#Frederik Andersen fic

[laurenairay]

comes back to me, burning red - F. Andersen

Summary: Kendra Lee and Freddie Andersen lost touch after he was traded from Anaheim – will a surprise encounter bring back their friendship? And maybe more?

I’m jumping in as a pinch hitter for @misshoneyimhome for @callsign-denmark’s Luck of the Puck fic exchange! I haven’t written about Freddie in a little while so it was fun getting back to him – and thanks for answering all my questions! Such a lovely twist of fate after receiving my own fic from her today.

Flashback sections are in italics.

Words: 7.9k

Warnings: discussion of Freddie’s injuries, light angst, friends to lovers, cheesy flirting

Title from: Red by Taylor Swift

~

“Good morning Kendra Lee!”

Kendra grimaced, shutting the door to her yoga studio behind her, her long blonde hair swinging as she turned.

“Full name, first thing in the morning? What did I do?”

Her colleague and friend, Mimi, just snickered, shaking her head.

“Nothing bad, I promise,” Mimi said, smiling.

“Still ominous,” Kendra mused, swiping her staff card to log her as present in the building, “What’s going on?”

“Okay so you know how you moving over to Raleigh with me a month ago was to give you opportunities to do more yoga rehabilitation work?”

“Yes…?”

It was true, as vague as her friend was being. Having worked across yoga studios California for nearly 11 years, Kendra had jumped at the chance of diving more into rehabilitation work within yoga. Being made co-owner with Mimi and her sister Celeste was just the cherry on top.

“I was staying late last night to finish up the stock check and I got a call – specifically for you to do yoga rehab for an athlete needing conditioning to make his way back to playing. I know it’s right up your street, kind of exactly what you want to do more of, so I said yes.”

“You said yes already?” Kendra asked, surprised.

“I know, I know, but this is a huge opportunity. I said yes, with the caveat that I would double check timings with you this morning and let them know your availability for today,” Mimi explained.

“For today?” Kendra gasped.

“Yes, I know, but the guy organising it all for the athlete was insistent – the athlete chose you, off a list of yoga instructors based on feedback from other clients you had, and that’s huge,” Mimi said, wincing in apology.

Kendra took the time to think over her friend’s words, throwing her long blonde waves up in a twisted bun, her typical work hairstyle.

“You’re right. That is huge. Surprising, but huge. I guess, uh, just see what I’ve got this afternoon? I know I’ve got a couple of classes this morning already,” Kendra eventually said, “including…damn it, one that start in 15 minutes.”

Pregnancy Yoga, affectionately known as Moms who Move. Not women to mess around.

“Alright, you go get set up and I’ll call them back. Thanks, Kendra. And sorry for it being so last minute,” Mimi smiled.

“Hey, it happens. Let’s stay positive with it!” Kendra grinned.

As sudden as the work was, it really was where her heart lay, so this could only be a good thing right? Everything she’d been working towards?

“That’s the spirit I love! Get it girl!”

Kendra just laughed her way into Studio Two, her usual room, ready to make sure her class was set up in time.

By the time the afternoon rolled around, Kendra was pleasantly tired. All three classes had run smoothly so far today and there had been no major hiccups (or incidents) with any of her students. Even the Grooving Grandmas class (the adorable name her group of 12 senior ladies gave themselves) had behaved today, which only left her in a great mood.

So great, she lost track of time, until Mimi poked her head into the room.

“Hey, Kendra, your 2pm is here.”

“Oh damn, the athlete?”

“Yeah that’s the one. I’m just finishing up his intake forms if you want to join us,” Mimi said with a smile.

Kendra smiled back, nodding as she followed her friend out to the front desk. If she was being honest with herself, she would’ve liked a bit more preparation time, or even a name to start with. Hell, even the sport the athlete played in would’ve been useful, so she could start thinking of a program for them. Hopefully the athlete would understand the last minute nature of the set up. Hopefully.

But standing there in the lobby was the last person she expected to see. Just as tall and gorgeous and imposing as she’d last seen him in Anaheim, before he left over 7 years ago. He was her athlete?

“Freddie?”

“It’s been a long time, Kendra,” he murmured, smiling.

“You two know each other?” Mimi said, confused.

~

“How are your teaching hours coming along? You can’t have many left now before the next level, right?”

Kendra smiled up at her boss brightly. After her initial 200 hours training, she knew that teaching yoga was going to be her life’s work, even though she was only 21. Having worked insanely hard over the past two years, she was nearly ready to lead classes all by herself rather than as an assistant, and wasn’t that a heady thought? “No, not many left at all. As of yesterday I actually have 990 hours logged.”

“So you’re nearly ERYT 200?” her boss, James, grinned.

The third level of yoga instructor, after two years and 1000 hours of teaching.

“Just 10 hours left!” Kendra said brightly.

“That’s kind of perfect, if I’m being honest. We’ve been contacted by the Anaheim Ducks to run a conditioning class for a portion of the team. There are 20 players who’ve signed up, and the idea is that those who find it useful will sign up for more classes.”

“20 ice hockey players. My God. Will they take it seriously?”

She’d seen plenty of jocks in her 21 years and she knew exactly how much they goofed around when they didn’t care about things.

“Oh yeah, this is mandatory for these players and I’ll be evaluating them to send it back to their trainers. It’s serious – and it’s a big opportunity for the studio too.”

“Yeah definitely. And it’ll be good to see a different type of client for a change,” Kendra nodded.

“We love our yoga moms, don’t front,” James mused.

Kendra just grinned. She did love her beginner’s yoga mom class, he was right.

“It’ll be a big opportunity for you too, to work with them. If enough sign up, I’d like you to take on at least one for solo instruction the moment you have those 1000 hours done, to give you that experience. But if any of them give you any trouble, you let me know, okay? I won’t stand for it, regardless of who they are.”

“Thanks boss.”

“Any time.”

By the time 11am rolled around, Kendra was nervous. Not a bad nervous though, more like butterflies. She was so closed to her next stage of yoga teaching that she could almost taste it. She just hoped that this giant group of giant men would be a positive experience. They arrived in a herd, filling up the room quickly, and Kendra waited at the front of the room off to the side while her boss waited for them all to be ready.

“Alright, thanks for joining us today. I’m James Fields, owner and lead yoga instructor here, and this is Kendra Lee, who will be running this class alongside me,” he started.

She just grinned at the curious looks sent her way. Let them underestimate her, that was fine.

“As you all know, this class is mandatory and I will be evaluating you for your conditioning staff, so pay attention and we’ll all have a great time.”

Kendra watched a few disgruntled expressions popping up and fought not to laugh. Hockey players. She should’ve known they wouldn’t be any different. As her boss continued to talk, Kendra’s eyes drifted across the room, eventually landing on the man in front of her. Well, man was pushing it – this guy couldn’t be more than a couple of years older than her. A broad-shouldered redhead, pretty face, serious expression taking in her boss’s words. This one was paying attention. This one wanted to learn. Good. Even from here she could tell he would tower over her, although at 5ft2 that wasn’t really a difficult barrier. Maybe 6ft4? Maybe? Either way, this guy was going to be a good student, she could already tell.

As if he could sense his eyes on her, the man glanced over, catching her gaze. She froze, a little embarrassed to be caught staring, but he just smiled. Oh what a lovely smile that was. It was all she could do to smile back.

“If you’re all ready then, Kendra will lead you through Sun Salutation to warm up.”

She broke out of her thoughts, waving cheerfully at them all and earning a laugh. “I’ll be gentle, I promise,” she grinned.

~

“Yeah Freddie used to come to classes at my first studio, back in Anaheim about 10ish years ago. It’s been a while,” Kendra nodded, forcing a smile on her face.

Mimi raised an eyebrow but smiled politely at Freddie. “If you head on into Studio Two, Kendra will be right with you. I just need her to sign a form.”

He nodded, following the instructions with a smile sent Kendra’s way, leaving her alone with her colleague.

“Okay what the hell was that?” Mimi asked, wiggling her fingers in the direction Freddie went.

Kendra sighed, hands on hips.

“That was an old friend who I haven’t seen or spoken to in over 7 years. Him coming here out of the blue just threw me off, that’s all.”

“Is he going to be a problem? Because I have no issue with kicking him out if he doesn’t deserve a moment in your company,” Mimi said firmly.

It was times like this that Kendra really loved her friends.

“No, no it’ll be okay. There was no drama, we just drifted out of contact. Sure it sucked, but it was a long time ago? It’ll be fine. Besides, like you said, this is a big opportunity for me to do more with yoga rehab, right?”

Mimi pursed her lips but nodded. “Alright, if you’re sure. But let me know the second that you change your mind, if you need to.”

Kendra just gave her a quick hug, nudging her friend’s hip with her yoga mat, before heading resolutely towards Studio Two.

~

“So you enjoyed the last group class then?”

“I did. Anything to keep my flexibility up as good as it can get, right?”

Kendra just smiled, nodding. “Not that you seemed to have a problem with your flexibility.”

“Well I certainly haven’t had any complaints.”

He froze the moment the words left his lips, looking mortified. It was all she could do to burst into laughter at the horror on his face.

“I am so sorry. That was so unprofessional,” he groaned.

“Honestly, I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard since I’ve started here,” she said, still giggling, “You have nothing to worry about Mr Andersen.”

“Please, call me Freddie?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as his cheeks flamed red.

“Sure thing. Now let’s talk solo session scheduling – what works best for you?”

~

Kendra took a shaky breath as the memories of her first solo yoga session with Freddie washed over her, before steeling herself, pushing open the studio door. Freddie was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the floor on the mat he’d brought with him, and immediately smiled up at her, loosening a bit of tension in her chest. She could do this. She could totally do this.

“Hey, Freddie,” she said, unrolling her own mat.

“Hey Kendra. It’s good to see you,” he replied as she sat down opposite him.

“Good to see you too. I won’t say it isn’t a surprise because that would be a lie, but it is good to see you after all these years.”

Freddie winced a little, making her grimace inside. Was that too much?

“About that…”

He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck, so Kendra quickly shook her head. Their past wasn’t what this was all about, and it would do neither of them any good to hash it up now.

“You’re here now,” she said firmly, “So, yoga rehab. Do you know much about what it entails or if there’s anything your team specifically wants?”

“Uh, I only know the basics really. Obviously I’ve done it a lot before for conditioning, which is what my trainer said this mostly will be as my injury was a blood clotting issue rather than muscles or joints?”

Blood clots. Damn. And for someone only in their 30s?

“That must’ve been really scary,” she murmured.

His eyes widened a little in surprise, but he nodded, smiling sadly. “I genuinely thought my career was over. I’ve been out for stretches of time before, but never for anything like this. I felt…helpless,” he admitted.

She could only guess he was being so vulnerable because of their history but she still appreciated his honesty. It can’t have been easy to admit such a thing.

“I can imagine you would, yeah. But the team are figuring it out, right? They wouldn’t be signing you up for yoga rehab if they didn’t have a plan in place?” Kendra said, trying to be positive.

“Yeah, yeah you’re right. They’ve tried a few things and they seem to be happy with the results anyway – they’re looking at about a month if all goes well,” Freddie nodded.

“That’s fantastic. I’m glad I’ll be able to help you get back to where you need to be. I’ll do a bunch of research after today, to make sure I’m not pushing you too hard, to make sure I’m doing the best I can for you,” Kendra said, smiling.

One month. One month with a rehabilitation she’d never come across before. This was the exact kind of challenge she wanted – and it would be with Freddie?

“I know you will, Kendra. I trust you completely. I just…”

He trailed off, chewing his bottom lip, his hesitation making her chest ache.

“What is it?” she prompted, trying to be gentle.

“I don’t want this to be it. I’m not ready for my career to be over. I still want, no, need to prove myself,” he said softly.

“Your talent and reputation precede you, Freddie. Everything that you’ve achieved with the Leafs and now with the Canes? How beloved you are by teammates and fans? You prove yourself, every day.”

“You’ve followed my career?” he asked, clearly surprised.

To be fair, she didn’t think she would’ve been able to keep following him after he left Anaheim, but it was Freddie.

“How could I not? We were friends,” she shrugged, trying to keep her voice light.

A wave of sadness washed over Freddie’s expression, making her heart clench in her chest, but before he could speak, Kendra cleared her throat.

“You’ve got this, Freddie Andersen. We’re going to get you back to where you need to be, and you’re going to kick metaphorical ass. Maybe even literal ass if you need to,” she said firmly.

Freddie managed a small smile, nodding.

“Let’s do this then.”

~

“Hey, Kendra. Thanks for today. I really enjoyed the session.”

She looked up at Freddie as she took her hair out of the twisted bun she put it in for working, letting her hair cascade down her back in blonde waves.

“You don’t have to thank me every time, you know,” she mused.

After that fateful first group class, Freddie has eagerly signed on for more conditioning classes at her studio, and her boss had happily signed him on as her first solo yoga client the moment she reached her 1000 hours milestone. It had been intimidating, if she was being honest, but she was thriving under her own steam, leading all on her own. It didn’t hurt that Freddie was a willing student, keen to increase his flexibility and core strength. And it didn’t hurt that he was absolutely gorgeous either – but that was just for her own thoughts.

“I want to thank you though. The team, management in particular, are really noticing the work I’ve put in as full-time backup, and that’s all down to you,” Freddie said with a shrug and a smile.

“Well in that case, gold star for me,” she grinned.

Freddie barked out a surprised laugh, making her giggle as she rolled up her mat.

“Did you, uh…do you have any more classes now?” he asked, awkward enough for her to pay attention.

“No, you were my last of the day. Why?”

“There’s a new smoothie bar that’s opened up down the road and I was going to go after this – if you want, come with me? I’d love to learn more about how you got into yoga instruction so young,” he said hopefully.

Kendra eyed him for a moment, trying to read any implications or anything untoward in his words. The last thing she wanted was to give off the wrong impression, especially in her first adult job, but Freddie just looked so genuine that she couldn’t help but to smile. A friend couldn’t hurt, right?

“I could go for a smoothie,” she said after a moment or two, nodding.

“Great! Um, I’ll shower, change, and meet you in the lobby?”

“Sounds like a plan,” she mused, “See you soon.”

Within no time at all, Kendra had changed into a cute little cropped lilac sweater and black jeans, leaving her hair down her back to dry in waves. She hadn’t packed any makeup with her, annoyingly, but Freddie saw her all the time without makeup so she guessed it didn’t really matter. Even if she would’ve preferred a dashing of mascara and a swipe of lipgloss. Maybe she’d have to leave a spare of each in her work bag, just in case any future hangouts after work happened.

If today’s smoothie run wasn’t awkward, of course. Damn she hoped it wouldn’t be awkward.

“Ready to go?”

“Let’s do this!” Kendra said cheerfully.

Freddie just smiled down at her, easily towering over her 5ft2 frame with his 6ft4 one – yes she’d looked up his height to be certain, she was curious – opening up the door for her to walk through first.

“Such a gentleman,” she teased.

“I aim to please,” he drawled.

Kendra snorted, immediately covering her face in embarrassment, but Freddie grinned like a cat who got the cream.

“Cute snort,” he smirked.

“Ass,” she shot back, sticking out her tongue to let him know she wasn’t actually mad.

Freddie just laughed, a clear beautiful sound that sent butterflies in her stomach going overdrive. No, this was not the time. Be a professional. Don’t be a giggly idiot. Damn it.

The walk to the smoothie bar couldn’t have taken more than 5 minutes, the two of them staying in a comfortable silence – something that Kendra found difficult with people she’d known for years, so for her to feel such at ease with someone she barely knew? It was strange. Nice, but strange.

“Okay, what’ll it be?” he asked, looking up at the board, “My treat.”

“Are you sure?” she frowned.

Sure, this was her first job and she’d only been in it a couple of months, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t pay her way.

“Absolutely sure. I insist,” Freddie said firmly.

The intensity in his eyes, warm but solid, made her inhale sharply and nod. If he insisted…

“I’ll have almond milk, pineapple, kale, and mango, with a dash of honey. Thanks, Freddie,” she said, smiling up at him.

He just smiled back down at her, sending those butterflies into overdrive again, stepping forward to repeat her order as well as giving his own. When their smoothies arrived, Freddie walked over to a table in the corner so she followed, sitting down with a happy sigh.

“Oh man that’s good. Thanks for inviting me out,” Kendra said, after taking a sip of her smoothie.

“You’re welcome. It’s nice to actually meet someone near my age that as interested in yoga as I am,” Freddie said simply.

“Yeah? Not too many friends or girlfriends wanting to join you?” she asked, somehow managing to stop herself cringing to hard at the wording of her question.

Freddie just smirked slightly but didn’t call her out, thankfully. “No friends who want to do yoga with me, no. Most the team only do yoga when they absolutely have to. And no girlfriend either.”

“That’s a shame,” she said lightly, ignoring the zing through her body, “Yoga is fun and a great stress-reliever.”

“Is that why you got into it then?”

Kendra relaxed back into her seat, taking another sip of her drink, before starting to talk. Over the next hour, the two of them exchanged life stories, getting to know each other properly. Freddie talked about his career so far in the Danish league, how different and difficult it was to move over to Anaheim in August, how he’s just trying to make his mark now he’s been with down with the AHL team most the season and only up for a week. In turn, Kendra talked about how she’d always lived in California, having moved from her hometown in Santa Monica to Anaheim after meeting her now-boss at a training course, how she’d seen her mom doing yoga with her friends and fallen in love with the flow and peacefulness of it as well as the strength it gave. Talking to Freddie felt like they’d been friends for all her life, something she’d never experienced before, and she could only hope this wasn’t the last time they got to do this. Freddie was special, that was clear as day, and she felt lucky to see this relaxed side of him that she doubted many were privy to.

Eventually though, once their smoothies were finished, they had to leave before they overstayed their welcome, and Freddie walked her back to her car.

“I’m perfectly capable of walking across the parking lot on my own, you know,” she mused, jerking her chin in the direction of his car, all the way on the other side.

“And if some weirdo stalks you to your car when I can prevent that, I’d rather avoid you being alone,” he shrugged.

“Aww are you my knight in shining armour, Mr Andersen?” she teased.

Interestingly, his cheeks dusted with a blush.

“I’ll sweep you off your feet any time you need, Miss Lee,” he smirked.

Kendra just burst out laughing, shaking her head at his banter flirting. Ridiculous guy. This was going to be a fun friendship, she could already tell.

“Give me your number? We can sort out another smoothie run,” Freddie said, smiling.

She ignored those traitorous butterflies and nodded, unlocking her phone and handing it over. It could only be a good thing to have more friends in Anaheim, right?

“You think you can handle seeing me outside of the yoga studio?” she mused.

“Oh I know I can.”

~

Kendra and Freddie settled on three yoga sessions a week for his rehabilitation, 12 in total, to give him the conditioning build up he needed while still taking care to manage his recovery. She’d spent all night after that first meeting researching and planning the best course of movements and flows for him, making it challenging but helpful, eventually dragging herself back to bed at 4am, satisfied that what she’d planned would help him.

With any client, she would want to make sure she was satisfied, but with Freddie? She needed it to. Even after everything, she didn’t want to let him down.

Their first two sessions went well, the first mostly easing Freddie back into the swing of things, assessing where his strengths and weaknesses were, and the second session left Freddie groaning but smiling, happy he was able to push himself. Their third session, which Kendra was preparing for, would be another mild push, nothing extreme but still to see where she would need to adjust any plans.

It was all a process, but one she was enjoying immensely. Not just because of her student.

“Knock knock.”

Kendra jolted out of her thoughts, hand on her heart as Freddie walked into the studio with a grin.

“You are the worst,” she groaned.

“So you don’t want the smoothie I picked up on the way?” he mused.

He brought her a smoothie?

Her lips parted in surprise, but she stuck her hand out anyway, Freddie just laughing as he passed it over. The moment she took a sip, a wave of nostalgia ran over her. All she could think about were the smoothie runs and coffees hangouts and even the occasional lunch they used to go to together. Two and a half years of memories all flooding through her system, and it was all she could do to keep her face calm and neutral as the memories of conversations and vulnerability and laughter swirled through her thoughts. This wasn’t fair. This really wasn’t fair. She wanted to be mad at him for daring to dive back into their past like him leaving meant nothing, but how could she? How could she be mad when those memories still brought her joy?

“Almond milk, pineapple, kale, and mango, with a dash of honey. My favourite. Maybe you’re not the worst. You really remembered this?”

“Of course I did. I loved our smoothie dates,” Freddie nodded, smiling.

Dates?

“Dates?” she said, raising an eyebrow.

“Figure of speech? I don’t speak English?” he offered.

“Yeah nice try, I’m pretty sure your English is better than most people I know,” Kendra mused.

Freddie blushed but laughed.

“How could I forget anything about the girl who got me doing the best Bridge pose of my life, hm?”

She tried valiantly not to think about how good Freddie looked bent over in a backwards arch. Valiantly.

“Alright, but don’t think this means I’ll go easy on you, Freddie,” she said brightly, “We’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he grinned, “Give it to me rough.”

Kendra took a moment, trying to hold in her laughter, before she gave in and cackled.

“Oh man that was so bad, even for you,” she grinned.

“Not my finest, I’ll give you that,” Freddie shrugged, a light blush on his cheeks, “Still made you laugh though.”

Well he wasn’t wrong there.

Kendra sipped on her drink while Freddie laid out his mat, leaving the cup in a safe spot as she moved to stand in front of him.

“As always, let’s start with Sun Salutation,” she grinned.

The next hour flew by. As she promised him, Kendra did push him hard – some of the poses he wasn’t quite ready for, she could see that, at least even for the length of time they were trialling today. His natural flexibility hadn’t left him, that much was obvious, but there was still work to do. At least she could take pride in being part of rehabilitation that would never push him further than he was ready for. His safety, physical and mental, was the most important thing.

