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The Problem with Maddie - Nate MacKinnon

This is my fic for the Winter Fic Exchange 2k23 and this is for @fallinallincurls. After a quick check, Nathan MacKinnon became our guy. Hope you enjoy! Thanks to @antoinerouseel for another fun exchange and getting me back into the writing mood. Only warning - a few swear words?

Madison Taylor was a problem that Nathan MacKinnon didn’t know how to solve. He’s not even sure when she became a problem. But for the first time since they met Nate doesn’t know how to act around her and that’s a problem - a huge problem in Nate’s normally predictably structured life.

It all started when he was five and his parents' friends, the Taylors, brought their new baby girl home from the hospital. They had lived next door to Nate for as long as he could remember, and he wasn’t that impressed that they had had a baby who obviously wasn’t big enough to play with him. He had gone with his Mom to welcome them home, and he didn’t know why everyone was making a big deal over a baby. But things changed for him when the little girl had opened her eyes and latched onto his finger when he had sneaked a peek at her. That was when little Nate had decided that Maddie needed to be protected and that was going to be his job.

Through the years, it wasn’t unusual for Maddie to not be near Nate. She was merely days old when her parents bundled her up and took her to her first hockey game - Nate was but another little Timbit with big dreams about playing in the NHL. Summers were spent with Maddie playing with her dolls, drawing or reading under the big maple tree in the yard as Nate shot hundreds of pucks in the driveway perfecting his skills. She was there cheering him on at all his games and she was the first person he always came to see after those games in the hall where the parents waited.

Nine year old Maddie was the first person Nate told when he made the decision to go to Shattuck-St. Mary’s to play hockey. She was heartbroken that Nate was leaving, but never let it show. And for those two years, Nate received at least one hand written letter from Maddie every week, filling him in on everything that was happening at home. He would try to remember to write back, but wasn’t always the best at it, but he looked forward to her letters more than anyone knew.

Coming home to Nova Scotia was a revelation for Nate. Playing for the Mooseheads meant he could see his family and Maddie, all the time. Except Maddie had school and activities of her own now, and didn’t always make it to his home games. Through emails and texts they kept up to date and involved in their own worlds. She was his biggest cheerleader when he went to World Juniors and when he won the Memorial Cup.

Nate had laughed when after all the speculation of whether he was going to be drafted first in the NHL draft happened, Maddie had just grumbled that there were tons of teams on the east coast and he had to be picked by a team that was in a stupid time zone for her to be able to watch him on TV.

As all friendships experience, the distance between them and the difference in their ages, caused the two of them to sort of lose touch. Nate did always come home for the summers and he always made a point of checking in with Maddie, but she was busy with her summer job and friends, while he was busy training and with his friends. He always knew she was smart, way smarter than him, so wasn’t in the least bit surprised when she excelled at university. They seemed to miss each other during the next few summers as she stayed on campus to work and take a few extra courses.

If Nate was a little surprised when his Mom called to tell him that Maddie was moving to Denver for her new job, he hid it well that he was upset that Maddie hadn’t called him herself. He volunteered to help get her settled and gathered a bunch of the guys to help move her into her new apartment. And of course, because why wouldn’t they, the team welcomed her into their group immediately. Mel and Gabe basically adopted her; she somehow was able to control EJ when he was at his craziest EJ; and the young guys fought over who got to ask her to be their date for team events.

And maybe that was when the problem started. For the third time in a week, Maddie seemed to be surrounded by all the young guys at the bar when they went out after a game. She never ignored Nate, but there was always someone trying to get her attention. Nate was starting to realize he didn’t like not being her first choice for anything anymore.

Nate didn’t notice that Gabe had come up beside him, or that Gabe knew exactly what or who Nate was frowning at, rolling his eyes at his friend being oblivious to what was happening. The young guys had figured out that they could push all of Nate’s buttons by monopolizing Maddie’s time and attention. And there was nothing they loved more than making Nate more human.

“Any particular reason you are glaring at Madison?” Gabe asked.

