of your home, the beating sun, the rise and fall of the waves as you walked home from work a much better scenery than this, although the beauty of the snow was hard to deny.
As you walked up to the front door of your apartment complex, you turned towards Pierre and saw him smiling goofily at you. "What's so funny?" you wondered and he shook his head. "Nothing. You just look adorable in this snow. It's obvious you aren't from here." he chuckled and lifted his phone quickly to take a picture of you, an amused look on your face.
He turned his phone to show you the photo and you smiled, immediately falling in love with the picture. It's true, it was glaringly obvious that you weren't from Winnipeg. "We don't get much snow in LA," you muttered and Pierre gave you a quizzical look. "What on earth are you doing all the way out here?" He asked and you smiled. "My college roommate is from here. I was ready for a change when I graduated so I moved back home with her. I've been here for a year now and I'm still not too sure." you admitted, being more honest with him than you had been with anyone about your living situation, which surprised you.
"I've only been here a month. I've liked it so far, but it doesn't feel like home yet." The vulnerability between the two of you was sobering, reminding you of the weather. "Well it's cold, I don't want you to freeze. I'll call you an Uber back to the bar. Thanks for walking me, truly. I appreciate your concern." You admitted and he smiled. "It's nothing, really. But one thing. Can I send you this picture? I think it's really perfect." he complimented, causing your cheeks to burn. "If you wanted my number, you could've just asked." You joked, now causing Pierre to blush. "That too," he rolled his eyes in faux annoyance.
"Goodnight, honey. I'll dream of you," he swooned, causing you to roll your eyes. "Goodnight Pierre." You hummed back. You would never admit that you dreamed of him too that night.
Tears streaming down your cheeks broke you out of your sorrowful flashback, the picture of you in the snow staring back at you. You kept it up at first to remind you that you could feel joy in Winnipeg, but as you packed it up, you realized that was obviously a failure.
You placed the picture frame in the now full box and sealed it with packing tape, grabbing a sharpie to label it clearly.
DO NOT OPEN.
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That was March, and now this was September. Somedays the breakup felt like yesterday and somedays it felt like a lifetime ago. There was still an ache in your heart somedays and other days you found yourself looking at other people.
It was mid-September, but the sun was still beating down hard. You didn't miss much about Winnipeg, but somedays the sun beat down just a bit too hard and you found yourself thinking about how the four seasons were so prominent there. You closed the door to the bar you had found yourself in back in LA, feeling a sense of deja vu as you turned the lock and pulled on the handle to ensure it worked.
"I seriously hope you don't still walk home in the dark alone after work."
There was no way his voice was behind you. You had to have been imagining it. The deja vu must've been getting too real. You shook your head out and turned towards the street. But there was nothing imaginary about the figure in front of you. You had spent so much time memorizing his face, his body, his heart. You knew him like the back of your hand.
"What are you doing here?" came out before you could stop yourself, your palm coming up to cover your mouth in embarrassment. "You didn't hear the news? 8 years upcoming with the LA Kings." You found yourself laughing out loud. There was no way.
"Well that can't be a coincidence." It was true that you missed Luc, a piece of your heart missing when he left. But that's exactly what he did: broke your heart. "Of course you were in mind when I signed. You're the love of my life." He admitted and you shook your head. "It sure didn't feel that way when you broke up with me."
It was probably an unfair comment, but you didn't care in that moment. He had shattered your heart when he left. Giving you no reason other than "it's the wrong time for us."
"That's not fair. I didn't want to leave you. I didn't have a choice. I was losing myself in that city and I couldn't let you watch it happen." He admitted and you scoffed. "So was I! God, Luc. I didn't think your pride was too big to admit that you needed help. You should've known I would've supported you." You came back at him with force, causing people on the street to stare at you.
"Of course I knew. I was embarrassed. I have loved you enough for three lifetimes and I couldn't even admit to you that I was struggling." You felt your heart crack. You knew that the toxic masculinity in hockey culture was unfair. You felt for him, that he felt he couldn't come to you with that. And while he loved you enough for three lifetimes, you loved him just the same. You felt tears brimming in your eyes, once again your self control leaving you.
"I missed you, Luc. So much," you told him tearily, causing him to bring you into a tight embrace.
"This time, I'm not going anywhere. I promise." And truly, you should've had more self control. You should've had more questions, more doubts. But in front of you was the man who walked you home the second time you met in a blizzard just to make sure you were safe. The man who helped you break down your walls and stood by you while you both fell and flourished. The man who would do anything to make you smile, make you feel loved. He was yours. He always would be.
You weren't sure how the universe aligned to bring you two back together, but as you held each other on the sidewalk, swaying back and forth under the street light, you knew you would be thankful for it everyday.
#elle’s writing#nhl imagine#la kings imagine#pierre luc Dubois imagine#pierre luc Dubois x reader#la kings#the summer fic exchange 2k23
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never said a thing - pierre luc dubois
summary: everyone knows that luc wants a trade... you're just the only person he hasn't told directly.
word count: 2,667
main character: gender neutral reader
note: this is a very very late pinch hitter fic for @pcttymcrlecu as part of the summer fic exchange 2k23. thank you for your patience!
i had to fudge the timeline because i didn't realise luc's trade request happened post-season. i really feel like it happened before the trade deadline
You’d known about Luc’s trade requests before you met him—the entire city of Winnipeg, the province of Manitoba and the entire NHL fan base knew. It was inescapable, just like it had been when he was moved to Winnipeg after requesting a trade out of Columbus.
You were happier about the first one, less so about the second and that only got worse as time went on and the official third one came.
Meeting Luc wasn’t anything you’d planned but had still taken longer than you’d expected it to. Winnipeg wasn’t small, though it certainly wasn’t the largest city, and everyone seemingly had some sort of connection to the Jets—even if it was a Six Degrees of Mark Scheifele sort of deal.
A friend of a friend knew where the younger Jets players liked to spend their free time, as if that wasn’t widely known by everyone in their 20s anyway, and you found yourself in the same bar as Luc, Logan and Jansen.
You found yourself at Luc’s house a lot after that.
Nobody seemed to mind the weird, nebulous state of your relationship—situationship is probably the best word to describe everything that you were. It hadn’t mattered, not really, that you showed up at Luc’s house at the first text with little care for the time he sent his you up? text because he was always just as quick to show up when you sent him a photo of your empty bed without any words to accompany it.
It was always You and Luc, even though there was no You and Luc.
The trade request rumours go unmentioned in the time you spend together—the first alleged request being negated by a one-year contract and the second, the most recent, never coming up. You couldn’t forget them, though. You caught yourself looking at Luc when his back was turned, hoping you could will him to talk to you. Hoping he would explain the request. Hoping he would tell you directly.
Time passed, though, without any mention from Luc that he no longer wanted to be in Winnipeg. Without any mention that whatever You and Luc were had an expiration date.
The Jets lost four games in a row, ending their season in the first round of the playoffs. It hurt because they’re your team—a crushing disappointment especially after winning the first game so soundly and taking game 3 to second overtime—and you watched every game from start to finish.
It was another turning point in your situationship with Luc. As much as you were always a text message away, Luc never asked right after road trips. You never expected him to. It was a boundary set in place that you were more than happy to adhere to.
Except.
The text wasn’t even the usual you up? but an explicit come over that had your heart rate spiking. It was the most direct either of you had ever been and you didn’t know what it meant at all.
He’d barely arrived home when you were buzzed into the building if the suitcase at the door was any indication. He looked exhausted, standing beside the intercom with his forehead pressed against the wall.
You didn’t wait before moving towards him, your footsteps disgustingly loud in the otherwise silent apartment, and pressed your forehead into the space between his shoulder blades.
In a hoarse voice, muffled by the wall he was leaning against, Luc asked, “When’s it my turn to win?”
He wasn’t crying, something you were grateful for because you knew you were ill equipped to deal with it, but he may well have been. The sagging of his limbs, so tired and dejected that his muscles weren’t even tense, and the defeat in his voice were foreign to you.
“What do you need from me?” you asked, unable to think of anything else and not wanting to make a wrong move and upset him even more.
He signed, his entire body shaking with it, and admitted that he just wanted to go to bed.
You agreed, despite it being far from what you’d gone for. Moving him was easy; he put up no resistance as you led him down to his room. You’d never seen him so low, never moved him so easily, and, as many times as you had undressed each other in that very room, taking his clothes off was the strangest part of it all.
He helped you undress him in so much as he moved his limbs when he needed to, but he was very much just doing as he was told.
“You’ve got so many more years in you, Luc,” you said when you were finally laying in the bed.
“It never feels that way.”
