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laurenairay · 10 months

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The slightest chance love might exist - T. Jost

Summary: Chloe is more nervous that she cares to admit when it’s time to meet Tyson’s family.

Words: 3.2k

Warnings: anxiety, mentions of past cheating, some bad language

A/N: again it’s been a while since I’ve written for Chloe and Tyson – but every time I do, I’m drawn back into how much I love their story. And we get a little more of a hint about Chloe’s past relationship here!

Series masterlist (if you want to sign up for the tag list, it’s in the above masterlist link!)

Title: Standing outside the fire, by Garth Brooks

“So, Chloe…”

“Well this is ominous,” she cut in dryly, raising a sharp eyebrow.

Tyson flushed heavily, huffing out a laugh, but she wasn’t going to apologise for interrupting. She’d been chopping vegetables for a stew – it was her turn to host and cook dinner – when Tyson started awkwardly hovering next to her, fingers picking at his nails in a way that silently showed her he had a lot on his mind. Chloe may only have known him for 9 weeks, and only been his girlfriend for one of those, but she knew him well enough to notice when he had something on his mind.

“I have to tell you something. Don’t get mad,” he said hesitantly.

I have to tell you something.

Don’t get mad.

That choice of words made her put down the knife she was holding next to the raw carrots, resting her hands flat on the counter to hide how they were trembling ever so slightly. He was not off to a great start. It didn’t help that this wasn’t the first boyfriend to say something like this to her.

I have to tell you something.

Don’t get mad.

The last time she heard those words, her two-year relationship ended. Her last relationship. Years ago, sure, but the words haunted her all the same. She never thought she’d hear them from Tyson. Surely he couldn’t have…

“What did you do?” she asked quietly.

She didn’t know if it was the question or her tone of voice, but his face immediately shifted into confusion, only making her swallow heavily.

“Was there someone else?” she asked, not daring to look at him.

She couldn’t. She couldn’t look at him. Couldn’t bear the thought of Tyson, sweet Tyson, being with someone else. But if that was her reality, she needed to know.

“What?” he choked.

“I mean we’ve only been together for a week, right? I promise not to get mad,” she said, forcing out a small sad smile.

Tyson seemed to freeze for a moment before groaned, closing his eyes briefly, but what confused her was the way his fists clenched.

“I swear to god, if I ever meet your ex-boyfriend, I’m going to punch him right in the throat,” he said darkly, eyes opening to stare at her.

What?

“Chloe, baby,” he said, shaking his head at her frown, “There isn’t anyone else. There hasn’t been anyone else. What I was trying to say is that my mom and my sister are coming down next weekend to stay for the first week of playoffs, and I lost track of time until my mom literally just texted me.”

Oh. Oh fuck.

“Shit, Tyson, I’m sorry,” she groaned.

Of all the things she could’ve accused him of. She should’ve trusted that he wasn’t like her ex. She should’ve known. How could she have-

“Woah, hey, take a deep breath for me.”

His soft voice broke her out of her spiralling thoughts, hands gently resting on her shoulders to ground her, and when her foggy mind cleared enough for her to take a shaky breath, her eyes stung with tears at the worried look on his face.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have accused you of cheating on me,” she managed to choke out, trying to keep her composure.

“Chloe, the only thing wrong with what you did was that you were resigned to it, not angry. You have nothing to say sorry for, okay?” he said sadly.

“I just…I…”

She trailed off, breaking away from his gentle hold to run a shaky hand through her hair. After all these years, a stupid simple sentence was enough to break her strictly-regulated poise. How pathetic was that? What was wrong with her?

“I’m not mad. I’m not even remotely annoyed. I’m just worried about you,” Tyson murmured.

“Brilliant,” she muttered, looking away from him as her eyes stung again with embarrassed tears.

A few beats of silence, before Tyson sighed.

“What can I do?” he asked.

She dared to look back at him, swallowing heavily at the soft expression he wore, eyes wide and honest and sad. If nothing else, that only filled her with more shame. Why did she have to jump to conclusions? How could she have possibly thought that Tyson would cheat on her?

“Rewind the last five minutes?” she suggested, attempting to smile.