But he could do this. She knew that he could do this, and that excited her.

“Alright, that’s us done for today. Thanks, Freddie,” Kendra said softly.

Freddie opened his eyes, practically floating from savasana, face flushed from exertion.

“Thank you, Kendra. I feel awesome. Tired but awesome,” he grinned.

“Not aching too much anywhere?” she asked, standing up gracefully.

Freddie groaned as he stood up, rolling his shoulders as he checked in with himself. Kendra smiled wryly at the action – at least she could trust an athlete to know his own body.

“No, not too much,” he said.

“Are you sure?” she frowned, hands on hips.

“I promise. I know the difference between aching from a good workout to aching from injury and pain. This is good,” Freddie insisted.

Well alrighty then.

“That’s what I like to hear,” Kendra said happily, rolling her neck from side to side to loosen tension, “Take a shower, Andersen, I can smell you from here.”

Freddie barked out a laugh, shaking his head in amusement.

“Care to join me?”

“In your dreams.”

Freddie just smirked, sending a shiver down her spine. There. That was it, the spark she’d been missing for so many years.

“See you on Wednesday?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Freddie nodded.

~

From: Freddie I have a return date March 7th

From: Kendra That’s amazing! I told you that you could do it! These last eight sessions have really paid off! Do you feel ready?

From: Freddie As always, I should’ve trusted that you were right lol I think so? My body does for certain

From: Kendra And your mind? If you don’t feel mentally ready, Freddie, please don’t let them push you

From: Freddie Thanks, I appreciate that I think it’s more nerves than not mentally ready? Like, I don’t want to let the team down. And I don’t want critics to call me washed up

From: Kendra You could never let the team down They can see your passion, see how hard you’re working And screw the critics. They don’t know you or your body You are the furthest thing from washed up, so don’t talk about yourself like that

From: Freddie I’ve missed your fire. Yes ma’am

From: Kendra Damn right you have. That’s more like it

From: Freddie Can I still finish off my course of session with you? And maybe carry on for a few more afterwards? Just to make sure I still have that confidence?

From: Kendra As many as you want I’m here for whatever you need

From: Freddie Whatever I need? I like the sound of that

~

“So today’s your last official yoga rehab session with Freddie. How are you feeling?”

“Yeah, it’s all gone really well. It’s been nice reconnecting with him, as well as seeing him grow back into his conditioning and confidence. You were right, Mimi, this was a great idea,” Kendra grinned.

Mimi and Celeste both smiled at her, but the smiles quickly turned hesitant. What? What was wrong?

“Has he said something? Have the Canes said something?” she asked, starting to worry.

Had she done something wrong and he hadn’t had the guts to tell her?

“No, no, god no. Freddie’s had nothing but high praise for you since he got here and I have no doubt he’ll be saying the same to his team,” Celeste said quickly.

“He talks about me?” Kendra asked, not knowing whether to ignore the butterflies in her stomach or not.

“He does. And he always has a smile on his face when he leaves here, same as you. We just…”

“Just what?” she prompted.

“We just want you to be careful,” Celeste said, finishing her sister’s sentence.

 What the hell?

Mimi winced at Kendra's expression before clearing her throat.

“When I met you, it was obvious that part of you was missing,” Mimi said softly, Celeste nodding.

What?

“What do you mean?” Kendra frowned.

“This fun flirty side of you? These beaming smiles? It’s great, don’t get me wrong, but seeing you around Freddie makes so much sense,” Mimi explained.

Okay that was crazy.

“We really are just friends,” Kendra said, shaking her head.

Mimi and Celeste send her matching disbelieving looks.

“No, really,” Kendra said, shrugging, “We always had this flirty banter but it was never anything more than that.”

“Never anything more?” Celeste said, raising an eyebrow, “Not even once?”

“No!” Kendra laughed, “He would come to my yoga classes, we’d get coffee or smoothies occasionally, sometimes lunch, but never anything more.”

“I really don’t think you see what we see. What no doubt everyone sees when they watch the two of you,” Mimi said.

“You can’t fake that kind of chemistry, Kendra. He clearly has feelings for you,” Celeste added.

What?

He had feelings for her?

And everyone saw it?

Mimi and Celeste watched her obvious turmoil with soft pitying smiles.

“Think about it. Just think about it. That’s all we’re saying,” Mimi said, her voice warm and reassuring, “And be careful?”

“You’re our girl, okay? We just want you to be happy,” Celeste said, smiling.

“Uh yeah, sure. I’ll think about it,” Kendra murmured.

It was all she could do to walk in a straight line for their staff kitchen, desperately needing a cold bottle of water to sip on while she sorted through her thoughts.

She’d always found Freddie attractive. That was something she could admit to without hesitation. But it was something she’d buried deep, knowing she could never act on it. Bringing that acknowledgement back up to the surface was terrifying, because it wasn’t just a physical attraction – it was everything about him. If she let herself think about how attracted she was to him, let herself think about his laugh, and his kindness, and his terrible taste in coffee, and his soft smile when he talked about his family, and literally everything else about him…she felt like she would explode.

How was she supposed to behave normally around him in their last scheduled yoga session, when all of these dangerous feelings were bubbling at the surface?

No, she had to find a way. She couldn’t ruin everything, not when she’d just got him back into her life. She just couldn’t.

Somehow, she managed to keep a lid on her emotions for her entire day until Freddie’s session at the end of her evening, running through the most challenging routines that pushed him to his limit, but left him with a smile on his face. He was ready. He was really ready for his return to play in two days time.

So why did it feel like everything was ending?

Freddie had stayed mostly quiet, focusing on his movements, but there were times in between flows that she caught him staring at her as if he was thinking. Thinking hard. It was almost off-putting, if it didn’t make her feel giddy. Were her friends right? Were her feelings really reciprocated?

Whatever was going through his mind, she didn’t know, but even she could feel a trembling intensity between the two of them that she couldn’t put a finger on. It felt like…anticipation.

When their class was over, Freddie insisted on waiting for her to grab all of her things, Mimi and Celeste just smirking as he waved goodbye to them, escorting her out to her car. This time he apparently hadn’t parked that far away from her, so he was insistent on walking her properly, although it could definitely be classed as more of an extremely slow stroll rather than a walk.

Like he was drawing this out as much as she was.

“You must be freezing,” Freddie murmured, “Here take my jacket.”

Before Kendra could form a word of protest at his sudden words, Freddie was slipping his jacket off and placing it over her shoulders. The warmth immediately hit her body, thrumming through her veins, and she knew without a doubt that her burning cheeks gave her thoughts away.

“There. Better?”

It was all Kendra could do to nod, staying silent as Freddie made a grunt of approval. Why was this affecting her so much? It was a just a jacket. It was just a jacket, right? It didn’t stop her sinking into the warmth though, picking up the scent of his cologne, ignoring the way her heart started beating that little bit faster.

She had to say something. She had to say something.

“Freddie…I need to ask you a question,” she said softly.

“Go for it,” he mused.

“Did you know it was me when you agreed to do a yoga rehab course?”

“What?”

Kendra exhaled a little shakily, but shook her head. She needed to know.

“When your team suggested yoga classes as part of your rehab treatment plan, how did you pick a teacher? Did you know I would be running this for you?”

“Ah.”

A single word. How ominous.

But Kendra just stayed silent, unwilling to say anything else before he did. She needed to know. It would change everything.

“The team gave me a list of options, with short descriptions about the teacher and any feedback from other clients. And…the moment I saw your name on the list, I didn’t have to think any further or look at anyone else,” he murmured.

“What?”

Freddie let out a shaky breath, halting his walk, so Kendra stopped next to him. What did he mean by that?

“I took it as a sign from the universe that I finally had a chance to make up for letting our friendship fizzle out. You were one of the best parts about Anaheim for me, and I was so wrapped up in my head in Toronto that I was stupid enough to let our friendship go. To let you go. I wanted to see you again. I knew that you would be amazing from the yoga side of things, but to get the chance to say that I’m sorry? I couldn’t pass that up.”

As he spoke, his words clear and his expression more serious than she’d ever seen, her heart started racing like it never had before. He really meant all of that, didn’t he? He really chose her?

“You have nothing to apologise for,” she eventually said, a little more breathless than she would care to admit.

“Yes, I do,” Freddie replied, huffing out a laugh, “You deserved better than I treated you.”

He looked relieved, like her being mad at him was even a possibility (not with them, never with him), but she just shook her head. Yeah, it had hurt at the time, when she finally resigned to losing contact with him – but that was over 7 years ago. With time, that hurt had faded into an ache, which in turn faded to occasional wistfulness. She could never hold a grudge against him for a trade, and certainly not for following his dream. That just wasn’t who Kendra was.

She started walking again, Freddie wasting no time in joining her, even though their steps were practically glacial in speed.

“Maybe I deserved a little better communication but it was so long ago, Freddie. I’m not holding onto past grudges. And honestly, the fact that you chose me because you wanted to reconnect? That’s all I needed.”

“Really?” he asked, voice hopeful.

“Really really,” she grinned, “Although I’m sure you can think of something to make it up to me.”

A grin spread across Freddie’s face too, making her feel a little giddy.

“Anything you wanted, Kendra Lee.”

“That is a dangerous offer, Frederik Andersen,” she shot back.

He just shrugged, grin not leaving his face. “You know I’m good for it.”

This, these flirty exchanges, served to do nothing other than light her blood on fire. Why was it always so easy to slip back into this with him like nothing had changed? That was a good thing, right?

“Come out with me on St Patrick’s Day night,” she blurted.

He raised an eyebrow, looking unimpressed, but she just laughed.

“I’m going to a karaoke bar with Mimi and Celeste – join us,” she explained.

“That’s what you want? Out of all the things you could’ve asked for…you want me to join you for karaoke,” he said incredulously.

Kendra inhaled sharply at the implication in his words but nodded anyway, hoping she wasn’t making a huge mistake.

“I do. It’ll be fun, to see you outside of work, and to do something with you that we’ve never done before. We already have a little booth booked and it’ll be better than cramming into a regular bar for St Patrick’s Day,” she said firmly.

He laughed softly, shaking his head in disbelief, before eventually nodding.

“Alright, I’ll be there. Text me the address,” he mused.

Kendra just grinned, ignoring the butterflies in her stomach as they finally reached her car.

“Thanks for lending me your jacket, Freddie.”

“Any time.”

~

By the time the evening of the 17th March rolled around, Kendra was buzzing. She'd not seen Freddie since his debut back on the ice, him having given the three of them tickets to say thank you. Watching him win? It was everything, and she couldn't have been prouder of him. But with his schedule and hers, he hadn't scheduled any more classes like he'd said he'd wanted to, so Kendra had been limited to text messages, hoping that her daydreams weren't just silly fantasies.

Kendra, Mimi, and Celeste had been in O'Malley's for an hour, and Freddie still hadn’t arrived. The longer that time went on, the more disappointed she felt, not wanting to believe that after everything they’d regrown between them that he would just ghost her. No, that wasn’t Freddie. It couldn’t be Freddie.

“Breathe. Have a drink. He promised he’d be here, right?” Celeste said with a sweet smile.

“He did. But that doesn’t mean he couldn’t have changed his mind,” Kendra sighed.

“Hey, no sad faces. It’s St Patrick’s Day and we’re having a good time!” Mimi said cheerfully.

Kendra just groaned, taking a big gulp of her beer, her friends just cheering. They were right. She couldn’t dwell on this. If Freddie was going to come or whether he wasn’t, she was still out with her friends to have a good time. That was what she needed to focus on.

“Up next, Kendra singing Red!”

“Ooh girl that’s you, go!” Mimi squealed.

Kendra took a deep breath to steel herself, sliding out of their booth with a confident smile. If anyone could make her feel better, it would be Taylor Swift, she knew that much. As the intro music starting playing, she focused on letting it flow through her, tapping her foot in time with the beat.

“Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead end street, Faster than the wind, passionate as sin, ending so suddenly, Loving him is like trying to change your mind, Once you're already flying through the free fall, Like the colors in autumn, so bright, just before they lose it all.”

As if summoned by magic, the door to the pub opened, and Freddie walked in. Within seconds he saw her standing on the karaoke stage and stopped in his tracks, offering her a small stunned smile. He came. He didn’t ghost her. Freddie actually came as she asked him. That had to mean something, right?

“Remembering him comes in flashbacks and echoes, Tell myself it's time now gotta let go, But moving on from him is impossible, When I still see it all in my head, In burning red, Burning, it was red.”

She found herself pouring her emotions into the words, pouring everything she felt about Freddie into the song, not able to take her eyes off him. By now, Mimi and Celeste had noticed how she was performing just for Freddie – she could see their grins from across the room – and a few other patrons were starting to notice too. But she couldn’t stop herself. Her body felt almost out of control, singing her heart out to the only man who’d ever truly held it.

“Oh, losing him was blue, like I'd never known, Missing him was dark gray, all alone, Forgetting him was like trying to know, Somebody you never met, 'Cause loving him was red, Yeah, yeah, red, Burning red.”

His eyes were almost wild, locked onto her like she was the only person in the room. It was a heady feeling, giving her the confidence she needed to finish the song with a smile.

“And that's why he's spinning 'round in my head, Comes back to me, burning red, Yeah, yeah.”

She curtseyed dramatically to cheers and applause as the song ended, a wide grin on her face, and she moved to step off the stage, Freddie was already there with a hand extended to help her down. She took it silently, inhaling sharply as Freddie didn’t let go – instead her guided her across the room to the bar, the crowd parting with whatever intensity was on his face, so much so that they were served immediately.

“Two baby guinnesses,” Freddie asked politely.

The barman just laughed, nodding as he poured the shots, Freddie not letting go of her hand even as he paid for their drinks. He passed her one of the shots with a hopeful smile, the sweetness in his eyes intoxicating, so she clinked the glass gently with his, the cool liquid sliding down her throat smoothly.

“I wasn’t sure if you would make it,” Kendra said, offering him a small smile.

“I was thinking. Thinking about a lot of things. And I have something I need to say,” Freddie murmured, voice barely audible above the rumble of the room’s conversation.

“Oh?” she said, breath caught in her throat.

“I need to be honest with you, Kendra. I don’t think I can do any more classes with you.”

Oh. Everything in her chest felt like it was crumbling, Kendra barely able to get a breath in.

Wait, what?

“It would be incredible unprofessional of me,” Freddie added.

“Unprofessional? Freddie, if I’ve done something-”

The last thing Kendra was expecting was for Freddie to cut off her words with a kiss.

And not just any kiss. A toe-curling, melt into his arms, curl her fingers into his shirt kind of kiss. As his hands cupped her face and his lips moved with hers, it was all she could do to let out a soft little moan, interrupted only at the chorus of cheers and whistles around them. Freddie broke the kiss with a soft laugh, Kendra just feeling dazed, but his shy smile just made her giddy all over again.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long. I just didn’t think I could,” he admitted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

They were right. Mimi and Kendra were right.

“What changed?” she managed to ask.

“We changed,” he said. “We’ve both grown so much in ourselves since I left Anaheim and I am proud of both of us for taking what we need to make ourselves happy and successful. But I don’t want to lie to myself any more, thinking that I don’t need you too.”

“You need me?” she said, surprised.

“I do, in every way. I was an idiot for so many years, Kendra. I don’t want to waste any more time,” he said seriously.

“Jesus, Freddie, knock a girl for six why don’t you,” she said, huffing out a laugh.

He froze at her words, clearly fearing the worst, but Kendra just grinned. How could she be anything but excited?

“I’m yours, Freddie Andersen. I always have been,” she said happily.

The smile that spread across his face was worth a thousand lifetimes. This was what she had been waiting for. Exactly this.

“Now, buy me another drink and sing a song with me, and I’ll consider kissing you again,” Kendra grinned.

He laughed in disbelief but grinned so widely in response that it made her giddy. “One blue moon pale ale, coming right up.”

Her favourite girls night drink? How did he remember everything she’d ever said?  They were really doing this. They were finally doing this. 

“You’re going to be trouble, aren’t you?” she laughed.

“Probably. You love it though.”

That she did.

#my writing #frederik andersen fic #luck of the puck exchange #frederik andersen imagine #frederik andersen x oc #frederik andersen fanfic #carolina hurricanes fic #hockey fic #hockey imagine #nhl fic #nhl imagine

[leafs-lover]

y/n and Freddie in btpdg is one of my favorite couples to ready about. have you thought of doing a blurb or something where Freddie comes home from a roadie and wakes y/n up in a ✨spicy✨ way? like, maybe when ollie was a baby because sleep is precious when they have 4 little monsters.

Series Masterlist

This is set before YN and Fred have had conversations about getting together but it’s painfully obvious they both want it so like figure it out already? You also don’t have to have read the entire fic to make sense of it, this is a stand alone piece

Warnings: swearing, smut (fingering and p in v), a slight dominance link, I didn’t proofread or edit so if you see any spelling/ grammar mistakes keep them to yourself

Fred’s least favourite thing was leaving.

Ollie learned what the duffle bag meant and would whine every time he saw it, you of course knew what it meant and would also whine about it. Only difference was he could reason with you. He’d always promise you a date once he returned and you’d always prop yourself on your tippy toes, wrap your arms around his neck and pull his face down, growling “why wait?”

Oliver was walking and talking, a handful with every step, leave him alone for more than a minute and every toy was thrown across the living room, or he would have the pantry open tossing boxes onto the floor. He kept you on your toes and you both felt uneasy leaving him even if only for a few minutes. So you would wait, but that doesn’t mean you’d make it easy on him. You would constantly send pictures, snapchats, answering his FaceTimes while wearing practically nothing. You knew exactly what you were doing and it drove him crazy.

Typically the Pens would fly the team back early in the morning after a road trip and since giving Fred a key you tended to wake up and find the living room full of laughter, Oliver wearing only a diaper as he terrorized the couch cushions.

This particular road trip ended in Philly and it was a very quick flight home. The team ventured back to Pittsburgh after the game and Fred set out for your apartment. He made good time, it was near midnight and the roads were empty.

Not a single light was on, not even the blue glow from a TV to alert him to your presence. It’s quiet, but not an eery quiet, it’s peaceful.

Fred drops his bag by the door and sets his keys in the bowl. His jacket is left on the rack and he starts to unbutton his dress shirt as he walks down the dark hallway. He stops at Oliver’s room and half expects the crib to be empty meaning a night with a sprawling toddler who kicks him seventeen times in the ribcage, but as the light from the hall filters in Fred catches a glimpse of the red locks on his tiny body. Like every night he spends with Oliver, Fred walks over to the side of the crib and takes a second to just watch his son. There is something about watching a baby sleep perfectly and peacefully that makes his heart swell - he doesn’t know how he went this long without it. He gently whispers goodnight and places a kiss to his cheek, then leaves the door as he found it - open a crack - before venturing toward you.

There is a copy of The Whispers cracked open on the mattress beside you, a cup of cold herbal tea lingers on the bedside table. The blankets are down low past your hips and one leg is kicked out - evidence you got hot at some point - your perky nipples protrude through the thin white cotton shirt you wore to sleep. The desire for baby number two throbs in his pants, if only that topic wouldn’t send you running Fred could bring it up.

He throws his pants over a chair, folds his shirt and places it on the seat and slips out of his socks. He grabs your “bookmark” from the night stand and lets his finger trace over the worn edges for a moment. It’s not an actual bookmark, but a picture taken moments after Oliver was born. Fred knew you were using a picture, but Oliver was almost one before he knew what the picture was, and that was the moment he knew there was a chance you’d come back to him. Because it’s not a picture of just you and Oliver, it’s one of the three of you. Sweat clings in your hairline, trapping baby hairs to your forehead, both of you have puffy red eyes from crying with the biggest smiles imaginable plastered to your faces, only thing is Fred is staring at Oliver and you are looking up at him. Even with the emotions of that moment, he can see there is more to the look you are giving him. You’re not staring at the father of your son, you are staring at the man you love. Fred is so happy he noticed that glimmer in your eyes and decided to wait you out, because he catches you looking at him like that countless times a day (even though you won’t admit it anytime soon). Fred smiles, like he does every time he sees this photo, and sets it inside the book, then curls up beside you.

He knows he should let you sleep, you have a very energetic toddler that loves to keep you on your toes, but that shirt is just a little to see-through and a little too tight and you sent one too many messages.

He starts slow.

His hand on your stomach and lips on your jaw. It’s soft, a kiss that goes unnoticed.

His calloused hand ventures up, finding one of those perfect breasts you spent a week tormenting him with and he begins to massage it, tweaking and tugging at your nipple. A sleepy sigh catches in your throat but Fred can tell it’s going to take more.

His touch is light as his hand drops, under the elastic band of his boxers you decided to sleep in. The pressure starts off gentle, slow circles being pressed against your heat. His lips trail along your jaw, over to the sweet spot on your neck. Instead of kissing he starts to suck, harder and harder, letting his teeth sink in. When he doesn’t earn the response he desperately seeks, two fingers toy at your entrance, coating themselves in your arousal.

“Hi baby,” Fred murmurs when you finally start to stir.

“Hi,” you mumble back, involuntarily tilting your head to the side, giving him more space to work with. “I missed you.”

“I know you did.” His fingers slip inside as far as they can go. Your eyes dart open.

“Shit baby.” Your legs kick out and back arches as he thrusts his digits back inside.

“You knew what you were doing with all those pictures you sent.” He chastises, thrusting his fingers back inside once again. “Knew what it was doing to me.”

“Of course I did.” Your voice is becoming strangled, the pressure starting to build.

“Then what did you expect?”