Waking up in Luc’s bed wasn’t strange by any means, nor, quite frankly, was the morning wood pressed against your lower back. Being the familiar territory that it was, you roused Luc from his sleep and started your morning the right way.
He was visibly happier than the night before—or, maybe not happier but definitely less noticeably distraught—and falling into old habits was simple and welcomed by both of you. The closeness, physical and emotional, something he needed judging by the way he held you through breathy moans.
It wasn’t until you were showered and sitting at his kitchen island with a coffee as he got ready for end-of-season interviews, grumbling as he moved throughout the house.
Your timing probably wasn’t the best, waiting until you were standing at his front door saying goodbye just before he fronted the media, but you had never shied from the hard conversations. Even if you delayed them until the last—often worst—possible moment.
“I’ll see you when you’re back for training camp?” you asked tentatively, wringing your hands in your lap.
Luc hesitated for so long that you thought he might never say anything. He couldn’t meet your eye when he said, “Yeah. End of August, probably.”
You watched him carefully, scrutinising the painful casualness of his response, the lack of any giveaways that he was lying or that he hoped what he was saying wasn’t true.
You knew too much, though.
His casual demeanour faltered as you met him with an equally long silence—you weren’t hesitating for any reason other than to make him uncomfortable.
He shifted his feet and looked everywhere in the room except at you. He was opening his mouth to speak when you finally decided to keep talking, cutting him off.
“Are you ever going to talk to me about requesting a trade?”
Luc’s demeanour changed from confused to defensive immediately when he asked, “Do I need to?”
“I mean… yeah?” you asked, stumbling over your words. “You were really just going to leave for the summer and never come back?”
“I—” The colour drained from his face. “Yeah.”
With your hands pulling at the bottom of your hoodie, you felt your heart rise into your throat. There wasn’t anything else for you to say, which was a blessing because if you opened your mouth, you weren’t sure what would have come out.
You nodded once, stiffly, and then again after a beat before you let the barstool screech against the tiles as you stood. He didn’t make any move to stop you as you grabbed your purse, and you could feel him staring as you walked out the door. You cursed the apartment building for having quiet closing doors when all that would have made you feel better was hearing something slam behind you.
June came and went, July disappeared as quick as it arrived and August… well August dragged on painfully.
You worked through the perfect weather and the perfect photos your friends posted of their perfect vacations. It wasn’t all that different from every other summer since you graduated and it was no different to the previous summer because you didn’t see him then anyway.
A lot of energy had been spent trying to get him out of your mind, not least because all of your work colleagues seemingly spent their every waking moment talking about Pierre-Luc Dubois and his trade request. When the trade to LA had finally happened, all they could talk about was “eight years and eight point five million, who does he think he is?” or “he’s just going to ask for another trade in 2 years so jokes on them!”
You, though? Mostly you’d been able to move past it. August rolled around and you didn’t care about Pierre-Luc Dubois.
Until, that is, you were standing in The Forks Market, ready to eat your weight in mini donuts because it had been a long, long week, and, above every other head you saw him.
You couldn’t leave in the rush that you wanted to, or at least suddenly speedrun the market, because you did want your donuts more than you wanted to leave so you turned your head, tried to hide behind some other people and hoped that he’d never spot you.
That was too much to ask for, of course.
The stall called your name and you knew that everybody in the immediate vicinity had heard it but still you collected your food and tried to make a beeline for the exit only to have your name called again.
You stopped but didn’t turn around, hoping that maybe Luc would just turn and leave but you knew that was foolish. You felt his presence as he got closer, his body so much larger than those around him that even without seeing him you just knew.
He said your name, in such a deceptively soft voice that you had no choice but to turn around, to look at him and see a sorrow on his face that you hadn’t ever expected. Definitely nothing you’d ever seen before.
“You got something to say or?” you prompted when he just continued to stare at you.
“How are you?”
You recoiled at the question, your eyebrows pulling together, followed by an eye roll so rapid that it actually hurt. Luc flinched himself but didn’t rush to say anything else.
“That’s not the conversation I want to have,” you said, brutally honest. “Especially not with you. So, I’m going to take my food and leave. Enjoy LA.”
You stepped away, causing him to stand up straighter and reach for you—but only briefly before he thought better of it. Still, he said, rushed, “Come back to mine.”
“And why should I do that?”
“I have—” he cleared his throat. “I have to talk to you and I don’t want to do that here.”
You hesitated but ultimately agreed when curiosity got the better of you. As much as you’d not wanted to think about him, it had been impossible to shake the desire for any sort of explanation.
Walking into his apartment again didn’t feel like a bad idea, but it did feel weird to see it mostly empty with packing boxes stacked against the walls. You didn’t need to be reminded that he was going—gone—and yet the reminder still had you looking away instantly back to Luc.
Luc pulled out the food that he’d bought at the market—an actual meal—and set it down on the kitchen island where the only remaining seats in his apartment were, just three barstools.
“I hope they gave you a fork because I don’t have any cutlery,” he said sheepishly.
You sat down beside him, placed your own bag down and told him, smiling to yourself, “I don’t think I need a fork to eat mini donuts.”
The laugh that erupted from him shocked both of you. You more so, you thought, because you weren’t sure you’d ever heard him laugh so heartily, so carefree. It ended up being the reason for your abrupt silence, the joy being pulled from you and a donut being shoved into your mouth to avoid any questioning.
He didn’t seem to notice that your laughter had stopped for any reason other than deciding to eat, so he ate his curry still smiling and starting a conversation about Ryan Gosling as Ken that you had to admit was endearing even if you didn’t want to. Your own contribution to that conversation was minimal despite how much you had enjoyed the movie in the first place.
“Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?” you asked during a break in the conversation where Luc was getting ready to start playing the movie’s soundtrack. That was so far past normal that you had to get out of it, that you had to bring him back to the reason you’d even gone to his apartment in the first place.
Luc looked chastised as he put his phone back down on the table. He turned the stool so that he was facing you, the one stool still in between you, and all joy had fallen from his face. He reached one hand out, resting it on the empty stool, and inhaled.
“I asked for a trade.”
“So, I heard.”
“I can’t keep losing.”
“Oh,” you said, feigning sympathy, “Because the Kings got so much further than the Jets did. Understandable.”
Whatever was left of his openness disappeared, his face making it clear that he’d shuttered. You didn’t care, really, when that was the lame excuse you’d gotten.
“I don’t even care about that,” you said, waving off the poor excuse. “Honestly, I don’t care that you requested it because whatever it’s your career and your life, you can leave if you want—why didn’t you tell me, Luc? If I hadn’t asked, I really don’t think you would have told me.”
“I should have,” he admitted, without hesitation, his face relaxing into something somewhat remorseful. “I know I should have. Even if we’re just… casual, fuckbuddies, whatever we’re calling it, of course I should have told you. It just took me until you got mad for me to realise that.”
“What? You didn’t realise I was human until that moment?”
“I didn’t realise you cared.”
That chastened you quite effectively, because it was true that you’d never given much—or any—indication that it was more than just sex. Not a great deal more, at least not until you thought you were going to lose him, but enough that the friends in friends-with-benefits had clearly meant a lot more to you than it did to him. You couldn’t have expected him to know that when your conversations were limited to if the roads were okay on the drive to one another’s place.
You admitted, quietly, your eyes averted to your lap, “I don’t know if I did until I heard you wanted out. Then I thought about it at length and by the time I asked you about it… Lying to me is just about the worst thing you could have done.”
“I didn’t think you’d bring it up,” he said slowly. “I really just thought you would leave; I’d go back to Quebec and then, when the season started, I’d be somewhere else and then you asked and… I realised I cared about leaving you behind.”
Your eyes fell shut, overwhelmed by what he’d told you. You were sure nobody had ever cared about leaving you behind before. You wondered, briefly, how long it would have taken Luc to contact you if he hadn’t seen you that evening, though it was something that could be found out later. More pressing was the confession you’d just received.
Your eyes opened, and Luc was looking at you with a softness and longing that overwhelmed you all over again. All you did was laugh nervously, shyly, to yourself, and tell him, “I don’t even know anything about you that I haven’t learnt from the Jets’ broadcasts.”
“I don’t think I know anything about you either,” he confessed, unabashed. “I want to learn; if you want to teach me.”
Please consider leaving feedback—reblog and write in the tags or send an ask, I’m not fussed. I just want to know what you’re thinking!
i forgot i have a tag list rip (very sorry if you’ve already seen the fic!!)