Tyson’s genuine sweet smile in response settled a little anxiety in her chest, even more so as he shook his head.

“I’m sorry that you were ever made to feel this way. And I am sorry for the stupid way I started this conversation. Your shitty ex is not going to ruin this evening though, okay?” Tyson said softly.

Oh this sweet sweet boy. She sure as hell didn’t deserve him.

“Isn’t it already ruined?” she said quietly.

“Not as far as I’m concerned. We’ve still got a stew to finish and I want to tell you more about my family,” Tyson said, shaking his head.

Chloe huffed out a laugh, trying desperately to blink away her ridiculous tears. “Alright. If you’re sure.”

He just smiled even wider, finally earning a small smile from her in response. She would do better. She would have to do better. There was no way she wanted Tyson to ever see her that shaken up again.

Chloe spent the following week feeling like her intestines were in knots, the anxiety over meeting the two most important women in Tyson’s life building and building each day that passed. It didn’t help that her stupid assumptions, her insecurities, still played on her mind. She knew enough to call it trauma, even if she didn’t like thinking about the fact that her ex had so deeply affected her, but she also knew that she couldn’t let it continue to affect her relationship with Tyson. What they had between them…it was good. It was so good.

She still didn’t know what she’d done to deserve him.

Still, by the time Saturday came, the 30th of April, her nerves hadn’t dissipated. Tyson had tried his best to reassure her that everything would be fine, he also had playoffs to prepare for (starting on Monday 2nd May) as well as preparing for his family to visit. Chloe tried to help where she could, but there was honestly only so much she could do and still maintain her sanity.

Her ex had already known all of her family. She didn’t have any precedent to compare meeting Tyson’s mom and sister to.

At the very least, Chloe had decided to give Tyson a little space on the day that his mom and sister arrived. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to meet them – despite her internal worries – but she also knew how much he missed them. And she could only guess how much they missed him too. Instead, she suggested that she would come over for dinner. It was intimate enough to be special but still casual enough not to cause pressure.

She knew her limits, and Tyson respected them in turn.

That didn’t mean she hadn’t fretted about what to wear or bring with her or even how to greet them. All of this was so out of her comfort zone it wasn’t even funny, and if he was anyone else she would’ve absolutely cancelled or maybe even ghosted. But considering that it was Tyson…she couldn’t do that to him. And if she was being honest with herself, there was a part of her that didn’t want to end everything with him just because of this. He wanted her to meet his family – it was important to him to intertwine their lives.

That had to mean something, right?

To ease her nerves, Chloe decided on a plain black velvet dress – it was scoop-necked with long flowing sleeves and floated down to her knees, and while it may not have been anything exciting, it was comfortable and it looked good enough to make her look like she was making a little effort without trying too hard. Pairing her pin-straight white blonde hair with her usual silver jewellery for all her piercings, her usual smoky eye make-up and some simple black sneakers, she toned down her typical red lips for a grey-tinted lipgloss, giving herself enough confidence in her own appearance to leave the apartment on time.

On the drive to Tyson’s apartment, she also picked up a bottle of wine. It was the right thing to do, bringing something with her, right? She honestly had no idea what the appropriate etiquette was for meeting someone’s family, especially at the partner’s home, but she figured that wine was always a safe bet, and even though she wouldn’t be drinking because she was driving, maybe his mom would at least appreciate it? It was a long shot, she knew that much, but it felt wrong to turn up without something. She at least had to decide on something to stop herself overthinking, so a bottle of nice white chardonnay would have to do.

As for greeting them, Tyson took care of that himself.

“Chloe, baby, I’m glad you made it!”

Tyson’s happy declaration and following slow but firm kiss, as soon as he opened the door to her, took her by surprise.

“Let her breathe, dumbass.”

She winced slightly at the snicker sounding behind Tyson, pulling back quickly. Had she already made a bad impression? Fuck, what would they even think of her, kissing him without saying hello to them?

“As always Kace, you have impeccable timing.” Tyson huffed, wiping the lipgloss trace off his lips with a thumb.

There was something in the teasing tone of his voice that allowed Chloe to breathe a little. Okay, maybe not so bad so far. Breathe. She needed to just breathe.