Fred shoves his boxers down your thighs and you feel his cock, rock hard and leaking excitement all over your hip. With a few more thrusts to get you wet and ready, Fred replaces his fingers with his member, and you both moan in unison.

“This was your plan all along, wasn’t it?” He probes, shunting you up the bed with one deep thrust. “What you wanted huh?” He punctuates with another thrust.

“I always want you.” You whimper, knowing he is waiting for a response.

Your fingers tremble when they feel the hard muscles of his back. You always loved his body and he’s always loved yours. Beads of sweat cascade down your neck and Fred smiles, his second favourite thing to lick.

“Only me right?”

He doesn’t mean it as a question, at least not in this moment. There will be a time for the hard questions, a conversation where he will make you admit to what you’ve been feeling (because he has zero doubt and knows you just need a nudge). This question is more about dominance, a reminder, because him practically prodding your cervix doesn’t do that.

“As if there could be anyone else.”

Fred hooks your left leg over his hip and finally brings his lips to yours. His mustache tickles your upper lip and his tongue works its way into your mouth. It’s sloppy, frantic, full of heat. Every time he presses his tongue in further your nails scratch along his back. And after every firm and direct thrust hits that spot deep inside, your moan gets caught in his mouth.

“You look so good with my cock inside you.” Fred grunts, punctuating his words with another thrust.

“You feel so good inside me.”

“Gonna feel even better with my cum dripping out of you.” Fred smirks as one hand snakes between your bodies and rubs at your clit. It suddenly becomes very difficult to concentrate on what he is saying. You can see his lips moving and can only imagine the filth spewing out.

You writhe beneath him as your pleasure reaches it’s peak. Your nails dig deep into the thickest part of his bicep and with one more punctuated thurst you come undone, warmth spilling around his cock. Fred’s cocky grin only grows even as his thrusts are sloppy and shallow, and just as your body relaxes Fred spills everything deep inside your cunt.

It takes a bit for your hearts to steady, it always does, Fred’s version of a “quickie” often leaves you feeling like you ran 5k.

Fred looks down at you, brown eyes clouded with lust and passion and leans back in, replacing the heated and heavy kisses with a soft one, full of warmth.

“Elskede.” He smiles sweetly, his cock soft inside you.

“Hmm.”

“Tease me like that again and I won’t wake you up as nicely next time.”

“No idea what you’re talking about,” you shrug him off, a hint of insolence in your voice. His cock twitches. You being bratty always did turn him on.

Taglist: If you are in this list you have expressed interest in the series, either through likes/reblogs or by asking. If you would like to be removed or added to the list send me an ask:

@mandypants95 @c-tangerinene @puccbunni @hockeyinaussie @hockeypuckspost @0kikina0 @sixmapleleafs @hockeyunitsyunits @localcalumhoe @starswin  @je-ne-regrette-rien @mollybirk @daniellepulice72 @callsign-denmark

#frederik Andersen #frederik Andersen smut #frederik Andersen fic #Freddie Andersen #nhl smut #freddie Andersen smut #freddie Andersen fic #nhl fic #fred andersen #fred andersen fic #fred andersen smut #Toronto maple leafs #Toronto maple leafs smut #Toronto maple leafs fic #carolina hurricanes fic #carolina hurricanes smut #hockey smut #hockey fic #BTPGD #because two people got drunk

[knifeshoeboys]

Little Do You Know - F. Andersen

It’s finally done! This fic was written for the Winter Fic Exchange 2k24 hosted by @wyattjohnston and is for @mp0625. It was a nice challenge to write a reader insert for the first time, I had a lot of fun creating this story and I hope you enjoy readiit just as much!

Also, everyone be warned, I didn’t look at a single calendar or any actual game scores. I just did what felt right and hoped for the best. Also, don’t think too closely about the reader’s job. I have no idea how it actually works, I just put a lot of imagination and confidence into writing it. There also is a guest appearance of Seth Jarvis.

Summary: Suddenly working for the Carolina Hurricanes wasn't how you'd thought your year would end. Everything that followed was just as surprising.

Pairing: Frederik Andersen x f!reader (no mentions of y/n)

Words: 11.9k (I’m sorry, this was planned to be like 3k words at most?? I have no idea what happend)

Warnings: a few swear words? Reader is described as shorter than Freddy, otherwise no physical descriptions. It might sound just a little angsty at the beginning, but it's really not; mostly fluff and maybe some light hurt/comfort

.

.

Jane's grin should have been enough to make you suspicious.

It was one evening, after another long shift at work and overtime that you would probably never see the pay for.

Even without looking at her, you knew the look Jane would give you. One of those pitying ones that made you a little more defensive than you should’ve been - a constant reminder that perhaps the year hadn't exactly been perfect.

But that didn't automatically mean Jane was right. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, you had once tried to tell her once. You were happy. No, really.

Sure, the breakup at the beginning of the year had been long and accompanied by a lot of shouting and tears. At the beginning you had been so sure that he was the one - only to be disappointed once again a few months later. But you could always use that as a learning experience, couldn’t you? Jane didn't know what she was talking about when she’d said that you seemed lonely sometimes. Better alone than with the wrong person, right?

And sure, the water damage to the apartment wasn't ideal either. But at least the only thing that couldn’t be saved was the kitchen. Everything else just needed time to dry and, well, maybe a new coat of paint. Two weeks later you had managed to find a new place to move into with your best friend, Jane.

Maybe she wasn’t entirely wrong about your job being more than miserable. Seemingly endless overtime and the salary just enough to make ends meet.

Maybe Jane had a point, even though you hated to admit it.

You weren't unhappy per se. But maybe, just maybe, there was still room for improvement.

And now it was December.

Jane had gotten a telltale glint in her eyes when you both realized that. Less than four weeks left to end the year on a good note.  Or maybe you should just wait for the next one and hope it’ll get better. So, with a shrug of your shoulders, you'd put the thought aside for the moment.

Her grin should’ve made you suspicious. But instead, it was already forgotten by the next morning.

–   

"Jane!" Your voice was far too loud considering she was sitting barely a meter away.

"Hm?" Jane looked up from her book, confused, maybe a little worried. You weren’t paying enough attention right not to get a good read on her expression.

You couldn't believe your eyes. Even after reading the text for the third time, you wanted to pinch yourself. Hard. This had to be a strange dream.

The words blinking up at you from the screen seemed unbelievable.

"Did you- Did you submit my application with- to the- the Carolina Hurricanes?!"

Jane seemed to process your words in her head. Then understanding began to spread across her face.

Your mouth kept opening and closing, but no words came out. You didn't even know what you would have, should’ve, said. What was a normal response in this situation?

Jane straightened up a little and leaned toward you. She was looking over your shoulder at the laptop.

"Oh, they were faster than I expected."

"How... What..."

Sure, you'd complained to her just the other day that the youth team you'd applied to had suddenly realized they didn't have the budget for a full-time position after all. The interview at the equipment store on the other side of town left a lot to be desired after their first question was how much overtime you could put in per month.

But this? You’d never have expected that.

"Are you crazy?" Your voice was still unexpectedly shrill.

“It’s not a rejection letter”, she sounded a little too proud for your liking.

You squinted your eyes at her.

“Then I would’ve killed you. After burying myself out of embarrassment.”

"Oh, come on. You have to admit, it sounds perfect for you," Jane simply shrugged her shoulders. Leaning back again, she looked a lot calmer than you felt.

Nevertheless, you did have to admit that it sounded almost perfect. Often you had helped out with the equipment in small teams in the past and had always enjoyed the work. It was close to the action without being in the foreground.

But still.

"I can't believe you." You slumped back against the couch and ran your fingers through your hair. "This is crazy. You’re crazy..."

Jane sighed. "Hey, if you're not interested, don't answer." Then she turned back to her book.

She made it sound so easy.

"I didn't say that!" you defended yourself immediately.

Jane snorted, then at least a brief twitch of the corner of her mouth.

–  

Your hands were shaking as you pushed open the nondescript door. It had all happened so fast.

Someone had called you the very next morning.

It was all so unbelievable that you could barely remember the phone call.

 "It's a temporary position, but it needs to be filled quickly," the man on the phone had said, that much you could recall - immediately followed by the question of when you could start.

Apparently, someone had gotten sick after they were already understaffed and so they urgently needed someone to fill in.

Your experience at the small hockey center in your hometown had probably paid off after all. While growing up you had helped the coach, who trained the children’s hobby group, with the equipment.

In return, he always gave you old skates and sticks that were once forgotten by someone and never got picked up so you could try them out during your own team’s training.

Maybe they also decided on you because they just didn’t have many applicants with previous experience of any level available at such short notice. But who knew. And really, you didn’t really care either way.

Especially as just a few hours after the call you were now following hurriedly written down directions through the corridors of the arena that you had previously only seen as a visitor. 

Anthony, whose first words had been "Call me Tony", had been awaiting you already. His tour of the most important rooms was not only packed with way too much information but also constantly interrupted by other people’s questions and demands.

Nevertheless, Tony remained friendly and patient with them as well as you, even when you had forgotten which direction you had come from for the third time in a row. Once or twice, he might even have stifled an amused grin.

"Let me just show you the storage rooms and then..."

"Anthony," an older man interrupted from the side. He had his arms crossed over his chest and a grim expression on his face.

An official-looking ID was hanging around his neck.

Tony grimaced at the use of his full name.

"What is it now?" he asked, barely able to hide his annoyed voice under a wavering polite smile. It was the first time you'd seen Tony anything other than friendly today. It was almost weird.

The man didn't really look at Tony, but rather past him, even though the words were clearly directed at Tony. "The sticks are all mixed up." The accusatory tone in his voice was clear, as if Tony had personally caused the mess.

"We don't know what belongs to whom."

Tony sighed. "Of course, you don't", he muttered so quietly that only you could hear the words. However, the other man would have been able to see the hint of an eye roll hadn’t he turned away again, apparently to grumble at the next person.

"Don't let Mike intimidate you," Tony explained, turning back to you, "in case he ever snaps at you. He likes to feel more important than he is." He rolled his eyes with a wry grin.

Someone hesitantly tapped Tony’s shoulder. This time a young man, who looked like he'd just graduated high school.

"Sorry, I know you're busy - I don't mean to interrupt - but, uh, a strap on a goalie pad broke."

Anthony ran a hand over his forehead. "Another one? Shit."  He exhaled noisily. "That's the third one in two days. It has to be a production error. Has the manufacturer responded to the complaint yet?"

The boy's eyes widened, and he shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

Mike called impatiently for Anthony from the next room. Torn, he turned briefly at the voice, then looked back at the boy next to him. "They probably need the goalies for training right now?"

The boy nodded shyly: "They said it was urgent."

Anthony sighed again.

Then he looked at you with a wry grin: "Looks like you'll get something to do sooner than expected."

He got handed a paper from someone walking past him. While searching for something on it he continued talking.

"We only have a few pads left in stock. The new order hasn't arrived yet and we need the ones we still have for the game tonight. Do you know how to sew?" He looked up.

"A little?" Your grandparents had taught you a long time ago, but it wasn't something you had to do regularly in your daily life.

"Great, that should be enough for now. It doesn't have to be pretty, as long as it does the job."

Anthony patted you on the back approvingly. Then he left you standing alone in the hallway, his exit accompanied by another long "Anthony" yell.

You were left standing there. Uncertainly you looked at the young man next to you.

He shrugged his shoulders just as unsure. He murmured quietly: "In that room over there." With a finger, he pointed at a door.

Well, then you should probably get to work. 'That room over there' really wasn't hard to find. It was only a few meters away.

What you didn't expect, however, was to almost walk into a huge man as soon as you entered the room. You always knew that hockey players tended to be quite tall, but it still took you by surprise.

You had to tilt your head back to look the man in the face. Of course, having lived here long enough you knew all the players on the team, at least by name. You weren't some crazy fan but at least invested enough to watch the games whenever you had the time. For your last birthday you had even gotten tickets to watch one live in the arena. It had been great.

Now you were faced with a certain goalie. Stubborn ginger strands fell into his face, his cheeks slightly flushed from training or the cold. Television did not do him justice at all.

Stay professional, you had to order yourself. This was your job. You couldn't mess it up, especially not on the first day.

Frederik looked up. He ran his eyes over your form for a moment. Then he tilted his head. "You're not Tony," his voice sounded unexpectedly soft.

"Oh, uh, no. I'm new here. First day today." Wow, very smooth. Good job.

If Freddie thought the same, he didn't let on. Quite the opposite. He openly watched you, his mouth twisted into a crooked grin. "Well, in that case. Welcome."

You mumbled a "Thank you."

A brief silence filled the room. While you reminded yourself to get yourself under control, you could still feel his appraising gaze on you - not hostile, just curious.

"How do you like it so far?" You could see little lines forming around his eyes as he smiled at you.

"I mean, a map would be helpful. All these corridors are like a labyrinth," you tried to joke.

Freddie laughed. "Oh yeah. You don't want to know how many times I got lost in here at first."

Maybe he was just saying that to make you feel better. However, you decide not to question it and just let the words calm you down a little.

"Are you almost done?" a woman poked her head into the room. Her stern features were emphasized by her narrow glasses. She reminded you of a strict principal scowling at running students.

You were almost certain you'd seen her in the corridors earlier today. Maybe Tony had told you her name and position, but if so, you'd already forgotten again. For the first dozen names you had made an honest effort to memorize them. The numerous ones following after that were buried in the sea of information that had poured in on you in a very short space of time.

"Oh yes, almost done," you grinned at the woman as convincingly as possible.

With a skeptical look, she let her eyes wander back and forth between Freddie, you and finally the pad, still hanging down loosely on his leg.

"Hurry up”, she ordered. You nodded dutifully.

When she had disappeared again, you breathed a sigh of relief. Her eyes had literally bored right through you and left you feeling a little uncomfortable. Freddie had squirmed under her eyes just as much.

You didn’t want to risk her turning up here again.

"I think I'll go and get some stuff. To fix that."

Freddie nodded patiently.

Huh.

Well. There was just one problem.

"You wouldn't happen to know where they store needles around here, would you?"

Again, the corners of his mouth pulled to the side in amusement. "Aren't you the one working here?" He was obviously just teasing you, but your cheeks immediately felt a little warmer, nevertheless.

"Right."

In the end, Freddie did help by searching through the drawers in the small cupboard behind him while you examined the rest of the room.

Once needle and thread were found, the work was done quickly. The strap was tight again. It should hold on for the next few hours at least. The stern-looking woman had walked past the room a few more times – more than necessary in your opinion – as you had noticed out of the corner of your eye. However, she had not re-entered the room.

Freddie and you had had some simple conversations on the side so the work had gone by quickly. He had asked your name and where you came from.

All in all, your first job could have gone a lot worse. You were almost a little proud of yourself.

Maybe this was all quite doable after all.

-

It was terrible.

You couldn't remember the last time you'd walked so much, feeling your feet ache with every more step you took. By the time just half of your shift had been over, your legs were already heavy.

Once the game had started, the processes seemed a lot more structured.

The rather hectic running around of the afternoon was replaced by a lot of counting and carrying things from one place to another.

With all the work, you almost missed the end of the game completely.

However, the disappointment was hard to miss. It put deep creases in everyone’s faces; reflected in the way shoulders slumped and voices were muffled.

Losing again after a long winning streak probably always hit everyone hard.

Tony and you got handed the equipment to be washed and dried.

At least one thing hadn't changed though. All sorts of people still wanted something from Tony. He had mumbled to you "I'll be back in a moment", only to definitely not come back after a moment.

Afraid of getting lost for good, you decided to wait here for him anyway.  

Everyone around you seemed to have clear tasks that they were silently following. It was almost strange to see the corridors so quiet, in contrast to a few hours earlier.

No matter where you stood, you had the feeling that you were interfering with the routines of other workers and so you gradually ended up further and further to the end of the narrow hallway. Not knowing exactly where you were was nothing new today. However, this time you were pretty sure this corner hadn’t been in Tony’s tour. 

One by one, players came around a corner. They walked past you individually or in small groups. Very few of them probably really noticed you. Their mood was also noticeably subdued.

You weren't entirely sure whether you were happy to see Freddie again as he slowly stepped around the corner, or whether you would’ve preferred not to see the disappointed look on his face.

You gave him what you hoped was an encouraging smile.

For a brief moment, the corners of his mouth lifted, a hint of a crooked grin as he had almost passed you, but as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished again.

He exhaled forcefully. The heaviness in his eyes returned.

With a long breath, you watched his slowly shrinking figure.

No longer could you stand being in the hallway. You had seen enough disappointed faces for one day. A door caught your eye. It was held open by a chair jammed into the doorway. The cool light falling through the opening was brighter than the ceiling lights.

You dared to take one last look over your shoulder, Freddie had already disappeared from your view. And there was still no sign of Tony. So, you crossed the corridor with slow steps.

The door led directly to the spectator stands. It had apparently been opened after everyone had left the arena.

You let yourself fall against the door frame.

After a quick glance over the seating area, your gaze fell onto the ice surface. Your heart ached in your chest. Before, you hadn't realized how much you missed being on the ice yourself - or you had successfully pushed it to the back of your mind. Only now, when you were so close to it, did the longing come back to you in full force.

"Do you have skates?" The voice so close to your ear made you jump. Lost deep in thought you hadn’t noticed when Tony had appeared next to you.

"What?"

"Do you have skates," he repeated more slowly, "I have to be honest. I'd be a bit disappointed if I had to find out like this that you don't own any." He flashed an amused grin at you.

You frowned. "Yes, of course. I mean, I have relatives in Canada. They'd probably disown me if I didn't."

"Then what's stopping you from taking a few laps on the ice?"

He shrugged as if it were that simple. It couldn't be that simple.

"What? But no, I can't do that..." You found it difficult to find the right words. You didn't even know what you were trying to say yourself.

"The way you look at the ice longingly, it'll melt away otherwise," Tony teased.

You couldn't help but roll your eyes. "No, but really. Is that allowed?"

"Yep," Tony pointed over his shoulder. "Back there on the list are the times when the ice is free. As long as you don't mind the ice not being fresh, of course."

You could hardly believe what Tony was telling you. There was actually a possibility that you could skate on the ice? It’d been so long since you had skates on your feet. It’s been even longer since you’d last held a hockey stick.

When you thought about what it would be like to practice again after so long, a yearning overcame you.

"Nobody else usually uses it on Mondays and Wednesdays." Tony gave you a significant look.

-

The ice had obviously been heavily used. It couldn't have bothered you less.

The first step on the ice was shakier than you expected. And it still felt so relieving. Like rediscovering one of your favorite childhood sweets years later. Or finding change in your pockets that you’d already forgotten about.

Your face beamed with joy, becoming more relaxed with every step. After two laps around the arena, it felt as familiar as before. Your chest rose and fell at a fast pace.

Even after another ten minutes, you were still alone on the ice. When Tony had said no one else usually used the free ice time on Mondays, he hadn't been exaggerating.

You were still a little unsure before, but now you took the stick you had brought with you and a few pucks that were still in a bucket on the side from the last training session.

The last time you’d played hockey was even longer ago than the last time you’d skated. So, it wasn't surprising that you missed the net a lot the first few tries. The times you did hit the goal, however, felt all the better.

The skillful shots from your youth, when you still had time to go to training regularly, no longer worked nearly as well. In the past, you could’ve done them blindfolded.

Adult responsibilities however got in the way at some point, so you were glad that you were still able to attend a hobby group at least once a month until last year. And it paid off. After a short time, the stick no longer felt so strange in your hand. Maybe Hockey was a bit like riding a bike. You would never quite forget how to do it.

You almost missed the other person coming onto the ice.

Even without his number on his back, you could’ve identified him without a doubt. To be fair, there probably weren't that many people walking around in professional goalie gear. Especially those with access to the ice and a Canes logo on their chest.

Without a doubt: Frederik Andersen had just stepped onto the ice. The exact ice you were standing on.

Uncertain you looked back and forth between the exit and him. You were sure you hadn't misread the time on the list. The clock on the wall also told you that you hadn't just been here much longer than you thought.

Still, should you leave the ice? If he was here, he probably wanted to practice. You'd just get in the way.

After the game on your first day on the job, the Canes lost two more games. And as always happens, critical voices immediately got loud on the internet. Even if you hadn't looked any further, you could imagine what they said about Freddie – hopefully, he followed the media team's advice not to read any of it.

Freddie looked at you for a moment. Then he crossed the ice. However, instead of heading for the other half of the ice as you’d have expected, his path led straight into the net on your side.

Fascinated, you watched as he stretched and moved in quick order. Finally, he straightened up again, leaned forward and tapped the ice several times with his stick.

You looked at him in confusion. But when he then flicked a puck across the rink towards you with his stick, it was a more than clear invitation.

In this moment you were so glad to have had some time to warm up before he arrived.

Your first shots at the net were careful. And apparently, they were way too predictable and easy for Freddie, as he blocked each of them with ease. He didn't even look strained in the slightest.

You took it as a challenge.

The next shots were more confident. You even started to skate a few steps towards the net on each of them, instead of standing rigidly in the middle of the ice.

However, after a lost puck on the way to the net elicited a playfully disappointed shake of the head from Freddie, you made it your mission to mix in a particularly bad shot every few tries. Freddie’s reaction made it more than worth it.

If you looked very closely, you imagined you could even see the smirk under his mask every time.

In the end, you didn't know how long you’d played for.

When Freddie pushed his mask up, a few strands of hair were sticking to his forehead. His features were more relaxed than any of the last times you'd seen him here. It looked good on him.

As you went your separate ways again, he gently nudged you with his shoulder. The smile lingered on your lips for a long time.

– 

"Do you think the small suitcase will be enough for three days?"