@fallinallincurls @spine-buster @2manytabsopen @xcicix @sorryjustafangirl @senditcolton @shinyfalcon4 @laurenairay @jarmorie @diary-of-jj @its-bitchin-belle-bitches @sssstarstruck @pr3nt1ss
#pierre luc dubois fic#pierre luc dubois imagine#nhl fic#nhl imagine#hockey imagine#hockey fic#homemade fic#the summer fic exchange 2k23#a patented antoineroussel ending™️#fic: kings
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Disney Magic || Mat Barzal
Summary: A trip to Disney World with Mat and a few of your shared friends results in some mutual confessions.
Word Count: 2,761 (i got carried away with this one)
Warnings: none (please let me know if you find any that i should add)
Maleeha’s Masterlist
a/n: here’s my entry for the summer fic exchange 2k23 hosted by the lovely @wyattjohnston! this was written for @tinyhockey! i hope you like it cam! this was so much fun to write!
also, the poutine part of this fic is very much based on when i had to share a bowl of poutine with my cousin when she was 7. it’s a childish thing to do and i thought it would fit our favourite man-child perfectly
this is gender neutral. hope you enjoy this! feedback is appreciated
LIKES ARE GREAT, REBLOGS ARE BETTER ♡
Every summer, you and a few of your friends went to Florida to go to Disney World. It was one of your favourite places to go to and you liked to bring along as many of your friends as you could, so that they could experience the happiness that is Disney World. Your most recent trip to Disney lined up perfectly with the beginning of Mat’s off-season and luckily, you had been able to convince him to partake in your Disney trip with four of your mutual friends.
Your trip was five days long and planned so that you and your friends would tackle one park a day, with a day off in the middle to hang out at the hotel you were staying at and browse around Disney Springs. On the first day of the trip, you had to spend the entire day in Epcot, your favourite park. Your favourite ride in the park was Soarin’, so that was the first ride you went on. Everyone in your group, besides Mat, had been to Disney World before, so they all knew how great Soarin’ was, but Mat was a little hesitant to go on the ride, thinking it was lame.
“I don’t wanna go on it!” Mat whined, giving you a fake pout. “The line’s so long and the ride is gonna be so slow.” You glared at him in fake annoyance, determined to get him on the ride.
“Mathew,” you scolded him as if you were a parent scolding their five-year-old child. “you are going on that ride. You’re gonna like it.” He opened his mouth to complain more, but you cut him off before he could even begin. “Trust me, you’re going to like it. I thought Soarin’ was lame before I went on it, but I ended up loving it.”
Mat stayed in his spot, acting like a stubborn child. When your other friends realized what was going on, they joined you in convincing Mat to go on the ride, but Mat being the stubborn man-child that he is, you and your friends resulted in physically dragging him into the line.
Once you got to the ride, you and your friends placed your belongings under your seats, cringed at the people who took their shoes off, and sat down together in a row of seats. As your row began to go up into the air, Mat looked down to look how far up your seats would go.
“Don’t look down, it ruins the magic.” You said, leaning over to whisper in his ear. As you turned your gaze back towards the screen in front of you, Mat reached over the armrest between your seats, grabbing your hand in his and squeezing it to acknowledge what you had said.
Throughout the ride, you found yourself glancing over at Mat, enjoying watching him be fascinated by Soarin’. When the ride was over, you let go of Mat’s hand to retrieve your belongings from underneath your seat, missing the feeling of his hand in yours.
"Did you like it?" You asked Mat once you exited the ride.
"It was fine." He quickly answered.
"Don't lie to me." A slight smirk appeared on your face as you watched Mat come to terms with that yes, you were right and yes, he did enjoy the ride.
"Alright, fine. Yes, I liked it."
"I told you so!" You teased as he dramatically rolled his eyes.
—————
After you went on Soarin’ you and your friends decided to do your second favourite thing at Epcot: hopping around from country to country to eat as much as you could. You first took a short walk over to Canada, where you got poutine from Le Cellier Steakhouse. You and your friends weren’t overly hungry, so you all decided to buy three orders of poutine so that two people could share one bowl and you ended up having to share with Mat.
While you were eating, you noticed that you didn’t have many cheese curds in your poutine. At first, you thought your bowl didn’t have as many as you thought it should, but then you realized that Mat had been hoarding them on his side of the bowl.
“Mat, why are you eating all of the cheese curds?” you spewed out without taking any breaths in between your words.
“I like more cheese curds with my poutine!” He defended himself.
“And I like a normal amount of cheese curds in my poutine! Give some back to me!” Mat dramatically pouted for a bit before begrudgingly giving you half of his pile of cheese curds.
You knew the last place you wanted to eat at was La Crêperie de Paris in France. You and your friends always ate dessert crêpes there before heading back to your hotel for the night. After eating the crêpes, you spotted Aurora, your favourite princess. Someone was next to her, but you thought it was a cast member until you were closer to her and realized it was Prince Phillip. He was rarely in Epcot with her and you were beyond excited that you would finally get a picture with both of them in Epcot.
You and your group had a conversation with both Aurora and Phillip before taking a selfie of all of you and then each getting individual pictures taken with them.
You were the last person to get your picture with them and right before you left, Mat spurted out “Wait! I wanna get a picture with you and them!” Aurora, standing next to you, smiled and gestured for him to stand between you and Phillip.
“Is he your prince?” Aurora asked politely. You were too stunned at her statement to speak, while Mat was laughing.
“No.” He answered for you. “Not yet, at least.” He said quieter as he grabbed your hand for the second time that day before one of your friends took a few pictures.
———��—
The second day of your Disney trip was spent in Magic Kingdom. You started the day by going to meet Rapunzel and Tiana, your favourite princesses after Aurora. As you and Mat talked to Rapunzel, she spoke about how she liked to paint with Eugene and commented that you and Mat should do the same one day since 'it's just so much fun!' After Aurora's comment from the day before, you couldn't help but think that Rapunzel also thought you two were dating. But alas, you took your picture with her and Mat wanted one with you, just like he had in Epcot.
When you got to Tiana, you told her about the time you tried to make beignets and how they didn't turn out well, so you fed them to Mat because you didn't want to waste food.
She responded with "Don't worry, whenever I mess up my cooking, I give it to Naveen." Okay, maybe you brought that one upon yourself.
After meeting a few more characters, you went on the rides which were your favourite part of Magic Kingdom. You had to force Mat onto Small World since he claimed that he didn't want to go on it to avoid getting the song stuck in his head, but you got him on the ride after he stated that he always found himself having a difficult time saying no to you. You might have also creeped him out a little when you all went on Haunted Mansion as you said every line and sang every word throughout the ride.
Before leaving to go to the hotel, you had to get a bowl of popcorn, which Mat kept eating out of despite saying he didn’t want any popcorn. And of course, it wasn’t a trip to Magic Kingdom without watching a parade. You and your friends sat lined up on the sidewalk as you waved to all the characters that passed by.
—————
In the middle of your Disney trip, your group took a break from the parks and went to Disney Springs. You started your day by sleeping in; you all were exhausted from your two days at the parks and finally got some well-deserved rest. Mat wanted to go in the hotel’s pool after breakfast, but you scolded him and told him that he needed to digest before going in, so you and your group piled into one hotel room and played a few chaotic rounds of uno.
After twenty minutes, Mat and two of your friends left to change into their bathing suits and go into to pool. You and your remaining two friends decided to stay inside and continue playing Uno. About forty minutes later, Mat and your friends who went swimming re-entered the hotel room you were in, playfully threatening to get water on the three of you as they were sopping wet. Your two friends gave up after a minute or so, but Mat was very determined, chasing you around the room before engulfing you in a bear hug, resulting in some of the water that was on him getting onto you.
After you and half of your group got dry and changed, you all played a few more card games that you had brought before eating dinner at the hotel. You are enough food to make sure you were full, but not too much so that you would be able to eat something from Gideon’s Bakehouse in Disney Springs.
You and your friends made your way over to Disney Springs, not really planning on buying anything, but just going to browse around and enjoy the atmosphere. You kept an eye out for any plushes or dolls you wanted since you enjoyed collecting them. When you got to World of Disney, you spotted an Aurora doll that you didn’t have. As you walked around the store, you kept glancing over at it, but you constantly broke your glance whenever you saw the price tag, which was well over what you were willing to spend.
After leaving World of Disney, a few of your friends left to go to the washroom, including Mat, or so you thought. What actually happened was that Mat went back into the store and bought the Aurora doll for you. When he came back, he was holding the box behind his back to hide it from your sight.
“Mathew, what did you buy?” you asked.
“Oh, nothing.” He played it off. “Just something for you.” You rolled your eyes at his statement.
“How many times have I told you that you don’t need to buy me anything?”
“Yeah, I know. But you couldn’t keep your eyes off of this so I had to get it.”