“What? I’m not glaring at her,” Nate retorted. After a pause, he grumbled, “Bo keeps touching her.”

“I think he’s just making sure no one bumps into her,” Gabe responded. "Although there wouldn't be anything wrong if he was, he's a good kid and Maddie seems to like him."

Nate turned in disbelief, frowning at Gabe for that statement. He returned to glaring when he noticed that Cale had brought her another drink and was rewarded with a kiss on the cheek, causing Cale to redden even more than normal.

"For fuck's sake," Nate growled.

"What's his problem?" EJ asked Gabe as he walked up and heard the growl.

"It seems Nate isn't too happy about sharing," Gabe answered, nodding to where Maddie was standing.

"Ah, yeah that has to suck," EJ poked the bear. "She seems to get along with Cale and the kids, probably because they're closer in age."

“She is only five years younger than me and I’ve known her since she came home from the hospital,” Nate grumped. “I went to every damn dance recital, school play and graduation she’s ever had. She’s like a sister.”

“But she’s not your sister,” Gabe replied calmly. “And I think all of a sudden, Little Maddie isn’t just the little girl next door and you have no idea why it bothers you so much that the guys are all drawn to her.”

EJ and Gabe watched a bunch of emotions cross Nate’s face, before it was like a lightbulb went off in his head. “Well, shit,” Nate muttered.

“I think he gets it now,” EJ nudged Gabe.

“The real question now is what is Nate going to do about it?” Gabe asked.

And Nate didn’t have a clue.

********

Ghosting Maddie probably wasn’t the best route that Nate could have taken. He hadn’t actually meant to, it just kind of happened. The next day, the Avs had headed out on the road for two weeks and with time zones and travel, Nate never seemed to be available to answer Maddie’s texts or calls. And when he did get time, Maddie was at work or already asleep. It didn’t help that apparently Cale and Bo were talking to Maddie all the time on their trip.

As per their normal routine, when Nate came back from a road trip he’d head to Maddie’s for dinner and to catch up on the show they were watching together. Currently they were watching Chicago Fire - Maddie’s choice - and probably had something to do with hot firefighters, but Nate didn’t really care. It was more about the conversation than the actual show.

The whole time they were eating, Nate thought there was something that was bugging Maddiem but he waited to see if she would bring whatever it was up on her own. But as they were cleaning up the dishes, he decided to push a little to get her to talk.

“What’s going on that brain of yours, Mads?” Nate asked, turning her to face him. “You know you can talk to me about anything,” He watched as an emotion he couldn’t place flitted across her face, before she sighed.

“I don’t want you to be mad, but AlexaskedmeoutandImightsayyes,” came out as one word. Nate ran it slowly through his head before he realized what she’d said.

“Alex? As in Newhook?” he asked in confusion. Definitely not who he’d been expecting. “To the fundraiser next week?”

“No. On a date - date,” Maddie clarified. “I don’t want you to be mad because he’s one of your teammates, and it could be awkward…” she trailed off.

Nate wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say. On one hand he wanted to tell her he didn’t want her dating his teammates because he wanted to date her; while on the other, he didn’t want to upset her if she really liked Alex. He must have taken too long to answer because Maddie started word vomiting,

“You know what, I’ll just tell him that it’s probably not a good idea and that I think we should just be.” she stopped when Nate put a finger on her lips.

“Do you like Alex?” Nate asked softly.

“Well, yes, but it doesn’t matter. You don’t want me to”

“I never said I didn’t want you to. If you like him and want to date Alex, it shouldn’t matter what I think. I want you to be happy,” Nate tried not to choke on the words.

Maddie stared at him, almost like she wasn’t sure whether to believe him or not. That was the problem - she knew when he was telling the truth and when he was lying,

“You don’t want me to date him,” Maddie stated softly. “Why?”

“If you want to date Alex, date Alex,” Nate responded. “It shouldn’t matter what I think.” Stepping away, he started gathering his wallet, keys and phone. “I’m going to take a raincheck on the show - I’m kinda tired. See you after the game tomorrow.”