Jane looked at you over her shoulder. "Are you going on a trip? Without me?" She clutched her chest dramatically.

"There are a few away games coming up. And I'm supposed to come with them”, you explained. Your nerves must be written all over your face.

"Not that I think I'm really going to be that much help.", you added.

You had only just started to feel like you were slowly getting used to the work in the arena. By now, you could count on one hand how many times you got lost in the seemingly never-ending hallways of the arena in a shift. Even all the tasks no longer appeared as overwhelming as they did at the beginning.

Still, it had taken you days to even come close to finding your way around the arena. Even now, you kept discovering new rooms that you had never seen before.

Now, arriving in a completely foreign arena? You'd never seen how away games were run behind the scenes. And now you were supposed to help out yourself. Over the last days carefully established routines to make work easier would have to be broken again.

"Oh yeah, I totally forgot that you're super important now," she teased.

As if. "Hardly. More like the assistant to the assistant."

As you turned back to your bedroom, Jane called after you: "I’m sure it won't be as bad as you think."

Packing took longer than expected. This was probably partly due to the fact that you kept placing stuff in your suitcase just to take it out again minutes later. Should you pack a fifth sweater after all? Would one spare pair of pants be enough or maybe take the black ones with you as well?

By the time you had loaded your bags into your car, you were on the verge of being late. Enough time for you to arrive on time, not enough to get stuck in traffic or spend ages looking for a parking space.

However, you didn’t even get that far.

Your car made a tired stuttering noise before it fell silent again. The same sound was heard on the second attempt. By the third turn of the key, your fingers were already getting clammy.

"Damn it. That can't be true now." Try again. This time the engine only made a muffled scraping sound.  "No, no, no!"

You dropped your head against the steering wheel. Frustration rose up inside you.

Another sharp turn. Your hand clutched the armrest. You preferred not to look too closely at the speed limit. Jane ignored your pointed glances toward her anyway - and today, at least, you were almost glad of her habit of speeding.

The bags on the back seat were a heavy reminder in the corner of your eye.

You almost felt like you were back in your teenage years, being driven around by your parents and older friends. Then the airport finally came into view.

Jane parked and let you out. A car honked behind you. Quickly you thanked her and got out of the car.

You didn't know how, but you were still on time.

–    

After the flight, it was a blessing to arrive at the hotel room.

The room was small, had a strange orange wall color and a dubious stain on the floor that you strictly avoided stepping on. But at least you had the room to yourself. Reason enough to breathe a sigh of relief.  

In the evening, you fell into bed early, exhausted from the day. Sending a photo of your room to Jane would have to wait until tomorrow.

The next morning, you were awake long before your alarm clock. You didn't know who exactly was in the room next to you, but whoever it was had started snoring loudly at some point.

Even after a while, you couldn't fall back asleep. You were slow to pull yourself out of the warmth of your bed, but happy to escape the constant noise. So, you got ready for the day.

When you arrived in the breakfast room with a sectioned-off area for the team and players, the buffet had only just been opened. Apart from you, there was only one other person here so far, who ignored you as politely as you ignored them.

Most people would probably eat later. The game wasn't until late afternoon, so there was no rush to prepare, and morning skate wasn't scheduled for a few hours, as you’d heard.

With a full plate, you sat down at one of the many empty tables. While you ate, you checked your messages.

Jane had texted you last night to tell you that she’d taken your car to the mechanic. Already, they had sent you an email with a list of what needed to be repaired. Your hope that it would only be just a minor repair instantly vanished as you saw the length of the list.

You gulped a second time at the amount at the bottom of the mail.

Shit. That would easily consume an entire month's salary. You dropped your forehead to your hands.

"Does breakfast in general make you unhappy or is it this one in particular?" The chair next to you was pulled back. A certain ginger goalie fell into the seat.

You couldn't suppress a faint snort.

"I wouldn't count my car as breakfast," you tried to joke. Just the thought of your car made you grimace again.

"Oh," his brow furrowed gently. "That doesn't sound good?"

"Yeah. I mean, it has made a weird noise for a while now, should’ve known something like this would happen eventually. I just hoped to have a little more time before having to get it repaired."

Groaning you let your head fall into your hands again. Freddie shook his head, an amused glint in his eyes.

Then he seemed to have another thought.

“Wait, so how did you get to the airport?”

“Oh, I had someone drive me.” You turned your head to look at him.

“Boyfriend?" Maybe it was just hopeful wishing, the way Freddie's eyebrows drew down a touch further. “I mean, not that it’s any of my business.”

"My roommate, Jane." After short consideration, you also added: “Don’t think my ex would’ve even bothered to drive me.” You couldn't see Freddie’s face at that moment as your eyes were drawn to a new incoming message. Just Jane complaining about the weather.

“That sounds like there’s a story.”

You snorted. “Not a good one.”

Freddie seemed to get the drift. He did however furrow his brows slightly and asked slowly: "Wait, how are you getting home then?"

You could almost have sworn that Freddie was sitting closer than at the beginning.

To be honest, you hadn't really thought about it yourself. "Probably an Uber or...?" you mumbled but didn't finish the thought.

Someone from the marketing team - Angela? Angelica? Angeline? - sat down on a chair opposite you.

The conversation was paused for now. Instead, the blonde woman chattered away happily as you just nodded at the appropriate times.

You hadn't noticed when the room had started to become so crowded.

–  

When they’d said: "I have an exciting task for you today", you hadn't thought that cleaning helmets would be a big part of it.

Being allowed to take on more tasks on your own was wonderful. And you were grateful.

There were various parts on a few of the helmets that needed to be replaced or checked. By itself a nice and relaxing work. However, having to polish helmets had always been very low on your list of favorite activities. And today you had to clean every single one after the repairs.

One by one, some players arrived to collect their helmets for training themselves. Others were picked up and taken away by staff on their way past. By the time the last helmet was shiningly clean, there were only three left on the table next to you, waiting to be picked up.

And, well, one of them was a beautifully painted goalie mask of a very specific goalie.

Another player came to collect his helmet. You immediately suppressed the disappointment that welled up in your stomach when you realized who was coming through the door. Or rather, the disappointment at who it wasn't.

He was friendly, exchanged a few brief words with you and finally thanked you before disappearing again.

And then, Freddie came into the room. You almost missed it over your struggle of trying to get a new rag from the top shelf.

“Let me help you”, the deep voice from behind surprised you.  

He probably could’ve stepped around you and still reached the pile of rags easily enough. However, Freddie appeared behind you, not quite touching you, but close enough that you could feel the heat coming from his body.

Even after grabbing the desired item, he didn’t step back a whole lot, stayed close. If you would’ve wanted to you could’ve taken a step to the side. There was more than enough space and even if there wasn’t you knew Freddie would’ve moved immediately and apologized if you’d asked. But you didn’t.

You stayed exactly where you were.

The air between you felt almost charged. You wanted to see what Freddie’d do. You didn’t get the chance to.

The moment was over as quickly as it had come when the door was pushed open. You both jumped.

Until now you’d only seen Seth Jarvis occasionally from a distance in the hallways. Apart from that, you haven't had much to do with him yet.

The first thing you noticed about him today was that he was already holding his helmet in his hands. It was hanging over two fingers as if he had forgotten he even had it. You dimly remembered giving it to one of the employees not long ago.

You looked down at him once with furrowed brows. The rest of his equipment looked complete too and in working order.

Freddie huffed.

Seth's gaze flitted back and forth between him and you. A far too pleased grin began to grow on his face.

For a few seconds, his gaze stayed wandering between you two.

Finally, you broke the silence when it didn’t seem as if he intended to say anything.

"Is there… A problem with your helmet?"

Seth blinked at you. Then he followed your gaze down to his hands.

He shook his head, almost confused by your question. "No, everything's fine."

Okay? Then he probably hadn’t returned for that.

"Then... Anything else I can help you with?" you continued to ask.

He looked down at himself once more and seemed to think for a moment. Freddie started to speak, a meaningful glint in his eyes: "I'm sure it isn't-"

Somehow that just made Seth’s mischievous grin reappear.

He interrupted Freddie: "Hm, I don't know," he thought slowly, "My shin pad has been kind of weird these last few days and…"

Freddie scowled at him. But Seth didn't let it bother him at all. On the contrary, his grin widened a little more.

Amusement flashed in his eyes. There seemed to be some kind of silent communication between the two.

Finally, Seth concluded: "But it's not really that bad.”

So, you were back to square one.

"Then, anything else I can help you with?"

Seth’s answer came too quickly: "I guess I forgot why I came here. Can’t have been that important."

Turning around, however, took him longer than it should have, and you were pretty sure he did it on purpose. At the door, he threw another grinning look back.

Finally, you two were alone again.

You continued blinking at the door. What was that?

"I should probably see what he's up to," Freddie sighed but offered no other explanation. Nevertheless, he made no effort to leave.

Instead, almost absentmindedly he traced an invisible line in the table.

It took you a moment to notice - he lingered.

You didn't know what to do with the realization. Staring at Freddie the whole time only made you feel stranger. Whatever this conversation just was already left you almost dazed, so you picked up the last remaining helmet beside Freddie’s mask again.

You already knew it was spotless. Not for nothing had you spent so much time cleaning it earlier.

Just to have something to do, you picked up another cloth and set to work again.

Freddie watched you silently. There was something comfortable, almost familiar about sharing the silence.

When the last helmet was finally picked up by another employee, it was the signal for Freddie to leave.

You handed him his mask as well. Your fingers touched too long to be just a coincidence. It made your heart beat loudly in your chest.

For a moment you hesitated. Then you raised an arm briefly to his shoulder and gave him a quick squeeze. "Good luck!"

Before you had a chance to regret your decision, you went back to your work.

–   

The high spirits of some of the players you spotted hours later in the hallways told you how the game had turned out, even though you’d been too busy to watch.

You didn't think Freddie would send you more than a quick smile as he walked down the corridor. Two others caught up with him. One of them, easily recognized as Seth Jarvis, and one of the rookies. Seth said something to Freddie, then pushed him to the side straight at you, laughing with one hand behind his back.

With a slight color in his cheeks, no doubt still from the game, he took a few steps towards you. Smiling, he raised an arm. He waited a moment, as if offering you a way out. Instead, you gladly took a small step in his direction.

His arm wrapped around your shoulders. You were pressed firmly against Freddie, who murmured a quiet thank you against your hair. Then, he let go of you all too quickly.

What exactly he was thanking you for you didn’t know. You also didn’t get the chance to ask.

As they passed you, the other two players behind Freddie greeted you cheerfully. You didn't even know other players knew your name. Seth looked almost as amused as earlier today.

– 

By the last day of the road trip, you could no longer stand being in your room. Something about the specific shade of the wall color made your skin itch if you looked at it for too long.

It was unexpected how much you missed home. Even after just those few days in hotel rooms.

Maybe it was having to live out of a suitcase because it wasn't worth putting your things in the closet when you might be traveling to the next city that same night or the next morning. Or maybe it was the way you were constantly surrounded by the general working atmosphere.

You couldn't put your finger on it. What you could say, however, was that you couldn't wait to get home. 

Just one last game.

After dinner, you couldn't bring yourself to go back to your room. Instead, you explored the common room reserved for the team and staff.

Through the window, you could see some players playing with a ball in the backyard below. At a table in the corner, various people were playing a card game you had never heard of.

In a quiet area, you settled down with a book.

Everything was ideal for reading. It was quiet enough; the sofa was comfortable and you were wearing one of your coziest sweaters.

Still, you couldn’t concentrate on your book. Your thoughts wouldn’t calm down, leaving you feeling restless. Every few minutes you shifted in your seat.

You would have liked to fast-forward the day so that it would finally be evening, and you could go home. If it was up to you, you would have already been on a plane.

Every time someone walked past or entered the room, you unconsciously raised your eyes. And every time, you were annoyed that you had lost the line in your book again. Not that you could remember much of the story anyway. Your attention wasn't quite there.

However, it also meant you noticed when Freddie entered the room.

He stopped several times to talk to people. When he was only a few steps away from the sofas, he looked back and forth between them.

Before you could think about it too long, you slid a little to the side, as if an invitation. There was more than enough space next to you for him to sit down without you touching. However, you left the final decision to him.

You didn't have to wait long. Freddie plopped down on the couch - just a touch closer than usual, but still far enough away that you almost questioned if you were just imagining it. Not that you were complaining.

He opened the book he'd been holding under his arm.

Not exactly subtle, he kept watching you out of the corner of his eye. As soon as you lifted your head, however, he immediately averted his gaze.

Actually, you didn't want to ask. You weren't sure you wanted to hear the answer. What if it was a problem just you had. But still.

After another moment of thought you blurted: "Do you ever get tired of away games?"

"Huh?" He looked up, apparently not having anticipated such a question.

Well, there was no turning back now anyway.

"Like, traveling around all the time, being away from home so much?" you tried to explain.

His answer came easily. "Oh, absolutely. I used to hate it so much. Now it’s not as bad anymore. I mean, some days I would still be rather at but, ehn." He shrugged his shoulders.  

Only after a moment did you ask further, having the feeling he wasn't going to add anything more.

"Used to? What changed?"

"Mainly the team. Getting to know the people you spend the days with has been incredibly helpful. It feels less like a business trip and more like… Like a school trip when you were younger." For a moment he got a far-away look in his eyes as if lost in thought.

Your gaze glided across the room. ‘Business trip’ summed up pretty well how it felt to you. Even though you've had superficial conversations with a lot of people, you probably didn't know any of them nearly well enough to put them anywhere near the friends category.

But of course, you’d also noticed how many of the others were always planning activities in groups or just talking and joking over the meals.

You exhaled briefly.

Freddie watched you for a moment. He tilted his head, then continued slowly. His words seemed measured: “You know, the first road trip after my trade here was particularly hard."

You hadn't even thought about that. Your stomach tightened at the thought of how Freddie must have felt.

"Of course, at most everything is the same, but it still feels so- so unfamiliar. You don't know who's sitting next to whom on the plane. You don't know who's a good roommate and who might snore loudly or leave their things everywhere. And all these little rituals and changes that might not even exist at home games."

"But it got better?" You looked at the hands in your lap.

"It really does. The first few times the unfamiliarity, it's so exhausting. But with each more trip, it becomes more and more of a habit."

After a beat of silence, Freddie added slowly: "I don't want to lie to you. Sometimes I'd still rather stay at home. Home games are definitely more enjoyable, as far as that goes. But they're exceptions, just like everyone has bad days."

Encouragingly, he gently pressed his shoulder against yours. The brief touch turned into a long moment, somehow your whole sides touching. Your arm rested against his, your legs just a few inches away.

After a few moments, when he still hadn't slipped away again, you let yourself relax against him. Gradually you could feel Freddie’s muscles losing their tension as well.

"What about Denmark? Do you ever miss being there?" you asked into the silence between you. Freddie looked out of the window.  

"When I was younger, I missed it a lot more than I do now. I haven't lived there for so long now that I hardly know any different."

Your eyebrows drew together. You didn't know whether the statement reassured you or whether it made you want to give Freddie a long hug. Somehow it sounded so sad.

"I can still visit it regularly. And it's not as if my family would ever let me forget the language." He pointed to the book next to him.

You hadn't looked at it closely before. But now you noticed that the title consisted of large - obviously Danish - words.

"Just sometimes..." he shrugged his shoulders unsure. Then he picked up his book again with a sigh.

This effectively ended the conversation. You wanted to ask more, but the far-away look in Freddie’s eyes stopped you. Now you felt bad. Making Freddie sad hadn’t been your intention.

As if he could read your mind, he knocked his elbow against yours gently. You took a deep breath. Returning the gesture, you began reading again as well.

While your earlier worries had calmed down for the time being, now, with every breath you took, you were made aware of how close you and Freddie were sitting to each other.

You didn't want to have to get up again.

–   

The flight home was uneventful. A general tiredness hung over everyone.

You yawned again as you finally stepped outside into the cool night air.

The tiredness made you inattentive and you flinched when someone unexpectedly appeared next to you.

By now you didn't even need to look at him to recognize Freddie. Just his stature and the hint of ginger hair were enough.

He casually reached for your bag and took it from your hand.

Baffled, you almost stumbled over your feet, looking up at him.

"That's my bag."

"Yep," he said with a grin. He had slowed down to give you a chance to catch up. "At least I hope it’s yours and not some random one you just took."

You rolled your eyes. “Then what are you doing with it? Now that we've established that it is my bag."

"I'm giving you a ride." He stated casually, then started walking again.

If you hadn't been so exhausted, you would have at least tried to protest out of politeness. 

Nevertheless, you couldn't help but at least tease tiredly: "Maybe I've got another ride by now."

"Is that why you have the Uber app open?"

You looked down at the phone in your hands. Huh, you couldn't say anything against that.

Freddie became serious for a moment.  "Hey, if you really don't want to, I'm happy to just wait here with you until your Uber arrives. But the offer stands."

"You really don't have to," spoke the good manners out of you. Your parents would have been proud. Even to your ears, however, it sounded very half-hearted.

Freddie stopped. You almost ran into him. Since you managed to stop just in time, you were now standing right in front of each other instead. If you had leaned forward just a little, you would have been touching.

For a long moment, Freddie held your gaze.  "I know I don't have to. But I want to." The sincerity in his words made you swallow. For a few seconds, you stood in front of each other, looking at each other. You could have sworn Freddie's eyes flickered down your face for a moment.

But then he just cleared his throat and started walking again. You ignored the small spark of disappointment in your stomach.

You were sure that Freddie purposely made himself taller as he looked down at you and joked: "And no offense to you, but you're really not big enough to be threatening."

"Hey! I can be scary if I want to be."

"Uh-uh. Whatever you say."

You stuck your tongue out at him, even if he couldn't see it, as he opened the trunk.

For some reason, you had expected the car ride with Freddie to be awkward. Instead, comfortable silence spread between you. After you had told him your address, he navigated the car slowly through the dark streets.

You watched the streetlights pass by the windshield for a while.

"So, do you give all the poor stranded newbies a ride?" It could be taken as a simple joke. You tried to keep your voice carefully neutral. Still, the mood in the car shifted. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but rather more serious than before. It felt important.

"Would you believe me if I said I was just being helpful?" Freddie didn't even sound like he believed the reason himself. It wasn't a straight answer, but it wasn't an immediate deflection either. You could just accept this as the answer and move on, just, you didn’t want that anymore.

"Normally? Yes. But when you say it like that? Not really”, you still kept the tone light.

"Yeah... My sister is the only one in our family who is a good liar. As a teenager, I always envied her for that. She could outsmart our mother every time."

A small smile graced your lips at the story. You could literally see it in front of you, a young Freddie stammering as he tried to come up with a story about why he was home late.

Freddie parked the car in front of your house. He continued to look straight ahead. In the dim light, you couldn’t be sure, but you could have sworn his ears were turning red.

"I mean, it really wasn't a big deal. And you're not the worst company either."

"Such a high compliment," you grinned, "Not the worst company."

Maybe his cheeks had gained a little color too.

"But really, thank you, for the ride. It probably wasn’t on your way."

"It was nothing, really. And maybe it was also a little selfish." He said it into the quiet of the night as if it were a precious secret. He turned his head towards you and looked straight at you. There was warmth in his gaze, perhaps a spark of hope.

"I like- I like spending time with you."

You couldn't help but smile at the words. Freddie smiled back.

Very slowly, one of his hands moved towards your face, as if he was giving you time to object. You immediately leaned into the touch as he cupped your cheek.

He stroked the corner of your mouth with his thumb. The hairs on the back of your neck stood up. One of your hands rested on his forearm.

"Good thing I like spending time with you too," you whispered softly.

Afterward, you couldn't remember who moved first. Freddie's face came closer towards yours. Your free hand buried itself in his shirt, the other one letting go to run through his hair.

As soon as your lips met, time seemed to stand still for a moment. You forgot all your previous thoughts. The only thing existing was the feeling of his lips pressing gently against yours.

Soon, the sweet kiss turned deeper. The angle wasn’t great, but you made it work.

When you finally broke away from each other, you didn’t move far. Your forehead rested against his, you could feel his breath against your lips.

A small giggle escaped you. Your eyes met. It made Freddie’s smile widen, before his hand slid into your neck to pull your lips to his once again.

– 

It was pure coincidence that you had packed your skates.

After a morning of unpacking deliveries and doing inventory, you were ready to just go home and curl up on your couch. Only Sarah, with whom you had shared the work, had made it more bearable. Before, you had only known her by sight. Now you couldn't remember the last time you had made friends with a colleague so fast.

She was also the first who saw the note on your locker. With a raised eyebrow, she watched as you read it. Your expression had apparently told her enough because she didn't question your decision to stay in the arena and instead said goodbye with a wink.

The note was pretty inconspicuous.

'Meet me on the ice?’

It was the thought of who the message was probably from that made your heart skip a beat.

When you stepped onto the ice this time, Freddie was already skating slow circles across the rink. You were delighted to realize that you could be faster than him in full gear and after several hours of training.

It was a moment of being inattentive – and maybe also you getting tired after a few laps – that he took advantage of. With a gentle push, cushioned on all sides by his pads, he pushed you against the glass.

With your back against the glass and his arms on either side of you, you stopped.

"Hi." You grinned up into his face. Through the mask, he grinned back just as widely.

"Hi."

"What a coincidence to see you here."

"What, were you expecting someone else, skat?" The way Freddie emphasized the last word told you he knew exactly what that would do to you. Your heart melted.

"Writing notes. Pet names. Is this becoming some high school romance novel?"

"I don't even know what you mean, elskling." You could hear the amusement in his voice. Before you had a chance to answer, Freddie had already pushed himself away.