“No, you did not.” You said in disbelief.
“I did and don’t tell me to return it or that it was too expensive because I really want you to have it because you deserve it and you’re a great person and I lo- like how much you get excited about these type of things.” Mat rambled.
Before you could say anything in response to his rambling, one of your friends noticed what happened.
“Awww that’s so cute Mat!” They exclaimed.
“Who knew Mathew was a softie.” Another added.
—————
The fourth day of your trip to Disney was spent entirely in Animal Kingdom. You got to the park early so that you could eat breakfast at Tusker House. The POG juice (passion fruit, orange, and guava juice) served during breakfast was a must-have and you needed to get Mat to like it as much as you did.
The very first thing you did after breakfast was speed-walk your way to Flight of Passage. You loved this ride; it was so immersive and made you feel like you were actually flying on a banshee. Before going on, you explained to Mat how the ride worked and to not look down or to the sides, just as you had when you went on Soarin'. However, just like when you went on Soarin’, you broke your own rule and looked to your right where Mat was sitting and enjoyed watching him gleam with joy as the artificial wind blew through his hair.
The only mistake you made while at Animal Kingdom was bringing Mat to Finding Nemo the Musical. You loved going to watch the show, it was a cute musical and was inside an air-conditioned building, what’s better than that? You realized your mistake when Crush’s song “Go With the Flow” occurred. You looked over to Mat, only to see him dancing to the song and smirking mischievously. Knowing him, he was going to sing that song for the rest of the day and that’s exactly what he did. Every ten minutes or so, Mat would dramatically, and badly, sing the one line of the song he knew: “go with the flooooowwwww”.
You ended your day at Animal Kingdom with… more singing from Mat. You and your friends always see the Festival of the Lion King which resulted in everyone singing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”. Mat being Mat, sang that the entire way back to the hotel, annoying you and the rest of your group.
—————
The last day of your trip arrived faster than you expected. You got up early, and you planned on getting to the hotel late. You started off the day by waiting in the long, endless line for Rise of the Resistance. You and your friends who you usually go to Disney with were completely fine with the wait. Yes, it was hot and humid, but you all knew how to keep each other entertained in line. Mat, on the other hand, complained about everything: the heat, the humidity, the fact that he wanted to sleep in, the fact that he couldn’t sit down anywhere, but your least favourite complaint from him was that ‘the ride’s not gonna be worth the wait.’ Lo and behold, once Mat got off the ride, he told you that he absolutely loved it and wanted to ride it again. As much as you wanted to, you knew you couldn’t go on the ride again unless you didn’t want to go on all the rides you wanted to go on.
After Ruse of the Resistance, you went on Toy Story Mania. You were paired with Mat since he begged to go with you. Throughout the ride, you kept glancing over to Mat and watched as he blasted targets with his tongue stuck out of your mouth in concentration. You, of course, beat him by a lot resulting in a lot of whining from Mat and a lot of bragging from your end.
You went on more rides, and saved a break for lunch at Woody’s Lunch Box, until the evening, when you went to go watch Fantasmic. It was a must-do for you every time you went to Hollywood Studios and you weren’t planning on skipping that on your most recent trip. Throughout the show, instead of glancing over to Mat, like you did for other rides and attractions, you kept your eyes glued to the show. You cried once Mickey appeared at the top of the mountain, resulting in Mat making sure you were okay and a few teasing comments from the rest of your friends.
“They cry every time Mickey appears on that mountain.” One of your friends told Mat after Fantasmic ended.
“I love how excited you get about every Disney-related,” Mat admitted to you. “I love-” he cut himself off before quietly adding “you.”
“We should give them some space.” Another one of your friends said, before teasingly laughing and guiding everyone else away from you two. “We’ll meet you at the hotel.”
“You love me?” You asked. Mat nodded, humming to reassure you that what he said was true. “I feel the same about you, but I don’t know…”
“You don’t know?” Mat asked, prompting you to continue your thought.
“I don’t know if I want to be in a relationship with you.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’d be my first relationship and all first relationships never end well.”
“That’s not true.”
“Name one first relationship that lasted.” Mat stayed quiet. “Exactly, you can’t think of anyone.”
“I’m not going to hurt you.” Mat softly said. “If that’s what you’re afraid of.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of.” You admitted.
“I promise you, I’m not going to hurt you,” Mat stated, looking you in your eyes as a way of telling you that he was serious. “Alright?”
“Alright.” You thought for a few seconds before adding “Can you be my boyfriend?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
——————————
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Sweet Like Cinnamon // Timo Meier
Word Count: 3.8K
Summary: This is my submission for the wonderful @matthewtkachuk in The Summer Fic Exchange 2k23, organized by the lovely @wyattjohnston! It’s a falling in love story with a dual timeline so I hope everyone enjoys ☺️
Warnings: resolved angst, cursing, accidental hurt/comfort (ish)
Your hands shook as you read the notification lighting up your screen: Timo Meier extended eight years in New Jersey. Click for contract details.
You quickly swiped it away, biting your lip as you contemplated what to do next. Things hadn’t been the best between you since playoff’s but this changed everything. You had to call him, right? Maybe just a text, to be safe.
T, I just saw the news congratulations! I can’t wait to see you in the fall.
It was already mid-afternoon in Jersey, so you knew it had to be late in Switzerland. Plus, he was probably getting bombarded with messages. With those thoughts in mind, you went about your day without worrying too much that a text didn’t arrive by the time you were getting into bed. As your thoughts inevitably drifted back to him, you couldn’t help but feel surprised that you’d only met him a few months ago.
***
Nico had given you all of three hours’ notice that you’d be having a stranger as a house guest for the next couple months and that had been about two and a half hours ago. You didn’t mind having new guys on the team stay with you, that’d been happening for years, but an earlier warning would’ve been nice.
That was actually how you’d met Nico years ago: your brother, Adam, was a veteran on the team at the time and offered his home to the rookie who knew so few people in the States. You’d been finishing up college and were accustomed to your brother’s teammates constantly coming and going as you juggled schoolwork and internships. Nico had crashed the longest because you two grew so close. When he did finally move out, it was only for the two of you to move into the same building together across town.
You were drawn back to the present as your doorbell rang just as you finished tucking in the quilt in your guest room. Nico really had some nerve being early after springing this on you last minute. You padded over to the door, throwing it open to see him and a bigger guy laughing.
“Hey guys, come on in” you said moving out of the way so they could roll in Timo’s suitcases. “I’m Y/N.”
“Timo, I can’t thank you enough for doing this” he replied, offering his hand once he’d gotten his bags inside. You shook it, unsurprised to find that his hand easily engulfed your own.
“I don’t mind at all, it’s nice to finally meet you” you said honestly; Nico had spoken of Timo often over the years. “Hello Nico.”
“Ouch, that’s all I get from my American sister?” he teased, holding out his arms for a hug. You rolled your eyes but quickly embraced him.
“You’ll get a warmer greeting once you make up for the late notice” you chastised before turning back to Timo. “But seriously, I’m glad I can help. Nico just didn’t give me much time to get the place ready.”
“I think that’s mostly my fault” Timo admitted, grimacing. “I assumed I’d crash with him and didn’t call until my plane was about to take off. I forgot Nina was staying with him for a bit.”
“Ah, I see. So, what you’re saying is I should have had Nina stay with me and leave you two to fend for yourselves at his place” you teased, earning their laughter.
***
When your alarm pulled you from sleep, your stomach sank that there was no reply from Timo waiting for you. As you got ready for your day, you debated calling him—maybe the text had fallen through the cracks. It wouldn’t be weird if you called, right? You finally bit the bullet and hit his name as you pulled onto the busy Newark streets. More worry flooded your system as your call went directly to voicemail.
“Um, hey T, it’s just me. I sent you a text but I wanted to let you know how I happy I am that you’ll be in Jersey for the next eight years. You deserve it and I can’t wait to celebrate when you’re back in the fall. Um, okay, call me back when you can. Bye!”
Work was crazy that morning so you eagerly pulled your phone out as you sat down with your lunch, expecting to finally hear from Timo. Disappointment filled your chest as his name was nowhere to be found in your notifications. You realized suddenly you hadn’t heard from Nico all day, which was unusual in and of itself but particularly given the good news so you shot him a text:
I’m on lunch, you around to chat? Miss you!
Your lunch hour passed with no reply from either Swiss boy and you tossed your phone back into your bag feeling dejected as another memory replayed in your mind.