Nate dropped a kiss on her forehead and was out the door before Maddie could say anything. He didn’t see the hurt and confusion on her face as the door closed behind him. And he definitely didn’t hear her say, “But it’s always mattered.”

******

Nate got in and started the car, but sat there thinking. He knew he couldn’t talk to Gabe or EJ or even Devon about this. They would all tell him he was being an idiot and to just tell her how he felt. It finally struck him that the person he could call is the same one he always called when making big decisions.

As soon as Sid answered, Nate started with, “I think I’m in love with Maddie.”

There were two seconds of silence and then Sid burst out laughing. When he finally got that out of his system, he responded.

“You are just figuring that out now?” Sid chuckled. “You have been in love with her since you laid eyes on her when she was a day old.”

“That sounds creepy,” Nate muttered.

“It’s evolved. You always were super protective of her, whether you were in Cole Harbour or not. She didn’t date until she went to university because no one at home wanted to cross you.”

“She’s going to go on a date with Newhook,” Nate groused. “I don’t think she thinks of me the same way.”

“Ah, so that’s what this is about,” Sid sighed. “Do you think Maddie moved to Colorado for an unbelievable job or because it was a good job and you were there? She could have gone anywhere but she chose the job where you were. Why do you think she did that? And why else would she write to you - handwritten letters at that - every week if she didn’t feel the same way. She has been trying to tell you how she feels and you have been oblivious.”

“But, she’s going out with one of my teammates,” Nate exclaimed. “Why would she do that if she likes me?”

“Maybe because she’s tired of waiting for you to get your shit together,” Sid suggested. “I guess you need to decide whether you are going to go back upstairs and tell her you don’t want her to date anyone but you. Or you go home and sulk and watch her date one of your friends.”

“I’ll call you later,” Nate turned off the car and headed back upstairs to put it all on the line with Maddie.

He was out of breath when he pounded on her door. Maddie was surprised to see him and was worried something had happened.

“Nate, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” She was checking him for signs of an injury as she pulled him into her apartment. He’d been gone all of ten minutes.

“No…Yes….” Nate stumbled over his words. “I don’t want you to date Alex because I want you to date me.”

He watched as her eyes grew large with surprise and disbelief. She started shaking her head.

“No, let me explain,” Nate rushed, grabbing her hands so she couldn’t move away while he tried to explain.

“I have loved you since I first saw you,” he started. “I know that sounds creepy but it’s evolved over time, and I realize that as we’ve both gotten older, the one person I always turn to is you. And I want you to turn to me. I want to be a team of two. And when you said Alex had asked you out, I didn’t know what to do but I wanted you to be happy and if that was dating Alex I had to let you. But you didn’t have all the information and I needed to tell you I love you. I always have. And if you don’t feel the same way, I will let you go. But I will always be there for you - no matter what you decide.”

Maddie had let Nate get it all out, slowly raising her hands to cover his on her shoulders, so when he went to pull away she held him in place. She slowly raised one hand to cup his cheek.

“I love you too,” she said softly. “Always have, always will.”

“Seriously?” Nate watched a soft smile cross her lips.

“Yes. Do you really think I moved to Denver for a job? I’ve watched you leave me for hockey my whole life, so I knew I had to move to you if I wanted anything with you before you were done with hockey. But you didn’t seem to get the hint and then the guys concocted this whole elaborate scheme to get you to clue in, but you just said you didn’t care if I went out with Alex and…”

Nate stopped her by kissing her. And it conveyed everything he was feeling. When they broke apart, he leaned his forehead against hers, smiling at the stunned look on her face.

“I lied. I cared way too much,” he whispered.

“Good to know,” Maddie smiled.

After cuddling on the couch for a bit, Nate got ready to leave. As Maddie walked him to the door she asked the question that was in her head.

“You called Sid didn’t you?”

She laughed at the surprised then guilty look on his face.

“It’s okay. Who do you think told me to move to Denver?” she said with a wink, closing the door on a stunned Nate.

#note to self #nathan mackinnon #nathan mackinnon fic #colorado avalanche

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