He positioned himself in the net and leaned down. It didn't take you that long to get used to shooting again.

–

With your skates in hand and a pleasant exhaustion making your legs heavy, all you wanted to do was grab your stuff and finally head back to your apartment.  

As you turned the corner, you almost ran into someone. You only just managed to stop in time.

"Oh, I wasn't expecting you to still be here. Didn’t you finish several hours ago?" Tony looked down at you. In one arm he carried a pile of sticks, in the other a large folder overflowing with notes.

"But, oh wait, it's actually good that you're here."

The next words made your heart stop for a moment.

"I just need to talk to you for a minute."

When had that sentence ever been followed by something good?

You couldn't say for sure how long Tony had been standing here. Maybe he had just seen you with Freddie. Before that, you hadn't even thought about whether that was allowed. What if both you and Freddie got into trouble for it?

Or even worse. What if he found out about you and Freddie off the ice? You had only briefly skimmed the contract when you’d signed. You had been far too fascinated by this world, which was secret to every normal fan, to care about that stuff. Not that you’d even expected something like this to happen.

Now you were desperately trying to remember if there was a paragraph about whether relationships with players were allowed at all.

"I won't keep you long," Tony finally snapped you out of your thoughts.

"Brynn - that was the one who was ill. You were his replacement, I don't know if you ever heard his name." You couldn't remember it, but you'd been told so much in the first few days that you could very well have just forgotten it again.

"Anyway. Brynn will be back tomorrow," Tony's face stiffened, "So technically, we don't need any extra help anymore."

"Oh." Of all the fears that had been running through your mind, that hadn't been a scenario you’d considered. You had known from the start that it would only be a short-term job. But you’d have never expected it to be this short.

Tony smiled somberly. "I'm really sorry. I didn't think it would be so quick."

"Yeah, of course. I mean, it's great for Brynn." You weren’t lying. Obviously, it was good to hear, that he was healthy again. But at the same time, knowing you’d lose your job made your heart ache. Even in the short time, you’d grown to love it.

"Yeah," Tony nodded a little absently. He looked conflicted. "Okay, so. Technically I'm not supposed to say anything yet, but... my boss is retiring in the next few weeks. His replacement should be decided by the end of the week. We've had a few conversations and let's just say... I feel like I've got a pretty good chance of getting the role."

"That's really great for you?" you said slowly. Not that you weren't happy for Tony, but your enthusiasm was limited after you'd practically been fired just a minute before.

"That means there's a job opening to be filled." He looked at you meaningfully.

It took you a moment to finally understand. "Oooh."

"Yeah," he nodded, now with a hint of a grin on his lips. "I could put in a good word."

"Really?"

Tony nodded. You had to suppress a loud cheer.  

–

It was a strange feeling. Last away games you’d wished so desperately to be home again. This time you wished you could join. Having to sit at home and having to say goodbye to Freddie sounded almost worse.  

"I'm going to miss you for the next few days."

Freddie came up behind you. His arms wrapped around your waist and pulled you against his chest. More than willingly, you let yourself fall against him.

He looked at you questioningly over your shoulder. "You're not coming?"

Then it seemed to come back to him too. "Oh, right."

It had taken you almost two days to tell him about the conversation with Tony. You were unsure how to. Plus, an annoying voice in the back of your head that would convince you that Freddie wouldn't care at all.

In the end, you blurted it out one afternoon. In your head, you stuck your tongue out at the nasty voice when Freddie immediately took you in his arms and asked how you were doing.

Even now, he gave you another apologetic hug.

Only one more day until the day Tony would hopefully call.  

The timer beeped. Sighing you peeled yourself from Freddie to take the tray out of the oven.

You sat it down on the counter next to the first, a lot less successful attempt.

You had wanted to do something nice for Freddie, had read up on Danish pastries the day before and after long contemplation finally saved a recipe on your phone. You didn’t know how to pronounce Brunsviger properly, but the pictures had looked great and the recipe seemed easy enough.

You still didn't know exactly where things had gone wrong. Although you had assured Freddie that he really didn't have to – and really, shouldn’t – he had tried a forkful of it anyway. As expected, it wasn’t good. Still, there was a traitorous wetness in his eyes and a long hug.

For the second attempt, Freddie hadn't left your side and guided you through it.

You left some on the counter for Jane. A silent apology for the last time you’d had Freddie over. You might have forgotten to tell her beforehand.

Or maybe, tell her about this at all. There just hadn’t been a good opportunity, especially also constantly having to think about your job.

On this day of all days Jane had come home a lot earlier than you anticipated. For a few seconds, she’d just blinked at you two sitting on the couch, you with your legs in Freddie’s lap.

Then, with a tight voice, she had asked: “Do you have a moment.” Her head nodding to the kitchen.

It had made you feel a little guilty how shocked she looked. Her first words being: “Is that Frederik Andersen in our living room?”.

Obviously, she was happy for you, after the first shock wore off.

The piece of Brunsviger was gone the next morning as you brought Freddie to the door.

"You're gonna be great," you told him goodbye.

The hug was long. Neither of you wanted to be the first to leave. In the end, it was time that drove you apart. If Freddie wanted to get to the airport on time, he had to hurry.

–   

Of course, you watched the games. The first game was great, the second one maybe even better. It was also the first time since the new job that you were actually able to give the games your full attention again. Even if you hadn't really noticed it before, you had missed it a little.

You had a good time. When Freddie had a particularly good save, you wrote him a message. You knew he would reply after the game in the flustered way he always reacted to compliments.

The phone call one evening still took you by surprise. A smile spread across your face. "Hey."

"Hej."

Before you could even reply, you heard a voice in the background.

"Hey, Freddie, what got you smiling like this?" You didn’t recognize the voice but you also didn't have to in order to understand the clearly teasing undertone.

The rustling from the line told you that Freddie must have covered the microphone for a moment. The muffled words he threw back sounded a lot like an insult. The response was laughter.

"Talking to your girlfriend?" came another voice, also obviously meant to tease.

Freddie didn’t reply. You could only imagine his facial expression.

Apparently, it was an interesting one. They probably also had expected some kind of denial.

Now there were several voices talking excitedly over each other.

"Wait what?" - "Wait are you serious?" - "Since when?"

"You can't just say that and leave! You have to-"

Then the voices in the background suddenly disappeared.

"Sorry, I just need to change rooms for a minute”, he said a little sheepishly. "They might have found out that we've been talking."

"Do you mind?" You chewed on your lower lip as you awaited the answer. Freddie didn't sound too worried, but still, probably better to ask.  

"Eh, not really" Then came the cautious question from him too: "Does it bother you?"

You took a moment to really think about it. Maybe it should have bothered you. Especially considering the fact that this was still so new with you two. Still, you couldn't find it in you to worry about it right now. You were far too happy for that.

"No. It probably had to come out somehow. Even if it was quicker than I thought. For hockey players, they're surprisingly smart."

Freddie's laughter rang out from the line. It made you miss seeing the little crinkles form around his eyes. "I'll tell them you said that”, he warned.

"Tony called today."

"Tony? From equipment?" Immediately you could hear Freddie perk up.

As if you knew another Tony.

"Uh-hu. You still have space in your car for one more person?" You let yourself fall backward onto your bed as you gave him a few moments to understand what you were saying.

A few seconds of silence and then a cautiously hopeful: "Yeah?"

"Just so I’m not almost late again, obviously." The corners of your mouth slowly began to pull into a grin.

"Really? Does that mean...?" The joy in his voice only made your grin widen.

"I'm employed. Permanently this time. Not just temporary."

Even as you heard the news from Tony himself, you could barely contain your happiness. As soon as you'd hung up, you'd jumped so loudly that even Jane had come out of the next room.

"That's fantastic!"

You couldn't even put into words how incredibly happy you were just then. The only thing that would’ve made the moment better was if you could have hugged Freddie at that moment.

–  

Before you knew it, the day of the third and final game of the road trip had arrived. As you watched the game on the side while you prepared your dinner, you had a good feeling.

The first period wasn't ideal, but it wasn't disastrous either. The second period started with a goal for the Canes. You jumped up and down enthusiastically, broccoli in hand.

After that, it was all downhill. At the end of the second 20 minutes, the Canes were already 2 goals behind. Two more goals followed. Freddie got pulled in the last 5 minutes. You could almost feel his frustration through the screen as he went down the tunnel.

At that moment, you wished you could’ve been there. How much you would’ve liked to give him a hug and tell him that everything would be okay.

You hesitated for a moment before sending a text. You definitely didn't want to annoy him. A text could never really express the comfort you wanted to give him, but it felt even worse not to write anything.

You tried not to think too much about it when you still hadn't heard back after half an hour. He was probably busy with his post-game routines. After all, they were set to travel back today and arrive late tonight. Surely, he would reply on the plane.

–  

It was pure coincidence that you were looking at your phone at that exact moment. Of course, you hadn't been checking for new messages every 5 minutes all evening. Who would do that? Definitely not you. (There were at least 6 and a half minutes on average between each time you checked your phone.)

So, it was definitely a complete coincidence that you were able to read the text the minute it flashed up on your phone.

It was just two short lines. An address.

It wasn’t even a question if you should go. Before you could even really think about it, you had already grabbed your jacket and put on your shoes.

As you closed the front door, your cell phone beeped with another message.

‘Only if you want to. Might not be in the best mood tonight.’

An obvious offer of a way out. As if you hadn't been waiting for this the whole evening. As if the thought of seeing Freddie again in just a few minutes didn't give you butterflies in your stomach. 

Your heart broke a little at how uncertain the texts sounded, as if you hadn't missed him for the last few days.

Excitement tingled in your fingers as you finally stepped into the elevator to Freddie’s apartment. It had been a short drive.

The door swung open. Freddie was standing in front of you. For a moment, you just looked at each other silently, then he literally pulled you against his chest. More than willingly, you sank into his arms.  

You buried your face in his sweater. The warmth of his body and his familiar scent enveloped you. You could’ve stayed like this forever.

Freddie pressed a gentle kiss into your hair before holding you just a little tighter.

It was the rumbling of his stomach that finally separated you. Even though Freddie was reluctant to let you go, you shooed him into the apartment. He shouldn't have to starve because of you. Who knows when he’d last eaten before the flight?

Freddie apparently understood what you wanted from him and so he led you through the entrance area into the open kitchen. There was already a pot on the stove, some kind of pasta in it. Next to it was a pan of chopped vegetables.

While he took a large wooden spoon and stirred it slowly, you jumped onto one of the counters and sat down. Given your height and the height of the counters, which were definitely adapted to Freddie, it wasn't as easy as you thought, but the twitch in the corner of Freddie's mouth made it worth the effort.

From your position, you could watch Freddie. How his movements were all a little too choppy and the tense line in his shoulders. How he put the spoon down too hard on the counter. How he didn’t raise his eyes.

"It wasn't your fault." You said quietly.

Freddie exhaled in disbelief. He didn't look up at you.

Only when you reached out a hand for him did he come closer. He propped himself up with his arms on both sides of you, resting his forehead against your shoulder.

"Even though you might not believe me just yet, it wasn't your fault," you repeated, hoping that your words would get through to him eventually.

One arm wrapped around his shoulders, the other you let run slowly through his hair.

"You did everything you could. It just wasn't your game. Can't win them all."

He let it pass for a moment, then took a deep breath. He turned his head. With a quick kiss against your neck, he pulled away from you.

"Thank you." He couldn't quite meet your gaze, but you still saw his words for what they were. Not just a thank you for right now, but the texts, the coming over, all the times before that.

"Nothing to thank me for," you confirmed. Freddie shook his head lovingly.

Nevertheless, he probably decided not to disagree for the moment. Instead, he took a plate from the cupboard. Silently he held it out to you, but you shook your head. You’d already eaten.

While Freddie ate, you sat beside him on the sofa. Your legs pressed together with soft music playing in the background for company.

When Freddie got up to take his plate back to the kitchen, you watched him.

Until he came back you hadn't moved from your seat, but apparently, Freddie was no longer satisfied with your previous seating arrangement. With a little shifting around, he finally settled behind you.

His legs were on either side of you, his back against the couch cushions, your back against his chest. One of his arms was wrapped around your waist, drawing slow circles into your side. The other hand was intertwined with yours on your lap.

Your words were quiet. You talked about the last few days, hockey the topic you both ignored. While you told him about the cute dog you'd seen while going grocery shopping, Freddie about something funny one of his teammates had done at team breakfast.

So much more important than your conversations, however, was the fact that you were together at that moment. You enjoyed the closeness; the body heat that radiated from him and slowly made you sleepy.

Every once in a while, Freddie took turns in gently kissing your temple and your forehead. Each time you sank a little more against him.

– 

"Happy New Year," Freddie murmured. His arms around your waist pulled you closer to him.

"Happy New Year," you whispered back against his lips. With your hands on the back of his neck, you reached up for a kiss.

Even after all these years, you still weren't tired of it. Hopefully, you’d never be.

#hockey imagine #hockey fic #frederik andersen #frederik andersen imagine #frederik andersen fic #frederik andersen x reader #frederik andersen x f!reader #nic writes #winter fic exchange 2k24 #winter fic exchange

[ilyasorokinn]

Congrats on 2.5k! Can you please write "gentle ear rubs because person b knows person a loves them" with Freddie Andersen ? I'm a sucker for domestic scenarios ! Thank you!

STUPID OSCAR HARRISON

"gentle ear rubs because person b knows person a loves them." (from this prompt list)

"ANDERSEN ADVENTURES" SERIES MASTERLIST

tw: kids/children

freddie felt like his head was going to explode. he now had even more love and respect for you than he did before. you were sick so he was taking care of both alma and elias.

he was a good father, there was no doubt, but alma was in her clingy stage and only wanted to be held by you and elias was in his curious stage so he was always off making explosions or digging something up in the backyard.

jasper eased his nerves as he lay by your side, playing the role of protector.

with alma and elias distracted with a movie in the living room, freddie snuck up to your bedroom where you were passed out asleep. the bags under your eyes from the lack of sleep were becoming more evident, so he did his best to stay quiet.

jasper whined when he saw the door open. he looked up, but when he saw who it was, he put his head back down on your stomach, keeping watch on you.

freddie carefully got into bed next to you and cupped your cheek, caressing your cheek softly. you mumbled and shuffled but didn't wake up.

he watched you sleep peacefully for almost half an hour, checking the baby monitor in the living room to make sure elias and alma were both okay every so often.

you woke up to a coughing fit, which startled both jasper and freddie. once you were done hacking up a lung, you laid back down and sighed, "is there anything i can get you?"

"drugs." you responded, "it was little oscar harrison who got me sick, i know it."

"the little kid in eli's school?"

"eli said he was coughing during storytime that one time. i picked him up and eli let oscar borrow his toy."

"and he got you sick?"

"yes! that's the only explanation!" you told him loudly, leaving more coughing.

"all right, let's just lay back down. i know, it's all oscar's fault that you're sick." freddie nodded in agreement, helping you lay back down.

you laid back down and frowned, "i hate being sick."

"i know." he sighed, cupping your neck and rubbing the spot behind your ear. you sighed happily, "go back to sleep. i'll bring up some soup later."

"thank you, fred." you smiled, yawning then closing your eyes.

"i love you." he whispered, leaning down and kissing your forehead before grabbing his phone, giving jasper one last scratch, then heading down to the living room to finish the movie with elias and alma.

taylor's 2.5k celly!

#frederik andersen imagine #frederik andersen imagines #frederik andersen x reader #frederik andersen fic #frederik andersen blurbs #frederik andersen #freddie andersen imagine #freddie andersen imagines #freddie andersen fic #freddie andersen blurbs #freddie andersen x reader #nhl imagine #nhl imagines #nhl fic #nhl blurbs #nhl #hockey imagine #hockey imagines #hockey fic #hockey blurbs #hockey #carolina hurricanes imagine #carolina hurricanes imagines #carolina hurricanes fic #carolina hurricanes blurbs #carolina hurricanes #taylor writes #taylor's blurbs #taylor's prompt lists #andersen adventures series

[wyattjohnston]

Can you write please "needing to go to an event after a party and having to pretend as if they aren’t angry with one another the entire time" with Freddie Andersen or Nico Hischier, but they make up at the end of the night ! Thank you 😘 I Love You writing !

okay fair warning... i forgot to have them make up. sorry but thank you very much <3

There isn’t much that could be said for the fight. It’s one you’ve had so many times you almost don’t even need Freddie to be there to have it; you’re sure Freddie can say the same. Is it a silly fight? Yes, definitely. Are you in the wrong? Yeah, that’s not anything you can argue against either.

Still, it’s the end of the season and you need to head to the Skjei’s for the final get together of the season. You can pretend you aren’t fighting. It wouldn’t be the first time.

You and Freddie are all smiles as you walk through the door to be immediately greeted by a slew of teammates and their families. They don’t suspect that anything is wrong, nor should they, because you stand beside each other and touch each other without hesitation. It’s nice to have his warm touch against the back of neck when the entire day has been frosty.

“When do you guys head to Denmark?” Gracia asks.

Freddie’s hand freezes, the skin no longer as warm as it had been.

“We’ve got another week here before we leave,” Freddie answers, his voice low and calm.

“I’m trying to convince Brady that we should go. I think we left it a bit too late to organise it, but next year for you.” She looks at you when she says, “I’m so jealous that you get to go there all the time with an excuse to say as long as you want.”

You choke on your words a little when you say, “Yeah, we haven’t even decided when we’re coming home.”

The use of the word home isn’t lost on Freddie—he has always used it to refer to Denmark, and you only use it to refer to Raleigh. That shouldn’t be an issue, really, its just how it is but perhaps you do it rather passive aggressively and in direct response to any mentions of Denmark.

Nobody seems to notice any changes in your behaviour and you just let Gracia continue to talk about her dreams of a lengthy Scandinavian vacation.

#frederik andersen fic #frederik andersen imagine #hockey fic #hockey imagine #nhl fic #nhl imagine #homemade fic #1200 follower requests

[nylwnder]

˚ ༘♡ ·˚꒰ NYLWNDER’S BIRTHDAY FIC SERIES ꒱ ₊˚ˑ

hello loves!!!! it’s my birthday v soon and i wanted to do something cute to celebrate with you all :))) i’ve curated a series of fics to be posted within a time frame of five days — starting from august 25th to my birthday, aka. august 29th! i’ve picked my current favs to be the protagonists in my love-struck themed fics <3 i had lots of fun planning this out and i really do hope you all can enjoy them as much as i did making them!! love you all, stay tuned besties 💌

— on queue ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

₊❏❜ ⋮ DAY 1 ➳ frederik andersen

˗ˏ✎*ೃ˚ : plot : takes place as a memory of last night and nights and nights shared between the two. every night meant something. showed each other just how much love they hold for one other. how one could have so much control over the other. the way they could both rot the other's brain with infinite thoughts, whether completely filthy or tooth-aching sweet.

₊❏❜ ⋮ DAY 2 ➳ michael bunting

˗ˏ✎*ೃ˚ : plot : harvesting crushes for each other through their early years of school, and one unforgettable kiss at senior prom, seeing each other again after years passed was something special. love bubbled in their hearts, eyes sparkled and it felt good being lovesick kids once again. nostalgia couldn’t hit the two of them any harder.

₊❏❜ ⋮ DAY 3 ➳ rasmus sandin

˗ˏ✎*ೃ˚ : plot : after having some tough chances at love, it’s not hard for one to become almost hopeless at the idea of it. a set of lovely blue eyes and blonde hair can surely make your heart impulsively simp but when he fights to actually gain your attention? the butterflies in your tummy don’t even know what to do. he has lots of plans for you and you wouldn’t want anyone else to have your firsts with.

₊❏❜ ⋮ DAY 4 ➳ morgan rielly

˗ˏ✎*ೃ˚ : plot : next door neighbours either completely hate each other, or are totally in love. for one pair, they always sat in the middle. even though they could both get on each other's nerves, they did always stick by each other. that is though, it always seemed like there were “boyfriends” or “girlfriends” separating them from imagining a time where it could just be the two of them. that’s until enough is enough.

₊❏❜ ⋮ DAY 5 ➳ william nylander

˗ˏ✎*ೃ˚ : plot : driving around, the wind in your hair, hands interlaced, singing along to your favourite tracks. they were things you loved doing together. there was no place that the two of you could go where you didn’t have fun. nor was there ever a time where you didn’t find one more thing you loved about the other. being lost in love could possibly be the best feeling in the world.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ tagging moots <3 @11livpangburn , @shcldonkeefe @shoot-the-puck , @bb-nhlqueen7 , @holidaywishes , @dembenchboys , @ayohockeycheck , @broadstbroskis , @donttelltheelff , @lewis-hamilton44 , @laurenairay , @2manytabsopen , @boqvistsbabe , @saviourcomplexes , @rapidfever , @leafsbaee , @leafsgm , @ilyasorokinn , @zackcollins , @wnylanderthals , @nhlandotherimagines

#nylwnder’s birthday fic series! #toronto maple leafs #william nylander #frederik andersen #carolina hurricanes #rasmus sandin #morgan rielly #michael bunting #william nylander fic #frederik andersen fic #nhl writing #nhl fic #nhl fics #nhl imagine #nhl imagines #nhl smut #hockey writing #hockey fic #hockey fics #hockey imagine #hockey imagines #hockey smut

[typical-simplelove]

Hello, thanks for informing me, can you write the 79 with Frederick Andersen then please? Hope you have a nice day!

79. I Want It That Way by the Backstreet Boys with Frederik Andersen

Requests are closed!

When the familiar scene starts to play out on the TV, you rewind and pause. A small smile covers your face as you call out for Freddie. He rushes in from the kitchen and takes a seat next to you on the couch.