***
You’d jolted awake at the sound of the door opening behind your spot on the couch. Timo had been staying with you for a few weeks at this point but you still weren’t totally used to not having the place to yourself. You rubbed the sleep out of your eyes, grabbing the remote to turn off the television broadcasting a Devils loss, hoping Timo hadn’t noticed. You turned around to greet him and noticed he didn’t quite seem like himself.
“Hey, you okay over there?” you asked tentatively. While the two of you had grown friendly, this was the first time he’d come home visibly upset after a game. If it was your brother, you knew not to talk to him until he came to you. If it was Nico, you’d already be popping some popcorn for you two to share. But Timo was a wild card.
“Just a shit game” he mumbled, slipping off his shoes and shaking off his jacket.
“How can I help?”
The offer seemed to surprise him, his hands freezing where they worked on loosening his tie. “I wouldn’t want to bother you” he replied but you could tell he was hoping you’d meant it.
“What’s your post-loss treat of choice? Nico’s is always popcorn but I have chips, ice cream, you name it” you offered as you stood and stretched before walking into the kitchen.
“Do we have any of those cinnamon cookies left you made the other day?” he questioned quietly, making you smile. You loved baking for people so it pleased you he had deemed them worthy of softening the blow of a tough loss.
“Go get changed, I’ll get them out.”
Since Timo had arrived, you’d noticed he seemed to hate feeling like a bother. He’d waited almost a week before letting you know he wasn’t sure how to get to the closest grocery store since his car was still being shipped from California. Similarly, he’d apologized on and off for days after dropping his lunch on your rug even though he’d insisted on cleaning it himself and you could never find the ‘stain’ he asserted he left behind. Because of these experiences, you waited until you heard his footsteps retreat down the hall before pre-heating the oven and grabbing the leftover dough from the freezer.
You hummed to yourself as you began lining the tray with cookies, keeping an ear out for the return of his footsteps. By the time you heard them, the oven was almost ready and you were sitting on the countertop. He took in the scene before him and shot you a look, “You didn’t have to make more, it was just—”
“I wanted to” you cut him off. “Plus, I’m comfy up here so you have to put the tray in when the oven beeps, so you’re helping anyways.”
He rolled his eyes playfully but nodded, “Thanks, I appreciate it.”
A not quite comfortable silence descended for several moments until the oven beeped and Timo dutifully placed the tray on the center rack.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
He sighed as he shut the oven, turning to face you—he looked absolutely exhausted. “Not much to say, I’ve been playing like shit since I got here.”
“Oh, none of that” you chastised him, tossing a towel at his face in protest.
“What was that for?” he laughed in surprise as he caught it before it bonked him in the head.
“That was for being way too hard on yourself. It’s a new team, a new system, a new city all while you’re still recovering from an injury. No one was expecting you to come in at 100%.”
He shrugged, chewing on his lip as he processed your words, “But I’m a free agent at the end of the season, I have to prove myself.”
“UFA or RFA?”
“Restricted. But I like it here so far and it’s fun playing with so many other Swiss guys. I want to do well with what time I have so I can sign for longer here.”
You nodded in understanding, “I know it can be tough not knowing where you’ll likely be long-term but all you can do is take it day by day.”
“You sound just like Nico” he teased and you rolled your eyes.
“My actual brother has been in the league a long time and I’ve been close with Nico for over five years now. So, I have some experience calming down guys I care about while they catastrophize after a loss.”
“Are you going to adopt me like you did Nico?” he asked tentatively and there was something in the way he held himself, avoiding your gaze, that made you pause. You couldn’t quite tell if he was asking because he wanted you to or if he was thinking of something more.
“Nah, I have enough brothers” you tried which earned a grin from him that made your toes curl.
“Good, my sister wouldn’t be too happy either” he joked and a far more comfortable silence settled between you.
“We don’t have to talk about it anymore if you don’t want to but I don’t mind listening if you do.”
His head dipped again but not before you caught the pink tinging his cheeks. “Would it be weird if I admitted a hug would really help?”
You grinned at him opening your arms wide, “Hugs and cookies, that I can do.”
He returned your smile before stepping between your legs and wrapping his arms around your shoulders. Yours twined around his middle and you rested your cheek against his broad shoulder. As you rubbed his back, you felt the muscles slowly begin to loosen beneath your touch. Feeling bold, you moved one hand to his hair, massaging the scalp underneath which earned you a grateful sigh as more of his weight settled against you.
“Thank you” he murmured into your hair softly.
“My pleasure” you said just as the oven timer dinged, causing him to draw himself up and away from you. He began to turn to get the tray but paused, looking back at you for a moment before placing a gentle kiss on your cheek. He was reaching for an oven mitt before you could process the tender act and how it made your heart both race and settle itself.
***
The rest of your work day passed in a blur, juggling your responsibilities with your thoughts constantly circling back to Timo. As you walked to your car and could finally check your phone, you felt your frustration flare as you scrolled through your notifications and didn’t see anything from Timo or Nico.
You hurriedly tapped Nico’s contact as you left the parking garage, hoping to get some reassurance that you were overthinking. But you felt anger rise as it rang only a few times before you were sent to voicemail.
“What the fuck?” you mumbled to yourself, drumming your fingers on your steering wheel as you waited to leave a message. “Nics, it’s me, can you call me when you get this? It’s important. Okay, bye.”
You went out to dinner with friends as a distraction but constantly checked your phone until your best friend finally snatched it away. You were admittedly grateful she forced you to stop obsessively staring at it but your swirling thoughts were another story.
By the time you’d settled into bed for the night, you were certain you weren’t going to hear from Timo. Nico would probably reach out with some excuse for himself and his friend and that would be that. As you tossed and turned, you found you couldn’t stop the memories flooding your mind.
***
The bass was throbbing and you could barely hear yourself think as you people-watched from your seat in a corner booth. All the guys, their partners, and friends were at the bar celebrating clinching a play-off spot. You’d been there a few hours already and were ready to go home but didn’t want to rush Timo—he’d earned the time enjoying himself and his teammates.
You were lost in this train of thought when you felt a hand land on your shoulder. Your eyes rose to meet Timo’s as he leaned down to speak in your ear. “You look like you could use a break, want some fresh air?”
You eagerly nodded in agreement, taking the hand he offered to help you out of the booth. You were a little surprised when he held onto it as you two made your way to the cool air outside. You took a deep breath as you leaned back against the building, closing your eyes to appreciate what a gorgeous night it was after the long winter months.
Your eyes flew open when you felt him tuck a strand of hair behind your ear. His bright blue eyes were intent, the smell of his cologne enveloping you as you took a shaky breath. As his hand moved to rest on your cheek you noticed its slight tremor before he leaned in. When his lips met yours, the kiss was achingly tender and gentle, as if he worried you might break.
Before you could doubt yourself, your hands clasped around the back of his neck, pulling him closer. As the heat of his body pressed into yours, you opened your mouth to his exploring tongue and briefly lost yourself in the feel of him. But all too soon, rational thoughts flooded back into your mind: he didn’t have a contract, you didn’t know where he’d be in a few months’ time, you didn’t want to jeopardize your friendship with Nico, you couldn’t risk him not feeling for you how you did for him.
Seeming to sense your unease, Timo pulled away slightly, eyes searching yours while his thumb gently stroked your cheek.
“Fuck, I’m sorry, I can’t do this” you mumbled, turning away from the intensity of his gaze and running your hands over your face.
“What’s wrong? It seemed good and then…” his words trailed off as he waited for you to turn back to him. The best you could do was face him again while keeping your eyes firmly on the ground. “Are you upset with me?”
“What? No, of course not” you replied, finally looking up at him. His face bore confusion, hurt, and worry which made you feel even shittier about your inability to find the right words to explain yourself.
“Do you still want to sign in Jersey long-term?” He opened his mouth to respond but you steamrolled ahead. “I just mean, you’re a free agent come summer. Even if you wanted to be here long-term, it doesn’t mean it would happen. You could end up with a bridge deal or being traded again and I just—”
He cut you off by pulling you into his embrace. You sighed, breathing in his scent as you held onto him tightly.
“There’s too many unknowns aren’t there?” he asked quietly and you nodded into his chest. He held you for another moment, hand gently stroking your hair, before he pulled away to look at you. “I get it, really, I do.”
But there was something shifting in his face, the warm openness you were accustomed to was hardening before your eyes. “No, don’t do that” you begged, hands cupping his face.
“Do what?”
“I can see you shutting me out” you said sadly and he flinched slightly at your words. “And if you have to, I understand, but I really care about you, T. Enough that I can’t just dive in and take it as it comes, because if you end up somewhere else or are only here for a season, I can’t do that…it would hurt too much.”
He took a deep breath before leaning his forehead against yours, “No, you’re right. If we’re going to do this, I want to do it right. You deserve that much.”