“Guys, this is my girlfriend Chloe,” Tyson said, smiling between the two groups, “And Chloe, this is my mom and my sister Kacey.”

“Please, call me Laura,” his mom quickly said, smiling warmly.

So that was where Tyson got his smile from.

“It’s nice to meet you both. I’ve heard a lot about you,” Chloe said, as friendly as her nerves would allow her, hoping her smile wasn’t as awkward as she felt.

“Tyson hasn’t shut up about you at all. I love the vamp look,” Kacey grinned.

What?

Tyson grimaced as Chloe froze, but Kacey either didn’t notice or chose to barrel on through.

“Total boss ass bitch vibes. How did you get someone this hot to agree to date you, Tys?” Kacey finished, turning her head to send her brother an innocent smile.

Oh. Oh. Vamp look was a compliment. Alright, she could take that, especially if Kacey thought it was hot.

“I don’t know how, I ask myself that every day,” Tyson said simply, as he smiled down at her.

Ridiculous. But still…if he was being genuine, then so could she.

“You were sweet and endearing,” Chloe said, shrugging, “You weren’t scared of me even though I intimidated you, and I liked your smile.”

Tyson immediately flushed a deep red, Kacey hooting with laugh as their mom cooed, clutching her hands to her chest. Chloe just smiled to herself, glad to be able to speak the truth without it costing her any pride. It was the principle of the thing.

“You two are so sweet!”

Sweet. Hah. That was a first.

But Tyson just grinned at her, nudging her with his hip, so Chloe nudged him back. She could do this. She could so do this.

The four of them walked into the apartment properly, Tyson locking the front door before resting a hand on the small of Chloe’s back, the casual touch setting her butterflies going crazy. Just this little sign of gentle open affection in front of his family was overwhelming – she had no idea how she was going to cope for the rest of the evening.

“I didn’t know what we were doing about dinner, but I bought some wine for us anyway,” Chloe said, once they’d reached the kitchen.

“Chlo,” Tyson murmured softly, almost like a coo, making her shift uncomfortably.

“Oh Chloe that’s so sweet of you! I think we were going to just order in some food, so no-one had to be stuck cooking, but we can definitely put this in the fridge to chill for when it arrives?” his mom suggested.

All praise Laura Jost.

“That sounds good to me,” Chloe nodded, passing the wine over, “Thank you.”

“Someone has to be helpful, if Tys is going to be useless,” Kacey grinned.

“Rude,” he muttered, cheeks flaring with blush.

“Accurate,” Kacey snorted.

This dynamic explained a lot about how he reacted to her, it really did. It was kind of reassuring to see, if she was being honest, that she wasn’t a complete anomaly in his life.

It didn’t take long for them to order a multitude of dishes from Chloe and Tyson’s favourite Thai place, and by the time the four of them were sitting on the sofa with drinks while they waited for the food to arrive, Chloe’s nerves had melted away. His mom and sister were so genuinely friendly, asking her questions about herself and her life and how the two of them had met, all the while not pressuring or interrogating her in any way. It was easy to see how much they loved Tyson, and how much he loved them, and she felt almost honoured that she got to be apart of this moment. The more she got to know them, the more she appreciated Tyson for setting up the whole evening, knowing in her heart that she had been right to trust her instincts not to just run away.

She was meant to be here, right here, with Tyson and his family. And she was excited to explore what the feeling meant, even as much as it scared her.

Eventually, their dinner arrived, and they all moved to the dining table to eat, Chloe just staying silent with a pleased smile as Laura took the seat next to her, forcing Tyson to sit opposite with a surprised but pleased smile of his own. That was a good sign, right? The food was incredible as always, each of them trying a little bit of everything, reaching across each other to pick at the dishes, passing other dishes across each other, and talking and laughing above it all. It was all a bit of controlled chaos, if she had to put it into words, but it felt so natural and warm and welcoming, and Chloe couldn’t remember the last time she felt so comfortable around new people.

Probably when she’d first met Tyson 10 weeks ago.

All too soon it was time for Chloe to leave though. Tyson had tried to insist that it was fine if she stayed over that night, that his mom and sister wouldn’t care, but she refused, knowing that he had so little time with them during the season. It was important that they spent family time together, just the three of them, and to be honest the whole evening had been overwhelming enough, even if it had been positive.