"Mm, what's up?" he asks.

"I need your undivided attention for the night fourish minutes," you tell him, extreme seriousness tinged in your voice.

"You know," he begins, "you always have my undivided attention, so there's nothing to worry about that."

His words warm your chest, and suddenly, you forget why you asked for him. You're staring deep into his eyes as you let the words soak in. Who lets this man be this sweet to you? Who lets this man turn your insides warm and fuzzy with just one sentence? Who lets this man distract you like this with just one sentence?

"So, what did you need me for?" Freddie asks, knowing exactly the effect he has on you.

"I have to show you this scene from one of my favorite shows," you tell him. "You've never seen the show, so I'm going to one-by-one show you all the best scenes."

"What's the show?"

"Brooklyn-Nine-Nine," you tell him. "Now, sh. No talking, and no breathing loudly."

"I'm not even—"

"Shhh." You stop him and turn back to the TV. You press play and watch the familiar opening to the Cold Open.

"So, do you recognize any of these men?" Jake Peralta on your screen says, launching into one of the greatest Cold Opens of all time. Freddie chuckles when each of the men begins to nervously and confusedly sing the song. A loud chuckle leaves his body when the group begins to sing the chorus together.

"It was number five," the woman on the screen says. "Number five killed my brother."

When the show cuts to the beginning theme, you pause the show and turn back to Freddie.

"Funny?" you ask. "There's only one right answer, so be careful."

"It was funny," Freddie answers correctly with a smile on his face.

"So, has that convinced you to watch the show with me?"

"You could have just asked me, and I'd watch it with you."

"Yeah?" you ask for confirmation.

"Mhm," he responds. "So, are we starting from episode one?"

"Oh, yeah, and you're not leaving this couch unless you absolutely have to."

Freddie chuckles. "I could never imagine disobeying that order."

Claudia's Debut Season of Heartfirst Writing (requests close on June 24th!)

#claudia's debut season of heartfirst writing #claudia writes #frederik andersen #freddie andersen #frederik andersen fic #frederik andersen x reader #frederik andersen imagine #freddie andersen imagine #freddie andersen fic #freddie andersen x reader #hockey #hockey fic #hockey imagine #nhl fic #nhl blurb #op: 2022

[cellythefloshie]

;; Nu är det jul igen written for @mp0625 the hockey girlies fic exchange

Summary: You spend your first Christmas with your boyfriend, Freddie Andersen. Word Count: 1.2k+

A/N: It's a miracle that I was able to get enough time to get this one done! I was worried I was going to run out of time! Thank you Mara or taking the time to coordinate the exchange! It was a pleasure writing for you this year. Happy Holidays to all, I hope enjoy!

The scent in the air could only really be defined as the holidays. It was a whimsical mixture of sugar cookies, pine needles, and the simmering pot of citrus and cinnamon that you had on the stove. It was just like how it smelt back home at Christmas every year, but this year, you weren't at home with your family. This year, you were spending Christmas with your boyfriend, Freddie. 

With the tight schedule, the National Hockey League kept, the holiday season could be lonely for some. Not every man on the roster had their family living in Carolina with them or could make one quick drive or flight out of state to see them for the few short days they had off. Freddie couldn’t fly home to Denmark. The 20+ hours of travel time made the trip unjustifiable. He would have to spend most of it in the air, losing precious time with his loved ones alone on a flight. And no one deserved to spend the holiday season alone. 

That was why, the moment you found out he was remaining state-side for the holidays, you canceled all of your plans. 

Your mother was more than understanding, although your father was wary as to why you didn’t just bring him home for the holidays. And you had half the mind to ask, but your relationship with Freddie was, well, in your mind, still new. The two of you had been together just over a year, but with his busy schedule, you found yourself apart more often than not. And while you were head over heels for him, and couldn’t wait to introduce him to your family, the last thing you wanted was to rush things. 

With little protest, home for the holidays became spending Christmas Eve in Freddie’s apartment. It didn’t have the same novelties of home, but the two of you had spent the day getting into the Christmas spirit. You had put on the simmering pot in the morning, letting its smell relax you as you decorated the apartment and put up a small artificial tree in the corner, complete with lights and ornaments. Then, the two of you made cookies together, and come sunset, the two of you snacked on a charcuterie board of cheeses, nuts, meat, and fruit while bingeing some of your favorite holiday movies. 

It was the last chance the two of you had to relax, because come Christmas Day, you would be conquering cooking Christmas dinner for yourselves for the first time. Which you didn’t even want to think about until morning. The giant turkey was all too intimidating for you as you sipped a glass of wine and watched the credits roll. A single hand fell to the remote, your thumb pressing the series of buttons to close the current movie and fall back into the holiday movie catalog on Netflix. Beside you, the couch shifted, Freddie getting up from his place beside you. And you didn't think much of it. Maybe he had to use the washroom or wanted to refill the bowl with some of the caramel popcorn you had made for your movie night. 

Freddie didn’t return with a bowl. No, in his hands he had a large box. It wasn’t something that came in the mail, none of those big brown packing boxes. It was nicely wrapped in bright red paper with a bow so large it spilled off the top of the box and hung down the sides. 

“I was going to wait until morning, but,” he started, his words perking you up with interest. 

If you didn’t have to wait, you weren’t going to say no. 

Opening your arms, you let Freddie settle the box in your lap. The sheer size of it left your heart racing. It wasn’t all that heavy, which gave you no clear indication of what may be inside. You hadn’t asked for anything too grand, either. Which made you all the more eager to open it. 

Fingers lipped the bow from the box, the sticker holding the ribbon to the box leaving a colorless mark behind where the adhesive tore away the color. Then, you tore at the wrapping, leaving it in large rips at your sides, removing just enough to open the box and see what was inside. 

The first thing you saw was a bouquet of daisies. Which made you smile. They were fresh, or as fresh as you could get them in the winter. Freddie must have just put the finishing touches on your gift before giving it to you. 

“These are gorgeous,” you smiled up at him. The two of you loved daisies. They reminded him of home, and it had quickly become one of your favorites because of it. 

“There’s more,” Freddie insisted, and you handed off the flowers to keep digging for more. Beneath the daisies was white green and red tissue paper and among it a series of other gifts. Your hands went to a smaller box fist. Inside, two crystal swans from Swarovski. Your eyes went wide as they rose to meet Freddie’s. 

He smiled and nodded toward the box. There was more. 

Then, unwrapped, a large bottle of akvavit and two glasses. And finally, an envelope. But as you reached for it, Freddie reached in with his goalie-fast reflexes and took it into his hold. 

“Hey!” you shouted playfully. 

“You will get it. But first, we drink. It’s tradition,” he explained with a grin, his hand wrapping around the bottle while he tucked the envelope beneath his thick thigh. 

The bottle opened with a satisfying sound, and he filled each glass halfway. Together, you raised your glasses, and each took one large gulp of the liquor that burned as it traveled down your throat. It was only when your face contorted from the burn of the alcohol that Freddie offered you the envelope again. 

Placing your drink down on the coffee table, you reached out and pinched the envelope between your fingers carefully. Whatever it was, he was just as excited for you to open it as you were to receive it. The gifts you already opened were just the precursor. In this envelope was the grand finale of gifts. 

It’s a beautiful card, with a snowscape. Green pine trees, and snow a glitter that left traces behind on your skin. But it was what was in the card that mattered, and they fell right into your lap as you opened the card. 

Two plane tickets to Denmark. 

You stared at them, your eyes wide and your jaw slacked. You weren’t expecting that, and he could see it all over your face. A laugh rumbled through him, and you could feel it as his hands found your hips to draw you into his lap. “I want you to come home with me when the season is done. Meet my family.”

A heavy breath shook you, his gaze raising to meet his warm stare. You had been on the same page the entire time but had always been too worried to ask. But he was telling you now. The two of you were serious. He wanted you to meet his family, and he could meet yours. It left you beaming, your smile reaching your eyes as you gave him an eager nod. Of course, you would go, and you sealed the agreement with a warm, simple kiss with both of his hands, cradling each of your cheeks as he drew you in. And as he held you there, he pulled back ever so slightly and muttered out a soft, Merry Christmas. 

#frederik andersen #freddie andersen #nhl fanfic #nhl fanfiction #nhl rpf #hockey rpf #hockey imagines #hockey girlies fic exchange #happy holidays #carolina hurricanes

[behoright]

smitten l f. andersen

shorty, would you join me for one night?

summary: freddie wakes up next to a lovely stranger, and he really can't remember how you got there.

wordcount: 3.2k

song: pretty kitten - dua saleh

warnings: 18+ - minors dni! smut and sexual situations. tw: unprotected sex (oops), bruises and hickeys, mention of partying, alcohol and hangovers.

a/n: barely proofread. wrote it today - ig I was in a freddie mood. to anon who asked about him - hope you like this!

︎ ︎ ︎⠀¡   🎀 ׄ 𓄼⠀⠀.⠀⠀︎ ︎ ︎⠀¡   🎀 ׄ 𓄼⠀⠀.⠀⠀

“Oh, my fucking head.”

Freddie’s eyes blinked open early, thanks to the lovely tension that wrapped his head tightly. It was so painful that he felt like even blinking made his temples spasm in pain.

It took him a second for Freddie to place himself in space and time. The last thing he remembered was winning the game, the Canes’ first stadium series game, and going out with the team. They all went to a bar together, or, was it a club?

That’s when things started to become blurry for him. Considering Jarvy forced everyone to start drinking in the locker room, he wasn’t surprised. 

Freddie wasn’t a huge party guy, but he had fun when it was called for. 

Not usually like this, though, he thought. 

He couldn’t remember the last time he had gotten blackout drunk. 

The pounding in his head and slight recoiling in his stomach quickly reminded him why. He laid in bed, his eyes still adjusting to his room, waiting for any flashbacks of the night before.

Nothing.

Thankfully, he recognized his room, a tiny bead of sunshine seeping through the crack in his curtains. He must have been really wasted considering that, from what he could see, he left the bathroom light on and his clothes were all over the floor. 

Even if he wanted to, Freddie felt like he couldn’t move. He wanted to grab a pillow and bury his head in it until he fell asleep.

That is until he went to reach over for one next to him and ended up grabbing…you.

Freddie’s heart jumped as soon as he recognized a head of hair on the pillow next to him, his hand retrieving dramatically. 

This, he really had no recollection of. 

He attempted to puzzle everything together.

At closer inspection, the clothes on the ground were not only his. Your purse and heels thrown half haphazardly on the chaise that sat in the corner of his room.

“Oh, fuck.” he chuckled. He hadn’t had a night like this in a while. In longer than he liked to admit. 

He watched you, mesmerized, as you turned onto your back and slowly opened your eyes.

“Uh, hi. Good morning.”

“Hello.” you said, quietly, looking up at him.

Your sweet voice prompted something in the player’s head, something he couldn’t quite place his finger on. Suddenly, he had just a taste of memory from last night. Maybe… talking to you somewhere? 

He sighed, coming to terms with the harsh truth. He might never remember what happened.

“I, uh. I’m sorry.” he said, rubbing his face in his hands. “I, I don’t remember a single thing from last night.”

“Yeah, we were pretty drunk.” you uttered.

“Do you remember?”

“Bits and pieces.” you chuckled, watching his face light up slightly. “I remember enough.”

“Did we, um?” he asked, gesturing at the room. 

You could only nod, sitting up and covering your bare chest with his sheets. 

“Okay, that explains the, um, you know, the clothes and all.” he said, eyeing your body move under the blankets. 

Freddie quickly opened his nightstand drawer just to find, to his horror, his stash of condoms untouched. 

Shit.

Well, it was too late now to do anything about it, he thought, looking back at you. 

Who was this? Who was this beautiful woman, and how did she end up in his bed?

“I hope I didn’t, um, do you anything, that you didn’t…”

You turned towards him more, finding that worried gaze, shaking your head before he even finished.

“Oh, thank god.” he sighed. “I-, I was afraid that, you know…”

“No, no. I definitely came here of my own volition.” you said, putting your hand on his arm as reassurance. “The parts I remember were, uh. They were fun.”

“Oh, okay, good.”. Freddie looked down, blush spread all over his face. 

From what he could piece together, despite the growing hammering in his head, was that you were both almost equally as drunk. 

The rest was still unclear.

But you didn’t seem repulsed, or disgusted, or afraid of him, and that was a good sign in Freddie’s books. Because after all, even if he couldn’t remember it, that meant he had managed to get you naked, and it had felt good enough to disregard any use of protection. 

Drunk Freddie had great taste but poor choices, he thought to himself, before letting out a big, belly laugh. 

“This is so fucked.” he exclaimed. 

“I know! I never, really, do this, so. I understand.” you sighed, laughing along with him.

“Oh, fuck it.” he said, extending an arm to you. “C’mere.”

He wrapped his forearm around your shoulders, letting your head fall with a sigh on his bare chest. He obviously knew you were naked, but it didn’t hit him until he felt your soft skin come in contact with his under the sheets. A tiny spark went off in his head, the memory of the feeling of your body slowly coming back to his senses. 

“I can see why I came home with you.” he said. 

“Yeah?” you asked, looking up at him. “I’m not a regret? You’re not kicking me out?”

“No, no. Stay.” he said. “But only because I don’t remember anything. I need someone to help me put together what the fuck actually happened.”

“Oh, I see! So I’m only allowed to stay here for memory purposes only.” you chuckled.

“Absolutely.” he said. He thought you couldn’t tell, but it was quite obvious Freddie’s eyes had locked on your lips as you two kept the banter going.

“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t think I remember much more than you. I don’t believe I’m going to be too useful in that department.”

“Perhaps I should kick you out, then. What am I going to do with you?”

“Right, right. Nothing. Maybe I should go.”

Freddie didn’t even let you finish the sentence before his grip tightened against your body, bringing your face closer to his. 

“You’re too warm right now. If I let you leave, I’ll get cold and stuff, so. I do need you to stay here. Cuddling purposes only.” he said, winking at you.

“I think I can be a good cuddler.” you said, placing your cheek on his shoulder.

“So far, so good.” he uttered, his gaze never leaving your face. “But maybe you could get a little bit closer.”

Your scooched closer, hooking your leg around his hip, bodies flushed and touching. As soon as your thigh met his hips, however, it was impossible not to feel his morning wood. 

“You’re hard.” you said, boldly, looking back up at him.

“Uh, yeah. Sorry.” he stammered. “Sometimes, you know, that’s awake earlier than I am. I’m really sorry.”. 

Freddie went to adjust your leg, attempting to move it away, before you stopped him. 

“No more cuddles?”

“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” he said.

“I don’t mind. It’s okay with me.”

“It, it might get worse with your leg, you know, moving on top of it like that.”

“My leg is on it, isn’t it?” you said, slowly applying a tiny amount of pressure. “Is it bothering you? I can move.”

“No, no, no, that’s okay.” he spewed out, perhaps a bit too hurriedly. “It feels kinda good, actually.”

“Oh, it does?” you asked, moving your leg up his length now, with more pressure now. 

“Hey!” he laughed, throwing his head back. “Come on, now. Yeah, yeah, that feels good.”

“I mean I’m just getting comfortable!” you chuckled. “I want to make sure I give the best cuddles, since this is why I’m here.”

He kept laughing, his chest moving as he threw his head back into the pillows, before finding your sparkling eyes looking up at him again. 

“Oh, you’re doing great. Yeah, those are…” Freddie’s voice lowered as he brought his face close to yours, the tip of your nose touching his. “...they’re great cuddles.” He whispered against your mouth before pressing his lips into yours. 

Feeling your tongue run down his bottom lip, Freddie parted his lips, letting you in his mouth and letting more memories play front center in his mind.

He could immediately remember first tasting you, the taste of you and the drinks mixed on his tongue as the cool winter breeze hit his face. 

You moved closer to him, your leg clenching on his hard cock, bringing him back to the present. 

Freddie pressed his hand against your cheek as he brought you somehow even closer as your kiss grew wetter and more heated. 

There was no fighting for dominance, your tongues lapping at each other, interlocking and twisting while your lips rubbed harshly the more turned on you both began to get. You were moving so smoothly, stroking his member steadily with your soft thigh, making Freddie ant more and more. It took one moan out of him for you to straddle him, his lips never leaving yours. 

“You’re wet.” he said, his eyebrows shooting up as soon as your pussy sat flush on his dick. 

“Yeah, I mean, sometimes that’s awake befo-”

“Shut up!” he exclaimed, jokingly pushing at your arm. 

Now that you were on top of him, Freddie could see the evidence from the night before, along with how beautiful your body was. 

Marks covering your velvet skin, from your neck all the way down to your lower belly. 

He ran his calloused fingers down your abdomen, staring agape at the dark bruises that adorned your skin. 

“It was all you.” you said so quietly, it was almost a whisper. 

“I-, I don’t usually do this.” he said, keeping his eyes on the clusters of marks as you rolled your hips hard onto him. 

“Well, it felt really good.” you moaned, your head lolling back as you began to rub your wet cunt up and down Freddie’s cock. 

He let out a quiet moan, his fingertips grazing upwards until they found your now exposed neck. He traced the burgundy lovebites gently as he watched your eyes roll to the back of your head. 

“Keep rolling your hips like that, fuck.” he moaned. “Like that, baby, yeah.”

As you picked up the pace, your juices wetting his pulsating cock, you looked back down at him. Freddie’s freckles on his chest were highlighted by the redness that now covered him, his breathing picking up exponentially faster. 

The mix of his cum from the night before mixed with your arousal made both of your sexes slick and slippery with desire, allowing your clit to glide smoothly on his member. You would both moan louder whenever your swollen nub would reach Freddie’s head, the palpitations of your lust sending shockwaves all throughout your bodies. 

And Freddie thought this was so fucking hot.

“Oh, fuck me.” he said, letting his fingers through his hair. “You’re making me throb like crazy.”

He could feel your thighs clenching from the desire, almost beginning to tremble, as you started to lose yourself on top of him. Your warm fingers were now placed firmly on his lower abdomen, right where Freddie was starting to feel the pleasure build up briskly. He loved that you weren't necessarily riding his faster, but instead letting your weight go more and more on top of him, letting that delicious pressure heighten the feeling. 

Freddie could feel your entrance slide on him, and it was starting to become unbearable. He sat up, wrapping your arms around your low back, finding your hazy eyes as you didn’t quit your movements. 

“You want it so bad, don’t you?” Freddie whispered into your lips. “You’re driving me crazy. baby.” 

You almost fell onto him, your glistening and plump lips bouncing against his over and over in a series of aggressive and sensual kisses. If there was a lack of dominance before, it had now turned into a messy and sloppy fight of a makeout session, constantly interrupted by little hasty pecks. The thought of letting you completely overtake his mouth made Freddie’s cock twitch against your swollen cunt. 

“I can’t take this anymore, baby.” he said, his biceps easily picking you up and throwing you, face down on his mattress. 

He swore he heard a little giggle as you hit the sheets, your ass slily sitting up and back for him. The quick movements made Freddie’s headache worsen, the room moving slightly; he didn’t know if it was his hangover or how turned on you had him, but he frankly only cared about one thing. 

“You’ve had your fun for now, you minx.” he said, positioning the head of his cock at your entrance.

Freddie’s fingers grabbed your ass harshly as he bottomed out inside of you, his bottom lip tucked tightly beneath his teeth. His body covered in goosebumps rapidly as he felt his pubic hair touch your ass. 

As he started thrusting he suddenly remembered filling you up in the same way the previous night. He remembered your hair tightly in his grip as he buckled his hips into yours over and over again, the sweetness of your moans sounding just how they did right now. 

He began moving, slowly, in and out, letting his precum coat every inch of your walls.  

“Oh, yes, baby. You’re so fucking perfect.” he groaned. 

Freddie was a big man overall, towering way higher than you, and that translated to all of his body. You could feel the places inside you that had been touched by his cock the night before, traces of his touch marking you still. No matter how wet and ready you were for him, it was still a compact fit, his cock tightly snug inside you. 

A big part of Freddie’s weight was resting on your ass and lower back, his strong forearms tensed as he pushed you down into the mattress and fucked himself deep into you.

It wasn’t enough. 

He wanted to be closer to you, deeper. 

And the more he pushed in, the louder it ripped moans out of you. 

He could be really rough, as you vaguely remembered, but it was clear that Freddie had a shy, more reserved side, even as he started to pick up the pace. He only let go of his unyielding grip on you to gently reach over and turn your head to the side so your cheek was pressed against the mattress.

“No muffled sounds, baby.” he groaned, positioning himself back onto you. “I want to hear you.”

Just like that, he started hitting you harder, his swollen and leaking head tapping at your cervix by now. 

“Oh, oh my god.” you moaned. The angle and pressure of his hands pushing your stomach down were creating a turmoil of pleasure in your hips. He was strong, but it was hard to keep from squirming back into him. 

Seeing you struggle to keep your movements down caused Freddie’s cock to grow harder within you, almost jolting against that spot that made you quiver in pleasure every time. 

He couldn’t believe this was unfolding right below his eyes. The mixture of pleasure, pain growing deeper in his head and straight frustration made his skin flush somehow deeper. The fact that he could only remember small moments from the night before was making him cramp with discouragement. He woke up next to a drop dead gorgeous girl, who was somehow already naked, funny, and sweet, and he couldn’t remember how he got her there. 

Something about it made him thrust more aggressively.

It was hard and hot, and he didn’t feel good, he felt dehydrated and overheated, but at the same time, he was totally overwhelmed by your aura and your body, desire tingling within him.

“Oh, god.” he moaned. “I don’t even know your fucking name, and I-”

“Keep going, baby. Please fill me deeper. I want more.” you moaned, his hips rhythmically slapping against your ass. 