“I’m sorry” you whispered.
“Me too” he replied, placing a gentle kiss to your forehead.
Since that night, you’d been friendly with each other but things were understandably different. The looming unknowns of his future, as well as that of your relationship, hung heavy between you despite your best efforts. As you watched the boys shake Carolina’s hands onscreen, you busied yourself making a batch of cookies for Timo. You were leaving in an hour for a work trip and he’d likely be home in Switzerland when you returned a week later. All that was left unsaid sat like a rock on your chest.
As the cookies baked, you pulled out a sheet of paper to write him a note to go with them:
I’m so proud of you, T. I’m sorry I can’t be here with you but I’m just a phone call away if you want to talk. I’ll miss you this summer and hope I’ll see you again in the fall. -Me
When you landed a few hours later, you’d received a thank you text from Timo but nothing more. Over the next week, you did your best to accept that this distance between you two would be the new norm for at least a few months, possibly beyond that. But, when you walked into your kitchen after returning home, a little flicker of hope reignited at the sight of your favorite sweatshirt of his left neatly folded for you on the counter.
***
That hope hadn’t lasted long as the summer dragged on. You two texted occasionally at the start but navigating this limbo was difficult. You wanted him to make the decision that was best for him and his future—all you could do was wait until then. As you burrowed yourself deeper into the warmth of his sweatshirt, you finally drifted off to sleep.
Only to be woken up a few hours later by incessant pounding on your front door. You nearly knocked your lamp over in your hurry to illuminate your room so you could get to the door and stop the noise echoing throughout your apartment.
“I’m coming!” you called, annoyance lacing your voice. The building had better be on fire for someone to wake you up at 2AM like this. The knocks blessedly stopped and you yanked the door open. You fell back a step at the sight that greeted you: Timo, hair messy, bags under his eyes, two suitcases behind him.
You two stared at each other for a long moment before he cleared his throat, “Can I, um, come in?”
You shook off your shock and opened the door for him, “Of course, I’m sorry, I’m just surprised.”
“Hopefully good surprised?” he asked nervously.
“Mostly exhausted and confused and a little hurt you’ve been ignoring me for over a day now” you admitted then cursed yourself. “I’m sorry, I’m still waking up, I didn’t mean to snap like that.”
“No, I’m sorry, I was going to stay at a hotel and call you in the morning but I just wanted to see you after all those flights.”
As you processed what he said, your brain was finally starting to catch up. “Timo, have you been travelling here since you re-signed?”
His cheeks pinkened and he nodded, nervously playing with the handle of his suitcase. “Why would you do that?” you asked when he offered nothing more.
“I’ve missed you so much” he admitted, eyes meeting yours. “I get why we paused, really, I do, but it was torture being with you here every day, being just friends again. I thought it’d be easier back home with less reminders of you, but it wasn’t. Not at all. I kept wanting to call but I didn’t want to upset you. I knew my agent was working on as long-term of a deal as possible but I didn’t want to get your, or my, hopes up until it was finalized. So, when it finally was, I just wanted to see you.”
“You flew all the way here just to see me?” you asked, emotions tightening your throat.
“I guess I should have asked first instead of assuming” he mumbled shaking his head at himself but you quickly stepped forward and took his hands.
“No, this is perfect, I just can’t believe you’d do that for me” you explained, eyes tearing up. “I’ve missed you too. So much.”
That was all it took—before you could blink, his lips were crashing into yours. If your first kiss was tentative and sweet this kiss was its opposite. All of the emotions of the past few months came pouring out as you desperately clung to him. His fingers dug into your hips as he pulled you flush against his frame, and you melted into the warmth of his embrace. Your teeth clashed and your tongues fought for dominance and you couldn’t breathe but you wouldn’t pull away.
Finally, he pulled back panting and buried his face into your neck. You soothingly ran your fingers through his hair as you both caught your breath. His hands snuck up from your hips to slide under your sweatshirt, “Is this mine?” he asked and you felt his lips pull into a smile.
“Maybe” you replied and giggled as he tickled your sides in response. “Would it totally freak you out if I admitted I haven’t washed it since you left? I didn’t want it to stop smelling like you.”
He pulled away to place a gentler kiss on your now swollen mouth. “I won’t be freaked out by that if you won’t be freaked out that I only let myself finish that last batch of cookies on the plane ride here.”
You threw your head back in laughter at his admission, “They have to be so stale by now.”
“I didn’t care, they were all I had of you back home.”
Your heart warmed at his words, and you stood on tiptoes to kiss his forehead softly. “If I’d known, I would’ve left behind something of mine that wouldn’t expire on you.”
“I’ll forgive you as long as you let me stay with you for a while.”
“I can do that. How long do you think you’ll be here before you fly home?”
“Only long enough to convince you to take the trip back with me. Nico misses you too, you know.”
A/N: Thank you for reading! Shelbs, I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did writing 💕 Thank you for the freedom you gave me; I tried to put in details so it still felt personalized you.
#timo meier x reader#timo meier blurb#timo meier fic#nhl blurb#nhl fic#the summer fic exchange 2k23#nj devils#nj devils blurb#nj devils fic#timo meier
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ANDREI SVECHNIKOV - HATE HATE HATE
Written for @comphy-and-cozy sorry if it was a bitt late. My editing for chapters take awhile, especially if working on other stuff. I decided to cut this up, as it didn't make sense to put another scene I've written with this one.
Thank you @jackhghes for helping me to semi edit this. I'm horrible at editing and it probably would take me a whole month to edit this. Also, very sorry about the delay. My ADHD just distracts me all the time, but when's not a good time to release this then now!
Also for the part about reader not thinking much into it or acting on it. It's because I kinda wanted this to be a semi-slow burn, where reader is oblivious.
TW: the reader gets drugged (nobody knows, so we just say we drank a lot), drinking, reader is very depressed but is fine later on, sexual tension (briefly).
Words marked with this font mean it's a flashback. People included in flashbacks will be a key part in later chapters :)
Word Count: 4k? 3k? Idk.
CHAPTER 1 - Hatred
Hatred…
That’s one word you thought you would never use. Except, of course, for the times when you were younger when you would say it to your siblings when they were being annoying or making you angry, but you never meant it.
You didn’t know you were capable of hating someone so much until you met Andrei Svechnikov.
As soon as you met the Russian, you were already certain that the two of you would have little chance of getting along. You hated his arrogant behaviour and his ‘I don't care’ attitude.
You usually didn’t mind when people were arrogant and had big egos; growing up, you had to encounter that a lot between your siblings. You didn’t remember much growing up, only that you were raised in Finland before you decided to move. Although it's difficult for you to recall specific memories from your time in Finland, they frequently come back to you when your siblings bring them up.
Your favourite memory that constantly comes back to you is when you and your brother both learned how to skate at the same time. You both instantly got the hang of it. You had always wished that your parents could have afforded hockey lessons for both of you, but unfortunately, they could only afford to pay for one of you at a time. You decided to let your brother play hockey and wait until they could afford the lessons for you. However, by the time they were able to pay for you, you had already lost interest in playing hockey. Your love for skating and hockey did not go away, but you figured that because it had been so long since you last played, you weren't very good at it anymore. As a result, you decided to stop playing and concentrate on your studies instead. When you reached maturity, you found that you enjoyed skating more than you had in your younger years, and as a result, you chose to enroll in figure skating classes. You didn't have to necessarily turn professional; even if you weren't the best, you could still find fulfillment in what you were doing.
The day your brother got drafted into the NHL was probably the best day of your guys life. You were very proud of your brother, but also upset that he would be leaving and you wouldn’t be able to hang out with him as much anymore. The day you got a green card and were finally permitted to live in the United States forever was the most exciting day of your life. Your brother made a quick offer to live with him, and you agreed instantly. You didn’t want to agree initially and said you’d find somewhere, but you made the decision a few days later to live with your brother after you couldn’t find a place. You moved in with him shortly after you got to the United States and got settled into your new home.
You were very glad that you were able to live with your brother. It wasn’t like you could live without your brother’s help, but both of you guys were so used to spending time together and being together that it only made sense that you guys would live together growing up.
You didn’t mind living with your brother at the start, but when it turned into months, it was more annoying than ever. You didn’t think it was your brother that was specifically annoying; it was the friends he brought over. He always had you introduce yourself to his friends; you didn’t mind some of his friends, especially the ones that weren’t his teammates. It was his teammates that you were most annoyed about. You didn’t want to introduce yourself to them since you could never see yourself being friends with any of them.