Besides, she would see them for every game they were here – his mom and Kacey had made her promise. That was mind-blowing enough. What she had done to deserve them immediately warming to her, wanting to spend time with her, accepting her and Tyson…well, she had no idea.

But she did like it. She could admit that much.

“Let’s trade numbers! I’ll trade stories of Tys as a dumb kid for stories of him as a dumb kind-of-adult,” Kacey grinned.

“Hey!” Tyson protested.

Chloe just grinned. “Deal.”

“Hey!” he repeated, hands on hips.

Chloe couldn’t help but laugh herself as Kacey cackled, handing over her phone while Kacey gave her hers. This…was the last thing she was expecting. To have his mom and sister accept her so easily? No strings? Just like that?

Then again, considering how easy-going, and sweet, and accepting Tyson was, it shouldn’t really be a surprise that he learned it from two amazing women.

“There, done,” Kacey said, beaming as she handed her phone over.

The Best Jost (🔥💃🏻😎)

Chloe snickered at the name alongside the flame, dancing girl, and sunglasses face emojis, as Tyson looked over her shoulder, pouting at what he saw, quickly typing in her own number.

Chloe (🧛🏼‍♀️💋🖤)

Kacey grinned as she read her phone entry, laughing at the vampire, red kiss, and black heart emojis. It was good to have an in joke, right?

“Call me when you get home?” Tyson asked, taking her hands in his.

So affectionate and sweet in front of his family? It was almost too much. Especially as his mom sighed happily.

“I will?” she offered, trying not to be too awkward.

Tyson just grinned, almost as if he could read her thoughts. Well damn.

“I’ll walk you out to your car,” he said simply.

With a final round of hugs and promises to send lipstick recommendations, Chloe and Tyson left his apartment, Tyson threading his fingers through hers without hesitation. Mortifyingly, Chloe found herself blushing, blatant on her pale face, but Tyson either didn’t notice or politely didn’t mention it.

“So that went well,” Tyson said, smiling sweetly.

Chloe let out a sigh of relief. “It did, right?”

“I told you that you had nothing to worry about,” he grinned.

She immediately frowned. “They’re important to you, Tys. It was a legitimate concern.”

“To you maybe – but I knew as soon as they saw how much you adore me…”

Chloe’s scowl at his teasing words sent him cackling as they walked into the elevator, a family trait she’d noticed multiple times tonight.

“…and how much I completely adore you, that everything would be fine. They’re pretty protective of me, so I know that they like you already. Otherwise my mom wouldn’t have sat next to you while we were eating and Kacey definitely wouldn’t have given you her phone number.”

Well when he put it that way. Still, the little hesitant voice in the back of her head needed to be certain.

“Are you sure?” she asked hesitantly.

“Chlo, baby, I’m 100% positive. They think you’re amazing, just like I do.”

Damn her blushing cheeks.

“Okay I’m done,” she huffed.

Tyson just laughed, leaning down to kiss her softly. Chloe couldn’t help but sigh into his kiss, responding slowly and intently, only pulling away as the elevator slowed to a stop. Tyson just stared at her, a little misty-eyed and stunned, Chloe laughing softly as she tugged him gently out after her.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay over?” he asked wistfully, guiding her to a stop and taking both hands in his.

“I’m sure. Enjoy your family time, okay? I’ll see you on Monday,” she said firmly.

As much as she wanted to absolutely go back upstairs with him, tonight was not the night.

“See you. And text me when you get home safe, don’t forget,” he said firmly.

“You’re ridiculous, Tyson Jost,” she said dryly.

Sweet, but ridiculous all the same.

He smiled that winning smile at her, giving her butterflies she was more than happy to deny existence of. “Only about you, Chloe Duncan.”

Taglist: @starshine-hockey-girl @youngbeezer @fiveholegoal @senditcolton @corneliaskates @fallinallincurls @typical-simplelove @redpool

#my writing #tyson jost fic #there's a chance series #tyson jost x chloe #tyson jost x oc #tyson jost fanfic #tyson jost imagine #hockey fic #hockey fanfic #nhl fic #nhl fanfic

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