It felt so dirty and primal to him, the fact that he could see and feel the spots he had been around the night before, even if he didn’t remember it. You were so close that his thighs were rubbing against yours, fully, both of your skins reddening at the stimulation. 

Freddie was conflicted between focusing on it all or choosing to fixate on his balls slapping against your wet clit, your thighs quivering against his, your moans or your walls clenching tightly against his cock. The back and forth between it all and the memories of last night playing over again in the back of his head made his eyes roll all the way to the back of his head, legs twitching so hard that he brought his chest to your back, moving his grip to your hips. Your sweat mixed together whenever you both heaved, now moving in unison as your bodies were fully in contact again. 

“Oh, fuck, I’m going to fill you up.” he moaned. “Oh, oh, this is, this not-”

There was a part of him that remained responsible; a part that knew that this was a very bad idea. But the pleasure had taken over, derailing whatever common sense he had left. He let his head fall in the crook of your neck, moving his face fully into your hair. The writhing of your body beneath him felt like ecstasy, the soft skin of your ass rubbing against his pubic bone. Every time he trusted deeper inside you, his chest would slide all the way up your back. He had you completely engulfed in his frame, his arms locking you tightly flush against his body.

“Oh, baby.” he moaned, right before a series of curses tumbled from his mouth as he felt your pussy flutter around him, slowly beginning to crumble in his arms.

Your orgasm hit so deep, his cock pounding into you, that you failed to control or hold back any moans, all of it pouring out of you at once. Feeling you tremble so hard in his arms, Freddie wasn’t far behind. 

He buried his face all the way in your hair, letting your smell overcome him as he shot thick ropes of cum inside you, his big thighs tensing against you. He couldn’t help but squeeze you tighter and tighter, craving to feel your quivering body against his as you kept coming around his twitching member. 

Heavy breathing filled the room as you both stayed immobile, his body growing heavy around yours. 

“Oh, my god.” you whispered.

Freddie couldn’t help but chuckle, his arms eventually releasing you as he sat up, letting his cock grow soft inside your warm, cum filled pussy.

“You’re so beautiful, by the way.” he said, running his fingers through your hair to find your flushed face looking for him already. “Oh, my god, indeed.” 

Your laughs turned into simultaneous whimpers he pulled his cock out of you before coming to sit next to you.

Freddie’s eyes traveled down your body as he trailed his fingers up and down your back, right until you had enough energy to sit up and find him with a kiss.

“Fuck.” he said, eyes staring deeply into yours. “This is going to be embarrassing but…. what’s your name?”

#frederik andersen #frederik andersen smut #frederik andersen rpf #frederik andersen x reader #frederik andersen one shot #frederik andersen imagine #freddie andersen #freddie andersen smut #freddie andersen imagine #freddie andersen x reader #freddie andersen fic #freddie andersen rpf #nhl smut #nhl #nhl rpf #nhl imagine #nhl fic #smut #kikiwrites

[misshoneyimhome]

The three times Frederik Andersen proposed - 

(And the one time you said yes)

Tags: Freddie Andersenxreader; fluff/romance; marriage proposal

-

**1. After Mitch and Stephanie’s Wedding:

It was the end of July, and you and Freddie had attended Mitch and Stephanie's beautiful wedding. Your elegant dress complemented Freddie's sharp suit perfectly, and the entire ceremony had been a flawless affair, just as everyone had expected, given Stephanie's meticulous planning.

Throughout the evening, you had been the life of the party, dancing with almost everyone from the team. Your laughter and grace lit up the dance floor, and it was clear that you were having a fantastic time. Freddie, in particular, couldn't take his eyes off you all night.

You looked absolutely incredible, and his main thought during the evening was about the image of hosting such a magnificent wedding of your own. Every time your eyes met on the dance floor, he felt a surge of warmth and affection that made his heart race.

After the late-night party, you and Freddie retired to your hotel room, feeling a little tipsy from the champagne and festivities. The room was adorned with rose petals and soft candlelight, casting a romantic aura that mirrored the love you had witnessed that day.

As you lay in bed, almost asleep, the dim, romantic glow of the room's lighting enveloping you, Freddie's words took you completely by surprise. He was a bit drunk, his tie loosened, and his eyes filled with affection as he turned to you with a heartfelt expression.

“Marry me.”

You were taken aback, not having expected this at all. Your heart skipped a beat, and your mind raced as you processed his proposal. Before you could respond, exhaustion overcame him, and he fell asleep, leaving you with a whirlwind of emotions and questions. In the silence of the hotel room, with the memories of the wedding still fresh, you couldn't help but imagine how it would be hosting such a magnificent wedding of your own.

**2. Discussing Finances:

Three months later, you found yourselves in the heart of your shared home, the kitchen, one ordinary evening. The soft glow of the pendant lights above the counter created a warm ambiance. You sat there, browsing through listings of potential new apartments on your laptop, searching for a place to build your life together.

As you delved into the details of each listing, you couldn't help but feel a sense of frustration. It seemed that every option was over your budget, and the prospect of finding the perfect home felt distant.

Freddie, chopping vegetables from the opposite side of the counter, noticed your distress. He put down the knife and looked up at you. With a loving look, he said, "Babe, don’t stress so much about it. I've got it. I can take care of the finances for our new place."

Your heart swelled with affection for him, but you weren't comfortable with that idea. You wanted this to be a partnership, not a one-sided arrangement. You looked at him, offering a soft expression, and explained, "Freddie, I love you. But I don’t want you to ‘have got this’ – we’re in a relationship, and I want it to be our home.”

He looked puzzled but respected your viewpoint. "Then what do you have in mind?" he asked, continuing his chopping.

You took a deep breath, contemplating your next words. "Well, I've been thinking about selling my studio apartment that I've been renting out for the past two years, so that I could chip in for our dream home."

Freddie's eyes widened in surprise. "But you love that place," he said, concern evident in his voice.

You nodded, explaining your rationale. "I know, but I want us to share in this new place together, legally and financially. Right now, we're not married, and if anything were to happen, legally, you would own everything. You could ask me to leave at any time."

Freddie paused; his chopping momentarily halted. "Do you want to get married?" he asked, looking at you with a mixture of curiosity and sincerity.

Nervously, you replied, "Yes... I mean, no, not like this. Someday, yes, but not for practicalities."

His gaze softened as he grasped the significance of your words. "I understand," he said, his voice filled with understanding. "I just want you to know that I love you deeply, and I want to be with you for the long haul, no matter what."

“I love you too, Freddie.”

This heartfelt conversation deepened your bond, highlighting the importance of shared commitment and the unique path your relationship was taking.

**3. The Hockey Game Incident:

Another two months had passed since the financial discussion. It was a tense evening, with Frederik playing an intense hockey game. As a skilled hockey goalie, he rarely found himself on the receiving end of a brutal collision, but that night was an exception.

The atmosphere in the arena was electric, with fans on the edge of their seats. Freddie was fiercely guarding the net, stopping one puck after another. Then, in a sudden turn of events, a forward from the opposing team crashed into him with a force that sent shockwaves through the arena. The collision was so brutal that it left the crowd gasping in disbelief.

Freddie didn't get up as he usually did after such incidents. Panic surged through you, watching him lying motionless on the ice. Your heart raced as you clenched your fists, unable to tear your eyes away from the rink.

"He's not getting up…" you stammered. "Rosa, why is he not getting up?" Your voice quivered with fear.

The medical staff rushed onto the ice, carrying him off for treatment. Rosa, Sebastian’s wife and a close friend, gently touched your shoulder.

"You should go to him," Rosa softly spoke, her eyes filled with concern, and you tried your best to unfreeze your body.

You hurriedly made your way down to the physio room, anxiety coursing through your veins. When you found him there, lying on the treatment table, battered and bruised, your heart ached.

Frederik was silent, and you could see the anger and sadness in his eyes. He was furious with himself for getting hurt, and it broke your heart to see him like this. You fought back tears as you reached out and gently took his hand.

Seeing your boyfriend in this vulnerable state only reaffirmed your love and commitment to him. You couldn't imagine a future without him.

"Ask me again," you said, your voice trembling. He looked at you, confusion and pain in his eyes. You repeated yourself, your voice stronger this time, "Ask me again."

He caught on, and a small tear welled up in his eye as he slightly opened his mouth.

“[Y/N], [Y/Sn], will you marry me?”

 He asked with a husky voice.

You nodded, your own tears now flowing freely, and replied with a soft but determined "Yes."

A soft smile appeared on his lips, and he let out a small sigh.

“Finally,” he softly chuckled.

In that moment, amidst the pain and uncertainty, your love for each other shone brighter than ever. You both knew that this was a step you were taking out of love and commitment, not just to each other but to the journey you were on together.

#frederik andersen #freddie andersen #freddie andersen imagine #frederik andersen imagine #hockey fic #nhl imagine #nhl hockey fic #carolina hurricanes imagine

[mp0625]

Elsker

Masterlist. Taglist.

Freddie Andersen x Reader

Thank you Demi @wyattjohnston for doing this little love fic fest thingy, it was so fun to do!!! I am choosing to do number 3 from the Fluff column “Are you about to monologue your feelings for me?”

A/N: I was planning on doing an angsty one but I wrote this at 5am on valentine’s Day cause insomnia sucks so y’all are getting fluffy. Sorry if it makes no sense, it made sense to my half asleep brain but I promise I did reread it before I posted it. Sorry it’s super short.

“Hey Freddie I don’t know if you’ll hear this as you’re in the middle of a game, but I have something to tell you and when you get this will you call..”

“Y/N, you do know I’ve been on this call the whole time?”

“What? I thought I heard the beep, and aren't you in the middle of a game?”

“It's the second intermission, I don’t know how you heard a beep, I’m sitting in the locker room. Are you about to monologue your feelings for me via voicemail?”

“Maybe, can I or do I need to hang up the phone and call again so I get voice mail?”

“You can do it now.” And you could tell he had the biggest grin on his face.

“Freddie, you know how you asked me to move in with you right before you left for the road trip and I was so stunned I couldn’t answer you right away and you told me to take my time, I think I know my answer. Yes. I would love to move in with you and all of your plants. And you make the best dinner in the world, and I can’t wait to take our relationship to the next level!!” After your monologue you couldn’t hear anything from the otherside of the phone.

After a moment he softly spoke. “I can’t wait for you to move in with me.” And you could hear the tears in his voice. “Hey, I’m sorry I can’t talk longer we are about to go back out for the third.”

Taglist: @studioreader @honethatty12 @slafgoalskybaby @swissboyhisch @topguncultleader @wondershells @cixrosie @kajasagmo

#nhl x reader #lowkey lovefest 2k24 #carolina hurricanes fic #freddie andersen x reader #frederik andersen imagine #freddie andersen #nhl blurb #nhl imagines

[laurenairay]

I’ll always guide you home - F. Andersen

Summary: Three years into dating Freddie Andersen, and Karla Nielsen still gets butterflies.

Words: 1.6k

This is my fic for @callsign-denmark​’s birthday bingo! I chose the bingo squares surprises, anniversary, free space (‘Christmas’), “Say it again”, and learning to cook, as well as a few other of your favourite things (including our favourite fridge Freddie), so I really hope you like this!

Warnings: fluff, sugary sweetness, christmas in july.

Title: Never gonna let you down, by Colbie Caillat.

*

“Happy three years elskede.”

Beloved. Karla couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face at the sound of her boyfriend’s rumbling voice, giggling as he slid his arms around her from behind, resting her hands on the kitchen counter next to the Christmas gift tags she’d been writing.

“Good morning to you too,” she grinned, tilting her head up for a kiss, “and happy anniversary.”

Freddie hummed happily to the Mariah Carey music playing quietly in the background as he ducked his head to kiss her, Karla just leaning into his body with a smile. Three years with this man and his sweet little kisses still thrilled her every time. He eventually pulled away after one final peck to her lips, burying his face in her long dark hair with another happy hum.

“You weren’t in bed when I woke up,” he murmured, words muffled, “Was worried until I smelled something amazing.”

Oh that sweet sweet man.

Karla turned around in his arms, resting both hands on his chest as she smiled up at him reassuringly, the twinkling lights from the Christmas tree only serving to highlight his messy red hair. He really had just rolled out of bed, hadn’t he?

“I just wanted to do something nice for you, that’s all.”

“Something nice for me?” he asked, confused.

“Well, yeah, it has been three years,” she said simply, smile not shifting.

“I don’t…I…”

Karla just giggled at his shocked stammering, patting his chest in a ‘there there’ motion. There wasn’t much that could surprise her boyfriend, she knew that after all this time, so it felt good to be able to keep him on his toes at least a little bit.

“You’re right that something smells good. I…I’ve been learning to cook some traditional Danish dishes recently, and I know how much you miss home around this time of year, so I wanted to make something that you love.”

While her father was Danish himself, he’d emigrated to the US not long after college and hadn’t really shared his home traditions with Karla and her brothers growing up. It had only really been since meeting Freddie that she had delved into her unknown heritage, trying to learn a little more each day. After connecting with her grandmother back in Aarhus, she’d been sent a recipe that even she couldn’t mess up as a novice – klejner. Little twists of fried dough dusted in powdered sugar. Simple but sweet, and something that she knew Freddie loved as a Christmas treat.

“What did you make me?”

“Well let’s see if it’s recognisable first,” she mused.

Freddie huffed out a laugh but nodded, so Karla turned around once more to open the oven door where the oven dish had been warming. Freddie took a step back to give her some room, and when she pulled out the dish with her oven mitts, his jaw dropped slightly, eyes shining in a way she hadn’t expected.

“You made klejner for me?” he asked, eyes wide.

“I tried at least?”

“You are…my god Karla, no-one’s ever done something like this for me. And like, I know you’re half Danish but this is…wow,” he murmured.

“It’s a good surprise then?” she asked hopefully, setting the dish down on the kitchen counter.

“It’s the best surprise,” he nodded, “Tak. Thank you. You’re…incredible.”

But then he cleared his throat, a look of disbelief on his face for a moment as he stared at the dish, before he smiled softly at her.

“Okay, wait there. I’ve got to get something.”

Before Karla could even ask him what was going on, he power-walked out of the kitchen, leaving her staring after him in confusion. What the hell? She knew in her gut that he wasn’t mad at her because he left the room with a smile, but this abrupt behaviour was odd, even for him.

Maybe he was just giving her a Christmas present early? There were still two weeks to go…but she honestly couldn’t think of what else, what ‘something’, he could possibly be getting right now that couldn’t wait.

In the end, as she heard him rustling around in their bedroom, she took the time to put the klejner onto a Christmas plate that her mom had sent her – a subtle one, snowflakes and a winter woodland scene, unlike some of the garish reindeer and snowmen ones she knew her mom owned for herself – and by the time she’d put the original oven dish in the sink to soak, she could hear Freddie walking back. So she braced herself against the kitchen counter again, apprehension filling her body in a way that she couldn’t control, but she still managed to push a hesitant smile onto her lips when he boyfriend’s large frame filled the doorway.

He looked a little frazzled, eyes a little wild and hair even messier than earlier like he’d been running his fingers through it, making her swallow heavily. What was going on? What was affecting him like this?

“You know that I love you, right?” Freddie said softly, eyes serious.

“I do…but say it again,” she said, teasing slightly to break the tension a little.

The tense air between them eased just as she hoped when Freddie cracked a smile and ducked his head briefly, before looking back at her with such warm emotion that butterflies erupted in her stomach. The things this man did to her.

“I love you. I love you so much that I don’t know what to do with myself sometimes. Every morning that I wake up with you in my arms, I know I’m the luckiest man in the world, and every morning we have to be apart I count the hours until I come back home to you. I’ve never felt like this for anyone, and I know I never will.”

“Freddie…” she murmured, trailing off as his sweet words overwhelmed her.

He took the chance to walk across the room, stopping a few feet away from her, and he held out both hands for her to step forward and take – which she did. There was something in the intensity of his gaze that made her blue eyes fill with tears. The way he looked at her - no-one else had ever looked at her like that, like she was their everything and more.  

She remembered the way he had smiled at her when they first met, not too unlike how he was smiling at her now. A mutual friend had introduced them, had convinced both of them to go on a blind date because they were sure she and Freddie were ‘perfect’ for each other…and they’d been right. Ever since that first coffee date, there had been no-one else for her, and the rest was history. And here they were now.

“Karla. Elskede. The woman I love for so many reasons that I can’t possibly name them all,” he said softly.

She laughed, feeling a little incredulous, a smile tugging at the corner of Freddie’s lips.

“You made me klejner, on our anniversary. You put so much effort into something that you knew would make me happy, just like you always do. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I hope that I get to prove to you every day how much I appreciate it. How much I am never going to take you for granted. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

As Nat King Cole’s voice filled their home, Karla watched as Freddie dropped her hands and stepped backwards…to kneel down on one knee. It felt like her world was in slow motion as he reached into the pocket of his sweatpants and pulled out the most beautiful white gold ring she’d ever seen, three square diamonds dotted across the top of the band. It was stunning. It was delicate. It was…Freddie?

“Karla Nielsen, will you marry me?”

Despite his shaky voice, Karla could tell by the emotion in his voice that he’d been planning this for a while. He wanted to marry her. He wanted to marry her.

“Okay you beat my surprise by a mile,” she giggled, voice thick with tears as well as more tears trickling down her cheeks.

“It wasn’t my intention I promise,” he said, huffing out a laugh.

It was all Karla could do to lean down where he was kneeling and press her lips to his in a slow intense kiss, feeling Freddie’s breath catch in his throat before she pulled away.

“Is that a yes?” he asked softly, hopefully.

“Jeg elsker dig så meget, min kære,” Karla said sweetly. I love you so much, my dear. “Of course it’s a yes.”

Her heart clenched in her chest as Freddie choked out a sob, but the moment that he smiled widely at her, sliding the ring onto her left hand, complete disbelief on his face like he hadn’t even thought about getting this far, the widest smile spread across her face too.

“Get up here and kiss me,” she murmured.

Freddie wasted no time in doing as she asked, cupping her face with both hands as he kissed her deeply, Karla clutching at his t-shirt for stability when he pushed her against the kitchen counter, the world fading out around her as his embrace consumed her body and soul. Freddie had proposed. Freddie had asked her to marry him. Freddie wanted to be her husband. Freddie wanted her to be his wife. And she’d said yes.

Merry Christmas to her.

*

Tagging a few people who might like this: @sorryjustafangirl, @myhockeyworld87, @starshine-hockey-girl, @2manytabsopen, @typical-simplelove, @wyattjohnston, @thebookofmags, @cellythefloshie, @senditcolton​, @fallinallincurls​, @jostyriggslover96

#my writing #frederik andersen fic #freddie andersen fic #birthday bingo fanfictions #frederik andersen fanfic #frederik andersen imagine #frederik andersen x oc #hockey writing #hockey fic #hockey imagine #nhl writing #nhl fic #nhl imagine

[leafs-lover]

Can you write a really brief something about Freddie looking after a teething Oliver for the day whilst Mama goes out to get some things done 🥹🥹 maybe Oliver is just insisting on cuddles and his paci ALL day and it's the sweetest. Fred's peppering his baby boy in kisses.

A/N: It's not exactly brief but idk I really enjoyed writing this. This is technically a part of my BTPGD series but can be read as a stand alone piece.

Warnings: Fluff, fluff and more fluff

Word Count: ~800

Fred loves hockey. He has since the very first time his feet hit the ice, it was his first love, and truth be told, for a while he thought it would be his only love. Then came Oliver. Fred was absolutely terrified to be a dad, worried he was going to make a million mistakes, would do everything wrong, that his child would hate him. He had no idea what he was going to do, then this incredibly small bundle wrapped in a blue blanket was shoved into his arms; that was the moment Fred knew he had a new love.

Sure, some days are better than others, that's to be expected with kids, but every day with Oliver is better than the last. Or that's what he tells himself as, yet another ear-piercing shriek comes from his toddler.

Teething.

Fred thought you guys had made it past this point, he enjoyed the last month without the tears, irritability, drool on every piece of clothing he owns, unfortunately there is still another molar after this one. His mom gave him some tricks she used on him and his siblings, both of you googled then tired every home remedy you could find, some helped, others did nothing. Today is just one of those days.

“Hey, Ollie.” Fred holds out a damp washcloth for him, hoping he will at least try putting it in his mouth.

“Noooooo!” Oliver wails. He grabs the cloth and throws it on the floor. “Momma!”

Fred sighs. While the two of you worked through your issues and he can finally call you his girlfriend, he is no stranger to wanting you and not being able to have you. “She’ll be home in a bit.”

“Momma!” Oliver cries again, opening and closing his hand as if he’s trying to beckon you home.

“You want a popsicle?” Fred offers, hoping something cold might alleviate some of his pain.

“Yeah.” His voice is small, and he offers a slight nod.

Fred pushes off the couch to his feet. When he takes the first step, he feels two little arms wrap around his leg. “Dadda!” Fred lets out a soft chuckle, he should have known better than to try and leave him for a second.

He bends down and picks him up, Oliver immediately buries his forehead against Fred’s shoulder. He carries his son to the kitchen and opens the freezer. After rummaging around for the popsicles, he tosses the wrapper in the garbage and moves back to the living room. He cradles Oliver in his arm as they settle into the couch where Oliver accepts the popsicle, at lets himself fall against Fred’s chest.

“Is that good?” Fred gently brushes the curls away and welcomes in the cuddles.

“Yeah.” His voice is still small and tears cling to his eyes.

“You want to watch a movie?”

Fred feels the faintest nod as Oliver continues to suck on the cherry popsicle.

“Penguins?”