There’s always multiple parts that come with missing someone. One being is waiting, and the other is loneliness and quietness. You never expected you’d be waiting for your brother to return home from his trip with his friends in Sweden. You never expected the loneliness and quietness that came with him being gone. You were definitely used to it when he was on road-trips with his team, but he would always come home eventually. The days you wait eventually turn into a few months. You didn’t even know it was July until you got a text from your brother saying, “Happy 4th of July.” It wasn’t like you were just sitting at home all day; you did go outside from time to time, but you had no motivation to do anything else beyond that.
You have never experienced this before. You knew it was bad for your general health and body, but you were just tired and exhausted all the time. It wasn’t like you were eating unhealthy as well. You just didn’t go outside much and slept for most of the day. It ended up with you getting fired because of it, but you didn’t care. You disliked your job anyway, and you knew it was only a matter of time before you got the call that you were fired and when you got it. You weren’t surprised at all, only replying with an ‘Okay’ before hanging up.
Today was no different from any other day. You decided to watch Netflix and just chill in bed all day. You were probably just going to order a pizza or something since you haven’t had it for awhile and you weren’t in the mood to really cook today. You were so wrapped up in your TV show that you didn’t pay any attention to the commotion downstairs. Even if you did pay attention to it, you were way to tired to go downstairs anyways. It was most likely your friends coming over to check up on you.
“Yeah, you could just put it in my room for the time being.” The voice echoed through the hallways. You heard the voices travel to the living room before dying out. You didn't find it particularly interesting to pay attention to it, so you chose to bring your focus back to the show. After hearing your brother's room open, you finally made up your mind to pay attention to the ruckus that was going on. You waited for a bit, just listening. It wasn’t until you heard footsteps coming from his room that you stood up straight away, and nothing else was going through your head except irritation. You made it very clear to your friends that they were not to enter your brother's room. You didn’t even go in there. It was His room, Nobody else’s. You were just about to go into his room, but a voice made you stop in your tracks. It sounded oddly familiar… too familiar. You heard that voice growing up. You muttered an inaudible ‘no way’ under your breath. There’s ‘no way’ you constantly repeat those words over and over. He wasn’t supposed to be back until August. It's all just in your head, right?
It was then that the door to your brother's room opened. It wasn’t your brother, though. It was the Russian you only met briefly; your brother called him Andrei; you never talked with him before; you only introduced yourself to each other before engaging in conversations with others.
“Like something you see, milyy?” There was no mistaking the inquisitiveness behind that smirk of his as he spoke.
You never heard the word ‘milyy’ and even if you didn’t know the meaning. You decided then and there that you hated the word, regardless of the meaning it holds. “Don’t call me that, and thanks, but no, I don’t. I’ve seen better.” You smiled as you watched the smirk slowly disappear.
"Sure, milyy whatever you say.” His voice was rolling to a whisper as he approached you, inches away from your face. “You definitely wouldn’t be saying that soon.” His smirk reappeared as he stepped away, watching you. You couldn’t help the redness on your face after he said that. Your throat going dry immediately.
“I would rather die than ever date you.” You bit back the irritation in your voice, trying to be respectful and not let it show that the comment effected you like it did.
“Keep saying that. We both know it’s not true.” He said, walking away, before adding, “Your brother is looking for you.”
If you weren’t shocked before, you’re definitely shocked now. When you first saw Andrei, a part of you kind of suspected that your brother was already at home, but the realization didn't fully hit you until now. You pay little attention to the previous sentences and are just focusing on the fact that your brother is at home. You nervously head downstairs, multiple voices seemingly bouncing off the walls until it just goes quiet. Your mind going blank, shutting out all the other voices. The only one you cared about hearing was your brother’s.
“Hey sis.” Sebastian said, already pulling you into a hug. The warmth of the hug made you feel safe and happy. A feeling you haven’t felt since he’s been gone.
“I missed you, Seb.” You mumbled low enough that only he could hear. You didn’t need any of his teammates laughing, especially Andrei.
It seems like eternity, but when you both pull away, you’re smiling something that you’ve refused to do for awhile.
“I missed you too, sis. Sorry for being gone for a while.” Seb says this before pulling away. Andrei cuts in. “Sorry for ruining this reunion, but we really should be getting going. The boys wouldn’t be happy to wait any longer.”
“Wait what.” You ask, confusion hitting you. “Where are you going? You can’t just leave; you-”
It was like your brother could instantly sense the sadness in your tone. Because he was quick to reassure you. “We are just going to the club. You are welcome to come with us if you'd like.”
You give a nod. “Okay, I’ll come, I guess.”
“We ain’t going to babysit you all night. If you want to go home, we ain’t leaving to drive you.” Andrei said abruptly he didn’t even wait for a response before he left, probably to start up the car.
You decided at this very moment..
You hated Andrei Svechnikov.
You usually don’t go out clubbing; the last time you did, it was with one of your friends. It was an experience that you never wanted to experience again. It wasn’t bad in any way, but it was the fact that your friends all left with somebody, and you were left all by yourself.
“Come onnnn!” Kimberly said. She’s been trying to convince you for hours now to come with her and Lena to the club.
“I don’t know.. I don’t have anything to wear.”
Kimberly opened your closet like she already knew the answer. She sorted through your clothes before deciding on a few she liked. "Here, look! Here's some that’ll look good on you.”
You glance at the clothes before turning away with disgust. “I’d rather stick to jeans or something.”
Kimberly's smile turned into a frown. “Alright, then how about this?"
She showed you a few more options before you decided on an outfit.
You made the decision to dress down for the occasion by donning some jeans and a tank top. You chose to wear something that would be comfy, even if it is not what the majority of people would wear out, because you weren't really in the mood to go to begin with. You weren't typically choosy about the clothes you wore, but there are certain items that you either don't want to wear in public or you just aren't really feeling in the mood to wear at the moment.
- - -
You were unable to recall much of what happened after that. All you can think of is how badly you wanted to leave...
Escape…
“Leave her alone.” A voice spoke from behind you as the laughter of the guys around you died down. You didn’t bother looking at who said that. You just got up, pushing through the crowded room, trying to look around for your friends, but to your luck, they were nowhere in sight.
You felt your chest tighten, and it was harder to breathe by the minute. Your whole body felt dizzy.
You didn’t remember anything after that, but somehow you made it back home safe.
There wasn’t much conversation during the car ride. You just mainly focused on your phone, unless you asked if they could skip songs you didn’t like. Thankfully, they didn’t complain; you really didn’t want to argue with Andrei about something as dumb as music.
Once you made it inside, you quickly made an introduction to a few of your brother’s friends, who all rode in different cars together. You knew a few, but it wasn’t any of the friends you usually had conversations with and enjoyed talking to. You made your way to the bar, telling the bartender what you’d like to get - on the rare occasion when you do decide to leave the house.
You made the hasty decision to go to the bathroom, hoping that your drink would be ready by the time you arrived back. You thought that if the bartender saw you leaving, that he would hopefully put your drink to the side or at least look after it. If you weren’t back in time.
It was once again the worst decision you could’ve ever made.
When you immediately returned to your spot, you found your drink already there. You weren’t too long in the bathroom, so you just made a guess that it was just made. You took a few sips.
“Is that what you usually order?” A random guy who happened to be in front of you asked.
“Yeah. I don’t drink that much, so this is the only thing I’ve tried.” I laughed slightly.
He gave a chuckle back. “I’m the same. I only like a few drinks, most of which my friends actually offered me to try. I’m way picky with my choice of drinks, so I only stick with a few I like.”
You nodded, smiling slightly. It was good to finally have a normal conversation with someone, and this guy seemed nice. You gave a quick look around. Your brother was nowhere to be found, but you did spot Andrei. He was already staring right at you, and he seemed pissed about something. You rolled your eyes. He’s always got to be mad about something; he can never be happy.
You moved your attention back to the guy in front of you. “What’s your name?”
“Tyler.”
You extended your hand to shake it as you said your name as well. Out of nowhere, you felt your head start to pound. “It’s loud in here, ain’t it?” You say, once again chuckling. You brushed it off, stating it was merely because there was loud music playing.
“Are you feeling okay?” Tyler asked, his fingers going out to softly touch your back.
It was somewhat relaxing; you couldn’t lie. You would never allow any stranger to touch you at all, yet the kindness and the gentle touches made you feel somewhat better, and you liked it. “Uh yeah. Wanna go dance?”
He had no chance to speak as you took his arm, lightly tugging on it as you led the way.
After that, everything started to happen all at once. There was no apparent cause for the sudden sensation of lightheadedness and dizziness that came on suddenly. To prevent yourself from falling down, you had to maintain a firm hold on Tyler. When he inquired, "Are you okay?" you opened your mouth to respond, but no words materialized in your mind.
The last thing you heard was Andrei’s voice.
Then it went black.
You let out a low grunt. It felt as though a thousand bricks were being thrown at your back. You muttered to yourself that this would be the last time you ever drank. You opened your eyes, and although it took a moment for your vision to clear, you immediately realized that you were home, safe, and in bed.
The headache that you had been experiencing prior to this was, of course, was still present. You were in a terrible mood. You had no idea how you got home. You didn’t feel like getting up at all… You just wanted to sleep, and hopefully the next time you wake up, it wouldn’t feel like this.
The next time you woke up, you were in bed. You checked the time on your phone. The brightness of it makes your eyes fully open. It was 9:27am. You groaned. It was too early, and you didn’t feel like getting out of bed. You took a few minutes to try to fall back asleep, but all the attempts were unsuccessful, so you eventually decided to give up and get up.
The headache that you previously had seemed to pass over during your sleep. Thank gosh. You really didn’t want to have to experience that throughout the day. You quickly shower and get changed into fresh clothes. You didn’t remember much about last night, only that you met this guy and that your brother disappeared for most of the night. You were definitely going to bother him about that later on.
Right, now you were starving. You head towards the kitchen, quickly grabbing an apple before making your way towards the living room. You planned for this day to just be a relaxing day. However, as soon as you glared at the couch, you rolled your eyes.
Andrei was already awake; he was on his phone, listening to something on his headphones. As soon as he saw you, though, he took them off. "Are you okay, milyy?” He asked, sounding worried but not making any moves to get up.
You rolled your eyes. Why does everyone ask that? Of course you were okay. You would certainly know if you weren’t. You walked over silently, asking if you could sit here. He seemingly got the message and gave a nod of approval. “Uh. What happened to my brother? The last time I saw him, he was having drinks, and the next he was nowhere to be seen.”
“Tony took him to his place. He had too much to drink. He said they were planning on hanging out later today, so he thought it would be easier to take him to his place.”
You couldn't help but laugh; that was so typical of your brother. It is impossible for him to control his drinking; after only a few sips, he becomes extremely inebriated. "Oh, well, that's not good at all. I should have known from the beginning that he was not a good drinker.
Andrei grinned again. You already knew what this meant. He was probably going to say something stupid to embarrass you. “Last night, it looked like you didn’t handle it well either. Compared to him, you were actually much worse.”
What do you mean by that? " I only had one drink.” You were more confused than ever. There’s no way. You've had numerous drinks before, and it’s never been so bad that you couldn’t recall how you got home. You just assumed that you ordered yourself an Uber and went home, or that your brother drove you.
“Milyy… I drove you home. Do you remember?” Andrei questioned.
You shook your head in disbelief. “No? I just thought my brother drove me home or that I ordered an Uber.”
Andrei started to explain what happened, as you did your best to tell him what you already remembered so he could explain what transpired there. You were never this embarrassed until this moment. As he explained, you began to remember most of what happened.
“I got you, milyy.” Andrei said his arms were wrapped around you to hold you steady so you didn’t fall. “It’s okay, baby. Let’s get you outside, okay?” You nodded; you felt sick, and the heaviness in your head wasn’t stopping.
“Can you take me to your place?”
“No, milyy. I’m taking you home.” The strictness in his tone had you squirming.
You pouted; this was so unfair. You didn’t want to go home. You wanted him to take you to his place. “Ok, but I want you to take me to your home. I want to be in your bed.”
Andrei ignored your comment as he led you outside in the cold air; it felt amazing against the hotness of your skin. You loved it. You closed your eyes. This was so relaxing.
The next thing you remembered was being in Andrei’s car; he was quick to turn on the A/C due to your request. You mumbled thanks before staring out the window.
“Why don’t you like me?”
The question that came from you was so out of nowhere. You knew it, but you didn’t care.
“I do, milyy.” Andrei reassured you, his hand just slightly brushing against yours.
“Then why wouldn’t you want to fuck me?” You already felt tears coming down. Were you not good enough for him? Did he not like you? You didn’t understand.
The question made him immediately silent. He didn’t even give you an answer right away. After a brief time of being silent, he replied “I’m not interested.”
That’s at least what he told you. You shouldn’t care, really. It wasn’t like you guys were ever going to be a thing. You hated him, and he hated you. It was obvious, even if he said he didn’t.
“I’m sorry that I said that, but yeah. I’m not interested either. It was just the alcohol talking, not me.” You laugh, attempting to release the mood.
It’s seemingly worked because Andrei laughed with you.
“Alright, well, I’m just going to head out. Seb asked me to see if you were alright in the morning.” Andrei said, not allowing you to respond before he was already gone.
You were left feeling confused. He lied. You knew exactly what he said. It was constantly repeating in your head. “You hate me, milyy. As much as I do. Trust me, if you weren’t out of it right now. I’d give you everything you want.”
You brushed it off, assuming he may have just had a few too many drinks as well.
Right?
—
You didn’t see Andrei for a month after that. You were very grateful, and you seemed to forget all about that night. You wish it could’ve stayed like this. You knew it wouldn’t last long until your brother was once again bringing his teammates over. You didn’t mind, and you even joined them when they started to play a few games.
You decided to drink once again, but only because you knew your brother wouldn’t leave again. Plus, it was in your own home. If you didn’t feel good, you could easily just go lay down. The night had been going well until Andrei had to ruin it.
“I’d be careful if I were you. You wouldn’t want to drink too much like last time, right, little one?”
“Why? Don’t you want to hear me ask you to fuck me? Oh right, I forgot we both aren’t interested, so I know that wouldn’t happen.” You smiled; you weren’t drinking a lot this time only having small sips, so you knew exactly what you said. It was only to piss him off, and it worked perfectly. Because he shut right up after that.
You hummed in amusement before you made your way to where your brother was, joining him in whatever game they were playing. You felt Andrei's eyes staring at you every now and then, and you couldn’t help but smile every time you looked at him. He deserved it.
If Andrei expected you to just listen to whatever he had to say without saying anything back, he was very wrong. You hated him, and you were going to make that very clear.
#nhl hockey#hockey#nhl imagine#angst#nhl#hockey imagine#andrei svechnikov fic#andrei svechnikov#carolina hurricanes#sebastian aho#the summer fic exchange 2k23#fluff#enemies to lovers
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;; Alone With You
Dedicated to @miracleonice87 for @wyattjohnston summer fic exchange 2k23
Summary: Anthony Beauvillier was traded to the Vancouver Canucks, and it not only shocks the fans, but those closest to him. Forced to leave his closest friend and roommate, Mat Barzal, behind, Anthony and Mat are left to navigate the next stages of their career alone. Estelle Beauvillier, has come to New York for school, but has found herself in an awkward position when Mat seeks her friendship during his time of loss. On the West Coast, Anthony struggles to find his place on the Canucks roster, but Mat's sister Danielle is determined to make Vancouver feel like home.
Kinks & TW: Will be added at the beginning of the applicable chapters.
ABOUT THE OCs: Estelle Beauvillier. FC: Daisy Edgar Jones. Baby sister to Anthony Beauvillier moved to New York to attend university. She was only able to convince her parents to let her do so because Anthony was playing for the Islanders.
Daniellie "Dani" Barzal. FC: Madelyn Cline. Sister to Mat Barzal, he contacts her after the news of Anthony's trade drops with a favour: help his friend settle into the new city. She welcomes him in with open arms.
Total Word Count: 23K+
A/N: Now, Miracle, I'm not sure how familiar you are with me, my work, or my blog, but the people who do know me for 1 thing: I often get carried away. And it happened again. I swear this was just meant to be a story who focused on Mat OR Tito, BUT I really couldn't decide. SO here we are, you get to enjoy the best of both worlds. I did my best to touch on everything you asked for from a little bit of angst to smut (it really wouldn't be a fic from me without smut) with some creative liberties and I really do hope you enjoy!
Listen to their playlist while you read.
ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴏɴᴇ - ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʀᴀᴅᴇ
ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴏ - ɪ ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ʜᴀɴᴅʟᴇ ᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇ
ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ - ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ꜱᴏ ʟᴏɴᴇʟʏ - 18+
ᴄʜᴀᴛᴘᴇʀ ꜰᴏᴜʀ - ꜰɪɴᴇ ʟɪɴᴇ - 18+
ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜰɪᴠᴇ - ɪ ꜰᴏᴜɴᴅ
#anthony beauvillier#mat barzal#nhl fanfiction#nhl rpf#nhl imagine#hockey rpf#hockey smut#hockey imagines#miracleonice87#summer fic exchange 2k23#table of contents#aesthetic
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