Another nod.

The sound of Netflix fills the apartment and once the movie has started Fred looks to Oliver. Red splotches are on both of their shirts, and he can feel the stickiness that coats his fingers.

“Done.” Oliver shoves the popsicle to Fred and smears his face against Fred’s chest, spreading more of the mess to his shirt.

“Of course, you are,” Fred laughs. He takes the dripping popsicle and sets it on the plate with his half-finished breakfast.

Fred licks his fingers and starts wiping some of the mess from Oliver’s cheek but is instantly met with a whine and he shakes his head to make him stop. Fred of course tries again. If Fred had his way, the half-eaten toast and popsicle would be in the garbage, plate in the dishwasher, and he would have used that dishcloth to clean his face. Even with a toddler he still tries to keep everything clean and contained. But like always, Fred caves once that lower lip starts to tremble.

“Blankie Dadda.” Oliver curls in closer to Fred to capture as much warmth as possible while a large yawn spills from his lips.

“The popsicle make you cold?” Fred reaches up and grabs the plush blanket you insisted stay out all summer even though he said it was June and wouldn’t be necessary, and drapes it over both of them, ensuring to cover all his toes. Oliver nods and yawns again, then shimmies to get closer, using Fred’s bicep as a pillow.

There are a million things that need to be done, and Fred doesn’t want you to come home to toys strewn about, Oliver’s shirt in the bathroom, his socks wedged under the cushions, all the dirty dishes from the morning scattered around the apartment, but he knows he needs to give Oliver cuddles, so that’s exactly what he is going to do.

Taglist: If you are in this list you have expressed interest in the series, either through likes/reblogs or by asking. If you would like to be removed or added to the list send me an ask:

@mandypants95 @c-tangerinene @puccbunni @hockeyinaussie @hockeypuckspost @0kikina0 @sixmapleleafs @hockeyunitsyunits @localcalumhoe @starswin  @je-ne-regrette-rien @mollybirk @callsign-denmark @daniellepulice72

#frederik Andersen #frederik Andersen smut #frederik Andersen fic #Freddie Andersen #nhl smut #freddie Andersen smut #freddie Andersen fic #nhl fic #fred andersen #fred andersen fic #fred andersen smut #Toronto maple leafs #Toronto maple leafs smut #Toronto maple leafs fic #carolina hurricanes fic #carolina hurricanes smut #hockey smut #hockey fic #BTPGD #because two people got drunk #freddie andersen x reader #frederik andersen x reader #fred andersen x reader #because two people got drunk fic #carolina hurricanes #bonus chapter

[princessphilly]

It’s happening

@chara-hugs @newlibrary @huggybearmylove43 @himbos-on-ice @spine-buster @starshine-hockey-girl @thebookofmags and another other hockey fic fans

Coming July 2023: Lose Control

#lose control fic #freddie andersen #frederik andersen #canes fic #hurricanes fic #Carolina hurricane fic #hockey fic #canes imagines #canes fiction #hurricanes imagines #Carolina hurricanes fanfiction #abao universe

[ilyasorokinn]

big brother, eli , freddie andersen

note, this was inspired by elvis (blue jackets) and his wife's gender reveal. that's it, that's the tweet. i feel like, for me, this has been highly anticipated. i love this family so much, i can't even explain it, so yeah. if you're confused about the timeline, check it out here. this fic is part of the "andersen adventures" series. check out this masterlist for more. pair, freddie andersen x reader summary, the andersen's are eagerly awaiting the birth of their newest baby. warnings, pregnancy, babies, children, all that jazz word count, 3228 words

(gif not mine)

July 2022

Elias was down for a nap, so you decided to take the test then. You had an inkling that something was wrong, and like the last pregnancy, Jasper was already acting very protective, more so than usual.

You waited for the timer to go off, and while you did, you paced your bedroom, thinking about what life would be like with two kids.

When the timer went off, you made your way into the bathroom and picked up the test. You stared at it in shock for a few moments, letting it sink in.

"Holy crap." You laughed, wiping your eyes as the tears started. You took a deep breath as Jasper walked into the room, "Look at you, Jaz, looks like you knew it before me again." You laughed.

He climbed into your lap and sat down. You smiled, hugging him, running a hand up and down his back, "You're the best big brother in the world." You whispered, pressing a soft kiss to his head.

-

After finding out you were pregnant, you ordered shirts for Elias and Jasper to surprise Freddie with, but until then, all you could do was wait and act like everything was normal.

Freddie was definitely getting suspicious due to your strange eating habits and how weird Jasper was acting.

"Hey, there's a package for you," Freddie announced, walking into the living room and handing you the box. You had been tracking that package since it left the shipping address, so you knew it was coming that day.

"Thank you." You plucked it from him and made your way into the bedroom, Elias' hand in yours as Jasper followed after you both.

"What happened to the sandwich I just made?" He called after you.

"I'll eat it later. Thank you." You shut the door behind you, leaving Freddie very confused.

20 minutes you opened the door, Elias in your arms, wearing his "Big Brother" shirt, as he held his stuffed animal to his chest, Jasper trotting behind you, wearing his own little "Biggest Brother" shirt.

"So, what's with all the secrecy?" Freddie raised a brow.

"Well, I sort of have a big surprise for you." You shrugged.

"Sort of big?"

"Sort of big." You nodded. You maneuvered around so he could sort of see Elias' shirt, "Show papa your shirt." You told Elias.

He moved his arm with his stuffed animal away from his chest so Freddie could read his shirt, "Big brother?" He read out confused.

"Look at Jas' shirt." You instructed, and he looked down and read it. His eyes went wide as he bent down to get a better look at the little shirt he was wearing, "Biggest brother." He looked up at you, a look of shock on his face, "Are you...?"

"We're gonna have another baby, Freddie." You nodded, feeling the tears already begin to form. You set Elias down as he stood up and wrapped you in a big hug.

"Oh, my God." He laughed. You could feel his shoulders shake as he cried, "So this is why you were acting so weird." Freddie looked down at Jasper as he wiped his eyes.

"That's what I think." You nodded.

He looked back over at you, and the smile on his face couldn't get any bigger, "Baby." He leaned his forehead on yours. You smiled, leaning up and kissing him.

-

You were sitting in the doctor's office, waiting for your name to be called. Freddie was sitting next to you, just a ball of nerves. His leg was bouncing and he was fidgeting with his hands a lot.

"Y/N Andersen?" The nurse called out, looking around the room. You and Freddie both looked at each other before standing up, "All right, if you'll both just follow me." She led you into the room.

The nurse asked the normal routine questions and took down all the necessary information. Then she left, and that left you and Freddie alone.

You sat together in silence, not saying anything. He was sitting in the chair next to the laid on the exam table, his hand held tightly in yours.

"Mrs. Andersen?" The doctor knocked on the door, then stepped in, "Welcome back." The doctor laughed, "How old is Elias now?"

"Turned 1 a few weeks ago." You smiled.

"Well, be sure to tell him happy birthday from me." You and Freddie both nodded, "All right, let's see your baby."

She squirted some of the jelly onto your stomach, "All right, let me know if it's uncomfortable at any time." You nodded. She started moving the wand around before the view of Baby Andersen finally came into view.

"There's your baby." Your eyes were glued to the TV screen in front of you on the wall, "And here's the heartbeat."

The room was dead silent, except for the sound of your baby's heartbeat through the speakers. You looked over at Freddie, who was already looking at you, a smile on his face and tears in his eyes.

He reached over and hugged you the best he could without touching your stomach, "Can we have lots of pictures?" He asked, pulling away.

"I'll make lots." The doctor smiled. She left the room but the still of your baby was still on the TV screen. No words were spoken between you as you just stared up at the screen.

-

August 2022

"All right, we have two little surprises for you." You told your parents.

"A surprise for us?" Your mom asked, kissing Elias' head. You were visiting them, so you knew the timing was perfect.

"Yeah." You looked over at Freddie, who was sitting on the couch opposite the one you were sitting on.

"Okay, open this first." You handed them each a bag. Both had mugs that read "Best Grandma" for your mom and "Best Grandpa" for your dad.

They opened the bags and pulled out the mugs, "Oh, this is cute." You could tell they were both confused as they read the mugs.

You pulled the ultrasound out of your pocket and they both stared at it for a moment, "Is that Eli?" Your mom asked.

"No, this is from a couple weeks ago."

"Get out of here!" Your mom pulled you into a hug, "You're pregnant?"

You nodded, "What the heck?" Your dad stood up and hugged Freddie, "Congratulations." You and your mom pulled away.

"Oh, you're gonna be a big brother, Eli." She cooed. Eli giggled, bobbing up and down, having no clue what she had said.

"Oh, man." Your dad made his way back over to you and he pulled you into a big hug.

-

Before the season started, you flew up to New York to visit Sydney. You were, of course, close to a lot of the girls in Toronto, but Sydney, and a few others, were the ones you were closest to.

She wanted to come to visit you, but she was pretty late in her own pregnancy, "Oh, look at you." She cooed as she opened the door.

"Look at you, Miss Bump." You looked down at her big baby bump.

You got settled in before sitting both Matt and Sydney down, "So, what's so important that you couldn't tell us over the phone?" She asked.

"Well, I have some news." You began. You pulled out the sonogram photos from your pocket.

"Shut up!" Sydney exclaimed, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah." You nodded.

"You're actually pregnant?" She stood up, looking about ready to cry.

"I am." You nodded, pulling her into a hug.

"Oh, my goodness." She squeezed you as hard as a pregnant person could, "When are you due?"

"April." You answered, hugging Matt who had stood up.

"I can't believe this. This is crazy." She wiped her eyes. Winnie waddled into the room and looked around confused, "Did you hear that, Win? Auntie Y/N's gonna have a baby."

You bent down to her height as she walked over to you and hugged you, "Oh, thank you, Win." You laughed tearfully, hugging her back.

-

You watched the phone ring, waiting for Ryanne to answer the FaceTime call. When the call finally connected, instead of seeing Ryanne, you got a big shot of Gavin's face.

"Why, hello Gavin." You laughed. At the sound of Gavin's name, Elias' head popped up and he ran as fast as his little legs could carry him over to you, "Oh, would you look at that. Someone wants to say "hi"." You moved the phone down to Elias could say his hellos.

After they talked, you grabbed the phone back, "So, what's up?"

"So, I have good news and bad news."

"Oh, dear." She inhaled.

"Which do you want to hear first?"

"All right, let's go for the bad news."

"All right, bad news: I won't be able to go on the girl's trip."

"What? Why not?" She asked.

"Well, this leads me to my good news..." You paused for dramatic effect, "I don't think I'll be able to fly 7 months pregnant."

Her jaw dropped and she stared at you for a few seconds, "Are you serious? Are you messing with me?"

"No, this is serious. I'm actually pregnant."

"How far along? When are you due?"

"I'm about 7 or 8 weeks along and I'm due in April."

"Oh, my gosh. I knew it! You came to Philly, and you left with that look. I told Claude that this was gonna happen."

"It was all you. You put this idea in my head." You jokingly glared at her.

"Oh, boy. Palmer's gonna have a friend." She clapped happily.

"I know." You laughed.

-

You had lots of people to tell, but the people at the top of your list to tell where all your girlfriends, especially the girls from Toronto. You were close with a couple girls from Anaheim, but nowhere near as close as Toronto. So, you and Freddie took a short trip up to Toronto.

You invited them all out for dinner with the lie that you just wanted to catch up, which wasn't too far from the truth, "So, we came up here 'cause we, of course, wanted to see all of you, but we also have a surprise."

"A surprise?"

"Yeah." You nodded, pulling out the sonogram from your pocket. You held it up and there was a collective gasp from everyone at the table.

"Is this real? Is this recent?" Steph asked.

"Yeah."

"Are you really pregnant?" She asked and when you nodded, and jumped out of her seat and pulled you into a hug.

"Awh, it's gonna be a little Eli." Courtney cooed, hugging you next.

"Or a little girl."

"I can't imagine Eli having a little sister or even being a big brother." Mitch laughed, hugging Freddie.

"I'm so happy for you guys." Aryne pulled you into a big hug, "This is why you were drinking Ginger Ale the other day." She commented.

"Yeah." You laughed as everyone else enveloped both you and Freddie in hugs.

-

November 2022

The moment the ice rink came into view from down the hall, Elias was running down the hall, leaving you and Freddie in the dust. Jasper, ever the protector, ran after Elias.

When he got to the end of the hallway, he turned around and looked at you. Jasper sat down next to him, looking back at you too, "Skate?" Elias asked, pointing at the ice once you had made it to the other end of the hallway.

"Not today." Freddie bent down next to him, "Remember? We're gonna pop the balloon?"

"And find out if the baby is a boy or a girl." You added.

"Skate?" Elias asked again.

"We'll skate another day, come on." Freddie stood up, picked up Elias, and held him on his hip.

The reason for the ice rink is the place of your gender reveal was it was the place you, Freddie, and even Elias loved. It was a special place for both of you.

Only a select few people knew of the upcoming arrival (Your families, close friends, the team, and a few members of staff), but other than that, no one knew.

The team was recording it but holding onto it until you were ready to share it with the world, "Eli, do you want a little brother or sister?" The media person asked.

"Brother." He stated, his eyes so serious, you were almost scared of what would happen if it were a girl.

"All right, you ready, E?" Freddie asked. You were all bent down to Elias' level so he could get a good view too.

"Yeah!" He clapped.

"All right, you wanna give me a countdown?" Freddie asked, looking back at you.

"I count down," Elias announced.

"All right, you count down for daddy." You told him.

"Three, two, one!" Once Elias got to one, Freddie popped the confetti gun, and pink confetti flew out. You both looked at each other, then looked down at Elias, who looked conflicted.

"Brother?" He asked.

"No buddy, you're gonna have a baby sister." He pouted, "Are you happy?"

"We play sticks?"

"Yeah, you'll get to play sticks with baby sister." You reassured, kissing his head with a smile before Freddie pulled you into a hug. Jasper distracted Elias with kisses as you and Freddie hugged,

“A girl.” He muttered, lifting you off the ground. Your arms tightened around his neck as he spun you around.

"Your gonna be a girl dad." You giggled, pulling away as he set you down on your feet. He only smiled, pulling you back into a hug.

-

With your bump growing more and more each day, you knew the news would get out somehow. The season was well underway and you could only hide the bump for so long.

"We have to tell people soon." You told Freddie.

"Tell people? We've told everyone."

"No, like the internet. I've been to a couple home games where people have asked to take pictures with me, and we hugged, and I'm just tired of hiding it."

"All right, all right." He nodded, "We can post it, if that's really what you want, but know, once it's out there, it's out there forever."

"I know, and I'm okay with that." You nodded.

"All right, I'll talk to the media team tomorrow." He kissed your head.

"Thank you."

-

January 2023

You made your Instagram posts, and even the NHL account posted a little congratulatory post for you too, so after you posted, you gave the Canes social media team the "okay" to post your little gender reveal.

canes

Liked by caniac37, mapleleafs and 18,397 others

canes Pulling this one out of the archives. So happy for the Andersen family! Baby Andersen coming 2023! ❤️🖤

tagged: @/ynandersen, @/frederikandersen31

View all 238 comments

ynandersen 😊❤️

canesfan1948 omg congrats!! and a little girl?!

ryannegiroux a girl!! eli is gonna be the best big brother!! ❤️

caneswags so happy for you guys!!

(photo credit to elvis' ig. i just took a screenshot of their gender reveal so slay to him.)

-

Freddie was standing in front of his locker, impatiently trying to get done with media. He wanted to go home and just relax with you, Elias, and Jasper.

"Freddie, congrats on the baby." The reporter smiled.

"Thank you." Freddie nodded appreciatively.

"Now did Elias react when he found out about his baby sibling?"

"Well, I think you all saw in the video, all he was concerned about was being able to play mini sticks with the baby." He laughed, eliciting a laugh from the reporters, "But he is very excited, and he’s been very involved in everything, and we make sure to explain to him what’s going on every chance we get.”

“Is he excited to be a big brother?"

"He is. He's super excited." Freddie nodded.

-

April 2023

You heard him before you saw him. Elias was running down the hall of the maternity ward, his feet slapping against the floor as he tried to find the room you were in.

When he finally found it, he knocked on the door before pushing it open. He looked around cautiously, "Hi, buddy." You flashed him a big bright smile, your newborn baby in your arms.

He stared in awe at the baby you were holding, "You wanna meet her?" He nodded. Freddie helped him onto the bed before standing next to the bed.

"Eli, meet your new sister, Alma." Elias looked down at his new sister.

"Sissy." He giggled, reaching out and running a gentle finger across her cheek. You and Freddie smiled at each other as you watched him interact.

"Do you want to hold her?" You asked. He looked up at you, a hesitant look on his face, "If you want to, you don't have to." He nodded, "All right." He continued to look at her and run his finger across her cheek.

-

July 2023

"Freddie, let me just say, before we start, congrats on the baby." Emily Kaplan smiled through the screen.

"Thank you, thank you." Freddie nodded, a smile on his face as he glanced over at the picture of the four of you on his desk.

"How has it been? You're 3 months, almost 4 months into this."

"It's been great. I mean, parenthood isn't all sunshine and rainbows, and it definitely has its days, but the most rewarding part is just the days where it's just us and we're hanging out, going to the park, or watching a movie."

Emily smiled, "How is Alma different from Elias?"

"Well, she's only been here for 3 months, but already, we can already tell how much alike she and Eli are." They both laughed.

The interview went on as normal. Questions about work, the upcoming season, and things of that nature, "So, I know this is a little old, but I've been meaning to ask about your wife's infamous trade tweet." Freddie cracked a smile and nodded, "Did you know she was gonna do that?"

"I let her know she could say something, but I never expected anything like that. I thought my old team would post something about it, but she beat them to it, and the world went wild."

"I remember seeing the tweet and just cracking up. I mean, the whole office lost it." He laughed.

"Yeah, I a few teammates sent me some texts about it and had a good laugh." The door was softly pushed open, and Elias popped his head in. Freddie smiled and waved.

Elias smiled, and waved, running over and hugging Freddie's leg. He raised his hands, signaling he wanted to be picked up, so Freddie listened and placed Elias on his knee.

Elias looked down at his dad's screen and waved to Emily, "Hi, Elias."

"Hi." He spoke shyly.

"I was just talking to your dad," She started, pausing and looking back at Freddie, silently asking if she could continue. When Freddie nodded, she did, "So, what's your favorite part of being a big brother."

Elias thought about it, before answering, "Pizza."

Emily laughed, confused, "Since we're usually in such a rush for dinner, we usually end up eating pizza, and clearly that's Elias' favorite." Freddie explained.

"I love pizza." Elias smiled at her, "Well, thank you for joining me, Freddie, and thank you, Elias. I've had a lot of fun."

"Thank you for having me." Freddie smiled, "Well, us." He corrected.

She nodded and smiled, "Can't wait to see you on the ice."

"Me, too." He laughed.

-

my taglist: @mitch-slap @kolsmikaelson @ashleymarine @typical-simplelove @rosesvioletshardy @laurenairay @kidlnthedark @bowen-power @lam-ila @catahshart @stars-canucks @drei-mrssvechii @iwantahockeyhimbo @2manytabsopen @owenpowersglasses @calermakar08 @hamilton160 @pierrelucduboiis @thescooby-gang @sammysworldddd @mista-svech @paintlavillered @hyppeln-agnes @samanthasgone @hockeyboysarehot @nicoleloveshockey @thedukes-56-5 @tkachukswife @hockeyunits @sidcrosbyspuck @dumbxblond3 @kaydenissleepy @Yagetintoit @seventieswhore @MichelleKirby30 @jamieeboulos @Coffeeandteaandflowers @bibella8swan @cuttergauth @boqvistsbabe @sophia-bordeleau

add yourself to my taglist!

#frederik andersen imagine #frederik andersen imagines #frederik andersen x reader #frederik andersen fic #frederik andersen #freddie andersen #nhl imagine #nhl imagines #nhl fic #nhl #hockey imagine #hockey imagines #hockey fic #hockey #carolina hurricanes imagine #carolina hurricanes imagines #carolina hurricanes fic #carolina hurricanes #taylor writes #taylor writes: hockey #andersen adventures series #andersen adventures #dad!fred #dad!freddie

[wyattjohnston]

can we get takeout on the way back ? i have no desire to cook tonight. For Freddie Andersen

It wasn’t particularly late and yet the tiredness in your bones was overwhelming. The sun has been out all day and the party you’ve been at is an exclusively outdoor event; the heat has only served to make you more tired.

You’ve been listing towards Freddie more and more dramatically as the afternoon grows on, even though you’ve been trying your hardest to stay awake and attentive to all your friends. In your favour is the fact that everybody else also seems to be struggling to keep their eyes open.

Freddie ducks his head down, asking in Danish if you’re ready to leave and you try not to sound too happy when you tell him you are.

It starts a wave of goodbyes and the relief of being a trendsetter, of your actions being justified by everyone’s else quick mimicking, momentarily wakes you up enough to get through an unholy amount of hugging.

It truly feels like Freddie is keeping you upright as you walk back to the car, your hand firmly in his as he all but pulls you along. Knowing that the car is in sight and that home isn’t too far away lets the warmth of your body settle into happiness.

You’re sitting in the car, head leaning back against headrest, when a thought crosses your mind. You reach blindly for Freddie’s hand again. When he takes it and squeezes you say in a low voice, “Can we get takeout on the way back? I have no desire to cook tonight.”

“Anything you want, dejlige. Anything you want.”

#frederik andersen fic #frederik andersen imagine #hockey fic #hockey imagine #nhl fic #nhl imagine #homemade fic #1200 follower requests